Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1864-03-24
From the Mt Vernon Banner.
Speech of Gen. George w. Nor
gan delivered at the Demo-
cratic county Convention held
at MI. Vernon, March l2th, 81.
rro,, IN, M yernon Hammer
NJ. President and Elllo,o- Citiscns.

Mr.. President and F6llo,o- Citlscns!
The annals of the world do not record the
history of q political contest, so full of mo-
mentous consequences, as the one VIC are
about to enter upon. Our Great Republic
is in imminent peril the Constitution lies
crushed beneath the armed heel of Presi-
dent Lincoln and the war commenced to
preserve the Constitution and the Union,
has been made the wicked pretext of an at
tempt to destroy both. Regardless of the
advice of his constitutional advisers; pitiless
to the wall of death which rises like dirge
from blighted fire sides; rcmorselcss as to
the million dead of our heroic armies, whose
bleached bones, if gathered together, would
form pyramid whose summit would be lost
among the clouds; Indifferent to the stupen-
dous debt, which in another year will be
equal to the assessed value of all the real es-
tate and all the personal property of all the
States, ,and all the Territories from Nova
Scotia to the Rio Grande and from the At
lantic to the Pacific. Mr. Lincolh in his car
Of Juggernaut rolls on crushing States, and
commonwealthsa and populations as he moves
forward in his path of dcsolation
My friends, this is no idle dream no
sketch of fancy; but a stern and dread real.
ity. If the war continues, the liquidatcd
national debt will, at low estimate amount
to two thousand five hundred million dol
lars, by the goth Of june 1868 Not one of
you can measure in your minds the size of
that monstrOus debt When you think of
it, il is like trying to fathom eternity, But
what will you say, when | tell you that that
debt of Twenty five hundred million dollars,
will only be the liquidated that is, the set
| tied debt of the Nation; while there will be
an outstanding debt of ten thousand mill
ion dollars? Which, added to the liquida-
ted debt, will make an aggregate Of Twelve
thousand five hundred million dollars
TWELVE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED MILL
ION DoLLARs But how will you estimate;
how can you understand what that sum
means viii tell you. Turn to page 1874
of the Preliminary Report on the Eighth
Census, and yen will there find that the as
sesscd value of all the real estate and per
sonal property in all the States, and all the
Territories, amounted in 1850, to. Twelve
thousand and eighty-four million, six hun
drcd and forty housand and five dollars -
From which it follows that if the war con
tinueS until june 30, 1865, and if on that day
all the lands and all the personal propert,
in all the States and all the Territories, in
cluding all your own--all your houses ant
all your lands; all your stock and all you
gram, were s9Ih we would sun DG IN deb
rour huiloreo ana t"chty-slA lhililoh dol
But how do we know the debt will be s,
great! ~ the ciose OF 'ne wars WIN Eng
lana ana Mexco, IL was f0und that the out
stahdlhg oeDt vas nearly douDle that OF th'
sGttied dept' ana you an know that tn
heSicah war was llnlted III It's proportion
iD ca oliy las.Gu .Mo ycais, anu we ilad ON.
nlty Iiiousaiiu i'icu, WINE Ihls war VIII laV'
iaStcu over 1olr years ny the time l. nav
mlilledI ana We y nave ~ lnau an army Oh a NH
non ol men. hou VIII see therefore tnat !
Is reaSollame 10 suppose .,i;lo tile out.SIano
.ng uoo; aD tnt closG oa 'ilis war, Will DC
Piop 'iG.laI'iy WY do iaiso, an Wao oil
ou1- -stallu,i's ncoC VI tnc war WIN MgAico
w NV 'e' o.i 'iio1o iuoo1 " ePp"' ~
', 10 arouse you 10 'tougnl ana aftlon' Mei
WIZ WI aoSeIvs 20 " i'ee VIII lio1 pc iutinioa NJ
Icu Wy ailhcu'tles anu oangcrS' we ar
u,fouhueu suaSo NV Sn py po'n an a..ennp. 10 penn
norau, anJ nnro "p "n wnrf, ii ~ orb th,t t",
Gircot Rr;ta;n And there with , nnnnl.
, t;on of more than tb;rty milIons nvnr
fnot nj land in the KINGDOM is owned h
, thirty tbousond men. Thirty million ,
neonie. and onlv thirty Thousand land ow,
, ersl Inc causes of that untold wealth
= the few, and the untold misery of the man,
are the law of primogeniture. and tbe huo
national debt of Great Britain.
Our own debt is now being reduced
, bonds. which are exempt from tnyotio,
and the interest upon which is paid in rol,
. The rich have already invested hundreds ,
millions in these bonds, to avoid bearin
their share of the burthens of goyernmen
, and after paving your own taxes. vou wi
he taxed to nav their usury in pold. nm
then you will be taxed again to pay the ta,
: es of the rich, who have thrown their bu