The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1864-04-20
From the Mt. Vernon Banner.1
Speecl Of1aen. George W., Morgan
Delivered at The Democratic
County Convention Held at Mt;
Vernon, March 18th. s64. -


County Convention Held at MT;
Vernon, March A2th, '64. IA
Mr.. President and Fello5o Citizens.
The annals of the world do not record the
history of political contest, so fnll of mo-
mentuous consequences, as the one we are
about tGenter upon. Our Great Republic Is
in imucnt peril; the Constitution hes crushed
beneath the iron heel of President Lincoln;
and the war commented to preserve the Con-
stitution and the Union, has been made the
wicked pretext of an attempt to destroy both:
Regardless of the advice of his constitutional
advisers, pittiless to the wall Of death which
rises like dirge from blightedl fire sides; re-s
morseless as to tie million dead of our heroic
armies, whose bleached bones, if gathered to-
gether, would form pyramid whose summit
would be lost among the clouds; Indifferent
to the debt, which in an another year will
be equal TO the assessed value of all real es-
and all the personal property of all the States
and all the Territories from Nova Scotia to-
the RIO Grande and from the Atlantic to the J.
Pacific. Mr.. Lincoln in his car of Jugger-
naut rolls on crushing States, and common
wealths and populations as he moves forward
in his path of desolation. 81
My friends this is no idle dream; no sketch,
Of fancy; but stern and dread reality. If the
war continues the hquidated national debt
will, at low estimate amount to two thousand
five hundred million dollars, Eyi the Both of
June 1865. Not one of you can measure In
your minds the size of that monstrous debit
When you think of it, it is like trying to
fathom eternity! But what will you say,
when 1 tell you that that debt of twenty Eve
hundred million dollars, will only be the liq-o
Undated, that is the settled debt of the Nation;
while there will be an out standing debt Of
ten thousoand million dollars, which added
to the liquidated debt, will make an aggre-
gate of Twelve Thousand FIVE hundred mil
lion dollars.-TwELvE THOUSAND FIVE HUN
DRED MILLION DoLLARsl But how will you +,
estimate; how you understand what that
sum meansl I will tell you. Turn to page
1914 of the Preliminary Report on the eighfH
Census, and you will find that the assessed
value of all the real estate and personal prop,
erty in all the States, and all the Territories, I
amounted in 1860, to Twelve thousand and
eighty-fou million, sig hundred and forty
thousand and five dollars. From which it
follows that if the war continues until June
so, 1865, and if on that day all the lands and
all the personal property in all the States and
all the Territories including all your own
all your houses and all your lands; all your
stock and all your grain, were sold, we would e.
still be in debt Four hundred and twentyssix y
million dollars.
But how do we know tho debt will be 30
great? At the close of the wars with England
and Mexico, it was found that the out stand
ing debt was nearly do1ble that of the set
tied debt: and you all know that the Mexican,
war was limited in its proportions-it lasted
only two years, and we bad only fifty thou
sand men, while this war will have lasted over o
four years by the time I have named, and We
have had an army of a million of men, You ,
will see therefore that it is reasonable to sup
pose that that the outstanding debt at tho
close of this var, will be, preportionately,
twice as large, as the outstanding debt of thes
war with Mexico. .iss; n M
do not tell you these facts to appal but,
to arouse you to thought and action. Men
who deserve to be free will not be inundated
by the difficulties and dangers. We are sar-o
rounded by both. An attempt is being made 4
to build up an aristocracy moro dangerous
and more powerful than that of Great Britain
and there with a population of more than
thirty millions, every foot of land in the king
dom is owned by thirty thousand men. Thirty g
million of people, and only thirty thousand
land owners! The causes Of that untold
wealth of the few and the untold misery OF
the many, are the law of primogeniturc, and
the huge national debt of Great Britain. r
Our own debt is now being reduced to
bonds, which are exempt from taxation, and z,
the interest upon which is paid in gcid.T5-f9
The rich have already hundreds of millions in
these bonds, to avoid bearing their share of the
burthens of government and after paying
your own taxes, you will be taxed to pay :.
their usary in gold, and then you viii be I.
taxed again to pay the taxes of the rich, who +
have thrown their burdens upon your sholl-,
ders. p,
Think of what 1 tell you and act if you {
would remain free, What is your remedy
concert of action. 'sEvS O.
erything for the causc-nothing for the men,.
Regard him as secret enemy who declares
that the country is lost. Be suspicious Of
him, who, claiming to be Democrat, tells,
you the Democracy had better be defeated, ,
provided that this or that man is notlthe nom. =
inee of the Chicago Convention. Tho great ,
Philip declared that he had conquered mcre
cities with gold than with STEEL And let us
beware that greenbacks do net become as fas =
tai to our liberties as was gold to the iiber-
ties of. Greece Let us act together with good
faith, and in harmony-let US petition Con-
gress for redress of our grievances-iet rs
determine that at every cost, and every hazard
the purity of the ballot-box, and the freedom
of speech and of the press must be maIntaibef
Let us nerve ourselves for the conflict let us
invite to our cause all the men who love jug
tice and hate tyrrany. And let us soiemnly
resolve, and as one man, with one voice pro-
claim that life and property are worthless
without liberty. Let us thus act, and all
yet viii be well, for our conntry is yet, TOO
young to die.
ONLY A PRINTER ole is only printer,
was the sneerins remark of leader faseclety.
II q u,os m Ia r,@;nt We'll what was the