Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1864-07-13
yallandighan,s Speech.

deliyeral by him on his return to Ohio from
Canada:
Men OF Ono To-day am again in your
midst and upon the soil of my native State.
To-day am once more in the district, which
for ten years extended to me the highest con-
fidence, and three times honored me as its
representative to the Congress of the United
States. I was accused of No crime against
the Constitution or laws, and guilty Of none.
But whenever and wherever thus charged
upon due process of law, am now here, ready
to answer before any civil csurt of competent
iuisdiction, to jury Of my couutrymen; and
meantime, to give bail in any sum which any
Judge or court, State or Federal may affix;
and you, the hundred and eighty.six thou
sand Democrats of Ohio, offer as my sure
ties. Never for one hour have remained in
exile because recognized any obligation oc
obedience to the unconstitutional and arbitra-
IT edici. Neither did personal fear ever re-
strain me. And to-day return, of my own
act and pleasure because it is my ccnstitu-
tional and legal right to return.
Only BY an eXertion Of an arbitrary power,
itself against Constitution and law, and con-
summaled By military force, was abducted
from my home and forced into banishment.
The assertion or insinuation of the President
that was arrested because aboring with
some effect to prevent the raising of troops
and to encourage desertions from the army,
and was responsible for numerous acts OF re-
sistance to the draft and to arrest of deser-
ters causing assassination, manning and
MURDER or that at airy time, in any way. ]
had disobcyed or failed to counsel obedience
to lawful authority, or even TO the semblance
oflaw. is absolutely fal c. appeal for tie
proof in every speech / ever made upon these
questions, aud to the very record of the mock
military commission, by the trisl and sentence
of which l was outraged.
No, the sole offence thar laid to my charge
was words of criticism Of the public policy
ofthe Administration. addressed to an open
and public political meeting Of fellow-citizens
of Ohio, lawfully and peaceably assembled:
And to-day, nv only "crimen isthat, in the
way which they call treason worship l the
Constitution CT my farhers Rnt for new
more than one year 10 public man has been
arrested and no newspaper, suppressed with
in the State, Sdhcring still to the Onion, fer
the expression Of political opinion; while hun
dreds in public assembly and through the
press, have with license and violence in
zhich never INDUCED criticised and con-
demned the acts and policies ofthe Admins
trstiop, and denounced the war, maintaining
even the pr, priety snd necessity Of the recog
ni,ion Of Southern independence.
Iudorse,l b. nearly NO hundred thousand
freerG En- Ct the Democratic party OF my ma
tive State. st the late election, and still with
the sympathy snd support of millions more
do not mean any iongerto be the only man
Of that party who is to be the victim Of arbi-
trary power. If Abrahcm Lincoln seeks my
life, let him so dec'are; bu; he shall not re
strain me of NY personal liberty, except upon
8. due process Of law" The Unconstitutional
and nnnstrous. "Order Thirty-eght," ua-
der wh:cn alone Twas arrested thirteen ,:onthS
ago, was Gefed end s?;t upon at your State
couveaticn OF 1868. by he gallant gentleman
who bore the standard as your candidate for
lieutenant governor, and by every Democratic
nress and public speaker ever since. 1t IS
dead. Frolu the frst it was against the Con-
stitu.iou and laws, and without validity and
.il proceedings Under it were and are utterly
null and void, and Of nc effect.
The indignant voice Of condemnation long
since went forth from the vast majority OF
the people end press of America, and from
all free countries in Europe with entire nu-
animity. And more recently, too, the plat
form" Of an earnest, numerous and most for
midable convention of the sincere Republi-
cans, and still further, the emphatic letter OF
the acceptance by the candidate of that con-
yention, Gen. John c. Frcmont--the first
candidate also of the Republican party for the
presidency eight years ago, upon the ral!ying
sDoacb opd o f,aa pra9q-Uiyn
newed hope that, ct last, the reign of arbitra-
RI power is about to be brought to an end
in the United States.
It is neither iust nor fit, therefore, that the
wrongs inAictedunder !" Order rhirty-elgAf"
and the other edicts and acts, of such power,
should any longer be endured-certainiy not
by me alone. But every ordinary n,eaDs of
redress has FIRST been exhausted; yet either
by the direct agency of the Administration
and its snbordnates, or because OF want OF
jurisdiction in tho civil cou1ts TO meet case
which no American ever in lorlaer times con-
ceiycd to be possible here, all have failed.
Counsel applied in my behalf to an unjust
indpe fora writ of liabeas corpus. 1t was
denied: and now the privilege Of that writ is
suspended by oct of Congress and Executive
order. in every State. The Democratic con-
ysntion of Ohio, one year ago, by q resolution
formally presented through committee OF
your best and ablest mon, in person at Wash
ing.on, demanded of the President in Lesialf
of a very large minority Of the people, revo-
cation of the edict of banishmant. Pretend
ing that the public safety then required it, he
refused, saying, at the SAME tine, that itwcu.d
afford him pleasure to comrly as soon as he
could by any means be made 70 iieiieve that
the public safety would hot suffer by it.
One year has elapsed I; yet this holo" pre-
tence is still tacitly asserted, and to-day am
here to prove it unfounded in .act. J appea
to the Supreme Court Of the United STATS
and because Congress had reYef conferred
jurisdiction in behalf Of C citizen tried by Il
tr;brnal unknow for such purposes to ths
laws, and expressly forbidden by the Consti
tution., itwere poweriess TO dress the wtong
The time has therefore arrived when j: Se
comes me as citizen Of 0hio AID Of th'
United States. to demand, aid BY my. Owl
nc. to vinHcatr, the rights. liberties ard priv
;,cecs which never fors ited, but cf wiic'
for SO many months !rave becn deprived.
Wherefore, men of Ohio. am sssiu /!