Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1864-06-30

How long can this state of things. con
tiuuc? How long viii one third our
usual produce meet the demands ofsour in
creased and stupendous expenditure? How
long can diminished production go hand in
hand? How long can you continue to des-
troy the laborer, and at the same time raise
u revenue from the products of labor? The
tendency and speedy result of our present
career are plain and inevitable. Soon, very
soon, the fruits of industry will prove in
adequate to meet the demands of the Ma
tional Treasury, and then the land itself,
the farm and the homestead, must be ex-
haustcd and swept away. Are you ready
for this? Are you ready for the land tax
upon uncultivatcd fields, in addition to the
tribute which we already pay to fanatcism
and corruption? If you are, then eternal
war, vast conscriptions, no negotiation, no
reunion, no peace, will bring with fearful
rapidity the realization of all our hopes.-
But this prohigate destruction of human
life, and wanton and wicked overthrow of
the whole natural system of American la
bor, how much longer do you expect the
the toiling millions TO endure in silence?
When the curtain first rose on the hate
ful scence of this civil war; the country was
Knocked with call for seventy. five thousand
men, and our greedy ears were saluted
llOlH ugil UudIbclS NltIl lllc udlttiluS NbDlN
that the moon would hardly wax and wane
until the government would again possess
its own. You tell me Of statesmanship;
you tell me Of honesty in the present CON
duct Of our disastrous affairs. Sir, not a
plan has been laid down from the beginning
but what has failed, and not a promise
made by the administration to the people
but what has been broken The armies of
the rebellion still stand with defiant front
almost in sight of the Capital; and hoarse
and terrible demands of IA new conscription
are now going out over the country, as fa-
tai to the peace and happiness of the peo-
pie as the croak of the raven to the life of
Duncan. DO they who now riot inthe lives
and fortunes Of the many imagine that
they can prolong forever the deception which
they have imposed upon an anxious and
trusting people ?
But on this vital question Of the rapid
decrease Of our laboring population, and
the consequent prostration Of the general
welfare, | viii doubtless be met by an in
, dgnant denial from the other side of the
chamber ] submit, therefore, the follow
ing extract from the last message of the
President
81 again submit to your consideration the OK
| peticncy of establishing a system for the en-
couragcment of immigration. Although this
!
| nowing with greater freedom than for several
| years before the insurrccton occurred, there is
stll great deficiency in every tioldiOf industry,
especially in agriculture, and in our mines, ls
well of iron as the precious metals. While the
| demand for labor Is thus increased here tens of
| thousands of persons destitute OF ofremunerative
occupation, are thronging our foreign consu,
states if essential, but Very cheap assistance
can Dc afforded them.'
[ am a friend to the foreigncr--to the
stranger who seeks our shores to enjoy lib
erty, or to increase his stores. I stood by
him when the Executive and his chief sup
porters took his midnight oath to disfran-
chise him because of his religious faith
and oppressed him in all our borders.
welcome him now with a warm and exten
ded hand to the equal enjoyment of all tina
remains Of our shattered and Gefaced inst
tutions. But with what sorrowful emotion
will the people Of this once proud land lis
f ten to the voice Of America pleading Will
the populations of Europe, and profferne
them pecunary inducements to come anC
take the places of our lost and dead-to fill
empty chairs around bereaved firesides-tC
supply the demands which war and death
have made in the cornfields and at harvest
time. And yet the destroying angel is to
continue to hover in every blast; and the
fierce spirit Of the glass and scythc is to
pursue his insatiate career the flower OF
manhood are to be cut down; strangers
from foreign lands are to occupy their va
cant seats and it is treason to attempt to
stay this horrid holocaust of human sacri-
flee by restoration of the government up
on the principles which were satisfactory to
Washington! The rebel chief at Richmond
who makes open war against the Union
and the Executive here who does not make
t war for it, and who would not accept it,
ln
| Of the Constitution, are engaged by con
| against each other the unwilling and peace
: full populations of every scction bleeding
; palpitating and mangled; to struggle, t,
6 combat and to die, like the gladators in tn,
T amphitheater of Rome, butchered to max
/ Roman holiday. These are facts that vii
!, not escape history, and yet, the consent o
! the governed is the Just measure OF powe
which public ruler can exercise in a fre
,, government, and we fondly imagine tha
: we still are free.
But in immediate alliance with the ques
tion of population arises the consideration
of the amount of burthen which is to b,
borne While looking on the one hand will
sadness and grief at the depletion and des
, tructon Of the laboring masses, we arr
, compelled to turn and gaze with apprehen
| sion and terror at the frightful proportions
and increasing magnitude of our public in
debtedness, AS the ability of the people
to meet the taxation becomes each da,
more feeble, the demands upon their toi
: and their resources accumulate with appal
\ ling velocity ! shall deal in cold and stead.
, figures. What | assert upon the subject o
/ the national debt | stand ready to max
r good, as time, the test of truth, has don
4 for me heretofore On the 2lst day c
S May 1862, on this floor Imade the follow
J. ing statement:
at Is safe, then, to conclude that the year thG
, is TO come and on which we are just entering
e the second year OF the war--will swell the In
c debtedness of this government to the enormou
v sum of s2,O00,OOOO0O."
!. The fierce clamor which broke upon m
q head here and elsewhere, for that state
ment, will not easily be forgotten.
# was honored by an official contradctio
q front the Secretary of the Treasury himself
; produced on this floor by the gentlema
n from Massachusetts, Mr.. Dawesl The
l. came the indignant cries of injured patrio
= ism from the throats of that venal and sli
IT wish class who earn the favor Of princes
is and purchase the privileges of plunder b
y echoing the words of their master But
D. appealed to time for my vindication, an
m now here again to-day, | challenge my a
10 cusers to the issue.
il On the 9th day of March, 1868, whe
A. the Thirty seventh Congress adjourned lie
s than one year from the date ofmy estimat
ul the appropriations Of money from the Fec
fe eral Treasury, in the payment of the publ