The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1864-10-20
foosrrrurD FROM FIRST PAGE

and says, ~ can NOV sueao
nation I stand before the country shack
led BY prociamations and shackied by acu
of Congresa /; r can de nothing to psclIy
the South He is powerless. unlesshe can
induce Congress to undo all that "
done ; he cannot disregard the wishes Oh
those who have become his aaasters[ior
one man makes another bis mater Wnen
be enters into an arrangement with him
that will not bear the investigation OF the
laws of the land. loud cheering.1 Inc
Democratic party can restore the Union,
and / believe it will. (Great %applause.) 81
If that is true, then | appeal to my Re-
publican friends if they are not bound to
give the government into our hands. Will
n a say that we engage in this con
test for political triumph2 What is q pos
litical triumph ? Istand before you to-
night, q candidate in my own state for an
honorable Office. (Chsers.) What matters
it if politics alone were to be considered,
whether / am elected or beaten g? A few
brief years and / shall pass away and Stun
Der in the grave. Voice : "God bless
you.") In a little time, we, with all our
passions, our hopes, and our fears, shall be
. no more. ea 9 50
No the issues in this contest are the
destiny of our country, the liberty OF our
land. the preservation of the Constitution,
the Union of the States. We do not battle
for constitutional law and for personal
rights for ourselves alone. A change OF
parties may, perhaps, make your Republi
can friends, the objects of wrong under the
precedents that.you yourselves have estab-
lisbed but we battle for your rights as
we'll as ours. There is no man living who
values the good opinion of Others more
than / do but when the Democratic party
comes into power, if any man in this land
sees 6t, in the most public place, to stand
up and d%enounce me as all that is bad and
base, l pledge myself here will battle for
his right to do so at the cost OF my hfe.-
Tremendous and continued %cheering.) /
wish that all could feel as | do on matters
of religion-that they should love the Cos
pei of peace and good will, that they would
speak kindly even of the erring, and that
in all the relations of life but if there be
those who would convert the temples OF
God into arenas for fierce, vindictive, par
tisian demonstration, | will stand in front
of his porch and defend to the utmost their
right to do so. We battle not for a party,
but for all.
In ordinary political elections the inter
ests of the party may be a sufficient object,
but now there is too much at stake. ]
therefore aver that when our Republican
friends say to you and to me: " You sym
pathize with the South; you have kindly
feelings with the South" they only say;
"You can make peace with the South bet
ter than We" When they charge that we
have ancient affiliations and cordial rela.
tons with the South, aud that We desire
the political help of the South, they only
give another reason why we should be per
mitted to avail ourselves of these peculiar
advantages to bring back our Union
Laughter and cheers. Is it not monstrous
that these charges are brought in the same
Dreath-frst, that we desire a separation
of the Union, and next, that all onr inter
ests and sympathies are in favor of the res
toration Of the Union? p
They, Oh the other hand, have a politica
motive against restoring the Union. If thil
10 true, they ought to give the work up tt
US. They ought to say to us: You have
supported us for four long years you have
given US three millions Of men, and three
thousand millions of treasure you havt
burdened your States with taxation, ant
loaded down your municipalities; you
forts more than all, you have given vi
your loved ones to die, and sad vacancies
are left by the fireside. We have triet
orr policy for four years we have failed t.
restore peace and bring back the Union
and now, in common fairness, you SHOULD
be allowed to try the effect Of your poll
cy." We are not parties to their Vindic'
tive legislation.
Let me tell you of this contiscation act
Before you can confiscate property you
have got to get it. After wasting mon ant
arms, you will find that those who figh'
for their homes are the men who fight OF
and fight ever. Applause. And wher
you have got the property it will be in
desolated country, and its value will b
destroyed. But in attempting to confscat'
the property of the Southern people, tn
Administration nave in fact contiscatet
their policy threw upon you. 1t is danger
Gus for a government to have more power
than it can exercise wisely and we'll. OuI
fathers wished to avoid this danger. They
did not fear for the rights of the States, fol
these cannot be trampled out Of existence
Tho armed heel of Military power may
tread upon them for a day, but in the
end they will rise again in their might and
integrity.
But our fathers said; If We give this cen
trail government power which it cannot ex
crcise judiciously, It will become odiru,
to the people. They Were called upon tc
form a government for a vast extent q
country. They said; If we have a king
he cannot know the peculiar wants of tue
people in the middle of Pennsylvania or in
the middle Of New York. He lacks the in.
innate knowledge of these localities neces
sary 10 one who is to legislate upon their
affairs.
With an aristecracy the same difficulty
would arise. They hit upon the common
sense idea which you all act upon in your
daily lite. There is no nan in the commu