Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1865-09-14

Colonel loves Address and "a
WORD as to some other Mat
ters.
Colonel Lowe publishes in Wednesday
mornings Journal an address to "the
Union Men of Montgomery County, -
by which, he no doubt means to imply,
those alone who belong to the party Or
ganization of which he is a member. Col.
loves extreme partizanism and the ex
citement he has experienced during the
last four years, has no doubt confirmed
him in the honest conviction, that those
who have not been able to regard the re-.
cent struggle in the same light in which
he has viewed it, have been hostile to the
Union, and unfriendly to the maintenance
of our Federal government We take the
liberty Of saying that such an opinion is a
grstuitous assumption, and an unjust i'm
putation upon thousands OF Mr.. loves
fellow citizens, whose patriotism is in all
respects, quite as unimpeachable as he con-
siders his own. During a time Of intense
excitement, W hen mems minds are wrought
into phrenzy by the occurrence of unusual
and startling events, there is some apology
for that political bigotry and intolerance,
which violates the comfy Of social or
business intercourse, and produces an an-
tagonism in communities, that delights
only in the qualification Of the worst pas
sions of the human heart, But we have
yet to learn that it is either the dictate of
wisdom or enlightened patriotism to say
nothing of those gentle virtues, proiessed
by those who claim to be little better
than the balance of unregenerated man
kind, to perpetuate those antagonisns by
endeavoring to keep alive the recrinina-
tions to which they owed their vile origin.
Democrats, whilst entertaining decided
opinions against the declared purposes of
those in authority, in the prosecution of the
recent war, believing as they did, that the
welfare of this people, and the principles
of constitutional liberty would have better
been conserved by different course,
claimed the right, and exercised it. to ex-
press those opinions. They at the same
time avowed their willingness to obey the
laws, and yield obedience to all demands
made upon them, in common with the
rest of their fellow citizens, to carry out the
policy Of their legally constituted rulers
1t was their right at the same time, and
they would have been towards if they had
refrained from asserting it, to criticise that
policy, and to point out its errors, with the
view to its correction. Gentleman may
as well understand, and if they will allow
their better judgment to assert itself, they
will at once concede, that there is no right
full power. either in the government or in
the community, in its social structure, to
enforce conformity IN opinion. A pre-
tention so monstIous in itself, and SO ut
terly derogatory to the whole character of
our political and social system, will always
be met with the most determined and un-
yielding resistance, until men became SO
degraded or debauched as to lose the con-
sciousness of their manhood. COnformity
in action to the constitution and laws,
those who have been intrusted with the
administration of the powers of govern
ment, have the unqualified right to re-
quire, upon the part CT all citizens; but
approval Of those laws, or approval Of
tie policy of those who pass them, no au-
thority but an unmitigated despotism ever
has attempted to require.
AS Colonel loves statement is address
ed to those only whom he regards as
members of his own party, it is not per-
haps particularly our province to reply to
it. But we cannot ignore the fact entirely,
that it is to this peculiar phase efpartizau-
ism, to which we have alluded, that tn 81
gentleman owes the equivocal, not to say
unfortunate position. which he at present
occupies before the people of this county,
1t was because he was unwilling to acqui-
essce in a state Of things which augured a
restoration, or at least the beginning of a
restoration Of that mutual liberation oi