Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1865-06-29

b dHu Ol lHOSc WhOi HlhICulnp III tllc same III
rcction, but along the rugged and bloody
highway Of war, denounced only the policies
Of the late Administration, will be called in
question. For myself | am ready to an
swcr, and by the rccoad to be adjudgcd. If
erred, it was in the glorious company Of
the patriot founders Of our peculiar system
Of government. And now, accepting the
new order of things, | yet enter upon no
defense for adhering to the last moment, to
policies OF those great men. adopted and
sanctioned as these policies were, by the
second generation Of American statesmen --
SO far from it, | would conform yet, as far
as possible to their teachings and practice
We may not, indeed, be ready to follow the
enthusiast who had rather err with Plato
than be right with other men; yet, neither
are we far enough corrupted, ! trust to be
Obliged to apologize for accepting Washing
ton, Jefferson, Sherman Hamilton, Web
Ster Clay and jackson, as eXamplars worthy
ofstudy and imitation But they were wise
in their day and generation. Let us be wise
in ours. Whether theirs was not the true
wisdom for Us also in the long run, remains
to be seen; for the end is not yet. And be
that as 1t may, for any man to have erred
as to the advent, progress, duration, or final
issue ofa civil war which has mockcd, 50 far,
the presclcnce of the wiscst statesmen Of as
well the Old World as the New, is no dis
! paragcment otany judgment or intellect less
than divine. In any event, | beg that it
be announced upon all questions of vactici
nation up to this point, | am paired Off ;
with the Secretary Of State, Mr.. Seward
But as to the present and future, and the
new and stupcndous questions which every
day will now be Developed, a public mans
position must be determined. not BY his
mista kes where all have erred, but by his
capacity, his integrity, and patriotism. The
day has passed when the party epithets up
on either side, which were without. .iusttica-
ton, almost without excuse, even amid the
rancor Of Il civil war and the heat Of parLizan
| discussion. oughtany longer to be tolerated
No man in the Democratic party in the
1 North or West, of responsible or recognized
position, was for disunion or separation for
its own sake. But if any such there was,
fall to the government Of the Union, he was
false also to the Southern Coniederacy, else
his place would have been in the ranks of
her armies. Somc, indeed not many, of
the ablest and most sincere and honest
among us-men who to day, changing their
opinions are the worthiest of trust, and |
speak strongly as one not of the conviction
| believed that only through temporary
recognition otSouthern independence, could
the Federal Union be restored. Such, too
had been the declaration before and in the
beginning of the war, Of many distinguish
. cd men III the Republican party, some OF
them still high in position, expressed in Ian
euage the most emphatic, going even to the
extent ot permanent separation. The record
OF these declarations remains; but to quote
them, or to name the authors, is needless.
, The argument stands sufficient of itself.
IL is mot that thp I)nnncro tir ,,,rt, ~,
, posed cjthcr the civil war or the peculiar
policies upon which it was conducted tha
, is to exclude them from the confidence O
the people. Scarcely prominent man ii
the RCpubcan ranks, except Of Democrat
cantecedcntS, from the late President down,
but opposed-many of them with unmcas-
vred bitterness and violcnce-thc prosccu-
ton of the foreign Mexican war. Devoted
wholly to the Union, the old Union, in any
event, the men Of the Democratic party
Judged of the war and Of its policies solely
T, by that standard, and upheld or opposed
them accordingly. The party-and | refer
TO the question because it has been made
the subject of recent newspaper comment
will indeed certainly not follow the Chi
! cago Platform OF 1864, as a political text
f book now, any more than the Republican
party, or its heirs and assigns, will adopt
the Chicago Platform Of 1850, for the
same purpose in the future not that the
former was not the very best practicable at
the period and for the occasion which brought
| it forth, but because, dealing in time Of war,
| almost wholly with questions of policy, not
principle, it would, in time of peace, be
quite as inappropriate as the code Of Justin.
ian or the Continental Congress. All that
need now be asked Of our political foes is,
that it be quoted correctly the more es-
pccally since, though the work Of a com
m!ttce made up of some Of the ablest and
truest men in the Convention, and adopted
by that body unanimously ly amid the raptur-
Gus applause oftwo hundred thousand free
men, present or at hand, it survived but
eight days-dying Of circumcision. But
there is one crown of glory, at least, during
the terrible trials Of the last four years,
richest among the treasures of the Demo
cratic party, which cannot be taken away
J shall so happen that to the Republican
party may be due the honor Of maintaining
the Union, to the Democracy the country
Is indebted Tor the preservation OF whatever
, remains Of that other and even dearcr birth
, right of Americans constitutional liberty
and private right.
But, laying all these questions aside 70,
f the present, | trust that all men who, in thu
old Roman phrase, feel alike concerning the
, Republic now, may be soon brought to act
= together He who cannot at this moment
for a season, at least, forget his private
, gricts, or lay aside his prejudices against
men and parties, for the sake of his country,
in an hour Of trial which demands all the
wisdom of the wise and the utmost firmnesS
Of the stoutest hearted among us, is toe
much Of IL partizan to be anything of patli
!, OF. Fortunately among politicians the labo,
, is usually not difficult. If the melancholy
reflection Of Cicero, in his latter years, were
well considered and Just, that true friend
ships are most rarely found among those
who concern themselves in public affairs, il
is quite certain, also, that perdurable en-,
5 mites are equally rare with them. And il
, is the motive, not the new association, which
| marks the change Of party habitudes as
| patriotic or corrupt 1t was not the mere
fact that Fox and Burke united in coalition
with Lord North, that made them all odi
Y Gus to the British people, but because The
= purpose and circumstances Of the coalition
$ were unpopular and not unjust. Here anC
/ now the war having accomplished all tina
Q the sober and rational among its advocate
e ever claimed for 1.-THE breaking down o
S the chief military power Of the Confederate
: Government-we have reached the poin
n where ell that class among its supporters o
Q whatever party, must now unite with th
!, friends Of ppacc and concinatinn in ny hans