Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-01-30

| nation the insinuation; / rrepel it with, that
| honest warmth which Is consistent with the
| personal respect which those gentlemen
know feel personally for them. say It
Is unworthy of them; that 10 is unworthy
their high character, unworthy of their po-
sition In this House. 1t is the art Of the,
| demagogue to ascribe unworthy motives
to an act which may in itself be honest.
I This Constitution demands the ahigheet .
admiration ofmyintellect. 1t has received
| the profound homage of my heart, The
| oath which have taken commando me to
| perform that duty which my intellect and Y
| my heart impose upon me; and l intend,
| through evil and through good report,
! through whatever storm Of popular dis,
| favor. to stand by it, as understand IL,
even to the end. / love my whole country, s
South as well as North; and it is because :
love it that no act ofmine shall retard the
restoration of peace or the reconstruction
of that Union which made 1t all my country. n
l am northern man; Ihave their prejn-.
dices; love my section; loyeits people; I ;
love its institutions; lam jealous Of its hon
or; and no act OF mine shall stain the luster
OF the fame of its good faith. am a citi-
| zen of Ohio. 1t is the home of my fathers,
as tits the home of my children; and / will
stand by this Constitution because / wish
to preserve forever the rights and dignities
| of fmy State, and maintain forever the liber-
ties of its citizens. itqGsart sEi s
am not influenced, therefore, by any
peculiar love for the people of the South;
by any peculiar regard for their institu-I
tlons. / stand unmoved by the considers
tlons which have been addressed to us. It
Is nothing to me that gentlemen from slave
holding States approve this amendment; it
| Is nothing to me that the tide of the popu-
lar sentiment runs in favor of it; it is MOTH
ing to me that weOf the Northern States
who believe as do stand alone, il alone we
must stand. intend to do my duty as
understand it, and am prepared for the
consequences, be they what they may. 7e,,y
But, Mr.. Speaker, if l were influenced by
the motives which gentlemen on the other
side attribute to me, it would be easy for
me to fall into the current of public opin-
ion, which is carrying. them so rapidly
away. 1t is because am not that occupy
the position do to-day. The time is fast
passing away, when, under the influence OF
your policy and your legislation, the South
crn States or people will have the least in
terest in your laws. Your legislation has
turned to ashes the golden fruits of your
military success. Your policy has verified
the alleged causes of secession. Gentle
men must not be misled by the siren voices
that come up to them from captured cities
of the South. They woo you but to ruin.
III you misunderstood them, they will lead
J"1' 90" "AiihS NiCbihS, upOH qulChSduub1
and rocks. -. 81
lfyou drive the Southern people. by your
military power, to the last extremity, and
superadd, as the majority of this House de-
sire, emancipation of slaves, confiscation Of
property, destruction OF local Governments,
destruction of State Constitutions, division
of territory-if that be your policy, they
will liberate their slaves, they will arm their
negroes, they will break down the only bar
rier that separates them from the sympa-
thies of all Europe, and, aided by the NOR
al force, If not the material power of Eu-
rope, they will establish theirindepenaen
and your Union President will sign the
treaty of dissolution. And then, in ex-
change for free Maryland, with her slaves
enfranchised and her white citizens enslav-
ed; in exchange for free Missouri, with her
slaves enfranchised and her white citizens
decimated by the vengeance of the guer-
rillas, we will have given up this Union
with all its benefits, and have subverted q
form of government, the fairest and freest,
the most bountiful in blessings in the past,
and the most hopeful of blessings in the fti-
ture, that God in His mercy ever vouchsaf-
ed to man. .ba.Js