The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1864-1911, 1865-11-08
EX-GOVERNOR SEYMOUR OF
NEW YORK, ON THE
STAND.
HIS SPEECH AT BUFFALO.
His Views OF ReconstructIon.


FELLow-CITIzENs; For four years the peo-
pie Of this country have been called upon
to act upon greater questions than any that
ever have been presented to any people IN
the history of the world. We have had Ia
deal with great problems growing out of a
war of unexampled magnitude. We have
sent to the war more than three millions OF
men, and more than one half a million OF
our fellow citizens now slumber in the grave.
We have had to deal with great financial
questions, with questions of taxation con-
cerning the laborer and affecting the happi-
ness Of our people. We have had to cope
with questions of constitutional law, With
the great problem of the liberty of the peo
pie. Never, as | said before, in the history
of the world, have people been called up
on to deal with questions of such magnitude
as those which have exercised our minds. -
The war, thank God, has ceased, and peace
once more prevails in our land. The dues-
tions which the war brought up have passed
out Ofyiew, AMI necessarily have become a
part OF the history of the country-they are
not lost. They are recorded for the Judge
ment of the future. All its events-its mil
itary transactions-its Government action,
It's action touching the right of the citizen,
the power Of constitutional law are all to be
preserved for the judgement of coming times,
when the passions of men are set at rest.
The questions of the past are not the
questions of the day; but they may be ques-
tlonS of the future, and We leave them for
future reference. 1t cannot be said that
violations of the Constitution we're suffered
to pass by with the unanimous consent of
tha American raoplo Rrf yr,ll H. u
that, at this time, there wcra men, and that
there was great party, that stood up for
the'rights of the people and for constitu-
tlonal law. Though the war has ceased, by
the common consent of all parties the Union
is not yet restored-that Union for whose
salvation We have suffered so much is not a
perfect whole-that Union for which such
vast national debt has been created is not
restored in all its fullness and completeness.
The problem Of war has ps ssed away, but
the question remains, how can we restore
our country to its full and healthy action?-
How can we bring back the States that are
still members of our confederacy? All 9th
er controversies and discussions must be
hushed, One year ago, | had the honor to
address an audience in this city, and | ven
tured to say that when victory shall have
crowned our efforts. then it will be seen that
the policy of those who conducted the affairs
of the Government was such that they could
not r, store this Union" We gained the
victories which they told us would produce
immediate peace and would restore the
Union. But months have passed away,
since then. and the very men who made
these promises, who said the restoration of
thei Union was military problem alone, to
H. Ro,tnn and 4 o that +hn Ir1 pai.'ou.arly III
81 tLnt tha - st;l r"e Inv, q .,o. ieseoI
not in torn al thnu III :" aai IT, ..iousn
Nv; M;tar ~ .oln, $50 ".'o 'i ''Aii o''i III eAefcise
I~'' Ha~n' .a p'nv, Mon :, r.;r sooreooa y
rent,rsJ ono ono a,r W. en- 't'oi az ',,oc'i ~ necn
b,d w;Sn 20 " oomn n"9 .,.it II W.
fa;rs T ,r tbo mat;nnf - 0I,,duoS Ind .ne a.
to tbe eall,r, men wbo o faM|.rt t'ta 'oun uuno
JardEwe should have resce and ,J' oro era
ncace WAS oncn cenSrrod u for I.n pV, natInt tsn
tba Govarnmant bod nnt toiIan'a51 "1 "S '';as "a.
snccesses and advantoans % anJ J',uTJ vow tp 1 aos
Horace Graelav sav to.d,u bon m'Arv ~, uo.s ~
listen to one nara 9r, nh bcca,so III i Hui ;ns W
ties tbe nos;tion we M tban ] tor .nd iIy thyo Jus,
sition we hold to-dov whan wa ;,,,rlora wy, pu
to fllow nc in The conrsa n,,rLoI nnt h ~ ~
President Of the Wn;ted States % for ~ ~ ~ ,r une
,o.a of restor;nc onr TIn;on - co.. oa '"o pu'
motr cur land n brotberhood of % State anI v. "
n'a4o 4onothor in a,,;t,, o,,d H. y. I'".o Nv
nns3;onaI alorv and nros,,or;ty tThooun ."o
NJ Gra.iev cows ;n snaaL;nn of ~ ,';a;i
whob nh SIaCs,Jcr iJ StanbSons ottomntod ~ @ lIio ~
m,aIa - WosL, ,+o, in tho s,,n,nar nF foc9 .
that LoJ n;s;t 'on nern,;ttad ~ !, hoT, w.,
1t Would % nave saved saw ,!martar of a mIiIIon Of
precious lives, and left on national debt
full billion less than It is now y
Here we have the admission &C. Groelev
himself that quarter of million oflipas has
been sacri6ced~the fathers and brothars
and sons Of this land Here % wa bovo '"I, the
admission that all we said was true. and tbnt
two years ago peace might have been brought
back to our country. this vast debt nreyent-
ed. and that to-day. we might have been on
the road to nrosneritv and hanniness - -
Cheers. Rnt men stand nm TO-DAY and
say that the Union can moi he restored nm.
less the peonle of the Sontb consent IN an
invasion of their Const;tutionaI r;obIs -
What is this question of negro s,,tfroae Ara
which now agitates the nublic mind9 r. ;a
not merely nronosition whethar wa Mill 90 80
will not give to the African freeman e "Ni tho bo
right to vote. II is the attnmnt IN tbn nart
af the General Government fo a. assnrt lT fti, tha
power to determine the right of snfrrano ~
The different States IF th;s G"un,as,nont ~
has the rightto saw to the neonle nf Dlthe tbe
Southern States who Shall vote then i bas
the right to saw to the neonle of Tho Nor.h
eru States who shall or who sba,l NO. ~ Uo.a
You are called mon not onlv to mss oS ,un, 49,
the question of the elective franchise in % fba
States of the South, but in those of IF The tbo
North. Now, bear this pronosition in mind
that the Government is not onlv to sbane %
the elective franchise of the neonle IF tbe
South, but, also, to shane our laws M w tb;o hi;
subject. Bear ii mind too that tbis ~ nrnn ,,m,'
Dsition comes from the verv same man p,Jp w
so;d n I;ttla yvb;la on, ~ .l 'n:n Wno