The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-08-17
senator pooIittIe,s Address.

DooIIrrLn Of Wisconsin, on taking the
chair as President Of the Philadelphia Con-
vention! Tiny WIN be read with deep In
tcrest by every good citizen and patriot:
General bis introduced Senator Doolit-
tie, who was received with the most en-
itimsiastlc appiausc. MIR. Doolittlc, on ta-
king the chair. said:
Gentlemen Of the Convention. and fele
low-citizens OF the United states leheers.l
| For the distine OF being called
upon to preside ever the deliberations Of
this Convention, sincerely thank you. |
could have wished that It's responsibilities
had fallen upon another; but relying upon
that courtesy and generous confidence
which has called me 10 the chair, | enter at
Once upon It's duties with adesire for the
success OF that great cause ia which we
are now engaged Among the great events
Of our own day this Convention, In my
opinion, VIII prove TO be QUO of the great
est, for peace hath her victories not less re
nowned than war. lAppausel And this
Convention Is one OF her victories-may
not say acrowning victory lCheers
For the first time in six years National
Convention, representing all the States, Is
now assembled, Six long, weary years.
As look back. oh, what an interval it Is of
blood and agony, and tearsl During that
iperiOd we have engaged in the most gigan-
ing our resources, drenching a thousand
battle-liclds in fratcrnal blood, and carry
ling 20 fraterual graves our fathers. our
SONS and our brothers by hundreds Of
thousands. But thanks be TO Almighty
l0od, the war Is over, Checrs.l Thrice
blessed peace has come. The assurance
which we here witness tells us that peace
has come. aud come to stay. Loud chcers.l
ION my fellOw-citiZens, If the whole peo-
pie of the United States could see what we
lnow witness-the North, the South, the
East and the West joining In fraternal as
sociation as friends and fellOw-oitizens. our
work would be already done. (Ohccrs
II they could have seen. as we saw, Mas
sachusetts and South Carolina, lapplausel
by their full delegations, coming armand
arm iuto this great Convention tenthusias-
tic applausel: If they could lave seen this
body, greater i'm numbers and weight of
character and brain than ever has assembled
( on this continent under one roof melting
to tears of Joy and gratitude to witness this
commingling, there would be no struggle
at the polls at the coming elections. APP
\ pause.l When l remember that 1t was
Massachusetts and South Carolina that in
the Convention which framed the Consti
sutton, voted against the abolition of the
lslave-trado; that it was Massachusetts,, in
1912, which, through some OF her men.
taught the doctrines of nulliticatiOn which
South Carolina re-assertcd in 1888, and in
the form of secession again re-asserting In
1850 /; when call to mind that South Caro-
lima fired the first gun in this contest, and
that the veins of Massachusetts, poured out
the first blood in the struggle, and when |
call to mind all these memories, and at the
same time ask the people of this country to
look in on this Convention and see those
two old States of the Uuion coming here in
| fraternal embrace approaching the common
altar of common country, ready to make
common sacrifice for the good of the whole,
| say again, ooald the Whole people of the
United States witness all this, there would
remain no further work for us to perform.
| loud cheers
If the people of Massachusetts herself
could have witnessed it, not 4 single mem
Der would be returned to Congress from
that State [great applausel until he had
given a most sacred pledge that he would
| do all in his power to recognize the equality
and dignity of all the States under the Con-
Notwithstanding the sacred
and inalienable right Of every State under
the Constitution TO representation in both
houses of Congress. tCheersl
| Gentleman Of the Convention, | shall 90
into no argument on this occasion. [Cres
of ''Go onl'l The distinguished gentleman
who proceeded me General Dix, has said
all that would desire to say much better
than could say it. | indOrse. and take
great pleasure III lnuOfSlnSs all lIldJ ne l'lo
said, sentence by sentence, word by word.
l[Cheers.
Fellow-citizens Unfortunately it may
be that the whole people of the United
States are not here to witness what is now
transpiring, therefore the greater work
still rests upon us. From this time until
: the next election we should be untiring in
our eNertions to see to it that the next Con
gress, if this shall continue TO refuse this
sacred right OF representation to equal
States, that'the next Congress shall recog-
: nize that right [Applausc.l When that Is
done the Union is restored, (cheers, and
when the Union is restored we shall be pre-
pared, in my judgment, to enter upon Il
higher and nObler career among the nations
: of the earth, than has ever yet been occu-
{ pied by any Government upon which the
sun of heaven has ever shone, loud cheers j
we shall stand in the vanguard of liberty
i and civilization; we shall lead the way by
= the light of our example for all the other
nations of the earth. [Great applausc.l
: Gentlemen: Without OBTAINING you any
longer, shall enter at once upon the du-
Y ties of the Chair.