Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-09-21
yALANDTeIEAM on FREE sPEECH

v ~ raA-~a
On Monday last 17sh, Mr.. yALAEDIoHAM
addressed large audience at Warren, Ohio,
on the politics Of the day. In .he midst Of
bis speech he was interrupted, and his voice
wholly drowned by groans and hootings from
the Radicals on the margin Of the crowd.
He paused, and when the disturbance ceased,
the following occurred, as given BY the re-
porter Of the Cincinnati Gqzstte; sgs
Mr.. VALASDIGHAsI said. much excited;
al have borne that insult and outrage for
twenty minutes. / don't intend to submit
to it any longer" at the same time shaking
his INST in the direction of the hooting Ii
there are not enough Democrats in theerowd,"
he continued, 80 clean them out, will not
sneak another word" Cries of "moye
them p "kick them cut p etc, arose on all
sides, and general rush was made for the
disturbers; and for few minutes there was
some sharp fighting, ending in the complete
route of the soldier boys, as they proved
TO be.
Quiet having been restored, Mr.. VALLAN-
DIGHAM said:
l ccnle. here as a free born native citizen
Of Ohio. My native place is within thirty
miles of Warren. / have lived for forty
odd years in the exercise Of my undoubted
constitutional rights, one year and forty
DAYS excepted, and for that l made ample
amends, or shall, / trust, before l shall be
called hence Cheers. l was born, or
educated, with belief that we live in free
| country, and that one of the heritages which
our fathers had purchased with so much
blood and treasure in the revolutionary war
was the right of every citizen to think what
he pleases, In politics, and to express what
he thinks to his fellow citizens. Cheers.
I have never failed yet, in the presence of an
assembly, in the exercise Of that right
and so help me. ever living Je-
/ hovah Jireh God, / never will while
/ have breath in my body. Great APP
pIause. l have never molested either
| Whig meeting, a Know Nothing meeting, or
a Republican meeting. l have advised
Democrats everywhere either to absent
themselves from such meetings or to behave
| as good citizens. l have advised my
friends this is now the third time only to
resist TO the uttermost extremely any moles-
tation of their meetings; and have said in
tie hearing Of Wings, Americans and Re
publicans, that if Democrats presumed to
| interrupt any speaker of an opposite
| parry with offensive remarks, he deserved to
| be Knocked down. and l should have no
sympathy for him if he was. IL is bad
rule that won't work both ways; and it
shall work both ways. tCheers.]
This is a Democratic meeting, and | APP
neal TO the reporters notes whether l have
| spoken one word here to which any man,
the most sensitive, has right to take ex-
ception. l came here to denounce nobody;
to employ no opprobrious epithets; but to
argue the Democratic side of questions
pending an important election. The Consti-
| tuition of the State Of Ohio guarantees the
right Of the people peacefully to assemble
4 10 discuss political question. The Demo
Gratis of Ohio number 100000, or nearly
half the voters of the State. They are a
part, and a very important part of the peo-
pie Of Ohio, and they intend TO hold their
meetings; they intend to be heard, and that
without molestation.
If the President of the United States sees
fit to allow himself 10 be disturbed, and to
engage in wrangling with blarkguards on
the outskirts of the crowd, why am neither
| President nor candidate for the Presidency,
and will do no such thing. Laughter
and cheers. Ny business here is to talk to
this people about questions in which they
are interested. If am wrong, let your Re
publican orators expose my arguments. Lei
error be tolerated while reason is left free to
combat it." But you cannot answer argu-
ment with groans l don't accept any such
response. You cannot break up our meet
ings so that we cannot be heard. That was
tried on me. A man blythe name of BURN
SIDE, backed by another named LINCOLN
tried that experiment. [Cheers. They
thought to close my mouth, but it is rather
a large institution; it won't stay closed
Laughter.