Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1866-03-23
To THE PUBLIC.
RocKvIhLE, March 9th, 1866.
NJ. Editor Of che Sentinel,

Mr.. Editor Of che Sentinel;
A number of gentlemen who were in the
Mass Meeting, which was held here on Satur-
day, the 3rd instant, not having been able to
hear the reading of the preamble and resolu-
tons which had the honor to present on that
occasion, and which afterwards withdrew,
in oTdor to preserve entire harmony in the
meetiisss, and 10 support those reported by the
Committee of Arrangements, take the liberty
! Tin compliance with the request of the gentle
men alluded toy of asking Of you the kindness
of giving them an insertion in your paper.
In thus presenting them to the public | will
also take occasion, with your permission, to
amplify, in.some measure, the political views
which they embody.
| They were as follows:
WHEREAS, A dreadful and desolating civil
war has swept over our country, producing
| every conceivable calamity, afliiction and evil
| TO the people, threatening the destruction of
every principle of Constitutional liberty and
every hope Of safety to the happiness and
peace of the citizen and
| WHEREAS, Since the shock Of arms aud the
flow of fratricidal blood have ceased, a bold,
overbearing inscriptions and reasonable
faction, not satisfied with the numberless
| frightful horrors which they contributed to
entail upon the country, not satisfied with the
almost irretrievable ruin and prostration of a
| whole section, are still contriviug and plotting
measures avowdey to exterminate the I'M
happy, but still loved and honored people of
that section, and thereby perpetuate their own
power on the ruins of the best government
ever vouchsafed to mortal man; and
| WHEREAS, Many of u.s. who now accord in
I hostility to this faction, and in venervating
| and supporting the, Constitution and the
Union of our country, have had differences OF
! opinion in the past which ii is now our duty
| to ignore and forget and
| WHEREAS, The last hope of restoring free
| dom and equality to all States and all sections,
preserving the free institutions established by
our fathers, and bringing peaceaprosperity,
harmony and unity TO the whole country,
rests in the ability Of the President of the
| United States TO maintain himself, in oppose
/ siton to the aforesaid reasonable cabal, upon
the Constitution Of his country be it, there
| fore,
| Resolred. That the people Of Montgomery
county do throw aside all discussions and
differences of the past and, regardless ofevery-
thing but the duties enjoined upon them by
this solemn hour, do unite in one solid
! phaanx TO thank the President of the United
States for the brave and patriotic stand he has
! taken for his country, and to pledge to him
their full and hearty support in every effort
he may make to maintain it.
Resolpcd, That we regard the attempt of the
| Radicals to subvert the government and dis
Freedmens Bureau bill, and its kindred
| reasonable measures, with the utmost execra-
ton and horror and should they persist in
their rebellion against the government, it will
| be The duty ofthe latter to g crush them out,
and to deal to them the same severity that
has been inflicted upon leading disunionists
in the South.
ResolUed, That the thanks OF the people of
Montgomery county are hereby rendered TO
the Hon. Reverdy johnson, for the able,
powerful and patriotic manner with which he
has opposed the schemes of the disunionists
in Congress- and advocated measures for the
pacifcation and harmony ofthe whole country.
ResoLped, That the Registration law Of
Maryland originated out of the troubles and
differences brought upon US by the civil war;
that il is not suited to time of peace, and is
inconsistent with the policy of the President;
and that the people Of Montgomery county, Of
all former parties desire the last yestige of it
swept away, in the manner provided by the
Constitution of the State, at the earliest prac-
ticable moment.
The call for this meeting very wisely and
properly addressed itself to " the people -
beseeching them, like brave and magnanmous
men, to drop all differences which they have
had amongst themselves in the past, and to
come up nobly TO the work of sustaining
patriotic President in his mighty struggles to
save an imperilled Republic. | responded to
the call in spirit of sincere good faith and
good will, and went INTO the meeting with
heart OVERLOOKING with gratitude to God to see
my friends and neighbors once more thorough
ly united. | should not have gone there had
it been party convention, whatever may ha We
been its name or purpose, for have long since
determined to be bound by no party ties, and
to be identified with no party organization
But il seemed to me that it was an occasion
calling upon every lover of his country for his
encouragement and support. ! earnestly be-
leved las / do now that if the President
should be sustained by the voice of the people,
the country will be saved and, on the con-
trory, If the Radicals should succeed in carry
ing their measures over his head, no man can
forsee the ruin that will ensue. Allow me,
therefore to congratulate the people of Mont
gomery county upon the success of this, their
first great re-uDion, for five painful and terrible
years. This meeting proved conclusively that
Montgomery county is a unit There may
have been some little contrariety of opinion
as TO the manner in which the sentiment of
the masses gathered there should be expressed,
but as 10 a0hdt Mdt sentiment should be- beliege
there was not a dissenting Uoice and trust in
God that this feeling Of harmony NAV continue
to be encouraged and cultivated. There have
been FIVE years of bitter discord-of trouble,
anxiety, insecurity and suspicion-but there
is now no reason, in my humble judgment,
assume condition of profound peace and
prosperity. The war has ended-the Southern
States have yielded-have acknowledged their
disastrous mistake-have protested their loyal
ty to the government, and asked to be restored
to their allegiance-and who doubts their
sincerity and good faith None, but few
men who have always desired the Union dis
solved and the government broken up as much
as auy Southern disunionists, but who have
been too cowardly and too stealthy to attempt
TO carry out their purposes by an appeal to
arms And who supposes that If Thaddeus
Stevens, Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips,
&c, believed they conld succeed in revolution
izing the government, and placing themselves
as dictators over the people they would hesi-
tate TO rush to arms? Not I, for a moment
But listen to a single paragraph from the
speech Of HoI.. Alexander II. Stevens, of Ga,
who always doubted the expediency of at
tempting to set up Southern Confederary,
and pleaded against the fatal experiment of
secession up 10 the very hour Of its adoption
let old issues, old questions, and old
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