The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1866-07-18
SPEECH Of
CBN. GEO. W. !. MORGAN,

Delipered atihe Democratic Meeting helG
IN Columbus, at Tie West Front Of
4ol the aCopiioL Tuesday n,ght, bisa
asrt sisl June 26th, 1866. ,sa.s lla,r,
FELLow-CITIzENs I'm times Of lesl
importance than the present, I should
not, at an hour asllate as this, and on an
evening 50 iuelement as 10 this, deiaiu
you, But, citizens, this Is no ordinary
occasion. We are living in times Of per
il to our institutions, and l do not apollo
gise to you for appearing before you
though it is toward the midnight hour
And ! propose to address you as my coun
trymen, as American citizens, upon thu
grave and momentous questions which
are to decide for veal or ior woe the des
tiny Of our much loved land. bass s5i4i
Pardon me, my friends, for one brie,
moment for recurring to m era of but the
other day. Six brief years ago, the Uni
ted States aye, the United States-ex
tending from ocean to ocean, were in the
enjoyment Of unrivaled prosperity Oul
commerce, in Point of tonnage, was the
largest 10 the world our manufacture,
competed with those Of Fnnce England
and Germany, and the great grain-grow
ing region Of lbe West fed countless mil
lioLs In other climes. Our country wal
Tree from debt; the rights Of every citi
zen were secure under the protection OIL
the law; (; our Gag was respected through
out the world, and peace and happiness
with their holy influences dwelt 10 every
household and smilrd upon our land.
When the Republican party came into
power, we had only anominal debt, and
yet tc-dpy, measured by the amount OIL
interest, ours is tho largest debt knowu
among the nations Instead Of being free
from debt, at the close Of Mr. Lincoln,
administration, the nations Indebtedness
amounted to the appalling sum Of three
thousand million dollars. And tho pres
ent usurpation at Washington which ar
rogates, to itself the title Of the Congress
OF the United States, will have increased
that debt more than FIVE hundred million
dollars. And WHY has the debt been iu
creased I Have no reyeDues been col
lecttd from the people? Has taxation
been rsduceda Taxation reduced Why,
citizens, At this moment we are more
heavily taxed than are the people in the
despoti.ms Of Austria, or France, or Rus
STA, aud yet we live in Republic. Yes
In single year, moro than FIVE hundred
million dollars in taxes have been wrune
from the enterprise, the industry, and
the sweat Of the people by direct and 10.
direct taxation. Aud yet not one dollar
Of that enormous amount has been ap.
piled upon the payment Of the public
debt; but on the contrary, the debt has
been augmented more than half billion
oi dollars. sH"4 -
The Excise Inspector and Assessor
come prowling around Ike thieves in the
night, to pry into your affairs, and you
Gun not sign a receipt, execute deed
or note without attaching a stamp as q
badge Of your threatened serIdom. i p
And what has produced this dread ca.
lamiiyY Who is responsible for this fear
ful chanse? In 1860 there we're four
candidates for the Presidency = Bell
Douglas, Breckinridge and Lincoln. Had
Bell, Douglas or Breckinridge been elect
ed there would have been no war. Why
Because they stood upon national plat
ioIms because they were oil pledged to
stand by the Constitution. But there
wasa fourth party, with Mr.. Lincoln as
its candidate. A sectional party, organ.
lied 10 defiance Of the warnings Of Wash
insIon- organized in svowed hostility to
the South. And what was the object Of
that sectional parry? In the language
# that emireDtly bad man, Thaddeus
Stevens, its object was to break up the
foundations Of our Government in order
that another and different Government
might be built upon its ruins. And, cit.
izens, while il was tho purpose Of the
leaders Of the Republican party To- destroy
toe Union, 90 that our free institutions
might be destroyed, there was class Of
men in the South desired the disruption
Of the Union, in order that the Southern
States might be formed into . coufedera.
cy Of their own. .fH
Well, gigantic insurrection was the re-
suit, and its dread calamities, with ito
half million graves filed with the best
and bravest children Of the North and
West. The three hundred thousand or.
phans Of soldiers, and the two hundred
thousand maimed men and boys, who are
left as sad monuments Of the war, are oil
charRcablc against the leaders Of the see.
iional Republican party, and against the
secession leaders Of the South. But the
latter have been terribly punished by the
scourge Of war. Their lands have been
laid waste, their homes have been reduc.
ed to ashes, aud the graves Of their chill
dren exist as sad msmentoes Of fallen
cause. ,.t. ar,r.. ea
But while secessionists Of the South
have been thus terribly punished, the
equally guilty uyitators Of the Ncrth,
grown rich from plupder, and audacious
from impurity, are still enthroned in pow.
er, and they have the ipsolence to declare
that the minority shall govern the major.
ity, and that our free system must give
way to q consolidated despoti,n.
Far be II from me, citizens, 10 wish TO
arouse your passions, or excite your pref
udices. But, on the contrary, | appeal
to you as my couu,rymeu, as Americans,
to act ss become good citizens, and 10
retcue our institutions from the ruin that
threate1s them. lido not stand bore TO-