Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-09-15
Radical msst.nE..spsech of A. r.

master and attorney in tnis city, was ad
vertised to speak at Radical meeting last
evening at the Atheneum. BY the aid OF
band OF music, the auditorium was comfort
ably filed, and at about eight o'clock, Mr.
Perry was introduced to the audience by
DR.. S. Loving, who presided as chairman.
Mr.. Perry proceeded with aspeech OF about
two hours In length, which turned out to
be rather dry for many of his auditors, who
left before its conclusion. The applause
during Its delivery was not very frequent
and when given, not very general, and
without enthusiasm. f. u tit.
Mr.. Perry proposed in the outset to di-
vide his discourse into three parts-in the
first, to speak Of the action OF the present
Congress; |; in the second, of the objections
to that action made by the Opposition, and
in the third place, to analyze the elements
of that opposition. This was laying a
broad foundation for superstructure of
massive proportions. but In the one which
Mr.. Perry attempted to rear last evening,
we were disappointed, and so, we presume
were most of those who heard him. For
those who went to hear the great political
questions ofthe day discussed, itwas a dull,
dry and uninteresting performance.
3 Under the first head, the speaker did
nothing but pronounce labored eulogium
upon Congress without specifying single
one of its acts as entitled to commentator.
He said that the present peaceful and pros
porous condition of the country was due to
Congress, without giving any credit to the
Executive or to our gallant soldiers and
sailors. Congress alone was, in his estipa-
tlon, the only savior and deliyerer OF the
country. He could find only one Legislative
body with which to compare it, and that
was the British Parliament, and to that the
Congress was vastly superior.
He named over the Republican members
of Congress from Ohio, and placed Sam.
Shellabarger, head and shoulders, above
them all. mplimenting him as the greatest
orator of the age. But he did not mention
anything save his speeches, that Mr.. Shella-
barger had done to entitle him to popular
favor. .a
In discussing the second division of his
discourse, Mr.. Perry only noticed the OBJ
lection made to the course of Congress in
refusing to admit the Southern repre-
sentatives to seats. But he failed to make
clear single argument in defense of that
course. He insisted that it was right,
and quoted legal decision made dur
ing the exeistence of hostilities, and ar
gued from that that the Southern people
were still to be treated as public enc
mics. He referred to the position that
the Southern States were still in the
Union, and had never been out of it, but
did not say whether the position was right
or wrong, nor tell the audience what he
thought of the "dead State" theory. On
the Buraau bills, the Civil Rights bill, the
Constitutional amendments, and negro
suffrage, Mr.. Perry maintained profound
silence.
On his third head, the analyses of the ele-
ments of the opposition to Congress, Mr..
Perry's chemical process eliminated in
this, that the opposition was the offspring
and fruit OF the rebellion, leaving his hear
ers to infer that all who opposed any meas
ure of Congress were rebels, or rebel SYM
pathizers. He attempted to make light of
the Philadelphia National Union Conyen-
ton, but his shafts fell harmless at his own
feet, as he could point them to nothing the
Convention had done deserving of rebuke.
He said little of President johnson, save
than to accuse him in general terms of an
intent to inaugurate civil war.
Mr.. Perry undertook rather small busi-
ness, when he essayed to ridicule the scene
at the Philadelphia Convention, presented
by the delegates from Massachusetts, and
South Carolina walking arm in arm into
the Hall. He could not but admit that 1t
was a noble spectacle, and his only objec-
tion to it seemed to be that the actors in it
did not belong to the Congressional Radical
party. n.g ..f. ....f .,.
Mr.. P. concluded his speech with read
ing statistics to show the superiority of
Massachusetts, over South Carolina in edu-
cation and general intelligence, and argued
from these facts that Massachusetts, and
South Carolina could not stand together,
side by side, in union and harmony, until
the latter came up to the standard of the
former. What was true, he said, as between
these two States, was true as between all
the Northern and Southern States.
Though he did not dare say it in so many
words, yet the impression Mr. Perry evil
IDENTIFY intended to leave upon the minds of
his audience was, that there could not be,
and ought not TO be, political Union of
the North and South, until the latter, in
manners, customs, education, &C., &C., had
become asslmliated to the former section.
The City Police at tho Reception.
We perceive that in the published re-
ports of the Presidential. reception in this
city on Wednesday, no allusion is made to
the services rendered by our city police on
that occasion. This omission was owing
in great part, at least, that no place or
special duty was assigned to the police in
the printed programme, nor did they, prior
to the arrival of the President and party at
the depot, receive from those in charge of
the procession and arrangements, any for