Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1866-09-12
UNION STATE COMMITTEE.
Address to the People of Pennsylvania.

a large meeting Monday, Sept. Sd, at their
rooms, No ll05 Chestnut street. Reports
from the different counties were received,
and all were of the most gratifying charac-
ter. The following address was ordered TO
be published
COMMITTEE Rooms, ll05 CHESTNUT ST,
|. PHILADELPHIA, Sept. ), 1866. }
FeIL0tC- Citizens The superficial obSer-
yer might suppose, after the fearful strug-
giles, sacrifices and sutferngs OF the last five
years, that we could safely relax our efforts
and watchfuness, and, returning TO our IN
dividual affairs, permit the machinery OF
government to lun itself. An intelligent
and patriotic survey of the situation, how
ever, will not warrant any such CONCLUSION,
but will impress US more than ever with the
truth and wisdom OF the adage, External
vigilance is the price Of liberty. Six years
ago the people lawfully elected Abraham
Lincoln President OF the United States The
minority, enemies of our government ard
country, refused to submit to their defeat
at the polls, and, for the first time in our
history, appealed from the ballot box to the
! sword. They defantly threw off all the OBJ
| legations of constitutions and laws, rushed
| lnadly into civil war, and fought with ma
| lgnity and desperation for four long bloody
| years, In the wicked attempt to overthrow
| aud utterly destroy the government handed
down by our fathers This they did under
| the pretext that State had constitution
al right to secede from the Union. The
same thing had been attempted in South
| Carolina in 1882 but under the vigorous
administration of President Jackson, the
effort signally failed, AID the doctrine on
which it was based was repudiated. But in
1856, when the Democratic party at Cincin
natl nominated james Buchanan for Presi-
dent, they revived the old State rights dog
ma of secession, by re-adopting the Virgin
la and Kentucky resolutions Of 1898 and
1899, as part OF their platform. And at
the Charleston Convention, in 1860, al
| though the party there split into two pa rtS
the one nominating Douglas and the other
Breckinridge for President, both factions re-
adopted these same resolutions, which do
not hold the relations Of the States to the
| United States as constituting government
in the ordinary and proper sense of the
term, but declared to be merely compact
among parties having no common judge !;
each party has an equal right to judge for
itself, as well of infractions as of the mode
and measure of redress.
Under this free democratic charter for re-
belion, the election of Abraham Lincoln was
claimed by the rebel States as an ''infrac-
ton" of the compact and they chose Sc
cession and civil war as the mode" and
the destruction of the Union and of the
Government as ''the measure of redress. 4"
Hence, when the war broke upon US in all
its fury, we found the Democratic party
paralyzed. 1t was suddenly brought face to
face with the practical application of its
own political creed, by its own political
friends Hence, too, the SAD demoraliza-
ton and want of loyalty and patriotism
shown by that party during the whole war
Those of them who preferred their country
to their party and platform abandoned both
platform and party, and under the flag of
their country manfully rallied TO rnt down
the rebellion, while the leaders and the mass
of the party did otherwise.
They had so repeatedly proclaimed the
right of secession that they believed it, and
were everywhere found justfying or excu-
sing the rebellion denouncing every means
used to suppress it; predicting the war a
failure, and endeavoring to make good their
predictions, and bodily denying there was
any power IN the government to 'coerce a
State. The Democratic party thus ac-
qulred reputation for connivance at trea-
son and dioioyalty to the country which just
ly consigned it to continuous and over
wheming defeats, until at the close of the
war 1t had not a Governor or Legislature in
a single loyal State, except little Delaware
and the Legislature of Kentucky And
since the Philadelphia Convention it seems
to have fallen upon the expedient of other
noted criminals, and resolved to sally forth
under new name
Not until April 1868, were the rebels fl
nally overcome, ard then only by the pow
er of our armies, which they could no long
er withstand. There was no voluntary sur
render, but their arms were stricken from
their bloody hands. The great conspiracy
against freedom had failed, and the armies
and people OF eleven revolted States were at
the mercy of the conquerors, profes sing a
Willingness to accept any terms the victors
might impose. Congress had then recently
adjourned, and, under the law, would not
assemble until the following December, un-
less convened by the President in extra ses-
sion. The occasion seemed to beone of suf-
ticlent novelty and importance to require a
meeting of Congress, but the President
judged differently. He proclaimed that
these States had been deprived of ''all civ
il government, ard the Supreme Court of
the United States declared the whole ponu-
lation thereof to be allen enemies. -
The President proceeded, by proclama-
tlons, by appointment of provisional COVER
nors and other means, to create govern
ments for these rebellious States, and upon
the annual meeting of Congress made report
of what had been done, and recommended
the admission of representatives Congress
claimed to have jurisdiction over the whole
subject, and proceeded to inquire whether
or not government had been established, and
whether, under all the circumstances it
would be proper to restore those rebellious
people and States to their former relations
and rights in the Union, without first impo-
sing some terms upon them as security for
| the fIltnre9