Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-07-18

y
such an advocate of universal free
dom and universal citizenship, l can an
swer the question. l have had my
prejudiees the same as other men in this
land; but when / marched with the col
umns of loyal men on Southern soil,
where every morning we could hear the
roll of the drum that headed treason, and
could see the flag of treason defantly
haunted in our faces; when we looked
around and asked for friends, we appeal
ed to the white man in vain. He was
the friend of the traitor, the sympathizer
OF the rebellion. He owed his allegiance.
he thought, to the traitor, and not to the
Government of the United States But
IN the dark and silent hour of the night
the poor cOlOred man, bowed down in
slavery, would crawl through the marsh
es and the thickets, and the swamps, in
to our picket lines, and tell US where the
camps of the enemy were and how we
could reach them. Cheers. That is
the reason why. When L found a man
that was my friend and the friend of his
country, cared not if his skin was
black, could trust him sooner than
could trust traitor. Hence | want him
to have the protection of the law.
l ask you, if, when some poor old de-
cripid negro should come along with a
basket of flowers and strew them upon
the grave of poor, loyal soldier, you do
not desire that he should have the right
to do 1t and that no man shall gainsay it.
[Great and prolonged cheering. These
are the rights that all ought to have and
that all ought to be willing to give every
human being in the land. (Cheersl II
hope this is not treason, at least do not
believe it is.
JEFF. DAVIS.
Let the protection of the law be given
to all, and let the rights and privileges
that loyal men have enjoyed be still al
lowed to them; and let the rights and
privileges that the leading traitors of the
land have enjoyed be taken from them.
Let those who were led into the
conflict by others, who were deceived
and hoodwinked into treason, let them
be forgiven, and when that is done the
work is complete, with one exception
When the rebellion died the head should
have died with it, that the breath should
never again enter into the body. Tire
mendous cheering.) Whether the head
of the rebellion IS more guilty than the
ObuCI6g Iudkcs uO u4ncICACc. kOA6cISJ
He should have died, and until he dies
treason still lives in the land, (cheers) for
it has a head.
There ought to be an example made
in this land, for future generations, of
JEFF. Davis and many others who were
associated with him in the organization
of treason. They ought to be tried, con-
victed and hung. loud and prolonged
cheering, and Amen.
But, we are told you cannot hang him
because they say, where will you get a
jury to convict him? Well, that is a
very hard question to answer, if you are
going to try him in Southern State. 1
suppose to try a traitor by a jury of trait
ors would be farce. 1t seems to me so;
but 1 will tell you how l answer these
gentlemen. l say after the close of the
rebellion there was, near the close of it,
an association of persons, actuated by the
spirit of treason set on by JEFF. Davis and
his co-conspirators, to assassinate one of
the best men the world has ever seen
Abraham Lincoln, the President of the
United States. They assassinated our
President, thinking, perhaps, that our
Government would die. This was part
of the machinery of treason; this was
part of the duty assigned to the conspir-
ators against this Government, and well
did they perform it, ask you, then, to
answer this way when they ask you in
reference to this trial: Tell them the
blood of the martyred Lincoln asks that
the men who committed this foul deed,
this henious crime, this bloody ofense
against the law, against the nation and
against God-that they shall be sacrifice
for the deeds that they have perpetrated
against the law and humanity. The au-
thorities at Washington City assembled
military commission and did hang certain |
persons belonging to this association, and |
they published to the world, over their |
own signatures, that they had incontes- |
tible evidence that jeff. Davis, Benjamin |
and Jake Thompson, and others, were in |
the conspiracy to assassinate Mr.. Lincoln. |
And thew offered $780, 900 reward for the |
capture of JEFF. Davis and those other |
men. They captured Davis and they |
tried others by military commission and |
hung them. Then l say to them, you
have right to hang JEFF. Davis and the
rest, the same as you did the others. l
would say further, that it seemed to me
when they tried Wirz for cruelty to the |
Union prisoners they did not require |
Jury or court. They tried him before
military commission. He was a captain |
in the army, and kept our prisoners in |
such a manner as caused them to die by /
thousands. We tried him by military
commission, and he was convicted and
hung. Is it possible that they can try a
Captain in the line of violation of the
laws of war, and can hang him and that
they cannot try the chief,
who commands the Captains and every
BODY else, for the same ofense? | would
ike to know what kind of rule this is.
It seems to E.s a strange rule that we
cannot convict a superior officer for the
,ame offense and before the same tribu-
nal that we convict a subordinate officer.
JEFF. Davis, the head of this rebellion,
9 in prison in Fortress Monroe. They
ak to US so sympathetically in freerence
% his punishment. They must examine
lim every day, to see whether his health
8 improving or declining. They must
i've him the right to 60 where he ehoos-
Is around the fortress. A few gentlemen
yisit him to ascertain whether the coun-
nv is rife for his release, but when they
,lace their finger on the pulse of the ma
ion, they find that it is up at fever heat,
Lnhb II Ac ID d0AA4LSC0 ~ D0AA hASAO
will be such howl throughout the land
s will make these men tremble in their
-ery seats of power. (Cheers.) When {
hey find that this plan will not succeed,
hen Mrs. Davis land I do not blame ]
Ter, for she is q woman, and as matter 3
f course loves her husband) is brought
onward; and then we have piteous sto- '
y and somebody applies that he may be s
,aroled upon his bond of honor, sup
,ose. laughter The physician then
ONES forward again, and takes hold OF
he pulse of the American people, but he
nds that he is not quite yet ready-that /
here is a little too much fever still. Ny !
elbow citizens, while l charge no man !
nth it individually, yet believe to-day j
hat there are men high in position in :
his land, who, if it were not for their ,
ear of the American people, would to-
ay parole JEFF. Davis and let him escape
rom the country 1 do not want to see
hat done. l do not believe it is a part t
the plan of the loyal people of the !
ountry.
An, but say some of these sympathizers,