Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-01-09


Andrew jackson; and truly does the toast
declare that the circle of his affections
embraced the whole Republic, and iii
will toward any portion of 1t, he scorned
and abhorred.
Mr.. President, the past cannot be recall
ed. The dread carnival Of blood and fire
OF the last four years cannot be blotted out
of our history. All around us are Its marks
States laid waste, their industry destroy
ed, their most sacred rights withheld, the
Republic burthened beyond all example
with debt, the wrecks of the Constitution
on every side, and, TO crown our ills, a fero-
clous, uurelentlng spirit In the councils Of
the country, that sets Constitution,
wisdom, Justice, liberty, humanity,
all that Is dear to freemen or essential to the
welfare Of the people, at defiance, in its un-
scrupulous struggles to perpetuate the
power ofa party. + 1rf-.. - =. rH
Sir. this headlong current that is fast de-
stroying the very foundations of our Gov
ernment, will never be stopped until the
people, rejecting the false lights by which
ambition, avarice and fanaticism have mis-
led them, shall turn away from their errors
and once more tread in the footsteps OF
Andrew jackson. -s .-.
2. Tho Liberty of MS PeoDlo, Ho Sovereignty OF
eso Osutoo1 HtoL VotuttyV HNo OHtOH-luo pIo56T-
yatiOn Of these constitutes the mission Of the Amer
lean Democracy and they will fulfil this mission SO
long as they stand on their own principles and on
them alone; unalured by the temptations Of expo
dency and lnoved alike by the caresses or threats
Of sectional factions. nj ... . ..,
Responded to as follows, by .
I'D General George w. Morgan.
Truly, indeed. Mr.. President, does the
sentiment just read, declare that the pres
ervation of the liberty of the people the
sovereignty of the States, and the perpetu-
ity of the Union, constitute the mission OF
the American Democracy. a, 3.
Individual liberty is the cornerstone OF
our institutions, for without free citizens,
there cannot be free States. And the right OF
manly criticism, and untrammelled debate,
whether oral or written, is the vital princi-
pie Of our political system, for the subver-
sion of the one, would be the overthrow OF
the other. hr
There isa monarchical maxim, that the
king can do no wrong; but, by the Ameri-
can maxim, the President is the servant,
and not the master of the people. And yet,
sir, in fragrant violation of the Constitu-
tion, there is still upon the national statute
book, an act-I will not call 1t law
which declares that
ANY order of the Presidentor under his
authority, made at any time during the re-
bellion, shall be defense in all courts to
any action, civil or criminal, for any arrest
or Imprisonment by virtue of such author
ity"
And did we not know, sir, the source
from which that act sprung, we might sup
pose that it was an enunciation from the old
Star Chamber, or from the council of an
absolute monarch. What The President
nc ALo TTnsfal Gkoka fha Of h.
people, whoever he may be-without the
sanction of the law; in open violation OF
the letter and spirit of the Constitutions
without trial, and without conviction, have
power to imprison an American citizen,
without even being required to make known
the pretext upon which the arrest and inn
prisOnment are made! And, trust, sir
that one OF the first acts of the Democracy
ia the execution of their mission, will b. to
expunge that act of infamy from the statute
book.
Nearly five years of great events, Mr..
President, have been added TO our country's
history, since the opening scene of the
grand and terrible drama, which held as II
by a spell of fascination, the gaze of q
wondering and astonished world. And il
may now be regarded as certain, that for
unnumbered ages, the magnificent domain
which extends from the lakes to the gulf,
and from ocean to ocean, will form one
country, represented by but one flag, whose
azure ground will be illunined by one hun
dred stars, symbolic of one hundred SOW
ereign States, constituting one grand Re-
public, wherein the sovereignty of the
Union, the sovereignty of the States, and
the liberty of the people, will all be recog-
nized, and all be respected. Or, on the
other hand, the same hundred States, re-
duced to the condition of provinces, will
be consolidated together, by the centraliz-
ing power of vast empire, which will ex-
ercise, like that of Russia, absolute sway
over States and citizens-I should have
said sir, over provinces and subjects. But
whether we afe.tO have perpetual Union,
wherein Federal and State sovereignty shall
harmoniously exlst--the one without, the
other within the limits of the individual
States-whether we are to have Republic
or an Empire--the simplicity and equality
of free institutions, or the ostentatiOn and
display of an aristocracy, will depend upon
the people themselves. If worthy to be
free. the people cannot be enslaved; and II
unworthy of freedom, they are slaves al
ready. ug -st0
1 said, sir, National sovereignty and State
sovereignty, for both exist though each is
qualified. The Federal Government Is
sovereign, az to all the powers delegated |;
and the Stat are sovereign, as to all the
powers reserveu--nor can there be any coll
lsion between them, so long as each keeps
within It's we'll defined orbit. Lai tnh =
: We have but one country-.c0mposed of
equal States, but all united. Independent
as to everything concerning themselves
united as to everything relative to the en-
tire Union, and foreign nations. E
But, Mr.. President, to carry out our mis-
sion, we must send men to- Congress, who
will represent Ohio, and not Massachusetts,.
Letius do this, and the first step will be ia
ken toward preserving the liberty Of the
people, the sovereignty Of the States, and
the perpetuity aud sovereignty of the
Union. Let Ohioans indignantlyIreb
the men who, while protesting 10 represent
OHIO, resolved In their caucus to follow the
lead Of New England-that is, Of Massa-
chusetts- choice of an officer for the
House. And why, Mr.. President, should
Ohio JoIloU Massachusettsp Is It because
Ohio followed Massachusetts on the battle
fieldP Ask your SCARED heroes, sir, whose
wounds. yet unhealed, attest their deeds =
and let them respondi9 Ohio EolIoto Massa-
chusettsl lis it because In 1874 Massachu-
setts cOnspirat0rs inaugurated the Hartford
Convention treasons and sought 10 dissolve
the Union +? Orlbecause during that same
year, the Senate of that State resolved that
HThe war with Great Britain was found.
ed in falsehood, declared without necessity
and that It's real object was extent of teis-
rltory by unjust conquest, and TO aid the
late tyFant of Europe in hisgviews of ag-I
grandizementen Is Ohio to be ledby Massa-
chusetts, because at the outbreak Of the
Mexican war, the Legislature ofithat State
voted against an appropriation to equip