The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1866-10-04
9PuIJCH
OF
Butler.

| MR. INEslDBNT--f l1dca 10 whom
owe 50 many thanks for Kindness and
fellow citizens Of Ohio Allow me, for
few moments, at Ie0st, TO beg Of you
your kind attention before turning my Mt
tontion 10 matters, for which to-day | am
in your presence. To rs IL given what
is guaranteed to no other people under
tho lloavons--the right peacibIy TO "a.
semble, In oar sovereign capacity, TO make
our own laws aud TO choose for ourselves
'ur own rulers and TO direct them in the
execution Of those laws. Il /. 80 com
mon Alright and prycligc-so usuol a
blessing, that VIC rarely stop TO think Of
its great significance. In other lands
,nly Kings and Princes have this right,
but IN this country we are our own Soy
| ingns- sovereign in our rights--sov-
\ ircign In power. We have assembled
TO day ns we have before upon grave aud
| important mattc:s--maltcrs which require
tho utmost coolncss, deliberauon und
iispast n itc judgement and candid dis
cussion. | must ak you 10 bear with
me for a short time while | discuss whnt
seems TO mo 10 liJ at the very foot stone
aud foundation of the issues of this hour,
raised between the Executive of our ma.
ton, the unrestorcd States, and their
lilies and tho loyal men ofthe country.
We must 90 backward then, little aud
| trust that shall to-day. speak TO many
Df those who have been Tor years yo,iny
and netting with tho Democratic par,y.
because | nm quite certain that they
acted In good conscience aud CONVICTION.
aud with tho belief that they were doing
The best for their country. The prent
question which the members ofthe Demo.
cratic party are discussing to-day, is
whether they are not still bound by some
purty or other obligation, to the South TO
sustain them in the course they were
taking. In 1862, my friends, both the
Wing and the Democratic party follow.
ing the compromise OF 1860 and the do.
cislons OF tho Supreme Court came to
one platform upon the great question OF
Slavery.
We declared in our Convention sub.
staniioily the sume words; that The Con.
stlIu'ion made by our fathers protected
slavery in the States; and we claimed,
or rather. perhaps, allowed the claim OF
our Southern brcthcrn. that if tho Con.
stitution protected slavery In the Stltcs,
1t. OF necessity protected 1t when carried
into the Territories, That agreement of
The two parties on tho subject of slavery
brought into existence in 1856 the Re.
publican party. II wns organized upon
the single issue Os to whether slavery
was protected in the Territories. The
Republican party, us un orgnnizat,o
agreed thnt slavery was protected by IN,
Constitution in the States, but they sait
that The compact OF thi Constitution in
regard to slavery wns compact nrains
natural right, n thing sustaining no
tlonnl sin, aud therefore il was not bonn,
any further than strict construction re
quircd.
That slavery was protected only |,
'hc States, aud upon that issue, in 1856
The Republican party nearly succeeded i,
olccting.thcir President. But tho Demo
cratic party elected thairs, and the Ad
mln'stratlon was carried on upon th,
theory ihot slavery was protected IN III,
states aud Territories. In 1860, the,
divided-thc one party declaring ,ha
slavery was protected of itself as an in
stltu,ion IN the Territories. by tho Con
sutuuon ut all huZzards. They wcro re
presented in the contest BY those VIII
e supported Breckenridge. while the o,hc
faction following the lead of Judge Dou
las, declared that II was for tho peopl
OF The Territories 10 determine for them
selves whether or not, tho Constitution
should protect any portion of the pconI
in their right to hold slaves. That difl:,r
enco beca nc. irrcooncilublo, aud IN,
Democratic party went into the contest
simply to DO beaten; and in 1860 under
the forms, and in the manner prescribe,
by the Constitution the Rcpub lican part,
by majority Of votes elected Mr.. Lin
coin us tho Constitutional President %
the United States. What then was IN,
duty Of every true and loyal man-eyer,
lover OF his countryl II was to bow IL
submission to tho will of The people [,
sustain the Government. But cleyc,
States took this as their sole pretext re
lying apparently upon tho support o
those in the North, who stood by them
to i'gh, for their rights.
They undertook to sccede from tl,,
Union and with that view passed orli
nancos oi Secession. They seazed upo,
the property OF the United States and
under new Constitution, made n nov
Com, d ration, the corner stone ofwhich
was slavery. Wha, was the effect OF
their firing the first gun upon Sumterl
II was To declare that hcncolorth, 40 far
ns they were couccrhed they should
never more be in the Union. Nv ,hnt NO,
they released every man from anv sun.
port of slavery, When they drove ou,
the power of the Unilud Stutrs Govern
meni, and no longer acknowledged il,
Hnlhority over them, they had broken ia,
compact, and every man was free [,
choose on which .idc he would be found
whether OF the side OF the eountry, @
right, ol conscience, Of truth, ofreligion
or on the other side OF rebellion an,
slavery, wickodne,s. When We remember
that in The year 1861, not one of the
orators who Trc now going over The
country declaring thai the South is iu the
UnIon--a part of the Union, with all
their rights, had gone into one OF the
revolttd States aud made that declara-
tion, he would havc been hung. Laugh
ter aud Cheers. Now, my friends. If any
of us should 90 Ia .he Same States aud
declare what their present friend, deciar
cd then, they would hang us unless we
were projected by Union soldiers. Pass
ing along until a1er tho battle Of Man
nssas, when they had driven out of the
States every yeslage OF the United States
authorities aud had raised armies aud
urrayed themselves openly against the
Government, can any man say that a I
that time they were in the Uuion with
any rights or any powerl II they were
In the Union certain il is that all the
Union was out Of them. Laughter aud
Applause. have been thus careful,
fellow citizens, 10 bring before you a
synopsis OF the situation up to this point
because the great qu is,ion which divides
the country. to-day, is what are the rights
and duties Of the Inhabitants OF those
States, and what are the rights aud duties
ol Congress aud the people vt the lOyal
States tow ard them.
IVA. .--..f -. - a