The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-06-08
THE DAILY EMPIRE.
:. =" % II. H. RoB1NsoN, a,g
,UDLIsHER AND ND. PROPRIETOR
Speech Of Hon. A. @. Thurman
Ohio Democrasic State Convention.
May "a, 1896. Wl11


being called upon TO preside over your de-
liberations. And am the more bound to
make my Acknowledgements, that it comes
unsolicited ana without even a wish on nv
part, return my thanks to you, gentle
men. and will endeavdr 10 merit the con-
fidence YOU have reposed In me. And TO
do so, am sure, will not be a difficult task
for never lid greater harmony prevail in
our grand and time-honored party, and
never did Its Delegates assemble III Con-
yention with more of fraternal feeling or
with flriner resolution to stand by the
principles that have made the name Of the
party synonym of whatever expresses
good government and that will In the
future secure TO our Organization an ex-
istence hsendufing us time. Where all are
actuated by the same noble motives, and
neither envy. jealousy or selflshness finds
plnce, the duties OF presiding officer are
SO simple that II Is scarcely possible 10 err.
Gentlemen, we have very often met In
Convention before and under the most
various circumstances-a times when all
was so bright arotfnd MS that the most far
sighted aud dlstrtistftll could perceive no
speck Of danger In our political sky; and
again, when that sky was so overcast and
menacing that even the most llun4 hearted
and hopeful could scarce refrain from des-
pair. We have seen our country, under
Deinucratlc rule. the abode Of the most
free. prosperous and happy people on earth
and, again, we have seen It., under the
dominion Of Our opponents, prey to all
that human nature has ever developed of
despotisfn, horror and calamity flN
Bnt, whether In Sunshine or In darkness
In calm or In tempest, our party has ever
followed the path OF duty according to its
honest convictions To say that IL has never
erred would be to claim for II u more than
human Intelligence. To say that It has
seldom erred and never Intentionally Is but
10 speak the verdict of history. II Is sixty
five years since the inauguration of Nj.
Jefferson During forty-eight years Of this
period, the Government was in the hands
of the Democratic party. During nearly
eight Of the remaining seventeen years
though presided over BY Presidents not of
our choice, it was administered, In the main,
upon Democratic principles. In this long
lapse of time there was witnessed, what
had never been witnessed before. n total
absence Of civil connections, and profound
peace for fifty out of fifty-six years And
not peace alone, but also, unexampled free
dom, growth, prosperity and happiness.
No man ever lost life, liberty or property,
for political otiense, under Democratic
administration. No man was ever deprived
by such an administration, OF life, liberty
or property, without due process of law.
No political Bastile ever then darkened and
disgraced the face of the land. No prison
doors were ever then closed against the sa-
cred writ Of hdbeds corpus. No military
commission. organized TO convict eyert then
usurped the functions of the law-maker
and of the civil courts. No tongue or press
was ever then silenced by arbitrary power.
And never, no never. was such n thing then
heard of as an American exile. .l. .
b Who can look at this picture of liberty,
security. happiness and national glory,
feebly though II be drawn, without feeling
Id 0rfa artFl |..aa
thought That he belongs TO Il party that has
such historyr What sad reverse the
last few years present. / need not say.
Their events are too fresh In our recollec-
tions to require recital. N H'H' H'rH
And now, gentlemen, we are again as
sembled in council toIconsult AMI to act for
the common welfare. The storm of war
has passed by but we are yet very far.
tear, from the haven of peace and safety
Indeed, IL may well be doubted, whether we
have ever seen tine of more peril than the
present. After four years of bloody war
10 preserve the Union, rs we were told we
see the party thnt arrogates TO itself exclu-
sivcly the name of Union, practically dis
solving what IL pretended TO preserve.
We see eleven States that have laid down
their arms, are obedient TO the Constitution
and the laws, and are anxious TO resume the
exercise of their gonstj tjtutional rights. forcl-
bly,. deprived Of them, heavily taxed with
out representation and ruled by laws In the
making of which they have not the slight
est voice. And this Is done by party that
calls itself Union and Republican. PRAY,
gentlemen, If this be Onion what is dissoln-
tion? II this be Repubicanism what Is des-
potisml Did any one ever hear English
rule bver Ireland, Austrian rule over Hun
gary, or Russian rule over Poland called re-
publican fancy not---andyet wherein do
they differ in principle from that rule .
which our Abolition so-called Congress ex-
the Southern statesY And Who does mot not
see that. II The ~ precedent be set and
approved, of Congress excluding State, or
States, from representation, there never
win be wanting pretext for a like exclu-
sion of any State obnoxious to q majority
Of the Congress, or whose representation
would oppose a bar to the schemes Of that
majority or to the perpetuation of It's pow
err 1.-the representation of State is to
depend upon the will of Congress, instead
of the provisions of tue Constitution, of
what use rs the Constitution, or what vital
ity has our form of Government? What
would have been said had the Congress,
when the Hartford Convention was in ses-
SION and when Massachusetts forbade her
militia 20 pass her own borders to defend
the country, excluded the New England
States from Representation What would
the SuBffiers, and Wades, and Stevenses of
that day have said to that And vet there
was just as much right to do so then, as
there is TO exclude the Southern States now
THAT Is 10 say. there was and Is no right
OF exclusion In either case. Let no man
deceive himself, or be deceived by sophis-
try upon this question. IL Is vital % the
existence OF our GovernmeIit The wrong
done TO the Southern States Il not done 10
them alone-it isa wrong 70 all the States
TO ohi0 as much as 70 South