The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-03-05
Great Meeting Of the People
Al
CLEGGS HALL
TO
Sustain the Presidents VetoI
OF THE
FREEMEN'S BUREAU BILL!
Rornarks Of c. l.. vallandigham


----s -
\ large an enthusiastic meeting of thC
people of Dayton-including Democrats
| Republicans aud Conservative men of all
parties-asscmbled at Cleggs Hall, pursu-
ant TO previous call, the object of the
meeting being TO sustain the President in
his veto of the Frccdmcn's Bureau Bill.
Hon. GEORGE w, HouK, was appointed
| President.
On taking the chair, Mr. HouK briefly
remarked that he was very unexpectedly
called upon to preside at this meeting. as
scnibled without regard to former party
affiliations, for the purpose of expressing
their appreciation of the wise and patriotic
measure of President JOHNSON i'm his late
veto of the Frccdmen's Bureau Bill. lie
regarded an expression Of opinion ut this
time rs eminently fit and proper, that the
President might know the sentiments of
the people in regard to the policy adopted
by him in his efforts to restore the govern
ment to its normal condition.
The meeting was then fully organized by
the appointment ofthc following additional
officers:
Tice PreSideats.-A. GEiGER, Jouv
SuAFFor. J. II. BALsLEY, DIR. J. CLEMENTS,
d. A. IloUK and JONATHAN KENNEY.
Secretaries.-E. THOMPSON, GEORGE V.
NAueRTn and W. II. BELvLLE.
Committee on Resolutiops.-H. ELLIOTT.
WILLIAM DIcKEY. JAMES KELLY, w. NJ.
HPPARD, DIR. II. c. FULLER, MARCUS ERILs.
WILLIAM PATTON, ID, G.. FIrcn. j. II. BAG
GoTT and DR.. WILLIAM EGRY
The Committee on Resolutions having
withdrawn,
Mr., VALLANDIGHAM. being loudly called
for, addressed the meeting at some length.
More than twenty years ago, said he be-
fore hC had "A vote, he had as youth, sup
ported a President not of the party to
which he belonged Again some fifteen
years since, he had united with many
gentlemen Of the Whig party in this city,
in sustaining Millard Fillmore, another Pres
ident for whom he had not voted. And
now again for the third time, he found him
self constrained by sincere and honest
sense of duty, to give an earnest support to
yet another President not of his choosing; I;
at least upon the question Of the veto of
the Freedmcn's Bureau Bill. The meeting
tonight presented novel spectacle 1t
was announced as Il public meeting without
distinction of party. Its purpose was con-
fined to sustaining the President in his
veto. The offer had been made to those
who had voted for Andrew johnson that
they should come forward and control the
meeting. They had not responded, and but
few of them were present unless rs sDecta-
tors. All had been done which deccncy
and propricty required. Perhaps these
men did not like the company they would
meet here tonight. Very well, Let them
understand that they must accept the COM
paHy or desert the President; for Just so
long as Andrew johnson adhered to the
Constitution and faithfully and earnestly
carried out his declared policy of immcdi-
atcly bringing back the Southern States as
equals--cquils as States and equals ms to
their individual citiZcns-and thus of re-
storing the old Union under the old Federal
Constitution, he would be entitled to aud
would have the support. of the Democratic
party as a unit; and that party numbered
now nearly one half of the people of the
States which had always adhered to the
Union. That party would support him not
as his partizans. and least of all for the sake
of Office. Let those who voted for ana now
stand by him in good faith by deeds,
not professions. hold the offices though he
must say that 1t was rather odd that they
who lived by the breath of the President,
whose very commissions bore his sigma
turc, We're missing here tonight, now
in the very hour of the Presidents trial
As for himself he would not sign a recon-
mendatiOn for any Democrat for an Office
under johnson to the end of his term; and
yet he had a slight suspicion that Just now
a political draft on the White House bear
ing his (Mr. VS. name, would be as readily
honored Is one bearing the names of Ste
vens sumner or Schenck. daughter and
iau. .1,aat
enough of friends whose affection was to
be measured by office, but what he needed
was the people with him-the support of
honest, earnest men who wanted no office
under him. Democrats do not desire to
steal the President. Andrew johnson is
not a man to he stolen, and we are not the
men who steal. (Applause.) When he is
wrong we will condemn him: when he is
right we will support him, and do it not
only in sincerity, but earnestly and with
vigor. There will be no dead ducks"
among us. He (Mr. W applauded the veto
because it killed an unconstitutional, eX-
pensive, oppressive, unjust and despOtic
measure; an institution burdensome to
the North and West, and utterly ruinous to
the South. More than that, he approved of
the general doctrines of the veto message:
not because he found them there, but because
they were the very doctrines, for the most
part, at least, that he had learned wears ago
from the speeches and writings of Wash
ington, Jefferson, Madison, jackson, Web
ster and Clay, before he had ever heard of
Andrew johnson. Loudapplause) John
son himself had learned in the same school,
and had only borrowed and admirably ap-
piled them 10 that particular measure. IL
said Mr.. " the general doctrines of the
veto message are, rs his EXcellency Cover
nor Cox insinuates, the principles upon
which the President was elected, then for
ten years have been a Republican with
out knowing it. Naughter.)
1t was the fashion just now of some to
L.. tLn "a Aln Af thn