The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1866-08-23
'.'z'Ese Last Hour Os She Greal
Conflict
ELooUEyT SPEECH or nos. JOIN \. BINGHAM
or THE GREAT ISSUES OF TEE HOUR.

On the 5th instant, at Cambridge O.,
Hon. john y Bingham wa renominarcd
for eleciiou To Congress. On that occa-
siou. he appeared b,lore The Congres,ion-
al Conference and delivered the following
patriotic and elnquent speech =
The last hour OF this great conflict has
come. Three hundred thousand Young
men, tie beauty and promise of the land,
have persisted upon lis high places that
fhe country might live. The battle by
~ srEons&.has been fought and won =
The last, the greatest because the final
COZ fiict is to De fought, not by he bayo-
net, but hv ihe-bailot.
That weapon frmer set
a d surer than the bayonet."
In fhe hands OF free people, it will
speak IN the coming contest for the fnal
triumph or the fna. overthrnw of the
republic. Viewed 10 this light. my Eel
low citizen, il Is such u contest as no
man within the hearing of my voice ever
Witnessed before, because il l. contest
which decides of itself the future OF
great pe"pic
There are but two parties to-day, as
there were ~ Oh that morning when irea
son GreG tie Grst gun on Furt Sumter ::
there are OUT two parties IN this land, the
trends OF the Constitution. The friends OF
the liberty of the hnman race, secured by
Jaw H. this lard, given 0t g od IL .he last
refuge of hbcr'y upon earth ard the
friend, oF that despO;Ism, anes c":iF piracy,
anu trea>":, and unmatched crime. which
sought to rend the Republic 10 atoms, and
- cast tots for Its seamless gaimert -
There are hut patriots and Traitors. They
WHO 'avar treason and traitors may call
sheu elves patriot uu,il hey are hoar-e
shouting The w"ro. 20 the men ~ho
thus rely OF hr Dre~,is.. oi a nam. insist
that loyal men ohiy shali be put upon
suafd Io pro ect the deare>t iptere-LS -
thi, uatiou ? lin they rot rather say
that lt> places of trust shall DC given tn
those Ia" buj yesterday mustered their
hostile hosts against the Goverumem: from
the banks OF the PUt",nac 10 the banks oi
the Rio Grande? The aen who occupy
an equIvocai position dn questions of this
kind. 10 matter whether they cal them
selves Democrats or something else, are no
brtter than traitors.
This il al of the issue brfnre the
American people 1t il simply this. and
nothing less, whether the loyal men who
saved this Repubc in tho council and il
the tel6, by the IIea-ure ui their hearts,
who have given their sons, the apple ot
their eve, as "a >acr'f fee Tor the life of the
nation, shall be intrI-ted with the care ui
the Republic; or whc her those men who
followed the fortunes nt lee aud Bcanre
gard aud Joseph + johnston, are 10 be
allowed hereafter TO enter your Natio' al
Capitol as legislators aud rulers Of this
great people. This is the whole question,
"a Is clearly seen by a glance ~. the tw)
platforms announced at Columbus, by the
two parties within the last month.
The party caliug itself by that name,
which ha> nov become hp'o-rd "a the
party Of the Union. declare that they ac
cept the constitutional amendment pre-
sented TO the American people as "A fair
and just basis for tIe restoration of the
Union. The other party deiaming AID
di-gracing the name of Democrat, assem-
bic also in Convention. and resolve that
they are in favor OF the imme dlate and
unconditional restoration oil the StateS
lately III rebellion and in favor ot their
immedIate "a we'll as unconditional reprs-
in Congress The word 'imme-
diate' is theirs, aud you cannot mistake
the meaning Of it. They are opposed, OF