The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1866-08-31
golitital.
SPEECH OF HON. j. Nj. ASHLEY,
ON Accepting the Nomination as Rep
resentative i'm Congress from the
Tenth Congregational District.

M President, and Gentlemen of tie Con
uention: In obedience to your summons
appear before You to accept the nomination
which you have just rendered me, as the
candidate of the Union party to represent
this District in the Fortieth Congress OF the
United States.
Five times the Republican and Union
party of this District have thus hOuored me
with their confidence.
/ would that could clothe my thoughts
in words which would fully express to you
and to those whom you represent thG graf
itude of my heart for this unmistakable
manifestation of the esteem and confidence
shown me by the Union men of this District
In accepting the position you have with
such unanimimity assigned me, permit me
to pledge you, as on former occasions, that
by the blessing of Heaven the standard of
Liberty and Union which you have this
day committed to my care and defense
shah never be deserted or disordered while
in my keeping"
In this hour of national peril and national
humili tion, what every loyal man and every
loyal woman in the nation most desire, is
fidelity. do not claim TO be m"re faithful
han thousands of others, but | feel no little
salts; cton of knowing that my fidelity to
questioned even by our political opponents.
When seven men elected to the high
and responsible position of Senators of the
United States by the Union party and as
many Representatives in Congress become
apostates and unite with the opposition it
is not strange that the jewel OF fidelity
should have some yalue in the estimation
of loyal men.
Mr.. President, when Sumter was fired
upon, the loyal men of the nation dedi-
Gated Themselves to the overthrow of
treason and the restoration of the Union.
The soldiers of the Republic made good
their pledges and accomplished their mis-
sion. They broke the organized force Of
secession and treason on many a well
fought battlefield, and destroyed utterly
and forever the physical power Of the re-
bellion.
On the ruins Of the barbarism and social
despotism, which made human Slavery the
God of its idOlatry, which inaugurated civil
war to perpetuate its terrible power, which
committed the enormities of Belle Island,
Salisbury and Andersonvlle, and planned
and executed the great crime of the nine
teenth century, the assassination OF Abra-
ham Lincoln on the ruins of this barbar-
ism it is now the mission of the men of
ideas to reconstruct society and govern
ments Broad as is the field and laborious
as are the duties devolv.ng upon the loyal
statesmen of this generation, believe they
are competent for the difficult task. But |
warn you now to be prepared for long
and weary struggle; struggle which will
demand of every Union soldier and chizen,
discipline, selfreliance and sloepless vigi-
lenee, or we shall fail and all the trials
and sufferings and loss of life, growing
out of the late terrible war, will have been
vain and worse than vain. We have a
willy enemy with which to contend OH a
| field where he is far moro formidable than
on the field of battle. II we succeed,
menaced as we are on every hand, by com
plications the most unexpected and uu'
natural, the triumph will be without a
parallel IN history Let us then re'enlist
under the old banner of "Liberty and
Union" and before God, pledge each other
that never again by our votes, shall traitor
sit in the Council Chambers of the Nation
or preside over the destinies Of the Re-
public.
Mr.. President, after a storm, the faithful
mariner does not put his ship in command
OF crew who have mutinied nor does he
invite pirates on board whom he knows
will join the mutineers and scuttle aud de-
stroY if they oannot control her. In 1861
nearly one-half Of the officers aud crew OF