Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-04-26
Thursday Evenipg, April e5, .1se7


Gi tasfh dsoei ii b9s ,-@4-s2 s'aidin ts ifziX
When received the invitation to address
you thfs ehings Ihesitated 90 aceeptit. l
am profoundly sensible that we are IN the
midst of a revolution, attacking the essen
tiaf spirit Qofl lonrS sy stem of Government,
whose courses and limits no human sagacity
can predict; and ffeel that no one ought
lightly to assume to give COUNSEL TO his
couutrymen IN such an emergencyLf I
Yet, in a Republic, where every man by
his vote participates actively lin the Gov-
ernment, as the State may fightfully COM
mand from every citizen the preformancefof
.ahy dutvs whether of counsel or of arms,
SO also, may his fellow citizens, who alone
WELD the vital power of the State, call on
,e ~ every member for his Opini ions, and the rea-
sens which sustain them. The demand at
reOUeo eonfeRs an honor and eDjoius a duty
it is none the less imperative because it is
made on the hnFblestso OF them all. Ii.
An opinion it is his duty to have! It
should be formed with whatever ability
God has given him, under the influence of
pure motives and high purposes, of calm
and candid and truthful spirit, of a consci-
entious effort to be right, of modest diff
E.dence in ones self, of due appreciation of
= another, of perfect toleration for all. And
-. I confess have always admired the patri-
otism which, invoking these influences in
the formation of opinions, gives, with be-
coming moderation of expression, a prompt
:, and ready response to the summons to an
nounce them. -. =. ..... y
- You have here the reason for my hesita-
tion and OF my acceptance of your invita-
sutior. eLi = stg5sfq
l. 4 intended to have spoken to you Of the
measures of the Congress which has just
- adjourned, and of the various questions
connected with the present c3nvass, when a
single sentence from speech delivered
years ago chanced to meet my eye, and
.e=changed the current of my thoughts. The
sfasentiuent the soccasiOII. and the author,
Il =
I'd consideration OF special acts of legislation
a under the Governments, and appropriate to
4 times OF z peace, to, that of the mighty
changes in the organiclaw of Government,
whose arbitrament is usually the sword. /
shall consider parties and policies, not in
M their character as the administrators and
subjects of Goyernment, but in the higher
- character of the founders and destroyers
and restorers of Government. -
In The spring of 1862. almost before the
active operations OF the war had eem-
menced, a gentlemen addressing a New
England audience on its causes, purposes
oi and progress said ssyo7i8 ,5bigy fra 7a3
shI warn you that none of you will ever
again see the Farmer Republic under
which you were bor1.'
-azarHe is an accomplished speaker, an elo-
-eiquent advocate. a learned scholar, type of
a class, the pioneer of school. Wealth
% and leisure had enabled him for many
hayears tosconsult his taste in the mode and
purposes of his life; and as he himself
beasted in a lecture in the city Of Wash
ington, in the presence OF Mr.. Lincoln and
members of his Cabinet, had devoted it
for nineteen years to tn, dis upton of the
8 American Union and the 0V urthrow of the
Constitution which formeu it.
.'Er@I warn You that none of you will ever
a again see the Farmer Republic under which
you were born" 20 -ssiss1aql{ Il . lsa essF--
Why not2 The war then being waged
was aYowedly to maintain this Farmer Re-
..ipublic. The seeded States claimed to dis
member its territory; but otherwise to
leave it untouched. The. Administration
asserted its purpose TO maintain Territorial
limits, and declared that its form and
spirit were in no event endangered. The
leading member of the. Cabinet, speaking
60 the world through the ministers, said:
..Therights OF the States and the condition
iof every human being in them, will re-
=, main subj ect 20. exactly the same laws and
forms of administration, whether the revo-
tdlution shall succeed or fail, 20 hTthe one case
1.-the States would be federally connected
. with the new aConfederacy; in the other
= theyweuld, as isnOw, be members OF the
spUHited States. but their Constitutions and
salaws, customs. habits, and institutions in
efEeither case will remain the same.'Hf And
-ethis was necessarily the theory of the war
osenth part Of the Federal Government
IL Otherwise it would have accepted the issue
slofi REVOLUTIONS; otherwise it would have
taken up arms to5effect change in its own
form and nature; and thus, transcending
all its power, would, in the forum of con-
,; science and morals, have released its citi-
- mZens from all the; obligations of allegiance
:, n While Mr.. Seward thus, on behalf of the
o,Governmenh portrayed the issues OF the
war, this prophet 10 fis11 zd iass. -
pP5SRRsss pF5SRss ssi III 4 IS SId sai9s oE Ct desI VII
proclaimed that the revolution was pro-
egressing-that its result was certain-and
warned his hearers to be ready to see that
t'old things had passed away, and all things
had become new.H(4(aD = & [
lido notquestien his motives, nor i'm
peach his purposes nor inquire into the
reources of his information. Did he speak
truly q This is the question sto7nightez
81 Farmer RepubL bLic-not free republic. not
powerful republic, not warlike republic,
mot growing REPUBLIC, not magnificent re-
public, not liberty loving republic-but
Farmer Republic. IL is an expressive name
Farmer, the synonym of honesty, simplici-
tY, frugality, abundance, independence:
The ideal of labor without exhaustion, ol
luxury without effeminacy, of providence
without eorroding care, OF activity without
sal1uTry ,lof leisure without idleness of free
sedOm without license, of purity without
bigotry.- of independence without intoler-
ance, of spirit at once hopeful and humble
which grows out of the ever-recurTino Q
realization, at all times and in all vicissi-
Jtudes, OF The .fulfllment of the promise
that while earth remaineth, seed-time an6
harvest, andisumnaer and winter, and cold
and heat and day and night, shall no
Farmer lifei3 Freedom from the nois,
and turmoil and dust and smoke of tn,
crowded city; freedom from the daily
struggle and daily anxiety for bread free
dom from competition with the crowd
which throng every avenue and CONNER
cial and mechanical industry; freedom from
the close and daily contact with. vice AM
crime, which the temptations, and oppor
Ftuhisies, and suferings of a city life de
slVelope; freedoms from the small rooms, tn
crowded tenement houses, the tainted at
mosphere, the contagious diseases, the un
natural hours, the undue eXcitement, tn
exhausting pleasures, the glittering splen
dor, the abject squalor. the artificial life O
the citY-and in their stead the pure air. tn
abundant food, the deep sleep, the refresh
ing deWs, the cool breeZes, the peaceful or
der, the ample homes, the healthfuI habits
the cleanliness, the contentment of tn
Country and the quiet exaltation of spiri
which springs from the contemplation @
the beauties ofna6ure5 and the processes G
its sactive 9benefcenee-the absence of tn
shrewd cunning, and the acute sense whic
the competition of trade engenders, an
the presence of that large-hearted great
ness with which our mother Earth reward
those who caH on her muniicence for th
returns Of their labor =. isss.slq Isl era
.Iniaucient times the saefed plough employed -
The Kings and awful fathers of mankind.
And some, compared with whom your insect tribt
Are but the beings of summer day,
Have held the scale Of empire, ruled the storm Il
war ;ia hs1I w1sa uaTss5lsd
The plough and greatly 1ndependent iIFed'' e
And all these qualities of individual iii
find their Representative and c0unterDaj