The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1867-09-13

uulnS 10 snow th0t tue aOclltlon oil slave
ry in hayh, in Jamaica. aud in other couu
trios, has proved injurious TO tho enamel
pated slaves and rulnous 10 the country il
which they Here set free, Some of these
extracts are very familiar to the public
They have been for many years on duty il
the mouths of men who were engaged il
the task of defending slavery and the
aggressions of the Shareholders.
do not propose this evening to notice
in detail the charges made by Judge Thur
man. take the broad ground that if they
were all as true as Judge Thurman pro
tesses to believe them TO be, they would
furnish no qualification to tho men who
during the great struggle for the nations
life, opposed the war.
The war of the rebellion was no common
war. Ii was not war to settle disputed
boundary, or TO vihdicate the invaded
rights of individual American citizens
Wars for such purposes are, unfortunately
sometimes necessary, aud impose impor
tant duties upon every man who owes
allegiance to the Government But the
great civil war in which we were lately en-.
gagged was war of much higher signif
canoe. 1t involved the existence of our
Government, of our nationality, and the
interest of free institutions all over the
world. In the language Of Douglts, il
was q question Of country or no country
Of Government or no Government; aud
hence it became the imperative duty OF
every Union man, every friend of COnsttu
tional liberty, to rally to the support of our
common country, its Government aud flag -
In the words of Abraham Lincoln it was
"a war testing the question whether any
Government of the people by the people
| o,,I (,r th.
will not consume the time Of patriotic
audience iuquiring as TO the duties of oiti
geus and of public men in such war.
will merely ask your attention to the con
sideration of an authority, sufficiently com
manding Tor my present purpose, as to the
duty of public men when the nation is en-
gagged in an ordinary war. In the yeGl
lS46, the United States became involved in
a war with Mexico, mainly owing to a dis
pute on question of boundary. Several
members of the Thirty,nnth Congress, in
debates as to the origin and grounds of tho
war, threw the blame of the war on Presi-
dent Polk. The friends of the Administra-
| ton replied to them. A distinguished
member of the House of Representatives
from Ohio, took part in the debate of the
l4th and 10Th days of May, 1916, and what
is said is reported in the Congressional
Globe containing the official report of the
proceedings of Congress in those days.
Among other things he said
Different opinions may be entertained
as to what has produced this war. In the
| judgment of some, our own Government
may be to blame. But this is not the time
to be finding fault with it, 1t is not in a
crisis like this that such a Judgment should
be pronounced. 1t is not IN the very be-
ginning Of a contest with an enemy that we
should lessen our own moral force. 1t is
no time now to tell the world that we arc
tho aggrcsSors. Success in war does not
depend on arms alone III this age of the
world. We have other enemies, and pow
eriul enemies, too, besides the Mexicans---
enemies who will gladly seizs on every.
thing that seems to put US ia tho wrong.
We must not furnish them with arguments
against us. arguments that would derive
their chief weight from being first uttered
by us. Above all, We must not dishearten
our own people, and eXat the spirits ot
our foes. We must increase, not diminish
the ardor of our people
"Will thcre be found any among us seek
ing to make apaltry party capital by throw
ing the blame of the war upon the Presi-
dent? Will the scenes of 1912, 'l3 and IA
be revived, and an attempt again be made
to try, judge and condemn an Administra
ton in the midst of war, on the charge that
on it, and not on the enemy, rests the re-
sponsibilty of producing the war? We
hope not we believe not We trust that
these lessons of experience have not been
taught in vain."
Abiding to the speech of one Of his col
leagues in opposition to the conduct of
President Polk, the gentleman from whom
am quoting also said;
"Could the voice of their Representative
have reached their homes, instead of hear
ing him vindicate his country from the
charge of being the aggressor in tho con-
aict, they would have heard him loudly
accuse it's President of having wantonly
and wickSdly produced the war Instead
of hearing him speak of it rs contest in
defense of our rights, they would have
him denonnce it as war OF aggrandize-
ment and plunder on our part instead of
hearing him treat it as struggle forced
upon us against our will, they would have
heard him declare ii a war unconstiiution
ally made by our Chief Magistrate instead
of hearing him maintain that justice is
upon the side Of his own nation, they would
have heard him affirm and repeat that she
is prosecuting an unrighteous. unholy and
damnable war instead Of hearing him ut
ter words of encouragement to the volun-
teer, they would have heard him describe
the scene of action as a vast charnel-house
of death instead of hearing him anticipate
trump ant results, they would have heard
him dwell on the cost of war, the destruo-
ton of commerce, and yet more deplorable
destruction of life. True, they would have
heard him loud ly declare that he would
support this country, right or wrong;
but coming as the declaratian did in the
midst of assaults upon his own Govern
ment. argument against his country
claims, they would have stood amazed at
such support.
"Mr. Chairman, since ~ hope
when / saw the declaration of the existence
of war adopted by vote OF 1877 to IA in
this House, and 40 to 2 in the Senate, that
we should be spared recurrence of the
scenes Of the late war. did
hope that the peace party men OF that
day would have no imitatOrs now"
The distinguished member of Congress
who made the speech from which these
quotations are taken. is the present candi-
date for Governor OF Ohio, Judge Thurman.
Now although the war of the rebellion in.
volved such vital interest-interest in com
parison with which the issues in the war
with Mexico sink into Significance, | am yet
so charitable as to be willing that the peo
pie of Ohio should apply to the conduct of
Judge Thurman during the war for the
Union the same rule which he lay down as
to the duty of public men twenty-one years
ago, during the war 'Pith Mexico. Many
e ~ 4 -. A Ia. 4