American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-07-31
and connivance Of President Buchanan,

| NACb NOUta Ouil ON DfcNCIltcu Ul -
desperate, and bloody civil war. In the
end, and after fearful sacrifices of life
and treasure, the rights and power of the
National Government were again vindi-
Gated; and the Calhoun doctrine Of Sc
cession was again overthrown. Such at
least has been the popular conviction, and
cause for rejoicing and even the worst
of Southern rebels have been compelled
to confess it, and for two years past have
beeen weeping over their +" lost cause"
Strange, sad, and incredible as it may
seem, VIC are already called upon to fight
these great issues over again The Dem.
ocratic party, with Judge Shaiswood for
its leader, and with Free Trade, State
Rights, and Secession upon its banner, is
again marshaling its hosts, and now sum
moning us to the field of political COM
bat, on these same issues That party,
at their National Conv ventions in 1856
| and 1860, re-adopted what are known as
the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of
their platforms. These resolutions are
known as the embodiment of the old
State rights and Calhoun doctrines. They
do not regard the relations of the States
or people thereof to the United States as
constituting a government, in the ordina
ry and proper sense of the term, but de.
clare them to be merely compact, and
that " as in all other cases of compact
among parties having no common judge
each party has an equal right to judge
for itself, AS WELL OF INFRACTIoNs, AS
OF THE MODE AND MEASURE OF RE-
DRESS"
Under this free Democratic charter for
rebellion, the lawful election of Abraham
Lincoln as President of the United
States was claimed by the people of the
rebel States as an 'infraction" of the
compact !" and they chose secession and
civil war as the mode" and the de-
struction of the Union and State inde-
pehdence as the measures Of redress"
The Democratic party at its last Nation
al Convention proclaimed the war fail
ure and it has now put in the field a
life,long Free Trade and State Rights
candidate, whom Judge Black indorses
as one who will stand by the Constitu.
tion and give pure law'-viz: who will
stand by the Constitution as the State
Rights party construe it, aud give us
such pure law" as Judge Black has
given President BUcHANNAN and AN
DREW JOHNSON.
Judge Sharswood and his party
friends have not only denied the lawful
power of the National Government to
coerce rebellious State, to make and
enforce draft, to make paper money a
legal tender, to emancipate and arm ne
groes, to punish rebels and traitors by
disfranchisement, to suspend the writ of
habeas corpus in time of rebellion, or to
arrest and try offenders in time of war
by court martial but they hold that
all these things, though actually done.
were illegally and wrongfully done, and
therefore settled nothing Or, as the
Democratic organ (the Philadelphia
Age,) in recent elaborate editorial on
the Republican State platform, thus ex-
presses the same idea We put it TO
the sober thoughts of the people of
Pennsylvania, whether they would not
have all these grave pending questions
decided according to law, and not ac-
cording to war, JUST, IN EACr, AS THEY
WOULD HAVE BEEN DECIDED HAD THEY
ARISEN EIGHT YEARS AGO, OR HAD NO
WAR TAKEN PLACE"
Is, then, the lost cause" not lost {?
Has the late dreadful war decided moth.
ing? Is the right of secession an open
question ? Has slavery not been abolish
ed ? Are not the four millions of bonds
men free Has our national debt no le-
gal existence p? Have the victors no power
over the vanquished Have the rebel
States and people lost no rights by re-
bellion Have our sacrifices of blood
and treasure been all made in vain
Fellow citizens, weigh well these solemn
questions, and answer them at the ballot
box on the second Tuesday of October
next.
Having concluded to reserve for
future occasion some remarks on party
and other topics, this ad-
dress might here properly close. But it
may be asked by some is Judge Shars.
wood, indeed, the political hereto herein
set forth ? GA man is known by the COM
papy he keeps" says the old adage
We have the right to assume, and have
assumed, that the Judge is of the same
political faith as his party, and the pub
lie viii hold him responsible for all the
guilty acts and omissions of his party.
There can be no mistaking the true 20.
sition of the man who recently delivered |
an elaborate opinion denying the con-
s.itutional power of Congress to make
paper money legal tender (.See the
case Of Borie Us. Trott, Legal Mteljgen.
Ger Of March 18Th. 1864, page 92.) |
And when we go further back, and ex-
anime his early history, we find ample
justification for all we have written, and |
more. So long ago as April, 1884, he
appeared as " The Orator of the Day."
at meeting of a States Right Associa.
tion, in Philadelphia. We here copy some
of the proceedings of that interesting
from 90 The erdn,iaer and |
Journal of Political Economy Degoted
to the Adrancemeat OF the Cause ofl
State Rights and Free Trade," Vol. l.
page 300.
The orator on that occasion delivered |
a long and carefully prepared vindcation
and eulogy of the State Rights Virginia
and Kentucky resolutions hereinbefore
cited, and summed up his elaborate in-
i n