Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-04-05
vOBLE WORDS FROM GEHERAL
W. RNER-


Hon. Willard Warner, one of the
gallant and true knights of freedom
who won enyiable plaudits in fighting
traitors to his country, now adds new
lustre to his past service for her cause
by his consistent and able support of
it as the representative in the State
Senate of this (16th) District. tie is
no weak and faeile time-server, but
straightforward. plain man who loves
the truth for It's own sake, admires
consistency and hates hypocrisy and
cant in politics as in everything else.
Both the conscience and judgement of
such a man teach him that right is
right everywhere, no less in one sec
tion than in another, and no less now
than at any other time He is too
brave to hesitate to meet the challenge
of the enemy to combat for what he
believes to be right aud too prudent
to permit himself to be assailcd with
his own weapons. He cannot stand
upon the temporary and uncertain
platform of expediency at the expense
of truth, but places himself upon the
imperishable one of equal justice to
all men" He desires to have the
South reconstructed upon that basis
in order that reconstruction may be
both just and permanent, and future
rebellion impossible. But he scorns
that kind of duplicity which would re-
present his party to be In favor of one
set of principles in the South and an
opposite set in the North and which
would place it in the unfortunate at
titude of plueking beams from the
eyes of others and at the same time re-
fusing to remove those which by con
fession disfgure and obscure It's own.
Moreover he is opposed, as every man
who is governed by sense aud not by
prejudice ought to be, to denying
man the right to vote simply because
his skin happens to have a particular
color. For these reasons he has ad
dressed the following communication
to the Union Central Committees of
Licking and Delaware counties
SENATE CHAMBER,
Columbus, Ohio, March I5, '67.
I am. and always have been, op-
posed to denying a man the ballot on
account of his color. I thought that
it would have been wise and Just for
the Union party of this State to defer
the question Of striking the word
white" from the Constitution until
1871, and In that opinion I was sup
ported at the beginning of the session
of the General Assembly by major
ity of the members thereof, but the
action of Congress iB the matter ofre-
construction commits US irrevocaDly
TO the issue 9J0lC, and I am therefore
earnestly In favor of the submission of
the question to the people at the next
general election, and in favor of i'm
partial suffrage, and shall vote for the
resolution offered by Mr.. Kellogg,
submitting the amendment to the peO-
pie, and If submitted shall labor with
what ability and earnestness I can for
its success, and believe it viii succeed.
[ therefore ask that you acting for
the 10th Senatorial District, will re-
lease me from whatever expressed or
implied pledges [ am under, in accord
ance with the action of the State Con
ventiOn of 1865, not to make issue,
that may proudly fling to the breeze
the banner of equal justice to all men
and bravely take up the gauntlet so
defantly thrown for US by the Vailan-
bingham Democracy of this State.
WILLARD WARNER. /
To this the Committee of Licking
county unanimously responded, under |
date of March o, by a resolution de-
claring that ''in view of the ever
tide of public sentiment, and /
when South Carolina rebels are strik- /
ing hands with their recently emancip- /
ated bOndmen, it would be unWise to !
bold Senators elected eighteen months !
since to the platforms made with ref |
erence to the issues of the hour, and 1
we say to him that in our opinion the /
People of this State are fully compe- I
tent to decide the question of Impair
tial or MANHOOD SUFFRAGE, aud we
are free to say that did we occupy his
position we would accept the challenge I
of the Vallandigham Democracy and |
vote for the submission of the ques-
tion of striking the word l0hjte from
our State Constitution, relying on the
aud devotion Of the peo-
pie to a republican form Of Govern
ment for correct solution of this, as
of all other questions growing out of
our changed condition since the close
Of the war. In so voting we believe
be will represent the sentiments of a
large majority of his constituents.
The copy of the letter addressed to
the Delaware Committee was accident
ally delayed until some time after the
to submit the Suffrage ques-