Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1868-09-09
RATIFICATION MEETING
REMARKS OF col, A. C. HASKELL
OF ABBEVILLE.
OF THE DEMOCRACY OF EDGEFIELD ON
q 2SD SEPT. 1868.

REMARKS OF col. A. C. HASKELL
OF ABBEVILLE.
Mr.. PRESIDENT AND FELLOW CITIZENS -
1t is with a,sense of grave responsibility that
appear before you as a candidate, to repre-
sent, and to express the will Of the people o.
South Carolina Permit me TO say that my
heart has been cheered, my strength has been
nerved, and my hope encouraged, since the
opening of this campaign, which has for lis
issue the" preservation of life, liberty and
property" .a
Beginning at the mountain border of this
Congressional District, the tremendous power
of the people has made itself manifest to me /;
and as have passed from Anderson, through
Abbevil.e, the volume has increased, its fer
YOUR has intensified, and to-day, this grand
accession to its force has made the possibili.
ty-aye, the probability-of triumph, still
more apparent.
The record Of the Soldiers, and of the
Statesmen, Of tho District Of Edgefeld, is SO
deeply enstamped on the hearts of its people,
and their patriotic fervor so brightly en-
blazoned on the shield of the State, that a
stranger need not make recital of tho names
Of the former, nor attempt to Illustrate the
latter, to excite your hearts to the imitation
of such examples.
Side by side they stand, but in bold relief
the Districts of Edgefed and Abbeville-as
marked in their contrasts as they are distin-
guishsd in their past achievements.-as gen.
erous, in their emulation as they are lofty in
their. ambition. But however varying in form
and habit of life, their object becomes the
same whenever the interest of our common
wealth is involved. The "common weap is
then their battle cry, and united devotion is
their Course. But when, as now, the tJc,rthe
alpha and omega-the progenisur and the in
heritor of every minor terest,-the glory of
the past-the value Of the present-the duty
of the futurc-when, 1say, as noae-all this,
the life of South Carolina is at stake-then
side by side we stand-shoulder to shoulder
shield linked to shield-lance by lance
against the common foe. These and one heart
one vein-one pulse-one blood-the Pa
triot's Blood-swaying that phalanx TO and
fro with its convulsive throb, and the ire
pressible voice bursts forth as they move oa-
ward, g for our God and our c2untry"-tc
conqaer or to die.
=. In times like these, | am no stranger.
Abound me sec nv comrades; see those
whom it has been my honor as a soldier to
obey; see those whom it has been my proud
honor to command on occa ions when the'r
yaor east its brilliant reflection upon their
leader. I stand besi.le those who have filled /,
with honor to themselves aud to the State,
the chief offices of the Government, in the
days when it was noted for its rigid require
ments of integrity and ability.
Ihave before me my fellow citizens of
South Carolina, met together to hold coun
sci in the common cause in which all are
equally involved. And I have the honour to
appear before so important portion of the
supreme power of the people,. e., the
aromen Of South Carclina-as the fair ladies
of Edgefeld, soliciting that l may be the
standard 'tcarer in this contest, and may be
the Herald to announce the victory which is
foreshadowed by their presence. Looking
with the contempt which becomes their mod
e;ty, upon the vulgar cry for woman's rights.
which now pests the air, coming from The lips
OF the radical people Of tho North, and has
been puffed across the Atlantic, aud settled
its miasmatie vapor upon the manufacturing
towns Of old England; despising this, say
they have preserved the great power which
the Creator gave to woman. As it is to her
seed to bruise the serpent's head, and
through her that the Saviour came to man
so it is that in the affairs of nation, the pu
rity of virtuous womanhood is set forth to
subdue the vile corruptions of men, aud to
raise our hearts, and kindlc our energy in the
morent of vital issues of the nation. Did
not the women of the South cheer the heart
mitigate the .snfferirgs, and give so!aec 10 the
souls Of the dyirg braves, and make our
army strong in th.. lime of war? Did the
Spartan mothers show q stronger heart aud
higher devotion To duty? Did the women Of
Carthage show higher courage in their i'm
mortal example, BY which their men were
cl,eered to the defenee2 Did not our women
make us brave when they stamped with the
brand of scorn the Aristodelnus who lay in
tde sick bed when his comrades died at Their
m3p;Iae. and have annually-nay, daily and
hourly. wreathed with the laurel. the memo
ry OF those who like the blind Eurytus was
led to that same great pass OF Thertn' pyle
that with Le,nidas he might send back tie
message. as it stands written on the rock o.
history,
az STRANGER, tho things ta the spartans tell
Thathere, obeying their comm.nd, we fell.
Colnrade>, We are yet living our brothers
who died in war. ..stand in fame with Leonida,
and Enrytus. II there b. one Aristodcmus
her.-if there is one that has yielded TO The
sick feeling of inertness or despair--let hin
know that this is the Pla,aea-,hat the moth
ees, the sisters, the wives, the daus hteFs, Tx
fair damsels, of your country have come Out
tn .ee your conduct in this contest. Thisi;
10. tho fight of blood, but it is in The same
crsat cause Of life and liberty; liberty, hui