The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-09-16
Speech of Hon. stewart l.. Wood
ford of New York at City Ean
Monday Evening.

|
At the Republican joification meeting,
Monday evening, Lieut. Governor Woodford
of New York made the following eloquent
speech:
Men of Maine:
In the name OF my own State OF New York
and in behalf of the loyal masses Of the Un-
ion | congratulate and thank you ior the
grand result which you have this day achiev-
ed. lCheersl. Your victory here is the sure
prophecy of the final result in November
Vermont drove in the enemy's pickets.
Maine has scattered bis skirmIsh line as
| your autumn winds scatter the railing leaves.
In October Ohio, Indiana and PENNSYLVANIA,
| with loyal cheers and victory kissed flags shall
sweep over the rifle pits and carry the main
line. In November we will receive an uncon-
| ditiOnal surrender and under the rule of ouI
great Captain, from ocean to ocean, from the
st. Lawrence to the gulf, we shall have peace
| [Cheers.
Labor is the necessary and fortunate con-
dtion of all true, earnest and useful life. Yet
it hath ever its hours OF rest, its Sabbath OF
repose and praise. The weary march makes
| sweet the bivouac and after thes charge that
has swept the foe and assured victory the
| lines inVoluntarily halt to give the swelling Q
| cheer, to take new breath and TO look at the
cartridge boxes before pressing on anew.
Such rest tonight your labors of the last
| six weeks have won. Such Sabbath of peace
and brotherhood to the land shall soon dawn.
| Such bivouac upon the field is yours. Such
cheers of victory may you renew. Cheers.
| Some of you may recall a dark day in July,
| 1868, when Lee and his hosts having crossed
the Potomac and having pushed through
| sympatbizing Maryland, had reached the
wheat fields of Pennsylvania and stood con-
fronting you at Gettysburgh. The day before
| he had driven your advance back through the
narrow streets of the old Dutch town, and Rey
| nolds had fallen. Your own gallant How
| ard lCheers had reformed your lines back
| from the town and on the hills. Round Top
and Cemetery Hill stood keys of the position
With varying fortunes and fearful loss the
fight had ragged when our last charge for
Round Top was ordered. Your gallant Maine
10th led the way. [Cheers.l Your own
Chamberlain Great Cheers on foot was in
| the front rank OF your nen. You paused Eot
in your going, although your dead and the
| rebel dead lay in the strange and silent broth
| erhOod ofdeath, behind you and beside you
| where they fell. In terrible ltelalness they
| lay like the fallen grain where you passed in
| your fearful reaping. You paused not save as
| you bent to snatch the cartridge box from the
| wounded or dead. You kept on, Hoods Tex
ans contesting each-inch Of your advance
q
better cause. The fight had almost stiled
| around TO watch the issue of your struggle
| for there hung the issue OF the day. Each
moment seemed an hour in its slow going
When bursting above the roar OF cannon and
tn sharp rattle Of musketry your victorious
cheers rang out. The hill was wor ; Round
Top was gained and although for long and
bloody hours the fight kept on and charge on
counted charge was made, the heights were
| held and victory remained beside our starry
flag lContinued Cheers.
You have again captured and held Round
| Top. For weeks this canvass shall continue.
But we have the key OF the position Cheers.
We feel the thrill, the bounding pulse, the
sure inspiration OF the coming victory and we
read the end to day. Cheers.
Throw out Your videttes then. Light the
camp fires. Heap high the fence rails on the
blaze, and as we smoke our pipes and drink
| our black coffee let us recount the stories of
to-days fight and make our hearts glad as we
| think over the results which our success is to
secure. Cheers.
Last Wednesday strove to show you why
you should make your bestfght. Tonight let
me tell you what your victory means.
THE ELECTION OF GEN. GRANT MEANS
| PEACE.
| The four long weary years we fought, Civ
| ing our best and bravest to the struggle,
| pledging our faith to raise money, voting
large taxes and counting all not loss but gain
I if we could crush rebellion and keep our
Union and our flag. We fought to comp er
peace. (Cheers.) Lee at last surrendered
/ at Appomattox, his soldiers we paroled, our
soldiers divided their rations with them and
| they were sent home. For time they were
| quiet. wished to work and by industry to re-
| pair the ravageS of the war and as rule were
| entirely willing to accept such terms as the
| victorious nation should impose. To this
| spirit Gen. Grant in his report to the Presi-
| dent in autumn of 1865 bore willing witness.
| Our President. possibly honest and certainly
1 obstinate, mistook himself Tor both President
/ and Congress, imagined that tor time he
held all the power of an autocrat and in his
sovereign good pleasure proposed to the de-
| feated rebels certain terms. The law-making
branch of the government denied his right
1 to singly dictate this settlement and objected
l TO the terms themselves. The President adj
sised the South not to listen to Congress but
to deny its authority. That's SOL The
South nuwisely listened to the President and
! the rattle snake taken in and warmed beside
| our tireside began TO stir and show his fangs.
(Cheers.) President and Congress appealed
to the people. The people repudiated the
pretensions of the President; sustained the
authority of Congress and by immense ma
1 iorities deliberately entrusted the work of re-
| construction to their own representatives in
| Congress assembled. (Cheers.) The Presi-
dent refused to bow to the decision of the
ballot box and in practical effect said to the
Southern leaders and rebels:
"You need not admit the dImands of Con-
gress. | advise you that they are unconsti-
tutional Stand FAST L will pardon you all
and will see that you get back into the Union
rebel end first" That's so.)
| Cen. Grant on the other hand wrote To
Governors Orr and Brown, to Gen. Walker
and to other leading rebels, who consulted
him:
"Haye nothing to do with Northerners
who opposed the war. They wllnever again
be entrusted with power. The more you
consort with them the more exacting the Re
publcans will be and ought to be. " her
you get home urge your people to accept ne
gro suffrage. The sooner you accept this tn
better for all concerned" (Cheers.) Unfor
tunately the great mass Of the rebel leader
disregarded the advice of Grant, followed tina
OF the President and rejected the 14th con
sttutional amendment which Congress hat
held out as an olive branch and on the ac
ceptance of which Congress lad agreed tt
compromise its difficulties with the PIeSldeh
and by its recognition give legal validity |!
E the State governments which he had ]nstl
tuted. (Applause.)
, Ths snake had now crawled out from it
warm bed among the ashes and its defian
rattle echoed am, ng the rafters OF the oil
Union Homestead. (That's so.)
= The Congress in obedience TO the iniunc
ton laid upon it by the loyal people in til
election OF 1866, then proceeded to aboisl
the pseudo governments of the President, or
5 ganized the military power under which tn
South was held al d provided for the creation
OF new and loyal State governments IN III, I'M
States lately in rebellion. (CheerSl IN
President. the Northern Democracy and tn
Southern Rebels denied and still deny th
+ authority of tie Congress thus to act
: shall not here and to night argue the rgh
d and Constitutional power OF Congress thu
! tn nd do, for you have heard the argument o
!. roneated during the past few weeks, an
!. Maine has TO day voted to reaffirm her deci
ion of 1856 and to sustain both the clai
and the deed of Congress in this regar