Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-10-08
The Democratic Rally Friday Night.



The Democrats turned out in their strength
Friday night in front of the Post Office to listen TO
speech from their candidate for Congress, Benz.
7. Biggs, Esq. At about quarter after, eight
O'Clock two hundred people-men, women and
children,-had gathered around the stand, when
Charles B. Lore, ESQ.,, a carpet-bagger called the
meeting to order and nominated William Bright
as Chairman of the meeting. Mr.. B. took the
stand and soon introduced the orator OF the even
ing. MIR. Biggs is large, well formed man: ap-
gray hair, dark complexion and eyes, and black
moustache. His voice is naturally powerful and
he made use of it on this occasion as though he
were addressingan audienceof thousands, Instead
Of hundreds. He is not an orator by any means;
but his audience were attentive listeners and IN
terested, though not raised to much enthusiasm.
He made the best of bad cause, we admit, but
the best was poor indeed.
He opened at once upon the debt, and charged
the Republican party with fastening upon the
country an enormous debt and that the burden
of this debt falls upon the laboring inan. 1t is
the poor man that pays the taxes it is the poor,
hard-working man who pays ninety-nine out OF
every hundred dollars tax that goes to support
| this Government. There is not q country on the
face Of the earth 30 heavily taxed as the United
States He declared 1t to be an outrage that the
government should oxpend twelve millions of
dollars annually to support the Freedmens' Bu-
reau, to keep the negroes in idleness and to edu-
cato them. He declared also that the people of
this country paid annually one sixth of their
property in taxes to support this government,
He carefully omitted to state, however, that
the debt of the country was created by the at
tempt of the Democratic party of the South to
destroy the government and trample the flag I;
and that had 1t not been for the sympathy OF the
Northern wing of the party with the rebellion,
the war would not have lasted half as long and
the debt not been half as large; nor did he state
that the Bureau of Freedmen and Refugees" ex-
pended large portion of the S12, 100000 in al
leyating the sutferings OF the poor white people
of the South; nor that this twelve million was
expended in three years, and not in one
the laboring men OF America pay such
crushing taxes so much greater than they paid
in the old country, SO many foreigners are COM
ing over and coming to stay; and why, since the
numbers have come than ever before; of course
that matter he avoided. Stress was laid upon the
corruption of a radical Congress, the first and
damning charge being that 1t freed the negroes (;
| to support them. Would Mr.. Biggs like to see
slavery re-established? He implied as much.
all the negro wants in this country is the
shovel and the hoe" He must be forever sep
arate and distinct from the white race. Now,
Mr.. b. knows very well that the Southern wing
of his party under the institution, the destruc-
ton of which by a Radical Congress he deplores,
would not allow the African race to be separate
and distinct" from the white race as witness the
complexion of at least one half of this class al
the South. The speaker called attention to his
prophesy in 1860, that If Lincoln was elected
there would be war. There ,cas war, and now
he prophesed il Grant is elected there will be
another war. II it is the intention of the rebels
to again fire on the old flag as at Sumpter, Biggs
is doing good work in warning the people OF it.
To be sure the speaker had his word to say
about the carpet-bagger" and "scallawag,"
and abused them in rounded sentences. They
were "too lazy to work and to beg" At this
Mr.. Lore WINGED and the carpet-baggers from Ire
land who were present could not see the point
and did not applaud He spoke in tender terms
OF the oppressed and overburdened people of the
South and further along in his address declared
that the whole South did not pay as much tax as
the single State of Ohio. What calling chains
He compared their condition with that of the
struggling people Of Pollard, of Hungary and
Ireland. He uttered glowing eulogy upon the
Democratic party; its greatness and glory In the
past; Its capacity to govern thecountry. There
Is" said he, "a subtimity grandeur about the
Democratic party that the angels must look upon
with delight" Of course he was silent upon his
record as an Old Line Whig when he opposed the
party, nor did he allude to the fact that this
sublime" party ruled the country until the South
rebeed and the Republican party was compelled
to take the rcins OF Government from their weak
and puny hands to save it from the ruin theirlong
administration evoked.
Mr.. Biggs in his lengthy address was not abu-
sive to his opponent, General Torbert, nor of
General Grant for which we give him due credit.
He overilowed with the Debt-Taxation, Negro
puuist-G unu hAuicul colluptiout uut WIS uOL uuu-
sive. He made no converts; his position being
untenable and his sophistries old and exploded
He spoke at first to O small audience, so small
that we overheard an Irishman, Democrat, say
that he had seen a larger crowd at a Pennsylya-
mia Post Office waiting for the mail, p" but later In
the evening the crowd increased to q very fair
audience.
The parade claims some attention. There were
3l2 lighted lamps in the line by count, 80 of them
being carried by boys and a large number, VIC
are Informed, by persons hired to perform the
task. There was nothing original in their ban
ners, which consisted of some hideous portraits
Of their candidates. and names Of their clubs.
The "German Club was weak, showing that
this well-meaning, liberty-loving people, as a
class, do not train in that crowd. The "Diamond
State Club consisted Of boys and men who were
not in the army; and the white Boys in Blue"
of men with some honorable exceptions, no
doubt, who were in the army, tut had better
have been out of 1t for all the fighting they did.
We objected that there were SO few appropriate
banners IN the procession. Certainly, White
Boys in Blue should have had q Transparency
" Our Leader-Wade Hampton, another I" Lee
is better General than Grant," another, 1.-THE
Lost Cause" another, I'VE have gone back on
our record ms Union soldiers" and the Germans
should have carried a banner inscribed thus,
'We are arpet-Baggers," another, Tell not
our brothers in the Father Land that we are with
the rebels who tried to destroy this free country.
AT a late hour the meeting broke up with cheers
for Biggs, Seymour and Blair, and may be as =
few nights before, for Davis and Lee. Being Il
Democratic parade, no attack was made upon ii
but many boisterous men were in the streets until
long after midnight