Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1868-07-28
tFrom the Cincinnati Enquirer ]
Speech of Col. Llewellen Baber.
At the Ratification Meeting at the Vest
Front Of the STATE House, Columbus, Ohio
Monday Evening, July 13, 1868.

FELLOW CITIZENS: It was very gratify-
ing to your representatives in New York
City to learn by special in The World, the
morning after the nomination by the National
Democratic Convention, that the Democracy
of the Capital of Ohio had responded SO
nobly by large and enthusiastic ratification
meeting. 1t demonstrated conclusively to our
opponents that the Democracy of Ohio are
governed by a love of principle and not men.
Attached as you were to your own favorite
candidate, George H. Pendlcton, in making
every honorable effort to secure his nomina-
tion, you were ready to support any candidate
standing on platform of sound principles,
who could unite and consolidate into one
grand storming column all the elements of
opposition to Radical misrule and usurpation.
In marked contrast stood the course of the
Radical party at the Chicago Convention,
where the chief object seemed to be to conceal
from the people the true. issues of the CAM
paign by the nomination of General Grant in
the hope that the reckless leaders of the patty
in power might continue themselves in office
by hanging to his coat tail The Democracy
have laid down in their National Convention
a sound platform on the questions of Congress
sional Military Reconstruction, Negro Suffrage
and Finance, while the Radicals have man-
ufactured shuffling set of principles, guaran-
teeing Negro Suffrage at the South, aud
leaving each State at the North TO settle the
matter for ITSELF thus establishing perma-
nent inequality between the States of the
Union, and in open defiance of the Consti-
tuition of the United States, which expressly
declares that each State shall be admitted on
footing of equality with the original States,
pledging the power of the Government to
overthrow the very keystone of the Federal
Arch. No wonder our friend Sam. Galloway
could not awake sufficiently from state of
self ''animated suspension" to collect forty
persons in third story room in Columbus to
ratify Grants nomination on such an abortion.
Horatio Seymour the candidate of the
Democracy for the Presidency, is states
man of the first class-a man of pure char
acter, against whom the poisonous SANDER of
his opponents will fall harmless. as the
miserable assaults of the Weakiing Ohio
State Journal, did last year in the case of
Judge Thurman. AS Governor of New York,
during the late civil war, while holding the
mode of prosecuting it calculated to proong
the division of the States he did every thing
in his power to sustain the soldiers in the
field, reserving his right to hold the Radical
party fully responsible to the people for their
political action when peace should return
General Francis p. Blair, of Missouri, the
nominee for Vice President, is fearless
soldier, representative of that large class of
men who acted with the Union party until it
abandoned every principle upon which the
war had been sustained, and commenced its
revolutionary course of destroying the States
by forcing Legro suffrage on the people by
unconstitutional legislation.
On the other hand General Grant accepts
the platform of the Radical party, with the
declaration that he has no policy while Colfax,
the candidate for Vice President, who stumped
Ohio last year for negro suffrage and impeach-
ment, is surface mana fippant talker, and
in the apt language of distinguished Rad
ical in this city, in speaking of his preten>
tions for seat in President Lncon's Cabinet,
ga mere popiDjay." The Radical party has
showed itself utterly devoid of craftsmanship
in meeting the living issues of the day; it
has wasted six months of the present session
of Congress in a miserable quarrel with
President of its own election, and with its
two.thirds majority proved itself utterly in
competent to manage the question of finance,
tariff and taxation according to the declara-
tion of the Commercial and other leading
papers of the party, yet it now vainly hopes
to escape the coming Judgment of an indg-
nant people, by fighting over the battle of the
war duu CIdLuOIIuS
its control has failed to restore either the
Union, or provide the means to pay your
taxes.
The great question underlying the coming
contest which must be met is, whether the
Government is in future to be conducted
according to the terms of written Constitu-
ton, or whether, under the plea of necessity,
Congressional ma jority are to enact binding
laws "outside of the Constitution" according
to their own arbitrary will and pleasure, The
war for the Union will prove failure unless
it secures the blessings of constitutional
liberty and union of hearts as well as laws.
The Radical party at the close of the b, war
contrary to the policy of Lincoln and Seward,
refused to recognize these facts, and inaugu-
rated system of measures to perpetuate
party ascendency, which in their very nature
require the employment and continuance of
military force to sustain them. The practical
issue to be settled is, will you in future have