The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1868-10-28
THE GREAT DEMOCRATIC SPEECH
ENRY CLAY DEAN
Delivered on the 26th of septsmbsr
Flemlngsburg, KY, to Thousands o
Both Sexes, at the Court House.

villainy and treason which would tear
up the foundations of civil govern
ment among thinking and intelligent
men anywhere. To be specific: Mr..
Grant represents these three terrible
ideas. Mr.. Grant is the champion of
them. Mr.. Grant to-day executes
them Mr.. Grant moIds society by
his own hand tor the purpose of OBJ
tanning power for the destruction of
the civil liberty of this country. If
fail to prove any one of these propo.
sitions hope to be disgraced in Ken
lucky.
charge upon the Republican party
of this country an intention to des-
troy the form of the Government and
crush out the spirit of liberty. This
crime will produce revolution any
where it may be attempted. charge
upon the Republican party, nnder
the lead of Mr.. Grant and tn e men
who support him, an intentionto
destroy this country. ['Fhat's so."
Good men, like Mr. Pitm an here, the
correspondent of the Cincinnati Com =
mercial, intend, by and by, to stop
this crusade against liberty but 1
tell you, when they attempt to do so
it will be as difficult as for a man TO
stop midway in his descent of a gla-
cier ut an angle of ninety degrees, ,and
return the way he came. Laughter
and cheers.) When the wolf no lon
ger gloats over his prey; when the
tiger grows sick OF blood, and the
usurer abandons the interest on his
note, then we may expect to witness
this miracle. (AppIause and laugh
ter.) The Republican party have
already destroyed every single guar
antee of personal liberty which any
man; by the Constitution, or by his
enlightened nature, or by virtue of
the common law, enjoyed. Liberty
has been overthrown-clearly, abso-
lutely overthroWn. Is 1t not true sir,
that ireland, for thre hundred years,
has ever been awake to the degrada-
tion of the people, smarting under
the oppression and wrongs of tyranny?
Again and again has she been beaten
down but 'Truth crushed to earth
will rise again; the eternal years of
God are hers" Again and again has
she reasserted her right to self-gov-
ernment. This precious boon is al
lowed every people as a POLITICAL
RIGHT because no man has a right to
be judged by law in the making OF
Which he has no voice. It is a Ma
TIoNAL RIGHT, for nature has obliged
herself to give the powers of protec-
tion and preservation to every man to
whom she has given a being. 1t is a
divine right. God himself presumes
our responsibility upon our power to
govern ourselves; and the right of
self-government is the foundation of
all moral responsibility here and
hereafter.
Every despOtism that attempts to
destroy the forms of government, the
spirit of liberty, and the Institutions
of civilized people, must prepare to
destroy the people at the same time :;
as despotism can have no guaranty or
safety in mutilatiOn, only extermina-
tion can consummate the work.
Scotland understood it, When the
Duke of Argyle went. to see Queen
Elizabeth, said she, "You have MUIR
dered my provost marshal in Edin-
burgh." "May it please your Males.
ty," he replied, ''he was killed" p
"You have killed my provost marshal
In Glasgow" said she. "May it please
your Majesty, he can not be found, +"
SAID he. "YOu have killed two more
provost marshals in the Highlands" +"
said the Queen, with the terrible
blasphemy that characterized her bit
ter conversation, "and 1 will send my
troops down to Scotland, and make u
hunting ground of your country"
''May it please your Majesty" replied
the Duke, '.just be kind enough to let
us know when you will send them
down; and we will have our hounds
ready" (Laughter.) Scotland, by her
determination, was saved from the
tyranny that crushed out Ireland
| Even the Poles, who have been robbed
Of the right of government, robbed,
Of the forms of their ancient liberty,
and robbed almost of their language;
and Hungary, writhing under the
wro-lgs Of the Russian bear, tears her
flesh and gnashes her teeth, and ever
and anon each new generation sends
her young men to lay down their
lives as Il sacrifice on the altar of lib
erty, or perish on their way to the
prisons of Siberia.
Are we meauer than all other peo-
pie? Are we baser than any other
part of the earth, that we should part
with our birthright without a strug-
gle? Is there no way Of governing
the most enlightened people of the
nineteenth century but by brute
force? Are there no endearments in
recollectiOns OF the past that shall
move the stony hearts OF the merce-
nary tyrants that are crushing out
our national life ?
Are the lessons of the past, which
teach everybody else, to be lost on
America Has the memory of Wolf,
of Emmett, OF O'Conneli, of CuSran,
of O'Brien and Mitchell of the gIorf-
Gus dead, who cheerfully suffered
martyrdom for their country, mo word
of warning for American tyrants.
Has the discontented, starving mil
lions of Ireland, wandering to every
land on earth in search of liberty,
left no moral? Aye, every German
fleeing from standing armies, con-
scriptions. funded debt and purse
proud aristocrats is an appeal to
Americans to cut down standing ar
mics. Erase eonscriptIons from