The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1868-07-22

Then in answer to the king,
Fell q sunbeam on his ring,
Showing by heavenly ray;
Even this shall pass away
Speech of Hon. Horatio N. Seymour Befor
THE CONVENTION.
Gentlemen of The Conventional thank you for tn
honor you have done me in making me your presiding
officer. This convention is made up of large mum
Der of delegates from all parts of our broad land T
a great degree strangers to each other, ant
view the subjects which agitate country from diff
ferent stand points. We cannot at once learn eacf
others mode of thought or grasp all the facts which
bear upon the minds of others. Yet our session must
be brief and are to utter a voice without delay
upon questions of an exciting character and of deer
interest to our country. To maintain order, to re-
strain all exhibitions Of passion, to drive out of
minds all unknd suspicious, is, at this time great
duty. [Cheersl rely upon your sense of this duty
and upon my ability to sustain me in the sta
ton in which ] am placed by your kind Partially
Men never met under greater responsibilities than
those which now weigh upon US. 1t is not a mere
party triumph we seek. We are trying to save our
country from the dangers which overhang it. We
wish to lift off the perpexities and shackes which, in
the shape of bad laws and of crushing taxation now
parayse the business and labor of our land Loud
cheers.l We hope at least we can give order, pros.
perity and happiness to those sections of country
which suffer deeply day in their homes and in all
the fields Of their industry from the events of the past
eight years. trust action will show that we are
citizens Avoiding harsh invect;ves against men, we
should keep the public mind fixed upon the questions
which must now be met and solved. Let us leave the
past to the calm judgment of the future and confront
the perils of the day. LCheers.
We forced to meet the associations brought forth
by the late Republican convention. ! there is
not in this body one who has it in his heart
cite much of angry feeling against the Republican
party must be stirred up in the minds of those who
read these declarations in the light of recent events
in al n In thn
first place they congratulate the perplexed man Of
business the burhened tax payer the laborer whose
hours Of toll are heightened out by the growing cost
of the necessares of life upon the success of that
construction policy which has brought all these evils
upon them blythe cost of its military despotism, and
the corruption of its bureau agencies In resou
ton they denounce all the forms of reputation
national crime. Then why did they put upon the
statute books of the nation the laws which invite the
citizens who borrow coin to force their creditors to
take debased paper, thus wrong him out of large
share of his claim in violation Of the most solemn
pact? Loud cheering II reputation is a national
crime it is crime to invite the citizens of this
try thus to repudate their individual promises. APP
plause Was it not crime to force the creditors of
this and other States to take currency at times worth
than forty cents on the dollar in payment for
the sterling coin they gave to build roads and canals
which yield such ample returns of wealth and prosper
Again they say it is due to the labor of the nation
that taxation should be eouased. Then why did they
make taxation unequal beyond the injustice of making
class ofctzens pay for another the shares of the
costs Of schools of roads, of the local laws which pro-
tected their lives and property? 1t unUise and
hurtfu thing 1t sunk the credit of the country, as
unusual terms always hurtfu the credit of the
borrower They also declare the best policy to d.
mnish our burden of debt is so hurtfn to credit
that capitalists will seek to loan US money at lower
rates OF interest than now pay and must continue
to pay so long as reputation is threatened sus
pected. Then, why have they used full $500 200 900
of the taxes drawn from the people Of this country to
uphold despotic military authority and to crush out
the life of States when, if this money had been used
to pay debts, capitalists would now seek to lend
US money at lower rates of INTEREST," But for this
covert reputation, our national credit would be !
tainted in the markets Of the world. [Applause.l
Again, they declare that all who faithful in |
the trials of the late war; there were none entitled to
more especial honor than the brave soldiers and sea-
men who endured the hardshps of the campaign and
cruise, and imperied their lives in the service of their
country that the bounties and pensions provided by
the laws for these brave defenders Of the nation
obligations never to be forgotten. The widows and
orphans of the gallant dead the wards of the peo
plea sacred trust begueathed to the nations care.
Have these sacred trusts been perforned2 They pay
to the MANNED man, to the widow or to the orphan
currency which they have sunk onequarter below its
rghtful value BY their policy of hate of waste and
of military despotism, the pittance to the wounded
soldier had been pinched down twenty-five per cent.
below that coin which he had right to expect loud
cheering.1 Is there no covert reputation in this ?
[ Applause. . -
! Again, they say foreign immigration, which in the
past has added so much to the wealth. DEVELOPMENT
and resources, and increase of power to this republic
the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be
fostered and encouraged by liberal and Just policy
Is this foreign immigration fostered by policy which
is the mask Of laws just passed declaring eight hours
TO be legal days labor, by the cost of the Govern
ment, and OF swarms of officials which so swell the
cost Of living that men must toll to meet these ex
actiensa lGheers. The time was when we could
not duly invite the Europeans to share with the
material blessings of our great country But more
than this We could tell those who fed from oppres-
sion that we lived under Government of laws adj
administered by the Judiciary which kept the bayonet
and the sword IN due subordinaton. We could point
to a written Constitution which not only marked out
the powers of the Government but with anxious care
secured the humbles man the rights of property of
person and Of conscience. Is immigration encouraged
by tramping that Constitution ID the DUST treating
with contempt and Stacking the Judiciary, insulting
the Executive and give all the world to understand
that the great guarantees of civil and political rights
are destroyed. IGreat applause s
But the browning indictment against the follies and
crimes OF those in power in these words THAT we
recognise the great principles handed down in the a
Declaration Of Independence as the true foundation of
Democratic Government and hail with glatness =
every effort towards making these principles living
reality ON every inch Of American son If within the
limits OF ten States of this Union American citizen
SnS y q seLse vi Ills wrongs, sloud pGbcly d4Ii "
trthfaty denounce the in power because in the i
very language Of this Declaration of Independence
tney nave elected multitude of officers and sent
thef swarms OF officers to harass our people and b
eat out Their substance, he would in all probability be
araggea to prison Or if in the indg nant language
81 our fathers, he should excaim, sThey have af
lee'eo 70 render the military Independent Of and supe Il
foI 10 he eiV power they have abolished the free =
system OF English Law and established herein - OK;
Irary government for the ofense Of assoeiatns
-nese principles ne would be tried and punished bv
on, s tribunal Greas cheering Having declared
sbas principles OF the Declaration of Independence
uiu De made living reality on every inch nf Anoar oil
SOU .hey put in nomination military chieftain tn
.bs, ~ the head Of that system Of despotism Of
the esIsnes beneath is foo. the greatest principle o
in some Of tho s q independence oheer To-day
s'ine to speak out the indignation and cope e