Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-10-29
COLFAx.
Speech in Detroit, Mich.
Review of seymour's Speeches.
History OF tn. Rspublis.. Party.

great Republican mass meeting to-day
was highly successful affair. Specia
trains on several railroads brought large
crowds from the interior of the State
At two O'Clock as many people as could
obtain entrance gathered in the passen
ger depot of the Detroit and Milwaukee
Railroad, where speeches were delivered
by Hon. Schuyler Colfax, Hon. Benj F
Wade, and Hon. Samuel Galloway. On
being introduced to the immense audi.
ence, Mr.. Colfax, who w:s heartily 70.
ceived, spoke just an hour. The follow.
ing are bis words in reference to Mr..
Seymour:
l have been reading, this morning, a
speech made by distinguished gentle
man and citizen of New York, a candi-
date for the Office of President of the
United States, which has diverted my
thoughts from that line Of argument
which intended to follow to-day. That
gentleman, and / allude to Governor
Seymour, has recently commenced \
canvass of the United States as far as
time will permit until the Presidential
election, believing that the exigencies OF
his party demanded it, as I think they
did [laughterl, and think it will be
"love's labor lost" [renewed laughterl,
and 1 propose to devote my remarks to-
day before this large assembly to brief
review, hurried as it must be in time for
Others to speak after me, of some Of the
views laid down by this distinguished
citizen. / listened to the speeches that
the telegraph announced to US had been
made by him with no common degree
of interest; but when read these speech-
es, / must acknowledge the regret with
which was panied. I found them,
through and through, not vindication
of his own political platform, not jusri-
ficatiOn of the principles emblazoned
upon their banner, with which they in
vited US to the issue, but an arraign-
ment and denunciation of the party to
which he stands opposed, and which,
thank God, blocks up the way to the
Presidential chair. [Great applause.]
] will read a sentence, which is the
fgist of his Rochester speech: "What
we hope and desire to do is to check this
usurpation and unwise legislation. The
men in power have neither established
a successful system ofreconstruction nor
done anything to tighten the burdens
which oppress the people of the North"
He is now travelling throughout our
various States for the purpose ofarraign
ing, unjustly and untruly, I am compel
led to say, that noble party of whose
membership, | with you, am justly
proud. What they hope and aim to do
is to check usurpation and unwise legis-
lation In the olden times, when they
went forth to battle, warriors always
went with the spear and with the shield;
the shield for defence, and the spear for
attack. I shall not initiate the example
of Governor Seymour, and come here
only with the shield to defend the party
whose beautiful record is written on the
brightest pages of our country's history,
which you cannot obliterate nor ignore
without tearing from your cOuntry's an
nails the most brilliant pages that illu-
mine its history [Great cheers. And
what does he call this record? He calls
it record of usurpation and unwise
Let me pass it in review
before YOU, for there is nothing more
there is nothing more soul
stirring there is nothing more inspiring
to every lover of his country than the
record we have written down on the
pages of our country's histor;;-. Look
back at the very birth of the Republi7
can party, when it sprang into existence,
almost originating, as you know, in the
State of Michigan, but finding its hum
dreds of thousands all over the land,
standing with it heart to heart and
shoulder to shoulder. Applause What
is its first usurpation? Itwas when bor-1
der ruffians sought to invade the plains
of Kansas; sought to punish devotion to
liberty there by outrage. by murder. by
assassination, by stealing bal
lot-boxes and stuffing them to make
them speak untruly the voice OF that
people in the struggle between liberty |
and slavery; when the army OF the
United Sta es was used there under the |
orders of the administration then in
pawer to suppress free speech, to pre-
vent the people from manifesting and
declaring their sentiments, then this
vigorous Republican party, born
out of the exigeEcies of the hour, devot-
ed itself to that whole principle of liber-
ty and Justice which has illuminated its |
banners ever since. dared 10 throw down
the Gauntlet Of defiance at the feet OF
the administration then in power, at its
army, at its devotees. at its supporters,
at its apologisss; dared to make the cause
of Kansas our own, and your speakers
and those in the adjoining States and
elsewhere Travelled through the country
like Peter, the Hermit, when he preach
ed the crusades against the Saracens,
the consciousness ofthe nation, I
the people to the sense of
their danger and their duty, struck down
that power, gave 20 Kansas free speech,
gave to us liberty, and by that usnrpa-
Eion, she entered into the Union at last
arrayed in her white robes Of freedom,
hank Ged..f [Great applause That
was our first usurpation. ,--. /,
What is the second usurpation for
which we are arraigned by Governor
1t was when the Supreme
Court, unfaithfu TO its duty, dared IN its1
ligh place to pronounce and promuigatel
hat infamous decision known as the
bred Scott decision, by which they
sought to euthrone in this country slav-
.ry as power above all and beyond the
before which every knee
'hould bow, and every tongue confess;
Jared furthermore to enunciate that
,rinciple which, if the people had ratifi-
ID. would have disbonored US before God ;
md the civilized world: that there were
hose so poor in our land they had mol
lights that a white man was bound tol
aspect. And this young Republican
,arty, knowing as they did of the rever- /,
nee which always clusters around her
judicial decisions; knowing the power ,
hey dared to encounter, took issue with
hat decision before the American peo-
lie, dared to denounce, dared to stigma
ize it, and what is more, dared to crush
t under their feet until to-day there is
10 man in this land, care not to what
,arty he belongs, so poor as to do rever- I,
nee to that infamous decision. That !
vas our second usurpation. lCheers. IL
And there were those men that cluster !;
d around that decision and defended it,
here were those men who maintained :
hat decision against us, and sought to
make it the controlling power of the : :
american people; sought to make it the =
entiment of this great nation; sought to
make it so immutable that every jurist :
nd every legislator should be compelled =
o surrender his allegiance to it. thank .
Providence that there was party that
ared to meet that decision; dared to !