The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1870-10-06
SPEECH OF
A. g. THURMAN,
At CLEYELAND SEPT. q. 1870.

The Democrats of Cleveland held
their first mass meeting of the cam
paign at Brainerd's Hall, on Tuesday
evening of last week. Senator Thur
man delivered an able and eloquent
speech on the occasion, which was
listened to by large audience The
following synopsis of the speech is
furnished by the Plain Dealer:
On rising to speak the Senator was
greeted with enthusiastic applause
He spoke in substance as follows:
I am happy to meet you here to
might. I have reason to be gratifed
at meeting Cleveland audience, for
whenever heretofore L have had that
honor, have had reception to make
glad heart much less sensitive than
mine. More than that, it is an honor
to any man to be invited to address
an audience in Cleveland, now the
second city in this State. shall ad-
dress you tonight on the issues of the
day. some of which may seem old. I
care not to be called rhetorican;
shall speak plainly, and use words
merely to convey my meaning. l
shall speak first of State Rights. There
was time when no statesman dared
to deny that there were certain i'm
portant, indispensable rights which
belonged to the State, and, that if the
State were deprived of them this gov
ernment would become despotism-
the worst of despotisms. But at the
breaking out of the war and after
ward, our opponents took advantage
of circumstances to centralize power.
i wish, before going further, to have
it distinctly understood that what 1
shall speak of will have nothing what
ever to do with secession. There is
no man of candor who will deny that
for the last ten years the tendency has
been and now is to consolidate, to
centralize the power in the Federal or
general government. What is it that
made this country what it was to our
| fathers, what it is to ourselves, and
what we hoped it would be to our
posterity? 1t was because this was
said to be a free government. Not
the government of a monarch, an
oligarchy or an aristocracy; but the
government of the people and gov
ernment cannot be free unless it is of
the people. New England had the
honor of setting the brightest exam
4 pie of democratic government of and
colony which ever settled in a new
country. 1t was New England which
established the township system. In
the township the people met together
and decided questions concerning
them. The lowest political division
! we have in Ohio is the school district,
and the people of these districts de-
eide district matters. Rising from
that we come to townships, the people
4 deciding township matters without
interference from other townships.
Ascending, we come to counties, the
inhabitants settling county questions
among themselves. Next we come to
) the State, and 1T used to be that the
people of the States settled State mat
ters among themselves alone. That
is the only true system of free govern
ment. But there are questions which
| concern more than one State, and thus
the necessity of federal OF general
government, which is to DECIDE ques-
: tions affecting all the States and our
foreign relations. Hence our fore
fathers drew mp the Federal Constitu-
ton. That happy system of local self
government and of general govern
ment at the same time, though COM
plicated, is perfect and harmonious,
and has been the admiration of every
political economist who has ever
studied it. But, as I have said, the
tendency of the last ten years has been
to take from the States their dearest
and most sacred rights and vest them
! in the general government. The time
has now come for the people to say
whether it is for their interest that
,, this shall go on.
My colleague, Mr.. Sherman, in a
recent speech, remarked that the effect
i of our late war was to fuse the coun-
try into one great nation. Fusel That
,, means melted, doesn't it? And, as
} there was nothing else to melt down
the States must have been melted, OF
fused, and the power consolidated in
the general government, which would
leave US what Jackson pronounced
the most despicable of despotisms
Again, I might quote the United
States Attorney General, Wha said, il
a recent speech at Atlanta, that now
and henceforth the State lines bav,
f been abolished! Can l be called tt
account, then, when these prominen
ment of the other party speak so plain
lysof the tendency to eeptralize pow
er?
What gives the legislators at Wash
ington the power to legislate, to- take
money? The United States Consti
tuition, which provides that the Con
gress shall be chosen from the States
wo Senators from each State, ant
E Representatives from each State ac
cording to the population. I sa!
nothing against taking away the right
!, of State when in rebellion, but fo
more than five years we haye had pro
IS found peace, and during that time tel
i States have been deprived of repre-
sentation in either branch of Congress
by the mere will and fiat of the Radi
cal party. Even at this time, though
they talk of reconstruction bein!
completed, there is Georgia without
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