Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1870-09-22
SHELLABARGER.
OPENING SPEECH,
At London. Tuesday n 4fte9'-
moon, Sept. 6, 1870.

FELLOW CITIZENS In this discus.
sion of public affairs upon which l,
to-day, enter shall lot hope to es-
cape, fully, from the bias of view
and feeling, which SO besets us all
in the circumstances now surround
ing me. l shall, however, at least
aim, in all that say, at securing to
myself the self-respect which can
only arise from a conciousness OF
having striven after truth unselfish-
ly, and from considerations of duty.
have decided to begin this can
vass by an attempt to present the
leading facts bearing upon the in
quiry, what has been and what is
yet to be.
THE WORK OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
IN THE UNITED STATES.
/ selected this theme, to-day, for
two reasons. One of these is the
obvious one, that this party is now
again asking the suffrages of the
American people and the continu-
ance of its ascendency in the gov
eminent.
Another reason for this selection
Of my theme is that, in our press
and speeches, this year, 1 notice
what strikes me as a disposition to
''protest too much;" that our mis-
sion as party is not ended, which
makes me fear that there may be
forming amongst us a feeling that
those affairs whose coming brought
the party into being, have come,
been accomplished and passed into
the irreversable institutions of our
country; that the future affairs of
the republic must be such as the Re
publican party was neither organ
ized upon, nor agrees upon, and that
for these reasons, the time has come
when it must and should pass away.
If this feeling is forming, and is, as
I think it is, wrong, then its growth
must be most mischievous; and l
select nv subject, to-day, to aid in
the effort to check it; and, whether
it exists or not, to show that it
ought not to exist.
The elements which enter into
this question are, of course, too
many and complex to be fully con-
sidered in this speech. They are
not too many or difficult, however,
to be presented in their main and
decisive views.
WHAT THE CHARACTERIZING ELEME2IT
OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
That clement of our politics
which, in the past has made the dis
tinction and characterizing differ
ence between the two parties is that
thing, or rather family of things,
which l may indicate by the words
''human liberty as guaranteed Jy
tile equality Of man before the lar"
At different stages of our party's
opinions upon this subject, the de-
gree of difference between the two
parties, has, of course, varied. Still,
the difference, upon this and its
kindred subjects, is that which
marked the line between the parties.
Now let me remind you, citizens,
that if the right of man, as man
to be held, by his own country's
laws, as, not only 'free," but "equal''
also, to his fellow man be, indeed, in
danger, or even In dispute or doubt,
then the disbandonment, or even the
defeat of the only party, which de-
fends the right of equality would be
a catastrophy most appalling. In
the presence of such an inquiry as
this whether the equality of Ameri-
can citizenship is indeed recognized
and secure, how dwarf and disap-
pear all the other questions we dis
cuss to-day.
The people this year hold their
elections, and consider these ques-
tions. as to the value there is in ad-
mitting man, as man, and because
he is a man, to an equal part in ma
king and administering govern
ments. as well as in fighting for
them, in the presence Of events mar
velously suggestive of what that
value is. / allude to the events of
the present war in Europe. These
events it is true, are transpiring up
on another continent than ours; but
then they are events in which, none
the less than in our own late war,
the actor is MAN. How such spec
tacle as is seen to-day in the beauti-
full valleys of France compels the
world to apprehend the prices men
pay for all governments, even bad
ones. How especially does the
spectacle compel upon the world
new apprehensions of the values of
good ones-to realize of what val
ues are those laws which make mems
voice in determining what his gov
arpmant sholi no or do IN bo in ay