The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1871-08-18

ify their Constitutions, to deny to them and !
their people the right Of self-government, to |
put over them foreign rulers, to control them !
by newly-made barbarian voters, to abolish
their courts and annul their laws, substituting
therefore the arbitrary will of Congress and Of
its military satraps.
Resistance to alLof these laws during their
accomplishment, which are now acknowledged
to be right or remediless, in our party plat
form, brought into the Democratic party, or in
full accord with it, such men as Groesbeek,
Ewing, Campbell, Ward and host of others,
who may well exclain,
fwHERE NOW SHALL WE COZ"
Why use the cant, senseless phrase, "dead po-
litical issues?" No convention of men ever
were able by. word to bury political question
30 long as it touched the hearts of the people
or agitated the minds of men. An institution
like slavery might cease to exist, but prlnci-
pal government or a political action never
ceases to be of interest to a free people-and
to-day, although slavery, the institution Is
dead, one of its consequences. rebellion, IS as
much the
RIGHT OF AN OPPRESSED PEOPLE
as when Moses rebelled against Pharaoh, or
| our fathers against the British crown.
If it be true that the Fourteenth and Fiji
teenth Amendments were made parts OF the
Constitution by fraud and violence, and are,
therefore, revolutionary and void, as the great
body of the Democratic party believe, 1t IS not
certain that if that party came into power SO
as to control legislative bodies of the State and
nation, it would choose no man to a legislative
Office who could not be true to this idea and
in exercising his right to judge OF the election
and qualifications of members OF the body he
belonged to, would he not be bound to exclude
any claiming election or qualification under
these void amendments.
Equally unpopular is the rhetorical expires
sion of our eloquent leader, Mr.. Groesbeck
that "war-legislates" in the sense that swallow
politicians have given it. War, the uttiBld
ratio of tyrants, "legislates" generally as the
despot does. It is the law Of the brute force,
and is its own executive, and he who In quot
ing this expression thinks it means that free
people are bound to acquiesce in and approve
the despotic Legislation" or forced results o.
war, forgets the thrill of joy and hope tha
flashed through the country when our supreme
Judiciary wiped out wars fearful crime in ''le
gislation" which filled the prisons of the lanC
with offenseless and defenseless citizens, arres
ted and confined under war orders. War i
ever savage and brutal, and when it "legisla
, tes" its
ENAoT7dENTs ARE BRUTAL,
, and must cease to have effect whenever peac
returns to permit freemen to deny their vail
dity.
This theme is too great for lengthy review
7 in a communication like this. I have but sug
gested few salient points to awakent the at
tention of the people, The Democratic partI
has been
STUNNED AND PARALYzED
by the strange action of its convention; and a
} vet no one has spoken out to relieve its apathy
? take this opportunity to send out this not
, of warning, availing myself the chance you
letter has given me of making my respons
more significant, by reason thereof, than if
= had volunteered to address the public from al
{ individual standpoint.
With hope still for the future of the grea
party of defense of the rights of the citizens
and of the separate States, and of the onl.
? true Union, as the fathers made it under thei
old Constitution, am, with great respect you
obedient servant.
: JOHN NJ. CONNELL.