The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-08-03
rERMS 81

within the limits of Portage county. s.,4
American commerce, injured as It
was by the war, has had far greater
depression since the war ceased, and If
you search for q. cause you find it in
our tariff. agoae2s9 10 .ssIfd : = tIH38A
should have liked, in connection
with the currency, to have considered
the question of the national banks
their connection with it.. their inter-
est init, and the production of curren- T
cy which they cause.
To the great rcorporationsl which
seem almost to rivsl the Government
in the aggregate of their debts, and to
exceed it in the number OF their ,em-
ployees. grB.,gl +. 4.
To present. before you the financial.
condition to which the States of the
South are being reduced, such as
Georgia and Louisiana, beginning
with scarcely any debt at the. end of
the war, and now each Fiyaling Ohio
in their debts, whilst theirs is sincreas-a
| ing and ours diminishing, and our
ability to pay ten times that of either.
| If you saw it as Mr.. Reemelm saw it,
as honest man as ever went in search q
Of truth, you would submit TO such
laws no longer than the election
would afford you an opportunity to
| remedy them by your votes.
And ROW what answer is to be made
to this? We know that a meeting
held in Washington, apparently to
lcompliment q Senator from Indiana,
| which was graced by, the presence of
the President, and on which occasion
the Nice President, from balcony
shed the eternal summer of his smile,
and rejoice that his life is no longer
in danger. A speech was made by
the Senator in which the President
was nominated for the second elee-
| ton. i-ai Ii's1.t -'-esi't0H ~ -
And not only was nomination
made, but we were told that the dis
tinguished Senator had sounded the
key note of the campaign, and the
into the ranks to repel the Democrats,
who were determined to restore the
country to its. condition before the
war, to repudiate our own debts and
assume that of the rebels, State and
| Confederate. and by revolution and
violence overthrow the last three
amendments. It may have deceived
honest men for a little, but as soon as
Democratic Conventions assembled
they were assured by Pennsylvania,
and by Ohio that no such revolution
ary movements were in progress, that
no foolish effort was to be made
against the inevitable. l do not think
it necessary to speak of ii until some
Republican can show me how by the
law and constitution (and these are sa-
cred words with us), we could make
any change in these amendments exc
cept as the other parts of the constitu-
tion may be amended.
8 Z ou believe in our sincerity when
we have taken, our position, you know
that we will maintain it with resolu-
tion, and you know yourselves that
your present course, to- the negroes,
keeping them by political arts the
mere counters in your game, is the
worst injury you can infiict upon
them. 5ili r4.sgssaq ifdi 3 'i4is .fa
go The dead past is behind us with its
errors, mistakes and it's crimes, by
whichever party committed. You
can no more revive it and the passions
(which accompanied it during the war;
than You can stop the progress of hui 2
man reason or the aspiration which is
born with our people for liberty reg
,ulated by law, and for legislation con-
jtrolled by constitutional limitations.
of The future is before you with the
issues of the day, and the days to
come. so Y our reason, interest and du-
tyl compel you to pause and answer us
with arguments, if any you have, and
not with the passion and hatred which
come up from below. What concerns
the Republican who hears me equally
concerns the Democrat who is his
neighbor. The evils and the good of
government fall upon you alike
Stop the taxation so that the injury
should be. Where is the money to
come from to meet this Obligation
and not how shall we spend the mon
ey that is in this Treasury? ie.3 Z =.
81 Do not trust to limiting the appro-
spriations but to limiting the tax bills.
Keep the money in the peoples pock-
ct, where alone it is safe, and pays no
commission to any collector. and you =
be sure that, however strict you are,
you will not be strict enough. isos'f1i
81 appreciate your position during
the war-bent on a united govern
ment, you even doubted what you
were doing sometimes, when your
passion was the most violent. Let
another, by,words better than mine,
represent your condition. i.
tumult of the late civil war, and un-
der The influence of apprehensions for
the safety of the Republic almost uni
versal, different views, as ever before
entertained by American statesmen
'orljurists, were adopted by many
The time was not favorable to COM
siderate reflection upon the constitu.
.tional limits of legislative or execu.s
tive authority. - If power was asstlm-
ed from patriotic motives, the assump- dc
ton found ready justification in pat.
ifiotic hearts. Many who doubted,
yielded their doubts many who did
not doubt were silent. 1t is the lam
gnage of Chief Justice Chase, and
worthy of the great occasion on
which they were altered.
b But the condition then described
has passed away; no dangers menace
the overthrow of the Government or
the Constitution, which is the sole
bond which maintains it. Men should
always be careful of the limits of
power, and most so at the conclusion
OF great wars, such as we haye had,
when they are apt to believe it was
the exercise of unwarranted powers
which saved them, instead of being
itself o cause of the danger dreaded. 30
Allow me, in this new and changed
to close with the words of
q man who never was of our party
and who had no intellectual superior g.
in the country -. b -a.aslso) e 1oisa1.
.'The first object of a free people is the pre-
servation of their liberty; and liberty is only
to be preserved by maintaining constitutional
restraints md Just divisions of 0olitiral povNr''
M8baaiN - ~T1i.m~ 5fi~ 80 y
The spirit of liberty is indeed, q
bold and fearless spirit ; but it is also
a sharp p-sighted one; it is a cautious,
discriminating, far-seeing
/; it is Jealous Of encroach-
ment, jealous of power, jealous of
man. 1t demands checks, it seeks for
guards !; it insists on securities; it en-