Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1872-07-18
Speech of Hon. NJ. p. o'Connor.
Relow we publish in full the speech d;

AoPiy w S0h1Soi O'y etN' "fN~>>
was received with loud applause By the
Convention, and has been most favorahly
noticed by Northern journals
Gentlemen of the Convention: pro-
foundly regret that there should be any
division of opinion, either upon the plat
form of principles or upon our candidates.
in the Southern juncture of our National
affairs - Applause. '''.'' : e = 80.
The whole nation is at the present time
IN crisis, when all issues should be
lnergsd'in the one great and overshadow-
ing issue Of the defeat of the present Ma
tiona Administration, which is working
such detriment to.the Republic, :,
Mr.. President and gentlemen, the great
changes that have taken place IN the last
eight years, tending to the complete cen,
trafzation of this. Government in all OF
its departments, have emboldened an un-
scrupulous Executive to the commission
of acts of usurpation and tyranny that
now endanger the very foundations OF
American liberty. "Thsps-scp and ap-
plause. = zls =
In tie rapid march. Sf events many of
the ancient landmarks of all political or
carnations have been swept away and
entirely forgotten, while many of these
landmarks have. been comparatively modl-
fed and changed to suit the creative stu
ton of things. The reconstruction acts
which in, 1868, were, by this Convention,
denounced as unconstitutional and void,
have been accepted by nearly all the State
Conventions as fixed facts lapplause, and
acquiesced in by the organs of almost all
shades Of political belief throughout the
! country
MIR. President, the 18th constitutional
amendment-th amendment which gave
universal sufrage-that amendment which
was felt more seriously in me State than
perhaps in any other section of this Re
pubhc-I say that amendment, which
was at first challenged and resisted, and
threatened to be-; obliterated from the or
ganic law of the nation--l say that
amendment has been acquiesced in as the
public expression of the popular will, and
never can be successfully controyerted
Tgreat applause, and never can berepealed.
Renewed applause.
Mr. President, public opinion is higher
than all Governments and higher than all
conventional principles, and before its
lisingtide the old landmarks must recede
andsaew ones must be established. lAp-
1 SAY, Mr.. President that it is Just as
impossible in craftsmanship to establish q
government over men that is inhe&ible
as it is in nature to create men without
passing from infancy to manhood, and
without Being sensible to the changes oi
season.. of growth, and Of climate. LAp'
plause.l ,Ss
Mr.. President here is the great Demo-
cratic partNto-d day. with its glorious ira
ditions, with its splendid associations
clinging to her name and character, and
the whole nation is looking. at her, ap-
pealing to her to lav-upol the altar OF our
common country all Of her prejudices.
Applause. Ds..
Mr.. President, we have not come here
toorgaaize movement for sirgle State,
nor Tor single section, bhtwe have come
to yrganizesa movement for the salvation
o:.the whole Republic rcries Of good,
and applause.
Mr.. President-Though South Carolina
may be crushed almost TO snnihilation by
the superintendent mass, Of lnfamy and
corruption which is weighing her down,
and though her sister States OF the South
may be exhausted. by. the debihtating
pressure of Radical misgovernment, in the
smaller, but equal ratio, the whole arteries
which lead to the. great national heart
have been poisoned BY the public body at
Washington-fhe exhalations that escape
and infect the whole atmosphere. Ii
breatbes of corruption, and every breeze
that comes to us from Washington comes
tainted with tyranny. f. That's So" and
applause.
Why, sir, what is the condition of this
Republic to-day? We have q President
who does not present himself in the guise
OF simple civilian, but presents himself
in the epaulettes Of General before the
Republic We have President who one
day thrusts his offensive claims in the face
Of England, and the next day inglerously
strikes the American colors Cries Of
shame on him" and applause
He submits to the superior British di-
plomacy of Granville and Gladstone one
day, while the next day he orders his
Minister, Sickles in Spain; to make threats
against the impotent Kingdom of Spain.
That is the Government, and that is the
diplomacy Of this Government Aye,
gentlemen, | say to You, that these great,
these tremendous evils, are. sufficient to
unite the whole nation IN one holy and IN
vincible alliance toc.eIeat these uriiallowed
purposes. Cries of ''good!' and ap-
plause.
Mr.. President, I fear that l have tres
passed almost too nruch on your time.
TCrics of "No," No" >" Go on, ''' Go on, = p,
Let | beg leave to say for South Carolina
that when the war closed she did hope to
clasp hands with her Northern brethren
over that atbloody cllasm, and she sees the
day dawning now whcn that hope vii! be
recognized Icriesof :" Good, and applause, J
and when it viii be tuliy realized in the
election OF man TO the Presidency who
is the embodiment OF bcnecolence APP
DiIttSS dil WIZ - t4Ic 'SI SpIiit "!
brotherhood and philanthropy .[Cres Of
Good, and loud and continued applause. :!
We will not, Mr. President, have 4 peace
like the peace OF General Grant but We
will have peace inscribed nppr ,le ban-
ners of Greeley Igrea; applause. Of univcf-
sal amnesty, universal equality, and To-.
eternity Applause
But let Inc say ;hat South Carolina.
under the starry .I9lc Of that banner-the
banner of the Union under which she
fought and triumph ed, and afterwards
against which she fought, but without. sue
cess-that banner whichever Will be trium-
phant as longas the banks Of her great lakes
Shall echo to the accents OF freedom, and
the Missouri and the Mississippi shall rol!
through the Inheritance OF frcodom The
speaker was here irt3errupted.by loud ap-
plause.
Gentlemen, I h@vc ;respa$sed loo long.
[Crics Of" Go on" Let me only say this
in reply to the 5eftictnan from j,.laware
Let me say.this, thc, Thirteenth Amcnd.
ment is practically hit Of view, because
all the States have practically ratified the
abolition Of slavery. - - ~.
The Fourteenth Amendment rs practi-
carly null, in consequence Of the late am.
nesty acts, and Will become a com plete
nullity when Horace Greeley is ekscted