The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-01-01

not be done according to law, it was
right to do it against law. l will not af-
firm that the Democracy had any merits,
but ask you merely to recollecJ that a le-
gal right is always respectable even
though the person who claims it does not
stand high in your esteem. Besides, it
was not expected that the party in power
would Cypress themselves. The law is,
therefore, made to no purpose at all if it
does not shield the weakness of their OPP
ponents. You cannot understand the
value OF a free constitution unless you
imagine yourself in the situation OF a
minority, under the higher law rule.
Then you will see the ether side of the
question. 10 deprive Democrats of their
hereditary rights and pen them up in
dungeons by the thousand without Jury
trial or habeaS corpus may be no more
than a fair concession to the "riDening in
auence of humanity" and to rob them is
according to the IS Alutary instructions OF
economy" therefore these are pleasant
employments for abolitionists. But there
is a difference between doing and suffer-
ing. How would you like it yourself to
be throttled by the minIons of the higher
law2 If you had been kidnapped and
imprisoned or beaten and robbed by the
hirelings of executive malice, or insulted
by n mock trial before q body of plant
tools organized TO convict" perhaps
you might have learned to value the Con-
stItutIon as highly as it is valued by the
worst of the copperheads. You would
understand then how the Rill of Rights
has come to be regarded as the gospel of
the weak. 1t is even possible that you
could in that case appreciate the admlra-
ton which Pitt expressed for Magma
Chartd when he said that three words of
that base Latin were worth more than all
the classics AS it Is, you have no spe-
cial cause to dislike arbitrary power, and
you can afford to admire the man who
threw down the defences of personal lib
ertV. But you must not expect to be
joined in this by that portion OF the peo-
pie who need the protection Of a free
government.
Mr.. Welles presents the subject of your
eulogy IN a very unpleasant light. In
stead OF the sagaclty, candor, and patri-
otism for which you credit him, he was
cunning and treacherous, ''to low ends
Industrious" and crooked in all his WAYS.
I am no voucher for this, but besides Mr..
Welles's W unquestloned veracity, and
the ciranmstantaI corroboraLIon of his
statements, there Is a reason q PRIOR for
believing all he says, and more too; the
man who was VIGOROUSLY false to the
Constitution he swore to support, could
not be true to anything.
By Mr.. Welles's paper 1t is distinctly
made known that Mr.. Seward, as soon as
he came into Office, concocted a scheme
for the surrender of Fort Sumter into the
hands of the Secessionists; that he drew
General Scott into it, and tried to get the
- - q. alan that the prac1dant
having declined to surrender, and deter
mined to reinforce the place, a confden-
tial friend and proteqe of Mr.. Seward no
tilted his confederates in the South Of the
movement about to be made; that the
whole plan and arrangement of the Ad-
ministration for the relief Of the fort was
brought to nothing by a series of secret,
deceptive and underhand m~anoeuvres
which Mr.. Seward carried on without the
knowledge of the War or Navy Depart
ment, and that while he was thus betray-
ing his own associates he wrote to Seces-
sionists that his faith pledged to them
would be fully kept. These accusations
seem to be proved by overwhelming evil
dence. l do not suppose that this will
shake your faith in Mr.. Stewards integrity
and wisdom, or detract ore atom from
your admiration for the grand simplicity
of his character. But suppose such a
revelation 10 be made concerning a mem
Der of the Buchanan administration, what
would you say? Would you present him
TO the country as its best example of a
statesman, or would you hang him up for
the execration of the world? Would you
sing paans to his virtue or 'cleave the
general ear with horrid speech" about his
wickedness9
You were a member of Congress when
the election of Lincoln took place. and
your conduct between the election and
the -inauguration was supposed to justify
the respect which was fe for you by all
the true friends of the country. l thought
your speeches were the best rsbuke that
could be given to the Incorporate malice
of your party, which adopted no policy
but that of slanderIng the existing ad-
minlstrAtion. 1 am sorry i'll mistook
you, and if 1 was right | will not cite
you against yourself, for the 0TStnnentlBs
ga hOnriraens proves nothing. But Mr..
Stewards behavior during that critical Pc
Rod was not worthy Of his place.
Your account Of his situation at that
time differs from his own. You say, In
Substances, that though he ought to have
been early secured IN a post, and other
POolo OuRAb " nave OCCh u14CO uuOCI LIE L
yet nothing was dene for HIM IN
til quite late IN the session, when bis
were disposed to advise him to re-
lect the tardy offer. But on the contrary,
his own written declaration is that it WdS
early understood that he was to be APP
Secretary of State, and that he
was regarded as representing not only the
incoming Administration but the party
by which it was elected. 1t is certain
that his ego et req meas style of speaking
about himself and Mr.. Lincoln created
2 general belief at Washington that he
would be the Wolsey of the new Admin
.tration, with
Law in his voice and honor in his handi
others would be subordinate, and
the President himself little more than q
6gurehead.s In fact, he carried out this
notion after he went into office much to
the disgust Of his colleagues, as you may
learn from Mr.. Welles and Mr.. Blair.
Holding. q position like this a word
6tly spoken by him would have saved the
from a whole Illad of woes. But
be was narrow-minded, sh~ort-slghted, and
destitute of the m~agnaninIty needed in
such a crisis. Instead Of rising to the
height Of the occasion he showed himself
4 mere politician. To tell what little
things he did during that memorable
would require a good-sized vol
ume, but their lives not even in your par
iai remembrance n kreat act to mark
him as g patriot or statesman.
Since you and Mr.. Welles and Mr..
Blair have put on record your personal
reminiseences of him 1 will add my con-
tribution, believing that the fact | am
to mention throws a broader light
IN his public character than any which
you have given.
When the troubles were at their worst,
Southern gentlemen, through
Judge Campbell of the Supreme Court,
,equested me to meet Mr.. Seward and see
f he would not give them SONS ground
IN which they could stand with safety
inside the Union. l consented. and we
net at the Department. The conference
vas long and earnest, l cannot, within
hese limits, set forth even~the substance
If it. He seemed conscious of his power,
md willing to use 1t in the interests of
PEACE and union, as far as he could with
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