The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1877-01-04
Democratic Indignation
Getting.

The Democratic indignation" meet
ing last Saturday was not formida
BILE either in spirit or numbers. About
80 persons, several of whom were
Republicans, drawn by curiosity,
constituted the meeting at the cul-
minatipg point of interest, when the
resolutions were put to vote and
adopted, without dissent, but Ger.
tainly without any show of enthusi
asm. The whole affair was exceed
| ingly mild and tame, for demon.
stration of a party whose newspaper
organs generally, and notably among
them, the CINCINNATI Enquirer and
Hillsboro Gazette, have been declar-
ing that the Democracy mean to
fight rather than submit to the in
,nguration of anybody but Mr.. Til
len. As an expression of warlike
Intentions in the contingency refer
red to, the meeting must be pro
nounced q failure; and we must
therefore conclude, either that the
silent but potent operation of the
''sober second Thought" has wrought
a salutary change in the feelings OF
the party, or else that the warlike
Democratic organs aforesaid have
grossly misrepresented its senti
ments.
Certainly there was nothing in the
speeches of any of the gentlemen
who addressed the meeting, that
favored a resort to arms in any con
tingency. On the contrary, two of
them at least, Gen. Mcdowell and
Mr.. DeBruin, pointedly disapproved
of any word or act tending in the
slightest degree to such a deplorable
result; and Gen. Mcdowell grew elo-
quent and even pathetic in portraying
the horrors of a civil war among the
people of the North, and denounced
the idea of resort to arms over the
result of an election, as too terrible
to be thought of for moment. He
alluded to the spectacle now present
ed by unhappy Mexico, where two
men are claiming to act as President,
and their partisans are waging war
against each other, and asked if the
American people, in the great Cen
tennial year of the nation, were ready
to sea their country Mexicanized?
The whole of his speech was in this
strain, and we give him due credit
for thus allowing his patriotism to
get the better of his party feeling.
Hon. N. Barrere made the opening
speech, and his remarks were more
belligerent than those of the other
speakers. but even he was guarded
in his language, and tempered the
wind to the shorn lamb" as it were.
Mr.. DeBruin followed Mr.. Barrere.
and made a conci.iatory speech, ,depro
eating any expression of partisan
feeling at a time like this, and de-
claring that the questions arising out
the Presidential election were too
grave and serious to be treated with
passion; and that above all other con
siderations, far transcending the
triumph of any man or party, is that
of the preservation ofour Government
unimpairad for those who are to
come after us, which can only be ac
complished by the promotion Of
peace, and by frowning down every
thing tending to anarchy and civil
war.
Gen. Mcdowell, who acted as
Chairman of the meeting, followed
Mr.. DeBruin, and made the closing
speech. It was gratifying to observe
that every expression of the speak
ers, deprecating any resort to vio-
lence, seemed to meet a hearty re-
sponse from the audience; and if we
were sure that all the indignation
meetings of our Democratic breth-
rem held throughout the State last
Saturday, were as harmless and
peaceful as that of old Highland, we
would have no fear that the voice of
the 6th of January Convention at
Columbus next Monday, would be
like that of old Sempronius, "still
for war" We sincerely hope the as
sembled Democracy of the State may
prove themselves to be endowed with
as much good sense and moderation
as their brethren of this county, and
thus avoid becoming the laughing
stock of all sensible men, who know
that the peace of the country is far
too precious and sacred thing to
be wantonly jeopardized by self
seeking demagogues and fomenters
of disturbance for their own person
al ends.
The resolutions adopted we pre-
sumo are the production of Mr.. VI
ric Sloane, who was Chairman of the
committee appointed to draw them
up, and reported them to the meet
ing. 1t will be noticed that his usu
ally acrid temper seems to have been
forcibiy restrained in their compost
ton, and excepting the preamble
in which he evidently aims tc