The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-11-13
Extracts From Senator Chandler's Last
Speech.


Mr.. CHAIRMAN AND FELLOw-CITl
ZENs: 1t is becoming the custom of lat
to restrict the lines of citizenship. L
the Senate of the United States and i
the halls of Congress you will hea
citizenship described as confined t
States, and it is denied that there
such a thing as National citizenship.
tonight address you, my fellow citizen
of Chicago, in broad sense as fellow
citizens of the United States of Ameri
ca. A great crime has been committed
my fellow citizens-a crime against thi
Nation; crime against republican in
stitutions throughout the world; a Grim,
| against civil liberty, and the crimina
is yet unpunished-that is to say, he il
not punished according to his deserts
And shall tonight devote mysel
chiefly to the history of a crime, anC
shall endeavor to hold up the crimina
to your execration.
But, my fellow citizens, we have {
matter under consideration tonight O
vastly more Importance than all the
financial questions that can be pre-
sented to US, and that is: Are we or are
VIC hOb q ~ dIlou. We hdNC oupPOoCS
for generations that we were Nation
Our fathers met in convention to frame
Constitution, and they found some
difficulty in agreeing upon the details
of that Constitution, and for time il
was a matter of extreme doubt whether
any agreement could be reached. Acri.
moniOus debates took place in that con.
vention, but finally q spirit of com
la1 hn fr1fs
was adopted by the convention and
United States. Not to the States,
but TO the people of the United
States, and the people of the United
States adopted the Constitution that
was framed by the fathers, and for
many long years the whole people of
the United States believed that we had
a Government. The whisky rebellion
broke out in Pennsylvania, and was put
down by the strong arm of the Govern
ment, and we still believed that we had
a Government. We continued in that
belief until the days of General Jack
son, when South Carolina raised the
flag against the Government. Armed
men trod the soil of South Carolina and
threatened that unless the tariff was
modified to suit their view they would
overthrow the Government. This was
under the leadership of John c. Cal
houn, carrying out his doctrine. Old
General jackson took his pipe out of his
mouth when he was told that Calhoun
was in rebellion against the Govern
ment, and said: LET South Carolina
commit the first act of treason against
this Government, and by the Eternal,
will hang John c. Calhoun" and every
man, woman, and child in America, in
cluding Calhoun, knew that he would
do it, and the first act of treason was
not committed against the Government;
for even the State of South Carolina,
under the leadership of John G. Cal
houn, had bowed to the power of this
We remained under that
until first took my seat in
the Senate on the 4th day of March,
1857. Then again treason raised its
head upon the floors of Congress.
Treason was threatened on the floors of
the Senate and on the floors of the
House, and John Wentworth was there
to hear it. They said then: "Do this
or we will destroy your Government;
fail to do that and we will destroy your
One of them, in talk
ing to brave old Ben Wade one day, re-
peated this threat, and the old man
himself up and said:
I" Don't delay on my account" Care
full preparations were made to carry
out these threats. Jefferson Davis
stepped out of the Cabinet of Frank
lin Pierce, as Secretary of War. into
the Senate of the United States,
and became chairman of the Com
mittee on Military Affairs. Your arms
were shipped to the Southern States,
where they could be used to overthrow
your Government. Your ammunition
followed your arms. There was an in
nocent-looking clause in the general
bill which read that the
Secretary of War may sell such arms as
be deems it for the interest of the Gov
to dispose of, and under that
innocent clause your arse
nails, all over the United States, were
opened and your arms were sold for a
song and shipped in the very boxes be-
longing to your Government to the
South to be used to overthrow your
Your navy was scattered
wherever the winds blew and sufficient
water was found to float your ships
where they could not be used to defend
your Government. Your credit, which
stood in 1857 at 122 cents on the dollar
or your six per cent. bonds, was so ut
erly prostrated, debased and degraded
hat in February, 1S61-four years after
your bonds, principal and interest |
payable in gold coin, were selling for
lightweight cents on the dollar, and no
,uyers for the whole amount. Careful
were made for the over
hrow of your Government, and when
Abraham Lincoln took the oath of Office
IS President of the United States you
redit, no ammunition, no nothing to
,rotect the National life. And yet,
With all those discouragements staring |
hem in the face, the Republican party |
undertook to save your Government. |
We raised your credit, we created |
lavies, raised armies, fought battles,
arried on the war to successful issue,
nd, finally, when the rebels surrender |
d at Appomattox. they surrendered to
Government. They admitted that |
hey had submitted their heresy to the |
of arms, had been defeated,
nd they surrendered to the Govern
nent of the United States of America. |
hey made no claims against the Gov
rnment because they had no claim
gainst the Government, but they asked,
nd asked as boon from the Govern
nent of the United States, that their
Miserable lives might be spared to
hem.
We gave them their lives, told them
D take their horses, go home, keep
heir parole of honor, obey the laws and
aise crops. They had forfeited all their
Every dollar was pledged
Y their own sign manual. We gave
hem back their property. We found
hem naked and we clothed them. We
ound them without the right of citizen
hip, having forfeited these rights, and
re restored to them the rights of citi-
enship. We took them to our bosoms
s brethren, believing that they had re-
ented of their sins. We killed for
hem the fatted calf and invited them
n tho feast and thew prayely informed