Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-11-13
Extracts From Senator Ghandler's Last
IA Speech.


States, and it is denied that there is
such thing as National citizenship. l
tonight address you, my fellow citizens
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 this
Nation; q crime against republican in
stitutions throughout the world; a crime
against civil liberty, and the criminal
is yet unpunished-that is to say, he is
not punished according to his deserts.
And | shall tonight devote myself
chiefly to the history of crime, and
shall endeavor to hold up the criminal
to your execration.
But, my fellow citizens, we have a
matter under consideration tonight OF
vastly more importance than all the
financial questions that can be pre-
sented to us, and that is: Are we or are
we not Nation? We have supposed
for generations that we were a Nation.
Our fathers met in convention to frame
a Constitution, and they found some
difficulty in agreeing upon the details
of that Constitution, and for time it
was a matter of extreme doubt whether
any agreement could be reached. Acrl-
monious debates took place in that con-
vention, but finally a spirit OF com
promise prevailed, and the Constitution
was adopted by the convention and
submitted to the people OF these
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
O. Government. The whisky rebellion
broke out in Pennsylvania, and was put
down by the strong arm Ot 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 tTod 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 G. Cal
houn, carrying out his doctrine. Ola
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, l
will hang John G. 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 Z. Cal
houn, had bowed to the power OF this
Government. We remained underthat
impression 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
Government. One of them, in talk
ing to brave old Ben Wade one day, re-
peated this threat, and the old man
Strengthened himself up and said;
"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
appropriation bill which read that the
Secretary of War may sell such arms as
he deems it for the interest OF the Gov
ernment to dispose of, and under that
apparently innocent clause your arse
nails. all over the United States, were
opened and your arms were sold for
song and shipped in the very boxes be-
longing to your Government to the
South to be used to overthrow your
Government 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
for your six per cent. bonds, was SO ut
terly prostrated, debased and degraded
that in February, 1861-four years after
your bonds, principal and interest
payable in gold coin, were selling for
lightweight cents on the dollar, and no
BUYERS for the whole amount. Careful
preparations were made for the over
throw of your Government, and when
Abraham Lincoln took the oath of Office
AS President of the United States you
had no army, no navy, no money, no
credit. no ammunition, no nothing to
nrotect the National life. And yet,
with all those discouragements staring
them in the face, the Republican party
undertook to save your Government.
We raised your credit, we created
navies, raised armies, fought battles,
carried on the war to a successful issue,
and, finally, when the rebels surrender
ed at AppOmattOx, they surrendered to
a Government. They admitted that
tbev had submitted their heresy to the
ISA,,o o,,+ of orYns had been defeated,