Year: 1863

ventiOn n Coppcrhead,


The President of the Chicago Con
vention in 1860, which nominated Mr.
Lincoln for the Presidency of the Uni
ted States, was George Ashman, o


Massachusetts. Ashman was a mem


Der of Congress during the Mexican
War, which he opposed with grea
bitterness. In speech which h


made at that time, which is to be foun(
in the archives of the Congressiona


Globe, occurs the following:


'I shall not be deferred from dis


cussion of the subject here and at TIM


time by the miserable cry of those


whose duty and profit it is to yield q


ready subservienre to power, that the


present is not the proper time to make


this inquiry; that we should wait unit


the war is over before we should pre-


sumo to investigate the conduct of the


Executive! Sir, it is never too soon


for people who desire to remain free


to scrutinize the conduct of those who


are in power. The time may come


when it may be too late-fatally toe


late. Bat It can never be too soon.


Eternal vigilance, ,tireless and sleepless,
is necessary to watch and guard against


the insidious encroachhent of those in
power; and he who drugs his conscience
with the reflection that men in power
are presumed to do right, adopts the
doctrine of despotism. And he who
sees an Executive usurping to himself
unauthorized military power, and fails
to proclaim and dcnounce it, is as false
to his duty, as much traitor to his
country, as the man who deserts to the
eneny's standard on the field of bat
tie.


"Can it be possible that, in Gov
ernment like ours, war may be waged,
and the people may not ask, wherefore?
That armies may be levied, the heart
of a neighboring republic invaded, ex-
peditions of foreign conquest, under
the lead of questionable characters,
set on foot--millions of dollars expen-
ded, the blood of our gallant soldiers
poured out-and that our mouths are
to be sealed as to the causes or neces-l
sites which have produced such results?
Sir, acknowledge no such slavish
doctrine. Scorn, contempt and utter
loathing are all they deserve. They
belong rightfully to the lips of those
who live by the thrift which follows
fawning-those of our number who
have been the humble applicants for
the Brigadierships, the Paymaster-
ships and other crumbs which fall from
the Executive table; and whose patri-
otism is valorous and loud-mouthed in
proportion to their chance for getting
Office and emolument. But [ hold
that we should be false to our trust as
Representatives if we fail to hold to
strict accountability those who are
temporarily administering the Execu-
tive departments of the Government.
Those men are not the Government.
They are not the country. They are,
for brief period, the instruments for
conducting the affairs of the Govern
ment and the country. The power of
the people is only partially delegated
for special purposes. How absurd
and preposterous, then, is the clamor
that, when we venture to censure
those agents of the people, We are
ourselves against our coune
try"


There is good, sound sense and cor
rect patriotism in the above extract,
even if it should come from the Presi-
dent of the Convention that nominated
Lincoln for President of the
United States; and it is more applca-
BILE now in 1868, when the people are
cursed with the tyranny and despotism
of the present Administration, than it
was in 1847 under the Administration
of James K. Polk. 1t proves that the
Chicago Convention President must be
a Copperhead--to use the Republ-
cans language-of the most malignant
description.