Year: 1864

MEN OF ONO: To-day I am again in
your midst, aud upon the soil of my ma
tive State. To-day am once more with
in the District which for ten years extend
ed to me the highes. confidence, and three
times honored me as its Representative in
the Congress of the United States. | was
accused of no crime against the Constiu-
ton or laws, and guilty of none. But
whenever and wherever thus charged upon
me by due process of law. l am now here
ready to answer before any civil court of
competent jurisdiction, to jury of my
countrymen; and in the meantime, to give
bail in any sum which any judge or court,
State or Federal, may afix; and you, the
hundred and eighty-six thousand Demo-
Gratis of Ohiy [ offer as my sureties.
Never for one hour have / remained in
exile, because recognized any obligatian
of obedience to the unconstitutional and
arbitrary edict. Neither did personal fear
ever restrain me. And to-day ! return of
my own act and pleasure, because it is my
constitutional and legal right to return.
Only by an exertion of arbitrary power.
itself against the. Constitution and law,
and consummated by military force, ] was
abducted from my home and forced into
banishment. The assertion or insinuation
of the President that was arrested 'be-
cause laboring with some effect to pre-


vent the raising of troops and to encour-
age desertions from the army, and was
responsible for numerous acts of resist
ance to the draft and to the arrest of de-
serters, causing assassination, manning
and MURDER or that at any time, in any
way, had disobeyed or failed to counsel
obedience to the lawful authority, or even
to the semblance of law, is absolutely
false. I appeal fer the proof, to every
speech / ever made upon those questions.
and to the very record of the Mock Mill
tary Commission; by the trial and sen.
tence of which | was outraged. No; the
sole offense then laid to my charge was
words of criticism of the public policy
of the Administration addressed to open
and public political meetings of my fell
low citizens of Ohio, lawfully and peace
fully assembled. And to-day my only
''crime' is, that in the way which they
call treason, 1 worship the Constitution
of my fathers. But now for more than
one year, no public man has been arrest
ed, and no newspaper suppressed within
( the States adhering still to the Union


for the expression of political opinion


while hundreds, in public assembly and
through the press, have, with license
and violence in which | never INDUCED


criticised and condemned the acts and
politics of the Admins tration, and de


nounced the war, maintaining even The
lpropriety and necessity of the recognition


of Southern independence. Endorsed b,


nearly two hundred thousand freemen o


the Democratic party of my native State


at the late election. and still with tn


sympathy and support of millions NOR


I do not mean any longer to be tn


only man of that party who is to be tn
!, victim of arbitrary power. IF Abraham


Lincoln seeks my life, let him so declare


but he shall not again restrain me of m


personal liberty, except upon due pro


cess of law" The unconstitutional an


monstrous "Order Thirty eight unde


which alone I was arrested thirtee
a months ago, was defed and spit upon a


your State Convention of 1868, by th
: gallant gentleman who bore the standar


as your candidate for Lieutenant Governo


and by every Democratic press and publ


speaker ever since. It is dead. Frol


the first it was against the Conssitutio
: and laws, and without validity; and a
: proceedings under it were and are stterl
: null and void and of no effect. The il
! dignant voice of condemnation long sine
$ went forth from the vast majority Of th


people and presses of America, and fro'
Iall free counties in Europe with entir