Year: 1863




be, shall We have cOusiiia ional liberty. Bd


having accepted the doctrine that The C0nsti


tuition has lost lis force. every instinct Of per
Sonal ambition, every instinct at personal Seeu


riiy. vii! iead men TO put themselves under lhS
; protection Of that power which they SugpoSt
i most competent To p-otcc; their persons. AUG


then this Administration would fd that il
putting military rulers over Us. they had made
military masters for themselves; for history


teaches Us that the general who will betrav tbe
liberties Of the people for the purpose Of gain
ing the favor Of power. Will. when opportunity
! occurs, seize power itself (App.ause.l
came here 70 day to appeal To you who may be
politically opposed 10 Us. Don't DO yourselves
a wrong. Don't do your own Administration
a wrong and push Us from that position which
We are tryiag TO hold. Do not use abuse aud
coutumey against our persons. and threats
I against our property. because We stand Up to
say that You, and we. and all shall have our
rights; because we stand mp 10 say. your houses
shall be sacred because We stand up To say.
the family circle shall not be entered. and. in
I English parlance, every mans home shall be his
castle within which he is safe from intrusion.
! "A pplauSe1 Why. what is the glory of a
people and the glory OF a nation 1t is not
/ the magnitude OF lis power il is not the ex-
/ tent of its dHminIouS. 1t Is the fact that the
/ humolest home is safe under its protection
| The proudest boast ever uttered by Britain :
! prOudeSt statesmen was thiS-not of martial
achievemeniS-not Of The iFumphS upon the
| held-n0t of that wonderful dominion anon
which the sun never Sets-no. il was this that
the British monarch could never enter without
permission the humbleSi home in the land. al
though its broken ceiling might give but sean
ty shelter TO its humble inmates Great an.
pleause.l For what are governments coustitu.
led bat for this ? not for dominion. not for
grandeur, but in order that these great ends
might be reached that every man should en-
joy the rights Of person and security of home
ani freedom OF conscience and the enjoyment
Of his property, subject to the laws. These are
the great objects of government and any gov
ernment, and any system that comes short of
this, fails in lis Objects and any demonstration
that asSalls or endangers these great objects is
treason against human rights applause
But. it is said there is a law Of necessity that
in times like these suSpendS our Constitution
that war is unfavorabIe TO liberty. 1t is not
true. Liberty was born in war ; it does not
die IN war. Great applause.) Liberty was
wrought out in the battle field That wonder
ful people who founded this great State
the liolanders. who for eighty years baltled
against the martial laws and martial powers OF
Spain, made it a principle which sustained
them during that long contest. aud enabled
them to render their history glorious in the an
nails OF mankind. Were personal rights and
personal liberties suspended by our own fore
fathers during our Revolutionary contest .
You heard the words Of that Declaration OF
Independence. which said that men had a right
to trial by jury; that the military authority
should never be exalted above the civil iuris-
dction that men should not be transported
abroad for trial. tremendous applause) that
they should have all the rights and privileges
known to English jurisprudence and English
laws and Yet to day we are told that the men
who pnt forth that declaration of rights aud of
independence amid the roar of battle, when our
nation was struggling into existence in all its
weakness who declared land they made their
declaration good by their conduct through that
conteSt) that these rights were TO be held
sacred in war-that these men who uttered
this declaration in war made a Constitution
that dies and shrinks away in war-that men
learned in the periS of revolution formed
government under which we live, that is not
equal to the very highest purposes for which
governments are constituted | tell vou it is
libel upon our fathers. (Great applause
So far from it being true that those who form
ed this Constitution contemplated that these
powers should be suspended, YOU find in its
provisions particular care for all the dangers
and the eXlgencieS OF war; you find numerous
provisions that are meant to guard against the
very dangers that now menace Us. Your al
tention has been called to the fact by the gen
tleman who preceded me. Why was it that
they so carefully guarded all your rights amid
public disorder il they meant that the mere ex-
istence of disorder should suspend the barriers
of public order and private rights? This doc
trine OF the suspension of the Constitution
this doctrine of the suspension Of the laws, is
unconstitutional, is unsound, is unjust, is treas
onahle (Tremendous applause and waving Of
hats and hanikerchiefs. \ voice " That's
just the word - | am one Of those who are
full OF hope for the future. Not that | under
rate the dangers which threaten us-not that
| DO not depl0re as much as living man can the
terrible ravages of this war. But why does
war rage in our land 1t was because the
people of this generation have lost their virtues,
and patriotism and the wisd IN Of their fathers.
1t was because we had become Indifferent to
those great truths which we have now laid
u
literature instead Of being principles that
should be impressed upon the heart and mind
of every American. | tell you why | am full
of hope that our liberties will be maintained,
our nation restored, and order once again pre-
vail over this land of ours. Ii is this Examine
yourselves, and ask you how many men there
are within the sound Of my voice who knew
twelve months ago what the Constitution of
this country was l do not say that you did
not understand it intellectually. IdOnOt mean
10 say that it was not imprinted upon your
memory. | do not mean to say that it had not
received your assent; but it was not until we
were made to feel, as our fathers felt, the value
of this declaration. that they had put forib
that any of Us could ever see the significance
of the Constitution Of our country and the
Declaration of Independence. (Appause.)
We have accepted it, as l said mentally and
Intellectually; but why was it, when these
familiar words sounded upon our ears on this
occasion, as you have heard them often before
on the anniversary Of our country's liberty,
that they stirred Vour very hearts within vOu