Year: 1863

any other nation to those inestimabIe laws


which guarantee to you the liberty of speech


and the holiest liberty of ALTO worship Al
mighty God according to the dictates of your


own conscience; the the comforts which sur
= round your domestic hearth to the graves Of


your fathers {; to all and everything that emo


bles you as men, proud of your country, its in


stitutions and its laws. In the name Of all these


blessings aud the hope that they may descend


to your children, l appeal to you now to stand


firmly together, and swear by heaven and earth


that we will not permit our Liberty to be de-


stroyed. There are many things connected


with the administration Of the Government and


the war that do not meet my appreciation
In my Congressional course, in the last two
years, | have differed widely in many measures
of policy with the Government But as to all


those which were designed TO put down the


rebellion, [ gave it my honest and unyielding
support, l differed with it on its emancipation


measures, and those which were of political
character But because of this difference, and
! because of the bad manner in which our cam
paigns were conducted, it has none the less d.


bated my ardour to save the country and save
the Union. The Administration was of the
| the Republican school of politics was a


Democrat. This gave no reason to embrace


treason or sympathize with traitors. IF it had


| should have degraded my name and dishon-


ored my country. l think it was a bad poll
cy TO do many things connected, especially,


with the slave question but because of this,


no man can throw into my teeth that l COM


mitted, in word, thought, or deed, an act ofI
disloyalty. And l challenge the nation to


point me to an official act which leaned to-


ward treason. 1 said, 1 have no sympathy


with those vile men who, in their madness, not
only level their shaft at the Union but every


loyal man in it. My sympathes are all with
and for my country. This is the doctrine
which must ultimately prevail throughout the
North. The influence of bad men will daily
grow less and in few months you will hardly
see the man bold enough and wicked enough
to say that he has ever been on the side of the
rebellion. 1t may not be safe for him to say
SO, il he have the moral deprayity to think so.
Gentlemen, it is your duty in these times to
encourage and strengthen public opinion.
Our brave soldiers are undergoing the dangers
of the field-they are doing battle like men
for the cause of American liberty. Let the
SOice from the whole North pour daily into
the camp-and let it be the voice of honor, |
of encouragement, of praise. Let the soldier
when he retires at night upon his straw pallet, |
feel that, Notwithstanding the storm may rage
without, and the cold chills make his flesh |
quiver, and the forebodings upon his mind of
the fearful struggle for life on the morrow,
there are warm and sympathizng hearts at
home, who pray for the success Of the holy
cause which called him forth, and that there
are hearts there also leaping in exultation at
the hope ofsaving bleeding and almost pros
trate country. This shall nerve him up to his
great task. This shall fire his heart, and put
strength in his good right arm. This shall lead
him 10 the battle under the belief that il he fall
a nation shall mourn at his grave. And this
sentiment, spread broadcast over the land,
shall drive to their hiding places, in confusion
and shame, the creatures, called men, who
stand ready now to shout over the enemy's
victory, and laugh over the dead and the dying
who gIoriously fell upon freedoms battlefield.
One would think that the deep cut gashes of
our soldiers, sending forth their hearts blood,
would blanch the hardened cheek of treason.
1t does not. Their dear brethren who make
them " are a chivalrous people. They have
sustained great wrongs, and they are the very
salt Of the earth. 1t is an abolition war-let
AboIitionists fight it !" And this is Liberty
CT speech And for the suppression of the
utteranoe Of such heresy great constitutional
princpel is violated. Many men talk and ex-
ecute treason with impunity. II they prefer
the despotism of JEFF Davis, let them seek ref
uge under his arm. 1 have made up my mind
that will stand fast by the old flag, and when
it goes down have no other object to live for,
for I would prefer death to despotism and
chaos. And this assuredly will follow the
downfall of the Republic. With the loyal
States the question noW is, shall the war be
carried on with all the power of the nation
1r shall we surrender the Government and the
country into the hands of traitors? That is
he question. One or the other of these alter
natives is inevitable. There is no reason for
A wise aud good man to doubt. In fact, he
who stops to doubt, is half way over to the
enemy.