Year: 1868

which l long in this land of ours to-
day if there is one thought that
rises uppermost above other
thoughts, it is that thought embod-
led in those brief, sententious words
of the great captain Of our armies,
embodying as much as speech of
an hours duration, because it is ex-
actly suited to the exigency of our
situation; it is, "let us have peace" +"
lCfeat applause. ss-


There is no country in the world
there is no land beneath the circuit
of the sun that longs for peace like
this great Republic of ours. Peace,
and with it consequent prosperity,
peace, and with it progress and de-
velopement; peace, for 1 am oppo-
sed to all wars, as have often told
you, except those wars forced upon
us for the persavation of our nation
al existence. We want no more war,
we want no more violence, we want
peace. We want no more drafts,
we want no more bloodshed, we
want no more carnage, we want no
more debt. We want peace and
peace we will have The great hero
of the century, who heads the Union
ticket in this contest. commanded
peace on the battle field, and he will
in the executive chair, cammand
peace in this republic of ours. Ap-
plause. From ocean to ocean, and
from the frozen lakes to where the
flowers bloom in perpetual spring,
upon the borders of the Southern
Gulf, he will have peace by pro-
tecting every man within our limits
Poor though he may be, down trod
cen though he may have been,
humble though he may be, friend
less and obscure he may be, Ulysses
S. Grant will give him protection.
Applause. A voice, "Three cheers
for. Colfax."


Mr.. Colfax-That ought to have
been a cheer for Grant, for I was
speaking of him, not of myself. l
har- nnthine IA ahant mysalf
as candidate, for suppose to tell
the truth, that if General Grant
should be elected I probably should
be also. Laughter and applause. |
They say he can't make speeches.
I A voice, s'We don't want him to-"
You see I am saying nothing about
the principles or platform of the
candidates of our opponents, but l
have a right to speak Of him who
led those for whom I speak, that
stood round him defending these
Republican principles in the past.
He made one speech when the COM
mittee of the Chicago Convention
announced his nomination to him al
his residence in Washington it was
a speech of only eight lines, but
there were two lines in it that were
as weighty, that were as valuable as
if they had filed the many volumes
that gave you the history of the
works of Confucius. They were
these words. of olootod shall
have no policy to enforce against the
will of the people, [Great ap-
plause. That is declaration worthy
OF the man that is a declaration
worthy of the cause. And he said
you remember, to President John
son: "The will of the people must
be the law of the land," and so say
we all. The will of the people en-
forced, and the law Of the land obey
ed, we shall have peace, and with
peace, progress unknown in the his
tory of our country before. With
peace, your country of immense re
sources, washed by the water of the
two great oceans of the globe
checked in it's advancing course by
the horrors of war, for a moment
with peace 1t will step forward with
gigantic strides in wealth and pop
ulation until it attains a prouder pc.
sition in the record of nations thar
it has to-day. We have within oul
limits all that makes a nation great
we. have people brave, as they
have shown themselves to be, self
sacrificing, devoted and practical
with boundless resources, mineral,
commercial and manufacturing, in
the temperate zone, which is the
governing zone of the world, and
beyond the limits Of which there are
no great nations. We have within
ourselves all the elements of great
ness, and with an administration
which shall be the will of the peo-
pie, and which shall enforce the law
of the land, we are destined to &
prosperity which, in glory, shaF


eclipse in the future all the brilliant
records of the past.


One word more about home. ]
come back, in the conclusion, as
spoke in the commencement, in re


gard to home home which, as Dry


den tells us, is the sacred refuge Of
our life-home, with its sacred ties


home, with all those sensibilities
which are excited by the very men
ton Of that word here, is this beau
tiful city, village when / first saw
it and lived in itnow advancing will
its motto Onward with a speed
unparalleled by any city in our State
with its vast manufacturing advan
tages, making it the very Manches
ter of Indiana; with its beautiful ST
Joseph Valley, the garden spot o
the West; with its noble prairie or
each side, destined to an aggricul
tural wealth that shall almost be tc
US incredible when it is fully realized
by its development. You have youl
lot cast in the most pleasant spot iT
this Republic Of ours. l congratu


late you upo it, and congratulate
myself that am with you here as s
part and parcel of this growing city
of South Bend and wherever ma,
be cast in life, whether separated
from you as Representative or still
Il