Year: 1874

NO P9WL HI0 SAVE THE GOVERNMENT.


A government which deniedits right to
aid commerce over the Des Moines Rapids,
and which advertised its impotency to con-
troll its own tllibusters, could hardly be ex-
perted to make a becoming figure when con-
fronted with war When, therefore, in
1861, the standard of rebellion was raised
and State after State wheeled defantly into
the ranks of revolt, it was perhaps not so
very surprising that one-haf the Demo
cratic party joined the revolt, while the
other half exclaimed it could not be resist
ed-not so very surprising that the six per
cent. bonds issued in February, 1861, were
sold at discount of six per cent. and not
so very surprising that Great Britain should
have proclaimed the rebels to be lawful
belligerents, before she knew gun had
been fired.


But it was surprising that a President
of the United States should address special
message to Congress to persuade the pub
lie that, although the rebellion was illegal,
yet the Government had no right to sup
press it; for by that act he introduced to
theiworld 4 Government the like of which
had never before been seen-a Government
against which it was unlawful to revolt,
and by which it was unlawful to suppress
revolt. Such government is described
nowhere in political history, save in the
message of President Buchanan.


Such was the style of administration, to
which the Republican party succeeded on
the 4th of March, 1861. That party was
instructed to but one duty. As you had
never known the National Government to
do anything, you evidently did not expect
it to do much. You simply commanded it to
save your Territories from the deflement of
slavery that was all.


OUR POWER VINDICATED.


When in October last a Spanish vice con-
sui in Cuba so far forgot the respect due to
the United States as to seize upon a vessel
sailing under the protection of her flag,
Spain promptly, without the firing of a gun
or spilling drop of blood made that hon-
orable reparation which every just govern
ment is glad to make for a wrong done.


MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT.


And this is not all Our material devel-
opment has kept pace with our political
reforms, and despite the encouragement to
immigration, and the positive drain of
great war lasting four years, our population
increased between 1860 and 1870 more than
seven millions. The increase was but a
little more than eight millions during the
previous decade In spite of the enormous
cost of that same war, both in money and in
muscle, our lines of completed railways
have increased from $1,000 miles, at the
close of 1861, to almost $4,000, at the close
of 1873. One iron track spans the con-
tinent; others are projected and more or
less advanced in construction. That vast
regionbetween the Rocky Mountain range
and the Sierra Nevadas, which was almost
unknown in 1861, is now traversed by
highways in every direction, and its geo.
graphy is as familiar to our children as the
geography of New England was to the
children of 1861. And here, within this
very Republic which thirteen years ago the
faithless Democracy turned over to the
Republican party for burial, capital has
combined to construct more miles of rails
way than all the rest of the world possesses.


Harbors and rivers have been improved,
and the trade of our Western lakes and
rivers now employs a commercial marine
exceeding 100000 tons.


Enlarged facilities for trade have swelled
the volume of trade.


PUBLIC CREDIT ADVANCED.


Two facts are sufficiently eloquent Of our