North Branch democrat. (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, July 29, 1863, Image 1

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    X3C A-M-VEY ■ hi-fci., Proprietor.]
NEW SERIES,
3JorHr Branch ©nit or rah
A weekly Democratic ' ~ .
piper, devoted to Pol VU
ti,->, XHWS, the Arts : a.- :
un t Sciences A.-. Pub- i
•ijhe'
Terms—l copy 1 year, (in advance) <1.50. If
not pain within six months, 5*2.00 w ill be charged
ADVEIiTISIKTC3r
-10 /(>! or ? ; j ; t
Uss. mak- three 'fourtiro three , six tone
one si'inrc icccks weeks mo'lh'mo'lll mo'lh i/car
j j I > l
ISo i .re lUij 1,25 2.23 2.87; 3,00| 5.00
. 2 io. 2 0o- 2.50 3.25 ; 3 501 4.50 6.00
•J a>. 3,001 3.751 4.75: 5,50 7.00! 900
i Column. 4.00! 4,50! G.soj 8,00 10,00,15 00
J do. 6.00! 7.00' 10 00' 12.00 17.00> 25.00
| ilo 8.00; 0.30 14.00- 18,00) 25,09! 35.00
I do. 110,00.12,00; 17,00- 2 2.110,' 23,0U 40,u0
Business Cards of <ue square, with paper, S5.
JOB WOITK
of all kin Is neatly executed, and at prices to suit
I the times.
j Business Jtotiffs.
nu ON S I ANl>—Nichotgon, !>. —C L
I" 13 Jacksix, PropiLtor. fvlu49tf]
TT S. COOPER. PHYSICIAN A SURGEON
ll Ncwt-iu Centre, Luzerne County Pa.
I pEO.S.TUTTON, ATTORNEY AT LAW, I
I VI Tiiiikliitiii--k, Pa. " Office in Stark's Dii.k
I Duck, Tioga street.
TT7M. IN.PIATT. ATTORNEY AT LAW. Of- i
V fi.'c u: Stark's Brick Block, Tioga St., 'funk- I
| D.'ilk, Pa
■ T ITTI.E DEW ITT, ATTORNEY'S AT I
I.AV,', Office on Tioga street, Tunkhutinock.
fa.
11. K. I.ITTI.F. J HKIrtTT.
I *
i T V. SMITH, M. I), PHYSICIAN A SURGEON,
| <1 . .■ ..is Rri-lite Street, next door to the Demo
" Cr f Ofs o. Ttrikh.iniM-k. I'M.
n.UtVIY *H KI,E. ATTORNEY AT LAW
and GKXFRAI INSURANCE AGENT Of
t fie. Rri Ige ,-treet, opposite Wall's Hotel, .Tunkhan
ft e • k Pa.
I J.NAL IIIIOAdS, M. ID.,
Graduate af the University of Penn'a )
■K ResiM*. ttul!v ff-rs !i!s profession:!! servb-es to the
I ffttT-ns .f Tunkh imio.-k an I vicinity. lie can be
■ f.iun I when u..t f.r..fcssion:illv either at his
■ Lirne St. re, or at his resi leu-e on Putnam Street.
DK.J.t.COItSEJ.II S. II AVI Mi LOCAT
-1".I> AT THE I ALLS, W \LL promptly attend
■■>llcall? in the line of hi- profession—may he found
i>t l;iean-i > lli.tcl. u lien nut professionally absent. I
F.ilis, Oct 10, 1361.
, uu. .i. c; - 7i KV: KKR A oo^T
I'UYSUIVNji SI'UGEOXS,
II m 1 1 respectfully announce to the citizenso f Wy
icii <r fh it thev hive P. ated :>t Tunkhmnoek wher
ley v.; ; prtijhj.flv attend to all calls in the lire of
re ' t..{.•—M ty be found at his L>rug Stro
win a nut professionally absent.
T 11. (IK 111 ,M, I).— (Graduate of the yi
J • M Institute, Cincinnati) irouhl respectfully
•nuoiiuce to the citizens of Wiotniiip and Luzerne
I iimth-s, that he c mtinues his regul tr praetice in the
vsriuu- I'p irtments of his profusion. May be found
t las oil, e or resiJea.c, when uot professionally ah
t tit
■ Particular attention given to the treatment
Citnitiic Itiscas
entretnurelauil, Wyoming Co. Pa.—v2n2
WALL'S" HOTEL,"
LATE AMERICAN HOUSE/
Tl NUII.WXOC'K, WYOMISiG CO , 1A.
I 'ill 3 establishment has recently been refitted and
lurtji. hed in toe latest style Every attention
i " •: be given to th comfort and convenience of those
I*3o patronize the IIoue.
T j>. W ALL. Owner and Proprietor.
I Taiikhnnnnek. September 11, 1861.
NORTH BRANCH HOTEL,
I MiI.SHOPPEN, WYOMING COUNTY, PA
V"m. H. COR'I RIGHT, Prop'r
I |J A\ IN( resumed the proprietorship of the above
I Hotel, the undersigned will spare no effort to
I ••h i-r the house an agreeable place ot sojourn for
I i who may favor it with their custom.
Win. 11 CCKTIUHIIT.
I June, 3rd, 1*63
MAYfIARD'S HOTEL,
I T'L" \ KHAN N () C K,
T0 M 1XG cor NT Y , PEN NA.
J ° H X MAYNA R I) , Proprietor.
UurXG taken the lintel, in the llorough of
IT recently occupied by Riley
I _ the proprietor respectfully soli it? a share ot
I P-'truu.ige. The llouse has been thoroughly
I fee , ' a " 1 the comforts and accomodations of a
I v ? " M 'l be found bv all "h > may favor
| ' r itopto.n'."- 11 Hdl
■
I 1 M. OiLMAfS,
DENTIST. /
I
Ely ~ "*
■•'l has permanently located in Tnnk
f • hnaneck I{ur..ugh, and respectfully tenders his
V "*Uii?nil services to the citizens of this pi a2 and
, r , Rn '" n g country.
| f iCTroy UHK WAKRANTED > T0 GIVE SATIS-
B ' over Tutton's Law Office, near the Pos
Blanks 11 Blanks !1i
SUMMONSES
■ SUBPCENAES
EXECUTIONS
CONSTABLE'S SALES
aiol legal Lii.uk? of stl
and Correctly printed on guild Pi\k~.
*t the Office of the •' North Jranvb
M | E , F ,°R FA RMERS, AS A I ERTH-I'/E
at VERNO y S
' ! Tp*n, c. jpt jo IS6li -
SPEECH
OP
HON. D. W. VO OH IT EES
INDIANA,
DELIVER En AT CONCORP, N. H JULY 4th, 1863.
To an Approviug Audiance oT 3 0,000
[Cominurd ]
Thus reasoned the fathers of New Eng
land and in like manner will reason their
children. I have often gaZ'-d long und attert
j lively upon- the assembled group on the deck
lof the Miyfluwer as you seo that vessel
; idle as a {tainted ship upon a painted
! ocean," upon the canvas in the rotunda of
I the C apitoj. llow small was their c .untrv
!at that moment, but how f.ee ! Tliey pos
sessed not one foot of ground. They had
weighed country, home, ancestral graves, all
in the balance against liberty, and found
t hem light as empty air. liow insignificant
to them in that hi ur seemed all the wars of
occupation and possession which from the
beginning of time have defaced this beautiful
earth and destroyed the iinaee of God ! A"
time, and i's interests and pleasures recede
and disappear Iroin the eye of the dving
Christian, and Heaven and its glories mag
uify themselves to his awak'jr.;.*,- senses, s..
to the Pilgrims on the face of the waters the
lovu of liberty rose with such effulgence in
tln-ir mind- that all else became obscured
like the stars hiding their duui fished lig ,t
betre the sun .f noonday. That little speck
alone on the desolate bosom of the great I
deep, animated and impelled, however, by t. !
pnuc p!e indestructible as matter, eternal,
and <d equal origin with the human soul*
before whose breath thrones are blasted, and '
empire* fait progamic, p .tent as the elements [
themselves, triumphing over the n in ;
-earch of a iu-w theatre of g'ory, ha* ever !
been to my muni a lesson tor the American !
statesman. Though a free Commonwealth
be no larger than ihe deck of a ship, cut ofi
from either shore, yet under God it is a pow
er arid light in the mi Ist of the eartli. The
voice ol the Mes.-iah cries out to us from the 1
fouiuains of inspiration: " What shall it '
profit a man if h • gain the whole world and ;
ioge his own soul." A voice too comes up
from the to nubs of deal Republics of former •
ages, saying to the American people: "What :
shall it profit y.u ifj'oti maintain by the'
sword your extensive possession and lose '
your own liberties." No; rather a c mntry
on board the Mayflower again, rather the j
narrow limits of Ply niou'h rock, rather the 1
original boundaries of the old thirteen colu
nies, wi h the un li-turhed enj tyuient of '
Constitutional liberty, than the possession !
of all the lands on which the dews of Ileav i
en descend, with the unrestrained caprice
and unbridled will of one man f..r my govern
ment. "Compared to the breach of our Con
-.titution " says Edward Livingston,"and the
establishment of aibitrary power, every other
topic's trifling ; arguments of convenience
-ink into nothing ; the persevation of wealth,
the increase of commerce, however weighty
on other occasions, here lose their importance
when the fundamental principles of freedom -
are in danger." Will it be said that our ob
servations on this point have no sufficient
facts f>r their supp >rt ? Will it be contend
ed that there is nothing in the current his
tory of the day to warrant a well-grounded
apprehension that American liberty is in
danger? Must 1 prove by argument that
the sun is shining ? Must I demonstrate
that the night follows tlie day ? This ser
vile cry of "all is well," in the face of the
unbounded exercise of lawless power, leads
to but one result as inevitably as mathemat
ical science reaches its conclusions. The
fawning courtier who, from the bare motive
■•f promotion and gain, seconds with the
voice and smile of approbation every en
roachment on the rights ot the people, is the
most dangeaous instrument by which pop
ular governments have been overthrown in
all ages of t lie world. lie seeks to full the
people into a lalse sense of security, and at
the same time invites the daring usurper to
hql'Jly bound over every barrier. A cele
brated foreigner thus fairly describes the
manner in which this class obtain eminence
and favi r with a corrupt and designing exec
utive :
'One makes a fortune because he can cringe, an
other be cruse he can lie ; this tnnn be -ause h J sca
sonaoly dishonors himselt; that because he betrays
his friend ; but the surest means to mount as high as
Alheroni is to offer like him, razouts of mushrooms
to tne Duke of Vcn lorne, and there are Vendornes
everwbere. They who are called great have gener
ally no other assendency over us but what our weak
ness premits them, or what onr mcaancss gives them.
The class here portrayed is unfortunately
ormidable at this time in control of public
Sentiment. By it, every warning voice in
behalf ofthe supremacy of the Constituton
and the rights of the citizen under it is at
ouce clam .rously denounced as evidence of
hostility to the Government. Its pecliar
province is to paint to tho public eye the dis
ptmecra of .patronage as incapable of
error, infallible, without spot or
blemish, and subjedt to none of the infirmi
ties of sinful flesh. The disciples of this
school of political Magdalens have the extra
ordinary faculty of transforming tlje most
attrocious crimes on the part of those who
hold the keys of wealth and position into the
most respondent virtues. To them tho mur
"TO SPEAK HIS THOtJGHTS IS EVERY FREEMAN'S RIGHT.-Thomas Jeltexson.
TUNKHANNOCK, PA., WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 1863.
der of inocent men and women by slow tor
ture in loathsome prison-house is simply
evidence of devotion to the cause of the Un
ion if committed by those who load their ab
ect partisans with the Infamous wages of thare
adulation. The plunder of the public treasury,
the wholesale robery of the labor of honest
people fin Is with them the ready and ample
justification if their own palms are enriched
with a portion of the spoils. Imbecility
is converted into zealous patriotism, and the
defeats of inferior partisan generals into
j and conclusive victories. In the press,
in the pulpit, in the forum, and at the hus
tings they now invito the open and audaciou*
approaches of a complete despotism, and pro
claim in advance Ihe submi-eian of the coun
trymen of Wane.i and Hancock in the East,
and of Jackson and in the West. Tha/t such
destroyers of popular 1 iberty- and con&ittutional
government shall aim their poisoned shafts ol
detraction and calumny at the faithful senti
nel who announces jhe near approach of fatal
dinger is to be expected, but should not si
lence the voice of patriotic duty. They arc
in the service of their master. A passonate
exclamation ol Ilcnry 11. in the hearing of
obsequious minions turned them into assas
sins, and s'uitied the altar of Go! with the
blood of Thotnmas a Becket. In like man
ner this cuntry now swatns with those whose
feet are swift to carry out, in defiance of all.
law, human and divine the obscurely hinted
wishes, the half d.slosed views of an Abmin
istration which avows no restraints except
iis own will. Look with m* for a few in > -
meiits over the intolerable events that have
marked the conduct of those now in chief au
illor.ty since their act s-don to power,and which
call in imperative tones,not to be denied.for re
'oiin or for revolution. I come from the
broad free plains ol the West. I Cotne from
a land of unmeasured attachment to the Un .
ion. Its patriotism has been spontaneous as
the productions of its fertile soil. Its valor in
the face of battle lias been as fierce as the
(lames that rage over its praries. It has not ,
j au-ed to measure its resotirscs before pour j
ing out in tins contest. It has in ile 110 con
ditions, exnc'ed no partisan pledges, r°qired
no proclamation before rendering obedience
to tie laws. The North west is no delinquent, j
She is do criminal. Yet the sentence of .
outlaw his h -en pro i> t ice 1 again-t her. Her
proud and stately neck has been selected for
the yoke—the yoke more galling than the
Roman emblem of bondage which doomed
whole provinces. She has b:e:i robbj 1 of
the protection of written laws, and placed in
the custody of military governors. The great
State of Indinan.% his had a succession of
these officers. Her Constitution provides
for a civil G >veru >r who shtll see
that the laws are faithfully executed, and
who is the chiof of her mditary organization*
That official, however, cm no longer be re
garded as the Executive of the State, inas
much as the that position in all im
portant particulars have been surrendered to
the hands of another- Thus Federal usurpa
tion strikes down the Constitution and the
Government of the State, and the advocate of
a consolidated despotism abandon both dignity
and duty in order to forward the " ravishing
strides" which it is making in our midst.—
By some silent process of the Presidential
mind, the privileges of the writ of habeas
cn-pus have become suspended in the West.
We had not thought that the subject had
even engaged the attention of the Executive
until after our citteens had clamored in vain
from their prisons for trial and justice. We
were not even in ormed of the great revolu
tion in our lights and penalties until we
were deprived of the former and suffering
the latter. To suspend the privileges of this
great popular writ is given by the Constitu
ti.m as one of the enumerated powers of
Congress; but the President of the United
Slates exercses that power, as we at last
discover, without condesc ending to inform
the people that he has done so. But I need
not confine my remarks on this point to any
one section of the loyal States. They apply
equally to all—if not in extent, at East In
principle. Arrest, trial, condemnation, arid
punishment of citizens free from every taint
of crime, all take place in the silent cham
bers of one uiind. Law, fact and sentence
all exist aUne in the will of the Executive.
The person of every citizen of America, his
wife and his child is more at the mercy to
day of Executive caprice and tyranny than
the slave of Virginia is at the mercy of his
master. Written laws regulate the condi
tion of the black man's servitude. None
exist for the protection of the white man.
In his letter to the Albany Committee on
the subject ofthe arrest and exile of Mr.
Vallandigham, the President plainly avows
his independence of and supremacy over all
law in his dealings with the liberty ofthe
citizen. He announce" that the public safe
ty is fhe only law which he recognizes. In
what the public safety consists he alone wi'l
judge. Whatever conduces to the public
safely that he will do; and, again, he alone
is to determine what may bo necessary to
this end. This is his argument, and it ab
sorbs within himself every possible power
that the inadJest tyrant ever coveted over
life, libet ty and property. If in the estima
tion of Mr. Lincoln the life of Mr. Vallandig
ham or any other citizen was inconsislant
with the public safety, this reasoning would
produce his death in any manner which the
Executive might 6ee proper to indicate
We will have to turn back to the familiar
and odious names of the worst despots of
tho old world and of ancient days to find a
parallel to this monstrous assumption of
power. The English house of Stuart was th
champion of liberty in comparison. Louis
XIV., when he exclaimed " I aui the State,"
did not profane the world with so fatal and
bloody a heresy as now stalks through this
land almost without rebuke. Tiberius in
his hours of vengeful solutide at Caprea nev
er menaced more openly or more bitterly
the lives and the liberties of Roman citizens.
A law was enacted by the last Congress
avowedly to cover such supposed r ffenccs
as were alleged against Mi*. Vallandigham,
and for which he underwent the mockery,
and insult of a trial bj T court-martial. Bv
that law jurisdiction in such cases was ex
pre&ly given to the Courts of the United
States, and by that law express penalties
were attached in the event of conviction,
consisting of fine and imprisonment. Yet
with that law staring liitu full in the face
with its provisions all unrepealed, with the
ink scarcely dry which allixed his name to
it, and with his official oaih on his conscience
to execulate it, the Executive of the Repub
lic ignores its existence, and substitutes in
in us place a trial and a punish
ment unknown to free governments.
Banishment ; Banishment !do we l.ve in
Ru->ia or America ? have we a Liberia, a Bot
any Bay ? Banishment ! What sad memories
atrocious despotism the woid tecalls 1 We
ot again behold the pure and inflexible citizen
"f Greece, the just and upright citizen ol
Rome, going forth to ex le for braving the
furious license of arbitrary power. The mel
ancholly le-sons of history are busily repeat"
ing -themselves in our midst. The old prin
ciples of good and evil are contending, as
they have ever contended, with various sue
cess To-day the lovely features of virtue
are marred and defaced by some f<*ul and re
volting Caliban of malignant mischief. To
morrow she triumphs with a brow as radi
ant and unsullied as thej cun 1 beams of the
morning To-day a law abiding, earnest and
distinguished citizen floats away into ban
ishment on an iron chid ve-el aurroun led
by bayonets for making a defence of tho ac
knowledged letter and spirit of the (Jon-ti
tulion. To-m >rrow ho will return, strength .
ened by the ordeal like 'lie giant after his
slumbers, biinging a new vitality and force
hi the cause for which ho has selfcred. Men
of revolutionary ancestors i Tiie great and
solemn questiou of the hour is whether the
Constitution and the la we are yet supreme
in this land. Shall the mind of one one man
constitute your Government? To what do
you allegiance ? Shall Roman Decemvirs
hang the written laws of your sight, and then
punish you for effonding against the hidden
purposes of their own minds? Into what war
ot Plutonian darkness have we been driven
by the waring elements ? Where is the North
star ? Where are the compass and the nee
dle ?
" Dispel this cloud, the light of Heaven restore,
Give uie to SEE— and Ajax asks no more,"
Yes, give us ro SEF. the light of the Consti
tulion still unobscure l, and we will be con.
tent to abide the tardy steps of time for the
.•deviation of all other wrongs. But shall all
all obedienece be required of the people and
none of their public servants ? Is not obedi
ence in a free government a mutual duty ?
Shall discriminations be made between
American citizens in the enjoyment of rights
and the support of burdens ? What burden
has the Democratic party failed to assume in
support of the government, and of what right
has its members not been deprived by the
express order or the silent consent of this
Administration ? In the words ot John Jay,
" Reason looks with indignation on such dis
tinctions, and freemen can never perceive
their pr .priety." What homo in this broad
land has been secure frotn the parted satanic
hoof or bare, naked suspicion ? Am I work"
ing a sketch from the colors of fancy ? Let
the screams of the wife and mother emanating
from a hundred inward households at the
dead hour of the night, answer. These facts
shall not escape history. They will constitute
the stocks in which the present Administra
tion will stand pilloried forever in open shame
and intamy. The angel cf death respected
the blood on the door-po9ts of Eg) pt. Ihe
King of England could not enter the humblest
tenement in his realm, but the meanest and
basest of mankind in the employment of the
present Administration have had the power of
access over the insulted body of the Consti
fution into every chamber beneath every roof
between the two oceans. Ibis is the neces
sary result of the argument of the President
that he is the supreme judge of whit is essen
tial to the public safety, Before this baleful
theoiy every head bows to the earth, every
mouth is silent, and every door flies open.—
Robespierre, in the delirium of the French
Revolution, when " tho sun's eye had a sickly
glare," and the world grew faint with horror
never assumed so much. The responsibility
of the doctrine and practice of this phase of,
despotism was divided in bis day among the
members of a committee of public safety. No
one man accepted tho terrible consequences.
It erected that appalling spectacle
of insaiiate murder—ihe guillotine—in France
It may do the same here to-morrow, if the
President should declare the jmblic safety to
require it. It filled every prison, it desecra
ted every home, it spared no age, no sex, it
pitied no condition, it sacrificed whole heca
tombs of victims to suspicion and private
malice, it converted all, France into a field of
IJood. All thjs may transpire here before
mir'cyes ift|£ doctrine ofthe Executive,
lately announced, is to receive-our submiss
ion. Well might a leading Administration
journal (The New York Times ) exclaim a
few months ago : " hitherto President Lincoln
has given us no Constitutional Administration
*f * * He has assumed himself to be the
sole Executive—to control in his own person
tiie whole act-iotvand conduct ofthe Govern
ment, and that, too avowedly without any
fixed and stable policy, but according to the
shifting drifts and currents ot public senti
ment and the changing judgments and caprces
of tus owh mind. * * No monarch in Eu
rope at this day, however absolute, attempts
or dreams of such an undertaking, and Mr.
Lincoln must abandon it, or the ruin of his
country will be the price of his presumption."
But let us indulge in some inspiring histori
cal recollections. The history of New Eng
land is full of glory on this subject. The
writs of assistance were the contrivance of a
servile Parliament in aid of the usurpations
of a tyrrannica! king. They gave the right
in a mode, however pointed out by law, to do
I hat which onr present Executive authorizes
his officers to do, without color of legal en
actment. The spirit of liberty took the
alarm. The flames of the Revolution blazed
up under the eloquent denunciations of
James Oiis. I quote from the speech of that
fervid apostle of American freedom : "11
the third place," said he, " a person with
ihis writ, in the daytime, may enter all
houses, shop*, &c., at will, command all to
assist him. Fourthly, by this writ not only
deputies, &c., but even their tnenial servants
are allowed to iord it over us. What is this
but to have the curse of Canaan with a wit
ness oi us: to be the servants of servants,
the most despicable of God's creation. Now
one of Use most essential branches of English
liberty is the freedom of one's home. A
man's house is his castle ; and whilst
he is quiet he is as well guarded as a
Prince in hU castle. This writ, if it should
be declared legal, would totally annihilate
this privilege. Custom house officers may
may enter our houses when they please; we
are commanded to permit them to enter,
may treaak locks, and everything in their
way ; and whether they break through malice
ortevenge.no man. no court can enquire.
Bare surpicion without oath is sofficicient,
* * * * What a scene does this open .
Every man prompted by revenge, til humor!
or wantonness, to inspect the inside ut his
neighbor's house, may get a writ of assist
ance. Others will ask it frotn sell-defence ;
one arbitrary exertion will provoke another,
until society bo involved in tumult and blood." .
And out of this question of personal liberty
and the security of your ancestors' homes, in
the language of John Adams, speaking of this
event, " American Independence was then
and there born. The seeda of patriots and
heroes to defend the non st :e diis am mosus
infans. to defend the vigorous youth were
then and there sown." And shall we at this
late day abandon those very principles for
which our fathers enacted Lexington and
Banker llill ? Shall we deliver up into the
hands of tyrrany tho Declaration of our In
dependence? Shall we surrender all that our
Constitution has gained from the system of
one-man p iwer ? Alas the American revolu
tion is in vain ? Did it produce no permanent
policy ? Has the existence of American lib.
erty been a sweet but temporary dream ?
" Oh Liberty ! can man resign thee.
Once having felt thy generous flume?
Can dungeons, bolts and bars confine then.
Or whips thy noble spirit tauie ?"
From this spot, and on this holy day set
apart in the calendar of tiuie to the cause of lib
erty I would solemnly warn the Executive and
his advisers, in candor and not in malice, that
civil war has but just commenced in this un
happy country if they cotinue to pursue their
present career of license and upsurpati on.
By the shades of the mighty dead who died
for American freedom, we here swear to pro
tect and preserve the great inheritance. But
all that I have urged to-day in behalf of tiie
integrity of the Constitution will be met by
the ancient, venerable an I odious plea thai
a nessesity exists fer its subversion. Shall
this abomination in the sight of reason be
dignified by an argument ? Shall we pause
to explode this thousand times exploded doc
trine of depot ism ? Is tho experience of all
history lost upon the American mind ? Are
we deaf to th voices that issue frotn the tombs
of ancient Republics'? They all died from
military nessity. This is the story of the
school books, and the children of the civilized
world know it by heart. But in defiance of
reason and expericence tho usurpers of the
present hour have boldly intrenched thccu
selves is the worn out maxims of king craft,
and demand the surrender of this last for
tress of Censtitutionol liberty.
"So spake the fiend, and with necessity,
The tyrant's plea, excused his devilish deeds.' 1
But let us try for a moment this d tee nee
'alse and dangerous as it is, by the results
which have followed. What has been achiev
ed by a resort to the doctrine of necessity?
The pcpople of the Uuited Statoa have been
required to euinit to the erection of this fear
lirfiriAlS: iI.QO FEU ANNtum
ful standard as a rule of conduct in public
affairs. Under it newspapers have been sil
enced, free speech denied, citizens of every
grade and condition in life torn from their
homes and imprisoned, no sex exempted,
childhood punished, and all this has been
borne without revolt. What have the peo
! pie received in exchange for such unparalleled
! sufferings and forbearance 1 Have they a
! county restored to the highway of national
• glory ? Has the evil of secession been over- .
i come ? Has this rebellion been suppressed ?
i Has the Messed Union beeu restored? Are
I we far on the way towards that consumation
Iso devoutly to be wished ? Does the brilliant
| bow of promise span the future ? Is the sky
clear and bright over our heads to-day ? Does
th rising sun of this hallowed aniversary come
to us with healing in its beatn9 ? The rul
ers of this country have had all, everything,
even to lives and citizen. All has been cast
at their feet. Taxation without limit; a
banking system which absorbs and controlls
the currency ; an act of conscription which
demands the life of the citizen, and a bill of
indemnity for past,and future crimes commit
ted against his liberty, are the work of one
; Congress, and consttute a measure of despot
;ic power which, I boldly affirm in the face of
iny countrymen, has no parallel this day io
the history of civilized nations. And what
has not been seized by a bold hand. What
are the returns for all this ? The ear has
heard the promise, but the hope has found
it broken. The beautiful apples of gold set
| pictures ofsiiver,which you beheld so tetnpt
j ingly near at the opening of this war, are
| Dead Sea fiuit—ashes to the taste. Oh!
what scalding irony the position of affairs to
day cast upon the boastful,vainglorious proph
ecies of two years ago. Armed with sup
prerne power, the members of this Adminis
tration are now shaking with mortal terror
in the midst of their official predictions that
war would restore the Union in sixty days.
The people stand by in amazement and
horror, stunned by the evil fortune which
pursues us. Their confidence, long abused
and now dead, bereft of hope, and paralyzed
by the want of a capable and honest head to
the Government. And this is the result
which has attended the unlimited exercise
of the doctrine of necessity ! Does it how
ever surprise the 6tudent of morals, of histo
ry and philosophy ? Can wrong, injustice,
and crime constitute the basis of success in
a righteous cause ? Has it ever been so ?—-
Ought it to be ? If such was the law of hu- *
man action, then evil would have stronger
reasons in its favor than God ever designed
it should have. No. Away with this nox
ious heresy. It is baneful in theory and
disastr inous results. Let us do right, tho
earth and hell confront us. Let us follow
the principles of truth and liberty though
they should give us uo wider home than the
grave. All hail the Constitution ! iThetri-'
al has been made to administer this Govern
ment independent of its aid, by a higher law.
The failure is complete. The world will
take notice of this fact, and think the better
of tho American Constitution. The Ameri
can citizen everywhere, and of all parties,
will engrave this great lesson on his heart,
and floe in every hour of peril hereafter to
the shelter of the Coustiiution as the house
of his refuge. The worship of tho golden
calf in the wilderness, and the calamities
which attended tho sacrilege, gave the ark of
the living God a firmer hold on the confi
dence and affections of Israel. Let the re
sults of disobedience to the Constitution
which we now behold, teach us a similar
lesson. To this disobedience may bo traced
tho '• liliad of all our woes." The Constitu
tion is strength—it is wisdom. It is love of
country. It is liberty. It is Union. All
this has been in times past and all this it will
he again in tho future to those who embrace
and obey it. Thus far I have spoken of those
important and overshadowing incidents of
this war which have befallen the people of
the loyal States—assailing us like plague and
famine shaken from the wings of some bale
ful comet sweeping over the earth. But wa
do not shrink from a full consideration of
the actual issues involved in the prosecution
of ihe war itself against the seceded States.
If Englishmen in the Parliament of England
in the days of King George could denounce
a war waged ostensibly to restore and pre
serve the Union of the British Empire, but
in reality tending to, and resulting ia its dis
solution, the citizens of New Hampshire may
reasonably claim similar rights. If one por
tion of our own countrymen can discuss their
plans forthe future coudition of a commoncoun
trv I shall never be able to understand "why
we shouldbe silent. Common sacrifices and
a common destiny beget common privileges.
It Wendell Phillips shall rave, snail not tho
sane men of New England reason ? If a
committee on the conduct of the war shall
bring disaster upon a great and noble army
and ruin the country m order to blacken tile
fame and prostrate the usefulness of the
brilliant and able, McCleltan, who shall |dO
der us from sp-aking freely our i"
this committi.e of the whole pcopkj oa
subject of the war itself? I scorn defy
every assumption, military or cf*'d
tnanda'.e wh'ieh is airoei at tb!s right. My
countryman, I am contftnt that ealia
partial history shall determine th®claims
wisdom and statesraanst-P ' between '.404$
ytho advocated a rysor' 1?
VOL. 2, N0.50.