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as then, though we differ upon questions of domestic politics — whether we favor or oppress the internal doctrines and platforms upon which
Jackson or
Lincoln was elected — nevertheless, we are all agreed that “The Union must and shall be preserved!”
The speaker proceeded in an eloquent strain, favoring the energetic enforcement of the laws, and the
Constitution upon which they rest.
He had always been a democrat, yet he would forget his party proclivities, and join heart and hand in the work of suppressing insurrection, and in vindicating the supreme majesty of the law. He closed by saying:--My heart's desire and prayer to high Heaven is, that as God was on the side of our fathers in the trying days of the Revolution, so may He now stand by the sacred cause of their sons in these days of disloyalty and rebellion!
And now that the horrors of civil war are upon us, may the conflict continue till the death-rattle shall seize upon the palsied throat of dying Treason and Disunion!
(Loud applause.)
fellow-citizens — What does all this mean.
Is it that our Southern brethren have been trampled upon and their rights invaded?
(Cries of “No no.” ) Let me tell you, fellow-countrymen, what it is. Every Southern traitor hates a Northern working-man and says that he should be a slave.
They hate the man who works honestly for the support of his family, and say he ought to be a slave.
They make war upon you because they want a despotic government and power.
They want to place the power in the hands of a few. If they succeed they will build up a military despotism.
Next will follow an empire, and lords and ladies and an aristocracy will be the order.
(Cries of “Never.” ) They say that we are cowards, that we won't say any thing in reply; but be ready.
(Immense applause and cheers.)
fellow-citizens — No sight could more enliven the heart of a man who would be true to his country, than the one which is now presented around this square to-day.
It is in the
city of New York that we find that every man lays aside his business and his prejudices and comes as an honest man to lay upon the altar of his country the offering he has for its defence.
(Cheers.) I may say that the great heart of the
city of New York throbs lively to-day when the news comes teeming from the telegraph that her citizen soldiers, her sons, have been impeded in their progress to the national capital by obstructions placed in the way by the rebels to our country, and traitors to the
Constitution.
Fellow-citizens, there is hardly one within the sound of my voice but must feel the responsibility which rests upon us as men and as citizens of this great metropolis of the nation.
But let us not forget in this, the hour of trial to our country, there should be but one feeling amongst us, and that feeling of devotion, entirely the defence of our flag and the protection and perpetuity of our Government.
Will it be said of us, the most enlightened nation on the face of the earth, that in this, the nineteenth century, we, within almost the period of a man's life, should be found ungrateful to the recollections of the past, unmindful of the present, and forgetful of the duty which we owe to our country?
Believe it not, fellow-countrymen, that this country of ours is not to endure for more than the lifetime of a man. I believe that it has had a past history, and I tell you it is to have a future life.
Why, this very Government, as has been justly observed, is a kind and beneficent one, and so kind and beneficent in its operation that we hardly knew that we lived under one.
There was no restraint or restriction upon us, and we were not burthened by taxation.
Let us teach our Southern brethren that they must yield to the requirements of the
Constitution; that they must redress their grievances, if they have any, within the
Constitution and according to the provisions calculated and approved of for their redress; and until they are willing to submit to that arbitration — until they are willing to bring their grievances and lay them before a jury of their country, before the people of the
United States--I say, until that hour they are our enemies, and they must be treated as such.
Now, fellow-citizens — and it lingers on my tongue in saying so — they are our enemies, and it is our duty to oppose them and compel them to conform to the principles of the
Constitution.
We have arrived at the hour of trial, and I ask you all to bear yourselves firmly in the struggle which is before us in meeting these men, who are freemen like yourselves.
You must remember at all times that we have but one object in view.
We must lay aside all selfish feelings, and struggle to accomplish that end which will best secure to us our liberties, and tend to secure the liberty of all mankind.
We would be recreants to ourselves — to the standard which history has given us — if we did not at this time come up as one man in the cause of our country.
As I said before, every consideration should be laid aside in support of the flag whose stripes denote the past of our freedom, and whose stars show the brightness of our future greatness.
(Loud cheers.) Press onward, fellow-countrymen, if necessary, but let it be done quickly.
Let the spirit of our ancestors — let the spirit of freedom in the
North--awaken.
Let them come in as one man, and let us crush out this monster.
(Vociferous cheers.) Yes, this monster rebellion, which seeks to find a lodgment among our people.
(Cheers.) Press them out, I say. Press them out once, and do it well, and that will be their end. (Loud and continued cheers.)
fellow-citizens:--This is no time for set speeches.
Fine phrases, rhetorical flourishes and rounded periods, are not what the people want.
There is more eloquence in the words “I enlist” than in the combined utterances of all the orators in the nation.
What man, by words, could inspire such military enthusiasm and ardent patriotism as did the roll of the drum and tread of the New York “Imperial Guard,” the gallant Seventh, as it marched through our streets yesterday?
But earnest words are necessary to incite the government to vigorous action.
I am rejoiced at this opportunity of addressing you, because I can through the reported speech attempt to diffuse an energy into the government corresponding to the enthusiasm of the people.
The Government has, by lying supinely on its back and hugging closely the delusive phantoms of concession and compromise, permitted treason to run riot in the land and bind it hand and foot.
See with what delight the people hailed the first evidence of action.
The proclamation of the
President, which was a brave and good one, was issued on Monday morning last.
Its effect upon a patient, forbearing, and long suffering people was like the blast upon
Roderick's bugle horn--'twas worth a thousand men. It was like the presence of
Napoleon at the head of his army, which the combined despots of
Europe were wont to estimate
