Indiana State Sentinel, Volume 28, Number 39, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 September 1879 — Page 2

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THE INDIAKA STATE SENTINEL, WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 24, 1879.

8PHHOH OK

HOI DAIS1EL W. TOORDEES Delivered at HmmiltM, Ohio, on Monday Svenlng, September 15. t8T9. Fellow Citizbms or Ohio Political parties svre necessary to the parity and freedom -of governments. They watch, detect and -expose each others errors, and corruptions. They throw light into dark and crooked places where each others secrets are kept, thus enabling Uie people to nee, as is , their right, ail that is going on concerning their Interests. Parties also form issues at times of the most momenta character for the people to decide; issues sametlmes involving be principles of trade, nuance, commerce and of political economy generally, while at other times Issues are made which involve the most vital doctrines of free government Itself. No one ptrty is always right, nor Is any one party always wrong. It happens, too, very often, that which party is nearest right on given s.aesUon becomes a matter for comparison. At this time, how ever, I venture to say that TH BZPIBUIUK PABTT, on the political issues as they now stand before Uie public, is farther wrong, more absolutely In error, more deeply steeped la obstinate sin and Iniquity against the plain teaching of the American ooas'itaUon than any her party ever known in our history, not even excepting the Federalists, who sustained the alien and sedition laws, and opposed the war of 1812. Whatever the faults and shortcomings of other parties have been In the past, the Kepublloan party la the first to Join issue against free elections; It Is the first to impeach the virtue and intelligence of the American people, thereby pronouncing free government a failure: it is the first to clamor lor an armv at the voting places of the people, for the fixed bayonet at the polls, for the bullet to regulate the ballot; it is the tirst to ask for supervisors at elections, appropriately KNOWN AS OVWSKKB8 in the dictionaries; It is the first to call In these overseers, together with marshals and Waited States commissioners, and other appliances of Federal force with which to coerce and dictate the results of elections. The leaden of 1 the Republican party have enacted laws and embraced aline of policy on the subject of popular elections, which show them better fitted for despotic countries and barbarous times than for the conduct of affairs for a free people. Their position Is one of violent and revolutionary reaction, and If maintained it will leave the people less of liberty and self-government than the colonists had as subjects of George the III., and will render the achievements of the revoluuon of 17TS worthless at, J void, if their position Is maintained, and becomes the policy of this Government, then the cause of human freedom will be set back at least a century and a half, and the principles of selfgovernment will be trampled to the earth by armed force. THB EXTRA SESBaOK OV CONGRESS. Yon all heard the tanous outcry of the Republican press on the subject of the recent extra session of Congress. There was a simultaneous, prolonged, agonised, hysterical scream from Republican sources ail over the country against the Democratic party because we asserted our faith In the capacity of the people to govern themselves, aud our determination that they should do so without let or hindrance from military powr. This was the head and front or our offending, no more and no less. We were true, absolutely true, to the bed-rock principles of the constitution, while the leader 01 the Republican party, as all the world knows, proclaimed oo the floor of both branches of Congrcs doctrines so subversive of the very life of civil liberty that the Tories of the revolution would have been ashamed to own them. Does this sound to some ol you like an exaggerated statement, a statement made merely for political effect? If so, let us examine tor a few moments, the extent to which the Federal Government has a. ready arrogated to itself the right by law to setae upon every species of local elections, control them by lorce, and manufacture majorities out of minorities. Are yon aware that there is now a law of Congress, enacted by the Republican party, in lull force this hour, which asserts the control ol the federal Government and the jurisdiction of the United States courts over every election of every description that can possibly occur in any State or Territory, In any district, oounty, city parish, township, school district, municipality, or other territorial subdivision, if any other can be found? Such Is the faoL federal power has CLVTCH CONTROL -or every voting precinct in the States and Territories. In proof of this, allow me to read in your hearing section a dob of the revised statutes of the United States: "Every uoreon who. byany unlawful means. hinden-, delays, prevents or obstructs, or combines aud eoufeuerates with others to hinder. tieiay, prevent or o Detract, any citizen iioin doing any act required to be done to oualifv him to vote, or from voting in any State, Territory, d'strlet, county, city, parish, township, school district, mouioipality or other territo rial subdivision, snau be nned not less than souO, or be im pnsonea not leas than one month, nor more than one year, or bepnni&hed by bth such fine and Imprisonment." What kind of r.n election escapes the provi sions Ol (DldEWCIHWT it has been asserted over and over again In Congress and elsewhere, by the Republican leaders and newspapers, that the power of th t Federal uovernment has been applied only at times and places where members and delegates In Congress were chosen. Tuia is all laise, as the section just read conclusively proves. II you were holding an election for mayor of this city, or for councilmen in its various warns, aud one person should by any unlaws! means, suoh, for In stanoe,as aquarret on oe street, ninder or ueiay another in voting, tne person so offend lug is, by the express terms of tats section, made liable to a A ne of not less than lout), or to Imprisonment not less than onemou'hnor more man one year, or 10 ooin snn, n.i and Imprisonment. If you were ii.-..,.u in electing a clerk, an aud Ho , ... aueriO, or any other county ofh&-r of Butler county the same insolent interference by the Federal Government Is provided for by this law. You are not free from Its aggressive aud inquisitive power, even in the humblest de tails of your local affairs. In the language of the lair Itself, an election In a township, or a school district, is subject to the domination of federal rule. Federal marshals. Federal ar re I a, and the monstrous and disproportionate unlahments of Federal courts. Are yon in ivor of this law? Are too bo noor and eontemptlble In your own view 01 yourselves that you feel the heed of the restraining and penal influences of suoh an enactment as tntaT Are you w lling to admit that you can not trust .yourselves; that yon are wbol y incapable of self -government; that yea can not even elect the ) notices of the peace, or the trustees of .your townsnips, or tneomoers of your school aistnew unices tne supervision a d threaten lng authority of the Federal Government is extended over your Have tbe American people, in fact, sunk so low as this? Have the people of Ohio consented to this servile aoctriner Tne leaders of the Kepubll can party say yoa have; Charles Foster says you have; John Snerman sais you have. They say that this usurpation against local self government shall stand: that this leeuila tive insult to you. this enactment of distrust 01 your virtue ana intelligence shall remain rermanently In the statutes of your country say It ought to be repealed, expunged, torn irora tne pages 01 uie law witn every eircum stance of indignation and abhorrence. What do you pay T Do you believe In yourselves, or ao you want a master r THAT IS THB JSXAOT ISSUE. It to a very old ene. and yet It sounds new in our times. Tnose of you who tbiuk you are not competent to manage your local affairs unless the club of the Federal Government Is wielded over your heads by United Slates marshals, district attorneys and partisan indues 011 the Federal bench, wilL-of course. and with entire consistency, vole tbe Repub lican irtonui vum) ior rosier, wuo nas tne -same opinion of yoa that yon have of your selves. Who do yoa suppose would vote -with yoa if they were here? Every Tory of the revolution. Not -one of them believed in the natural rights of man to govern himself without a master. The onions L'd North, prime minister to Grorga III., w.nld be a stalwart Republican in this -contest; and the old Imbecile king himselffif aiive aou aciuwn oiudio, wonm, on tne well.known Drlnaipiesof his long and tvrannlcal reign, be for Foster, and a strong centralised government. If you could resurrect from their niamons if raves ail those wh. sided with Oreat nr. turn against the principles of Jefferson in tbe days of the revolution not one wonld fall to su.talu the high prerogative of the Government in stamuingout local ana noou-ar sovereieuty If every perfidious Stuart who ever sat upon uie nooitwn or fiiium inrone e mir o exhumed to day tney would, on this tosna, seal, usly support tbe Republican pariy. All sneb. In all anes.es have disbelieved In human freedom, and individual reaponsl billy; al the blood stained monsters who have enised the earth with war to crush tbe aspirations of tbe peopie ror nome rue ana civil uveriy, wouia if here, contribute to tbe campaign fund ol the HfDoblican party. snoecrtDe ior its news papers, and vote for its candidates. All this

and more would follow in the logical order of tuings. It was reported not long ago that a very rich man of Kev York, by the name of Jay Gould, blurted out his willingness and desire to pay millions for a government of : high centralized powers: government not dependent upon the popular will; a government which would govern, coerce, and hold in subjection the people. Instead of allowing them, according to the constitution of their fathers, to govern themselves. This was simply a somewhat Indiscreet but very accurate proclamation of the spirit and purposes of

the Republican party. It has the sanction of all such leaders of that party as are wit bent faith in man's capacity and right to govern himself; of all such as are rich anu pros. perous. ana aesire no poxsiuiiiiy 01 a cnange: of all retired capitalists, whose investments are eating np the mortgaged lands and labor of the people, like incurable cancers wrecking ine naman ooay. . WHAT IS KRAUT BT A STRONG GOVERNMENT. There was a hard struggle at the very begin ning of our Government over this very question. There was a party then very formidable in talents, and very considerable in numbers, which had no faith in the people, and boldly declared Its Infidelity to popular institutions. The Republican party, witn 11s supervisors, its marshals, 11a commis sioners, its spies, its Federal courts, and its deep distrust of tbe American people, every - Where, in township, county anu estate, is tne revival 01 tue old despotic federal party un der a different name, out with similar Ideas. The circle is almost complete, and l.ie enemies of free government in this country have al most reached tne point at wnicn tney oegan their nefarious schemes nearly a hundred years ago. We more frequently see and bear Aiexanaer Hamilton now qnotea as an acceptable authoiity on the principles of government than ever before. If he could arise from his premature and bloody grave to-day he would have a following such as he never bad in his life time. How refreshing his doctrines wonld now be to Jay Gonld, Charles Foster and John Sherman! They are all afraid to trust the people. Ham ilton was a aeiegate lrom tne eiate 01 new York to the Constitutional convention at Philadelphia in 1787. lie drew no the plan of a constitution in all Its details and presented it to tne convention, ur its provisions tne chief executive of the United States, bv whatever title known, was to hold office for life. How regal and perma nent that sounds! Nine-tenths of tbe holders of Interest-bearing Government se curities. National bankers and capitalists, ont of trade generally, will indorse that position now not ail 01 tnem openly ratner than risk their investments to a change of adminis tration. They are fixed comfortably, and what they want Is permanency. They are on top, and they want to stay there. They have the advantage of tbe millions below them, and they want to kee it. By tbe plan pre sented by Hamilton the senators were also to noid office ror lire. Tula was Intended to create an aristocracy In tbe management of the Government similar to the House ot Lords in England. As to the States, and the peopie of the States, they were to be trusted with nothing. The National executive, say the president, was to appoint tbe governers of the various States; the Legislatures of the States were to be permitted to enact laws, subject, however, to revision and entire repeal by Congress: and all the courts of the States, "for the determination of all matters of general concern," were to be created by act ot Con gress And even this vast scheme of consolidation fell short of the wishes of Hamilton and his followers, as it does now, perhaps, of the more advanced and stalwart leaders of the Republican party. Hamilton boldly stated that it by no means came np to his conception of a model Government. In discussing the proper executive head of a Government, he said: "The English model Is tbe on.y good one on this subject. The hereditary Interests of the king weie so interwoven with that of tbe nation, and his personal emoluments so great, that be wan placed above the danger of being corruptee, irora aoroau, ana at the same time was suflicle tly independent and snlliciently controlled to answer tbe purpose ot the institution at nome." in presenting nis draft of a constitution to the convention, he also said, speaklDg of the American Senate, that it should be on tne same moaei as tne House 01 Lords in England, aud that no temporary Senate would nave firmness "to cajry out Its proper functions." Ttiese principles or Aiexanaer Hamilton. and of the Federal party at the formation of our Government, show the fountain from which have descended tbe principles of the so called Republican party of our times: principles nionarchial In all their tendencies, repug nant to tne sen-respect 01 tne people, ournsive to every sentiment of manhood, and in opposition to the spirit and the letter of the constitution. I have heretofore fore told some things in tbe political world which have come to pass. I predict now that tbe coming Issue in the near future Is to be between tue broad doctrines or Jetteraon on the one hand, and the monarchical doctrines of Hamilton on theother; tbe latter supported oy ail tne monopolies, pangs, ana hoard ea inlereet-tfatherirm wealth In the land. Jeffer son announced that be who feared to trust the people was a Tory by nature. That was his moae 01 aesorioing an enemy 10 iree govern ment, and we are rapidly finding out now who are tones, or enemies 01 iree government, oy tne same ruie. OTHER PROVISIONS, AND THB ARMY. But the section of the Revised Statutes-of the United States which I have read In your neanng is oniy one 01 many wnereuy the Federal Government has seized upon every popu ar election in every State ami Territory ol this Union. In a single chapter Congress nasenaoiea a penai code or n elaborate see tions against the freedom of the people to conduct and control their own elections. This code, which Is too long to produce here, Is nuea irom ena to ena witn every contrivance known to tne ingenuity or man ior ine sup presslon of local self-government. The punishments provided for tbe infraction of many of lis numerous provisions reaa use tne ravings 01 maarnen areamingoi vengeance, ay steuon o.-tuo 11 two persons con soire to threaten any citizen in the enjoyment 01 any 01 nis rignts nnaer ine concilia; ion ana laws, although they may notaoiually threaten him at ail, nor do him the slightest injury, yet they are liable to a line of S5,uuu and 10 years imprisonment, utner sections are equally atrocious. Throughout them all we meet tbe United (States marsuaiand nis general, and his special deputies; the chief super visor anu his insolent subordinates; tbe United States commissioner and his deputy commissioners, all armed with the authority of the Federal Government to arrest, knock down ana urag irem tne pons their lei ow citizens at pleasure; all clothed by this hid eous and abominable legislation, with power to break into any room where ballots are beme received, open the ballot-box. stop tbe election, and Imprison tbe judges wherever party malice or araoiuon snail aiciate such a course. Not a word of this statement will be denier). It was not denied in tbe Senate when made there, bvery man had the laws before bun and knew what tney were. Besides all .kin .nn.UA .......... H.U,. .....I ..A tAHhA .A ail the vast Federal machinery lor the sup pression or iree elections, was tne entire military force of tbe Government. There have been placed In the laws of Congress, enacted by the leaders of toe Republican parry, at least three sections wnicn specinoaiiy provide for tbe control of elections by the armv aud navy. Two of these sections provide that U snail be lawful for tbe president, or some one oy ntm aestsnatea. "to employ sacn portion of the land or naval foroes of the t nited States, or of tbe mill la as may be necessary, in nis opinion, to govern and coerce the people at the polls Tbe other re maining sec loa on this subject inflicts even a still itreater degradation 00 tbe people. Cer tain United Mtatea commissioners having been created In connection with the manage ment of e eCLlons their dnties are defined by law as follows: " The commissioners authorized to be ap pointed by the preceding section areempow ered. within their respective counties, to an point, in writing, under their hands, one or mom suitable persons, from time to time, wbo shall execute all such wai rants or other process as the cotnml-sloners may Issue in the lawful performance of their duties, and tbe persons so app in ted shall have authority to summon and call to their aid the bystanders or posse com It at us of the proper county, or snob portion of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of ihe militia, as may be ecessary to tne penormanoe 01 tneuuty nn which they are are chanced, and such warrants shall run and be exeouied any where tu tbe -tate or Territory within which they are tosuett -- WHO SHALL COMMAND THR ARMTT The wsriants or oilier process meutloned In this section, and wbloa tbe commissioners nay issue are suon as are provided tor tbe arrest ana lnumiuauon of Vuters oeiore eten tions on election day, and afterward. Tbey are sue 11 as are contemplated in cnapter seven of tbe title "Crimea." on which I hive al read v commented. We beho d, therefore, by virtue of ibis most amazing section tbe armv and navy of the United States, not placed under 1 be command of the president or sucn persons as he may empower, presumably an officer of nign ran a ana character 10 rtguiale aud oon tfi elections, but ordered to obey the "sum' mon and call" ot tbe lowest seents. and naturally, tbe vilest instruments o tbis wools pernicious business. Let us psuae and look for a moment at tbe sceue which is here or. vided for. The circuit courts of th United States and tbe district conns of tne Territories are authorised by section 1.IM3 to increase tne number of commissioners from time to lime, so as to afford a speedy and convenient means for the arrest and txatuinatlon of persons coarKeu witn crimes against tne elecilou laws nntll tbe whole land shall swarm with com mlasloners bent on the success of their party.

Then these commissioners, appointed for a pollileal purpose, are empowered In every county in the United States to appoint one or

more persons wnom tney may ueem suiuoie to excute their proce-s and carry out tbelr edicts. And how astounding and Incredible It seems in this age or advanced civilisation, that these Innumerable deputy commission ers, these irresponsible sublessees of unconsti tutional power, snouia nave oy ine express words of American law, the authority to ram. mon and call to their aid not merely the bi standers and the posse oomltatus of the country, bnt such portion of tbe land or naval foroes of the United States or of the militia as they may consider necessary to the performance of their duties! Here are the plain words of the law. and uo one will gainsay my statement. Who are these people on whom the most tremendous powers knoorn to hnman governments have been so lavisnly bestowed T I have no word of disparagement for United States commissioners, appointed to perform the legitimate dnties of that useful office, bnt for political instruments, thrust by partisan hate and ambition In tbat position, and for those still below them, I have neither re pect nor forbearance. Yet ot such as these are made the command-, era of the military and naval forces of tbls Government; to these miserable, cringing camp fellows of any party In power, occupy. ing as tney do, tne lowest ana most disreputable places In tbe rear rank of political warfare, the proudest plumed chieftain, the most peerless warlors on land and on sea, must bow tbelr tall heads and obey their mandates. Will some one tell me how Sherman, bearing a nigner rank man even Washington ever oore, is to escape obedience to a deputy United States commissioner? Will some one point o it to me how, nnder the law as it now stands, Sheridan, Hancock, or the secretary ol war himself. Is to refuse military subjection and co-operation to any oJspriog or tbe political sewer appointed by a United States commissioner and bearing a warrant or other process for tbe arrest of a citizen charged with an onense against tne election lawsr These are the laws which caused the recent extra session or Congress. The Democratic re ore ten tall ves of the people In both branches of Congress determined they wonld not lay taxes ou tne voting population 01 tne country to support laws which virtually disfranchised them. The Republican leaders, going some what beyond tbe practices of highwaymen. demanded your money and your liberties beta, iney aemanuea your money in ap propriation bills, to be used in depriving y in of yonr liberties. Tbe Democratic members and senators Joined issue on this felonious demand. A more glorious issue on behalf of man's capacity for self government on the one band, and a more iniamou issue against freedom and right on the other, has not been known in buman history for over 2u0 years. Every assertion of principle, every tendency of thought and action, every impulse, every sentiment, every struggle put mrtn oy tne representatives 01 tbe Democratic party at the late extra session of Congress was on tbe side of man's natural right to govern himself on the side ot the absolute truths of the Declaration of Independence; in harmony with every aspiration of down-trodden men for a better condition of things. On the con trary every thought, every purpose, and every effort of the leaders of the Republican party. n t oniy auring tne extra teasion. out ior many years before, has been to lnlroduoe force, compulsion. Intimidation into tne deliberations of the people In choosing publio officers. The leaders of tbat party have clung to tbe bayonet witn which to rule a ftee people In time of peace. They lean noon military force, and not upon the cousent of the governed. If there is a man here lo-aay who sincerely believes in tbat doctrine in tbe doctrine tbat be and bis countrymen ought to be managed, reculated and supervised on election day by soldiers I pass him by. I have no argunent or appeal to make to him. He Is unfit to take part in tbe Government which our fathers made. He was born to be a slave, and ought to have lived in Rome wueu a depraved emperor be stowed upon his horse higher privileges than tne citizens or Rome enjoyed, tsui to tne iree men of Ohio, men born tree and tit to be freeto you I appeal in the deathless spirit of self government, the eternal spirit of liberty. Shall tbe army rule your elections, or will you rule liieruT That is tne question, rsnaii the roil of tbe military drum call out the guards to the polls. or will you guard them yourselves? There is not a monarchy in the world where even aua lfled suffrage prevails, in which tne en orcement of the election laws of tne Repub lican party wouia not create a revolution nearly a nunarea ana nny years ago tne peo pie of England, although governed by a king. declared by actot Parliament that he should not nnder any circumstances, or by virtue of any pretense, place troops at or near a voting precinct on election say. from tbat hour to this no people speaking the English tongue, on either side of tbe ocean, havedared to invoke mili tary interference at elections, nntii tnese evil and degenerate days evil and degenerate in the fact that they have produced a pari y mis calling ltelf Republican, whica is a foe to free institutions. KTHS NORTH TO SURRENDER ITS LIBERTIES IN OKUEK TO APPLY BAYONET BOLI IN THE SOUTH? But the leaders of the Republican party insist that yon ought to surrender the principle of seir government, anu 01 iree elections in tne North, in order that the bayonet may be used, according to ine iormsoi law, at ine pons lu tbe South. For every piece of wicked and villainous legislation. Inspired by tbe hearts of desunlng men. who beileve in despotism and not in th people, the South is held up and railed at as an all sufficient cause. If the people are to be shorn ot tbelr most sacred rights; curtailed of their freedom, aud insulted in their homes, you are told that something in the South Imperatively demands It. If indeed It was true tbat to govern the South we had to give up the constitution, deprive ourselves and our pos terity 01 its protect ion, our cooiuon would be most deplorable; but I deny tbat any such necessity exists. We can not, nor are we called on to govern one cart of this country one way. and the other part another way. A Southern State is in this Union exactly asOblo is. Whenever distinctions are made between States, or tbe people or States, the union and tne constitution are both destroy kI. But you are told bv the great political Pharisees of the times tbat the p ople of the different Southern States are not conducting themselves properly on certain subjects, and therefore you should cast away your own liberties in order to regulate by force their domestic affairs. You are aiso stimulated to this course by a constant stream of slander poured out on an entirety neiptess anu sun missive people: a people who bave submitted to every constitutional amendment, and to every other condition of reconstruction which the Government has Imposed npon them. It Is to the interest of tbe Republican party to slander them, Kvery fault they have is not only setdowo it ma: ice and conned by rote, but it is magnified anu multiplied by all the lens . power of party ma chinery. An actual offense against the laws In the South, such as have happened every nay and every hour since tbe human race began, is a sweet morsel, a delicious item, a savory paragraph, over which the Republl can editor rubs bis bands in keen enjoyment. A thousand murders may and do occur I n the Northern Slates, bnt how fiat and insipid they appear when dished np In our morning papers at breakfast in comparison with any act of crime, how ever com mon place its motive, that comes to us. hot and sensational, up -n tbe breezes of tbe South! You live In a law-abiding Slte as much so as any other in the Union, and more so than ome of tbe loud-pretending States or New England, yet 1 doubt 1' there is a oonnty in Ohio in which blood baa not been unlawfully shed In tbe last 12 months. Tbe same may be said of the great State ot Indiana, and perhaps ot every other Northern State Crime is inherent In tbe heart of man. aud it prevails everywhere, It is without quarantine. It penetrates every latlti de. everv longitude, and every climate. I bold that the people of tbe Norn, and the people of tbe Mouth, on tha average of oonduct and motive, are neither be lit r nor worse than each other: aua in mis opinion ine statistics of crime in proportion to population will amply enstalo me Tbe trouble, however. Is tbat tue leaders and newspapers of a power ful party la the norm are deeply in teres bra in making you believe tbe Houth. rn neonle are worse than tbey are. When actual offnss do not occur frequently enough to answer tbe purposes or an approaching elec tion, flotilious ones are lnauoiactured ior the ascaxtca Recently two prominent Democrats In Mississippi, do' n cxnuniaies ror omoe, became Involved in trouble, and Mr. Dixon waa shot and killed by Mr Barksdale. Tula Is adeporable event, and I sincerely hope tbe survivor will be punished, if he took the life of h is adver-ary without cause. But Is a horn lclde of tbls Kind so sreat a novelty to the Northern mind that we are to be thrown Into convulsions ou its account? Ab ut three-quarters of century ago there was a very noted homicide in the streets of Boston It grew out of a political qoarrel In which Mr. Selfrldge, a Federalist, killed Mr. Anstln, a Democrat, and from that time to thU more than twioe IO.OiO eases of killing have beeu occasioned in the Northern States alone by political feeling and animosity, there is hardly a man in my i reseuce a ho can hot recall one In his own recollection Yet such events have e-nsed nt brief comment, for tbe reason that heretofore no pl tloal party has been so aeoasca as 10 'nrive on crime, ratu-n on murder, and bence been Interested In proclaiming its prevalence wnere it urn exist, ana in iorg

ing its calendar where it did not. But a few days since I saw In a leading Republican paper of your State the following Jubilant announcement: "The beat Republican speech or the campaign thus far the shooting of Dixon in Mississippi." That editor wants any number more such Repnbl.can speeches made In this and subsequent campaigns. He wants more killings to take place in the Southern States. It matters not on what provocation a man Is killed south of the Potomac and tbe Ohio rivers, every such item wilt be so much party capital to tbat editor; he will make suicide from financial embarrassment a political murder. And when actual murder runs short, be will supply the political market: he will meet the demand; he will kill them himself; he wUl transform himself into a monster of murder on paper, for the sake of party success at tbe approaching elections. I once heard It said that in whatever direction a man's interests lay there you ought to look for his tracks. This is certainly a safe rule by which to judge a polltloal party. The Republican party Is the oniy party on earth whose Interests are advanced by riot, violence, disorder, resistance to law, bloodshed, and murder in the South; and I therefore charge that now, as heretofore, in the supremacy of osrpetbagism, every plan, scheme, prayer, hope and purpose of that party are on tne side of lawlessness and crime In the South; on the side of their own manifest gain If they can thus inflame

me normern mind, would you believe a witness nnder oath In one of your courts on a question of contract or damages, tf he was as mucn interesiea on one -ide or tne case as the Republican leaders and newspapers are In making yoa beileve that tbe neonle of the South are a horde of savages, who need mili tary loroe constantly at their throats? I do not think yoa would. A SOLID SOUTH. But there Is another grievance alleged against tbe South as an excuse for usurpation, and the overthrow or free elections, not only there but everywhere. It is said she Is solid. We hear it clamored in our ears from all quarters, that she votes solidly against the Republican party. Let ns admit she does. New England votes about as solidly sgalnet the Democratic party and yet I have never heard tbat therefore we ought to nuiuiytne constitution and all tne rights of tbe Slates In tbe matter of elections to eel rid of tbat evil. It is true that tbe policy of this country which has so bitterly cursed the producer in respect to revenue, and the flnan ces generally has been tbe work of New England greed, sectionalism, anu legalized robbery, but nobody has. on tnat ac count, strong as tbe provocation bas been, demanded tbat her people should be deprived of a free ballot. People have a right to vote as tbey please, as long as our form of government remains, and whoever would deprive them of that rigbt is a scoundrel who deserves death uui are you aatonisnea mat ice noutn is solid politically against tbe Republican party? Would it not be a rjnrvel If she were otherwise? Did you ever hear or any branch of the Anglo Saxon, Celtic Teutonic or Sclavonlo races. that fawned nnnn a master and whlnlugly licked the hand that smote them in their telplessness. 1 have mingled ex tensively with representative men of the (South since tne war. rney bear no resent ments against those who conauered them in war. ir tbey did they would be hoping for the defeat of Ewlng, and the triumph of Foster in iLls contest In Ohio. The b ow of bsttie. however, are only remembered and recalled by soldiers, as I have often heard them. In mutual recognition of valor and constancy. Hut do you ask tne people or the (southern Stat s to fraternize, and vote with a party which plundered them ot their remaining valuables after they had fallen on tbe field of battle; a party whlcb, after the war was over, nnieasnea ine jacxais wno lurk in tbe rear of armies, the human hyenas who prey npon the dead; a parly which turned loose and guided toward the desolated South all those human vultu es, kites, carrion crows and scavenger birds, who, in the shape of lnortnern spoliators ana aa venturers, nave filled tbe world with the disgrace of a recon structed South? Do yon ask the people of tbe south to aiviae ineir votes, and give part of them to such a party as mat, 7 11 you uo, you msuiiourcom mon nature and tbe instincts ot universal mankind. No honorable man would make sucn a request, and every Just man would despise a people wno would grant it. Out of their broken estates, ineir ruiueo plantations, their poverty ana aisires, nunareasoi minions of dollars were extorted by thesbameless. brazen emissaries or the Republican party and carried away to secure regions for quiet enmyment. on mis point nis Lory win make no misbaae, buu reuuru iiu uucvruiirj verdict, Tne blackest paves in tbe history ot the human race contain no account of such robberies under the forms of government. Warren Hastings, in nis p. under 01 the tMul Indies, becomes a moderate and respectable character in compailson with many ol those rapacious wretches wno rastened their langs u pon the property of tbe South after the war was over, ".-seventy years oeiore tne birth of Christ. Sicily was ravaged and despoiled by a conBul of Rome. Though more tnan is oeDturies nave come ana gone since then, yet tbe name of Verres retains all its freshnes of immortal infamy He was prose cuted by tbe authority of the Roman Senate, and fled for an asylum to strange and foreign lands. Hedled miserably in exile, and his dishonored dust waa not permitted to minale with tbe soil or the Reman republic. We find, however, in Mlddleton's life 01 Cicero mat an me peculations. extor tions. bribes, and larcenies charged npon Verres during his entire administration of tbe affairs of Sicily did not exceed S2 OOn.OuO, equal to only one-third of tbe amount for whlcb, accoiding to the admission of the New York Tribune made at the time. Governor S oil fraudulently issued the bonds or south Caro lina In a single transaction. And vet you are expected to be shocked and horrified because tne people 01 ine ooutn uo not vote the Republican ticket! Men go about in your midst lamenting witn pious norrur a soua South who have Indorsed every criminal transaction which has made her solid. You bear tbe voices or canting hypocrites on every band pretending to bewail a united South, aud invoking a united North, and the army and tbe navy against her. Can anyone be so blind as not to see the t.hject of all this? The leaders of the Republican party desire to unite tbe North in solid bate against tbe South. They aiso deslie a pretext for the use ol military force by which to suovert our system of states, and to erect upon their ruins what tbey styles Nation, a centralized consolidated Government, monarchical In spirit, and destined soon to be so in form and name. STATE RIGHTS. It Is in this connection aiso that tbe doctrine of State rights Is constantly denounced In yonr hearing, sberraai and Foster pretend to believe that tbe Southern people 8 till claim the right of secession. Tbey knw better. but the statement bas a ten dency to unite the North, aud hence tbey make It. There la not a representative man In either branch of Congress from tbe Southern Slates who has not renounced tbe ooclrine of secession and declared it forever burled bv tbe results of tbe war Every news. paper in the Sou. b has done the same, with tbe exoeption perhaps of one or two which are paii oy me Kepuonnan partv to puoiian pre tended Southern sentiments for Northern use. Every Slate in tbe South bas legally and omolaiiy ratined an tne constitutional amena men s. thereby making a solemn agreement with the States or tne North ou every constitutional issue raised by the war. and on every result which followed theoverthrow of the rebellion. What more can tbey do? wnat more oau oe oemanoea 01 tnemr Are we to understand tbat tbis bne and cry on the subject of State rights means the abolition of all the rights reserved to the States under the constitution? It sounds tbat way. There is no discrimination In favor of any rights belonging to tbe Slates. Republican speeches consist of wholesale denunciation of ait rights known as State rights. . To destroy free, local elections it is necessary first to overthrow every vestige ot right which a State has to regulate Its own domesllo Instit utions. In the rage against tbe right of a State to secede, now wholly abandoned everywhere, you are asked to repudiate tbe right of Ohio to elect her own governor and all her State and oounty officers; to establish her courts, aud to ensot all laws for her local government without let or hindrance, or any kind 01 interference on the part of the Federal Government. You are asked to demolish thuss State governments which Jefferson in bis first inaugural implored you to support In all their rights as tbe most competent administration for our doraestlo concerns, and the surest bulwarks sgalnst anti-Republican tendenc es " Tbls is a new and monstrous doctrine. Listen to thefoliowlng resolution: "Tbat tbe maintenance inviolate of tbe rights of th States, and especially of each (State, to order and control its own domesllo institutions, according to Its own Judgment exclaxively, la essential to tbat ba.auce of power on whlcb the perfection andendurauee of our political fabric depends; and we denounce tbe lawless Invasion by armed lorce of the sotl of any State or Ten liory, no mai ter under what pretext, as one of tbe gravest of crimes." Wnere do ? on suppose this bold proclamation of state r ghts is to be found ? You doubtless Imagine it emanated from some Democratic con ven 'i n in South Carolina or Mississippi. On the contrary, It Is the fourth resolution In the Repub loan platform of 18M0, on which Abraham Line ln was elected president. So strong, in fact, waa the doctrine of State rights In tne Repub (loan party at tbat time tbat m-tny of lis leading men. and especially its leading newa. Kpers In New York, Oblo and Indiana were favor of allowing the Southern States to seoede 11 they Wished to do so. All la ohanged

now. and the other extreme la xeached .

only the States, bnt the oonnlf.', the town, ships, the towns, the wards 01 tovns, and the school districts are expressly required to surrender all their rights of Local selfgovernment to Federal domination. It remains to be seen whether this demand will be sanctioned by the people. If It Is, the end of this Government, as oar fathers made it, has 00 me. THE FINANCIAL ISSUk. Thereto another Issue, however, hafnre th a publio which claims our attention at this time, and I must pa s to its consideration. After lnflloting in the last six years, more bankruptcy, more repudiation of honest debts, more want, more misery, more enforced idleness, more mental and physical distress on the American people than have ever been known before in all tbe years put together si toe the foundation of the Government, the Republican leaders now eome before you, bowing and smiiina-. and claiming great credit for tbe fact tbat the business condition of the country having been made as bad as possible, therefore, if there is any cbange it must be for tbe better. After making the last six years a vast oon tin nons grave-yard In which are burled the homes and ine Happiness 01 millions 01 ineir countrymen the secretary of the treasury and his followers are now asking for yonr indorsement on tbe ground that the dally death rate In business, the dally roil of bankruptcies Is not quite so great as It has been at the worst periods here tofore. The lact is that the deadly financial policy of this Government has destroyed nearly all the active business men who were in debt a few years ago, and lbs fatal effects are decreasing for the want of natural n re jects on which to operate. The scourge or tue yellow rever nas to abate when 11 nas kiuea on ptetty muon everybody who Is susceptible to its attack in the community where it prevails. But that would hardly be a sufficient reason for indorsing yellow fever, yet it would be as good a one as la now urged for the Indorsement of the financial policy of me rwepuuiican party. xnai policy nas forced tbe people as between themselves to repudiate their private debts to tbe amount of nerhana f 1(1,000,(100,000, and hence the business of paj ing debts by enforced repudiation Is necessarily less now man wnen tne epidemic of bankruptcy first broke out. But do tbe people, therefore, who were driven by tbat accursed policy through tne nanxrupt courts thank its authors? Do those who were compelled to receive a bankrupt certificate in full payment of what was coming to them feel an intense gratitude toward the men who are responst oie ior sucn a moae or payment? No. not so. There is a eulltv resnonsibllitv on this subject which will long remain in the memories 01 ine peopie. -ine servile castes of the East Indies, with a blind and Ignorant faith, worship the Juggernaut, and feel no resentment when mangled and crushed by their hideous deny, it is not so, nor will ltever be, with the American people. They will not worahi p at a cruel and heartless shrine. Tbey will rather teach their children, and tbelr children's ohlidren, to execrate the authors of their misfortunes." WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? Those who are responsible for the business calamities of the country are so conscious of It themselves tnat tney nave been and still are persistently laboring to shift the responsibility and fix it where it does not belong. Tbey say you are to blame, and in saying so s'ander you to your fces. Thousands of times over John Sherman, Carl Shurz, Charles Foster and the other leaders of the Republican party have charged that the people were themselves responsible ior tue cyclone of business ruin which has swept the country. They charge that commercial disasters, mortgaged lands. Impoverished homes, sheriff sales, idle men and women and begglug tramps nave come upon you as pun lshments fur your own sins; for your sins of extravagance, wasteful expenses and high living. They say you have been drunk with speculation and luxury beyond your means, and that you had to suffer the consequences of f ourdeoaucn. Ana ail mis insulting calumny s poured ont on your heads irom the months of those who, com mencing with the war, and staying away from Its dancers, have become enor mously rion;wno live in paiaces, ana fare sumptuously every day, while tbey have made you poorer everv hour, and caused your farms to sn ink in value until you are now worth In property but little more than one ha f what you were seven years ago. What a sublime spectacle Is here presented ! Behod the millionaires of recent and rapid growth, tbe masters of gilded mansions and goldlaced servants engaged in lecturing the bard handed, toil -stained millions on tbe virtues of rconomy! It Is enough to raise the gorge of every farmer and mecnanio and every other honest man In tbe land. In what way have von sunburned laborers been so extravagant that yon deserve censure from tne lips 01 inose wno nave waxea iai upon ine misfurtuues of the country? On a former 00CHsion I used the following language on this subject: "Go to tbe homes of those wbo eat their bread in tbe sweat of their laces and ascertain if yoa can the extravagancies In which tbey indulge. Do they maintain costly equip ages, splendid carriages, and riobly caparisoned horses 7 Ale ineir numoie aweiungs auurnea with valuable paintings, or fitted no with expensive lurnituie? Do you tee piergla ses on their wails and feel velvet carpets beneath your feet on tbelr floors? Take a seat witn them at tneir irugai nut oospitaoie taoies uo yoa find extravagance there? Where Is the solid silverware, the long succession of delicate dishes, the various brands of high priced wines? None of these things are found to tern pt the epicurean tastes of those who, while preaching economy to the industrial clawes, sit down each day to banquets such as Dives presided over when Lazarus lay at his gates begging bread. Have the farmers and mechanics of tbe country brought calamity on themselves by extravagance In dress? Where one indulges In broadcloth, a hundred are glad to be comfortable aud appear decent In homespun. Do their wives and daughters wear velvets and expensive silks? Must they too economize, and put on plainer attire, in order that the votaries of fashion and wealth may Increase their demands? The fact Is that tbe laboring men and women of this country have not been extravagant In tbelr lives, nor do their embarrass, menta and sufferings arise from tbat cause. Tbey e institute the only economizing, elf denying class of citizens In all this broad land. With wbat force and Justice cuuld tbey turn upon their accusers and fssteu on them the crimes of orofiieaov and shameless ex travaganoe! The Federal Government itself has been ad ministered "for many years past on a scale ot the most stupendous expenditures. it nas rioted witn ine puono money ana set an evil example, states, counties, ci'ies and cor porations have too generally defied all the principles of economy In tbelr management. But of ad wt o commit extravagance, and practice self Indulgence, the most conspicuous la that class which holds tbe bonds of the UovernmeDt ana the mortgages 01 tbe peopie. and loudly nrges its oppressed debtors to tne most rigid eoouomy for Its own benefit. To those who compose tbls favored class, the luxuries of every land and clime are accessible. To them nothing can be denied which money will command. As tbey travel over oceans and continents in quest of new enjoyments tbey are assailed by no anxious fears In regard to their pecuniary resources. They know that the plowman In the furrow, tbe mechanio in his shop, the American laborer of every kind, and wherever he may be, pays dally tribute and makes their income secure." RESUMPTION. But we are now saluted on all hands by the Republican leaders with a nol-y and affected glee over what they call a resumption of specie payments, aud an Imaginary revival of business. After driving prosperity uut of tbe country and blighting the homes of millions, tbe secretary of tbe treasury announces tbat specie oavments of debts are a fixed fact, and have come to stay. Do you think that is tue? Do you think me debts or mis country, pnouo and private, are being paid in specie when demanded? Canyon pay your debts in tbat wsy? you owe your ueiguoor a nunureo dollars, ani on the day it falls one you nave a nunarea oouara 111 mo uwb ot a National bank just across the street. Yonr nelsbbor has been 10 hear Sherman or Foster, and he believes speole payments are here, and he demands specie. You have also beard that everybody has resumed specie payments, andjoug i at onoe to tbe bank, present its notes, an 1 ask for sptcie across the counter. With a slight grin of contempt for your Ignorance, the banker will baud vou a hundred dollars In green backs in redemption of the bank notes you tender him. That is all you will get there You commence then seriously inquiring; where you can get tbe specie witn wbicn to make a specie pav ment to your neighbor wbo Is still waiting. 1 will tell ou how you can set It. There la a place in tbe city ot New Yo k where. If you p esent tbe right amount 01 greenoacks, you can ibwiuuy uowauu uum. If yon will, therefore, take the cars bere, hire somebody to show you the place when you reach there, and a policeman to protect yoa from being Tobbed in tbe vicinity of Wail street, you will be in a fairway to enjoy the luxnrvof maklai one specie payment if you live to get home Wbat a precious boon this Is to you! How devoutly tbaukful yon ought 1.-1 ha that nw enrrencv has been so contracted trial your property bas shrunk nearly on vhalf 10 value, ana toe vey vuaia ui an s. industries have been torn out In order to reach snch a slorlous consummation. Surely this nriefileaa bleasinK will compensate the country for all its losses snd su fieri rigs' BOerman and Foster ana taair uuii imu say It win. Seriously, do you agree with thAmf rwna tint tha whole thine lo-.k more like "barren Ideality." ss tbe old chief who baa gone to bis rest expressed it, than the reality of specie payments? And yet, on this

state of facta, u triumphant shout is raised that specie psymel. "ave been resumed, and a secretary of Ihe trVojT to running for the presidency on that as.rUoh. A more braaen and perfectly tra b spars n' lalsehood has not in my Judgment, been proCiaimed In the nineteenth century. There to simply no resnmp-

UVU AU, null UU BIKU jmj mantfl In MUtnnM In r.hfar nrtcultrV. ThAlA la a bold and audacious attempt to deceive the people on this point, but It will fail. AH EQUALIZATION OT CURRENCY, '- , M Will ICU UU WUM IiaS tan. -u BWUIUUiJBUBU' and ail tbat has been acoomrSn'hed.. For many , years tne green back waa quosea oeiew coin in . value, solely from tbe fact that the Govern- ' ment refused to receive it for o nstoms. and authorized the bondholder to refnie it in payment of interest, and, after the act of March, lfW, in payment aiso of the princiial of the bonds. It was thus a currency stigmatized l"rom the beginning by the Government itsea as an inferior currency, and its total desn octlon was demanded and constantly threaten ed by a very powerful class. In this way It was kept below par, Judged by the coin standard, bnt within the last two years an aroused and Indignant publio opinion has secured (orttt different treatment at the hands of its enemies. Congress has, bylaw, put a stop to its further destruction, and thus declared that it shall remain me money f the country. Thiol f;ave It a place In the estimation ol the workl t bad not before possessed, and the gold gamblers and Jobbers in New York began to abate ibelr sneers, and to wonder if what they had so loug aud so felicitously styled a "rag baby" bad not really become a giant in strength, and made himself permanently at home in tbe Vnited states. The polite mention or "dishonest money" and 'greenback lunatics" became less frequent in certain quarters when tbe re present Lives of tbe people declared that tbe greenback dollar should not be driven out but should remain with the people. And when in addition to this the agitation ol the subject In Congress drove the secretary of tbe treasury to announce tnat at a given time be wot Id receive the greenback for custom duties. Its value rose to -tbe equal or any other money in the world . It did so because tbe Government which created It gave It fu I credit. An equalization of our different kinds of currency has been e flee ted. and this fact, brought about mainly by a Democratic CoBgress, and in spite of Republican opposition, lt now seized npon, and declared to be specie resumption accomplished by John Sherman! Wei dell Philips, who ought to be an authority with Republicans, In a letter from Boston on the 12th 01 last month, speaking of the present condition of the Republican party, sajs: "I have watched politics for 60 years, and my judgment is that tbe fault of this party is one-third ignorance and two-thirds knavery." I do not by any means quote this remark of tbe great New England orator as applicable to the masses of the Republican part , but nothing could be moie falhfully descriptive of those party leaders wbo boast of having established a resumption of specie payments, because the Democratic and National voters of the country have forced tbe greenback to an equality with gold over their most determined opposition. It it should be claimed for the secretary of the treasury that be gave tbe country its splendid wheat crops tbls year, me claim wonld hardly be more absurdly false than that he has restored specie payments. It is well known, too. that the greenback could Juf-t as well have been placed at par with coin at the start, and kept there as it can be now, if it had only been made a full legal tender. That was all that was wauling, as Tbaddens Stevens so clearly pointed out In imi. xn me r ranco-uennan war 01 is.u ana 171. the caper circulation of France was declared a legal tender for all debts, and although its coin reserve waa le s than 21 per cent, for its redemption, yet ts largest depreciation was per cent, as compared with gold in November, 1871. According to 8 po fiord's American Almanac for 1878, a most valuable work, tbe notes of the Bank of France "remain still inconvertible, but are at par with goid." 1 his would also have been the history of the greenback In tbls country during and since the war. bnt for the fact that nn patriotic and avaricious capatalists determined to create a depreciated currency .worth say 80 or 70 cents on the dollar. witn wnion 10 purcnase government Don us, dollar for dollar, now to be paid by you In coin at their face. It was a vast scneme of plunder, s was shown in Congress, when the creation ot our bonded debt tgan. But the equalization of our currency having at last taken place, and greenbacks being equal in value to gold and silver, and far better for tbe transaction ot business, I see It sometimes asked whether I would now vote to epeal the so-called resumption act. 1 embraced evory opportunity to vote lor Its repeal in Congress, and know no reason why I should not do so again. It is true I attach less importance to the act now than heretofore. its power for evil nas neen very great, ont in the course of events It has become almost, if not quite, a nullity. It never had any power for good, and has produced not a single benenceut resultSHERMAN'S RECORD. Bnt as 1 am arraigned for not implicitly following Mr. Secretary Sherman as a sale financial guide, let us examine for a moment tbe former position of the Republican partv of Oblo under bis leadershinon the great question of the Just payment 01 our National debt. Eleven years ago. In 1868, tbe Republicans or onto declared in tneir mate piaiiorm that tbe 5-20 bonds were legally payable in legal tender notes. If Mr. Sherman did not write that platform with his own band he cordially indorsed lMnd all the Republicans of tbis State did the same. But be was not content with merely standing on tbe platform of his party. He was a zealous believer in tbe payment of the National debt in greenbacks, and could not rest content nntll he bsd written a letter more emphatic even than the platform. In tbat famous letter be said : "My construction of the law is the result of careful examination, and I feel quite sura an impartial conrt would confirm it, If the case could be tried before a conrt. "I think tbe bond holder violates his promise when he refuses to lake tbe same kind of money he paid for the bonds. If the bondholder can legally demand only the kind of money he paid, then he is arepudiator and an ex ton ion -r to demand money m re valuable than he gave." 'ibis letter was written in May 1868, and before tne following March. Its distinguished author, without any public reason assigned tor his miraculous conversion, had Joined those whom he had himtelf described as repudiators and extortioners, and was aiding tbem, by tbe act of March, 1809, in demanuiug money in payment tor tbelr honus vastly more vaiuaoie man mey gave. He tried, 1 believe, lh his recent speeches In M aine, to ex plain this letter. Herald in substance, if I saw a correct report, that he meant tbe payment of tbe bonds in greenbacks, when greenbacks should be equal to coin. 1 he very opposite or this meaning, however. Is contained in me letter, for he mere speaks of money of different valnes, and denounces wltb great bitterness tbe man wbo would demand better money than be gave In exchange for his bonds. Is It any wonder that Wendell Philips, In the letter to which I have already alluded, thus describes this shifting and unreliable minister of finanoe: "But, my friend, it to as impossible to answer John Sherman as to find fault with a weathercock. Tbat can always claim tbat it points tbe way me wind blows, and so can he. There is uo doctrine in finance that he has not advocated, and none tbat he has not denied;no principle on either side tbat he bas not asserted, none that be has not scouted. His record will be equally pood whether hard money carries the day or we Greenbackers succeed. "Like that cautions early Christian at Rome, who always took off his bat to tbe old statue of Jupiter, observing tbat 'there wasnoteliI. h. ., nK (l.u iln fallh mluh, .....nu nn - " - " v. a.-.- u..n. wu-w f aaln.' wide-awake, canny John bberman has always kept his bread buttered on both sides. It is be alone, of all our pub io men, who has proclaimed, with catholic and generous indifference, that tbe bondholder who asks anything but greenbacks for bis bouds is an extortioner and a repudiator (March, 18o9);and. a so. thai any man who proposes to pay oonds In greenbacks to a repudiator! (io79). Can anything be more satisfactory ? He to the broad minded accommodating statesman who piefers greenbacks to any otSsr currency (February, i&U), aud. Indeed, would allow the issue of n 3 other notes (May, 1874). And yet not to be biaoted or intolerant, yon sen he thinks our present system of bank notes the nearest to ideal perfection of anything ever devised by man, (1879,. He la the exact, truthful and fair debater wbo (ic79) aaseris tbat there has been no con trac. ion. butan Increase of currency, to the extent of nea.lysix millions since January, 1879, and be Is also ready, like any master faclDg both ways, to assure you In 189 mat 'our contraction has been unexampled in the history of any nation,' and tbat 'one hundred and forty millions have been withdrawn within two years, and that tbe people bad then tbe right to be relieved from any further contraction ' Now, bow can any one object? 'You pays your mouey and you baa our choice.' But tola last quotation from Weathercock John Illustrates another element of his statesmanship. I think it was the old moralist, Dr. Johnson, wbo said : 'Half tbe 1 ruth was the most effective lie one could tell.' "Nobody in Maine asked, or wanted to know, whether there bad been contraction or expansion sinoe January, 187V It is a fact of tbe least possible interest and of no significance whatever In this discussion- Accord lngly, Mr. Sherman eould afford to tell the whole and exact truth about H, and not provide a contradiction to retreat into lu ease any party eontesied or was angry with the statement. The real and ouly Interest wss this point: Did tbe plan ol resoisptton, began by