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LIFE, SPEECHES,

STATE PAPERS AND PUBLIC SERVICES

GOT. OLIVER P. MORTON.

EDITED BT

WILLIAM M. FRENCH.

LiT6B of great meu all remind ns
We can make our liveB sublime ;
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on tho sands of time.
Longfellow.

OINCINNA.TI:
MOOEE, WILSTACH, & BALDWIN Peinteks,
25 WEST rOTJSTH STEBET.
1866.

Entered according to an act of Congress on the 19th day of September, in the
3'ear eighteen hundred and sixty-three (1863), by
WILLIAM M. FRENCH,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the District
of Indiana.

PREFACE

The author of these pages wishes to assure the reader
that no selfish motive prompts him to present to the public,
the life of Indiana's most distinguished Governor. It is
common for men to applaud those who have benefited
them, and to flatter those of whom they expect favor.
But it is no personal advantage, either realized, or antici
pated, which induces us to narrate the life and public
services of the subject of this biography.
Our situation is such that we neither need, nor desire
any appointment the Governor could confer upon us ; and
never, during our life have we been the recipient of a single
"personal kindness at his hands.
The sole object of this work is to' present to the Amer
ican people a model character — a man whose superior
energy, executive powers and liberal sentiments, especially
qualify him for the performance of the great labors
assigned him in the most important period of our nation's
history ; a native of the West, whose untiring industry.

IV PEEFACE.
indomitable will, lofty patriotism, and unbounded gener
osity have immortalized his name, and endeared to him
every lover of liberty ; an intellectual and moral giant,
whom neither flattery nor persecution could divert from
his high purposes.
W. M. Fkench.
Indianapolis, Indiana.

CONTENTS,

CHAPTER I. PioE
Introductory remarks — Uses of biography — Morton's charac
ter pre-eminently instructive — His early boyhood — Early
school days — Letter of Prof. S. K. Hoshour, one of his
first teachers — Enters Miami University — Distinguishes
himself as a debater — Commences study of law — Marries —
Is admitted to the bar — Is elected Judge — Heads Republi
can State ticket in 1856 — Takes an active part in canvass
of 1860  9
CHAPTER II.
Speech delivered at Terre Haute, March 18th, 1860  31
CHAPTER III.
Canvass of 1860 — Political discussion at Bloomington, Ind. —
Morton's reply to Judge Turpie, made June 21st 1860  58
CHAPTER IV.
Campaign of 1860 — Great meeting of Republicans at Fort
Wayne — Able and eloquent speech of Governor Morton —
Masterly review of the political questions of the day  80
CHAPTER V.
Close of canvass of 1860 — Commencement of the Rebellion —
Morton's speech before Republican meeting at Indianap
olis, November 22d, 1860  llil

VI CONTEXTS.
CHAPTER VI. PAGE
Commencement of the Rebellion— The attack on Sumter —
Great excitement which foUowed — Governor Mortons ca
pacity to control and direct popular feeling — Readiness
with which the people responded to his call — ^Remarkable
promptness and efficiency of Governor Morton in prepar
ing Indiana volunteers for service — Indiana troop? excel
those of any other Western State — Governor Morton calls
an extra session of the Indiana Legislature — ^His message
to that body — His impartiality in making military appoint
ments, etc  136
CHAPTER VII.
Precarious condition of Kentucky in consequence of the at
tempt of Magoffin and others to force it into a neutral po-
sition-^Magoffin tries to induce the Executives of Indiana
and Ohio to join him in an attempt to procure a suspension
of hostilities between Government and Confederate States
until meeting of Congress in extra session — Telegraphic
correspondence — Secret agents appointed by Governor
Morton to watch movements of Kentucky rebels — Diffi
culties in discharging Indiana troops — Governor Morton's
efficiency in settling these difficulties — His promptness
in responding to President's second call — ^Kentucky in
vaded by secessionists — Morton's efficient aid in their ex
pulsion — He furnishes more troops — His prompt attention
to the wants of soldiers  193
CHAPTER VIII.
Discouragement of people in 1862, in consequence of Na
tional reverses — Efforts of Grovemor Morton to counteract
this feeling — His efficient operations against '-K, G. C." in
Indiana — Charges against him by the members of that Or
der — Proofs of insincerity of such charges — His efforts to
relieve Indiana troops at Fort Pillow — Telegraphic corre-
spondence, etc  2in

CONTENTS, Vll
CHAPTER IX. PAQE
Precarious condition of Indiana at commencement of 1863 —
Leprous character of Indiana Legislature — Governor Mor
ton's message to that body, etc  263
CHAPTER X.
Goveruor Morton's appeal to the patriotic women of Indi
ana — .\n appeal to the people of Indiana — His appeal to
Congress in behalf of the soldiers — Message to the Legis
lature — Letter to James Winslow, Esq  318
CHAPTER XI
Speech of Governor Morton at New York City — Proclama
tion — Oration at Centerville on July 4th, 1863 — Compli
ment paid by citizens of Cincinnati to Governor Morton,
July 20th, 1863  865
CHAPTER XII.
Opening of the Canvass of 186'! — Nomination of 0. P. Mor
ton by the Union State Convention of February 23— His
response— Masterly review of Democratic abuses of pre
vious two years — Partisan heartlessness thoroughly ex
posed — Able and eloquent vindication of the Govern
ment — Emancipation Proclamation nobly sustained —
''Peace" men severely scathed — Duty of patriots clearly
set forth — Eloquent tribute to Indiana soldiers, etc  392
CHAPTER XIII.
Canvass of 1864 — Its Importance — Military and financial
status ofthe South — Death struggles of the Rebellion — The
success of the Northern "Peace party'' at the ballot-box
the only hope of rebel leaders — Sons of Liberty in Indi
ana — Governor Morton's extraordinary labors — Speech
delivered by him at Greencastle — His plans for thwarting
(he schemes of the ''Sons of Liberty" — Success of those

\11] CONTENTS. PAOB
plans — Close of the Rebellion — The Governor's reception
of Indiana troops at Indianapolis — The day of relaxatioil :
what it developed — Governor Morton's illness — His mes
sage to the Indiana Legislature in extraordinary ses
sion — His departure to Europe — His character as a
statesman  4^*1

LIFE, SPEECHES,
STATE PAPERS AND PUBLIC SERVICES
OP
GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON.

. CHAPTER I.
Introductory remarks — Uses of biography — Morton's character
pre-eminently instructive — His early boyhood — Early school
days — Letter of Prof. S. K. Hoshour, one of his first teach
ers — Enters Miami University — Distinguishes himself as a
debater — Commences study of law — Marries — Is admitted to
the bar — Is elected judge — Heads republican state ticket in
1856 — Takes an active part in canvass of 1860.
A knowledge of the errors of our fellows enables
us to avoid the committal of similar ones, while
an acquaintance with their virtues stimulates us to
noble endeavors. Hence it has been truly said,
that every man's life is instructive. There perhaps
never lived an individual, whatever his station,
whose biography might not be rendered highly
productive of good to mankind.
But there are some, the importance of whose
relations to society, and the stirring events of
whose lives, place them more prominently before
us than others.

10 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Every act in the great drama of life requiras its
leading characters, and every age produces them.
It is of these we usually write biography; not
because such persons are reaUy more deserving of
attention than those who stand in the social scale
much below them : for, just as the smaUest wheel in
the machine is as essential as the largest, so the
most apparently insignificant member of society
is as necessary to the social fabric as the most
distinguished: but for the reason that their con-
spicuousness renders their character more attrac
tive and instructive to the masses than that of
ordinary men.
"We generally find, or expect to find, in the devel
opment of great men, a manifestation of those
superior traits of which the common multitude are
usually considered devoid. And the study of
human nature only becomes interesting to the
majority of us when it rises pre-eminently above
the vulgar level.
When we are hurrying along a road through the
forest, with our minds intently fixed upon some
object to be attained at the end of our journey, it
must be a very extraordinary tree which shall
attract our attention. And so when men are rush
ing along the path of life, wholly engrossed in their
individual interests, it must be a very towering rep
resentative of the race that shall induce them to
pause, survey and investigate. Such a representa
tive is found in Governor 0. P, Morton, a man

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 11
whose remarkable energy and superior genius have
placed him among America's greatest men, _
Oliver Perry Morton was born in "Wayne county,
Indiana, August 4th, 1823, Dm-ing his boyhood
he was put to the hatting trade with his brother ;
but it was soon discovered that he was better
adapted to another sphere of action. His pai'enta
both dying while he was very young, he was placed,
some yeai-s, under the cai'e of his grandmother and
two aunts, then living in the State of Ohio, Dur
ing this period, it seems, he was sent back to "Wayne
county and put under the tuition of Prof. S. K,
Hoshour, then principal of the "Wayne County
Seminar^-, now Professor of Modern Languages in
the ]Sr, W". C. University, at Indianapolis, It would
appear, from the following letter which we have
lately received from the Professor, that the Gov
ernor, in his boyhood, was not so promising as we
generally expect to find the prospective great mau :
" I had pupils from different sections of the State,
and some from other States, among whom was 0,
P, Morton, He entered the school, I think, in
1837, and was, probably, then in his fourteenth
year. He hailed from Hamilton county, Ohio — a
timid and rather verdant looking youth — too shy
to bear, with head erect, a master's look. He was
a pliant student, always ready to obey the ' rules of
the school.' His feUow-students in the institution
at that time, were "William "Wallace, the present

12 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Clerk of the Marion County Court; his brother
Lew (now General) "Wallace; Jacob Julian, and,
occasionally, Laz. (now General) Noble. His men
tal manifestations, at that time, were not equal to
those of some of his school mates ; but his steady
demeanor and persistent application to his studies,
gave him a respectable position in his classes. He
was, during his attendance in my school, in the
incipiency of his chrysalis state ; and, of course, it
was difficult to decide what kind of a winged exist
ence would emerge from that state — whether an
ordinary or a 'big-bug,' The larva, physically,
indicated a large personality; but as that is not
always an index of a corresponding intellectuality,
future symmetry of the whole was necessarily a
matter of conjecture,
" If some knowing genius had then suggested to
me that the fatyre Governor, par excellence, of
Indiana, was then in the groups around me, I
would have probably sought him in a more bustling
form, with brighter eyes and a more marked head
than Oliver's. But time haa shown that in him
was the mens sana in corpore sano, which the coUege,
the acquisition of jurisprudence — ^legal gymnastics
at the bar — the political crisis of the past and the
present exigencies of the nation, have fuUy devel
oped, and now present him the man for the most
responsible position in the gift of a free people.
" Long may he live and benefit his country !
"S. K Hoshour,"

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 13
After leaving the high school of Mr. Hoshour,
young Morton entered the Miami University, at
Oxford, Ohio, and it appears, from what is said of
his career in this institution, that he had greatly
improved upon what he was at Centerville, under
Prof. Hoshour ; for we hear of him at Oxford, as
the best debater in coUege — a star member of the
Beta Theta Pi Society, It is here that we observe
in the boy the first indications of what the man
wiU be. It is here we see a manifestation of those
extraordinary argumentative powers which in more
recent years have made him a renowned lawyer, and
the acknowledged founder of the repubhcan party
in Indiana,
Leaving the Miami University without graduat
ing, he again returned to CenterviUe, Indiana, and
began the study of law with the Hon, John S,
IsTewman, Here he bent all the energies of his
mind to the single object of thoroughly preparing
himself for the practice of his profession. Like
"Webster, he seemed impressed with the idea that,
" preparation makes the man," and his legal acquire
ments show the amount of importance he attached
to this idea.
On the 15th of May, 1845, he was married to Miss
Lucinda M, Burbank, of CenterviUe, daughter of
Isaac Burbank, a highly respectable and successfal
merchant of that place. Miss Burbank was a lady
of rare intelligence and refinement, and has, since
becoming Mrs, Morton, during the present unhappy

14 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
civil war, honored both herself and her husband,
by her untiring, benevolent efforts in behalf of
Indiana Volunteers.
In 1846, Oliver P. Morton was admitted to the
bar, and soon took rank among the first lawyers of
his State, both as a jurist and an advocate. His
speeches were ever distinguished for their strength
and directness. His eloquence was more of the
convincing than of the ornate order.
The pubhc becoming apprised of his superior
abihties, both natural and acquired, he was not long
in obtaining a large and lucrative practice.
In the year 1852, he was elected Circuit Judge ;
and, although he continued in this office but one
year, he acquired a reputation for fairness and thor
oughness, which wiU not soon be forgotten by the
bar of his circuit.
In the spring of 1854, the democratic party, of
which Morton had always been a member, repealed
the Missouri Compromise, and passed the Kansas Ne
braska BiU. These remarkable proceedings involved
a change in the democratic policy, as wiU be here
after shown in one of Morton's speeghes, which
caused a number of those formerly known as free-
soil democrats, to renounce their connection with the
time-honored party, 0, P, Morton was among this
number. He had ever been a friend to free trade,
but never an advocate of slavery extension ; and
when the demand was : Either sacrifice your princi
ples or leave your party, he cheerfuUy did the latter.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 15
From that time forward, to the breaking out of the
rebellion, he cooperated with the republican party,
but during the progress of the rebellion he has
known no party but the one for the "Union.
In 1856, he was nominated by acclamation, by the
republicans, as candidate for Governor of Indiana.
In accepting this nomination, he by no means
repudiated any of the principles maintained by the
democracy previous to 1854, The old tariff and
internal improvement questions no longer consti
tuted the political issues between the two great par
ties of the country, and the vital part of the platform
adopted by the republicans (that part which referred
to slaveiy), was essentiaUy the same as the expres
sions of the democratic party touching the same
subject, in the years 1848 and 1849,* Hence, it can
never be truthfully said that Morton discarded any
of his democratic principles in embracing repubhc
anism. On the other hand, it must be acknowledged that
the democratic party having disclaimed its ancient
freesoU doctrines, and the extension of slavery
becoming the issue, the republican party was the
only one with which he could conscientiously unite.
Having consented to head the repubhcan State
ticket, Morton made a thorough and vigorous can
vass of the entire State, in company with his dem
ocratic competitor, Ashbel P, "WiUard; and it is
• See Morton's reply to Judge Turpie, page 48.

16 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC .SERVICES OF
universaUy admitted, that in this campaign, he did
more for the establishment of the principles of
republicanism than any other man.
So much, however, is attached to the circum
stance of success that he never received full credit
for the amount of labor he performed during the
summer of 1856, The mere fact that he was not
elected, detracted largely fi-om the briUiancy and
effectiveness of his canvass, in the estimation of
some. The difficulties attending his task were
never fuUy taken into consideration. He had an old
and popular party to combat, a party which had
acquired prestige by many successive victories, and
the mere sound of whose name charmed the ears
of thousands, who never stopped to inquire as to
the consistency of its course or the tendency of its
principles. His antagonist was eloquent, affable
and popular, the champion of democracy in Indi
ana, whose thriUing appeal to the passions of the
crowd, were considered more than sufficient to off
set the earnest logic of the republican candidate.
Such were the difficulties with which Morton
had to contend, in the campaign of 1856; and
when to these is added the youth of the repubhcan
party, the large vote he received may justly be
considered a victory.
It was about this time that the Governor's char
acter began ftiUy to develop itself, and the superior
ity of his mind to be generaUy acknowledged.
His had been a- rather slow growth, but a healthy

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 17
one. He was not a hotbed plant, prematurely
developed, and too tender to endure the drouths
and freshets of life ; but a normal organization, en
dowed with more than usual vitality and power of
endurance; and the trials and irregularities of life,
so far from injuring him, only strengthened him,
and brought out more fully those extraordinary
intellectual and executive faculties, which have,
within the past few years, accomplished so much
and shone so brilliantly.
His case is one of the many which might be
cited in proof of the fact that slow boys do not
always make slow men, and that a manifestation
of dullness on the part of a youth is no just cause
for discouragement, but should only be an incen
tive to labor.
It is a difficult task to write of such a man as
Governor Morton while he is still living, with a
proud destiny before him, without provoking envy.
Death always canonizes a great name, and the seal
of the sepulcher excludes from its slumbering ten
ant the breath of envy. Then the eulogist may
fling the reins to fancy, and indulge in the utmost
latitude of panegyric, without offense ; as the praises
of the dead fret not the living. But ours is the
severer task, to speak of the living man — to de
lineate the character and figure of the mind of
one whose likeness the loyal people of this Gov
ernment wish to inscribe in enduring and faithful
colors upon their archives, as one especially beloved
2

18 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
by the Union soldiers and their families, all over
the land.
He is a type of his country, and seeks to mingle
with her existence, and ally himself with her for
tunes and her fame, and thus transmit his name to
remote generations, as an epitome of her genius and
her history, and as a signal example of the power
of her institutions, not only for the production, but
for the most perfect development of the greatest
talents and the most exalted virtue.
Almost at a single bound he has reached his
present exalted position, as the fearless executive
of a great and patriotic State, which so delights to
honor him who has done so much for her honor,
No ordinary raan could have done this, unaided
and alone. He was surrounded by no peculiar cir
cumstances, or" associations of influence or of inter
est. "We can not say of him that " circumstances
made the man." He made the circumstances.
There is about Governor Morton an air of prac
ticed ease, a self-possession, a deliberation, as utterly
remote from affectation or impudence, as it is en
tirely free from confusion or timidity. Although
he has not fairly reached the meridian of life, he
moves with the tread of a veteran. There is no
impatience for display, no ambitious finery, no
straining after effect, about him; but there is a
precision and clearness in his statements, an acute
ness, a strength and clearness in his arguments,
whether oral or written, which bespeak a mind of

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 19
the greatest original power. And in all this he
seems to move in his natural element, as though he
had so long and so carefully revolved in his owu
mind the theater of public affairs, as being the true
stage for him, that he stands there, albeit for the
first time, without surprise or anxiety. This makes
him, to all men curious upon such subjects, alto
gether worthy of study and critical analysis.
He is eminently practical, and stands utterly
aloof from the extremes of fanaticism, displaying
the deepest knowledge of the natural foundations of
social prosperity, and the most cautious regard for
the existing institutions of government. Equally
exempt from the rash spirit of political empiricism,
which would tear the subsisting frame of society to
pieces in search of that which is abstractly good,
and from that worse than cowardice, which, shut
ting its eyes upou what is absolutely and demon
strably evil, would deepen and extend it, for the
reason that it is not perfectly curable — that des
perate quackery, which would spread a cancer over
the whole body, because it could not be safely ex
tirpated. And hence he takes rank among our
wisest and safest American statesmen.
The great characteristic of his mind is strength ;
his predominant faculty, reason ; the aim of his elo
quence, to convince. His elocution is clear, nervous
and perfectly ready, as all can testify who have
heard hira descant, from time to time, on the pres
ent crisis of our country, and plead for our Gov-

•20 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ernment, in the fullness of a patriot's soul. He
deals not in gaudy ornament or florid exhibition ;
no gilded shower of metaphors drowns the sense of
his discourse. While he is capable of fervid invec
tive, vehement declamation, and scathing sarcasm,
yet, strength, strength, is the pervading quality, and
there is argument even in his bitterest denunciation
of traitors.
Although he is the farthest possible removed
from the affectation of mystery, or any asserted and
offensive pretension to superiority over other men ;
and although his manner is exempt entirely from
the charge of haughtiness, still, at times, he appears
as though he neither loved familiarity, nor courted
intimacy. But he is bland, courteous, and perfectly
respectful in his intercourse; and still there is a
distance, an undefinable sort of reserve, unmixed
with pride, but full of dignity, keeping frivolity
aloof, and attracting at once your curiosity and
your interest. You recognize in him, at once, a
man of the rarest executive ability.
The master expression, the natural language
which breaths from his face, form, step and gesture,
is energy — unfainting, indomitable, though curbed
and regulated energy — which wdll sustain him
through aU danger and under all fortune, and which
will and must bear him on to the utmost raark
at which his ambition may aira, and to which his
talents are adequate. There is nothing restless or
impatient about hira. He is disciplined, deliberate.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 21
concentrated energy. He has a managed calmness
of general manner, which so often betokens a fiery
and excitable temperament, but under the raost per
fect control : never was a man more entirely master
of himself than Governor Morton, His conversa
tion corresponds with, and deepens the impression
which his public services and speeches may have
made, showing that he possesses all the quickness
and penetration of a man of true genius, without a
spark of wildness or eccentricity. His whole mind
is eminently healthy. He has the seriousness of
deterraination, unmixed with gloom or melancholy,
and a marble firraness, as well as smoothness, in
his style, which speaks of the hardihood and muscle
of the Grecian mastei"s. He belongs to that class
of rainds who, in every country, and under every
form of government, are found the unflinching
advocates of national and regulated liberty, a liberty
founded in principles fixed and eternal, and which
is only safe under the shield and cover of the in
violability of law. The imperial raaxira, voluntas
principis habet vigor em legis, he totally rejects. He
loathes despotism in all its forms, aud wherever
lodged. He regards the courtier cringing at the
footstool of a throne, and the demagogue lauding
the absolute power of a raob, as equally the foes of
freedom, and as the just objects of the execration of
every true patriot, A man of strong convictions,
be has always followed where his principles led
him, and for a tirae battled on the side of a minor-

22 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ity of his countrymen, but soon saw that minority
sweU into a victorious majority, which made him
the Governor of a great State, at the same time
that it made our present Chief Magistrate the
President of a great nation.
There has been little or no gradation in his pub
lic career. Coming to the gubernatorial chair at the
first outbreak of the rebellion, he seemed to com
prehend at once, and as if by instinct, the new
scene in Ajirhich he was called to act, and nerved
himself for the ponderous duties devolving upon
him, and was at once recognized by his State, and
by the nation, as a patriot statesman and a gallant
leader. The intrepid boldness of his character and
precocious strength of his genius seem to have
smitten aU political parties with astonishment ; and
very many of the leading raen of the political party
to which he was opposed pronounced him the raost
extraordinary raan of the nation.
The press has teemed with his praise, the whole
country is full of his name ; yet he wears his honors
with the ease of a familiar dress. He proudly
maintains his character undimmed, and his position
unshaken, as the fearless executive of the State, and
yet as the charapion of the integrity of the Govern
raent, and the Union of all the States — clinging
with undying devotion to the maxim taken from
the hero of the Hermitage, "^Tie Union, the Fed
eral Union, must and shall be preserved."
An incident will illustrate the strong irapression

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 23
he has made, and the influence he is exerting in
neighboring States, At the time the rebel Con
federates were struggling for the possession of
Kentucky, it will be remembered that a quasi pro
visional government was established for Kentucky,
making the rebel Johnson provisional Governor,
while Governor Magoffin was the de facto Governor
of the State, Indiana soldiers were swarming all
over the State for its defense, and to drive the
rebels from its borders. At this time a controversy
arose in the streets of Frankfort, as to who was
the real Governor of Kentucky; one party warmly
contending that Magoffin was Governor, and another
as strongly contending that Johnson was the true
Governor, As the controversy was waxing hot,
and the parties were almost ready to corae to blows,
up steps an honest, brawny soldier, and says he,
"Hold on, gentlemen ; you are all mistaken, I will
settle this controversy; neither ofyour men is Gov
ernor of Kentucky, but Governor Morton of Indiana
is Governor of Kentucky, as his soldier boys, with
their blue coats and Enfield rifles, will so«n show
you." The good-humored way in which this was
said set all parties in a good humor, and the crowd
dispersed, with three cheers for Governor Morton,
and three more for the Hoosier soldier whose logic
had put them all to silence.
But withal. Governor Morton is a man of heart, as
well as a man of intellect. He is not only foremost
in raising troops for the field, and untiring in his

24 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
devotion to their welfare and comfort in the field,
in camp, or in the hospital, but his regard for the
soldier extends to the wife and children left behind.
He gives himself no rest while a soldier's family is
needing any of the comforts of life. And the brave
troops of Indiana, in the perils of battle, or the
exposures of the march, are made glad by the
knowledge that their own Governor will see to it
that their loved ones at home are provided with
every needed comfort; and that while they are
fighting the battles of their country, their children
shall never cry for bread. And hence, while all his
other laurels are green upon his brow, crowning
him patriot statesman, soldiers' hands weave a
richer, prouder chaplet for his head, and inscribe it
" The Friend of the Soldier — the Friend of the Sol
diers' Families."
Governor Morton asks no prouder honor, a no
more undying fame, whatever may await him at
his country's hands.
In the prosecution of the war it does really seem
that Governor Morton has accomplished more than
any one had a right to expect. He has not left a
task unfinished, a duty unperformed, or an official
obligation unfulfilled, as we are able to prove by
those who at one time (if not now) leaned directly
toward secession. Gov. Morton's executive ability
is unsurpassed by any officer of like rank in the
Union, his " eneraies themselves being judges,"
The New York Times of Nov, 10, 1863, thus speaks

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 25
of him, in contrasting the position of Indiana with
that of New York :
"To what is this vast difference attributable?
Certainly not to any difference in patriotism. We
will not admit for a moment that the raasses of
the people of New York are inferior to those of
Indiana, or any other State, in devotion to the
country. There is probably no State which has
derived such an immense advantage from the Union
as the Empire State, and not one which has a
greater interest in its preservation. Nor can the
difterence be owing to any difference in the charac
ter of the population. That is all in favor of New
York. Our cities have a far greater proportion of
that floating population from which soldiers can be
drawn with least derangement of industry; and
also vastly raore wealth available for bounties in
encouragement of enlistments.
" The difference is principally due to the fact that
Indiana has a Governor of pre-eminent devotion to
the cause, aud signal executive ability, while New
York has not. Governor Morton, from the begin
ning of the war, has made the mihtary efficiency and
honor of his State his private business. Under the
first call of the President for seventy-five thousand
men, in three days he not only raised, armed and
equipped and clothed the six regiments, which was
the quota of the State, but tendered twenty in addi
tion ; and when these were not accepted by the Gov
ernment, he mustered most of them into the State
3

26 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
service, put them in camp, drilled them, until the
time came when the Government was glad to take
them. When the Government had no first-class
arms. Governor Morton caused the State to supply
them, which always secured the Indiana soldiers
the post of honor in the field. Besides, by constant
personal visits to the regiments in service, he saw
for himself that every want was supplied. Perma
nent agents were established at all the principal
points to devote special attention to the care of the
soldiers, and an agent was placed in Washington
whose special business it was to collect back pay,
pensions, and other claims for discharged volun
teers, free of charge. To keep alive the spirit of
volunteering, Governor Morton appointed commit
tees of prominent men in every congressional dis
trict, county and township, assigned the proper
quota to each, induced county boards to make ad
ditional appropriations for bounties, and, by per
sonal visitation, whenever there was any slackness,
excited the popular heart to the right, patriotic
pitch. He has carried out this method so energet
ically, that those parts of the State where copper-
headism very largely prevails have been all the
while kept square to the line of railitary duty.
" The result of this regular systera of stimulating
enlistments, and of taking the best possible care of
the soldiers when enlisted, has been seen from the
beginning in the signal promptness and efficiency
which have marked all the military history of In-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 27
diana from the beginning of the war. The quota
of that State, under the first call for 76,000, was six
regiments. No less than twenty were tendered in
three days. The National Government declining to
receive more than six, such portion of the remain
der as could be promptly equipped were mustered
into the State service, put into camp, drilled, and
were completely ready for the field when afterward
called for. Before the Secretary of War stopped
recruiting last year, Indiana had put no less than
sixty-three regiments into the field. When Kirby
Smith advanced on Cincinnati, Governor Morton
completed the organization of twenty-four regiments,
mustered, armed, equipped them, and sent them
into Kentucky' — all within the short space of two
weeks ; and fourteen thousand of these were sent
within the first seven days.
"When Morgan invaded the State last summer,
though all the national troops in the State had just
been sent off, in thirty-six hours 62,000 railitia
were offered ; and of these 32,000 were accepted,
armed, equipped, and were dispatched after the
invader. Indiana supplied soldiers enough to escape
the first draft, and Governor Morton tendered the
President 15,000 additional troops as a bonus. Fif
teen new regiments will be ready in a fortnight,
which will more than meet the last call of the Pres
ident. Moreover, several of the old regiments are
to be brought home and recruited up to their origi
nal strength, while large details are to be sent to

28 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
other regiments in the field which are reduced
below the minimum. While many other States
have sent most of their regiments into the field at
a minimum, Indiana has always made it a point to
fill her regiraents to the maximum of 1,048, Her
regiments now in the service number 119, and in
three weeks they will number 134, Such is the
record of a State that has had the benefit of a
whole-souled, far-sighted, firm-handed Executive,"
From the end of the political campaign of 1856,
to the coraraenceraent of that of 1860, Morton
asked no honors of his party, but, nevertheless,
labored energetically, constantly, for the promotion
of its success. At political conventions he was
always regarded as the most efficient of workers.
His sound judgment and eminently practical views
of things qualified him to act well those important
parts which were assigned him. He was ever re
garded as the best of political engineers, and held
in the highest estimation as a framer of policy.
We venture the assertion, that the records of the
republican party in Indiana wUl show that the great
leading spirit of that organization, frora its very com
mencement to 1860, was Oliver P. Morton ; that he
had more to do in directing its moveraents and estab
lishing its doctrines than any other raan in the State.
The year 1860 brought with it some very iraport
ant changes in the political aspect of the country.
The discussion of the adraission of Kansas under
the Lecompton constitution had caused a revolution

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 29
in the democratic party. The unjustifiable demands
made upon the Northern democracy by the South
ern politicians had led to the organization, through
out the North-west, of an anti-Lecompton demo
cratic party; and in many localities this party,
being weak, united with the republicans. Mean
time the pro-slavery democrats took broader ground
in favor of Southern interests, maintaining it to be
the true policy of the Government to protect and
extend slavery everywhere.
In this condition of things the republican party
of Indiana again presented its ticket to the people.
The candidates for the State offices were : Henry S,
Lane for Governor, 0. P, Morton for Lieutenant
Governor, Wm, A, Peelle for Secretary of State,
Jonathan S, Harvey for Treasurer of State, Albert
Lange for Auditor of State, Jaraes G, Jones for
Attorney General, Benjamin Harrison for Reporter
of Suprerae Court, John P, Jones for Clerk of
Supreme Court, and Miles J. Fletcher for Super
intendent of Public Instruction,
Morton was placed on the ticket as candidate for
Lieutenant Governor, as one expresses it, " for rea
sons which were, at that time, supposed to have
some weight, but which have since faded so com
pletely, that it seems almost incredible that he was
ever thought of for so inferior a position,"
With his usual energy he entered upon the labor
of canvassing the State, and never was work done
more earnestly or thoroughly. Commencing at

30 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Terre Haute, he made a tour of the entire State,
traveling most of the time in company with his
competitor. Judge Turpie. He attended, however,
a number of mass meetings, and made several pow
erful and effective speeches, over and above those
of his own canvass. No candidate on the State
ticket labored so constantly and earnestly as 0, P,
Morton, perhaps, for the reason that they had not
the physical endurance to support them in such ar
duous, unremitting labor as he performed.
It is a matter worthy of note, that Morton, during
his political campaigns, although the most zealous
and persistent of workers, never had recourse to
alcoholic stimuli. The author met him at several
points during his canvass in 1860, had the best of op
portunities for observing him privately, and always
found him temperate and moral in all his habits.
It may also be truly said, that he is one of the
very few politicians who are no less courteous after
the election than before. The author on many oc
casions remarked, during the canvass of 1860, that
Morton never went out of his way to shake hands
with a man, nor slighted him, however low his
station, upon coming in contact with hira, and he
has observed the same disposition in him since he
has become the Governor of the State,
As before remarked, the Governor opened the
canvass of 1860 at Terre Haute ; and the able, com
prehensive speech he delivered there is presented
iu our next chapter.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 31

CHAPTER II.
Speech delivered at Terre Haute, March 18th, 1860.
Popular Sovereignty.
Popular Sovereignty, as defined by its most dis
tinguished teachers, is the right of a people of a Ter
ritory to form and regulate their domestic institutions
in their own way; or, in other words, it is the
absolute right of self-government in the people of a
Territory. K this right exists, it is an inherent
right ; it is not derived from any clause of the Con
stitution of the United States, If the people of a
Territory have the right of self-government, they
have equally the right to choose their form of gov
ernment, organize and inaugurate it. They have
not only the right to elect their legislature, but to
elect their governor, judges and all the officers of
state ; and Congress has no power to provide for them
a form or constitution of government through the
mediura of the Nebraska Bill, or otherwise. Thus
it will be seen, that the Territories, instead of being
made mere dependencies of the General Govern
ment — in a state of pupilage and preparation for
fiual admission into the Union as States, and for the
enjoyraent of equal rights and privileges with the
other States — would be absolute and independent

32 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES 0^
sovereignties, outside the Union, having rights and
privUeges greatly exceeding those of the States in
the Union. The Constitution of the United States
forbids any State to enter into any treaty, aUiance
or confederation ; to make anything but gold and
silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; to pass
any law impairing the obligation of contracts ; or
to lay any import duties on imports or exports,
except what may be necessary for executing inspec
tion laws ; to grant letters of marque and reprisal —
but the Territories would have power to do all
these things, for the constitutional prohibition ex
tends only to the States, and it wiU require the
most latitudinarian construction to make it apply to
the Territories. It seems to be conceded, theoretic
ally at least, that the Constitution should be strictly
construed, and the Constitution says that no State
shaU do these things ; beside, it provides expressly,
" that powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people." The Constitution of the United States
was made for the Union, and appUes, in its terms,
to the States in the Union. It was not intended to
apply and provide for two classes of States — one in
the Union and the other out. Such a form of gov
ernment would indeed be complex and anomalous.
This view of the Constitution was conceded by all
parties to be correct, in 1820, in the passage of the
Missouri Coraproraise, it being then admitted that

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 33
the clause of the Constitution providing for the
recapture of slaves, did not extend to the Territo
ries, but was applicable only to States ; and that, in
the absence of any act of Congress providing for
such recapture in the Territories, the raaster would
have no such right. Mr. Benton, in his great essay,
reviewing the Dred Scott decision, enters into an
elaborate argument and overwhelming citation of
opinions and authorities, showing the Constitution,
in its prohibitions, is applicable, not to Territories,
but to States. But if we adopt the other view of
the Constitution — that view which received the
sanction of aU parties, aU congresses, aU State leg
islatures and aU courts, for more than fifty years
from its adoption — these difficulties and absm-dities
are swept away. That view regarded the Territo
ries as dependencies, as communities in a state of
minority, to be governed, trained and prepared for
admission into the Union as States. The power
of the Federal government to control the Territo
ries may be successfully derived from two sources :
First, As an inevitable incident of the right to
acquire territory. This principle is so simple and
farailiar as scarcely to require Ulustration ; the pow
er to acquire without the power to govern, whethei
in individuals or governraents, would be raost bar
ren and unprofitable. Secondly, Frora that clause
of the Constitution which provides that Congress
shall have power to dispose of and raake aU needful
rules and regulations respecting the territory, oi

34 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Other property belonging to the United States.
This clause manifestly regarding the Territories as
dependencies and not as States or Sovereignties,
confers upon Congress plenary power to make all
needful rules and regulations for their government.
What is a Sectional Party?
The true definition of a sectional party is a party
which, in its principles and purposes, seeks to con
sult and promote the interests of one section of the
Repubhc, regardless of, or at the expense of the
interest and prosperity of aU other sections. The
number and locality of the members of a party
have but little to do in determining its character.
The rehgion of our Saviour could not, with any
propriety, have been termed sectional, even while
its professors were limited to a mere handful of
Jews, for its spirit and principles comprehended
humanity everywhere, and in all ages. The great
principle of the repubhcan party is the preservation
of the Territories to freedom, and the protection
and elevation of free labor. Surely a purpose so
beneficent as this can not be either selfish or sec
tional. It conteraplates and coraprehends the high
est interests of a large majority of those living in
the slave States, as weU as of the people of the free
States. It is a fact too palpable and notorious to
be denied, that there is but a smaU minority of the
white inhabitants of the slave States who are really
interested in the preservation and enlargement of

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 35
the institution of slavery ; and it is equally palpa
ble and notorious, that the institution rests as a
horrid and crushing incubus upon the prosperity of
the large majority in such States, The prosperity
of every part of our beloved country, is intiraately
bound up with the prosperity of every other por
tion. Our country is one, and our people are one,
and any damage suffered by one portion is an
injury inflicted upon the body of the nation. Tried
by this test, the deraocratic party is not national,
and is even less than sectional, for its aim, pohcy
and purpose, is the promotion of the special inter
ests of a minority class in one section of the Union,
to the manifest disregard and injury of the major
ity in the sarae section. The number of slave
holders would not exceed one-twelfth of the entire
free white population of the slave States, yet by
their wealth, their intelligence and their monopoly
of capital, they are enabled to control and govern
the large majority of non-slaveholders by whom
they are surrounded, and direct the policy and aims
of the democratic party, and through that instru
raentahty, aspire to the government of the people
of the United States. It is to add to the vigor and
enlarge the boundaries of this power, that the dera
ocratic party is now preserved and operated. The
fact that the repubhcan party is not permitted to
operate, that republican presses are not permitted to
pubhsh, nor republican orators to speak, in raany
of the Southern States, proves nothing but the

36 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
existence of the despotic power wielded by the
minority class. As weU might you establish the
sectional and contracted character of the Christian
religion, by the persecution and expulsion of the
primitive Christians from Rome, in the time of the
Jsesars. Besides that, it would be difficult to prove
that principles that were considered national, and
upon which the nation acted for the first fifty years
of its existence, have suddenly become local, selfish
and sectional.
The Conservatism of the Republican Party,
It is a common charge made against the repub
lican party, that it is radical, revolutionary and
subversive in its character. Examined by the light
of history and reason, this charge is manifestly
unjust ; for the truth is the reverse of all this, and
is that the republican party is the historical and
conservative party of the nation. A conservative
is defined to be " one who aims to preserve from
ruin, innovation, injury or radical change ; one who
wishes to maintain an institution or form of gov
ernment in its present form." In politics, conserv
atism is an adherence to old opinions, doctrines and
expositions of policy or constitutional law; it is
opposed to innovations, novel doctrines and new
fangled theories ; it prefers the known to the un
known, the tried to the untried, and chooses to
walk rather by the light of experience than to pur
sue the chimeras of speculation. If it can be shown.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 37
then, that the republican policy of opposition to
the general diffusion of slavery, the preservation
of the Territories to freedom, and the protection
and elevation of free labor, is coeval with, or ante
cedent to the adoption of our Constitution — that it
was the recognized policy of the government for
more than half a century, that it was the faith of
Washington, and almost the rehgion of Jefferson,
that it was woven into judicial action and legis
lation, and was the comraon creed and property of
all parties untU within a few years past — then its
claim to conservatism is fuUy established.
Measured by this standard the democratic party
wiU be found to be "radical, revolutionaiy and
subversive," departing fi-om its own creed, revolu
tionizing a long course of judicial decisions, and
subverting the practice of the governraent frora the
time of its creation, it haa erected, into an article
of faith, the new, dangerous and portentous dogma,
that the Constitution, by its own inherent power,
establishes slavery in aU the Temtories, and that
there is no power in Congress, nor in the people of
the Territories — or to use the language of Mr.
Buchanan in his late message, that there is no
"human power" — ^that can exclude it therefrom;
that the raany acts of Congress, beginning in 1789
and continued untU 1848, prohibiting slavery in the
Territories, were unconstitutional and void; and
the many judicial decisions of the various State and
Federal comts recognising the power of Congress

38 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
to provide such legislation, sprang from gross and
iU-considered views of the Federal Constitution.
And especially is this dogma dangerous and por
tentous, when we reflect that it is but the beginning
of the revolution ; that it drags after it, as an inev
itable consequence — as the locomotive draws after
t the train — that other dogma, that the Constitu
tion also carries slavery into all the States, and that
no human power can exclude it therefrom; and
looks to the fulfillment of the prophecy by Senator
Toombs, that he would live to see the time when
he could caU the roll of his slaves beneath the
shadow of the monument on Bunker Hill,
We want no views of the Constitution, Its con
struction was settled by the first Congress, and
acquiesced in by all the courts and every department
of the government for more than half a century
that construction is in harmony with the plain
reading of the instrument. It regards the Territo
ries as the children of the Union, to be trained in
the nurture and admonition of free institutions, so
that when they have reached the age of majority,
they wiU be qualified to take their places in the
family of States, and be admitted to aU the right-
and privileges of the government. And as thes»
Territories are to become our future partners in th>
Union, and in the administration of the govern
ment, we have a deep interest in the formation ol
their characters and national habits.

governor oliver p. morton. 39
Invasion of Virginia by John Brown.
No one deplored raore than myself the unjustifi
able and criminal invasion of the soil of Virginia
by John Brown and his associates. This act, while
it thrilled the South with terror, and shocked the
moral sense of the nation, may yet, in the hands of
Providence, prove a blessing to the Republic. It
has already led parties, both North and South, raore
clearly and accurately to define their positions, and
thus exonerate themselves from all coraplicity or
blarae in the affair. The republican party has, by
every raediura of expression, disclairaed aU syrapa
thy with John Brown, or paUiation for his deed,
while the proofs which have been taken have failed
to connect, in the remotest degree, any member of
that party with this fatal enterprise, in any stage of
its progress. It has taught the South, however,
that if she would have peace and security at horae,
she raust refrain from outrages abroad. It is not to
be controverted that the stern fanaticism and raalig
nant passions of John Brown and his associates,
were cradled in that wicked and unnatural contest
in Kansas, which was set on foot for the introduc
tion and estabhshment of slavery in that Territory.
Hordes of border ruffians from Missouri and other
slave States, raarched into Kansas in battle array,
with the avowed purpose of subjugating the free
State raen, and forcing upon them an institution
which they abhorred. Having first provided them-

40 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
selves with arms, by the robbery of the United
States Arsenal, at Westport, Missouri, they entered
that unhappy Territory, with all the paraphernalia
and appointment of regularly organized war. The
robbery of the arsenal at Westport, was but a pro
totype of the seizure of the arsenal at Harper's
Ferry, By a mysterious chain of events, which
can not be foreseen, and can only be realized, the
tide of invasion rolled back from the level plains of
Kansas to the mountains of Virginia, But the
strangest thing remains yet to be told ; for that wai
of aggression, set on foot by the slaveholders of
Missouri, for the propagation of slavery in Kansas,
has recoiled upon Missouri, not in war, in violence
or in blood, but in the development of an emanci
pation raoveraent, possessing such reraarkable vigor
and raaking such rapid progress, as to threaten the
speedy extinction of slavery in that State, It is,
therefore, not irapossible, nor even iraprobable, that
the atterapt, raade by citizens of Missouri, to fasten
slavery upon Kansas by force of arras, may result
in the legitimate and peacefu. expulsion of slavery
frora Missouri, But in that affair we have no right
to mingle. It is one that, under the shield of State
sovereignty, pertains exclusively to the citizens of
that State ; and no people, party nor tribunal out of
it, have any right whatever to dictate what shaU be
done. The bloody page that records the infant
history of Kansas, and the crirainal adventure and
death of John Brown, raay be read with profit by

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 41
the people both North and South, and fi-om it they
may deduce the lesson that the security and tran
quility of the nation can only be preserved by the
people of each section scrupulously regarding and
protecting the rights of every other section.
The Agitation of the Slavery Qdestion,
The agitation of the slavery question can be traced
directly to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise,
As clearly as ever effect can be traced to cause, or
punishment to the sin that occasioned it, can the
troubles which now afflict our beloved country be
referred to that rash and disastrous measure.
It found the country at peace, and has left it
stained with blood and torn by civil dissensions. It
re-opened the slave question in a form most offen
sive and under circumstances most aggravating to
the anti-slavery sentiment of the North. It was
the deliberate breach of the tirae-honored compro
mise, which had its origin in the raost critical period
of our political history, and had given peace to the
nation. History will pronounce judgment upon it
as a wanton and wicked act, without a circumstance
, to palliate or excuse its perpetration ; and as having
its origin in the political necessities and reckless
ambition of partizans. The object to be gained,
was the united favor of the South, and the raeans
of obtaining an extravagant devotion to her sup
posed interests. Both parties are likely to be
cheated; the South wiU not only most probably
4

42 life, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
fail to derive any benefit from the measure, but, on
the other hand, is likely to be seriously damaged,
and the ambitious and desperate politician who
devised it, is hkely to be foiled and defeated in the
grand piu'pose of his life.
Allow me to read a brief extract from a recent
letter addressed by Ex-President Fillmore to a
Union meeting in New York, which he, had been
invited to address. The sentiments contained in it
are so beautifully expressed, and so manifestly just,
as to comraand the hearty approbation of aU intelh
gent minds :
"After a severe struggle, which threatened the
integrity of the Union, Congress finally passed laws
settling these questions, and the government and
the people, for a time, seemed to acquiesce in that
compromise, as a final settleraent of this exciting
question; and it is exceedingly to be regretted,
that mistaken ambition, or the hope of promot
ing a party triuraph, should have tempted any
one to raise this question again. But in an evil
hour, this Pandora's box of slavery was again
opened by, what I conceive to be, an unjustifiable
attempt to force slavery into Kansas by a repeal of
the Missouri Compromise ; and the flood of evils
now sweUing and threatening to overthrow the
Constitution, sweep away the foundations of the
government itself, and deluge this land in fraternal
blood, may be traced to this unfortunate act. What
ever might have been the motive, few acts have ever

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 43
been so barren of good, so fruitftil of evil. The
contest has exasperated the public mind. North and
South, and engendered feehngs of distrust, and, I
may say, hate, that I fear it wiU take years to wear
away. "The lamentable tragedy at Harper's Ferry i.s
clearly traceable to the unfortunate controversy
about slavery in Kansas ; and while the chief actor
in this criminal invasion has exhibited some traits
of character which challenge om- admiration, yet
his fanatical zeal seems to have blinded his moral
perceptions, and hurried hira into an unlawful
attack upon the lives of a peaceful and unoffending
comraunity of a sister State, with the evident inten
tion of raising a servile insurrection, which no one
can contemplate without horror ; and few, I believe
very few, can be found so indifferent to the conse
quences of his acts, or so blinded by partizan zeal,
as not to beheve that he justly suffered the penalty
of the law which he had violated, I can not but
hope that the fate of John Brown and his asso
ciates, wUl deter others frora an unlawfiil attempt
to interfere in the domestic affairs of a sister State,
But this tragedy has now closed, and Virginia has
vindicated the supremacy of her laws, and shown
that she is quite corapetent to raanage her own
affairs, and protect her own rights. And thanks
to an overruling Providence, the question about
slavery in Kansas has been settled in favor of free
dom. The North has triumphed, and having

44 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
triumphed, let her magnanimity and generosity to
her Southern brethren, show that the contest on
her part was one of principle, and not of persoual
hatred or the low ambition of sectional triumph,"
What is the cause of the present hostility of
THE South toward the North?
The fact is not to be disguised nor evaded, that
there is a deep feeling of hostUity pervading the
people of the South toward the great body of the
people of the North; and the question may be
asked, has the South just cause of coraplaint to-
Avard the North ? She has ! but it is not such com
plaint as adjoining States and communities can
always prefer against each other. There always
have been and always 'n-ill be individuals who will
disregard the laws of their own and invade the rights
and immunities of other States. If such invasion
be cause of war or justify retahation, then different
coraraunities could never be at peace, and no con
federacy of States could be peaceful or permanent.
I doubt not that men from the North have some
times induced slaves to run away from their masters,
though not, perhaps, once where it has been charged
a hundred tiraes. Such conduct is in violation of
the law and good neighborhood, and is not to be
palliated nor excused. But if we are to open a
book account with the South, of mutual outrages
springing out of the slavery question, we shall find,
perhaps, if it did not come out about even, a

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 45
balance standing against her. The question may be
asked then, what is the cause of the hostility per
vading the Southern raind toward the people of the
North ? There are many causes, but the cliief one
is to be found in the policy of the democratic party.
To chain the South firmly to the car of that party,
it has for years proclaimed that every other party at
the Nortli was fatally bent on the invasion and
destruction of the constitutional rights of the South ;
and that the success of any other party would prove
destructive to the institution of slavery. To this
end it has labored and lied, in season and out of
season, with satanic industry, to indoctrinate the
South with the notion, that the raasses of the oppo
sition of the North, now in an overwhelming
majority, are hostile to Southern institutions and
to the Southern people, and are irapatiently await
ing the hour when they may even, by force, subvert
the institutions of the South. Witness the recent
course of Northern and Southern democratic papei-s
and speeches, representing the entire republican
party as the aiders and abetters of the raid of John
Brown at Harper's Ferry, A very considerable
portion of the Southern people have come to believe
this enormous he, and have no means of knowing
any better, Repubhcan papers are not permitted to
circulate in the South, Republican speakers are
not permitted to speak there, whUe deraocratic
papers. North and South, teera with the speeches
of WendeU Philhps and WUliara Lloyd Garrison,

46 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
as the expositions of Northern sentiment and feeling.
Even the opposition party of the South — what
there is left of it — dare not contradict the monstrous
falsehood, for fear of being charged with abolition
sympathies, but, on the contrary, embracing demo
cratic policy, has sought to out-Herod-'Herod, by
pandering to pro-slavery ignorance and prejudice.
The true explanation then, of the hostility of the
masses of the Southern people to the North, is
found in their profound misapprehension of the
real state and condition of Northern sentiment.
The is but one way our Southern friends can be
undeceived, and that is by the election of a repub
lican President, and the preservation of the consti
tutional rights of the South under his administra
tion, A single repubhcan administration, if it did
not entirely succeed in restoring the era of good
feehng between the North and the South, would do
rauch toward it. The beginning, the continuance,
the increased and increasing violence of this slavery
agitation, have been under deraocratic administra
tions. The cure of the evU can not, therefore, be
looked for by a continuance of such administrations.
Not only is this true, but such agitation, as before
Btated, has been invoked and fostered by the demo
cratic party as a source and means of power. The
republican party has not produced this agitation,
but has been produced by it. It is the creature
rather thau the creator. It sprang hke a phoenix
from the ashes of decayed parties, not as a sword.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 47
but as a shield to prevent the invasion and subjuga
tion of all free Territory by the institution of
slavery. "What is the Policy of the Democratic Party?
The policy of the democratic party is the exten
sion of slavery, not only into aU the Territories, but
all the States. The grand instrumentality by which
this is to be accomplished is the supreme court;
an irresponsible tribunal, the members of which
hold their offices for life, and who are not elected
by nor amenable to the people; a tribunal which, for
many years, has been used as a place of retiracy for
broken, spavined and asthmatic pohticians. This
tribunal was originaUy intended, by the framers of
the Constitution, as a court of appeals for the deci
sion of questions of law and equity, legitimately
arising in the lower federal courts ; but by the plas
tic hand of modern deraocracy, it has been con
verted into an engine for the subversion of free
institutions and the propagation of human slavery.
The first grand step in the programme of chang
ing our Republic into a vast slaveholding confed
eracy, was the estabhshment of slavery in the
Territories, by virtue of a false construction of the
Constitution of the United States. This is supposed
to have been done by the decision in the case of
Dred Scott. Mr. Buchanan triumphantly announces
the consummation of the fact in his late message.
The next step, and the last, is but a logical sequence

48 LIFE, speeches and public services of
of the first, viz. : That if the Constitution carries
slavery into the Territories it carries it into the
States. The one follows the other as certainly as
niffht follows dav. K the Constitution be able to
protect slavery out of the Union, much more shall
it protect and nourish it in the Union. If it recog
nizes slaves as property and not as persons, and
secures to the master an indefeasible title to them
iu the Territories, wiU the rights of property be
held less sacred in the States. Does the Constitu
tion guarantee to the slaveholders or other per
sons, rights of property or of persons, in the Terri
tories, that it does not equaUy secure in the States ?
"When, therefore, the nation comes to admit, if
it ever does, the right to hold slaves in a Territory,
. and that there is no power in Congress or in the
people of a Territory to exclude them, it will then
be requh-ed to take another step, which it can not
refuse, easy, natural and legitimate, which is, that
the Constitution secures the right to carry slaves
into aU the free States and enjoy them there as
property. The President in his late message congratulates
the country on the final settlement of the slavery
question, by the decision of the Supreme Court of
the United States in the Dred Scott case. He for
gets that the democratic party have taught the
country that constitutional questions are never set
tled. The Dred Scott decision has simply unsettled
what had been regarded as settied foi more thai

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 49
fifty yeai-s. The Missouri Compromise was thought
to be settled for more than thirty years, but it
was repealed by the Nebraska BiU. It is uoav
idle to talk about the settlement of anything until
it shall be done on correct principles. Five slave
holders sitting on the bench of the supreme court,
can not settle, forever, vital questions of freedom,
against 18,000,000 of people in the free States. In
the course of a few years they will have passed
aAvay, to stand at the bar of another tribunal, whose
decisions are final, and their places will be filled by
new men, who will have the same right to review
then- opinions which they have had to trample upon
the opinions of all who have gone before them.
The Fugitive Slave Law,
The Constitution of the United States guarantees
to the owners of slaves, if slaves escape, the right
to reclaim and carry them back to servitude. To
make this constitutional provision efficient, it is
necessary that a law be enacted providing waj^ and
means by which such reclamation can be effected.
I therefore recognize the right of the South to a
fugitive slave law. The power to enact this law,
I believe, is vested in Congress and not in the
several States, as is contended by some. This is
certainly in accordance with the early construction
of the Constitution.
The constitutionality of the present fugitive slave
law was a legitimate subject of judicial decision and
5

50 LIFE, speeches AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
has received the sanction of the highest court in the
the nation. "Wliile, therefore, it remains upon the
statute book, it should be enforced, and I have no
justification to offer for those, whether individuals
or States, who raay resist its operations or cast
obstacles in the way of its enforcement. But if it
be insisted, that in order to be national and be a
patriot, I should entertain a violent admiration for
this law, and take delight in its provisions, then I
do not come up to the standard. Several of its
provisions I regard as harsh and unjust; because
they place it in the power of bad men to endanger
the rights and liberties of free men. The constitu
tional provision itself was a political necessity; and
while I regard the law framed under it as a political
necessity also, I think it should be humane in its
provisions and administered with caution. Hence,
I think the fugitive slave law a fit subject for
revision, amendment and improveraent.
The Union Party.
It is a matter of proud congratulation, that there
is not one disunionist within the pale of the repub
lican party. There is no part of the republican
platform upon which a disunionist can stand.
"While the disunion fanatics of the North are the
most bitter foes and denouncers of the repub
lican party, the disunion fanatics of the South are
members of the democratic party, and not only so,
but they are members in good standing, occupying

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 51
its highest places of honor, and directing its coun
cils, and manufacturing its platforras. Some of
these already declare that the Union is a forlorn
hope ; others, that it can only be preserved upon
contingencies which are not likely to happen ; and
many, that the election of a republican President
by a majority of the people of the United States, in
the mode prescribed by the Constitution, would be
just cause for dissolution. We do not say that the
Union may be preserved upon certain conditions ;
we do not measm-e our fidelity to it by our success ;
but we say, " it must and shall be preserved," what
ever party may be in the ascendant. We do not
say, the republican party first and the Union after
ward ; but we say, the Union first, last and aU the
time ; and that we will wage uncorapromising war
fare upon aU parties that conteraplate its destruction,
as deshable, under any circurastances. The trea
sonable doctrine of rule or ruin, has been boldly
avowed by leading democrats in the Senate of the
United States. They have declared, without rebuke
from their fellows, that the last hope of the Republic
was bound up in the success of the democratic
party ; and that the success of the repubhcan party
would present a contingency, not only authorizing,
but demanding the secession of the Southern States
from the Confederacy. These threats are intended
to intimidate the weak and stimulate the lukewarm,
and enable that party to retain the power which it
feels is passing away from it, and which it has justly

52 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
forfeited, by a long course of treachery and trans
gression against the peace and best interests of the
nation. The Republican Party.
I beg that it raay be understood, that I do not
use the word republican in a narrow, sectarian or
party sense. By repubhcan doctrine, I raean that
sentiment wliich is opposed to the general diffusion
of slavery ; desires the preservation of the Territo
ries to freedom, and seeks the elevation and protec
tion of free labor. And by repubhcan party, I
mean aU who entertain and cherish that sentiment,
whatever organization they may belong to, or by
whatever name they may pass.
Abolitionism.
I see that several of the democratic newspapers
have revived against me the cheap and worn out
allegation, that I am an abolitionist ! It is a matter
of some importance to a man who is about to make
a charge against his neighbor, that he have some
satisfactory evidence that the charge is true, and
justice to himself would seem to require that it be
accompanied by such a statement of the evidence as
would reasonably justify him in giving it utterance.
But if it be a naked and general allegation, unsup
ported by any evidence whatever, an inteUigent
public have a right to presume that it is a calumny
thrust before the world for selfish and malicious

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 53
purposes. If the persons making this charge know
me to be an abolitionist, they can undoubtedly state
some political act or declaration of opinion on my
part in proof. If they were asked what constitutes
an abolitionist, they could answer, if they have any
clear ideas on the subject, that he is one who is in
favor of abolishing slavery in places where it now
exists, and who claims that it is the right and duty
of the State in which he hves, or of the General
government to perform the act.
I am opposed to the diffiision of slavery. I am
in favor of preserving the Territories to fi-eedom,
of encouraging, elevating and protecting fi-ee labor,
at the same time conscientiously believing, that
with slavery in the several States we have nothing
to do, and no right to interfere. If this makes an
abolitionist, then I am one, and my pohtical enemies
may make the most of it.
The vague and senseless epithet has lost its
terrors. A long, indiscriminate application of it
by democratic politicians, to aU who oppose
them, has stripped it of aU title to consideration
whatever. The Northern Democracy,
Power has passed frora the democratic party in
nearly aU the Northern States. Its vitality and
force are concentrated in the South. The fact is,
that in Congress, and in the councils of the party.
Northern democrats are almost without influence

54 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and power. In the Senate of the United States, it
is a noticeable fact, that no Northern democrat is
placed at the head of any important committee, and
so keenly was this felt, that Mr. Pugh, the Senator
fi'om Ohio, raised his voice in bitter lament against
the humiliation inflicted on the Northern democracy.
The fact is significant, showing that while the
Northern democratic members of Congress are re
garded as useful for voting appropriations and many
other purposes, their Southern brethren are unwill
ing to trust them in responsible positions where
their influence might be felt or their treachery prove
fatal. Whether this distrust be well grounded or
not, I shall not undertake to determine, but it is
certainly natural. Knowing, as Southern democrats
do, that these men have betrayed the interests of
freedom and their constituents, for selfish and party
considerations, it is not strange that they should
look upon their own betrayal as not among impos
sibilities or even improbabilities.
Protection to American Industry,
In collecting the revenues of the nation, the
duties upon imports should be so adjusted that ade
quate protection be afforded to American industry.
"While it is not the duty of the government to build
up and maintain monopolies at the expense of the
body of the nation, yet it is entirely within the
power of Congress, by a proper regulation of the
tariff, to afford just encouragement and protection

(iOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTHX. UiJ
to the agricultm-al and manufacturing interests of
our country. The Homestead,
It has long been the opinion of many statesmen
that the public lands should not be treated as a
source of revenue, but that they should be donated,
in limited quantities, to actual settlers, who would
improve them, and thus build up new communities
and States. The greater portion of these lands
have hitherto been purchased by non-residents and
held for speculation. The actual settler has thus
been compelled to purchase at second hand and at
advanced rates, while the poor man has been de
barred from a home and from a field for his industry.
The actual settlers, the hardy pioneers, braving the
dangers and submitting to the hardships of the
wilderness, are they who erect new States and
enlarge the boundaries of our national wealth and
power. They are public benefactors and should
not be required to pay tribute for their benefactions.
Their horaes should be given to them by the nation,
upon conditions that they improve thera, and thus
add to the aggregate of our national prosperity. It
is not important that we have very rich men in this
country, but it is important that all have homes
and a competence, and be made to feel that their
country is a nursing mother, whose devotion to
their interest, and protection of their rights can
only be requited by a life of patriotism.

5G LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
This speech may be said to embody the doctrines
of the republican party. It presents, fully and
fairly, all that was held and or taught by that party
up to the year 1861. It entirely exonerates the
republicans from the charge of abohtionism, and
shows that they, so far from advocating sectional
views, were the true conservatives of the day, aim
ing to reinstate the ancient idea that slavery is sec
tional and freedom national ; that slavery, being a
domestic institution, can only exist by local law,
and that, according to the views taken of the rela
tions existing between the General government and
the Territories by the founders of the Republic,
all the territory belonging to the United States is
free ; that according to the Constitution, the normal
condition of the Territories is that of dependence
on the governraent ; and that while upon Congress
devolves the duty of making aU needful rules and
regulations for the governnient of the Territories,
and, according to the democratic doctrine of 1849,
of preventing the introduction of slavery into any
new territory, yet neither Congress nor the people
of the free States should interfere with that in
stitution in any State where it legally exists. It
thoroughly disproves the assertion that the repub
licans were constantly agitating the slavery question,
and clearly points to certain leaders of another
party as being guilty of keeping that issue before
the people. It shows that the republican party had
never existed, had it not been for the revolutionary

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 57
measures of the democracy in 1854, and that those
who were loudest iu the deprecations of slavery
agitation aud denunciations of " abolitionists," were
themselves the ones who, at a time when the all-
exciting question was dead and buried, had exhumed
it ghastly skeleton, inspired it with demoniac hfe,
and sent it anew upon its fiendish mission of stir
ring up sectional dissensions between the Northern
and Southern people of the United States.
No secret article could be found in the republican
confession of faith contradicting anything said in
this speech ; and the fact that a few extremists were
found in the party who advocated the unconditional
abolition of slavery, amounts to no more as a proof
that it was an abolition party, than does the fact
that many Southern secessionists were members of
the democratic party as an evidence that it was a
disunion organization.
This speech, as a logical production, is a master
piece, and the main points in it were never fairly
met during the campaign.

LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERATiCES OF

CHAPTER III.
Canvass of 1860 — ^Political discussion at Bloomington, Ind. —
Morton's reply to Judge Turpie, made June 21st, 1860.
The following passages fi-om Governor Morton's
reply to Judge Turpie, democratic candidate for
Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, made at Bloom
ington, on the 21st of June, 1860, is presented to
give the reader an idea of the Governor's strength
in debate. It wiU be observed, that while the
arguments are powerful, the words in which they
are given are few. Indeed, some of the thoughts
are rather skimped in their dress.
This eftbrt is replete with chaste wit and pungent
sarcasm, and shows that the Governor knew how
to teU a story with effect.
We give the paragraphs as published by a Bloom
ington paper — taking the liberty to correct some
blunders, which are manifestly the work either of
the reporter or of the printer :
My friend, Judge Turpie, took occasion, in the
course of his remarks, to advert to that provision
of the Constitution which allows representation oii
the floor of Congress for three-fifths of the slaves
in the South. He said that this thina: had beer.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 59
misrepresented, that it had been claimed that this
gave the slm-eholder three votes for every five slaves.
I have never heard it so contended. The effect of
it is, however, to give to the South a representation
on the floor of Congress on account of their slaves ;
and it is said, a calculation wiU show that the South
uow has twenty -three membei-s more than if her
slave population was not represented. But my
fi-iend says that this is a discrimination against,
instead of in tavor of the South. I do not so
undei-stand it. He savs that in the North we count
our fi-ee negroes, criminals and aliens, in making up
the ratio of representation. So we do ; and in the
South they count their free negroes, one for one, as
we do ; theu- criminals as we do, and theu- aliens
also ; and, in addition, they count three of every
five slaves. These slaves they hold as property.
They buy them, seU them, mortgage them, and
transfer them as you do your hoi-ses and cattle.
You have no representation based upon your horses
and yom- cattle, but they have for their slave prop
erty. This provision of the Constitution requires no
comment, "Whatever it may be, the republican
party is not asking to change it, I should not have
adverted to it at aU if my fi-iend had not turned to
it in the beginning of this discussion.
Historical Reminiscence Rectified.
Again he refers to that provision of the Constitution
which prevents the prohibition of the slave trade

60 life, speeches and public SERVICES OF
prior to the year 1808. My friends, who introduced
that provision into the Constitution ? There was a
universal conviction, at the time that instrument
was framed, that slavery was short-lived; that it
would soon become extinct in the United States.
It was the general understanding, furthermore, that
the slave trade would be prohibited ; and there was
no necessity to insert a clause that the Congress
should prohibit it. But a provision was inserted, at
the instigation of South Carolina, she declaring that
she would not consent to the Constitution if she
was prohibited frora carrying on the slave trade
until, at least, 1820. It was at the instigation of
South Carolina, and not of Massachusetts, that that
clause was inserted, I have no doubt persons in
the New England States were interested in the
slave trade, but they were few in number, and they
did not express the voice of any State of the North.
But this provision was inserted at the instigation
of South Carolina, the demand, in fact, being made
by her,
I am glad that my friend referred to that provi
sion in the Constitution, It shows this : it is a
provision against prohibiting the slave trade, and it
shows the feeling that prevailed at that time among
the fathers of the Republic, among the men who
made the Constitution upon the subject of slavery ;
it shows that they were anti-slavery men in senti
ment, and that this provision was inserted simply to
prevent the too speedy and too decisive operation

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 61
of that sentiraent in cutting off the foreign slave
trade. Query to be Answered,
Again, ray fi-iend refers to that provision of the
Constitution in regard to the reclamation of fugi
tive slaves. He says, that in Massachusetts and
other States, they have passed laws to prevent the
South from enjoying the benefit of this provision
of the Constitution. Will the gentleman point to
any legislative act, outside the State of Massachu
setts, upon that subject. His declaration, I beheve,
was in general terms; the republican States had
done the thing. In Massachusetts they passed a
personal liberty biU. It was the opinion of many
men in Massachusetts, as it is the opinion of many
everj-where, that the fugitive slave law is defective ;
that under that law fi-ee men may be carried into
servitude, and they have no remedy. Under this
conviction, for the purpose of preventing freeraen
frora being carried into slavery, she passed a per
sonal liberty bill. In my opinion that biU was
impohtic. I am not here to defend it ; but it was
not a bUl to nuUify the action of the fugitive slave
law. But whUe my friend has a voice of condemnation
for the action of Massachusetts, what word has he
got for the numerous acts of the slave States
interfering with the great rights of speech and the
freedom of the press? Virginia and most of the

62 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
slave States muzzle the press and seal the lips of
freemen upon the subject of slavery, and all kindred
subjects. "WhUe the gentleman is showering denun
ciations upon Massachusetts, let him remember
kindred acts in the South,
That Secret but Fearful Purpose,
My friend says there is a party in the North that
is cherishing the secret purpose of ultimately over
turning and destroying the constitutional rights of
the South ; of denying to the South those guaran
tees which the Constitution has accorded to her.
"Wliat evidence is there in the world of the correct
ness of my friend's statement? Look to your
platform. You find nothing of the kind. But in
the total absence of evidence this secret purpose is
charged. If it is a secret purpose, my friend can
not know anything of it, K it is a public purpose,
the evidence can be produced.
Gentlemen, my friend speaks in general terms of
the doctrine of non-intervention, "What precise
idea is conveyed by that? I know it has been a
sort of catchword with the democratic party for
a few years past, "Whenever they come to the
subject of slavery, they always teU you they are in
favor of non-intervention, I say that that is now
an unmeaning word. It now conveys no idea.
They are in favor of non-intervention ; they want
to know no North, no South, no East, no West ;
they want to know nothing upon this subject.

governor oliver p. morton. 63
Another Question.
My fi-iend says that I stand upon the sarae ground
with Yancey ; that I and Yancey believe alike. I
would like to know what ground he stands upon.
W^e are tired of this talk about non-intervention.
The political questions of this day are practical ;
they ai-e pointed; there is no difficulty at aU in
knowing just what it is that now divides the par
ties — the republican party frora both factions of the
democracy, and one faction of the democracy from
the other. My friend has told you where he thinks
I stand, and I shaU corae to that by-and-by,
****** "Ye Antiente Doctrinb offe ye Non-Inter-
VENTION,"
My friend calls this doctrine of non-intervention,
" the ancient doctrine of non-intervention," It is
certainly not raore than six years old, and that did
not use to raake a thing ancient, but it seems that
it does now.
The gi-eat doctrine, from the time our Constitu
tion was formed until 1855, as recognized by all
parties, was the doctrine of intervention, and if any
doctrine can be caUed ancient, that is the ancient
doctrine. This one is modern, the other is old.
It has been tried in but a single case, and the result
is written in blood upon the plains of Kansas, and
on the darkest page in the history of American

64
politics. Yet this novel, this new-fangled theory is
called, in the hearing of sensible and honest men,
the ancient doctrine of non-intervention.
Smothered War Continued.
My friend, in speaking of the Missouri Compro
mise, said it was a " smothered war ; " that, instead
of giving peace, it had been a smothered war. The
war that before was smothered, has broken out in
deeds of blood that have drenched the soil of Kan
sas with the gore of freemen, and which have kin
dled the flame of discord between the North and
South. God only knows what are yet in reserve
for us as consequences of the repeal of the Missouri
Comproraise,

Testimony of the Grand Moguls of Democracy,
Let me refer you to p, little authority on this
subject. For the purpose of making the applica
tion more pointed, I will refer to Indiana authority.
The democratic party of Indiana stood upon this
doctrine until 1854. Let me read to you an extract
from an opinion of Gov, Whitcomb, The State of
Indiana, perhaps, never produced an abler or more
honest man than Gov, Whitcomb, He is dead and
gone ; but all delight to do honor to the memory
of that great man. What did he say? In 1848,
he said :
"It is incontrovertible that slavery, here aa

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 65
elsewhere, can not exist '\\'ithout the sanction of
positive law, I am opposed to the passage of any
such law. I believe the Congress cau, constitution
ally pass such organic laws for the governmeut of
the Territories, as will, in their operation, prevent
the territorial legislature from passing any such law.
It follows that Congress can, in my judgment, con-
stitutionaUy prevent the introduction of slavery
into these Territories."
I now give you the opinion of Judge John Law;
now, I believe, a candidate for Congress in the
first congressional district, on the democratic ticket :
" I feel no reluctance in answering both your
questions in the affirmative. Were I in the Con
gress of the United States, I should most assuredly
give my vote and interest in favor of every propo
sition for excluding slavery from any territory ac
quired, or hereafter acquired, by the United States.
I should deem any prospective action of Congress
on the subject both legal and constitutional."
WeU, that was Judge John Law's good law then ;
but it is bad law now, it seems, with him. That
gentleman is hving authority. Let me read to you
sorae raore. I wUl read the opinion of a prorainent
senator. Dr. Graham N. Fitch. I don't know
whether you consider hira ahve or dead down here.
Col. Foster (a prominent democrat) — He is dead.
A voice — There is more deraocratic authority foif
you. Mr. Morton — ^Dead, the gentleman says.
6

66 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Col. Foster (again interrupting) — And politically
damned !
Mr. Morton — The gentleman adds that he is dead
and damned. Well, if he be so, his authority is
better, because he is dead — because he has forsaken
his principles. Mr. Fitch said in reply to a letter,
as read : " Plymouth, Aug. 14, 1849.
" Sir : As there are a few who think that you have
not been quite definite enough on some of the ques
tions involved in the present canvass, I wish you to
answer the following questions, to wit :
" 1. Will you, if elected, vote for the uncondi
tional 'abolition of slavery in the District of Co
lumbia ?
" 2. WiU you vote for the abolition of the inter
state slave trade (if the same is constitutional, of
which I am not satisfied) ?
" 3. Will you vote for the WUmot Proviso being
extended over the Territories of California and
New Mexico, and against any law authorizing
slaves to be taken there as property ?
" Please answer the above questions, yes or no,
without comment."
To which the Doctor rephed :
"With pleasure I answer yes to all the above
questions. " Entertaining the views indicated in my answer
above, I shaU not only vote ' yes ' on those questions,
but if no older or abler member, whose influence

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. U (
for them would be greater than mine, introduce
thera to Congress, I shall do so myself, if I have
the honor of holding a. seat there."
I will now read you some further authority, out
side of the State of Indiana, I wiU read a little from
Stephen A, Douglas, What did he say? Hear
what he said in 1849 :
" The Missouri Compromise had its origin in the
hearts of all patriotic men, who desired to preserve
and perpetuate the blessings of our glorious Union ;
an origin akin to that of the Constitution of the
United States ; conceived in the same spirit of fra
ternal affection, and calculated to remove forever
the only danger which seeraed to threaten, at some
distant day, to sever the social bond of union. All
the evidence of pubhc opinion at that day, seeraed
to indicate that this compromise had become canon
ized in the hearts of the American people as a
sacred thing, which no ruthless hand would ever be
reckless enough to destroy."
My friend says it has been a smothered war. Mr.
Douglas did not seera to think so. He spoke in the
highest terms of it, and gave to it the same dignity
and the same sacred character as to the Constitution
of the United States itself; and he said it was so
sacred that no " ruthless hand would ever be reck
less enough to destroy it," "Who afterward proved
to be the reckless hand ? Mr, Douglas hiraself,
******

68 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
A Question Direct.
Well, now, I wish to consider this minority report
for a few moments. Mark you, it was the carrying
out of the platform of Douglas, as developed in his
late speech in the Senate. He does not tell you
whether he believes the people have the power to
exclude slavery from the Territories or not. He
talks, as does my friend, in general terms, very ear
nestly and plausibly, about the right of the people
to govern themselves ; and that is indeed something ;
it sounds well in a speech or on the stump ; but
when he comes to the only real question — Have the
people power to exclude slavery from the Territo
ries? — ^he says, that is a "judicial question." Gen
tlemen, I want my friend, before he has done — and
I doubt not he will gladly embrace the occasion — to
tell you whether the people of the Territories have
the power to exclude slavery. That is a very
important question. It seems it was important
enough to spht the Charleston convention in two ;
and it threatens to split the Baltimore conven
tion in two. Being of so much importance, my
friend will not omit to tell you on which side he
stands. Judicial Questions.
Now I want to consider this judicial question.
Is it a judicial question ? With just as rauch pro
priety you might call it a moral question, and refer

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 69
it to the convention lately in session at Buffalo ; or
a scientific question, and refer it to a board of science.
Call it anything except what it is — a decent way of
dodging a responsibility and cheating the people
out of their votes.
If this is a judicial one, I would like to know
if the question of buUding a railroad from the
Atlantic coast to the Pacific shore is not equally a
judicial question? There is no question which
might not, with equal propriety, be caUed a judicial
question. Let, then, these gentlemen be excused
upon aU subjects, for it can be done with precisely
the same propriety.
But, gentleraen, the Senate of the United States
recently passed a series of resolutions, introduced
by Davis of Mississippi. They affirm the same
doctrine that I have spoken of; the right to carry
slavery into all the Territories, and the absence of
any power to prevent it ; and the duty of Congress
to intervene, if necessary, for the protection of the
institution. These resolutions received the vote of
every democratic senator present, save only one.
They received the vote of your senators from the
State of Indiana — I wiU not caU them senators, for
they are bogus ; they were never elected, but they
hold seats there. And if there is an authoritative
exposition of democratic faith that has been made,
it mustbe found in those resolutions. Douglas does
not take different grounds. He admits, distinctly,
that the Constitution gives the right to take slavery

70 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
into the Territories; he does not contend for a
single moment, that local law is necessary to author
ize the master to hold his slaves there ; and when
he comes to the question of the power of the people
to turn slavery out, he gives no opinion one way or
the other, but he says, " that is a judicial question."
****** Veneration for Courts.
But we have had a more recent example. The
charter of the Bank of the United States was about
to expire. That charter had been held to be con
stitutional when that question had come properly
before the bench, and the court was compelled to
decide it. WeU, the charter of the bank being
about to expire, a biU for a recharter was introduced.
It carae before General Jackson for approval, and
the old raan said : " I have sworn to support the
Constitution as I understand it; and I veto this,
because Congress has no power to create a United
States Bank." In 1856, at Cincinnati, in their plat
forra, the democratic party affirraed that Congress
had no such power, right in the face of the decisions
of the suprerae court ; and recently at Charleston,
both of the platforms I have spoken of reaffirmed
the Cincinnati platform. Thus it appears that,
whereas, the decisions of the supreme court are
binding — infaUible and absolutely binding upon the
subject of slavery — yet we spit upon them and defy
them upon the subject of a bank. In other words.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 71
the democratic party sustains the decision ; it sus
tains the party and ignores its existence, when the
party gains nothing by supporting it. This is his
tory. It is truth, as recorded in their platform.
A Glance at the Record.
Now, gentlemen, I want to refer to this thing —
this new discovery of the meaning of our Consti
tution. I have mentioned to you what the policy
of this government was untU 1854. Why, gentle
raen, the sixth act passed by the first Congress under
the present Constitution, was the act to reaffirm the
ordinance of 1787. That act prohibited slavery in
aU the Northwest Territories. The sixth act, passed
under the present Constitution, reaffirmed that
ordinance. That ordinance had been passed by the
old Congress of the confederation, and it was worth
less under the present Constitution, unless adopted
by the present government; and it was adopted,
and it excluded slavery from all the Northwest
territory, including Indiana. From time to time,
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van
Buren and Polk, aU signed bills for prohibiting
slavery in various territories. James K. Polk, a
slaveholder from Tennessee (who, I beheve, was an
honest man, and who made a good president), him
self signed the bill passed by Congress which ex
cluded slavery from the Territory of Oregon ; and
we have a chain of acts, from the time of Washing

72 LIFE, speeches and PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ton, recognizing the power of Congress to exclude
slavery fi-om the Territories.
I might just say here, that it is entirely possible
that we might be wiser than our fathers on the sub-
jeet of expediency and policy, because human
observation and experience are constantly adding to
the store of human knowledge ; but, I say, upon a
question of constitutional construction, it is mere
nonsense to declare that the men of a later genera
tion can be wiser than the men that made the
instrument. How, gentlemen, can the most inteUi
gent court that ever sat in this desk understand
better what the parties to a contract meant than the
parties theraselves, however iUiterate they raay be ?
Certainly this can not be. The whole business of
construction is to find out what the parties meant,
and when the parties themselves have acted upon
that declaration throughout their lives, that settles
the question.
Suppose I write a letter to ray friend ; I suppose
, I have as good a right to say what I meant by it, as
he or any other man. Suppose, fifty years after,
some person should say that he knew more than I
about the meaning of my own letter, what would
you say to him ? You would say, that he is surely
a modern deraocratic, constitutional lawyer, and
you know they are rauch wiser than were the men
seventy years ago.
* * * >fr * *

governor oliver p. morton. 73
Negro Equality.
But my friend has a good deal to say about negro
equality. That is the burden of the song on the part
of the democratic party, negro equality, negro equal
ity ! Who is in favor of it ? Is the republican party
in favor of it ? If so, where is the evidence of it ?
We have had a great deal of loose declamation.
Col. Foster — I wiU teU you where the evidence
of it is.
Mr. Morton — WeU, say on.
Col. Foster — In Massachusetts ; ninety-five white
women married to as many negroes.
Mr. Morton — My friend speaks of negroes voting
in Massachusetts, When were the negroes first
aUowed to vote there ? Has it been since the repub
lican party has been in existence ? No, sir. They
voted in those palmy days when the democratic
party elected governors.
Col. Foster — I am speaking of practical amal
gamation, Mr. Morton — You placed it there. My friend
spok:e of Ohio too. He spoke of Ohio, the negroes
being aUowed to vote there. I ask, under what
constitution are they aUowed to vote ? I ask, who
made that constitution? That constitution was
made when the deraocratic party had a raajority
of twenty thousand in that State, and in the con
vention that made that constitution, there was a
large democratic raajority. When, gentleraen, were
7

74 life, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
negroes first allowed to vote in the State of Maine ?
In the good days when the democratic party had an
overruling majority in the State. In point of fact,
my friend cau not point to a single step taken in a
free State, toward enlarging the rights of a free
negro — toward negro equality — since the republican
party came into power. My friend may take the
State of New York. "When were negroes first
allowed to vote there ? Years and years ago, before
the republican party had power. "Who was in favor
of it? Martin Van Buren, the bosom friend of
Jackson, the man who, with his son John, are ardent
supporters of this democratic administration.
So far as this thing is concerned, all this was done
years ago. The democratic party is as much re
sponsible for them to-day as ever ; and as far as the
republican party is concerned, they were all done
before it was caUed into existence.
A Syllogism.
But because we are in favor of excluding slavery
from the Territories, it is insinuated that we are in
favor of negro equality. There are, perhaps, pres
ent, a number of young men from the State Uni
versity, and I might state, in the form of a syUogism,
that the republican party is in favor of excluding
slavery from the Territories ; every party in favor
of excluding slavery from the Territories, is in favor
of negro equahty ; therefore, the repubhcan party
is in favor of negro equality in the State of Indiana.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 75
Is that a good syllogism? I will state another.
The earth is a planet ; all planets have their orbits ;
consequently the moon is made of green cheese.
My friend, himself, is in favor of the fugitive slave
law, because it keeps fugitive slaves fi-om Indiana,
and he says we ought to stand by that law because
it maintains the dignity of free labor in Indiana.
If it is good to keep negroes out of Indiana, fugi
tives though they be, is it not also good to keep
negroes out of the Territories when they are slaves;
and if he be in favor of excluding fugitive slaves
from Indiana, is he not also in favor of negro equal
ity, according to his own argument? Is not the
reason as strong in the one case as the other ? Was
the gentleman in favor of negro equality ? Was he
an abolitionist, when he was in favor of this doc
trine Avhich we advocate? Gentlemen, this whole
charge of negro equality has no foundation in fact.
It is but an appeal to the prejudices of this people
upon the subject of color. When these gentlemen
are applied to, to offer evidence as to why or how
we are in favor of this thing, they say it is a " secret
purpose." If they refer to our platform, they can
not find it there.
Later News.
The gentleman tells you he can teU you where to
find my doctrine, and then he refers to the Buffalo
platform and says you can find ray doctrine in it.
I can find it in another platform. I have it here,

76 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
laid down by the democratic convention of the
State of Indiana, at the city of Indianapohs, and
there unanimously adopted. "Wliat did that plat
form declare?
Resolved, That the institution of slavery ought
not to be introduced into any territory where it
does not now exist.
That is good repubhcan doctrine to-day. That
is good repubhcan doctrine now. But it goes on
to say further :
Resolved, That inasmuch as New Mexico and
California are, in fact and in law, free Territories,
it is the duty of Congress to prevent the introduc
tion of slavery within their hmits.
Here is where I can find the repubhcan doctrine
in aU its purity ; in all its fiiUness. I do not have to
go back to the Buffalo platform. And this was no
new doctrine with the deraocratic party. The whig
party stood on the sarae ground, and the democratic
party had been affirming it, from time to time,
whenever the occasion presented.
The Twice-shot Powder.
WeU, gentlemen, about this charge of abohtion
ism. It has, I think, been about worn out ; it is
all old, stale, dry; it has had its day. It may stiU
have power, however, to deceive a few ; but I think
they wiU be very few. It has been charged that I
am an abolitionist for standing on this ground. I
suspect my friend here was one a few years ago, and

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 77
that every democrat was one too, Washington,
too, raust have been an abolitionist ; Jefferson was
one, as was also Madison, and this raan Douglas was
one until but a few yeai-s ago. Why, gentlemen, I
don't speak here to-day to convince deraocratic pol-
iticans, I don't expect to be able to do that. They
remind me of a lawyer I once heard of, A judge
had given a decision in which he was interested,
and he did not like the decision, so he got up and
read an opposing page from Blackstone, and then
he said, he did not do it to change the opinion of
the court, but only to show what an old fool Black
stone was. I only refer to these things to show
what old fools our fathers were. To show what
blockheads these men were aU their lives until about
four years ago; to show that the "Little Giant"
was a vei-j' little giant until about the first of Feb
ruary, 1854. About that time, you know, he expe
rienced a great change of heart ; the scales fell fi-om
his eyes, and he saw the truth face to face. Old
Buck, you know, was not converted until about two
years afterward.
A voice — He backslided awfiil quick, too.
Mr. Morton — This charge of abohtionism is, how
ever, stUl made. It reminds me of an anecdote I
once heard, A man said he was traveling through
the State of Virginia, when he came where a polit
ical meeting was being held in the woods, and a
debate was progressing between two candidates for
Congress. One of the candidates was a young man.

78 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and the other was getting weU on in years, and the
young man was charging, most vociferously, that
his competitor had once been a federalist, and, in
consequence, was unqualified to represent the people
in Congress, When the old man's turn came, he
said he could not see much sense in the thing. The
federal party had passed away, and he could not
see why his friend brought it up again ; it reminded
him a good deal of a circumstance that happened
in his neighborhood. There was a farmer, who had
in his field a rock which had long been an eye-sore
to hira. Well, being about to leave home for a day
or two, he caUed his man to him, and said he :
" Tom, while I am gone, I want you to go to town
and get a couple of kegs of powder, and blast that
rock and haul it away," WeU, when he came back
he went into his field to see what had been done,
and there was the rock, with here and there a few
holes, and some marks of gunpowder. He called
out in great anger : " Tom, didn't I tell you to blast
that rock and hauLit away ? " To which darkey
replied, " Massa, I'll tell you what it is. You can't
blast that 'ere rock with that 'ere powder ! In my
'pinion that powder has been shot once before,"
So of this charge of abolitionism. It has been shot
several times before.
My friend sometimes refers to the good deeds
done by the democracy. The democrats have done
some good things in their day, but that was when
they stood upon good ground, and a reference to

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 79
past deeds only makes the darkness of their present
deeds more palpable. In point of fact, I do not see
that any man or party could be thoroughly imbued
with republican principles without doing a good
many good things. So it was with the democratic
party.

80 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

CHAPTER IV.
Campaign of 1860 — Great meeting of republicans at Fort
Wayne — Able and eloquent speech of Governor Morton —
Masterly review of the political questions of the day.
A republican meeting was held, during the cam
paign of 1860, at Fort Wayne. It had been previ
ously announced that the Hon. 0. P. Morton would
be present and address the meeting. The weather,
on the day appointed, was very unpropitious. Not
withstanding this, the people gathered in great
numbers, and the " Wide- Awakes " turned out two
hundred strong. The desire to hear the candidate for
Lieut. Governor was sufficiently earnest to overcome
all ordinary obstacles. At seven o'clock Mr. Morton
was introduced to the audience, and the speech he
delivered on that occasion was more than sufficient
to compensate those who were present for the slight
sacrifice they made to enjoy the pleasure of hearing
him. Like aU others of his speeches, it was deliv
ered extemporaneously, but the symmetry of its
structure and the incisiveness of its logic, show that
it had been thoroughly prepared.
We present it as reported by a phonographer for
the Cincinnati Gazette.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 81
On being introduced to the audience, Mr. Morton
said: Fellow Citizens : I was in your city four years
ago as a candidate, and at that time feebly atterapted
to represent to you republican principles. And I can
say, honestly to you to-night, that I have nothing
new to offer. I do not know that, since that time,
the republican party has espoused any new princi
ple, nor do I know that they have abandoned any
old one. There is one peculiarity by which our
principles are distinguished from those of our oppo
nents. They are old, while those of our opponents
are new. There are some things which we should
prefer on account of their age, and others on account
of their youth. Among the former we reckon
principles of political action. So far as the princi
ples upon which this government ought to be admin
istered are concerned, I prefer those which our
fathers practiced, and which they taught to their
children. The Slavery Question.
The first question to which I wUl invite your
attention to-night, is the question of slavery. This
may seera stale and threadbare to many of you, but
it is utter nonsense to say we will not think about
nor discuss this question. It raust and will be dis
cussed. We shall never have peace in the country
untU it is settled, and settled upon correct principles.
It enters into the consideration of all classes of men.

82 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
It has gone into the general assembly, into the gen
eral conference, and into the national councils, there
producing scenes of disorder that have disgraced the
nation before the civilized world. We must meet
the question. The longer it is deferred the more
difficult and complicated it becomes — like the settle
ment of an old estate. It is not the part of man
hood or of patriotism to defer the struggle and seek
to cast it upon a future generation, together with
all the aggravations and compheations of delay. If
we meet it at once as men, with a spirit of mutual
kindness and forbearance, I believe it can be settled,
and that all will be weU. It was thus our fathers
acted when a tax of three pence per pound was
levied upon tea. The tax in itself was a trivial
matter, and they could have paid it without real
izing it, in a pecuniary point of view ; but it in
volved a principle which, in its ultimate conse
quences, might make them and their posterity
slaves, and they resolved to meet the issue at once.
Let us emulate their example.
The Mission of the Republican Party.
The mission of the republican party is to prevent
the further extension of slavery, and to rescue the
government from the corruption and abuses of the
party in power. For these purposes it was caUed
into being, and when they shall have been accom
plished we are content that it should die. Embraced
within it as its great central idea, its very existence,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 83
is the proteetion, dignity and elevation of free labor.
Who so duU as not to see that labor is degraded and
put beneath the dignity of free men, wheu it is per
formed by slaves ? And who so dull as uot to see
that the superstructure of our liberty, our power
and prosperity, is erected upon the foundation of
free and honorable labor. The party opposed to us
is the party of slave labor, who beheve that the
laboring classes ai-e what Mr. Hammond called
them, "the mudsiUs of society, and ought to be
excluded from aU participation in the governraent
of the nation." Not that they openly avow and
advocate such doctrine in the North, but that they
are in active co-operation and coalition with the
party in the South that do.
Republican Doctrine.
It is the duty of the people to investigate and
understand the true issues involved in the approach
ing election, to know what it is they are voting for
when they vote for certain men ; to know what it
is they are opposing when they seek the defeat of
other men. To understand these issues correctly,
we must refer to the early history of the Repubhc
and recur to its principles. The fundamental prin
ciples underlying the repubhcan doctrine, the faith
of the fathers and the practice of the government,
for more than half a centm-y, all go to show that
slavery is local and municipal ; that it can only exist
by virt.ue of positive law ; that before it can exist

84 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
in any state, territory or community, there must
be a law enacted authorizing and creating it. In
other words, that there is no general principle of
law enabling one man to hold another as a slave.
The law of nations, which recognizes the right of
men, everywhere, to hold property in lands, in
horses and in cattle, in gold and in silver, and in
every species of inanimate goods, does not recog
nize the right of man to hold property in his fellow
man. The common law which our fathers brought
with them to this country, and which forms the
basis of the law of every State in the Union, save
one, recognizes the right of men to hold property
in all these things, but does not admit the right of
man to hold property in man. There being, then,
no general principle of law by which a slave can be
held as property, it foUows that the Territories are
free, because of the absence in them of auy law
authorizing slavery ; and henee, before you can hold
a slave in a Territory, there must be a law raade for
that purpose. Another consequence flowing from
this doctrine is, that slavery in the States is entirely
and absolutely within the control of the States in
which it exists ; that the people of the free States
have no power to interfere with it in any respect
whatsoever ; but that its regulation, preservation or
destruction, belongs exclusively to the people of the
State in which it is established. It was the recog
nition of this principle that led to the insertion of
the clause in the Constitution for the recovery of

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 85
fugitive slaves ; for, according to this doctrine, if a
slave went beyond the jurisdiction of the State in
which he was held, into a free State, even by an
escape, he was a free man, and could not be recov
ered and sent back to slavery, because of the absence
of any general law recognizing the relation of mas
ter and slave. Hence, in framing the Constitution,
the slave States insisted upon the insertion of a
clause which would give thera the right to recapture
their fugitives from slavery. There is no clause for
the recovery of any other species of property, and
the reason is this, that aU other properfy is recog
nized and recovered by general principles of law.
The question then is, what power or tribunal can
legislate for the Territories upon the subject of
slavery ? The Territories are the property of the
General government, and the right to acquire them
wiU not be disputed. If the Governnient can ac
quire, can it not govern that which it acquires?
Would the right to acquire, ¦v^^thout the power to
govern the thing acquired, be of any value ? The
right to govern is, therefore, an incident to the right
to acquire. The Territories belong to all the people
of the United States, and not to any particular part
of them. They belong to them in their corporate,
national and governmental capacity. This being
the case, how shall the people, the nation, express
themselves, or make manifest their wishes respecting
their property — these Territories — except thi-ough
Congress? Have the people of the nation any

86 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
other voice or medium of expression. A territorial
government would represent but a very small frag
ment of the entire nation. But we are not limited
to this principle to derive the power of Congress to
govern the Territories. It is plainly and explicitly
declared in the Constitution, that " Congress shall
have power to make all needful rules and regulations
for the government of the territory and other prop
erty belonging to the United States." The gentle
man who drafted this provision, understood it as
conferring upon Congress plenary power to legislate
upon the subject of slavery, and upon aU other sub
jects appertaining to the Territories ; and not only
so, but it was so understood by men of aU parties,
North and South, East and West, for more than
fifty years. This construction of it has only been
called in question within a few years past, by the
democratic party, under the pressure of new and
extravagant demands made by the South.
Historical Facts.
The present Government began its life in 1789,
by re-enacting the Ordinance of 1787, which de
clared that slavery or involuntary servitude should
never exist in the North-western Territory, which
was then all the territory that belonged to the
General government, except as a punishment for
crime, whereof the party had been duly convicted.
The new government thus set out in its journey of
national life by a legislative declaration against

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 87
slavery, and from tirae to time that declaration has
been renewed up to and including Millard Fill
more. The doctrine of the power and duty of
Congress to exclude slavery from the Territories
has been the faith of every party. It was the doc
trine of the old federal party, the old republican
party, of the whig party and of the democratic
party throughout all its honest and honorable days.
Upon this time-honored doctrine we stand, and by
it we will fall, if fall we raust. We want no new
views of the Constitution. Its construction was
settled by the first Congress and every departraent
of the Government for more than half a century.
That construction is in harmony with the plain
reading of the instrument. It regards the Terri
tories as the children of the Republic, to be trained
up in the nurture and admonition of free and be
nign institutions, so that when they have arrived
at the age of majority they will be qualified to
take their places in the family of States, and be
admitted to all the privileges and advantages
of the Union ; and as these Territories are to
become our future partners in the Union, and
in the adrainistration of the Governraent, we
have a deep interest in the forraation of then-
characters and national habits. Our destinies
are to be placed in their hands, as well as
theirs in om-s, and we are deeply interested that
they shall contract no habit or institution that
shall mar then- permanent usefulness, power, or

88 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
prosperity as merabers of the Union. We are,
therefore, interested in seeing to it that they do not
contract the bad habit of slavery, polygamy, or
other great national and social vice. As our
children are to the family and society, so are our
Territories to the Union and our great society of
States. We believe that slavery is a raoral, social,
and political evil. That it is a curse to any peo
ple — a foe to progress — ^the enemy of education
and intelligence, and an element of social and po
htical weakness. For these reasons we are opposed
to the further extension of slavery. But there are
other considerations of a more personal and selfish
character. If we do not exclude slavery from the
Territories, it will exclude us. Free labor will not
go to any considerable extent where slave labor
exists, because it is degraded and dishonored by
the association. Hence, while there are thousands
that corae to Indiana, Ohio, and other free States
from Kentucky, Virginia, and other slave States,
there is hardly one for a thousand who goes hence
to the slave States. Sometimes a Yankee tin ped
dler will marry a rich Southern widow with negroes,
or a briefless lawyer from the North a wealthy
Southern heiress, and straightway he becomes the
most bitter and malignant of pro-slavery partisans.
But the fact is that the great body of emigration
is from the slave to the free States. The introduc
tion of slavery into a Territory prevents you and
your children going there as effectually as would a

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 89
legislative act. It erects a barrier to your emigra
tion which you will never sm-mount. If you
would, therefore, preserve these Territories as an
inheritance to you and your children, to which you
and they may retire when society here becomes too
crow-ded, or the pressure of circumstances make a
removal necessary, you must preserve them free.
Free labor and slave labor wiU not flourish in the
same bed. You can not graft the one upon the
stalk of the other. Where slave labor strikes its
roots deep into the soU of a Territory, free labor
will not grow but perish at the threshold. We are
aU personally interested in this question — not indi
rectly and remotely as in a mere pohtical abstrac
tion — but directly, pecuniarily, and selfishly. How
can you, my democratic friends, labor for or even
consent to the buUding up of an institution in the
Territories which turns you and your children out?
If you do not care for yourselves, at least care for
your children. You owe to them a duty quite as
high and as sacred as that which you owe to your
party. But it is said that the slaveholder has just
as good a right to take his slaves to the Territory
as you have to take your horses there from the
State of Indiana, and that if he be prohibited frora
so doing it creates inequahty. Let us consider
this proposition a moraent. Cau not the slave
holder go from Kentucky to Kansas and take with
him every species of property which you can take
from Indiana ? And may he not pursue, when he
8

90 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
gets there, every avocation that you could going
from Indiana ? If so, then you and he are on a
perfect equality. But if he takes slaves, he there
takes what you can not, and this creates inequality.
Not only so ; he takes what particularly excludes
you from the Territory, and thus creates the grossest
inequahty. The truth is there is no equahty where
there is not freedom, and that slavery engenders
inequahty both socially and pohtically.
Abolitionism.
But all this will be met and answered by the
charge of abolitionism, as it has been done before.
If a man can not meet your arguments he can at
least call you an abolitionist. If he has not three
ideas above an oyster, he can stUl bawl " abolition
ism ;" and if you ask him what an abohtionist is,
he will scratch his tangled locks and teU you that an
abolitionist is an — an — abohtionist — and that is aU
he knows about it. Preventing the extension of
slavery into the Territories is one thing, and the
abolition of slavery in the States where it exists is
quite another thing. And the man who has not
sense enough to distinguish between them ought to
have a guardian appointed at once ; he is incapable
of taking care of his own business, or even of keep
ing out of the fire. If I were asked the question,
why the republican party has not a majority in
every township in every free State, I should answer
that it is because the repubhcan idea of preventing

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 91
the extension of slavery into the Territories and
preserving them to free labor, is constantly mixed
up by our eneraies with the other idea of interfer
ing with slavery in the States and turning the ne
groes loose among us. The body of the people
recoU with instinctive dread from the emancipation
of slaves in the States, and the sudden inundation
of the North by masses of free negroes — idle, igno
rant, insolent, and barbarous. And the party that
can alarm their fears on that subject makes a deep
impression on their minds. The two ideas have no
connection with each other — are not dependent on
each other. Indeed, the majority of those opposed
to the extension of slavery are utterly opposed to
immediate emancipation, and believe that when
emancipation comes, if come it must, it should be
a gradual work ; but, whether immediate or grad
ual, a thing with which they have nothing to do.
"Wlien once these two ideas are separated in the
public mind, and the people are fed with the pure
manna of republicanism, stripped of this demo
cratic husk of abolition, we wUl prevail in every
township in the free States, and the reign of sham
democracy wiU have ended forever.
Democratic Progress.
It has been the grand boast of the democracy
that it was progressive. I love that progress which
implies a growth of grace, an accession of wisdom,
and the trimraing of our lamps by the light of ex-

92 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
penence ; but the progress of the democracy has
been from good to evil principles, from light to
darkness ; beginning -svith the prohibition of slavery
iu the Territories and its confinement to existing
limits, and ending with labors for its universal em
pire, and seeking to unbar the gates which our
fathers erected to shut out the horrid commerce in
human beings which comes across the seas. And so
great has been its progress that it is now encamped
upon ground that our fathers regarded as accursed,
from which they recoiled with horror. We find
ourselves debating the same questions our fathers
debated eighty-five years ago. They were then dis
cussing the right of men to be free, the superiority
of free society over slave society, and of free labor
over slave labor. They had for their antagonists
the British king and the British Parhament, and we
have for ours a party caUing itself democratic. The
men of the revolution were vain and short-sighted.
T-hey thought tney had established the claims of
hberty and put them on such high and indisputable
grounds that no coming generation would call them
in question. In this they were sadly mistaken.
The race of httle giants has risen up — ^latter-day
saints — who boldly assail every fortification and
rampart ot hberty erected by the fathers, and pro
claim the doctrine that the first few persons who
enter a Territory and get possession of the Territo
rial government may, if they choose, make every
body else slaves ; that if one man choose to make a

governor OLIVER P. MORTON. 93
slave of another, and any third raan should inter
fere, that such interference is unconstitutional inter
vention ; that slavery is not a question of natural
right, justice, or religion, but one of chmate, conve
nience, and economy merely.
The Vitalizing Principle of Democracy.
Slavery is the vitalizing principle of the demo
cratic party. The seat of government of that party
is Richmond, Virginia, and its loyal provinces are
the slave States of the Union. The small remains
of power which it has in the North are precarious
and crumbling to a fall, and we look forward to the
tirae, not deep in the future, when it shall make its
final exodus from aU the free States. The deraoc
racy of the North are not living for any valuable or
honorable purpose. They are fighting for a cause
which is not their own, and against their neighbors,
friends, and their own highest, best interests.
The Dred Scott Decision.
Before undertaking to define the present position
of Douglas and the Douglas democracy, it will be
necessary to consider the Dred Scott decision. It
is the key which unlocks their policy. A negro
named Dred Scott brought a suit in the Circuit
Court of the United States, for the District of Mis
souri, to assert his freedora and the freedora, of his
faraily. The defendant, Sanford, who claimed to be
his owner, filed a single plea — a plea in abatement

94 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
to the jurisdiction of the Court — aUeging that Dred
Scott was not a citizen of the State of Missouri,
within the meaning of the Constitution, because he
was born of slave parents and had negro blood in
his veins. If he was not a citizen because of these
facts, then the Court had no jurisdiction ; and this
was the only question properly before the Supreme
Court ; but the interests of slavery and the exigen
cies of the democratic party required that the judi
cial mantle should be cast around certain doctrines
to make them sacred in the eyes of the people. The
Court went beyond the case and outside of the
record, and decided, first, that the Constitution by
its vigor carried slavery into the Territories — that
is, authorized the holding of slaves there in the ab
sence of local law creating slavery ; secondly, that
neither Congress nor the people of a Territory had
any power to exclude slavery therefrom ; thirdly,
that if the courts should prove inadequate to the
protection of slavery therein, it was the duty of
Congress to intervene and furnish whatever legisla
tion might be necessary for that purpose — in other
words, to provide a slave code. In deciding these
questions, the Court has assumed the existence and
power of a new sovereignty that threatens to absorb
and annihilate every other, and to become as for
midable an enemy to liberty as the Council of Ten
in the Republic of Venice. The power thus assumed
is the exclusive right to interpret the Constitution.
The Government was divided into three depart-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 95
ments — executive, legislative and judicial. They
were intended to be co-ordinate and independent,
that they might check and balance oue another ;
but by this new theory the one is made dictator to
the other two, and the one that is not elected by the
people nor made responsible to them. Thus the
balance in the Government is destroyed, and Con
gress can ouly exercise such powers as the Supreme
Court may graciously accord to it. Mr. Jeffei-son's
view was undoubtedly correct when he said that
" each department is truly independent of the
others, and has an equal right to decide for itself
what is the meaning of the Constitution in the cases
submitted to its action." General Jackson took the
same view ofthe question when he said that he had
sworn to support the Constitution as he understood
it. This court has atterapted to strip Congress of
its powers, deny the power of the people, and con
vert the Constitution into a common carrier of
slavery into aU our national doraain — not only into
our Territories, but into the States also. To sum
up the wholfe matter, if the doctrines of the Dred
Scott decision shaU corae to be regarded as the law
of the land, there wiU no longer be a free State or
Territory, and this Repubhc of ours, once the hope
of the world, wiU have been converted into an
eraph-e of slaves.

96 life, speeches and public services of
The Douglas Position.
There were two platforms presented at Charleston ;
the one, brought forward by the majority of the
committee, embodied the substance of the Dred
Scott decision, as I have before stated it, on the
subject of slavery. The other, presented by the fiiends
of Mr. Douglas, reaffirmed the Cincinnati platform,
with an additional resolution pledging the party to
stand by the future decisions of the Supreme Court
on the subject of slavery. This last was not satis
factory, to the Southern men, because they clairaed
that the question was aheady decided in the Dred
Scott case, and they demanded of the Douglas men
that they should pledge themselves to stand by that
decision. The Douglas men said if they did, they
could not carry a Northern State. The Southern
men said if they did not, they could not carry a South-
em State, and thus the factions separated, and after
wards came together at Baltimore. Mr. Douglas
was fijiaUy nominated by the raelancholy remains
of the original convention, and Mr. Breckinridge
by the seceders. Mr. Breckinridge was placed on
the platform as reported by the raajority of the
committee at Charleston; and Douglas upon the
platform of the minority, with the addition of a
single resolution, which has been appropriately
termed the codicil to the wiU. It is in these words :
Resolved, That it is in accordance with the Cin
cinnati platform that during the existence of terri-

governor OLIVER P. MORTON. 97
torial governments, the measure of restriction,
whatever it may be, imposed by the Federal Consti
tution on the power of the Territorial Legislature,
over the subject of domestic relations, as the same
has been or shall hereafter be decided by the
Suprerae Court of the United States, should be
respected by aU good citizens, and enforced with
promptness and fidelity by every branch of the
General Government.
Douglas, in his letter of acceptance, refers to, and
adopts this resolution. You perceive that it con
cedes aU that the South demands at Charleston, —
that it pledges him to stand by the decision aheady
made, thus placing him on the Dred Scott platform,
the platform of extreme Southern rights, along
side of Breckinridge.
The difference between the Douglas and Breck
inridge platform is simply this : That in the Breck
inridge platfoi-m, the doctrines of the Dred Scott
case are drawn out and stated in clear and distinct
propositions, whUe in the Douglas platform the
decision is adopted by reference, under the hope
that the great body of the people would never see
it and read it. But his conversion to this large body
of orthodox divinity, comes too late to save him in
the South. Southern pohticians say that it is wholly
unimportant what profession Douglas may make on
the SI? i^ery question, because they believe him thor
oughly and utterly dishonest, and incapable of being
'¦rusted t)y the South any more thau by the North.
9

98 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
In his recent Southern speeches, as well as in that
made at New Orleans some time since, he admits
that slave property stands on the same footing with
other property, and may go into the territories hke
other property under the Constitution, and requires
no local law for its support. The utmost that he
clairas for the people of a territory, — is the right to
regulate this property. This being conceded, all is
lost ; for when slave property is put upon the same
footing with other property, it may not only go into
the Territories in the sarae way, but into the States
also. Can the Legislature of Indiana prevent a cit
izen of Kentucky from coming into this State,
bringing with him his horses, his cattle and his
household goods ? Certainly not ; and if slave prop
erty be put upon the same basis, there is no power
to prevent him from bringing that also,
Non-Intervention,
Notwithstanding the position in which Douglas is
placed by his platform and letter of acceptance, his
claims for the presidency are still urged by his
friends upon the doctrine of non-intervention ; and
this, right in the face of the fact that he is pledged
by his adoption of the Dred Scott decision to inter
vention for the protection of slavery. But, aside
frora this, the cry of non-intervention is senseless
and unmeaning. "What principle does it affirm or
deny ? Does it affirm that the people of the Terri
tories have the power to exclude .slaverv? Does it

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 99
deny that the Constitution, by it inherent power,
plants Slavery in aU the Territories ? Does it affirm
the doctrine of popular sovereignty or deny the doc
trine of universal salvation by Slavery ? There is
no raore sense in it than in the parrot's cry of
"pretty PoU,"
It is indeed but a weak and wicked excuse for
knowing nothing and doing nothing to prevent the
universal spread of the greatest of huraan afflictions,
the institution of Slavery. They say Douglas is the
author. Not so. It was first asserted by Cain,
when he denied to the Lord that he was his brother's
keeper. It was afterwards affirraed by the Levite,
when he walked by on the other side and left the
man who had fallen among thieves, weltering in
his blood. It has always been advocated by that
squatter sovereign, — the devU, — who urges upon a
sinful world that they shall regulate their institu
tions in their own way, irrespective of the statutes
enacted by the Almighty. If you ask a Douglas
pohtician whether the people of the Territories have
power to exclude slavery, he turns turtle, and draws
his head under the sheU of non-intervention. If
you ask whether the Constitution carries slavery
into all the Noi-thern domain, he turns parrot and
says non-intervention. And I suppose that when
the Almighty shall caU hira to his final account, he
will put in the plea of non-intervention and prove
it by a copy of the Cincinnati platforra.

100 life, speeches and public services of
Douglas the Priest and Apostate.
Douglas is the great political kaleidoscope of the
day. He never appears twice in the same figure.
First he came to us as the priest in full canonicals,
and canonized the Missouri Compromise, pronounc
ing the curse of the Almighty upon the ruthless
hand by which it might be destroyed. We next
see him in the temple as the apostate, and with
" ruthless hand " tearing down that compromise
and obliterating from the walls the inscriptions and
landmarks of liberty which had been placed there
by our fathers. We next see him as the devotee,
worshiping at the shrine of that double-headed
monster. Squatter Sovereignty and the Sovereignty
of the Supreme Court ; and, in one grand Satanic
effort, upholding and vindicating the Dred Scott
decision and the sovereignty of the people of the
Territories. Of what avail that his argument is
ingenious and his reason strong, if at the same
time he affirras the infallibility of that infaraous de
cree which pronounces his argument as but a sound
ing brass. Squatter Sovereignty is a monstrous
fungus, which he is seeking to engraft upon the
body of the Constitution — erecting Territories into
States outside ,of the Union — making them virtuaUy
independent governments, at liberty to join our
confederation or any other that they may choose. Ir
his speech, on the Lecompton Constitution, speak
ing of slavery in Kansas, he said he did not ciiv

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 101
whether it be voted up or voted down. I declare
to you that when I first read that speech I could
scarcely beheve that he had been correctly reported.
It seemed to me that no intelhgent raan could be
found who had not some feeling or opinion on that
subject. Now the institution of slavery has been the
source of revolutions, of national decay, and na
tional ruin in every age and country in which it
has existed, and yet this democratic luminary tells
the American people that he does not care whether
it be voted up or down. The conffict between
slavery and freedom, which in some form has been
going on in every age and country in the world, is
a matter about which this philosophic statesman is
so poorly informed, and cares so little that he is
profoundly indifferent upon which side victory shaU
declare, Mr, Douglas raade this declaration to
prove to the South that he had no lingering senti
ment in favor of liberty — no remaining partiality for
free institutions — but he miscalculated the effect.
It shocked the pubhc conscience both North and
South, It seemed unnatm-al, iraprobable, if not
irapossible. You could not see two dogs fighting
in the streets of Fort Wayne without taking sides
You woiUd be for the white dog or the black ; aud
if a democrat most probably foi the black.
Under this declaration the North can not take
Mr. Douglas, because he is indifferent to fi-eedom ;
the S< uth can not take him because he is indiffer
ent to slavery. For, having no principles upon

102 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
the subject either way, he would be at hberty to serve
either party, or cheat either party as his self-inter
est might dictate. In the debate between him and
Mr, Lincoln, at Freeport, Ilhnois, in 1858, Lincoln
asked hira in substance this question : " Whether the
people of a Territory, by the Territorial author
ities, could exclude slavery?" This put Douglas
in a tight place ; if he said they could, he would
forfeit his last claira upon the South. If he said
they could not, he would probably lose the State
of Illinois in the then approaching election. So
he resolved to take a raiddle course. He answered,
that the people might exclude slavery hj " un
friendly legislation " — that no difference what the
Supreme Court might decide as to the right of the
slaveholder to take his slaves into a Territory, and
hold them as property, he could be practically ex
cluded therefrom. He could be annoyed out of
the Territory, taxed out, or have those police regu
lations withheld which might be necessary to sup
port slavery.
Mr. Douglas never said a more reckless or dis
honest thing. If the slaveholder has the consti
tutional right to take his slaves into the Territory
as property, he can not be deprived of it by indi
rection ; on the contrary he is entitled to protec
tion ; for every man is entitled to be protected in
the enjoyment of every constitutional right. We
deny the existence of the right ; but if we concede
the right the duty of protection follows.

governor oliver p. morton, 103
Impudence on a Large Scale.
Mr. Douglas has been distinguished throughout
his public life as an ultra free trade man. He has
upon every occasion denounced protection in every
form — he has been more consistent upon that sub
ject than upon any other ; but, in a speech raade
a few days ago at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he
came out boldly for a protective tariff, declaring
that it was the duty of Congress to protect the
coal and iron interests of Pennsylvania ; that it was
the improper intrusion of the slavery question into
Congress which had prevented consideration and
action upon the manufacturing and mining interests
of Pennsylvania. Now I hate impudence in a smaU
way as much as anybody, but in its loftier flights
and great manifestations it corapels my reluctant
admiration. Here is a man who has scarcely spoken
upon any subject but slavery for six years, who is
the author of the present agitation upon that sub
ject, who by his unfortunate and wicked repeal of
the Missouri Compromise has convulsed the nation
and brought it to the verge of civil war, who now,
ignoring all this history and all his past hfe upon
the subject of free trade, declares himself suddenly
in favor of a protective tariff in order to secure
tarrff votes in Pennsylvania, Who now can say
that Mr. Douglas is honest ? To hira there is no
thing sacred in American history nor in the tradi
tions of the fathers.

104 life, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
The earlier Presidents proclaimed the maxim
that it was A-ulgar and demagoguical for a candidate
for the Presidency to vex the ears of the people with
petitions for their votes, to go about the country
exhibiting himself and his pohtical wares hke a com
mon mountebank, Douglas started out on his
electioneering tramp under the filial pretence of
hunting his mother. He then went to Harvard to
get a Doctorate, but he did not succeed. Afterward,
becoming more bold or more desperate, he threw
off all disguise and stood avowed as the wandering
and peripatetic candidate for the Presidency.
A NEW Edition of the Declaration of Independ
ence, Revised and Corrected by Locofoco, Esq.,
LL. D,
The deraocracy have not only attempted to
remodel the Constitution, transforming it from a
charter of freedom to a black statute for slavery,
but they are now engaged in the laudable occupation
of getting out a new edition of the Declaration of
Independence, greatly revised and improved. The
Hon. Cyrus L. Dunham, a Douglas elector for the
State at large, in a speech in Wayne county several
weeks ago, quoted from the new edition, and said
that where the Declaration affirmed that aU men
were created equal, and endowed with certain ina-
henable rights, it did not mean all men, but only
those of Saxon and Celtic blood. This leaves the
German, the Swede and the Norwegian unprovided

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 1 05
for. They have no place in the Declaration, and to
&em the gospel of liberty is not preached. They
ai'e not among the elect, but have beeu consigned
with the negro, to the outer dai-kness of Slavery.
I should like to hear that gentleman give a con
struction to that coramand of our Saviour : " Go ye
into aU the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature. " I presume he would say that the phrase
" every creature, " comprehended those only of
Saxon and Celtic blood ; and if he were called upon
to render the Lord's prayer, would raake it read
thus : " Our Father (to-wit the father of the Saxon
and the Celt)." Oh, with what irrepressible loath
ing are we compeUed to meet and refute these
Satanic heresies. If Jefferson could have looked
down the stream of time and have seen these supple
tools of Slavery crawhng across his immortal page
and seeking to deface its inspired teachings, he
would have torn the manuscript to fragments to
preserve it from the defilement. There was a time
when liberty was loved for her own sake, when
devotion to her cause was not inspired by selfish
or economical considerations; when her form
seemed so beautiful, and her robes of such spotless
purify that she provoked the idolatry of mankind.
liMio so stupid as not to see that hberty is shorn of
her divine attributes, and becoraes a thing of merely
human invention, when she is claimed as the inher
itance of a pai-ticular race, to the rejection of others?
God gave to man dominion over the earth and seas,

10(1

LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, but
not over his feUow man. That he reserved to him
self; and whenever man assumes to be the master of
his feUow, he is usurping the prerogative of God.
Our fathers did not regard liberty as an arbitrary,
conventional, or constitutional thing, but as the
gift of every man born into the world, believing
that God was our common Father, and the ruler of
us all, but that every man as between himself and
his fellow had a right to himself, and to eat in secu
rity and peace the bread which his own hand had
earned. And I Avill inquire now, in what consists
our security that our hberties shaU be preserved ?
Not in these rich fields, not in mines, in commerce,
in material wealth, in navies nor in armies, nor yet
in paper constitutions, but in the conviction deeply
seated in the public conscience, that hberty is the
gift of God to every man.
Hendricks and the History of the Democratic
Party.
I learn that Mr. Hendricks has beeu here, and has
recited before your people, his time-honored eulogy
upon the services and memory of the democratic
party. He is the great democratic antiquary, and
plunges deeply into the antiquities of American
politics ; a sort of Old Mortahty, reviving the faded
inscriptions upon democratic monuments. He
delights to attribute aU that is glorious and usefiU
in the past history of the nation, — its past progress

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 107
and present power to the services of the democratic
party. But I am not aware that he speaks of any
great achievement by the party since 1854, — since
the tune it cast off its old principles and clothed
itself with new ones. The events to which he refers,
and the good which the party has done, all occurred
before that time. But he raakes one singular
oraission, which is even raore remarkable in a gen
tleraan so fair and candid as he professes to be,
which consists in failing to state that the party in
that golden age, whUe performing these great and
glorious deeds, stood upon republican ground in
regard to the question of slavery. Those glorious
achievements, — I claira them all. They were per
formed by men of my faith and not of his, by men
who recoil Vith horror from his doctrines. If there
be any achievement of the party, which he so
extols, of which any honest man should boast since
1854, 1 am ignorant of it. True, there is the Mor
mon war. I shall not forget that short and decisive
campaign against the Mormons, — ^the capture o^
Brigham Young by high prices for his beef and
flour, .and his honorable surrender upon having
everything his own way, as in former times. The
occupation of Utah by our troops, is the only case
of genuine non-intervention on record; for the
army refused to interfere with the Mormons in any
respect, but left them free to regulate their domestic
institutions in their own way, subject only to Brig-
ham Young and his forty wives. The fact is, the

108 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
democratic party in times past have done many good
and glorious things, of which I feel justly proud,
and I do now and ever shall protest against this
inheritance of glory passing out of the family to a
bastard issue, though it bear the same name.
Hendricks and the Swamp Lands.
Mr. Hendricks read before your hearing, I am
told, a brief, a very brief extract from the report of
the comraittee to investigate the swamp land frauds,
tending to impeach the officers elected by the peo
ple's party, in 1854, with malfeasance and corruption
in office. I must again express my surprise that a
gentleraan so distinguished by professions of candor
and fair dealing should have omitted to read other
parts of that report equally important and signifi
cant. To read one passage and omit others bearing
upon the sarae point, is but garbling, and must
make a false impression. Of course, Mr. Hendi-icks
did not intend this, but it has unfortunately occurred
the sarae way in every county where he has been.
I wiU now read the part which he read. It reads
thus: " In the year 1856, without the color of law, and
in violation of right, the then Auditor of State,
Hiram E. Talbott, directed the Auditor of Jasper
county, to withhold from sale, a large araount of
swamp land designated by him. The comraittee
are corapelled to conclude, that this order was
prompted with a view to personal and private spec-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 109
ulation (see the letter of the Auditor and the letter
of A. B. Conditt, on ffie). This, no doubt, was the
commenceraent of a systera of frauds unheard of
before. A spirit of speculating in these lands was
engendered, and, in a short time, there were found
four separate companies, who selected, as they
tei-med it, and actually obtained, by the coraplicity
of the Swamp Land Commissioners, deeds for about
one hundred and twenty-four thousand acres of the
best of the lands vacant in the county.
" [For the names of the parties in this scherae we
refer you to the evidence herewith filed.]
" The deeds to these lands were procured without
the shadow of law, from the officers of State."
I wiU now read another and more lengthy extract
from the same report, closely following that read
by Mr. Hendricks, and which he unfortunately
overlooked. It reads thus :
" From the evidence in possession of your com
mittee, they can not but express their surprise that
Governor WiUard should have appointed Jacob
Markle to the responsible office of Swamp Land
Coraraissioner of Jasper county, soon after the expi
ration of his term of office as Treasurer of the
said counfy, notwithstanding it was known to his
Excellency that said ]Markle had been sued on his
official bond as a defaulter to the Swamp Land Fund,
in 1855, which suit he has comproraised by giving
his notes with surety for the sura of ?23,460 30,
thus acknowledsring his defalcation ; and the greatei-

110 LIFE, speeches AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
part of these notes, though due, was stiU outstand
ing and unpaid ; and, notwithstanding it was known
to his ExceUency that said Markle had again been
sued in 1856, upon his official bond as Swamp Land
Treasurer, for a further defalcation of $14,000 to
the Swamp Land Fund, as certified by the Auditor
of State ; and that, in 1857, judgment was obtained
against him in another suit upon his official bond
as County Treasurer, to the amount of $1,000 for
State revenue, and that was then and still is pend
ing against him, upon his official bond, for defalca
tion of county revenue, and had not, at the date of
his appointment as said commissioner, and stiU haa
not settled with the Auditor and Treasurer of State
or County Commissioners, for either State, swamp
land or county revenues ; and notwithstanding it
was known to his ExceUency, that by Sec. 10 of
Art. 2, of the Constitution of Indiana, said Markle
was wholly ' ineligible to any office of trust or
profit,' and that by an act of the legislature, ap
proved March 1, 1855 (see Acts, 1855, page 85), he
was guilty of felony. Still, with a fiiU knowledge
of all these disqualifications and disabilities, he
(Markle) was appointed and invested, by his Excel
lency, with the duties of this important and respons
ible office, for the performance of which he is not
required to give any bond. In view of these facts,
your committee would recommend that his Excel
lency be respectfully requested to remove Mr. Markle
from said office."

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. Ill
There are good and bad men in all parties,
churches, orders, aud organizations. If we should
expect to find absolute purity in any of them we
should be very much disappointed. The true test
as to whether any church, party or organization of
men is honest is found in the fact that when they
find an offender or scoundrel in their ranks they
will punish or expel hira. If, upon discovery, it lop
off the rotten raeraber and put away the uncleanli-
ness, it vindicates its character as an honest church,
party, or organization. K, on the other hand, it
defend the criminal, paUiate his guilt, and shield
him from punishment, then its members become
partners in his crime, ahke corrupt and deserving
of the condemnation of aU men. Let us apply this
principle, so plain and simple. At the last session
of the legislature, the republican merabers of the
house brought forward a bill which contained a
provision instructing the county commissioners, in
which the swamp lands were situated, out of which
the State had been swindled, to bring suit to re
cover back the lands. This could easily have been
done. The frauds in most cases were patent, and
the lands were nearly all in the hands of original
holders, for they could not sell them owing to the
cloud that hung over the title. The investigations
growing out of these suits would have shown who
were the swindlers, and would have located the
fraud upon the shoulders of the right party. Ev
ery democratic member of the house voted against

112 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP
this bill. When it was before the house for con
sideration the lobby swarmed with leading demo
crats, urging the democratic members of the house
to defeat the bill by any means whatever ; and
when afterward, in another form, this provision
was about to become a law — there being a major
ity for it — the democratic merabers of the house
defeated its passage by breaking the quorum, and
thus effectually staving off the investigation. I
might conclude my reraarks upon this subject by
again expressing my surprise, that Mr. Hendricks
should have omitted a statement of these facts, so
important to a correct understanding of the swamp
land affairs.
The Two National Exclusive Democratic Parties.
We have now two parties, each claiming to be
the sole, exclusive, national democratic party. They
are quarrehng about a narae to which neither has
the slightest title. Mr, Buchanan said, many years
ago, that if he had a drop of democratic blood in
his veins he would let it out. Since he has been
elected President, he has let out the last drop fi-om
the veins of his party, and there is nothing now
left to quarrel over but a decaying or putrefying
carcass, and the republicans have the unpleasant
job of hauling this carcass out on the common.
These two opposing parties or factions are caUing
each other aU manner of hard names, and charge
each other with all manner of iniquities, aud as

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON 113
their means of knowledge are excellent it would be
indelicate in us to contradict them. For example,
the Douglas men call the Breckinridge men fire-
eating disunionists, slave code interventionists, bolt
ers from the democratic party, and pronounce upon
them that terrible curse which is intended to con
sume them in all their parts. On the other hand,
the Breckinridge men call the Douglasites the half-
breeds, the mulatto democracy ; in common par
lance " neither pig nor pup," being a vulgar cross
between the rearing followers of William Lloyd
Garrison and the fire-eating satellites of John C.
Calhoun, a dissolute gang of political desperadoes
without a principle and without a hope. It is not
necessary for us to pass judgment upon the justice
of these encomiums. The Breckinridge men claim
that Breckinridge is the regular democratic candi
date, because he was nominated by the democratic
States and represents the sentiment of the party
where it is in power. On the other hand, the small
handful of democrats in Massachusetts, hardly
enough to fill the offices, claim the privilege of
nominating a candidate for the democratic State
of Virginia, The democracy of the hopelessly
republican States say they ought to be allowed to
nominate the candidate inasmuch as they can not
elect one. But the unwashed democracy of the
South say that if they have to do the electing
they want to do the nominating too — a very ab
surd demand indeed. The fact is the nomination
10

114 LIFE, speeches AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
of Douglas was brought about chiefly by the vote
¦of States which he had no earthly hope of carrying.
The Administration of J, B,
In 1852 Pierce came into office by a large major
ity of the people of the United States, and four
years afterward retired, I believe by universal con
sent. The present administration has forfeited the
respect and esteem of men of all parties. It has
been distinguished by a treachery and corruption
that have disgusted even the democracy; from
which it may be argued that they are very great.
Old Buck's bachelor life will be a type of his ad
ministration, for it will leave behind it no fruit that
he will care to own and no one to drop a tear to
his memory. He has cleared at a single bound the
gulf which separates freedom from slavery, which
his party has been so laboriously trying to bridge
for many years. Douglas is the architect of this
patent, suspension, squatter sovereignty bridge;
but old Buck, spurning the rickety fabric, leaped
at once nimbly to the other side of Jordan. Under
this administration, defalcation, bribery, and ex
travagance are no longer compeUed to conceal
themselves fi-om the public eye, but staUc abroad
like the pestilence at noonday, tainting the whole
moral atraosphere, and telling of the near presence
of putrefaction and decay. You are familiar with
the history of those defaulting martyrs. Price and
Swartwout, Well, the blood of these martyrs has

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 115
become the seed of the modern democratic church,
which having been sown upon good ground has
produced considerably more than a hundred fold.
The cry for reform is heard throughout the land.
Thousands and tens of thousands of men who
are opposed to us on the slavery question, are de
manding a change in the administration, and they
say they will welcorae any change, for things can
not be worse and raay be better. They are appre
hensive of a dissolution of the Governraent from
sheer rottenness, behcAung that where all the chan
nels of authority are tainted and choked by cor
ruption, where aU the powers of the administration
are exerted for individual aggrandizement, to the
ruin of the greatest pubhc interests, the end wUl
speedily come. Honest Old Abe,
We have presented to the country as our candi
date for the Presidency, Abraham Lincoln, of Eli-
nois, better known as Honest Old Abe. "Wliat a
title that is! It carries hira right to the people
without a formal introduction. It is a title of which
he should be more proud than of all the thirteen
so gaudily worn by the Prince of Wales now visit
ing our shores. It has become somewhat fashiona
ble with Douglas pohticians to depreciate his
intellectual qualifications. To show how unbe
coming and iraproper it is for any friend of Mr,
Douglas to attempt to impeach his ability, we liave

116 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
but to refer to the joint debates between them in
Hhnois in 1858. These discussions were reported
at the time, word for word, and have been since
republished by the republican party, in book form,
without change or comment, and circulated as a
campaign document. No intelligent raan can read
these debates without being satisfied that Lincoln
is the superior of Douglas in a knowledge of the
history and principles of the Government and in
logic, and overwhelmed him at every point. He
proved himself also the superior in good manners,
for while Douglas was frequently rude, personal,
and offensive. Old Abe was always in a good hu
mor ; and the madder Douglas the merrier was Abe.
The fact is, if any man can read these debates in
their order, beginning with the speech of Douglas,
then taking the speech of Lincoln, and so on
through without becoming a republican, I give him
over to reprobacy of mind and hardness of heart.
Notwithstanding Lincoln's great mental ability, he
has other qualities which I adraire still raore. He
is an honest man — " The noblest work of God."
He possesses that rare and sterhng integrity that
secures the love of aU who know him and places
him, like Ceesar's wife, above suspicion. There is
that in his character that causes the shafts of false
hood and malice to fall harmless at his feet. The
truth is his enemies have not had the courage to do
any considerable amount of lying about him. They
have told a few smaU ones, but have in nowise pre-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 117
judiced his cause. They fij'st said that he had voted
in Congress against supphes to our army while in
Mexico, but it turned out upon examination that he
was not in Congress at that time. So that story
feU to the ground. They then said he had voted
asainst bounties to the soldiers and the widows of
soldiers who had served in the Mexican campaign,
but it turned out that he had always voted for the
largest proposition of that kind, though he had re
fused to vote that the war was rightly commenced.
The last story I have heard of was that he had kept
a grocery whUe a young man. The story was im
raediately proven to be untrue ; but the absurdity
of the deraocratic party urging that as an objection
to any raan, became so manifest that they laughed
at it themselves and let it drop. He is the child of
labor. His boyhood and early manhood were spent
in honest toU in forest and in field, and he is thus
pre-eminently qualified to be the candidate of the
repubhcan party at a time when free labor and slave
labor are brought in conffict face to face. He is in
his own pei-son the representation of free labor, and
what it can do in ennobhug and dignifying the hu
raan character. His hands, like yours, have been
hardened with toU, and his brow has dripped with
the perspiration of honest labor. If, by your hon
est industry and toil, you have acquired a home and
a competence. Old Abe can sympathise with you.
He knows just how you came by it.
In conclusion, let me again state the issue. If

118 LIFB, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
you believe slavery to be a good thing, and that it
should be universaUy extended, that slave labor is
better than free labor, then vote the democratic
ticket and you will vote your sentiments. If, on
the other hand, you believe that freedom is better
than slavery — that the Territories should be pre
served for free men and free labor — that freedom
should be national and slavery local and sectional,
then vote the republican ticket and you will vote
your sentiments, and do your duty to your country
and your God 1
In this speech some things are repeated which
were said at Terre Haute, but there are enough new
points in it to make it well worth a perusal. Under
the head, " Historical Facts," is found a brief pre
sentation of political and legislative precedents,
pointing clearly to the repubhcan doctrine as
expounded in this and the Terre Haute speech, as
the policy of the fathers, as the creed of all parties
previous to 1854.
The masterly review of the Dred Scott decision,
and the exposition of the inconsistencies of certain
democratic leaders, show how thoroughly the dem
ocratic party had become corrupted by Southern
slaveholders ; how it had been converted into a pro-
slavery engine for the purpose of nationalizing and
spreading an institution which had been regarded
by the framers of the Constitution, and by the
democracy up to the year 1849, as purely local and

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 119
only capable of existing by positive municipal
enactments. This trufy great speech was published not only
by the republican papers of Indiana, but by those
of many other States, which fact goes to show that
Morton was regarded as the great expounder of
republican doctrine.
Some few there were, as Mr, Julian of Indiana,
who thought Morton's exposition of republicanism
too conservative and not in accordance with the
true faith; but the majority of the leaders of the
republican party, and the great republican masses
of the North-west, indorsed nothing raore radical
than is contained in his speeches ; and the numer
ous efforts made by certain prorainent individuals
to destroy Morton's influence and depose him from
his position as the acknowledged leader of his
party in his State were all fruitless.
Morton was no less an enemy of slavery than
those radicals who deraanded its immediate and
unconditional abolition, but he knew that reform
was never promoted by attempting to push it in
advance of the intelligence of the people ; that in
order to successfully carry forward a great social
or political enterprise, society must be taken as it
is. His talents being no less practical than bril
liant, he displayed in all his political operations that
disposition and capacity to adapt means to ends,
which marks the career of every successful re
former. And the fact that his democratic oppo-

120 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
aents feared him more than almost any other
idvocate of republicanism, and were never able to
successfully meet his arguments, shows that his
Tiews of the course which should be pursued by
tiis party were correct, and that his plans were of
the most efficient character.
But his reraarks in this speech under the head,
' A new edition of the Declaration of Independ-
mce, revised and corrected," etc., etc., show that
tie was looking forward to the day when the peo
ple would be educated up to that point where they
would see, as expressed by a distinguished demo
crat of Missouri, in 1863, " that the institution of
slavery is an enemy to constitutional liberty," and
ihat it is incompatible with the existence of a
republic.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 121

CHAPTER y.
Close of canvass of 1860 — Commencement of the Rebellion^
Morton's speech before republican meeting at Indianapolis,
November 22d, 1860.
The political campaign of 1860 closed with the
success of the entire repubhcan ticket. All the
Northern States gave large republican majorities,
and Abraham Lincoln was called to administer the
Government of the United States. The South
having long raatured the scherae of rebellion,
made this success the pretext for attempting to dis
member the republic. The news of the election
ofJJincoln had scarcely reached the city of Charles
ton before the citizens of that place, with their
hats adorned with revolutionary cockades, went
shouting through the streets, " The Union is dis
solved ; the South is free !" Soon it was announced
that a convention would be called in South Caro
lina, with a view to passing an ordinance of seces
sion. The gloom which overcast the souls of the
people of the North, upon the reception of this
intelligence, clouded all brows, saddened all hearts.
Almost every species of business was checked, all
the ordinary interests of life flagged, and one great
all-absorbing question overshadowed everj' other :
How shall the Union be preserved ?
11

122 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

To this question two answers were given; viz.,
1, by force of arms ; 2, by conciliatory measures.
"While the country was very much divided, and
many were clamoring for compromise, and even
some prominent republicans favored a peace policy
and said, " Let the South go without bloodshed,"
Morton took a bold, firm stand in. favor of vigorous
measures, and the preservation of the country as a
whole, if need be by force of arms.
Shortly after the election of Lincoln the repub
licans of Indianapolis met to rejoice over the
success of their ticket, and give some general
expression of their views respecting the condition
of the country.
The able, statesmanlike speech here presented,
shows the position taken by Oliver P. Morton at
that early stage of the rebellion. The arguments
contained in it in favor of a vigorous policy and
against the idea of a peaceable separation are unan
swerable. Upon coming before the audience Mr, Morton
said: We hear much said against the pohcy of coercing
South Carohna in case she atterapts to secede,
Wliat is coercion but the enforcement of the law ?
Is anything else intended or required? Secession or
nullification can only be regarded by the General
government as individual action upon individual
responsibility. Those concerned in it can not

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 123
intrench themselves behind the forms of the State
government so as to give their conduct the sera
blance of legality, and thus devolve the responsibihty
upon the State government, which of itself is irre
sponsible. The Constitution and laws of the United States
operate upon individuals, but not upon States, and
precisely .as if there were no States.
In tlfiE, matter the President has no discretion.
He has taken a solemn oath to enforce the laws and
preserve order, and to this end he has been made
Commander-in-chief of the army and navy. How
can he be absolved fi-om responsibility thus devolved
upon hira by the Constitution and his official oath ?
Can it be done by the resolutions of conventions,
the advice of the newspapers, or even a decided pre
ponderance of public opinion ?
There is but one way in which the President can
be absolved from his duty to exert all the power
reposed in his hands by the Constitution to enforce
the laws in South Carolina, which is by acknow
ledging her independence. The Constitution pro
vides that Congress may admit new States into the
Union, but there is no provision for turning one out
or permitting one to go out. A State once admit
ted into the Union, becomes a part of the body of
, the nation, and severance or secession is not con
templated by the Constitution as permissible or
possible. If Congress possess the power to acknowledge

124 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
the independence of a State and thus to place it
without the pale of the Union, it must result from
an inexorable necessity produced by a successful
revolution, "WhUe a State is in the Union, there is
no power under the Constitution for the General
and State governments to enter into negotiations
and to treat with each other. No Government pos
sesses the constitutional power to disraeraber itself.
If the power does exist in this Govermuent to
acknowledge the independence of South Carohna,
or any other State, it can only be exercised by an
act of Congress, The President, of hiraself, would
not possess it, and consequently, until released from
his duty by such acknowledgments, he must exert
his power to enforce the laws.
What is the Duty of the Government ?
If an atterapt at secession be made, there is but
one of two courses to be pursued. Either to allow
the seceding State peaceably to go and set up for
herself as an independent government, or else by
the pohce or mUitary power of the United States
compel an observance of the laws and submission to
constitutional obligations.
Let us consider what would be the consequence
of adopting the former course. If we aUow a State
peaceably to secede, we thereby concede the right in
the most substantial and solemn manner. It would
be sheer nonsense to allow a State, especially a weak
one like South Carolina, to secede, and yet deny

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 125
the rigU of secession ; and that other States may
not retire in the same manner whenever they see
proper. We can not, therefore, allow South Caro
lina to secede without conceding the right and
thereby settling the principle as to the remaining
States, The right of secession conceded, the nation
is dissolved. Instead of having a nation,— -one
raighty people, — we have but a collection and com
bination of thirty-three independent and petty
States, held together by a treaty which has hitherto
been caUed a Constitution, of the infraction of
which each State is to be the judge, and from which
any State may withdraw at pleasure.
It would not be twelve months until a project of a
Pacific Empire would be set on foot. California and
Oregon, being each sovereign and independent, would
have a right to withdraw from their present part
nership and form a new one, or form two separate
nations. In doing so they would act with a far
greater show of reason and a far better prospect of
success than South Carolina. They are separated
frora the other States by thousands of miles of bar
ren plains and snow clad mountains.
Their comraerce is naturally with the East Indies
and the Isles of the Pacific Ocean, The tie of cora
mercial interests between thera and the other States
is weaker than that which binds together any other
section of the Republic.
The right to secede conceded and the way to do it
having been shown to be safe and easy, — the pres-

126 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
tige of the Republic gone, — the national pride
extinguished with the national idea, — secession
would become the remedy for every State or sec
tional grievance, real or imaginary. And in a few
short years we should witness the total dissolution
of that mighty Repubhc which has been the hope
and the glory of the world. We should then have
before us the prospect presented in the history of
the petty States of Greece, Italy and the principah-
ties of Germany.
Need I stop to argue the pohtical, inteUectual,
social and commercial death involved in this wreck
and ruin ? We must then cling to the idea that we
are a nation, one and indivisible, and that although
subdivided by State hnes for local and domestic
purposes, we are but one people, the citizens of a
common country, having like institutions and man
ners, and possessing a common interest in that
inheritance of glory so richly provided by our
fathers. We must therefore do no act, — we must
tolerate no act, — we must concede no idea or theory
that looks to or involves the dismemberment of the
nation. And especiaUy must we of the inland
States cling to the national idea.
If South Carolina may secede peaceably, so may
New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Louisiana,
cutting off our commerce and destroying our right
of way to the Ocean. We would thus be shut up
in the interior of a continent, surrounded by inde
pendent, perhaps hostile nations, through whose ter-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 127
ritories we could obtain egress to the sea-board only
upon such terms as might be agreed to by treaty.
Emigrants from foreign lands could only reach us
by permission of our neighbors, and we could not
reach any Atlantic port except by passports duly
visSd. In such a condition of affairs the sea-board
States would possess immense advantages, which
may be illustrated and understood by comparing the
wealth, prosperity and power of the sea-board
kingdoms, with those shut up iu the interior of
Europe, Can it be possible then that Kentucky,
Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri or Mississippi, can
ever become so infatuated, so utterly demented, as
to subscribe to the doctrine that a State has the
right to secede, thereby placing the existence of
their commerce, their peculiar institution, their
everything, within the power of Louisiana, com
manding, as she does, the outlet of the Mississippi
and the entrance to the Gulf. As the matter now
stands, the portof New York is the property ofthe na
tion, held for tbe benefit of aU the States, the revenue
there coUected being disbursed for the benefit of all.
But we are told that if we use force to corapel
subraission to the laws in South Carolina, it will so
excite and exasperate the other slave States, as to
lead thera to make common cause with her. I am
not willing to believe that this treason is so widely
spread, and that sympathy with South Carolina
traitors will be stronger than devotion to the Union.
Should such be the case, however, it should not, in

128 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
my judgment, change the course we ought to pur
sue. If the people of the other Southern States
"will not permit the enforcement of the laws in South
Carolina, it would be e"vidence that they were intend
ing to foUow her example at their own convenience.
If they intend to stay in the Union, and adhere to
its fortunes, they will thrust no obstacles in the way
of the General government to prevent its compel
ling obedience to the laws. Mere caprice and pride
wiU not determine their action in a matter so
momentous, invol"ving the destinies of millions for
aU time. But if such is their purpose, and such the
condition of public sentiment, we can not know the
fact too soon, that we may prepare for the worst. I
am not wiUing to believe that the bad example of
South Carolina would be foUowed by any other
States, — certainly by not more than one or two.
H South Carohna gets out of the Union, I trust
it wiU be at the point of the bayonet, after our best
efforts have failed to corapel her to subraission to
the laws. Better concede her independence to
force, to revolution, than to right and principle.
Such a concession can not be drawn into precedent
and construed into an admission that we are but a
combination of petty States, any one of which has
a right to secede and set up for herself whenever it
suits her temper, or views of her peculiar interest.
Such a contest, let it terminate as it may, would be
a declaration to the other States of the only tei-ms

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 129
upon which they would be permitted to withdraw
from the Union.
The lopping off of South Carohna by the sword
of revolution, would not disturb the unity of the
balance of the nation ; but would simply be a
diminution from its aggregate power to the extent
of her resources and population. Notwithstand
ing the American revolution terminated so disas
trously to the British Government, after an enor
mous expenditure of blood and treasure, accompan
ied by such humiliation of the national pride, still
it preserved the integrity of the remaining portion
of the erapire. Had our claims to independence been
at once recognized and conceded by the mother
country, and the thirteen colonies peaceably allowed
to constitute a separate government, and take their
place among the nations of the earth, an example
would have been set and an admission made of
which every colony, island and dependency of the
empire would have speedily claimed the benefit.
The Canadas, the East and West Indies and Aus
tralia would, in turn, point to this epoch in British
history as a palpable and unconditional avowal of
the doctrine that they had the right under the Brit
ish constitution at any tirae peaceably to terminate
their allegiance to the crown, and secede from the
empire. An adraission of the existence of a right
so made, could it be retracted at all, could only be
at the end of numerous ci"vil and bloody wars.
Shall we now surrender the nation "without a
11

130 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
struggle and let the Union go with merely a few
hard words? Shall we encourage faint-hearted
ti-aitors to pursue their treason, by ad"vising them
in advance that it would be safe and successful ?
If it was worth a bloody struggle to establish this
nation, it is worth one to preserve it ; and I trust
that we shall not, by surrendering with indecent
haste, publish to the world that the inheritance
our fathers purchased "with their blood we have
given up to save ours.
Seven years is but a day in the life of a nation,
and I would rather come out of a struggle at the
end of that time, defeated in arms and conceding
independence to successful revolution, than to pur
chase present peace by the concession of a princi
ple that must inevitably explode this nation into
small and dishonored fragments.
But of the result of such a struggle I should
entertain the utmost hope and confidence.
He who compares our glorious war for liberty
and independence against grinding oppression, to
another war to be set on foot for the propagation
of human slavery, to crush out liberty of speech
and of the press, and to inaugurate and revive,
with all its untold and indescribable horrors, the
African slave trade, must have an indifferent idea
of the justice of that Providence who holds in his
hands the issue of battle. To employ the language
of a great statesman, " Surely the Almighty has no

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 131
attribute that could take sides with rebels in such
a contest." I will not stop to argue the right of secession.
The whole question is summed up in this proposi
tion : " Are we one nation, one people, or thirty-
three nations, or thirty-three independent and
petty States?" The statement ofthe proposition
furnishes the answer. If we are one nation, then
no State has a right to secede. Secession can only
be the result of successful revolution, I answer the
question for you, and I know that my answer wiU
find a response in every true American heart, that
we are one people, one nation, undivided and indi
visible. At the conclusion of Judge Morton's speech a
paper was handed to him, of which the following
is a copy :
" This is understood to be a meeting to rejoice
over the election of Abraham Lincoln.
" Will the speaker please state to his audience :
" 1. Whether or not his party rejoice over the
universal bankruptcy and ruin now about to fall
upon our country, as a consequence of that election ?
" 2. Whether they rejoice that the /ree laborers,
about which they have told us so much, are on the
eve of being turned out and starved as a conse
quence of that election?
" 3. Whether they rejoice at the prospect of
fraternal strife and internecine war, which now pre-

132

LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER^VICES OP

sents itself in the immediate future as a consequence
of that election ?
" 4. "Whether they rejoice in the humiliation of
being compeUed, by the exigencies of the times, to
accept the very principle announced and main
tained by Stephen A. Douglas (whom they have
denounced and vilified for his steadfast advocacy of
it), as the only basis of Union and peace hereafter;
or, on the other hand, whether they rejoice in the
certainfy that the honest adherence to their own
principles and doctrines will insure the speedy
destruction of their country, and demonstrate the
failure of republican governments to the world ?
" November 22, 1860. Gordon Tanner."
Mr, Morton read the paper and then said:
As I recognize the person whose name is signed
to this paper as a gentleman, I "wiU "with pleasure
attempt to respond to his interrogatories.
I answer to the first question, that we rejoice
over our victory because it is the triumph of truth
and the success of correct and time-honored prin
ciples. Should bankruptcy and ruin faU upon the coun
try, we should deplore it raost deeply; but we
should not regard it as the consequence of the elec
tion of Abraham Lincoln, or feel that any respon
sibility rested upon us, but in it recognize the
legitimate results of the means employed by our
adversaries to effect our defeat and destruction.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 133
To the second question I answer, that should free
labor lose its reward, and free laborers their employ
ment, and be brought to starvation, we would
raourn over their calamities, seek to alle"viate their
sufferings and redress their "wrongs; and, as we
know the authors of the crime, we intend to hold
thera to a just accountability in this world, and
believe that the Almighty "wiU in the next.
To the third question I answer, that we do not
rejoice " at the prospect of fraternal strife and inter
necine war." From such a prospect, we would turn
away with horror. But should they come we can
rejoice in the con"piction that they are not the just
consequence of the election of a president accord
ing to the forms of the Constitution ; but we know
those who would rejoice. They are those who for
months and years past have labored to alienate the
hearts of this people from each other; who, for
political purposes, by aU the arts of defamation
have poisoned the Southern mind against the North,
and sought to array them in deadly hostility against
each other; who have broken compromises and
kept no faith; who incited ci"^ war in Kansas and
justified the attempted subjugation of a free peo
ple; who, for pohtical purposes, have prophesied
that these things would foUow Lincoln's election,
and are now laboring to fulfill the prophecy, and
instead of seeking to allay the troubles in the land
are exerting all the means in their power to aggra
vate the difficultv and "widen the breach. Thev

134 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
seera exceedingly anxious to be able to tell the peo
ple, "I told you so; see what you have done by
voting your sentiraents and for the raan of your
choice." R. J. Ryan — I beg leave to ask a question. I
agree to and indorse nearly every thing that has
been said here to-night ; and I, too, trust that if
South Carolina gets out of the Union it "will be at
the point of the bayonet. My father and raother
are buried at Barnwell in that State, and should
she secede frora the Union, I would go and "with
my o"wn hands dig up their bones and bring them
away. But the question I desire to ask is this :
Whether those questions were reaUy prepared by a
democrat ?
Much confusion and exclteraent ensued for a
moment, when Mr. Tanner arose in the back por
tion of the audience and said the questions were
his and bore his signature.
Mr. Morton then proceeded : I ara not surprised
that ray friend, Mr. Ryan, who is a very sensible
gentleraan, should regard it as incredible that any
deraocrat should ask these questions.
The fourth question, as you perceive, is quite
lengthy, and has a very considerable sturap speech
injected into the body of it. My friend. Governor
Lane, understands parharaentary law, and I appeal
whether I raay not call for a division of the ques
tion and consider it by sections.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 135
[Governor Lane, who was sitting on the platform,
announced that the suggestion was in order.]
To the first branch of the question, I answer that
we have not " "vilified " Stephen A. Douglas for his
" steadfast advocacy " of a principle or for any other
cause. He has been upon all sides of the vexed
question. Within the last twelve raonths he has
undergone raore changes than the moon. He has
advocated nothing steadfastly but Stephen A.
Douglas. To the third and last branch of the
question, 1 answer that we do not rejoice in the cer
tainty that an honest adherence to our principles
" will insure the speedy destruction of our country
and demonstrate the failure of republican govern
ment to the world," On the contrary, we beheve our
principles to be those of the Constitution and the
Fathers, and that peace can only be restored and
the safety of our institutions secured by bringing the
government to that ancient, just, and hberal pohcy
upon which it was founded and adrainistered for so
raany years.

136 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF

CHAPTER VL
Commencement of the rebellion — The attack on Sumter — Great
excitement vrhich follo"wed — Governor Morton's capacity to
control and direct popular feeling — Readiness "with which the
people responded to his call — Remarkable promptness and
efficiency of Governor Morton in preparing Indiana volunteers
for service — Indiana troops excel those of any other Western
State — Governor Morton calls an extra session of the Indiana
legislature — His message to that body — His impartiality in
making military appointments, etc., etc.
On the 14th day of January, 1861, in the pres
ence of both houses of the Indiana Legislature,
Honorable 0, P, Morton was duly qualified for the
office of Lieutenant-Governor, and on the same
day took his seat as President of the Senate, He
occupied this position but two days when, in conse
quence of the election by the legislature of Hon,
Henry S, Lane, Governor elect, to the Senate of the
United States for the term of six years, he became
governor of Indiana and took the oath of office.
The following is his address to the General As
serably on the occasion of his inauguration :
Gentlemen of the Senate : — I beg leave to return
to you my thanks for the courtesy and kindness
extended to me during our very brief official inter-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 187
course. That intercourse was just long enough to
exhibit on my part the awkwardness of the novice,
"without the improvement and facilities resulting
from experience. In the new position in which I
am placed I trust that our relations, both social and
official, raay continue satisfactory and pleasant.
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representa
tives : — Called by the Constitution to perform the
duties of the office of Governor, it will not be
expected, under the circumstances, that I should
deliver a formal inaugural address. I can only
promise to you, and through you to the people of
Indiana, to the extent of my ability, a faithful and
economical adrainistration, to take care that the
laws be enforced, and to resist extravagance and
peculation, come in what form they may.
The financial affairs of our State are in great con
fusion and embarrassraent. It will be among your
first duties carefully to investigate their condition,
which ha"ving done you will then be able to de"vise
the necessary remedies and apply them as far as
may be in your power. The people of this State
have been promised retrenchment and reform.
That proraise can and must be redeemed.
The times in which we are called to act are fuU
of gloomy portents, counseling us to discretion,
moderation, and firmness, and I shaU gladly co-op
erate with you in aU measures ha"ving for their pur
pose the prosperity and well-being of our beloved
12

138 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
commonwealth and the preservation of the glorious
and precious Union of these States.
On taking his seat as the executive of Indiana,
Governor Morton introduced a new order of things.
Under loose, corrupt administrations, Indiana had
been disgraced in the eyes of her sister States ; and,
as a western writer truly remarks, had become a
"by-word among her o"wn citizens." PoUuted,
unscrupulous officials had grown wealthy by pecur
lation ; thousands of doUars of the people's money
had been wasted by wanton extravagance. The
Sinking Fund had been miserably misraanaged,
and the " Stover Fraud," as brought to light
by Governor Morton, was found to be one of the
raost unprincipled affairs ever connected "with the
raanageraent of Indiana's executive department. A
regular system of scoundrelism had been carried
out by state and county officers in respect to the
disposition of Swamp Lands. It had been the pol
icy of the State at one time to bring these lands
into a tUlable condition, by gi"ving them to persons
who would drain them, each individual who took
land to be obligated to drain every acre he ob
tained ; but, by the secret understanding had between
state and county officials and certain land specula
tors, during the administration which preceded Gov
ernor Morton, thousands of acres of the Swamp
Lands were made over to persons who never
drained the tenth part of what they received,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 139
while the officers themselves were constantly
making illegal drafts upon the Swamp Land Fund.
The credit of the State abroad was greatly dam
aged, owing to her finances having been so poorly
economized, that she had been obhged to borrow
money to pay her debts.
To bring order out of confusion, — to renovate
every department, to replenish a depleted treasury,
to redeem the State credit, were the duties devol
ving upon Governor Morton when he entered the
gubernatorial chair ; and earnestly did he set him
self about their performance. He ushered a new
era into the history of the State. Political specula
tors and thieving officials were hurled from position,
and base, unprincipled seekers found their stars in
the descendant. Public expenses were greatly cur
tailed, and the State's finances were carefully hus
banded. This work was begun so early and pur
sued so persistently that the State was saved mil
lions of dollars.
But the ordinary labors of his office and the
extraordinary labor of correcting public abuses
were not the only duties to be performed by the
Governor, upon assuraing the responsibilities of the
executive chair. The cloud of disunion in the
South, instead of seeraing likely to disappear, con
tinued to thicken ; and the State of Indiana "n-as
greatly divided with respect to the question of the
right of secession. Men were heard to say, in the
State Legislature, that they would rather take their

140 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
muskets and assist the Southern people in their
attempt to obtain their independence, than to sup
port the Governraent. In fact, such was the appa
rent strength of the disloyal feeling in the Hoosier
State during the winter of 1861, that the South
ern traitors believed that in case of civil war they
would obtain whole regiments of soldiers from
Indiana ; that should a coercive policy be pursued
by the Administration, Indiana would secede and
annex itself to the Southern Confederacy. The
author was, at this period traveling in the South
and heard it from the lips of more than one native
of the southern part of the State, that Indiana, —
at least the southern half of it, — would readily
unite its fortunes with the South, in case of a disso
lution of the Union. To preserve the honor of the
State, to prevent its playing into the hands of
secessionists, and to place it decidedly onthe side of
the Government, at this time, constituted a work
of extraordinary magnitude, — a work which no
ordinary man or meu could have accomplished.
In going about it, Governor Morton consulted
and secured the co-operation of the "wisest and most
influential men, of all parties, who were in favor of
executing the laws and "vindicating the honor of
the country's flag. Governor Morton was never a
friend of half-way measures, nor did he ever seek
the ad"vice of raen of half-way principles. His loy
alty from the beginning was of the most decided
character, and when he saw the honor of his State

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 141
in jeopardy, that there were certain influences at
work which threatened to drag Indiana into the
whirlpool of secession, he stopped not to inquire what
raight be a man's political creed, but only asked,
" "What is the depth of his patriotism ? Is he uncon-
ditionaUy for the Union ? " Among the men whose
counsel and co-operation he sought at this period,
were Hon, Ebenezer Dumont and Hon, Lew Wal
lace, life-long democrats, and afterwai-ds among the
most gaUant and distinguished of Indiana's military
chieftains, — ^men, who, although they had used their
utmost endeavors to defeat the election of Presi
dent Lincoln, not only cheerfuUy submitted to the
constitutionaUy expressed wiU of the people in that
election, but boldly denounced all efforts to con
ciliate traitors as futUe and pusUlanimous.
Early in the spring of 1861, it became manifest
that not only Indiana, but many other northern States
contained a very considerable " pacific element, " — a
compromising, coaxing element, composed of men
"wUling to concede anything to the South rather than
involve the country in a war for the preservation of
the Union. A peace conference composed of dele
gates from the border States had met in Virginia
and failed to accoraphsh anything. Commissioners
from the rebel States had been sent to Washington
ostensibly to negotiate "with the Government for
the United States property within the boundary of
the seceded States, and procure a " peaceable sep
aration. " A very respectable number of highly

142 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

influential newspapers were arguing to the people
and pressing upon the President (Lincoln) the
"necessity of pursuing a peace pohcy, "
Governor Morton's statesman-hke foresiglft ena
bled him to see the utter futihty of trying moral
suasion upon rebels. His eyes had not been closed
to the fact that the RebeUion had been in due course
of preparation for a number of years ; that it was
not the passage of personal liberty biUs or the mere
election of a republican president that induced the
South to "withdraw from the Union ; but, that the
real cause of the diSiculfy was to be found in the
desire of Southern pohticians to make Slavery the
dominant power in the Government, — the determin
ation of Southern aristocrats to render every inter
est in the country subordinate to that of their pet
institution. It was clearly ob"vious to hira that uo
compromise invol"ving anything less than the sacri
fice of every Northern interest would be accepted by
the secessionists.
Thoroughly cou'sdnced of the danger of delaying
prompt action in taking steps toward the defense
of the Governraent, he "visited, in person, the Pres
ident and assured hira that if he would adopt a
vigorous policy, Indiana would support him ; that
at least six thousand Hoosiers were ready to march
in defense of the Union ; that the State of Indiana,
although somewhat divided in regard to the causes
of the secession movement, would upon trial be
found loyal; that nothing could more effectuaUy

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 143
discourage the Union sentiment in Hoosierdom than
a manifestation of a want of decision on the part
of the Administration.
That the Governor's influence had its effect in
deterraining the course pursued, subsequently, by
the powers at Washington is clearly manifest in
the changes imraediately follo"wing this "visit.
As has been truly remarked by an Indiana edi
tor, " there never was a cowardly hair on Governor
Morton's head," and the desire to see a set of
debased, putrid, domineering politicians, styhug
themselves " the chivalry of America," thoroughly
chastised, and to vindicate the honor of the North,
doubtless constituted a very strong incentive to the
effort thus early made by him to urge the Adminis
tratiou to waste no tirae in parleying "with those
who were bent on the destruction of constitutional
hberty. Shortly after the Governor's "visit to Washington
Fort Sumter was bombarded and reduced by the
rebels. This was the commencement of the most
reraarkable period in the history of this nation.
The attack upon Surater opened the eyes of the
people to the fact that whatever might have been
the causes of the rebellion, the salvation of the
country depended upon prompt energetic action ;
and, for a time, parties and party differences were
forgotten, and the fire of patriotic enthusiasm swept
the entire North. The "wUd pulsations of the pub
hc heart threw the whole body pohtic into a state

144 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
of phrenzied excitement. To control and regulate
this almost ungovernable feehng and direct it to the
production of good results, was an herculean under
taking, and the citizens of Indiana have cause to
rejoice that in their State it devolved upon a man
fully equal to the task.
Upon receiving the President's proclamation,
Governor Morton issued caUs to every part of the
State for men. Forty thousand men, over six times
the number required, sprang, "with bounding hearts,
to the defense of their government. Six regiments,
Indiana's quota, were armed and equipped, ready
for ser"vice in au incredibly short period of time.
But, not"withstanding the hurry attending their
preparation, they were better furnished than any
other troops from the West, As they marched
through Cincinnati and other points on their way
to the destinations assigned them, after they were
ready for the field, their uniforms, arms, and equip
ments were the admiration of aU observers, and the
newspapers of other States vied with each other in
eulogizing the governor of Indiana for the extra
ordinary promptness and ability he had displayed
in preparing the Hoosier volunteers for the service.
In nearly all the North-western States Governor
Morton's efficiency was held up as an example for
other State executives to follow.
No sooner were these first troops in the field than
the Governor sent agents to attend to their several
wants ; to see that aU their little needs were sup-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 145
plied while in health, and that they were properly
cared for when sick. The plan of sending State
agents to "visit the troops was originated by Gov
ernor Morton, and though other governors en
deavored to imitate him they never kept pace with
him ; his agents uniformly distanced aU others.
In the meantime, while he was fiirnishing men
and means for the suppression of the rebellion. Gov
ernor Morton called an extra session of the legisla
ture. His comprehensive "views of the rebellion, its
causes, and the measures necessary to its suppression
are clearly and eloquently expressed in the follow
ing message, delivered to the General Assemby,
April ?5th, 1861 :
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representa
tives: — You have been summoned together under
circurastances of the raost grave and important
character. Our country is placed iu a condition
hitherto unkno"wn in her history, and one which all
patriots and lovers of hberty throughout the world
had fondly hoped would never occur. Civil war,
that has ever been the bane of repubhcs, has been
inaugurated by certain rebellious States which, un
mindful of their constitutional obligations, and
regarding not our common history, blood, interests,
and institutions, are seeking to dismember the na
tion and overthrow the Federal government, -so
wisely, and as we had believed, permanently estab
lished by our fathers,
13

146 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
The origin of this most wicked rebellion dates
back more thau thirty years. It is well known
that distinguished Southern statesmen, as early as
1829, cherished the dreara of a vast Southern
slaveholding confederacy, comprehending the con
quest of Cuba, Mexico, and Central America. The
determination was then formed to break our Re
public into pieces by any avaUable pretext. The
first one seized upon by South Carolina was the
tariff question ; and had not the nation had for
its executive a man greatly distinguished for patri
otism, courage, and decision of character, wide-
spreading and disastrous consequences might have
followed. By prompt and energetic action, the
rebellion was crushed out for the time, to be
re"vived, as subsequent events have 8ho"wn, on new
pretenses and in another form.
The election of a president of the United States
through the forras of the Constitution, entertain
ing opinions obnoxious to certain States of the
confederacy, is boldly published to the world as
a just cause for the dissolution ofthe Union, and
bringing on if necessary for that purpose all the
horrors of a bloody revolution. It would be an
insult to your intelligence to argue that the admis
sion of this pretense as a justification would be
clearly fatal to ah republican government; that
popular institutions can only be sustained by sub
mission to the will of the people as expressed
through the forms of the Constitution, trusting to

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 147
the peaceful remedy of th'fe ballot-box for the
redress of grievances. And the "wickedness of this
pretense is greatly aggravated by the reflection,
that it is utterlj' hypocritical, that it was only put
forward in furtherance of schemes entertained for
years, and supported by notoriously false assump
tions of fact and logic.
When we read the history of the late democratic
convention at Charleston by the light of subse
quent events, can we fail to see that the scheme of
secession and dismemberment of the Republic was
then completely formed, and that the disruption of
that convention was one of the steps toward its
consummation. If confirmation of this opinion
were needed, it will be found in the fact that cer
tain traitorous members of Mr, Buchanan's Cab
inet were systematically engaged, for many months
before the late presidential election, in placing the
arms and defenses of the nation in a position to be
readily seized by the seceding States.
Secession was at first argued as a right springing
from the Constitution itself, but as the movement
gained streugth, the flimsy pretext was abandoned
and ceased to be a subject of discussion, and what
in an hour of weakness was claimed by feeble argu
ment, is now boldly asserted by military power.
The North, conscious of her strength and the
rectitude of her intentions, has hitherto remained
quiet, making no preparation whatever for a con
flict of arms. Her forbearance has been construed

148 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
into cowardice, and her efforts to keep the peace
have but provoked increased insolence and aggres
sion. The secession movement has from the begin
ning been an act of war. Ordinances of secession
have been immediately followed and sometimes
preceded by the "violent seizure aud plunder of
national property, and the forcible expulsion of the
agents and officers of the Federal government.
From the very first, and at every step in its progress,
it has been distinguished by acts of hostility and
outrage, alike injurious to the nation and insulting
to the people of the loyal States.
The secessionists were profoundly con"vinced that
the co-operation of the border Slave States could
not be procured without a conflict of arms between
them and the Federal government, and hence have
labored assiduously to place the Crovernment in a
position that a collision could not be avoided, ex
cept by the most abject submission and humiliation.
The intention to force a conflict has been most
apparent, and delay was suffered pnly that they
might complete their preparations; and when at
last their preparations were complete, and wearied
by the long forbearance of the Government, they
inaugurated hostilities by assaulting and reducing
Fort Sumter.
The place where Fort Sumter is situated had
been regularly ceded by the State of South Caro
lina to the Federal government, and by an express
provision of the Constitution was under the exclu-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 149
sive jurisdiction of the United States. it was
unfinished, and held by a garrison of less thau one
hundred men, and while in this condition wa.s
invested by a large army, cutting oft' all approach
to it by sea or land. The stock of pro"visions was
almost exhausted, and the immediate prospect was
presented to the feeble garrison of starvation, or
yielding up.into the hands of au avowed enemy a
fortress of the United States. At this juncture, the
Federal government, which had waited long, per
haps too long, declared its determination to send
provisions to the garrison. Before this attempt
could be made, and -before a single sail of the fleet
was seen ofl' the harbor, a powerful cannonade was
opened upon Surater, which resulted in its destruc
tion and sun-ender.
Everv dav brin2:s us inteUis'ence of new outrage
and assault. Thi-oughout the rebelhous States is
heard the note of prepai-ation for an extensive and
aggressive campaign. The national capital is
menaced, and every avenue of approach for Fed
eral troops and pro"visions is attempted to be cut
off. The free na"vigation of the Mississippi river,
the great artery of coraraerce of the North-west, is
obsti-ucted ; and the usurping government of the
rebellious States has issued a proclaraation in"viting
the freebooters of aU the world to prey upon our
national coraraerce.
We have passed frora the fleld of arguraent to
the solemn fact of war, which exists by the act of

150 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
the seceding States. The issue is forced upon us,
and must be accepted. Every man must take his
position upou the one side or upon the other. In
time of war there is no ground upon which a third
party can stand. It is the imperative duty of all
men to rally to the support of the Government,
and to expend in its behalf, if need be, their for
tunes and their blood. Upon the preservation of
this Government depends our prosperity and great
ness as a nation ; our hberty and happiness as
indi"viduals. We should approach the contest not
as politicians, nor as ambitious partizans, but as
patriots, who cast aside every selfish consideration
when danger threatens their country. The voice
of party should be hushed, and the bitterness that
may have sprung out of pohtical contests be at
once forgiven and forgotten. Let us rise above
these paltry considerations, and inaugurate the era
when there shall be but one party and that for our
country. The struggle is one into which we enter
with the deepest reluctance. We are bound to the
people of the seceding States by the dearest ties of
blood and institutions. They are our brothers and
our fellow countrymen. But if they regard not
these tender relations, how can we ? If they wage
war upon us and put themselves in the attitude of
public enemies, they must assume all the responsi
bilities incident to that position. But while I
deplore deeply the character of the contest in which

fiOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 151
we are engaged, nevertheless we should meet it as
raen. To our sister State of Kentucky we turn mth
hope and affection. She has grown rich and pros
perous in the Republic ; could she do more if she
were out of it ? It would be a sad day that would
sever the bond which binds these States together,
and places us in separate and hostile nations. I
appeal to her by the ties of our coramon kindred
and history ; by our community of interest, by the
sacred obligations that bind us to maintain the Con
stitution in-violate, to adhere to the Union, and
stand fast by that flag in defense of which she has
so often shed her best blood. I pray her to exara
ine her past history and perceive how the tide of
her prosperity has flowed on unbroken, and ever
increasing, until her liraits are fiUed with material
wealth aud her people are respected, elevated, and
happy; and then inquire if aU this is not the result
of that Union she is called upon to break, and of
that government she is invited to dishonor and
overthrow. To ask Kentucky to secede, is to ask
her to commit foul dishonor and suicide. I trust
that the good sense and patriotisra of her people
will not suff'er her to be dragged by the current of
events, which has been cunningly invented for that
purpose, into the vortex of disunion; nor perrait
her to be artfully inveigled into an armed neutral
ity between the rebelhous States and the Federal
government. Such a position would be anoraalous

152 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and fatal to the peace and perpetuity of the Union.
There is no ground in the Constitution midway
between a rebeUious State and the Federal govern
ment upon which she can stand, holding both in
check and restraining the Government from the
enforcement of the laws and the exercise of its
constituted authority. Such an attitude is at once
unconstitutional and hostile. At a time like this,
if she is not for the Government, aiding and main
taining it by the observance of all her constitu
tional obligations, she is against it. If the voice of
her people can be heard, I fear not the result. Se
cession can only triumph, as it has triumphed in
other States, by stifling the voice ofthe people and
by the bold usurpation, by demagogues and traitors,
of the powers which rightfully belong to them
alone. And I might here remark, it is quite mani
fest that the schemes of the authors and managers of
the rebeUion, extend far beyond the dissolution
of the Union, and embrace the destruction of the
democratic principle of government, and the sub
stitution of an aristocracy in its stead. In the
seceding States the control of public affairs has
been withdrawn substantially from the people, and
every proposition to submit to their consideration
measures of the most "vital importance has beeu
contemptuously overruled; and we are in truth
called upon to fight not only for the Union, but for
the principle upon which our State and National
governments are founded.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 153
If the rebellious States hope to profit by dissen
sions in the North, they have erred egregiously, aud
have whoUy failed to comprehend our people. Our
divisions were merely political, and not fundamen
tal ; and party hnes faded instantly fi-om sight when
the intelligenee went abroad that war was being
waged against the nation. "\^Tien the sound of the
first gun reverberated through the land, the people
of the North arose as one man, aud declared that
the Government must be sustained and the honor
of our Flag preserved inviolate at whatever cost.
The events of the last ten days are pregnant "with
instruction and moral grandeur. They present the
action of a people who have suffered much and
waited long ; who were slow to take offense aud
incredulous of treason and danger ; but who, when
the dread appeal to arms was made and the issue
could no longer be avoided "with honor or safety,
promptly abandoned the peacefid pursuits of life
and devoted themselves to the ser-vice of their coun
try. I trust that the force of this lesson may not
be lost upon our erring brethren of the South, and
that they wih at once perceive they have inaugur
ated a contest from which they can not emerge "with
honor and profit.
On the l5th day of the present month the Presi
dent of the United States issued his proclamation
calling upon the loyal States to furnish 75,000 men
for the protection of the Government, the suppres
sion of rebellion and the enforceraent of the laws.

154 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Subsequently the quota to be furnished by Indiana
was fixed at six regiments, of seveu hundred and
seventy men each. In obedience to this call I issued
my proclamation calling for volunteers, and in less
than eight days more than 12,000 men have ten
dered their ser"vices, and the contest among the com
panies has been earnest and exciting as to which
shall secure aplace within the quota. This response
has been most gratifying and extraordinary, and
furnishes indubitable evidence of the patriotism of
Indiana, and her entire devotion to the Union.
Without distinction of party, condition, or occupa
tion, men have ralhed around the national 'standard,
and in every part of the State may be heard the
sound of martial music and witnessed the muster
ing of companies into the field. In "view of this
remarkable response made to the proclamation ou
the 20th inst., I tendered to the President for the
service of the United States six additional regiments ;
but telegraphic and postal comraunication having
been cut off "with Washington, no answer has been
received up to this tirae, A camp was formed in
the neighborhood of this city for the reception of
the troops, and Major Wood, of the U. S. army,
has been busily engaged for several days in muster
ing them into the service. There are in camp 
companies, being an excess of the number caUed
for by the President, and in addition to that, every
company largely exceeds, and in some instances
more than doubles the number that can be finally

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 155
received into the company. Some companies came
by mistakes unavoidably occurring in the office of
the adjutant general, and others without marching
orders. They wiU be retained in camp, and provi
ded with quarters and subsistence, awaiting the
action of the Legislature. I can not refi-ain from
here expressing the opinion that has been uttered
by raany who have "visited the camp, that finer
material for a gallant army was never assembled.
The report of the adjutant general, Lewis Wal
lace, is herewith transraitted, and I beg leave in this
manner to tender him my hearty thauks for his
able and efficient services in that department.
In view of all the facts, it becomes the impera
tive duty of Indiana to make suitable preparations
for the contest by pro"viding ample supplies of men
and money to ensure the protection of the State
and General government in the prosecution of the
war to a speedy and successful terraination. I
therefore recommend that one million of dollars be
appropriated for the purchase of arms and muni
tions of war, and for the organization of such por
tion of the mihtia as may be deemed necessary for
the emergency. That a militia system be devised
and enacted looking chiefly to volunteers, which
shall insure the greatest protection to the State,
and unity and efficiency of the force to be employed.
That a law be enacted suspending the collection of
debts against those who may be actuaUy eraplo^^ed
in the military service of the State or the United

156 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
States. That suitable pro"vision be made by the
issue of the bonds of the State or otherwise for
raising the money herein recommended to be appro
priated. And that all necessary and proper legisla
tion be had to protect the business, properfy, and
citizens of the State, under the circumstances in
which they are placed, 0, P, MORTON, Govei-nor.

[As the subjoined message of President Jackson,
relative to the nullification raoveraent in South Car
olina in 1832, was adopted by Governor Morton,
as an expression of his "views of the relations sub
sisting between the States and the General govern
raent, and was, in fact, raade a part of the foregoing
message, we insert it, feeling that as an. argument
against peaceable separation or a compromise "with
rebels in arms it "will never lose its weight. — Ed.J
Proclamation of Andrew Jackson, President of the
United States :
Whereas, A convention assembled in the State
of South Carolina have passed an ordinance, by
which they declare " That the several acts and
parts of acts of the Congress of the United States,
purporting to be laws for the iraposing of duties
and iraposts on the importation of foreign com
modities, and no.w ha"ving actual operation and

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 157
effect within the United States, and more esi")ecially,"
two acts for the same purposes passed on the 29th
of May, 1828, and on the 14th of July, 1832, " are
unauthorized by the Constitution of the United
States, and violate the true meaning and intent
thereof, and are null aud void, and no law," nor
binding on the citizens of that State or its officers :
aud by the said ordinance, it is further declared to
be unla"wful for any of the constituted authorities
of the State or of the United States to enforce the
pajTuent of the duties imposed by the said acts
within the same State, and that it is the duty of the
Legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to
give full effect to the said ordinance :
And Whereas, By the said ordinance, it is fur
ther ordained that in no case of law or equity deci
ded in the courts of said State, wherein shall be
drawn in question the vahdity of the said ordinance,
or of the acts of the Legislature that may be passed
to give it effect, or of the said laws of the United
States, no appeal shall be aUowed to the Supreme
Court of the United States, nor shaU any copy of
the record be permitted or allowed for that purpose;
and that any person attempting to take such appeal
shall be punished as for a contempt of court :
And, finally, the said ordinance declares that the
people of South Carohna "wUl maintain the said
ordinance at every hazard ; and that they "wiU con
sider the passage of any act, by Congress, abolish
ing or closing the ports of the said State, or other-

158 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
wise obstructing the free ingress or egress of vessels
to and from the said ports, or any other act of the
Federal government to coerce the State, shut up her
ports, destroy or harass her commerce, or to enforce
the said act other"wise than through the ci"vil tribu
nals of the country, as inconsistent "with the longer
continuance of South Carolina in the Union, and
that the people of the said State "will thenceforth
hold themselves absolved from all further obligation
to maintain or preserve their political connection
with the people of the other States, and "will forth-
"with proceed to organize a separate government, and
do all other acts and things which sovereign and
independent States may of right do.
And Whereas, the said ordinance prescribes to
the people of South Carolina a course of conduct
in direct violation of their dijty as citizens of the
United States, contrary to the laws of their country,
subversive of its Constitution, and ha"ving for its
object the destruction of the Union, — that Union,
which, coeval with our political existence, led our
fathers, "without any other ties to unite them than
those of patriotism and a common cause, through
a sanguinary struggle to a glorious independence, —
that sacred Union, hitherto inviolate, which, per
fected by our happy Constitution, has brought us,
by the favor of Heaven, to a state of prosperity at
home, and high consideration abroad, rarely, if
ever, equalled in the history of nations. To pre
serve this bond of our political existence from des-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 159
truction, to maintain inviolate this state of national
honor and prosperity, and to justify the confidence
my fellow citizens have reposed in me, I Andrew
^Tackson, President of the United States, have thought
proper to issue this, my Proclamation, stating my
views of the Constitution and laws applicable to
the measures adopted by the Convention of South
Carolina, aud to the reasons they have put forth to
sustain them, declaring the course which duty wiU
require me to pursue, and, appealing to the under
standing and patriotisra of the people, warn them
of the consequences that must inevitably result from
an observance of the dictates of the convention.
Strict duty would require of me nothing more
than the exercise of those powers with which I am
now, or may hereafter be invested, for preser"ving the_
peace of the Union, and for the execution of the
laws. But the iraposing aspect which opposition
has assumed in this case, by clothing itself with
State authority, and the deep interest which the
people of the United States must all feel in prevent
ing a resort to stronger raeasures, while there is a
hope that anything will be yielded to reasoning and
remonstrance, perhaps demand, and "vidU certainly
justify, a full exposition to South Carolina and the
nation of the views I entertain of this important
question, as well as a distinct enunciation of the
coui-se which my sense of duty "will require me to
pursue. The ordinance is founded, not on the indefeasible

160 LIFE, speeches AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
right of resisting acts which are plainly uncon
stitutional, and too oppressive to be endured ; but on
the strange position that any one State may not only
declare an act of Congress void, but prohibit its
execution, — ^that they may do this consistently with
the Constitution, — that the true construction of that
instrument permits a State to retain its place in the
Union, and yet be bound by no other of its laws
than those it raay choose to consider as constitu
tional. It is true, they add, that to justify this
abrogation of a law, it must be palpably contrary to
the Constitution ; but it is e"vident, that, to give the
right of resisting laws of that description, coupled
with the uncontrolled right to decide what laws
deserve that character, is to give the power of
resisting aU laws. For, as by the theory, there is
no appeal, the reasons alleged by the State, good or
bad, must prevaU. If it should be said that public
opinion is a sufficient check against the abuse of this
power, it raay be asked why it is not deemed a suf
ficient guard against the passage of an unconstitu
tional act by Congress? There is, however, a
restraint in this last case, which makes the assumed
power of a State more indefensible, and which does
not exist in the other. There are two appeals from
an unconstitutional act passed by Congress, — one
to the judiciary, the other to the people and the
States. There is no appeal from the State decision
in theory, and the practical illustration shows that
the com-ts are closed against an application to review

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 161
it, both judges and juroi-s being sworn to decide in
its favor. But reasoning on this subject is super
fluous, when our social compact, in express terms,
declares that the laws of the United States, its Con
stitution, and treaties made under it, are the supreme
law of the land ; and, for the greater caution, adds
" that the judges in every State shah be bound
thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of
auy State to the contrary notwithstanding. " And it
may be asserted Avithout fear of refutation, that no
Federal government could exist "without a sirailar
provision. Look for a raoraent to the consequence.
If South Carohna considers the revenue laws uncon
stitutional, and has a right to prevent their execu
tion in the port of Charleston, there would be a
clear constitutional objection to their collection in
every other port, and no revenue could be collected
any"v\'here ; for aU imposts must be equal. It is no
answer to repeat, that au unconstitutional law is no
law, so long as the question of its legahfy is to be
decided by the State itself; for every law operating
injuriously upon any local interest wiU be perhaps
thought, and certainly represented, as unconstitu
tional, and, as has been shown, there is no appeal.
If this doctrine had been estabhshed at au earlier
day, the Union woiUd have been dissolved in its
infancy. The excise law in Pennsylvania, the
embargo and non-intercourse law in the eastern
States, the carriage tax iu Virginia, were all deemed
unconstitutional, and were more equal in theu- ope-
14

162 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ration than any of the laws now complained of;
but fortunately none of those States discovered that
they had the right now claimed by South Carolina.
The war into which we were forced to support the
dignity of the nation and the rights of our citizens,
might have ended in defeat and disgrace instead of
"victory and honor, if the States who supposed it a
ruinous and unconstitutional measure, had thought
they possessed the right of nullifying the act by
which it was declared, and denying supplies for its
prosecution. Hardly and unequally as those meas
ures bore upon several members of the Union, to
the legislatures of none did this efficient and peace
able remedy, as it is called, suggest itself. The dis
covery of this important feature in our Constitution
was reserved to the present day. To the statesmen
of South Carolina belongs the invention, and upon
the citizens of that State will unfortunately fall the
evils of reducing it to practice.
If the doctrine of a State veto upon the laws of
the Union carries with it internal e"vidence of its
impracticable absurdity, our Constitutional history
will also afford abundant proof that it would have
been repudiated with indignation, had it been pro
posed to form a feature in our Government.
In our colonial state, although dependent on
another power, we very early considered ourselves
as connected by common interest with each other.
Leagues were formed for common defence, and,
before the Declaration of Independence, we were

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 163
known in our aggregate character as the United Col
onies of America. That decisive and important step
was taken jointly. We declared ourselves a nation
by a joint, not by several acts, and when the terms
of our Confederation were reduced to form, it was
in that of a soleran league of several States, by
which they agreed that they would collectively form
one nation for the purpose of conducting some cer
tain domestic concerns and aU foreign relations.
Iu the instrument forming that Union is found an
article which declares that " every State shall abide
by the determination of Congress on all questions
which, by that Coufederation, should be submitted
to them. "
Under the Confederation, then, no State could
legaUy annul a decision of the Congress, or refuse
to subrait to its execution ; but no provision was
made to enforce these decisions. Congress made
requisitions, but they were not complied with. The
Government could not operate on individuals.
They had no judiciary, no raeans of collecting rev
enue. But the defects of the Confederation need not be
detailed. Under its operation we could scarcely be
called a nation. We had neither prosperity at
home nor consideration abroad. This state of
things could not be endured, and our present happy
Constitution was formed, but formed in vain, if this
fatal doctrine prevaUs. It was formed for irapor
tant objects that are announced in the prearable

164 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
made in the name and by the authority of the peo
ple of the United States, whose delegates framed,
and w^hose conventions approved it. The most
important among these objects, that which is placed
first in rank, on which all others rest, is, "¦toform a
more perfect Union. " Now, is it possible that even
if there were no express provision giving suprem
acy to the Constitution and laws of the United
States over those of the States, — can it be conceived,
that an instrument made for the purpose of ^'¦form
ing a more perfect Union" than that of the Confeder
ation, could be so constructed by the asserabled "wis
dora of our country as to substitute for that Confed
eration a form of government dependent for its
existence on the local interest, the party spirit of a
State, or of a prevailing faction in a State ? Every
man of plain, unsophisticated understanding, who
hears the question, will give such an answer as wiU
preserve the Union. Metaphysical subtlety, in pur
suit of an impracticable theory, could alone have
de"vised one that is calculated to destroy it.
I consider, then, the power to annul a law of the
United States, assumed by one State, incompatible
with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly
by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its
spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was
founded, and destructive of the great object fot which
it loas formed.
After this general "view of the leading principle,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 165
we must examine the particular application of it
which is made in the ordinance.
The preamble rests its justification on these
grounds : It assuraes, as a fact, that the obnoxious
laws, although they pm-port to be laws for raising
revenue, were in reality intended for the protection
of raanufacturers, which purpose it asserts to be
unconstitutional ; that the operation of these laws
is unequal ; that the araount raised by them is
greater than is required by the wants of the Gov
ernment ; and, finally, that the proceeds are to be
apphed to objects unauthorized by the Constitution.
These are the only causes alleged to justify an
open opposition to the laws, of the country,- and a
threat of seceding from the Union, if any attempt
should be made to enforce them. The first "virtu
ally acknowledges that the law in question was
passed under a power expressly given by the Con
stitution to lay and collect imposts ; but its consti
tutionality is drawn in question from the motives of
those who passed it. However apparent this pur
pose may be in the present case, nothing can be
more dangerous than to adrait the position that an
unconstitutional purpose, entertained by the mera
bers who assent to a law enacted under a constitu
tional power, shall make the law void : for how is
that purpose to be ascertained ? "Who is to make
the scrutiny ? How often may bad purposes be
falsely imputed, — in how raany cases are they con
cealed by false professions, — in how raany is uo

166 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

declaration of motive made ? Admit this doctrine,
and you give to the States an uncontroUed right to
decide, and every law may be annulled under this
pretext. If, therefore, the abshi^ and dangerous
doctrine should be admitted, that a State may annul
¦ an unconstitutional law, or one that it deems such,
it wiU not apply to the present case.
The next objection is, that the laws in question
operate unequally. This obj ection may be made with
trutli to every law that has been or can be passed.
The wisdom of man nevei; yet contrived a system
of taxation that would operate "with perfect equality.
If the unequal operation of a law makes it uncon
stitutional, and if aU laws of that description may
be abrogated by any State for that cause, then
indeed is the Federal Constitution unworthy of
the slightest eff'ort for its preservation. We have
hitherto relied on it as the perpetual bond of our
Union. We have received it as the work of the
assembled wisdom of the nation. We have trusted
to it as to the sheet anchor of our safety in the
stormy times of confiict with a foreign or domestic
foe. We have looked to it with sacred awe as the
palladium of our liberties, and with all the solemni
ties of religion have pledged to each other our lives
and fortunes here, and our hopes of happiness here
after, in its defence and support. Were we mista
ken, my countrymen, in attaching this importance
to the Constitution of our country ? Was our devo
tion paid to the wretched, inefficient, clumsy, con-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 167
trivance which this new doctrine would make it?
Did we pledge ourselves to the support of an airy
nothing, — a bubble that raust be blown away by the
ffi'st breath of disaft'ection ? Was this self-destroy
ing, "visionary theory, the work of the profound
statesraen, the exalted patriots, to whora the task of
constitutional reform was entrusted ? Did the name
of Washington sanction, did the States dehberately
ratify such an anomaly in the history of fundamen
tal legislation ? No. We were not mistaken. The
letter of this great instrument is free from this radi
cal fault ; its language directly contradicts the impu
tation ; its spirit, — ^its evident intent, contradicts it.
No, we did not err ! Our Constitution does not con
tain the absurdity of gi"ving power to make laws,
and another power to resist them. The sages
whose memory "will always be reverenced, have
given us a practical, and, as they hoped, a perma
nent constitutional compact. The Father of his
Country did not aflix his revered name to so palpa
ble an absurdify. Nor did the States, wheu they
severaUy ratified it, do so under the irapression that
a veto on the laws of the United States was reserved
to thera, or that they could exercise it by imphca
tion. Search the debates in aU their conventions,
examine the speeches of the raost zealous opposers
of federal authorify, look at the amendments that
were proposed, — they are aU sUent, — not a syllable
uttered, not a vote given, not a motion made, to cor
rect the explicit supremacy given to the laws of the

168. LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

Union over those of the States, or to show that
implication, as is now contended, could defeat it.
No, we have not erred 1 The Constitution is stiU the
object of our reverence, the bond of our Union,
our defense in danger, the source of our prosperity
in peace ; it shaU descend as we have received it,
uncorrupted by sophistical construction, to our pos-
terify, and the sacrifices of local interest, of State
prejudices, of personal animosities, that were made
to bring it into existence, wUl again be patriotically
offered for its support.
The two remaining objections made by the
ordinance to these laws, are that the suras intended
to be raised by them are greater than are required,
and that the proceeds wiU be unconstitutionally
employed. The Constitution has given, expressly, to Con
gress the right of raising revenue, and of determin
ing the sum the public exigencies "wiU require. The
Sta|;es have no control over the exercise of this
right other than that which resul"ts from the power
of changing the representatives who abuse it, and
thus procure redress. Congress may, undoubtedly,
abuse this discretionary power ; but the same may
be said of others "with which they are vested. Yet
the discretion must exist soraewhere. The Con
stitution has given it to the representatives of aU
the people, checked by the representatives of the
States and by the executive power. The South
Carohna construction gives it to the legislature or

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 169
the convention of a single State, where neither the
people of the different States, nor the States in
their separate capacity, nor the chief magistrate
elected by the people, have any representation.
Which is the most discreet disposition ofthe power ?
I do not ask you, fellow-citizens, which is the con
stitutional disposition — that instrument speaks a
language not to be misunderstood. But if you
were assembled in general convention, which would
you think the safest depository of this discretion
ary power in the last resort ? Would you add a
clause giving it to each of the States, or would you
sanction the "wise provisions already made by your
Constitution ? If this should be the result of your
deliberations when pro"viding for the fiiture, are
you, can you be ready to risk aU that we hold dear
to establish, for a temporary and a local purpose,
that which you must acknowledge to be destruc
tive, and even absurd, as a general pro"vision ?
Carry out the consequences of this right vested in
the different States, and you raust perceive that the
crisis your conduct presents at this day would recur
whenever any law of the United States displeased
any of the States, and that we should soon cease
to be a nation.
The ordinance, "with the same knowledge of the
future that characterizes a former objection, tells
you that the proceeds of the tax "will be unconsti
tutionally applied. If this could be ascertained
with certainty, the objection would, with more pror
15

170 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
priety, be reserved for the law so applying the
proceeds, but surely can not be urged against the
laws levying the duty.
These are the allegations contained in the ordi
nance. Examine them seriously, my fellow-citi
zens; judge for yourselves. I appeal tO you to
determine whether they are so clear, so con"vincing,
as to leave no doubt of their correctness; and even
if you should come to this conclusion, how far they
justify the reckless, destructive course which you
are directed to pursue. Re"view these objections,
and the conclusions dra"wn from them, once more,
"What are they ? Every law, then, for raising rev
enue, according to the South Carolkia ordinance,
may be rightfully annulled, unless it be so fraraed
as no law ever will or can be framed. Congress
have a right to pass laws for raising a revenue, and
each State has a right to oppose their execution —
two rights directly opposed to each other ; and yet
is this absurdity supposed to be contained in an
instrument drawn for the express purpose of avoid
ing collisions between the States and the General
government, by an asserably of the raost enlight
ened statesraen and purest patriots ever erabodied
for a sirailar purpose.
In vain have these sages declared that Congress
shall have power to lay and coUect taxes, duties,
imposts, and excises ; in vain have they pro"vided
that they shall have power to pass laws which shall
be necessary and proper to carry those powers into

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 171
execution ; that those laws and that Constitution
shaU be the " supreme law of the land, and that the
judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any
thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to
the contrary notwithstanding," In vain have the
people of the several States soleranly sanctioned
these provisions, made them their paramount law,
and individually sworn to support them whenever
they were called on to execute any office. Vain
pro-vision ! ineffectual restrictions ! vile profanation
of oaths ! miserable mockery of legislation ! if the
bare majority of the voters in any one State may,
on a real or supposed knowledge of the intent with
which a law has been passed, declare themselves
free from its operation — say here it gives too little,
there too much, and operates unequally^-here it
suffers articles to be free that ought to be taxed —
there it taxes those that ought to be free — in this
case the proceeds are intended to be applied to pur
poses which we do not approve — in that the amount
raised is more than is wanted. Congress, it is true,
are invested by the Constitution "with the right of
deciding these questions according to their sound
discretion ; Congress is composed of the representa
tives of all the States, and of all the people of all
the States ; but we, part of the people of one State,
to whom the Constitution has given no power on
the subject, frora whom it has expressly taken it
away — we, who have solemnly agreed that this
Constitution shall be our law — we, most of whom

1,72 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
have sworn to support it — we now abrogate this
law, and swear and force others to swear that it
shall not be obeyed ; and we do this, not because
Congress have no right to pass such laws — this we
do not allege — but because they have passed theni
with improper "views. They are unconstitutional
from the motives of those who passed them, which
we can never with certainty know ; from their une
qual operation, although it is impossible, from the
nature of things, that they should be equal ; and
from the disposition which we presume may be
made of their proceeds, although that disposition
has not been declared. This is the plain meaning
of the ordinance, iu relation to laws which it abro
gates for alleged unconstitutionality. But it does
not stop there. It repeals, in express terms, an
important part of the Constitution itself, and of
laws passed to give it effect, which have never been
alleged to be unconstitutional. The Constitution
declares that the judicial powers of the United
States extend to cases arising under the laws of the
United States ; and that such laws, the Constitution
and treaties, shall be paramount to the State Con
stitutions and laws. The judiciary aet prescribes
the mode by which the case may be brought before
a court of the United States by appeal, when a State
tribunal shall decide against this pro"vision of the
Constitution. The ordinance declares that there
shall be no appeal, makes the State law paramount
to the Constitution and laws of the United States,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 173
forces judges and jurors to swear that they will dis
regard their provisions, and even makes it penal in
a suit to attempt relief by appeal. It further
declares that it shall not be lawful for the authori
ties of the United States, or of that State, to enforce
the payment of duties imposed by the revenue laws
within its limits,"
Here is a law of the United States, not even pre-
tended to be unconstitutional, repealed by the
authority of a small majority of the voters of a
single State, Here is a pro"vision of the Constitu
tion, which is soleranly abrogated by the same
authority. On such expositions and reasonings, the ordin
ance grounds not only an assertion of the right to
annul the laws, of which it complains, but to
enforce it by a threat of seceding from the Union,
if any attempt is made to execute them.
This right to secede is deduced from the nature
of the Constitution, which they say is a compact
between sovereign States, who have preserved their
whole sovereignty, and therefore are subject to no
superior ; that because they made the compact, they
can break it, when, in their opinion, it has been
departed from by the other States. FaUacious as
this course of reasoning is, it enhsts State pride, and
finds advocates in the honest prejudices of those
who have not studied the nature of our government
sufficiently to see the radical error on which it rests.
The people of the United States formed the Con-

174 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
stitution, acting through the State Legislatures in
making the compact, to meet and discuss its provis
ions, and acting in separate conventions when they
ratified those provisions ; but the terms used in its
construction show it to be a government in which
the people of all the States collectively are rep
resented. We are one people in the choice of
President and Vice President. Here the States
have no other agency than to direct the mode in
which the votes shall be given. The candidates
having a majority of all the votes are chosen. The
electors of a majority of States may have given their
votes for one candidate, and yet another may be
chosen. The people, then, and not the States, are
represented in the executive branch.
In the House of Representatives there is this dif
ference, that the people of one State do not, as in
the case of President and Vice President, all vote
for the same officers. The people of all the States
do not vote for all the members, each State electing
only its own representatives. But this creates no na
tional distinction. When chosen, they are all repre
sentatives ofthe United States, not representatives of
the particular State from whence they eome. They
are paid by the United States, not by the State ;
nor are they accountable to it for any act done in
the performance of their legislative functions ; and
however they may in practice, as it is their duty to
do, consult and prefer the interests of their partic
ular constituents, when they come in conflict with

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 175
any other partial or local interest, yet it is the flrst
and highest duty, as a representative of the United
States, to promote the general good.
The Constitution of the United States, then, forms
a government,- not a league; and whether it be
formed by compact between the States, or in any
other manner, its character is the same. It is a gov
ernment in which aU the people are represented,
which operates directly on the people individually,
not upon the States ; they retained all the power
they did not grant. But each State ha-ving ex
pressly parted with so raany powers, as to consti
tute jointly -with the other States a single nation, can
not from that period possess any right to secede,
because such secession does not break a league, but
destroys the unity of a nation ; and any injury to
that unity is not only a breach, which would result
from the contravention of a compact, but it is an
offense against the whole Union. To say that any
State may at pleasure secede from the Union, is to
say that the United States are not a nation ; because
it would be a solecism to contend, that any part of
a nation might dissolve its connection with the other
parts, to their injury or ruin, without committing
any offense. Secession, like any other revolutionary
act, may be morally justified by the extremity of
oppression ; but to call it a constitutional right, is
confounding the meaning of terms ; and can only
be done through gross error, or to deceive those
who are "willing to assert a right, but would pause

176 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
before they made a revolution, or incur the penal
ties consequent on a failure.
Because the Union was formed by compact, it is
said the parties to that corapact may, when they
feel themselves aggrieved, depart from it ; but it is
precisely because itis a compact, thatthey can not.
A compact is an agreement, or binding obligation.
It may, by its terms, have a sanction or penalty for
its breach, or it may not. If it contams no sanc
tion, it raay be broken with no other consequence
than raoral guilt ; if it have a sanction, then the
breach incurs the designated or implied penalty.
A league between independent nations generally
has no sanction, other than a moral one ; or, if it
should contain a penalty, as there is no common
superior, it can not be enforced. A governraent, on
the contrary, always has a sanction, express or
implied; and in our case, it is both necessarily
implied, and expressly given. An attempt by force
of arms to destroy a government, is an offense, by
whatever means the constitutional compact may
have been formed ; and such government has the
right, by the law of self defense, to pass acts for
punishing the offender, unless that right is modified,
restrained or resumed by the constitutional act. In
our system, although it is modified in the case of
treason, yet authority is expressly given to pass all
laws necessary to carry its powers into eff'ect, and
under this grant provision has been raade for pun-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 177
ishing acts, which obstruct the due administration
of the laws.
It would seem superfluous to add an3-thing to
show the nature of that Union, which connects us ;
but as erroneous opinions on this subject are the
foundation of doctrines the most destructive to our
peace, I must give some further developraent to ray
views on this subject. No one, fellow-citizens, has
a higher reverence for the reserved rights of the
States, than the magistrate who now addresses you.
Xo one would make greater personal sacrifices or
official exertion to defend them from violation ; but
equal care must be taken to prevent, on their part,
an improper interference, with, or resumption of
the rights they have vested in the nation. The line
has not been so distinctly drawn, as to avoid doubts
in some cases of the exercise of power. ^Men of
the best intentions and soundest "views may differ
in their construction of some parts of the Constitu
tion ; but there are others, on which dispassionate
reflection can leave no doubt. Of this nature
appears to be the assumed right of secession. It
rests, as we have seen, on the aUeged uudi-vided sov
ereignty of the States, and on their ha"ring formed,
in this sovereign capacity, a compact, which is
caUed the Constitution, from which, because they
made it, they have the right to secede. Both of
these positions are erroneous, and some of the argu
ments to prove them so have been anticipated.
The States severally have not retained their entire

178 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
sovereignty. It has been shown, that, in becoraing
parts of a nation, not members of a league, they
surrendered many of their essential parts of sover
eignty. The right to make treaties, declare war,
levy taxes, exercise exclusive judicial and legislative
powers, were all of them functions of sovereign
power. The States, then, for all these purposes,
were no longer sovereign. The allegiance of their
citizens was transferred, in the first instance, to the
government of the United States; they became
American citizens, and owed obedience to the Con
stitution of the United States, and to laws made in
conformity with the powers it vested in Congress.
This last position has not been, and can not be
denied. How, then, can that State be said to be
sovereign and independent whose citizens owe obe
dience to laws not made by it, and whose magistrates
are sworn to disregard those laws when they come
in conflict with those passed by another? What
shows conclusively that the States can not be said
to have reserved an undi"vided sovereignty, is, that
they expressly ceded the right to punish treason,
not treason against their separate power, but treason
against the United States. Treason is an off'ense
against sovereignty, and sovereignty must reside with
the power to punish it. But the reserved rights of
the States are not less sacred because they have, for
their common interest, made the General govern
ment the depository of these powers.
The unity of our political character (as has been

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 179
shown for another purpose) commenced with its very
existence. Under the royal government we had no
separate chai-acter : our opposition to its oppressions
began as united colonies. We were the United States
under the Confederation, and the name was per
petuated, and the Union rendered more perfect by
the Federal Constitution. In none of these stages
did we consider ourselves in any other light than as
forming one nation. Treaties and alliances were
made in the name of all. Troops were raised for
the joint defence. How, then, with all these proofs,
that under all changes of our position we had,
for designated purposes and with defined powers,
created national governraents ; how is it, that the
raost perfect of those several modes of union should
now be considered as a mere league, that may be
dissolved at pleasure ? It is from au abuse of terms.
" Corapact" is used as synonyraous with " league,"
although the true term is not eraployed, because it
would at once show the fallacy of the reasoning.
It would not do to say that our Constitution was
only a league ; but it is labored to prove it a com
pact (which in one sense it is), and then to argue that,
as a league is a compact, every compact between
nations must of course be a league, and that from
such an engagement every sovereign power has a
right to recede. But it has been shown, that in
this sense the States are not sovereign, and that
even if they were, and the national Constitution had
been formed by compact, there would be no right in

180 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
any one State to exonerate itseif from its obhga
tions. So ob"vious are the reasons which forbid this
secession, that it is necessary only to allude to them.
The Union was formed for the benefit of all. It
was produced by mutual sacrifices of interests and
opinions. Can those sacrifices be recaUed? Can
the States, who magnanimously surrendered their
title to the territories of the West, recall the grant ?
Will the inhabitants of the inland States agree to
pay the duties, that may be imposed without their
assent, by those on the Atlantic or the Gulf, for
their own benefit ? Shall there be a free port in one
State, and onerous duties in another? No one
believes that any right exists, in a single State, to
involve the others in these and countless other evils,
contrary to the engagements solemnly made. Every
one must see that the other States, in self-defence,
must oppose it at all hazards.
These are the alternatives that are presented by
the convention : A repeal of all the acts for raising
revenue, lea-sdng the Government without the means
of support, or an acquiescence in the dissolution of
our Union by the secession of one of its members.
"When the first was proposed, it was known that it
could not be listened to for a moment. It was
known, if force was applied to oppose the execution
of the laws, that it must be repelled by force ; that
Congress could not, "without involving itself in dis
grace, and the country in ruin, accede to the pro-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 181
position ; and yet, if this is not done ou a given day,
or if any attempt is made to execute the laws, the
State is, by the ordinance, declared to be out of the
Union. The majority of a convention assembled
for the purpose have dictated these terms, or rather
this rejection of all terms, in the name of the people
of South Carolina. It is true that the Governor of
the State speaks of the submission of their griev
ances to a convention of all the States, which, he
says, they " sincerely and anxiously seek and desire."
Yet this ob"vious and constitutional mode of obtain
ing the sense of the other States, on the construction
of the Federal compact, and amen ding it if necessary,
has never been attempted by those who have urged
the State on to this destructive measure. The State
niight have proposed the call for a general conven
tion to the other States ; and Congress, if a suf
ficient nuraber of them concurred, must have called
it. But the fiirst magistrate of South Caroliua,
when he expressed a hope that, " on a review by
Congress and the functionaries of the General gov
ernment of the merits of the controversy," such a
convention will be accorded to them, must have
known that neither Congress, nor any functionary
of the General governraent, has authority to call
such a convention, unless it be demanded by two-
thirds of the States. This suggestion, then, is
another instance of the reckless inattention to the
pro"visions of the Constitution, with which this crisis
has been raadly hurried on; or of the atterapt to

182 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
persuade the people that a constitutional remedy
had been sought and refused. If the Legislature of
South Carolina "anxiously desire" a general con
vention to consider their complaints, why have they
not made application for it, in the way the Consti
tution points out ? The assertion that they " earn
estly seek " it, is completely negatived by the omis
sion. This, then, is the position in which we stand. A
small majority of the citizens of one State in the
Union have elected delegates to a State convention;
that convention has ordained that aU the revenue
laws of the United States must be repealed, or that
they are no longer a member of this Union. The
Governor of that State has recomraended to the
Legislature the raising of au array to carry the
secession into effect, and that he may be empowered
to give clearances to vessels in the narae of the
State. No act of "violent opposition to the laws has
yet been committed, but such a state of things is
hourly apprehended; and it is the intent of this
instrument to proclaim, not only that the duty
imposed on me by the Constitution " to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed," shall be per
formed to the extent of the powers already vested
in me by law, or of such others as the wisdom of
Congress shaU de"vise and entrust to me for that
purpose, but to warn the citizens of South Carolina
"SN'ho have been deluded into an opposition to the
laws, of the danger they will incur by obedience to

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 183
the illegal and disorganizing ordinance of the con
vention ; to exhort those who have refused to sup
port it to persevere in their determination to uphold
the Constitution and laws of their country ; and to
point out to aU the perilous situation into which the
good people of that State have been led, and that
the course they are urged to pursue is one of ruin
and disgrace to the very State whose rights they
aff'ect to support.
Fellow citizens of my native State, let me not
only admonish you, as the First Magistrate of our
common country, not to incur the penalty of its
laws, but use the influence that a father would over
his chUdren whom he saw rushing to certain ruin.
In that paternal language, "with that paternal feeling,
let me tell you, ray countryraen, that you are
deluded by raen who are either deceived theraselves,
or wish to deceive you. Mark under what pre
tences you have been led on to the brink of insur
rection and treason, on which you stand ! First, a
diminution of the value of your staple commodity,
lowered by over-production in other quarters, and
the consequent diminution in the value of your
lands, were the sole effect of the tariff laws.
The effect of those laws was confessedly injurious,
but the evil was greatly exaggerated by the un
founded theory you were taught to believe, that its
burthens were in proportion to your exports, not to
your consumption of iraported articles. Your pride
was roused by the assertion that a submission to

184 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
those laws was a state of vassalage, and that resist
ance to them was equal, in patriotic merit, to the
opposition our fathers offered to the oppressive laws
of Great Britain. You were told that this opposi
tion might be peaceably — ^might be constitutionally
made; that you might enjoy all the advantages of
the Union, and bear none of its burthens. Eloquent
appeals to your passions, to your State pride, to your
native courage, to your sense of real injury, were
used, to prepare you for the period when the mask,
which concealed the hideous features of disunion,
should be taken off. It fell, and you were made to
look with complacency on objects which, not long
since, you would have regarded Avith horror. Look
back to the arts which have brought you to this
state — look forward to the consequences to which it
must inevitably lead ! Look back to what was first
told you as an inducement to enter into this danger
ous course. The great pohtical truth was repeated
to you, that you had the revolutionary right of
resisting aU laws that were palpably unconstitutional
and intolerably oppressive ; it was added that the
right to nuUify a law rested on the same principle,
but that it was a peaceable remedy ! This character
which was given to it, made you receive, "with too
much confidence, the assertions that were raade of
the unconstitutionality of the law and its oppressive
eff'ects, Mark, my fellow citizens, that, by the
admission of your leaders, the unconstitutionality
must be palpable, or it will not justify either resist-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 185
ance or nullification! What is the meaning of the
word palpable, in the sense in which it is here used ?
that which is apparent to every one ; that which no
man of ordinary intellect "will fail to perceive. Is
the unconstitutionahty of these laws of that descrip
tion? Let those among your leaders who once
approved and advocated the principle of protective
duties, answer the question ; and let them choose
whether they will be considered as incapable, then,
of perceiving that which must have been apparent
to every man of coraraon understanding, or as
iraposing upon your confidence, and endeavoring to
raislead you now. In either case, they are unsafe
guides in the perilous path they urge you to tread.
Ponder well on this circumstance, and you will
know how to appreciate the exaggerated language
they addi-ess to you. They are not champions of
liberty emulating the fame of our revolutionary
fathers; nor are you an oppressed people, contend
ing, as they repeat to you, against worse than colo
nial vassalage.
You are free merabers of a flourishing and happy
Union, There- is no settled design to oppress you.
You have indeed felt the unequal operation of laws
which may have been unwisely, not unconstitution-
aUy passed; but that inequality must necessarily be
removed. At the very raoraent when you were
raadly urged on to the unfortunate course you have
begun, a change in public opinion had coraraenced.
The nearly approaching payment of the public debt,
16

186 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and the consequent necessity of a diminution of
duties, had already produced a considerable reduc
tion, and that, too, on some articles of general con
sumption in our State. The importance of this
change was underrated, and you are authoritatively
told that no further alleviation of your burthens
were to be expected at the very time when the con
dition of the country imperiously demanded such
a modification of the duties as should reduce them
to a just and equitable scale. But, as if apprehen
sive of the effect of this change in allaying your
discontents, you were precipitated into the fearful
state in which you now find yourselves.
I have urged you to look back to the raeans that
were used to hurry you on to the position you have
now assumed, and forward to the consequences it "wiU
produce. Something more is necessary. Contem
plate the condition of that country of which you
still form an important part. Consider its Govern
ment, uniting in one bond of comraon interest and
general protection so raany different States, — giving
to all their inhabitants the proud title of American
citizens, protecting their commerce, securing their
literature and their arts ; facilitating their intercom
munication ; defending their frontiers, and making
their naraes respected in the reraotest parts of the
earth. Consider the extent of its territory; its
increasing and happy population ; its advance in arts,
which render life agreeable ; and the sciences, which
elevate the mind ! See education spreading the lights

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 187
of rehgion, morality and general information into
every cottage in this wide extent of our Territories
and States ! Behold it as the asylum where the
wretched and the oppressed find a refuge and sup
port 1 Look on this picture of happiness and honor,
and say : " We, too, are citizens of America ! Carolina
is one of these proud States, — her arms have de
fended, — her best blood has cemented this happy
Union ! " And then add, if you can, without horror
and remorse, " this happy Union we will dissolve ;
this picture of peace and prosperit}'^ we "will deface;
this free intercourse we will interrupt ; these fertile
fields we will deluge with blood ; the protection of
that glorious flag we renounce ; the very name of
Americans we discard, " And for what, mistaken
men, — for what do you throw away these inestima
ble blessings? for what would you exchange your
share in the advantages and honor of the Union ?
For the dream of separate independence, — a dream
interrupted by bloody conflicts with your neighbors,
and a vile dependence on a foreign power. If your
leaders could succeed in establishing a separation,
what would be your situation ? Are you united at
home, — are you free from the apprehension of civil
discord, with all its fearful consequences? Do our
neighboring republics, every day suff'ering some
new revolution, or contending with some new in
surrection, — do they excite your envy? But the
dictates of a high duty obhges me soleranly to
announce that you can not succeed. The laws of the

188 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
United States must be executed. I have no discre
tionary power on the subject, — my duty is emphat-
icaUy pronounced in the Constitution. Those who
told you that you might peaceably prevent their
execution, deceived you, — ^they could not have been
deceived themselves. They know that a forcible
opposition could alone prevent the execution of the
laws, and they know that such opposition must be
repeUed, Their object is disunion; but be not
deceived by names ; disunion, by arraed force, is
treason. Are you reaUy ready to incur its guilt ? If
you are, on the heads of the instigators of the act
be the dreadful consequences, — on their heads be
the dishonor, but on yours raay fall the punishment ;
on your unhappy State "wiU ine"vitably fall all the
e"vils of the conffict you force upon the Government
of your country. It can not accede to the mad
project of disunion, of which you would be the first
"victims, — its First Magistrate can not, if he would,
avoid the performance of his duty ; the consequen
ces must be fearful for you, distressing to your fel
low citizens here, and to the friends of good gov
ernraent throughout the world. Its eneraies have
beheld our prosperity "with a vexation they could
not conceal, — it was a standing refutation of their
sla"vish doctrines, and they "will point to our discord
"with the triuraph of mahgnant joy. It is yet in
your power to disappoint them. There is yet time
to show that the descendants of the Pinckneys,
the Sumters, the Rutledges, and of the thousand

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 189
other names, which adorn the pages of your revo
lutionary history, will not abandon that Union, to
support which so raany of them fought, and bled,
and died.
I adjure you, as you honor their memory, — as you
love the cause of freedom, to which they dedicated
their lives, — as you prize the peace of your country,
the lives of its best citizens, and your own fair fame,
to retrace your steps. Snatch from the archives of
your State, the disorganizing edict of its conven
tion, — ^bid its raerabers to re-asserable, and proraul-
gate the decided expressions of your will to reraain
in the path which alone can conduct you to safety,
prosperify and honor, TeU them that, compared
to disunion, all other e"vils are light, because that
brings with it an accumulation of all. Declare that
you will never take the field unless the star span
gled banner of your country shall float over you ;
that you "will not be stigmatized when dead, and
dishonored and scorned while you hve, as the
authors of the first attack on the Constitution of
your country. Its destroyers you can not be. You
may disturb its peace, — ^you may interrupt the
course of its prosperity, — you raay cloud its reputa
tion for stability ; but its tranquilify "will be restored,
its prosperity will return, and the stain upon its
national character wUl be transferred, and remain
an eternal blot on the memory of those who caused
the disorder,
FeUow citizens of the United States I The threat

190 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
of unhaUowed disunion, — ^the naraes of those once
respected, by whom it is uttered, — the array of mil
itary force to support it, — denote the approach of a
crisis iu our affairs, on which the continuance of our
unexampled prosperity, our political existence, and
perhaps that of aU free governraents, may depend.
The conjuncture deraanded a free, a full, and ex
plicit enunciation, not only of my intentions, but of
ray principles of action ; and as the claim was
asserted of a right by a State to annul the laws of the
Union, and even to secede from it at pleasure, a
frank exposition of my opinions in relation to the
origin and form of our government, and the con
struction I give to the instrument by which it was
created, seemed to be proper. Ha"ving the fullest
confidence in the justness of the legal and consti
tutional opinion of my duties, which has been
expressed, I rely, "with equal confidence, on your un
divided support in my deterraination to execute the
laws, — to preserve the Union by all constitutional
raeans, — to arrest, if possible, by raoderate but firm
measures, the necessity of a recourse to force ; and,
if it be the "wiU of Heaven, that the recurrence of
its primeval curse on man for the shedding of a
brother's blood should faU upon our land, that it be
not called do"wn by any offensive act on the part of
the United States.
Fellow citizens ! the momentous case is before
you. Ou your undi"vided support of your Govern
ment depends the decision of the great question it

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 191
involves, whether your sacred Union "will be pre
served, and the blessings it secures to us as one peo
ple, shall be perpetuated. No oue can doubt that
the unanimity "with which that decision will be ex
pressed, wUl be such as to inspire new confidence in
republican institutions, and that the prudence, the
wisdom, and the courage which it will bring to their
defence, "will transmit them unimpaired and invigor
ated to our children.
May the Great Ruler of Nations grant that the
signal blessings "with which He has favored ours, may
not, by the raadness of party or personal arabition,
be disregarded and lost ; and may His wise provi
dence bring those who have produced this crisis to
see their folly, before they feel the misery of civil
strife, and inspire a returning veneration for that
Union, which, if we may dare to penetrate His
designs, He has chosen as the only means of attain
ing the high destinies to which we may reasonably
aspire. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of
the United States to be hereunto affixed, having
signed the same "with my hand.
Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of
December, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and thhfy-two, and of the indepen
dence of the United States the fifty-seventh.
By the President :
ANDREW JACKSON.
Edwd, Livingston, Secretary of State.

192 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
During the extra session of the General Assembly,
Governor Morton's labors accumulated to an extent
scarcely ever equaled in the history of any State,
and in their performance he ever had but the one
object in view, — ^the suppression of the rebeUion,
He laid aside all his party prejudices, and in dispens
ing favors rather showed partiahfy to his former
political foes than to his friends. Loyalty and capac
ity were the only qualifications for position he recog
nized, and during the early stages of the war he
really appeared to look for these in the deraocratic
party. To so great an extent, in fact, did he show
his hberahty toward the deraocracy, that raany of
his repubhcan friends grew jealous and became some
what embittered toward him.
In proof of this assertion we cite briefly an affair
which occurred in the Indiana Legislature during
the special session of 1861.
Certain repubhcan members of that body were
highly dissatisfied "with the Governor's appointment
of the Hon. Horace Heffron to the office of major
in one of the Indiana regiments, and assigned as a
reason for their dissatisfaction that Heffron had
given expression to disloyal sentiments during the
regular session of the previous "winter. This feeling
finally culminated in an atterapt to pass a vote of
censure upon the Governor for having appointed
Heffron, accompanied by an excited discussion, in
which some pretfy hard things were said by the
republicans against the Governor.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 193

CHAPTER VII.
Precarious condition of Kentucky in consequence of the attempt
of Magoffin and others to force it into a neulrfil position —
Magoffin tries to induce the executives of Indiana and Ohio to
join him in an attempt to procure a suspension of hostilities
between Government and Confederate States until meeting of
Congress in extra session — Telegraphic correspondence — Secret
agents appointed by Governor Morton to ivatch movements of
Kentucky rebels— Difficulties in discharging Indiana troops — ¦
Governor Morton's efficiency in settling these difficulties — His
promptness in responding to President's second call— Kentucky
invaded by secessionists^Morton's efficient aid iu tbeir expul
sion — He furnishes more troops — His prompt attention to the
wants of soldiers.
About this time it began to appear that the State
of Kentucky was in a very precarious condition,
The Governor of that State (Magoffin) was at heart
a secessionist, had refused, most positively, to respond
to the President's call for volunteers, and while making
external professions of a desire to hold Kentucky in
a neutral position, really appeared to be secretly
rendering the disunionists all the aid in his power.
Not only did Magoffin play into the hands of the
southern traitors, by preventing Kentucky from per
forming her duty, but he cr leave i.-£d to di-ag Indiana,
Ohio, and other northern bolder States into the bog
17

194 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
of neutrality, and tried to induce them to assume
the character of sovereign mediators between the
Government and the seceded States.
Whether Magoffin really intended to check the
war raoveraents in the loyal border States by attract
ing their attention to his so-called pacific measures,
or whether he had a good motive in "view, we, of
course, have no means of fully determining; but
that his refusal to comply with the demands of the
Government, and his presumptive atterapt to dictate
terras of adjustment between the United States and
the Confederate authorities, had the effect to prevent
the prosecution of measures necessary to the defence
of Kentucky, and to lay that State open to military
occupation by the rebels, can be doubted by no
rational observer.
It appears to have occurred to Governor Magoffin
that the executives of Indiana and Ohio were of
that pliable character which is easily wrought upon.
The follo"wing telegraphic correspondence shows
how much he was mistaken in this notion, especially
as it regarded Governor Morton :
Telegraph from Governor Magoffin to Governor Mor
ton, received April 25, 1861.
Will you co-operate with rae in a proposition to
the Governraent at Washington for peace, by the
Border States, as mediators between the contending
parties? ;, ,^; B, Magoffin.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 195
Governor Morton's answer to the preceding telegraph,
sent April 25, 1861.
I "will unite in any effort for the restoration of the
Union and peace which shall be constitutional and
honorable to Indiana aud the Federal government,
and will, if you so appoint, raeet you to-morrow at
JeffersonviUe, Answer,
O, P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.
Telegraph from Governor Magoffin to Governor Mor
ton, received AprU 26, 1861,
I have answered a dispatch from Governor Den-
nison, of Ohio, I would raeet his representatives or
send commissioners at Spencer House iu Cincinnati,
on Tuesday evening, 4 o'clock. Please meet us
there or send commissioners. I can not go to Jef-
fei-sonville to-raorrow. Answer. B. Magoffin.
Indianapolis, April 28, 1861.
To Governor Magoffin:
1 "will meet your ExceUency at the Spencer House,
Cincinnati, on Tuesday next, at 4 P. M. I expect
to meet you in person.
0. P. Morton,

196 life, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
Frankfort, Ky., Executr^e Office, )
AprU 29, 1861. /
Hon. 0. P. Morton and Hon. Wm. Dennison, Gov
ernors of Indiana and Ohio :
Gentlemen. — Col. Thos. L. Crittenden is hereby
fully authorized to represent me in the conference
to be held at 4 o'clock, to-morrow evening at the
Spencer House at Cincinnati.
Respectfully, B. Magoffin.
Cincinnati, April 30, 1861.
To Hon. 0. P. Morton, Governor of the State of
Indiana :
Dear Sir : I have been instructed by the Hon.
B. Magoffin, Governor of the State of Kentucky,
to solicit the co-operation of yourself and Hon.
Wm. Dennison, Goveruor of the State of Ohio, in
an effort to bring about a truce between the General
government and the seceded Stat.es until the meet
ing of Congress in extraordinary session, in the
hope that the action of that body may point out
the way to a peaceful solution of our national
troubles. I have the honor to be
Your obedient servant,
T. L. Crittenden.
State of Indiana, Executive Department, "I
Indianapolis, May 1, 1861. j
Dear Sir : In reply to the note of Colonel T. L.
Crittenden, of yesterday's date, informing me that
he had been instructed by you to sohcit the co-ope-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 197
ration of Goveruor Dennison and myself, " iu au
effort to bring about a truce between the General
government and the seceded States until the meet
ing of Congress iu extraordinary session, " it be
comes my duty to state that I do not recognize the
right of any State to act as a mediator between the
Federal government and a rebellious State.
I hold that Indiana and Kentucky are but inte
gral parts of the nation, and as such are subject to
the Government of the United States, and bound
to obey the requisitions of the President, issued in pur
suance of his constitutional authority ; that it is the
duty of every State governmeut to prohibit, by all
means in its power, the transportation from within
its own hmits of arms, military stores and provis
ions, to any State in open rebellion and hostility to
the Government of the United States, and to re
strain her citizens from all acts giving aid and com
fort to the enemy ; that there is no ground in the
Constitution midway between the Governnient and
a rebellious State, upon which another State can
stand, holding both in check ; that a State must
take her stand upon the one side or the other; and
I invoke the State of Kentucky by all the sacred
ties that bind us together, to take her stand with
Indiana proraptly and efficiently on the side of the
Union. The action of the Federal government in
the present contest being strictly in accordance
with the Constitution and the law of the land, and
entertaining the views above indicated, I am com-

198 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
polled to decline the co-operation solicited by you.
I take this occasion to renew the expression of my
earnest desire that Kentucky may reraain in the
Union ; and that the political, social, and commer
cial relations which exist between her and Indiana
may never be disturbed, but be cemented and
strengthened through all coraing years.
With great respect, 0. P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.
To Hon. B. Magoffin, Governor of Kentucky.
Frora the date of this correspondence, forward
until the close of Magoffin's adrainistration, Goveruor
Morton was virtually the governor of Kentucky.
He saw thatthe legitimate tendency of the professed
armed neutrality of that State, was to throw it open
to invasion by the rebel array ; that any effort on
the part of Kentucky to maintain a neutral position,
must result in more real harm to the Government
than open rebelhon ; that to deny the army of -the
United States free transit across the State of Ken
tucky, was in itself an act of rebellion, and that
the Ohio and Indiana border would, in the event
of such act, be in a more exposed condition than
if Kentucky were to take her place amongst the
seceded States.
Acting with his usual promptness and energy, he
availed hiraself of every opportunity to urge the
Kentucky Unionists to use all possible endeavors to

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 199
place their State uncoraproraisingly on the side of
the Union.
He despatched numbers of secret agents to Ken
tucky to watch the movements of the native secess
ionists, and ascertain from time to time the inten
tions of the Confederate authorities with respect to
that State. By this raeans he was constantly advised
in reference to all the hidden plots and traitorous
designs of both the Kentucky rebels and their con
federate allies iu the seceded States. He communi
cated to the powers at Washington, the defenseless
condition of the Indiana and Ohio border, and
pressed upon the President and the War Depart
ment, the importance of fortifications and gunboats
along the Ohio river. In this latter eff'ort he was
twitted by the then Secretary of War, as being
" skeert," to use the highly classical language of the
Secretary, but tirae deraonstrated that he was right,
and that had his timely advice been taken, it had
been much better for the Government.
Governor Morton, from the beginning of the dif
ficulties in Kentucky, urged constantly upon the
Government, the necessity of taking decided steps
toward the occupation of that State by the United
States forces, and ever held in contempt the soft
gloved pohcy, adopted by some who were high in
authority, of respecting Kentucky's neutrality.
Toward the latter part of the summer of 1861,
the Indiana volunteers sent to Western Virginia
returned, covered with imperishable honors. They

200 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
had beaten the enemy in every skirmish, vanquished
him on every battle-field. These troops ha"ving had
little experience as soldiers, aud being unused to the
slow, complicated workings of " red-tapeism " ^\ere
poorly prepared for au)- manifestation of neglect on
the part of military officials ; and the restiveness
they showed on account of their unexpected deten
tion, before being mustered out of the ser^uce and
paid, threatened at times to result in open mutiny
and ^'iolenee. Day after day were the heroes of
Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain assured that the next
day they would be discharged and paid, only to be dis
appointed, until at leugth they came to believe that
there was not the slightest degree of confidence to
be placed in any of the regular army officers, and
became so highly exasperated that they threatened
the demolishment of the Government offices and
the hves of their deceivers. But throughout all
this period of excitement there was one man in
whom the soldiers had implicit faith, and that man
was the ever faithful Governor of the gallant
Hoosier State. He, and only he, could be relied on
in this tirae of threatened danger to the peace of
the Hoosier Capital, — in this critical period when
the honor of Indiana came nearer being sulhed than
at any time before or since. Only he could calm
the passions of the enraged and apparently out
raged soldiers, and induce them to await peacefuUy,
the action of the Government.
After these troops were mustered out of the ser-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 201
vice and paid, au effort was immediately made to
reorganize the old regiments ; and there is no doubt
that but for the high regard in which the three
montiis men held Governor ^Morton, these regiments
would have been very slow in recruiting ; for many
of those who had served in the first Virginia cam
paign had been so sorely vexed by their unreasona
ble detention after the expiration of their time,
before being paid off', that they had sworn never
affain to enter the service. But the confidence with
which these men were inspired by the energetic
efforts made in their behalf by Indiana's noble Gov
ernor, induced many to rejoin their old regiments,
despite the indifl'erence which had been manifested
toward them by regular army officials, and their
own previous determination to enter the ranks no
more. About the time of the expiration of the term of
the three months volunteers, the reverse of our
arms at Bull Run, awakened the Administration
and the countrj' to the fact that the foe with which
the Government was contending was by no means
an inferior one, and that to conquer this foe required
a vastly larger force than was then in the field.
Congress having, in the mean time, met in extra
ordinary session, and passed an act authorizing the
President to call out half a million of men for a
tta-m of three years, or until the termination of the
war, a new requisition was made by the national
executive, and in response to that requisition, Gov-

202 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ernor Morton, by the fu-st of September, 1861, had
uo less than sixteen new regiments organized, and
many of tiiem in the field, well armed and equipped ;
and by September 20th, the old six regiments wore
reorganized, and the 11th Zouaves, under the gal
lant Lew. Wallace was doing noble ser"vice. In the
meantime, the Goveruor had "visited Washingtou
and procured the admission of the 12th and 16th
State regiments. Colonels Johu M. "Wallace and
Pleasant A. Hackleman, into the United States ser-
"^"ice for the term for which they had enlisted for
State service, — twelve raonths. By this stroke of
economy two of Indiana's most efficient regiments
were transmitted from an inactive to an active field,
and the expense of clothing and subsisting them
shifted from the State to the General Governmeut.
An incident attending the transfer of these regi
ments to the United States service, which occurred
at Indianapolis, under the author's eye, is worth
relating. ^lany of the members of the 12th regi
ment, were dissatisfied "with the old smooth-bore
muskets with which they were supplied, and there
not being on hand enough rifled muskets to arm
the entire regiraent, only two corapanies were pro-
"vided with those efficient arms. The consequences
were a considerable excitement among the companies
who had to retain their smooth-bores, and with
many of the soldiers, a stubborn refusal to be trans
ferred. Colonel John Wallace, a good soldier and
a gaUant officer, was highly mortified by this mani-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 20^
festation of rudeness on the part of his brave boys,
and, with other noble officers of his regiment, used
his best efforts to quiet the disturbance, and pacify-
the soldiers. But these efforts seemed entirely fruit
less. The soldiers of the 12tli knew that nearly
every Indiana regiment which had gone into the
field, had been furnished with the very best of
minie muskets, and they were not wUling to leave
their State less able to punish rebels and vindicate
the honor of Hoosierdom, than those who had pre
ceded them; aud the greater the endeavors to
smother the fire of dissatisfaction, the hotter it
appeared to become. Finally, as a last resort. Gov
ernor Morton was requested to make an effort to
concUiate matters. Having the 12tli drawn up iu
line, on tiie west side of the capitol, he addressed
the soldiers in his usual brief and earnest manner,
assuring them that their Government loudly de
manded their assistance ; that he regretted, as much
as they, that they could not be furnislied the best
arms in the service, but that such arms could not
then be had; that if they waited until such arms
could be obtained, another Bull Run defeat might
be the result ; and that if they would proceed to
Washington "with the arras they had, they should
all be pro"vided with rifled rauskets at the earliest
period possible.
At the close of the Governor's appeal, he asked
them if they were satisfled, and every soldier ans-

204 LIFE, SPEECUES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP
wered, yes, and the regiment gave three hearty
cheers " for Governor Morton." -
This is another instance in which is most strik
ingly manifested the unbounded confidence reposed
in the Governor by the Hoosier volmiteers at this
early stage of the rebellion. Such confidence can
only be inspired among soldiers by that active sym
pathy and promptness in the fulfillment of promises
which characterize Indiana's greatest Governor.
General McClellan, ha"^'ing imniediately after the
battle of BuU Run been promoted to the office of
Lieutenant-General of the United States forces,
and ha"ving proven in the Western Virginia cam
paign the superiority of Indiana volunteers, decided
to place Hoosier regiments in every division of the
army. Accordingly, Indiana troops were sent to
Washington, to Missouri, to Western Vu-ginia and
Kentucky. The most important of thesp depart
raents at this period was that of Kentucky.
It appeared to be the policy of the Confederates
to overrun that State, secure the assistance of the
native secessionists, and penetrate the North. In the
carrying out of this policy the South anticipated
little difficulty. The declared intention of Governor
Magoffin and other leading spirits, to maintain the
neutrality of Kentucky, was considered by the rebels
as highly favorable to their proposed aggressive
movements, and they had not the least idea that any
knowledge of their designs had reached any North
ern State, or that efficient defensive measures were

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. g05
contemplated by either the loyalists of Kentucky,
or the people north of the Ohio. It is true, they
were apprised of thefact that General (then Colonel)
Rousseau was organizing a brigade of Union sol
diers at Jefferson"ville, Ind. ; but as the United States
Government had so long respected Kentucky's neu-
tralify, it was presumed that Rousseau's brigade
was designed for operations elsewhere thau in Ken
tucky. In this latter presumption, the rebels were
correct, as will presently be shown ; but in the sup
position that their movements were not watched
they were mistaken ; for the vigilance of Governor
Morton's agents disallowed the unexpected develop
ment of any secret scheme.
On the 16th September, 1861, Governor Morton
received a dispatch from one of his secret agents,
then watching the movements of Kentucky rebels
at Frankfort, where the Legislature, was in extra
session, as follows, to-wit :
Frankfort, September 16, 1861.
Governor 0. P. Morton :
Dear Sir : — A telegram came here last night from
General ZoUicoffer to Governor Magoffin, stating
that he (ZoUicoffer) had marched his brigade through
the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky and taken pos
session of Log Mountain Pass, which is situated
some 14 miles from the Tennessee line. F  .
On the same day (September 16th) General Buck-

20S LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ner left Bowling Green, where for some time he
had been stationed, with a large body of troops, for
Louisville.* On his way thither, near Cave City, a
brave and truly noble ' patriot named Bird, inter
cepted his progress by running ahead of a station,
at which the train containing Buckner's forces had
stopped to wood and water, and tearing up several
yards of the rail track. This bold deed which has
immortalized the name of hira who performed it,
for the time saved Louisville, and was supposed by
the Louisville Journal, to have been the one act
which prevented the occupation of that city by the
rebels. But it appears that, notwithstanding the
daring and timely intervention of the gallant Bird,
LouisvUle would have fallen into the hands of Buck
ner's forces, eventually, had it not been for the
prompt, energetic action of the Governor of Indiana.
For, on the 17th of Septenjber, Colonel Rousseau,
with his Kentucky brigade, stationed at Jefferson
viUe, was ordered to St. Louis, which order, if it
had been obeyed, would have stripped Louis"viUe of
troops, and rendered the occupation of that city, by
Buckner, an easy task, so soon as he had repaired
his damaged track.
But Governor Morton, learning through one of
his agents that Rousseau was on the eve of starting .
for St. Louis, had the order to march countermanded.

* These troops had been originally mustered into the Ken
tucky State service, as neutral State Guards.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 207
ordered the troops to cross the Ohio into Kentucky,
and iu the meantime sent every available man. from
Indiana to the defence of Louisville, and thus
insured its safety.
Governor Morton, perceiving that Kentucky's
neuttality was at an end, and that her soil was
actiially invaded by the rebels, withdrew his secret
agents, and appealed to the people of Indiana to
render Kentucky all possible aid in rescuing herself
from the hands of the secessionists. Regiment after
regiment responded to the call, and ere the lapse of
many months. Bowling Green, a strongly fortified
rebel position, was occupied by Federal troops, Zol-
licoffer was signaUy defeated at MiU Spring, his
forces scattered in confusion, himself killed, and
thesoil of Kentucky cleared of rebel troops.
It is in reference to this timely energetic action
of Governor Morton, in behalf of Kentucky, that
a Kentucky paper afterwards speaks while making
grateful and eulogistic mention of a subsequent
appeal raade by the Governor to the citizens of
Indiana, when Kentucky was invaded the second
time. We quote :
" It is only just to state that the present energetic
and patriotic Governor Morton, of Indiana, is win
ning golden opinions from all sorts of people (except
the secessionists), by the zeal and efficiency with
which, supported as he has been by the loyal popu
lation of that gallant State, he is seconding the
military operations ef the Government in all its

208 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
departments, aud especially in the department of
Cumberland. It is in just tribute to this function-
ary, and in allusion to a proclamation in which he
urges upon the people of Indiana, by every consider
ation, to put forth their strength in aid of Kentucky,
reminding them that years ago Kentucky- helped to
rescue Indiana from the horrors of savage warfare,
that the Louisville Journal, of recent date, speaks
as follows :
" ' The call of the patriotic Morton upon the peo
ple of his State, will endear him still more deeply
to the people of Kentucky, who already appreciate
the great obhgation they are under to him. He has
been emphatically Kentucky's guardian spirit from
the very commencement of the dangers that now
darkly threaten her very existence, and she knows
it, Kentucky and the whole eountry owe him a
large debt of gratitude. Oh, that all the public
functionaries of the country were as vigilant, as
clear-sighted, as energetic, as fearless, as chivahic
as he.' "
Governor Morton's conduct toward Kentucky in
her times of peril endeared him so strongly to every
patriotic citizen of that State, that his former zeal
ous opposition to the institution of slavery appear
to have been entirely forgotten, and he was virtually
adopted by the Unionists of Kentucky as their Gov
ernor. We cite an incident in point. Shortly after
Kentucky was cleared of rebel troops, a very wealthy
lady of Frankfort, the owner of a large number of

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 209
slaves, visited some friends in Indianapolis, and on
the second day of her visit inquired for Governor
Morton. Upon ascertaining that he was absent and
would not return for several days, she prolonged
her "visit somewhat beyond the time shehad intended
to remain. The day for the Governor's return hav
ing arrived, and he not appearing, the lady extended
her visit still several days more, saying she would
not leave Indiana until she had seen him. A friend
inquiring of her the reason why she was so anxious
to see the Hoosier Governor, she replied : " Because
he is our Governor as well as yours, and has been
ever since the beginning of the rebellion. "
But Governor Morton's labors outside of his own
State during the simimer and fall of 1861 did not
extend to Kentucky alone. The wants of Indiana
troops in Missom-i, Western Virginia, and the depart
ment of the Potomac received his constant, per
sonal attention, and his numerous efficient agents
were found actively employed in every camp where
Indiana regiments were stationed, and upon every
field of their glory.
The reverses of the national arms during this
period had such a discouraging effect upon the couu
try, that in most of the loyal States the work of
recruiting progressed slowly. But the never failing
faithfulness of Governor Morton in following up
Indiana volunteers, securing their pay, administer
ing to their personal wants, and in pro"viding, in the
mean time, for their families at home, inspired the
18

210 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
people of Indiana "with such a degree of confidence
that the volunteering spirit among them seemed
not to abate one particle in consequence of the
national disasters; and by the 14th of December,
1861, twenty volunteer regiments were added to the
twenty-four aheady mentioned in this chapter, mak
ing an aggregate of forty -four volunteer regiments
fi-om Indiana in the ser"vice of the United States.
If it be inquired, why Indiana, during this dis
couraging season, outstripped nearly every other
State in the Union in furnishing soldiers for the
war, the answer is, because the executive of that
State was true to the soldier and the soldier's family.
The Governraent, during the year 1861 was neces
sarily slow in clothing the troops, raainly because
it had not yet had sufficient experience in war to
avoid the occasional eraployraent of heartless spec
ulators as quartermasters, and the troops sent to
Western Virginia were so far neglected that the
approach of winter seemed hkely to find them
almost destitute of comfortable clothing. Governor
Morton, ever attentive to the needs and wants of
the soldier, sought to remedy this deficiency, so far
as the Indiana troops in Western Virginia were con
cerned, by taking the matter of supphing them
"with clothing into his 0"wn hands. The following
telegraphic correspondence, taken frora the Indian
apolis Journal, shows how earnestly he labored to
accomphsh his end :
" The foUo"wing selection from among the many

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 211
telegraras now on file in the Governor's office, iu
relation to the treatment of our soldiers under com
mand of General Reynolds, at Cheat Mountain, will
show how persistently the Governor has followed up
his purpose of having our troops well provided for,
and how he has been thwarted. With aU the prora
ises, orders, requisitions and what not of the mass
of correspondence, the clothing has only just begun
to arrive. Much of it is surely lost, and many a
good man has died frora the destitution so vainly
sought to be remedied, by the plots disclosed below :
Dispatch from Governor 0. P. Morton.
Washington City, August 20th, 1861.
Urge Major Montgomery to get overcoats from
any good material, and do not wait for a public let
ting. Do have them made at once. The raen are
suffering for them, and I am distressed for them.
Perhaps a few thousand can be furnished at once
by Captain Dickerson.
0. P. Morton.
Quartermaster Vajen went imraediately to Cin
cinnati, and was inforraed by Captain Dickerson
that he had just sent General Reynolds 4,000 great
coats. Governor Morton at once sent his private
secretary to Western Virginia to see that these coats
were delivered. He could not find nor hear of
them, and after learning from General Reynolds
that the latter was in want of shirts, drawers, socks

212 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and caps, he returned to Cincinnati, obtained these
supplies, and informed Major Montgomery, who
requested Captain Dickerson to have them inspected
and sent forward to our troops. To this Captain
Dickerson answered that he had sent aU that had
been asked for by General Rosecrans, and that the
clothing had not been taken by him, and was sub
ject to his orders. One thousand great coats were
then forwarded and the others were proraised imme
diately.
Dispatch from Governor Morton to General Meigs.
Indianapolis, September 2.
M. C. Meigs, Washington:
We have supphed from Cincinnati, overcoats for
our troops in Western Virginia. Will you please
direct Major Vinton to send the 4,000 overcoats you
ordered for the Indiana troops to the Indiana regi
ments in Maryland and about Washington. If he
will send 2,000 more, making 6,000, it will be enough
for all the Indiana troops in those places.
0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from General Meigs to Governor Morton.
Washington, September 2, 1861.
All overcoats in New York have been ordered
here, and the six Indiana regiraents named in your
dispatch wiU be supplied from this place.
M. C. Meigs, Q. M. G.
This was not done according to promise.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 213
Dispatch from Governor Morton to Gcna-al Reynolds
at Cheat Mountain Pass.
Indi.\napolis, September 2, 1861.
Four thousand overcoats have been sent to your
troops, to the care of General Rosecrans, by Captain
J. IL Dickerson, Assistant Quartermaster at Cincin
nati. WiU you look after them at once and see that
somebody else does not get them ?
0. P, Morton,
Dispatch from General Reynolds to Governor 3Iorton.
Cheat Mountain Pass, September 3, 1861.
The thirteenth regiment is well clothed. The
fom-teenth aud fifteenth are ragged, — aU require
overcoats. Requisitions were made on the Quarter
master's department a raonth since for the clothing
requhed, and it ought to be here in a few days.
J. J. Reynolds,
Brigadier General.
Dispatch from Governor Morton to General Reynolds,
Cheat Mountain Pass.
Indianapolis, Septeraber 4, 1861.
On what quartermaster did you raake requisition
for clothinff ? 0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from General Reynolds.
Cheat Mountain Pass, September 4, 1861.
My requisition for clothing was made on the

214 LIFE, speeches and public services of
quartermaster at Beverly. Whether it got any fur
ther, I can not say; but I will see the clothing you
send properly distributed, and that receipts are sent.
Thanks for your remembrance of us.
J. J. Reynolds,
Brigadier General.
Dispatch from Governor Morton to Captain Dickerson.
Indianapolis, September 5, 1861.
Captain Dickerson, Quartermaster, Cincinnati, Ohio :
General Reynolds made a requisition on the quar
termaster at Beverly for uniforms. Did he make a
requisition on you ? If so, when "wiU they be fur
nished? The men are suffering from cold on the
mountains.
0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from Lieutenant Colonel D. H. Vinton, X. Y.
The 4,000 great coats were sent on the 22d of
August, for the Indiana regiments.
D. H, Vinton,
Lieutenant Colonel, D, Q. M.
Dispatch from Governor Morton io Lieutenant Colonel
D. H. Vinton.
Indianapolis, September 6, 1861.
To whom were the 4,000 great coats for our troops
sent ? Answer imraediately.
0. P. Morton.

governor OLIVER P. MORTON. 215
4
. Dispatch from Lieutenant Colonel D. H. Vinton, to
Governor Morton.
New York, September 7, 1861,
The 4,000 great coats were sent to Captain Craig,
at BeUah, Ohio,
D, H, Vinton,
Lieutenant Colonel, A, Q. M. G.
Dispatch to Captain Craig, U. S. Q. M., Bellair, Ohio.
Indianapolis, September 7, 1861
Quartermaster Vinton telegraphs me that 4,000
great coats were sent you for the Indiana troops in
Western Vu-ginia, Did you ever receive them ?
0, P, Morton,
Answer to the above.
Bellair, September 9, 1861,
I have received 4,000 great coats, but with them
no ad"vices as to what troops they are for. The
regimental quartermasters of our Indiana troops can
make a requisition upon rae, approved by General
Rosecrans, and I wiU deliver imraediately,
W, Craig, Capt, Q, M. Dept,, U, S, A,
It "will be seen by reference to a subsequent dis
patch, that he issued these great coats to other reg
iments without advising Governor Morton, and in
violation of the above proraise.

216 LIFE, speeches and public services of
Dispatch from Governor 3Iorton to General Reynolds,
Cheat Mountain.
Indianapolis, Septeraber 9, 1861.
Captain Craig, Quartermaster at Bellair, has the
4,000 overcoats. He will give them to you upon a
requisition approved by Rosecrans. WUl you do
so ? Send a man after them so as to be sure.
0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from Governor Morton to Captain Craig,
Bellair, Ohio.
Indianapolis, September 9, 1861.
I have notified General Rej'uolds. Keep the coats
for him and obhge, 0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from General Reynolds to Governor Morton.
Cheat Mountain, September 9, 1861.
Requisitions have been made in due form twice.
The first time more than a month ago, and in accor
dance "with orders from Department, Hope it is
coming. Have done all I can, and ara "vrilling to do
anything yet to get it. Overcoats not yet arrived.
J. J, Reynolds, Brig. Gen.
Dispatch from Governor Morton to General Meigs,
Quartermaster General, Washington
Indianapolis, September 10, 1861.
General Reynolds made a requisition for supplies
for Indiana troops in Western Virginia, raore than

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MOETON. 217
a month ago, and nothing heard from it. — 4,000
overcoats sent for same troops were stopped and
held subject to order of General Rosecrans. The
clothing Major Montgomery purchased for same
troops is held by Captain Dickerson in Cincinnati.
Is there no help for this state of things ? The
troops are suffering. 0. P. Morton.
General Meigs called the attention of Captain
Dickerson to this detention, to which he replied as
foUows :
Dispatch from Captain Dickerson to Quartermaster
General.
CrscEvNATi, 0., September 14, 1861.
To Quartermaster General, Washington, D. C.
Sir: The report that clothing bought by Major
Montgomery for Indiana troops was detained and is
now held by me is false.
Some three weeks or more, since. Captain Cl!;i:i-
dler, at General Rosecrans' headquarters, sent un- a
requisition for 20,000 infantry pants. 1,000 cavalry
pants, 20,000 flannel shirts, 20,000 pairs of drawers,
20,000 pairs of shoes, 15,000 pairs of stockings, 10,-
000 overcoats, 5,000 caps "with covers, 10,000 haver
sacks, and many other supplies in less quantities.
Four or five days after I had filled the chief part of
the order. Major Montgomery "wrote rae that he
had just purchased, from a house in this city, 8,400
shirts, 8,400 pairs of drawei-s, and Qther supplies in
19

218 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
equal quantities, and asked to have them inspected
and sent to the" Indiana troops in Western Virginia.
I replied to Major Montgomery that I had just
filled a large order, aU that was asked for by Gen
eral Rosecrans' chief quartermaster in the field,
and that I supposed his requisition embraced all the
demands of General Rosecrans' command, and that
the clothing he had purchased had not been taken
by me, but was subject to his orders. He has since
ordered it sent to Indianapohs. So far from being
detained or held by me, it has never been in my
hands. Respectfully your obedient servant,
J. H. Dickerson, Captain and Q. M,
Dispatch from Governor Morton to Captain Leih,
Quartermaster at Clarksburg, Virginia.
Indianapolis, Septeraber 11, 1861,
Have any overcoats reached you ?0. P, Morton.
Dispatch from Captain Leib to Govem.or Morton.
Clarksburg, Va., September 12, 1861.
The overcoats arrived here yesterday, and wiU be
sent to Webster this morning, and shipped at once
from that place. I have ad"vised General Reynolds
of their arrival. Chas. Leib,
Captain and Quartermaster.
This telegram refers to the one thousand sent
from Cincinnati, September 2.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 219
Di-ipatch from Adjt General Wlieai to Gov. Morton.
Wheeling, September 15, 1861.
The great coats for the Indiana regiments went
forward frora Clarksburg, on Thursday the 12th inst.
Jas. S. Wheat, Adj't Gen. V. M.
The same lot referred to by Captain Leib above.
Dispatch from Governor Morton to General Ro.secrans.
Indianapolis, September 17, 1861,
I am in constant receijjt of news frora Reynolds'
brigade, and our troops are nearly naked. All I
can do wiU not get thera clothes. Will you do me
favor to have Captain Chandler send them some?
If I attempt to send them frora here. Captain Dick
erson will inforra me that he is attending to that.
Orders must corae through you. Please oblige rae
in this. 0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from General Reynolds to Governor Morton.
Elkwater, Septeraber 19, 1861.
Only 1,200 overcoats have arrived.
J. J, Reynolds, Brig, Gen,
Dispatch from Captain Stewart {cavalry company) to
Governor Morton.
Cross Lanes, Septeraber 19, 1861,
I have seen Captain Chandler. He tells me you
had better attend to the uniforms for my corapany,

220 L*FE, speeches and public SER"VICES of
as the Government is very slow about these things.
My men are actually suff'ering for want of warm
clothing. Have them shipped for Charleston,
R, R, Stewart, Captain,
Dispatch from Goveimor Morton to Quartermaster Gen
eral Meigs, Washington City.
Indianapolis, September 20, 1861,
Of the 4,000 overcoats sent to Western Virginia
for the Indiana troops, they got 1,200. Requisi
tions made six weeks ago, have not been filled,
although Captain Dickerson says the articles have
all been sent to General Rosecrans' quartermaster.
The last dodge was that requisitions must be signed
by Captain Chandler, who is with Rosecrans, far
away from Reynolds, and where the supplies are.
Captaiu Stewart's cavalry are almost naked and
have sent home for supplies. My opinion is that
in the Quartermaster's department in Western Vir
ginia, there is great incapacity or fraud and the
abuses are becoming insufferable. I pray you give
it your attention. 0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from Quartermaster General Meigs to Gov
ernor Morton.
Washingtotj, Sept. 20, 1861.
Captain Dickerson sent clothing and equipments
to thirty-seven regiments since the 9th of August;
16,000 suits to General Rosecrans some time since;
9,000 more to him ou the 10th of September ; 15,000

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON.

221

blankets go to Gen. Rosecrans from Cincinnati at
once. I order 10,000 blankets from New York to
Captain Dickerson to fUl up his store again. Will do
the best I can for your troops. Governor Pierpont,
of Virginia, is in possession of a large quantity of
clothing, sent to Wheeling for General Rosecrans.
Call on him for Indiana troops in Virginia. M. C. Meigs.
There were not twenty regiments in Western
Virginia at that time. What became of the cloth
ing ? It is reported to have fallen in some out of
the way place on the Kanawha and been buried
under a freshet. Dispatch from W. Craig, A. Q. M.
Marietta, 0., Sept. 25, 1861.
The 4,000 overcoats to which you refer have been
issued like all other clothing coming into my pos
session without special instructions. There was
nothing in the invoices on the boxes, nor in the
letter of ad"vice, to show that these overcoats were
for any particular troops. 1,200 have been issued
to Indiana troops at Cheat Mountain Pass, and the
rest to other parties equally destitute.
W, Craig, Captain, A, Q. M,
Dispatch from General Rosecrans.
Cross Lanes, Va., Sept. 25, 1861.
Your dispatch is received. 10,000 uniforms have
gone down to General Reynolds ; none have reached

222 LIFE, speeches and public services of
this mo-ving column. I feel even more discouraged
than General Reynolds that the necessity of pui-su-
ing the eneray prevents attention to clothing the
troops. The difficulty now appeai-s in a fair way
to be remedied, I have caused inquires to be made
as to those overcoats, I think they will be found
on their way from the railroad to Huttonsville,
W, S. Rosecrans,
Brigadier General, U. S. A,
The 10,000 uniforms never reached General Rey
nolds,
Dispatch from Quartermaster General Meigs to Gov
ernor Morton.
Washington, Sept. 28, 1861.
Telegram received. Captain J. H. Dickerson's
report on his alleged detention of clothing for the
Indiana troops was sent to the Quartermaster Gen
eral of Indiana, September 24th. Captain D. has
lately sent 15,000 blankets to Clarksburg fi-om Graf
ton, making 25,000 latefy sent to Western Virginia,
which the Quartermaster should properly distribute.
M. C. Meigs, Q. M. G.
Dispatch from Governor Morton to Hon. D. C. Bran-
ham, Washington.
Indianapolis, Oct, 6, 1861.
General Stone has just returned fi-om Virginia.
Only two regiments have overcoats. General Keller,
at Grafton, will receive 3,000 to-day from Cincin-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 2i3
nati. Will not General Meigs order him to issue
2,000 of them to the 13th and" 17th regiments?
They are suffering dreadfully. The clothing sent
ta Rosecrans is packed in a warehouse on the Kan
awha, while our men are suft'eriug, aud the rise of
the river inundated and ruined it. Our men also
want uniforms and shoes. The roads will soou be
impassible. Urge Meigs to take steps to relieve
them imraediately, 0. P. Morton.
Dispatch from Quartermaster General Meigs to 3Ir.
Branhain.
Washington City, October 7, 1861.
I order shoes to Grafton frora Philadelphia to-day.
Overcoats go into the field. Some neglect in West
ern Virginia in distributing the large supphes sent
to that State. M. C. Meigs,
Quartermaster General.
Dispatch to Brigadier General Kelley, Grafton, Va.
Captain Dickei-son, of Cincinnati, informs rae
that he has sent within a few days, 3,000 great coats,
5,000 blankets, aud other supplies. Will you please
do me the favor to issue 2,000 of the great coats to
the 13th and 17th Indiana regiments under General
Reynolds ; also 4,000 blankets. They are perfectly
destitute. I wiU take this as a personal favor.
Their destitution has been a matter of great morti
fication to me. 0, P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana,

224 LIFE, speeches and public services of
Ansiver to the foregoing.
Governor 0. P. Morton: Your telegram is re
ceived. Your request shall receive my personal
attention, B, F, Kelley, Brig. Gen,
Dispatch from General Reynolds to Governor Morton.
Cheat Mountain Pass, October 7, 1861.
Clothing is coming forward. In a few days we
will have a supply for the 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th,
except shoes, socks aud caps, the last not so impor
tant. Shoes and socks are much needed. These
regiments have suffered greatly, but not a man
among them has any fault to find with the Governor
of his State. They are all inforraed of the exer
tions raade in their behalf, and appreciate thera, and
when opportunity offers will show their apprecia
tion. J. J, Reynolds, Brig. Gen,
The indefatigable energy displayed in this effort
of Governor Morton to prevent the suffering con
sequent upon deficient clothing, in the raountains
of Western Virginia, during the cold season, has
rarely ever been paralleled in the history of the
country. Notwithstanding the frequent defeats he
met in his attempts to carry his point, and despite
all the insults he suffered at the hands of contempt
ible, narrow, contracted and thieving officials, he
still persisted, until he succeeded in alleviating the
sufi'erings of the Hoosier volunteers. He sent no

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 225
less than four special messengers at difl'erent times
to follow up clothing and see that it was properly
delivered, or to find it if lost. That he should have
been so frequently thwarted in his noble designs,
and that the clothing he had provided for Indiana
troops should have been issued to volunteers from
other States, aud a large quantity of it miscarried
and finally ruined in a warehouse, up the Kanawha,
remain a lasting disgrace upon those to whom these
abuses are chargeable throughout all time, and will
ouly add to, rather than sully the imperishable fame
of the Governor of Indiana.
The Indianapolis Daily Sentinel, speaking of this
matter, says :
" We publish this morning a statement, accom
panied "with the correspondence and dispatches,
showing that Governor Morton has made every
effort in his power to procure, from the proper
authorities, winter clothing and other needed sup
plies for the Indiana volunteers, now in the service
of the General government. There can be no ques
tion that his Excellency has done his whole duty in
the matter ; and whatever faults and short-comings
there may fee, they can not be attributed to him.
The stateraent develops the fact that there is great
destitution among our troops which must, in a great
measure, be relieved by the indi"vidual efforts, gen
erosity and patriotism of the people of Indiana.
There is no time to be lost iu sending forward con
tributions of blankets and socks to prevent their

226
sufl'ering frora the exposures to whicli they are even
now subjected, especiaUy the troops in the moun
tainous regions of Western Virginia. While we
diff'er in toto with the political views and sympa
thies of Governor Morton, we can not refrain from
saying that he is entitled to great credit for the
extraordinary energy and industry he has displayed
in the management of the military affairs of In
diana, and his prompt response in behalf of the
State, to all the requisitions of the Federal govern
ment since the first call of the President for volun
teers to suppress the rebellion in the seceded States.
The Indiana volunteers, by tbeir bravery and gal
lantry, have reflected high honor upon the State,
and given her a fame which may justly excite the
pride of all her citizens. "
The unbounded popularity of Governor Morton
araong the soldiers, and his growing reputation in
other States, during the first year of the war, exci
ting the jealousy of certain arabitious politicians,
and he having refused to confer favors upon numer
ous incompetent place seekers, he, necessarily,
became the victim of envy and disappointed ambi
tion. Charges of mismanagement in State military
matters, of corruption in the appointment of offi
cers and the awarding of contracts, were heard from
various quarters, and, although without the least
foundation in truth, were not unfrequently credited
by those who should have had more respect for

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 227
themselves, if not regard for the Governor, than to
have^ done so.
During the month of December, 1861, it appears
that, iu compliance with Governor Morton's fre
quent urgent request, the Congressional Committee
of Investigation visited Indianapolis, and made a
rigid inquiry into the management of military
matters in Indiana. The published report of the
proceedings of this coramittee, not only exonerates
the State executive from all blame as it regarded
the letting of contracts, &e,, but shows the greatest
care on his part to prevent fraud and peculation.
The fact is developed by the investigations of the
comraittee, that he even opposed his own brother
in obtaining a contract, assigning as his reason for
such opposition, that he feared the least indication,
on his part, of a disposition to favor his brother,
would cause coraplaint and dissatisfaction. It was
also ascertained by this committee, that, notwith
standing the Indiana troops had been better armed
and equipped than those of any other Western
State, the expense attending their outfit "n-as less, in
proportion to the number of men furnished, than
that of any other State in the Union, Yet, despite
the indubitable evidences of the Governor's honesty
and superior economy, the work of the calumniator,
so far from being abandoned, was continued with
increased vigor. But the Governor,"^regardless of
all the slanders heaped upon hira, went steadUy
forward in the performance of his duties, giving no

228 LIFE, speeches and public services of
heed to the opinions of men respecting himself,
and looking solely to the interests of the people and
the country. Aud, notwithstanding he was contin
ually beset with a countless swarm of those individ
uals popularly denorainated "bores," he always
demeaned himself with true, manly dignity, and
treated all who approached him with the greatest
courtesy. In fact, his equanimity and urbanity
were matters of remark among friends and foes.
As the war progressed, and the execution of aU
plans proposed by him, resulted successfuUy, he
arose in the estimation of the President and the
Cabinet, until it was finally admitted by the know
ing ones at Washington that his influence "with the
powers at that city was greater than that of any
other man, outside of the national executive depart
ment, iu the country. His thorough knowledge of
the people of the Northwest, his ready tact in adapt
ing means to ends, his great forecasting and com
bining powers, and above all his energy and prompt
ness in the performance of all labor assigned him,
secured to him a deference which few men in the
nation enjoyed ; and raore than once was his pres
ence requested, and his counsel solicited in matters
of the greatest importance to the Government.
In addition to the performance of the duties of
his office as State executive, the labors attending
the organization of regiments and their preparation
for service, the protection of Kentucky, the prompt
provision for the wants of soldiers and their famU-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 229
ies, he frequently took occasion to talk to the peo
ple, earnestly exhorting them to stand by their Gov
ernment, and demonstrating to them the folly of
hoping for a permanent and honorable settlement
of the national difficulties, otherwise than by thor
oughly conquering the rebels. The short, pungent
speech we here insert was delivered at Rockville,
sorae time during the year 1863, The precise date
we have beeu unable to ascertain :
All republican governments are based upon the
principle, that when the will of the people has been
expressed through the framers of the Constitution,
all parties and all men must submit. Unless this
principle be unconditionally admitted, republican
government can not exist for a day. For illustra
tion of this truth I might refer to the history of
Mexico, where each election is followed by a revolu
tion, where the minority refuses to submit to the
majority, and fly to arras for the redress of every
fancied grievance. Such has been the history of
repubhcan governraent in France and other coun
tries in Europe. Every officer of the Governraent,
when properly elected, becomes the officer and
agent of the people, whether they favored his elec
tion or not, and all loyal citizens recognize him as
such. Mr. Buchanan, when elected, although I did not
favor his election, became my president. Any
insult offered to him by a foreign power, or any
resistance to his lawful authority hy domestic foes,

230 life, speeches and public services of
was an insult and an injury to me and every citizcr
of the United States. Some people there are whc
are so incredibly stupid as to be unable to perceive
any difference between the Government and the
mere agents who carry it on for the time. Govern
ment is intended to be permanent, while the offi
cers by whom it is administered are ever changing.
Washington, Jeff'erson and Jackson have passed
away, but the Governraent they administered still
lasts, and I trust will last forever. The raan who
now controls public affairs "wiU in a few short years
have passed frora the stage of action ; but we trust
the Government will survive him. The man who
would refuse to protect the Government merely
because he did not hke the mau who carried it on,
would display as little sense as the inebriate who
Avould refuse to protect his dwelling from the flames
because he did not like the agency of water.
Party Questions,
This is not a war of parties, but of the whole
people. The interests involved rise as far above
raere party considerations as the heavens are above
the earth.
The raan who stands aloof frora the great contest,
higgling about his party, is short-sighted, and fails
to coraprehend the times in which he lives. Par
ties can only exist in a free Government, and
when the Governmeut falls they fall along "with it.
The democratic, whig and republican parties have

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 231
each sought to administer the Government. But if
the Governnient should pass away there would be
nothing left to adrainister. If there is any poor
partisan here to-day who believes that, after the
Governraent has been destroyed, he will have his
party left and raay enjoy that, I yield hira up in des
pair. The Almighty has enveloped his intellect in
eternal night, aud fore-ordained that he should be a
fool forever and ever,
Lincoln's Abolition War,
The charge is made in this country that this war
was begun by Lincoln to bring about the abolition
of Slavery. The man who utters this charge is
attempting to commit a fraud upon the people and
treason against the Government. Every inteUigent
man knows that before Lincoln was inaugurated,
the rebels had an army of thirty thousand men in
the field ; had laid a siege for Fort Pickens and
Fort Sumter ; had robbed the mint at New Orleans
of half a million of dollars ; had plundered various
forts aud arsenals of two hundred thousand stand
of arms and five hundred pieces of artiUery; had
confiscated the debts due from citizens of seceded
States to the people of the North, thus robbing
them of hundreds of millions of doUars; had mur
dered or driven out from the seceded States every
raan of Northern birth or that entertains a finger
ing attachment for the Constitution of his country.
The object of a falsehood so foul and raonstrous

232 life, speeches and public services of
is not to be mistaken. It is to distract the people
of the North, and palsy the hands of the Govern
ment, that it may fall an easy prey to the scoundrels
who are seeking its destruction. This would be its
effect, if any it had, and must therefore be its aim.
Peace.
But it is said we raust have peace and could
have peace if we would. I love peace as much as
any man. Its sweets are as delicious to my taste
as to that of any human being. But when I say
this I mean peace that is safe ; peace that is crowned
"with liberty and the blessings of an enhghtened
civilization. I do not mean that peace which is the
sleep of death ; which is purchased by foul dishonor ;
nor that peace which is but another name for sub
mission to tyrants and traitors. It is utter folly
to talk about peace without pointing out some
method by which it may be obtained. I know of
but two conditions now, upon which peace cau be
had. The first is by submitting to disruption of
the Union and the destruction of the Government.
The second is by the submission of the traitors now
in arms. And I appeal to you to-day to answer the
question in your own hearts, upon which of these
conditions do you demand peace? Who are the
men that are clamoring for peace upon any terms ?
They are not the Union men of Kentucky, of Mis
souri, of Tennessee, of Maryland or of Virginia.
But they are smaU clans scattered throughout the

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 233
Northern States, who are violently suspected by
their neighbors of not being Union men, but men
who would flourish most and rejoice most in a
period of general anarchy and social and pohtical
dissolution. But we are told that unless we at once suspend
hostilities, and secure peace on any terras, an enor
mous public debt "^dll be contracted, which will
oppress the people for generations to corae, A large
public debt is undoubtedly a calaraity ; but there are
greater calaraities, "What wiU it profit the people
if they should gain the wealth of the whole world,
but lose their Governraent, and with it their liber
ties ? In my judgraent, the man who can deliber
ately weigh gold in the scale against the existence
of this Government, and the liberties of this peo
ple, is either an idiot or a traitor. If there is such
a man in Park county, may God forgive hira for I
can not, "What raatters whether this war shall cost
an hundred millions or a hundred thousand, if we
are thereby enabled to maintain the Union, and
transmit this Governraent to our children ? Con
sidered in a raere financial view, it would be the best
investment the American people ever made. If the
Government faU, what becomes of the value of
property? What becoraes of commerce? Of pub
lic and private institutions ? Of prosperity of every
kind? " The foUy of the man who refuses to sustain the
Government because it wUl cost a large amount of
20

234
money to do so, is only equaled by him who should
refuse to purchase necessary food because it is
expensive, and voluntarily starves hiraself to death
in order that he may hve to enjoy a large fortune.
Financially considered, secession is the greatest mis
fortune that could befall a nation, and especially the
people of the Western States. The Mississippi
river would become the property of a foreign gov
ernment, and we should be cut off from any
outlet to the Gulf, except upon such terms as
should be graciously vouchsafed to us by the
traitors now in arms. The manufactures and
agricultural productions of Indiana would not be
aUowed to fioat down the Mississippi to find a
market, except on compliance with the conditions
and payment of the duties prescribed by the Dic
tatorship at Richmond.
The Revolutionary war is estiraated to have
cost two hundred millions of dollars. How much
easier would it have been to have paid the little
duty of three pence a pound on tea. And can
you doubt that the men who now urge the cost
of this war as an objection to it, would, for the
same reason, have objected to the Revolution, had
they lived during that period?
Compromise,
But it is said that this war might have been
avoided by a compromise, and coiUd now be set
tled by a compromise. While we were babbling

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 235
of compromise last winter, the traitors were steal
ing arms, plundering mints, investing fortresses,
and marshaling armies into the field. What is
there to comproraise now but the integrity of the
Union and the existence of the Governraent? Do
the traitors offer to us any coraproraise ? No ; on
the contrary, their ultiraatura is the destructiou
of the Constitution and the Union. But how
would these raen go about proposing a corapro
raise to an eneray who has an hundred thousand
raen in the field, and who spits in the nation's face
whenever the word is mentioned; who declares
that secession and disunion are the glorious con
sumraation of the toil and travail of raore thau
thirty years; who affirms that free institutions at
the North are a failure ; that the only true founda
tion for government is African slavery; aud that
the laboring classes of the North are serfs and vas
sals, beneath the mental aud moral dignity of the
slave upon the plantation ? It is now well known
that the secession moveraent was inaugurated as
early as 1829. Its fij-st effort at the destruction
of the Government was made in 1839, in the nul-
hfication movement in South Carolina, based osten
sibly on the tariff question. General Jackson then
predicted that the next effort would be • predicated
upon the slavery question; and the prophecy has
beeu fulfilled. From that time forward, secession
has beeu kept alive under the deceitful and spe
cious title of States' rights; and yet these con-

236 LIFE, speeches and public services of
stitutional doctors propose to cure this chronic
secession cancer by the application of a raild com
promise plaster. But I tell you. No! The only
cure for the cancer is the knife. You raust cut
out the gangrened and rotten parts, and extract
the very roots of the devouring ulcer. Compro
mise roots and herbs are of no avail in a case like
this. The Southern comraissioners, sent to Wash
ington last spring, offered no coraproraise, and
would listen to none. Their haughty and traitor
ous demand was that we should consent to the
dissolution of the Union and the dismemberment
of the Government, They said if this Govern
ment would write its name on a blank piece of
paper, and allow them to write over it the condi
tions upon which they would compromise this dif
ficulty, aud return to the Union, they had none to
write, A proposition to comproraise now is sim
ply a proposition to surrender; and the man who
makes it, disguise it as he raay, means that and
nothing else. We are fighting to preserve what
our fathers fought to win. They established a
Republican government, and we will uphold it.
If their cause was sacred, then is om-s, sanctified
by their blood, and should, if necessary, be sealed
by our own. Secession,
To concede practically or theoretically the doc
trine of secession, upon which this RebeUion is

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 237
based, is to concede the destruction of our social and
political institutions. That doctrine is, that any
State has a right to withdraw from the Union at
pleasure, without consulting the National govern
ment, or the other States. This being admitted,
it requires no argument to prove that we have no
government, but a mere voluntary association, with
no higher sanctions than a pleasure party from
which any guest may retire at his own convenience.
Carried to its consequences, it does not stop with
the destruction of the National government, but is
equally fatal to State and local institutions, Cora
raerce raust perish when one party can withdraw
from a contract without the consent of the other.
No other war ever involved such mighty interests,
comprehending, as it does, the political and social
existence of the Nation, and if, while everything
is thus at stake, we shall suffer ourselves to be
distracted and conquered by old prejudices and jeal
ousies, false -views of public econoray and the evU
machinations of selfish demagogues, the world may
well pronounce final judgment that the experiment
of self-governraent has failed, and that men can be
successfuUy governed only by an aristocracy or a
monarchy. Freedom of Speech,
Much has beeu said, in certain quarters, now,
about the right of free speech, I allow no man to
be a more firra and consistent advocate of that right

238 LIFE, speeches and public services of
than myself. I have battled for many yeai-s, and
shall ever uphold it as the very touchstone of lib
erty. It wUl be found, on examination, that those
who are now making the clamor, mean, by the
"freedom of speech," the right to weaken our hands
and strengthen the hand of our enemy, by distract
ing our councils, by reviling our cause, by ignomin
ious propositions to lay down our arms, and by
assailing the purity of all men who are laboring to
uphold the honor a,nd integrity of the nation. If
au}^ man in the rebellious States should utter iu
defence ofthe North a tithe of what men in Indi
ana are daily saying in defence of the South, he
would be permitted to live long enough to say his
prayers. This freedom of speech is exercised in
behalf of those who deny the right to all others,
and who punish this exercise with death. The men
wdio thus abuse this right of free speech are living
monuments of the forbearance of our laws, and of
the liberty and security of persons, guaranteed by
our institutions, "\^^lile I admit and will uphold
the freedom of speech, it is not improper to state
that there are State aud National laws defining and
punishing the crime of treason, aud that infractions
of these laws will be searched out and punished
with the utmost "vigor.
Shortly before the delivery of this speech, a pol
itician, too contemptible and unprincipled to_ be
named here, had made a tour of certain southern

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 239
counties of Indiana, and made speeches encourag
ing opposition to the war, and counseling the people
to demand a cessation of hostilities and a proposi
tion by the North to the South, for a compromise.
This individual, laj-ing a false claim to the name
democrat, and operating where he could, directly
upou the partisan prejudices of the people, had his
infiuence, and having beeu in past days a some
what prominent leader in the deraocratic party, he
was in a position to be feared, although his abilities
were not such as to secure the least respect from
persons of any intelligence.
This man lived in the neighborhood of where tbe
foregoing speech was delivered, and was the first
"copperhead" to make an open show of treason in
Indiana. It is, doubtless, to him and his sateUites,
that the warning contained in the last sentence iu
the Governor's effort is given.

240 LIFE, speeches and public services of

CHAPTER YIII.
Discouragement of people in 1862 in consequence of National
reverses — EfiForts of Governor Morton to counteract this feel
ing — His efficient operations against "K. G. C." iu Indiana —
Charges against him by the members of that order — Proofs
of insincerity of such charges — His efforts to relieve Indiana
troops at Fort Pillow — Telegraphic correBpondence, etc., etc.
The year 1862 found the loyal people of the
[Jnited States regretting the misconduct and inca
pacity of generals, the loss of battles, and the un
necessary sacrifice of human life. Such had beeu
the success of the rebellion that almost every loyal
border State was threatened with invasion, and
many of the true friends of the Government said :
"Either let us have a more efficient prosecution
of the war, or a cessation of hostilities." Even
the people of the gallant Hoosier State appeared
discoiiraged, and many of thera seeraed convinced
that further resistance to the South was useless.
But despite all the discouraging features of the
war and the general public despondency, the Gov
ernor of Indiana reraained steadfast to his faith in
the Union, and used all his influence to encourage
the people to stand firm in the support of the Gov
ernment, and hope for ultimate success. His faith
in the Government was not to be diminished by

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 241
a year's reverses, and although he regretted tho
unnecessary waste of human blood as much as
any one, yet he did uot allow the thought of such
waste to weaken his determination that the rt'bt^l-
lion should be crushed. Ou the contrary, he
increased his efforts to strengthen pubhc confi
dence, and to aid in the re-establishment of tlie
supremacy of the Constitution and laws, as the
cloud of despondency thickened.
He continued to encourage the work of volun
teering, causing bounties to be increased. By the
23d of February (1862), six regiments of infantiy
were added to the number already in the field. Iu
the meantime the battle of Mill Springs had been
fought, which, with a few other important vic
tories, had, to sorae extent, restored public confi
dence, and given a fresh impetus to the enlistment
of troops.
About the coraraenceraent of the year, it became
manifest that there was a secret foe to the Govern
raent in raost of the loyal States, raore to be feared
than the entire Confederate army. This foe was
an organization known by various names, as that
of " Self-Protecting Brothers," « Star in the West,"
etc. "WTiatever might have been the name by
which it was known in the North, it was, without
doubt, a branch of the traitorous order known in
the South as "Knights of the Golden Circle."
This organization grew rapidly in numbers, espe
cially in the more remote sections of the couutry,
21

242 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
where the honest raasses, not having frequent
access to the mediuras of pubhc intelhgence, were
duped by the score by a set of the most unprin
cipled politicians that ever disgraced a civilized
country. The order becarae quite popular in the
southern counties of Indiana, and was not unfre
quently met "with iu the central and northeru sec
tions of the State. Its members were generally
known by their denunciations of the Administra
tion the abolition war, and Governor Morton.
And it is a notorious fact that the founders and
leading members of this organization in Indiana
were, generally, those who had failed to obtain
favors of the Government. They prated much of
the extravagance of the State Executive, accused
him of corruption in his civil and military appoint
ments, and of a desire to oppress the people of the
State by onerous taxation.
Congress, ha"ving passed an act increasing the
taxes, and creating an internal revenue by means
of "direct taxation," and the sale of licenses, aud
the direct tax to be raised having been apportioned
among the several States, Indiana's share araounted
to $904,875.33. And notwithstanding Governor
Morton, by extraordinary perseverance and good
engineering, succeeded in setting off' this extra tax
¦with the debt due the State from the Governraent,
for the advances made by the former to aid the
latter in equipping and supplying the Indiana vol
unteers, yet the charge, though known to be false

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 243
by those who made it, was reiterated, time and
again, that he was endeavoring to have imposed
upon the people an oppressive tax.
It was particularly charged by the merabers of
the order to which allusion has been raade, that
the Governor was guilty of corruption in the
appointment of the first State Quartermaster-Gen
eral, although it was known that that officer had
been a life-long democrat, and that most of his
contracts were let to democrats, some of whom
were even opposed to the war. According to the
report of Quartermaster Vajen and the report of
the Congressional Committee, who had the pro
ceedings of the Quartermaster under consideration,
all the contracts given during his administration
were let to the lowest, responsible bidders, without
reference to party; but it so happened that, in the
letting of many of the most profitable contracts,
democrats were the lowest bidders. But men
intent upon working the ruin of one who stands
prominently in the way of the proraotion of their
interests, hesitate not to use falsehood when it
proraises to subserve their ends. Not only so, but
they ¦will, when occasion requires, sacrifice their
former best friends for the sarae purpose. And
so, when the allies of the "K. G. C." set themselves
about the' task of slandering Governor Morton,
they not only used the basest falsehood* to that
end, but did their utmost to destroy the official rep
utation of Quarterraaster Vajen, raerely because he

244 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
was the appointee of the Goveruor, notwithstand
ing his political antecedents were all democratic,
and his administration unexceptionable.
These individuals even accused Goveruor Morton
of secretly appropriating to his own use, the county
aud personal donations made to soldiers in camp,
although it was well "known that, when certain reg
iments, to whom large bounties had beeu promised.
had refused to obey marching orders, the Governor
borrowed, upon his own responsibility, six hundred
thousand dollars and paid these bounties. And that
he had done this at a time when the Government
finances were very low and without the promise of
reimbursement. This single advancement was more
than sufficient to cover all the donations ever made
to Indiana troops, four times.
To discover and thwart the secret schemes of the
secret aiders and comforters of treason in the State
of Indiana, became, at an early period in 1862, a
paramount object with Governor Morton. He
employed numerous secret agents to ascertain the
whereabouts of "K." G. C." castles, to discover the
leading members ofthe order, and thus prepare the
way for its ultimate exposure and destruction. The
success of his plans aud operations in this direction
is well known to the country.
Early in the spring of the year of which we now
write, the intelligence reached Governor Morton
that two Indiana regiments at Fort PUlow were in
a suffering condition. The carelessness aud stupid-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 245
ity of certain military officials had caused those
regiments to come to almost utter destitution as it
regarded clothing, and all the efl'orts of their col
onels tc induce United States army officers to pro
vide for their necessities were unavailing.
The Governor, seeing the condition of things,
without delay, set himself about an investigation of
the matter, with the determination of providing for
the suff'ering troops himself, in case the desired end
could be accoraplished in no other way.
The telegraphic correspondence we here insert,
shows the earnestness and determination with which
he ferreted out the causes of the abuses, aud also
the difficulties with which he had to contend in
relieving the wants of the suff'erers.
We copy fi-om the Indianapolis Journal:
The Condition of Indiana Troops, at Fort Pillow»
AND ITS Cause,
We copied, the other day, a paragraph from the
New York Tribune depicting and lamenting the des
titute condition of two Indiana regiments at Fort
Pillow, Colonel Fitch's and Colonel McLean's, and
briefly stated the cause, in order that the public might
see that the suff'ering was not the result of any inat
tention or indifference on the part of the State
authorities. Sorae strange perverseness on the part
of Gen. Pope, as inexplicable as it was abominable,
was the sole cause of the trouble. In justification of
our State authorities, and to place the blame of the

246
Buffering aud death, which the destitution produced
among these men, where it belongs, we publish
below, the correspondence on the subject, after
Colonel Fitch had faded to obtain clothing in
the regular way, and had appealed to the State
authorities : Indianapolis, March 29, 1862.
Major General Halleck, St. Louis, Mo. :
I learn that the 46th, Col. Fitch, as well as other
Indiana regiments at New Madrid, Mo., are much
in need of clothing. Would there be any objection
to our forwarding a supply from here ?
W. R. Hollow AY,
Governor's Private Secretary,
Headquarters, St, Louis, Mo.,
March 29, 1862.
W. R. HoUoway, Private Secretary:
Quartermaster's department here and at Cairo is
weU supplied with clothing, vhich "will be issued on
requisition. H. W. Halleck,
Major General,
Indlanapolis, March 30, 1862,
Capt. Bradshaw, Quartermaster, Cairo, Ml. :
Indiana regiraents under Colonel Fitch at New
Madrid want new uniforms, Halleck says you have
plenty. Will you supply the regiment immedi
ately ? We have thousands here. Answer.
W. R. Hollow AY, Private Sec,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 247
Indianapolis, March 29, 1862,
Colonel G. N. Fitch, Point Pleasant, Mo., via New
Madrid :
General Halleck says the quartermaster at Cairo
has plenty of clothing. Send Dykeman there imme
diately. I have telegraphed Captain Bradshaw to
supply you immediately if possible. Advise me
when you get it. W. R. Holloway,
Private Secretary,
This dispatch was either suppressed at Cairo or
by General Pope at New Madrid, Mo., Col, Fitch
never received it, Cairo, March 30, 1862,
W. R. HoUoway, Governor's Secretary :
Can not uniform a regiment in full. Clothing
mostly sent up the Tennessee river.
J, M, Bradshaw, A, Q, M.
Indianapolis, March 31, 1862,
Major General Halleck, St. Louis, Mo. :
Captain Bradshaw, assistant quartermaster, at
Cairo, telegraphs me that he has not uniforms
enough to supply oue regiment. AU have been
sent up Tennessee river. I ara informed that the
five Indiana regiments under General Pope are
ragged, and suffering for clothing. They say they
have made frequent requisition aud cannot get cloth
ing. They can be supplied from here promptly.
Please answer, W, R, Holloway,
Private Secretary,

248 LIFE, speeches and public services of
Headquarters, St. Louis, Mo,
}>Iai-ch 31, 1802.
W. R. HoUoway, Governor's Secretary:
The quartermaster has an abundance of good
clothing, and fills every requisition as soon as it is
sent in, H, W, Halleck,
Major General.
Indianapolis, March 31, 1862.
Major Allen, Chief Quartermaster, St. Louis, Mo.:
Have you any requisitions on file from the Indi
ana regiments under General Pope? I am reliably
informed that they are much in need of new uni
forms. We could fiirnish them from here. And
would prefer to do so if there are no objections.
W, R, Holloway, Governor's Priv, Sec,
St, Louis, April 1, 1862,
W. R. HoUoway, Governor's Secretary:
We have no requisition for clothing from Indi
ana regiments, Robert Allen,
Alajor and Quartermaster,
Indianapolis, March 31, 1862.
Col. G. N. Fitch, iQth regiment Indiana Volunteers,
Point Pleasant, Mo., via New Madrid:
I have done everything that is possible to induce
Gen. Halleck to allow your wants to be supplied
frora here. All I can get frora him is that requisi
tions are promptly filled. He says there are no re
quisitions on file from Indiana regiments. Can't
you send your quartermaster to St. Louis and try

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 249
there? Please let us know the result. If you can
not get them there we will take the responsibility
and supply you ; no matter about cousequences.
W. R. Holloway, Governor's Priv. Sec.
Indianapolis, April 5, 1802.
Major General H W. Halleck, St. Louis, Mo :
I am reliably informed that the 34th, 43rd, 46th
and 47th Indiana regiments under Gen, Pope at
New Madrid, are still suffering for shoes' aud cloth
ing ; that they have raade frequent requisitions to
no purpose, WUl you see that they are supplied ?
Answer, 0, P, Morton,
Governor of Ind,
Head Quarters, St, Louis, April 5, 1862,
Governor 0. P. Morton, Indianapolis, Ind. :
Plenfy of supplies at Cairo. Will inquire into
the raatter, H, W, Halleck,
Major General,
These dispatches were also suppressed at Gen.
Pope's head quartei-s, and never handed to Col. Fitch,
Gov. Morton, not hearing from Fitch, sent an agent
to New Madrid "with a copy of the above telegram.
Col. F, had frequently requested the privilege of
sending an agent to St, Louis for the above supplies
and had the application endorsed by Gen. Palmer,
but when the application reached Gen. Pope's head
quarters, he endorsed it, " Not granted, Jno. Pope,
Major General commanding." General Pope was
aware of the ragged and destitute condition of our

250 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
troops, and instead of assisting them and endeavor
ing to have them supplied, he positively refused, and
our men were compelled to remain in their destitute
condition until Gen. Pope was oi-dered to Pittsburg
Landing. About this time Gov. ^dorton sent his
private secretary to Fort PUIoav whore the regi
ments were then stationed, to see if they had been
supplied, and, if they had not been, instructed to
get requisitions for the articles required, in order
that the supphes raight be sent from here. The day
before Mr. Holloway arrived there. Col. Fitch had
sent a lieutenant to Gov. ilorton, asking that the
clothing be forwarded. Mr. IT. brought dupUcates
of the requisition, and the clothing was promptly
forwarded ; but before it arrived many of the men
were shoeless and almost naked. The pubhc ^vill
see that the responsibility rests where it belongs.
When Gen. Pope was ordered to join Gen. Hal
leck, he left the Indiana regiments under his
coraraand, "with one exception, remaining on board
their transports near Fort Pillow, where they could
do nothing, taking aU the Illinois regiments with
him. Again : The Indiana regiments did all the
fighting that was done at New Madrid, Point
Pleasant, and Riddle's Point. They dug the rifle
pits, threw up the breast works, and dragged the
seige guns through the mud and swamps from New
jiadrid to Point Pleasant ; kept the enemy from
escaping down the river ; sunk one of their
wooden gunboats, and laid in the rifle pits day after

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 251
day, without shoes, and with coffee sacks tied
around their bleeding feet. Yet, for all of their
services, Gen. Pope never so much as even noticed
them in his official report.
He ignores the State, snubs her colonels, and
uses the influence of his position to keep them
down. This may be all right, and according to
those mysterious railitary rules which turn up in
justification of wrongs and outrages upon the men
in the most inconsistent and contrary cases ; but we
fancy the people of Indiana w^on't ' see it,' and will
recollect it."
We have quoted thus lengthily from the journal,
no less to show the feeling of jealousy which existed
between the States respecting the reputation of their
troops, than to present another of the multiplied
acts of the Governor of Indiana in behalf of the
soldier. The Governor was never, at any tirae, less mind
ful of the reputation of Indiana volunteers than of
their comfort. All his actions with reference to the
enlistment of troops and the provision of arms and
equipments, from the coraraenceraent of the war to
the present, show that the successes of Indiana troops
were his successes, that their glory was his glory, aud
that he regarded anything reflecting upon them as
reflecting upon hira.
The disposition of certain generals to ignore the
efficiency of Hoosier volunteers and snub their offi-

252
cers, as mentioned by the Journal, caused Governor
Morton the deepest mortification, and ultimately
aroused him no little of the spu-it of resentment ;
and his correspondence with certain Governmeut
officials, shows that he was determined that no foul
slander should rest upon the Indiana troops, and in
this, he was, and has been, eminently successful.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 253

CHAPTER IX.
Precarious condition of Indiana at commencement of 1863. — Lep
rous character of Indiana Legislature — Governor Morton's
message to that body, etc., etc.
Perhaps no State was ever in a more precarious
condition, than was Indiana at the coraraencement
of the year 1863,
The secret enemies of the Government mentioned
in the preceding chapter, by dint of almost super-
huraau efforts, and by the use of every means, fair
and foul, had succeeded in the election of what was
then and has since been known as the butternut
ticket ; the Indiana Legislature was principally com
posed of raen sworn to oppose, to the bitter end, the
prosecution of the war, and to leave no effort un
made to divest Governor Morton of his railitary
authority and his glory ; of men who, by deceiving
the people respecting the motives of the Administra
tion, had placed theraselves in power for the sole
purpose of thwarting the plans of the Governraent,
and encom-aging the enemies of American liberty
in their work of rebellion and destruction.
The Governor of Indiana, heeding not the vile
slanders and base misrepresentations of his copper
head foes, still kept in view only the preservation of
his Government aud the welfare of the soldier.

254 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Soon after the meeting of the Legislature of this
period, the Governor transmitted to that body the
following message, which in its comprehensive views
touching the duties of the Legislature to the soldier,
and its minute details of the proceedings of the Exe
cutive departraent, is one of the ablest state papers
of modern times.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Gen
eral Assembly of Indiana:
In the Message which I am about to read in your
hearing, I wiU endeavor to present a brief but com
prehensive and inteUigent outline of the operations
of the State governraent for the past two years,
and the present condition of the State,
Number of Troops,
The following statement wUl show as near as the
data in the Adjutant General's office will enable me,
the number of troops Indiana has furnished to the
United States in the prosecution of this war.
Under the caUfor 75,000, April, 1861.
6 regiments of infantry — 3 months' ser"vice.
Under the eaUfor 500,000, July, 1861.
2 regiments of infantry — 12 months' service.
47 " " 3 years' "
4 companies " 3 " "
3 regiraents of cavalry — 3 " "
18 batteries of artiUery— -8 " "

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 255
Under the calls of July, 1862.
1 regiment of infantry — 12 months' ser"vice.

30

3 years'

u

6 companies

3 "

u

2 regiments

3 raonths'

ti

1 regiraent

30 days'
ii
1 regiraent
60 "
ii
2 reg'ts Indiana Legion-
— 3 months'
a
2 " of cavalry.
3 years'
ii
9 batteries of
artiUery,
3 "
a
In all, 98 regiments of infantry and cavalry and
27 batteries of artiUery, and comprising ninety-five
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven officers and
men. To this number are to be added 6,831 recruits,
who joined old regiraents and batteries in the field,
making in all 102,698 raen. The above does not
erabrace all who are enrolled, or who left the State
and joined regiments and batteries in other States,
but ouly such as were actuaUy mustered into the ser-
"vice in the State of Indiana.
, The Draft.
Ou the 7th day of July, 1862, the President of
the United States called for 300,000 additional vol
unteers. On the 5th day of August, 1862, he caUed
for a second 300,000, to be raised by a draft, if
enough volunteers could not be procured. Under
each call the quotf\ of Indiana was fixed by the War
256 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
department at 21,250 men, making 42,500 men.
By the 20th of September both of these calls had
beeu ffiled by volunteers, except 6,060, for which
nuraber it became necessary to draft. The number
of men to be drafted was apportioned among the
townships, giving credit to each township for all
the volunteers pre"viously furnished. When the
enrollment was completed it was found that 635
townships had furnished the number required of
them, leaving the deficiency to be supplied by the
reraaining 334 townships. The quota of each
township was assigned on the 20th of September,
and the draft took place on the Oth day of October.
The pri"vilege of volunteering to supply the de
ficiency was continued up to the tirae of the draft.,
at which tirae the nuraber required by draft was
reduced to 3,003, for which number the draft was
made. The draft was conducted throughout the
State Avithout interruption or disturbance, except in a
single instance, and at the time fixed the drafted men,
¦with few exceptions, reported themselves in camp
for service.
It affords me pleasure to state these facts as evi
dence of the prompt and quiet obedience with
which the people of Indiana submit to law and the
demands of the Governraent.
The Constitution of Indiana provides that no per
son conscientiously opposed to bearing arms shall
be compelled to do rniliti^. duty, but such person
shall pay an equivalent for exemption. As the draft

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 257
was upon the railitia of the State, all persons inclu
ded in the constitutional provision were entitled to
its benefit. The Legislature had oraitted to pre
scribe any amount for the equivalent, and Assistant
Adjutant General Buckingham, of the War depart
ment, under whose supervision the draft was con
ducted throughout the Uuited States, fixed the sum
at |200, w-hich was supposed to be the ordinary
amount required at that time to hire a substitute.
The draft was made under the 1st section of the act
of Congress of July 17th, 1862, which authorized the
Secretary of War, where there is no State law, or
where the State law is deficient, to adopt such rules
and regulations in regard to calling out the militia
as he raay deem best.
The whole number who established their clairas
to the benefit of the constitutional provision was
3,169, as is shown by the report of the commis
sioner. A portion of these took exceptions to the
plan adopted by Mr. Siddall, the commissioner of
drafting, by which it was determined how many,
and by whom, the equivalent should be paid, and
to the amount of the equivalent itself. An appeal
was taken from his action in the premises. As the
Constitution aud laws of Indiana make no provi
sion beyond the fact that persons conscientiously
opxDOsed to bearing arms shall not be compelled to
do military duty, and as the authority by which the
draft was raade was derived solely frora the act of
Congress, and the action of the War department,
22

258 LIFE, SPEECHES AND" PUBLIC SERVICES OF
I referred the questions involved at once to the deci
sion of Assistant Adjutant General Buckingham.
After mature deliberation, he decided that as the
exeraption was raade by -virtue of the Constitution
of the State only, the War department had no
authority, and could confer none upon the execu
tive of the State, to enforce the coUection of the
equivalent, or determine its amount.
In the correctness of this decision I fully concur,
and therefore refer the whole raatter to the Legisla
ture as a proper subject for its consideration.
I appointed J. P. Siddall, Esq., a coraraissioner,
under whose direction and supervision the draft
was raade. His duties were novel and difficult, but
were performed with great promptness and ability.
His report is herewith submitted.
Six Regiments.
At the extra session of the Legislature, an act
was passed authorizing the organization of six reg
iments of State troops, enlisting for the period of
twelve months. These regiments were raised, and
shortly after their organization four of them were
permitted to reorganize and enter the service of the
United States, for three years or during the war ;
the remaining two were subsequently transferred to
the service of the United States, under a pro"vision
in the act authorizing such transfer to fill the requi
sition for troops raade by the President of the Uni-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 259
ted States, the General governraent assuming all
expenses incurred in their organization and support.
Supplies.
During the first tive months of the war there was
no Federal quartermaster in this State, and the
General government furnished no supplies of any
kind for the equipment of Indiana troops, but all
necessary supplies were furnished by the State.
The State has also furnished large supplies from
time to time, since that, where they were required
for the health and prompt equipment of our troops,
and where the Government had failed or was una
ble to furnish them in time.
State Arms.
"When the war began the stock of arms on hand
belonging to the Government, was small and gen
erally of a very inferior quality. It was due to the
lives and honor of the brave men who went to the
field ; to the character of the State and the success
of our cause, that our troops should be furnished
"with the best arras that could be procured. Accord
ingly, I sent my agents into the market from tirae
to time, and purchased the best arms that could be
obtained upon fair terms, and this I continued to do
until such time as the Federal government requested
the States to desist frora the further purchase of
arms, alleging that it increased the competition and
raised the prices, and declaring that it would supply

260 LIFE, speeches and public services of
all troops, and would pay for no more arms pur
chased by the State. With the exception of a few
thousand, all the first class arms iu the hands of Ind
iana troops were purchased by the State ; but it has
been a source of great trouble and mortification that
a large portion of our troops, despite of all efforts
made, have been supplied "with arms of an inferior
quahty. In the months of August and September last, the
rebel army entered Kentucky, aud the war was
brought to our very border; the Ohio river was
low, and could be forded in raany places by cavahy,
and even infantry, and the peace of the State was
serioufsly threatened. In this eraergency, I believed
it to be ray duty to purchase 10,000 superior arms
for the use of Indiana troops, and I sent an agent
to New York, who succeeded in purchasing that
number of the first quality at fair prices. Mr. D.
R. Martin, president of the Ocean Bank, without
requiring any security, and upon the credit of the
State, advanced the money to pay for them, in all
?237,269 30. Shortly after the purchase of the
arms, the rebel forces were driven from Kentucky,
the tide of war flowed back frora our borders, and
the danger so seriouslythreatening the State passed
away. At that tirae we had in the State about 8000
troops preparing for service, but who were unarmed,
and no arms had been provided for them at aU proper
to be taken to the field. I therefore put these arms
in their hands upon a special agreement of the

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 261
Government, to pay for them at once. There was
a delay of a few weeks in getting the warrant
through the departments at Washington, but the
Governmeut has now paid the principal, but not
the interest ; the officers of the Treasury alleging
the want of authority to pay the interest.
Arsenal.
When our first regiments were ready to take the
field, they were unpro"\dded with ammunition, and
as none could be readily procured, it became
necessary to have it prepared. Mr. Sturm, now
the lieutenant colonel of the 54th regiment, was
engaged for that purpose. He had studied the art
in Europe, and was thoroughly instructed in all its
details. He succeeded well in the enterprise from
the beginning, and his ammunition was pronounced
the very best in use. Thus was the arsenal estab
lished, and as the demand for ammunition daily
increased, and the necessity so far frora passing
away becarae constantly greater as the war pro
gressed, what was first intended as a teraporary
convenience, became a large and permanent estab
lishment. Lieut. Col. Sturm continued at the
head of the estabhshment, managing it with great
success and ability, preparing ammunition of every
description for artillery and small arms, not only
supplying our own troops when going to the field,
but sending immense quantities to the armies iu
the West and South. In several emergencies, the

262 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
armies of the West and South were supplied from
here, when they could not procure it in tirae from
other arsenals, and serious disasters thereby
avoided. Shortly after the arsenal was fully established, it
was brought to the attention of the War depart
ment, and the ammunition having been thoroughly
tested, the Government agreed to pay for what had
already been issued, and to receive and pay for
what should be prepared thereafter, at prices which
were mutually satisfactory to both parties. These
prices were generally below what the Government
paid for ammunition, but such as it was beheved
would fairly indemnify the State for all costs and
expenses incurred on that account. Every effort
was raade to conduct the operations of the arsenal
with great econoray, while paj-ing a fair price to
the many operatives employed. Persons have
been employed soraetiraes to the number of five
hundred, and profitable occupation has thus been
furnished to many who otherwise would have
wanted the means of support. " My direction to
Col. Sturm was, to give the preference to those
whose relatives and supporters were in the field.
Up to the first day of January, 1862, there has
been prepared at the arsenal 92,000 rounds of
artiUery ammunition, and 21,915,500 rounds of
araraunition for sraall arms.
The report of Lieut. Col. Sturm, herewith sub-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 263
mitted, will show the extent and the result of the
operations in the arsenal.
An exaraination of the, arsenal account will
show that the State has not lost a dollar by it.
The prices fixed for the araraunition were intended
merely to cover all costs and expenses incurred in
its preparation, but by economy and successful
management, a balance will be found in favor of
the State. Quartermaster and Commissary General.
The first quarterraaster general I appointed after
the beginning of the war, was General Thoraas A.
Morris. He held the office but a short time, when
he resigned, and was succeeded by Gen. .lohn II.
Vajen, who remained in office till March 12th, 1 862,
when he resigned and was succeeded by Gen. John
C. New. On the 13th day of October, 1862, Gen.
New resigned and Gen. Asahel Stone, the present
acting quartermaster general, was appointed. The
reports of these several officers are herewith sub
mitted. Gen. Isaiah Mansur, the first commissary gen
eral, resigned on the 29th day of May, 1861, and
was succeeded by Gen. Asahel Stone, who has held
the office since. Their reports are herewith sub
mitted. The operations in the quarterraaster and cora-
missary departments have been large, involving
many contracts, and the disbursement of large sums

264 life, speeches and public services of
of money. They are a proper subject for legisla
tive investigation, to ascertain whether they have
been well and faithfully performed.
Care of the Sick and Wounded.
Shortly after the war began, it became apparent
that our sick and wounded soldiers, when aU had
been done for them that could be by regimental and
hospital surgeons, under the regulations, must in
very many cases, suffer greatly frora want of atten
tion, and necessary supplies. Accordingly, I very
early adopted the plan of sending agents to look
after the condition, and as far as possible supply
the wants of the Indiana troops. These agents
had their instructions to follow in the track of our
arraies, to pick up the sick and the wounded who
raay have fallen by the wayside, visit the hospitals,
report the names of the sick, wounded and dead,
afford relief wherever it could be afforded, inform
the State authorities what kind of supplies were
needed and where, visit the troops in the field and
ascertain their wants and condition, and aid in hav
ing their requisitions for supplies promptly ffiled.
These agents have generaUy performed their duty
well, and I believe, have been the instruments of
sa"ving the lives of hundreds of our gallant soldiers,
and of relieving a vast amount of suffering and
destitution. Many of their reports, aU of which
are herewith submitted, are descriptive of sufferings,
sorrows aud death, that would melt the stoutest

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 205
heart, and show better than can be learned in any
other way, the dreadful horrors of war. The labors
of these agents were uot confined to any particular
duties, but extended to every kind of relief that
soldiers might need. They aided iu procuring fur
loughs for the sick aud wounded, discharges for
such as would not be able to serve again, in furnish
ing transportation at the expense of the State for
such as had not the means of travel, and gettuig
home; recei"ving the soldiers' money and distribu
ting it to their families, hunting up the descriptis-e
rolls for such as had been long confined in hospitals,
but for want of their rolls could not be paid or dis
charged, visiting battle-fields, bringing home the
wounded, and distributing sanitary stores. In some
cases I directed the chartering of steamboats for the
transportation of the sick aud wounded, and in
general, instructed my agents to incur such expenses
as were absolutely necessary to enable them to
execute their mission. But notwithstanding all
that has been done, I have to lament that the
efforts have come far short of the mighty demand;
that much suffering has gone unrelieved, and that
many of our brave sons have languished and died
among strangers, in destitution and neglect, with
no friend present to soothe their last hours, or mark
the spot where their ashes sleep.
I have employed and sent to the field many addi
tional assistant surgeons, to remain until the emer
gency they were sent to relieve had passed. After
23

266 LIFE, speeches and public services of
severe battles, the regimental surgeons, worn do"wn
by fatigue and exposure, were found to be inade
quate to the care of the Avounded, and additional
aid became indispensable.
Many times all the surgeons of a regiment Avere
either sick or absent on detached duty, and their
places had to be supplied by temporary appoint
ments. They have generally discharged theu- duty
with ability, and to the satisfaction of those to Avhoni
they were sent, and for the promptitude with whicli
they left their business and responded to these sud
den calls, are entitled to the thanks of the State.
After the battle of Shiloh, and iu anticipation of
the conflict to come ofl' at Corinth, I applied to the
Secretary of War for permission to appoint two
additional assistant surgeons to each regiment in the
grand army of Major General HaUeck. The per
mission Avas granted, under which I sent about sca'-
enty surgeons to that army, and I am gratified to
believe that this moveraent led to the araendraent
of the law by which a thud surgeon was added to
each regiment, a measure greatly needed.
I ha\'e also established at Washington, LouisAuUe,
Nashville, Memphis, Cairo and Columbus, Ky., per
manent agents, Avho have rented houses aud keep
pubhc offices, where sanitary goods are deposited for
distribution, and to which soldiers can resort for
relief. These agencies are found to work well, and
are accomplishing a great deal of good. Perma
nent agents have been employed at Philadelphia,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 267
St. Louis, Keokuk and Ncav York, for the relief of
such Indiana soldiers as may be carried to those
points. The nuraber of soldiers passing through this city,
to and frora the army, or coming here to procure
discharges and furloughs, made it necessary to pro-
Adde quarters where they could receive lodging and
subsistence during their stay. Accordingly I pro
cured the erection of a " Soldier's Home, " which
has been, in the main, well managed, and has been
the source of relief aud comfort to thousands.
WTiile upon this subject, it is with great pleasure
that I lay before you the report of Dr. Hannaman
and Alfred Harrison, Esq., the president and secre
tary of the Sanitary Commission.
The Coramission began its operations regularly
on the Ist of March, 1862, and up to the 1st of Jan
uary, 1863, had received from various sources in
goods and money, the sum of |66,088 51. During
the same period they have supplied to sick and
Avounded Indiana soldiers $60,379 31, in such arti
cles as were best suited to their wants and condi
tion, leaving a balance in their hands of $2,942 80
in goods, and $2,768 40 in money.
I avail myself of this opportunity to tender on
behalf of the State, to the officers of the Commis
sion, and the gentlemen associated with them, my
sincere thanks for the unremitting industry and
devotion with which they have labored without

268 LIFE, speeches and public services of

reward or the hope thereof, in this great work of
patriotic benevolence.
The above statement only erabraces those sup
plies of stores and money which have passed
through the hands of the Commission, and does not
include those large but irregular contributions which
floAved through so many other channels for the
relief of our sick and wounded soldiers.
The greater part of all the stores, in whatever
manner sent, have been contributed by the noble
and patriotic women of Indiana. Not only have
they contributed raost liberally of their money, but
they have labored unceasingly Avith their hands, in
preparing those articles so necessary to the comfort
and recoA'ery of the sick and Avounded.
They have their reward in the inexpressible grat
itude that swells the hearts of the brave men Avho
are the recipients of their deeds of mercy. On this
subject I quote a brief extract from the report of
the Comraission. " The coramittee desire to express
in the strongest terras, their gratitude to the women
of Indiana who haA-e responded, with all the enthu
siasm and generosity of their sex, to the calls of the
committee ; they have in fact done the work, by
their labors, their contributions and their example ;
the committee have been merely their agents in
receiving and dispensing the fruits of their unboun
ded liberality. The same work and labor of love
is still before them, and the sarae spirit which has
so far actuated them will no doubt continue to fur-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 269
nish occupation for the Commission so long as the
occasion requires it. "
Immediately upon the first establishment of camps
in this city, the treatment of the sick was commit
ted to the care of Drs. Kitchen and Jameson. I
subsequently authorized the establishment of a hos
pital here, knoAvn as the " City Hospital, " under
the care and direction of the same gentlemen.
Their administration has been highly successful
aud satisfactory, and the hospital is justly regarded
as one of the very best in the Uuited States, The
AA-hole number of patients treated at this hospital,
from May 1, 1861, to January], 1863, was 5,495.
Your attention is invited to the report of Drs.
Kitchen aud Jameson, and to the just acknoAAdedg-
ment therein made of the services of the " Sisters of
Providence,"
War Loan,
By an act of the Legislature, approved May 13,
1861, the GoA'crnor Avas authorized to issue bonds
to the amount of $2,000,000, bearing interest at the
rate of 6 per cent, per annum, payable semi-annu
ally, and falling due 20 years after date, and Hugh
McCuUough, James M. Ray and John H. O'Boyle,
Esqs., were appointed a board of loan commission
ers to negotiate their sale.
Hugh McCuUough, Esq., haA-ing failed to accept
the position, I appointed Jesse J. Brown, Esq., to
fill the vacancy. The report of the operations of

270 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SEBA^CES OF
the board is hercAvith submitted, from which it avUx
appear that the bonds Avere sold on terms favorable
to the State, in Adew of the then depressed condi
tion of the money market, and when compared Avith
the sale of other Western securities. Of the
AA-hole amount sold, $1,225,500 remains outstanding,
and are a debt against the State. The remainder
haA-ing been redeemed at the same price at whicli
they were sold, adding only interest for the time
they were outstanding. To provide for the pay
ment of this debt, a tax was levied, the proceeds of
which, it is estimated, wUl extinguish it in four
years. National Direct Tax.
By the 6th section of an act of Congress approved
August 6th, 1861, a direct annual tax of twenty
millions of dollars was levied upou the Uuited
States, and apportioned among the several States.
The apportionment devolved the payment of
$904,875 33 on the State of Indiana.
By the 53d section of the act it was provided
that any State might assume, assess and collect its
portion of the tax and pay the same into the Treas
ury, and if thus paid on or before the last day of
June of the year for which it Avas levied, should
entitle such State to a deduction of fifteen per cent.
of the gross amount to be paid by such State. The
section further provides that notice of the intention
of the State to assume and pay her portion of the

GOVERNOR OLWER P. MORTON. 271
tax, Avithout the intervention of the Federal officers,
must be given to the Secretary of the Treasury by
the GoA'eruor, or other proper officer, on or before
the second Tuesday of February of each year in
Avhich the tax is to be paid. The section also con
tains this proviso : That the amount of direct tax
apportioned to any State shall be liable to be paid
or satisfied in Avhole or in part by the release of such
State duly executed to the United States, of any
liquidated and determined claim of any such State,
of equal amount against the United States; Pro-
A-ided, tbat in ease of such release, such State shall be
alloAved the same abatement of the amount of such
tax as would be aUowed in case of the payment of
the same in money.
From the very beginning of the war, the State
was corapelled to advance large sums of money to
equip and supply our volunteers, and, in fact, fur
nished supplies of every kind until the fall of 1861 ;
and it Avas belieA^ed shortly after the passage of that
act, that our advances, over and above all reimburse
ments, Avould soon be sufficient in amount to set
off the amount of tax apportioned against the
State. Accordingly I opened a correspondence with
the Secretary of the Treasury on the subject, and
ascertained from him that the advances made by the
State on behalf of our troops would be regarded as
a "claira" Avithin the spirit and raeaning of the
act, aud would be adraitted in payraent of the tax
to an amount which should be found due on settle-

272 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
raent. After consultation with the Auditor, Treas
urer and Secretary of State, and in conjunction Avith
t'tiem on the  day of December, 1861, 1 ffied iu
the office of the Secretary of the Treasury at Wa-sh-
in2;-tou, a paper officially signed, of which a copy is
hercAvith transmitted, in which we assumed that the
State would pay her portion of the direct tax A\dth-
out the intervention of Federal officers, and propos
ing to set-off against the same a like sum due to
the State for advances made in furnishing our troops,
and to release the United States from further habil
ity for the sum thus set-off and advanced against
the tax. This paper was accepted by the Secretary
of the Treasury, who thereupon declined to appoint
the officers proAided by the law to coUect the tax
Avithin this State. On the  day of January,
1862. Mr, Lange. the Auditor of State, proceeded to
Washington with the papers and vouchers embra
cing our claims against the Government up to that
time, for the purfiose of making settlement. He
found, however, that the mode of settlement with
the several States had not been determined upon, by
the Treasury department, and that the press of bus
iness in the- department Avas such as to prevent the
taking up of our accounts. He was directed to file
them in the department, to be taken up for adjust
raent whenever they could be reached. It then
became obvious that our accounts would not be set
tled and adjusted by the last day of June, 1861, so
as to be "hquidated and determined" within the

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 273
meaning of the act of Congress, as before quoted,
and that, after all, our set-off' against the tax Avas
about to fail.
Accordingly, I brought the raatter to the atten
tion of our congressional delegation, and asked
thera to procure, if possible, such legislation as
Avould facilitate the settlement of our accounts, and
if that could not be done, to procure an extension
of the time in A\-hieh accounts could be filed and
settlements raade, so that the advantage of the set
off' need uot be lost. After much trouble and delay,
they procured the passage of au act, which was
approved on the 13th day of May, 1 862, the conclud
ing part of which is as follows : " ProA-ided, tbat
in ease of such release, such State, Territory or Dis
trict shaU be aUowed the same abatement of the
amount of such tax as would be aUoAved in ease of
the payment of the same in money, shall be con
strued as applying to such claims of States for reim
bursement of exfienses incurred by thera in enroll-
in s. subsisting, clothing, supplying, arming, equip
ping, paying and tt-ansporting its troops employed
in aiding to suppress the present insurrection against
the United States, as shall be filed with the proper
officers of the United States before the thirtieth of
July next. And in such cases the abatement of
fifteen per centum shall be made on such portion
of said tax as raay be paid by the aUowance of such
clairas, in whole or in part, the same as if the final

274 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA^ICES OF
settlement aud hquidation thereof had been made
before the thirtieth of June."
This act healed the difficulty, aud under it Ave
have ffied with the proper officers, anterior to the
30th of July last, claims against the United States,
due to the State, more than enough to cover the
amount of tax due from the State, after deducting
the fifteen per cent, from the gross amount.
By this operation, the State has saved fiifteen per
cent, of the original amount, which is ^135,731 30,
reducing the amount from $904,875 33 to $765,144
03, and the latter sura is set-off and. paid by our
adA-ances, The arrangeraent is rautually advanta
geous to the State aud General governnient. It
Avould do the Governraent no good to draAV a large
araount of money from the people of the State for
taxes, while she was debtor to the State to a still
larger araount, which indebtedness raust soraetime
be paid by raoney raised by taxation. Besides this,
the Governraent was in no condition to reiraburse
the State in the fuU amount of her adA- ances, and if
these advances were not used to pay the direct tax,
the tax must have been collected from the people of
Indiana imraediatel}-, Avhile the advances Avould, in
all probability, reraain as a suspended debt for years
to come, on which the Government, if it followed
former precedents, Avould pay no interest, I re
spectfully recommend that the Legislature approve
my action, and that of the State officers, in the
premises.

GOA^ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 275
At the last session of Congress, the operation of
the act levying the direct tax upon the States Avas
suspended for three years.
War Expenses.
The Avhole amount of expenses incurred ou
account of the Avar, by the State, is one million nine
hundred aud sixty-nine thousand tAvo hundred and
forty-eight dollars and thirty-six cents ($1,969,-
248.36). The whole amount paid is one miUion
eight hundred and tAventy-two thousand nine hun
dred and sixty-eight dollars and forty-nine cents
($1,822,968.49). Leaving unpaid and outstanding
on the 1st day of January, 1863, claims amounting
to one hundred and forty-six thousand two hun
dred and seventy-nine dollars and eighty-seA^en
cents (146,279,87), all of which have been duly aud
ited and certified by the military auditing committee.
The account of the State against the United
States for expenses incurred for war purposes, to
January 1, 1863, stands as follows :
Total amount of expenses incurred  $1,969,248 30
Government draft returned to U. S. Treasury  68,701 60
Total  $2,037,949 96
On this account, the United States are entitled to
the foUoAving credits :
Proceeds of $450,000 treasury notes  $432,639 30
Paid by U. S. quartermaster  196,728 16
Paid on account of ammunition  279,803 71
Direct tax of 1861, deducting 15 per cent, 769,144 03
 $1,678,315 20
Leaving due from the U. S. Jan. 1, 1863  $359,634 75

276 LIFE, speeches and public services of
In the account against the United States, are
included expenditures to the amount of $43,160.62,
for which the State could not claim to be reim
bursed under existing laAvs, but which are an equit
able debt against the United States, and to cover
which I haA'e no doubt an act of Congress Avill yet
be passed. Public Debt,
The indebtedness of the State up to the ffi-st day
of .January, 1863, has been increased by the AA-ar as
folloAvs :
Due on war bonds  $1,225,500 00
Due on military claims  146,279 87
Increase,  §1,371,779 87
The entire pubhc debt of the State now stands as
follows :
Five per cent, stocks growing out of adjustment
with creditors iu 1846  $5,325,500 00
Two and a half per cent, stocks having the same
origin  2,058,173 60
War debt as above stated  1,371,779 87
In all,  $8,745,453 37
This statement, however, does not include 391
old Internal Improvement bonds of $1,000 each,
said to be outstanding, the holders of which failed
to comply with the adjustment made in 1846,
General Receipts and Disbursements,
The foUoAAung statement exhibits the receipts and
expenditures by the treasury during the fiscal years

GOVERNOR OLIA'ER P, MORTON, 277
ending October 31, 1861 and 1862, as shoAAm by the
reports of the Auditor of State :
Balance in the treasury November 1, 1860  $134,660 39
Receipts for year ending October 31, 1861  2,069,264 98
Disbursements for the year ending Oct. 31, 1861... 3,442,510 57
Balance in treasury November 1, 1801  $301,414 75
Receipts for the year ending October 31, 1862  $3,480,301 55
Disbursements for the year ending Oct. 31, 1802... 2,974,976 46
Balance in treasury November 1, 1862  $876,474 42
Gallantry of Indiana Troops,
While Ave rejoice in the bravery displaj-ed by aU
the armies of the United States, it is a subject of
profound congratulation that the Indiana troops
haA-e bebaA'cd Avith uniforra and distinguished gal
lantry in every action in whicli they have been en
gaged. They forra a part of every array iu tbe
field, and have been among the foremost iu deeds
of daring, while their blood has hallowed every
soU, The American Annual Cyclopedia justly declares
that "the Indiana troops haA-e been perhaps more
widely scattered through the different corps d'arm^e
than those of any other State," The same high
authority, in another place, speaks of the conduct
of Indiana troops in the field as follows : " When
ever they have been engaged in battle they haA'e
been eager to advance, steady in the fight, and
utterly averse to retreating,"

278 LIFE, speeches and public services of
Our troops, hitherto engaged in the peaceful pur-"
suits of trade and agriculture, have manifested that
lofty courage and high-toned chivalry of which
others have talked so much and possessed so little,
and which belongs only to the intelligent patriot,
who understands well the sacred cause in Avhich he
draws his sword.
Indiana has already made a large investment of
her best blood in the cause of this Union, and will
ncA-er consent to its dismemberment, or to a dishon
orable peace. The bones of her sons mingle with
the soil from Virginia and Missouri to Louisiana,
and she will not confess that the sacrifice has been
made in vain, or acknowledge that it was in an un
holy cause. Gen. Hackleman, Cols. Brown, Bass,
Link, Lieut. Cols. Hendricks, Bachman, Keith,
Gerber, Kirkpatrick, Crosswait, Topping and Wolf;
Majors Tanner, GaA'itt, May, Arn, Abbett and
Conklin — and many others, of lower rank, but with
valor not less distinguished, have yielded up their
lives upon the field that om country might be pre
served. Thousands of our private soldiers, Avith
equal courage and patriotisra, have faUen, the vic
tims of this unnatural rebeUion. They were fight
ing from deep convictions of duty and the love they
bore their country. Their unlettered graves mark
an hundred battle-fields, and our country can never
discharge to their meraory and their posterity the
debt of gratitude it owes. Our gratitude should
be testified by the tender care we take of their fami-

GOVERNOR OLIA'ER P. MORTON. 279
lies and dependent ones Avhom they left behind, by
the education of their children, and by the honor
Ave pay to their raemory.
Nor should we forget those who have perished
l)y disease in the camp or hospital. They were
denied the soldier's privilege of dying in battle, but
their sacrifice was none the less. To die in the field
amid the clash of contending armies and the roar
of battle, fighting in a holy cause, is glorious ; but
Avheu deatii comes slowly on, in the loneliness and
desolation of the hospital, with no mother or sister
present to soothe the passing spirit and minister as
love only can minister ; Avith none but the rough
hand of a comrade to press the clammy brow and
perform the last offices to the dying, it is terrible.
Soldiers' Families.
NotAvithstanding all that was being done by pub
lic and private benevolence, toward supporting the
fiimilies of soldiers, the evidence carae to me from
CA'ery part of the State, that many families were
destitute, and that great suffering must ensue dur
ing this Avinter, unless active steps were taken to
raise contributions and provide for the needy.
Accordingly, I issued an appeal to the people of
the State, a copy of Avliich is herewith filed, stating
the necessity and calling uxdou all Avho were able to
contribute of their means. I am gratified to be
able to report, that a very generous response has
been made to the appeal, that active measures have

280 life, speeches and public services of
been initiated in many counties iu the State, to re
lieve the necessities and proA'ide for the comfort of
the families of our soldiers who have abandoned
horae and all its endearments to fight the battles
of our country. The clergy of the state Avere espe
cially called upon to engage in the Avork of visita
tion and collecting contributions and have, as I
am informed, generally responded Avith zeal and
energy. It is, however, manifest that all efibrts will fall
short of raeeting the necessities of the case, and
that legislative aid will be required.
The circurastances by whicli we are surrounded
are novel and extraordinary, and should be met by
prorapt and extraordinary raeasures.
I therefore earnestly invite the early and faA-or-
able consideration of this subject by the Legislature,
Legion,
At the extra session of the Legislature a militia
law was passed, providing for the organization of
the Indiana Legion,
Although this law was defective in many res
pects, and should be amended, yet it provided the
frame-work of an organization which has rendered
most valuable serAuce during the war. To the offi
cers and men of the Indiana Legion, the State
chiefly owes the imraunity she has enjoyed from in
vasion, plunder and raurder, by the guerriUa and
marauding bands which infested many of the

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 281
adjoining counties in Kentucky. Not only so, their
aid and protection has been cheerfully and success
fully extended to the loyal citizens of Kentucky,
Avhen it has been called for. On several occasions
they met the enemy in battle, Avhen they ably
maintained the credit of the State, and behaved
Avitli that distinguished courage which has charac
terized the soldiers of Indiana throughout this war.
Some have fallen in battle, and I earnestly recom
mend that their famOiesbe provided for, aud placed
on a footing at least equal to the families of those
who fall in the Federal service. They also rendered
prompt and efficient service in guarding rebel pris
oners AA'hen the Federal forces perforraing that duty
Avere called into the field. Although the organiza
tion and operation of the Legion have been chiefly
confined to the counties bordering on the Ohio river,
yet much has been done in some of the interior
counties, and among them I would especially notice
the counties of Jennings, Decatur, Shelby, Tippe
canoe, Putnam, Parke and Vigo. The response
which was made from those counties, on sudden
calls for railitary force, was of the most energetic
aud satisfactory character. For a full account of
the operation of the Legion, I refer you to the able
and interesting report of Major General Love,
Your attention. is also specially called to the recora
raendations contained in his report relative to tbe
amendment of the militia law. It is very im
portant that provision be made presenting induce-
24

282 LIFE, speeches and public SERA'ICES of
ments to join the Legion, by proper exemptions and
payraent, and conferring the authority aud pointing
out the manner, by which the merabers of compa
nies shall be compeUed to attend meetings for drill
and respond to calls for service. Such authority is
doubtless contained in the law now, but its mode
of exercise is not determined. The Legislature
appropriated, for the support of the Legion, $70,-
000 for the year 1861, and $70,000 forthe year
1862. As Avill appear from the Auditor's report,
only the sura of $7,352 23 has beeu expended on
these appropriations up to the 31st day of October
last. The distribution of the fund araong the
counties and regiraents, as required by the act was
ncA-er raade by the Adjutant General, because of
insuperable difficulties growing out of defects in
the law, and the organization of the companies.
I trust the Legislature will make prompt provi
sion for the paj-ment of all claims growing out of
the operations of the Legion, and for a proper dis
tribution of the fund.
Strongly impressed how much the peace and
security of the State depended oh the efficiency of
the Legion, in the month of October, I summoned
the officers to this city to receive military instruc
tions in a school temporarily organized and con
ducted by Major General Love. Some 400 gentle
men were in attendance, and the spirit and devo
tion manifested by them, and their progress in mih-

governor OLIVER P. MORTON, 283
tary knoAvledge, were of the raost encouraging and
satisfactory character.
Proclamation calling out the Militia.
At the tirae of the invasion of Kentucky by
Kirby Sraith, the guerrillas infested the Kentucky
side of the Ohio river, from Lawrenceburg to Mount
Vernon, and at several points large bodies of rebel
cavalry were asserabled, and seemed to be aAvaiting
an opportunity to cross the river and invade the
State. The river was very low, in many places
fordable, and rauch alarm prevailed in our border
counties. Accordingly, I issued a proclamation, of which a
copy is herewith filed, requiring all the able-bodied
men, subject to military service, betAveen the ages of
18 and 45, in the counties, bordering on the Ohio
riA-er, to asserable at stated periods, with whatever
arms they could comraand, to organize theraselves
into corapanies and be instructed in military tactics.
This proclaraation Avas very generally acquiesced in,
and carried into execution by the people, and was
continued as long as the emergency seemed to re
quire. The preparations thus raade, in connection
with the Legion, for repelling and punishing iuA'a-
sion, deterred the guerriUa and marauding parties,
who were plundering and murdering the Union
men on the other side of the river, and protected
the hves and property of our citizens.

284 lu-e, speeches and public services of
Adjutant General.
I lay before you the able and interesting report of
Adjutant General Noble.
It contains a brief history of the operations of
the State in furnishing troops for the prosecution
of the war and much most valuable information. I
have instructed him to prepare another report, to
contain the name of every officer and private sol
dier AA'ho has entered the array from Indiana, with
the number of the regiraent, corapany or battery to
which he belonged. Such a report would be inval
uable hereafter as a work of history.
State Agency.
The report of Hon. R. N. Hudson, the Agent of
State, is liereAvith laid before you, and your atten
tion inA'ited to the recoraraendations contained in
it, to change the forra of indebtedness, by substitut
ing coupon bonds for certificates of stock, and abol
ish the office of Agent of State, as at present
organized. By the terms of the compromise with
the bond-holders, made in 1846, the State is re
quired to keep an office in Ncav York for the trans
fer of our stocks and the payment of the interest
on them. But this agreeraent can be complied with
fully by selecting some responsible bank, in such
manner as may be determined upon by the Legis
lature, to perform the duties that are now devolved
upon the Agent of State. Under the present sys-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 285
tem the risk attending the solvency of a bank has
to be incurred, for the Agent having no means of
safe-keeping the money remitted to him by the
Treasurer of State, deposits it in bank, and in pay
raent of interest to the holders of our stocks giA'cs
his checks upou the bank.
So rauch of the business, therefore, being neces
sarily done through the bank, I am of the opinion
that the rest of it could be devolved upon the bank,
with increased safety and economy to the State.
In 1846 the State of Indiana raade an adjustment
Avith her creditors, under which the former State
bonds Avere to be surrendered and canceled upou
certain conditions, and new stocks issued in ex
change. Out of this adjustment sprung the Indiana
five per cent, stocks, as known in the Ncav York
raarket. One of the conditions of the adjustraent Avas, that
the State should establish an agency in the city of
New York for the transfer of these stocks and the
payment of the interest upon thera.
By express enactment of the Legislature, it was
provided that these new certificates of stocks should
be transferable only at the agency in the city of
New York, on books provided for that purpose.
When stock was transferred the old certificate was
taken up and canceled, and a new one issued, made
payable to the person to Avhom the transfer Avas
raade. These certificates Avere not payable to bearer,
did uot pass by delivery frora hand to hand, and

286 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
were not negotiable in the sense of the law mer
chant. It was expressly intended they should not
be. At and before the time of the adjustment
spoken of it was claimed by the State that numbers
of her bonds, which had been deposited in New
York, or hypothecated for small sums of money,
aud for which the State had receiA-ed little or no
consideration, hadbeen improperly and fraudulently
put iuto circulation. But as they were genuine,
made payable to bearer, aud the property in them
•passed by mere delivery, she could not do otherwise
than recognize them as valid obligations. These
circumstances led to the peculiar provisions in re
gard to the new stocks. To carry out the new
arrangeraent, printed forras of the certificates of
stocks, signed by the Auditor and Treasurer of the
State of Indiana, were deposited with the State
Agent, in the city of New York, to be by him
countersigned and filled up as to dates, amounts,
names of parties, and registered in books provided
by the State for that purpose. It is not improper
to state here that this form aud raode of transfer,
before being enacted into a laAV, was subraitted to
and received the approA-al of Charles Butler, Esq.,
the agent and representative of the bond-holders, at
the time of the adjustment referred to, as I am in
formed and believe. Fears were entertained, how
ever, that by the fraud or connivance of the State
Agent, false certificates might be issued and frauds
perpetrated. Accordingly, the State Legislature,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 287
by an act AA'hich took eff'ect on the lltli day of
March, 1859, changed the mode and place of issue
of certificates of stock.
By this act it Avas provided, that thereafter no
certificates of stock should be issued by the Agent
of State, but that on the presentation to him of cer
tificates for transfer, he should receipt for them, and
immediately transmit thera to the Auditor of State,
¦at Indianapolis; that the Auditor should cancel
thera and file them in his office, for preservation and
reference, and issue, in the name of the person to
whom the transfer was to be raade, new certificates
of stock, to be signed by hira and the Treasurer of
State, and after registering thera in a book to be
provided by the Auditor for that purpose, send thera
to the Agent of State, to be by hira registered and
delivered to the proper person, upou presentation
of the receipt. The fourth section of this act de
clares that any certificate of stock issued or trans
ferred in violation of the provisions of the act shall
¦ be deemed fraudulent and A'oid as against the State
of Indiana. It wUl be perceived that this act
throws additional and, iu my opinion, abundant
safeguards around the issue of the stock. To avoid
the dangers and temptations Avhich this change iu
the law was designed to guard against, as soon as
the new law went into operation, the blank certifi
cates, signed by the officers of State, in the hands
of the State Agent, should have beeu promptly

288 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
withdi-awn by the officers of State and destroyed.
This Avas not done.
Wheu Col. Hudson, the present State Agent,
carae into office, early in February, 1861, he found
in the office in New York three bound volumes of
the forms, Avhich he iraraediately canceled, by
punching a hole through the signature of each form.
Stover Fraud.
In this connection I invite your attention to the
gigantic forgeries of Indiana five per cent, stocks
Avhich have been coraraitted in New York,
The Hon. Jaraes A, Cravens was elected State
Agent in February, 1859. He held the office about
nine raonths, during which tirae D. C. Stover acted
as his clerk. He then resigned, and Mr, Stover Avas
appointed by Gov. Willard, to fill the A-acancy.
He continued in office under this appointment
until February, 1861, when he was succeeded by Col.
Hudson, the present incumbent, who had been duly
elected by the Legislature. The forged certificates
of stock were executed upon the blank forms left
in the office of the Agent of State, which had been
signed by W. R, Nofsinger as State Treasurer and
IL E. Talbott as State Auditor. These gentiemen
came into office early in 1855, and Avent out early
in 1857, having served two years. The forgery con
sisted in falsely fiUing up the blanks as to dates,
names of payees and amounts, and signing the
name of Jaraes A. Cravens as Agent of State. The

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 289
forged certificates, so far as I am advised, bear date
in March, April and June, 1859, thus purporting
to be executed during the period in Avhicli Mr. Cra
vens was State Agent, though I believe they Avcre
executed and issued at a later date. I am informed
by Col. Hudson, that the forged certificates Avere all
made payable to Samuel Hallett except about §100,-
000 payable to a person by the name of Deschaux.
He further inforras rae that the Avliole amount issued,
so far as he has been able to discover, is $2,538,000,
of which amount $1,295,000 has been retired and
destroyed. Col. Hudson states, that he discovered
the existence of this spurious stock in a few Aveeks
after he came into office, and iraraediately charged
the matter upon Mr. Stover, who confessed it all,
but said there was only about $200,000 out, and
that if the matter were kept secret, he, aud those
operating AA'ith hira, would take up aud destroy
thera, so that nobody should lose anything by them.
Col. Hudson further says, not knoAving Avhat might
be the liability of the State upon these certificates,
he deeraed it highly iraportant for her interest that
they should be gotten off' the market and destroy
ed, and, for that purpose, agreed with them, for the
time, to coramunicate the matter to nobody, with
out however, giving them any assurance that they
should not be ultiraately exposed and prosecuted.
The knowledge of this forgery AA-as first corarau
nicated to me about the latter part of January last,
by Messrs. James M. Ray and Jesse J. Brown, tAvo
25

290 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
of the Loan Commissioners, appointed by the State
to negotiate her War Loan.
They had learned it from Mr. Lanier, of the firm
of Winslow, Lanier & Co., who had discovered it in
some way about the first of December prcAdous. I
iraraediately repaired to New York, and in corapany
Avith the Hon. John P. Usher, then the Attorney
General of Indiana, and Jesse J. BroAvn, Esq.,
endeavored to investigate the aff'air. In the opin
ion and confidence entertained by Colonel Hudson,
and some other gentleraen who had been consulted,
that Mr. Stover and those acting Avitli him would
retire the fraudulent stocks, I did not share, and was
not for that or auy other reason in favor of delaying
their exposure and prosecution a single hour.
Accordingly, I proceeded at once to place all the
facts of which I had any knowledge, in the posses
sion of Mr. Hall, the district attorney prosecuting
the pleas of the State for the city of Ncav York.
The crirae had been coramitted in New York,
and to the laws and authorities of that State its pun
ishment belonged.
Mr. HaU, after deliberation, and such investiga
tion as he could make, determined that an exposure
and prosecution of the parties at that time would be
highly inexpedient, and informed me that he took
the responsibility of deferring any pubhc disclosure
and prosecution until such time as in his judgment
it Avas proper to make them.
Matters thus stood from February untU about

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 291
the 27th day of May, when learning that the aff'air
had becorae public in New York, and believing that
no reason could exist for further delay in the prose
cution, I caused the arrest of Mr. Stover, Avho was
then in this State, and sent him to Ncav York. On
his arrest he freely consented to go, aud waived all
process or formal authority. The Hon. John F,
Kibbey, then acting Attorney General, by my direc
tion proceeded to Ncav York, and under the instruc
tions of Mr, HaU, filed a complaint before the grand
jurj', in the name of the State of Indiana, and
demanded an investigation.
The grand jury returned bills of indictment
against Stover and Hallett, At the September terra
of the court in Avhich the bills were pending, the
court quashed the indictments against Hallett, on
the ground that it Avas no crime against the laws of
New York to forge certificates or obligations pur
porting on their face to be executed by the State of
Indiana, Frora this decision Mr. HaU has prose
cuted a Avrit of error to the Court of Appeals, but
no decision thereon has been had.
The indictraents against Stover are still pending.
Wlien this forgery was first made public, Indiana
securities were suddenly depressed in the market
frora ten to tAventy per cent., but soon after rallied
to nearly or quite their forraer rates.
To avoid all embarrassment in the future, which
might arise from the existence of the forged certifi
cates, I recoraraend that the Auditor of State be

292
authorized to procure a new plate, differing in form
and appearance fi-om the old, upou which new cer
tificates shall be printed, and that the holders of aU
genuine stocks be requested to surrender them and
receive instead, certificates of the new impression,
July Interest on Stocks,
"Many of the AVestern States, araong thera Ohio
and Ilhnois, were raaking proAdsion in New York,
to pay the interest on their debt, in coin, in order
to raaintain the credit of their stocks.
As the credit of Indiana had receiA'ed a shock by
the development of forgeries of her stocks, and as
the circulation of many of the free banks of Indi
ana Avas based upon Indiana stocks, it seemed to me
especially important, that she should take the same
course, in order to assure her creditors and the pub
lic that her ability and disposition to pay her debts
were in no wise disturbed or impaired by this assault
upon her credit. Accordingly, I instructed Air.
Harvey, Treasurer of State, to proA-ide, if he could
upon reasonable terras, the coin Avith which. to pay
the July interest upon our stocks. This he did,
upon the terras, and in the manner stated in his
report. The announcement of the purpose of the
State to pay her interest in coin, had an immediate
aud salutary effect in restoring confidence and bring
ing back the value of our stocks to its former
standard. At the time I directed the payment of the July

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 293
interest in coin, the premium on coin Avas A-ery
small, but has since increased so greatly as to forbid
the like arrangement for the January interest.
Common Schools.
The operations of the Comraon School systera
for the past tAvo years have been quite successful.
The amendnients made to the School law at the last
regular session, so far as I can learn, have worked
Avell, aud meet Avith general approval. The report
of Prof MUes J. Fletcher, Superintendent of Pub
lic Instruction, for the year 1861, is laid before you,
but the report of the present Superintendent, Sam
uel L. Rugg, for the year 1862, has not been com
pleted. The Rev, Sarauel K, Hoshour was appointed
to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr,
Fletcher, Avho held the office until his successor was
duly elected and qualified.
Death of Miles J, Fletcher,
The death of Miles J. Fletcher was a misfortune
to the State. Possessed of fine talents, highly edu
cated, endowed with every accomplishment that
can make a man attractive in society, with a heart
full of the warmest affections and the raost gener
ous irapulses, he united with all these an indoraita
ble energy of character that gave no rest, and ever
pressed hira foi-Avard in the path of duty. His
industry was a marvel, and the amount of labor he
accomplished wonderful. The duties of his office

294 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
he discharged, uot scantily as a task, but Avith a
devotion and pleasure that were satisfied only with
a full performance. The cause of education he
regarded of the ffi-st iraportance, and the vocation
aud calling of the educator the most honorable and
dignified, next to that of the Christian ministei".
The misfortunes of his country deeply affiicted him,
and notwithstanding the delight he took iu the per
formance of his official duties, and his untiring
deA'otion to the education of youth, he would have
resigned his office and gone to the field, had he not
been dissuaded by his friends, who urged that he
could serA-e his country better in the position he
then held. He dcA'Oted much time, labor and mon
ey to the care of the sick and wounded soldiers.
He visited the hospitals and the field of battle to
hunt up and rainister to the neglected and the
d}'ing, and iu carrying a wounded man upon a
steamboat at Pittsburg Landing, shortly after the
battle of Shiloh, suffered a bodily injury, from
Avhich most likely he could never recover. Wheu
he was killed, he had started upon another raission
of mercy to the army. .1 Avas standing by his side
at the raoraent of his death, and never before did I
have brought horae to rae in such full force, that
saying of the poet, " That in the midst of life we
are iu death. " Had I been asked a moment before
AA'ho, among all the young men of Indiana, bade
fairest for a life of great usefulness and fame, I
woiUd have answered. Miles J. Fletcher,

governor oliver p, morton, 295
Benevolent Institutions,
The reports of the Boards of Trustees of the
Asylum for the Bhnd, Institution for the Deaf and
Dumb aud Hospital for the Insane, are hereAvith
submitted. The raanagement of these Institutions
for the past tAvo years has been eminently successful
and satisfactorj'. The superintendents have dis
played ability and fidelity, as Avell as the subordin
ate officers and teachers, and I comraend the reports
to your especial consideration, aud the Institutions
to your fostering care and attention.
Prisons North and South.
At the regular session of the Legislature in 1861,
the sum of 10,000 dollars Avas appropriated for the
purchase of materials, and construction of the
Northern Prison, located at Michigan city, for the
year 1861, and a like sura for the year 1862. At
the extra session in 1861, the sura of $30,000
was appropriated for raaterials and construction of
the Northern Prison, and for the support of con
victs, aud the payment of the expenses incurred for
the month of January, 1861.
At the same session a law was passed forthe trans
fer of 200 convicts from the Southern Prison, at Jef
fersonviUe, to the Northern Prison, but no pro
vision was made for their return in case their labor
should not be required. At the same session an act
was passed providing that all persons sent to the

296 life, speeches and public services of
penitentiary frora counties north of the national
road should be confined in the Norfhern Prison.
The work in the construction of the prison was vig
orously pressed in the suraraer aud fall of 1861, and
it Avas found necessary, by the board of directors,
iu order to keep the convict labor eraployed, to
anticipate, and draw upon the appropriation made
for the construction of the prison in 1862 ; so that
AA'hen the work for the year 1861 was closed up,
there remained unexpended of the fund appropria
ted for the construction of the prison in 1862, but
about $3,000. It was apparent, then, that the
labor of the convicts could not be employed in
the construction of the prison during the year 1862,
for the want of means with which to purchase the
necessary materials. The labor of the convicts
could not be leased or hired out to contractors for
the want of shops in tlie prison in which they could
be employed. To work the couA-icts out of the
prison aud about the town, would be so expensive,
in the employment of guards, as to raake their
labor unprofitable ; beside there was no authority
for doing so, except as connected with the construc
tion of the prison.
As the raatter stood, it was inevitable that the
convict labor should be almost wholly unemployed
throughout the year 1862, and must so continue
until the prison shops were constructed, when the
labor raight be hired to contractors, as in other pris
ons. K the shops were constructed in 1862, this

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 297
labor could be raade remunerative through the year
1863, but if not constructed until 1863, this could
not happen" until 1864. It Avas evident that the
St.ate Avould sustain a great loss by the delay in the
construction of the shops, and accordingly the
board of directors convened iu this city in February
last, and nij-self and other State officers invited to
be present for consultation ; and after full consider
ation of the subject, it was believed by all to be
clearly to the interest of the State that the Avork of
construction of the shops should be commenced at
the earliest moment, provided the contract could be
let at fair prices, and the contractor, being fully
advised of the condition of affairs, should be Avill
ing to await the action of the Legislature for his
pay. The board of directors then proceeded to
advertise for proposals for the Avork, aud a public
letting was had. I directed Mr. John B. Stumph,
of this city, reputed to be an honest and capable
builder, to be present at the letting, and see tbat the
contract AvaS properly made, and in accordance Avith
the plans and specifications before that time adopted
by the State for the construction of the shops. The
contract, I have every reason to believe, was fairly
made, upon terras, as I am informed, fifteen per
cent, below the original contract for the same work,
and at least twenty per cent, below Avhat the same
work could uoav be let for in cash. The shops
have been corapleted, and Mr, Stumph was again
directed to exaraine and raeasure the work ; his

298 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
report of the letting, quahty and measurement of
the work is hereAvith submitted. In view of the
early completion of the shops, the board of direc
tors were able to lease the labor of the convicts
upon terms highly favorable to the State, This
business is a proper subject for legislative investi
gation, which I hope will be promptly raade, and
that means will be speedily provided to pay the con
tractor the araount which shall be found to be hon
estly due.
The report of the board of directors, together
with that of the warden and superintendent, are
herewith submitted. The general adrainistration
of the aff'airs of the prison have been satisfactory,
and the board of directors have raanifested much
zeal and ability in the discharge of the important
duties entrusted to them.
The report of the board of directors and warden
of the Southern Prison, at Jeff'ersonville, is here
with submitted. The aff'airs of this prison, I
believe, have been well raanaged, and I know of no
just grounds for coraplaint. I recommend, how
ever, that the management, condition and wants of
both prisons receive the early and thorough consid
eration of the Legislature.
United States Arsenal and Armory.
At the last session of Congress an act was passed,
appropriating $100,000 for the purchase of grounds
and construction of buildings, and necessary ma-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 299
chinery for an Arsenal and Armory to bo located
in/ this city.
The grounds have been purchased and the con
struction of the buildings will be coraraenced, as
soon as the Legislature shall have relinquished the
jurisdiction over such grounds, so far as required by
the laws of the United States.
Congressional Donation.
On the 2d day of July, 1862, the Congress of the
United States passed an act donating to each of the
States not in rebellion against the Government, an
araount of public lands equal to 30,000 acres for
each senator and representative in Congress, to
which the States are respectively entitled by the
apportionraent under the census of 1860. This
entitles Indiana to 390,000 acres. Whenever there
are public lands in the State, subject to sale at pri
vate entry at $1.25 per acre, the quantity to which
the State is entitled shall be selected frora such lands,
but if there are no such lands in the State, or not
enough, the Secretary of the Interior is to issue to
the State land scrip for the requisite number of
acres. This scrip can not be located by the State to
which it is issued, but must be sold ; but the pur
chasers may locate it upon any of the unappropri
ated lands of the United States subject to sale at pri
vate entry at $1.25 or less per acre.
There being no public lands in this State for sale
at private entry, held by the Government at $1.25

300 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
per acre, Indiana is entitled to receive her donation
in scrip.
This donation is made upon the foUoAving condi
tions: First — That all raoneys derived from the
sale of lands or scrip shall be invested in stocks of
the United States, or of the States, or some other
safe stocks yielding not less than five per centum
per annum, on the par value.
Second — That the money so invested shall con
stitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall
never be diminished, except as hereinafter stated.
Third — The interest on the stocks to be inviola
bly appropriated by the State, to the endowment
and support of at least one college in which the
leading object shall be, without excluding scientific
and other classical studies, and including railitary
tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are
related to agriculture and the mechanic arts.
Fourth — If any portion of the fund thus invested
shaU by any contingency be lost, it shaU be fully
restored by the State,
Fifth — That no portion of the said fund shall be
applied to the purchase, repair, or erection of any
building, but that a sum not exceeding ten per cent.
of the original amount raay be expended for the
purchase of sites or experiinental farms.
Sixth — No State shall be entitled to the donation,
unless the Legislature shall express its acceptance
thereof, within two years from the date of the
approval of the act by the President,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 301
I recoramend that the Legislature proraptiy
express its acceptance of the grant, pledging the
faith of the State for the perforraance of the con
ditions upon Avhich it is made.
The necessity for scientific instruction in agricul
ture, is generally acknowledged, and Congress in
tended by this magnificent donation to provide
means for the permanent establishraent of at least
one efficient agricultural college in each State.
The question presents itself as to the disposition
which shall be raade of the grant. Shall it be given
to the State university, or apportioned araong all
the colleges in the State, upon such terms and con
ditions as the Legislature may prescribe ; or shall
a new institution be created expressly designed to
carry out the Avill of Congress ? It may be difficult
now to determine the question, from the fact that
we can not know how much raay be realized frora
the sale of scrip. If an amount should be realized
large enough to endow respectable and successful
professorships in each of the colleges now in the
State, attaching to them experimental farras, it
would perhaps be the best disposition of it that
could be made. But if it should not be large enough
for such division, which I apprehend will be the
case, then I recommend that it be apphed to the
establishment of an institution for agricultural and
military instruction, to which the children of sol
diers Avho shall die in the service during this war,
shall be admitted free of charge.

302 life, speeches and public services of
Attorney General.
On the 10th day of October, 1861, the Hon.
Jaraes G. Jones, Attorney General, resigned and
accepted a coraraission in the railitary service. I
imniediately appointed the Hon. John P. Usher to
fill the vacancy, who served untU the 17th day of
March, 1862, Avhen he resigned, having been called
to the Department of the Interior as Assistant Sec
retary, The vacancy thus created I ffiled by the
appointment of Hon, John F, Kibbey, who served
until his successor was elected and qualified. These
officers discharged their duties Avith ability.
Wealth of the State,
The mineral resources of Indiana are but imper
fectly understood. Nearly one-fourth of the whole
area of the State is a coal-field, a large part of which
is of the finest quality Excellent iron ore is found
in.A-ast quantities in many counties, and although
but little worked as yet, AviU be the source of great
wealth and prosperity in the future. Throughout
the State, excepting a few smaU localities, the soU
is rich and fertile, capable of producing all the
grains and grasses in the greatest abundance. The
State abounds in fine timber and hAdng streams o,f
water, and in every respect presents the facilities for
an easy and profitable agriculture ; while an abund
ance of coal and Avater power furnishes the means
for manufacturing on the largest scale and cheapest
terms. From surveys, geological examinations, aud

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 303
every source of knoAvledge open, in reference to the
topography and soil of Indiana, I think it safe to
say that no State in the Union having an equal
number of square miles has less land not suscepti
ble of cultivation. The State is traversed in every
direction by lines of railroad well raanaged and in
successful operation. In 1860, there was in the
State 2,125 miles of railroad in operation, the con
struction of Avhich is estiraated to have cost $70,-
295,148 ; aud it raay not be improper to remark
that all these roads were built without the aid of
grants of land by the Federal governraent. Yet
these roads do not furnish sufficient faciUties for the
accommodation of the traveling pubhc, and the
transportation of the immense productions of the
State. Sorae idea raay be obtained of the raagni
tude of these productions by giving the statistics
of a few leading articles as shown by the last census.
In 1860 there were produced in the State :
69,641,591 bushels of corn.
15,219,120 bushels of wheat.
5,028,755 bushels of oats.
7,246,132 pounds of tobacco
2,466,264 pounds of wool.
3,873,130 bushels of Irish potatoes.
635,322 tons of hay.
Although the population of Indiana has doubled
in the last twenty years, and the general growth of
the State in raaterial wealth has been in a hke ratio,
yet we can uot doubt that the increase would have

304 life, speeches and public sera-ices of
been far greater but for the operation of certain
causes. In 1836 the State embarked in an extrava
gant and reckless system of internal improvements.
To prosecute it, large sums of raoney were required,
and borrowed at heavy rates of interest, and the
bonds of the State were in raany cases squandered
and passed into circulation without any adequate
consideration having been received. Many canals,
railroads, and turnpikes were surA'cyed and the con
struction comraenced. But a bad system in the
beginning, its prosecution Avas badly managed, and
the result was that in 1846 the State found itself in
debt to the amount of $11,090,000, and not a single
Avork corapleted, the interest on the debt unpaid,
and the credit of the State utterly prostrated. In
the raean time raany of our citizens, seeing that
the raoney of the State had been squandered while
but little had been accomplished, believing that
public improvements had been indefinitely postpon
ed, that a cloud was resting upon her reputation,
and anticipating high taxes for many years to come,
left the State and sought new homes elsewhere.
The financial character of the State abroad had suf
fered greatly. Sorae supposed the State had repu
diated her debts ; others that she was hopelessly
bankrupt ; and others that to recoA-er from her em-
banassraents her people must be heavily taxed for
generations to come. By these notions, and the
general bad impressions prevailing, the current of

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 305
emigration was turned aside iu great part, or SAvept
over us to the States in the West.
In 1846 an arrangement was made with our cred
itors upon terras proposed by theraselves, by Avhich
nearly one-half of the debt Avas liquidated by the
transfer of the Wabash and Erie canal, and the
State resuraed payment of the interest on the other
half; but it Avas not until many years of faithful
discharge of her pecuniary obligations the cre
dit of the State was entirely restored.
At the battle of Buena Vista an event occurred
which exercised an iraportant and pernicious influ
ence on the groAvth and prosperity of the State.
The Second Indiana regiment, by the coAvardice or
incompetency of a single officer, Avas led into a false
movement Avhich resulted in a confused and disor
derly retreat. The regiraent Avas coraposed of as
good and brave men as any other, but through the
malice of the arch traitor, Jeff. Davis, Avho reported
them to General Taylor as cowards, or the indifl'er
ence and stupidity of those Avho should have vindi
cated them, they Avere publicly disgraced, and with
them the State to which they belonged. For years
the Second Indiana regiment Avas a by-word, and
the valor of the State sneered at by the ignorant
and thoughtless.
This affair, combined with the bad financial char
acter of the State, led the uninformed abroad to
regard her with aA-ersion or conterapt, and the emi
grant was discouraged from coming within her bor-
26

306 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ders to seek a horae, "When a man is about to seek
a new home, very smaU causes vrill determine him
to go to one State or another. The general good
impression he has of one, or bad irapression of
another, fixes his choice.
If one State is charged with bankruptcy, or a
heavy debt, or suspected of heavy taxes, or the
valor of the people spoken of lightly, he avUI go
around it, or rapidly across it "without stopping, to
seek his new horae in one beyond. It is worth
while to pause a raoraent and reflect upon what
triffing and irrelevant causes the progress and pros
perity of a State will soraetiraes depend.
The disaster at Buena Vista, which should have
disgraced but a single raan, retarded the progress
of a great State ; and I am of opinion that, but for
the causes I have been considering, the population
of Indiana in 1860 would haA-e been quite 2,000,000
instead of 1,339,000. Our disaster at Buena Vista
has happened to others during this war, but the fre
quency of the occurrence seems to haA-e diminished
its importance. We are taught by this passage in
our histoi-y, that the honor of a State should be jeal
ously preserved. "Whatever it may cost to preserve
i"ts faith, it Avill cost more if it be suffered to tarnish.
The folly of the system of 1837 was only exceeded
by that which subsequently permitted the interest
on the public debt to reraain unpaid for six years.
But now, through the progress of wealth and
population, and the faithful performance of aU obh-

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 307
gations for many years, the credit of the State is
entirely restored and placed upon a high and secure
basis ; while the A-alor of her sons has been vindi
cated upon an hundi-ed battle fields, and may now
justly challenge the admiration of the wprld.
The War — President's Proclamation,.
A number of States are in rebellion against the
Government, endeavoring to dissolve the Union,
and estabhsh a new confederacy ; they have large
armies in the field, and are making Avar upou a
grand scale. It is said by some that Ave can com
promise, and raake peace. But Avhat is raeant by
coraproraise? Would consenting to a dissolution of
the Union, disraerabermeut of our territory and
establishment of an independent confederacy be
regard(^d as a comproraise ? If so, Ave can compro
mise. Have the rebels ever intimated, or held out
proposals for peace on any other terms ? K they
have, I have no knowledge of it. On the contrary,
they have, in every form, and on CA-ery occasion,
declared their unalterable purpose to accept only of
disunion aud independence,
Sorae two weeks ago, Wm, L. Yancey, one of the
' most able and influential raen in the rebel States,
Avas iuA-ited to address the Legislature of Alabama.
In the course of his speech, he reviewed in the
raost scornftd and contemptuous language, the pro
posals for compromise and peace, which had eome
frora the North, and spit upon the raen who offered

308 LIFE, speeches and public services OP
them, declaring that they would prove as false to
the South as they had recreant to the North. He
expressed, however, a hope that the South would
receive great- beneflt from dissensions in the North,
and upon that subject used the foUowing language :
" We have something to hope, however, from this
division of the councils of our enemies — from their
fierce party strife and jealousies. Upou this hope
let us buUd our oavu unity — upon their jealousies
let us buUd our own harmony, — upon these clash-
ings of party interests let us bind together our oavu
patriotic energies — upon their seffishness and folly
let us base a prayer to God that he would enable us
to exhibit, in behalf of our beloved country, a self-
sacrificing Avisdom, both in opinion and action, in
aU raatters appertaining to our defense.''
Why then should the people of the North be
deluded with the idea that coraproraise is possible,
and thus induced to abandon their efforts to sup
press the rebeUion ? Why should they be divided
araong theraselA-es, and Aveakened by the proclama
tion of a hope so utterly fallacious ? Sorae there
ai-e AA'ho profess to believe that all we have to do to
bring about peace and a restoration of the Union,
is to lay doAvn our arras and withdraw from the
conflict. Peace, temporary and hollow, might be
had upon such terms, but not a restoration of the
Union. It Avould be a dishonorable and shameful
surrender, forever tarnishing the character of the

GOA-ERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 309
Nation, and History Avould Avrite down as infamous
the instruments by which it Avas accomplished.
Others say that we should re-construct the Union,
in doing which the Ncav England States should be
left out. But what have the New England States
done that they should be left out? It is said we are
paying heavy duties on imports to sustain their
raanufactures, and are in that way oppressed. If
so, let us repeal thera. The New England States
are but six, Avhile the States of the Northwest alone
are nine, Avith the prospect of an indefinite increase.
That, howcA'er, is not the real objection. It is that
their political principles are offensive, and the men
Avho would turn them out, desire to construct a
republic in Avhich they can hold the poAver, Such a
project would be criminal to the last degree, if it
were not insane. The fortunes of parties are A-ari-
able. The party in power to-day is doAvn to-raor-
roAV, and the victors are, in turn, ovei-Avhelnied and
so it goes from year to year. The scheme of con
structing a republic, taking in such States as are
favorable, and turning out such as are not, presents
the last stage of partisan insanity. It Avould be
foi-raing a repubhc for the party, and not the party
for th^ republic, A government founded upon such
ignoble purposes could not stand, and would not
deserve to.
In every point of view, the scheme just consid
ered, is full of dishonor and ruin. Our Union once
dissoh'ed, and our present relations broken up, all

310 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
that is traditional and sacred would be lost, and any
future aUiances that States might form with each
other Avould be regarded as raere arrangements of
convenience, possessing no tie beyond the interests
of the hour, and hable to dissolve at the first out
break of faction.
The President has issued his proclamation offer
ing freedom to slaves held in certain of the rebel
lious States. It remains to be seen Avhat eff'ect this
proclamation will have in suppressing the rebellion ;
but whether it be effectual or not, for the purpose
for Avhich it Avas intended, the authority upon which
it was issued is beyond question.
If the rebels do not desire the Government of the
United States to interfere with their slaves, let them
cease to employ them in the prosecution of the Avar,
They should not use thera to build fortifications,
manage their baggage trains, perform all the labor
of the camp and the march, and above all to raise
provisions upon which to subsist their armies. K
they employ the institution of slavery as an instru
ment of Avar, like other instruraents of war, it is
subject to destruction. Deprive them of slave
labor, and three fourths of the men composing
then- armies would be compeUed to return home
to raise food upon which to subsist themselves and
families. If they are permitted to retain slave
labor, they are enabled to raaintain their armies in
great force, and to destroy that force avc are com-

GOVERNOR OLIA'EPi. P, MORTON, 311
polled to shed rauch of our best blood. Let us not
be more tender of their property, than avc are of
our blood.
But it is said the emancipation of the slaves avUI
lead to insurrection, aud the sacrifice of innocent
women and children. Such an event Avould be
greatly deplored. But it is not, in ray judgnient, a
necessary result, or one hkely to occur. The history
of insurrections shoAvs that they spring not frora
eraancipation, but fi-ora despair. But if it were,
I should say to the rebels, that if they were unwill
ing to incur the dangers of insurrection, and do not
Avish the Governraent to meddle with their slaves,
they must cease to eraploy thera in the prosecution
of the war, AA'^ith what propriety can they eraploy
the institution of slavery as a raeans of our destruc
tion, and at the same time ask us to let it alone ?
As Avell raight they place their Avoraen and childi-en
in the front of their ranks, fire over their heads at
us, and then call upon us not to fire back for fear of
hurting them.
The madness which would inaugurate cIa-U war
in the North and set neighbors and brothers to cut
ting each other's throats, because the President has
proclairaed freedora to slaves in States which haA'e
atterapted to secede frora the Union — ^have utterly
rejected the authority of the Constitution of the
United States — ^have forraed for themselves a new
Constitution — made a new flag, and to maintain

312 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
these are Avaging an unnatural and bloody war, ia
beyond human comprehension.
That we should fall upon and devour each other,
to protect the constitutional rights of those Avho
declare to the world that they have forever re
nounced and abjured all allegiance to the Coustitu
tion and Government of the United States, would
be a spectacle so raonstrous that no paraUel could be
found iu history.
There is but one salvation for this people, and
that is the suppression of the rebellion and the
restoration of the Union ; and this can surely be
accomphshed if we are but united ; and I pray God
that the storms of party and passion, which now
obscure the heavens, may speedily pass away, and
again discover us to the world a united people, unal
terably resolA'cd to vindicate our honor, and pre-
serA'C the Union which our fathers gave.
I believe that the raasses of men of all parties
are loyal, and are united in their determination to
maintain our Government, hoAvever much they may
diff'er upon other points ; and I do sincerely hope
that raen of all parties will be Avilling to abate much
of their peculiar opinions in subordination to the
great cause of preserving our national honor and
existence. And in conclusion, alloAV me to express
my confidence that your deliberations will be ani
mated only by an ardent desire to foster the honor
and interests of our beloved State, and to cherish
and protect, at whatever cost, the power and

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 313
the glory of the government of our common
country, Oliver P, Morton,
Governor of Indiana,
January 9th, 1863.

GoviERNOR Morton's Reply to the Request of the
House of Representatives for the Re-delivery
OF his Message,
[On Friday, the second day of this session of the Legislature,
the Governor sent in his Message to the House of Representatives.
This body refused to receive it, and it was returned. Afterward,
on the 15th of January, the House passed a resolution requesting
the Governor to re-deliver his Message. The following is his re
ply to that resolution :]
State of Indiana, Executive Department,
Indianapolis, January 19, 1863.
To the House of Representatives of the State of Indiana:
On Friday, the second day of the session, I sent
my Message to the House, with all due respect, un
der the foUoAving circurastances : The Message had
been prepared to be read in the presence of both
Houses, and I expected to have delivered it, at the
ordinary tirae, which is on Friday the second day
of the session, at 2 P. M., and in this expectation
advance copies had been sent to the press at A'ari-
ous places and it would appear in the papers on
Saturday morning, 27

314 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
Immediately after the visit of the Coraraittee on
Friday afternoon, I was assured that there was uo
prospect of a Joint Convention on that afternoon,
or at any other tirae soon, to receive the Message,
and at once determined to send it in print to each
House, Such a course was clearly constitutional, and in
accordance with the practice in the Federal and
most of the State governraents.
On Saturday, the third day of the session, I
received the following resolution, adopted by your
Honorable Body :
Resolved, As there was no Senate in session, and no General
Assembly to receive such address as contemplated by the Consti
tution, that this House refuse to receive the Message of His Ex
cellency the Governor communicated to it yesterday, and that
the same be respectfully returned to him, to wait the further
action of this General Assembly.
The return of the Message is predicated on the
stateraent that there was no Senate in session, aud
no General Asserably to receive such an address as
conteraplated by the Constitution,
As soon as Mr, Holloway delivered the Message
to the House, he repaired to the Senate and found
the president in tbe chair, the clerks at their desks,
many senators in the chamber, and debate going on.
But suppose the Senate was not in session, how
does it affect the question ? Both Houses were fully
organized on the day before, a quorum of the mem
bers of each having been present, and aU their x)ffi-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 315
cers having been duly elected and qualified, of which
I had been officially inforraed.
Each House sits on its own adjournraents, and it
often happens that one House Avill transact irapor
tant business and pass bills when the other House
is not in session. Has the validity of such action
ever been caUed in question, because the other House
Avas not in session at the sarae hour? The validity
of the action of each House depends upou the fact
that it is part of an existing General Asserably, but
according to the doctrine of the resolution, there
can be no General Assembly unless each House is in
session at the same hour.
If the position be correct, the action of the House
on the second and third days of the session, while
there was no Senate in session, in passing resolu
tions, including the one sent to me, was clearly
invalid. I respectfully subrait that, as a matter of law,
logic, and practice, the position is wholly untenable.
What difference could it make if the Message hav
ing been sent to the House on one day, was not
sent to the Senate until next day, or the next week?
On the 27th day of December, 1859, Mr, Buch
anan sent his Message to the Senate of the United
States, the House of Representatives not ,being
organized, having faUed to elect a Speaker. The
Senate, unable to perceive any objection, received
and read the Message.
On Tuesday, the 6th day of January inst.. Gov-

316 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP
ernor Seymour, of New York, sent his Message to
the Senate, the other House being unorganized,
not having elected a Speaker, and being incapable
of transacting any business until its organization
was completed.
On the 15th day of January inst., your Honor
able Body passed a resolution, of which I quote the
first sentence:
" Resolved, By the House (the Senate concurring) that the thanks
of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana are due, and are
hereby tendered to the Hon. Horatio Seymour, Governor of New
Tork, for the able and patriotic defence of the Constitution, the
laws and liberties, of the American citizen contained in his late
Message to the Legislature of that State, and particularly for
his just and high appreciation of the interests, position and
patriotism of the great Northwest. "
The point to which I call your attention is that
iu this resolution your Honorable Body have
expressly recognized the Message of Governor Sey
mour as having been dehA'cred to the Legislature
of New York, although it was delivered only to the
Senate, the House not being organized.
The action of the House, then, stands thus : On
the third day of the session, after the complete
organization of both the House and the Senate,
the House, by resolution, returned ray Message,
with the accorapanying documents, on the ground
that at the time of its delivery the Senate was not
in session, and there was no General Assembly with
in the raeaning of the Constitution to receive it.

¦GOVERNOR OLIATEK P, MORTON, 317
This resolution was passed when the Senate was
not in session.
On the 7th day of the session the House passed
another resolution thanking Governor Seymour for
his Message, and expressly recognizing it as having
been dehvered to the Legislature of New York,
although it had only been delivered to-' the Senate,
the House not being j-et organized.
Having transmitted ray Message to the House in
a proper and respectful raanner, and it having been,
in ray judgraent, unnecessarily and improperly
rejected, I have nothing further to. submit at this
tirae. Very respectfuUy,
0. P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.

318 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

CHAPTER X.
Governor Morton's appeal to the patriotic women of Indiana
— An appeal to the people of Indiana — His appeal to Congress in
behalf of the soldiers — Message to the Legislature — Letter to
James Winslo^, Esq.
Appended to the foregoing message and letters
are the following papers, which we here insert,
although some of them are dated prior to the period
of which we now write, and might seem to the cas
ual reader, to be out of place. We raake the pub
lication in this place for two reasons : First, because
they did not come to hand in tirae for insertion in
the proper place, and second, they are too valuable
to be lost : they speak volumes in favor of Gov
ernor Morton's devotion to the soldier's interest.

To THE Patriotic Women of Indiana,
When the President issued his first call to the loy
al States for help the Governmeut was unprovided
with most, if not aU, the articles necessary to the
comfort and health of soldiers in the camp and
the field. The woraen of Indiana were appealed to,
and they supplied the deflciency in our State Avitli a
generous alacrity that entitles thera to the gratitude
of the nation. The approach of Avinter raakes it
necessary to appeal to thera again. Our volun
teers, already suffering frora exposure, against

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 319
which they are very inadequately protected, will
soon be compelled to endure the utmost severity of
winter and multiplied dangers of disease. The
Government is doing all that can be done for them,
but when all is done they must still lack many of
the comforts which men in ordinary pursuits enjoy,
and which soldiers need above all others. Many
articles of clothing that, to raen with houses over
their heads and warra fires always near, are hardly
more than a luxury, to men with no protection but
a tent, no bed but the ground, and whose duty
must be performed under the unabated rigor of
winter, are absolute necessaries. They may save
raany lives that will surely be lost without thera.
These the patriotic women of Indiana, it is hoped,
will supply.
An additional blanket to every raan in our array
will preserve hundreds to the country and to
their farailies. Two or three pairs of good strong
socks Avill be invaluable to men who must often
march all day in the snow, and without thera raust
lie down with cold and benurabed feet on the frozen
ground. Good woolen gloves or mittens will pro
tect their hands in marching, and in handhng their
arms, and, while adding greatly to their corafort,
will materially increase their efficiency. Woolen
drawers, and shirts too, are a necessity to men
exposed tp such vicissitudes of weather as soldiers.
All these articles the Indiana volunteers ought to
have now, and must before winter sets in, if we

320 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP
would protect them from exposure and disease that
may be averted by this timely preparation. Some
of these articles the Government does not furnish,
and others not in sufficient quantities to supply the
waste produced by the exposures of a soldier's hfe.
Blankets can not be purchased. The stock is com
pletely exhausted, and the Government is solicit
ing contributions from the citizens,
WiU not the women of Indiana do their share
in providing for the raen of Indiana in the battle
field ? An hour of each day, for a week, given to the
manufacture of the articles naraed will provide an
araple store. Are they not ready to give that, and
more if needed? I urge upon them the duty of
promptly beginning the work. Let thera at once
forward, at the State's expense, to the State Quar
terraaster, such blankets as they can spare. They
AviU be iraraediately and carefully sent to such regi
ments as the donors prefer, if they have any prefer
ence. Let them singly or by association, set about
the manufacture of woolen shirts, drawers, socks
and gloves. The sewing societies of our churches
have here a field for exertion Avider and grander
than they AviU ever find again, WiU they not give
their associations for a time to this beneficent ob
ject? The nuraerous feraale benevolent societies,
by giving their energies and organizations to this
Avork, can speedily provide the necessary supply.
Let woraen through the country, who have no op
portunity to join such associations, eraulate each

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 321
other in their laboi-s, and see who shall do most for
their country and their defenders in this hom- of
trial. The articles should be sent to the Quartermaster,
with a card, stating the name and residence of the
donor, and their destination, if she has any choice.
The narae wiU be recorded and preserved with the
mmiber and kind of articles sent. The woraen
alone can raeet this eraergency, and to thera our
volunteers, as well as the Governraent, look for
sympathy and aid. 0. P. Morton,
October 15, 1861. Governor of Indiana.

As Appeal to the People of Indiana.
Indiana has at this time nearly one hundi-ed
thousand of her sons in the field, enduring the
hardship and privations incident to the life of sol
diers. They have gone forth at the call of their
country to defend "with their hves the Constitution
and the Goveruraent under which we live. Thou
sands of these brave and patriotic raen have left
behind thera farailies, with teraporary provision
only for their support. In raany cases these fam
ilies, during the approaching Avinter, Avill be iu
need of the ordinary comforts and necessaries of
life, and destitute of the raeans of procuring thera.
Many of them are too spirited to ask for assist
ance ; others, unless some system is adopted for
their rehef, AviU not know where to apply. The

322 life, speeches and public SER"VICES of
soldier's pay is often delayed, his own necessities
requhe a portion of it, and the remainder is fre
quently greatly delayed in being transmitted to his
family. It requires no argument to prove that,
even if he sends all his money home, one hundred
and fifty-six doUars a year is a very scanty support
for a faraily, especially at this season of high prices.
In raany places business of aU kinds is so rauch
prostrated that those who can and are wilhng to
labor are unable to find eraployraent. Every thing
bears a high price, and every thing is cash.
The truth of what has been stated raust be appa
rent to every one, and it remains with the patriotic
and liberal citizens of the State to apply the proper
reraedy. It is their soleran duty to see that the
needy are cared for; that while the soldier is brav
ing the perils of the battle-field, his Avife and chil
dren and all who are dependent upon hira, are made
comfortable at home ; and especially that his chil
dren are provided Avith books,- and afforded oppor
tunity to attend school. This is not charity — ^but a
sacred obligation, which should be raet promptly
and willingly, and the recipients should be made to
feel that they are not objects of charity, and that
what they receive is but the partial discharge of a
debt of the most binding character.
It may be urged by many that they have aheady
given largely and sacrificed heavily for these bencA--
olent objects, and hence they ought to be excused
frora further drafts. It may be asked, in reply.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 323
what are these sacrifices corapared Avith the sacrifi
ces of families who have given their natural sup
porters and protectors to the cause of their country?
"What is the sacrifice of the raan living corafortably
at horae, even though he give half his incorae, to
that of the man who has left his family and home
and gone to the field?
The land is ftUl of wealth, the harvest has been
bountiful, and there can be no reasonable excuse for
allowing the needy to suffer in a country like this.
I would respectfully and earnestly request, that in
every toAvnship, every town, and every ward of the
several cities in the State, some systematic plan, by
means of regularly organized committees or auxil-
iai-y aid societies, be at once adopted for relief.
To ministers of the gospel I would say: No
nobler work than this cau engage the time you
may have at your disposal. Much can be done by
appeals from the pulpit, and by personal efforts
Aviththe people; by visiting the farailies of soldiers,
ascertaining their wants, and seeing that they
are regularly supplied. ?
The toAvnship trustees in the several counties, on
account of their farailiarity with local affairs, Avill
be able to render great assistance in the humane
work, by giving a portion of their time and efforts
to the relief of the needy and destitute.
In all measures of relief which may be adopted
I most respectfully and confidently bespeak the
hearty aid and co-operation of the noble women of

324 LIFE, speeches AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Indiana. Actuated by the purest patriotism, and
always foremost in deeds of love and mercy, they
may here find an extensive field for the exercise of
many kindly offices to the advantage and comfort
of the distressed; their words of encouragement
Avill cheer the hearts of the drooping and disconso
late, and their example wiU lead others to under
take the same good work.
0. P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.
Executive Dep., Indianapolis, Nov. 14, 1862.
Increase of Pay of Private Soldiers.
To the Senators and Representatives in the Congress of
the United States :
The undersigned respectfully represents that, from
an intiraate knowledge of the condition, wants and
necessities of a large portion of the raen composing
the Array of the United States, he is fully impressed
with the belief that the pay of private soldiers
should be increased, so as to raake it bear a proper
proportion to the increased cost of aU the necessa
ries of life. The present pay of a private is thir
teen dollars per raonth, or one hundred and fiLfty-six
dollars a year. From this sum a considerable por
tion must be deducted for the purchase of articles
not furnished by the regulations, but which the
soldier deeras necessary to his health or corafort.
Should the balance be remitted to his family in
installments as it is paid him it wiU faU far short of

governor OLIVER P. MORTON. 325
furnishing a support. To the monthly pay a bounty
of one hundred dollars is to be added. To the
old regiments this is not to be paid until the final
discharge, or upon the death of the soldier. To the
new regiments twenty-five dollars of the amount
were paid in advance, the balance reraaining unpaid
until final discharge or death. As the final pay
raent of the bounty depends upon the good conduct
of the soldier, and is subject to contingencies, it
can hardly be considered as a means, or source of
credit, for the current support of a faraily. It raust
be remerabered that a large proportion of the sol
diers coraposing the volunteer armies of the United
States are men of faraily, upon whose labor wives,
children and parents are dependent for support.
Should not their labor be so paid for as to make it
sufficient to yield that support it would do if they
were at home and engaged in private pursuits?
They did not enter the array to make money, and
do not desire to do so, but they do ask that they
shall receive such compensation as will support, in
decency and comfort, the dependent ones they leave
behind. The price of labor throughout the North
ern States has greatly advanced since the commence
ment of the war, and it is submitted that, aside frora
all questions of faraily support, and as a matter of
siraple justice, thei corapensation to our soldiers
should be increased. Their labor is, of all other,
the hardest, to which should be added the great
danger of death from battle, hardship and disease.

326 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Men tell our recruiting officers every day, — they
would go into the army, but the pay allowed by
our Government is insufficient for the support of
their families, and they dare not leave them to the
precarious charities of the public.
The foUoAving statement of prices at Indianapolis,
Indiana, wUl show the relative costs of various lead
ing articles on the 6th of August, 1861, when the
present rate of pay was established, and the 27th
day of November, 1862 :
Articles. Aug. 1861. Nov. 1862. Inc. per cent.
Brown muslins  8JalO  :.... 23a29  190
Bleached muslins  10 al2J  23a30  175
American prints  10 al2J  18a22  95
Blue checks  12J  25  100
Hickory checks  12J  25  100
Cotton flannel  12Ja20  35a50  150
Drillings  12J  32  170
Cassinettes  37 a75  75al 50  100
Jeans  30 a50  50al00  100
Boots  3.00  3.75a4.00  33
Shoes  1.00  1.50  50
Brown sugar per lb  8  13  62
Eio coffee "  15  37  150
Tea "  75al.OO  1.25al.50  50
Rico "  8  10  25
Molasses, per gallon  50  70  40
Flour, per barrel  4.50  6.50  44
Salt, per barrel  1.65  4.50  180
Meal, per bushel  40  70  ....75
Fish, per lb  6  8  33
Potatoes, per bushel  35  80  130
Candles, per lb  10  15  50
Wood, per cord  2.50  5.00  100
Frora the above statement it will be seen that the
cost of articles of prime necessity in clothing and

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 327
furnishing a faraily, has been increased one hun
dred tAventy per cent, while provisions and groceries
have increased in price not less than sixty per cent.
It will be entirely safe to say that the cost of hAdng,
in the most economical style, throughout the North
ern States, has increased at least seventy-five per
cent, within the last fift;een months, and prices are
still advancing. Thus, eight dollars per month in
August, 1861, would have been a better compensa
tion, and gone farther in raaintaining a faraily, than
thirteen dollars per month in November, 1862. Sol
diers are paid in treasury notes at par, and as these
notes have depreciated thirty per cent, as shown by
the price of gold, their pay, frora this fact alone, is
substantially reduced to nine dollars per raonth.
It may be urged in objection to the measure pro
posed that it AAdll greatly increase the expenditures
of the Government and add to the public debt. In
my judgment it would prove to be sound economy.
It would increase the efficiency of the army, prevent
desertions, encourage volunteering, and perhaps
avoid the necessity of another draft to fiU up the
old and depleted regiments. Desertion is becora
ing frequent, and threatens the demorahzation and
destruction of the array unless it be proraptly arrest
ed. The raost potent cause of desertion is the con
dition of the soldier's faraily at horae. He receives
letters from his wife, children or parents, announc
ing that they are destitute of food, fuel, clothing, or
ai-e about to be turned of doors for non-payment of

328 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERATICES OF
rent, and that their neighbors are failing to provide
for them, as they are able and ought to do. . He
becomes maddened and desperate, and finding a
furlough imposible, desertion is frequently the
result. Whatever contributes to the speedy terraination
of the war is econoray on a large scale. Our hopes
for peace and a restored country are founded upon
the success of our arraies ; and it is believed that
nothing would add to the efficiency and success of
our arras so much as doing justice to the soldiers
by increasing their pay.
I beg to ask your early and serious consideration
of this subject. Oliver P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.
ExECUTiAtE Dep., Indianapolis, Nov. 29, 1862.

State of Indiana, Executive Department,
Indianapolis, February 4, 1863,
To the General Assembly of the State of Indiana :
OAving to the immense drafts that have been
made on the Treasury of the United States, the
Governraent has been unable to promptly pay the
troops the wages to which they are entitled. To
raost of the soldiers four raonths' pay is due, and
to many of thera six. I am informed, however,
that enough money has recently been furnished to
the paymasters to pay all arrearages up to the 1st

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 329
of November last, which will stiU leaA-e due aud
unpaid their wages for two months, ending on the
1st day of January, The failure by the Govern
ment to pay the army the money due to it at the
period fixed by law for its payment, which is every
two months, operates "with great hardship upon the
A\'ives, children and parents who are dependent
upon it for support. The corapensation of the pri
vate soldier is small, and if the payraent of it be
greatly delayed rauch suffering raust ensue. The
brave and generous raen who have gone to the field
to peril their hves in battle and endure the hard
ships of war, should not be allowed to fret that the
payraent of their scanty compensation is delayed, if
there be any raeans by which delay can be avoided.
The soldier needs raoney while in carap and on the
march, and often suffers greatly in health and com
fort for want of it.
The Government, I believe, is doing all in its
power to meet its engagement promptly, but the
question is whether the State could not, without
serious detriment to herself, remove the difficulty,
so far as Indiana troops are concerned, by advan
cing their unpaid wages. If proper legislative
authority were given, the State could, I have no
doubt, borrow of the banks or individuals in Indi
ana, New York, or other places, at legal interest,
enough money for the purpose, and an anangement
could be made with the Secretary of the Treasury
by which the amount advanced should be refunded
28

330 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
to the State by the United States whenever the
Government was able to pay the same to the troops,
if they had not been paid by the State. The State
would be reimbursed for her expenditures, prob
ably every 60 or 90 days, and the interest paid
upon the loans would be triffing compared with the
amount of good that would be accoraplished ; and
this interest would no doubt be refunded by the
Governraent, The plan for doing it, I would briefly suggest as
foUoAvs : Let the officers and soldiers in proper form
assign the pay due them to the Treasurer of the
State, with a direction in the assignraent to whora
the raoney should be paid by the State, If the
money is to be paid to the family or friends of the
officer or soldier, living in this State, it can be done
through the Treasurer of the county in which such
persons live. If the raoney is to be sent to the sol
dier in the field, it can be done by Federal payraas-
ters under an arrangeraent with the Paymaster
General, at Washington ; or, if it be preferred, the
money can remain in the State Treasury, as a deposit
subject to the order, at any tirae, of the person enti
tled to draw it. Upon the pay rolls thus assigned
to the Treasurer of the State, he can from time to
tirae settle with the United States and receive back
the raoneys advanced.
The raeasure proposed has several important
advantages. First — ^By the prompt payment of the
troops a prolific source of discontent and desertion

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 331
is reraoved. Secondly — Officers and raen are ena
bled to proA'ide for their own necessities in the field,
and for the support of their farailies and dependent
ones at horae. Thirdly — By the plan proposed of
paying through the county treasurers, families and
dependent ones at home Avill receive a large amount
which would never reach them, even though it were
promptly paid to those entitled while they were in
the field. Fourthly — Much money would be held
in trust, as a deposit in the State treasury, which,
if paid to the soldiers in the field, would be squan
dered or lost.
This recoraraendation is not intended to be con
fined to pay uow in arrears, but to apply in the
future, when the Governnient is unable to proraptly
meet its engagements Avith the array.
Should the plan suggested not be deeraed feasible,
or the best, I wiU cheerfuUy co-operate with you in
the adoption of any other by which the raain pur
pose, the prompt payment of Indiana troops, can
be accomplished,
I would respectfully invite your early considera
tion of this subject. 0. P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.

It was doubtless the solicitude raanifest in these
papers, and the good resulting from them, no less
than the countless efforts prcA-iously raade by the
Governor in behalf of the soldiers, that induced the

332 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERAICES OF
Indiana volunteers to address the foUoAving stinging
rebuke to the Indiana Legislature :
Resolved, That we tender to his Excellency, Governor 0. P.
Morton, the thanks of his grateful friends in the army, for his
efforts in their behalf, and assure him that neither time nor the
corrupting influence of party shall ever estrange the soldier from
the soldiers friend.
Accorapanying this resolution are several others
of a highly patriotic character, preceded by an able
address setting forth the uncomproraising loyalty
of Indiana volunteers, and their determination to
stand by the Governor of their State whatever
raightbethe pohtical conspiracies forraed against hira
by trafficking demagogues. This address and the
accorapanying resolutions were adoptod by every
Indiana regiraent in the Western array.
Separated from home and friends, and deprived
of the privileges of citizens, as were the gallant
raen coraposing these regiments, they felt that upon
the sagacity, "vigUance and energy of their State
executive depended the prevention of rebel misrule
in Hoosierdom. In this view they were right; for
a very considerable raajority of the Union raen of
Indiana having entered the array, the State had,
As-ith the exception of the executive department,
fallen into the hands of the rebel democracy, and
the bloated leadei-s of this putrid faction, having
irroAvn insolent over recent political victories, Avere
boldly taking strides toward the consummation of
their great, leading design, — the separation of the
western from the eastern States, and the formation

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 333
of a western confederacy preparatory to a union of
the western Avith the rebel States.
But the Governor, by his boldness, ingenuity and
untiring energy, succeeded in preventing the "but
ternuts" from cai-rying out their heUish designs ;
and the preservation of Indiana's glory is mainly
attributable to his efforts.
The Legislature of this period having refused to
grant an appropriation sufficient to defray the in
terest on the funded debt of the State, and the
Governor being ever jealous of the reputation of
Indiana, and being desirous of placing the refusal
to pay this interest upon the right shoulders, wrote
the following letter to James Winslow, Esq., of
New York.
Payment of the Interest on the State's Debt.
The Legislature, as the public are aware, ad
journed without making any appropriations. Sorae
leaders of the deraocratic party are raaking this
failure an arguraent against the payraent of the
interest on the State's debt, alleging that an appro
priation specially du-ected to that purpose is neces
sary. The Attorney General of the State, Oscar
B. Hord, in a Avritten opinion, prepared at the re
quest of the State Auditor, has taken the sarae
ground. He denies that there is any law author
izing the payment of that interest. The effect of
this official declaration can not but be most injuri
ous to the credit of the State, since if the payment

334 life, speeches and public services of
of interest, to which her faith is pledged, can be
left to the capricious action of successive legislatures,
no confidence can be felt that it will be made
promptly, or made at aU. The failure to pay any
diAddend of interest faUing due, it needs no argu
raent to show, wiU greatly damage, if not tempo
rarily ruin, the credit of the State. To allow the
impression to remain uncorrected which this opin
ion creates, that the State debt can not be paid unless
each succeeding Legislature approves it, must depre
ciate our stocks and make them the prey of dishon
est speculators, who are aheady preparing for the
feast the Attorney General offers them ; and the
State must again, and most causelessly, suffer the
shame of repudiation. To correct this irapression,
and avert its evil effect upon the credit of the State,
Gov. Morton has prepared the foUoAving letter.
State op Indiana, Executive Department,
April 23, 1863.
James Winslow, Esq.
Dear Sir : In obedience to ray promise, made
while in New York, I have the honor to submit
the foUoAving stateraent of the law, as I understand
it, touching the pajnment of the interest on the
Funded Debt of Indiana.
The Attorney General of the State has published
an opinion in which he comes to the conclusion,
that there is no law of the State authorizing the
payment of such interest.

• GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 335
After the lapse of sixteen years since the State
comproraised "with her creditors, and the raaking
of thirty-two semi-annual payments, this will seera
a strange announcement to the world.
I shall endeavor to show that his conclusion is
not correct.
He defines the word "appropriation," as used in
the Constitution, as follows:
"The word appropriation, as used in the Consti
tution, I suppose to raean, an act of the General
Assembly setting aside money to be applied to a
definite purpose, with authority to take it from the
Treasury for application to that purpose."
This 'definition seems to iraply that a particular
sUra of raoney or ftiud must be designated or set
apart for the payraent of a particular debt, as for
exaraple, the sum of $320,000 for the payment of
the interest on the public debt in a given year. The
definition is not accurate. Many appropriations,
perhaps a majority, are made upon the whole treas
ury, and for which no specific fund or sum ot
money is set apart.
An able lawyer has defined an appropriation as
"a legal provision for the payment of a debt due from
the State, or to become due, out of the funds of the
State." Another lawyer, of acknowledged ability and
learning, speaks of an "appropriation" thus. "The
term ' appropriation made by law ' has no peculiar
signification other than that there is a law requiring

336 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
public payments to be made out of public moneys
of the State, whether the amount be specified in
the law or left to calculation, as the amount of in
terest to be paid on a public debt and the quarterly
payments made to our public officers where they
have fixed annual salaries." These definitions are
in substance the sarae.
An appropriation raay be accurately defined as a
direction given by law to pay money out of the
Treasury for a particular purpose. This direction
may be specific, and in terras, or it may be a neces
sary intendment of a legislative act. If a direction
to pay money is in direct terms, or is the necessary
construction of a legislative act, it is an appropria
tion within the meaning of the Constitution.
It is, as in all other cases, a question as to the
intention of the Legislature ; which is to be arrived
at by the ordinary rules of construction. If it is
the intention that money should be taken from the
Treasury for a particular purpose, then such inten
tion is the law, and is an appropriation.
The act of 1846, ratifying the compromise Avith
the creditors of the State, contains the following
section: "Sec. 5. The interest on the stock hereby
created shall be payable half-yearly, at the city of
New York, on the first days of January and July
of each year, commencing on the first day of July,
1847. . But if the interest for any half year shaU not
be demanded before the expiration of thirteen
months from the time the same became due, it shaU

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 337
only be deraandable afterwards at the Treasury of
the State ; and for the payment of the interest and
the redemption of the principal, as herein provided, the
faith of the State is hereby solemnly pledged."
This section solemnly pledges the faith of the
State to the payment of the interest on the funded
debt in the city of New York on the first days of
January and July of each year, and is a contract of
the most binding character, the faithful observance
of which is vital to the credit of the State. It is a
legal and necessary intendment of this contract that
the raoney shall be drawn frora the State treasury
to pay the interest.
On the 27th day of January, 1847, an act was
approved, suppleraental to the act of 1 846, which
was accepted by the bondholders, and became part
of the contract. The concluding part of the 14th
section of this act is in these words :
"Be it further enacted. That all stock to be created,
and all certificates and other instruments of title
to be issued, iu pursuance of the said act, and
all principal, moneys, and interest thereby respect
ively secured, shall not be molested or impaired,
arrested or attached by the State of Indiana/'
I submit that it is not in the power of the Legis
lature to hinder or defeat the payments of theinter
est on the public debt by the adoption of new reg
ulations, or by making such payments dependent
upon uncertain legislation from year to year.
29

338 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
The supplemental act also provides the form of the
obhgation to be issued by the State to her creditors.
which I quote as foUows:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
STATE OP INDIANA.
Five Per centum State Stock.
"Under two acts of the General Assembly of the
State of Indiana, entitled 'An act to provide for
the funded debt of the State of Indiana and for the
completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal to
Evansville,' passed 19th January, 1846, and 'An
act supplementary to the said act,' passed  ,
1847. "Principal chargeable on the revenues of the
State, pursuant to acts of the Legislature of Indiana,
passed the 19th of January, 1846, and  , 1847.
"Be it known, that the State of Indiana owes to
A. B., or his assigns, the sum of one thousand dol
lars, being part of the principal of the bonds of
the State, declared to have been surrendered to the
State by act of surrender qf this date, and which
amount of one thousand dollars bears interest at
the rate of five per centum per annura from the
first of January, 1847, payable half-yearly in the
city of New York, at the times and in the manner
declared by the acts of the Legislature above men
tioned.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 339
"This stock is redeemable at any time after twenty
years from nineteenth January, 1846, at the pleasure
of the State, in the city of New York, and until re
deemed is transferable upon surrender in the city of
New York, in books provided for that purpose by the
Agent of State, there resident, by endorsement here
on, and according to such other rules and forms as are
or may be prescribed for that purpose ; and for the
payraent of the interest and the rederaption of the
principal aforesaid, the faith of the State of Indiana
is irrevocably pledged.
"This debt is duly recorded, &c.
"Witness our hands at Indianapohs the — day
of— ,1847.
" Countersigned, IVeasurer.
Auditor."
To this obligation a postscript is attached in these
words. N.' B. — The State reserves the right (according
to the terras and conditions of the said acts), to
postpone payraent of a portion of the interest due
upon this certificate until first January, 1853, pay
ing interest on the sarae at the rate of six per Cen
tura per annura, and to fund one per Centura of the
sarae Avithout interest after that period, at the rate
of two and one half per centum. "
Is it possible that further legislation is required to
authorize the State to pay the interest on this obliga
tion ? The State makes her written promise to pay

340 LIFE, SPEECHES, AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

at particular times, and dehvers it to her creditor,
which upon presentation to the proper officer is a
direct and sufficient authority for payment. If it
is not, then the promise of the State carries Avith it
no obligation, and the authority to pay must be
derived solely from subsequent legislation.
The old Constitution contained the foUoAving :
" Sec 21, Article HI. No raoney shall be drawn
frora the Treasury, but iu consequence of appropri
ations raade bylaw."
The new Constitution went into force upon the
1st of November, 1851, and contained the following
provision: Sec. 3, Article X. No money shall be drawn
from the Treasury, but in pursuance of appropria
tions raade by law."
It AvUl be seen that these provisions are in sub
stance the sarae. The successive legislatures of
1847, '48, '49, and '50 accepted the sections quoted
frora the acts of 1846 and '47, as an appropriation
to pay interest within the meaning of the Consti
tution, and made no other except in three special
acts in 1849, 1850, and 1851, authorizing the bor
rowing of money and dhecting the money thus
borrowed to be paid on the interest on the pubhc
debt, which direction was nothing more than a
statement of the purpose for which the raoney was
borrowed. The State officers during the sarae period accept
ed thera as au appropriation. The Auditor drew

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 341
warrants for the necessary amounts and the Treas
urer paid thera.
Many of the raen who framed the new Constitu -
tion were iu the first legislature that assembled
under it. That legislaturedid not deem it necessary
to make any further appropriations to pay the inte
rest upon the public debt, believing , that the acts
of 1846 aud 1847 were sufficient for the purpose.
This opinion was acted upon by every legislature
up to the fall of 1858, and specific appropriations
were not made before that time for the payment of
interest. It was also adopted and acted upon dur
ing the same period by the officers of State.
Thus, from the beginning, the acts of 1846 and
1847 were accepted both by the Legislature and the
State officers, as a sufficient appropriation under
the Constitution.
The new Constitution contains the following
provision: "Sec. 2, Art. X. All the revenues derived frora
the sale of any of the public works belonging to
the State, and frora the net annual income thereof,
and auy surplus that may at any time reraain in the
Treasury derived from taxation for general State
purposes, after the payment of the ordinary
expenses of the Government, and of the interest on
bonds ofthe State, other than bank bonds, shall be
annually applied, under the direction of the General
Assembly, to the payment of the principal of the
public debt."

342 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
This provision is in itself a du-ect appropriation
to the payment of the principal of the public debt,
of all the money remaining in the Treasury after
the payment of the ordinary expenses of the Gov
ernraent, and of the interest on bonds of the State,
other than bank bonds.
This appropriation, however, can not become
operative until after the payment of the interest on
the bonds of the State, and carries with it a
necessary implication that the interest should be
paid out of any money in the Treasury. The
Attorney General says, however, that if this section
is an appropriation to pay interest, it is, also, to pay
the ordinary expenses of the Government.
This does not follow, for the ordinary expenses of
the Governraent from their nature are not liquid
ated, and ascertained, and can only be liquidated and
determined by legislation from time ; to time while
the interest on the public debt is liquidated and
determined in the most solemn form. If additional
legal authority were required outside of the act of
1846, and the suppleraental act of 1847, to pay the
interest, it will be found in this provision of the
Constitution. Thus for a period of twelve years the various
legislatures and auditors and treasurers of state
received the acts of 1846 aud 1847 as a sufficient
appropriation Avithin the meaning of both Consti
tutions upon which twenty-three serai-annual pay
ments were raade, and raore than three millions of

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 343
dollars disbursed. All the laAvs that were in force
during these tAvelve years are still iu force, under
which the interest was paid, aud, after such long
acquiescence and practice by legislatures aud offi
cers of State, it is too late to say there is no appro
priation. In 1857 the Legislature adjourned Avithout mak
ing the ordinary appropriations for the support
ofthe benevolent institutions, and without haA-ing
passed a revenue bill. The Hon. Joseph E. Mc
Donald, a laAvyer of reputation and ability, was
then Attorney General of the State. He. advised
Governor Willard and the State officers that no
further legislation was required to authorize the
payment of the interest on the funded debt of the
State, as the act of 1846 was a contract with the
bond-holders and a sufficient appropriation. He
however gave the opinion at the same time that
there was no appropriation under which money
could be lawfully drawn frora the Treasury for the
support of the benevolent institutions.
Under the authority of this opinion and in pur
suance of the practice for the preceding ten years,
Gov. Willard, together with the the Treasurer and
Auditor of State, borrowed $165,000 to pay the JtUy
interest in 1858.
The Attorney General quotes a passage frora the
message of Governor Willard to the extra session
in the faU of 1858.
In his commentary on the passage he represents

J544 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
the Governor as defending his act in paying the
interest on the public debt Avithout an appropria
tion as a matter of public necessity to save the
credit ofthe State. He has imperfectly read the
passage and the misapplication of it is total. The
Governor said nothing of the sort. In that part of
the message, in which the Governor refers to the
absence of an appropriation, he is speaking of the
benevolent institutions. And in that part in whicli
he speaks of borrowing money, he refers to the
paymentof the interest on the public debt. The
case stood thus : for the payment of the interest on
the public debt there was an appropriation but not
sufficient raoney in the Treasury; for the support of
the benevolent institutions there was money in the
Treasury but no appropriation on which to pay it
out. On the 24th day of AprU, 1857, Governor Willard
published in the Indiana State Sentinel an address
to the people of Indiana, from which I extract the
following passage:
" By laws which were passed by prcAdous legisla
tures, provision is made for sustaining every depart
ment of the Government excepting the benevolent
institutions. The tax is levied for the support of the
comn^on schools and two cents upon each one hun
dred dollars for the purpose of paying the principal
of the public debt. As long as there is money in the
Treasury belonging to the State, it is believed that
there is authority to pay the interest on said debt."

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 345
In this passage he clearly states his opinion that
there is authority to pay the interest on the public
debt as long as there is money in the Treasury, and
that every departraent of the Government was pro
vided for by previous legislation excepting the bene
volent institutions. Further on he used the folio av-
ing language :
" Again, on the 19th day of January, 1846, the
Legislature passed an act to provide for the funded
debt of the State, in which your faith was solemnly
pledged for the payment of the interest on said debt,
and on the 27th of January, 1847, another act of
the Legislature was passed repeating the obligation
given in the previous year to the creditors of Indiana.
"Ever since these acts Avere passed the State has
maintained her faith and credit, the result of AA-hich
has been to encourage the introduction of popula
tion and capital into the State."
He then complained that the Legislature had
adjourned without passing a bill levying taxes with
which to pay the interest in 1857 and 1858.
The only responsibility wbich Gov. Willard and
the State officers took by paying the interest on the
public debt in 1858, was in borrowing the raoney
for that purpose, which was clearly authorized by
the act of 1852, which act is still ih force.
The quotation which the Attorney General makes
in his opinion from the debates in the Legislature
of 1859, were irrelevant, as they refer to the legal-

346 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
ity of the loan made by Gov, WiUard, and not to
the absence or existence of appropriations.
The Treasury act of 1859 and Embezzleraeut biU
of 1861, are not broader than the Constitution,
They do not make that illegal which was not illegal
before. It required no more to constitute an appro
priation after the passage of those bills than before.
They simply affixed a punishment for paying money
out of the Treasury improperly, where before there
was none. The simple question is, as to the exis
tence of an appropriation, within the meaning of
the Constitution, and this is conceded by the' Attor
ney General, as he does not contend that an appro
priation good before the Embezzleraeut bill is not
good after it. This Avas expressly decided in the
case of Lange, Auditor, v. Stover, at the November
term, 1862, of the Supreme Court of Indiana, in
which case it was held that the State Auditor could
draw a warrant under the general appropriation
contained in the Swamp Land act of 1852, notwith
standing the Treasury act of 1859 and tbe Embez
zlement biU of 1861. "Where the appropriation is
general it can be paid out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated ; when it is
special and payable out of a particular fund it must
be paid only from that fund. The section quoted
by the Attorney General from the act of 1859,
means this and nothing more. Instances iUustrating
the first class may be found in the appropriations
for the payment of the interest on the pubhc debt.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 347
and the salaries of the State officers. Instances of
the second class may be found in former appropri
ations forthe support of the benevolent institutions,
at a time when a separate and specific tax was levied
to raise a fund for that purpose.
At the regular session of 1859, an act was passed
entitled an act to provide a Treasury system for
the State of Indiana, for the manner of receiving,
holding and disbursing the public moneys of the
State, the 16th section of which reads as follows :
" At sorae convenient period, prior to the falling
due of the interest on the foreign debt of the State,
payable at New York, the Treasurer shall, without
raaking any discriraination, draw on the bank notes
in the Treasury an amount of specie sufficient to
pay said interest, which he shaU transmit to New
York by express, or otherwise, as may be deemed
most safe ; but any bank or banks on whose notes
specie is thus demanded, may redeem such notes to
the extent of such dividends, by draft on Ncav
York, payable fifteen days preceding the day of
payment of said interest, and without auy premium
of exchange, and giAdug araple security to the
Treasurer for the prorapt payraent thereof. "
This section is disposed of in the foUoAving raan
ner by the Attorney General :
" The interest on the State debt was payable in
New York, and at the tirae this act Avas passed,
there existed no statute providing the raanner in
which the money should be transmitted to that city.

348 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and making it the duty of any particular person to
perform that service ; and this section does nothing
more than provide the instrumentahty by which
the interest shall be transmitted to the place of pay
ment." It is true this section provides the manner in
which the money to pay the interest on the pubhc
debt shoiUd be transmitted to New York ; but it
does more. It declares that at a convenient period
before the interest falls due, which is on the first
days of January and July of each year, the Treas
urer shall take frora the State Treasury, enough
money to pay such interest and transmit the same
to New York for that purpose. He has no discre
tion in the matter. The act to be performed by him
is not raade contingent upon future appropriations
or legislation. He can be excused frora its perforra
ance only by the want of money in the Treasury,
aud in that case it is made his duty by another act
of the Legislature, together with the Governor and
Auditor, to borrow an amount sufficient to meet
the deficit. The section constitutes an appropria
tion taking precedence of aU others. The Treas
urer is ordered to take, twice a year, enough money
from the Treasury to pay the interest ; and how
shaU he escape obedience to the mandate ? He can
not shelter himself behind the opinion of the Attor
ney General or any form of construction, however
learned and ingenious.
The command is plain, direct, unconditional, and

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 849
raust be obeyed. If before, technical objections
could be raised of the want of a forraal appropria
tion, they were completely reraoved. Will the
Treasurer perforra this raost plain and iraportant
duty ? I beheve he Avill. I believe he is an honest
man, and will not permit any influence to stand
between him and the discharge of- a duty so vital to
the good name and welfare of the State.
The credit of the State, at one tirae greatly depre
ciated, has been restored by raany years of faithful
observance of her obligations, and if blemish again
come upon it, woe be to those by Avhom it shall
come. The Attorney General quotes the 7th section of
the Treasury act of 1859, prohibiting the Treasurer
frora paying any raoney out of it, or transferring
any money frora the Treasury, except upon the war
rant of the Auditor.
If this section applies to the interest on the pub
hc debt, it is the duty of the Auditor to issue his
Avarrant for the requisite amount in time to enable
the Treasurer to send the raoney to New York as
required by the section above quoted. I submit,
however, that it has no application, and the Attor
ney General has failed to notice the fact that this
section and 16th section before quoted are parts of
the same act, and are to be construed together.
The practice under the act of 1859 has been this :
At a convenient time before the first of January
and July, of each year, the Treasurer would trans-

350 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
mit to New York a sum of raoney sufficient to pay
the interest, place it there in the hands of the Agent
of State, taking his receipt for the sarae, and after
wards take this receipt to the Auditor, and obtain
the necessary warrant. This practice prevailed
throughout 1859 and 1860 under the administration
of Nathaniel F. Cunningham as Treasurer and John
W. Dodd as Auditor, and afterward through 1861
and 1862, under the adrainistration of Jonathan S.
Harvey as Treasurer, and Albert Lange as Auditor.
The 16th section was regarded and acted upon by
the State officers as making the interest an excep-
¦tional case, not governed by the 7th section.
To show that the Legislature did not regard the
section I have quoted from the aet of 1859 as con
stituting a sufficient appropriation, he makes the
following stateraent :
" Bearing upon the effect of the section, I call
your attention to the fact, that the same Legislature
that enacted it, and after it had been passed, passed
an appropriation bill appropriating $320,000 for
interest for the year 1859 (Acts 1859, 13) ; also,
$320,000 for interest for 1860 (Acts 1860, 14) ; and
that the Legislature of 1861 made similar appropri
ations for the years 1861 and 1862 (Acts 1861, pages
6 and 7)."
On the 11th day of AprU, 1863, the Attorney
General obtained frora the Auditor a wanant for
his salary for the quarter ending on the 31st of

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 351
March, 1863, which warrant was promptly paid by
the Treasurer.
The payment of this salary was legal aud proper,
and I refer to the fact only to show that the Attor
ney General haa made a practical decision of the
question at variance with his written opinion.
The act of 1861, which contains the specific appro
priations for the payment of the interest on the
public debt, also contains specific appropriations for
the payment of the salary of the Attorney General
and other officers of State, Yet the absence of
specific appropriations for salaries in 1863 is not,
in the opinion of the Attorney General, a sufficient
reason why he should not draw his salary.
He argues, in substance, that the Legislature of
1861 beheved the section I have quoted from the
Treasury act not a sufficient appropriation to pay
interest, else they would not have made special
appropriations. According to this logic this Legislature was of
the opinion that the general law regulating the sal
aries of State officers, also passed in 1859, was not
sufficient to authorize their payment, and that spe
cial appropriations were required. But against this
argument, drawn from legislative action, the Attor
ney General enters his practical dissent.
The general salary act does not come Avithin his
definition of an appropriation. It does not set
apart any specific sura or fund for the payraent of
salaries. It is general in its character, and is an

352 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
authority to pay out of any raoney in the Treasury
not otherwise disposed of.
The 32d section of the act regulating fees,
approved March 2, 1855, reads as foUows :
" The Secretary, Auditor, and Treasurer of State,
shall furnish at the expense of the State the neces
sary record books and office rent and stationery for
the offices of the Secretary, Auditor, and Treasurer
of State and Clerk of the Suprerae Court, and fuel
and stationery forthe use of the General Assembly."
The Attorney General, in a written opinion re
cently dehvered to the Auditor, decided that this
section raakes an appropriation, and authorized the
Auditor to draw warrants, aud the Treasurer to pay
them, for the purposes therein mentioned. The
section does not contain an appropriation in terms,
nor does it set apart any money or fund.
It declares, however, that certain articles shall be
furnished at the expense of the State, from which
the Attorney General infers the appropriation and
the authority to take the money from the Treasury.
Is the declaration that certain articles shall be fur
nished at the expense of the State, stronger than
the solemn promise of the State repeatedly made to
pay the interest upon her debt at a certain place
and at specified times ?
Cau authority to take money from the Treasury
be inferred in one case and not in the other ? If,
when provision is made to furnish certain articles at
the expense of the State, it is a necessary inference

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 353
that the money to pay the expense shall be draAvn
from the Treasury, is it not likcAvise a necessary
inference that money shaU be taken from the Treas
ury to raeet the interest on the public debt Avhich the
State solemnly bound herself to pay at a particular
time and place ? And how can the Attorney General
hold this section to be an appropriation, and break
the force of the 16th section in the Treasury act of
1859, by calling it directory? And if the Treasury
act of 1859, and the Erabezzleraent bill of 1861, do
not irapair the character of this section as a good
appropriation, nor make payments under it penal,
with what show of reason can it be pretended that
they affect the right to pay the interest on the
funded debt of the State ?
It is not to be supposed that the payraent of the
interest upon the public debt should be left to the
uncertainty of legislation frora year to year, to be
hindered or defeated by the accidental or willful fail
ure of any legislature to make an appropriation. It
is erainently proper that it should have been pro
vided for by general and continuing legislation, and
uot left open to the neglect or caprice of each suc
ceeding Legislature.
It is of the essential nature of such stocks that
perraanent provision be raade for the payraent of
the interest, and if it Avere understood that the inter
est Avas not provided for, and its payment depended
upon legislation from year to year, the value of our
stocks in the market would be greatly diminished,
30

354 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SER"VICES OF
and our chances for future negotiations much
impaired. The act of 1846 was regarded in that light, and
the act of 1859 was intended to give increased secu
rity against failure from the neglect or errors of
judgment in State officers by making imperative
the provision for sending the money to the place of
payment in due season.
And so careful was the Constitutional convention
in 1850 to proA-ide for any contingency Avhich might
result in a failure to pay the interest on the public
debt, that a special provision was raade in the Con
stitution to authorize the borrowing of raoney for
the payraent of such interest.
Sec. 5, Article 10th, ofthe Constitution, declares
that," No law shall authorize any debt to be con
tracted on behalf of the State, except in the cases
mentioned, of which to pay the interest on the
State debt is one. "
And the Legislature at its first session under the
new Constitution carried out the provision by the
foUoAving enactment, to-Avit :
Section 5 of an act prescribing duties of Gov
ernor, approved May 27, 1852, provides as foUows :
"The Governor, Auditor, and Treasurer of State
are hereby authorized to procure a temporary loan
of money sufficient in amount to raeet the deficiency
in the Treasury-, should any such occur, to pay the
serai-annual diA-idends of interest ou the State debt."
It is a necessary construction of the above sec-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 855
tion that if there be money in the Treasury the
interest shall be paid. It is predicated upon the
obligation of the State punctually to pay the inter
est on her debt, and assumes the existence of all
legislation necessary for that purpose.
Fm-ther arguraent is unnecessary. By his decis
ion upon the act of 1855, regulating fees, the Attor
ney General has overruled the principles he sought
to establish in his first opinion, and has recognized
a rule broader even than is necessary to authorize
the payment of the interest on the public debt.
The law is plain, the money is in the Treasury, and
if the interest is not paid the responsibUity will rest
with those officers upon Avhora the laAv has devolved
the duty of making the payment.
Very respectfully yours,
Oliver P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.

356 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF

CHAPTER XI.
Speech of Gov. Morton at New Tork city — Proclamation —
Oration at Centerville on July 4th, 1863. — Compliment paid by
citizens of Cincinnati to Gov. Morton, July 20th, 1863.
In this chapter we present the principal speeches
and State papers of Governor Morton, during the
year uoav closing, and as we are concluding this
part of our Avork, it is due to the Governor and his
immediate friends, to say that we have been com
pelled to omit speeches and A-aluable papei-s for the
Avant of room. We also, briefly state that neither
the manuscript or proof sheets have been sub
mitted to the GoA'crnor or any of his confidential
clerks for examination. All we say and publish is
done on our own individual responsibility.
Speech of Gov. Morton at New York City, deliv
ered April 11th, 1863, at a Mass Meeting
assembled for the purpose of commemorating
THE Attack upon Fort Sumter.
Gov. Morton said: — We have assembled for the
purpose of commemorating the attack upon Fort
Surater. What purpose have we in coraraeraora-
ting that attack? Previous to that time the
American people had been divided into two parties.
The previous progress of the rebellion had failed to
arouse the nation, which seemed as if aff'ected with

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 357
a dreadful nightmare. But the firing on Fort
Sumter had the effect of healing our dissensions, of
bringing us together, and of arousing the people ;
and as its capture produced such an eff'ect, I hope
its recapture will rekindle the spirit of reunion.
There have been those who have undertaken to para
lyze the arm of the GoA-ernment, but I believe there
will be a disposition among the people to rally
around the standard of the country and sustain it
until it is carried forward to victory.
The first question is. Who made this war? There
are those Avho say this is an aboliton war, gotten
up for the purpose of effecting negro equality. But
the war began thirty years ago with nullification,
which was suppressed by the iron Avill and strong
arm of Gen. Jackson. The prediction was raade
by Gen. Jackson at that time, that the next pretext
for the dissolution of the Union would be the
slavery question; and since that time the preparations
have been in progress to coramence that struggle.
The leaders Avere willing to postpone the rebellion
so long as they could control the Governinent.
But as soon as they saw the reins of power
departing, they made actual preparations for an
immediate attack. Secretaries Floyd and Toucey
used their infiuence as officers of the Government
to pave the way for the rebeUion, by scattering
the army and navy. Cobb made it his business to
irapoverish the Treasury and depreciate the Govern
raent credit, and he even went so far as to make

358 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
arrangements for allowing the Government paper
to be protested; The scheme was only frustrated
by the patriotic action of the banks of NeAV York,
which carae forward and voluntarily prevented
such a disgrace to the national credit.
Iraraediately after the election of Mr. Lincoln,
and at the time of his inauguration, wheu the
rebels had an imraense array in the field trained
and armed, Mr. Buchanan proclaimed that the
Government had no power for self-preservation.
These preparations went on under the eye of Mr.
Buchanan throughout his administration, and his
innocence of comphcity Avith the raoveraent cau
ouly be believed by raaking the largest allowances
for his irabecility.
The preparations for the reduction of Fort Sura
ter were raade directly and deliberately under its
guns, and, when the preparations were complete,
the batteries were opened, and the beleaguered gar
rison, after a gallant defense, was finally compelled
to surrender. The Governraent, was therefore,
acting solely in self-defense. It was fighting a bat
tle forced upon it, and which it could not refuse to
accept. But Avhat has the South to gain by the
war ? What is the purpose ? Sorae men assert that
we are but a congregation of independent states —
each at liberty to withdraw at any time. I belong
to the party that believes that there is an Araerican
people, and that the various governraents of states,
counties and towns, are but parts of a united aud

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 359
indissoluble Governraent. Yet there is a class of
raen like Fernando Wood ( I apologize for men
tioning so obnoxious a name) raen who- assert that
the South was forced into the war for her own pro
tection — that is, that to secure her Hghts under the
Constitution, the South must destroy the Constitution
itself. But the first official declaration of the so-
called Confederacy was a denial of any apprehen
sion on the part of the South that the North would
deprive her of any constitutional rights. What,
then, is the Southern purpose in the war? It is for
the purpose of uprooting the deraocratic principle,
and for establishing the aristocratic principle. Mr.
Stephens, the vice president, has declared that their
government is established AA'ith slavery as a foun
dation, and that such a Governnient is established
for the first tirae.
But how shaU the war be ended?
There are three ways. The first way to settle it
is to concede to the deraands of the South, and con
sent to a separation. The second way is to call a
convention and consent to the reconstruction of the
Union, with the Ncav England States left out. The
third method is to suppress the rebeUion and con
quer a peace. The first method would lose to us
the Border States. It would lose to us our Na
tional capital. True, we might build a new capital,
and buUd it in a much better locahty. The next
consequence would be the surrender of the Missis
sippi ; making the Northwest tributary to the Con-

360 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
federacy. This would raise up a party in favor of
annexation to the South. Such a party would be
powerful, and since it could not carry its scheme
at first, would doubtless start the project of a
Northwestern Confederacy, as preliminary to the
project of annexation to the Southern Confederacy.
The geographical conformation of the country
would tend to aid such a project, so that, when the
work of disintegration comraenced, it Avould go on
until our country, once powerful, would be utterly
deprived of its poAver, and end in internal ruin.
The second plan of peace would result iu the
establishraent of another Union, with the South as
the dorainant power — fifteen slave states to thirteen
free states. The South would then take care to pre
serve its power by preventing the adraission of any
raore free states. But Avhat has been the off'ense of
New England ? She has loved hberty too weU and
slavery too little. To New England w-e owe the Rev
olutionary war and aU its glorious consequences.
New England gave raore soldiers to the Revolution
than all the Southern states put together. We are
asked to discard the loyal states in order to get back
the disloyal — the vipers. We vrill bring back the
viper — South Carolina — ^but it will be when its
fauffs are extracted. Yet this scheme has its advo-
cates in your city. I aa-IU dismiss it as repugnant to
you all. I now come to the third method of peace —
that of conquering the rebellion. We are an im
patient people, and anxious for too speedy a victory.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 361
We have already accomplished rauch, as we have
one half the rebel territory and one third of its
population. We are a grurabling people by nature.
We grumble at the President, but, considering the
trying circumstances, Mr, Lincoln has done his duty
nobly. He is more than man Avho should not make
some mistakes under such circumstances. Tho
people have a thorough conviction ofthe President's
unimpeachable loyalty. If he has coraraitted errors,
they are of the head, and not of the heart. Secretary
Stanton is devoted to the cause in Avhich Ave are
engaged, and there is nothing half-hearted about
him; and history will record his name on her bright
est page. Secretary Chase received the Treasury
frora Cobb without a single grain in it. But the
national credit Avas never better than now, and Ave
have disappointed the world by carrying on the
war without asking the loan of a dollar from Europe.
The war is to be carried on only through the instru
mentality of the army and navy. The armj' cau
only be recruited by conscription, and if the Con
scription act is not acceptable to the people, let
those men be blamed who encouraged desertion and
created the necessity for conscription. The Gov
ernment has been driven to resort to that systera.
The $300 clause is really for the benefit of the
poor raan, because without it the price of substi
tutes would run up to even $1,000. The $300 clause
was inserted for the purpose of aiding the poor
man in procuring a substitute.
3]

862 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP
Another instrumentality of the Government is
the raising of negro troops, "WTiat objection does
any one see to that? We use horses and raules,
and even gunpowder, which is black, I am in
favor of using anything to put down the rebeffion,
even dogs aud tomcats, if they could be of any use.
The use of negro troops is simply a question of
expediency, and if they can not be raade available
they Avill not be used. The use of such troops will,
I think, do away Avith the necessity of drafting so
many white men. The copperheads really insist
that the white raen shall fight rather than that the
negro shall be drafted. Another instruraent of the
Government in putting down the rebellion is the
proclamation of freedora. It is objected to as an
unconstitutional raeasure, but it is as constitutional
as any Avar measure — as the right of blockade, of
seizing enemy's property, or any other war raeasure.
Have the rebels any rights under the Constitution
that we are bound to respect? It is only around
slaA'e property that this panoply of the Constitution
is atterapted to be thrown. But as slavery is the
strength of the rebellion, Ave are bound to attack
that in order to sustain the Governraent. The
proclamation was an experiment, just like the
attack on Fredericksburgh or Murfreesboro', and
just as constitutional. There has been much talk
about the sacred rights of personal liberty, but I
think that if any error has been coraraitted, it has
been in sending too few, instead of too many to

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 363
Fort Lafayette, Such complaints ought to be
directed against those who have iraprisoned and
opposed the loyal Union raen of the South, The
hope of the rebellion is that the North will becorae
weakened by dissensions and differences, and that
then we shall fall an easy prey. Our only salvation
is in unity. The strength of the rebellion has been
in the fact that the rebels have devoted their whole
attention to war, Wheu the North shall do the
same thing it will speedily conquer the South. In
conclusion let me conjure you by your love for
yourselves, your country, your wives and children,
to exert your utmost efforts for the suppression of
the rebelhon.

Proclamation by the Governor.
To the People of Indiana :
Whereas, resistance has been made in several
cases to the officers engaged in the execution of
the Conscription law, and to officers and soldiers
engaged iu arresting deserters fi-om the army, in
which blood has been shed and raurder coraraitted ;
And whereas, these acts of resistance to the Gov
ernraent are high criraes, and fraught Avith great
danger to the public peace, and to the honor of the
State ; I deera it my duty to solemnly loam all per
sons against resistance to the Governraent in any
forra, or hindering or obstructing any officer thereof
in the performance of his duties. And, for the

364 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OP
better information of such as have not convenient
access to the penal statutes, enacted by the Federal
and State Governments, and now in force, I herein
set forth certain sections contained in said statutes.
An act of Congress, passed July 31, 1861, reads
as foUows :
An Act to define and punish certain Conspiracies,
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre
sentatives of the United States of America, in Congress
assembled, That if two or more persons, within any
State or Territory ofthe United States, shall conspire
together to overthrow, or to put down, or to destroy
by force, the Government of the United States, or
to oppose by force the authority of the Government
of the United States, or to prevent, hinder, or delay,
the execution of any law of the United States, or
by force to seize, take, or possess any property of
the United States against the wiU or contrary to the
authority of the United States ; or by any force, or
intimidation, or threat, to prevent any person from
accepting or holding any office, or trust, or place of
confidence under the United States ; each and every
person so offending shall be guilty of a high crime,
and upon conviction thereof in any District or Cir
cuit court of the Uuited States, having jurisdiction
thereof, or District or Supreme court of any terri
tory of the United States having jurisdiction thereof,
shall be punished by a fine, not less than five
hundred dollars and not more than five thousand
doUars ; or by iraprisonraent, with or without

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 365
hard labor, as the court shall deterraine, for a period
not less than six months nor greater than six years,
or by both such fine and imprisonraent, "
Any combination, agreement or understanding,
forcibly to prevent, hinder or delay the execution
of any law of the United States, is by this laAv
made a penal off'ense, although such combination,
agreement, or understanding had not been carried
into execution, and clearly covers the case of dis
loyal societies which are known to exist in several
parts ofthe State,
The twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth sections of
the Conscription act, approved March 3d, 1863,
read as follows :
Section 24, "And be it further enacted. That
every person not subject to the rules and articles of
war, who shall procure or entice or attempt to pro
cure and entice a soldier in the service of the United
States, to desert ; or who shall harbor, conceal, o r
give eraployraent to a deserter, or carry him away,
knoAving hira to be such ; or who shall purchase
frora any soldier his arras, equipraeuts, araraunition,
uniforra, clothing, or any part thereof; and any cap
tain or coraraanding officer of any ship or vessel, or
any superintendent, or conductor of any rail road
or any other pubhc conveyance, carrying away any
such soldier as one of his crew or otherwise, kuoAv-
ing hira to have deserted, or shall refuse to deliver
hira up to the orders of his coraraanding officer,
shall, upon legal conviction, be fined, at the discre-

366 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
tion of any court haAdug cognizance of the same,
in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, and
he shall be imprisoned not exceeding two years nor
less than six months.
Section 25. "And be it further enacted, That if any
person shaU resist any such draft of men enrolled
under this act into the service of the United States,
or shall counsel or aid any person to resist any such
draft, or shall assault or obstruct any officer in
making such draft, or in the performance of any
service in relation thereto; or shall counsel any
person to assault or obstruct any such officer, or
shall counsel any drafted men not to appear at the
place of rendezvous, or wiUfuUy dissuade thera from
the performance of military duty as required by
law, such persons shall be subject to sumraary
arrest by the provost raarshal, and shall be forth
with delivered to the civil authorities, aud upon
conviction thereof be punished by a fine, not
exceeding five hundred doUars, or by iraprisonraent,
not exceeding two years, or by both of said punish
raents." These sections are very broad and cover every
form of opposition to the arrest of deserters, and
the enforcement of the Conscription law.
By the 25th section it is made a high penal
offense to counsel or aid any person to resist the
draft; to counsel any person to assault or hinder
any officer in raaking the draft ; to counsel any
drafted raan not to appear at the place of rendez-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 367
VOUS, or AAdllfuUy dissuade him from the performance
of militarj- duty, as required by laAV. To bring a
case within this section, it is not necessary that
there should be a conspiracy or corabination.
If one man shall give to another the counsel or
advice prohibited in the section, he is subject to the
punishment it prescribes. Nor is it material how
he shall give his counsel or advice, whether by
public speaking, publishing in paraphlets or news
papers, or by private conversation. Nor is it raate
rial that such counsel or ad\-ice shall be direct and
in terms. The law holds a man responsible for the
natural and legitimate consequences of his acts; so
also for the natural and legitiraate effects of what
he raay say. If what he speaks and publishes is
naturally and reasonably calculated to excite the
hatred of raen against our Government, and resist
ance to the Conscription law, he is within the pur
view of the section, although in the conclusion he
might insert a saAdug clause, by formally declaring
that the laws must be obeyed, and no resistance
offered to the Governraent, In such a case the laAV
will look to the spirit and treasonable effect of
what is said, and not to the raere words employed.
It is within ray knowledge that public speakers
and editors have presented to their hearers and
readers every statement, argument, and ijiotive that
could excite them to hatred of the Governraent and
resistance to the laws, but, for their own protection,
have interlarded their discourses with set phrases

368 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
that there raust be no violence or resistance to the
laws. Such men are coAvardly and treacherous, as
they exort others to do w-hat they are unwilling to
do themselves, and seek to put their advice in a
form for which they will not be held responsible.
The subterfuge Avill not avail against the provisions
of the section I am considering.
The Legislature of Indiana, at the extra session in
1861, passed " An act to define certain felonies, and
provide for the punishraent of persons guilty
thereof," approved May 9th, The 1st section of
that act reads as follows :
Section 1. "Be it enacted by the General Assem
bly of the State of Indiana, That any person or per
sons belonging to or .residing AAuthin this State, or
under the protection of its laAVS, who shall take or
accept a coramission or commissions from any per
son or persons, State or States, or other enemies of
this State, or of the United States, or who shall
knoAvingly and willingly aid or assist any enemies
in open war, or persons in rebelhon against this
State or the United States, by joining their armies,
or by enlisting or procuring, or persuading others
to enlist for that purpose, or by furnishing such
persons or eneraies in rebeUion Avith arms or ammu
nition, or provisions, or any other articles for their
aid or comfort., or by shipping, sending, or carrying
to such enemies, or rebels, or their agents, any arms,
ammunition or provisions, or other articles for their
aid or comfort, or by carrying on a traitorous cor-

GOVERNOR OLIATER P. MORTON, 869
respondence with them or shall form, or be in any
ivise concerned in forming any combination, or plot or
conspiracy for betraying this State or the United States,
or the armed forces of either, into the hands or power
of any foreign enemy, or of any organized or pretended
government engaged in resisting the laics or authority of
the Government of the United States ofAmerica, or
shall giA'e or send any intelligence to any such ene
raies or pretended government, or their forces, for
that purpose, every person so offending shall upon
conviction thereof be imprisoned in the State Prison
for a term not less than two nor raore than twenty-
one years, and be fined a sum not exceeding ten
thousand dollars, "
This section is very broad in its character, and
comprehends all organizations having for their pur
pose resistance to any of the laws of the United
States, or which are intended to weaken the power
of the Government and disable it from suppressing
the rebellion — thus giving aid and comfort to our
enemies. It haAung been enacted by the Legisla
ture of the State, it is especially commended to the
consideration of such persons as are tainted with
the dangerous heresy that their allegiance is due to
the State, and not to the United States.
The offenses defined and punished in the statutes
I have quoted, are below the grade of treason, and
the guilt of the accused party may be established by
one credible Avitness, or by circumstantial evidence,
as in ordinary criminal prosecutions.

370 LIFE, SPEECHES, AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
It will be ray purpose in the future, as in the
past, to do ray whole duty to the Governraent of the
United States and the people of Indiana, In the
administration of the law, and the performance of
official duties, I recognize no parties,
AU who obey the laws, keep the peace, and dis
charge their duties as citizens, are alike entitled to,
and Avill receive protection in person and property.
The alarra which sorae are atterapting to create of
the iraproper interference of the military authori
ties, raay be disraissed as without foundation.
The right ofthe people peaceably to assemble and
petition for a redress of grievances, and speak and
publish their opinions touching the policy of the
Government, or the conduct of the war, must be
respected, and the enjoyraent of it protected. But
there is a wide difference between the legitiraate
exercises of this right and that unbridled license of
speech which seeks, by the assertion of the raost
atrocious falsehoods, to exasperate the people to
raadness and drive thera into a position of neutrality
between their Government and the rebels, if not
into the very arms of the rebellion, combine them
in dangerous societies, provoke thera to resist the
laAvs, and thus contribute directly to weaken our
OAVU Governraent and strengthen the cause of
the enemy.
The criticisra of one who is friendly to the Gov
ernraent, and who is anxious that it shall succeed
and be preserved, and who points out its errors that

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 371
they may be corrected, is wholly different frora the
denunciation which seeks to bring the Government
into contempt and render it odious to the people,
thereby Avithdrawing from it that natural support
so necessary to its life, when struggling in battle
with a powerful enemy. The one can never be
mistaken for the other.
It must be borne in mind that the exercise of
the plainest rights and privileges raay be greatly
raodified by surrounding circurastances ; that what
may be proper or innocent and harmless at one
time, may be dangerous and criminal at another.
To advocate the right of secession aud rebeUion,
or the dissolution of our Government, might be
harmless enough in tirae of profound peace, but
wheu the country is engaged in a desperate civil
war, which is cousuraing the best blood and treas
ure of the nation, and the raisfortune of arras
might within a few days, bring the enemy upon the
soil of our State, avUI it be contended that the
privilege of free speech gives the right to advocate
the rebelhon, resistance to our own Governmeut, or
the abandonraent of it to its eneraies ? That which
is idle talk in tirae of peace may become " aid and
corafort to the eneray," and punishable by the laAvs
of the land, when that eneray is at our doors.
Let rae exhort the people to raoderation and
subraission to the laws, and laying aside their resent
ments and prejudices, to take counsel only of their
duties and the dangers which threaten the nation;

372
and while I assure them that protection shall ba
extended to life, hberty, and property, and that
equal and exact justice shall be administered to all,
I would impress them with the fact, that if needs
be, the whole power of the State and Nation will be
invoked to execute the laws, preserve the public
peace, and bring offenders to punishment.
Given under my hand at the city of Indianapohs,
Indiana, this 11th day of June, A. D. 1863.
0. P. Morton,
Governor of Indiana.
Executive Department.

An Oration delivered by Governor Morton at
Cbnterville, Indiana, on the Fourth Day of
July, 1863.
The marshal, Leafe Develin, Esq., gracefully
introduced the orator as follows:
Fellow-citizens, friends and neighbors : 1 am
proud of having the opportunity, on this interesting
occasion, of introducing to your attention His
Excellency Governor Morton, not only the Execu
tive of the noble State of Indiana, but pre-eminent
ly the citizen's guardian and the soldier's friend.
The Governor then proceeded with the following
improraptu address, which we have considerably
abridged :
FeUow-citizens : I appear before you under cir
curastances the most solemn and impressive. You

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 373
have often before met to celebrate the independence
of your country, but never under circumstances like
the present. Many of our brave soldiers are doubt
less bleeding to day in defense of our country and her
free institutions. Our own fathers, brothers, sons,
and husbands are in the very front of battle, and
almost every flash along the wire tells us of loved
ones who have bravely fallen. Let us endeavor to
realize the difference between them and ourselves
to-day. They are falling in the great struggle for
the preservation of the freedom under which we are
enabled to assemble in peace in reraerabrance of
the sacrifices of our heroic fathers of the revolution,
iu securing for America the fi-eedom and nationality
that traitors are now seeking to overthrow.
Eighty-seven years ago to-day a raost illustrious
convention of devoted men proclaimed the birth of
our nation. Thus began our national life, and
what I have to say to you will be raainly a cora-
mentary upon the sacred instrument that has just
been read. Such is the pressure of ray public
duties that I have had scarcely an hour's thought
in preparation for this occasion, and I must speak
to you as the truth is burning in my heart, or I
must not speak at all.
Human Equality,
For what, feUow-citizens, is that instrument espe
cially distinguished? Apart frora a long list of
grievances, there are three or four iraportant m.it-

374 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ters set forth, to which I desire to caU your atten
tion, 1, In the first place our fathers declared that " all
mankind are created free and equal, and are entitled
to certain inalienable rights, among which are life,
hberty and the pursuit of happiness, " They an
nounced the fundamental principles on which the
new government was to be established. In this
they only addressed the conscience of the world, —
the coraraon sense of raankind iu reference to self-
evident truths.
What did they mean by the idea that all man
kind are created equal ? They did not mean equal
in power, physical, intellectual or moral ; but sim
ply that all are entitled to the sarae rights, that the
sarae justice presides over all, and all should be held
as "equal before the law," which should be no
respecter of persons.
Those, therefore, who cavil at this declaration of
equality as logically unsound, betray their lack of
respect for free principles and popular governraent.
That the rights of all raankind are the sarae, is the
great truth that lies at the foundation of our Gov
ernment, Inalienable Rights,
2. All " are entitled to certain inalienable rights, "
This is the fundaraental distinction between the
theory of our Constitution and that of the Brit
ish governraent. The theory of Great Britain is

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 375
that the people are entitled to no rights except
those which may be granted to them from the
Crown. The Lords of Runimede extorted from
the King the privileges of the Magna Charta, which
are held to have been a grant from the Crown.
But we hold that the liberties of man are derived
from God, and not from crowns, constitutions, or
magna chartas, and that they are inalienable.
What is meant by inalienable in this connection ?
These rights can not be sold or rightfully given up by
the people or any individual. They pertain to him
as raan, and are essential to his existence as a raan.
No one has a right to sell hiraself, because he was
born for certain duties and should be free to dis
charge thera. No one can deprive hiraself, by any
instrument, however solemn, of the privileges of
exercising the liberties with which he was created.
An Indivisible Nationality,
Our fathers also proclairaed, in the most solemn
forra, the principle that the Colonies constituted
but one nation. They did not act as the people of
thirteen independent Colonies, but as one individ
ual people. This vital and most important truth is
announced in the first sentence of the Declaration :
" When in the course of huraan events it becoraes
necessary for One People," etc. As one people they
dissolved their connection with, and dependence
upon, the British crown. And at the close of the
instrument the same principle is declared.

376 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Thus it is evident that the first thought in the
minds of the patriots of the Revolution, was that
they were dealing as one people not as Colonies, in
a separate municipal or civil capacity, but as an
undivided people.
The same principle was announced by the Con
vention of 1787, the first words of the Constitution
being : " We, the people, in order to forra a raore
perfect Union," etc. They were particular in stat
ing that it was not in the capacity of the several
States that they acted ; but that the Constitution
was a compact of the people of all the States as one
people. Principles involved in the War.
There are two theories in collision iu this bloody
contest. On one hand it is held that we are not
such a people as the American nation, but that we
are thirty-four independent States, constituting a
compact frora which they can withdraAA' at pleasure.
The other theory is that we are a unit, one and
indivisible; that we are not separable iuto parts,
but constitute a whole nation for coraraon purposes
clearly defined in the Constitution. As the States
are divided into counties, all ot which constitute
the State : so the nation is divided iuto States, all
of which constitute the National governraent.
"When certain States undertook the treasonable
work of secession they issued a declaration orait
ting or repudiating all the fundaraental principles
announced by our fathers. They start out with:

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 377
"We, the deputies of the several States of South
Carolina, Georgia, &c,, do ordain this celebration."
Thus clearly implying that thfe fathers did act as
one people, while the Southern States in secession
act as separate governments, I allude to these
things to show that this war is a Avar to subvert
tbe principles which our fathers promulgated eighty-
seven years ago ; and om-s is now the great duty of
maintaining and preserving thera, to-wit, the great
principles of human equality, human rights, aud an
indivisible nationality. And on such an occasion as
this, while the best blood of the land is flowing like
a river to maintain the doctrines of the Declaration,
he who can stand up and speak to the people with
out referring to these matters, can haA'e but little
heart or head, and none of the spirit of his
ancestors. We are standing, as it were, on the
brink of the Nation's graA-e, and an unlucky acci
dent may be fatal. It therefore becomes us at this
hour seriously to consider Avhat we are fighting for.
Secession.
It is not material how the war began. Enough
that we are in a war for national preservation, com
pared to which the Revolution was a mere skirm
ish. Though it is interesting to consider the causes
of the war, yet how reckless would be the man
AA'ho, seeing one drowning, should stop to inquire
how he got into the water before atterapting to
rescue him. Save him first, and then make all
32

378 LIFE, speeches and public SERVICES OF
interesting inquiries in the case. We are in the
war, and it is iraportant in sorae respects, for the
satisfaction of conscience, to raake sorae reference
to the origin of the war. Thirty years ago South
Carohna attempted to destroy the government, but
the hero of New Orleans was President, and though
he crushed the treason at that time, yet the seeds
remained and germinated on adarger scale, tiU sev
eral States were corrupted by the delusion,
[The orator then reviewed the plunder of the
government in view of secession, the unmolested
preparations for borabarding Fort Surater, begin
ning in January, 1861, and ending with the lower
ing of the flag to traitors in the following April,
He also considered the object of rebels, to-vrit, the
destruction of the governraent, the OA-erthrow of
free principles, and the establishment of an aristoc
racy. He then came to the question so interesting
to us all.] About Peace.
How can peace be restored with the restora
tion of our country? By some it is said that we
can have peace by abandoning the conflict ; that
we can proclaim an armistice, and negotiate for
peace. To have an armistice sorae oue raust ask
for it. The rebels won't ask for it, and therefore
we must. Should they ask for it, we should A-ery
naturally infer that they were iu very straightened
circumstances; and should we ask for it, they
would conclude the same thing of us.

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 879
Should Ave ask it, what would be their reply ?
They have told us tirae and again, that they would
not treat Avith us till aa'C should Avithdraw our
armies. This they make a condition precedent to
a convention for treating of peace.
Suppose, then, that we have taken the first
necessary step, withdrawn our army, raised the
blockade, and are assembled in convention at Louis-
A-ille or Nashville, to negotiate for peace. They at
once tell us that they wiU not coramence the dis
cussion until we acknowledge their independence.
We maybe startled by their bold demand, but Ave
soon find that an acknowledgment is indispensable,
and at once sign and deliver to traitors the bond
for our national destruction.
Now we corae to the question of peace, and the
ffi-st inquiry is where shall be the boundary? We
say it raust be south of Missouri, Kentucky, etc.,
but they most eraphatically say, " No, we will not
relinquish one of the slave States, Every one of
thera is a star on our flag, and all of thera have
representatives and senators in our congress, and we
AviU not have peace until all the slave States are con
ceded to us. " Thus, we shall be corapelled to perrait
them to coerce the four border States to the em
brace of their hateful Confederacy !
"What then do we lose ? We lose the Capital, as
the District of Colurabia is within the territory they
demand. We lose, also, the control of the Missis
sippi river. Some of you say, " Not so ; they once

380 LIFE, SPEECHES, AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
offered us the free navigation of that great channel
of commerce, " But you must remember that this
offer was before they had created so heavy a war
debt, and now they wUl say to us that wo shall not
send to market on its bosom a single barrel of flour
without paying a duty upon it. In response, Ave
say that we can not relinquish the freedom of navi
gation on the Mississippi, To which they reply
most emphaticaUy, " Then we will have no peace."
Thus, while we are negotiating toward our own
dishonor and destruction, they are selling millions
of dollars worth of cotton to England, building an
iron-clad fleet, and preparing to renew the war Avith
more bloody desperation than before 1 We should
be unable to renew the conflict. They will have
gained every advantage, and we be compelled to
bow to their AviU,
They tell us in the next place that they wiU not
have peace unless we Avill pay at least a part of their
war debt. You reply that we must then return to
arras. Ah, it is too late 1 We can not renew the
contest. Om- armies are disbanded ; we are poAver-
less, and raust accept their terras. We thus find
ourseh-es compelled to see om- Government des
troyed and ourselves entirely ruined ! I ask you as
patriots, who love your country supremely above
every thing else of earth, are you prepared to play
the part I have described in this humiliating scene?

governor oliver p, morton, 381
Further Disintegrations,
Thus shut out from the Gulf and cut off from
the East, what will be the next act of this terrible
tragedy? We will not subrait to the burden of both
debts, and disintegration will go on. The South has
saddled its debt upon us, has raade a most glorious
peace out of us, and we shaU be left to play the
scoundrel's part in repudiation by further seces
sions, war and bloodshed. Thus we should be bro
ken, destroyed and disgraced before the world for
all time to corae. The fatal consequences fall upon
all alike. We are aU in the sarae boat. We can not
have peace in this way. It is a physical, intellectual
and moral impossibihty.
We must Fight,
We have no other alternative than to fight out
the war. Our only safety is in the coraplete sup
pression of the rebeffion.
We must conquer at whatever cost. It wUl cost
us every thing not to do it, and do it we raust. Our
fathers waged a seven years' war to secm-e our
liberties, and can we not fight seven years, if
necessai-y, to preserve thera. We raust not look
for peace in any other way.
But to fight it out we raust have an army. The
army in the field must be recruited and sustained.
That glorious array ! What eraotions the thought
of it enkindles in ray breast ! We should love it
beyond all things else on earth. But I fear we do

382 UFE, speeches and public seratices of
not love it as weU as we should ! How many of
these brave soldiers have gone down in the contest,
leaving weeping wIa-cs, raothers and sisters, to
whora they were as dear as any are to us I And
shaU we now desert thera ? Look at that battle-
shattered flag [pointing to the riddled fl^g of the
brave Nineteenth Indiana, hanging from the plat
form]. The sad news comes to us to-day that raore
than half of what reraained of that gallant regiment
have raet a soldier's and a patriot's death in the
battle now going on!
Our glorious Governraent has given us uU our
prosperity. Even now these Northern States are
flourishing as they never flourished before. I was
struck Avith this fact in a recent visit to New York.
There and every where all branches of business
are raore active than CA'er before. The great raarts
of trade echpse every thing ever known in this
country, and were it not for the news of battles and
the loss of dear kindred and friends, we should not
know we were in a war. Have we given of our
substance with patriotic hberahty to the rehef of
the sick and wounded, and the support of the
dependent families of soldiers who have fallen to
procure for us every thing sacred and glorious ?
We must have an Army.
We raust have an army. How shall we have it ?
Is it a party question ? Great God ! that one should
think of party when such a question is asked !

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 383
"WTiat multitudes have fallen and died in the
hospitals, that are still full of sick and wounded !
The army must be recruited. Let every one take
this great fact home to himself, and fill up the
ranks. We shall ultimately succeed.
The army must be ffiled up by conscription, and
he who stands in the way courts his o"wn destruc
tion. Not destruction in honorable battle, but a
most ignoble destruction as an eneray of his country.
The Governraent AviU every where enforce the
law. Conscription.
Objections have been urged against the Conscrip
tion act. I was not entirely satisfied with it rayself.
I would not have inserted the $300 clause, for the
object is to get raen, not raoney. A sraall draft
was raade under the last levy, in Indiana, and the
price of substitutes ranged frora $300 to $800, when
the terra was only nine raonths. Now when the
draft is to be for the war, the price Avill run much
higher. The clause was inserted for the benefit of
the poor raan ; but I would have required every
drafted man to either go or furnish his oavu substi
tute. But it is the law, and I shaU stand by it as it
is, and enforce it in good faith, equaUy and every
where. To prosecute the war we raust have the
means. Providence works by raeans, and we raust
employ them. It is a Spanish proverb that " Provi
dence helps those who help themselves."
"What are the means ? The army and the navy.

384 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
The array has hitherto been confined to one single
race. It is the bodies of our brethren that are
decomposing upon the bloody ground or mingling
with the winds. We must use all the means at om-
coraniand. Negro Enlistments.
There is in the South a population of 4,250,000
of another race, who can furnish the usual propo-
tion of able-bodied men. If we refuse to employ
these, we raust, the more of us, go ourselves, to
breast aU the dangers and endure the hardships of
war. Is it not right to employ all the means ? Most
certainly it is ! This is the response of the coramon
sense of mankind. Even if the negroes will not
raake as good soldiers, let us raake what use of
them we can. If they are only a quarter as good,
let us have the quarter. If they can be made to
save the blood of our fathers, brothers and sons,
shall they not be eraployed? But you all know
that they have been tried, and have fought witii
distinguished valor. The recruiting of negroes is
rapidly going on. We have already 30,000 in the
field, and the nuraber will soon swell to 100,000.
Suppose one of those who say, fight it out without
the negro or not fight at all, were drafted, and the
choice given hira to go or send a negro in his place,
I think that he would succeed in conquering his
prejudices and say, let the negro go. We shall garri
son the South with negroes, and every one we

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 385
enlist enables one of us to stay at horae. We em
ploy every other instrumentality, and what reason
can be urged against employing the negro power ?
The Moral Question.
But I raust speak of one thing that you can no
more overlook than you can overlook the sun that
is noAV bearaing down upon us. We have now
approached the condition in which the raoral ques
tions involved in slavery are overwhelmed by the
physical necessity of the case. The question is not
whether slavery is wrong, but whether we can use
the slaves in putting down the rebellion.
The rebels employ the negroes, and even put
tomahawks into the hands of tbe Indians, against
us. They provide food, perform all the labor of the
carap, on the march and to the field. If we AAuthdraw
their slaves their raasters must go home to proAdde
against the starvation of their families. If the reb
els against the Governraent can use them for its
destruction shall we not be perraitted to use them for
our national preservation? CONSTITUTIONALITIES.
But we hear much about unconstitutionality in
reference to this question. Chief Justice Taney has
recently decided the blockade to be unconstitutional,
and yet there is not a word in the Constitution in
reference to a blockade. So Avith many other
things. The fathers did not deem it necessary to
33

386 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
insert the laws of war in the Constitution. The
blockade is a right of war — it cripples the enemy,
and any thing else that would damage the enemy
is constitutional for the same reason. "What con
stitutional right have we to destroy the mills of
the enemy ? The right of a beUigerent, that would
be false to itself if it did not destroy aU means of
sustaining the eneray. Provisions go before war.
Destroy their provisions and the enemy becomes
powerless. Hence the right to blockade, burn miUs,
seize cattle, &c., &c.
Carr}- it a little further. There are slaves that
produce food for the eneray, Avithout which he
eould not butcher our relatives and friends. Have
we not the sarae right to cripple hira in this respect,
that we have to blockade him, burn his mills and
capture his mules ? The question is not whether
slavery is protected by the Constitution — but does
it support the enemy ? is the only question to con
sider. The Constitution protects commerce, but
we blockade ; it protects mills and mules, but we
seize the one aud bm-n the other. So with the
slaA-es; they sustain the foe, let us turn thera
against hira. Our Glorious Army,
[The orator now returned to the array, and raade
a raost effective appeal for its support. He paid a
high and deserved tribute to the soldiers of Indi
ana. ]
How gaUautiy have the Indiana troops borne

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 887
themselves in this war ? Where and Avhen have
they turned from the foe ? Indiana Avas disgraced
in the Mexican war by the misrepresentation of that
king of traitors, Jeff, Davis ; but that dishonor has
beeu raost effectually Aviped out. Who is uoav
ashamed of being called a Hoosier ? Formerly we
found men anxious to have it known that they were
born iu Kentucky, Pennsylvania, or some other
State, but now they are very well reconciled to the
fact of having been born in Indiana,
But we must reraeraber the army. Shall we
stand here to day quibbling about terms while twenty
thousand of our friends are falling in battle ? Let
us rise to the height of the argument, and discharge
the duties of the hour for the sake of both the pres
ent and the future,
[The orator continued in a touching appeal for
sympathy and liberality in behalf of the soldiers
and their families.]
We promised to provide for their wIa'cs aud chil
dren when they left for the field. Have we fulfilled
our promises ? Do we send their children to school ?
Let every one ask the question whether he has con
tributed as he should in their behalf.
In conclusion, let us all go to our several horaes,
resolved to do our whole duty, come what will.
Let us show that we possess a wholesome reverence
for our institutions, and veneration for our fathers.
Let us do our duty, our whole duty, and nothing
short of our duty, in this crisis of our country.

388 life, speeches and public services of
Complimentary Call on Governor Morton.
July 20th, 1863.
Governor Morton, of our sister State of Indiana,
being in the city last evening, a coramittee Qf the
City Council, Messrs. Weasner, Hayden and John
ston, improved the occasion of presenting to him a
resolution adopted bj'the Council some weeks since,
asking him to sit for a portrait, to be hung up in the
City Hall. They met him in a reception room of
the Burnet House, where were present, also, a
number of the leading citizens of the city.
After the Governor had beeu introduced to the
gentlemen, Mr. Weasner as President of the Coun
cil, addressed hira, and referred to the action of that
body in soliciting him to sit for a portrait, and pre
sented him Avith a copy of the resolution. He then
continued : " Of all the men in civil life, during
these troublesorae tiraes, we say to you that we
regard you as standing foremost of them all in the
performance of your patriotic duties. I know that
iu the hearts of the citizens of Cincinnati uo man
is held in higher esteem than Governor Morton, of
Indiana. Whenever a crisis has arrived, you have
ahvays been ready to meet it. Whenever the Gov
ernment has wanted soldiers you have found a way
to furnish them. You have always been up to the
occasion. And during our own troubles, here, last
fall, we felt that we were especially rauch indebted
to you. When we called for help, your response
was prompt and efficient."

governor OLIA'ER P. MORTON. 389
Mr. Weasner then said that it Avas in considera
tion of the timely aid thus rendered, as well as their
estimation of his services to the nation, that the
City Council passed the resolution referred to.
They regarded the possession of his portrait and its
preservation in the City Hall, as the most fitting
way of holding his services in the most grateful
remembrance. Governor Morton responded :
Gentlemen of the Committee : — I should certainly
be very insensible if I did not feel flattered and grat-
ifled with what you have said. So far as any assist
ance that I have rendered to Cincinnati is con-
cernedl did no more than was my duty, and I ought
to have done more if I could. Although I live iu
Indiana, I spent a considerable portion of my boy
hood near Cincinnati, and when I come among you
I feel very much as though I were at home. As to
what I have done in raatters connected with the
war, I must say that when the war broke out I felt
that aU I had at stake was bound up in it, aud that
it was my duty to do all that ray energy would ena
ble rae to do. And I was placed in a position
where I have been able to do soraething raore than
others, but I fear I have received raore credit for
Avhat I have done than I ought to receive,
AUow rae, gentlemen, to return to you my warm
est thanks for this compliment, I regard it very
highly, coraing, as it does, from the great Comraer
cial Metropohs of the Northwest, I trust that

390 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Cincinnati has been threatened for the last time dur
ing the progress of this war. Recent events have
very much cleared away the gloom that lowered on
the whole country ; and I believe we may say, with
some confidence, that the war is measurably over
in the Mississippi valley. The great event of the
war has transpired, and one which is of special
importance to the City of Cincinnati — the open
ing of the Mississippi river. It is the beginning
of the end. I avail myself of this opportunity to
tender to you the thanks of the people of Indiana,
for the uniform kindness which the soldiers of Indi
ana have received in passing through your city.
This treatment has touched our people most deeply,
and there are very fcAV of our people who have not,
through their friends, been made acquainted Avith
the circumstances of this hospitality.
When Cincinnati was threatened by the com
raon enemy, it was to us as though a city of Indi
ana had been threatened, for we have always
claimed this as being measurably our own city,
bound as it is so closely to our own State, both
geographically and commercially. Hence, our peo
ple have rallied as promptly to its defense as they
would to the defense of any portion of their own
State. And besides this, Cincinnati and Ohio are
part of our common country, and we have a right
to claim the people of Cincinnati as our fellow citi-.
zens. But, we hope the end of the war approaches,
and as it does approach, we will have new duties

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 391
to perform, and greater difficulties to overcome.
The great struggle in the settlement of our diffi
culties, that is to try the wisdom aud forbear
ance of our people, is yet to come, and we should
cherish these kind and fraternal feelings.
The Governor (not having intended any lengthy
remarks) again thanked tbe Coramittee, and
through them the people of Cincinnati, for the
marked favor shown him, aud closed, when the
concourse of visitors engaged iu general conversa
tion.

392 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

CHAPTER XII.
Opening of the canvass of 1864 — Nomination of 0. P. Morton by
the Union State Convention of February 23 — His response —
Masterly review of Democratic abuses of previous tivo years —
Partisan heartlessness thoroughly exposed — Able and eloquent
vindication of the Government — Emancipation Proclamation
nobly sustained — "Peace men" severely scathed — Duty of pa
triots clearly set forth— Eloquent tribute to Indiana soldiers, etc.
On the 23d February, 1864, the Union State
Convention met at Indianapolis for the purpose of
presenting to the people of Indiana a ticket which
would comraand the united support of all loyal
raen. This was a task of no sraall moment, since
it had been clearly manifest, in the preceding State
election, that very unnoticed circumstances fre
quently have more to do in deciding great issues
than those of greater conspicuousness. The defeat
of the Union ticket in 1862 was principaUy owing
to the fact that, while Union men were earnestly
endeavoring to promote the successful prosecution
of the war, and were quietly sleeping on their
electioneering oars, not even dreaming of the pos
sibility of defeat, the "Peace Democracy" were
constantly, though slily, at work wherever they
could find susceptible material, knowing full well
that while the enhstraent of every true patriot

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 393
dirainished the strength of their adversary, tbe loss
of 'every battle by the Union array raultiplied their
chances to disaff'ect weak-spined loyalists, and win
thera over to the "Peace policy,"
Fully aware of these facts, and also apprised of
the fact that Governor Morton, by his untiring
efforts in behalf of the Governraent, his extraordi
nary econoray in the management of State affairs,
and his unflagging sympathy for the soldier, had
done more to re-establish the predominance of the
Union sentiment in Indiana than all others, the
convention decided, without a dissenting voice, that
he should lead the Union State ticket of 1864.
The following is the response he raade to the
convention upon accepting the nomination ; and
in thoroughness of preparation and syraraetry of
arrangement, it is, perhaps, the speech of his life.
Copperhead Action in the Legislature.
The beginning of the late session was signalized
in the House by an act as absurd and insulting as it
was revolutionary.
The Constitution imposes the obligation upon
the Governor of communicating with the Legisla
ture by messages from tirae to tirae, and it iraposes
a like obligation upon the Legislature of receiving
and considering such messages. In discharge of this
obligation, the Governor sent his serai-annual raes
sage to the Senate and House. The Senate received
the message, and ordered it to be printed ; but the

394 LIFE, speeches and public services of
House refused to receive it, returned it to the Gov
eruor, and passed a resolution receiving and adopt
ing the raessage of the Governor of New York.
[Laughter.] From such a beginning it was not hard to predict
the end. The House had begun its legislative
course by a wanton insult to the Executive; by a
flagrant violation of the Constitution, which it had,
but a few hours before, sworn to support. The
revolutionary policj thus inaugurated was pursued
with increased violence and open disregard of con
stitutional obligations. Its time was chiefly con
sumed, by the introduction of disloyal resolutions,
the utterance of factious and treasonable sentiments,
intended to excite the people against the Govern
raent, and destroy its power to suppress the rebellion.
The necessary and legitiraate subjects of legisla
tion were disregarded or kept back. Aside from
an appropriation for their own per diem and mile
age, which was passed on the first day of the ses
sion, every other appropriation was absolutely sup
pressed until Friday, the last day but one of the
session, when it was known that no quorum, was
present in the House. Among the appropriations
which should have been made at the beginning of
the session were :
First. A sufficient sum for the relief of soldiers'
farailies. Second. A sum sufficient to relieve the necessi-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 395
ties and provide for the sick and wounded soldiers
iu the field.
Third, A sura sufficient to pay the military
clairas which had been allowed by the Auditing
Comraittee, and about which there was no dispute,
sorae of them having been standing for raany
months. Fourth, A sura sufficient to pay special surgeons
for services and expenses, rendered by order of the
Governor in the field.
Fifth, A sum sufficient to sustain and continue
the operations of the State Arsenal; it having been
shown that that institution had been profitable to
the State, and of great service to the State and
Government, Sixth, A sum sufficient to pay the officers and
men of the Indiana Legion, for their services ren
dered in protecting the border.
I am inforraed by Mr. Branhara, who was a
meraber of the Coraraittee of Ways and Means,
that he repeatedly urged on the coraraittee iraraedi
ate action in these iraportant matters, and also that
bills appropriating raoney necessary for the support
and operation of the State Governraent should be
proraptly brought forward, but every effort was
unavaiUng; the legitiraate business of legislation
was surbordinated to the great purpose of the ses
sion — to the grand scherae of the party for seizing
the railitary power of the State, and withdrawing

396 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
the State frora the support of the General Govern
ment in suppressing the rebellion,
Shortiy after the October election in 1862, it was
given -out by various democratic pohticians and
papers that the Legion law would be repealed, and
a UCAV law passed depriving the Governor of all
control over State arms, and stripping him of all
military power whatever.
On the 17th day of February a military bill was
introduced by Bayless W. Hanna, Chairraan of the
Military Comraittee in the House, in pursuance of
the conspiracy formed months before. It -com
pletely overturned the constitutional authority of
the State, established a military provisional gov
ernraent, and placed all railitary power of the State
in the hands of the four democratic State officers.
It vnll not be iraproper to raake a brief sumraary
of the leading features of this reraarkable measure.
First, It provided that all the arras should be
placed in the custody of the Auditor, Treasurer, Sec
retary and Attorney General of the State, to be
kept, issued or disposed of only by them.
Second. It deprived the Governor of all power
to call out the railitia for any purpose whatever.
Third. It proAuded that the new officers to be
created under this bill should be coraraissioned by
certificates issued by the Auditor, Treasurer, Secre
tary and Attorney General of the State, and dis
pensed with coramissions issued by the Governor,
as is requh-ed by the Constitution of the State.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 397
Fourth. It provided that the above-named State
officers should have power to appoint all Major and
Brigadier Generals, and conferred upon the officers
thus appointed the power to select a nuraerous and
expensive staff.
Fifth. It provided that the four State officers,
upon the requisition of the Brigadier Generals,
should issue the arras to such persons as raight be
agreed upon, without requiring bonds to be given
for their preservation and return, and could thus be
placed in the hands of irresponsible parties for rev
olutionary and treasonable purposes.
Sixth. It provided for the repeal of the present
Legion law, the dissolution of all brigades, regi
ments and companies formed under that law, the
surrender of their arms into the hands of the agents
to be appointed by the four State officers, and ren
dered null and void all outstanding coramissions
in the State.
In short, this bill transferred to the four State
officers the railitary power which was vested in the
Governor by the Constitution, and gave to them new
and dangerous powers hitherto unknown to consti
tutions or laws in regularly organized governments.
They were to become four Grand Commanders,
a Military Directory, a quadruple Executive.
The bill was defective iu one particular, for it
failed to provide for the contingency of tAVO of these
executive heads differing from the other two. It
should have made proAdsion in such case for refer-

398
ring the disputed matter to a justice of the peace
or the decision of a coroner's jury. [Laughter.]
The legislative history of this bill could not be
better given than in language employed by the
Union raerabers of the Legislature in their address
to the people of the State.
Action of the Minority.
" The Military Bill had corae frora the midnight
caucus to the House ; had been printed and forced
to its engrossment without the change of a word or
letter; all amendments and substitutes had been
voted down ; all references to coraraittees had been
refused, although every other bill of a general char
acter that had gone to a second reading had been
referred to some committee ; the previous question
had been sustained, the gag applied, and all debate
cut off, and the bill engrossed. Nothing was left
for us but to sit by and see this infamous measure
passed through, the revolution consummated, and
civil war begun, or to quietly retire and leave the
House without a quorum ; there was no other
peaceful and constitutional reraedy. If it had beeu
left to the courts tO annul it, before the question
could have been deterrained the law would have
done its work.
" The military power once in the hands of the con
spirators, it would be a raatter of no iraportance
what the courts raight decide ; and if the question
took the course of others before the Supreme Court,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 399
it might be months or years before the decision
was raade. The path of duty was the path of
safety, and we had no doubt nor hesitation as to
the course we should pursue.
" We were wiUing and anxious, and repeatedly
proposed to the raajority to return and pass the ap
propriation bills, with all other legitiraate and law
ful legislation ; but they replied to us contemptu
ously that ' they intended to pass every one of their
ultra raeasures before they took up the appropria
tion bills.' "
The Military BUl violated absolutely no less than
seven plain and vital provisions of the Constitution,
and subverted entirely the scherae of governraent
invented by the fraraers of that instruraent. Its
passage would have been an act of revolution, in
evitably attended by civil war and a collision with
the Government of the United States.
There were doubtless a nuraber of deraocratic
raerabers in the Senate who did not syrapathize
with the conspiracy, and who deprecated the des
perate measures in progress. But the Union raera
bers of both houses believed that if it passed the
House it would pass the Senate. The action of
the majority was predetermined in secret caucus
from time to time, and the party lash laid unspar
ingly upon the backs of all who dared to talk of
doubts, or hesitated at the fearful schemes of the

^V

400 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
reckless leaders who were dictating the action of
the party.
The Legislature was in session fifty out of the
fifty-nine legislative days, with a quorum present
in each house, during which time, as before stated,
no appropriation bUls were brought forward, except
for their own per diem and raileage, and tbe Union
menibers withdrew from the House ouly after every
other means had been exhausted to prevent the
passage of the fatal measure.
Thus ended the Legislature, having made the
worst record, perhaps, ever made by any legislative
assembly in the United States. [Loud cheers.]
The Benevolent Institutions.
Immediately upon the adjournment of the Leg
islature, it was announced by the State officers that
there were no appropriations for carrying on the
benevolent institutions and the penitentiaries, and
that no raoney could be drawn from the treasury
for that purpose. It Avas the confident expectation
that I would be corapelled to call back the Legisla
ture or suspend the operations of all these institu
tions; but I deterrained to do neither. To have
called back the Legislature would have been an
act of madness, for which I should have been con
demned by every true man in the State. To have
suspended the benevolent institutions, and scattered
the unfortunate inmates abroad, would have been

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 401
an act of inhumanity, disgraceful to the State and
to all parties concerned.
In 1858, Governor Willard, in consequence ofthe
alleged want of appropriations for their support,
suspended the benevolent institutions, and sent
away the deaf and dumb, the blind and the insane.
This suspension took place in the month of Maj',
but on the 20th day of the Noveraber following,
after the State elections had taken place, they were
reopened, the inraates sent for — such as could be
found — and the raoney taken from the treasury
for their support. In the raean tirae no legislation
had been had, and no appropriations raade. If it
was lawful to take raoney frora the treasury to
carry on these institutions after the October election,
it was lawful to do it before; and their operations
should never have been suspended; and the fact
that, after the election had passed and the time had
gone by for making party capital out of their sus
pension, they were reopened and supported from
the treasury in the ordinary way, proves that the
original act of suspension Avas not a necessity, but
a partisan measure of the raost reprehensible char
acter. The benevolent institutions of the State
are provided for in the Constitution of the State,
and are regularly organized by statute. The people
of the State have been taxed for tbeir support, and
have paid their raoney into the treasury, where it
now is. Whether these constitutional and legal
provisions and the coUection of the raoney consti-
34

402 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
tute an authority for its apphcation, I will not un
dertake to determine. I can only say that in 1858
they Avere held to be a sufficient warrant — after the
October election. Whatever might be the true
aspect of the legal question, I determined to pro
cure, if possible, sufficieut raoney to carry on all
the institutions of the State, and keep the raa
chinery of the governraent in raotion. This would
devolve upon rae great and novel responsibilities,
but they were as nothing compared with those I
should have assumed by suspension and failure.
Money Avas procured frora various sources — from
the proceeds of the arsenal, from various counties —
private persons — frora one bank and one railroad
corapany, until, I believe, sufficient funds have been
secured to carry forward the State Governraent
until the 1st of. February, 1865. I ara gratified to
state that, when the increased cost of all articles of
food, clothing, and raaterials of every kind con
suraed in tbe benevolent institutions shall have been
considered, it will be found that they have been
carried on at a diminished cost of ten or fifteen per
cent., as contrasted with the expenditures of former
years. For this I am indebted to the vigilance and
economy of the superintendents of the institu
tions, the merabers of the Board of Trustees, and
especially to Andrew Wallace, President of the
Board.

governor oliver p. morton. 403
Interest on the State Debt.
I UOAV approach the history of a transaction the
most remarkable in the financial records of the
State, and one which will be read hereafter Avith
mingled indignation and astonishraent.
Shortly after the adjournment of the Legislature
it was bruited about that Mr. Ristine, the State
Auditor, would decide that there was no existing
appropriation by which the raoney could be drawn
frora the treasury to pay the interest on the State
debt, and shortly afterward the opinion of Mr.
Hord, the Attorney General, to that effect, purport
ing to be addressed to Mr. Ristine, was published
in the papers. This grand discovery was a surprise
to everybody, and the purpose of it could not be
raistaken, which was to drive rae to call an extra
session of the Legislature. The proposition itself
Avas an insult to public raorals and good faith, and
in utter disregard of the usage and practice of the
State for raany years. In 1841, the State having
contracted a large debt for the purpose of internal
improvement, and the system having proved disas
trous, failed to pay the interest upon her bonds; the
credit of the State was at once prostrated in the
money markets of the world, her hitherto good
name everywhere aff'ected, and her fair prospects
for future prosperity and greatness blighted. Her
reputation for bad faith and bankruptcy for many
years caused the current of immigration to sweep

404 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
around her and over her to States in the north aud
west, and for a series of years her growth in popu
lation and wealth was retarded- In 1846 the people
of the State declared imperatively that measures
must be adopted to restore her credit and do justice
to her creditors. Accordingly, a compromise was
finally agreed upon and adopted by which her cred
itors surrendered and canceled one-half of their
debt, amounting to over ten millions of dollars, in
consideration of which the State transferred to them
the Wabash and Erie Canal, and issued new stocks
to them for the other half, upon which she solemnly
pledged herself to pay the interest semi-annually,
on the first days of January and July in each year,
until the principal of the debt should be paid. The
arrangeraent was highly advantageous to the State,
and did much for the iraraediate restoration of her
credit. For the creditors it was a bad one, for the
Wabash and Erie Canal in a few years becarae
worthless, and has since been practically abandoned,
and they had surrendered and lost one-half of their
entire claim. Legislation had in 1846 and 1847, in
completion of the arrangeraent, was regarded as
a perfect and continuing appropriation frora the
treasury of an araount of money sufficient to pay
the interest frora tirae to tirae, according to the
terras of the new agreement. It was so regarded
and acted upon throughout the remainder of the
administration of Governor Whitcomb, throuo:b-
out the two adrainistrations of Governor Wright,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 405
and the late adrainistration of Governor Willard,
In 1857, the Legislature having failed to raake the
usual appropriations for the support of the State
Governraent, the Hon. Joseph E. McDonald, then
Attorney General of the State, gave it as his official
opinion that while there were no appropriations
authorizing the payraent of raoney frora the treas
ury for the support of benevolent institutions, there
was a legal and continuing appropriation for the
payraent of the interest on the State debt, and in
accordance with this opinion. Governor Willard, in
1858, borrowed frora the Sinking Fund enough
raoney to pay the July interest, the treasury at that
tirae being erapty. The new Constitution adopted
in 1850 expressly guaranteed the payraent of the
principal and interest of this debt, and was regarded
as of itself constituting an unalterable appropria
tion until the principal of the debt should be finally
paid. It is true that in 1859 and 1861 the Legisla
ture raade special appropriations for the payment of
this interest; but so it did also for the payment
of the salaries of all the State officers, thfe payraent
of the State Printer, and for several other purposes,
all of which are now paid out of the State treasury,
without specific appropriations. These appropria
tions were without significance, because no question
had been or was then raised as to the sufficiency of
the original appropriations to pay the interest on
the State debt.
Justice to Mr. Brett, the Treasurer of State, re-

406 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF

quires it to be said that he did not enter readily
into this scherae of repudiation, and frequently ex
pressed his entire disapprobation of it. To secure
the co-operation of Mr. Brett, and to stem the
current of public indignation which was setting in
strongly against the parties to this scheme, it was
deterrained in May to procure an opinion from the
Supreme Court, by which Brett could be coerced,
and under which Ristine and his coadjutors could
be sheltered. Accordingly, in May, Hon. W. H.
Talbott, the President of the Sinking Fund, and
Avho, it was understood, was one of Ristine's advisers
in this scherae of repudiation, coraraenced a suit
against Ristine in the Circuit Court of Marion
County, asking for a raandaraus against Ristine to
corapel him to issue a warrant upon the Treasurer
for an amount of money sufficient to pay the ap
proaching July interest. The Sinking Fund was
the holder of a large amount of our State stocks,
upon which it was the duty of Talbott to collect
the interest, and the bringing of this suit was ap
parently in the perforraance of his duty. It was
obvious, however, that if such a suit was brought
it would be a raere shara, a concocted thing to con
summate the original scheme of repudiation. The
history of the case in its progress through the
Circuit and Suprerae Courts clearly established the
truth of this opinion. The history of the case in the
Circuit Court is set forth in tbe card of Mr. Sraock,
the Deputy Clerk of that Court, which I will read.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 407
"Indianapolis, May 16, 1863.
" In the case entitled ' The State Of Indiana on
the relation of the Comraissioners of the Sinking
Fund vs. Joseph ' Ristine, Auditor of State,' the
papers were first presented to rae by Mr. Hord, the
Attorney General, on Monday, the 11th day of
May, with a request that the entry prepared should
at once be entered of record, and a transcript made
out and certified for the Supreme Court. This was
my first knowledge of the case. Mr. Hord stated
that the case had been passed upon by the Court.
The papers consisted of a coraplaint, deraurrer to
coraplaint, answer and deraurrer to answer, and of
an entry in the handwriting of the Attorney Gen
eral, reciting the overruling of the demurrer to the
complaint, the sustaining of the deraurrer to the an
swer, and the judgraent of the Court that a Avrit of
mandate issue in conforraity with tbe prayer of the
complaint. The Attorney General wanted me to
quit my other work aud make the entry in the
order-book imraediately, which I refused to do, and
told hira that the transcript could not be made then,
unless it was raade frora the original papers, and
before the entry was raade in the order-book.
Mr. Hord replied that he would take it in that
way. I supposed it was all right, and that every
thing had been ordered by the Court.
" The papers were then taken to the Clerk's
office, and frora thera a transcript was made out
and certified before any step in the case had been

408 life, speeches and public services of
entered upon the order-book, and before the min
utes had been read or signed. As soon as the
transcript could be completed in this mode, it was
handed to the Attorney General, who was waiting
at the Clerk's office for it. He said, as he received
it, that he hoped to get a decision in the Suprerae
Court in a few days, and that the costs would be
paid. " After this the entry was recorded. When
Judge Finch read the entry, he remarked that he
had not been inforraed of what it contained — that
it had not been read to hira, and if he had known
its character it should not have been recorded. lie
struck the entry frora the order-book with his own
hand, and before the rain utes for the day had been
signed. " W. C. Smock. Deputy Clerk."
This certainly beats any judicial "time" on
record. The summary proceedings of the Police
Courts of New York, or of the Old Bailey in Lon
don, can not approach it. Here the pleadings on
both sides had been prepared out of Court in ad
vance, including the opinion and judgment of the
Court, a record of the case procured and filed in the
Supreme Court before the minutes in the Court
below had been read or signed ; without the char
acter of the case having been brought to the knowl
edge of the Judge of the Circuit Court, who, upon
being inforraed of what had been done, struck out

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 409
the entry upon the order-book with his own hand,
and, as I learn from another source, sent a commu
nication to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, stating
that the record ffied Avith him had been improperly
obtained, and that he had not decided any such
case. He then took up and examined the original
complaint, and decided it invalid, upon the ground
that the proceedings were wholly premature, the
tirae not having arrived when action could be had
upon the subject. From this last decision Talbott
appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme
Court received and retained both records, and then
the case presented the very novel aspect of two ap
peals pending in the Supreme Court at the sarae
tirae, and only one case in the Court below. In a
few days, opinions were dehvered in the Supreme
Court in both cases, denvino: the existence of anv
appropriations by which the interest conld be paid
upon the State debt. And here I leave the lawsuit.
In future tiraes the legal antiquarian will pause
araidst his researches to examine this case, as the
greatest curiosity in the annals of American juris
prudence. The dead lock was now placed upon the treasury.
It was full of money, paid into it by the people to
defray the interest upon the public debt, support
the benevolent institutions and penitentiaries, and
liquidate all the expenses incident to the operations
of the State Government.
The situation was fall of embarrassment and fe-
35

410 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
sponsibility to me, and the affairs of the State were
in a most critical and delicate position. To have
called an extra session of the Legislature would
have realized the hope of the repudiators. A care
ful examination of the designs and temper of the
majority failed to present the slightest prospect that
a diff'erent policy would be adopted from that which
prevailed at the regular session, while the danger
and excitement which then prevailed would be re
newed with increased violence. Every Union mem
ber, so far as I could learn, was utterly opposed to
an extra session, and I have yet to find the first
Union man in this State Avho did not protest against
such a measure as being fraught with danger and
powerless for good. Deterrained, however, to leave
no effort unraade to preserve the credit of the
State, in the raonth of June I proceeded to New
York, and opened negotiations with Messrs. Wins-
loAv, Lanier & Co. That able and distinguished
house promptly off'ered to pay the interest if the
proper evidence could be procured as to who were
the stockholders entitled to receive it.
On the 24th day of June they addressed a letter
to John C. Walker, Agent of the State, elected by
the late Legislature, resident in New York, inform
ing him that they were prepared to pay the interest
if he would furnish them, from the books of the
agency in his office, a list of the stockholders, or
allow such list to be taken, and offering to pay the
expense of having it copied. This list Avas raade

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 411
necessary by the existence of spurious stocks, is
sued by Stover, the former agent, Avhich could be
detected from the genuine only by the books of the
agency. To this letter Walker replied in a long,
malignant and frivolous communication, in which
he assailed the Governor, and ended with refusing
the list, or allowing it to be taken.
On the 26th of June they addressed hira a second
letter, in Avhich they urged hira to pay the interest
on the State stocks in the usual Avay, by issuing
checks to the stockholders for the araounts due to
thera, upon their house, which checks they Avould
pay upon presentation, and also expressly exoner
ating him from all personal liability or responsi
bility for the money thus advanced.
The interest had been paid in this manner,
through the house of Messrs. Winslow, Lanier &
Co., for the preceding ten years, the agent deposit
ing his money with the house and checking upon
it in favor of the stockholder.
This proposition Avas also abruptly rejected by
Walker. I have no language to express the con
tempt and aversion for the conduct of Walker
which must be universally entertained. No com
mentary can add to the intense disgust which it
must inspire in every honest and intelligent mind.
The office of Agent of State was created by the
Act of Settleraent with our creditors in 1846, to
Avhich I have before referred. Through it the in
terest was to be paid serai-annuaUy in Ncav York,

412 LIFE, SPEECHES AKD PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and the business of the agent was to watch over
aud preserve the credit of the State, and for which
he receives a salary of §2,500 a year, and §2,500
raore for office and incidental expenses.
He was not, hoAvever, entitled to the sole credit
of defeating tbe arrangeraent raade with Messrs.
Winslow, Lanier & Co. Mr. Ristine, the State
Auditor, was present Avith hira in Ncav York,
aiding and advising, and is entitled to share the
glory and responsibility of that transaction.
Walker having thus defeated the arrangeraents
with ilessrs. Winslow, Lanier & Co., the interest on
our stocks went to protest for non-payraent on the
1st of July. Their value was imraediately affected
in the market, and the fair farae of the State again
became the subject of doubt and discussion. Steps
were taken to inforra the stockholders, as far as
possible, of the true state of the case, to prevent
panic and sacrifice, I pledging myself to raake fur
ther eft'orts to effect an arrangement for the pay
ment of the interest.
Determined not to be defeated, if possible, in
the effort to preserve the credit of the State, I at
tempted to secure from other sources a correct list
of the stockholders, and in this attempt succeeded
in November. In the raean time the necessity for
action had become more manifest and imperative
than before. While the American stockholders in
general had a correct knowledge of the state of af-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 413
fairs, and but few stocks Avere changing hands or
being off'ered in the market, the case was quite
diff'erent Avith our stockholders in Europe. In Eu
rope American politics are always badly understood,
and the principal fact Avhich they clearly corapre
hended was that they did uot receive their interest.
They associated this failure with that of 1841, and
began to say that there Avas sorae strange fatality
attending Indiana securities, and declared their in
tention of sending them back to America and get
ting clear of them at once and forever. Such a
measure would have given the State a bad name
abroad, seriously affecting iraraigration to her bor
ders, and would have been followed by great depre
ciation and loss of credit throughout the United
States. Having presented the list to Messrs. Winslow,
Lanier & Co., they promptly renewed their offer,
and gave public notice that they would pay the back
Tuterest which fell, due in July, and afterward gave
further notice that they would pay the interest
which accrued on the 1st day of January, 1864,
and up to this time, as I am advised, have paid out
$280,000. The noble and generous conduct of this
house should and wiU be appreciated by the people
of Indiana, aud Mr. Lanier, in his clear compre
hension and able raanageraent of the aff'air, has
displayed not only financial ability, but a broad
statesmanship, that should put to the blush the petty

414 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
and contemptible management of State officials,
who, for partisan purposes, were willing to disgrace
the State before the Avorld.
There is another transaction connected with the
refusal to paj- the interest on the public debt wliich
must, if possible, increase the abhorrence enter
tained for it in the public mind. On the ¦ — day of
August, Messrs. Ristine aud Brett, the Auditor
and Treasurer, advanced to Walker, from the State
treasury, the sum of $50,000 to be invested by him
in our war loan bonds or the State stocks, of which I
have been speaking. Messrs. Ristine and Brett have
also taken from the treasury the sura of §50,000,
with which they have purchased Indiana five per
cent, stocks, raaking in all the sura of $100,000
takeu from the treasury for tbat purpose. We are
here presented with the reraarkable spectacle of
State officers deciding that there is no law by which
they can pay the interest on the State stocks, but
finding law to take money frora the treasury for
the purchase of the stocks theraselves at a price
depreciated by the failure to pay the interest. In
what light raust such a transaction be viewed
among private persons in the business world? A
refuses to pay his paper at maturity, and tben puts
the money in the hands of B to buy it up at a dis
count. Ristine & Co. decide that it is unlawful to
pay the interest on our stocks, but that it is laAvful
to take money frora the treasury to buy up the
stocks theraselves, reduced in price by the failure

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 415
to pay the interest. Surely the State raight have
been spared this last disgrace.
State Printing.
I should fail to present the conduct of the State
officers in its proper light if I did not allude to their
action in regard to the State Printer. It is difficult
to see upon what legal or moral ground they could
refuse to advance raoney for the support of the
benevolent institutions and penitentiaries, and at
the sarae tirae pay large suras of money to the
State Printer; yet this was the case. When the
Senate journal of the last day of the session (Mon
day) AA'as read, it was found to contain a resolution,
which the minutes showed to have been adopted,
appropriating twelve thousand dollars for the pay
ment of the State Printer.
The Union members present declared that no
such resolution had been read in their hearing, and
that no quorum was present to pass that or any
other. Be that as it may, it Avas but the resolution
of one house. It was not a law, and had no force
or validity whatever. Under the fiimsy pretext of
this resolution, warrants were issued to the State
Printer for twelve thousand dollars, on which he
drcAV the raoney. When this sura was exhausted,
there was a little delay in the payraents ; but having
becorae bolder, and the necessities of the editor of
the Sentinel becoming greater, they dispensed with
all pretext or forras of law, and paid him large suras

416 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
of money from time to time, in all amounting to
about tAventy thousand doUars, When asked to
pay for the support of the benevolent institutions,
they pleaded the absence of appropriations, and the
terrors of the embezzlement bill. But when asked
to pay the editor of a partisan newspaper, they
laughed at the embezzlement bill as a good joke,
and treated the plea of no appropriations as a clever
thing in its way, but too trifling to interfere with the
support of the ncAvspaper organ of the party, I am
inforraed that the Attorney General gave an opin
ion to the eft'ect that it Avas legal to pay the State
Printer, I should have been surprised if he had not.
Right of the Government toward Rebels,
Passing frora matters of local or State interest,
the Governor next took up our national condition,
and said :
It is a truth taught alike by reason and history,
that the more terrible and destructive wars are
made, the sooner they are ended. Lingering and
protracted wars are the most terrible calaraities
that can befall nations. Not only do they consurae
the blood and substance of a nation, but they are
attended with a demoralization and dissolution of
the frame-yvork of society raore dreadful than the
loss of even blood and treasure. Humanity, mercy,
and sound policy then dictate that war, if it must
exist, shall be made terrible and destructive, that it

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 417
may soon be ended, and deraand that every legiti
raate raeans for that purpose shall be proraptly
employed. The poAver of the eneray may be overcome and
destroyed iu two ways : First, by destroying or
capturing his army in the field. Second, by with
draAving or cutting off" his resources, so that he shall
not be able to furnish, clothe, feed or maintain an
army, and where this can be done it is quite as effi
cient as the former, and far less costly and bloody
to both parties. The resources to which I refer
consist chiefly in arms and munitions of war, trans
portation, food, and clothing for arraies.
The first great step adopted by the Government
to cut off the resources of the rebels was the block
ade of their ports, and the exclusion of all foreign
trade and commerce. This eff'ort has been only
partially successful, and there is good reason to be
lieve that if its success had been complete, the re
bellion would have failed before this tirae for want
of material and supplies for carrying it on.
The question of the power of the Government
to blockade the ports of the rebel States was early
presented in the courts, and has been solemnly af
firmed in the Supreme Court of the United States,
every Judge concurring. No higher exhibition of
the war power in cases of rebeUion can be pre
sented than blockading rebel ports, and treating
them as the ports of a foreign eneray. The Con
stitution is silent upon the subject, but the Court

418 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
held that the right is a necessary part of the war-
raakiug power to suppress rebeUion, It was done
by order of the President, and Avithout authority or
concurrent act of Congress.
An attempt has been raade frora the begiuning
to destroy rebel raeans of transportation and cora
raunication, by cutting up and destroying their rail
roads, bridges, steamboats, and shipping of every
kind. The right to do this has not been seriously
questioned, and is a part of the war power vested
in the President as commander-in-chief of the army
and navy of the United States.
But hoAV shall the ability of the rebels to feed
and clothe their armies, and clothe and subsist
their farailies at home, be destroyed? That is a
great question demanding our consideration. To
answer it we must carefully consider in what that
ability consists. We find that this abUvty consists
chiefly in the labor of about four millions of negro
slaves, who are employed in producing food and
clothing for the families at horae aud the arraies
in the field, providing munitions of war, repairing
railroads, erecting fortifications, managing baggage
trains, and perforraing nearly all the labor in the
field, the workshop, and the carap. We shaU find
that if this slave labor could be withdrawn, their
arraies in the field could not be fed and clothed, and
that the raen composing those armies Avould be
compeUed to return home and labor for their own
and the subsistence of their families.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 419
Their armies thus collapsed and dissolved, the re
bellion Avould be ended, and with it the war and
the eff'usion of blood.
But should there be those who deny that the
withdraAval from the rebels of slave labor would be
decisive upon the rebellion, yet even they are bound
to confess that it Avould tend powerfully in that di
rection, and greatly contribute to destroy the vital
resources of the rebels. If, then, the withdrawal of
slave labor from the rebels Avould be so potent in
its effects aud disastrous to the rebellion, upou what
ground can the existence of the power to do it be
denied ? As before stated, the right of the Gov
ernraent to blockade the ports of the rebellious
States has been soleranly declared by the Suprerae
Court of the United States, The 'right to destroy
or appropriate to the use of our own Governraent
their railroads, bridges, sliipping, growing crops,
and whatever property raay be useful to us, or the
loss of which would be injurious to thera, is scarcely
denied by the raost bitter eneray of the Govern
raent. How, then, can the right be denied to destroy
or reraove the labor which has produced all these
things, and may restore them if they are taken
away ? If the right exists to destroy the resources
of the enemy at all, why raay it not be done iu this
way ? It tends to the sarae result for which the
blockade was established, and diff'ers only in forra,
not in principle. And I now ask if the truth of
this proposition can for a raoraent be denied : that

420 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
if it is the opinion of tlie President, as the com
raander-in-chief of the arraies of the United States,
that the institution of slavery is an element of
power in this rebellion, subsisting in whole or in
part their armies in the field and their families
at horae, and that its destruction would greatly
weaken if not ruin their cause, he has the sarae
right to pull it down that he has to puU doAvu
rebel fortifications, blockade their ports, cut up
their railroads, destroy their crops, or do any other
act which Avould irapair or destroy the strength of
the rebellion ?
Some politicians seem to ignore the fact that
there is a vast difference between war and peace,
and insist that war shall be carried on just as Ave
carry on peace. They do not comprehend that
war, frora its very nature, involves the exercise of
powers which in tiraes of peace are unnecessary,
and are prohibited. What sort of a war would
that be which is prosecuted on peace principles?
War and peace are antagonistic states, and each
has its conditions, priAdleges, and iramunities, which
are antagonistic to those of the other; and whUe
our Constitution is formed and provides mainly for
peace, yet it recognizes and provides for the possi
bilities of war. Emancipation Proclamation.
Assuming that the President has the right to
¦withdraw from the rebels slave labor, even destroy

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 421
the institution of slavery, if, in his opinion, he can
weaken or destroy the rebellion, I come next to
the consideration of the question as to the manner
in which he may exercise this power. Some there
are who say that, as this is a military power, it
raust be exercised only by arraies in the field, who
shall raarch into the slave territory and liberate the
slaves from their raasters, and that the President
has no right to exercise it by a proclaraation, which
is raerely a civil proceeding. To this it may be
answered, that making war is not confined to the
use of arraies and navies, and that if the fidelity
of the army of an enemy or the aUegiance of the
inhabitants of a hostile State can be affected by
proclaraations or appeals, it has been considered by
every nation, in every age of the world, proper to
resort to thera, and has been the practice of man
kind. If the right exists, it may be exercised in
any way which shall be the most efficient or least
costly. The reduction of the waUs of Jericho by
the blowing of rams'-horns was certainly a novel
and extraordinary method of assault, without pre
cedent in the history of war, yet I have never
learned that any casuist has denounced it as illegiti
mate or ungodly on that account; and if it were
proper that Jericho should be reduced and conquered
in that AA-ay, sparing the effiision of blood, should it
be objected that the President of the United States
has attempted, by proclaiming freedom to the
slaves of rebels, to weaken the power of this rebell-

422 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
ion, and thus aid in restoring peace and stopping
the eff'usion of the best blood in our land? It is,
however, highly probable that if there had been
copperheads in the days of Joshua, they would
haA'e takeu issue with him on the rams' -horn ques
tion, and insisted that it was a gross violation of
the Ten Commandments. [Uproarious laughter
and cheers.]
In time of peace there is no power vested in the
President or in Congress to interfere with slavery
in the States where it exists. That power is draAvn
from its resting-place iu the Constitution and con
ferred upon the President by the rebellious conduct
of the slave-owners, and their own hands have
forged the bolt which was launched for theu- de
struction. It is indeed a lofty and gratifj'ing consideration
that the exercise of this great poAver by the Presi
dent is not only sanctioned by the laws of war and
upheld by the Constitution, but is in especial har
mony with the principles of eternal justice and
the revealed Avord of God. Slavery having volun
tarily rejected the protection of the Federal Con
stitution and advanced from behind the bulwarks
w-here it had been intrenched in safety so many
years, stood naked before its natural eneraies —
Liberty, Morals, Religion, and the public safety —
and bas fallen, pierced by a dart from each.

goa'ernor oliver p. morton, 423
The Peace Men and Slavery,
The Governor next alluded to the Peace raen and
their conduct in regard to the rebeUion, and said:
These raen, with a few mild phrases, profess their
devotion to the Union and their condemnation of
the rebels and the rebellion, and rush on with an
indecent haste to the bitter denunciation of those
whom they denominate Abolitionists, They are
men of one idea, and that idea is the preservation
of the institution of slavery. They are the guard
ians of slavery left on duty in the free States, while
the rebellion is seeking to work out the destruction
of the Government.
In their minds the whole duty of the GoA-ern-
ment is sumraed up in the protection of slavery
at all hazards and under all circurastances. Un
hke other institutions and other property, they are
unwiUing that slavery shall run the chances of war.
However other interests raay suff'er, comraerce be
prostrated, horses and cattle, lands and goods be
confiscated, to pay the penalties of treason, slavery
raust be insured against all violence, frora all loss by
the contingencies of Avar.
To preserve slavery harraless is to observe the
Constitution in all its parts. To injure it in any re
spect is to infract the Constitution in every meraber.
At a time Avhen eleven slave States have 300,000
men in the field to destroy the Constitution and

424 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
the Government founded upon it, these Northern
patriots are devoting all their energies and expend
ing all their breath to protect the interests of slavery
in these States. Against the armed rebeUion they
have littie or nothing to say. Against the murder
of our citizens upon the field of battle, whose blood
is spilled that the Union raay be preserved, they
scarcely protest; in faA'or of suppressing the rebell
ion and procuring inderanities against the future
recurrence of a like disaster, they utter not a word;
but their conversations, their speeches, their papers
are an ever-ascending petition that, whatever calam
ity may befall our country, Avhatever sacrifice she
raay be called upon to make iu blood and treasure,
slavery shall" be preserved harmless, to affiict aU
coming generations.
The Government of the United States has in a
few cases arrested and iraprisoned persons who, by
speeches and writings, were striving to destroy the
Governnient, and giving aid and corafort to the re
bellion. These arrests have been raade a pretext for a
corabined assault upon the Governraent, while the
rebellion, with its raultiplied cruelties and horrors,
without parallel in the history of ciAdlized nations,
is utterly ignored. Many thousands of Union men
are languishing in Southern dungeons, treated not
as State prisoners, but as felons, for no other crime
than expressing their adherence to the old Consti
tution and the old flag. Are there no tears to shed

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 425
over the horrible sufferings and persecutions of
these faithful raen ? Does humanity exhaust its
sympathies upon the few cases Avhere Northern men
have suffered brief confinement for the expression
of disloyal sentiments in the encouragement of the
rebellion ? Are the Union meu of the rebel States,
who have stood by the Governraent iu the hour of
trial, and whose loyalty has been tested by the dun
geon, the torture, and the gibbet, entitled to no con
sideration ? The cruelties of the Araerican savages
and of Chinese warfare fade and whiten when com
pared with the atrocities Avhich have been practiced
by the rebels throughout this war. Union men
have been murdered upon their own thresholds ;
they have been cast into loathsome dungeons, where
they have perished frora disease or starvation ; they
have been hung like dogs upon trees and sign
posts, and their bones have been fabricated into
jewelry, and worn as horrible souvenirs and keep
sakes, as the savage would string upou his girdle
the scalps of bis victims.
A raember of the Kentucky Legislature, in a
speech in that body, at a former session, declared
that, after the retreat of Kirby Smith from Ken
tucky, he had seen one grave in which were buried
twelve Union raen, with the halters still around
their necks.
Where araong the politicians who talk thus is
one w-ho has ever raised his finger in suppression
of the rebellion ? Look about through the State
36

426 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
of Indiana and find me one if you can. When the
people have rushed together to consider of their
country, they have stood afar off, Avith boding looks,
words of ill omen upon their tongue, aud counsels
of discouragement for those Avho were about to
enter the ranks of the army. When the country
talked only of war — vigorous, successful war — to the
putting doAvn of the rebeUion, they prated only of
peace, of comproraise with the rebels, and exoner
ated and encouraged the traitors by the declaration
that the Black Republicans brought on tbe war,
upon whora they lavished all their indignation.
The array has been raised aud organized in spite
of thera. The young and the raiddle-aged, heedless
of their counsels and their calumnies, have enroUed
themselves among the defenders of their country,
and put behind them the evil spirits of the time.
It is true they have hung heavy on tbe cause ; they
have blackened it at every step ; they have assailed
all who were urging it onward ; they have placed
obstructions upon the track; nevertheless, it has
moved on, and it will until it has overwhelmed the
eneraies of our country. While patriots thought
only of saAdng their country, these raen have
thought only of saving their party. While our sol
diers have laid upon their arras, to watch and seize
all advantages against their foe, these raen have
watched only for advantages in the next State,
county or township election.

governor oliver p. morton. 427
The Duty of the Times.
The great duty ofthe hour, displacing and putting
aside all other considerations, is the suppression of
the rebelhon. UntU this is done, all political dis
cussions, all efforts of reconstruction, so called, are
vain. When the arraies of the rebellion are crushed
or scattered, and resistance to the Governraent has
ceased, we raay then take counsel together as to the
best raethod of adjusting our difficulties and start
ing into raotion again the wheels of government iu
the rebel States. It would be folly, the raost crira
inal, the raost preposterous in the world's history,
were we to pause araidst our efforts, to discuss the
terras of future settleraent, while rebel armies are
still in the field, menacing the life of the nation.
Let us, then, with united, hearty, and undivided at
tention, address ourselves to the great task of de
stroying the railitary power of the rebeUion, The
ranks of the array must be recruited, the Govern
ment sustained and upheld, our soldiers in the field
looked after with tenderest care, their families at
home sheltered and provided for out of our abund
ance, and our people, rising to the level of the great
situation, raust display that liberality, devotion, and
spirit of sacrifice that can be inspired only by the
conviction that victorious we shall save country, lib
erty, and honor, and that defeated, all these are for
ever lost. The hope of the Republic is in her arraies.
The great question raust now be settled by the ar-

428 LIFE, speeches and public services of
bitrament of the SAVord, They who take the sword
shall perish by the sword; and the rebellion having
wickedly and madly appealed to arms in the begiu
ning, by anus it must be utterly crushed and blotted
from the nation. The man who Avould counsel the
nation to stay the raarch of our victorious armies,
and give the rebellion pause to recover strength
and vigor, under the vain pretext of coraproniisiog
with our erring brethren, raust be a traitor or a
fool. Coraproraise implies concession on both sides,
and Avhat could we concede to them short of the
independence of their Confederacy and the de
struction of the Union, and what else would they
ask us to concede? In the very beginning, spurn
ing all negotiations, rejecting a,ll moral and relig
ious considerations, the rebellion sprang to arms,
and slapping the nation in the face with the mailed
hand, challenged it to combat or ignominious sur
render. Our State Troops.
While we rejoice in the bravery displayed by all
the armies of the United States, it is a subject of
profound congratulation that the Indiana troops
have behaved with uniforra and distinguished gal
lantry in every action in which they have been en
gaged. They forra a part of every array in" the
field, and have been araong the foreraost in deeds
of daring, while their blood has hallowed every soil.
Our troops, hitherto engaged iu the peaceful pur-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 429
suits of trade and agriculture, have manifested that
lofty courage and high-toned chivalry of Avliich
others have talked so rauch and possessed so little,
and Avhich belongs only to the intelligent patriot,
Avho understands Avell the sacred cause in Avhich he
draAvs his sword.
Indiana has already made a large investment of
her best blood in the cause of the Union, and
will never consent to its dismemberment or to a
dishonorable peace. The bones of ber sons mingle
Avith the soil frora Virginia and Missouri to Louisi
ana, and she will not confess that the sacrifice has
been raade in vain, or acknowledge that it Avas in
an unholy cause. General Hackleraan, Colonels
Brown, Bass, Link, Hathaway, Wheeler, Von Tre-
bra. King, Carroll; Lieutenant Colonels Hendricks,
Bachraan, Keith, Gerber, Kirkpatrick, Crosswait,
Topping, Wolf, Kerapton, Glass, Swain, Shanklin,
Sheets, Leslie, Stougb ; Majors Tanner, Gavit, May,
Arn, Abbett, Conklin, Hill, Leraon, Finley, Mason,
and Parrott, and raany others of lower rank, but
with valor not less distinguished, have yielded up
their lives upon the field that our country might be
preserved. Thousands of our private soldiers, with
equal courage and patriotism, have fallen the vic
tims of this unnatural rebellion.
They were fighting frora deep convictions of duty
and the love they bore their country. Their unlet
tered graves raark a hundred battle-fields, aud our
country can never discharge to their memory and

430 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
their posterity the debt of gratitude it owes. Our
gratitude should be testified by the tender care we
take of their families and dependent ones whora
they left behind, by the education of their children,
and by the honor we pay to their memory.
Nor should we forget those who have perished
by disease in camp or hospital. They were denied
the soldier's privilege of dying in battle, but their
sacrifice was none the less. To die in the field, araid
the clash of contending arraies and the roar of bat
tle, fighting in a holy cause, is glorious ; but Avhen
death coraes slowly on, in the loneliness and desola
tion of the hospital, with no raother or sister to
soothe the passing spirit, and rainister as love only
cau rainister, with none but the rough hand of a
comrade to press the clamray brow and perform
the last office to the dying — it is terrible.

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 431

CHAPTER XIII.
Canvass of 1864 — Its importance — Military and financial^tatus
of the South — Death-struggles of the Rebellion — The success of
the Northern "Peace party" at the ballot-box the only hope of
rebel leaders — Sons of Liberty in Indiana — Governor Morton's
extraordinary labors — Speech delivered by him at Greencastle —
His plans for thwarting the schemes of the " Sons of Liberty" —
Success of those plans— Close of the Rebellion — The Governor's
reception of Indiana troops at Indianapolis — The day of relax
ation: what it developed — Governor Morton's illness — His mes
sage to the Indiana Legislature in extraordinary session — His
departure to Europe — His character as a statesman.
Of all the political carapaigns through which the
United States have passed, none raay be regarded
as equal in importance to that of 1864, Upon it
hung the fate of the nation, at a time when the
nation's life was in jeopardy. During the latter
part of the third year of the rebellion it had been
clearly deraonstrated that, in resources, power of
endurance, and railitary genius, the South was vastly
inferior to the North, The capture of Vicksburg
and various other rebel strongholds; the rapid
shrinkage of rebel territory; the failure of rebel
finances and supplies; the alarraing decrease of the
rebel army, both by desertion and by losses in
battle — these things had the effect to discourage the
masses of the Southern people, to weaken their

432 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
confidence in the traitorous administration at
Richmond, and to so dirainish their hope of the
ultiraate success of the great insurrectionary move
raent, that, in order to secure even a meager support
in the prolongation of the war, the rebel Congress
and President Avere forced to resort to the most
despotic and corapulsory measures.
Having signally, disastrously failed in their every
attempt to invade the Northern States ; having lost
all hope of the long-expected, half-promised recog
nition and assistance of European poAvers, Jeff" Davis
and his co-workers began to regard with great inter
est the signs in the political sky of the North, The
division of the people of the loyal States, they were
fully convinced, was the only circumstance which
could possibly prolong the life of their bogus govern
ment. That dlAdsion seemed to be indicated iu the
apparently rapid growth of what was very errone
ously styled the deraocratic party — a party which,
while it professed a desire to see the Union restored
upon its original basis, really aimed at a separation
of the North-western from the Eastern States, and a
union of the forraer with the rebellious States; a
party whose controlling spirits would have openly
opposed the prosecution of the war for the Union
at the very commencement of the great struggle,
had not the resistless tide of Northfern patriotism
corapletely overwhelmed them.
That the rebel chiefs had reason to regard the
anticipated success of this party as a virtual recog-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 433
nition of the " Southern Confederacy" by the North,
is evident from the well-authenticated fact that the
majority of the so-called democratic leaders Avere
prominently connected with the secret treasonable
organization knoAvn as the "Sons of Liberty" —
an organization w-hich was, without doubt, a branch
of the Southern Order of Knights of the Golden
Circle, The platforra fraraed by the deraocratic
convention at Chicago bore on its very face unmis
takable raarks of treason. That docuraent, Avhile
it denounced the Administration in the bitterest
terms, charging the Government with the gross
est violations of the Constitution, AA'ith the most
tyrannical and oppressive measures toward the peo
ple ; with having, by its willful neglect, caused all
that indescribable raisery, aU those horrible deaths
suffered by the brave Union soldiers who were shut
up in rebel prison pens, did not, even in the
mildest form, express one word of disapprobation
of the course pursued by the arch traitors.
If, however, any evidence, further than that
which appears in the Cliicago Platform, be required
to establish the fact that the policy of the " demo
cratic party" Avas shaped by Northern secession
ists, aided by their more honorable brothers of the
South, that evidence, in the greatest abundance and
of the most convincing character, will be found
in the exposition of the " Sons of Liberty " published
by Governor Morton and General IL B, Carringt<Mi,
just before the State and national elections of 1864,
37

434 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
and in the testiraony of J. J. Binghara, Horace
Heffren, and other leading menibers of the Order,
deposed before the military coraraission Avhich was
appointed at Indianapolis to ferret out and bring to
justice Indiana traitors,
Frora these sources we learn that the ruliug
spirits of the Chicago Convention were working
ill concert with rebels in the South and rebel refu
gees in Canada, to effect, in case the Chicago norai-
nees succeeded before the people, a coraproraise,
which conteraplated the indorseraent by the North-
Avest of the Southern doctrine of States' rights, or,
in other words, the adraission of the right of se
cession ; which looked to a cessation of hostilities,
the withdrawal and disbandraent of the United
States forces, a peace upon any terms the South
raight dictate, and the ultiraate forraation of a
new Government, which should exclude the New
England States. Tliese authorities also furnish us
Avith the fact that, provided the " democratic party"
should be defeated, it was the intention of the " Sons
of Liberty " to rise, and seize the Government
arsenals, release rebel prisoners at various points
in the North, furnish them with arms, and, after
assassinating State and United States officers, to
take forcible possession of the Governraent. This
Avork being accomplished, the same measures with
reference to peace aud reconstruction contemplated
in the proposed "Democratic Coraproraise" were
to be carried out.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 435
Thus doe< it appear that a party professedly de
voted to liberty were secretly concerting the de
struction of liberty, that party arabition might be
gratified and party ends attained. The history
of the Greek aud Roraan Republics, in their Avorst
stages of corruption, scarcely furnishes a parallel
to the gigantic insurrectionary plot brought to light
in the exposition of the " Sons of Liberty,"
It was with the coraraenceraent of the carapaign
of 1864 that the great work of Governor Morton's
hfe began — a work raore varied and arduous than,
perhaps, was ever undertaken by any other State
Executive. The "democratic" Legislature of 1863
had, with the aid of the State officers of that period,
surrounded him with such embarrassraents that the
performance of his civil functious was a most dif
ficult aud coraplicated task. Frequent calls for
new levies of troops, the organization of regiments,
and their preparation for the field, greatly in
creased his military labors. The wants of sick and
wounded soldiers at the front Avere daily multiply
ing, and thousands of dependent families at home
had to be supported. The Governor's well-known
superiority in council, the ability which raarked the
success which attended his plans and measures, in
duced frequent demands for his presence at Wash
ington. And yet, not ouly were these duties, civil
and military, official and extra-official, not neglected,
but they Avere perforraed with a readiness, skill, and
corapleteness, which raarked Governor Morton as

436 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
one of the most extraordinary men of his times,
and covered the name of Indiana with glory.
Meantime it was found that his labors in the po
litical campaign could not well be performed by
any other man ; that to successfuUy meet his ener
getic, ingenious competitor, Hon, Joseph E, Mc
Donald, required his own personal efforts in the
field. To this additional deraand upon his ener
gies be responded with his characteristic alacrity ;
and the ability with which he sustained hiraself,
defended freedora and the war policy of the Gov
ernraent, exposed the fallacy and inconsistency of
the positions assumed by his antagonist, inspired his
friends with new confidence and affection, and spread
confusion and dismay in the ranks of his enemies.
The araount of labor performed by the Governor
during this canvass, in behalf of the State and na
tional tickets, was even greater than that of 1860 ;
nevertheless, no official responsibility was shirked,
no duty deferred. The speeches he delivered were
numerous, poAverful, and productive of incalculable
good. As a specimen of his efforts during this
period, we present the foUoAAdng, which was deliv
ered at Greencastle, Indiana, on the 27th day of
July, 1864 :
Fellow-citizens :
A few days since you were favored Avith an ad
dress by ray honorable corapetitor, Mr. McDonald,
ue'Vly the whole of Avhich was devoted to the crit-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 437
icism of my administration. Mr. McDonald Avas
placed in nomination for the office of Governor by
the late Democratic State Convention, the proceed
ings of which may be described as highly coAvardly
and deceptive. Upon the subject of the war, the
great and overshadowing event in American his
tory, it Avas dishonorably and shamefully silent. In
the language of the Cincinnati Enquirer, " it sought
the poor advantage of an equivocal position," and
desired to place itself in an attitude where it might
have the ability to cheat men of conflicting politi
cal opinions, Mr, McDonald, in a very brief ex
ordium, made a sonicAA-bat indeflnite disquisition
upon national aff'airs, to Avhich I call your attention.
He began by congratulating himself and his party
friends that they were in nowise responsible for
bringing this war upon the country. He then as
sumed that the origin of the war was to be found
in the unwise and unnecessary agitation of the
slavery question, which had been forced upon the
country by its political opponents, the abolition
ists. If it be true that the Avar Avas brought about
by the agitation of the slaA'ery question, it is im
possible for Mr, McDonald to be held guiltless, or
to relieve hiraself frora responsibility. He has been
a ceaseless agitator of the slavery question for many
years, first upon the one side and . then upou the
other; first as an ardent and ultra anti-slavery
man, and then as an ardent and extreme pro-
slavery man, seeking to lay all the sins of the

438 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
nation upon the shoulders of his former anti-slavery
friends. In 1849, when he was a candidate for Congress
in the Eighth Congressional District, he addressed
to a comraittee of gentlemen the following letter:
" Attica, July 3, 1849.
"Gentlemen: " Having seen your circular to the candidates of
the district in the public press, and not wishing to
conceal any opinion held by me in regard to the
political questions agitating the public mind, I
hasten to reply to your interrogatories :
"1. I do admit and believe that Congress has a
right to legislate on the subject of slavery for all
the territories of the United States, the District
of Colurabia inclusive.
" 2. I ara in favor of the adoption of the Wil-
raot Proviso in all the territorial organizations.
" 3. I ara in favor of the prohibition of the slave-
trade in the District of Colurabia. I am in favor
of the abolition of slavery in the District of Co
lurabia, the citizens expressing a wish therefor. If
this can not be done, I should then be in favor of
reraoving the seat of Governraent to free soil.
" 4. I ara opposed to the adraission of any more
slave States frora any territory not properly in
cluded in the Texas coraproraise, I do not beheve
that Congress ought to disturb the compact entered
into with Texas on that subject.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON- 439
" 5. I am in favor of the exemption of the home
stead from execution,
" 6. I am in favor of the State Convention to
araend the Constitution.
" Yours, respectfully, J, E, McDonald,"
In this letter he soleranly declares that he is in
favor of excluding slavery frora all territories by
an act of Congress, and he is opposed to the admis
sion of any more slave States ; that slavery should
be abolished in the District of Columbia, and if
that could not be done, tben the Capital should be
removed to free soil. Upon this platform he made
his way into Congress, But, in 1854, he began to
agitate on the other side. He then approved the
introduction of the Nebraska Bill, repealing the
Missouri Compromise, Afterward he indorsed the
Lecompton Constitution, by which it was attempted
to fasten slavery upon Kansas, against the will of
nine-tenths of her people ; afterward he indorsed
the " Dred Scott decision," which declared the exist
ence of slavery in all the national domain by virtue
of the Constitution of the Uuited States ; and since
the beginning of the war, has earnestly opposed
every raeasure of the Governraent looking to the
weakening of the rebellion, by withdrawing from it
the power derived frora slavery and slave labor.
With this undeniable record staring hira in the
face, it is not corapetent for him to say that he has
not been an agitator.

440 life, speeches and public services of
The Rebellion and its Suppression,
But there Avas one question — the uppermost ques
tion in all your thoughts both day aud night — upou
AA'hich he utterly failed to express hiraself: the ques
tion of suppression of the rebellion and the resto
ration of the Union, Was this forgetfulness ou
the part of ray honorable friend, or Avas it, as the
Cincinnati Enquirer phrases it, "the desire to have
the poor advantage of au equivocal position," In
charity I must suppose the former. But then you
Avotild be ready to exclaim: "We do not Avant a
man of such an infirm meraory, or such a Rip-Van-
Winkle sleeper, to preside over us as Governor for
the next four years; we prefer a raan who is able
to arrive at the knowledge of the existence of this
war, and Avho has an opinion upon it which he is
both able and willing to express." I am iu favor
of suppressing the rebellion, the restoration of the
Union, and compelling the rebellious inhabitants
of the seceded States to return to their obedience
and allegiance to the Coustitution and the laAvs of
the United States; but you will look in vain
through the long and carefully prepared speech of
my competitor, for any declaration or expression
from which you can arrive at his opinion upon the
great question. I advise him, however, that he
can not pass through this campaign without being
awakened to the fact of the existence of the war,
for the people will thunder in his ears the vital

GOVERNOR OLIA'ER P. MORTON, 441
question. Where do you stand ? Are you for the
Union or against it ? Are you for the Governraent
or the rebellion ?
I must not orait to notice, however, the speech
which he read before the couA-ention by which he
Avas nominated, in Avhich he defined his position
upon the war as foUoAVs:
"But tbe question has been frequently asked rae
if I Avas in favor of the vigorous prosecution of
the Avar ?
" I now answer and say : To this war, as pros
ecuted under the ideas and policies of the abohtion
minority which rules the present Adrainistration,
I ara utterly opposed, I believe it is entailing upon
the country unraixed evil, and Avould be false to
my countrymen and to my country, if I did not
say so,
" On the 8th day of January, 1862, the derao
cratic party of Indiana adopted this resolution :
"' 10. That we will sustain with all our energies a war
for the maintenance of the Constitution, and of the in
tegrity of the Union under the Constitution ; but we are
opposed to a war for the emancipation of the negroes, or
the subjugation of the Southern States.'
" This was the position of the party at that time,
and I am not aware that it has raade any record to
the contrarj'. At the sarae time I am for peace at
the earliest practicable moraent; but peace on the

442 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
terms of the restoration of the Union under the
Federal Constitution, with all its rights and guar
antees to the scA-eral States, North and South,"
And this is what he calls answering the question,
whether he is in favor of a A-igorous prosecution of
the war. And with all due respect, I raust say, that
it is quite as rauch to the point, and as satisfactory,
as was the testiraony of Sally Dillard about the
fight, I reraeraber to have heard it said, when I
Avas a boy, tbat Martin Van Buren's track was so pe
culiar that it could not be deterrained which wa3- he
was walking, and I incline to the opinion that my
¦friend's pohtical boots have been made on the sarae
last. He wires in and wires out,
LeaAdng the people still in doubt.
Whether the man that made the track
Was going South or coming back."
His definition is an ingenious coraplication of
words — a nice balancing of phrases — a little on
the one side and a little on the other, leaving the
hearer in a maze of doubts, and at liberty to ira
agine anything he desires. If anything can be
gleaned frora it, it is, that he is opposed to sup
pressing the rebellion, and is opposed to the restora
tion of the Union, except with all constitutional
" rights and guarantees to the several States, North
and South," which is a well-known, stereotyped

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 443
form of speech for the preservation of slavery.
But by going back to an address Avhich he delivered
before a Democratic Association in Indianapolis on
the 15th of Noveraber, 1862, reported in the Senti
nel of the next day, we shall gain a httle light
upon his true position. In that address he declared
that the "abolitionists," his forraer political friends
and associates, had forced the war upon the South ;
that the South could never be conquered, and that
his raotto was, " No war for the subjugation of States
or the eraancipation of slaves," But there is another
consideration Avhich defines his position beyond all
controversy. It is, that every open and avowed
secessionist — every worshiper of Jeff. Davis — every
Knight of the Golden Circle and Son of Liberty —
every Southern spy who is lurking through our
borders, is his warra and earnest advocate. If these
men understand themselves — and they think they
do — they believe they are supporting a man who
harmonizes with thera in sentiraent, and will execute
their policy if elected. In addition to this, Athon,
Ristine, Hord, and Hanna, his associates on the
ticket, are, as I am advised, unconditional peace
raen, in favor of the iraraediate abandonraent of
the war, thus conceding the dissolution of the
Union and the independence of the Southern Con
federacy, As to the political status of Judge Perkins at
this present speaking, I can not undertake to say,

444 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
as I have no advices frora hira since his speech at
CenterviUe, about four weeks ago.
If Mr. McDonald is in favor of suppressing this
rebeUion, compelling traitors to yield obedience to
the laws, and preserving the Union of our fathers,
it would be the easiest thing in the world to say so.
A Union raan is never misunderstood, and is
ahvays able to express himself without circumlo
cution of speech, aud does not leave his hearers
more puzzled than before.
I now approach that part of ray competitor's
speech in which he arraigned my administration ia
a nuraber of carefully prepared charges and speci
fications. He charges rae with having violated the Constitu
tion of the State in failing to call an extra session
of the late Legislature, which adjourned Avithout
raaking appropriations to carry on the ordinary
machinery of the State government. As a consti
tutional question, this charge is hardly entitled to a
raoraent's consideration. The constitution erapow
ers the Governor to call an extra session, but does
not say he shall exercise the power in any case.
The power is a discretionary one — necessarily so —
to be exercised or not, according to the dictates of
the judgment of the Governor, If, in his opinion,
the Legislature could not or Avould not aff'ord the
relief desired in any given case; or, if the known
political character of the men composing the sarae
forbade the idea of its furnishing to the State nee-

GOATSRNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 445
essary or useful legislation, it would be folly in him
to convene an extra session, and thus incur a heaA-y
expense upon the State for no purpose. Upon this
point the Constitution makes the Governor the
judge, and it is frivolous to say that his deterraina
tion either way is a violation of that instruraent.
In 1857 the Legislature adjourned without making
appropriations to carry on the benevolent institu
tions. Governor Willard refused to call an extra
session, and did not until the election of a new
Legislature, more than eighteen months afterward.
On the 23d of April, 1857, he delivered an address
to the people of the State, in which, speaking of
the power and duty of the Governor to call an
extra session, he used the following language :
"And from the day of said adjournment up to this
time, I have seen nothing which inclines me to
believe that the forty days of a called session would
not be as fruitless of good as the sixty-one of the
last. I do not believe that it is either for the Avel
fare or honor of the State that a special session
should be called, and sixty thousand dollars more of
your raoney expended in re-enacting the scenes of
last winter. If you desire the passage of these
laws, you have it in your power to raake your Rep
resentatives obey your wUl."
Afterward, on the 20th of Septeraber, 1858,
Lieutenant Governor Hammond, in a public speech,

446 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
referring to the sarae subject, eraploj-ed the foUoAV-
ing language
" Governor WUlard would have convened the
last Legislature immediately upon its adjournment;
but as nothing had been done by the republican
Senate, he, as any sensible raan would, demanded
guarantees that they would proceed Avith the nec
essary legislation. They had already consumed a
whole session passing only tAvo laAvs — one about
bids, and the other to secure their pay. What
could Governor Willard do with such an unprin
cipled set of felloAvs but demand pledges of them ?
He conceded a great deal to thera in doing this ; for
violators of the Constitution, and perjurers as re
spects their oaths concerning it, can only, by the
raost charitable man in the world, be supposed
capable of living by a pledge honestly demanded."
Itis true my competitor says he advised Governor
Willard to call an extra session, but it is equally
true that, whatever he raay have said privately to
Governor Willard, publicly and before the coun
try he indorsed and sustained his adrainistration.
On the 8th of January, 1858, the Democratic State
Convention adopted the following resolution as a
part of the platforra :
Resolved, That we indorse and approve the administra
tion of our State government as conducted by Ashbel P.
Willard, the hero of the fierce fight of 1856.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 447
The same convention nominated Mr. McDonald
for the office of Attorney General, and he accepted
the nomination, and accepted the platform, and I
have never yet heard of his having spit upon it.
The fact is, the action of Governor WiUard, in re
fusing to call an extra session, Avas forraally ap
proved and indorsed by Mr. McDonald and the
democratic party of Indiana; and Avhen he ar
raigns rae on that charge, he stultifies his own
and the record of the party which he represents.
He further charges that, after the Legislature ad
journed without raaking appropriations, I seized
the entire poAver of the State governraent as by
revolutionary authority. But I will quote his lan
guage :
"As soon as the Legislature had adjourned. Gov
ernor Morton at once seized the entire power of
the State governraent as by revolutionary author
ity, and has controlled the affairs of State up to
the present hour according to his sole will and
inclination, and without any reference to the other
branches of the governraent."
I raust raeet this broad stateraent by an absolute
denial. It has not the slightest foundation in fact,
and I defy Mr. McDonald or any one else to show
Avhere I have ursurped a single power, or exercised
any authority not conferred upon rae by law. He
attempts to raake out the case by shoAving that I

448 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
procured money Avith Avhich I carried on the peni
tentiaries and benevolent institutions, and kept the
machinery of the State government in motion.
But a very little consideration will shoAv that this
proposition is absolutely preposterous. It is true I
raight have broken up the benevolent institutions
and turned their inraates out of doors, as Governor
Willard and Mr. McDonald, his Attorney General
and confidential adviser, did in 1857. But there
were persons and counties who came forward and
tendered me the raoney with which to support all
these institutions — not the money of the State, but
their own money. They said, " We are not wiUing
to have the machinery of the State government
stopped; we are not Avilling to have the State dis
graced before the world, as it was in 1857, and we,
therefore, provide you with the necessary means,
taking all the risk and responsibility upon ourselves.
If the State shall hereafter, in a spirit of good faith,
reimburse us, well and good ; if not, we prefer to
lose the money to having the State dishonored.
But upon that point we have no fear, and are will
ing to take the chances." Noav, when I took this
raoney and applied it to the purposes for which it
was contributed, what law did I violate? Upon
what provision of the Constitution did I trample?
If the parties contributing this money had applied
it directly to these purposes, without ray interven
tion, the case would not have been diff'erent. It is
siraply the case of one man's paying another's

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 449
debts, against which there is no law, human or di
vine. If the creditor accepts the raoney, the debtor
may or may not, in his own good pleasure, reim
burse his friend who has paid his debts, but surely
the friend by so doing haa committed no off'ense.
But upon this point I must be allowed to express
ray astonishment, that Mr. McDonald should have
A'eutured to prefer a charge against rae. Surely,
his desire to assail rae has overleaped all discretion.
He can not have forgotten his own record, deliber
ately raade in a similar case ; but if he has, I will
refresh his meraory and that of the. public. As be
fore stated, in 1857, there being no appropriations
to carry on the benevolent institutions, they Avere
broken up, the inraates scattered, and the institu
tions reraained erapty for more than six months.
The Constitution then, as now, forbade the taking
of raoney from the State treasury, except upon ap
propriations raade by law. But on the 16th of
Septeraber, 1857, Mr. McDonald, then being the At
torney General of the State, made a written request
to Aquilla .Jones, the State Treasurer, to take from
the treasury money for the support of the benevo
lent institutions, confessedly iu violation of the
Constitution. But I will let this remarkable docu
ment, with its signers, speak for itself:
Resolved, That we advise the Treasurer of State to ad
vance out of any money in his possession, belonging to the
State of Indiana, sufficient funds to support the Indiana
38

450 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
Hospital for the Insane, and the institutions for educating
the deaf and dumb and blind.
Ashbel P. Willard, Governor State Indiana.
Joseph E. McDonald, Attorney General.
Aquilla Jones, Treasurer State.
John W. Dodd, Auditor State.
Daniel McClube, Secretary State.
Here we have Mr. McDonald officially advising
Mr. Jones, the State Treasurer, to pay out, not his
own money, which he would have a right to do, but
the money of the State, which he could not do
without violating his oath and the Constitution. I
have not violated the laAV, nor have I urged others
to do it. The raoney which was contributed to rae
belonged to the parties, and they had a right to be
stow it as they saw proper; but the raoney which
Mr. Jones paid out was in violation of the Con
stitution; and herein lies the broad distinction be
tween McDonald's action and raine.
In view of this reraarkable record, Mr. McDon
ald's charge against rae would be regarded as un
raitigated presuraption if it did not degenerate into
broad farce. For one in his position to assail me
on such a pretense can only be considered a joke,
which becomes really funny in view of another
fact which I will mention.
Shortly after the adjournraent of the Legislature,
I was notified by Mr. Rugg, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, that he could not carry on his

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 451
office and perforra its duties without I advanced
the raoney to pay expenses, there being no ap
propriation. Being uiiAvilling to haA'e the func
tions of such an iraportant office suspended, I ad
vanced the money required, which he very sensibly
accepted. Now, Mr. Rugg is a State officer, like myself,
sworn like myself to support the Constitution and
obey the laws ; and if it Avas unconstitutional and
illegal for me to offer the raoney, it was equally so
for him to accept it, and he must be regarded in
every way as particeps criminis, and yet the same
convention which nominated Mr. McDonald re
nominated Mr. Rugg, and he stands by the side of
McDonald on the ticket. My honorable corapet
itor is in the unfortunate position of being unable
to hit rae without himself and his friends being
knocked down by the recoU of his own blow ; so I
bid him "Lay on, Macduff'."
I raust not orait to state that an atterapt has
been made to break the force of McDonald's,
Jones's, and Willard's action, by alleging that at
that time there was no erabezzleraent bill, or, in
other words, no law attaching a penalty for paying
money from the treasury without an appropriation,
and in violation of the Constitution. Now, this is
going from bad to worse. It assuraes that the con
stitutional obligation is not to be regarded, unless a
penalty for its violation has been prescribed by law ;
that it is the fear of punishment, and not the con-

452 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
stitutional obligations — the penitentiary, and not
the oath of office — Avliich should control political
action. The mere statement of this defense will
secure it universal derision, and I leave it to the
tender mercies of an appreciating public.
Right here I wish it distinctly understood, that
I do not consider ray position justified or strength
ened from the precedent I haA-e cited in the record
of McDonald, Willard, and the indorsement of the
democratic party ; but when my corapetitor assails
rae, it is legitiraate to present in answer his own
history, and that of his friends, and the party he
represents, and to say to hira, that, after he has
plucked the beam frora his own eye, he can see
more clearly Avhether there is anything iu mine.
But Mr. McDonald gravely denounces the action
of the Union members of the House iu the late Leg
islature, in AvithdraAving from that body and leaving
it Avithout a quorum, and upon this subject he be
comes eloquent and severe. I will agree with him
that it is an extreme measure, and one that should
not be resorted to lightly, and only in cases where
it may avert gross violations of the Constitution or
danger to the public peace. But here, again, the
gentleman is confronted by his own history and
tbat of his party. The history of bolting is chiefly
the history of democratic politicians, and as a prora
inent leader and adviser of his party for many years,
be raust bear witness with me that his political
friends have never failed to break the quorum in

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 453
any case where their interest could, in the smaUest
degree, be subserA'ed, A few raodern instances, to
which I have time to refer, will answer my pur
pose. In 1855, his political friends, being in the
minority in the Lower House, repeatedly broke
the quorum to prcA-eut the passage of measures
which Avere obnoxious to them as a party. In 1857,
his friends, being in the minority in the Senate,
broke the quorum, and continued to do so until the
eud of the session, to prevent the ejection of Hugh
MUler frora a seat to which he was not entitled,
and the induction of Kline G. Shryock, who was
clearly entitled, thus preventing the passage of the
appropriation bill before referred to. This is one
of the raost outrageous cases iu legislative his
tory — where the wheels of legislation Avere kept
locked until the end of the session, appropriations
defeated, and the public business of the State
greatly deranged, for no other purpose than to keep
a partisan friend in an official position to which he
had not a shadow of title. Again, in 1861, his
friends, being in a minority in both branches of
the Legislature, broke the quorum to prevent the
passage of a militia bill, which was not objection
able, otherwise than as it gave the Governor the
power to' organize the militia for the defense of
the State against rebellion from within or without.
Again, during the sarae session, they broke the
quorum to prevent the passage of the Congres
sional and Legislative apportionment biUs. This

454.
time they retired frora the Capitol — not to Mad
ison, but to the Bates House, Avhere they dispatched
raessengers back to the majority, saying that they
would not return during the session unless the ob
noxious bills Avere abandoned. In these proceed
ings my honorable corapetitor was one of the chief
advisers, upon whose counsel his friends greatly
relied ; and when he coraes before the country, the
representative and candidate of the democratic
party, as a lecturer, delivering grave homilies upon
the impropriety of breaking a quorum, we raay
smile at the imperfection of human meraory, and
exclaira, " Consistency, thou art a jcAvel ! "
My corapetitor, in his speech, gave you repeated
assurances that he would not violate the Constitu
tion, professing the raost distinguished regard for
that instruraent, declaring that the State govern
ment consists of three co-ordinate branches, and
pledging hiraself to perform the duties and exer
cise the functions of only one. Professions are
cheap and easily made; but, unless his regard for
the Constitution has greatly increased since he was
Attorney General, I would politely and kindly sug
gest that the less he says upon that subject the better,
and that his best security will be found in the kind
forgetfulness of the people.
The Military Bill,
I come now to the consideration of the conduct
of the raajority of the State Legislature, in behalf

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 455
of whom Mr. McDonald has made such an elabo
rate defense. The great feature in its histor}-, com
pared with Avliich the others are trifles, which filled
the State with alarm and indignation, and threat
ened us with civil war and revolution, was what is
knoAvn as the Military Bill, and which he gently
indorses, and raildly describes and atterapts to dis
pose of in the following brief and gingerly pas
sages :
"The first objection which these men made to
the Military BUl, Avhich they were so rauch opposed
to, was, that it was unconstitutional. If it was,
then it could certainly do no harra. All they
would have had to do, in order to avoid it, would
have been to go to the courts ofjustice and have
thera decide against it.
"I am not now discussing the merits of that
mUitary bill, nor inquiring whether its provisions
were right or wrong, but, as I understand it, its main
provisions amounted to siraply this: the taking
of the power of organizing and arraing the militia
out ofthe hands of the Governor, and placing it in
the hands of the people."
The dainty and hasty manner in which he touches
the monster reveals his horror of it, and he runs frora
it with all speed, hoping to draAV his hearers after
hira. But I will strip tbe scanty covering Avhich
he has cast over its putrescent corpse, and show

456 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
you what he endeavored to conceal. The concep
tion of this bill was a conspiracj', it.i introduction
an insurrection, and its consnraraation would have
been revolution and civil war in our raidst. It
utterly subverted the Constitution of the State, es
tablished a provisional railitary governraent, and
was intended to enact the part which similar usurp
ations had done in the rebeUious States. Thank
God! the infamous scherae was defeated, its calam
ities averted; and the loyal people of the State
Avill honor the noble men Avho stood between thera
and the horrors of revolution and civil war.
The Constitution expressly declares that the
Governor shall be coramander-in-chief of the mili
tia of the State; but this bill denied hira all power
to call out or command the militia, under any cir
cumstances whatever. It expressly placed the cus
tody, issue, and control of all the State arms in the
hands of the four State officers, viz. : Athon, Ristine,
Hord, and Brett, over Avhose action and the disposi
tion of the arms the Governor was deprived of all
control. The poAver to coramand the railitia with
out the power to put into their hands a single raus-
ket or cartridge would be a farce, and this proA'i-
sion completely nullified the whole railitary plan of
the Constitution.
Again, the Constitution expressly declares that
all officers in the militia shall be commissioned by
the Governor. But this provision was boldly vio
lated by providing that in case the Governor refused

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 457
to comraission the persons who might be appointed
by tbe four State officers or their subordinates,
theu certificates of appointment issued by the four
State officers should stand instead of ccmraissions,
and confer full railitary power and authority.
Again, it dissolved all existing railitary organiza
tions in the State, and corapelled the surrender of
their arras into the hands of the four State officers.
Again, it conferred upon the four State officers
the power to appoint all general officers, except
the Adjutant General, but deprived hira of all
power, and devolved the duties of his office upon
others, to be appointed as before raentioned.
Many other features of the bill might be de-'
scribed, but these are sufficient to give you a gen
eral insight iuto its character, and to show that it
was intended to erect a new military governmeut
in the State upon the ruins of the Constitution,
whicb would subvert all legitimate authority. But
all these enormities were sweetly toned down by
my corapetitor into the mildly-drawn phrase that
the provisions of the bill "amounted simply to
this : the taking of the power of organizing and
arraing the railitia out of the hands of the Gov
ernor, and placing it in the hands of the people."
The people here described are the four State offi
cers — the four new executive heads, of legislative
raanufacture. I am sure my competitor, iu his
cooler moments, will smile at the simplicity and
scanty outlines of the garment with which he has
39

458 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
off'ered to cover the features of this revolutionary
raonster. One other raatter in his defense of it I must notice.
He says the bUl was opposed because it Avas alleged
to be unconstitutional ; that, if it was, it would do
no harm, as an appeal could be takeu to the courts,
and they Avould decide against it, from which it
would appear that violations of the Constitution
by the Legislature are of little moment, and that it
is only those of the Executive of Avhich he stands
in dread. But I am constrained to ask him whether
he is serious in urging that protection from a bold
military revolution could be found in the judiciary,
and Avhat assurances is he able to give that the men
who had overturned the Constitution would pause
before the decision of the court?
After the introduction of the- biU, assurances
were given by leading merabers of the raajority in
both houses that there was no occasion for alarm
or excitement, as the bill would not be passed,
and had already been killed in the party caucus.
Quieted by these assurances, it excited but little
alarm among Union members until the 20th day of
February, 1863, when it was suddenly and unex
pectedly ordered to be dngrossed by a strict party
vote. This vote, in parliamentary proceeding.s, is
known to be the test. The determination to pass
the bill Avas fully developed, and it became morally
certain that it would be carried through both

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 459
houses and over the Governor's A-eto. Great ex
citement aud indignation resulted at once from
this action, the Union members complaining bit
terly that they had been deceived, and they deter
mined that a solemn regard for their duties and the
safety of the State deraanded that they should at
once arrest the further progress of this deadly
enemy, Avhich they did by withdrawing from the
House and leaving it without a quorura. Mr.
McDonald insists that this action was premature,
and that the bill could have been defeated by other
means, or at later stages; but the path of safety
was the path of duty, and it was no tirae to take
desperate chances or try dangerous experiraents.
The Union members felt that they had corae quite
as near to civil war and revolution as they desired,
and they were not willing to be brought to the
very edge of the fearful precipice, where by a bold
coup d'etat they raight be thrust over.
Mr. McDonald further insists that the members
of the majority remained in their seats until the
end of the session, ready and anxious to pass the
necessary appropriation bills if the Union members
would but return.
Here I must confront hira again with the record
of his friends, and plead it as an absolute estoppel
to his coraplaint. On the 2d of March, 1863,
several days after the Union raerabers had with
drawn, Mr, Niblack, one of the leaders of the raa
jority in the House, declared:

460 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
"That he was opposed to compromising with
traitors or secessionists, North or South. He was
for fighting according to law first, and otherwise if
it became necessary. He therefore moved that the
Sergeant-at-arras be sent at once after the de-
hnquents." [Legislative Reports 1863, p. 192.]
Again he said :
" Threats were raade that they should not pass
the bill, and they deterrained to try the raettle of
the raajority." [Legislative Reports 1863, p. 193.]
Again : Messrs. Priest, Niblack, aud others " fol-
loAved, declaring that no coraproraise would be
raade with the rainority." [Legislative Reports
1863, p. 200.]
Again : Mr. Packard, one of the leaders, if not
the leader of the raajority, said:
" We shall do nothing if the gentleraan from
DelaAvare speaks by authority, for avc will press
these raeasures. We will press them, aud if rightful
legislation is defeated, we will go back to our people,
and appealing to thera, they Avill teach this Execu
tive, and the rainority on this floor doing uoav his
bidding, what tbeir duties were," — [Legislative Re
ports 1863, p. 193.]
From this record it clearly appears that the raa
jority not only refused to give auy guarantee that

GOA-ERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON. 461
they would abandon the Mihtary Bill, but expressly
declared that they had no compromise to make,
and that they would press this fatal measure.
Had the Union members returued to their seats,
they Avould have secured the passage of the Military
Bill, and after that, the passage of appropriation
bills or other legislation Avould have beeu quite im
material. And thus ended the Legislature, which,
for malignant faction, reckless desperation, and a
defiant disregard of all obligations, has no parallel
in the history of legislative bodies.
Interest on the State Debt,
There is another subject to which he did not refer,
but to which it is proper I should call your atten
tion. Shortly after the Legislature adjourned, the
State official announced that there was no appropri
ation under which the interest on the State debt
could be paid. This announcement was a bold step,
and took everybody by surprise. The same laws
were iu operation which existed throughout the
administration of Whitcomb, Wright, and Willard,
and under which the interest had been paid for
more than tAvelve years. In 1857, the question
havdug been raised as to whether there was an exist
ing and continuing appropriation, Avithin the mean
ing ofthe Constitution, forthe payraent of interest,
it Avas submitted to my competitor, then Attorney
General, This question he ansAvered in the affirm
ative, giving it as his opinion that there was a

462 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
legal aud continuing appropriation for the payment
of interest on the State debt. This opinion Avas iu
harmony Avith the practice since 1847, and Avas un-
doubtedl}' correct. But the question was sprung
upon rae again by the present State officers, for the
purpose of compelling me to call the Legislature
together, or fix the stain of repudiation upon the
State, and blast her reputation forever.
The project of calling an extra session was con
demned by every supporter of the Government, and
I have yet to find one who did not denounce it as
poAverless for good, and fraught with danger to the
peace and honor of the State. A sham suit was got
ten up for the purpose of obtaining the decision of
the Supreme Court, the history of which I have
given at length in, a former speech, and will not
here repeat. Suffice it to say, that I Avas able to de
feat this wretched raachination, by concluding an
arrangeraent Avith Messrs, WinsloAv, Lanier & Co.,
of New York, to pay the interest and raaintain the
credit of the State inviolate.
Seventh Resolution, Democratic Platform, and
Sympathy for Soldiers._
The seventh resolution in the platform laid down
by the late so-called democratic convention, for
cool audacity and confident presuraption in the for
getfulness and forgiving spirit of the army, is a po
htical curiosity, which should not pass unnoticed.
It is a love-letter to the soldiers, frora the conven-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 463
tion, assuring them of its distinguished cousidera-
tiou aud profound gratitude for their services, and
earnestly hoping that the country Avould suitably
reward thera and provide for their famUies, We
shall be able to appreciate the essential hypocrisy
of this amorous approach, by briefly reviewing the
history of the politicians composing that conven
tion and the men whora they represent, for the last
three years. They, and their political followers
throughout the Northern States, have steadily de
nounced the war for its deraoralizing tendencies,
and the dangers to result to society frora the return
of what they described as an irresponsible and disso
lute soldiery.
They have, in every Constitutional Convention
and State Legislature where the proposition has
beeu presented to confer the right to vote upon
soldiers in the field, offered the most desperate re
sistance, even contesting the question in the highest
courts, as in Ohio and Wisconsin, They have not
only failed to syrapathize with the suffering and
hardships of our gallant and glorious array, but
have rejoiced in its occasional disasters, at such
times always renewing their prophesies that Ave
could not conquer the South and suppress the re
bellion ; and in the very convention which indited
this love-letter, D. H. Colerick, a prominent mem
ber from Fort Wayne, uttered with applause the
following infaraous sentiments :

464 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
"Nine hundred and ninety-nine men of every
thousand whom I represent breathe uo other
prayer than to have an end of this hellish Avar,
When news of our victories comes, there is no rejoicing.
Wlien news of our defeat comes, there is no sorrow.
There is a feeling which tells of an intense desire
for peace, and Ave ask that some resolution be passed
that is in unison with the prayer of the heart of
the true democracy of the country, that this horri
ble and bloody war must cease."
An examination of the books of the Indiana San
itary Commission will reveal the fact that not one
dollar out of every two hundred and fifty dollars'
worth of stores contributed for the relief of Indi
ana soldiers comes from these men, or frora those
in political felloAvship with them. Their sympa
thies gush forth in fervent eulogies just before the
election ; but these do not minister to the sick, or
bind up bleeding wounds, feed the hungry or clothe
the naked, soothe the dying hour, or perform the
last sad offices to perishing humanity. When vol
unteer aid has been called for, to fly to the battle
field or the overcharged hospital, to wait upon the
sick and wounded, or distribute sanitary stores, their
sympathies have not led them to tender their services
and perform such laborious deeds, but they content
themselves with the solemn mockery of au empty
compliment uttered by a corrupt political caucus.
When our veteran regiraents have returned from

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 465
the field, worn Avith toil and battle, but coA-ered
with glory, these men have not come forward to
greet aud Avelcome the returning heroes, but have
passed them by in silence and with boding looks.
Aud now, what is it that these men raost desire?
It is that this war shall be abandoned at once upon
our part — the independence of the rebel Confed
eracy conceded — the cause for Avliieh our gallant
array has fought forever dishonored — the public
debt repudiated — the West separated from the East,
and the power of tbe GoA-eruraent to rcAvard the
soldiers and provide for their families desti-03-ed, and
the soldiers themselves to becorae outcasts, the living
remains of an unsuccessful and dishonored war.
Of course, this is a political speech. It is the
effort of a politician — one of the shrcAA'dest, most
active, and ambitious of politicians; for it can not
be denied by any one well acquainted with his
character and career, that Governor Morton was
an industrious, aspiring tiller of the political soil of
the West; that he Avas as persistent in seeking as
he was successful in obtaining posts of honor at
the hands of the people of his State. Vanity is
the legitimate offspring of self-conscious merit, and
merit is as rarely unconscious of its own existence
as peacocks are of the beauty of their tails. In
fact, the foregoing speech exhibits on its very face
the raost distinct traces of an essentially political
docuraent. Every argument has speci&c reference

466 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
to the Governor's success and his opponent's defeat;
every A-oUey from his logic battery is airaed Avith
unerring precision at the decaying, crurabling cas
tle of the " deraocracy ; " every dart frora his sar
castic boAv is sent through the very heart of his en
emy. But Avhile all this is true, it avUI be admitted
by all impartial readers that every paragraph df
this political masterpiece gleams Avith the light of a
superior morality.
It seems to be impossible for a great raany peo
ple to conceive of there being any connection be
tAveen politics and raorality. So long have they
beeu in the habit of associating almost every cor
rupt aud vicious practice with the forraer, that they
can not understand how any really good raan can
have anything to do with it; how any pure princi
ple can sustain the reraotest relation to it. For the
last twenty years, nearly every sophoraore who asr
pired to a snug place in the affections of his pro
fessors, or to fortify himself in the sympathies of the
"good" people in his exhibition effort, has been
Avont to exhaust his vocabulary of all its coloring
matter in painting the "loathsome" portraits of
those who wallowed in the "cess-pool of politics,"
Ministers who preached for broadcloth, bread, and
butter, and who, in the language of the Scriptures,
"verily had their rcAvard," but had little either of
individuality or of success, have laraented in dole
ful strains the disposition of a few of their "erring"
brother clergyraan to "dabble in politics" at the

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON, 467
expense of "the Gospel." Old ladies have "la!
nie'd" at the "nasty, stinkin' politicians," advised
their children to read the Bible and " let the ucavs-
papers alone," Thus it is that a taste Avas cul
tivated among the masses of the people, which
eschewed political literatureaud political investiga
tion. Thus it is that scarcely one in twenty of the
people of the United States has made a very thor
ough acquaintance with the Constitution, knoAvs
mueh of the historj' of the country, or manifests
that hvely interest in politics Avhicli is demanded by
tbe relations subsisting betAveen a republic and the
sovereigns which uphold it.
But, is there is no such thing as political moral
ity ? Are not the. issues iuA'olved in a political
campaign either right or wrong? And do they
not, in a greater or less degree, aff'ect the institu
tions and people coraposing a governraent? If a
measure be right, is it not a raoral duty to sustain
it? If it be wrong, should it not be opposed and
defeated ?
In 1864, the most gigantic rebellion known to his
tory was raging in the United States. That rebeUion
was wrong — radically wrong. It was Avithout just
cause; its purpose was the destruction of the Gov
ernment, the extension and perpetuation of slavery.
To assist in putting it doAvn was the high moral duty
of every lover of country, liberty, justice, truth.
To deeply impress the rainds of the people with
the importance of this duty was an object of the

468 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
preceding and every other speech delivered by Gov
ernor Morton during this canvass, not less promi
nent and obvious than that of defeating the oppo
sition. In fact, the two objects were by nature and
by necessity inter Avoven. To defeat the false de
mocracy AA'as to preserve the Government and pre
vent anarchy ; to estabhsh the right and crush the
wrong; to declare freedom and destroy slavery;
to reraove the raost stubborn obstacle which im
peded American progress, and give to the nation
a UCAV and powerful intellectual and raoral irapetus.
The able defense of the right of the soldiers to
vote at elections, which should decide the questions
involving his oavu personal interest and those of
his family, which should decide the fate of America
and of Liberty, is another raoral feature of this
speech which the unbiased reader will not over
look. True, it raay be contended that the raotive which
prompted this defense was a selfish one; that it
looked rather to the success of a party than the es
tablishraent of a just principle. But the adraission
of this point Avould by no raeans affect the moralit}'
of the vindication. An action is either right or
wrong ih itself, and the raotive which underlies it
can neither highten nor debase it. Personal ambi
tion is the mainspring of nearly all huraan actions,
and very little that is clone in this world may with
certainty be attributed to pure raotiA'es,
ToAvard the close of the carapaign of 1864, the

GOVERNOR OLIVER P, MORTON, 469
atrocious designs of the " Sons of Liberty'' began
to shoAV themselves in various Avaj's, The signiii-
cant nods and winks of the "deraocratic" politi
cians ; the rauttered denunciations of the " Aboli
tion Government," heard in the crowd, on the
street-corner, from the lips of the mechanic in the
Avorkshop, the farraer in his rural retreat ; the bold
expressions of syrapathy Avith rebels in tbe edito
rials of "democratic" papers; the broad hints
thrown out of the formation of a secret military
force, sufficiently strong to " secure the rights of
democrats at the polls" — all these things pointed
clearly to the existence of a plot in the North,
whose object was the overthrow of the Govern
raent and the establishraent of the " Southern Con
federacy," either through the ballot-box or at the
point ofthe bayonet. No soil seeraed raore product
ive of treason during this period than that of Indi
ana, As appeared in tbe ultiraate exposure of the
" Sons of Liberty," that Order numbered over eighty
thousand men in the State, drilled, and ready to
obey the call of their raasters at any tirae. To ten
of the raost desperate of these was assigned the
work of assassinating Governor Morton, iu case an
open revolt should be deterrained upon. Vast sums
of money raised by Northern traitors and by rebel
refugees in Canada were appropriated to the pur
chase of arms for the " Sons of Liberty," At
every important poll, as, for example, the one at
Indianapolis, a sufficient number of arms were

470 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
to be shipped to enable the " Peace Democracy" to
control the elections.
To thwart the designs of these political despera
does, to bring their fiendish, anarchical schemes to
light, and expose thera to the just indignation of
the loyal people, engaged rauch of Governor Mor
ton's tirae and talents ; and while this labor raay be
justly regarded as the raost iraportant of his life,
the success Avhich attended it was the grandest he
ever achieved. He employed secret detectives to
operate in every part of the State. General H. B.
Carrington, commanding post at Indianapolis, acted
as the chief of the detective department. Through
his dextrous, efficient raanageraent, the tact and
activity of his assistants, an inside view of alraost
every lodge of the " Sons of Liberty" within the
State boundary was obtained. The Executive de
partment was constantly advised of all their schemes
and designs. They concerted no plot of which the
Governor was not as readily and as fully cognizant
as they. He thoroughly knew all about their finan
cial resources, and whence they were derived —
their military force, its extent and character. If
any retired spot in the backwoods was selected as
a convenient place of rendezvous, he knew the pre
cise geographical location of that spot before the
knowledge of its thereabouts had been comrauni
cated to all the raerabers of the Order. If a supply
of arms was secretly purchased at New York and
shipped to any point in Indiana, there was invari-

GOVERNOR OLIA'ER P. MORTON. 471
ablj' at the place of destination a sufficient police
force to take such arras in charge and turn thera
over to the Governraent.
A case in point may be cited. A few daj's be
fore the November election of 1864, several large
and suspicious-looking boxes, marked " Books," ad
dressed to a certain school-book dealer, were depos
ited at Indianapolis. Tbey were hardly placed on
the drays, when they were taken in hand by a
squad of detectives, who followed them to the house
to which they were directed, and opened them.
They were found to contain Sunday-school books
and Colt's revolvers, the forraer being closely packed
around the latter, with a view to deception. The
pistols were handed over to the Governraent, and
the books were probably donated to some mission
Sunday-school. With equal promptness every insurrectionary
plot was discovered and broken up. But a full,
complete exposure of the " Sons of Liberty " was
deferred until after the election, at which tirae a
railitary court of inquiry was convened at Indian
apohs, and Bowles, Milligan, Horsey, and other In
diana traitor chiefs, were arraigned, tried, convicted
of treason, and punished.
Without question, this detective work was the
most important service ever rendered the State. It
secured a raost triuraphant success to the loyal
ticket; it prevented the most horrifying, destruct
ive civil outbreak that every disgraced a State ; it

472 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
exposed treason and brought traitors to justice; it
literally plucked Indiana from the very brink of
the vortex of ruin and infamy, and placed it firmly
on the side of the Governraent, liberty, progress,
safety ; it was one of the finishing strokes of that
ponderous Northern ax which severed the head
of secession frora the monstrous body which sup
ported it ; it thrilled with dismay, overwhelmed
with confusion those miserable, truckling, political
Esaus in the North who were wiUing to sell the
nation's birthright for a raess of putrid slavery
potage. Having been re-elected by a sweeping majority,
the Governor again entered upon the performance
of his arduous labors.
The Araerican people had declared loudly and
unraistakably at the ballot-box in favor of a raore
vigorous prosecution of the war, and the Govern
raent hastened forward the draft which had been
pending during the fall. Indiana, under the man
agement of its great Executive, furnished its quota
with that alacrity which marked its Avhole raili
tary career. For several weeks, Carap Carrington
swarraed like a bee-hive. Regiments were organ
ized, equipped, and sent to the front with an aston
ishing rapidity. Meantime, soldiers' families at
horae were not forgotten ; while the sanitary wants
of Indiana troops in the field were supplied with a
munificence and promptness which challenged the
adrairation and envy of all surrounding States.

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 473
In hundreds of instances, the volunteers of New
York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and other States,
were heard to say to the "Hoosier boys:" "We
would n't raind fighting, if we had such a Goveruor
as you have."
During the Avinter of 1865, Governor Morton
was the raost ubiquitous man in the United States.
First at Washington, in council Avith the President ;
then at the front, surveying with his own eye the
battle-field; moving in person through the hospitals,
ascertaining the wants of the sick and wounded ;
supervising the operations of his numerous agents ;
then at horae, directing sanitary moveraents, ap
pointing extra surgeons and sending them to the
field, projecting new plans for the relief of depend
ent women and children, attending personally to
all the details of the business of his office.
The following spring opened gloriously for the
Union cause. Thomas had destroyed Hood's array
at Nashville. Lee, pressed on all sides by the per
tinacious Grant, was forced to evacuate Richmond,
and ultimately to surrender his entire array. The
"President of the Confederate States" was obliged
to fly his Capital, soon after which the rebel Gen
eral Johnston surrendered to the redoubtable Sher
man. Not raany weeks ensued when Kirby Sraith
foUowed the example of Lee and Johnston. Mean
time the rebel President, Jeff. Davis, was pursued,
captured, and conveyed in irons to Washington.
Thus ended the civil war inaugurated by the
40

474 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
South for the destruction of the Government and
the perpetuation of slavery. The suddenness of the
collapse of the rebellion was well in keeping Avith
the madness of its origin, the ferocity of its prog
ress. Now comraenced the work of raustering out and
sending to their respective States the volunteer
troops. Governor Morton raade the araplest ar
rangeraents for the reception and entertainraent of
the Indiana volunteers at Indianapolis. Every reg
iraent and battery was received by hira in person,
at the Capitol, and treated to a sumptuous dinner
at the Soldiers' Home. No effort was spared on
his part to render our conquering heroes happy on
their return to their native soil. He gave special at
tention to the pay department, and saw that no un
necessary delay detained the troops in the Capital.
Day and night he was busy, performing the work
of a dozen ordinary men, and yet perforraing it
Avell. Finally, the great rush of railitary business and
the exclteraent which attended it past, the day of
relaxation carae. Until now the effects of his ex
cessive labors were not Adsible. For flve years his
every power of body and raind had been taxed to
its utmost.- The imraense Aveight of his official re
sponsibilities, the embarrassments which beset him,
the gigantic difficulties he had to corabat in placing
Indiana in the front rank of loyal States, his inces
sant anxiety touching the success of the Union cause,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 475
his constant scheming and working for the relief of
suff'ering humanity, had not, apparently, strtdned a
single chord of his mighty intellect, or diseased
any of the functions of his poAverful physique. If
his tasks had been Herculean, the capacity requi
site to their performance had not been wanting ; if
his powers had long been strung to their highest
tension, the motives and incentives sufficient for
the constant stimulation of those powers were ever
present. In the Governor's case it was, as it is in
all similar instances, reserved for the transition
period — that period during Avhich the individual
passes from the raost intense excitement, the raost
exhausting effort, to a state of quiet and inact
ivity — to develop the evil results of overAvork.
In the sumraer of 1865, he was attacked with pa
ralysis, from the effects of which he suff'ered in
tensely. The eff'orts of most erainent physicians
to loosen the grasp of the disease were fruitless,
and in the raonth of Noveraber a change of scene
and climate was advised as the only means capable
of affording relief. Accordingly, the Governor ar
ranged his affairs and made preparation to visit
Europe. Meantime the General Assembly had been
convened in extraordinary session. To this body,
notwithstanding his prostration, the Governor had
delivered the usual raessage, a paper inferior in no
respect to any previous effort of the kind.
The scene which transpired in the hall of the
House of Representatives, on the occasion of his

476
forraal leave-taking, was of the most affecting char
acter. Resolutions complimenting him in the high
est terras, and expressing the warmest syrapathy with
him in his affiiction, were drawn up by Hon. Joseph
E. McDonald, Hon. Sam. Buskirk, and adopted by
the Asserably without a dissenting voice. Party
jealousies aud party strifes were forgotten. The
hatchet of political warfare was buried, and a mel
ancholy regret, a heart-felt sorrow pervaded the
souls of all present. Not until now had many real
ized the Avortli of Governor Morton — the wisdom
of his counsel, the iraportance of his services, the
raagnitude of his heart. The sraoke of the war
had obscured the appreciative vision of nurabers' of
his friends, whUe it corapletely blinded his eneraies
to all his efficiency as an Executive, all his noble
ness as a man. But, now that he was about to leave,
perhaps forever, the colleagues to whora he had
been so faithful, the opponents he had fought so
nobly, the State he had saved frora financial thrall-
dora and the raeshes of treason — the State whose
narae he had made the synoyra of glory — the peo
ple he had so devotedly served, the indifference of
friends, the prejudice of eneraies gave place to a
profound realization of his talents, his patriotisra,
his labor.
What raay seera the raost reraarkable feature of
the cereraonies attending his farewell to the Legis
lature Avas the part takeu by Joseph E. McDonald,
his corapetitor for gubernatorial honors in 1864,

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 477
and the raan with whora he had fought the severest
political battie of his life. But the fact is, that
Ml-. McDonald and Governor Morton were warra
personal friends frora boyhood, and, until 1856,
were believers in the sarae pohtical creed — that of
the free-soil deraocracy. No raan more highly ap
preciated the abilities and private worth of the
Governor than McDonald; and it is an evidence
of'the indestructibility of true friendship, that the
fiery strife between the parties they respectively led
during the carapaign of 1864 did not aff'ect in the
slightest degree the social relations subsisting be
tween the former and the latter.
Shortly after taking leave of the General Assera
bly, the Governor proceeded to New York. Here
his faraily sooned joined hira, and, followed by the
well-wishes of the nation, the prayers of Indiana,
he saUed for Italy.
Governor Morton's public hfe sets him before
the unprejudiced student of human nature as a
politician, a statesraan, a reforraer, a huraanitarian.
The elevation, force, and activity of his raind, the
amplitude of its grasp, the delicacy of its tact as
shown in his political debates and his executive
career, entitle him to a rank in progressive states
manship which few men of his age could success
fully contest. Many there were of equal energy,
perhaps greater ambition, who attempted what he
accomplished in the North-west — the erection of
an enviable fame out of the fragments of the polit-

478 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
ical wrecks caused by the popular surgings'which
stirred the country from 1854 tiU 1865. But the
great majority of these aspirants failed. They
aimed either too high or too low. They seemed
incapable of finding the channel of the popular
mind. Many of them saw \-ery clearly the tend
ency of current events, but they could not so bar-
raonize their own ideas Avith those of the people
as to successfully follow the general drift. They
were either too conservative or too ultra. In sorae
respects, Stephen A. Douglas was one of the great
est of Araerican statesman. A raan of broad and
coraprehensive views, superior debating powers,
great enthusiasra, a fervid orator, a raost affable
gentleraan, he at one tirae literally monopolized the
ears and eyes of the nation. But, with all his
magic force, all his dazzling splendor, he was want
ing in foresight and the power of adaptation. He
certainly did accoraplish much ; but scarcely any
of the raeasures he carried through Congress re
sulted as he intended thera to result. He supposed
that his celebrated Kansas-Nebraska Bill would re
raove the discussion of the slavery question from
the National Capital and promote hira to the Chief-
magistracy. The passage of the bill was the pre
lude to the most Auolent discussions of the slavery
question that ever occurred iu the halls of Con
gress, and defeated Douglas in the Presidential
campaign of 1860. That the success of this meas
ure was a necessary step in the political progress

GOA'ERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 479
of the country, no phUosophical thinker can deny.
It annulled tbe Missouri restriction, and virtually
gave to freedom a large area of territory Avhich
previously belonged to slavery. It led to a more
thorough popular investigation of the relations sub
sisting between the free and the slave States, and
of the nature and effects of American slavery, than
was ever before knoAvn. It increased and strength
ened the anti-slavery party, and rapidly hastened
that great crisis which established freedom all over
the land. But, so far as the designs of its great
champion Avere concerned, it Avas a total failure.
The same may be said of nearly every act of Doug
las's public life. Hence, he is not identified with
any of the progressive movements of his age. He
generally did that which he did not intend, and was
defeated where he expected to succeed. In endeav
oring to strike the golden mean between the two
extremes of pro-slavery and anti-slavery, he missed
the slow but sure current of popular progress, was
left behind and out of sight. Douglas was a great
agitator — nothing less, little more.
In such men as Hale and Julian we have exam
ples of equally great failures, but in an opposite di
rection. They will ever be regarded as men of
extraordinary talents. But their ultraism — their
disposition to ignore the slow-going raasses — re
moved them so far from popular sympathy, that
they could do littie more than agitate. They can
claim no great pubhc measure as theirs. Perhaps

480 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERATICES OF
Indiana neA-er had a Representative in Congress
who effected less than Mr. Julian. In endeavor
ing to lead the people, he kept so far ahead of them
tbat he could scarcely be seen. Generally right in
the abstract, he Avas nearly always wrong in a prac
tical point of view. As a political architect he ex
celled ; as a builder he failed. He invariably pro
posed the erection of the edifice before the material
was ready, a,nd the destruction of the old house be
fore the foundations of the new one were laid. This
peculiar characteristic was manifest in his disposition
to encourage violations of the Fugitive-slave Law
while it was in force; in his efforts to induce the
Republican Convention of 1858 to adopt the Phil
adelphia Platform of 1856, line for line, word for
word. He ignored the fact that his course with
reference to the Fugitive-slave Law would cause the
majority of the people to regard him as a revolu
tionist, and that his action in the convention would
establish for him the unenviable reputation of
disorganizer. He could not see that the rein-
dorseraent of the Philadelphia Platform by the re
publican party in 1858 would have prevented the
co-operation of the Anti-Lecompton democrats with
the republicans, in which case the triumph of the
ultra pro-slavery democracy would have been sure;
that the adoption of his views would have defeated
his own party in the Presidential campaign of
1860. Of a vastly different cast of mind from either

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 481
Douglas or Julian Avas Governor Morton. Lookin o-
through the great raedium of huraan nature, he
could at all times determine the course of the cqr-
rent of public opinion. As a political pilot he ac
quainted himself thoroughly Avith the peculiarities
of that current, and hence, in the direction of his
craft, never ran aground nor encountered a sawyer.
While, from his lofty stand-point, he ever kept in
view the haven of universal freedora, yet he did
not forget the raeans bj' which that haven was to be
reached, aud that the channel which led to it was
a circuitous one. While his political telescope dis
covered to him, from time to time, the phenomena
of the national sky, he never lost sight of the rapid
changes in the kaleidoscope of popular sentiment.
As an architect, he planned according to his re
sources. As a builder, he worked according to
the nature of his material. Fully apprised of the
great truth that the public mind can not be carried
beyond the limits of its education, he only aimed
at the attainraent of such points as could be se
curely reached and securely held. Hence, while
the Fugitive-slave Law was in force, he advocated
the strictest obedience to it, raaintaining that while
law is law, it should be respected; that if it be
cruel and unjust, the only right Avay of setting
it aside lies thro-agh the people's properly con
stituted authority. Hence, in directing the coun
sels and shaping the policy of his party, he always
opposed the adoption of any article of pohtical
41

482 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERA'ICES OF
faith Avhich might seera to the masses too ultra to
be safely indorsed. Seeing at all times the shadows
of coraing events, he prepared to meet those events.
Knowing that the people are politically educated by
experience rather than by theoretical teachings;
that they judge of the propriety or the impro
priety, the justice or the injustice of a given line
of policy, by the results it produces, he was ever
ready to take advantage of those results in order
to the promotion of the success of his party and
the advancement of the general good. He opposed
the readoption of the Philadelphia Platforra in
1858, with a \'iew to the proraulgation of such a
creed as should secure the votes of the Douglas
deraocrats, believing that raany of those raen would
ultimately become so thoroughly disgusted with Bu
chanan's administrative policy, that, in order to
make sure the defeat of that policy, they would per
manently identify themselves with the republican
party. Tirae proved that in this course he Avas
right, and that Julian in his was wrong. Hun
dreds of men voted for Mr. Lincoln in 1860, merely
to hurl the Buchanan faction from position and
power. During the progress of the rebellion. Governor
Morton, like President Lincoln, kept pace with the
people ; favoring frora the start the confiscation of
rebel property as a necessary war measure, but not
advocating the emancipation of slaves till the cir-

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 483
cumstances of the war had fully prepared public
sentiment for its indorseraent.
His views of the course to be pursued by the Gov
ernraent in reference to the freedraen after tbe close
of the war, as set forth in his raessage to the In
diana Legislature at its special sitting in November,
1805, are eminently characteristic. He recomraends
the establishment of free schools for the education
of the colored children of the State, and the equal
taxation of both white and colored citizens for
school purposes. He discourages the education of
white aud colored children in the same schools, on
the ground that the prejudices between the two
races would be detrimental to the interests of both
is case of their co-education. He opposes the ira
raediate enfranchisemeut of the negro by Congress,
for the reason that the Constitution does not invest
that body with the power to act in the proraises,
but leaves the disposition of such aff'airs Avith the
separate States. He opposes the iraraediate en-
franchiseraent of the freedmen by the States, main
taining- that the nuraber of votes ignorautly cast at
our elections is already sufficiently great, and that
to endow the negro, in his present state, with all the
rights of citizenship, would be to render cheaper
that which is now entirely too cheap — an Araerican
ballot. But the general tenor of his reraarks touch
ing negro suffrage shows clearly that when the
freedmen shall be prepared to vote intelligently, he

484 LIFE, SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF
will advocate their right to vote. In this, as iu
every other pohcy of his hfe, he exhibits the spirit
of a sure-footed progressionist.
But while Governor Morton has shown himself
a politician and a statesraan of the highest order,
he has also raanifested throughout his whole pub
lic career the eleraents of a true philanthropist.
His efforts in behalf of the Indiana soldiery are, as
already intimated, without parallel in the history of
the war. And in his message to the extra Legisla
tive session of 1865, he suggests plans for the edu
cation and support of the orphans of soldiers, and
recoramends that an appropriation be raade to erect
within the State a permanent Soldiers' and Sea
men's Horae. These efforts were raade at a time
when, according to the opinion of his physicians,
he could not rationally indulge the hope of being
rewarded by men, and hence they may be re
garded as the offspring of a noble generosity.
When we wrote the concluding lines coraposing
the former edition of this book, it was a sad,
gloomy hour. Then the rebellion was in progress.
Human life was being sacrificed; the blood of
thousands was poured out, as if to satiate the appe
tite of deraons, who inaugurated the ungodly strife ;
shadows were upon every path; trouble in every
heart ; raournlng in alraost every horae circle. No
bow of proraise appeared. The heavens were brass
above, and the earth dark beneath. But, " borne on
the wings of every breeze came the groans of the

GOVERNOR OLIVER P. MORTON. 485
dying, Avhile all over the land Avas heard tbe wail of
the Avidow and the orphan's cry." From the altar
of every heart ascended a prayer to the God of bat
tles to stay his hand, and, instead of desolating Avar,
send peace; but those prayers were then unan
swered; Ave remained iu the A^'hirlpool of destruc
tion, Avhei-e all things pertaining to life, peace, and
happiness seemed to bo rushing rapidly on to irre
trievable ruin. In spite of all our efforts to stay
the hand of death, the batties raged furiously and
unceasingly. A cessation of hostilities was only an
indication of rest for a day, that it might be re
sumed on the coming morrow with redoubled fury
and violence. But these perilous times have passed.
Soon the pen of history will record them, and they
Avill pass by as a record of the bloody future. They
pass — time moves on and on ; it waits for no man
or for any combination of circumstances ; but with
some it moves slowly. Aching hearts and dreary
horaes too plainly say, " With the rebeUion passed
from earth and my sight loved ones, those on whom
I had hoped to lean in declining life ; those that were
my stay and support — yea, more, they composed
ray earthly treasure, my all." It is hard to bear up
under such losses ; but He who tempers the wind to
the shorn larab can prepare the mind and energize
the soul, and lift them above all earthly care and
bereavements. The battles are over, the victory
won. Victory and liberty are written upon the
American escutcheon with letters of indelible blood.

486 LIFE, SPEECHES, ETC., OF GOV. 0. P. MORTON.
Ages yet unborn will estiraate the cost and appro
ciate the blessings resulting from this strife. The
present generation will not cease to remember, or
cease to shudder, at the cruelties perpetrated at
Andersonville and Belle Island. The cruelties per
petrated upon our brave, self-sacrfficing, starved,
and famished soldiers should be held by succeeding
generations in " everlasting reraerabrance." We
pity the hard, callous-hearted individual that has
no tears to shed over our departed dead. Their
raeraories should be enshrined in the affections of a
grateful nation, and their names written upon the
tablet of every loyal heart. To their bravery, to
their courage are we indebted for the restoration
of peace. It came not by legislation, nor by a
nice, critical system of diploraacy ; but it was con
quered — it was purchased by tears and huraan
blood, and, therefore, ought and wUl be cherished
and revered as a sacred legacy.

THE END.