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V
Campaign Document, No. 2.
SPEECH OF JUDGE GEO. F. COMSTOCK,
DEUVERED AT THE
BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC.
Fellow-Citizens : — I do not love the
labors of political discussion. But the crisis of
a nation has been reached in which no man
can be neutral. The differences between' po-
litical parties are so broad and so fundamental,
that there is no middle ground on which hesita-
tion or doubt can linger. Believing that I
h'b,ve no right to be silent, I propose now to
address you upon the situation of the country,
and the duties of the hour.
And first, \^ me express my coi'dial sym-
pathy in the sentiment of enthusiastic approval
which has universally greeted the name of the
youthful patriot, soldier, and statesman selected
to bear our standard in the great civil contest
which is to decide the fate of the republic. In
George B. McClellan we find the noblest combi-
nation of the qualities demanded by the alai'm-
ing crisis in which the country is placed. As
a soldier, I consider him immeasurably first
among those who have led our armies in this
unhappy and deplorable civil war. I would
not tarnish a single one of the laurels earned
b)^ other commanders in the field. But the
ablest of them must yield to him in genius for
supreme command in military combinations, in
the comprehensive survey of great campaigns,
and, above all, in the qualities which endear
him to armies, and inspii-e in them courage, en-
ergy, and hope.
If, therefore, a wise conciliation and prudent
statesmanship shall fail to accomplish the object
supremely desired by every patriotic heart, to
wliom can we most safely entrust the power of
the nation ? If after more than three years of
desolating and fruitless war ; if, after peaceful
clFort shall be exhausted, it shall be necessary
once more for the Government to exert its
military povrer, once more to clothe itself in
the thunders and panoply of war, to whom can
the nation more wisely entrust the command
of its fleets and armies than to the humane and
Christian hero who twice saved its capital from
destruction, and whose conquering march to
the caj^'tal of the enemy was only arrested by
the political hate and fanatical passions whicU
preferred humiliation and defeat to victory un-
der his banner ?
But, fellow-citizens, military glories have in
them little which can dazzle my vision. I ad-
mit that in great natiosal exigencies wars may
be justified, after g,ll the instrumentalities of
peace have been tried ; but I abhor them in the
depths of my soul. And^ am thankful to the
Great Giver of all mercies that in this terrible
struggle, which has caused a shudder through-
out the civilized world, there is no stain of
blood upon my hands. I am grateful to Him
that I can look back at the origin, the com-
mencement, and the progress of this tvar —
which I think is the most shocking in the his-
tory of nations — without a sense of personal
guilt for the unspeakable desolation it has
caused. I would not for an empire, nay, I
would not for whatever of felicity and power
this world contains, be a sharer in that incredi-
ble fol'ly, fanaticism, and wickedness which ex-
cited and provoked this fearful contest, and
which have prolonged the bloody and deso-
lating struggle by arousing a resistance sus-
tained by the energies of despair, and by every
motive which can animate the hearts and nerve
the arms of men.
I therefore infinitely prefer to present our
candidate for the suffrage of the American
people, not as a military hero, but as a states-
man who grasps the political not less than the
military situation ; as a civilian accomplished in
knowledge, as a patriot who not only under-
stands but loves the institutions of his country ;
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V
Campaign Document, No. 2.
SPEECH OF JUDGE GEO. F. COMSTOCK,
DEHVERED AT THE
BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC.
man
<
between'' po-
Fellow-Citizens : — I do not love the
labors of political discussion. But the crisis of
a nation has been reached In which no
can be neutral. The difierences
litical parties are so broad and so fundamental,
that there is no middle ground on which hesita-
tion or doubt can linger. Believing that I
h'kve no right to be silent, I propose now to
address you upon the situation of the country,
and the duties of the hour.
And first, 1^ me express my cordial sym-
pathy in the sentiment of enthusiastic approval
which has universally greeted the name of the
youthful patriot, soldier, and statesman selected
to bear our standard in the great civil contest
which is to decide the fate of the republic. In
George B. McClellan we find the noblest combi-
nation of the qualities demanded by the alai*m-
ing crisis in which the country is placed. As
a soldier, T consider him immeasurably first
among those who have led our armies in this
unhappy and deplorable civil war. I would
not tarnish a single one of the laurels earned
by other commanders in the field. But the
alolest of them must yield to him in genius for
supreme command in military combinations, in
the comprehensive survey of great campaigns,
and, above all, in the qualities which endear
him to armies, and inspire in them courage, en-
ergy, and hope.
If, therefore, a wise conciliation and prudent
statesmanship shall fail to accomplish the object
supremely desired by every patriotic heart, to
whom can we most safely entrust the power of
the nation ? If after more than three years of
desolating and fruitless war ; if, after peaceful
effort shall be exhausted, it shall be necessary
once more for the Government to exert its
military power, once more to clothe itself in
the thunders and panoply of war, to whom can
the nation more wisely entrust the command
of its fleets and armies than to the humane and
Christian hero who twice saved its capital from
destruction, and whose conquering march to
the capital of the enemy was only arrested by
the political hate and fanatical passions whicU
preferred humiliation and defeat to victory un-
der his banner ?
But, fellow-citizens, military glories have in
them little which can dazzle my vision. I ad-
mit that in great natlosal exigencies wars may
be justified, after ^11 the instrumentalities of
peace have been tried ; but I abhor them in the
depths of my soul. And 1 am thankful to the
Great Giver of all mercies that in this terrible
struggle, which has caused a shudder through-
out the civilized world, there is no stain of
blood upon my hands. I am grateful to Him
that I can look back at the origin, ithe com-
mencement, and the progress of this war —
which I think is the most shocking in the his-
tory of nations — without a sense of personal
guilt for the unspeakable desolation it has
caused. I would not for an empire, nay, I
would not for whatever of felicity and power
this world contains, be a sharer in that incredi-
ble fol'ly, fanaticism, and wickedness which ex-
cited and provoked this fearful contest, and
which have prolonged the bloody and deso-
lating struggle by arousing a resistance sus-
tained by the energies of despair, and by every
motive which can animate the hearts and nerve
the arms of men.
I therefore infinitely prefer to present our
candidate for the suiirage of the American
people, not as a military hero, but as a states-
man who grasps the political not less than the
military situation ; as a civilian accomplished in
knowledge, as a patriot who not only under-
stands but loves the institutions of his country ;
\
/
as a Christian gentleman of pure and spotless
character, upon whose record there is no stain
or reproach. So far as the thoughts and wishes
of any human being can be known to others,
we know it to. be his passionate desire to see
the laws of this country peacefully obeyed
throughout its whole extent, and-all the States
once more bound together in fraternal Union,
based 'upon the proper sovereignty and equal
rights of each one of them. This great purpose
of his soul breathes in the varied productions of
his pen, with which you are familiar. It shines
conspicuously in the fervid burning patriotism
of his letter from Harrison's Landing, written
in the midst of perils which threatened his de-
struction. And need I refer to that noble let-
ter of acceptance, that chaste and beautiful
exposition of his principles, which has been re-
ceived by the acclamations of a people, which,
like the blast of a trumpet, has awakened the
echoes of the hills, the mountains, and the val-
leys of our country ? We proudly present him
to you, fellow-citizens, not merely as the able
soldier and consummate military commander,
but as a patriot of unalterable devotion to the
Union which you love. We present him, above
all, as the statesman endowed with the exact
comprehension of the nature of our government
and the political situation of the country, with-
out which the terrible agencies of war are pow-
erless to save the union of the States, or preserve
society from the fathomless gulf of anarchy to
which it is rapidly tending.
Fellow-citizens : I have no blind devotion
to any political party ; but wherever free in-
stitutions exist, party names and organizations
are a necessity of human nature and hunaan
society. A nation is now to be saved or lost,
and the peace of thirty miRions of people is to
be restored or forever destroyed by the influ-
ence and action of one party or another upon
the theories and practices of government in
this country. In a crisis of such fearful im-
port, while truth and candor should be observ-
ed, the utmost freedom and latitude of discus-
sion are both a duty and a right.
I speak first of the Democratic party. It has
proclaimed as the first and fundamental article
in its creed the Federal Union of all the States.
. The great national council at Chicago, speak-
ing in its nanae, and by its authority, has de-
clared that in all circumstances, and under all
conditions in the fiiture, as in the past, we ad-
here "' with unswerving fidelity " to the national
Union. Such a declaration , coming from the
assembled Democi'acy of the nation, and ap-
proved by all the enlightened conservatism of
the country, has no doubtful naeaning. It
means the Union of the States under the limi-
tations of a written constitution or compact, into
which the States enter as coequal sovereign-
ties, and with equal dignity and rights. It
does not mean the impossible unity and consoli-
dation of the people of this continent, under a
single empire or republic, but a constitutional
alliattfc of states or republics, presenting them
as one nation to the other powei'S of the earth,
while reserving to each the supreme controi
over its local affairs and domestic institutions.
Such is the Union established by our forefa-
thers. Such is the Union to which " unswerv-
ing fidelity" is pledged by the Democratic pai -
ty, and to which our candidate will devote in
the future, as in the past, all the faculties of his
nature and all the energies of his soul.
But I rejoice with unspeakable joy in the^
pledge, now given to the nation by the second
article of our Platform, that first of all, the
blessed influences of peace and conciliation
are to be invoked to reunite the sundered and
alienated fragments of our once glorious Union.
For more than three years this terrible and
fruitless contest of arms has carried mourning
and grief, desolation and ruin, over the land.-
The awful waste of human life ; the fearful de-
mands upon the country made by the jesting
and fiddling Nero at Washington for new vic-
tims of battle and disease ; the smoke of burn-
ing cities and towns blackening the sky ; the
shrieks of the wounded and dying daily ascend-
ing from fields of slaughter to the God of peace;
all these appeal with resistless eloquence and
power for a cessation of arms, and for one great
and noble effort to accomplish a peacefnl ad-
justment of this horrid controversy. To such
an effort we are pledged, and it is the noblest
pledge which a political convention ever gave
to a people. It is the first ray of light which has
penetrated the surrounding gloom. I can see
in it the rainbow of promisestretched across i
the storm, giving to us hopes of future security
and repose.
And why, let me ask, in the name of that
peaceful and holy religion which we profess, in
the name of the Divine Instructor who said to
his followers, " Blessed are the peace-makers,"
why should we not arrest the devouring flames
of war ? why should we continue to swell the
tide of human slaughter without one eflbrt for
a peaceful arrangement of the strife ? That
we cannot fight always, and that negotiation
in some form must at last terminate the strug-
gle, is a truth so obvious that no one will call it
in question. And if this be true, then, in the
name of our common humanity, let us negoti-
ate now, if honorable negotiation is possible.
Let us now invoke the white-robed angel of
peace to descend between the contending hosts >
and arrest the conflict, and let the still, small I
voice of reason and conscience be heard, in i
stead of the roar of ai'ms, the thunder of can-
non, and the murderous rattle of musketry.
Fellow-citizens : I propose on this, and on i
other occasions, before tJie assemblies of the '
people, to stand as one of the accusers of the
opposing political party, and of the man who,
as its candidate for the highest office in the
nation, represents its principles and purposes.
I impeach them for high crimes and misde-
meanors against the Constitution, and against
the peace and order of society ' — crimes and
misdemeanors which ought forever to forfeit
the confidence of a free, a humane, and a
Christian people.
e^/
Scarcely more than eight years ago the
Kepublican party arose in one section of the
Union, and cast its ominous shadow over the
whole republic. After little more than four
years of reckless agitation, of reckless ap-
peal to all that is bigoted and fanatical in
human nature, it attained to power by the
votes of little more than one third of the peo-
ple of all the States, and Abraham Lincoln
became the President of the United States.
That was the saddest day in all our history.
Less than four years' actual possession of
power have sufficed to accompHsh the ruin of
the country. If the providence of God had
sent upon this nation the calamities of pesti-
lence and famine ; if the destroying angel had
spread his wings over it, the desolation could
not have been more complete. Among the net
results of this brief but disastrous domination
of a new-born party are nearly a million of
lives, sacrificed to the Moloch of alx)lition phi-
lanthropy, not less than three thousand mill-
ions of federal, 'state, and municipal debt;
and taxation present and prospective, such as
no people ever suffered, and which must be
enrlured from age to age, unless the nation
sinks into bankruptcy and repudiation. To
these may be added the destruction of prop-
erty beyond all the powers anH means of cal-
culation, cides and towns consigned to the
flames, vast tracts of the country once inhab-
ited by a prosperous and happy people, deso-
lated and destroyed, and above all the fires of
implacable hate planted in the bosoms of mill-
ions of American citizens.
J^Vith this fearful record, this record of hu-
miliation and calamity, a record which time
cannot blot out, which ages of repentance can-
not wash away, the same political organization,
noT/, demands a new lease of power. Its lead-
ers and guides exhibit no change of heart or
purpose. Instead of repenting in dust and
ashes for the mischief and desolation they
have brought upon the country, instead of call-
ing upon the rocks and the mountains to cover
them from the wrath of the people they have be-
trayed, instead of penitential gratitude to heav-
en that they have not been consumed by its
lightnings and blasted by its thunder-bolts, the
leaders of this party, I say, with an incredible
asiurance, demand four years longer to revel in
the desolation they have made. 'And even
Abrabam Lincoln, chosen as a constitutional
magistrate, clothed with the highest of all hu-
man trusts, that of protecting and defending
the Constitution, with his solemn oath of office
trampled in the dust, with the Constitution
bleeding- under his feet — Abraham Lincoln,
the very architect of ruin, now reaches forth
his hands for the irajierial purple. I say the
iniperiiil purple, because I know if many years
of devoted study of the Constitution and laws
of my country have taught me anything, that,
under a baseless and gi'oundless pretence of mil-
itary necessicy, he has administered the gov-
ernment of this country upon the theories and
do; - trinos of a pure and simple despotism, un-
restrained by a single principle of constitutional
liberty and law. And if this people shall now
acquiesce in his vast and stupendous assump-
tion of power ; if, in the madness of the hour,
if, struck with worse than judicial blindness,
they shall once more intrust power to his
hands, it will be a deliberate abandonment of
the Constitution, it will be national suicide,
and the throne of Abraham will be more des-
potic than those of the princes or potentates
of the old world.
I arraign the Republican party and its chief
because they did not, and would not, when
they could, save the country from the revolu-
tion which has overwhelmed it. I impeach
them because, in the phrensy of partisan pas-
sion and fanatical haste to save a platform, they
rushed upon the ruin of a nation. I here and
now assert, what is capable of the most exact
and demonstrative proof, that, even before Mr.
Lincoln and his associates were installed in
the actual possession of power before the in-
augural ceremony, the salvation of the country
was in their hands, aftd it might have been
saved by a moderate and just concession which
did not involve the liberty, the welfarfe, the
honor, or the happiness of a single , human
being. Who does not remember the breath-
less suspense in which the nation stood be-
tween the election and the inauguration of the
new President ? Who does not remember that
while the distant storm was gathering and the
thunders were muttering, when the very earth
was trembling with the first throes of revolu-
tion, the compromise of the patriot Crittenden
came with healing on its wings ? And let the
truth be now proclaimed to the everlasting
condemnation of those who rejected this heal-
ing measure, that it yielded nothing to South-
ern feeling and rights except a rock-bound ter-
ritory which contained less than fifty slaves.
Nor was this a concession, because it was less
than a constitutional right solemnly affirmed
by the supreme judicial tribunal of the nation.
The evidence is overwhelming, nor is it even
disputed, that if this measure had been adopt-
ed rebellion would not have reared its crest,
the Union would have been preserved, and the
nation saved. In vain were Lincoln ancj Sew-
ard and Chase and Sumner appealed to by an
anxious people to approve a compromise which
Jefferson Davis and Toombs and Hunter and
Mason were willing to a»cept. Not a single
Republican vote could it obtain in the Senate
of the United States. History affords no ex-
ample of such reckless disregard of the public
welfare, of such total abnegation of statesman-
ship, as the Republican leiiders exhibited in
that great crisis pregnant with the fate of the
nation. Nor has the world ever seen such a
sublime assurance as that whicli again de-
mands a continuation of power in the blood-
stained hands of men who deliberately chose
the ruin of their country in preferenc* to the
surrender of a senseless and mischievous parti-
san doffma.
. I arraign the Republican party, and ]
arraign Abraham Lincoln, because, when en-
trusted by a patriotic people with the control
of great armies and boundless resources, they
have wielded them, and are now wieldino-
them in violation of solemn pledges made to
the whole nation, in violation of the most
sacred constitutional obligations, and for the
destruction, instead of the salvation, of the
Union. ^ I know the full meaning and gravity
of this impeachment. But the whole history
of the Administration will prove its literal and
exact truth.
Let us recall the pledges under which this
Administration commenced its inglorious ca-
reer. On the solemn occasion of the inaugu-
ral ceremony, Mr. Lincoln, not wholly insensi-
ble to the public danger, and anxious to bring
to his support all parties in the North, made
the emphatic declaration that he had neither
"the intention nor the lawful right" to in-
terfere with the laws and institutions of the
States, and that the maintenance of the " right
of each State to order and control its own
domestic institutions According to its own
judgment exclusively, was essential to the per-
fectioh and endurance of our political fabric."
At the period when this declaration was made,
seven, of the States had passed ordinances of
secession. If, by their attempt to withdraw
from the Union, State sovereignty and rights
were forfeited and lost, the President of the
Inited States had not yet made the discovery,
['he doctrine thus enunciated by him, founded
s it is in the fundamental limitations of the
Jonstitution, was universally acquiesced in
xnd approved by his political opponents.
And we find a pledge not less imposing, giv-
en by the legislative branch of the government,
which was also under the complete control of
the Republican party. In the month of July,
1861, the withdrawal of Virginia, North Caro-
lina, Tennessee, and Arkansas had completed
the circle of secession, and we stood in the
midst of the realities of war. The disastrous
defeat of Bull Run had somewhat humbled the
Republican chiefs, and they desired to rally
the whole people to the support of the Admin-
istration in the contest with the rebellion
ivhich they had provoked. Congress, there-
ibre, passed with extraordinary unanimity a
resolution which the President apjaroved, de-
claring in precise and exact terms that the
war was prosecuted " with no purpose of dis-
turbing the domestic institutions of the States,
but to maintain the Constitution and preserve
the Union with all the dignity, equality, and
rights of the States unimpaired, and that as
soon as these objects should be accomplished
the war ought to cease."
Such were the pledges given to the nation
by Mr. Lincoln and his party. They were ac-
cepted by a united North, and they saved to
the Union the powerful States of Kentucky and
Missouri, which otherwise were lost. They were
received with especial satisfaction by the great
j.rmy of loyal and conservative men, who had
profoundly distrusted the purpose of the Re-
publican party. Throughout the length and
breath of the land Democrats rallied to the
support of a government administered by men
not of their choice. If those pledges were oiv-
en to deceive the country with a great and des-
olating war, to be prosecuted for the purpose,
of subjugating States to the imperial will of the
President and his party, and overthrowing
their institutions and laws, no language can
describe the utter infamy of that ^deception.
If, on the other hand, they were honestly given,
then, in the name of our violated Constitution,
in the name of Christian civilization and hu-
manity, I ask why should they not be honestly
kept ?
The world has never witnessed such an
astounding breach of faith as that exhibited in
the violation by Mr. Lincoln and his jiarty of
those solemn and imposing pledges. Relying
upon them, a loyal and patriotic people contrib-
uted mighty fleets and armies, poured out their
treasure and shed their blood like water. How-
have they been kept ? Solemnly com.mittcd
to the preservation of the Union under tlie
Constitution, and to the restoration of the
States with all their dignity and rights, one of
the first lawless acts of the President and Con-
gress was the dismemberment of the great State
of Virginia, and the creation of a new Stare
out of her territory. Tell me, you Republican
doctors of law, if you have ever read the Con-
stitution, where is your authority for tins stu-