interests of my country; and that is my offense, that the crime, and the only crime, of which I have been guilty.

Mr. Speaker, if, in the Thirty-fifth Congress, I or some other member had seen fit to seize upon the denunciations, long-continued, bitter, and persistent against that member, (Mr. Hickman)-for he, too, has suffered, and he ought to have had the manhood to remember, in this, the hour of sore persecution, that he himself has been the victim of slanders and detraction, peradventure-for, sir, I would do him the justice which he denies to me-what, I say, if I had risen and made a vile paragraph in some paper published in his own town, or elsewhere, the subject of inquiry and investigation, and had attempted to cast yet further suspicion upon him, by reference to language uttered here in debate, which he had the right to utter, or by charges vague and false, and without the shadow of a foundation except the malignant breath of partisan suspicion and slander, what would have been his record, in the volumes of your reports, and the Congressional Globe, going down to his children after him? But, sir, it is not in the power of the gentleman to tarnish the honor of my name, or to blast the fair fame and character for loyalty which I have earneddearly earned, with labor and patience and faith, from the beginning of my public career. From my boyhood, at all times and in every place, I have never looked to any thing but the permanent, solid, and real interests of my country.

Beyond this, Mr. Speaker, I deem it unnecessary to extend what I have to say. I would have said not a word, but that I know this Committee will find nothing, and that they will be obliged, therefore, to report-a majority of them cheerfully, I doubt not-that nothing exists to justify any charge or suspicion such as the member from Pennsylvania has suggested here to-day. I avail myself of the occasion thus forced on me, to repel this foul and slanderous assault upon my loyalty, promptly, earnestly, indignantly, yea, scornfully, and upon the very threshold. Sir, I do not choose to delay week after week, until your partisan press shall have sounded the alarm; and till an organization shall have been effected for the purpose of dragooning two-thirds of this House into an outrage upon the rights of one of the Representatives of the people, which is without example except in the worst of times. I meet it and hurl it back defiantly here and now.

Why, sir, suppose that the course which the member from Pennsylvania now proposes, had been pursued in many cases which I could name in years past; suppose that his had been the standard of accusation, and irresponsible newspaper paragraphs had been regarded as evidence of disloyalty or want of attachment to the Constitution and the Union; nay, more, if a yet severer test had been applied, what would have been the fate of some members of this House, or of certain Senators at the other end of the capitol, some years ago? What punishment might not have been meted out to the predecessor (Mr. Giddings) of my colleague on the other side of the House? How long would he have occupied a seat here? Where would the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Sumner) have been? Where the

other Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Wilson)? Where the Senator from New Hampshire (Mr. Hale)? Where the three Senators Mr. Seward, Mr. Chase, and Mr. Hale, two of them now in the Cabinet, and the other in the Senate still-who, in 1850, twelve years ago, on the 11th of February, voted to receive, refer, print, and consider a petition praying for the dissolution of the Union of these States? Yet I am to be singled out now by these very men, or their minions, for attack; and they who have waited and watched and prayed, by day and by night, with the vigilance of the hawk and the ferocity of the hyena, from the beginning of this great revolt, that they might catch some unguarded remark, some idle word spoken, something written carelessly or rashly, some secret thought graven yet upon the lineaments of my face, which they might torture into evidence of disloyalty, seize now upon the foul and infectious gleanings of an anonymous wretch who earns a precarious subsistence by feeding the local columns of a pestilent newspaper, and, while it is yet wet from the press, hurry it, reeking with falsehood, into this House, and seek to dignify it with an importance demanding the consideration of the House and of the country.

Sir, let the member from Pennsylvania go on. I challenge the inquiry, unworthy of notice as the charge is, but I scorn the spirit which has provoked it. Let it go on.

Mr. HICKMAN then replied briefly; and, in the course of his remarks, said: As the gentleman has called upon me, I will answer further. Does he not know of a camp in Kentucky having been called by his name- —that disloyal men there called their camp Camp Vallandigham? That would not indicate that in Kentucky they regarded him as a man loyal to the Federal Union.

Mr. VALLANDIGHAM. Is there not a town-and it may be a camp, too-in Kentucky by the name of Hickman? (Laughter.)

Mr. HICKMAN. Thank God! disloyal men have never called one of their camps by my name. There are a great many Hickmans in Kentucky, but I have not the pleasure of their acquaintance. I have heard of but one Vallandigham.

Mr. VALLANDIGHAM. And there are a great many Vallandighams there, too.

Mr. HICKMAN, after a few words further, withdrew his resolutions; and there the matter ended.

A few other less formidable attempts have been made to extinguish Mr. VALLANDIGHAM. On the 21st of April, 1862, BENJAMIN F. WADE, of Ohio-whom JOHN A. GURLEY declared to be "a good combination of OLD HICKORY and ZACH TAYLOR"-attacked Mr. VALLANDIGHAM in the Senate, in the following language:

I accuse them (the Democratic party) of deliberate purpose to assail, through the judicial tribunals and through the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, and everywhere

else, and to overawe, intimidate, and trample under foot, if they can, the men who boldly stand forth in defense of their country, now imperiled by this gigantic rebellion. I have watched it long. I have seen it in secret. I have seen its movements ever since that party got together, with a colleague of mine in the other House as chairman of the Committee on Resolutions—a man who never had any sympathy with the Republic, but whose every breath is devoted to its destruction, just as far as his heart dare permit him to go.. Congressional Globe, page 1735.

Quoting the foregoing extract, in the House, on the 24th of April, Mr. VALLANDIGHAM said:

Now, sir, here in my place in the House, and as a Representative, I denounce and I speak it advisedly-the author of that speech as a liar, a scoundrel, and a coward. His name is Benjamin F. Wade.

This had the effect to silence WADE's battery, and the "combination of OLD HICKORY and ZACH TAYLOR" has not seen fit to renew hostile demonstrations.

The only other attack of this sort, worthy of notice—if, indeed, these we are mentioning are—was made in June 1862, by SHELLABARGER and GURLEY, of Ohio, who presented printed petitions from citizens of their own Districts-none from Mr. Vallandigham's-asking for his expulsion from the House as "a traitor and a disgrace to the State of Ohio." The petitions were referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, consisting of the following members: JOHN HICKMAN, chairman, JOHN A. BINGHAM, WILLIAM KELLOGG, ALBERT G. PORTER, BENJAMIN F. THOMAS, ALEXANDER S. DIVEN, JAMES F. WILSON, GEORGE H. PENDLETON, and HENRY MAY-all of them Republicans except MAY and PENDLETON. This Committee, on the very same day on which the petitions were presented, by a unanimous vote, ordered them to be reported back and laid upon the table; and, accordingly, on the first day that the Committee was called-July 3, 1862-MR. BINGHAM reported them back, and, on his motion, they were laid on the table, no evidence whatever of either "treason or "disgrace" having been produced to the Committee. And there they "lie" now.

NUMBER SIX.

COLUMBUS DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

SPEECH BEFORE THE DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION, JULY 4, 1862.

THE Convention that met in Columbus, on the 4th of July, 1862, was one of the largest, most enthusiastic and harmonious ever convened in Ohio. The delegation from Mr. VALLANDIGHAM's district alone numbered five hundred and fifty. The largest hall in the city, crowded to its utmost capacity, failed to accommodate more than one-fourth part of those in attendance. It was, therefore, determined, after a partial and temporary organization, to adjourn to the State-House grounds, in order that the thousands of Democrats present might be enabled to participate in, and witness the proceedings of the Convention. This order having been made known, the vast assemblage promptly reported themselves on the east side of the State-House, ready for business. Gov. MEDARY was elected President, and conducted to the chair amidst shouts of triumphant rejoicings.

The immediate object of the convention was to nominate candidates for the offices of Supreme Judge, Secretary of State, Attorney General, School Commissioner, and Board of Public Works. Candidates were soon agreed upon; those in the minority gracefully retired, or were withdrawn by their friends; and, in every case, the nominations were made unanimous. A platform and series of resolutions were then read and adopted, the latter quoting from the Constitution that important provision, "The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury, and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed." Also, from the Amendments, the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 10th articles, so clear, comprehensive, and specific, and designed as an absolute and perpetual guarantee to the people of this country against those very outrages and violations of their rights which they have been compelled to suffer under this Administration. The resolutions then say:

We utterly condemn and denounce the repeated and gross violation, by the Executive of the United States, of the said rights, thus secured by the Constitution; and we also utterly repudiate and condemn the monstrous dogma that in time of war the Constitution is suspended, or its powers in any respect enlarged beyond the letter and true meaning of that instrument.

And close with the bold and solemn declaration

That we view, with indignation and alarm, the illegal and unconstitutional seizure and imprisonment, for alleged political offenses, of our citizens, without judicial process, in States where such process is unobstructed, but by Executive order, by telegraph or otherwise, and call upon all who uphold the Union, the Constitution, and the laws, to unite with us in denouncing and repelling such flagrant violation of the State and Federal Constitutions, and tyrannical infraction of the rights and liberties of American citizens; and that the people of this State CAN NOT SAFELY, AND WILL NOT submit to have the freedom of speech and freedom of the press-the two great and essential bulwarks of civil liberty-put down by unwarranted and despotic exertion of power.

At this point of the proceedings, loud and continued calls were made for VALLANDIGHAM, who, when he ascended the platform, was greeted with rapturous applause. He spoke as follows:

MR. PRESIDENT AND FELLOW DEMOCRATS OF THE STATE OF OHIO: I am obliged again to regret that the lateness of the hour precludes me from addressing you either in the manner or upon the particular subjects which otherwise I should prefer. This is my misfortune again to-day, as last night; but speaking thus, without premeditation, and upon such matters chiefly as may occur to me at the moment, if I should happen to get fairly under headway, it may turn out to be your misfortune. (Laughter.) I congratulate the Democracy of Ohio, that, in the midst of great public trial and calamity, of persecution for devotion to the doctrines of the fathers who laid deep and strong the foundations of the Constitution and the Union under which this country has grown great and been prosperous-the fathers, by whose principles, one and all, the party to which we are proud to belong has always been guided-to-day we have assembled in numbers greater than at any former convention in Ohio. I congratulate you that, despite the threats which have been uttered, and the denunciations which have been poured out upon that time-honored and most patriotic organization, peaceably and in quiet, with enthusiasm and earnestness of purpose, we are here met; and, in harmony, which is the secret of strength and the harbinger of success, have discharged the duties for which we were called together. There was a time when it was questionable if, in free America-in the United States, boasting of their liberties for more than eighty years-a party to which this country is indebted for all that is great and good and