to strengthen his hands, with whatever ability I possess, until this causeless and wicked rebellion is crushed. Do not be deceived. There will be no peace, there can be no peace, until the government triumphs. Until then, this struggle will go on. No human power can stay it, until the grand idea of the human race shall be realized, and Liberty and Justice shall become the acknowledged corner-stones of our political edifice. [Applause.] That which seemed so plain and distinct to my hopeful vision, two years ago, is now being seen by all; that which was then to me the full-grown tree of Liberty, and which in my joyous faith I hailed with an overflowing heart that could not keep silent, it now needs no faith to see. To-day it is plainly visible to all. True, some, who all their lives have been blinded because they had no faith in God or man, may yet see it only as we behold the coming spring-time, in the melting of the ice, the running brooks, the budding leaf and the opening flower; but all begin to feel, and see, and know, that this is a war of ideas, a war between Liberty and Slavery, between a government of the people and an oligarchy, and that the spring-time of liberty, impartial and universal, has not only dawned, but is rapidly approaching the period of fruition. [Applause and cheers.] Let us take fresh hope. Let us renew our courage. This struggle will go on until Freedom conquers. [Applause.] From every blood-stained battle-field, the voices of the living and the dead come to us, bidding us be firm. From every loyal man and woman in the North, the demand is that this battle shall continue, and fathers, mothers, wives, sisters and brothers, who have lost their dearest and bravest on the field of conflict, are daily and nightly offering up their earnest prayers that the God of nations will accept the sacrifice they have made, and save and regenerate their country. That it will be saved and regenerated I have never doubted. The battle may be long and rage fiercely, the night be dark, the enemy win victories, and thousands of our Northern homes be made cheerless and desolate, but there shall be no compromise and no surrender. The very air shall be burthened with the hopeful speech, and song, and prayer of the patriot, and it shall go on until the right shall triumph. And, as I now listen to the patriotic appeal of our soldiers, I seem to hear their united voices, clear, strong and melodious, ringing in my ears, the welcome cheering words of the poet: "It still goes on. The driving rain [Long and continued applause.] WOOD COUNTY UNION CONVENTION. ELOQUENT SPEECH OF GEN. ASHLEY AT BOWLING GREEN, SEPTEMBER, 1863. As a report of the Wood County convention has already been published, we give a synopsis of the prefatory part of Mr. Ashley's speech, and a verbatim report of his concluding remarks on that occasion. Of these remarks, which deserve the perusal of every patriot, it is sufficient to say that we have never witnessed more intense interest than was manifested by the audience during their utterance. After numerous preliminary remarks, Mr. Ashley appealed to the people in favor of the President's Emancipation Proclamation. He said "that proclamation alone was worth one hundred thousand men." He showed the influence it had on the popular mind in Europe, in the offer of money by capitalists; in the expression of sympathy received by the President from 35,000 operators, headed by that noble man, John Bright; in the endorsement and approval of the emancipation proclamation by the leading religious bodies of England, France and Germany. Letter from Benjamin W. Arnett, D. D. I have read this grand speech with unalloyed satisfaction. When I remember the dark nights of sorrow through which our race was then traveling, and the discouraging conditions under which it was delivered, I am simply charmed with its eloquence and power, and can form a just estimate of the man who made it. I am sure that all men who read the speeches in this volume will agree with me, that what Whittier years ago wrote of Governor Ritner of Pennsylvania, may now be appropriately quoted and said of Mr. Ashley, for all have come to know that during our great anti-slavery conflict, he stood "Like the oak of the mountain, deep-rooted and firm, erect when multitudes bent to the storm; When traitors to freedom and honor and God, are bowed to an idol polluted with blood." B. W. ARNETT. Not only the Afro-American, but all men who love liberty, will join in approving the testimony which in this "souvenir" we now prepare for him. I can never forget the impression made on my mind, as I sat in the gallery of the House of Representa tives and witnessed the last great parliamentary battle between Freedom and Slavery. It was on the 31st of January, 1865. The Hon. James M. Ashley was leading the army of heroes. After the lapse of twenty-eight years, I can vividly see his manly form and hear his words, as he plead for the cause of universal freedom. The shouts of the multitude, the songs of triumph, the cannon's roar, all are with me now, and the merry bells of freedom are still ringing in my ears. As long as men admire the heroic and brave, the hero of this great battle will be remembered, and his name will be among the immortal of the ages. B. W. ARNETT. 17 (257) They thanked the President for this act in the name of God, of humanity and of liberty. He showed that this single act had changed the tone and sentiment of the masses in Europe towards the North, and that we need not fear intervention as we did one year ago. He stated that it had kindled the flame of patriotism in the hearts of northern freemen, and that the united response from our patriotic soldiers plainly showed that they fully comprehended the true nature of the conflict, and thanked the President for releasing them from the degrading occupation of guarding the property of rebels, and from upholding the infamy of slavery. The policy of freedom thus inaugurated had united the unconditional friends of freedom at home, in the army and in Europe. He asked all who had differed, and all who now differed with the policy of the President, on the question of emancipation, to stand by the government to the last, urging them to forget all partisan prejudices, and by unity of action save our national existence, and accomplish the triumph of free government. He said that for over eighteen months he and the friends of freedom generally had stood by the government and had voted all the men and all the money they asked, although the administration had persistently refused to adopt the policy of emancipation, and he should have continued that support had their policy remained unchanged. He said he was a passenger on the old ship, and he intended to go down with her if she were lost, and therefore he stood firmly and unwaveringly by her commander. Is it asking too much of those who now differ with us on the policy of the government in regard to emancipation, to render it the same cordial support which we rendered, when the contrary policy prevailed? Mr. Ashley closed this speech with an appeal which we give verbatim. He said: FELLOW CITIZENS: The terrible conflict in which as a nation we are engaged will be recorded in history as the most eventful of the nineteenth century. It will constitute one of those memorable epochs which come but once in centuries; from which, if we are successful, freedom will date its grandest triumph. This war is indeed the battle of the ages. The best hopes of mankind on earth are wrapped up in the issue. Man's capacity for self-government is on trial before the world, and we must conquer or the verdict will be against democratic government and in favor of privilege and despotism everywhere. [Applause.] The conspirators and rebels are attempting the destruction of our democratic government, because democracy, "pure and undefiled," is opposed to privilege and slavery. They desire the establishment of a government which shall be administered exclusively by a privileged class, a slaveholding aristocracy, in which capital shall own the laborer. The issue is fairly made up, and we cannot ignore or escape from it if we would. The question then, which every loyal man is called upon to decide this day, is, shall our nationality and the constitution of our fathers be preserved, with freedom as the fundamental law of the republic, or shall our nationality and the republic be destroyed and an anti-democratic government be erected upon its ruins, with slavery as its chief corner-stone? There can be but one response to this interrogatory by every patriotic Union man before me; and I know that there will be but one response, not only by you, but by the loyal heart of the nation. [Applause.] Fellow Citizens: The earnest, uncompromising antislavery men of this country, though few in numbers, have changed the policy of this government; whatever pro-slavery politicians, or timid, vacillating, non-committal men may say or think, I say to you, that the anti-slavery men of the nation, with the gospel of liberty in their hearts, and the sword of justice as their weapon, have, by the almighty power and force of truth, educated the nation up to the present standpoint, and thus caused the administration to adopt their policy. I need hardly tell you that, since the outbreak of the rebellion, the great heart of the nation, under their teachings, has been slowly but surely tending toward universal emancipation. Unquestionably a large majority of the loyal men of the republic have, since the 1st of January, sworn in their hearts, as I had long ago sworn in mine, that, as slavery was the cause of this rebellion, it |