ld the change! The Union is
re-established on firmer foundations than ever before. Brave men in
the South, who were then in battle array against us, now stand side
by side with Union soldiers, with no shadow of discord between
them. Slavery, which was then an impassable gulf between the
hostile sections, is now gone; and good men of the South unite with
good men of the North in thanking God that it is forever a thing of
the past. Then there was no freedom of speech or of the press--no
friendly mingling together of the people of the two sections of the
country. Now the people of the South receive and greet as a
fellow-citizen and a friend the vice-president--a citizen of
Massachusetts, and an anti-slavery man from his youth; and
Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina send their distinguished
sons to celebrate with New England the centennial anniversaries of
the early battles of the Revolution. The men of the North and the
men of the South are now everywhere coming together in a spirit of
harmony and friendship which this generation has not witnessed
before, and which has not existed, until now, since Jefferson was
startled by that "fire-ball in the night"--the Missouri
question--more than fifty years ago.

In this era of good feeling and reconciliation a few men of morbid
temperament, blind to what is passing before them, still talk of
"bayonets" and "tyranny and cruelty to the South" and seek in vain
to revive the prejudices and passions of the past. But there is
barely enough of this angry dissent to remind us of the terrible
scenes through which we have passed, and to fill us with gratitude
that the house which was divided against itself is divided no
longer, and that all of its inhabitants now have a fair start and
an equal chance in the race of life.

Let us now proceed to the consideration of some of the questions
which engage the attention of the people of Ohio. The war which the
Democratic party and its doctrines brought upon the country left a
large debt, heavy taxation, a depreciated currency, and an
unhealthy condition of business, which resulted two years ago in a
financial panic and depression, from which the country is now
slowly recovering. With this condition of things the Democratic
party in its recent State convention at Colu