New Hampshire Statesman

MASS MEETING AT RAYMOND.

On Friday, the citizens of Raymond and vicinity assembled in convention, nearly one thousand strong; the object of the meeting being to stimulate proper public action, and fan to new zeal patriotic impulses. Prior to the meeting there was a parade of the Raymond Rifle company, and Independent Artillery, Deerfield Cavalry, and Candia Light Infantry.

The meeting was held in the open air, and was called to order by Samuel W. Harriman, of Raymond, who introduced Capt. Sewell D. Tilton as President. A letter from Governor Berry was read, giving reasons for his detention from the meeting. After remarks by Col. G. H. Tucker, of the Governor's Staff, Hon. Wm. C. Clark, of Manchester, spoke as follows: He came to speak unreservedly in behalf of the Constitution, the Union, and the enforcement of the laws, and against this unholy rebellion against the best Government the sun ever shone upon. Ever since that most cowardly attack upon our flag at Fort Sumter, he had regarded it as a sacred and solemn duty to do what he could to aid the Government in sustaining itself. This crisis had been forced upon us, and the only question is, shall we sustain the Government? If this rebellion is crushed out, as he trusted in God it would be, then we shall continue to have the best government on earth, and our flag will be respected by all nations. But if the rebels succeed, we shall be proved imposters in the eyes of the world, and become a byword and a laughing stock among rulers. The rebellion was to be crushed out with a strong hand. The South have attacked the rights of the North, and not we the rights of the South. If we can not have a government and a country, there is no existence worth living for. Judge Clark referred to the different classes in the community, and the motives they had for prosecuting the war, and said that to talk of peace now was either cowardice or treason. (A voice—"That's so.") Will you ask for peace when rebels in arms against the government are not asking for it? (A voice—"Never.") This is a war to be waged hard; it is to be a hand to hand fight. The grasp of the traitors is on our throats, and shall we not shake it off? We must go for the most vigorous and unflinching prosecution of the war till the rebels lay down their arms and ask for peace. When they do this we will give them every right that belongs to them under the constitution. It is death to us, or it is life, and we must fight till we attain one or the other. Judge Clark said he was sorry to say that the number of those whose sympathies were with the South was larger in New-Hampshire, in proportion to the population, than in any other free State, and he attributed the fact to the course of one (General Pierce) whom the Democratic party have delighted to honor, whose clarion voice, which oft has thrilled his hearers, had not been heard since the breaking out of the rebellion. The men who make the most complaint about the loss of the liberty of speech and liberty of the press, and the suspension of the habeas corpus act, and who are the greatest sticklers for Southern rights, do not complain of the violation of these laws and the constitution by the rebels. In closing, he expressed the hope that the government has force enough, and pluck and patriotism enough, to carry out the war to an honorable end, and the belief that when that is accomplished, the President is honest enough to yield the extra powers which he has wielded. He retired amid the cheers of the assembly, supplicating the Divine Power to interpose and defend the right.

Hon. Walter Harriman, of the Manchester Weekly Union, was next introduced, and received a flattering greeting. He said that the assembly of men and women before him was an indication that loyal hearts were beating in their bosoms. He had spoken to his Democratic friends in Raymond on other occasions, and now came to address them in behalf of the Constitution and the Union—those who had been true to the Democratic faith, and therefore true to their country. He came not to ask them to renounce their faith, but to admonish them to hold fast to the principles of their faith without wavering. And now, said he, how do you stand? Are you for Jeff. Davis, or against him? (A voice—"Against him.") You say you are for the government of the United States; now what can you do, what do you propose to do, to show that you are for the government? (A voice—"Shoulder my gun.") That is the best evidence you can give. You may ask what was the cause of the rebellion? It was not the election of Abraham Lincoln. The South secured his election. The rights of the South never stood fairer under the government than they do to day. It is not their rights they are fighting to secure, but the dismemberment of the Union and the establishment of an independent confederacy, which they seek. While the Democratic party deplored the election of President Lincoln, the event was hailed with rejoicing in the streets of the principal cities of the South. He had advocated the rights of the South in days gone by; but shall we follow them out of the Union as friends when they are striking our flag? and shall we stand by them when they are seeking to overthrow the Government? ("No, no!") If this rebellion is permitted to go on, it will lay in ruins the glorious fabric of our Government. Let us then resolve that, come weal or woe, we will forever stand by the stars and stripes. (Applause.) It is cowardly to pretend that we can not maintain this Government against all assaults. It is more; it is unmanly and degrading to betray such weakness. The difficulty is to be met and overcome. There is no other way of escape but by turning our backs to the storm. We must be thoroughly and cordially united in sustaining the Government. Party must give way to country, and the political division of the people must give way to the Union. The pulpit, the press, the bench, the bar, the mill, must all chant the same song of devotion to the old flag, the Union and the Constitution. This glorious Government to be sustained and perpetuated. The unity of the North on this point is becoming more and more apparent, while not one half of the people of the South desire its overthrow. A new class of men are coming up in the South, and the leaders of this rebellion will be compelled to take back seats in the synagogue. Mr. Harriman closed with a glowing apostrophe to the future of the United States, and sat down while the assembly gave nine cheers.

Further speeches were made by W. H. Rixford, Esq., of Concord, and Capt. Carr, of Manchester, when the meeting dissolved.