Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1884 — NATIONAL REPUBLICANS. [ARTICLE]

NATIONAL REPUBLICANS.

Eighth Quadrennial Convention at Chicago. Blaine Nominated for President on the Fourth Ballot. Second Place fwiven to Senator Logan l»y General Consent. Meeting of the National Committee. At a meeting of the Republican National Committee, in Chicago, June 2. for the purpose of arranging preliminary matters, deciding contests, etc:, nominations for Temporary Chairman of the convention being in order, the fol-lowing-named gentlemen were proposed for the position: Hon-. George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts: Powell (.'lavton. of Arkansas: Roswell G. Horr, of Michigan; and Galusha A. Grow, of_ Pennsylvania. A vote was taken, and the reshlt was: Clayton, 27; Hoar, 13; Grow, 2; Horr, 2. Whereupon Mr. Clayton was declared the unanimous, choice, and that gentleman accepted in a speech as follows: "Gentlemen of the Committee: I deem it proper to return thanks for the honor you have conferred upon me. not as being rendered to me personally, but to the section which lin part represent. I also accept it with pleasure as having no significance whatever as to its bearing noon the nomination of a candidate for President. In fulfilling the functions of the office, if there be any mistake, they will, gentlemen, let me assure you, be of the head, and not of the heart." FIRST* I>AY. Twelve o’clock noon of June 3 was the hour set for the opening of the Eighth National Republican Convention at the Exposition Building, Chicago, but groups of people began to gather about the entrance to the hall before 10, clamoring lor admission. Fully half of the early arrivals were ladles, and it goes without saying that they were handsomely costumed. Prominent among the notables present were Gen. R. J. Oglesby, Gen. Schofield, Carl Schurz, Frederick Douglass, and Elihu B. Washburne. “In everything that goes to make an occasion memorable,’‘says an eyc-witness,"the assemblage fell far short of that witnessed on the same spot four years ago. The representatives of the same people and principles were gathered from all parts of this great republic, but they were different representatives. The galleries of the grand auditorium were fiPed with an earnest, interested, expectant-multitude, but it was not su: charged with the intense excitement which then, time after time, sent billows of applause thundering though the building. The walls were hung with flags, the various shields of the StaSbs, and the portraits of Washington and Lincoln.. .Upon the floor were seated 820 delegates and as many more alternates, hailing from every State and Territory in the Union. Over 6,0t0 spectators, including many gayly attired ladies, watched the proceedings. A. thousand distinguished guests occupied the seats lately filled by the May festival chorus. A thousand busy newspaper editors, correspondents, and reporters were there to picture the scene and relate its incidents to the world. But the great men of the nation—the men whose names are household words, the men whose presence was the signal for excitement, whose verbal combats in 1880 had caused those rafters to ring with the cheers and counter-cheers of enthusiastic partisans—they were not there, In their stead was a serious, intelligent, independent body of local leaders. Looking out over the sea of heads from the press platform, the contemptuous curl and intellectual front of Roscoe Conkling was missing from the head of the New York delegation. So, too, were his lieutenants, Chester A. Arthur, Edwards Pierreponr, George H. Sharpe, and Alonzo B. Cornell In 1880 Ohio had a famous delegation led by exGov. Dennison, James A. Ga.field, Gov. Foster, and Benjamin Butterworth; Pennsylvania had such leaders as Don Cameron, John Cessna, and James A. Beaver. Stephen W. Dorsey was in the convention from Arkansas; Creed Haymond ami Frank M. Pixley, from California; John A. Logan, Emery A. Storrs, and Green B. Baum* from Illinois; H. C. Warmouth, from Louisiana; Eugene Hale and-William P. Frye, from Maine; George 8. Boutwell, from Massachusetts; James F. Joy and Omar D. Conger, from Michigan; W. E. Chandler, from New Hampshire, and Philetus Sawyer and J. M. Rush, from Wisconsin. These men were notable figures in a remarkable gathering ot Republicans. Their places are filled in the present convention by men who tor the most part have reputations.yet to achieve, George Wiliiam Curtis, the scholarly editor and orator, occupies the position of Chairman of the New York delegation, and promises to make his English side whiskers and gray head familiar to the. convention before it closes its work. A few seats from him in the same row appears Theodore Roosevelt, the collegian reformer ot New York. He is almost a boy in years, but he has already left a noteworthy record on the legislation ot his State. As seen in the convention he is not an eloquent speaker, but makes his points by the directness and earnestness of his lang lage. He has a strong under-jaw, which betokens tenacity of purpose. Not far from the relative position to the chair from which the late President Garfield made hie ineffectual protest against the use of his name Henry Cabot Lodge rose to declare tho convention's independence ot the National Committee. Lodge has the head of a fighter, upon which the hair curls in crisp obstinacy. Gen. Butler has occasion to know that this is a hard head to butt against, tor it led the great tight against him last fall."' The following members of the United States Senate were present among the delegates and on the main stage: Messrs. Aldrich, Blair, Hoar, Platt. Miller, of New York; Miller, of California; Sewell, Mahone, Palmer, Conger, Harrison, Cullom, Sabin, Plumb, Manderson, Bowen, Dolph, and Jones ot Nevada. Among the Representatives in Congress forming part of the State delegations and among the observers of the scene were Messrs. Boutelle, Milliken, Dingley, of Maine; Stewart, ot Vermont; Rice, of Massachusetts; Skinner, Burleigh, Wadsworth, of New York; William Walter Phelps, of New Jersey; Bayne, Bingham, of Pennsylvania; Hatton, of Maryland: Libby, of Virginia; O’Hara, of North Carolina; Smalls, of South Carolina; Jeffords, of Mississippi; Kellogg, of Louisiana; Houk and Pettibone, of Tennessee; Ochiltree, of Texas; McKinley, Robinson, and Hart, of Ohio; Calkins, Browne, Peele and Steele, of Indiana; Thomas, Davis, and Adams, .of Illinois; Washburn, of Minnesota; Horr, of Michigan; Anderson and Morrill.'Of Kansas; and Valentine, of Nebraska, At 12:26 Senator Sabin, Chairman of the National Committee, called the convention to order, and prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Bristol, as follows: “Let ns pray: “God of our fathers! We adore and worship Thee, and to Thee, by whose grace and providence we are what we are as a nation, we would lift our hearts in devout thanksgiving and everlasting praise. We thank Thee for our glorious national heritage; for this magnificent land of wealthy hills and fertile plains, and for the laws and institutions which make it a land of progress and of liberty. We thank Thee for our Christian sires, lovers of freedom and of God —men of conscience and integrity—whose names have jeweled history and the memory ot whose deeds is an inspiration to heroism and patriotic pride. We tuank Thee for Plymouth Rock, for Ycrktown, for Appomattox—footsteps to mark the progress of righteousness and the higher law. We thank thee for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation—our blood-bought charters bf freedom. We thank Thee for the Republican party, and for its splendid history, and its still more splendid possibility. And now, as this great convention enters on a work which will involve the most precious interests of 60,000,000 of people and (in a large sense) the interests of free institutions, we devoutly and most earnestly supplicate the blessing of Almighty God. Bless the members of this body, the homes, the States, the parts of the nation which they represent. May the ambition of patriotism, the wisdom of statesmanship, and the right eousness of Christian consciousness possess every breast and control every action. And may the result of this convention be in harmony with the will of God concerting ns and be received with joy by the people of the whole'land. And grant. Almighty God, that the coming political campaign may be conducted with that decency, intelligence, patriotism, and dignity of temper that becomes a free and intelligent people. Continue Thy mercies to us. Bless our conn ry with peace prosperity, and universal enlightenment. May we never deny the faith of our fathers. May we never cease to be a temperate, a free, an industrious, a Sabbath-keeping, a God-fearing, and a Chrisian people, blessed with the righteousness Mfeich. ‘exalieth a nation.” The call for the convention was read by the Hon. J. A. Martin, Secretary of the National Committee. Chairman Sabin, on behalf of the National Republican Committee, called the conventiou to order in its name. He said Chicago was known as the convention city. It was the field of Republican victory, Here it was that that immortal patriot, Abraham Lincoln, was chosen; here the party chose that great chieftain, Gen.

Grant; here It nominated that honored soldier, that great Statesman, that representative citizen. James A. Garfield. Every action of the party on this historic ground had been followed by victory. Having succeeded against its opponents on all former occasions, it was about to put its house in order for another conflict. As a consequence of the vote adopted by the last convention the present ! body was largely made up of men instructed by their own constituents, and it was therefore to be hoped that the voice of the people would be 1 largely puissant in its deliberations. He closed with an expression of the hope for victory, and froposed for Temporary Chairman the Hon. owell Clayton, of Arkansas. When the Chairman had concluded and mentioned the name of Powell Clayton, Mr. H. C. Lodge, of Massachusetts, rose and proposed the name of John R. Lynch, of Mississippi. He said they recognized the claim of the South, and therefore he had proposed this second name as < one acceptable to the Republican convention. Silas B. Dutcher, of New York, seconded the nomination of Mr. Lynch. At this point considerable debate ensued, participated in by Messrs. George William Curtis of New York, Horr of Michigan. Roosevelt of New York, Stewart of Pennsylvania, and others. the speakers, while counseling harmony and deprecating any factional issues, urging the claims of Clayton and Lynch, respectively. The Chairman quoted approvingly the decision of Senator Hoar, in the last convention, to the effect that, in the absence of any rule, the method of taking the question must rest in the sound discretion of the Chair (subject, of course, to the action of the convention). This was emphatically (lje said) a convention of the people, and every delegate had an undoubted right to a free expression of his opinion, and to have his vote recorded. . A call of the roll was then had, and the votes of the delegates from each State recorded amid a great deal of confusion and applause. The Chairman announced the whole number of votes cast to have been 818, of which Lynch receceived 431 and Clayton 387. Mr. Clayton moved to make Lynch’s election unanimous, which was carried by acclamation, and a committee was appointed to conduct him to the chair. Mr. Lvnch was then introduced by Mr. Sabin as Temporary Chairman. John R. Lynch is a man of small stature, with rather light complexion, and wears a mustache and goatee. On mounting the stand he was greeted with tremendous applause In a strong voice, and with perfect self-possession he said he did not thank the convention for the honor conferred upon him, because he regarded it merely as an honor to the Southern Republicans, and not to him. He ctrae to the convent on not so much for the purpose of securing the defeat or successor any man, but to consider the best way of making the principles of the party successful next November. He believed that the convention would so shape its policy as to present a candidate who would insure victory beyond doubt. He did not wish any man to feel that his election was Indicative of anything relative to the preference of any one candidate over another. He was prepared to give candidates a loyal and hearty support. He was sa'isfied that when the; Republicans went before the people their action would be ratified. He believed the people would not let any exponent of Democratic principles be elected. After the delegations had named their Vice Presidents. Secretaries, and committees the convention adjourned to 11 o'clock on Wednesday morning. SECOND DAY. Morning Session. The convention had a brief, but for a while an exciting, session. Chairman Lynch mounted the platform at 11 o'clock, smiling and looking neat and natty in a standing collar, black tie, and a blackish-blue suit. The delegates had not all seated themselves whenfat 11:20 he brought his heavy gavel down upon the mahoganytopped table. A large basket of handsome flowers rested on the table's edge. They were roses, calla lilies, and petunias on a bed of smilax. The crowd upon the stage was as great as on the previous day, but the distinguished guests were not the same, showing tha t the tickets are fairly distributed. Elihu B. Washburne was ar prominent figure on the stage. The seats in the rear of the hall occupied by guests were not quite filled. The hall presented a more gala appearance. Additional flags were put above the building. There was also more animation and freedom than on the Opening day. Having brought his implement of authority down upon the table with three loud raps. Chairman Lynch announced that prayer would be said by the Rev. John H. Barrows, of Chicago. Mr. Barrows gave thanks to God for blessings received, and invoked the Divine kindness in the interest of unity and harmony. He prayed that, when the convention adjourned, it present to the suffrages ot the people, for the highest gift Tn the nation, a name worthy to succeed to the chair of Washington, and a man who combined wisdom, honesty, and nobility of character with a pure record and a Christian spirit. The Chair expressed the hope that delegates rising to speak would announce their names and States. James A. Gary, of Maryland presented a memorial from the American State Temperance Alliance embodying a resolution from the Maryland State Temperance Alliance appealing to the convention to nominate candidates who would use their influence toward the suppression of the liquor traffic, which was read and referred. Senator Plumb, of Kansas, offered a resolution that American land should belong alone to those willing to assume the duties of American citizenship. George'W. Massey, of Delaware, submitted a resolution that, whereas, the extension of the term of office of the President from four to six years was a matter worthy of consideration, it be referred to the Committee on Resolutions, and it was so ordered. Mr. Hawklus, of Tennessee, offered a resolution that it was the sense of the convention that every delegate present support the nominee, and that no man should hold a seat who did not come prepared to do so’; which caused an excited debate, during which Mr. Knight, of California, in advocating the resolution, alluded to certain whispers in the air, and particularly to the edi.torlal declaration of one of the great metropolitan journals, as a reason why the resolution should be adopted. Mr. Curti«, cf New York, warmly opposed the resolution, and referred in the course of his remarks to tne action of the convention which nominated Mr. Lincoln twenty-four years ago, when a similar resolution was introduced and voted down. He also reminded the convention of what was said and done four years ago when Mr. Campbell, of West Virginia, declared that he was a Republican who carried his sovereignty under his own hat, and when (under the lead of Garfieldl the gentleman who presented a similar resolution was Induced to withdraw it. He therefore asked this convention to assume that every delegate was an honest and honorable man. He characterized the resolution as one which was unworthy to be ratified by a body of free men. The chair decided that, as far as possible, the rules of the House of Representatives would be foUowed, allowing alternate speeches for and against. This ruling was in response to appeals for recognition from two delegates at once, the Chair deciding in favor of the man who wanted to speak for the resolution. Senator Dolph, of Oregon, moved to lay the resolution on the table. Mr. Hawkins said that, as his resolution had developed so much opposition, he would withdraw it. Ex-Senator John B. Henderson, of Missouri, was presented by the Committee on Organization and elected Permanent Chairman almost unanimously. Upon assuming the chair, Gen. Henderson addressed the convention as follows: Gentlemen of the Convention: We have assembled to survey the past history ot the party: to rejoice as we may because ot the good it has done; to correct its errors, if errors there be, to discover If possible the wants of the present, and with patriotic firmness provide for the future. Our is the Union preserved; slavery abolished, and ita.former victims equally and honorably by our sides in this convention; the public faith maintained, unbounded credit at home and abroad, a currency convertible into coin, and the pulses of industry throbbing with renewed health and vigor in every section of a prosperous and peaceful country. These are the fruits ot triumphs over adverse policies gained in the military and civil conflicts of the last twenty-four years. Out of these conflicts has come a race of heroes and statesmen, challengin g confidence and love at home, respect and admiration abroad; and now, when we come to select a standard-bearer for the approaching conflict, our chief embarrassment is not in the want, but in the abundance, of Presidential material. New York has her tried and true statesman, npon whose administration the fierce and even unfriendly light of public scrutiny has • been turned, and the universal verdict is: ‘"Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Vermont has her great statesman, Whose mind is as clear as the crystal springs of his native State, and Whose virtue is as firm as its granite hills. Ohio can come with a name whose history is the history of the Republican party itself. Illinois can come with one who never failed in the discharge of public duty, whether in council chamber dr on field of battle. Maine has her honored favorite, whose splendid abilities and personal qualities have endeared him to the hearts of his friends, and the brilliancy of whose genius challenges the admiration of all Connecticut and' Indiana inav come with names scarcely less illustrious than these. And now, in conclusion, if, because of personal disagreements or the emergencies of the occasion another name is sought, there yet remains the grand old hero of Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta. When patriotism calls he cannot, if he would, be silent, but, grasping that banner, to him so dear, which he

has already borne in triumph, he wih march to a civic victory no less renowned than those of war. I thank yon, gentlemen, for this distinguished mark of your confidence. ; The mention of Arthur’s name provoked immense ayplauße,’Which was so long continued that Gen. Henderson had to wait for it to subside. The reference to Edmunds and Sherman j also evoked applause. At the allusion to Blaine a storm of applause broke out on the floor and I the galleries. Men stood up, and, waving their i hats and handkerchiefs, cheered again and again. The women also took partin the demonstration, and waved their fans and handkerchiefs. After the first storm of applause had worn itself out it was again renewed and once again. It was five minutes before Gen. Henderson could continue his speech — —— Charles W. Clisbee, of Michigan, was selected as principal Secretary. ♦ —— —" The Secretary then read a letter from A. H. Andrews <fc Co., of Chicago, presenting a gavel to the Chairman, whlph had been made from pieces of wood from every State and Territory . in the Union, including Alaska, the handle of which was made from the old Charter Oak tree in Connecticut, which was accepted with thanks. Mr. Stebbins, of Arizona, presented a resolution to the effect that the appointment of Territorial officers by the President of the United States should be from actual residents in such Territories, and a delegate from California presented a resolution to the effect that the Commissioner of Agriculture should be a Cabinet officer, which, with a resolution on woman suffrage, were referred to the appropriate committee, and at 12:30 o’clock the convention adjourned until 7 in the evening. Evening Session. The evening session proved to be brief and uninteresting. The Committee on Credentials was not prepared to report, therefore no business of importance could be done, and an early adjournment was taken until 10 next morning. The only incident of the evening was an attempt by Mr. Matthews, of Illinois, to secure the issue of 500 additional tickets to the convention, to be distributed to army veterans. The resolution having this in view was lost by a large majority, tick ;js having already been issued for all the seats in the hall. Just as the convention was about to adjourn, a number of delegates arose and shouted for Ingersoll. It became apparent, however, that Ingersoll was not in the hall, and the shouts were changed to Oglesby. The convention adjourned. Gen. Sherinan Declines. A rumor that Gen. W. T. Sherman had refused to allow his name to be used as a possible candidate has been confirmed by the receipt of the folio wing telegram: -= St. Louis, June 4. Gen. J. B. Henderson, Chicago: I answered by mail last night. Please decline any nomination for me in language strong but courteous. W. T. S. This declination was brought about in the following manner: Ten members of the Wisconsin delegation called upon Gen. Henderson and avowed their willingness to transfer their support to Gen. Sherman on condition that he accept the nomination. Gen. Henderson, who is an intimate friend and neighbor of Gen. Sherman, notified him of the Wisconsin delegation’s wishes, and also added that the feeling in the General’s favor was increasing. The answer came as above given. Gen. Sherman Was interviewed at his residence, and. referring to his candidacy, said: “ I sent no telegram to Chicago, but three days ago I mailed a letter to Gen. Henderson. He telegraphed me last night and I presume my letter just reached him to-day, and I am glad it has got there.” "Yon would not accept a unanimous nomination?" “No.” “Why?” “I have plenty of reasons, but shall keep them to myself.” THIRD DAY. The convention heard reports of committees, appointed a national committee, and listened to eloquent speeches in the naming of the several candidates for the Presidency. The platform adopted is as follows: Republicans of the United States, in National Convention assembled, renew their allegiance to the principles upon which they have triumphed in six successive Presidential elections, and congratulate the American-people on the attainment of so riiany results in legislation and administration by which the Republican party has, after saving the Union, done so much to render its institutions just, equal, and beneficient, the safeguard of liberty, and the embodiment of the best thought and highest purposes of our citizens. The Republican party has gained its strength by quick and faithful response to the demands of the people for the freedom and equality ot all men, for a united nation assuring the rights of all citizens, for the elevation of labor, for an honest currency, lor purity in legislation, and for integrity and accountability in all departments of the Government; and it accepts anew the duty of leading in the work of progress and reform. We lament the death of President Garfield, whose sound statesmanship, long conspicuous in Congress, gave promise of a strong and successful administration—apromise fully realized during the short period of his office as President of the United States—and his distinguished success in war and peace have endeared him to the hearts of the American people. In the administration of President Arthur we recognize a wise, conservative, and patriotic policy, under which the country has been blessed with remarkable prosperity, and we believe his eminent services are entitled to, and will receive, the hearty approval of every citizen. It is the first tftity of a good government to protect the rights and promote tte interests of its own people. The largest diversity of industry is most productive of general prosperity and of the comfort and independence of the people. We therefore demand that the imposition of duties on foreign imports shall be made not “for revenue only,” but that, ill raising the requisite revenues tor the Government, such duties shall be so levied as to afford Security to our diversified industries and protection to the rights and wages of the laborer, to the end that active and intelligent labor, as well as capital, may have its just award, and the labeling man his full share in the national prosperity. Against the so-called economic system of the Democratic party, which would degrade our labor to the foreign standard, we enter our earnest protest. The Democratic party s had tailed completely to relieve the people bf the ‘ burden of unnecessary taxation by a wise reduction of the surplus. The Republican party pledges itself to correct the inequalities of the tariff, and to reduce the surplus, not by the vicious” and indiscriminate process of horizontal reduction, but by such methods as will relieve the taxpayer without injuring the labor or the great productive interests of the country. We recognize the importance of sheep husbandry in the United States, the serious depression which it is- now experiencing, and the danger threatening its future prosperity, and we, therefore, respect the demands of the representatives of this important agricultural interest for a readjustment of the duty upon foreign wool, in order that such industry shall have full and adequate protection. We have always recommended the best money known to the civilized world, and we urge that efforts should be made to unite all commercial nations in the establishment ot an international standard which shall fix for all the relative value of gold and silver coinage. The regulation of commerce with foreign nations and between the States is one of the most important prerogatives of the General Government, and the Republican party distinctly announces its purpose to support such legislation as will fully and efficiently carry out the constitutional power of Congress over interstate commerce. The principle of the public regulation of railway corporations is a wise and salutary one for the protection of all classes of people, and we favor legislation that shall prevent unjust discrimination and excessive charges for transportation, and that shall secure to the people and the railways alike the fair and equal protection of the laws. We favor the establishment of a National Bureau of Labor, the enforcement of the eight-hour law, a wise and judicious system of general education by adequate appropriation from the national revenue, wherever the same is needed. We believe that everywhere the protection to a citizen of American birth must be secured to citizens by American adoption, and we favor the settlement of national differences by international arbitration. The Republican party, having Its birth in a hatred of slave labor and a desire that all men may be truly free and equal, is unalterably opposed to placing onr workingmen In competition with any form of servile labor whether at home or abroad. In this spirit we denounce the importation of contract labor, whether from Europe or Asia, as an offense against the spirit of American institutions, and we pledge ourselves to sustain the present law restricting Chinese immigration, and to provide such further legislation as is necessary to carry out its purpose. Reforin of the civil service, auspiciously begun under Republican administration, should be completed by the further extension of the reformed system already established by law, to I all the grades of the service to which it is applicable. The spirit and purpose of the reform should be observed in all executive appointments, and all laws at variance with the objects of existing reformed legislation should be repealed, tp the end that the dangers to free institutions which lurk in the bower of official patronage may be wisely and effectively avoided. The public lands are a heritage of the people of the United States, and should toe reserved as

sap as possible for small holdings bv actual settlors. We are opposed to the acquisition of large tracts of these-lands by corporations or individual*, especially where such holdings are in the hands of non-resident aliens, and we will endeagep to obtain such legislation as will tend to correct this evil. We demand of Congress the speedy forfeiture of all land grants which have lapsed by reason of non-compliance with acts of incorporation, in all cases where there has been no attempt in -good faith to perform the conditions of such grants. The grateful thanks of the American people are due to the Union soldiers and sailors of the late war, and the Republican party stands pledged to suitable pensions for all who were disabled, and for the widows and orphans of those who died in the war. The Republican party also pledges itself to the repeal of the limitation contained in the act of 1879, so that all invalid soldiers shall share alike, and their pensions begin w,th the date of disability or discharge, and not with the date of the application. The Republican party favors a policy which shall keep us from entangling alliances with foreign nations, and which gives us the right to expect that foreign nations shall refrain from meddling in American affairs—the, policy which seeks peace and trade with all powers, but especially with those of the Western Hemisphere. We demand the restoration of our navy to its old-time strength and efficiency, that it may in any sea protect the rights of American citizens and the interests of American commerce; and we call upon Congress to remove the burdens under which American shipping has been depressed, so that it may again be true that we have a commerce which leaves no sea unexplored and a navy which takes no law from superior force. Resolved, That appointments by the President to offices in the Territories should tie made from the bona tide citizens and residents of the Territories wherein they are to serve. Resolved, That it is the duty of Congress to enact snch laws as shall promptly and effectually suppress the system of polygamy within our territory, and divorce the political from the ecclesiastical power of the so-qplled Mormon Church; and that the law so enacted should be rigidly enforced by the civil authorities, If possible, and by the military if need be. The people of the United States, in their organized capacity, constitute a nation and not a mere confederacy of States. The National Government is supreme within the sphere of its national duty.but the States have reserved rights which should be faithfully maintained; each should be guarded with jealous care, so that the harmony of our system of government may be preserved, and the {lnion kept inviolate’ The perpetuity of our institutions rests npon the maintenance of a free ballot, an honest count,' and correct returns. We denounce the fraud and violence practiced by the Democracy in Southern States, by which the will of the voter is defeated. as dangerous to the preservation of free institutions, and we solemnly arraign the Democratic party’ as being the guilty recipient of the fruits of such fraud and violence. We extend to the Republicans of the South, regardless of their former party affiliations, our cordial sympathy, and pledge to them our most earnest efforts to promote the passage of such legislation as will secure to every citizen, ot whatever race or color, the full and complete recognition, possession, and exercise of all civil and political rights.