Rensselaer Union, Volume 2, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 August 1870 — Address or the Republlean Congresional Committee to the Party. [ARTICLE]

Address or the Republlean Congresional Committee to the Party.

T ° l S(| , K3n < wd Lejrtadatlv? Department* or tbe NattoniA(kvernm«nband boon keeping. JSuch toon to bo bold &rß>?N*tion*l Boom of nMWßißbttm Tbeoe election* will doMmSta tbe political complexion of tbe popular branch of Oon/rrom They will, too, determine tbe political character of several State Government*. And thcae results wffll be accepted ai the Terdlot of tbe people upon the ideas, principles and polidea of the Republican party, and upon the measures ana character of the National Administration. To these responsibilities, and to the gravity of these Issues, vottr thoughtful consideration le Invoked. In the present juncture it behoove* the Republican party not to forget Its origin nor its history. Amid the difflcultiee that beset it, end the responsibilities and labors which the need of the country in the new and untried condition of affair* impose*, it should remember that it was born of the nation’s necessities, and thus far it has gradually met the exigencies for which It was formed. Having passed triumphantly through three great eras of its history, it is now sum moned to enter upon its fourth. Gathering, therefore, inspiration from past sue oessea, It should grapple hopefully and with unshrinking confidence with the . duties of the present and near falure.

origin or thx pasty. Recurring to their origin. Republicans will remember, when the land whs the theatre of a stern and irrepressible conflict between tbe demons of slavery and caste and the spirit of liberty and equality, when the slave power held great intereels and powerful organizetlonsin its grasp, and ruled the nation with Imperial sway, that the founders of the party, instructed by passing events, with convictions deepened and zeal quickened by the teachings of history and of holy writ, ami inspired by the deathless words of tbe patriots, statesmen and heroes of our earlier time, rose to tbe exigencies of the hour, op posed the haughty ambitions, the maddening passions, the cruel prejudices and the disorganizing theories of the dominating majority; and, although long overborne by numbers, still struggled on amid jeers, insults, mobs, blows and assassins tions, till, under the lead of Abraham Lincoln, they achieved success and grasped the sceptre of political power. ITS SECOND BBS. Entering upon its second era, appalling responsibilities at once arose. The slave masters, in the pride and arrogance of power instantly plunged the nation into the fire and blood of civil war. But the Republican party rose with the crisis. It raised money in unstinted measure, organized vast armies, created powerful navies, fought bloody battles, crushed the most gigantic rebellion of all recorded history, and saved tho nation’s life. It was then, amid the clash of arms, that the Republican party saw that slavery was the relentless and unappeasable foe of the country; was the inspiration, the heart and soul of that civil war, and that its death would be the annihilation of the rebellion, the unity of the Republic and the development of free insiitu tions. Against cowardly fears, selfish instincts and unreasonable passions and preindices, it pronounced the doom of that hideous and horrid system of human bondage, though it was upheld by the aggregated [interests oi three thousand millions of dollars, hedged about by the accumulated passions ana prejudices, prides ana ambitions of seven generations, and intrenched within the social, political and ecclesiastical organizations and affiliations of life. By a series of executive and legislative acts it broke the chains and lifted fr.m the depths of chattelhood up to the summits of manhood four and a half millions of hapless bondsmen, and stood before the nations with their riven fetters in one hand and their title deeds to freedom in the other.

THE THIRD ERA. The war ended, the rebellion subdued, the bondmen emancipated, the Republi can party entered upon the third era of its eventful history. Though conquered by arms, the rebels did not accept the just, humane and generous ideas of the victors, nor did they return to their proper allegiance and loyalty to the Government, but still bemoaning the “ lost cause,” they remained unsubdued in will and unrepentant in spirit and purpose. Though made free the bondmen were homeless, without property, without employment, subject to the cruel laws against free people of color, which had: always disgraced Southern legislation, and in the midst of a people exasperated by defeat, and maddened by their loss of riwer still longer to hold and oppress. roperty was swept away, industry dis organized, society disintegrated, and States were without lawful governments. THE WORK OF RECONSTRUCTION Upon the Republican party devolved the task of reconstruction. To its intrinsic difficulties were added the intense hostility of the ex rebels, the lingering prejudices long engendered by the slave system, the timid counsels of conservatism and the apostacy of the Executive. Great interests and powerful combinations sought to so reconstruct the South as to place the power in the hands of the late slave-holding class, and leave the helpless freedmen in the abject condition of practical serfdom. Seldom in history- has there been imposed upon any body of men & work of greater magnitude or difficulty. The Republicans might have shrunk from and avoided it They were sorely tempted to do so. Bat they resisted the temptation of official power and patronage, the threats ot Executive dictation ana all other adverse influences, and with sublime fidelity and courage addressed themselves to the herculean task. To aid in reorganizing disordered industries, caring for, protecting and instructing the emancipated bondmen in the new duties of their changed condition, the Republicans established the Freodmen’s Bureau, which, by the wise expenditure of a few millions of dollars, did an incalculable work for order, peace and the rehabilitation of Southern society. To reconstruct rebellious States on the solid basis of equal rights, they gave suffrage to the freedmen in the reconstruction measures. To secure citizenship and civil rights to a wronged and hated nee, they proposed and adopted the Fourteenth Amendment, and enacted the bill of Ciyil Rights. To establish by irreversible guaranties equal political rights and privileges they adopted the Fifteenth Amendment, and as a crowning act for freedom theylprovided by law for the enforcement of these amendments thus newly enshrined within the Constitution. Thus the Republicans, against opposition, against misrepresentation, against appalling obstacles, have straggled on until the rebel States, reconstructed on the basis of Impartial liberty, have been restored, and the sublime doctrines of the Declaration of Independence made assured and practical realities. In the progress of the ages it has been given to few, in any form or by any modes, to achieve a work so vast, so grand, so beneficient, so sure tp be recorded by history, and applauded and remembered by com lug generations. ITS FOURTH ESA. Having achieved this grand work, having passed through these-three eras of its history, tire Republican party entered on

Its fourth era, was summoned to deal with qneetlona relating to the national debt, the currency, finances and taxation, to reforms In the military, naval and Indian service, and whatever remaining burdens and legacies were left by the war. Concerning theae questions there are apparent diversities of interest* and real differences of opinion. The solutions of some of them are embarrassed by grave difficulties. They require time ea well aa financial ■kill and practical stateamanahip for their adjustment. Differences of opinions oil matters so recondite and complex, in an organization embracing so many men of large Intelligence, trained to habits of independent thought, expression and modes of action, are inevitable. They are indeed to be expected and desired, for lrom such freedom of discussion truth to elicited and proper modes of action are deduced. The men, therefore, who stood so firmly while In a minority, amid the denunciations, arrogance and soorn of power; the men who met the stem exigencies of civil war with such heroic courage, who assailed the slave power and extirpated the slave system; the men who grappled so successfully with the perplexing and pregnant issues of recon struction. lifted helpless freedmen up to citizenship, exalted them to the heights of civil and political rights and privileges, and made the nation free in fact as well as in name, should not shrink from the less momentous and less embarrassing questions now before them.

WORK TO BK ACCOMPLISHED. Patriotism, principle, the continued existence, reputation and renown of the Republican party, and a due sense of selfrespect and pride of character demand that Republicans now, aa in the past, should have faith In its capacity to carry forward to completion reforms so auspiciously begnn. it came into being as an organization of reform and progress, and should ever be ready to accept tho living issues of the hour and march abreast with the spirit of the age. Unaided it has fought the battles of reform with constancy and courage. Nor in the work still before It can it hope for aid from those who stilj cling to the traditions of the past, pride themselves on their conservatism, and who, during tho conflicts of the past twenty years, have resisted all reform, and mourned over every effete and hateful abuse as it fell. If there are Republicans who are weary of the ascendency of a party which has achieved such crowning victories, who are tired of the responsibilities of power, and would relinquish It to other hands, they should re member there are none worthy to accept it. For surely they cannot fail to see that the Democratic party, by its policy during the closing years of its power, and by its blind and unrelenting opposition to reformatory measures while out of power, even now, as if smitten by judicial blindness, refusing to accept the Constitutional amendments, as fixed and final, has demonstrated its utter incapacity for such a trust. .

PBESIDBirr GRANT’S ADMINISTRATION. Accustomed to success even against fearful odds, and underrating, perhaps, the intrinsic difficulties of the pending is sues, many Republicans looked to General Grant’s Administration with high raised expectations. Of course they have been impatient, and not always satisfied with results. But while these expectations have not been fully realized in the action of either the President or of Congress, much has been achieved, enough, at any fkte, to satisfy them that the difficult problems will be wrought out and the hoped-for results accomplished. General Grant came into office pledged to maintain inviolate the public faith, reduce the national debt, diminish taxation, appreciate the currency, reform abuses in the civil and military service, and maintain order in the States lately in rebellion. By the combined action of the President, the heads of departments, Congress anc. the General of the army, many abuses have been corrected and many reforms inaugurated President Grant's Indian policy is bringing forth evidences of its justice, its humanity and its wisdom. The firm, just and generous policy of the Administration toward the States lately in rebellion has brought much of order and security, and crimes have largely diminished . In the interests oi economy the services of thousands of employes, both civil and military, have been dispensed with. The currency has been appreciated in value by tens and scores of millions of dollars, and the national credit has been largely strengthened.

THE REVENUES. —~ Without any increase in tne articles subject to taxation, or in the rate of taxation, the revenues of the fiscal year ending 30th of June, 1870, were nearly $409,000,000 against less than 1371,000,000 for the year ending 30th of June, 1809, showing a gain of nearly 38,000,000. On the other hand, the expenses of the fiscal year, 1870, were less than those of 1869 by more than $29,000,000, thus showing an increased revenue and saving in expenditure of more than sixty-seven millions of dollars in the first fiscal year of General Grant’s Administration. In the last sixteen months of Mr. Johnson’s Administration the receipts from customs and internal revenue were less than three hundred and seventy-two millions of dollars. During the first sixteen months of General Grant’s Administration they were more than four hundred and sixty nine millions, showing an increase of nearly ninety-seven millions of dollars. Republicans will remember that during the last two years of Mr. Johnson’s Administration he removed Republicans appointed by Mr. Lincoln and others who adhered to the principles of the Republican party, and appointed Democrats where he could do so. The character of the appointments, and the demoralizing influence which his opinions and conduct had upon them, were seen in the loss of scores of millions of dollars of revenue in those years. The large gain in the collection is mainly due to the dctcrmined and avowed purpose of General Grant to secure an honest administration of the revenue laws, and the appointment of Republicans to office earnestly dovoted to Lis economical policy.

REDUCTION OF TAXATION. During the recent session of Congress taxes have been reduced more than $75,000,000. The taxes have been removed from transportation by canals and railways, from sales by dealers and manufacturers. The income tax has been reduced to two and a half per cent, on all incomes : above $3,000; and it is to expire at the end of two years. The tax on tea has been reduced from twenty-five to fifteen cents per pound ; on coflee from five to three cents, and the tax on sugar and molasses has been reduced in the Aggregate twelve millions of dollars per annum. By this reduction of taxation the industries of the people and the necessaries of life have been relieved of burdens amounting to millions The Funding bill is an important financial measure, which contemplates the saving of interest upon the Sublic debt by the exchange of outstandi g six per cent, bonds for those of a lower rate of interest, to the amount of $26,500,000 a year. While a reduction in taxes transfers the burden of the debt from one year to another, from one generation to another, a reduction in the rate of interest is an actual saving to the country, not only for the present generation, but for all time. And yet these important and beneficial financial measure-''., intended to lighten the public burdens, received little countenance and support from the Democratic party, whose responsibilities for the war, its losses, its expenditures, its debts, and its taxation, are so fearfully large. Not fruitless, but high, noble and glori-

ous to the record of the Republican party. History will note it, and the world will gratefully remember it. In the light ot this brier review of its achievements for patriotism, liberty. Justice and humanity, should not Republicans, one and all. cling to their grand organization, rectify its mistakes, correct lte errors, and keep it true to its past traditions, and in harmony with the enlightened and progressive spirit of the age T So doing, may they not perpetuate their power until their beneficent principles shall become the accepted policy of the nation 1

HENRY WILSON,

Chairman of tho Congressional Republican Committee. James H Platt, Secretary.