y ADDEESS, Constitiilion an^ '§^-'$n{u OF THK UNCOIDITIONAL UNION CmfiAL COMMITTEE, FOR THE CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK. HEADQUARTERS, Gibson's Building, N, E, corner Sroadivay'and 13th Street, .*. t" — ■♦ < <»'► . ■ I ■ « ■ » : NEW YORK: tVii. 0. BRYANT & CO., PRINTERS, 41 NASSAU STREET, CORNER OF LIBERTT. 1864. oi ADDRESS OF THE SntouMiioiial Itiiion OEciitral Coinmiitet FOK THE CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YOKK. [Issued March 11, 18G4.] To the Citizens of the City and State of New York: Fellow-Citizens, — Our country is entering upon one of those transition periods when new policy and more vigorous action are de- manded by the unforeseen exigencies of the times. The Rebellion, -which has devastated half the land, and brought the agonies of civil war to so many Northern and Southern households, has reached that crisis when the political management of our national aflfairs — in view of its bearing on the questions of this contest — be- comes of importance commensurate with that of the military control of our arms. Never were greater issues at stake. They involve the whole des- tiny of the Eepublic. During the present year you are again required to select the skillful and patriotic hands to which you will confide the helm of State. You are also to determine how the nation shall be guided — whether over the broad and sunlit waters of perfect Liberty to havens of prosperity and greatness, or through tortuous channels of compromise to the perils of a dark and uncertain future. In the compaign which elected Mr. Lincoln, it was justly held by the Republican party that Congress should exert its power to pre- vent the extension of Slavery in the Territories. That doctrine was thought sufiiciently progressive for the era. But the outbreak and sanguinary progress of the Slaveholders' Rebellion have brought a change. The mental growth of a century has been condensed within tbree momentous years — years of a war, whose carnage will not, must not, have been in vain. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. We have learned that there can be no desirable peace without the utter extinction of Slavery. If that monster evil has perished by its own act, it still remains for us to bury it out of sight, so that no political magic may renew its life, nor even its ghost arise to vex the land. If military proclamations have served as a convenient prelude to this achievement, the time has now come for action of a more direct and enduring character. Armed treason has placed the people of the Rebellious States in the situation of alien enemies. A free and vic- torious North, alike by reason and precedent, would be justfied in (imposing its own laws upon the disloyal section of our National ter- dtery. But there are other methods of accomplishing our purpose, •equally sure, and more in consonance with the temper of the Ameri- <;an people. The Constitution should be amended by a clause pro- viding for the immediate and irrevocable Abolition of Slavery throughout the United States. We have said that old parties are disrupted, and that ancient lines have been wiped out. On the proposed amendment, loyal men, of whatever |x)litical antecedents, will band themselves together for a new and healthful promotion of the country's cause. A National Union Convention which should establish its platform on any principles short of the foregoing, Avould be far behind the de- termined spirit ■of the day. On the minor prudential issues — suck ae the enforcement of the Monroe doctrine — the preservation of per- sonal rights — an organized system of immigration, a system of National education — the establishment of a National currency based on the National credit, we