Class Book ♦ O L-2^ Copyright N". V \ COPYRIGHT DEPO^. V / COPYRIGHTED. z::?^^^^ COPYRIGHTED. ^yl^^;:^^ CAMPAIGN OF '84. BIOGRAPHIES OF TAMES a. BLAINE, THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDA TE FOR PRESIDENT, AND JOHJSr A. LOGAN, THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDA TE FOR VICE-PRESIDENT. WITH A DESCEIPTION OF THE LEADING ISSUES AND THE Proceedings of the National Convention. TOGETHER WITH A •listory of the Political Parties of the United States. COMPARISONS OF PLATFORMS ON ALL IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, AND Political Tables for Ready Reference. BY HON. THOS. V. COOPER, Author of "American Politics," and Chairman of Pennsylvania * Tr^^ Republican State Committee 1881-82-83-84. PHILADELPHIA . FIRESIDE PUBLISHING COMPANY, No. 20 North Seventh Street. 1884. 1 Bntered according to Act of Congress In the year 1884. hy th« FIRESIDE PUBLISHING COMPANY, ia the OflSce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. CI , i t| Bound by BKNRY ALTKMUS, Mb aod Cberr; StrMt^ rkiladelpUia. a XT CONTENTS. Biof2,rax)hLies, etc. PAGB James G. Blaine, 1 John A. Logan, 50 Proceedings of National Republican Convention at Chicago, June 3, 1884 . 71 Issues of Presidential Campaign of 1884 80 HISTORY OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES. page. Colonial Parties— Whig and Tory 3 Particularists and Strong Government Whigs 5 Federals and Anti Federals 7 Republicans and Federals 9 Downfall of the Federals 13 Democrats and Federals 17 Jefferson Democrats 19 Hartford Convention 20 Treaty of Ghent 20 Congressional Caucus 21 Protective Tariff 21 Monroe Doctrine 23 Missouri Compromise 24 Tariff — American System • • 25 Tenure of Office — Eligibility 27 Nullification — Democrats and Federals 29 United States Bank 31 Jackson's Special Message on the United States Bank 33 Conception of Slavery Question 35 Democrats and Whigs 37 The Hour Rule 39 National Bank Bill — First 41 Second 43 Oregon Treaty of 1846 47 Treaty of Peace with Mexico 49 Clay's Compromise Resolutions 51 Abolition Party — Rise and Progress of 53 Kansas-Nebraska Bill 55 Ritual of the American Party 57 Kansas Struggle 71 Lincoln and Douglas Debate 73 Charleston Convention — Democratic, 18G0 81 Douglas Convention, 18G0, Baltimore 86 Breckinridge Convention, 1860, Baltimore 86 Chicago Republican Convention, 1860 86 American Convention, 1860 87 Secession — Pkeparing_ foe 87 vii viii . TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. Secession — Virginia Convention, 1861 91 " Inter-State Commissioners 96 " Southern Congress, Proceedings of : 97 " Confederate Constitution 97 " Confederate States 98 Buchanan's Views 99 Crittenden Compromise 104 Peace Convention 1C6 Actual Secession 109 " " Transferring Arms to the South 109 Fernando Wood's Secession Message 112 Congress on the Eve of the Kebellion 113 Lincoln's Views 115 Judge Black's Views 115 Alexander H. Stephens' Speech ok Secession 116 Lincoln's First Administration 120 Confederate Military Legislation 128 Guerrillas 129 Twenty-Negro Exemption Law 130 Douglas on the Rebellion 130 Political Legislation Incident to the War 130 Thirty-Seventh Congress 131 Compensated Emancipation 135 Lincoln's Appeal to the Border States 137 P«,eply of the Border States 138 Border State Slaves 139 Emancipation 141 " Preliminary Proclamation of 141 " Proclamation of 143 Loyal Governors, the Address of 144 Fugitive Slave Law, Repeal of 145 Financial Legislation 149 Seward as Secretary of State 149 Internal Taxes 151 Confederate Debt 152 Confederate Taxes 153 West Virginia — Admission of 158 Color in War Politics 159 Thirteenth Amendment — Passage of 167 Louisiana — Admission of Representatives . . •. 168 Reconstruction . 169 Arkansas — Admission of 170 Reconstruction Measures— Text of 171 Fourteenth Amendment " 174 McClellan's Political Letters 175 Lincoln's Second Administration 177 Andrew Johnson and his Policy 178 " " — Impeachment Trial 179 Grant 191 Enforcement Acts • 193 Readmission of Rebellious States 193 Legal Tender Decision 194 Greenback Party 194 Prohibitory Party -. 196 San Domingo — Annexation op 196 TABLE OF CUNTENT8. IX PAGE. Alabama Claims 197 Force Bill I97 Civil Seevice — Order of President Hayes 198 Amnesty I99 Liberal Republicans I99 Reform in the Civil Service 200 Credit Mobilier 200 Salary Grab 214 Returning Boards 217 Grangers 21S — Illinois Railroad Act of 1873 218 Civil Rights Bill — Supplementary 221 Morton Amendment 222 Whisky Ring 222 Belknap Impeached 223 White League 223 Wheeler Compromise — Text of 226 Election op Hayes and Wheeler 228 Electoral Count 229 Title of President Hayes 233 Cipher Despatches 234 Thb Hayes Administration 239 Negro Exodus 240 Campaign of 1880 242 Three Per Cent. Funding Bill 244 History of the National Loans 245 Garfield and Arthur — Inauguration of 253 Republican Factions 253 The Caucus 256 Assassination of Garfield 260 Arthur, President 261 Boss Rule 261 Readjusters 263 MoRMONiSM — Suppression of 264 " Text of the Bill 265 South American Question 269 Star Route Scandal 277 The Coming States 278 Chinese Question 281 '• " — Speech of Senator Miller on 281 " " — Reply of Senator Hoar 285 Merchant Marine 296 Current Politics 298 Political Changes in 1882 304 BOOK II.— POLITICAL PLATFORMS. Virginia Resolutions, 1798 3 Virginia Resolutions, 1798— Answers of the State Legislatures 6 Resolutions of 179S and 1799 10 Washington's Farewell Address 1-i All National Platforms from 1800 to 1880 21-63 _ T>, . ^,.^^^, -Dt i-Kirra nw ftliWAT PflT.TTTCAT, OuFSTIONS 69-79 *•■ PART I. BIOGRAPHIES OF JAMES G. BLAINE AND JOHN A. LOGAK > JAMES G. BLAII^E. Hon. Jaaies G. Blaine, the Republican nominee for President of the United States, is so well and favorably known to the people of the country, that he needs no introduction to his fellow-citizens. During his eventful life he has taken such a pro- minent part, and has been such a con- spicuous figure in the history of the coun- try as to bring him into every community and every household. Revolutions, exciting events, questions of municipal, state and national impor- tance, bring men to the surface and place them for the time prominently before the people ; but when quiet is restored, when the issues have been decided and passed into history, a great majority of the pro- minent figures sink to the level from which they arose, and are almost forgotten. Men elevated to political prominence and power, wielding the patronage and dis- tributing the favors of official position, are followed by the public eye, heralded by the public press, cajoled and flattered by the myriads of sycophants who bask in the sunshine of power and exist on the gifts of patronage. They are exalted by their office unto greatness, and their names are sounded in the ears of the world through the trumpet of praise until they appear to have attained the summit of human ambition. But when they are stripped of their official position, when they cease to perform in their official role, when they are succeeded by others, and retire to the shades of private life, their followers leave them, their satellites re- volve around another centre, and they find that it was the position and not the man that people worshipped, and flattered, and they realize that couplet of Pope: "Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay, May stop a hole to keep the wind away." Yet while this may be termed the " com- mon lot" of those who are placed in high positions by their countrymen, yet there are exceptions to the rule. Where honor, love, confidence and fame follow men, and continue as abiding when devoid of power and patronage as when they were at the summit of political power, it shows the worth of the man. " The survival of the fittest" holds true even on the camp- ing ground of honor and fame. How many are unable to name the succession of Presidents and Vice-Presidents. How few can name the cabinets of distinguished men frpm Washington to Arthur. What a small percentage of the Continental Congress has lived in names familiar to the present generation. It is a very severe, but an excellent test of innate greatness, worth, ability and character, as it separates the man from the office, and gives him to posterity stripped of all extraneous trappings. The man survives as a man ; he lives on his intrinsic value, or becomes lost for the want of it. Judged by this standard, James G. Blaine is, in the true sense of the word, a great man. His brilliant intellect and in- spiring genius are as fully recognized by the people of the nation as his services as statesman and legislator have been ac- knowledged. In all the positions he has held, from his first office to that of Prime Minister of the Government, he has been an honor to the position, and hence when he left them he retained that nobility of self which kept him prominent and potential. James G. Blaine has passed through more crucial tests than perhaps any other public man living. His acknowledged intellectual- ity, his brilliant and magnetic style, his fo- rensic power, and his native genius all tend to place him on so high a pinnacle that no man, unless he be great, can sustain him- self in all. Yet in public and private life he has added to his renown, and never JAMES G. BLAINE. dazed by the giddy height he has reached, he still has a higher aim, and an upward march. In all the positions he has filled, as well as during his short rests within the quiet of private lite, he has kept himself close to the people, and been a ready champion for their rights. As a leader of men he is brave to a fault. As a party man he has been one of its most able expounders and supporters — and as a statesman he has shown an unflinching devotion to our institutions, and he has throughout ad- vocated a policy as broad as our na- tion. Outspoken in his faith, and zea- lous for the principles of Freedom, he has stood by the people of his country at home, and wherever our flag covered them abroad. In the House, in the Senate, at the head of the Nation's Cabinet alike he has won the love of the people by his devotion to their personal interest and the national honor. For a quarter of a century he has been iden- tified with the people, and his wonderful popularity with the masses is the highest eulogium that he can receive. Next to the immortal Lincoln he is held to the people by the strongest bonds, and for the same reason — that he has been so closely allied to the masses. ^ James G. Blaine has not been the pet of politicians, and been elevated from place to place by political manoeuvering. On the contrary, his ad- vancement, and brilliant career has often excited the jealousy and envy of his fel- low leaders, who have endeavored to retard his rapid march in the path of greatness. It is nothing derogatory to Blaine, that he has his enemies — on the contrary, it is the best of proof that he has positiveness and decision of character. It is no compliment to say that a man has no enemies. The friction of life naturally makes them, when men are the exponents of ideas, the zealous advocates of prin- ciples, and the acknowledged leaders of men and of party. The genius of a man like Blaine naturally makes him aggressive. The comprehensive grasp of such a mind can find no rest in our age and country, and he who is brave enough to grasp the issues of the hour must always expect to meet with opposition. Such a character cannot float quietly down the stream of i time with the current, content to wait for I time and tide, but will trust to its own propelling powers, rather than to others, I and will, if necessary, stem the current in- stead of being carried by it. Even to those who know Mr. Blaine best, his wonderful magnetism is a mystery. He does not act as though he was aware of this power, and he shows nothing m his manners or general conversation to lead a stranger to suspect his real greatness. He is now in the prime of a well-pre- served life, which has given him such a knowledge of men and measures as but few persons possess. For twenty-five years he has been brought in personal contact with all the leading politicians, statesmen and diplomats, besides being a close stu- dent and a great reader. His record in the House of Representatives, both as a member and as its presiding officer, shows that he possesses vast resources, and is always ready to apply them. This, and not any oratorical display gave him his prestige as a debater and leader. According to the accepted definition of oratory, James G. Blaine is not an orator, although the experience and practice of his official life has proven him to be a pro- found and almost irresistible speaker. It is the earnestness of his style, joined to his personal magnetism, and not the dis- play of oratorical sentences, that gives him his power. Indeed, his early life showed an actual dearth of oratorical ability, and during the period when he was at Washington College, he gave no evidence in that direction. The different literary societies to which he belonged never selected him to represent them on the platform on gala occasions. He was far from being the brightest boy, and his college days gave but little indication of his reserved powers, or of the prominence to which he has arrived in after life. James Gillespie Blaine was born at what was known as the Indian Hill Farm, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, just opposite Brownsville, January 31, 1830, and hence is now in the fifty-fifth year of his age. The stone house in which he first drew the breath of life, dingy with time, and tottering with its age, still re- mains. It is now included within the JAMES G. BLAINE. limits of West Brownsville. It was erected by Neal Gillespie, the great-grandfather of Mr. Blaine, in 1778, so that it has stood intact for more than a century. Indian Hill Farm was then on the very borders of civilization ; now that civilization has extended from ocean to ocean. Mr. Neal Gillespie was evidently a pioneer in those days, as it is believed that this was the first stone house erected on that side of the Mononghela river. His Family Hlstor}'. Colonel Ephraim Blaine of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, great-grandfather of Mr. Blaine, was one of the " patriots of 76," and took an active part in the revolu- tionary struggle from the time when Inde- pendence Bell rang out the birth of a new nation, until the United States were ac- knowledged by the nations of the earth. He was appointed Commissary General by Washington in 1778 and held his com- mission until 1783. The Blaines were Scotch-Irish, the race from which sprang James Buchanan, Si- mon Cameron, John Stewart, Wayne Mac- Veagh. The race has been remarkably productive of the qualities of heart and mind which win the regard and admiration of mankind. Courage, quickness and a brilliancy of intellect which flashes into dark places like a wave of the electric light are common to great Scotch-Irishmen. Mr. Blaine's father was born in the fam- ily mansion at Carlisle. He made a tour of Europe, spent some time in South America and the West Indies, and on his return, he settled in Washington County, where he died before his son had reached his manhood. Colonel Ephraim Blaine's son, " Squire Blaine," as he was known in the commu- nity, was married to Miss Gillespie, a de- vout member of the Roman Catholic Church, but their seven children— five boys and two girls — adhered to the tradi- tional faith of the Blaines. The second of these five sons is the subject of this sketch, James Gillespie Blaine, just selected by the people for its highest honors. Concerning the religious faith of his family and his own attitude in religious matters, Mr. Blaine wrote in later life — March 10, 1876— as follows : My ancestors on my father's side were, as you know, always identified with the Presbyterian Church, and they were prom- inent and honored in the old colony of Pennsylvania. But I will never consent to make any public declaration upon the subject, and for two reasons : First, be- cause I abhor the introduction of anything that looks like a religious test or qualifica- tion for office in a republic where perfect freedom of conscience is the birthright of every citizen ; and, second, because my mother was a devoted Catholic. I would not for a thousand Presidencies speak a disrespectful word of my mother's religion, and no pressure will draw me into any avowal of hostility or unfriendliness to Catholics, though I have never received, and do not expect any political support from them. The Kennebec Journal [Augusta, Me., about this time said on the same subject that "Mr. Blaine has been for nearly twenty years a consistent member of the Orthodox Congregational Church in this, the city of his home. Orthodox Congre- gationalism in Maine is precisely the same creed as Presbyterianism in Pennsylvania." His father emigrated (as it was termed at that day) west in 1817, and was the lar- gest landholder of any man in Western Pennsylvania. The tract forming this es- tate is now worth many millions. In 1825 Mr. Blaine's father sold to the Economites a large tract of his land, for $25,000, on which their town with all its industry and wealth now stands. There were also timber tracts on the Al- legheny and coal tracts on the Mononga- hela, at that day of no special value, which now represent large fortunes in the hands of those lucky enough to hold them. Very near the large tracts owned by his fathet and grandfather, Senator Blaine is now the possessor of one of the most valuable coal properties in the Monongahela val- ley. In area it is but a fraction of that which he might have hoped to inherit, but in value it is manifold greater than the whole landed estate of his father fifty years ago. Mr. Blaine the elder was fairly educated, JAMES G. BLAINE. had good business qualities, and was suc- cessful in his undertakings. He had a " push " about him which while it is com- mon in these days of steam and telegraphs, was not as general then. He was a quiet worker, with a slow but sure judgment, and in addition to being a fair scholar of his day, he was a constant and careful reader. With a desire that his son might be well educated he spared no pains to give him an intellectual training. As soon as he had attained sufficient age he was put to school and in 1841, when only eleven years old he was sent to Lancaster, Ohio, and placed in the family of a rela- tive, Hon. Thomas Ewing, a gentleman of note in that State, and at that time Secre- tary of the department of the Treasury at Washington. General Thomas Ewing, at present in Congress, is his cousin, and of the same age ; was his classmate, under the tuition of an Englishman named Wm. Lyons, a brother of the elder Lord Lyons and uncle of the late British Minister at Washing- ton. Here he continued at school preparing himself for entering college for two years, and in 1843 he returned to his native place. In November of that year he was admitted to the freshmen's class of Wash- ington College, where he remained until September, 1847, when he graduated in his eighteenth year. There is a tradition that when Mr. Ew- ing was Secretary of the Interior Blaine applied to him for a clerkship and the old man sent him to Kentucky to earn an honest living teaching school. This association of the name of Ewing with that of Blaine has given rise to the story that the Ewing family of Ohio helped James G. Blaine to an education, but this is only a fiction. Not a Lieader at College. During his college days Blaine was but the chrysalis of what he has now become. The growth of his body and the extra- ordinary expansion of his mind through his continuous reading so drew on the vital strength and imagination that he seemed dull from the effect of his rapid growth. This no doubt accounts for his lack of popularity among the boys — not that he was unpopular, but retiring, and seemingly unwilling to make himself pro- minent among the rest. From present recollections I do not think he was known as of a decided character in any way among his fellow-students. He seemed to be content to drift along reading, study- ing and growing, with never a thought of prominence or supremacy in any way. The newspaper accounts which claim that Blaine was a leader among the boys are incorrect. He was a remarkably quiet and unassuming youth. He was so extra- ordinarily quiet in his relations at college that I fail to recall one single anecdote of his college days. He was neither noted for unruliness of conduct nor saintliness: never engaged in any college pranks nor yet gained a reputation for being super- naturally virtuous. A plain, quiet, good- tempered, studious boy is what James G. Blaine was in his college days. He was the last young man in the college for whom such a future as he has already dis- played would have been predicted. Everyone |thought and said that Blaine would go through the world quiet, studious and the quintessence of mediocrity. He gave not the slightest hint of his great career, and he then seemed but the raw material of the present statesman. His youth was singularly without honors ; he neither sought nor received them. At the quarter-centennial of the class, held in 1872, twenty-nine of the thirty- three were living, and every one of them was a man of position and character in his community. John H. Hampton, Esq., of this city, A. M. Gow, of Washington, Pa., John V. LeMoyne, of Chicago, were members of the class. Dr. Sniltli's description of Ittni as a College Boy. Said Dr. Smith : " Yes, I knew Blaine at Washington College, he being in the next class below me. Blaine's parents lived at Washington during their son's college course, and on that account the students saw less of Jim Blaine, as he was familiarly called, than if he had boarded at the col- lege instead of at home. Young Blaine was a sturdy, heavy set, matter-of-fact JAMES G. BLAINE. looking young fellow, not at all prepos- sessing in appearance, and exceedingly awkward at times, and giving no hint of the elegant gentleman he has grown to be. He was never seen on the street or playground and but rarely mingled in the customary sports of the boys. I remem- ber we had a very fine foot-ball ground, but I never remember to have seen young Blaine on it. In fact, I cannot say for certain that I ever saw him engaged in any kind of sport during the entire time I was at college. It is my impression that he passed all his leisure at home or in one of the college halls with a book. He was a great reader, almost a bookworm, and would become absorbed to a wonderful de- gree in his books. A friend and acquaintance of Mr. Blaine, in speaking of his early life, and of the utter lack of any precociousness says : "As a remarkable contrast to Blaine, I remember Nicholas Watterman, of Blaine's class. He was the brightest and smartest in his class, receiving every prize and honor that was offered. Brilliant in debate and oratory, he never failed to represent his class in oratorical contests and invariably won every debate he engaged in. On commencement day he graduated with the very highest honors of his class, and seemed to have every assurance of future renown, while Blaine was some dis- tance from the head. Strange to say, after leaving college he went into the commis- sion business, made a fortune, squandered it and died a miserable death, while Blaine, his humble rival, went on and developed into the superb orator and statesman he is now. It seemed to be the universal rule in those days at Washi ngton College that the brightest pupils never rose above mediocrity, while some of the dullest pupils made a name and position for them- selves. " Mr. Blaine's college guardian was Hon. John H. Ewing, who was at that time the member of Congress from that dis- trict, and who still lives and will cast his vote for his distinguished ward. The graduating class consisted of thirty- three members, and Mr. Blaine divided the honors of the class with John C. Har- vey, who is now superintendent of Public Instruction in Wheeling, West Virginia. During his college life he was noted for excellence in Latin and mathematics, and also in logic and political economy. Robert G. Ingersoll, of Illinois, In the National Republican Convention at Cincinnati, June, 187b, in nominating James G. Blaine, for the Presidency. " Massachusetts may be satisfied with the loyalty o^ Benjamin H. Bristow ; so am I ; but if any man nominated by this convention cannot carry the State of Mas- sachusetts, I am not satisfied with the loyalty of that State. If the nominee of this convention cannot carry the grand old Commonwealth of Massachusetts by seventy-five thousand majority, I would advise them to sell out Faneuil Hall as a Democratic headquarters. I would advise them to take from Bunker Hill that old monument of glory. " The Republicans of the United States demand as their leader in the great con- test of 1876 a man of intelligence, a man of integrity, a man of well-known and ap- proved political opinions. They demand a reformer after as well as before the elec- tion. They demand a politician in the highest, broadest and best sense — a man of superb moral courage. They demand a man z.cquainted with public affairs, with the wants of the people ; with not only the requirements of the hour, but with the demands of the future. They demand a man broad enough to comprehend the re- lations of this government to the other nations of the earth. They demand a man well versed in the powers, duties, and pre- rogatives of each and every department of this Government. They demand a man who will sacredly preserve the financial honor of the United States ; one who knows enough to know that the national debt must be paid through the prosperity of this people ; one who knows enough to know that all the financial theories in the world cannot redeem a single dollar ; one who knows enough to know that all the money must be made, not by law, but by labor ; JAMES G. BLAINE. one who knows enough to know that the people of the United States have the in- dustry to make the money and the honor to pay it over just as fast as they make it. '• The Republicans of the United States demand a man who knows that prosperity and resumption, when they come must come together ; that when they come, they will come hand in hand through the golden harvest fields ; hand in hand by the whirling spindles and the turning wheels ; hand in hand past the open furnace doors ; hand in hand by the flaming forges ; hand in hand by the chimneys filled with eager fire — greeted and grasped by the countless sons of toil. " This money has to be dug out of the earth. You cannot make it by passing resolutions in a political convention. " The Republicans of the United States want a man who knows that this Govern- ment should protect every citizen, at home and abroad ; who knows that any govern- ment that will not defend its defenders, and protect its protectors, is a disgrace to the map of the world. They demand a man who believes in the eternal separation and divorcement of Church and School. They demand a man whose political repu- tation is spotless as a star ; but they do not demand that their candidate shall have a certificate of moral character signed by a Confederate Congress. The man who has, in full, heaped and rounded measure, all these splendid qualifications, is the present grand and gallant leader of the Republi- can party — James G. Blaine. " Our country, crowned with the vast and marvelous achievements of its first century, asks for a man, worthy of the past and prophetic of her future ; asks for a man who has the audacity of genius ; asks for a man who is the grandest combination of heart, conscience and brain beneath her flag. Such a man is James G. Blaine. " For the Republican host, led by this intrepid man, there can be no defeat. . " This is a grand year — a year filled with the recollections of the Revolution ; filled with proud and tender memories of the past ; with the sacred legends of liberty ; a year in which the sons of freedom will drink from the fountains of enthusiasm ; a year in which the people call for a man who has preserved in Congress what our soldiers won upon the field ; a year in which they call for the man who has torn from the throat of treason the tongue of slander ; for the man who has snatched the mask of Democracy from the hideous face of rebellion ; for the man who, like an intellectual athlete, has stood in the arena of debate and challenged all comers, and who is still a total stranger to defeat. " Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight, James G. Blaine marched down the halls of the American Congress, and threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen foreheads of the defamers of his country and the maligners of his honor. " For the Republican party to desert this gallant leader now, is as though an army should desert their general upon the field of battle. "James G. Blaine is now and has been for years the Nearer of the sacred standard of the Republican party. I call it sacred, because no human being can stand beneath its folds without becoming and without re- maining free. "Gentlemen of the convention, in the name of the great Republic, the only Re- public that ever existed upon the earth ; in the name of all her defenders and of all her supporters ; in the name of all her sol- diers living ; in the name of all her soldiers dead upon the field of battle, and in the name of those who perished in the skeleton clutch of famine at Andersonville and Libby, whose sufferings he so vividly re- members, Illinois — Illinois nominates for the next President of this country, that prince of parliamentarians — that leader of leaders — James G Blaine." Maine sent us to this magnificent Con- vention with a memory of her own salva- tion from impending peril fresh upon her. To you representatives of 50,000,000 of the American people who have met here to counsel how the Republic can be saved, she says, " Representatives of the people, take the man, the true man, the staunch man, for your leader, who has just saved me, and he will bring you to safety and certain victory." JAMES G. BLAINE. Frye Nominating Blaine. In the Chicago Convention, /SSo. " I once saw a storm at sea in the night- time ; an old ship battling for its life with the fury of the tempesf ; darkness every- where ; the winds raging and howling ; the huge waves beating on the sides of the ship, and making her shiver from stem to stern. The lightning was flashing, the thunders roUing ; there was danger every- where. I saw at the helm, a bold, coura- geous, immovable, commanding man. In the tempest, calm ; in the commotion, quiet ; in the danger, hopeful. I saw him take the old ship and bring her into her harbor, into still waters, into safety. That man was a hero. [Applause.] I saw the good old ship of State, the State of Maine, within the last year, fighting her way through the same waves, against the dangers. She was freighted with all that is precious in the principles of our repub- lic ; with the rights of the American citi- zenship, with all that is guaranteed to the American citizen by our Constitution. The eyes of the whole nation were on her, and intense anxiety filled every American heart lest the grand old ship, the " State of Maine," might go down beneath the I waves forever, carrying her precious freight : with her. But there was a man at the helm, calm, deliberate, commanding, sa- gacious ; he made even the foolish man wise ; courageous, he inspired the timid | with courage ; hopeful, he gave heart to 1 the dismayed, and he brought that good i old ship safely into harbor, into safety ; and she floats to-day greater, purer, stronger for her baptism of danger. That man too, was heroic, and his name was James G. \ Blaine. [Loud cheers.] Judge West ?fominates Blaine At Chicago, June s, 1884. After the chairman had succeeded in producing comparative quiet. Judge West, of Ohio, was introduced. The sensation was intense and the interest in Mr. West on account of his commanding presence, and sympathy for his infirmity, brought all to silence throughout the vast hall. Judge West said : As a delegate in the Chicago Conven- tion of i860, the proudest service of my life was performed by voting for the nom- ination of that inspired emancipator, the first Republican President of the United States. [Applause.] Four and twenty years of the grandest history of recorded times has distinguished the ascendency of the Republican party. The skies have lowered and reverses have threatened, but our flag is still there, waving above the mansion of the Presidency, not a stain on its folds, not a cloud on its glory. Whether it shall maintain that grand ascendency depends upon the action of this council. With bated breath a Nation awaits the result. On it are fixed the eyes of twenty millions of Republican freemen in the North. On it, or to it, rather, are stretched forth the imploring hands of ten millions of political bondsmen of the South [ap- plause], while above, from the portals of light, is looking down the immortal spirit of the immortal martyr who first bore it to victory, bidding to us Hail and God speed. [Applause.] Six times in six campaigns has that banner triumphed — that symbol of union, freedom, humanity and progress — sometime borne by that silent man of destiny, the Wellington of American arms [wild applause], last by him at whose un- timely taking off a Nation swelled the funeral cries and wept above great Gar- field's grave. [Cheers and applause]. Shall that banner triumph again ? Commit it to the bearing of that chief [a voice, " James G. Blaine of Maine," cheers] — commit it to the bearing of that chief, the inspiration of whose illustrious character and great name will fire the hearts of our young men, stir the blood of our manhood and rekindle the fervor c f the veterans, and the closing of the seventh campaign will see that holy ensign span- ning the sky like a bow of promise. [Cheers.] Political conditions are changed since the accession of the Republican party to power. The mighty issues of the free- dom and bleeding humanity which con- vulsed the continent and aroused the Republic, rallied, united and inspired the forces of patriotism and the forces of hu- manity in one consolidated phalanx, have ceased their contentions The subordinate issues resulting therefrom are settled and buried away with the dead issues of the 8 JAMES G. BLAINE. past. The arms of the Solid South are against us. Not an electoral gain can be expected from that section. If the triumph come, the Republican States of the North must furnish the conquering battalions from the farm, the anvil and the loom, from the mines, the workshop and the desk, from the hut of the trapper on the snowy Sierras, from the hut of the fisher- man on the banks of the Hudson. The Republican States must furnish these con- quering battalions if triumph comes. "What Political Wisdom Dictates. Does not sound political wisdom dic- tate and demand that a leader shall be given to them whom our people will fol- low, not as conscripts advancing by fu- nereal marches to certain defeat, but a grand civic hero, whom the souls of the people desire, and whom they will follow with all the enthusiasm of volunteers, as they sweep on and onward to certain vic- tory [Cheers], a representative of Ameri- can manhood [applause], a representative of that living Republicanism that de- mands the amplest industrial protection and opportunity whereby labor shall be enabled to earn and eat the bread of in- dependent employment, relieved of men- dicant competition with pauper Europe or pagan China? [Loud applause.] In this contention of forces, to whose candidate shall be intrusted our battle flags ? Citi- zens, I am not here to do it, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I do abate one tithe from the just fame, integrity and public honor of Chester A. Arthur, our President. [Applause.] I abate not one tithe from the just fame and public integrity of George F. Edmunds [applause], of Joseph R. Hawley [ap- plause], of John Sherman [applause], of that grand old black eagle of Illinois. [Here the speaker was interrupted several moments by prolonged applause.] And I am proud to know that these distinguished Senators whom I have named have borne like testimony to the public life, the public character, and the public integrity of him whose confirmation brought him to the highest office — second in dignity to the office of the President only himself — the first premiership in the administration of James A. Garfield. [Applause.] A man for whom the Senators and rivals will vote, the Secretary of State of the United States is good enough for a plain flesh and blood God's people to vote for President. [Loud applause.] Who shall be our candidate ? [Cries of "Blaine," "Arthur" and "Logan." A loud voice yelled above the tumult, Give us " Black Jack," and we will elect him. When quiet was somewhat restored the speaker continued.] Not the representa- tive of a particular interest of a particular class. Send the great proclamation to the country labelled " The Doctor's Candi- date," " The Lawyer's Candidate,'' " The Wall Street Candidate,'' and the hand of resurrection would not fathom his Novem- ber grave. [Applause.] Gentlemen, he must be a representative ot that Republicanism that demands the ab- solute political, as well as personal, eman- cipation and enfranchisement of mankind — a representative of that Republicanism which recognizes the stamp of American citizenship as the passport to every right, privilege and consideration at home or abroad, whether under the sky of Bis- marck, under the Palmetto, under the Pelican or on the banks of the Mohawk, that Republicanism that regards with dis- satisfaction a despotism which under the "sic semper tyrannis" ofthe old Dominion emulates, by slaughter, popular majorities in the name of Democracy — a Republi- canism as embodied and stated in the platform of principles this day adopted by your Convention, Gentlemen, such a representative Re- publican is James G. Blaine, of Maine. If nominated to-night his campaign would commence to morrow and con'inue until victory is assured. [Cheers.] There would be no powder burned to fire into the backs of his leaders. It would only be exploded to illuminate the inauguration. The brazen throats of the cannon in yonder square, waiting to herald the result of the conven- tion, would not have time to cool before his name would be caught up on ten thousand tongues of electric flame. It would sweep down from the Old Pine Tree State. It would go over the hills and valleys of New England. JAMES G. BLAINE. IN MESIORIAM. Hou. James G, Blaine's Oration on Presi- dent Garfleld. THE GRAND MORAL OF HIS CAREER. An Elaborate, Polished and Scholarly Tribute by an Accomplished Orator, in the Hah of the House of Representatives, on Monday, Feb. 2-], 18S2. At ten o'clock the doors of the House of Representatives were opened to holders of tickets for the memorial services, and in less than half an hour the galleries were filled, a large majority of the spectators being ladies, mostly in black. There were no signs of mourning in the hall, even the full-length portrait of the late President, James Abram Garfield, painted by E. F. Andrews, of Washington, being undraped. The three front rows of desks had been re- placed by chairs to accommodate the in- vited guests, and the Marine Band was stationed in the lobby, back of the Speak- er's desk. Among the distinguished guests first to arrive were George Bancroft, W. W. Cor- coran, Cyrus Field and Admiral Worden, who took seats directly in front of the clerk's desk. Among the guests who oc- cupied seats upon the floor were General Schenck, Governor Hoyt, of Pennsylva- nia; Foster, of Ohio; Porter, of Indiana; Hamilton, of Maryland, and Bigelow, of Connecticut, and Adjutant General Har- mine, of Connecticut. At 1 1:30, Generals Sherman, Sheridan, Hancock, Howard and Meigs, and Admirals Ammen and Rodgers entered at the north door of the chamber and were assigned seats to the left of the Speaker's desk, and a few moments later, the mem- bers of the Diplomatic Corps, in full regalia, were ushered in, headed by the Hawaiian Minister, as dean of the Corps. The Supreme Court of the District, headed by Marshal Henry, arrived next. Mrs. Blaine occupied a front seat in the gallery, reserved for friends of the President. At twelve o'clock the House was called to order by Speaker Keifer, and prayer was offered by the Chaplain. The Speaker then announced that the House was as- sembled and ready to perform its part in the memorial services, and the resolutions to that effect were read by Clerk McPher- son. At 12:10, the Senate was announced, and that body headed by its officers, en- tered and took their assigned seats. The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, in their robes of ofifice, came next, and were followed by Presi- dent Arthur and his Cabinet. The Presi- dent took the front seat on the right of the Presiding Ofificer's chair, next to that oc- cupied by Cyrus W. Field. Senator Sherman and Representative McKinley (Ohio) occupied seats at the desk on the right and left of the orator of the day. Mr, West, the British Minister, was the only member of the Diplomatic Corps who did not wear the court uni- form. A delegation of gentlemen from the Society of the Army of the Cumberland acted as ushers at the main entrance to the Rotunda and in the various corridors leading to the gallery. At 12:30 the orator of the day was an- nounced, and after a short prayer by the Chaplain of the House, F. D. Power, pres- ident Davis said: "This day is dedicated by Congress for memorial services of the late President of the United States, James A. Garfield. I present to you the Hon. James G. Blaine, who has been fitly chosen as the orator for this historical occasion." Mr. Blaine then rose, and standing at the clerk's desk, immediately in front of the two presiding officers, proceeded, with impressiveness of manner and clearness of tone, to deliver his eulogy from manu- script, as follows : Mr. Blaine's Oration. Mr, President : For the second time in this generation the great departments of the Government of the United States are assembled in the Hall of Representa- tives to do honor to the memory of a murdered President. Lincoln fell at the close of a mighty struggle in which the passions of men had been deeply stirred. The tragical termination of his great life added but another to the lengthened suc- cession of horrors which had marked so many lintels with the blood of the first- born. Garfield was slain in a day of peace, when brother had been reconciled to brother, and when anger and hate had been banished from the land. "Whoever 10 JAMES G. BLAINE. shall hereafter draw the portrait of mur- der, if he will show it as it has been ex- hibited where such example was last to have been looked for, let him not give it the grim visage of Moloch, the brow knit- ted by revenge, the face black with settled hate. Let him draw, rather, a decorous, smooth-faced, bloodless demon ; not so much an example of human nature in its depravity and in its paroxysms of crime, as an infernal being, a fiend in the ordi- nary display and development of his character." Garfield's Ancestors. From the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth till the uprising against Charles First, about twenty thousand emigrants came from old England to New England. As they came in pursuit of intellectual freedom and ecclesiastical indepexidence rather than for worldly honor and profit, the emigration naturally ceased when the contest for religious liberty began in ear- nest at home. The man who struck his most effective blow for freedom of con- science by sailing for the colonies in 1620 would have been accounted a deserter to leave after 1640. The opportunity had then come on the soil of England for that great contest which established the au- thority of Parliament, gave religious free- dom to the people, sent Charles to the block, and committed to the hands of Oliver Cromwell the Supreme Executive authority of England. The English emi- gration was never renewed, and from these twenty thousand men with a small emigra- tion from Scotland and from France are descended the vast numbers who have New England blood in their veins. In 1685 the revocation of the edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. scattered to other countries four hundred thousand Protes- tants, who were among the most intelli- gent and enterprising of French subjects ; merchants of capital, skilled manufac- turers, and handicraftsmen superior at the time to all others in Europe. A consider- able number of these Huguenot French came to America ; a few landed in New England and became honorably promi- nent in its history. Their names have in large part become anglicised, or have dis- appeared, but their blood is traceable in many of the most reputable families, and their fame is perpetuated in honorable memorials and useful institutions. From these two sources, the English- Puritan and the French-Huguenot, came the late President — his father, Abram Gar- field, being descended from the one, and his mother, Eliza- Ballou, from the other. It was a good stock on both sides — none better, none braver, none truer. There was in it an inheritance of courage, of manliness, of imperishable love of liberty, of undying adherence to principle. Gar- field was proud of his blood ; and, with as much satisfaction as if he were a British nobleman reading his stately ancestral record in Burke's Peerage, he spoke of himself as ninth in descent from those who would not endure the oppression of the Stuarts, and seventh in descent from the brave French Protestants who refused to submit to tyranny even from the Grand Monarque. General Garfield delighted to dwell on these traits, and during his only visit to England, he busied himself in discovermg every trace of his forefathers in parish registries and on ancient army rolls. Sit- ting with a friend in the gallery of the House of Commons one night after a long day's labor in this field of research, he said with evident elation that in every war in which for three centuries patriots of Eng- lish blood had struck sturdy blows for constitutional government and human liberty, his family had been represented. They were at Marston Moor, at Naseby, and at Preston ; they were at Bunker Hill, at Saratoga, and at Monmouth, and in his own person he had battled for the same great cause in the war which preserved the Union of the States. Losing his father before he was two years old, the early life of Garfield was one of privation, but its poverty has been made indelicately and unjustly prominent. Thousands of readers have imagined him as the ragged, starving child, whose reality too often greets the eye in the squalid sec- tions of our large cities. General Garfield's infancy and youth had none of their des- titution, none of their pitiful features ap- pealing to the tender heart and to the JAMES G. BLAINE. 11 open hand of charity. He was a poor boy in the same sense in which Henry Clay was a poor boy ; in which Andrew Jack- son was a poor boy ; in which Daniel Web- ster was a poor boy ; in the sense in which a large majority of the eminent men of America in all generations have been poor boys. Before a great multitude of men, in a public speech, Mr. Webster bore this testimony : His Early Days, '' It did not happen to me to be born in a log cabin, but my elder brothers and sis- ters were born in a log cabin raised amid the snow-drifts of New Hampshire, at a period so early that when the smoke rose first from its rude chimney and curled over the frozen hills there was no similar evi- dence of a white man's habitation between it and the settlements on the rivers of Canada. Its remains still exist. I make to it an annual visit. I carry my children to it to teach them the hardships endured by the generations which have gone before them. I love to dwell on the tender re- collections, the kindred ties, the early affections and the touching narratives and incidents which mingle with all I know of this primitive family abode." With the requisite change of scene the same words would aptly portray the early days of Garfield. The poverty of the frontier, where all are engaged in a com- mon struggle and where a common sym- pathy and hearty co-operation lighten the burdens of each, is a very different pov- erty, different in kind, different in influ- ence and effect from that conscious and humiliating indigence which is every day forced to contrast itself with neighboring wealth on which it feels a sense of grind- ing dependence. The poverty of the frontier is indeed no poverty. It is but the beginning of wealth, and has the boundless possibilities of the future always opening before it. No man ever grew up in the agricultural regions of the West, where a house-raising, or even a corn- husking, is a matter of common interest and helpfulness, with any other feeling than that of broad-minded, generous inde- pendence. This honorable independence marked the youth of Garfield as it marks the youth of millions of the best blood and brain now training for the future citi- zenship and future government of the re- public. Garfield was born heir to land, to the title of free-holder which has been the patent and passport of self-respect with the Anglo-Saxon race ever since Hengist and Horsa landed on the shores of Eng- land. His adventure on the canal — an alternative between that and the deck of a Lake Erie schooner — was a farmer boy's device for earning money, just as the New England lad begins a possibly great career by sailing before the mast on a coasting vessel or on a merchantman bound to the farther India or to the China Seas. No manly man feels anything of shame in looking back to early struggles with ad- verse circumstances, and no man feels a worthier pride than when he has con- quered the obstacles to his progress. But no one of noble mould desires to be looked upon as having occupied a menial position, as having been repressed by a feeling ot inferiority, or as having suffered the evils of poverty until relief was found at the hand of charity. General Garfield's youth presented no hardships which family love and family energy did not overcome, sub- jected him to no privations which he did not cheerfully accept, and left no memo- ries save those which were recalled with delight, and transmitted with profit and with pride. Garfield's early opportunities for secur- ing an education were extremely limited, and yet were sufficient to develop in him an intense desire to learn. He could read at three years of age, and each winter he had the advantage of the district school. He read all the books to be found within the circle of his acquaintance ; some of them he got by heart. While yet in child- hood he was a constant student of the Bible, and became familiar with its litera- ture. The dignity and earnestness of his speech in his maturer life gave evidence of this early training. At eighteen years ot age he was ableto teach school, and thence- forward his ambition was to obtain a col- lege education. To this end he bent all his efforts, working in the harvest field, at the carpenter's bench, and, in the winter season, teaching the common schools of 12 JAMES G. BLAINE. the neighborhood. While thus laborious- ly occupied he found time to prosecute his studies and was so successful that at twenty- two years of age he was able to enter the junior class at Williams College, then un- der the presidency of the venerable and honored Mark Hopkins, who, in the full- ness of his powers, survives the eminent pupil to whom he was of inestimable ser- vice. The history of Garfield's life to this period presents no novel features. He had undoubtedly shown perseverance, self-reliance, self-sacrifice, and ambition — qualities which, be it said for the honor of our country, are everywhere to be found among the young men of America But from his graduation at Williams onward, to the hour of his tragical death, Garfield's career was eminent and exceptional. Slowly working through his educational period, receiving his diploma when twenty- four years of age, he seemed at one bound to spring into conspicuous and brilliant success. Within six years he was success- ively president of a college. State Senator of Ohio, Major General of the Army of the United States and Representative- elect to the National Congress. A com- bination of honors so varied, so elevated, within a period so brief and to a man so young, is without precedent or parallel in the history of the country. In the Army-. Garfield's army life was begun with no other military knowledge than such as he had hastily gained from books in the few months preceding his march to the field. Stepping from civil life to the head of a regiment, the first order he received when ready to cross the Ohio was to assume command of a brigade, and to operate as an independent force in Eastern Kentucky. His immediate duty was to check the ad- vance of Humphrey Marshall, who was marching down the Big Sandy with the intention of occupying in connection with other Confederate forces the entire terri- tory of Kentucky, and of precipitating the State into secession. This was at the close of the year 1861. Seldom, if ever, has a young college professor been thrown into a more embarrassing and discouraging position. He knew just enough of mili- tary science, as he expressed it himself, to measure the extent of his ignorance, and with a handful of men he was marching, in rough wmter weather, into a strange country, among a hostile population to confront a largely superior force under the command of a distinguished graduate of West Point, who had seen active and im- portant service in two preceding wars. The result of the campaign is a matter of history. The skill, the endurance, the extraordinary energy shown by Garfield, the courage imparted to his men, raw and untried as himself, the measures he adopt- ed to increase his force and to create in the enemy's mind exaggerated estimates of his numbers, bore perfect fruit in the rout- ing of Marshall, the capture of his camp, the dispersion of his force, and the eman- cipation of an important territory from the rebellion. Coming at the close of a long series of disasters to the Union arms, Gar- field's victory had an unusual and extra- neous importance, and in the popular judgment elevated the young commander to the rank of a military hero. With less than two thousand men in his entire com- mand, with a mobilized force of only eleven hundred, without cannon, he had met an army of five thousand and defeat- ed them — driving Marshall's forces suc- cessively from two strongholds of their own selection, fortified with abundant ar- tillery. Major General Buell, command- ing the Department of the Ohio, an expe- rienced and able soldier of the regular army, published an order of thanks and congratulation on the brilliant result of the Big Sandy campaign which would have turned the head of a less cool and sensible man than Garfield. Buell declared that his services had called into action the highest qualities of a soldier, and Presi- dent Lincoln supplemented these words of praise by the more substantial reward of a brigadier general's commission, to bear date from the day of his decisive victory over Marshall. The subsequent military career of Gar- field fully sustained its brilliant beginning. With his new commission he was assigned to the command of a brigade in the Army of the Ohio, and took part in the second JAMES G. BLAINE. 13 and decisive day's fight in the great battle of Shiloh. The remainder of the year iS6i was not especially eventful to Gar- field, as it was not to the armies with which he was serving. His practical sense was called into exercise in completing the task, assigned him by General Buell, of reconstructing bridges and re-establishing lines of railway communication for the army. His occupation in this useful but not brilliant field was varied by service on courts-martial of importance, in which de- partment of duty he won a valuable repu- tation, attracting the notice and securing the approval of the able and eminent Judge-Advocate-General of the Army. That of itself was a warrant to honorable fame ; for among the great men who in those trying days gave themselves, with entire devotion, to the service of their country, one who brought to that service the ripest learning, the most fervid elo- quence, the most varied attainments, who labored with modesty and shunned ap- plause, who in the day of triumph sat re- served and silent and grateful — as Francis Deak in the hour of Hungary's deHverance — was Joseph Holt, of Kentucky, who in his honorable retirement enjoys the respect and veneration of all who love the Union of the States. Early in 1863 Garfield was assigned to the highly important and responsible post of chief of staff of General Rosecrans, then at the head of the Army of the Cumber- land. Perhaps in a great military cam- paign no subordinate officer requires sounder judgment and quicker knowledge of men than the chief of staff to the com- manding general. An indiscreet man in such a position can sow more discord, breed more jealousy and disseminate more strife than any other officer in the entire organization. When General Garfield as- sumed his new duties he found various troubles already well developed and seri- ously affecting the value and efficiency of the Army of the Cumberland. The energy, the impartiality and the tact with which he sought to allay these dissensions, and to discharge the duties of his new and trying position, will always remain one of the most striking proofs of his great versatility. His military duties closed on the memor- able field of Chickamauga, a field which however disastrous to the Union arms gave to him the occasion of winning imperish- able laurels. The very rare distinction was accorded him of great promotion for his bravery on a field that was lost. Pres- ident Lincoln appointed him a Major- General in the Army of the United States for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Chickamauga. The Army of the Cuinberland was re- organized under the command of General Thomas, who promptly offered Garfield one of its divisions. He was extremely desirous to accept the position, but was embarrassed by the fact that he had, a year before, been elected to Congress, and the time when he must take his seat was drawing near. He preferred to remain in the military service, and had within his own breast the largest confidence of suc- cess in the wider field which his new rank opened to him. Balancing the argumcLts on the one side and the other, anxious to determine what was for the best, desirous above all things to do his patriotic duty, he was decisively influenced by the advice of President Lincolm and Secretary Stan- ton, both of whom assured him that he could at that time, be of especial value in the House of Representatives. He re- signed his commission of Major-General on the fifth day of December, 1863, and took his seat in the House of Representa- tives on the 7th. He had served two years and four months in the army, and had just completed his thirty-second year. In Congress. The Thirty-eighth Congress is pre-emi- nently entitled in history to the designa- tion of the War Congress. It was elected while the war was flagrant, and every member was chosen upon the issues in- volved in the continuance of the struggle. The Thirty-seventh Congress had, indeed, legislated to a large extent on war mea- sures ; but it was chosen before any one believed that secession of the States would be actually attempted. The magnitude of the work which fell upon its successor was unprecedented, both in respect to the vast sums of money raised for the support of the Army and Navy, and of the new and 14 JAMES G. BLAINE. extraordinary powers of legislation which it was forced to exercise. Only twenty- four States were represented, and one hundred and eighty-two members were upon its roll. Among these were many distinguished party leaders on both sides, veterans in the public service, with estab- lished reputations for ability, and with that skill which comes only from parlia- mentary experience. Into this assemblage of men Garfield entered without special preparation, and it might almost be said unexpectedly. The question of taking command of a division of troops under General Thomas, or taking his seat in Congress was kept open till the last mo- ment — so late, indeed, that the resignation of his military commission and his appear- ance in the House were almost contem- poraneous. He wore the uniform of a Major-General of the United States Army on Saturday, and on Monday in civilian's dress, he answered to the roll-call as a Representative in Congress from the State of Ohio. He was especially fortunate in the con- stituency which elected him. Descended almost entirely from New England stock, the men of the Ashtabula district were in- tensely radical on all questions relating to human rights. Well educated, thrifty, thoroughly intelligent in aftairs, acutely discerning of character, not quick to bestow confidence, and slow to withdraw it, they were at once the most helpful and most ex- acting of supporters. Their tenacious trust in men in whom they have once con- fided is illustrated by the unparalleled fact that Elisha Whittlesey, Joshua R. Gid- dings, and James A. Garfield represented the district for fifty-four years. There is no test of a man's ability in any department of public life more severe than service in the House of Representatives ; there is no place where so little deference is paid to reputation previously acquired or to eminence won outside ; no place where so little consideration is shown for the feelings or failures of beginners. What a man gains in the House he gains by sheer force of his own character, and if he loses and falls back he must expect no mercy and will receive no sympathy. It is a field in which the survival of the strongest is the recognized rule and where no pretense can deceive and no glamour can mislead. The real man is discovered, and his worth is impartially weighed, his rank is irreversibly decreed. With possibly a single exception Gar- field was the youngest member in the House when he entered, and was but seven years from his college graduation. But he had not been in his seat sixty days before his ability was recognized and his place conceded. He stepped to the front with the confidence of one who belonged there. The House was crowded with strong men of both parties ; nineteen of them have since been transferred to the Senate, and many of them have served with distinction in the gubernatorial chairs of their respective States, and on foreign missions of great consequence ; but among all none grew so rapidly, none so firmly, as Garfield. As is said by Trevelyan of his parliamentary hero, Garfield succeeded " because all the world in concert could not have kept him in the background, and because when once in the front he played his part with a prompt intrepidity and a commanding ease that were but the out- ward symptoms of the immense reserves of energy, on which it was in his power to draw." Indeed the apparently reserve force which Garfield possessed was one of his great characteristics. He never did so well but that it seemed he could easily have done better. He never expended so much strength but that he seemed to be holding additional power at call. This is one of the happiest and rarest distinctions of an effective debater, and often counts for as much in persuading an assembly as the eloquent and elaborate argument. The great measure of Garfield's fame was filled by his services in the House of Representatives. His military life, illus- strated by honorable performance, and rich in promise, was, as he himself felt, pre- maturely terminated, and necessarily in- complete. Speculation as to what he might have done in a field, where the great prizes are so few, cannot be profitable. It is sufficient to say that as a soldier he did his duty bravely ; he did it intelligently ; he won an enviable fame, and he retired from the service without blot or breath JAMES G. BLAINE. 15 against him. As a lawyer, though admir- ably equipped for the profession, he can scarcely be said to have entered on its practice. The few efforts he made at the bar were distinguished by the same high order of talent which he exhibited on every field where he was put to the test, and if a man may be accepted as a competent judge of his own capacities and adapta- tions, the law was the profession to which Garfield should have devoted himself. But fate ordained otherwise, and his re- putation in history will rest largely upon his service in the House of Representatives. That service was exceptionally long. He was nine times consecutively chosen to the House, an honor enjoyed by not more than six other Representatives of the more than five thousand who have been elected from the organization of the government to this hour. Orator and Debater. As a parliamentary orator, as a debater on an issue squarely joined, where the position had been chosen and the ground laid out, Garfield must be assigned a very high rank. More, perhaps, than any man with whom he was associated in public life, he gave careful and systematic study to public questions, and he came to every discussion in which he took part with elaborate and complete preparation. He was a steady and indefatigable worker. Those that imagine that talent or genius can supply the place or achieve the results of labor will find no encouragement in Garfield's life. In preliminary work he was apt, rapid and skillful. He possessed in a high degree the power of readily ab- sorbing ideas and facts, and, like Dr. John- son, had the art of getting from a book all that was of value in it by a reading appar- ently so quick and cursory that it seemed like a mere glance at the table of contents. He was a pre-eminently fair and candid man in debate, took no petty advantage, stooped to no unworthy methods, avoided personal allusions, rarely appealed to pre- judice, did not seek to inflame passion. He had a quicker eye for the strong point of his adversary than for his weak point, and on his own side he so marshaled his weighty arguments as to make his hearers forget any possible lack in the complete strength of his position. He had a habit of stating his opponent's side with such amplitude of fairness and such liber- ality of concession that his followers often complained that he was giving his cases away. But never in his prolonged partici- pation in the proceedings of the House did he give his case away, or fail in the judgment of competent and impartial listeners to gain the mastery. These characteristics, which marked Garfield as a great debater, did not, how- ever, make him a great parliamentary leader. A parliamentary leader, as that term is understood wherever free repre- sentative government exists, is necessarily and very strictly the organ of his party. An ardent American defined the instinc- tive warmth of patriotism when he offered the toast, " Our country always right, but right or wrong, our country.'' The par- liamentary leader who has a body of fol- lowers who will do and dare and die for the cause, is one who believes his party always right, but right or wrong, is for his party. No more important or exacting duty devolves upon him than the selection of the field and the time for contest. He must know not merely how to strike, but where to strike and when to strike. He often skillfully avoids the strength of his opponent's position and scatters confusion in his ranks by attacking an exposed point when really the righteousness of the cause and the strength of logical intrenchment are against him. He conquers often both against the right and the heavy battalions ; as when young Chas. Fox, in the days of his Toryism, carried the House of Com- mons against justice, against its immemo- rial rights, against his own convictions, if, indeed, at that period Fox had convictions, and, in the interest of a corrupt adminis- tration, in obedience to a tyrannical sove- reign, drove Wilkes from the seat to which the electors of Middlesex had chosen him, aud installed Luttrell in defiance, not merely of law, but of public decency. For an achievement of that kind Garfield was disqualified — disqualified by the tex- ture of his mind, by the honesty of his heart, by his conscience, and by every instinct and aspiration of his nature. 16 JAMES G. BLAINE. The three most distinguished parlia- mentary leaders hitherto developed in this country are Mr. Clay, Mr. Douglas and Mr. Thaddeus Stevens. Each was a man of consummate ability, of great earnest- ness, of intense personality, differing widely each from the others, and yet with a single trait in common — the power to command. In the give-and-take of daily discussion, in the art of controlling and consolidating reluctant and refractory fol- lowers ; in the skill to overcome all forms of opposition, and to meet with compe- tency and courage the varying phases of unlooked-for assault or unsuspected defec- tion, it would be difficult to rank with these a fourth name in all our Congres- sional history. But of these Mr. Clay was the greatest. It would, perhaps, be im- possible to find in the parliamentary annalsof the world a parallel to Mr. Clay, in 1841, when at sixty-four years of age, he took the control of the Whig party from the President who had received their suffrages, against the power of Webster in the Cabinet, against the eloquence of Choate in the Senate, against the Hercu- lean efforts of Caleb Cushing and Henry A. Wise in the House. In unshared lead- ership, in the pride and plenitude of power he hurled against John Tyler with deepest scorn the mass of that conquering column which had swept over the land in 1840, and drove his administration to seek shelter behind the lines of his political foes. Mr. Douglas achieved a victory scarcely less wonderful when, in 1854, against the secret desires of a strong ad- ministration, against the wise counsel of the older chiefs, against the conservative instincts and even the moral sense of the country, he forced a reluctant Congress into a repeal of the Missouri compromise. Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, in his contests from 1865 to 1868, actually advanced his parliamentary leadership until Congress tied the hands of the President and gov- erned the country by its own will, leaving only perfunctory duties to be discharged by the Executive. With two hundred mil- lions of patronage in his hands at the open- ing of the contest, aided by the active force of Seward in the Cabinet and the moral power of Chase on the Bench, Andrew Johnson could not command the support of one-third in either House against the parliamentary uprising of which Thaddeus Stevens was the animating spirit and the unquestioned leader. From these three great men Garfield differed radically, differed in the quality of his mind, in temperament, in the form and phase of ambition. He could not do what they did, but he could do what they could not, and in the breadth of his Con- gressional work he left that which will longer exert a political influence among men, and which, measured by the severe test of posthumous criticism, will secure a more enduring and more enviable fame. Garfleld's ludnstry. Those unfamilar with Garfield's indus- try and ignorant of the details of his work may, in some degree, measure them by the annals of Congress. No one of the gen- eration of public men to which he be- longed has contributed so much that will be valuable for future reference. His speeches are numerous, many of them brilliant, all of them well studied, care- uUy phrased and exhaustive of the sub- ject under consideration. Collected from the scattered pages of ninety royal octavo volumes of Congressional Records they would present an invaluable compendium of the political history of the most impor- tant era through which the national gov- ernment has ever passed. When the his- tory of this period shall be impartially written, when war legislation, measures of reconstruction, protection of human rights, amendments to the constitution, mainte- nance of public credit, steps toward specie resumption, true theories of revenue may be reviewed, unsurrounded by prejudice and disconnected from partisanism, the speeches of Garfield will be estimated at their true value, and will be found to com- prise a vast magazine of fact and argu- ment, of clear analysis and sound conclu- sion. Indeed if no other authority were accessible, his speeches in the House of Representatives from December 1863, to June 1880, would give a well connected history and complete defence of the im- portant legislation of the seventeen event- ful years that constitute his Parliamentary JAMES G. BLAINE. 17 life. Far beyond that, his speeches would be found to forecast many great measures, yet to be completed — measures which he knew were beyond the public opinion of the hour, but which he confidently be- lieved would secure popular approval within the period of his own lifetime, and by the aid of his own efforts. Differing, as Garfield does, from the brilliant parliamentary leaders, it is not easy to find his counterpart anywhere in the record of American public life. He perhaps more nearly resembles Mr. Seward in his supreme faith in the all-conquering power of a principle. He had the love of learning, and the patient industry of in- vestigation, to which John Quincy Adams owed his prominence and his Presidency. He had some of those ponderous elements of mind which distinguished Mr. Webster, and which indeed, in all our public life, have left the great Massachusetts Senator without an intellectual peer. In English parliamentary history, as in our own, the leaders in the House of Com- mons present points of essential difference from Garfield. But some of his methods recall the best features in the strong, inde- pendent course of Sir Robert Peel, and striking resemblances are discernible in that most promising of modern conserva- tives, who died too early for his country and his fame, the Lord George Bentinck He had all of Burke's love for the sublime and the beautiful, with, possibly, some- thing of his superabundance, and in his faith and his magnamity, in his power of statement, in his subtle analysis, in his faultless logic, in his love of literature, in his wealth and world of illustration, one is reminded of the great English statesman of to-day, who, confronted with obstacles that would daunt any but the dauntless, reviled by those whom he would relieve as bitterly as by those whose supposed rights he is forced to invade, still labors with serene courage for the amelioration of Ireland, and for the honor of the English name. Nomination to the Presidency. Garfield's nomination to the Presidency, while not predicted or anticipated, was not a surprise to the country. His prominence in Congress, his solid qualities, his wide reputation, strengthened by his then recent election as Senator from Ohio, kept him in the public eye as a man occupying the very highest rank among those entitled to be called statesmen. It was not mere chance that brought him this high honor. " We must," says Mr. Emerson, " reckon success a constitutional trait. If Eric is in robust health, and has slept well and is at the top of his condition, and thirty years old at his departure from Greenland, he will steer west and his ships will reach New Found- land. But take Eric out and put in a stronger and bolder man and the ships will sail six hundred, one thousand, fifteen hundred miles farther and reach Labrador and New England. Theili is no chance in results.'' As a candidate, Garfield steadily grew in popular favor. He was met with a storm of detraction at the very hour of his nomination, and it continued with increas- ing volume and momentum until the close of his victorious campaign • No might nor greatness in mortality Can censure 'scape ; backwounding calumny The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue ? Under it all he was calm, and strong, and confident; never lost his self-posses- sion, did no unwise act, spoke no hasty or ill-considered word. Indeed nothing in his whole life is more remarkable or more creditable than his bearing through those five full months of vituperation — a pro- longed agony of trial to a sensitive man, a constant and cruel draft upon the powers of moral endurance. The great mass of these unjust imputations passed unnoticed, and, with the general debris of the cam- paign, fell into oblivion. But in a few instances the iron entered his soul and he died with the injury unforgotten if not un- forgiven. One aspect of Garfield's candidacy was unprecedented. Never before in the his- tory of partisan contests in this country had a successful Presidential candidate spoken, freely on passing events and current issues. To attempt anything of the kind seemed novel, rash, and even desperate. The older class of voters recalled the unfortu- 18 JAMES G. BLAINE. nate Alabama letter, in which Mr. Clay was supposed to have signed his political death- warrant. They remembered also the hot- tempered effusion by which General Scott lost a large share of his popularity before his nomination, and the unfortunate speech- es which rapidly consumed the remainder. The younger voters had seen Mr. Greeley in a series of vigorous and original addres- ses, preparing the pathway for his own de- feat. Unmindful of these warnings, un- heeding the advice of friends, Garfield spoke to large crowds as he journeyed to and from New York in August, to a great multitude in that city, to delegations and deputations of every kind that called at Mentor during the summer and autumn. With innumerable critics, watchful and eager to catch a phrase that might be turned into odium or ridicule, or a sentence that might be distorted to his own or his party's injury, Garfield did not trip or halt in any one of his seventy speeches. This seems all the more remarkable when it is remembered that he did not write what he said, and yet spoke with such logical con- secutiveness of thought and such admira- ble precision of phrase as to defy the acci- dent of misreport and the malignity of misrepresentation. As President. In the beginning of his Presidential life Garfield's experience did not yield him pleasure or satisfaction. The duties that engross so large a portion of the Presi- dent's time were distasteful to him, and were unfavorably contrasted with his leg- islative work. "I have been dealing all these years with ideas,'' he impatiently ex- claimed one day, "and here 1 am dealing only with persons. I have been heretofore treating of the fundamental principles of government, and here I am considering all day whether A or B shall be appointed to this or that office." He was earnestly seeking some practical way of correcting the evils arising from the distribution of overgrown and unwieldy patronage — evils always appreciated and often discussed by him, but whose magnitude had been more deeply impressed upon his mind since his accession to the Presidency, Had he lived, a comprehensive improvement in the mode of appointment and in the tenure of office would have been proposed by him, and with the aid of Congress no doubt per- fected. But, while many of the Executive duties were not grateful to him, he was assiduous and conscientious in their discharge. Froin the very outset he exhibited administrative talent of a high order. He grasped the helm of office with the hand of a master. In this respect, indeed, he constantly sur- prised many who were most intimately as- sociated with him in the government, and especially those who had feared that he might be lacking in the executive faculty. His disposition of business was orderly and rapid. His power of analysis, and his skill in classification, enabled him to des- patch a vast mass of detail with singular promptness and ease. His Cabinet meet- ings were admirably conducted. His clear presentation of official subjects, his well- considered suggestion of topics on which discussion was invited, his quick decision when all had been heard, combined to show a thoroughness of mental trainingas rare as his natural ability and his facile adaptation to a new and enlarged field of labor. With perfect comprehension of all the inheritances of the war, with a cool calcu- lation of the obstacles in his way, impelled always by a generous enthusiasm, Gar- field conceived that much might be done by his administration towards restoring harmony between the different sections of the Union. He was anxious to go South and speak to the people. As early as April he had ineffectually endeavored to arrange for a trip to Nashville, whither he had been cordially invited, and he was again disappointed a few weeks later to find that he could not go to South Carolina to attend the centennial celebration of the victory of the Cowpens. But for the au- tumn he definitely counted on being pre- sent at three memorable assemblies in the South, the celebration at Yorktown, the opening of the Cotton Exposition at Atlanta, and the meeting of the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga. He was already turning over in his mind his ad- dress for each occasion, and the three taken together, he said to a friend, gave JAMES G. BLAINE. 19 him the exact scope "and verge which he needed. At Yorktown he would have be- fore him the associations of a hundred years that bound the South and the North in the sacred memory of a common dan- ger and a common victory. At Atlanta he would present the material interests and the industrial development which appealed to the thrift and independence of every household, and which should unite the two sections by the instinct of self-interest and self-defence. At Chattanooga he would revive memories of the war only to show that after all its disaster and all its suffer- ing, the country was stronger and greater, the Union rendered indissoluble, and the future, through the agony and blood ot one generation, made brighter and better for all. Garfield's ambition for the success of his administration was high. With strong caution and conservatism in his nature, he was in no danger of attempting rash ex- periments or resorting to the empiricism of statesmanship. But he believed that renewed and closer attention should be given to questions affecting the material interests and commercial prospects of fifty millions of people. He believed that our continental relations, extensive and unde- veloped as they are, involved responsibil- ity, and could be cultivated into profitable friendship or be abandoned to harmful indifference or lasting enmity. He be- lieved with equal confidence that an essen- tial forerunner to a new era of national progress must be a feeling of contentment in every section of the Union, and a gen- erous belief that the benefits and burdens of government would be common to all. Himself a conspicuous illustration of what ability and ambition may do under repub- lican institutions, he loved his country with a passion of patriotic devotion, and every waking thought was given to her ad- vancement. He was an American in all his aspirations, and he looked to the des- tiny and influence of the United States with the philosophic composure of Jefferson and the demonstrative^confidence of John Adams. The Political Controversy. The political events which disturbed the President's serenity for many weeks be- fore that fatal day in July form an im- portant chapter in his career, and, in his own judgment, involved questions of prin- ciple and of right which are vitally essen- tial to the constitutional administration of the Federal Government. It would be out of place here and now to speak the language of controversy, but the events referred to, however they may continue to be source of contention with others, have become, so far as Garfield is concerned, as much a matter of history as his heroism atChicka- mauga, or his illustrious service in the House. Detail is not needful, and per- sonal antagonism shall not be rekindled by any word uttered to-day. The motives of those opposing him are not to be here adversely interpreted nor their course harshly characterized. But of the dead President this is to be said, and said be- cause his own speech is forever silenced, and he can be no more heard except through the fidelity and the love of sur- viving friends. From the beginning to the end of ths controversy he so much de- plored, the President was never for one moment actuated by any motive of gain to himself or of loss to others. Least of all men did he harbor revenge, rarely did he even show resentment, and malice was not in his nature. He was congenially employed only in the exchange of good offices and the doing of kindly deeds. There wa"> not an hour, from the begin- ning of the trouble till the fatal shot entered his body, when the President would not gladly, for the sake of restoring harmony, have retraced any step he had taken, if such retracing had merely in- volved consequences personal to himself. The pride of consistency, or any supposed sense of humiliation that might result from surrendering his position, had not a feath- er's weight with him. No man was ever less subject to such influences from within or from without. But after the most anxious deliberation and the coolest sur- vey of all the circumstances, he solemnly believed that the true prerogatives of the Executive were involved in the issue which had been raised, and that he would be unfaithful to his supreme obliga- tion if he failed to maintain, in all their vigor, the constitutional rights and digni- 20 JAMES G. BLAINE. ties of his great office. He believed this in all the convictions of conscience when in sound and vigorous health, ana he be- lieved it in his suffering and prostration in the last conscious thought which his wearied mind bestowed on the transitory struggles of life. More than this need not be said. Less than this could not be said. Justice to the dead, the highest obligation that devolves upon the living, demands the declaration that in all the bearings of the subject, actual or possible, the President was con- tent in his mind, justified in his conscience, immovable in his conclusions. GarAeld's Religion. The religious element in Garfield's char- acter was deep and earnest. In his early youth he espoused the faith of the Disciples, a sect of that great Baptist Communion which in different ecclesiasti- cal establishments is so numerous and so influential throughout all parts of the Uni- ted States. But the broadening tendency of his mind, and his active spirit of in- quiry were early apparent, and carried him beyond the dogmas of sect and the restraints of association. In selecting a college in which to continue his education, he rejected Bethany, though presided over by Alexander Campbell, the greatest preacher of his church. His reasons were characteristic : first, that Bethany leaned too heavily toward slavery ; and, second, that being himself a Disciple, and the son of Disciple parents, he had little acquaint- ance with people of other beliefs, and he thought it would make him more liberal, quoting his own words, both in his reli- gious and general views to go into a new circle and be under new influences. The liberal tendency which he had an- ticipated as the result of wider culture was fully realized. He was emancipated from mere sectarian belief, and with eager in- terest pushed his investigations in the di- rection of moilern progressive thought. He followed with quickening step in the paths of exploration and speculation so fearlessly trodden by Darwin, by Huxley, by Tyndall, and by other living scientists of the radical and advanced type. His own church, binding its disciples by no/ormu- lated creed.but accepting the Old and New Testaments as the word of God, with un- biased liberality of private interpretation, favored, if it did not stimulate, the spirit of investigation. Its members profess with sincerity, and profess only, to be of one mind and one faith with those who imme- diately followed the Master, and who were first called Christians at Antioch. But however high Garfield reasoned of ' fixed fate, free-will, foreknowledge abso- lute," he was never separated from the Church of the Disciples in his affections and in his associations. For him it held the ark of the covenant. To him it was the gate of Heaven. The world of re- ligious belief is full of solecisms and con- tradictions. A philosophic observer de- clares that men by the thousand will die in defense of a creed whose doctrines they do not comprehend and whose tenets they habitually violate. It is equally true that men by the thousand will cling to church organizations with instinctive and undy- ing fidelity when their belief in maturer years is radically different from that which inspired them as neophytes. But after this range of speculation, and this latitude of doubt, Garfield came back always with freshness and delight to the simpler instincts of religious faith, which, earliest implanted, longest survive. Not many weeks before his assassination, walk- ing on the banks of the Potomac with a friend, and conversing on those topics of personal religion, concerning which noble natures have an unconquerable reserve, he said that he found the Lord's Prayer and the simple petitions learned in infancy in- finitely restful to him, not merely in their stated repetition, but in their casual and frsquent recall as he went about the daily duties of life. Certain texts of Scripture had a very strong hold on his memory and his heart. He heard, while in Edinburgh some years ago, an eminent Scotch preach- er who prefaced his sermon with reading the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, which book had been the subject of careful study with Garfield during his religious life. He was greatly impressed by the elocution of the preacher and de- clared that it had imparted a new and deeper meaning to the majestic utterances JAMES G. BLAINE. 21 of Saint Paul. He referred often in after years to that memorable service, and dwelt with exaltation of feeling upon the radiant promise and the assured hope with which the great apostle of the Gentiles was " per- suaded that neither death, nor life, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pres- ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." The crowning characteristic of General Garfield's religious opinions, as, indeed, of all his opinions, was his liberality. In all things he had charity. Tolerance was of his nature. He respected in others the qualities which he possessed himself — sincerity of conviction and frankness of expression. With him the inquiry was not so much what a man believes, but does he believe it? The lines of his friendship and his confidence encircled men of every creed, and men of no creed, and to the end of his life, on his ever lengthening list of friends, were to be found the names of a pious Catholic priest and of an honest- minded and generous-hearted free-thinker. Tlie Assassin's Bullet. On the morning of Saturday, July 2d, the President was a contented and happy man — not in an ordinary degree, but joy- fully, almost boyishly happy. On his way to the railroad station to which he drove slowly, in conscious enjoymentof the beau- tiful morning, with an unwonted sense of leisure, and a keen anticipation of pleasure, his talk was all in the grateful and gratu- latory vein. He felt that after four months of trial his administration was strong in its grasp of affairs, strong in popular favor and destined to grow stronger; that grave difficulties confronting him at his inau- guration had been safely passed; that troubles lay behind him and not before him ; that he was soon to meet the wife whom he loved, now recovering from an illness which had but lately disquieted and at times almost unnerved him ; that he was going to his Alma Mater to renew the most cherished associations of liis young manhood, and to exchange greetings with those whose deepest interest had fol- lowed every step of his upward progress from the day he entered upon his college course until he had attained the loftiest elevation in the gift of his countrymen. Surely, if happiness can ever come from the honors or triumphs of this world, on that quiet July morning James A. Gar- field may well have been a happy man. No foreboding of evil haunted him ; no slightest premonition of danger clouded his sky. His terrible fate was upon him in an instant. One momenthe stood erect, strong, confident, in the years stretching peacefully out before him. The next he lay wounded, bleeding, helpless, doomed to weary weeks of torture, to silence and the grave. Great in life, he was surpassingly great in death. For no cause, in the very frenzy of wantonness and wickedness by the red hand of murder, he was thrust from the full tide of this world's interest, from its hopes, its aspirations, its victories, into the visible presence of death — and he did not quail. Not alone for one short moment in which, stunned and dazed, he could give up life, hardly aware of its relinquishment, but through days of deadly languor, through weeks of agony, that was not less agony because silently borne, with clear sight and calm courage, he looked into his open grave. What blight and ruin met his anguished eyes, whose lips may tell — what brilliant, broken plans, what baffled, high ambitions, what sundering of strong, warm, manhood's friendship, what bitter rending of sweet household ties ! Behind him a proud, expectant nation, a great host of sustaining friends, a cherished and happy mother, wearing the full, rich honors of her early toil and tears ; the wife of his youth, whose whole life lay in his ; the little boys not yet emerged from child- hood's day of frolic ; the fair, young daugh- ter ; the sturdy sons just springing into closest companionship, claiming every clay and every day rewarding a father's love and care ; and in his heart the eager, re- joicing power to meet all demands. Before him, desolation and great darkness ! And his soul was not shaken. His country- men were thrilled with instant, profound, and universal sympathy. Masterful in his mortal weakness, he became the centre of a nation's love, enshrined in the prayers of a world. But all the love and all the 22 JAMES G. BLAINE. sympathy could not share with him his suffering. He trod the wine press alone. With unfaltering front he faced death. With unfaihng tenderness he took leave of life. Above the demoniac hiss of the as- sassin's bullet he heard the voice of God. With simple resignation he bowed to the Divine decree. As the end drew near, his early craving for the sea returned. The stately mansion of power had been to him the wearisome hospital of pain, and he begged to be tak- en from his prison walls, from its oppres- sive, stifling air, from its homelessness and its hopelessness. Gently, silently, the love of a great people bore the pale suffer- er to the longed for healing of the sea, to live or to die, as God should will, within sight of its heaving billows, within sound of its manifold voices. With wan, fevered face tenderly lifted to the cooling breeze, he looked out wistfully upon the ocean's changing wonders ; on its far sails, whiten- ing in the morning light ; on its restless waves, rolling shoreward to break and die beneath the noonday .sun ; on the red clouds of evening, arching low to the hori- zon ; on the serene and shining pathway of the stars. Let us think that his dying eyes read a mystic mean'ng which only the rapt and parting soul may know. Let us believe that in the silence of the reced- ing world he heard the great waves break ing on a further shore and felt already upon his wasted brow the breath of the eternal morning. After the Oration. The eulogy was concluded at 1-50. hav- ing taken just an hour and a half in its delivery. As Mr. Blaine gave utterance to the last solemn words the spectators broke into a storm of applause, which was not hushed for some moments. The ad- dress was listened to with an intense inter- est and in solemn silence, unbroken by any sound except by a sigh of relief (such as arises from a large audience when a strong tension is removed from their minds) when the orator passed from his allusion to differences existing in the Re- publican party last spring. Benediction was then offered by the Rev. Dr. Bullock, Chaplain of the Senate. The Marine Band played the " Garfield Dead March " as the invited guests filed out of the Chamber in the same order in which they had entered it. The Senate was the last to leave, and then the House was called to order by the Speaker. Mr. McKinley, of Ohio, offered the fol- lowing resolution ; Resolved, The Senate concurring, that the thanks of Congress are hereby pre- sented to the Hon. James G. Blaine for the appropriate memorial address delivered by him on the life and services of James A. Garfield, late President of the United States, in the Representative Hall, before both houses of Congress and their invited guests, on the 27th of February, 1882, and that he be requested to furnish a copy for publication. Colonel Frank A. Burr, of the Philadel- phia Press, one of the finest biographical writers in the country, has given some graphic sketches of Blaine's ancestors and boyhood, which we take the liberty of re- publishing. ■\Vliat lie Saw and Heard. There is a gift that is potent when one calls upon the dusty past in a grave yard. It is to learn the history and genius of the human life that ended when the mound was raised and the inscription cut in the stone that arrests attention. Who was it that said that people too often read the inscrip- tions upon tombstones without knowing or caring aught of the genius that once resi- ded m the inanimate dust beneath them ? He spoke the truth, and how much people often miss by being content with what is recorded above-ground. I stood beside two old graves to-day in this village that are in the shadow of the lit'le Catholic church that so quickly recalled to me Longfellow's beautiful lines. The marble that marked them was much newer than the mounds, and the surround- ings impressed me with the thought that a dutiful and reverent son had, years after, when means and opportunity that were wanting when dearh called father and mother, placed a fitting monument to mark the spot where they slept. It is a JAMES G. BLAINE. 23 plain, unpretentious stone that marks these graves, and it was the names only that attracted my attention. They were those of Epliraini. Li. Blalue and niaria Gillespie Blaiite. "Who were these two people in life?" I asked of an old gentleman, who had wandered along with me to this quiet city of the dead sleep. " Why, they were the father and mother of James G. Blaine. I knew them both well. Eph Blaine and I went to school together. He was one of the founders of this town, and was 'squire here for many a year. He was elected prothonotary of the county in 1842, and moved to Washington, the county seat. He married Maria, a daughter of old Neal Gillespie, the smartest man in this whole section, and from his people James Gillespie Blaine derives his middle name. The Gillespies were among the most prominent families in the State. The seal of nature's nobility was stamped upon them, one and all. The men were brave and stalwart ; as strong in character, too, as they were stout of limb. The wo- nien were very handsome, and carried themselves as proudly as though the blood of a hundred earls were coursing through their veins. The beauty of old Mrs. Blaine, James' mother, passed into a pro- verb. Even in her decrepit age she pre- served much of her early attractiveness, and her eye was like a hawk's, as clear and flashing then as in the days of her budding womanhood. This was a pecu- liarity of her family, and she transmitted it to all her children. The Gillespies were ardent, intense Catholics, and made their religion the leading feature of their lives. Neal Gillespie owned a good deal of land here, and Eph Blaine built the brick house you see yonder on a portion of it, after his marriage with Miss Gillespie. There their first child, James, was born in 1830. I re- member him very well when he was a lad and used to paddle about on the river and make mud pies along its banks. He was a bright lad. Never Turned his Back on Friend or Foe. " I remember one little story about him, which I often heard in those days, and which is interesting as showing how truly, in his case, the child was father to the man. When he was but a little toddler, so to speak, some laborers were engaged e, and it is a lamentable fact that their peo- ple are not so near to us in feeling as they were sixty years ago when they threw off the yoke of Spanish tyranny. We were then a weak republic of ten millions, but we did not hesitate to recognize the in- dependence of the new governments, even at the risk of war with Spain. Our foreign policy at that time was specially designed to extend our influence in the Western Hemisphere, and the statesmen of that era — the era of DeWitt Clinton and the younger Adams, of Clay and of Crawford, of Webster and Calhoun, of Van Buren and Benton, of Jackson and of Edward Liv- ingston — were always courageous' in the inspiring measures which they advocated for the expansion of our commercial do- minion. Tlie Peril to toe Avoided toy the Union. Three-score years have passed. The power of the Republic in many directions has grown beyond all anticipation, but we have relatively lost ground in some great fields of enterprise. We have added thousands of miles to our ocean front, but our commerce has fallen off, and from ardent friendship with Spanish America we have drifted into indifference if not into coldness. It is but one step further to reach a condition of positive unfriend- liness, which may end in what would be JAMES G. BLAINE. 43 equivalent to a commercial alliance against us. Already one of the most dangerous of movements — that of a European guar- antee and guardianship of the Interoceanic Canal — is suggested and urged upon the Great Foreign Powers by representatives of a South American country. If these tendencies are to be averted, if Spanish- American friendship is to be regained, if the commercial empire that legitimately belongs to us is to be ours, we must not be idle and witness its transfer to others. If we would reconquer it, a great first step is to be taken. It is the first step that costs. It is also the first step that counts. Can there be suggested a wiser step than the Peace Congress of the two Americas, that was devised under Garfield, and had the weight of his great name ? In no event could harm have resulted in the assembling of the Peace Congress ; failure was next to impossible. Success might be regarded as certain. The sub- ject to be discussed was peace, and how it can be permanently preserved in North and South America. The labors of the Congress would have probably ended in a well-digested system of arbitration, under which all troubles between American States could be quickly, effectually and satisfactorily adjusted. Such a consum- mation would have been worth a great struggle and a great sacrifice. It could have been reached without any struggle and would have involved no sacrifice. It was within our grasp. It was ours for the asking. It would have been a signal vic- tory of philanthropy over the selfishness of human ambition ; a complete triumph of Christian principles as applied to the affairs of Nations. It would have reflected enduring honor on our new country, and would have imparted a new spirit and a new brotherhood to all America. Nor would its influence beyond the sea have been small. The example of seventeen independent Nations solemnly agreeing to abolish the arbitrament of the sword, and to settle every dispute by peaceful methods of adjudication, would have exerted an in- fluence to the utmost confines of civiliza- tion, and upon generations of men yet to come. James G. Blaine. But whatever might have been the ulti- mate result of his foreign policy, and what- ever he might have accomplished to ren- der the administration to which he was at- tached popular and prosperous, was pre- vented by the assassination of the Presi- dent, just four months from the day of his inauguration. His policy had been formu- lated and its details duly specified, and no doubt the President and his first officer were anticipating additional prosperity for the people. Tlie Assassination fof Prrsldeut GarAeld. On the bright Saturday morning of July 2nd the President prepared to leave the National Capital for New York, and thence to New England to join in the reunion of his classmates at the Commencement of Williams College. Secretary Blaine ac- companied him to the station and observed the almost boyish delight with which he anticipated this meeting with his fellow students of former days. Passing into the station through the ladies' waiting room, they were about to pass to the train, when that fiend in human form, Guiteau, fired the fatal shot which finally after weeks and months of suffering, and during which not only our nation but the world, watched in spirit by his bedside, ended in his death. The people of the country will not forget the noble devotion showed by Mr. Blaine to his dying superior officer — how he watched at his bedside, and amidst his and his nation's sorrows discharged all the responsible duties of his position. Garfield's Deatli. On September 6 the President was re- moved fromWashington to Elberon, whith- er he was followed the same day by Mr. Blaine and the rest of the Cabinet. The apparent improvement in the President's condition warranted the belief that he would continue to gain, and Mr. Jjlaine went for a short rest to his home in Au- gusta. He was on his way back to Elberon on the nineteenth day of September when the fatal moment came and reached there the next morning. It is the univer- sal testimony of press and people that, du- ring the weary weeks which intervened between the President's injury and death, Mr. Blaine's every action and constant demeanor were absolutely faultless. 44 JAMES G. BLAINE. Selected by Congress to pronounce a formal eulogy (which is given in another place,) upon President Garfield, Mr. Blaine on February 19, 1882, before President Arthur and his Cabinet, both Houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, the foreign legations, and an audience of ladies and gentlemen which crowded the Hall of Re- presentatives, delivered a most just, com- prehensive and admirable address upon the martyr's great career and character. The orator, with entire self-abnegation and reserve, but with a firm touch and in a style which rose at times to easy elo- quence, assigned to President Garfield his tiue place in history. The diplomatic career of Mr. Blaine, which commenced with Garfield's admin- istration, ended with his resignation on December 19, just three months after the death of the President. He desired to re- tire to private life at once, but remained at tlie urgent solicitation of President Arthur. His next appearance in public life will be his inauguration as President of the United States, when the people have de- clared for " the White Plumed Knight " OF Maine, and the "Dark Eagle of THE Prairie." Blaine as a Historian. After his resignation as Secretary of State, he removed to his home in Maine, and at once commenced his "Twenty Years in Congress," the first volume of which was published in April. It covers the most important part of our history, extend- ing from Lincoln to Garfield, with a glance at the events that led to the rebellion. Apart from the general tenor of the work from a historical standpoint, it is a biogra- phy of the American people, a review of general issues, a picture of the progress of a fifth of a century, and a panorama of the historic events belonging to that period. It shows the great pulsations of the nation during its struggle, its hopes, its fears, and its efforts for success, or as is said by a writer in reviewing the work: the thoughts of the peop'e, as they varied from year to year, their times of indecision and dark- ness, orf" swift insight and heroic resolution ; their days of timidity and weak compro- mising with wrong, and their grand endu- rance and unflinching fidelity when the crisis at last brought duty clearly before them; their singular sagacity in decisions of vital moment — all these are portrayed in Mr. Blaine's narrative with clearness and power. The story he tells in his first volume is given with the simplicity and compactness of a trained journalist, and yet with sufficient fullness to make the pic- ture distinct and clear in almost every detail. The book is as easy to read as a well-written novel ; it is clear and interest- ing, and commands the attention through- out, the more for the absence of anything like oratorical display or forensic combat- iveness. His Canclidacy^ in 1881:. The popularity which had placed Mr. Blaine before the nominating Conventions of 1876, and 1880, still remained, notwith- standing he was defeated. That he was the favorite of the masses on each of those occasions is generally conceded, and the tenacity with which they held to him, showed that his magnetism could retain friends as well as make them. The peo- ple love James G. Blaine. They do not rally around him for the dispensation of favors, or the spoils of office — such persons always flock to a victorious banner. They are for him, not as a politician but as a man who has sympathy with the masses. They admire his genius, applaud his actions, exult at his advancement, and trust in his integ- rity, but over and above all these they love the man. And so when another nominat- ing year came around, the same vital in- fluences or forces that pressed him forward on two former occasions, brought him again to the forefront, and without any ef- fort of his — without any apparent desire to again contest for the place, they placed him in jiomination before the people and prepared to do battle for him in the Chi- cago Convention. Apart from his great personal popularity, the fact that he had been defeated through intriguing combina- tions at a former Convention still more closely cemented his allies and multiplied the number of his followers. His princi- pal competitor was the Executive of the Nation armed with the power of his posi- tion, and fortified by the patronage of the government, while he, a private citizen, had no sceptre to wield, no places to bestow. JAMES G. BLAINE. 45 He must be more than human who could calmly behold such a contest without tak- ing an active part therein. It must have required a vast amount of " retaining power '' for one so ready to fight the bat- tles of his friends to remain inactive, and refuse to help himself. As has been said : " The office has been taken to Mr. Blaine ; he did not go after it. No man, not even his most intimate associate, can say with truth that Mr. Blaine has unduly pressed the recognition of himself. Dur- ing the long and anxious struggle of the many candidates for the honor he has won, Mr. Blaine has stood all aloof. He has not put himself in a position to wrest the office or to solicit it from the Convention. With most wise and commendable dignity he went before the Convention met, to his distant home in Maine, there to await events ; to accept the trust and responsi- bility of the highest place of honor of all if it were offered him, but saying nothing, doing nothing to gain it. He simply kept himself in readiness to obey his country's call. It has called him and he will answer it." The Candidate and tbe Man. It must have been a proud hour for him, when, after the preliminary battles had been fought, after the representatives of the people's will had been selected, when the army of delegates, with another army of unofficial followers, met at Chicago on the 3d of June, and balloted for a candi- date, to find that the friends who had stood by him at other Conventions, were still loyal, and that as on former occasions, he led the list. The banner of the " Plumed Knight " was still in the front, and the promise of victory was engrafted on the first vote. Another feature which added to his strength was this. His votes repre- sented three-fourths of the entire Repub- lican vote, and more than two-thirds of the votes in the Electoral College. That his party was with him was apparent to all, and with such a backing, could the Con- vention (if it wished) or the party afford to sacrifice him to any combination ? From the first it was evident that no such thing could be accomplished. The day for "dark horses" had passed away — the people had too often been defeated in their expressed wishes. The Convention felt this, the people demanded that their ver- dict should be recorded; this was no time for political juggling, and they knew iu Amongst the delegates not positively com- mitted to him were a host of friends who were ready whenever it became necessary to abandon their candidates, to rush to his standard. So the first ballot indicated that the field was won, and that James G, Blaine would be our standard bearer. The second ballot added to his strength — the third ballot was still more fruitful in additions to his strength, and on the fourth ballot, state after state recorded its vote for him, making a grand total of 541 votes, or more than 100 more than necessary' to elect. The battle had been fought and won, and the " Plumed Knight," amidst the thunders of cannon, and the plaudits of thousands of people, was declared the nominee. All over the land, men forgot their callings, and gathered about the tel- egraph centres to hear the result, and all over the land went the tidings to the peo- ple, until they took up the applause of the Convention and made it ring throughout the entire country. Tbe Receipt of tbe News. Never was a nomination received with such enthusiasm as that made at Chicago on Friday, June 5th, and if that can be taken as any indication of the result in November, it points most unequivocally to the success of the Republican candi- dates. If popularity augurs success, then James G. Blaine gives the ticket a strength beyond that of any other man. To quote from the same writer as before : " Can Mr. Blaine be elected ? Yes, if any Republican can. The popular en- thusiasm which his name evokes proves that. He can carry New York and Ohio, the crucial States, and he is probably the one Republican leader who, being nomi- nated, could be elected without the vote of New York, There were enough doubtful States, before the Convention met, without New York. They are so few now as to make the vote of New York no longer necessary. The States of the Pacific Slope and of the Southwest, which were all doubtful, are now all certain for Blaine and victory. No party's conventiom could 46 JAMES G. BLAINE. do better than the National Republican Convention of Chicago did when it nomi- nated James G. Blaine; it obeyed the will of the people, which is what all such rep- resentative bodies should do. The Con- vention having nominated Mr. Blaine Republican candidate for President of the United States, the people will triumphantly elect him. His is a name to win with. The campaign will be as a crusade ; the election a triumphal march of the first, best-found choice of the people to the Presidency of the great Republic." Pergonal Description. Mr. Blaine has a phenomenal memory. He remembers circumstances, dates, names, and places readily, and it is this wonderfully-available memory that makes him such a ready speaker and such a charming companion. He has also great quickness and accuracy of judgment. He writes as readily and as strongly as he speaks, and very rapidly. In many re- spects he resembles Mr. Greeley as a writer — he goes straight to the point and wastes no time in painting with pretty words a background for his thoughts. Mr. Blaine is of imposing height and burly in form. His hair is nearly white and thin on top, and his beard is not heavy. He has a fair, imposing head. His figure is well preserved, he dresses with care, and is of handsome personnel. He has made use of no means to conceal the ravages time and anxieties have made on his hair, and wears it close cut, the color making all the more noticeable his dark eyes, which glitter and flash with temper or glow lustrous and beam forth amiably, as the mood is on him. He is full of activity and quick thought, has more magnetism than nine-tenths of his colleagues ; h^s an irascible disposition, and in debate is irri- tating beyond all powers of endurance, but is, nevertheless, personally popular with his political opponents. He has long been a resident of Washington, where his house has been the resort for bright people of every kind of degree. There is nothing of that assumption of aristocratic exclusiveness so common among public men. His home is well and even elegantly furnished, but it is all made for use and not for mere dis- play. It is there that he is seen at his best and his power comes largely from his faculty of winning the affection of men by epigrammatic speech, his easy manners and his uniform, unaffected good nature. He knows how to unbend at all times, without any of those patronizing -airs so common in society with men who have succeeded. Few men in either party have left his presence without strong and pleas- ant memories of the vigorous character which is now to bear the heat and burden of a five months' bitter political campaign. Iilalne'8 Home. His home in Augusta, near the State House is a plain two-story house. Seve- ral institutions in the State have received benefactions from him, and his charity and generosity are appreciated at home. In his own house he is a man of culture and refinement, a genial host, a courteous gentleman. No man in public life is more fortunate in his domestic relations. He is the companion and confidant of everyone of his six children, and they fear him no more than they fear one of their own number. Mrs. Blaine is the model wife and mother, and more is due to her strong judgment, quick perception and heroic courage than the world will ever know. His FamUy. The eldest son. Walker Blaine, is a graduate of Yale College and of the Law School of Columbia College. He is a member of the bar of several States, and has been creditably engaged in public life in Washington. The second son, Em- mons Blaine, is a graduate of Harvard College and the Cambridge Law School. The third is James G. Blaine, jr., a lad of fourteen. The three daughters are named Alice, Margaret and Harriet. The eldest was married more than a year ago to Brevet-Colonel J. J. Coppinger, U. S. A. A Vlsltar tliits describes Mrs. Blaine. Mrs. Blaine is fair-haired, tall, rather stout, with dignified carriage, and a man- ner earnest and practical. Sincerely con- scientious, Mrs. Blaine seems to belong to a race of New England women not always to be met with even among the rugged JAMES G. BLAINE. 47 hills, and rarely seen elsewhere. A beau- tiful home life is the result of her wise management. Already her sons are in business, and popular in society; and Alice, the eldest daughter, now a beautiful woman of twenty-two, was married, in February, 1883, to Colonel John J. Cop- pinger, of the regular army. Mrs. Blaine ever sympathizes most deeply with her brilliant husband in political exploits and ambitions, yet would gladly persuade him to retire to private life. A Ju8t tribute to Air. Blaine. The following editorial in the Buffalo Express (Edmunds' Republican) pub- lished a week before the nominating Con- vention, pays a just tribute to his ability. Tile Greatest Political Leader of tlie Creneration. It is clear that the one name upon which interest chiefly centres in Chicago is that of James G. Blaine. He is the one man mentioned there who, as apolitical leader, can be justly called great. There are many politicians and a few statesmen, but there is only one candidate who, by virtue of his personal attractions, his innate qualities of mind and of heart, attracts a large following. He is the one man for whom his friends and supporters can ac-, cept no substitute. The Express has not been a supporter of Mr. Blaine's candidacy. It does not now believe his nomination to be wise. It still hopes Mr. Edmunds will be nominated. But Mr. Blaine's wonderful personal qualities and his amazing hold upon the affections of the great mass of Republican voters of this country have been so empha- sized in the preliminary contest that they cannot any longer be a matter of dispute, if, indeed, they ever have been disputed. For the third time in eight years he is a candidate before a Republican National Convention. Each time he has been op- posed by the powerful lever of political patronage. But, though twice beaten by combinations against him, he appears the third time stronger than ever. He has not only held his own under adverse circum- stances, but he has grown in the popular mind — becomes yearly a greater favorite — and to-day fulfils more nearly than ever before Colonel Ingersoll's wonderful pic- ture of " a man who is the grandest com- bination of heart, conscience, and brain beneath the flag." Political leaders, like poets, are born, not made. Mr. Blaine is inferior to Mr. Edmunds in the higher qualities of states- manship, and inferior to Mr. Sherman as apolitical manipulator ; but in all that con- stitutes real political leadership he is in- finitely above even comparison with them. Mr. Edmunds makes no pretense, and has no ambition in that direction. Mr. Sher- man has tried to be a leader and failed. Mr. Blaine was born for chieftainship as surely as the great Napoleon was born to lead armies. Under the British system Mr. Blaine would certainly be Premier. In the popular branch of our National Legislature his leadership was undisputed. Even Gar- field — able, popular, fully equipped for any intellectual combat — was content in the House to look up to Blaine as the leader. It is no wonder the Republicans of the United States look upon Blaine with ad- miration and cling to him with devotion. It is no wonder the mass of voters excuse some things which the more thoughtful cannot excuse and lose their heads be- cause their hearts are moved. Mr. Blaine is a man to challenge admiration and se- cure devotion. He is, first of all, an Ameri- can, of the most pronounced type. He embodies many of the characteristics which we like to regard as distinctively American. His career would perhaps be possible in no other country. A Penn- sylvania boy, a student, a teacher, an editor; at 25 one of the foremost men of Maine ; at 39 Speaker of our House cf Representatives ; a little later United States Senator ; then Secretary of State ; then eulogist of the martyred president ; and finally the writer of a history which, de- spite foreign prejudice, extorts admiring notice from the London Times. There has been no pause in his career, no time when his resources were crippled. He seems even yet not to have reached the zenith of his fame, for he never stops working. At the age of 54 he is still twenty years younger than Gladstone and with every prospect of a long and vigorous life. 48 JAMES G. BLAINE. It is not manly, it is not patriotic, to de- cry Mr. Blaine's true greatness. One need not be his political supporter to recognize his splendid qualities, nor his eulogist to admit them. He was once characterized by an earnest opponent as ''a brilliant but tainted man." We know that he is bril- liant. His brilliancy is of that sort which the taint upon his character cannot dim. It is not a flash but a steady glow. All his old competitors have disappeared, while he remains the leader still, abler and greater than when his "audacity of genius" was first recognized, or when he had freshly "torn from the throat of treason the tongue of slander." What our English Cousins think AND SAY : Blaine a Beacouslield. Under the heading, " A Beaconsfield Beyond the Sea," the Pall Mall Gazette says: "Mr. Blaine's nomination is the most notable event for England since Pre- sident Lincoln was assassinated. Wher- ever Mr. Blaine can oust the British from the position they hold on the American Continent he will endeavor to replace English influence and trade by American. His menacing intimation that he would disregard the Clayton-Bulwer treaty is an evil augury for the future relations ot England and America. His intervention in Peru was most ominous when declared that he disliked England to win com- mercial triumphs in fields which legiti- mately belong to America. England will watch with extreme solicitude the pro- gress of the electoral campaign." In a leading article discussing the re- sults of the Chicago Convention the Times this morning says : " Mr. Blaine's nomina- tion will be received with general satisfac- tion. Not only has he been the most popular candidate from the outset, but he is beyond all question the most conspicuous and respected politician in the ranks of the Republican party, which has done itself honor by the nomination of so well known and distinguished a man. If the Democrats could make up their mind to a definite and reasonable Free-trade policy they would certainly secure more sym- pathy on this side of the Atlantic than has hitherto been accorded them. Meantime we must congratulate the Republic on the choice of a candidate so eminently suited as Mr. Blaine to represent and uphold the dignity of the United States.'' * (* The writer is indebted to the New York Tribune and the PHiLADELnilA Press for valuable aid in the preparavlon of this article. JOHI^ A. LOGAi:^. General John A Logan, the Republi- can nominee for Vice-President, is perhaps second to Blaine only in general popularity with the masses of the people. His ex- tensive following, embracing almost the entire soldier element of the country, pushed him for the first place on the ticket, satisfied that his record as a soldier and as a statesman would not only carry the party to victory in November, but that his sterling integrity and devotion to the principles of the party would ensure an administration loyal to party, safe to per- son, and devoted to the prosperity of the country. The man who " never lost a battle nor disobeyed the orders of a supe- rior officer," has a prestige that is seldom reached, and his double claim to the re- gard of the people as soldier and states- man, exhibit him as valuable in the one as he was valiant in the other. Like his great commander. General Grant, he knew no path but duty when in the field — had no platform but patriotism, and no object but a victory that would cement the union of the States. It was therefore but reasonable to pre- sume that his own great State, which he had so ably represented in the field and in the Senate, with others following its train, should send their delegates to the Convention to support him for the Presi- dential nomination. Ic was perfectly natu- ral that the men he had led, and those with whom he fought, should cling to their general and comrade, and ask a recogni- tion of his services to his country. Grant had been so honored ; Garfield had also been chosen ; Hayes had been rewarded by the elevation to Chief Magistrate of the nation, and it was only following the usages of the party to ask the Convention to add another military name to the roll of Presidents. Washington, Jackson, Har- rison and Taylor had been given this post of honor because of their military services, making in all seven distinguished men who won their honors by fighting for their country, and whose administrations cover quite a portion of our history. Gen- eral Logan's friends failed to secure the first place, not because of his unfitness for it, but simply because the people desired to elevate Mr. Blaine, who for the third time had been pre- sented to the National Conven- tions and had twice been put aside for the same reasons that operated against General Logan. As James G. Blaine, twice defeated, recognized the supremacy of the people by their verdict in the con- ventions, and gave his hearty support to those who outstripped him in the race, so this gallant soldier and unwavering Re- publican will throw all the weight of his influence to his successful competitor. General Logan was reared in a school of discipline, and as soldier or statesman he will carry out the principle. The enthusiasm for him at Chicago was as sincere as it was demonstrative, and when Senator Cullom arose and placed him in nomination the cheers of ten thousand spectators rang over the vast building. The tribute paid to General Logan by the senators was a just tribute to the general, and is a true and vivid picture of the soldier-statesman. As soon as the storm of applause had subsided and an approach to order was reached, Senator Cullom rose and said : Mr. President and Gentlemen of THE Convention : Twenty-four years ago the second National Convention of the Republican party met in this city and nominated their first successful candidate for President of the United States — Abraham Lincoln. [Cheers.] Abraham Lincoln led the Republican party to its first great victory. He stands to-day in the estimation of the world as the grandest and the most majestic figure in all mod- 49 50 JOHN A. LOGAN. ern times. [Applause.] Again in 1868 another Republican Convention came to- gether in this city and nominated as its candidate for President of the United States another eminent citizen of Illinois, General Ulysses S. Grant, [Loud cheers and waving of fans and other demonstra- tions of approval] and the Republican party was again victorious. Still again in 1880 the Republican party turned its face towards this political Mecca, where two successes had been organized, and the murdered Garfield led the Republican party to victory. [Loud and continuing applause.] Mr. President and fellow-citizens, it is good for us to be here. There are omens of victory in the way history repeats itself. There are premises of triumph to the Re- publican party in holding its Convention in this great emporium of the Northwest. [Applause.] The commonwealth of Illi- nois, which has never wavered in its adher- ence to Republican principles since it gave to the natton and to the world the illus- trious Lincoln, now presents to this conven- tion for its consideration as the standard bearer of the Republican party another son of Illinois, one whose name will be recognized from one end of this land to the other as an able statesman, a brilliant solder, and an honest man — General John A. Logan. [The announcement of General Logan's name was received with a wild burst of applause, a great many persons rising to their feet waving their hats and handkerchiefs, and the thousands of people in the gallery joining in the roar of applause. The cheers were renewed again and again.] liOgan'a Services to Ills Country. A native of the State which he represents in the council of the Nations, reared among the youth of a section where every ele- ment of manhood is early brought into play, he is eminently a man of the people. [Applause.] The safety, the permanency and the prosperity of the Nation depend upon the courage, the integrity, and the loyalty of its citizens. When yonder storied flag was assailed by enemies in arms, when the integrity of the Union was imperilled by organized treason, when the storm of war threatened the very life of this Nation, this gallant son of the Prairie State resigned his seat in the Congress of the United States, returned to his home, and was among the first of our citizens to raise a regiment and to march to the front in defence of his country. [Applause.] Like Douglas, he believed that in time of war men must be either patriots or traitors, and he threw his mighty influence on the side of union, and Illinois made a record second to none in the history of States in the struggle to preserve this Gov- ernment. [Applause.] His history is the record of the battles of Belmont, Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Atlanta and of the famous march to the sea. [Great applause.] He never lost a battle. [Applause]. I repeat again Mr. Chairman and fellow citizens [applause], he never lost a battle in all the war. [Ap- plause], When there was fighting to be done he did not wait for others, nor did he fail to obey orders when they were re- ceived. His plume, the white plume of Henry of Navarre, was always to be seen at the point where the battle raged the hot- test, [Applause.] During the long struggle of four years, he commanded, under the authority of the Government, first a regi- ment, then a brigade, then a division, then an army corps, and finally an army. He remained in the service until the war closed. When, at the head of his army, with the scars of battle upon him, he marched into the Capital of the Nation and, with brave men with whom he had bled on a hundred hard-fought fields, was mustered out of the service under the very shadow of the capitol building which he had left, four years before as a member of Congress to go and fight the battles of his country. When the war was over and general peace victoriously returned, h,e was again invited by his fellow citizens to take his place in the councils of the Nation. In a service of twenty years in both houses of Congress, he has shown himself to be no less able and distinguished as a citizen than he was renowned as a soldier. Con- servative in the advocacy of measures in- volving the public welfare, ready and elo- quent in debate, fearless — yes, I repeat JOHN A. LOGAN. 51 again, fearless — in defense of the rights of the weak against the oppressions of the strong, he stands to-day, and I say it without disposition to take one laurel from the brow of those men whose names may be presented to this convention ; I say he stands to-day, in my judgment, closer to the great mass of the people of this country than almost any other man now engaging public attention. [Applause.] No man has done more in defense of those principles which have given life and spirit and victory to the Republican party than has John A. Logan, of Illinois. [Ap- plause.] In all that goes to make up a brilliant military and civil career, and to commend a man to the favor of the peo- ple, he whose name we have presented here to-night has shown himself to be the peer of the best. His Earljr Life. It is difficult in a short sketch to give a satisfactory biography of one whose life has been so eventful, so replete with in- cident, and so identified with the history of the country, as his life has been ; one of such activity, such rapid transitions, and historic situations. It is impossible under such situations to do justice to the man, to his motives, to his reputation, or to pro- ■^ perly present even an abstract of his pub- lic record. We can only refer to the exalted position he has attained, the effect of his labors in behalf of his country, in the halls of legislation and on the field of battle. To fully abstract the story of his life would require volumes, to speak from even the impulse of popular feeling and per- sonal admiration would be a eulogy too flattering for the cold pages of a biogra- phical sketch. Hence we can only glance rapidly at the boy, the rising man, the soldier as he is known to his comrades and his friends, and the statesman as shown by the records of that august body where his voice has been heaid and his votes recorded. His Early History. General John A. Logan, the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States is now in the fifty-ninth year of his age, having been born in Jackson County, Illinois on the 9th, of February, 1826. His parents were Irish, or at least were so reputed but his massive face, high cheek bones, dark complexion and straight black hair give him so typical an appearance of an Indian, that it is generally supposed that some of their blood courses through his veins. His father. Dr. John Logan, emi- grated from Ireland in 1823, and settled as a country practitioner near Murphys- boro, 111. He prospered in what was then a wild country and in 1824 married Eliza- beth Jenkins, a native of Tennessee, who, two years later, on the night of February 9, 1826, became the mother of the present Republican candidate for vice-president. Illinois was not then as you now behold it, dotted over with splendid cities, adorned with pregnant fields, and check- ered with railroads. Half a century has changed it from a wild and unsettled country to one of the first states in the union. Hence the means of obtaining an education were very limited, and John was taught to read and write by his parents. His father was a practising physician and a conspicuous member of the community in which he lived, and the stern and de- termined manner of General Logan is mherited from him. During his boyhood he was given such opportunities for an education as were available, so that by the time he was ap- proaching his majority he had received a fair education, and had read many of the best authors. Works of history and biog- raphy were his favorites, and this prefer- ence probably led him to devote himself to his country, and to emulate the great men with whose lives he was familiar. He showed an individuality of character, and a disposition to push things at an early age, and he became an acknowledged leader amongst boys of his own time. That self-reliance and independence of action joined with a personal bravery which have made him a name in his manhood, showed themselves in his early years. The history of his country was a favorite study, and the story of the Revolutionary war filled him with youthful valor, so emi- nently displayed in later years. The sparsely settled country at that early day furnished very limited means of 52 JOHN A. LOGAN. education. The now splendid system of schools in the State was then in its infan- cy, and the future warrior and statesman must indeed have seen, as through a glass, darkly, the fruition of any ambi- tious dreams of power or greatness, honor or fame that early stirred his heart. But in his case, if never in another, the boy was truly father to the man. With the earnestness of purpose and the never-ac- knowledging defeat that has ever charac- terized his actions, aided by natural abil- ity of the highest order, he set his mark and struggled unflinchingly until he reached it — reached beyond it. Thus, he soon became noted for his scholastic tri- umphs, and those days became a true in- dex of his after life. Strange indeed are the criticisms in re- ference to his education : he is a fair lin- guist, having studied Greek, Latin and Spanish, speaking the latter fluently. Pro- ficient in his studies, he would have won still greater honor therein had not " the rustling of a banner and the rolling of a drum" caught eye and ear, stirred the positive nature to its very centre and awoke still more enthusiastically within his breast the love of the old flag which in late years he defended through many a danger, never faltering, never wavering, never doubtful of final success and a glorious vindication of the equal rights of man and the Godgiven blessings of freedom to all. Service In tUe Mexican AVar. When the United States declared war with Mexico, he was in his nineteenth year, strong and robust for his age, and full of patriotic fervor. It was no wonder then that he responded to the call for men, and left the parental home to battle for his country. The very first important movement fired the blood of John A. Logan and quicken- ed resolution into action. With the hardy and loyal sons of the West, with full statured men both in body and mind, he swung into line as a private soldier. His first public service was in the war with Mexico, when he left home and en- listed as a private and marched to the " Halls of the Montezumas." Subse- quently he was promoted to the lieuten- ancy, and served as Adjutant of the First Illinois regiment. From this position he was made quartermaster, in which capac- ity he served until the end of the war. He returned with his regiment to his native State, where he was mustered out of the service, and became a private citizen. It is not unfitting here to mention an in- cident of his early life, proving as it does his mental stamina and firmness of pur- pose. Soon after he had been elected Clerk of the County Court he entered the office of his uncle one day and surprised him by the declaration that he was going to resign. From this purpose he could not be swerved. He had already mapped out his future, the study of law included, and determined upon a full term of scholar- ship at Louisville, Ky. Thus much of generalities and statistical dates, rather than of the man and his works ; and the story of his life and deeds naturally separate into two distinctive channels though pulsed by the same springs of action and controlled by the same motives, cannot be described to- gether, albeit harmonious in love of coun- try, her flag, her honor and her laws, and stretching away into the vast fields of public comity, cohesion, jurisprudence, liberty, reputation, national honor and na- tional greatness. Soon after he commenced the study of law in the office of his uncle, Lieutenant Governor Jenkins of Illinois. Here he proved an apt and careful student. He attended law lectures at Louisville and re- ceived his diploma, and was admitted to the bar in 1 851, just when he had reached his twenty-fifth year. He at once entered into practice, and his ability soon attracted public attention, and so popular did he be- come, that he had followed his profession only about a year when he was nominated and elected to the State legislature, where he served for one term, and was then elected prosecuting attorney for the Third Judicial District of Illinois. He was re-elected to the State Legisla- ture in 1853, 1856, and 1857, and was pre- sidential elector on the Buchanan and Breckenridge ticket. Mr. Logan was a leading Democrat when he was chosen a Presidential Elector in the Buchanan campaign. JOHN A. LOGAN. 53 His record in the state legislature gave him a still greater popularity, and as he had served his constituents so well in that ca- pacity, they thought him worthy of a wider and more honorable field of labor. Two years later he was sent to congress, at the same time Roscoe Conkling first entered that body. Mr. Logan was re-elected in i860. In that year he was an ardent ad- vocate of Stephen A. Douglas; and he ad- dressed a mass meeting in Cooper Insti- tute, in New-York City, in behalf of the " Little Giant." When trouble was threat- ened in the South, however, he openly avowed his intention to see Mr. Lincoln inaugurated if elected, even if he was ob- liged to shoulder a musket and go to Washington. ' As a Speaker. The school in which John A. Logan was trained for the bloodless battles of the forum that have made his name famous as a debater ; for the striking of heavy blows ; for impassioned, and at times ornate elo- quence, clear logic and exhaustive argu- ment was no ordinary one, but that of re- markable men. The capital of Illinois was famous even at that early day for the strength and learning of its bar ; its far-sighted poli- ticians : its wit keen as a Toledo blade. Men since known in every land and spoken of with intense admiration and deepest reverence by every tongue, had their homes there and in their future wan- derings never had to bow the knee to in- tellectual masters ; men who lived in the times that tested manhood to the utter- most ; "Men who their duties know, But know their rights, and knowing, dare main- tain:' Lincoln, the ever-to-be-remembered and mourned ; the man of iron will, but woman's tender heart ; the man possessed of the rare gift and knowledge of common sense, though "not a soldier of the classics;" the sound lawyer ; the honest advocate ; the impressive speaker ; the breaker of bonds and the apostle of Emancipation was there. Douglas, powerful, self-reliant, massive in eloquence, in fact, argument and illus- tration ; dauntless in his championship of what he considered right ; unswerving in his love for the law and the Union, though he saw ahead the political ship- wreck of his most cherished ambition ; the cool, clear-headed defender of the Consti- tution and its most able interpreter since Webster, was there. Stephen T. Logan, the living lexicon of law and logic ; who fully comprehended that " reason is the life of the law : nay, the common law itself is nothing else but reason ;'' the man bitter in sarcasm, with lips to thunder anathema or melt to tears of pity, regret and remorse ; the lawyer to whom the Bench could give no new honors was there, grand in the firmness and purity of his character and with integrity never challenged. And others well worthy of the bright companionship were there, but we cannot call the roll. It would be a summoning the dead and making the halls of Spring- field ring with eloquence as it is never likely to do again. It was a gathering of giants ; of men of learning, nerve, prin- ciple and stern devotion to their country and its laws, as later years brightly, but sadly proved. It was a school where none but the fittest could survive and genius, study and eloquence were strained to the utmost to "keep the pace :'' where the en- counters were fierce and he who kept his shield unbeaten down, who fell not in the struggle, must possess all the best and most brilliant elements of manhood and would be forearmed for anything that might come in the forensic arena of the future. It was surrounded by such men and with their precepts and examples before him, that John A. Logan grew into the full stature of manhood mentally and phy- sically and learned "that chastity of honor which felt a stain like a blow," and early in life (as previously remarked) he was called to serve client and country in court and legislative hall. Early, too, he revealed the metal of which he was made and the temper of the blade he used for attack and defense as occasion required and which his enemies have learned bears a keen and a cutting edge. To gather his speeches and from them massed, form any judgment of his ca- 54 JOHN A. LOGAN. pability, truth, justice, inflexibility of pur- pose, correctness of judgment and claim to far more than ordinary elocutionary gifts, is beyond our power or purpose. He accomplished the end in view when deliv- ered, were the inspiration of the hour and their echoes (for the most part) have become lost save as they are now and then awakened in the chambers of some reten- tive memory. Private at Bull Run. During the year 1858 Mr. Logan was elected member of Congress from the Ninth district of Illinois, in the Thirty-sixth Con- gress of the United States, and took his seat in December, 1859. His term of office expired March 3, 1861, and, having obtained a re-election during i860, he was entitled to take his seat during the Thirty- seventh Congress, but resigned to take part in putting down the great rebellion. He attended the extra session of Con- gress called in July, 1861, to meet the exi- gencies of the hour. Troops had been called to arrest the progress of the rebel- lion, and the 75,000 men called for by President Lincoln were marching to the field. An army had already reached Wash- ington and were crossing the Potomac. Logan could no longer restrain his pa- triotic feeling and so in July, 1861, he left his seat in the House of Representives and joined the Union Army on its way to the Initial Battle of the war at Bull Run. He took a hand in that disastrous conflict and was one of the last men to leave the bloody field. Filled with patriotic zeal, he returned to Congress after that battle, and urged upon the government the necessity of raising a sufficient force to put down the rebels in arms. He then, at the close of the session, went to his native State and energetically called upon his countrymen to rally around the flag of their country and to put down the rebellion. The citizens of his district readily responded to the call, and the Thirty-first regiment of Illinois volunteers - was raised and organized at Cairo on Sep- tember 18, 1861. Mr. Logan was chosen as the colonel of his regiment, with a com- mission dating from August 10, 1861. Shortly after its organization his regiment figured in the sanguinary battle of Bel- mont. He was at the capture of Fort Henry, and with several hundred cavalry pursued and captured eight of the enemy's guns. He also took an active part in the reduction of Fort Donelson. In this en- gagement Colonel Logan was severely wounded in the left arm and shoulder, but held his position until reinforcements ar- rived. Shortly after he was attacked with a serious illness, and for some time hopes of his recovery were given up. Gieneral. On the 5th of March, 1883, he was con- firmed brigadier-general, and soon after reported to General Grant at Pittsburg Landing. Since then he figured in all important movements. On August 26 he was placed in command of the forces at Jackson, Tenn. In the movement into Mississippi he commanded a division in the right wing, and afterward one in the Seventeenth corps under General McPher- son. In the spring of 1863 he was con- firmed a major-general of volunteers, with rank from November 29, 1862. During General Grant's rapid movements from Grand Gulf to Jackson in May, 1863, he was continually in the advance, and occupied the Mississippi capital. Again, at Champion Hills he distinguished him- self, and also at the storming of Vicks- burg, May 22, 1863. When the rebel stronghold was surrendered General Loean's forces had awarded to them the o post of honor — namely, the occupying of the surrendered city — and General Logan was made Military Governor from July 4, 1863. He afterward returned North, where he addressed large assemblies, stating that he had always been a democrat, but as the peace of the country could not be restored without the extinction of slavery he advocated that policy. Having ad- ministered the duties of his position at Vicksburg for some time longer, he, at his own request for more active duty, was once more placed in the field. On the 27th of October, 1863, the President ap- pointed Major-General John A. Logan to the command of the Fifteenth Army Corps, thereby relieving Major-General Francis P. Blair, who was sent to take his JOHN A. LOGAN. 65 seat in Congress as the representative of the First District of Illinois. He suc- ceeded Sherman at the head of the Fif- teenth Army Corps in November, 1863, and when McPherson lost his life on the 22d of July, Logan succeeded him and commanded the Army of the Tennessee with the same ability and success which had characterized his command of smaller numbers. He was with Sherman on his " March to the Sea," remaining with him until Johnston's surrender. From the close of the war until 1871 he occupied various positions of honor, which attended his frequent elections as Representative in his State and at Washington. In 1871, and again in 1879, ^^ ^^^ Senator from Illinois. Senator Logan has played a brilliant part in the political history of the United States during the last twenty-five years. A Pen Picture of liO§;an. In manners and demeanor, General Logan is a true type of a gentleman. He is quick in speech and motion, and exhibits a brightly nervous temperament, and yet when called upon to decide or express an opinion, he is cool, cautious and exceed- ingly guarded in his expressions. Having once formed an opinion he formulates in sentences so clear, bold and positive, that no man can doubt their meaning. His military training has given him a discipline of mind and action that in all his posi- tions, shows the soldier. He is always punctual to his appointments, and though slow to promise, he makes it a point to keep those made. He has a regard for time, and when a particular hour is suggested it means "sharp" to the minute. In the Senate he is deliberate and dignified, courteous and affable, and probably no member of that body is more popular with his fellow Senators than General Logan. In the heat of debate he is bold and ag- gressive, striking his adversaries with his heaviest blows, but when the contest is ended, whether in victory or defeat, he re- laxes into the genial man as though noth- ing had brought him into contact with his peers. Outside of his official position he is a most companionable gentleman, and he ornaments the social circle with his flashes of wit and versatile powers of entertainment. liogan as a Democrat. General Logan was a Democrat, and held his seat by virtue of a Democratic constituency. He had been reared in that school of political faith, and honestly advo- cated its principles. He could not believe that the mutterings that threatened a com- ing danger would really come to a bloody crisis. But when the overt act was com- mitted — when a part of the nation stood committed to break asunder the bond of national unity, and when the call rang throughout the country to defend and prc- tect the constitution and the government, he broke the bonds of party, renounced his allegiance to Democratic policy, and ex- changing the politician for the patriot states- man, he stood forth for the national cause. He entered the army in August, 1861, and at once repaired to his native state to raise a regiment. He had been com- missioned as Colonel for this purpose, and he lost no time in accomplishing his mission. With the prestige of Mexican renown, Colonel Logan had little difficulty in gath- ering hardy and brave men around his standard. The same patriotic spirit fired their hearts as when the second call for three hundred thousand soldiers was issued and Illinois filled her quota within thirteen days, notwithstanding she had to her credit sixteen thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight men in excess of former demands. The movements of 'the ""war were rapid and incisive. But it is not our province to follow them save as they throw light upon the career of the brave soldier whose history we are briefly relating and which, at the best must be fragmentary and do- ing little justice to one who has long filled the public eye and won the heart alike of soldier and of civilian. The battle of Fort Henry resulted in the first decisive victory of Union troops upon Western waters, and the cry of "On to Donelson " rang from every lip. Logan was then with his daunt- less 31st, and his heart thrilled with joy at beholding the evidences of loyalty among the people of Tennessee and Kentucky, and he hailed as a bright omen the tears of gladness shed at the sight of the dear old flag. _ 56 JOHN A. LOGAN. The attack upon and surrender of Fort Donelson have been too often and faith- fully pictured, and are too fresh in mem- ory to be repainted here. It was a wild and bloody contest and fought without thought of self. Stubbornly, gallantly, enthusiastically was the battle waged, each taking a fallen comrade's place until the | end came with a surging bayonet charge, and above the Rebel ramparts the Union banner was flung to the breeze. The terms of " unconditional and immediate sur- render " were forced to acceptance, and upon Sunday morning, February i6, 1862, Donelson, of boasted strength, was given over to the boys in bine. The annals of the war speak of General Logan as being where danger was ihe greatest and the blows of death the thick- est and most heavy, and no name is in- scribed more brightly upon the roll of honor of Donelson. The first engagement in which he and his command participated was the battle of Belmont, in November of the same year, when his ability as a commander, and his dash and intrepidity, foreshadowed the fact that he was to play a conspicuous part in the operations of the army. He participated in the movements at Fort Henry, and was present at the battle of Fort Donelson, where he received a severe wound, and did not rejoin his com- mand until some weeks afterwards, on the evening of the last day of the battle of Shiloh. On March 3, 1862, he was made Brigadier General and participated in the siege of Corinth as commander of the First Brigade in General Judah's division or the right wing of the army, and for his valiant services was publicly thanked by General Sherman in his official report. ItOgan's Popularlt}^, and Wbat 9f ade It. The following presentation of General Logan to his people, is both deserved and eloquent : " And then the soldier vote — that vote which is cast not alone by the soldiers themselves, but by their relatives and all whom they can influence as well — that prodigious vote which safely goes into the millions — do we not know that it would all be brought out and go solidly for Logan, the soldiers' friend par excellence. How they would come out and work in a cam- paign with him for their leader! Not a soul of them will forget how he has worked year in and year out for them in both branches of Congress in the matter of pensions, arrears of pensions, and equalization of bounties; nor how, regard- less of time, trouble and expense, he has corresponded with them and urged their cases to prompt settlement; nor how no crippled soldier nor soldier's widow nor orphan has ever appealed to him for help, so far as it was possible for him to help, in vain. Letters by the hundreds — not from Illinois only, but from all parts of the Union— come in his daily mail from the soldiers or their survivors, and force him to keep several clerks to attend to them. These things will not be forgotten by the old soldiers. They will remember, if no one else does, how he fought in the Mexican War: how, at the beginning of the rebellion, he left his seat of safety in Congress, joined the troops on their way to the first Bull Run as a private, and was among the last to leave that disastrous field ; how, as Colonel of the 31st Illinois, during a successful bayonet charge on the Rebel position at Belmont, his horse was shot from under him ; how, at Fort Donel- son, where he led the victorious charge — and out of 606 men of his regiment who shared in it, but 303 answered to their names the next morning — he was severely wounded; how, with wounds still un- healed, having joined General Grant at Pittsburgh Landing as a Brigadier-General, he declined a renomination for Congress in these memorable words: " I have en- tered the field to die, if need be, for this Government, and never expect to return to peaceful pursuits until the object of thi^ war of preservation has become a fact es- tablished;" how, in Grant's Northern Mif- sissippi campaign, he commanded a divi- sion of McPherson's Seventeenth Army Corps with such conspicuous military prowess and ability as to earn the stars of a Major-General ; how his military renown grew with each of the many marches through scorching sun and over burning sands, and each of the many bloody battles before Vicksburg ; how in the ter- rible assaults upon that " Gibraltar of the JOHN A. LOGAN. 57 Mississippi" — whose bluffs were "stud- ded with batteries and seamed with rifle- pits " — his signal valor was known of all; and how it was Logan's column that was the first to enter that great conquered fort- ress. They will remember his succeeding General Sherman in the command of the Fifteenth Army Corps — the corps which Grant himself had commanded — the corps which by Logan's order adopted as their corps-badge a cartridge-box with the sig- nificant legend "Forty Rounds '* — and how gallantly he led the advance of the Army of the Tennessee at Resaca, re- pulsed Hardee at Dallas, and dislodged the enemy from his fortifications at Kene- saw Mountain, amid blood and sweat, and slaughter. He was no carpet-knight — no knight of the white feather — but ever in the thickest of the fray his victorious raven plume was seen. '' At the Battle of Atlanta. The battle of Atlanta (or Peachtree Creek), the bloodiest fought in the West, was one of the decisive battles of the war. Those of them who were there will never forget it — nor Logan, their triumphant chieftain. It was the 22d of July, 1864. Hood had succeeded Johnston, and Mc- Pherson, finding himself flanked, was rid- ing to the left, when he met his death. The command of the flanked Army of the Tennessee at once devolved on Logan. Surgeon Welch, of the 53d Illinois, de- scribes the panic which at once seized the Seventeenth Army Corps, and continues : "General Logan, who then took com- mand, on that famous black stallion of his, became a flame of fire and fury, yet keep- ing wondrous methods in his inspired madness. He was everywhere ; his horse covered with foam, and himself hatless and begrimed with dirt ; perfectly com- prehending the position ; giving sharp orders to officers as he met them, and planting himself firmly in front of fleeing columns, with revolver in hand, threaten- ing, in tones not to be mistaken, to fire into the advance did they not instantly halt and form in order of battle. ' He spake, and it was done.' . . . The battle was resumed in order and with fury — a tempest of thunder and fire — a hailstorm of shot and shell. And when night closed down the battle was ended, and we were masters of the field." Some of the regi- ments that went into that sanguinary con- flict strong came out with but thirty men, and another which went in in the morning with 200 men came out with but fifteen ! But thousands of the enemy bit the dust that day, and though compelled to fight in front and rear our arms were crowned with victory. Then came Jonesboro and com- plete route for the enemy, the blowing up of his magazines, and the evacuation of Atlanta, "the last stronghold of the West." His corps, also under Sherman, participa- ted in the famous "March to the Sea." His military record would fill a volume. In all his brilliant career he never suffered defeat. It has been well said of him that to his soldiers he was " an inspiration — a prophecy of success ; they believed him invincible." His Promotion. Another point in the military career of General Logan stands out in bold relief, greatly to his credit, and showing the esti- mation in which he was held by those in authority who sought for the best possible material to place in command when the dismemberment of the Union was threat- ened and the speedy ending of the fratri- cidal and unnatural war was a " consum- mation most devoutly to be wished." It is this : General Loga?i was the one and only exceptioti to the rule : was the single instance iti which I a volunteer officer, who had risett from a private to the rank of Major- General, ever com?naftded an army. General Suniiuary. The following summary exhibits in one paragraph, the political and military posi- tions held by General John A. Logan, and they illustrate what an amount can be per- formed by one man. In the fall of the year (1852) he was chosen to represent the counties of Frank- lin and Jackson in the legislature and re- elected in 1856. He was in 1853 appointed Prosecuting Attorney, retaining the office until the fall of 1856 ; the same year was chosen a Presidential elector and elected to the XXXVIth and XXXVIlth Cong- resses, resigning to enter the Union Army, carrying a musket in the first battle of Bull 58 JOHN A. LOGAN. Run ; fighting through the war of the Re- bellion and reaching the rank of Major- General and commanded the Army of the Tennessee at the close of the war ; he was appointed in 1865 Minister to Mexico, but declined; was elected in 1866 Congress- man-at-Large ; was elected to this position three times, then elected to the United States Senate to succeed the Hon. Richard Yates from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1877. He resumed the practice of his pro- fession for a time, and was replaced in the United States Senate to succeed the Hon. R. J. Oglesby, and took his seat March 18, 1879, his term of service expiring March 3, 1885. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, an influential member of the Judiciary and Appropriation Com- mittees he has more than enough to oc- cupy his time even were the hours quad- rupled. But this is very far from being all. Early and late his house is crowded with people seeking advice and aid in every possible shape — seeking position and money. And to those in the ordinary walks of business his daily mail would not only be a wonder, but a terror, when the labor of answering became apparent. The word " immense " (comparatively used) is the most fitting to convey an idea of its mag- nitude. And the replying is not simply a matter of aye or nay. It frequently in- volves intricate points of law and practice before the various departments ; the min- ute searching of records ; involves thought, study, investigation, abstruse calculations, personal attention and monied expense — never repaid. But with General Logan nothing suffers neglect. The poor man is as welcome as he who comes " clad in purple and fine linen," and his cause held even more sacred. Yet there is another point so clearly demonstrated by these masterly efforts that we cannot pass it unnoticed. It is the per- fectly clean life-record of the man. During all his years the honesty of General Logan has never been questioned or slurred. Politically or privately there has never been found stain or blemish, and none have even been hinted at. No public trust has ever been betrayed by him. He has stood sternly and completely aloof from all of public or private jobbery. His statesmanship and his personal character have alike been pure, and his every official act done for the benefit of his con- stitution and his country. His labors have been excessive, heavy, engrossing. He has given the best of his years and talents to the end for which he was elected, not the accumulation of wealth by question- able methods, and stands to-day with un- defiled hands and untarnished honor, a living and a striking proof of the power to resist sordid temptation, rise superior to selfish ends and to live for the greatest good and the highest glory of his native land and mankind. That this statement is true in its fullest and most comprehensive sense, those who have the e7itre of his home and share his confidence will attest. Very few have such privileges and therefore very few are in a situation to rightly judge how arduous has been his toil, and how unrepaid, ex- cept in that reward which follows the doing of good deeds and the keeping of the golden rule. Fitz Jolm Porter Case. No matter brought before the XLVIIth and XLVIIIth Congresses attracted more attention than the bill to reinstate Fitz John Porter ; had in it more the sugges- tions of discord, and aroused more of pas- sionate feeling. It was a question that had been discussed by all prominent men, polititicians especially ; every soldier from the commander-in-chief to the rank-artd- file had made it a study ; every newspaper in the land had advocated one side or the other ; the great majority were committed by strongly expressed opinions and poli- tics becoming involved, the action of one party was as a unit in favor of the passage of the bill on the other, with but a few remarkable and scarcely-to-be-accounted- for exceptions, opposed'^to it. And farther than any merely local or personal bearing, it contained the decision of a court-martial ; of the right of Con- gress to decide whether or no the said court-martial had exceeded its powers and jurisdiction, and, if so, what authority Con- gress could confer upon the President of the United States to restore tarnished JOHN A. LOGAN. 59 honor and pay for pecuniary losses sus- tained. And still further it reopened, as it were, the history of the latest war, and touched again with bitterness the causes and effects that had been laid to rest ; re-venomed many an unpoisoned sting ; tore asunder scarcely healed wounds, and forced men into partisanship from which they would gladly have withdrawn and totally ignored. It was when the pulse of the country was thus beating at fever heat that General Logan defended a principle ; opposed the establishment of a dangerous and wrong precedent ; upheld the decree of justice, even if stern ; fortified the high position of every honest and brave soldier and, indirectly, but gloriously and with reverend homage, upheld the name and deeds of Abraham Lincoln, the man who had " as- cended the ladder of fame so high, from the round at the top he stepped to the sky," and won a crown immortal by a martyr's baptism. (Also the sacred mem- ory of the lamented Garfield, who was a member of the court-martial.^ r Arrayed against General Logan were talent, learning, eloquence, rank, and wealth. He swept them aside with a breath ; silenced into the lowest of mur- murs malicious insinuations and false testi- mony ; overturneil the most carefully con- structed theories ; exposed the fallacy of worn-thread-bare arguments ; winnowed the false from the true, and won greater renown than ever before. He knew better than any man for he had the best opportunity for so doing, the magnitude of the task he had undertaken ; the target he made of himself for those who stab in the back and dark, and who shoot venomed arrows from behind ambushes. Yet he shrank not and was more than equal to the emergency. More because a far less powerful and testimony-sustained argument at every point would have made him triumphant, and caused him to be fully sustained (as he was) by the verdict of all unbiased, thinking people. The corner-stones upon which the entire elaborate speech was constructed were but two, and contained the simple proposi- tions: "First, what is the law; second what is the evidence apphcable to that law for this tribunal to examine." These were the words of General Logan ; his brief, but comprehensive statement of the case, and upon them was builded the or- thographic structure that for five days held Congress, as is rarely done in the first in- stance and hours in the second. And the closing of the latter is so eloquent and true that we cannot refrain from repro- ducing it here : " If this act of wrong, as I deem it, shall be perpetrated by the Congress of the United States, it will be declaring that those who failed in the hour of trial are those who shall be honored in the hour of triumph ; it will be declaring to the world that the record of those in the Army who failed at the important time is as good as those who sustained the Gov- ernment; that the honor and glory of the whole Army of the United States shall not be maintained alone by the honors it won, but fhallbe maintained by the honors lost by its unworthy members. When we re- turned to our homes and our peaceful pur- suits, when the armies of a million of men melted away into the paths of peace, we then expected, and ought to expect now, that nothing would be done by Con- gress at least that would mar that thought that should be in every man's mind, that equality and justice should be done to all according to the laws and Constitution of our land, that justice should be done the living and that justice also should be meted out to the reputation of the dead. " So, then, for the honor of this Nation let not its representatives mar the re- cord that loyalty made in behalf of this Government and for the benefit of this people. " I have deemed it to be my duty as a member of this body to oppose at all times a proposition of this character, be- cause 1 believe it to be wrong in theory and certainly wrong in practice. I be- lieve it will demoralize the Army and have a demoralizing effect upon the country. I say in all kindness to the other side ot this chamber (it will perhaps have no ef- fect,) your course, assisted by a few of our side in this case, will prevent the people of this country, as long as they shall proceed in this way, from having confidence that 60 JOHN A. LOGAN. you intend to administer the affairs of the ' Governm<='nt fairly. The opening of the doors for Fitz-John Porter does not mean Fitz-John Porter. It means breaking down the barrier, the wall between the good and the bad and those who failed in time of trial and those who did their duty. It means opening the door on the retired-list to Porter and to other men who failed us in our trials who shall follow in his wake. It means more. I do not care what a few gentlemen who were in the Union Army may say, I do not care what a few gentle- men who were not in the Union Army may say ; but the great body of the Ame- rican people do not believe in breaking down the barriers between the men who failed in time of need and the men who stood at their posts. When I say that I am speaking of our loyal people, I mean that the people do not believe in your coming here to re- gulate courts-martial for us during the war. They do not believe it just ; they do not believe it is right. I am speaking in truth to you, and the people will emphasize it to you hereafter. Let your confederacy regulate its own courts-martial while it ex- isted in opposition to this Union, but do not come here from under the flag with numbers sufficient to put disgraced men back in the army, to cast slurs upon our men who did their duty, to trample in the dust the authority that suppressed your confederacy. Let not your feelings go that far. If they do, I tell you that more years than you think will pass over your heads before you will have the confidence of the American people. There are some friends on this side of the Chamber who join with the other side. They are entitled to their views. I say to them, you will open the doors to danger in this country when you do this act. It is not an act of kindness to this man ; it is an act of injustice to the Army; it is an act of injustice to the loyal people of this country; it an act of injustice to the memory of Lincoln and those who were associated with him at the time ; it is trampling under foot the law and the facts. You were the friends in the hour of trial, yov. who stood by then, should not falter now. You are to-day doing that which you would not have done ten years ago* But to-day the consciences of some people are getting so easy that we must do every- thing that is asked for men who failed us in the hour of our greatest danger, for men who are entitled to nothing except what they received. We are asked in charity which is no charity to violate the law, to violate the proper rules of conduct, to violate the judgment of a court, to violate the order of a President made ac- cording to law and in justice, as shown at that time and now. I hope at least that men who have stood by the country in the hour of trial will not weaken in the hour of triumph in the interests of those whose triumph would have proved disastrous to the country. The conscientious feeling that I have performed my duty according to my honest convictions to my country, to the honor of our now faithful little Army, to my com- rades in arms during the war, to the living and the dead that took part in the judg- ment of the court, to the loyal people that loved this country and helped to save it, shall be in my own breast through life my reward for my action in this case." But dry detail and statistics were supple- mented and interwoven with flashes that controlled attention and compelled admi- ration. Beyond all quibbling, they were the speech of the sessions ; not an ex parte one, for the records of both the Northern and Southern Army had been made to yield up everything bearing upon the question at issue. They were exhaustive. Not only were eye-witnesses, soldiers and officers (theoretically) placed upon the stand, but geography, topography, engi- neeringf, were summoned and the secret whispers of the lightning became audi- ble. Upon the merits of the case it is not our province to express an opinion. From the Congress of the nation General Logan appealed to the Congress of the world and the verdict was pronounced and favorable. With the speeches as speeches we have a right to deal. When given to the public, such things become their property and nothing of private or personal right is out- raged by free discussion and critical analysis. The eyes of time are sharp and JOHN A. LOGAN. 61 look through powerful microscopic lenses and are as quick to discover faults as enemies are to magnify a grain of sand into a mountain. That these speeches were perfection in all the elements of diction, eloquence of expression and the inevitably best words at all times claimed, could not be expect- ed when extemporaneous. Some one said that " no man dare to be reported as the words fell from his lips," and the saying is a true one. In the heat of debate men are carried beyond the mere "padding'' of words by the thought to be enforced. They have in view more the end to be ob- tained than the leading flowers growing along the path to it, and in the " torrent, tempest, and wind of passion " it is very hard to " beget a temperance that may give it smoothness." Strength and truth, we fancy, were more the purpose of General Logan than any oratorical display, and that he suc- ceeded most admirably in these particulars is beyond dispute. The great majority of the press declared : have praised in no measured or feeble terms, and their de- cision is final as to the future, for " after your death you were better to have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live." Looking at these speeches after the lapse of time, and when the waves of pas- sion are at rest, there can be but one view taken of them save when some all-con- trolling interest sways judgment and em- bitters and warps reason. Setting these aside the careful reader will find them brist- ling with points sharp as a bayonet ; fair in statement and deduction ; free from all of upon which General Logan, or any man, might safely rest his reputation, his name and his fame. In order that the readers of this book may form an estimate of General Logan as an orator, we give portions of his speech on self-government. Speech of Hon. Jolm A. Logan, On Sei/-Covernmt)it in Louisiana, January i^ and 14, JS73- The Senate having under consideration the resolution submitted by Mr. Schurz on the 8th of January, directing the Com- mittee of the Judiciary to inquire what legislation is necessary to secure to the people of the State of Louisiana their rights of Self-government under the Constitution, Mr. Logan said : — Mr. President : I believe it is consid- ered the duty of a good sailor to stand by his ship in the midst of a great storm. We have been told in this Chamber that a great storm of indignation is sweeping over this' land, which will- rend asunder and sink the old Republican craft. We have listened to denunciations of the President, of the Republicans in this Chamber, of the Republican party as an organization, their acts heretofore and their purposes in refer- ence to acts hereafter, of such a character as has seldom been listened to in this or in any other legislative hall. Every fact on the side of the Republican party has been perverted, every falsehood on the part of the opposition has been exagge- rated, arguments have been made here calculated to inflame and arouse a certain class of the people of this country against the authorities of the Government, based not upon truth but upon manufactured statements which were utterly false. The vulgar personality ; free from it entirely I Republican party has been characterized except where the necessity of the case imperatively forces such mention ; free from all of low prejudice; free from intolerant as despotic, as tyrannical, as oppressive. The course of the Administration and the party toward the Southern people has been partisanship; free from the slightest bias | denounced as of the most tyrannical char- of sectionality ; non political; free from acter by men who have received clemency any ad captandujii or egotistical ipse dixit style ; a bald, even if bold statement of at the hands of this same party. Now, sir, what is the cause of all this fact and circumstance ; the collated testi- ' vain declamation ? What is the cause of mony of others rather than the opinions , all this studied denunciation ? What is the of self; speeches in defense of the army reason for all these accusations made of the past and sustaining the high code against a party or an administration? I in the future ; plain, logical, convincing ; may be mistaken, but, if I am not, this is covering all possible points ; speeches \ the commencement of the campaign of 62 JOHN A. LOGAN. 1876. It has been thought necessary on the part of the opposition Senators here to commence, if I may use a homely phrase, a raid upon the Republican party and upon this Administration, and to base that upon false statements in reference to the conduct of affairs in the State of Louisiana. I propose in this debate, and I hope I shall not be too tedious, though I may be somewhat so to discuss the question that should be presented to the American peo- ple. I propose to discuss that question fairly, candidly, and truthfully. I propose to discuss it from a just, honest, and legal stand-point. Sir, what is that question .'' There was a resolution offered in this Chamber calling on the President to fur- nish^certain information. A second reso- lution was introduced, (whether for the purpose of hanging on it an elaborate speech or not I am not aware,) asking the Committee on the Judiciary to report at once some legislation in reference to Louisiana. Without any facts presented officially arguments have been made, the country has been aroused, and some peo- ple have announced themselves in a man- ner calculated to produce a very sore feel- ing against the course and conduct of the party in power. I say this is done without the facts ; without any basis whatever ; without any knowledge officially commu- nicated to them in reference to the conduct of any of the parties in the State of Louisi- ana. In discussing this question we ought to have a beginning ; some point from which we may all reason and see whether or not any great outrage has been perpe- trated against the rights of the American people or any portion of them. I then propose to start at this point, that there is a government in the State of Loui- siana. Whether that government is a government of right or not is not the ques- tion. Is there a government in that State against which treason, insurrection, or re- bellion, may be committed? Is there such a government in the State of Louisiana as should require the maintenance of peace and order among the citizens of that State .'' Is there such a government in the State of Louisiana as requires the exercise of Exec- utive authority for the purpose of preserv- ing peace and order within its borders ? I ask any Senator on this floor to-day if he can stand up here as a lawyer, as a Sena- tor, as an honest man, aud deny the fact that a government does exist? Whether he calls it a government de jure or a gov- ernment de facto, it is immaterial. It is such an organization as involves the lib- erties and the protection of the rights of the people of that State. It will not do for Senators to talk about the election of 1872. The election of 1872 has no more to do with this " military usurpation " that you speak of to-day than an election of a hun- dred years ago. It is not a question as to whether this man or that waa elected. The question is, is there such a government there as can be overturned, and has there been an attempt to overturn it? If so, then what is required to preserve its status or preserve the peace and order of the peo- ple ? But the other day when I asked the question of a Senator on the other side, who was discussing this question, whether or not he endorsed the Penn rebellion, he answered me in a playful mauner that excited the mirth of people who did not understand the question, by saying that 1 had decided that there was no election, and that therefore there was no govern- ment to overturn. Now I ask Senators, I ask men of common understanding if that is the way to treat a question of this kind ; when asked whether insurrection against a government recognized is not an insur- rection and whether he endorses it, he says there is no government to overturn. If there is no government to overturn, why do you make this noise and confusion about a Legislature there ? If there is, no State Government, there is no State Legislature. But I will not answer in that manner. I will not avoid the issue ; I will not evade the question. I answer there is a Legislature, as there is a State Government, recognized by the President, recognized by the Legislature, recognized by the courts, recognized by one branch of Congress, and r«cognized by the majority of the citizens by their recognition of the laws of the State; and it will not do to undertake to avoid questions in this manner. Let us see, then, starting from that stand- JOHN A. LOGAN. 63 point, what the position of Louisiana is now, and what it has been. On the 14th day of September last a man by the name of Penn, as to whom we have official in- formation this morning, with some seven or ten thousand white-leaguers made war against that government, overturned it, dis- persed it, drove the governor from the ex- ecutive chamber, and he had to taive refuge under the jurisdiction of the Government of the United States, on the soil occupied by the United States custom-house, where the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States Government extends, for the purpose of protecting his own life. This then was a revolution ; this then was a rebellion ; this then was treason against the State, for which these men should have been arrested, tried, and pun- ished. Let gentlemen dodge the question as they may ; it may be well for some men there who engaged in this treasonable act against the government that they had Mr. Kellogg for governor. It might not have been so well for them, perhaps, had there been some other man in his place. I tell the Senator from Maryland if any crowd of armed men should undertake to disperse the government of the State of Illinois, drive its governor from the executive chamber, enter into his private drawers, take his private letters, and publish them, and act as those men did, some of them would pay the penalty either in the peni- tentiary or by dancing at the end of a rope. But when this rebellion was going on against that State, these gentlemen say it was a State affair ; the Government of the United States has nothing to do with it ! That is the old-fashioned secession doctrine again. The government of the United States has nothing to do with it ! This national government is made up of States, and each State is a part of the Government, each is a part of its life, of its body. It takes them all to make up the whole ; and treason against any part of it is treason against the whole of it, and it became the duty of the President to put it down, as he did do ; and, in putting down that treason against the Kellogg government, the whole country almost responded favorably to his action. But our friend from Maryland, not in his seat now, [Mr. Hamilton] said that that was part of the cause of the elections going as they did. In other words, my friend from Maryland undertook in a round- about way to endorse the Penn rebellion, and claim that people of the country did the same thing against the government of the State of J^ouisiana, and on this floor since the discussion has been going on, not one Senator on that side of the cham- ber has lisped one word against the rebel- hon against the government of the State of Louisiana, and all who have spoken of it have passed it by in silence so as to indi- cate clearly that they endorse it, and I be- lieve they do. Then, going further, the President issued his proclamation requiring those insurgents to lay down their arms and to resume their peaceful pursuits. This morning we have heard read at the clerk's desk that these men have not yet complied fully with that proclamation. Their rebellious organiza- tion continued up to the time of the elec- tion and at the election. When the elec- tion took place, we are told by some of these Senators that the election was a peaceable, and a fair election, that a major- ity of democrats were elected. That is the question we propose to discuss as well as we are able to do it. They tell us that there was no intimidation resorted to by any one in the State of Louisiana. I dis- like very much to follow out these state- ments that are not true and attempt to controvert them because it does seem to me that we ought to act fairly and candidly in this Chamber and discuss questions without trying to pervert the issue or the facts in connection with it. * * * * * * Now, Mr. President, I want to ask can- did, honest, fair-minded men, after read- ing the report of General Sheridan show- ing the murder, not for gain, not for plunder, but for political opinions in the last few years of thirty-five hundred per- sons in the State of Louisiana, all of them republicans, not one of them a democrat — I want to ask if they can stand here be- fore this country and defend the democratic party of Louisiana? I put this question to them for they have been here for days crying against the wrongs upon the demo- 64 JOHN A. LOGAN. cracy of Louisiana. I want any one of them to tell me if he is prepared to defend the democracy of Louisiana. What is your democracy of Louisiana? You are excited, your extreme wrath is aroused at General Sheridan because he called your White Leagues down there "banditti." I ask you if the murder of thirty-five hun- dred men in a short time for political purposes by a band of men banded to- gether for the purpose of murder does not make them banditti, what it does make them ? Does it make them democrats ? It certainly does not make them republi- cans. Does it make them honest men ? It certainly does not. Does it make them law-abiding men ? It certainly does not. Does it make them peaceable citizens ? It certainly does not. But what does it make them ? A band of men banded together and perpetrating murder in their own State ? Webster says a bandit is " a law- less or desperate fellow ; a robber ; a bri- gand,'' and "banditti" are men banded O 7 together for plunder and murder ; and what are your White Leagues banded together lor if the result proves that they are banded to gether for murder for political purposes ? O, what a crime it was in Sheridan to say that these men were banditti ! He is a wretch. From the papers he ought to be hanged to a lamp-post ; from the Senators he is not fit to breathe the free air of hea- ven or of this free Republic ; but your murderers of thirty-five hundred people for political offenses are fit to breathe the air of this country and are defended on this floor to-day, and they are defended here by the democratic party, and you cannot avoid or escape the proposition. You have denounced republicans for trying to keep the peace in Louisiana ; you have de- nounced the Administration for trying to suppress bloodshed in Louisiana ; you have denounced all for the same purpose ; but not one word has fallen from the lips of a solitary democratic Senator denouncing these wholesale murders in Louisiana. You have said, " I am sorry these things are done,'' but have defended the White Leagues ; you have defended Penn ; you have defended rebellion ; and you stand here to-day the apologists of murder, of rebelUon, and of treason in that State. I want to ask the judgment of an honest country, I want to ask the judgment of the moral sentiments of the law-abiding people of this grand and glorious Republic to tell me whether men shall murder by the score, whether men shall trample the law under foot, whether men shall force judges to re- sign, whether men shall force prosecuting attorneys to resign, whether men shall take five officers of a State out and hang or shoot them if they attempt to exercise the func- tions of their office, whether men shall ter- rify the voters and office-holders of a State, whether men shall undertake in vio- lation of law to organize a Legislature for revolutionary purposes, for the purpose of putting a governor in possession and tak- ing possession of the State and then ask the democracy to stand by them — I appeal to the honest judgment of the people of this land and ask them to respond whether this was not ah excusable case when this man used the Army to protect the life of that State and to preserve the peace of that people ? Sir, the man who will not use all the means in his power to preserve the na- tionality, the integrity of this Government, the integrity of a State or the peace and happiness of a people, is not fit to govern, he is not fit to hold position in this or any other civilized age. Does liberty mean wholesale slaughter ? Does republican government mean tyranny and oppression of its citizens ? Does an intelligent and enlightened age of civiliza- tion mean murder and pillage, bloodshed at the hands of Ku-Klux or White Leagues or anybody else, and if any one attempts to put it down, attempts to reorganize and produce order where chaos and confusion have reigned, are they to be denounced as tyrants, as oppressors, and as acting against republican institutions ? I say then the happy days of this Republic are gone. When we fail to see that republicanism means nothing, that liberty means nothing but the unrestrained license of the mobs to do as they please, then republican govern- ment is a failure. Liberty of the citizen means the right to exercise such rights as are prescribed within the limits of the law so that he does not in the exercise of these rights infringe the rights of other citizens. But the definition is not well made by our JOHN A. LOGAN. 65 friends on the opposite side of this Cham- ber. Their idea of hberty is hcense ; it is not hberty, but it is hcense. License to do what ? License to violate law, to trample constitutions under foot, to take life, to take property, to use the bludgeon and the gun or anything else for the purpose of giving themselves power. What statesman ever heard of that as a definition of liberty .'' Whatman in a civilized age has ever heard of liberty being the unrestrained license of the people to do as they please without any restraint of law or of authority ? No man, no not one until we found the democratic party, would advocate this proposition and endorse and encourage this kind of license in a free country. Mr. President, I have perhaps said more on this question of Louisiana than might have been well for me to say on account of my strength, but what I have said about it 1 have said because I honestly believed it. WhatJ have said in reference to it comes from an honest conviction in my mind and in my heart of what has been done to sup- press violence and wrong. But I have a few remarks in conclusion to submit now to my friends on the other side, in answer to what they have said not by way of ar- gument but by way of accusation. You say to us — I had it repeated to me this morning in private conversation — "With- draw your troops from Louisiana and you will have peace." Ah, I heard it said on this floor once " Withdraw your troops from Louisiana and your State government will not last a minute." I heard that said from the opposite side of the Chamber, and now you say "Withdraw your troops from Louisiana and you will have peace." Mr. President, 1 dislike to refer to things that are past and gone ; I dislike to have my mind called back to things of the past ; but I well remember the voice in this Chamber once that rang out and was heard throughout this land, " Withdraw your troops from Fort Sumter if you want peace.'' I heard that said. Now it is "Withdraw your troops from Louisiana if you want peace.'' Yes, I say, withdraw your troops from Louisiana if you want a revolution, and that is what is meant. But, sir, we are told, and doubtless it is be- lieved by the Senators who tell us so, who denounce the republican party, that it is tyrannical, oppressive, and outrageous. They have argued themselves into the idea that they are patriots, pure and undefiled. They have argued themselves into the idea that the democratic party never did any wrong. They have been out of power so long that they have convinced themselves that if they only had control of this coun- try for a short time, what a glorious coun- try they would make it. They had control for nearly forty long years, and while they were the agents of this country — I appeal to history to bear me out — they made the Government a bankrupt, with rebellion and treason in the land, and were then sympathizing with it wherever it existed. That is the condition in which they left the country when they had it in their pos- session and within their control. But they say the republican party is a tyrant ; that it is oppressive. As I have said, I wish to make a few suggestions to my friends in answer to this accusation — oppressive to whom? They say to the South, that the republican party has tyrannized over the South. Let me ask you how has it tyran- nized over the South ? Without speaking of our troubles and trials through which we passed, I will say this : at the end of a rebellion that scourged this land, that drenched it with blood, that devastated a portion of it, left us in debt and almost bankrupt, what did the republican party do ? Instead of leaving these our friends and citizens to-day in a territorial condi- tion where we might exercise jurisdiction over them for the next coming twenty years, where we might have deprived them of the rights of members on this floor, what did we do ? We reorganized them into States, admitted them back into the Union, and through the clemency of the republican party we admitted representa- tives on this floor who had thundered against the gates of liberty for four bloody years. Is that the tyranny and oppression of which you complain at the hands of the republican party? Is that a part of our op- pression against you southern people? Let us go a little further. When the armed democracy, for that is what they were, laid down their arms in the Southern States, after disputing the right of freedom 66 JOHN A. LOGAN. and liberty in this land for four years, how did the republican party show itself in its acts of tyranny and oppression toward you ? You appealed to them for clemency. Did you get it ? Not a man was punished for his treason. Not a man ever knocked at the doors of a republican Congress for a pardon who did not get it. Not a man ever petitioned the generosity of the repub- lican party to be excused for his crimes who was not excused. Was that oppres- sion upon the part of the repubhcans in this land ? Is that a part of the oppression of which you accuse us ? Let us look a little further. We find to- day twenty-seven democratic Representa- tives in the other branch of Congress who took arms in their hands and tried to de- stroy this Government holding commis- sions there by the clemency of the repub- lican party. We find in this chamber by the clemency of the republican party three Senators who held such commissions. Is that tyranny ; is that oppression ; is that the outrage of this republican party on you southern people ? Sir.when Jeff. Davis, the head of the great rebellion, who roams the land free as air, North, South, East, and West, makes democratic speeches when- ever invited, and the vice-president of the southern rebellion holds his seat in the other House of Congress, are we to be told that we are tyrants, and oppressing the southern people ? These things may sound a little harsh, but it is time to tell the truth in this country. The time has come to talk facts. The time has come when cowards should hide, and the honest men should come to the front and tell you plain, honest truths. You of the South talk to us about oppressing you. You drenched your land in blood, caused weeping throughout this vast domain, covered the land in weeds of mourning both North and South, widowed thousands and orphaned many, made the pension-roll as long as an army-list, made the debt that grinds the poor of this land— for all these things you have been pardoned, and yet you talk to us about oppression. So much for the op- pression of the republican party of your patriotic souls and selves. Next comes the President of the United States. He is a tyrant, too. He is an oppressor still, in conjunction with the republican party. Oppressor of what ? Who has he oppressed of your Southern people, and when, and where ? When your Ku-Klux, banded to- gether for murder and plunder in the Southern States, were convicted by their own confession, your own representatives pleaded to the President and said: "Give them pardon, and it will reconcile many of the southern people." The President pardoned them ; pardoned them of their murder, of their plunder, of their piracy on land ; and for this I suppose he is a tyrant. More than that, sir,' this tyrant in the White House has done more for you south- ern people than you ought to have asked him to do. He has had confidence in you until you betrayed that confidence. He has not only pardoned the offenses of the South, pardoned the criminals of the de«i- ocratic party, but he has placed in high official position in this Union some of the leading men who fought in the rebellion. He has put in his Cabinet one of your men; he has made governors of Territories of some of your leading men who fought in the rebellion ; he has sent on foreign missions abroad some of your men who warred against this country ; he has placed others in the Departments; and has tried to reconcile you in every way on earth, by appealing to your people, by recognizing them and forgiving them for their offenses, and for these acts of generosity, for these acts of kindness he is arraigned to-day as a Caesar, as a tyrant, as an oppressor. Such kindness in return as the Presi- dent has received from these people will mark itself in the history of generosity. O, but say they. Grant wants to oppress the White Leagues in Louisiana ; therefore he is an oppressor. Yes, Mr. President, Grant does desire that these men should quit their every-day chivalric sports of gunning upon negroes and republicans. He asks kindly that you stop it. He says to you, " That is all I want you to do ; " and you say that you are desirous that they shall quit it. You have but to say it and they will quit it. It is because you have never said it that they have not quit it. It is in the power of the democratic party to-day but to speak in tones of majesty, ol JOHN A. LOGAN. 67 honor, of justice in faver of human life, and your Ku-Klux and murders will stop- But you do not do it ; and that is the reason they do not stop. In States where it has been done they have stopped. But it will not do to oppress those people ; it will not do to make them submit and subject them to the law ; it will not do to stop these gentlemen in their daily sports and in their lively recreations. They are White Leagues ; they are banded together as gentlemen'; they are of southern blood; they are of old southern stock ; they are the chivalry of days gone by ; they are knights of the bloody shield; and the shield must not be taken from them. Sirs, their shield will be taken from them ; this country will be aroused to its danger; this country will be aroused to do justice to its citizens ; and when it does, the perpetra- tors of crime may fear and tremble. Tyr- anny and oppression ! A people who without one word of opposition allow men who have been the enemies of a govern- ment to come into these legislative halls and make laws for that government to be told that they are oppressors is a monstro- sity in declamation and assertion. Who ever heard of such a thing before ? Who ever believed that such men could make such charges ? Yet we are tyrants ! Mr. President, the reading of the title of that bill from the House only reminds me of more acts of tyranny and oppression of the republican party, and there is a contin- uation of the same great offenses constantly going on in this Chamber. But some may say, " It is strange to see Logan defending the President of the United States." It is not strange to me. I can disagree with the President when I think he is wrong; I do not blame him for disagreeing with me ; but when these attacks are made, coming from where they do, I am ready to stand from the rising sun in the morning to the setting sun in the evening, to defend every act of his in connection with this matter before us. I may have disagreed with President Grant in many things ; but I was calling attention to the men who have been ac- cusing him here, on this floor, on the stump, and in the other House ; the kind of men who do it, the manner of its doing. the sharpness of the shafts that are sent at him, the poisonous barbs that they bear with them, and from these men who, at his hands, have received more clemency than any men ever received at the hands of any President or any man who governed a country. Why, sir, I will appeal to the soldiers of the rebel army to testify in be- half of what I say indefense of President Grant — the honorable men who fought against the country, if there was honor in doing it. What will be their testimony ? It will be that he captured your armed de- mocracy of the South, he treated them kindly, turned them loose, with their pro- visions ; treated them as men and not as pirates. Grant built no prison-pens for the southern solders; Grant provided no starvation for southern men ; Grant pro- vided no " dead-lines ' upon which to shoot southern soldiers if they crossed them ; Grant provided no outrageous pun- ishment against these people that now call him a tyrant. Generous to a fault in all his actions toward the men who were fight- ing his country and destroying the consti- tution, that man to-day is denounced as a very Caesar. Sherman has not been denounced, but the only reason is that he was not one of the actors in this transaction ; but I want now to say to my friends on the other side, especially to my friend from Delaware, who repeated his bitter denunciation against Sheridan yesterday — and I say this in all kindness, because I am speaking what future history will bear me out in — when Sheridan and Grant and Sherman, and others hke them are forgotten in this country, you will have no country. When the democratic party is rotten for centu- ries in its grave, the life, the course, the conduct of these men will live as bright as the noonday sun in the heart of every pa- triot of a republic like the American Union. Sirs, you may talk about tyranny, you may talk about oppression, you may denounce these men ; their glory may fade into the darkness of night ; but that darkness will be a brilliant light compared with the darkness of the democratic party. Their pathway is illuminated by glory ; yours by dark deeds against the Government. That a difference which the country will is 68 JOHN A. LOGAN. bear witness to in future history when speaking of the country and the actors on its stage. Now Mr. President, I have a word to say about our duty. A great many people are asking, what shall we do ? Plain and simple in my judgment is the proposition. I say to republicans, do not be scared. No tiian is ever hurt by doing an honest act and performing a patriotic duty. If we are to have a war of words outside or in- side, let us have them in truth and sober- ness, but in earnest. What then is our duty? I did not believe that in 1872 there were official data upon which we could de- cide who was elected governor of Louisi- ana. But this is not the point of my argu- ment. It is that the President has recog- nized Kellogg as governor of that State, and he has acted for two years. The Legisla ture of the State has recognized him ; the supreme court of the State has recognized him ; one branch of Congress has recog- nized him. The duty is plain, and that is for this, the other branch of Congress, to do it, and that settles the question. Then, when it does it, your duty is plain and simple, and as the President has told you, he will perform his without fear, favor, or affection. Recognize the government that revolution has been against and intended to overthrow, and leave the President to his duty, and he will do it. That is what to do. Sir, we have been told that this old craft is rapidly going to pieces ; that the angry waves of dissension in the land are lash- ing against her sides. We are told that she is sinking, sinking, sinking to the bot- tom of the political ocean. Is that t^ue ? Is it true that this gallant old party, that this gallant old ship that has sailed through troubled seas before is going to be stranded now upon the rock of fury that has been set up by a clamor in this Chamber and a few newspapers in the country ? Is it true that the party that saved this country in all its great crises, in all its great trials, is sinking to-day on account of its fear and trembling before an inferior enemy ? I hope not. I remember, sir, once I was toM that the old Republican ship was gone ; but when I steadied myself on the shores bounding the political ocean of strife and commotion, I looked afar off and there I could see a vessel bounding the boisterous billows with white sails unfurled, marked on her sides " Freighted with the hopes of mankind," while the great Mariner above, as her helmsman, steered her, navigated her to a haven of rest, of peace, and of safety. You have but to look again upon that broad ocean of political commotion to-day, and the time will soon come when the same old craft, provided with the same cargo, will be seen, flying the same flag, passing through these tempestuous waves, anchor- ing herself at the shores of honesty and justice, and there she will lie undisturbed by strife and tumult, again in peace and safety. [Manifestations of applause in the galleries.] He attends to more wants of individuals than any man ever in Congress. This is emphatically and especially true with re- gard to soldiers. Their cause is his cause; their wants his wants ; their just recogni- tion and reward his constant battle. From every section of the country, from Maine to Mississippi ; from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific ; from every state in a Union undivided come letters to him from those who wore the blue and those who wore the gray, and none are ever rejected. He is too mag- nanimous to permit anything of the past to influence his mind or his charity ; his love of his race is too catholic and broad to be swayed by the recollections of former years ; he was and is too much a good soldier not to respect bravery in others ; too much of a man to harbor anything of revenge or become narrow- minded by prejudice or petty malice. If sometimes his soul is permitted to speak through his lips when justice and duty require, back of it beats a warm and re- sponsive heart, and no one, friend or foe, ever appealed to him in vain, for in his composition the elements that mark the North and the South are strongly blended — the inflexible honesty and icy firmness of the one, with the chivalry, the fiery warmth and the open-handed generosity of the other. Logan'* Domestic XAfit. General Logan resides in Washington, JOHN A. LOGAN. 69 on Twelfth street, where he entertains his friends in excellent style, and his hos- pitality is well known by the people of the Capital. In his domestic relations General Logan has been one of the most happy and fortunate of men. In 1855 he married Miss Mary Cunningham, of Shawneetown, 111., and she has proved a most valuable helpmeet. There is no woman in public life who possesses more admirable traits than Mrs. Logan, and, what is unusuah her popularity with her own sex is quite as great as with the other. She has two children, a daughter, who is the wife of Paymaster Tucker, of the army, now stationed at Santa Fe, and a son, Manning, who is a cadet at West Point, having in- herited his father's military ambition. Both of them have been educated by her, or under her personal supervision. They appear to have inherited the excellent qualities of both parents, and they have had the best of parental instruction. The country owes General Logan a debt of gratitude for his valuable services in the army, which it can never cancel. No man stood out more boldly in the field and in the national councils for the preser- vation of the Union, than he. The war had broken the last ties that bound him to party, and the first flash of the enemy's guns found him side by side with Lincoln, and ready to devote himself on field or forum to his country. With him there was no middle ground, no compromise, no recognition of those in rebellion against the country — he was for the Union under all circumstances, at all hazards, and at whatever cost of blood and treasure. If the government was worth living for it was worth dying for, and so he supple- mented his worth as a statesman, by his value as a soldier. It should be remem- bered that he did not wait for distinction or title, or rank as a defender of his coun- try ; he did not wait until he could ascer- tain if there were sufficient men without him, but he shouldered his musket as a private soldier, and took his place in the ranks. He sought no favored position where he could escape danger and share the honors of the field without encounter- ing its dangers, for his bravery was coequal with his patriotism. Instances are so rare where men voluhtarily leave positions of honor, dignity, and security for those of privation and danger, that this act stands out in bold relief, stamping him with the diadem of true greatness. It was no wonder, therefore, that a rep- resentative body of the Republican party should give him recognition, and that he should have such a respectable following for the first place on the ticket, a special compliment, when one with the brilliant genius and forensic power of Blaine was named for the place. To poll almost one- fourth of the votes in the convention, showed that he had a following in the nation of which any man might justly be proud. To be preferred to James G. Blaine was no empty compliment, and he could in no way better show his appreciation of it than by joining his forces with the "Plumed Knight" and giving him the victory. It was the result of no bargain and sale ; it was the commendable act of one great man aiding in the elevation of the other. He had shown the same hon- orable and fraternal feeling when he brought to General Garfield in the last campaign, and a mention of the concila- tory attitude which he maintained in re- spect to the complications of the brief Gar- field administration. Reviewing his career the writer notes these additional elements of strength : Senator Logan's hands are absolutely clean ; his public record is consistent and unassailable ; his personal magnetism would evoke great enthusiasm and draw back to the party a host of old Douglas War Democrats ; his Irish blood would win Irish votes ; his simple, sturdy character and his efforts for the distribu- tion of the surplus revenue make him strong with the laboring classes ; his advo- cacy of the interests of the Mississippi Valley has given him great popularity in that section; and the colored people know that he would find a way under the Con- stitution and the laws to protect them in their political and civil rights. The Convention appreciated this act of General Logan. It had the true ring of a true man, and without regard to their pre- ferences in the selection of a candidate for President, they almost unanimously resolved that he should take his place on 70 JOHN A. LOGAN. the ticket be'side Mr. Blaine. The ticket had a magnetic head, and the delegates resolved that it should be magnetic throughout. Logan's name was no sooner mentioned for the place than it spread like wildfire through the- building. In a moment his nomination was a foregone conclusion, and amidst the booming of cannon, the screeching of rockets and the shouts of the enthused multitude, the " Black Eagle of Illinois "was added to the ticket headed by the " Plumed Knight of Maine." " In the words of a comrade : It is not less in General Logan than in Mr. Blaine truly a representative ticket. The candidate for Vice President is an ideal soldier and a statesman universally respected. He is a plain, straightforward man, beloved by the great army of heroes who survived the war of the Rebellion and who honor him for his courage and brilliancy in the field as the country honors him for the long and dis- tinguished service he has rendered it in its Senate. General Logan will rally to the support of the ticket, with old-time enthusiasm and ear- nestness, the soldiers, who will now have a chance to vote for the man they fought with, and who they remember as one who never turned his back on the enemy, and who never lost a battle. General Logan owes all ihat he is to his own industry, courage and ambition. He has worked his way upward to the highest honors and use- fulness unaided. He planned, laid the foundation and builded his own fortunes, and is a conspicuous example of the sturdy American growth of men. His nomination was recognized to be so fit as to cause it to be made by acclamation. With equal una- nimity will Republicans vote for him. The great campaign has been opened, and, with such leaders as Blaine of the East and Logan of the West, the way to victory is made level and straight to the Republican party. The continuous chain of victories that have marked his course in the past will add another shining link when Novem- ber's battle shall have closed in triumph. PEOCEEDIKGS OF CHICAGO COE'YEI^TIOIT, 1884. Meeting of the National RepuMlcan Com- mittee. The National Republican Committee met pursuant to adjournment at Chicago, June 2, 1884, and selected a temporary Chairman to present to the Convention. Mr. Morey , of Louisiana, nominated Gen- eral Powell Clayton, of Arkansas. Mr. Runnells, of Iowa, nominated Sen- ator Hoar, of Massachusetts. Mr. Stone, of Michigan, nominated Con- gressman Horr. Mr. Magee, of Pennsylvania, nominated Hon. Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania. The vote by States and Territories, stood as follows : For Clayton — Califor- nia, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Mis- sissippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Arizo- na, Dakota, Idaho, Montana, New Mexi- co, Utah, Washington and Wyoming — 27. For Senator Hoar — Alabama, Connecti- cut, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia — 13, For Congressman Horr — Arkansas and Michigan — 2. For Galusha A. Grow — Delaware and Pennsylvania — 2. The members of the Committee from Georgia, Tennessee and Texas were absent. Mr. Clayton, having received a major- ity of all the votes, was declared elected. ProcevdlngH of the National R<-publlvan Convention, at Chicago. The National Republican Convention was called to order at 12 25 p.m., June 3, 1884, by United States Senator Sabin, Chairman of the National Committee of Minnesota. After prayer by Rev. F. Bristol, of Chi- cago, the call for the Convention was read, when the Chairman addressed the Convention as follows : ' Gentlemen of the Convention : On behalf of the National Republican Com- mittee, permit me to welcome you to Chi- cago. As chairman of that Committee it is both my duty and pleasure to call you to order as a National Republican Con- vention. This city, already known as the " City of Conventions," is among the most cherished of all the spots of our country sacred to the memories of a Republican. It is the birthplace of Re- publican victory. On these fields of labor gathered the early fathers of our political faith, and planned the great battle for the preservation of the Union. [Applause.] Here they chose that immortal chief that led us on to victory — Abraham Lincoln. [Applause.] Here were gathered in coun- sel those gifted men who secured the fruits of that long trouble by elevating to the first place in the nation the foremost chieftain of that great contest — General Grant. [Loud applause ] Here was afterward witnessed that signal triumph which anticipated the wish of the nation by nominating as color-bearer of the parly that honored soldier, that shining citizen, that representative American — James A. Garfield. [Loud applause.] Every deliberation of Republican forces on this historic ground has been followed by signal victory, and every convention on this spot has carried forward our line of battle, and to-day our forces overlook every position of the enemy. Indeed, so secure now is the integrity of the Union, so firmly imbedded in the Constitution and laws of the land are the safeguards of individual liberty so fairly and fully achieved, that by general consent the time has now arrived for the new disposi- tion of party forces in contemplation of new lines of operation. Having compassed the defeat of our op- ponents on all former occasions, the party is about to set its house in order and take counsel as to the direction and the management of its future course. In the comparative lull of party strife which dis- tinguishes the present condition of Nation- al politics there is discernible an increas- 71 72 PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. ing disposition to look after the men who are to execute, and the methods that are to guide them in the execution of the powers committed to them for the manage- ment of the affairs of the Repubhc. As a result of the rule adopted in the last Na- tional Republican Convention, this Con- vention finds itself constituted bv a large majority of gentlemen who have been clothed with the delegated powers of the conventions in their several Congressional Districts. On this consideration may be grounded a hope that the voice of the peo- ple [applause] will beyond recent prece- dent be felt in moulding the work you are assembled to perform, so that its results may be such as to win the unhesitating and undivided support of every lover of those principles by which the party has heretofore triumphed and yet will triumph. [Applause]. When we consider the me- mories of the past, so intimately connected with this city, and even with this edifice which the people of Chicago have so gene- rously placed at our disposal ; when we reflect upon the deep-seated concern among all people in the result of your de- liberations and the various incentives to the abandonment of personal ambitions in the interest of the party welfare, you can- not wonder that the Committee, and be- yond it the great Republican masses, ex- tend you a most hearty welcome to this scene of labor, in the constant hope that your efforts will result in such an exposi- tion of Republican doctrine and disclose such a just appreciation of Republican men in the choice of your nominees as to rejoice the hearts of your constituents and keep victory on the side of your ever-vic- torious banner. In conclusion, at the request of the Na- tional Republican Committee, I have to propose to you as temporary chairman of this convention, the Hon. Powell Clayton, of Arkansas. [Loud applause.] The nomination of General Clayton gave rise to an animated discussion, and Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts, nominated John R. Lynch of Mississippi, closing his remarks as follows : — With no view of introducing any per- sonal contest, wi h no view of attempting to make any test of the votes as to the strength of the respective candidates, I have the honor to move, as it is certainly most desirable that we should recognize, as you have done, Mr. Chairman, the Republicans of the South [applause], I therefore desire to present the name of a gentleman well known throughout the South for his conspicuous parliamentary ability, for his courage and his character. I move you, Mr. Chairman, to substitute the name of the Hon. John R. Lynch, of Mississippi, and I ask, sir, that when the vote is taken the roll may be called on that question. A lengthy debate followed the presenta- tion of the name of Mr. Lvnch in opposi- tion to the nominee of the National Com- mittee. The friends of General Clayton insisted that it had been the unbroken rule for the Convention to accept the per- son presented by the committee, and that no good reason existed for departing from the established custom, when the advo- cates of Mr. Lynch contended that the Convention had not only the right, but . was the proper body to nominate and elect a temporary presiding officer. The Chair then directed a call of the roll of delegates, commencing with Ala- bama, which resulted in the election of Mr. Lynch. The vote was ; for Lynch, 43! votes; for Clayton, 387 votes. On motion of General Clayton the election of Mr. Lynch was made unanimous, and he was escorted to the platform by General Clayton, Henry C. Lodge of Massachu- setts, and Henry Taft of South Carolina. Mr. Lyiicli Clioseu. On assuming the chair Mr. Lynch said : Gentlemen of the Convention : I feel that I ought not to say I thank you for this distinguished honor that you have conferred upon me, for I do not. Never- theless, from the standpoint that no patriot should fail to respond to his country's call, and that no loyal member of his party Hhould fail to comply- with the demand of his party, I yield with reluctance to your decision and assume the duties of the position to which you have assigned me. Every member of this convention who ap- proached me on this subject within the last two hours knows that this position was neither expected nor desired by me. If, therefore, there is anything like a man having honors thrust upon him, you have an exemplification of it in this instance. [Laughter and a])plause ] I came to this Convention, not for the purpose of secur- ing the defeat of any man or the success of any man, but for the purpose of contribut- ing (to the extent of my vote and influence) to make RcpubUcan success in November PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. 73 next an assured fact. (Cheers.] I hope and believe that the assembled wisdom of the Republican party of this Nation, through its chosen representatives in this hall, will so shape its platform and will present such candidates before the Ameri- can people as will make that victory be- yond the shadow of a doubt. So far as the candidates for the Presidential nomina- tion are concerned, I do not wish any gen- tleman to feel that my election (by your vote) is indicative of anything relative to the preference of one candidate over another. I am prepared, and I hope that every member of this Convention is pre- pared to give to the candidates of this Convention a loyal and hearty sup- port, whoever they may be. [Cheers.] I am satisfied in my own mind that when we go before the people of this country our action will be ratified, because the great heart of the American people will never consent to have a political party gain the ascendency in this Government, whose ch'ef reliance is on a fraudulent ballot and on violence at the polls. [Ap- plause.] I am satisfied that the people of this country are too loyal ever to allow a man to be inaugurated President whose title to the position is brought forth in fraud. I am satisfied that the American people will ratify our action because they will never consent to have a revenue system for the government other than one that will not only raise the necessary revenue for its support, but will also be sufficient to protect every American citizen in his busi- ness. [Cheers.] Gentlemen, not for myself but perhaps in the obedience to custom, I thank you for the honor you have conferred upon me. The several delegations then presented three candidates for places on the several committees. Mr. Williams, Chairman ot the Com- mittee on Permanent Organization, re- ported as permanent Chairman of the Convention General J. B. Henderson, of Missouri, who was elected and escorted to the chair amidst the applause of the mul- titude : General Ileuilersou's Speecli. On taking the chair, General Hender- son said : Gentlemen of the Convention : — We have assembled to survey the past history of the party ; to rejoice, as we may, because of 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, pro- vide for the future. Our past history is the Union preserved, slavery abolished, and its 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 of 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 challenging con- fidence and love at home, respect and ad- miration abroad. And now, when wc come to select a standard-bearer for the approaching conflict, our chief embarrass- ment is not in the want but in the abun- dance of Presidential material. New York has her true and tried statesman, upon 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 states- man whose mind is as clear as the crys- tal 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 or on field of battle. Maine has her honored favorite who-;e splendid abilities and personal qual- ities have endeared him to the hearts of his friends, and the brilliancy of whose genius challenges the admiration of all. Connecticut and Indiana may come with names scarcely less illustrious than these. And now, in conclusion', if because of personal disagreements in the emergen- cies of the occasion another name is sought, there remained that grand old hero of Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta. Wlien patriotism calls he cannot, if he would, be silent, but grasping that banner to liiiTi so dear, which he has already borne in triumph, he will march to a civic vic- tory no less renowned than those of war. I thank you, gentlemen, for this distin- guished mark of your confidence. 74 PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. The Convention then took a recess until 7 o'clock, P. M. Evening Session. General Henderson called the Conven- tion to order at 7:35, and made the follow- ing announcements: Gentlemen — There is a communication in the hands of the Secretary from the Committee on Credentials, which will be read to the Convention. The Secretary read the communication as follows : " To THE Chairman of the Republican National Convention : — "The Committee on Credentials have the honor to notify the Convention that as important business is occupying the time of the Committee, the Committee will not be able to report to the Convention this evening." After a proposition to issue 500 extra tickets of admission to the hall to veteran soldiers had been voted down the Conven- tion adjourned to ten o'clock to-morrow. Third Day's Proceedings. Thursday. — Chairman Henderson called the Convention to order at ten min- utes to eleven a. m. The delegates and audience dropped into their seats with commendable alacrity, when the Chair said : — " The Convention this morning will be opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Fallows." Bishop Fallows made the opening prayer. Contests Decided. The report of the Committee on Creden- tials was presented. It contained the fol- lowing recommendations : — In the case of the First district of Ala- bama your Committee find the sitting members, James E. Slaughter, Frank H. Threet, and their alternates, as on the roll of the National Committee, entitled to their seats. In the case of the Seventh district of Alabama the committee find the sitting members. Robert A. Moseley, Jr., and Arthur Bingham, and their alternates, as on the roll of the National Committee en- titled to their seats. In the case of the Fourth district of Texas the committee find the sitting members, A. G. Malloy and J. R. Carter, and their alternates, entitled to their seats. In the case of the First district of Geor- gia the committee find the S'tting mem- beis, A. W. Wilson and James Blue, and their alternates, entitled to their seats. In the case of the Second district of Illinois the committee find the sitting members, W. H. Ruger, C. E. Piper, and their alternates, entitled to their seats. In the case of the First district of Ken- tucky the committee find the sitting m.em- bers, Edwin Farley and A. C. Bragg, with their alternates, entitled to their seats. In the case of the Fourth district of Maryland the committee find the sitting members, James J. W. Jordan and Henry W. Rogers, with their alternates, entitled to their seats. In the case of the Sixth district of New York the committee find the sitting mem- bers, John J. O'Brien and John H. Brady, with their alternates, entitled to their seats. In the case of the Nineteenth district of New York the committee recommend that sitting delegates George Campbell and Hiram Griggs, with their alternates, Andrew S. Draper and Madison Covert, and the contestants James Lamb and James A. Houck, with their alternates, William H. Haskell and Nathan B. Wen- dell, be each admitted to seats in the con- vention, with a half vote to each delegate. (Applause.) In the case of the Twenty-first district of Pennsylvania the committee find the sitting 'member — there was only a contest as to one member — James E. Sayres, with his alternate, entitled to his seat. In the case of the contest of the State of Virginia the committee by unanimous vote, find that the delegation from said State headed by Senator William Mahone are each and all entitled to their seats in this Convention, in accordance with the roll of delegates and alternates as made up by the National Republican Committee. In the case of the Fifth district of Ken- tucky the committee make the unanimous recommendation that the sitting members, Silas F. Miller and John Mason Brown, with their alternates, Juhn Barrett and George W. Brown and the contestants. Augustus E. Wilson and M. Minton and their alternates, Hugh Mulholland and August Kahlert, be each admitted as dele- gates and alternates to this Convention, with a right to cast a half vote each. This recommendation is consented to by the sitting members and by the contestants. PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. 75 The report was adopted with but one member voting against the proposition. The Convention took a recess until six o'clock. EVENING SESSION. The Nomination of Candidates. Connecticut Presents Hawlry — Speeches for Logan and B.'ciine — Arthur Nii»teti by Toiunsend. Chairman Henderson called the conven- tion to order at 7:35 p. m., and announced that the presentation of candidates for President was in order. Mr. Dutcher, of New York, offered the following, which was adopted : Resolved, That the Committee on Seats be directed to issue five hundred tickets of admission to veteran soldiers and sailors, to be distributed through the chairmen of the several State delegations. The National Committee. The roll was then called for members of the National Committee, with the fol- lowing result : — Alabama William Youngblood. Arkansas Powell Clayton. California Horace Davis. Colorado J. B. Chaffee. Connecticut Samuel Fessenden. Delaware Daniel J. Leighton. Florida Jesse G. Cole. Georgia F. F. Putney. Illinois David T. Littler. Indiana John C. New. Jovva J. S. Clarkson. Kansas John A. Martin. Kentucky E. Moore. Louisiana Frank Morey, Maine J. Manchester Haden. Maryland J. E. Geary. Massachusetts W. W. Crapo. Michigan John B. Sanborn. Minnesota M. J. Norton. Mississippi J. R. Lynch. Missouri Robert T.Van Home. Nebraska Church Howe. Nevada Thomas Wren. New Hampshire. ..Edwin H. Follett. New Jersey Garrett A. Hobart. New York John D. Lawson. North Carolina ....Scott M Humphrey. Ohio A. L. Conger. Oregon J. T. Apperson. Pennsylvania B. F. Jones. Rhode Island H. A. Jenckes. South Carolina ....John B. Johnston. Tennessee W. D. Brownlow. Texas C. C. Binckley. Vermont George W Hooker. Virginia F. S. Blair. West Virginia John W. Mason Wisconsin Edward Saunderson. Dakota Judge Bennett. District of Columbia, Col. Perry Carson. Idaho Sherman A Coffin. Montana James A. Mill. New Mexico William H. Ryners. Utah Charles W. Bennett. Washington P. W. Miner Wyoming Joseph F. Carey. The Beginning of the Knd. When the call of States for nominations was had and M-iine was called, the Chair- man sank into his seat knowing what would follow. There was an instant, clear, loud, wild burst of applause that seemed to come from the throat of every man in the hall. To describe, in its fullness of en- thusiasm, in its spontaneity of sentiment, in its fervor of devotion, the scene that fol- lowed — a scene such as was never before witnessed in a national convention — is well nigh impossible. First came the cheer rattling through the hall like a volley of infantry ; then deepen- ing as it grew in force, like a roar of can- non, and swelling as it progressed like the crash of a thunderbolt across the skies. From the stage to the end of the hall, a distance of the eighth of a mile, the cheer- ing, rolling in dense waves of sound, hoarse and shrill, sharp and clear, com- mingling in a wild tumult of applause, which, in the minds of all who heard it and of those who witnessed the great scene, meant the nomination of James G. Blaine. Looking over the human sea from the stage to the balconies, there was a surging mob of men and women waving hats, um- brellas, parasols and flags. Against the dark background a thousand white hand- kerchiefs swung over the heads of the ex- cited audience, dotted the hall with specks of white, like the caps of the breakers on a stormy sea. Men put their hats on the tops of canes and waved them high over their heads. Women tore their bright fichus and laces from around their snowy necks, and, leaning far forward over the galleries, frantically swung them to and fro to give emphasis to their shrill screams of joy. From outside the glass windows under the dome of the hall, where an adventur- ous crowd of men and boys had gathered to witness the proceedings, loud cat-calls and screams were heard above the roar 76 PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. beneath. Men hung dangerously over the front of the galleries and waved the ends of the banners that had been fastened there as decorations to the hall. The following candidates were placed in nomination : James G. Blaine, of Maine. Chester A. Arthur, of New York. John Sherman, of Ohio. George F. Edmunds, of Vertnont. John A. Logan, of Illinois. Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut. Each candidate was introduced by an eloquent eulogy, which consumed the en- tire evening session. (The speeches nom- inating Blaine and Logan are given else- where.) The nominations being completed the convention adjourned until Friday morn- ing, at lo o'clock. FOURTH DAY. The interest and excitement culmina- ted on Friday, as the convention had made its nominations, and the deciding ballots were to be cast. At ii:2o A. M., Senator Henderson called the convention to order. After prayer by the Rev. Henry Martin Scudder, pastor of Plymouth Church, the chairman directed the secretary to call the roll, so that the States and Territories which were passed yesterday could hand in the names of their members of the National Committee. A delegate from California at this point asked to offer a reso- lution without comment, but Mr. Davis of Illinois, demanded the regular order. The First Ballot. The delegate from California above mentioned then announced that at the re- quest of his delegation he withdrew the resolution he had not been permitted to offer. The chairman then directed that the roll be called for a ballot on candidates for the Presidency. The ballot resulted as follows : James G Blaine 334-} Chester A. Arthur 278 George F. Edmunds 93 John Sherman 30 John A. Logan 63J Jose})h R. Hawley 13 RobertT. Lincoln 4 William T. Sherman 2 Total 8i8 Necessary to a choice 410 The Second Ballot. The second ballot was commenced at 12:23. During the roll call much delay was caused by frequent calls for a poll of the delegates in certain States. As the first ballot resulted in no choice, the chairman directed that another one be taken. It resulted as follows : Whole number of votes cast 819 Necessary to a choice 410 For James G. Blaine, of Maine 349 For Chester A. Arthur, of New York. ..275 For George F. Edmunds, of Vermont.. 85 For John A. Logan, of Illinois 6r For John Sherman, of Ohio 28 For Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut 13 For Robert T. Lincoln, of Illinois 4 For William T. Sherman of Missouri... 2 The result of the ballot showed a gain for Blaine, and wild cheering greeted its announcement. When order was restored, the convention proceeded to a third ballot with the following result : Whole number of votes cast 820 Necessary to a choice 411 For James G. Blaine, of Maine 375 For Chester A. Arthur, of New York. ..274 For George F. Edmunds, of Vermont.. 69 For John A. Logan, of Illinois 53 For John Sherman, of Ohio 25 For Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut 13 For Robert T. Lincoln, of Illinois 8 For William T. Sherman, of Missouri.. 2 During the roll call the count in Ken- tucky and Massachusetts was challenged ; but when dissatisfaction was expressed, the delegates making the challenges with- drew them. When Michigan cast eighteen votes for Blaine, there was tremendous cheering. The ten votes of Nebraska for Blaine were received with much cheering. After Nevada had been called, delegates were seen rushing through the aisles in every direction. The confusion and noise was so great by the time North Carolina was reached, that the Chairman directed the sergeant-at-arms to see that the dele- gates took their seats. A Motion to Adjourn Lost. When the result of the third ballot was announced, there was a scene of wild con- fusion. When an opportunity offered, Judge Foraker, of Ohio, moved to take a recess until 7 P. M. Mr. Dutcher, of New York, seconded the motion. PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. 77 Mr. McKinley of Ohio said: — I hope no friend of James G. Blaine will object to having the roll call of States made. [Cries of " Good, good," and cheers.] Let us raise no technical objec- tion. [Cries of " That's right," and cheers] And, as a friend of James G. Blaine I insist that all his friends shall unite in having the roll of States called and voting against adjournment. [Loud cheers.] Mr. Conger accepted Mr. McKinley's proposition, and the vote on adjournment was taken. The result, 364 to 450, was re- ceived with wild cheering. Fourth and Final Ballot. Judge Foraker then moved that the rules be suspended and James G. Blaine be nominated by acclamation. This was re- ceived with applause and objections, and Mr. Roosevelt declared that it could not be done. Motions of various kinds fol- lowed, and at last Judge Foraker withdrew his motion. During the confusion that followed the chairman directed that the roll be called for the fourth ballot. It re- sulted as follows : Whole number of votes cast 813 Necessary to a choice 407 For James G. Blaine, of Maine 541 For Chester A. Arthur, of New York... 207 For George F. Edmunds, of Vermont, 41 For John A. Logan, of Illinois 7 For Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut, 1 5 Blalne'8 Nomination ntade Unaulmons. The announcement of the result of the fourth ballot was received with a whirl- wind of applause. Every person in the audience — delegates and visitors — rose to their feet simultaneously and, all being Blaine men now, shouted and sang their delight at the success of the man from Maine. It took nearly thirty minutes to get to business. The chairman then asked if the nomination should be made unani- mous. Mr. Burleigh, of New York, took the platform and said : In behalf of the President of the United States, and at his request, I move to make the nomination of James G. Blaine, of Maine, unanimous, and I promise for the friends of President Arthur, who are always loyal at the polls, and for Northern New-York, 20,000 Republican majority ; and I promise you all that we will do all we can for the ticket and for the nominee, and will show you in November next that New-York is a Republican State. It elected James A. Garfield, and it will elect James G. Blaine, of Maine. [Applause.] Mr. Sabin, of Minnesota, said : Four years ago, in this very hall and as a delegate to the National Republican Convention, I was opposed to Chester A. Arthur and to the elements with which he then associated. Since then he has been called, under the most trying circumstan- ces, to fill the first place in the gift of the people of this country. So well, so nobly, , so faithfully has he fulfilled that trust, and so happily has he disappointed not only those of his opponents but his friends, so fully has he filled the position of the scholar and the gentleman, that he is pos- sessed of that great, good common sense which has made his administration a great and pronounced success, that he has grown upon me until to-day, I honor and revere Chester A. Arthur. [Applause.] As a friend of his, I no less honor and revere that prince of gentlemen, that scholar, that gifted statesman James G. Blaine, whose nomination it affords me the greatest pleasure to second, with the prediction that his name before this country in No- vember will produce that same spontane- ous enthusiasm which will make him Pre- sident of the United States on the 4th of March next. [Loud and prolonged ap- plause, and cries of "Curtis."] Mr. Plumb, of Kansas, said : This convention has discharged two ot its most important trusts and is now, notwithstanding the length of time it has been in session and the exciting scenes through which it has passed, in thorough good humor, and I believe we are ready to go on and conclude the business which brought us all here. [Mr. Houck, of Ten- nessee, here called for the regular order — the question on making the nomination unanimous.] Before proceeding wiih that I desire to respond to the sentiment which pervades the entire convention. I move that the nomination be made unani- mous, and I hope there will not be a dis- senting voice in all this vast assemblage. 78 PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. •ujoouiq •X3[MEH sqs •ue3o'i •spunuip3 M M -3UICI3 00 «vo>o >nn •9-0 -^-oo o\ cj\ n lo mo .•«■ « n -o m r^vo oo vo vo -t~N-«- m'mm •S31E23I3Q ■ON O •*^0 ^D NvOOO -^-^O^OOO-OvO N^OOOvO -^CO N 0»OOOCO W WVOvO QOOCO -tf-vO 00 ■^ « N cinnnnrtnnN e X AV ■* ■XaiAVEfi m • • * * w • * •uqof C4 , M , , , ^ • . ** • , irt . M •UBSoq . . . . . . .0 . .... . . H , , , , M , . *"* > ^ W M , M 1 X* ■ . • 1 "^ •spunuip3 • • . ^^ . lO t^-VO .^ . . M 00 . . .00 . .^ , . M , , • • 1 ON . . . N •jimijv t^ •«- M On ^nO O vOMMMt^OM •auiBi'j in M moo so M HM M M o M m r^ M moo *o . o*Q0 « •mMmi/immm M • vOt^ Mt^m MMO •S31E3 -spa ON ft -rf-io vo MVOOO -.(-■^OVOOOvOvO «*O00»O '^OO « OOOOOO M NVO»0 ococo ■.^^0 00 '«t- M w ^ MM Sw^mMMMMMMMMMMmM Mt^N* <0 MMM MMM MMMMMnnMM I O to SS .2 o. c«>.s S c n o 3 C ' 2-2 .5-5 CJ= rt o o - t. -:*; i2 ,-^.y£ ^ ^ s"^:§.i.1l - «I - « s • ■ c o-?^ "o ^ ^-i^ M ^ i_ u n 0(J ""H. "U M O.'ij rt ■^ -=; j: il ■£ .S g S S *t.2 SfS^S i X cj w w c u 0^ i!: y jz ;; 4j flj ^■--i>:> c 2 O o ■ '• -.a . . .-° e . . .^ ■ c •'3 bo c u- C-- o o H PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION. 79 The chairman then read the following dispatch : The President has sent the following dispatch to Mr. Blaine; " As the candidate of the Republican party, you will have my earnest and cordial support.'' The nomination was then made unani- mous, and, on motion of Mr. Husted, of New-York, the Convention adjourned until 8 p. m. EVENING SESSION. Logan IVoiMiiiatocl for Vice-i'resident. Nominated by Acclavtation — No other Candidates. The convention was called to order at 8:15 p.m., when prayer was oftered by the Rev Dr. Charles OTy Free Trade. Free Trade in the unlimited sense of the word has a comparatively small following — the term as generally used does not im- ply actual free trade between different nations. The Free Trade theory is to collect sufficient revenue from duties on imports to maintain the government to the utter rejection of incidental protection — in a word, to open our ports as mere collection agencies, and to fill the national coffers at the expense of our own in- dustries. Great Britain is the head centre of what is known as free trade, and the celebrated Cobden Club of England that represents it, has its plants in free trade organizations in this country. But Eng- land with its ostensible free trade policy, fosters its industries to a greater extent than any other nation by laying excessive duties on certain items of manufacture, and permitting free trade on those which it can produce at lower prices than any other nation. Its tariff policy is one of ultra-protection to its industries, and to enable its people to sell their surplus goods abroad. Comparison between Great Britain and tlie United States. Great Britain and the United States, although of a common stock, do not have a common interest as nations. England strives to manufacture for the world, to monopolize the productive power, and THE ISSUES OF 1884. 83 through its cheap labor, to undersell other nations in their own markets. She willingly permits competition at home in all raw materials, so that she can procure them at her own price, and to have com- petition in her home market for manu- factured goods to enable her to name the selling .price, and thus through this in- strumentality to control the markets abroad. ' How the TarlflF Is made I'rotective. At the .present time England pays about one half, and the rest of Europe about one third of the rates that prevail here, so that when this shield of protection is removed, and the products of their cheap labor flood our market they would easily be able to undersell our own people. Hence, a tariff to protect, must be regulated by a comparison of the relative cost of materials and price of labor. To ascertain the in- trinsic value' of anything, we must compare it with our unit of value, just as we do with the sovereign of England, or the franc of France, when estimated by ouf own dol- lar. It is just as reasonable, and equitable to value these coins at their purchasing power in their own countries without any reference to their intrinsic value here. Labor is the intrinsic value of manufac- tured goods and it is valued under a protec- tive tariff by a comparison with our home labor. For example five francs repre- sent the value of a day's labor by an artisan in Paris, and $t,.oo, that of one in the United States. Shall we increase the value of the franc in this country to threefold its value at home, and conse- quently depreciate the true value of our dollar to one-thircl its value as defined by law ? Or shall we declare that a day's labor, all over the world shall be valued at a day's labor in the United States, upon all articles of industry sent from abroad to sell in our market? If this is not done, our labor must compete with foreign labor, and our men be paid at foreign prices. As has been said by an able expounder of the question : " Persons who denounce tarifif protec- tion are therefore compelled to take the untenable position that they are unwilling to permit the existence of natural prices for American products ; or, to state the case in another form, are opposed to the continuance of all domestic industries which can be undersold in our market by foreign competition." We believe in the dignity of labor and strive to elevate it, instead of debasing it into a miserable servitude but little above that of human slavery. The true policy of government is not to sacrifice labor in order to have cheap production. Abandon the doctrine of protection, open our ports to the market of the world, let revenue onlybethe cry, andShylock-like, insistonly for the pound of flesh, and whilst we would manufacture goods as cheaply, and furnish products at as low rates, labor would be degraded, and wages would be as low as it is across the ocean. Under such circum- stances we can compete with the world, but do we desire to pay such a price for its great market ? Our gain would be a loss, which would not only destroy/ our in- dustries but would break up our nation. In the words of a celebrated writer on this question : " This would, to begin with, treat men as made for trade, not trade as made for men. Our laborers deprived of justly high, or comfort, or freedom of wages, would quickly sink in the scale of civilization. Within a few generations they would cease to be intelligent, and become ignorant, debased, superstitious, servile, and unfit to be trusted with the ballot. No longer having chances to improve their condition, or to arise above it they would lose their present incentives to self-respect, to courage, to ambition, to enterprise, to hope. The spirit of man falls with his wages — declines as declines the reward of his in- dustry, toil and care. Crush this and he is crushed. Take away from the labor in the United States the elevated, important and commanding position which it now occupies, and let its wages and its situa- tion sink to the European level, then its descent would drag down the edifice of republican institutions, and of human freedom. These cannot long exist where the rights of labor are not respectcd.-- Would general cheapness in the price of commodities be any compensation for this tremendous sacrifice of all we hold dear and sacred as the results of American liberty ?" 84 THE ISSUES OF 1884. "What a Judicious Scale of Duties will Effect. Fully satisfied with the truth of this proposition, the Republican Party has stood between the people, and those who would destroy their industries, and by means of a judicious tariff warded off these disasters. Cheap goods can be, and are manufactured through home competition, which is in the main, healthful. The manu- facturer who charges more than a fair profit on his goods offers an inducement for another to furnish them at a less cost, and thus home competition will always give our people goods at the lowest figures at which they can be made. There can be no monopoly of manufacture or prices where capital has an open field, and, skilled labor is ever ready to develop it. On the contrary, open the doors to Free Trade, until our industries shall have been driven from their posts by foreign goods, and as soon as the market is controlled by them the prices will be advanced beyond our own standard, to be reduced only when protec- tion shall again stand between home and foreign labor. °We must either Protect Home or Foreign Labor. If we do not protect our own people in their industries we are protecting those under other governments. Omission in the first case is equivalent to a direct action in the other. In our governmental action we are compelled to chose between home and foreign labor, and if we refuse it to our own people we confer it on others to their exclusion. In the words of the writer already quoted : " To repeal the laws which punish crime is to protect criminals ; and to legislate out of existence the protection which guards and sustains American industry, is to transfer the protection to European indus- try. A tariff too low for home Protection, thus becomes a law to protect transatlantic manufacturers against the rivalry of our own manufacturers in the latter's domestic market. The issue between the protec- tionists and the Free Traders, when reduced to its seminal principle, dwindles to simply this, whether we shall protect our own labor and capital or that of other nations. Doing the latter may be symbolized as dismantling our forts, level- ing our breastwork, and disarming our troops, in the face of an invading enemy, leaving him at his leisure to reap all the fruits of unopposed conquest." Tariff Hlstor}-. The revision of existing tariff laws, in order to protect the industries of the country, and to inaugurate what was then known as " The American System," came up before Congress at the session of 1823 and 24, and the heated debate that en- sued matured into a serious conflict of authority between the general government, and a few of the slave-holding States. So prominent did the question become at that time, it entered very largely into the presidential issue and party lines were drawn accordingly. The protection of home industry had not been recognized among the powers granted, was looked for in the incidental; and denied by the strict constructionists to be a substantive term, to be exercised for the direct purpose of protection ; but admitted by all at that time and ever since the first tariff act of 1789, to be an incident to the revenue raising power, and an incident to be regarded in the exercise of that power. Revenue the object, pro- tection the incident, had been the rule m the earlier tariffs; now that rule was sought to be reversed, and to make protection the object of the law, and revenue the inci- dent. Henry Clay was the leader in the proposed revision and the champion of the American system ; he was ably sup- ported in the House by many able and effective speakers, who based their argu- ment on the general distress then alleged to be prevalent in the country. When a measure becomes oppressive or odious or destructive of the interests of the masses, it soon becomes a matter of public complaint, and the right of petition to Congress for redress is freely and fully exercised. In the face of onr Industrial Prosperltjr, the Democrats Insist on a Repeal of the Protective Tariff La^vs. No such reason appears to have existed for the effort to change existing tariff laws, F 1884. 85 so as to open the door for foreign compi tition. The Morrison bill, which was only- defeated by Republican votes, is a fair ex- hibit of the opinion and policy of the Democratic party on the issue, having been prepared for that special purpose. Not a single petition was presented to the House, or referred to the Committee of Ways and Means even suggesting the re- duction of duties proposed by this bill, or any other reduction of customs duties. On the contrary, the petitions have all been in direct opposition to such legisla- tion. Outside of a majority of Democratic members, and the Free Trade Clubs or- ganized in the interests of English capital- ists there has been no expressed sentiment in favor of such a measure. The measure was a blow at the farmers of the countiy. Mr. Hewitt of New York, in a speech delivered in the House of Representatives, March 27th last, said: — How 9Ir. Hewitt Views It. " Now how can the farmer be benefited ? What does he want ? He wants to sell his productions at a higher price. And how is he going to sell his products at a higher price as the grain trade stands to- day ? The markets of Europe are over- crowded with food products. To-day the farmer is met at Liverpool and London by the food products of India, and that competition so far from being less is going to increase. Therefore the farmer has reached the limit of the demand for his products in foreign lands. Where then, is he to find his market for them ? He must find his market at home, and how is he going to get it at home ? Why, only by one method— manufactures must be fostered and grow and not be diminished. This foreign market, for which every tariff idealist and every Democratic free- trader longingly sighs, is only mythical in the present condition of our country. We should capture the home market, first get control of it, before we seek the foreign one. We can not command a foreign market until we can control our own. It seems to me that proposition is so plain and palpable that it must commend itself to every intelligent man. Dutjr on Raw Material. It is probable that free raw material has nothing to commend it to legislative favor which is not common to every other Amer- ican product. The same necessity for protection, within reasonable limits, ap- plies to what are commonly called raw materials as to the finished or more ad- vanced manufacture. There is no such thing as raw materials distinguished from other products of labor. Labor enters into all productions, the commonest as well as the higher forms. The ore costs something to mine it ; the coal, to take it from the ground ; the stone, to quarry it ; much labor enters into the production of wool ; leather costs some- thing to tan ; and to the extent that labor enters into their preparation, what are usually termed raw materials should have ratable protection with the completed pro- duct. Pig-iron is the raw material for bar- iron, and yet no one has been heard to advocate free pig-iron. Cloth is the raw material for the tailor, the finest steel is the crude material of the watch maker, and so on interminably. There can be no just line drawn, and no reason exists for such a discrimination. When the country is ready for free trade let us have it in all things without exception or restriction. Facts are more potent than Theories. What has been accomplished during the period when a protective tariff has been in operation is a stronger argument in its favor than all the thin spun theories of so called political economists, or the prophecies of visionary enthusiasts, and although the Democracy has called it ex- tortion and robbery, and declared that it obstructed the progress and permanency of our industries, and the development of our growth to wealth and national great- ness, still the actual result has become a record for all to read, so that no man need go astray. How it contrasts with the low tariff pe- riod from 1847 to i860, when we had prac- tically a revenue tariff, such as is advocated by the Democratic party of to-day ! It was a period of universal business depression, deficiencies in the public Treasury, when both nation and individuals were compelled \ 86 THE ISSUES OF 1884. to borrow money at the most exorbitant rates of interest; and it was in this condition that the RepubHcan party found the country when it came into power on the 4th of March, 1861. The Democratic pohcy of the tariff was immediately reversed ; and the splendid achievements in every de- partment of industrial activity, the large revenues of the Government, its improved credit, and its present flourishing monetary conditions are the highest vindication of its policy. Every class in the country has been benefited. The necessities of life have been cheapened to the consumer. Every article of merchandise that has been made possible of manu^'acture in this country by reason of protective duties has been cheapened, instead of being en- hanced in price. Deiuoci-atic Tai-Uf from a Brltlsli Stand- point. The Democratic party is legislating for England's interests rather than those of America — for the protection of foreign labor instead of home industry. The LondcKi Iron and Coal Trades Re- view for December 1883 says : "Our best customer for iron, steel, hardwares, and many other goods, has long been the United States, notwithstand- ing the very heavy duties that are there levied, and the greatest interest is always manifested by our businessmen in Ameri- can politics where they are likely to affect the tariff. It is pretty evident that the pro- tectionists are no longer to have it all their own way.'' In addition to this, the following ex- tracts from British labor periodicals puts the whole case in its true light : "The year is likely to see important political changes on the other side of the Atlantic which will have their influence here. Events move rapidly in America, and the coming triumph of the Democratic party there means the triumph of the free- trade movement in the States. It is not to be supposed that there will be free imports into the States, but " a tariff for revenue only,'' which is the leading cry of De- mocrats, will open an immense additional field for the sale of English manufactured goods in the States." The same journal said in March last : "It appears, therefore, that we are buy- ing nearly as much in the way of manufac- tures in iron and steel, machinery, &c., from the States as we are selling to them. The result must be looked upon as miser- able, and is not equal to our position as a manufacturing country. The United States is a producing country, not a manufactur- ing, in the sense to which we apply this term to ourselves. It is high time we turned our attention actively elsewhere for a better customer, not forgetting all the same to watch the opportunities which the tariff reduction in the States will open out to us.'' The London Iron and Coal Trades Re- view for February 8, 1884, says: "Though our trade with the United States has fallen off very much of late, that country still occupies the position of our leading customer, and every change in its condition yet has its inflaence upon our market. It is, therefore, important to notice that the intelligence from the other side has been of a rather more encouraging character during the last few days." The Pall Mall Gazette published the following : " The progress of the Morrison bill will be watched with considerable interest by English exporters to the American mar- . ket, inasmuch as it can hardly fail to tend in their favor." Hon. Major MeKinley's Views. Hon. William McKinley of Ohio, who has recently been ousted from his seat in the House, and a Democrat put in his place, gives this vivid presentation of the case : Importers Celebrate Democratic Victo-les. One firm of importers celebrated that free- trade victory by christening a line of English goods with the significant trade- mark, " The Carlisle shape," and pub- lished it as "the coming thing" [applause], named in honor of Speaker Carlisle, to whom the country looked to reduce the present outrageous tariff on crockery. This Democratic House is now employed under the leadership of the distinguished Mr. Morrison. Tliii line of goods named for one of the ablest and purest Democrats in the House or the country comes froin his representative capacity. He stands at THE ISSUES OF 1884. 87 the head of a great political organization committed to the English system, which all England believes will increase her pros- perity and enrich her manufacturers. These goods, made in a foreign pottery with foreign materials, foreign labor, and foreign capital, are fittingly crowned with the head of the British lion. Pass this bill and you will all have shapes and .be honored with like manifestations of ap- proval. I know my honored friend the Speaker craves no such distinction ; I know he would shrink from such public demon- strations of approval, and 1 believe he will not feel flattered by this well-intentioned compliment ; but they could not avoid expression in some public way their appre- ciation of his victory. This is but an advance manifestation of the joy which will be felt on the other side should the bill pass. American "Wages tlie best In tlie World. Our wages are higher here than in any other nation of the world, and we are all proud and grateful that it is so. I know it is denied, but experience outweighs theo- ries or misleading statistics. One thing we do know is that our work people do not go abroad for better wages, and every other nationality comes here for increased wagoii and gets them. In Great Britain and the United States the rate of wages is on ihi average about 50 per cent, higher here than there." We are confronted with this problem at the very threshold of this discussion, and we must meet it. The proposition of the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means will result in reducing the wages of labor or the destruction of many of our most valuable industries, and the depriva- tion of employment to thousands. The one or the other alternative must come; either, will be most disastrous and attended by business depression and individual suffering. We must not reduce the price paid to labor; it is already sufficiently low. We can only prevent it by defeating this bill, and it should be done without unnecessary delay. The sooner the better, and remove this menace which hangs over all of our industrial life and threatens the comfort and independence of millions of American workingman. How Hcni-y Clay, tlic Fatlier of Protec- tion Presents It. Henry Clay, whose reputation as a statesman, and whose life was devoted to the great question of political economy, came from the same state which is now represented by the Champion of Free Trade, and where the demand is made by the Democracy to wipe all laws for the protection of American Industry from the statute book. So fully was he convinced that protection should form a prominent part of the national policy, that he em- braced every opportunity to hand his name down to the future artisans and laborers of his country as their friend and champion. His defence of the American system made in the Senate in 1832, so fully sus- tains the position of the Republican party, as to entitle it to the careful consideration of the American people. " If the term of seven years were to be selected, of the greatest prosperity which this people have enjoyed since the estab- lishment of their present constitution, it would be exactly that period of seven years which immediately followed the passage of the tariff of 1824." This transformation of the condition of the country from gloom and distress to brightness and prosperity, has been main- ly the work of American legislation, foster- ing American industry, instead of allowing it to be controlled by foreign legislation, cherishing foreign industry. The foes of the American System, in 1824, with great boldness and confidence, predicted, ist. The ruin of the public revenue, and the creating of a necessity to resort to direct taxation. The gentleman from South Carolina, (General Hayne,) I believe, thought that the tariff of 1824 would op- erate a reduction of revenue to the large amount of eight millions of dollars. 2d. The destruction of our navigation. 3d. The desolation of commercial cities. And 4th. The augmentation of the price of ob- jects of consumption, and farther decline' in that of the articles of our exports. Every prediction which they made has failed — utterly failed. Instead of the ruin of the public revenue, with which they 88 THE ISSUES OF 1884. then sought to deter us from the adoption of the American System, we are now threatened with its subversion, by the vast amount of the pubHc revenue produced by that system. Every branch of our naviga- tion has increased. Why, sir, there is scarcely an interest, scarcely a vocation in society, which is not embraced by the beneficence of this sys- tem. It comprehends our coastingtonnage and trade, from which all foreign tonnage is absolutely excluded. It includes all our foreign tonnage, with the inconsiderable exception made by treaties of reciprocity with a few foreign powers. It embraces our fisheries, and all our hardy and enterprising fishermen. It extends to almost every mechanic an :***** Its History. The subject of the American system was again brought up in 1820, by the bill re- ported by the chairman of the committee of manufactures, now a member of the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the principle was successfully maintained by the representatives of the people ; but the bill which they passed was defeated in the Senate. It was revived in 1824; the whole ground carefully and de- liberately explored, and the bill then in- troduced, receiving all the sanctions of the constitution, became the law of the land. An amendment of the system was proposed in 1828, to the history of which I refer with no agreeable recollections. The bill of that year, in some of its provisions, was framed on principles directly adverse to the declared wishes of the friends of the policy of protection. I have heard, with- out vouching for the fact, that it was so framed upon the advice of a prominent citizen now abroad, with the view of ulti- mately defeating the bill, and with assur- ances that, being altogether unacceptable to the friends of the American system, the bill would be lost. Be that as it may, the most exceptional features of the bill were stamped upon it, against the earnest re- monstrances of the friends of the system, by the votes of southern members, upon a principle, I think, as unsound in legisla- tion as it is reprehensible in ethics. The bill was passed, notwithstanding all this, it having been deemed better to take the bad along with the good which it contained, than reject it altogether. Subsequent le- gislation has corrected the error then per- petrated, but still that measure is vehe- mently denounced by gentlemen who con- tributed to make it what it was. Thus, sir, has this great system of pro- tection been gradually built, stone upon stone, and step by step, from the Fourth of July, 1789, down to the present period. In every stage of its progress it has received the deliberate sanction of Congress. A vast majority of the people of the United States has approved and continue to ap- prove it. Every chief magistrate of the United States, from Washington to the present, in some form or other, has given to it the authority of his name ; and how- ever the opinions of the existing President are interpreted south of Mason's and Dix- on's line, in the north they are at least understood to favor the establishment of a judicious tariff. Gentlemen deceive themselves. It is not free trade that they are recommending to our acceptance. It is in effect, the British colonial system that we are invited to adopt ; and, if their policy prevail, it will lead substantially to the re-colonization of these States, under the commercial domin- ion of Great Britain, And whom do we find some of the principal supporters, out of Congress, of this foreign system ? Mr. President, there are some foreigners who always remain exotics, and never become naturalized in our country ; whilst, happily, there are many others who readily attach themselves to our principles and our insti- tutions. The honest, patient and indus- trious German readily unites with our peo- ple, establishes himself upon some of our fat land, fills his capacious barn, and enjoys in tranquillity the abundant fruits which his diligence gathers around him, always ready to fly to the standard of his adopted country, or of its laws, when called by the duties of patriotism. The gay, the versatile, the philosophic Frenchman, ac- commodating himself cheerfully to all the vicissitudes of life, incorporates himself without difficulty in our society. But, of THE ISSUES OF 1884. 89 all foreigners, none amalgamate themselves so quickly with our people as the natives of the Emerald Isle. In some of the vis- ions which have passed through my im- aginaiion, I have supposed that Ireland was originally part and parcel of this con- tinent, and that, by some extraordinary convulsion of nature, it was torn from America, and drifting across the ocean, was placed in the unfortunate vicinity of Great Britain. The same open-hearted- ness; the same generous hospitality; the same careless and uncalculating indiffer- ence about human life, characterize the inhabitants of both countries. [The Lair of Labor. The great law of price is determined by supply and demand. Whatever affects either, affects the price. If the supply is increased, the demand remaining the same, the price declines ; if the demand is increased, the supply remaining the same, the price advances ; if both supply and de- mand are undiminished, the price is sta- tionary, and the price is influenced exactly in proportion to the degree of disturbance to the demand or supply. It is therefore a great error to suppose that an existing or new duty necessarily becomes a component element to its exact amount of price. If the proportion of demand and supply are varied by the duty, either in augmenting the supply, or diminishing the demand, or vice versa, price is affected to the extent of that variation. But the duty never becomes an integral part of the price, except in the instances where the demand and the supply remain after the duty is imposed, precisely what they were before, or the demand is increased and the supply remains station- ary. Gentlemen have allowed to the manu- facturing portions of the community no peace ; they have been constantly threat- ened with the overthrow of the American System. From the year 1820, if not from 1 8 16, down to this time, they have been held in a condition of constant alarm and insecurity. Nothing is more prejudi- cial to the great interests of a nation than unsettled and varying policy. Let the country breathe, let its vast re- sources be developed, let its energies be fully put forth, let it have tranquillity, and my word for it, the degree of perfection in the arts which it will exhibit, will be greater than that which has been presented, astonishing as our progress has been. Although some branches of our manufactures might, and in foreign markets how do, fearlessly con- tend with similar foreign fabrics, there are many others yet in their infancy, struggling with the difficulties which encompass them. Tariff makes a Home 9Iarket. That under the operation of the Amer- ican System, the products of our agricul- ture command a higher price than they would do without it, by the creation of a home market; and by the augmentation of wealth produced by manufacturing in- dustry, which enlarges our powers of con- sumption both of domestic and foreign articles. The importance of the home market is among the established maxims which are universally recognized by all writers and all men. It is nearer to us ; beyond the control of foreign legislation ; and undisturbed by those vicissitudes to which all international intercourse is more or less exposed. The most stupid are sen- sible of the benefit of a residence in the vicinity of a large manufactory, or of a market town, of a good road, or of a navi- gable stream, which connects their farms with some great capital. It is only in the diversity of the vocations of the members of a community that the means can be found for those salutary exchanges which conduce to the general prosperity. And the greater that diversity, the more exten- sive and the more animating is the circle of exchange. I conclude this part of the argument with the hope that my humble exertions have not been altogether unsuc- cessful in showing — 1. That the policy which we have been considering ought to continue to be re- garded as the genuine American System. 2. That the Free Trade System, which is proposed as its substitute, ought really to be considered as the British Colonial System. 3. That the American System is bene- ficial to all parts of the Union, and abso- lutely necessary to much the larger portion. 4. That the price of the great staple of cotton, and of all our chief productions of 90 THE ISSUES OF 1884. agriculture, has been sustained and up- held, and a decline averted by the Protec- tive System. 5. That if the foreign demand for cot- ton has been at all diminished by the operation of that system, the diminution has been more than compensated in the additional demand created at home. 6. That the constant tendency of the system, by creating competition among ourselves, and between American and Eu- ropean industry, reciprocally acting upon each other, is to reduce prices of manufac- tured objects. 7. That in point of fact, objects within the scope of the policy of protection have greatly fallen in price. 8. That if, in a season of peace, these benefits are experienced, in a season of war, when the foreign supply might be cut off, they would be much mxore exten- sively felt. 9. And finally, that the substitution of the Bridsh Colonial System for the Ameri- can System, without benefiting any sec- tion of the Union, by subjecting us to a foreign legislation, regulated by foreign interest, would lead to the prostration of our manufactures, general impoverishment, and ultimate ruin." Horace Greeley stated the question in his succinct and masterly way under the following proposidons : Horace Greeley's Proposition. 1. "A Nation which would be prosper- ous, tnust prosecute various branches of Industry, and supply its vital IVants mainly by the Labor of its own Hands. 2. There is a natural tendency in a comparatively new Country to become and continue an Exporter of Grain and other rude Staples and an Importer of Manu- factures. 3. // is injurious to the New Country thus to continue dependent for its supplies of Clothing and Manufactured Fabrics on the Old. 4. That Equilibrium between Agricul- ture, Manufactures and Conunerce, which we need, can only be maintained by Pro- tective Duties. 5. Protection is necessary and proper to sustain as well as to create a beneficent adjustment of our National Industry.'' Diversity of Lalior. That the United States is a nadon of marked progress is due mainly to two causes, the area of undeveloped territory to allow expansion and the diversity of its industries. Any nation or people, or com- munity that depends upon a single indus- try cannot have a sound basis of prosperity, for when that industry is affected it seriously afiects its all — when it is des- troyed, all is destroyed. The larger the scale of diversity the greater is the sus- taining power, and vice versa. A diversi- fied industry constitutes the foundation of all true progress, as it increases the avenue of labor and trade, and provides an increased market for our commodities whether the products of the soil, or the handiwork of machinery under the defty skill of the artisan. Nations like individuals have to pass through the steps of infancy, childhood and youth, to attain their full vigor of manhood, and governments are the parental guardians to sustain, advance, protect and defend, restrain and punish their people. Tlie Republican Party's Consistency. Having hastily glanced at the protec- tive issue, as presented by the Republican party, and given a brief abstract of some of the reasons in favor of protecting American home industry it is proper to observe its devotion to its faith ever since its organization. The convention held at Chicago May 17, i860 imbodied in its platform the following tariff plank. "That while providing revenue for the support of the general government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imports as to encourage the industrials interest of the whole country ; and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secures to the working men liberal wages, to agriculture remunerative prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their skill, labor and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence.'' THE ISSULo ^r 1884. 91 In 1872, the Republication national convention which convened June 5th, at Philadelphia, incorporated into its platform the following continuation of the same doctrine announced twelve years before : " Among the questions which press for attention is that which concerns the rela- tions of capital and labor, and the Repub- lican party recognizes the duty of so shaping legislation as to secure full pro- tection and the amplest field for capital, and for labor, the creator of capital the largest opportunities and a just share of the mutual profits of these two great servants of civilization." " Revenue except so much as may be derived from a tax upon tobacco and liquors, should be raised by duties on im- portations, the details of which should be so adjusted as to aid in securing remunera- ting wages to labor, and promote the in- dustries, prosperity and growth of the whole country.'' It is both proper and instructive to con- trast the policy of the two parties, at the same periods of time, and under the same conditions of exigency. Thus in i860, when the Republican party declared un- equivocally in favor of Protection, the Democrats in their national convention reaffirmed the position they took four years before, as follows : " The time has come for the people of the United States to declare themselves in favor of * * progressive free trade throughout the world.'' In 1872, when the question of protection was discussed throughout the country, and the previous record of the Democratic party was damaging its prospects, it fled from the position taken in 1856, and re- affirmed in i860, and inserted the follow- ing plank in its platform to straddle the issue : " Recognizing that there are hi our midst, honest but irreconcilable differences of opinion with regard to the respective systems of protection and free trade, we remit the discussion of the subject to the people in their congressional districts and to the decision of the Congress thereon, wholly free from executive interference or dictation." June 14, 1876, the Republican conven- tion held at Cincinnati again endorsed its previous policy, as follows : " The revenue necessary for current ex- penditures, and the obligations of the public debt, must be largely derived from duties on importations, which, so far as possible, should be adjusted to promote the interests of American labor and advance the prosperity of the whole country." In the same year the Democratic Con- vention placed in its platform the following ultimatum, ignoring the claims of labor, insulting the sons of toil, and opening the doors of competition with pauper labor : "We demand that all custom house taxation shall be for revenue only." Both parties re-affirmed their former position on the tariff question in 1880, and hence they now stand before the people of the country as shown by their acts as above given from official records. This so clearly demonstrates that the prosperity and even the very life of our industries is in the hands of the Republican party, and that ultimate Free Trade with all its con- comitant evils will follow Democratic success, that no intelligent man need be led astray by specious platitudes. He closes his Argiiineiit for Protection In tlie follovrlng words. "You will understand me, then, to be utterly hostile to that idol of Free Trade worship, known as free or unlimited com- petition. The sands of my hour are run- ning low, and 1 cannot ask time to ex- amine this topic more closely ; yet I am confident I could show that this Free Com- petition is a most delusive and dangerous element of political economy. Bear with a brief illustration : At this moment com- mon shirts are made in London at the incredibly low price of /^ree cents a pair. Should we admit these articles free of duty, and buy them because they are so cheap ? Free Trade says yes ; but I say no ! Sound Policy as well as Humanity forbids it. By admitting them we simply reduce a large and worthy and suffering class of our population from the ability they now pos- sess of procuring a bare subsistence by their labor to unavoidable destitution and pauperism. They must now subsist upon the charity of relatives or of the com- 92 THE ISSUES OF 1884. munity, — unless we are ready to adopt the demoniac doctrine of the Free Trade philosopher Malthus, that the dependent poor ought to be rigorously starved to death. Then what have we gained by getting these articles so exorbitantly cheap ? or, rather, what have we not lost ? The labor which formerly produced them is mainly struck out of existence ; the poor widows and seamstresses among us must still have a subsistence ; and the imported garments must be paid for : where are the profits of our speculation ?'' Still "Worse Features of the Case. "But even this is not the worst feature of the case. The labor which we have here thrown out of employment by the cheap importation of this article is now ready to be employed again at any price, — if not one that will afford bread and straw, then it must accept one that will produce potatoes and rubbish ; and with the product some Free Trader proceeds to break down the price and destroy the reward of similar labor in some other portion of the earth. And thus each de- pression of wages produces another, and that a third, and so on, making the circuit of the globe, — the aggravated necessities of the Poor acting and reacting upon each other, increasing the omnipotence of Capital and deepening the dependence of Labor, swelling and pampering a bloated and factitious commerce, grinding down and grinding down the destitute, until Malthus's remedy for Poverty shall become a grateful specific, and, amid the splendors and luxuries of an all-devouring Com- mercial Feudalism, the squalid and famished Millions, its dependents and victims, shall welcome death as a de- liverer from their sufferings and despair.'' The Inconsistency of Free Trade Lieaders. " I wish time permitted me to give a hasty glance over the doctrines and teachings of the Free Trade sophists who esteem them- selves the Political Economists, christen their own views liberal and enlightened, and complacently put ours aside as be- nighted and barbarous. I should delight to show you how they mingle subtle fal- lacy with obvious truth, how they reason acutely from assumed premises, which, being mistaken or incomplete, lead to false and often absurd conclusions; how they contradict and confound each other, and often, from Adam Smith, their patri- arch, down to McCuUoch and Ricardo, either make admissions which undermine their whole fabric, or confess themselves ignorant or in the dark on points the most vital to a correct understanding of the subject they profess to have reduced to a science. Yet, even Adam Smith, himself, expressly approves and justifies the British Navigation Act, the most aggressively Protective measure ever enacted ; a mea- sure which, not being understood and seasonably counteracted by other nations, changed for centuries the destinies of the world ; which silently sapped and over- threw the commercial and political great- ness of Holland; which silenced the thunder of Van Tromp, and swept the broom from his masthead. But I must not detain you longer. I do not ask you to judge of this matter by authority, but from facts which come home to your reason and your daily experience. There is not an observing and strong-minded mechanic in our city who could not set any one of those doctors of the law right on essential points. I beg you to consider how few great practi- tical statesmen they have ever been able to win to their standards — I might almost say none ; for Huskisson was but a nomi- nal disciple, and expressly contravened their whole system upon an attempt to apply it to the corn laws ; and Calhoun is but a Free Trader by location, and has never yet answered his own powerful ar- guments in behalf of protection.'' The Roll of the Friendt of Protection. "On the other hand, we poinf you to the long array of mighty names which have illustrated the annals of statesman- ship of modern times — to Chatham, Pitt and the great Frederick of Prussia ; to the whole array of memorable French states- men, including Napoleon the first of them all ; to our own Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison; to our two Clintons, Tompkins, to say nothing of the eagle-eyed and genial-hearted living master-spirit, Henry Clay, of our time. THE ISSUES OF 1884. 93 The opinions and the arguments of all these are on record ; it is by hearkening to and heeding their counsels that we shall be prepared to walk in the light of experience and look forward to a glorious National destiny.'' Platform nnanlinonaly adopted at tlie Republican Nominating Convention at Chicago, June 5, 1884. The Republicans of the United States, in Convention assembled, renew their al- legiance to the principles upon which they have triumphed in six successive presi- dential elections, and congratulate the American jieople on the attainment of so many results in legislation and adminis- tration by which the Republican Party has, after saving the Union, done so much to render its institutions just, equal and beneficent — the safeguard of liberty and the embodiment of the best thought and highest purposes of our citizens. The Re- publican Party has gained its strength by quick and faithful response to the demands of the people for the freedom and the equality of all men ; for a united nation assuring the rights of all citizens ; for the elevation of labor; for an honest currency ; for 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 Gar- field, whose sound statesmanship, long conspicuous in Congress, gave promise of a strong and successful administration, a promise fully realized during the short period of his office as President of the United States, His distinguished success in war and in peace has endeared him to the hearts of the American people. In the administration of President Ar- thur, we recognize a wise, conservative and patriotic policy under which the coun- try 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 duty of a good government to protect the rights and promote the inte- rests of its own people ; the largest diver- sity of industry is most productive of general prosperity and of the comfort and independence of the people. Tlie Tarltr Plaulc. We, therefore, demand that the imposi- tion of duties on foreign imports shall be made not for " revenue only " but that, in raising the requisite revenues for the Gov- ernment, such duties shall be so levied as to afford security to our diversified indus- tries 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 reward, and the laboring man his full share in the national pros- perity. Against the so-called economical system^ of the Democratic party, which would de- grade our labor to the foreign standard, we enter our earnest protest ; the Demo- cratic party has failed completely to re- lieve the people of the burden of unneces- sary 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 reduc- tion, but by such methods as will relieve the taxpayer without injuring the laborer 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 pros- perity ; and we, therefore, respect the de- mands of the representatives of this im- portant agricultural interest for a readjust- ment of duty upon foreign wool in view that such industry shall have full and ad- equate industry. We have always recommended the best money known to the civilized world, and we urge that an effort be made to unite all commercial nations in the establishment of the international standard, which shall fix for all the relative value of gold and silver coinage. The regulation of commerce with for- eign 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 94 THE ISSUES OF 1884. support such legislation as will fully and efficiently carry out the constitutional power of Congress over inter-state com- merce. The principle of the public regu- lation 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 to the railroads alike the fair and equal pro- tection of the laws. Protection to Ijabor. We favor the establishment of a nation- al bureau of labor, the enforcement of the eight-hour law, a wise and judicious sys- tem of general education by adequate ap- propriation from the national revenues wherever the same is needed. We believe that everywhere the protec- tion 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 in a desire that all men rnay be free and equal, is un- alterably opposed to placing our working- men in competition with any form of servile labor, whether at home or abroad. In this spirit we denounce the importation of con- tract labor, whether from Europe or Asia, as an offence against the spirit of Ameri- can institutions, and we pledge ourselves to sustain the present law restricting Chi- nese immigration, and to provide such further legislation as is necessary to carry out its purposes. ClvU Service Reform. The reform of the civil service auspicious- ly begun under Republican administration should be completed by the further exten- sion of the reform system already establish- ed by law — to 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 re- formed legislation should be repealed, to the end that the dangers of free institu- tions which lurk in the power of official patronage may be wisely and effectively avoided. The public lands are a heritage of the people of the United States, and should be reserved as far as possible for small hold- ings by actual settlers. We are opposed to the acquisition of large tracts of these lands by corporations or individuals, es- pecially where such holdings are in the hands of non-resident aliens, and we will endeavor to obtain such legislation as will tend to correct this evil. We demand. of Congress the speedy for- feiture of all land grants which have lapsed j 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 solders and sailors of the late war, and the Hepublican party stands pledged to suitable pensions to all who were disabled and for the v/id- ows and orphans of those who died in the war. The Republican party pledges itself to the repeal of the limitation contained in the Arrears act of 1879, ^° ^hat all invalid soldiers shall share alike, and their pen- sions shall begin with the date of disability or discharge and not with the date of the application. Regarding a Foreign Policy. The Republican party favors a policy which shall keep us from entangling aUi- ances with foreign nations, and which shall give the right to expect that foreign nations shall refrain from meddling in America, and the policy which seeks peace can 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 Amer- ican citizens and the interest 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 com- merce which leaves no sea unexplored, and a navy which takes no law from su- perior force. Resolved, That apppointments by the President to offices in the territories should be made from the bona fide citizens and residents of the territories wherein they are to serve. THE ISSUES OF 1884. 95 Resolved, That it is the duty of Congress to enact such laws as shall promptly and effectually suppress the system of po- lygamy within our territory and divorce the political from the ecclesiastical power of the so-called Mormon Church and that the law so enacted should be rigidly en- forced by the civil authorities if possible, and by the militaiy if need be. Denouitclng Southern Outrages. 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 har- mony of our system of government may be preserved and the Union kept inviolate. The perpetuity of our institutions rests upon the maintenance of a free ballot, an honest count and a correct return. We denounce the fraud and violence prac- ticed by the Democratic party in Southern States, by which the will of the voter is defeated, as dangerous to the preservation of free institutions, and we solemnly ar- raign the Democratic party as being the guilty recipient of the fruit of such fraud and violence. We extend to the Republicans of the South, regardless of their former party affiliations, our cordial sympathy, and pledge them our most earnest efforts to promote the passage of such legislation as will secure to every citizen, of whatever race and color, the full and complete re- cognition, possession and exercise of all civil and political rights. Mr. Bush, of California — I move the adoption of the resolutions. The Chair — The gentleman from Cali- fornia moves the adoption of the resolu- tions. The question is upon the adoption of the resolutions. Those in favor of the same will say yea, and contrary nay. The resolutions were adopted unani- mously. 96 THE ISSUES OF 1884. . .-• JO 00 • >) (M 2 X . 10 -C , :0 X^Cl^ r- « *« CO M A (N » _• Ph • ■ i-Tco" . Jf,0> • 00 CO • a . . . c t- ■»- N • A .:« 00 CO GO .CO »c . IN c cr. r- Oi ^ co^ ^ rt" , , cJt-^ -im" ■*" • *. QC . rH c: (N t^ '. . Ci >0 rH .0: CO = rt OD e t- •^ 00 00 car:© . ■* in .CO O) rH a> X d t^ r-^ »-H^ r- c CO -^ CO rH »o tH TjT . c^ c'cTofiN" • of t* Oi • t^ CS CO X 41 tf lO CS X X r J t^ lO 0-. OJ •* r- rH Ci I-< r-< I-H • •* ■ CO CO CI 1^" § c^ ■^ (N . . 4i5 r- C . CO CO .0 CO * CO d t' . rt CO r- -4* CS , . .c •r4 t- 0^ ^l. CO C4 04 X CO <0 von Oh iS (— 1 T-H • N -f r^ • s^" S • (m" »n • • 'CO CO • • C^NNM • -H rH fe= . rH I- s (M t- CO X r- d IN CO CO C^ ^ ' t- rH OS CO r- * »fj CD C OS X lO • -co J_, ■V C-1 lo ;d (M 1— < CO c CO CO r-oo .CO -r tc o • •<>■ CO •3 C r- co" »-^rfc'"co' t-Ti-r^r-rco" • co'o" cc'cT . icT co" t^OS — rH • • lG^iO^'*C;I:^CCt-t-fO*OOJCO>l'V -t-KCC OiC^r-Ol C^liOr-l Ci-rr-'~CD'~ o" uft-^i-T ^tr- X iir^ii:itrrc^a%»J^^rcor-^^C'i'ioc>oc crc>roc"<:D"oo x"!-^"^ i, ■^ OS §« Oe^00CNC£)^(NCt'MOu'. •r;0^0:^COOr-0 iO'^OOC c ! a e '0 a Si 5 ;sss OS '3. o.B-x C a: » Sii « 1 5 a. 1 CS c c £1 a 1- O-OStBE- c •i '5 'a "5b = .= ■" 1 > "a 31 ^ -r > * In Connecticut, the vote for Sheriff is taken. In New York, the average vote on four of the five State officers chosen, exchirting Secretary of State. In Nebraska, Democratic and Anti-Monopoly vote combined on Judge, t American, 707 ; scattering, 989. % Scatt"?ring, 106. g In these States the vole on Lieutenant-Governor was taken, as being, from special cause.s, a fairer test of party strength. In the others the principal State officer was taken. Where State officers were not elected, the Congressiounl vote was tnken. In Georgia, Congressmen-at-Large was taken. || The vote for Chief Judge, f The Regular and Independent Republican vote is combined. ** Vote of the two Democratic candid ates is combined. PART 11. OF POLITICAL PARTIES. ^ HISTORY OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Colonial Parties— Wlilg and Tory. The parties peculiar to our Colonial times hardly have a place in American politics. They divided people in senti- ment simply, as they did in the mother country, but here there was little or no power to act, and were to gather results from party victories. Men were then Whigs or Tories because they had been prior to their emigration here, or because their parents had been, or because it has ever been natural to show division in in- dividual sentiment. Political contests, however, were unknown, for none enjoyed the pleasures and profits of power; the crown made and unmade rulers. The local self-government which our fore- fathers enjoyed, were secured to them by their charters, and these were held to be contracts not to be changed without the consent of both parties. All of the inhabi- tants of the colonies claimed and were justly entitled to the rights guaranteed by the Magna Charta, and in addition to these they insisted upon the supervision of all internal interests and the power to levy and collect taxes. These claims were con- ceded until their growing prosperity and England's need of additional revenues suggested schemes of indirect taxation. Against these the colony of Plymouth pro- tested as early as 1636, and spasmodic pro- tests from allthe colonies followed. These increased in frequency and force with the growing demands of King George III. In 1651 the navigation laws imposed upon the colonies required both exports and imports to be carried la British ships, and all who traded were compelled to do it with Eng- land. In 1672 inter-colonial duties were imposed, and when manufocturing sought to flank this policy, their establishment was forbidden by law. The passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 caused high excitement, and for the first time parties began to take definite shape and manifest open antagonisms, and the words Whig and Tory then had a plainer meaning in America than in England. The Stamp Act was denounced by the Whigs as direct taxation, since it provided, that stamps previously paid for should be affixed to all legal papers. The colonies resented, and so general were the protests that for a time it seemed that only those who owed their livings to the Crown, or expected aid and comfort from it, re- mained with the Tories. The Whigs were the patriots. The war for the rights of the colonies began in 1775, and it was supported by majorities in all of the Co- lonial Assemblies. These majorities were as carefully organized then as now to pro- mote a popular cause, and this in the face of adverse action on the part of the sev- eral Colonial Governors. Thus in Vir- ginia, Lord Dunmore had from time to time, until 1773, prorogued the Virginia Assembly, when it seized the opportunity to pass resolves instituting a committee of correspondence, and recommending joint action by the legislatures of the other colonies. In the next year, the same body, under the lead of Henry, Randolph, Lee, Washington, Wythe and other patriots, officially deprecated the closing of the 3 AMERICAN POLITICS. port of Boston, and set apart a day to im- plore Divine interposition in behalf of the colonies. The Governor dissolved the House for this act, and the delegates, 89 in number, repaired to a tavern, organized thsmselves into a committee, signed arti- cles of association, and advised with other colonial committees the expediency of **^ appointing deputies to meet in a general correspondence" — really a suggestion for a Congress. The idea of a Congress, how- ever, originated with Doctor Franklin the year before, and it had then been approved by town meetings in Providence, Boston and New York. The action of Virginia lifted the proposal above individual advice and the action of town meetings, and called to it the attention of all the colo- nial legislatures. It was indeed fortunate in the incipiency of these political move- ments, that the people were practically unanimous. Only the far-seeing realized tne drift and danger, while nearly all could join their voices against oppressive taxes and imposts. The war went on for colonial rights, the Whigs wisely insisting that they were wil- ling to remain as colonists if their rights should be guaranteed by the mother coun- try ; the Tories, chiefly fed by the Crown, were willing to remain without guarantee — a negative position, and one which in the high excitement of the times excited little attention, save where the holders of such views made themselves odious by the enjoyment of high official position, or by harsh criticism upon, or treatment of the patriots. The first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in September, 1774, and there laid the foundations of the Republic. While its assemblage was first recom- mended by home meetings, the cause, as already shown, was taken up by the as- semblies of Massachusetts and Virginia. Georgia alone was not represented. The members were called delegates, who de- clared in their official papers that they were " appointed by the good people of these colonies." It was called the " revo- lutionary government," because it derived its power from the people, and not from the functionaries of any existing govern- ment. In it each colony was allowed but a single vote, regardless of the number of delegates, and here began not only the unit rule, but the practice which obtains in the election of a President when the contest reaches, under the constitution and law, the National House of Representa- tives. The original object was to give equality to the colonies as colonies. In 1775, the second Continental Con- gress assembled at Philadelphia, all the colonies being again represented save Georgia. The delegates were chosen prin- cipally by conventions of the people, though some were sent by the popular branches of the colonial legislatures. In July, and soon after the commencement of hostilities, Georgia entered the Con- federacy. The Declaration of Independence, passed in 1776, drew yet plainer lines between the Whigs and Tories. A gulf of hatred sepa- rated the opposing parties, and the Tory was far more despised than the open foe, when he was not such, and was the first sought when he was. Men who contend for liberty ever regard those who are not for them as against them — a feeling which led to the expression of a political maxim of apparent undying force, for it has since found frequent repetition in every earnest campaign. After the adoption of the De- claration by the Continental Congress, the Whigs favored the most direct and abso- lute separation, while the Tories supported the Crown. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, moved the Declaration in these words: "Resolved, That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and indepen- dent states ; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." Then followed preparations for the for- mal declaration, whicn was adopted on the 4th of July, 1776, in the precise language submitted by Thomas Jefferson. All of the state papers of the Continental Con- gress evince the highest talent, and the evils which led to its exhibition must have been long but very impatiently endured to impel the study of the questions involved. Possibly only the best lives in our memory invite our perusal, but certain it is that higher capacity was never called to the performance of graver political duties in the history of the world. It has been said that the Declaration is in imitation of that published by the Uni- ted Netherlands, but whether this be true or false, the liberty-loving world has for more than a century accepted it as the best protest against oppression known to political history. A great occasion con- spired with a great author to make it grandly great. Dr. Franklin, as early as July, 1775, first prepared a sketch of articles of confedera- tion between the colonies, to continue until their reconciliation with Great Britain, and in failure thereof to be perpetual. John Quincy Adams says this plan was never discussed in Congress. June 11, 1776, a committee was appointed to pre- pare the force of a colonial confederation, and the day following one member from each colony was appointed to perform the duty. The report was submitted, laid aside August 20, 1776, taken up April 7, PARTICULARISTS— STRONG GOVERNMENT WHIGS. 1777, and debated from time to time until November 15tb, of the same year, when the report was agreed to. It was then submitted to the legislatures of the several states, these being advised to authorize their delegates in Congress to ratify the same. On the 2Gth of June, 1778, the rat- ification was ordered to be engrossed and signed by the delegates. Those of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Penn- sylvania, Virginia and South Carolina signed July 9tli, 1778 ; those of North Car- olina July 21st ; Georgia July 24th ; Jersey November 2Gth, same year ; Delaware February 22d and May 5th, 1779. Mary- land refused to ratify until the question of the conflicting claims of the Union and of the separate States to the property of the crown-lands should be adjusted. This was accomplished by the cession of the lands in dispute to the United States, and Maryland signed March 1st, 1781. On the 2d of March, Congress assembled un- der the new powers, and continued to act for the Confederacy until the 4th of March, 1789, the date of the organization of the government under the Federal constitu- tion. Our political life has therefore three periods, " the revolutionary government," "the confederation," and that of the "fed- eral constitution," which still obtains. The federal constitution is the result of the labors of a convention called at Phila- delphia in May, 1787, at a time when it was lieared by many that the Union was in the greatest danger, from inability to pay soldiers who had, in 1783, been dis- banded on a declaration of peace and an acknowledgment of independence ; from prostration of the public credit and faith of the nation ; from the neglect to provide for the payment of even the interest on the public debt ; and from the disappoint- ed hopes of many who thought freedom did not need to face responsibilities. A large portion of the convention of 1787 still clung to the confederacy of the states, and advocated as a substitute for the con- stitution a revival of the old articles of confederation with additional powers to Congress. A long discussion followed, and a most able one, but a constitution for the people, embodying a division of legis- lative, judicial and executive powers pre- vailed, and the result is now daily wit- nessed in the federal constitution. While the revolutionary war lasted but seven years, the political revolution incident to, identified with and directing it, lasted thirteen years. This was completed on the 30th of April, 1789, the day on which Wa-shington was inauirurated as the first President under the federal constitution. The Partlcnlarlsts. As questions of government were evolved by the struggles for independence, the Whigs, who of course greatly outnumbered all others during the Revolution, naturally divided in sentiment, though their divi- sions were not sufficiently serious to excite the establishment of rival parties — some- thing which the great majority of our fore- fathers were too wise to think of in time of war. When the war closed, however, an J the question of establishing the Union was brought clear to the view of all, one class of the Whigs believed that state govern- ment should be supreme, and that no cen- tral power should have sufficient authority to coerce a state, or keep it to the com- pact against its will. AH accepted the idea of a central government; all realized the necessity of union, but the fear that the states would lose their power, or sur- render their independence was very great, and this fear was more naturally shown by both the larger and the smaller states. This class of thinkers were then called Partic- ularists. Their views were opposed by the Strong Government 'Wltlgs who argued that local self-government wag inadequate to the establishment and per- petuation of political freedom, and that it afforded little or no power to successfully resist foreign invasion. Some of these went so far as to favor a government pat- terned after that of England, save that it should be republican in name and spirit. The essential differences, if they can be re- duced to two sentences, were these : The Particularist Whigs desired a government republican in form and democratic in spirit, with rights of local ^elf-government and state rights ever uppermost. The Strong Government Whigs desired a gov- ernment republican in form, with checks upon the impulses or passions of the peo- ple ; liberty, sternly regulated by law, and that law strengthened and confirmed by central authority — the authority of the na- tional government to be final in appeals. As we have stated, the weakness of the confederation was acknowledged by many men, and the majority, as it proved to be after much agitation and discussion thought it too imperfect to amend. The power of the confederacy was not acknow- edged by the states, its congress not re- spected by the people. Its requisitions were disregarded, foreign trade could not be successfully regulated ; foreign nations refused to bind themselves by commercial treaties, and there was a rapid growth of very dangerous business rivalries and jealousies between the several states, rhose which were fortunate enough, in- dependent of congress, to possess or se- cure ports for domestic or foreign com- merce, taxed the imports of their Cflier AMERICAN POLITICS. states. There was confusion which must soon have approached violence, for no authority beyond the limits of the state was respected, and Congress was notably powerless in its attempts to command aid from the states to meet the payment of the war debt, or the interest thereon. In- Htead of general respect for, there was al- most general disregard of law on the part of legislative bodies, and the people were not slow in imitating their representatives. Civil strife became imminent, and Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts was the tirst warlike manifestation of the spirit which was abroad in the land. Alive to the new dangers, the Assembly of Virginia in 178G, appointed commis- sioners to invite all the states to take part in a convention for the consideration of questions of commerce, and the i)ropriety of altering the Articles of Confederation. This convention met at Annapolis, Sept. 11th, 178G. But five states sent representa- tives, the others regarding the movement with jealousy. This convention, however, adopted a report which urged the appoint- ment of commissioners by all the states, " to devise such other provisions as shall, to them seem necessary to render the con- dition of the Federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union ; and to re- ]>ort such an act for that purpose to the United States in Congress assembled, as, when agreed to by them and afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every state, will effectually provide for the same." Congress approved this action, and passed resolutions favoring a meeting in conven- tion for the "sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and report to Congress and the State legisla- tures." The convention met in Philadel- phia in May, 1787, and continued its ses- sions un til September 17th, of the same year. The Strong Government Whigs had previ- ously made every possible eflbrt for a full and able representation, and the result did not disappoint them, for instead of simply revising the Articles of Confederation, the convention framed a constitution, and sent it to Congress to be submitted to that body and through it to the several legislatures. The act submitting it provided that, if it should be ratified by nine of the thirteen states, it should be binding upon those ratifying the same. Just here was started the custom which has since passed into law, that amendments to the national con- stitution shall be submitted after ai)proval by Congress, to the legislatures of the sev- eral states, and after approval by three- fourths thereof, it shall be binding vjwn all — a veiy proper exercise of constitutional authority, as it seems now, hut which would not have won popular approval when Virginia proposed the Annapolis convention in 1786. Indeed, the reader of our political history must ever be impressed with the fact that changes and reforms ever moved slowly, and that those of slow- est growth seem to abide the longest. The Federal and Anti-Federal Parties. The Strong Government Whigs, on the submission of the constitution of 1787 to Congress and the legislatures, and indi- rectly through the latter to the people, who elect the members on this issue, became the Federal party, and all of its power was used to promote the ratification of the in- strument. Its ablest men, headed by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, advocated adoption before the people, and their pens supplied much of the current political literature of that day. Eighty- five essays, still noted and quoted for their ability, under the nom deplume of " Pub- lius," were published in " The Federalist." They were written by Hamilton, Madison and Jay, and with irresistible force advo- cated the Federal constitution, which was ratified by the nine needed states, and Congress was ofilcially informed of the fact July 2d, 1788, and the first Wednesday in March, 1789, was fixed as the time " for commencing proceedings under the con- stitution." This struggle for the first time gave the Federalists an admitted majority. The complexion of the State legislature prior to it showed them in fact to be in a mi- nority, and the Particularist Whigs, or Anti-Federals opposed every preliminary step looking to the abandonment of the Articles of Confederation and the adoption of a Federal constitution. They were called Anti-Federals because they opposed a federal governm.ent and constitution and adhered to the rights of the States and those of local self-government. Doubtless party rancor, then as now, led men to op- pose a system of government which it seems they must have approved after fight- ing for it, but the earlier jealousies of the States and the prevailing ideas of liberty certainly gave the Anti-Federals a popu- larity which only a test so sensible as that proposed could have shaken. They were not without popular orators and leaders. Patrick Henry, the earliest of the pa- triots, and " the-old-man-eloquent," Samuel Adams, took special pride in espousmg their cause. The war questions between Whig and Tory must have passed quickly away, as living issues, though the news- papers and contemporaneous history show that the old taunts and battle cries were applied to the new situation with a pJain- ness and virulence that must still be envied by the sensational and more bitterly parti- san journals of our own day. To read these now, and some of our facts are gajth FEDERALS AND ANTI-FEDERALS. ered from such sources, is to account for the frequent use of the saying toucliing " the ingratitude of republics," for when partisan Iiatred could deride the still re- cent utterances of Henry before the startled assembly of Virginians, and of Adams in advocating the adoption of the Declaration, there must at least to every surface view have been rank ingratitude. Their good names, however, survived the struggle, as good names in our republic have ever sur- vived the passions of the law. In politics the Americans then as now, hated with promptness and forgave with generosity. The Anti-Federals denied nearly all that the Federals asserted. The latter had for the first time assumed the aggressive, and had the advantage of position. They showed the deplorable condition of the country, and their opponents had to bear the burdens of denial at a time when nearly all public and private obligations were dis- honored ; when labor was poorly paid, work- men getting but twenty-five cents a day, with little to do at that ; when even the rich in lands were poor in purse, and when com- merce on the seas was checked by the cold- ness of foreign nations and restricted by the action of the States themselves ; when manufactures were without protection of any kind, and when the peojjle thought their struggle for freedom was about to end in national poverty. Still Henry, and Adams and Hancock, Avith hosts of others, claimed that the aspirations of the Anti- Federals were the freest, that they pointed to personal liberty and local sovereignty. Yet many Anti-Federals must have accept- ed the views of the Federals, who under the circumstances must have presented the better reason, and the result was as stated, the ratification of the Federal constitution of 1787 by three-fourths of the States of the Union. After this the Anti-Federalists were given a new name, that of " Close Constructionists," because they naturally desired to interpret the new instrument in such a way as to bend it to their views. The Federalists became " Broad Construc- tionists," because they interpreted the con- stitution in a way calculated to broaden the power of the national government. The Confederacy once dissolved, the Federal party entered upon the enjoy- ment of full political power, but it was not without its responsibilities. The govern- ment had to be organized upon the basis of the new constitution, as upon the suc- cess of that organization would depend not alone the stability of the government and the happiness of its people, but the repu- tation of the party and the fame of its leaders as statesmen. Fortunately for all, party hostilities were not manifested in the Presidential election. All bowed to the popularity of Washing- ton, and he was unanimously nominated by the congressional caucus and appointed by the electoral college. He selected his cabinet from the leading minds of both parties, and while himself a recognized Federalist, all felt that he was acting for the good of all, and in the earlier years of his administration, none disputed this fact. As the new measures of the government advanced, however, the anti-lederalists or- ganized an opposition to the party in power. Immediate danger had passed. The constitution worked well. The lawa of Congress were respected ; its calls for revenue honored, and Washington de- voted much of his first and second mes- sages to showing the growing prosperity of the country, and the respect which it was beginning to excite abroad. But where there is political power, there is opposition in a free land, and the great leaders of that day neither forfeited their reputations as patriots, or their characters as statesmen by the assertion of honest dif- ferences of opinion. Washington, Adams, and Hamilton were the recognized leaders of the Federalists, the firm friends of the constitution. The success of this instru- ment modified the views of the anti- Federalists, and Madison of Virginia, its recognized friend when it was in prepara- tion, joined with others who had been its friends — notably, * Doctor Williamson, of North Carolina, and Mr. Langdon, of Georgia, in opposing the administration, and soon became recognized leaders of the anti-Federalists. Langdon was the Presi- dent pro tern, of the Senate. Jefferson was then on a mission to France, and not until some years thereafter did he array himself with those opposed to centralized power in the nation. He returned in November, 1789, and was called to Washington's cabinet as Secretary of State in March, 1790. It was a great cabinet, with Jeffer- son as its premier (if this term is suited to a time when English political nomenclature was anything but popular in the land;) Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury; Knox, Secretary of War, and Edmund Randolph, Attorney-General. There was no Secretary of the Navy until the ad- ministration of the elder Adams, and no Secretary of the Interior. The first session of Congress under the Federal constitution, held in New York, sat for nearly six months, the adjournment taking place September 29th, 1789. Nearly all the laws framed pointed to the organi- zation of the government, and the discus- sions were able and protracted. Indeed, these discussions developed opposing views, which could easily find separation on much the same old lines as those which separated the founders of constitutional government * Edwia Williams in Stateeman's Manual. 8 AMERICAN POLITICS. from those who favored the old confederate methods. The Federalists, on pivotal questions, at this session, carried their measures only by small majorities. Much of the second session was devoted to the discussion of the able reports of Hamilton, and their final adoption did much to build up the credit of the nation and to promote its industries. He was the author of the protective system, and at the first session gave definite shape to his theories. He recommended the funding of the war debt, the assumption of the state war debts by the national government, the providing of a system of revenue from the collection of duties on imports, and an internal excise. His advocacy of a pro- tective tariff was plain, for he declared it to be necessary for the support of the gov- ernment and the encouragemvnt of manu- factures that duties be laid on goods, wares, and merchandise imported. The third session of the same Congress was held at Philadelphia, though the seat of the national government had, at the previous one, been fixed on the Potomac instead of the Susquehanna — this after a compromise with Southern members, who refiised to vote for the Assumption Bill until the location of the capital in the District of Columbia had been agreed upon ; by the way, this was the first exhi- bition of log-rolling in Congress. To complete Hamilton's financial system, a national bank was incorporated. On this project both the members of Congress and of the cabinet were divided, but it passed, and was promptly approved by Washing- ton. By this time it was well known that Jefferson and Hamilton held opposing views on many questions of government, and these found their way into and influ- enced the action of Congress, and passed naturally from thence to the people, who were thus early believed to be almost equally divided on the more essential po- litical issues. Before the close of the ses- sion, Vermont and Kentucky were ad- mitted to the Union. Vermont was the first state admitted in addition to the original thirteen. True, North Carolina and Rhode Island had rejected the consti- tution, but they reconsidered their action and came in — the former in November, 1789, and the latter in May, 1790. The election for members of the Second Congress resulted in a majority in both branches favorable to the administration. It met at Philadelphia in October, 1791. The exciting measure of the session was the excise act, somewhat similar to that of the previous year, but the opposition wanted an issue on which to rally, they accepted this, and this agitation led to vio- lent and in one instance warlike opposi- tion on the part of a portion of the people. Those of western Pennsylvania, largely interested in distilleries, prepared for armed resistance to the excise, but at the same session a national militia law had been passed, and Washington took ad- vantage of this to suppress the " Whisky Rebellion" in its incipiency. It was a hasty, rash undertaking, yet was dealt with so firmly that the action of the authorities strengthened the law, and the respect for order. The four counties which rebelled did no further damage than to tar and feather a government tax collector and rob him of his horse, though many threats were made and the agitation continued until 1794, when Washington's threatened appearance at the head of fifteen thousand militia settled the whole question. The first session of the Second Congress also passed the first methodic apportion- ment bill, which based the congressional representation on the census taken in 1790, the basis being 33,000 inhabitants for each representative. The second session which sat from November, 1792, to March, 1793, was mainly occupied in a discussion of the foreign and domestic relations of the coun- try. No important measures were adopted. The Republican and Federal Parties. The most serious objection to the con- stitution before its ratification was the ab- sence of a distinct bill of rights, which should recognize "the equality of all men, and their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and at the first session of Congress a bill was framed con- taining twelve articles, ten of which were afterwards ratified as amendments to the constitution. Yet state sovereignty, then imperfectly defined, was the prevailing idea in the minds of the Anti-Federalists, and they took every opportunity to oppose any extended delegation of authority from the states of the Union. They contended that the power of the state should be supreme, and charged the Federalists with monarchical tendencies. They opposed Hamilton's national bank scheme, and Jefferson and Randolph plainly expressed the opinion that it was unconstitutional — that a bank was not authorized by the constitution, and that it would prevent the states from maintaining banks. But when the Bill of Rights had been incorporated in and attached to the constitution as amendments, Jefferson with rare political sagacity withdrew all opposition to the in- strument itself, and the Anti-Federalists gladly followed his lead, for they felt that they had labored under many partisan dis- advantages. The constitution was from the first too strong for successful resistance, and when opposition was confessedly abandoned the party name was changed, also at the suggestion of Jefferson, to thai REPUBLICANS AND FEDERALS. of Republican. The Anti-Federalists were at first disposed to call their party the Democratic-Republicans, but finally called it simply Republican, to avoid the opposite of the extreme which they charged against the Federalists. Each party had its taunts in use, the Federalists being denounced as monarchists, the Anti-Federalists as Dem- ocrats ; the one presumed to be looking forward to monarchy, the other to the rule ! of the mob. By 1793 partisan lines under the names of Federalists and Republicans, were plain- ly drawn, and the schism in the cabinet was more marked than ever. Personal ambition may have had much to do with it, for Washington had previously shown his desire to retire to private life. While he remained at the head of affairs he was unwilling to part with Jefferson and Ham- ilton, and did all in his power to bring about a reconciliation, but without suc- cess. Before the close of the first consti- tutional Presidency, however, Washington had become convinced that the people de- sired him to accept a re-election, and he was accordingly a candidate and unani- mously chosen. John Adams was re-elect- ed Vice-President, receiving 77 votes to 50 for Geo. Clinton, (5 scattering) the Re- publican candidate. Soon after the inau- guration Citizen Genet, an envoy from the French republic, arrived and sought to excite the sympathy of the United States and involve it in a war with Great Britain. Jefferson and his Republican party warmly sympathized with France, and insisted that gratitude for revolutionary favors commanded aid to France in her struggles. The Federalists, under Washington and Hamilton, favored non-intervention, and insisted that wo should maintain friendly relations with Great Britain. Washington showed his usual firmness, and before the expiration of the month in which Genet arrived, had issued his celebrated procla- mation of neutrality. This has ever since been the accepted foreign policy of the nation. Genet, chagrined at the issuance of this proclamation, threatened to appeal to the people, and made himself so obnoxious to Washington that the latter demanded his recall. The French government sent M. Fauchet as his successor, but Genet con- tinued to reside in the United States, and under his inspiration a number of Demo- cratic Societies, in imitation of the French Jacobin clubs, were founded, but like all such organizations in this country, they were short-lived. Secret political societies thrive only under despotisms. In Repub- lics like ours they can only live when the great parties are in confusion and greatly divided. They disappear with the union of sentiment into two great parties. If there were many parties and factions, as in Mexico and some of the South American republics, there would be even a wider field for them here than there. The French agitation showed its impress upon the nation as late as 1794, when a resolution to cut off intercourse with Great Britain passed the House, and was de- feated in the Senate only by the casting vote of the Vice-President. Many people favored France, and to such silly heights did the excitement run that these insisted on wearing a national cockade. Jefferson had left the cabinet the December pre- vious, and had retired to his plantation in Virginia, where he spent his leisure in writing political essays and organizing the Republican party, of which he was the ac- knowledged founder. Here he escaped the errors of his party in Congress, but it was a potent fact that his friends in official station not only did not endorse the non- intervention policy of Washington, but that they actively antagonized it in many ways. The Congressional leader in these movements was Mr. Madison, The policy of Britain fed this opposition. The forts on Lake Erie were still occupied by the British soldiery in defiance of the treaty of 1783; American vessels were seized on their way to French ports, and American citizens were impressed. To avoid a war, Washington sent John Jay as special en- voy to England. He arrived in June, 1794, and by November succeeded in mak- ing a treaty. It was ratified in June, 1795, by the Senate by the constitutional majority of two-thirds, though there was much de- clamatory opposition, and the feeling be- tween the Federal and Republican parties ran higher than ever before. The Republi- cans denounced while the Federals con- gratulated Washington, Under this treaty the British surrendered possession of all American ports, and as Gen'l Wayne dur- ing the previous summer had conquered the war-tribes and completed a treaty with them, the country was again on the road to prosperity. In Washington's message of 1794, ho plainly censured all " self-created political societies," meaning the democratic so- cieties formed by Genet, but this part of the message the House refused to endorse, the speaker giving the casting vote in the negative. The Senate was in harmony with the political views of the President, Party spirit had by this time measurably affected all classes of the people, and as subjects for agitation here multiplied, the opposition no longer regarded Washing- ton with that respect and decorum which it had been the rule to manifest. His wis- dom as President, his jjatriotism, and in- deed his character as a man, were all hotly questioned by political enemies. He was even charged with corruption in ex- pending more of the public moneys than 10 AMERICAN POLITICS. had been appropriated — charges which were soon shown to be groundless. At the first session of Congress in De- cember, 1795, the Senate's administration majority had increased, but in the House the opposing Republicans had also in- creased their numbers. The Senate by 14 to 8 endorsed the message ; the House at first refused but finally qualified its an- swers. In March, 1796, a new political issue was sprung in the House by Mr. Living- stone of Kew York, who offered a resolu- tion requesting of the President a copy of the instructions to Mr. Jay, the envoy wlio made the ti-eaty with Great Britain. Alter a debate of several days, more bitter than any which had preceded it, the House passed the resolution by 57 to 35, the Re- publicans voting aye, the Federals no. Washington in answer, took the position that the House of Representatives was not part of the treaty-making power of the government, and could not therefore be entitled to any papers relating to such treaties. The constitution had placed this treaty making and ratifying power in the hands of the Senate, the Cabinet and the President. This answer, now universally accepted as the proper one, yet excited the House and increased political animosities. The Republicans charged the Federals with being the "British party," and in some instances hinted that they had been pur- chased with British gold. Indignation meetings were called, but after much sound and fury, it was ascertained that the peojile really favored abiding by the treaty in good faith, and finally the House, alter more calm and able debates, passed the needed legislation to carry out the treaty by a vote of 51 to 48. In August, 1796, prior to the meeting of the Congressional caucus which then placed candidates for the Presidency in nomination, ^Vashington issued his cele- brated Farewell Address, in which he gave notice that he would i-etire from public life at the expiration of his term. He had been solicited to be a candidate for re- election fa third term) and told that all the people could unite upon him — a state- ment which, without abating one jot, our admiration for the man, would doubtless have been called in question by the Re- publicans, who had become implacably hostile to his political views, and who were encouraged to believe they could win con- trol of the Presidency, by their rapidly in- creasing power in the House. Yet the ad- dress was everywhere received with marks of admiration. Legislatures commended it by resolution and ordered it to be en- grossed upon their records ; journals praised it, and upon the strength of its plain doctrines the Federalists took new courage, and prepared to win in the Presi- dential battle which followed. Both parties were plainly arrayed and confident, and so close was the result that the leaders of both were elected — John Adams, the nom- inee of the Federalists, to the Presidency, and Thomas Jetferson, the nominee of the Republicans, to the Vice-Presidency. The law which then obtained was that the candidate who received the highest num- ber of electoral votes, took the first place, the next highest, the second. Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina was the Fed- eral nominee for Vice-President, and Aaron Burr of the Rejiublicans. Adams received 71 electoral votes, Jefferson 68, Pinckney 59, Burr 30, scattering 48. Pinckney had lost 12 votes, while Burr lost 38 — a loss of popularity which the latter regained four years later. The first impressions which our forel'athers had of this man were the best. John Adams was inaugurated as Pres- ident in Philadelphia, at Congress Hall, ]\larch 4th, 1797, and in his inaugural was careful to deny the charge that the Fed- eral party had any sympathy for England, but reaffirmed his endorsement of the policy of Washington as to strict neutral- ity. To this extent he sought to soften the asperities of the parties, and measurably succeeded, though the times were etill stormy. The French revolution had reached its highest point, and our people still took sides. Adams found he would have to arm to preserve neutrality and at the same time punish the aggression of either of the combatants. This was our first exhibition of " armed neutrality." An American navy was quickly raised, and every preparation made for defending the rights of Americans. An alliance with France was refused, after which the American Minister was dismissed and the r'rench na^^' began to cripple our trade. In May, 1797, President Adams felt it his duty to call an extra session of Congress, which closed in July. The Senate ap- proved of negotiations for reconciKation with France. They were attempted but ])roved fruitless ; in May, 1798, a lull naval armament was authorized, and soon several French vessels were captured before there was any declaration of war. Indeed, neith- er power declared war, and as soon as France discovered how earnest the Ameri- cans were she made overtures for an ad- justment of difficulties, and these resulted in the treaty of 1800. The Republicans, though warmly favor- ing a contest, did not heartily support that inaugurated by Adams, and contended after this that the militia and a small naval force were sufficient for internal defense. They denounced the position of the Fed- erals, who favored the enlargement of the army and navy, as measures calculated to REPUBLICANS AND FEDERALS. 11 overawe public sentiment in time of peace. The Federals, however, through their prompt resentment of the aggressions of France, had many adherents to their party. They organized their power and sought to perpetuate it by the passage of the alien and sedition, and a naturaliza- tion law. The alien and sedition law gave the President authority " to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States, within such time as shall be expressed in such order." The provisions which followed were in keeping with that quoted, the 3d section command- ing every master of a ship entering a port of the United States, immediately on his arrival, to make report in writing to the collector of customs, the names of all aliens on board, etc. The act was to continue in force for two years from the date of its passase, and it was approved June 2oth, 1798." A resolution was introduced in the Sen- ate on the 25tlv of April, 1798, by Mr. Hillhouse of Connecticut, to inquire what provision of law ought to be made, &c., as to the removal of such aliens as may be dangerous to the peace of the country, &c. This resolution was adopted the next day, and Messrs. PliUhouse, Livermore and Read were appointed the committee, and subsequently reported the bill. It passed the Senate by 16 to 7, and the House by 46 to 40, the Republicans in the latter body resisting it warmly. The leading opposing idea was that it lodged with the Executive too much power, and was liable to great abuse. It has frequently since, in arguments against centralized power, been used for illustration by political speakers. The Naturalization law, favored by the Federalists, because they knew they could acquire few friends either from newly ar- rived English or French aliens, among other requirements provided that an alien must reside in the United States fourteen years before he could vote. The Republi- cans denounced this law as calculated to check immigration, and dangerous to our country in the fact that it caused too many inhabitants to owe no allegiance. They also asserted, as did those who op- posed Americanism later on in our histor^^ that America was properly an asylum for all nations, and that those coming to America should freely share all the privi- leges and liberties of the government. These laws and the political resentments which they created gave a new and what eventually proved a dangerous current to politica. thought and action. They were tlie immediate cause of the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1798, Jefferson be- ing the author of the former and Madison of the latter. These resolutions were full of political significance, and gave tone to sectional dis- cussion up to the close of the war for the Union. They first promulgated the doc- trine of nullification or secession, and political writers mistake who point to Cal- houn as the lather of that doctrine. It began with the old Republicans under the leadership of Jefferson and Madison, and though directly intended as protests against the alien and sedition, and the naturaliza- tion laws of Congress, they kept one eye upon the question of slavery — rather that interest was kejJt in view in their declara- tions, and yet the authors of both were anything but Avarm advocates of slavery. They were then striving, however, to rein- force the opposition to the Federal party, which the administration of Adams had thus far apparently weakened, and they had in view the brief agitation which had sprung up in 1793, five years before, on the petition to Congress of a Pennsylvania society *' to use its jjowers to stop the traffic in slaves." On the question of referring this petition to a committee there arose a sectional debate. Men took sides not be- cause of the party to which they belonged, but the section, and for the first time the North and South were arrayed against each other on a question not then treated either as partisan or j^olitical, but which most minds then saw must soon become both partisan and sectional. Some of the Southern de- baters, in their protests against interfer- ence, thus early threatened civil war. With a view to better protect their rights to slave property, they then advocated and suc- ceeded in passing the first fugitive slave law. This was approved February 12, 1793. The resolutions of 1798 will be found iu the book devoted to political platforms. So highly were these esteemed by the Re- publicans of that day, and by the interests whose support they so shrewdly invited, that they more than counterbalanced the popularity acquired by the Federals in their resistance to France, and by 1800 they caused a rupture in the Cabinet of Adams. * In the Presidential election of 1800 John Adams was the nominee for President and C. C. Pinckney for Vice-President, A " Congressional Convention" of Republi- cans, held in Philadelphia, nominated Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr as can- didates for these oflices. On the election which followed the Republicans chose 73 electors and the Federalists 6o. Each elector voted for tAVO persons, and the Re- publicans so voted that they unwisely gave Jefferson and Burr each 73 votes. Neither being highest, it was not legally determined 12 AMERICAN POLITICS. which should be President or Vice-Presi- dent, and the election had to go to the House. The Federalists threw 65 votes to Adams and 64 to Pinckney. The Repub- licans could have done the same, but Burr's intrigue and ambition prevented this, and the result was a prttracted contest in the House, and one which put the country in great peril, but which plainly pointed out some of the imperfections of the elec- toral features of the Constitution. The Federalists proposed to confess the inabil- ity of the House to agree through the vote by States, but to this proposition the Re- publicans threatened armed resistance. The Federalists next attempted a combina- tion with the friends of Aaron Burr, but this specimen of bargaining to deprive a nominee of the place to which it was the plain intention of his party to elect him, really contributed to Jetferson's popularity, if not in that Congress, certainly before the people. He was elected on the 36th ballot. The bitterness of this strife, and the dangers which similar ones threatened, led to an abandonment of the system of each Elector voting for two, the highest to be President, the next highest Vice-President, and an amendment was offered to the Con- stitution, and fully ratified by September 25, 1804, requiring the electors to ballot separately for President and Vice-Presi- dent. Jefferson was the first candidate nomi- nated by a Congressional caucus. It con- vened in 1800 at Philadelphia, and nomi- nated Jefferson for President and Burr for Vice-President. Adams and Pinckney were not nominated, but ran and were ac- cepted as natural leaders of their party, just as Washington and Adams were be- fore them. Do-wnfall of tlie Federal Party. This contest broke the power of the Federal party. It had before relied upon the rare sagacity and ability of its leaders, but the contest in the House developed such attempts at intrigue as disgusted many and caused all to quarrel, Hamilton having early showed his dislike to Adams. As a party the Federal had been peculiarly brave at times when high bravery was needed. It had framed the Federal Gov- ernment and stood by the powers given it until they were too firmly planted for even newer and triumphant partisans to reck- lessly trifle with. It stood for non-inter- ference with foreign nations against the eloquence of adventurers, the mad impulses of mobs, the generosity of new-born free- men, the harangues of demagogues, and best of all against those who sought to fan these popular breezes to their own comfort. It provided for the payment of the debt, had the courage to raise revenues both from internal and external sources, and to increase expenditures, as the gnjwth of the country demanded. Though it passed out of power in a cloud of intrigue and in a vain grasp at the " flesh-pots," it yet had a glorious history, and one which none un- tinctured with the better prejudices of that day, can avoid admiring. The defeat of Adams Wiis not unexpect- ed by him, yet it was greatly regretted by his friends, for he was justly regarded as second to no other civilian in the estab- lishment of the liberties of the colonies. He was eloquent to a rare degree, possessed natural eloquence, and made the most famous speech in advocacy of the Declara- tion. Though the proceedings of the Revolutionary Congress were secret, and what was said never printed, yet Webster gives his version of the noted speech of Adams, and we reproduce it in Book III. of this volume as one of the great speeches of noted American orators. Mr. Jefierson was inaugurated the third President, in the new cai)itol at ^V'^ashing- ton, on the 4th of March, 1801, and Vice- President Burr took his seat in the Senate the same day. Though Burr distinctly dis- avowed any participancy in the House contest, he was distrusted by Jefferson's warm friends, and jealousies rapidly cropped out. Jefferson endeavored through his inaugural to smooth factious and party asperities,and so well were his words chosen that the Federalists indulged, the hope that they Avould not be removed from office be- cause of their political views. Early in June, however, the first ques- tion of civil service was raised. Mr. Jeffer- son then removed Elizur Goodrich, a Fed- eralist, from the Collectorship of New Haven, and apjiointed Samuel Bishop, a Republican, to the place. Tha citizens re- monstrated, saying that Goodrich was prompt, reliable and able, and showed that his successor was 78 years old, and too in- firm for the duties of the office. To these remonstrances Mr. Jefferson, under date of July 12th, replied in language which did not then, as he did later on, plainly assert the right of every administration to have its friends in office. We quote the fol- lowing : " Declarations by myself, in favor of political tolerance, exhortations to har- mony and affection in social intercourse, and respect for the equal rights of the minority, have, on certain occasions, been quoted and misconstrued into assurances that the tenure of office was not to be dis- turbed. But could candor apply such a construction? When it is considered that, during the late administration, those who were not of a particular sect of politics were excluded from all office ; Avhen, by a steady pursuit of this measure, nearly the whole offices of the United States were DOWNFALL OF THE FEDERALS. 13 monopolized by that sect ; when the public sentiment at length declared itself, and burst open the doors of honor and confi- dence to those whose opinions they ap- proved; was it to be imagined that this monopoly of office was to be continued in the hands of the minority ? Does it violate their equal rights to assert some rights in the majority also? Is it political intolerance to clahn a proportionate share in the direc- . tion of the public affairs ? If a due partici- pation of office is a matter of right, how are vacancies to be obtained ? Those by death are few, by resignation none. Can any other mode than that of removal be proposed? This is a painful office; but it is made my duty, and I meet it as such. I proceed in the operation with deliberation and inquiry, that it may injure the best men least, and effect the purposes of justice and public utility with the least private distress, that it may be thrown as much as possible on delinquency, on oppression, on intolerance, on ante-revolutionary adhe- renoe to our enemies. " I lament sincerely that unessential dif- ferences of opinion should ever have been deemed sufficient to interdict half the society from the rights and the blessings of self-government, to proscribe them as unworthy of every trust. It would have been to me a circumstance of great relief, had I found a moderate participation of office in the hands of the majority. I would gladly have left to time and accident to raise them to their just share. But their total exclusion calls for prompter correc- tions. I shall correct the procedure ; but that done, return with joy to that state of things when the only questions concerning a candidate shall be : Is he honest? Is he capable? Ishe faithful to the constitution?" Mr. Adams had made few removals, and none because of the political views held by the incumbents, nearly all of whom had been appointed by Washington and continued through good behavior. At the date of the appointment of most of tJiem, Jefferson's Republican party had no exist- ence; so that the reasons given in the quotation do not comport with the facts. Washington's rule was integrity and ca- pacity, for he could have no regard for politics where political lines had been ob- literated in his Own selection. Doubtless these office-holders were human, and ad- hered with warmth to the administration which they served, and this fact, and this alone, must have angered the Republicans and furnished them with arguments for a change. Mr. Jefferson's position, however, made his later conduct natural. He was the ac- knowledged leader of his party, its founder indeed, and that party had carried him into power. He desired to keep it intact, to strengthen its lines with whatever pa- tronage he had at his disposal, and he evi- dently regarded the cause of Adams in not rewarding his friends as a mistake. It was, therefore, Jefferson, and not Jackson, who was the author of the theory that " to the victors belong the spoils." Jackson gave it a sharp and perfectly defined shape by the use of these words, but the spirit and principle were conceived by Jefferson, who throughout his life showed far greater originality in politics than any of the early patriots. It was his acute sense of just what was right for a growing political party to do, which led him to turn the thoughts of his followers into new and popular directions. Seeing that they were at grave disadvantage when opposing the attitude of the government in its policy with foreign nations ; realizing that the work of the Federalists in strengthening the power of the new government, in pro- viding revenues and ways and means for the payment of the debt, were good, he changed the character of the opposition by selecting only notoriously arbitrary measures for assault — and changed it even more radically than this. He early saw that simple opposition was not progress, and that it was both wise and popular to be progressive, and in all his later politi- cal papers he sought to make his party the party favoring personal freedom, the one of liberal ideas, the one whieh, instead of shirking, should anticipate every change calculated to enlarge the liberties and the opportunities of citizens. These things were not inconsistent with his strong views in favor of local self-government ; indeed, in many particulars they seemed to sup- port that theory, and by the union of the two ideas he shrewdly arrayed po- litical enthusiasm by the side of politi- cal interest. Political sagacity more pro- found than this it is difficult to imagine. It has not since been equalled in the his- tory of our land, nor do we believe in the history of any other. After the New Haven episode, so jealous was Jefferson of his good name, that while he confided all new appointments to the hands of his political friends, he made few removals, and these for apparent cause. The mere statement of his position had , proved an invitation to the Federalists in office to join his earlier friends in the sup- port of his administration. Many of them did it, so many that the clamorings of truer friends could not be hushed. With a view to create a new excuse, Jefferson declared that all appointments made by Adams after February 14th, when the House began its ballotings for Presid«it, were void, these appointments belonging of right to him, and from this act of Adams we date the political legacies which some of our Presidents have since handed down to their successors. One of the 14 AMERICAN POLITICS. magistrates whose commission had been made out under Adams, Bought to compel Jefferson to sign it by a writ of mandamus before the Supreme Court, but a " profound investigation of constitutional law " in- duced the court not to grant the motion. All commissions signed by Adams after the date named were suppressed. Jefferson's apparent bitterness against the Federalists is mainly traceable to the contest in the House, and his belief that at one time they sought a coalition with Burr. This coalition he regarded as a vio- lation of the understanding when he was nominated, and a supposed effort to ap- point a provisional office he regarded as an usurpation in fact. In a letter to James ilonroe, dated February 15th, speaking of this contest, he says : " Four days of balloting have produced not a single change of a vote. Yet it is confidently believed that to-morrow there is to be a coalition. I know of no founda- tion for this belief. If they could have been permitted to pass a law for putting the government in the hands of an officer, they would certainly have prevented an election. But we thought it best to de- clare openly and firmly, one and all, that the day such an act passed, the Middle States would arm, and that no such usur- pation, even for a single day, should be submitted to." It is but fair to say that the Federalists denied all such intentions, and that James A. Bayard, of Delaware, April 3, 1806, made formal oath to this denial. In this he says that three States, representing Federalist votes, off'ered to withdraw their opposition if John Nicholas, of Virginia, and the personal friend of Jefferson, would secure pledges that the public credit should be supported, the navy maintained, and that subordinate public officers, employed only in the execution of details, established by law, should not be removed from office on the ground of their public character, nor without complaint against their con- duct. The Federalists then went so far as to admit that officers of " high discretion and confidence," such as members of the cabinet and foreign ministers, should be known friends of the administration. This proposition goes to show that there is noth- ing very new in what are called our modern politics ; that the elder Bayard, as early as 1800, made a formal proposal to bargain. Mr. Nicholas offered his assur- ance that these things would prove accep- table to and govern the conduct of Jeffer- son's administration, but he declined to con- sult with Jefferson on the points. General Smith subsequently engaged to do it, and Jefferson replied that the points given corresponded with his views and inten- tions, and that Mr. Bayard and his friends might confide in him accordingly. The opposition of Vermont, Maryland and De- laware was then immediately withdrawn, and Mr Jefferson was made President. Gen'l Smith, twelve days later, made an affidavit which substantially confirmed that of Bayard. Latimer, the collector of the port of Philadelphia, and M'Lane, col- lector of Wilmington, (Bayard's special friend) were retained in office. He had cited these two as examples of his opposi- tion to any change, and Jefi'erson seemed to regard the pledges as not sacred beyond the parties actually named in Bayard's ne- gotiations with Gen'l Smith. This misunderstanding or misconstruo- tion of what in these days would be plain- ly called a bargain, led to considerable political criticism, and Jefferson felt it ne- cessary to defend his cause. This he did in letters to friends which both then and since found their way into the public prints. One of these letters, written to Col. Monroe, March 7th, shows in every word and line the natural politician. In this he says : " Some (removals) I know must be made. They must be as few as possible, done gradually, and bottomed on some malversation or inherent disqualification. Where we shall draw the line between all and none, is not yet settled, and will not be till we get our administration together ; and perhaps even then we shall proceed a talons, balancing our measures according to the impression we perceive them to make. This may give you a general view of our plan." A little later on, March 28, he wrote to Elbridge Gerry : " Officers who have been guilty of gross abuses of office, such as marshals packing juries, etc., I shall now remove, as my predecessor ought in justice to have done. The instances will be few, and governed by strict rule, not party passion. The right of opinion shall suffer no invasion from me." Jefferson evidently tired of this subject, and gradually modified his views, as shown in his letter to Levi Lincoln, July 11, wherein he says : " I am satisfied that the heaping of abuse on me personally, has been with the de- sign and the hope of provoking me to make a general sweep of all Federalists out of office. But as I have carried no passion into the execution of this disagreeable duty, I shall suffer none to be excited. The clamor which has been raised will not pro- voke me to remove one more, nor deter me from removing one less, than if not a word had been said on the subject. In the course of the summer, all which is neces- sary will be done ; and we may hope that, this cause of offence being at an end, the measures we shall pursue and propose for jthe amelioration of the public afiairs, will DOWNFALL OF THE FEDERALS, 15 be so confessedly salutary as to unite all men not monarchists in principle." In the same letter he warmly berates the monarchical federalists, saying, " they are incurables, to be taken care of in a mad- house if necessary, and on motives of charity." The seventh Congress assembled. Po- litical parties were at first nearly equally divided in the Senate, but eventually there was a majority for the administration. Jefferson then discontinued the custom es- tablished by Washington of delivering in person his message to Congress. The change was greatly for the better, as it afforded relief from the requirement of immediate answers on the subjects con- tained in the message. It has ever since been followed. The seventh session of Congress, pursu- ant to the recommendation of President Jefferson, established a uniform system of naturalization, and so modified the law as to make the required residence of aliens five years, instead of fourteen, as in the act of 1798, and to permit a declaration of in- tention to become a citizen at the expiration of three years. By his recommendation also was established the first sinking fund for the redemption of the public debt. It required the setting apart annually for this purpose the sum of seven millions and three hundred thousand dollars. Other mea- sures, more partisan in their character, were proposed, but Congress showed an aversion to undoing what had been wisely done. A favorite law of the Federalists establishing circuit courts alone was re- pealed, and this only after a sharp debate, and a close vote. The provisional army had been disbanded by a law of the previ- ous Congress. A proposition to abolish the naval department was defeated, as was that to discontinue the mint establishment. At this session the first law in relation to the slave trade was passed. It was to pre- vent the importation of negroes, mulattoes and other persons of color into any port of the United States within a state which had prohibited by law the admission of any such person. The penalty was one thou- sand dollars and the forfeiture of the vessel. The slave trade was not then prohibited by the constitution, nor was the subject then generally agitated, though it had been as early as 1793, when, as previously stated, an exciting sectional debate followed the presentation of a petition from Pennsylva- nia to abolish the slave trade. Probably the most important occurrence nnder the first administration of Jefferson was that relating to the purchase and ad- mission of Louisiana. There had been apprehensions of a war with Spain, and with a view to be ready Congress had passed an act authorizing the President to call upon the executives of such of the states as he might deem expedient, for detachments of militia not exceeding eighty thousand, or to accept the services of volunteers for a term of twelve months. The disagreement arose over the south-western boundary line and the right of navigating the Mississippi. Our government learned in the spring of 1802, that Spain had by a secret treaty made in October, 1800, actually ceded Louisiana to France. Our government had in 1795 made a treaty with Spain which gave us the right of deposite at New Or- leans for three years, but in October, 1802, the Spanish authorities gave notice by proclamation that this right was withdrawn. Excitement followed all along the valley of the Mississipjn, and it was increased by the belief that the withdrawal of the privi- lege was made at the suggestion of France, though Spain still retained the territory, as the formalities of ceding it had not been gone through with. Jefferson promptly took the ground that if France took pos- session of New Orleans, the United States would immediately become allies of Eng- land, but suggested to Minister Livingston at Paris that France might be induced to cede the island of New Orleans and the Floridas to the United States. It was his belief, though a mistaken one, that France had also acquired the Floridiis. Louisiana then comprised much of the territory west of the Mississippi and south of the Mis- souri. The Federalists in Congress seized upon this question as one upon which they could make an aggressive war against Jefferson's administration, and resolutions were intro- duced asking information on the subject. Jefferson, however, wisely avoided all en- tangling suggestions, and sent Monroe to aid Livingston in effecting a purchase. The treaty was formed in April, 1803, and submitted by JeffeK^on to the Senate in October following. The Republicans ral- lied in favor of this scheme of annexation, and claimed that it was a constitutional right in the government to acquire territory — a doctrine widely at variance with their previous position, but occasions are rare where parties quarrel with their administra- tions on pivotal measures. There was also some latitude here for endorsement, as the direct question of territorial acquisition had not before been presented, but only hypo- thetically stated in the constitutional dis- putations then in great fashion. Jefferson would not go so far as to say that the con- stitution warranted the acquisition to for- eign territory, but the scheme was never- theless his, and he stood in tvith his friends in the political battle which followed. The Federalists claimed that we had no power to acquire territory, and that the acquirement of Louisiana would give the South a preponderance which would " con- tinue for all time (poor prophets they I), 16 AMERICAN POLITICS. since southern would be more rapid than northern development ; " that states cre- ated west of the Mississippi would injure the commerce of New England, and they even went so far as to say that the " ad- mission of the Western World into the Union would compel the Eastern States to establish an eastern empire," Doubts were also raised as to the right of Louisi- anians, when admitted to citizenship un- der our laws, as their lineage, language and religion were different from our own. Its inhabitants were French and descend- ants of French, with some Spanish Cre- oles, Americans, English and Germans — in all about 90,000, including 40,000 slaves. There were many Indians of course, in a territory then exceeding a million of square miles— a territory which, in the language of First Consul Napoleon, "strengthens forever the power of the United States," and which will give to England a mari- time rival that will sooner or later humble her pride " — a military view of the change fiilly justified by subsequent history. Na- poleon sold because of needed prepara- tions for war with England, and while he had previously expressed a willingness to take fifty million francs for it, he got sixty through the shrewd diplomacy of his min- isters, who hid for the time their fear of the capture of the port of New Orleans by the English navy. Little chance was afforded the Federal- ists for adverse criticism in Congress, for the purchase proved so popular that the people greatly increased the majority in both branches of the eighth Congress, and Jefferson called it together earlier for the purpose of ratification. The Senate rati- fied the treaty on the 20th of October, 1803, by a vote of 24 to 7, while the House adopted a resolution for carrying the treaty into effect by a vote of 90 to 25. Eleven million dollars of the purchase money was appropriated, the remaining four millions being reserved for the indemnity of Amer- ican citizens who had sustained losses by French assaults upon our commerce — from which fact subsequently came what is known as the French Spoliation Bill. Impeachment trials were first attempted before the eighth Congress in 1803. Judge Pickering, of the district court of the United States for New Hampshire, was impeached for occasional drunkenness, and dismissed from office. Judge Chase of the U. S. Supreme Court, and Judge Peters of the district court of Pennsylva- nia, both Federalists, were charged by arti- cles proposed in the House with illegal and arbitrary conduct in the trial of par- ties charged with political offenses. The Federalists took alarm at these proceed- ings, and so vehement were their charges against the Bepublicaua of a desire to de* stroy the judiciary that their impeach* ments were finally abandoned. The Republicans closed their first na- tional administration with high prestige. They had met several congressionak.re- verses on questions where defeat proved good fortune, for the Federalists kept a watchful defence, and were not always wrong. The latter suffered numerically, and many of their best leaders had fallen in the congressional contest of 1800 and 1802, while the Republicans maintained their own additions m talent and number. In 1804, the candidates of both parties were nominated by congressional caucuses. Jefferson and Clinton were the Republi- can nominees ; Charles C. Pinckney and Rufus King, the nominees of the Federal- ists, but they only received 14 out of 173 electoral votes. The struggle of Napoleon in Europe with the allied powers now gave Jefferson an opportunity to inaugurate a foreign policy. England had forbidden all trade with the French and their allies, and France had in return forbidden all com- merce with England and her colonies. Both of these decrees violated our neutral rights, and were calculated to destroy our commerce, which by this time had become quite imposing. Congress acted promptly, and on the 21st of December passed what is known as the Embargo Act, under the inspiration of the Republican party, which claimed that the only choice of the people lay between the embargo and war, and that there was no other way to obtain redress from England and France. But the promised effects of the measure were not realized, and so soon as any dissatisfaction was manifested by the people, the Federalists made the ques- tion a political issue. They declared it unconstitutional because it was not limited as to time; that it helped England as against France (a cunning assertion in view of the early love of the Republicans for the cause of the French), and that it laid violent hands on our home commerce and industries. Political agitation in- creased the discontent, and public opinion at one time turned so strongly against the law that it was openly resisted on the eastern coast, and treated with almost as open contempt on the Canadian border. The bill had passed the House by 87 to 35, the Senate bv 19 to 9. In January. 1809, the then closing administration of Jefferson had to change front on the ques- tion, and the law was repealed on the 18th of March. The Republicans when they changed, went all the way over, and advo- cated full protection by the use of a navy, of all our rights on the high seas. If the Federals could have recalled their old leaders, or retained even a considerable portion of their power, the opportunity DEMOCRATS AND FEDERALS. 17 presented by the embargo issue could have brought them back to full political power, but lacking these leaders, the op- portunity passed Democrats and Federals. During the ninth Congress, which as- sembled on the second of December, 1805, the Republicans dropped their name and accepted that of " Democrats." In all their earlier strifes they had been charged by their ojiponents with desiring to run to the extremes of the democratic or " mob rule," and fear of too general a belief in the truth of the charge led them to denials and rejection of a name which the father of their party had ever shown a fondness for. The earlier dangers which had threatened their organization, and the re- collection of defeats suffered in their at- tempts to establish a government anti-fed- eral and confederate in their composition, had been greatly modified by later suc- cesses, and with a characteristic cuteness peculiar to Americans they accepted an epithet and sought to turn it to the best account. In this they imitated the patriots who accepted the epithets in the British satirical song of " Yankee Doodle," and called themselves Yankees. From the ninth Congress the Jeffersonian Republi- cans called themselves Democrats, and the •word Republican passed into disuse until later on in the history of our political parties, the opponents of the Democracy accepted it as a name which well filled the meaning of their attitude in the j^olitics of the country. Mr. Randolph of Roanoke, made the first schism in the Rejjublican party under Jefferson, when he and three of his friends voted against the embargo act. He resisted its passage with his usual earnestness, and all attempts at reconciling him to the mea- sure were unavailing. Self-willed, strong in argument and sarcasm, it is believed that his cause made it even more desirable for the Republicans to change name in the hope of recalling some of the more wayward " Democrats " who had advoca- ted Jacobin democracy in the years gone by. The politicians of that day were never short of expedients, and no man so abounded in them as Jefferson himself. Randolph improved his opportunities by getting most of the Virginia members to act with him against the foreign policy of the administration, but he was careful not to join the Federalists, and quickly denied any leaning that way. The first fruit of L is faction was to bring forth Monroe as a candidate for President against Madison — a movement which proved to be quite opular in Virginia, but which Jefferson anked by bringing about a reconcijiation between Monroe and Madison. The now usual Congressional caucus followed at Washington, and although the Virginia Legislature in its caucus proviously held had been unable to decide between Madi- son and Monroe, the Congressional body chose Madison by 83 to 11, the minority being divided between Clinton and Mon- roe, though the latter could by that time hardly be considered as a candidate. This action broke up Randolph's faction in Virginia, but left so much bitterness be- hind it that a large portion attached them- selves to the Federalists. In the election which followed Madison received 122 elec- toral votes against 47 for C. C. Pinckney, of South Carolina, and 6 for Geo. Clinton of New York. Before Jefferson's administration closed he recommended the passage of an act to prohibit the African slave trade after Jan- uary 1st, 1808, and it was passed accord- ingly. He had also rejected the form of a treaty received from the British minister Erskine, and did this without the formality of submitting it to the Senate — first, be- cause it contained no provision on the ob- jectionable practice of impressing our sea- men ; second, * because it was accompanied by a note from the British ministers, by which the British government reserved to itself the right of releasing itself from the stipulations in favor of neutral rights, if the United States submitted to the British decree, or other invasion of those rights by France." This rejection of the treaty by Jefferson caused public excitement, and the Federalists sought to arouse the com- mercial community against his action, antl cited the fact that his own trusted friends, Monroe and Pinckney had negotiated it. The President's party stood by him, and they agreed that submission to "the Senate was immaterial, as its advice could not bind him. This refusal to consider the treaty was the first step leading to the war of 1812, for embargoes followed, and Britain openly claimed the right to search Amer- ican vessels for her deserting seamen. In 1807 this question was brought to issue by the desertion of five British seamen from the Halifax, and their enlistment on the U. S. frigate Chesapeake. Four sepa- rate demands were made for these men, liut all of the commanders, knowing the firm attitude of Jefferson's administration against the practice, refused, as did the Secretary of State refuse a fifth demand on the part of the British minister. On the 23d of June following, while the Chesapeake was near the capes of Virginia, Capt. Humphreys of the British ship Leo- pard attempted to search her for deserters. Capt. Barron denied the right of search, but on being fired i»to, lowered his flag, * From the Statesman' Williams. Manual, Vol. 1., by Edvrin 18 AMERICAN POLITICS. Humphreys then took four men from the Chesapeake, three of whom had previously entered the British service, but were Americans by birth, and had been form- ally demanded by Washington. The act was a direct violation of the international law, for a nation's ship at sea like its ter- ritory is inviolable. The British govern- ment disavowed the act of its officer and offered apology and reparation, which were accepted. This event, however, strengthened Jefferson's rejection of the Monroe-Pinckney treaty, and quickly stop- ped adverse political criticism at home. Foreign affairs remained, however, in a complicated state, owing to the wars be- tween England and the then successful Napoleon, but they in no wise shook the firm hold which Jefferson had upon the people, nor the prestige of his party. He stands in history as one of the best poli- ticians our land has ever seen, and then as now no one could successfully draw the line between the really able politician and the statesman. He was accepted as both. His administration closed on the 3d of March, 1809, when he expressed great gratification at being able to retire to pri- vate life. Mr. Madison succeeded at a time when the countr}% through fears of foreign aggres- sion and violence, was exceedingly gloomy and despondent — a feeling not encouraged in the least by the statements of the Fed- eralists, some of whom then thought politi- cal criticism in hours of danger not un- patriotic. They described our agriculture as discouraged, our fisheries abandoned, our commerce restrained, our waxy dis- mantled, our revenues destroyed at a time when war was at any moment probable with either France, England or Spain. Madison, representing as he did the same party, from the first resolved to follow the policy of Jefferson, a fact about which there was no misunderstanding. He desired to avert war as long as possible with England, and sought by skilful diplomacy to avert the dangers presented by both France and England in their attitude with neutrals. England had declared that a man who was once a subject always remained a subject, and on this plea based her deter- mination to impress again into her service all deserters from her navy. France, be- cause of refusal to accede to claims equally at war with (jur rights, had authorized the seizure of all American vessels entering the ports of France. In May, 1810, when the non-intercourse act had expired, Madi- son caused proposals to be made to both belligerents, that if either would revoke its hostile edict, the non-intercourse act should be revived and enforced against the other nation. This act had been passed by the tenth Congress as a saibstitute for the em- bargo. France quickly accepted Madison's proposal, and received the benefits of the act, and the direct result was to increase the growing hostility of England. From this time forward the negotiations had more the character of a diplomatic contest than an attempt to maintain peace. Both coun- tries were upon their mettle, and early in 1811, Mr. Pinckney, the American minister to Great Britain, was recalled, and a year later a formal declaration of war was made by the United States. Just prior to this the old issue, made by the Republicans against Hamilton's scheme for a National Bank, was revived by the fact that the charter of the bank ceased on the 4th of March, 1811, and an attempt was made to recharter it. A bill for this purpose was introduced into Con- gress, but on the lltli of January, 1811, it was indefinitely postponed in the House, by a vote of 65 to 64, while in the Senate it was rejected by the casting .vote of the Vice-President, Geo. Clinton, on the 6th of February, 1811 — this notwithstanding its provisions had been framed or approved by Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury. The Federalists were all strong advocates of the measure, and it was so strong that it divided some of the Democrats who en- joyed a loose rein in the contest so far as the administration was concerned, the President not specially caring for political (quarrels at a time when war was threatened with a powerful foreign nation. The views of the Federalists on this question descend- ed to the Whigs some years later, and this fact led to the charges that the Whigs were but Federalists in disguise. The eleventh Congress continued the large Democratic majority, as did the twelfth, which met on the 4th of Novem- ber, 1811, Henry Clay, then an ardent supporter of the policy of Madison, suc- ceeding to the House speakership. He had previously served two short sessions in the U. S. Senate, and had already acquired a high reputation as an able and fluent debat- er. He preferred the House, at that period of life, believing his powers better calcu- lated to Avin fame in the more popular rep- resentative hall. Calhoun was also in the House at this time, and already noted for the boldness of his views and their asser- tion. In this Congress jealousies arose against the political power of Virginia, which had already named three of the four Presi- dents, each for two terms, and De Witt Clinton, the well-known Governor of New York, sought through these jealousies to create a division which would carry him into the Presidency. His efforts were for a time warmly seconded by several northern and southern states. A few months later the Legislature of New York formally opened the ball by nominating DeWitt Clinton for the Presidency. An address THE JEFFERSON DEMOCRATS. 19 was issued by his friends, August 17th, 1812, which has since become known as the Clin- tonian platform, and his followers were known as Clintonian Democrats. The ad- dress contained the first public protest against the nomination of Presidential can- didates by Congressional caucuses. There was likewise declared opposition to that "official regency which prescribed tenets of political faith." The eiforts of particular states to monopolize the principal offices was denounced, as was the continuance of public men for long periods in office. Madison was nominated for a second term by a Congressional caucus held at Washington, in May, 1812. John Langdon was nominated for Vice-President, but as he declined on account of age, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, took his place. In September of the same year a conven- tion of the opposition, representing eleven states, was held in the city of New York, which nominated De Witt Clinton, with Jared IngersoU for Vice-President. This was the first national convention, partisan in character, and the Federalists have the credit of originating and carrying out the idea. The election resulted in the success of Madison, who received 128 electoral votes to 89 for Clinton. Though factious strife had been some- what rife, less attention was paid to poli- tics than to the approaching war. There were new Democratic leaders in the lower House, and none were more prominent than Clay of Kentucky, Calhoun, Cheves and Lowndes, all of South Carolina. The policy of Jefferson in reducing the army and navy was now greatly deplored, and the defenceless condition in which it left the country was the partial cause, at least a stated cause of the factious feuds which fol- lowed. Madison sought to change this policy, and he did it at the earnest solici- tation of Clay, Calhoun and Lowndes, who were the recognized leaders of the war party. They had early determined that Madison should be directly identified with them, and before his second nomina- tion had won him over to their more de- cided views in favor of war with England. He had held back, hoping that diplomacy might avert a contest, but when once con- vinced that war was inevitable and even desirable under the circumstances, his official utterances were bold and free. In the June following the caucus which re- nominated him, he declared in a message that our flag was continually insulted on the high seas ; that the right of searching American vessels for British seamen was still in practice, and that thousands of American citizens had in this way been impressed in service on foreign ships ; that peacful efforts at adjustment of the diffi- culties had proved abortive, and that the British ministry and British emissaries had actually been intriguing for the dis- memberment of the Union. The act declaring war was approved by the President on the 18th of June, 1812, and is remarkably short and comprehen- sive. It was drawn by the attorney -general of the United States, William Piuckney, and is in the words following : — " An act declaring war between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories. "Be it enacted, (&c. That war be, and the same is hereby declared to exist be- tween the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America, and their territories ; and that the President of the United States is hereby authorized to use the whole land and naval force of the United States to carry the same into effect, and to issue to private armed vessels of the United States commissions, or letters of marque and general reprisal, in such form as he shall think proper, and under the seal of the United States, against the vessels, goods, and effects, of the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the subjects thereof." This was a soul-stirring message, but it did not rally all the people as it should have done. Political jealousies were very great, and the frequent defeats of the Fed- eralists, while they tended to greatly reduce their numbers and weaken their power, seemed to strengthen their animosity, and they could see nothing good in any act of the administration. They held, especially in the New England states, that the war had been declared by a political party simply, and not by the nation, though nearly all of the Middle, and all of the Southern and Western States, warmly supported it. Clay estimated that nine-tenths of the peo- ple were in favor of the war, and under the inspiration of his eloquence and the strong state papers of Madison, they doubtless were at first. Throughout they felt their political strength, and they just as heartily returned the bitterness manifested by those of the Federalists who opposed the war, branding them as enemies of the republic, and monarchists who preferred the reign of Britain. Four Federalist representatives in Con- gress went so far as to issue an address, opposing the war, the way in which it had been declared, and denouncing it as unjust. Some of the New England states refused the order of the President to support it with their militia, and Massachusetts sent peace memorials to Congress. A peace party was formed with a view to array the religious sentiment of the coun- try against the war, and societies with sim- ilar objects were organized by the more radical of the Federalists. To such an ex- 20 AMERICAN POLITICS. treme was this opposition carried, that some of the citizens of New London, Conn., made a practice of giving information to the enemy, by means of blue lights, of the dej^arture of American vessels. Tbe Hartford Couveiitlon. This opposition finally culminated in the asseml)ling of a convention at Hartford, at which delegates were present from all of the New England states. They sat for three weeks with closed doors, and issued an ad- dress which will be found in this volume in the book devoted to political platforms. It was charged by the Democrats that the real object of the convention Avas to nego- tiate a separate treaty of peace, on behalf of New England, with Great Britain, but this charge was as warmly denied. The exact truth has not since been discovered, the fears of the participants of threatened trials for treason, closing their mouths, if their professions were false. The treaty of Ghent, which was concluded on December 14th, 1814, prevented other action by the Hartford convention than that stated. It had assembled nine days before the treaty, which is as follows : Treaty of Glieiit. This treaty was negotiated by the Right Honorable James Lord Gambler, Henry Goulburn, Esq., and William Adams, Esq., on the part of Great Britain, and John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gal- latin, on behalf of the L^nited States. The treaty can be found on p. 218, vol. 8, of Little & Brown's Statutes at Large. The first aiticle provided for the restora- tion of all archives, records, or property taken by either party from the other dur- ing the war. This article expressly pro- vides for the restoration of " slaves or other private property." The second article pro- vided for the cessation of hostilities and limitation of time of capture. The third article provided for the restoration of prisoners of war. The fourth article defined the boundary established by the treaty of 1783, and pro- vided for commissioners to mark the same. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth articles established rules to govern the pro- ceedings of the commissioners. The ninth article bound the United States and His Britannic Majesty to end all hostilities with Indian tribes, with whom they were then respectively at war. The tenth article reads as follows : — " Whereas the traffic in slaves is irrecon- cilable with the principles of humanity and justice ; and, whereas, both His Ma- jesty and the United States are desirous of continuing their efforts to promote its entire abolition, it is hereby agreed that both the contracting parties shall use their best en- deavors to accomplish so desirable an ob- ject." The eleventh and last article provides for binding effect of the treaty, upon the ex- change of ratifications. The position of New England in the war is explained somewhat by her exposed po- sition. Such of the militia as served en- dured great hardships, and they were al- most constantly called from their homes to meet new dangers. Distrusting their loy- alty, the general government had with- held all supplies from the militia of Massa- chusetts and Connecticut for the year 1814, and these States were forced to bear the burden of supporting them, at the same time contributing their quota of taxes to tbe general government — hardships, by the way, not greater than those borne by Penn- sylvania and Ohio in the late war for the Union, nor half as hard as those borne by the border States at the same time. True, the coast towns of Massachusetts were sub- jected to constant assault from the British navy, and the people of these felt that they were defenceless. It was on their petition that the legislature of Massachusetts final- ly, by a vote of 226 to 67, adopted the report favoring the calling of the Hartford Con- vention. A circular was then addressed to the Governors of the other States, with a request that it be laid before their legisla- tures, inviting them to appoint delegates, and stating that the object was to deliber- ate upon the dangers to which the eastern section was exposed, " and to devise, if practicable, means of security and defence which might be consistent with the preser- vation of their resources from total ruin, and not repugnant to their obligations as members of the Union.'^ The italicized por- tion shows that there was at least then no design of forming a separate treaty, or of promoting disunion. The legislatures of Connecticut and Rhode Island endorsed the call and sent delegates. Those of New Hampshire and Vermont did not, but de- legates were sent by local conventions. These delegates, it is hardly necessary to remark, were all members of the Eederal party, and their suspected designs and ac- tion made the " Hartford Convention " a bye-word and reproach in the mouths of Democratic orators for years thereafter. It gave to the Democrats, as did the entire history of the war, the prestige of superior patriotism, and they profited by it as long as the memory of the war of 1812 was fresh. Indeed, directly after the war, all men seemed to keep in constant view the reluctance of the Federalists to support the war, and their almost open ho.stility to it in New England. Peace brought pros- THE CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS. 21 perity and plenty, but not oblivion of the old political issues, and this was the be- ginning of the end of the Federal party. Its decay thereafter was rapid and con- stant. The eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth Con- gresses had continued Democratic. The fourteenth began Dec. 4, 1815, with the Democratic majority in the House increased to 30. Clay had taken part in negotiating the treaty, and on his return was again elected to the House, and was for the third time elected speaker. Though 65 Feder- alists had been elected, but 10 were given to Federal candidates for speaker, this party now showing a strong, and under the circumstances, a very natural desire to rub out party lines. The internal taxes and the postage rates were reduced. Tlie Protective Tariff. President Madison, in his message, had urged upon Congress a revision of the tariff, and pursuant to his recommendation what was at the time called a protective tariff was passed. Even Calhoun then supported it, while Clay proclaimed that protection must no longer be secondary to revenue, but of primary importance. The rates fixed, however, were insufficient, and many American manufactures were soon frustrated by excessive importations of for- eign manufiictures. The position of Cal- houn and Lowndes, well known leaders from South Carolina, is explained by the fact that just then the proposal of a pro- tective tariff was popular in the south, in view of the heavy duties upon raw cotton which England then imposed. The Feder- alists in weakness changed their old posi- tion when they found the Democrats advo- cating a tariff", and the latter quoted and published quite extensively Alexander Hamilton's early report in favor of it. Webster, in the House at the time and a leading Federalist, was against the bill. The parties had exchanged positions on the question. Peace brought with it another exchange of positions. President Madison, although he had vetoed a bill to establish a National Bank in 1815, was now (in 1816) anxious for the establishment of such an institution. Clay had also changed his views, and claimed that the experiences of the war showed the necessity for a national curren- cy. The bill met with strong opposition from a few Democrats and nearly all of the Federalists (the latter having changed po- sition on the question since 1811), but it passed and was signed by the President. A bill to promote internal improvements, advocated by Clay, was at first favored by Madison, but his mind changed and he ve- toed the measure — the first of its kind passed by Congress. The Democratic members of Congress, before the adjournment of the first session, held a caucus for the nomination of can- didates to succeed Madison and Gerry. It was understood that the retiring officers and their confidential friends' favored James Monroe of Virginia. Their wishes were carried out, but not without a strug- gle, Wm. H. Crawford of Georgia receiv- ing 54 votes against 65 for Monroe. The Democrats opposed to Virginia's domina- tion in the politics of the country, made a second effort, and directed it against Monroe in the caucus. Aaron Burr denounced him as an improper and incompetent can- didate, and joined in the protest then made against any nomination by a Congressional caucus; he succeeding in getting nineteen Democrats to stay out of the caucus. Later he advised renewed attempts to break down the Congressional caucus system, and before the nomination favored Andrew Jackson as a means to that end. Daniel B. Tompkins was nominated by the Demo- crats for Vice-President. The Federalists named Eufus King of New York, but in the election which followed he received but 24 out of 217 electoral votes. The Federalists divided their votes for Vice- President. Monroe was inaugurated on the 14th of March, 1817, the oath being administered by Chief Justice Marshall. The inaugural address was so liberal in its tone that it seemed to give satisfaction to men of all shades of political opinion. The questions which had arisen during the war no longer had any practical significance, while the people were anxious to give the disturbing ones which ante-dated at least a season of rest. Two great and opposing policies had previously obtained, and singularly enough each seemed exactly adapted to the times when they were triumphant. The Fed- eral power had been asserted in a govern- ment which had gathered renewed strength during what was under the circumstances a great and perilous war, and the exi- gencies of that war in many instances compelled the Republicans or Democrats, or the Democratic-Republicans as some still called them, to concede points which had theretofore been in sharp disjiute, and they did it with that facility Avhich only Americans can command in emergencies: yet as a party they kept firm hold of the desire to enlarge the scope of liberty in its application to the citizens, and just here kept their original landmark. It is not singular then that the adminis- tration of Monroe opened what has ever since been known in politics as the " Era of Good Feeling." Party differences ra- pidly subsided, and political serenity was the order of the day. Monroe made a tour of the States, with the direct object of in- specting fortifications and means of de- 22 AMERICAN POLITICS. fence, and in this way spread the good feeling, without seeming to have any such object. He was everywhere favorably greeted by the people, and received by delegations which in many instances were specially made up of all shades of opinion. The Cabinet was composed of men of rare political distinction, even in that day of great men. It was probably easier to be great then than now, just as it is easier to be a big political hero in the little State of Delaware than it is in the big States of New York or Pennsylvania. Yet these men were universally accepted as great without regard to their localities. All were Republicans or Democrats, with John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State, Wm. H. Crawford (Monroe's competitor for the nomination) as Secretary of the Treasury, John C. Calhoun as Secretary of War, William Wirt as Attorney General. All of these united with the President in the general de^iire to call a halt upon the political asperities which were then recog- nized as a public evil. On one occasion, during his tour, the citizens of Kennebunk and its vicinity, in Maine, having in their address alluded to the prospects of a politi- cal union among the people in support of the administration, the President said in reply : " You are pleased to express a confident hope that a spirit of mutual conciliation may be one of the blessings which may re- sult from my administration. This in- deed would be an eminent blessing, and I pray it may be realized. Nothing but union is waiting to make us a great people. The present time affords the happiest presage that this union is fast consumma- ting. It cannot be otherwise ; I daily see greater proofs of it. The further I ad- vance in my progress in the country, the more I perceive that we are all Americans — that we compose but one family — that our rei)ublicau institutions will be sup- ported and perpetuated by the united zeal and patriotism of all. Nothing could give me greater satisfaction than to behold a perfect union among ourselves — a union which is necessary to restore to social in- tercourse its former charms, and to render our happiness, as a nation, unmixed and complete. To promote this desirable re- sult requires no compromise of principle, and I promise to give it ray continued at- tention, and my best endeavors." Even General Jackson, since held up to public view by historians as the most austere and " stalwart " of all politicians, caught the sweet infection of peace, and thus advised President Monroe : — " Now is the time to exterminate that monster, called party spirit. By select- ing [for cabinet officers] characters most conspicuous for their probity, virtue, eapacity, and firmness, without regard to party, you will go far to, if not entirely, eradicate those feelings, which, on former occasions, threw so many obstacles in the way of government. The chief magis- trate of a great and powerful nation should never indulge in party feelings. His con- duct should be liberal and disinterested ; always bearing in mind, that he acts for the whole and not a part of the community." This advice had been given with a view to influence the appointment of a mixed political Cabinet, but while Monroe pro- fessed to believe that a free government could exist without political parties, he nevertheless sought to bring all of the peo- ple into one political fold, and that the Democratic. Yet he certainly and plainly sought to allay factions in his own party, and with this view selected Crawford for the Treasury — the gentleman who had been so warmly supported in the nomina- ting struggle by the Clintonians and by all who objected to the predominating in- fluence of Virginia in national politics. Monroe, like his immediate predecessor, accepted and acted upon the doctrines of the new school of Republicans as repre- sented by Clay and Calhoun, both of whom still favored a tariff, while Clay had be- come a warm advocate of a national sys- tem of internal improvements. These two statesmen thus early differed on some questions, but they were justly regarded as the leading friends and advisers of the ad- ministration, for to both still clung the patriotic recollections of the war which they had so warmly advocated and sup- ported, and the issue of which attested their wisdom. Clay preferred to be called a Republican ; Calhoun preferred to be called a Democrat, and just then the terms were so often exchanged and mingled that history is at fault in the exact designation, Avhile tradition is colored by the bias of subsequent events and lives. Monroe's first inaugural leaned toward Clay's scheme of internal improvements, but questioned its constitutionality. Clay was next to Jefferson the most original of all our statesmen and politicians. He was prolific in measures, and almost resistless in their advocacy. From a political stand- point he was the most direct author of the war of 1812, for his advocacy mainly brought it to the issue of arms, which through him and Calhoun were substituted for diplomacy. And Calhoun then stood in broader view before the country than since. His sectional pride and bias had been rarely aroused, and like Clay he seemed to act for the countr}' as an en- tirety. Subsequent sectional issues changed the views held of him by the people of both the North and South. We liave said that Monroe leaned toward internal improvements, but he thought Congress was not clothed by the THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 23 Constitution with the power to authorize measures supporting it, and when the op- portunity was presented (May 4, 1822) he vetoed the bill " for the preservation and repair of the Cumberland road," and ac- companied the veto with a most elaborate message in which he discussed the consti- tutional aspects of the question. A plain majority of the friends of the administra- tion, under the leadership of Clay, sup- ported the theory of internal improve- ments from the time the administration began, but were reluctant to permit a divi- sion of the party on the question. Mississippi and Illinois were admitted to the Union during the " Era of Good Feeling," without serious political disturb- ance, while Alabama was authorized to form a state constitution and government, and Arkansas was authorized as a separate territorial government from part of Mis- souri. In 1819 President Monroe made a tour through the Southern States to ex- amine their defenses and see and get ac- quainted with the people. From the first inauguration of Monroe up to 1819 party lines can hardly be said to have existed, but in the sixteenth session of Congress, which continued until May, 1820, new questions of national interest arose, pro- minent among which were additional pro- tective duties for our manufactures ; inter- nal improvements by the government ; acknowledgments of the independence of the South American States. The Monroe Doctrine. Upon tne question of recognizing the in- dependence of the South American States, the President made a record Avhich has ever since been quoted and denominated "The Monroe Doctrine." It is embodied in the following abstract of his seventh annual message, under date of Dec. 2d, 1823: " It was stated, at the commencement of the last session, that a great effort was then making in Spain and Portugal to improve the condition of the people of those coun- tries, and that it appeared to be conduct- ed with extraordinary moderation. It need scarcely be remarked that the result has been, so far, very different from what was then anticipated. Of events in that quarter of the globe, with which we have so much intercourse, and from which we derive our origin, we have always been anxious and interested spectators. The citizens of the United States cherish sentiments the most friendly in favor of the liberty and happiness of their fellow men on that side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the European powers, in matters relat- ing to themselves, we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. It is only when rights are in- vaded or seriously menaced, that we re- sent injuries, or make preparation for our defense. With the movements in this hemisphere we are of necessity more im- mediately connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers. The political system of the allied powers is essentially different in this respect from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respective governments. And to the defense of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felici- ty, this whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amica- ble relations existing between the United States and those powers, to declare, that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colo- nies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But with the governments who have declared their independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration, and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any Euro- pean power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States. In the war between those new governments and Spain, we declared our neutrality at the time of their recognition, and to this we have ad- hered, and shall continue to adhere, pro- vided no change shall occur which, in the judgment of the competent authorities of this government, shall make a corres- ponding change on the part of the United States indispensable to their security. The late events in Spain and Portugal show that Europe is still unsettled. Of this important fact no stronger proof can be adduced, than that the allied powers should have thought it proper, on a prin- ciple satisfactory to themselves, to have interposed by force in the internal con- cerns of Spain. To what extent such in- terposition may be carried, on the same principle, is a question to which all inde- pendent powers, whose governments differ from theirs, are interested ; even those most remote, and surely none more so than the United States. Our policy in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the wars which have so long agi- tated that quarter of the globe, neverthe- less remains the same, which is, not to in- terfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers ; to consider the government, 24 AMERICAN POLITICS. de facto, as the legitimate government for us: to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those relations by a frank, firm, and manly policy ; meeting, in all instances, the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries from none. But in regard to these continents, circumstances are eminently and conspicuously different. It is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political system to any portion of either continent without endan- gering our peace and happiness ; nor can any one believe, that our southern breth- ren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such interposition, in any form, with indiffer- ence. If we look to the comparative strength and resources of Spain and those new governments, and their distance from each other, it must be obvious that she can never subdue them. It is still the true policy of the United States to leave the parties to themselves, in the hope that other powers will pursue the same course." The second election of Monroe, in 1820, was accomplished without a contest. Out of 231 electoral votes, but one was cast against him, and that for John Quincy Adams. Mr. Tompkins, the candidate for Vice-President, was only a little less for- tunate, there being 14 scattering votes against him. Neither party, if indeed there was a Federalist party left made any nominations. Tile Missouri Compromise. The second session of the 17th Con- gress opened on the 4th day of March, 1820, with James Monroe at the head of the Executive Department of the Govern- ment, and the Democratic party in the majority in both branches of the Federal Legislature. The Cabinet at that time was composed of the most brilliant minds of the country, indeed as most justly re- marked by Senator Thomas H. Benton in his published review of the events of that period, it would be difficult to find in any government, in any country, at any time, more talent and experience, more dignity and decorum, more purity of private life, a larger mass of information, and more ad- diction to business, than was comprised in the list of celebrated names then consti- tuting the executive department of the government. The legislative dejiartment was equally impressive. The exciting and agitajiing question then pending before Congress was on the admission of the State of Missouri into the Federal Union, the subject of the issue being the attempted tacking on of conditions restricting sla- very within her limits. She was admitted without conditions under the so-called compromise, which abolished it in certain portions of the then province of Louisiana. In this controversy, the compromise was sustained and carried entirely by the Dem- ocratic Senators and members from the Southern and slave-holding States aided and sanctioned by the Executive, and it was opposed by fifteen Senators from non- slave-holding States, who represented the opposite side on the political questions of the day. It passed the House by a close vote of 86 to 82. It has been seriously ques- tioned since whether this act was constitu- tional. The real struggle was political, and for the balance of power. For a while it threatened the total overthrow of all po- litical parties upon principle, and the sub- stitution of geographical parties discrimi- nated by the slave line, and thus destroy- ing the proper action of the Federal gov- ernment, and leading to a separation of the States. It was a federal movement, ac- cruing to the benefit of that party, and at first carried all the Northern democracy in its current, giving the supremacy to their adversaries. When this effect was per- ceived, democrats from the northern non slave-holding States took early opportu- nity to prevent their own overthrow, by voting for the admission of the States on any terms, and thus prevent the eventual separation of the States in the establish- ment of geographical parties divided by a slavery and anti-slavery line. The year 1820 marked a period of finan- cial distress in the country, which soon became that of the government. The army was reduced, and the general expenses of the departments cut down, despite which measures of economy the Congress deemed it necessary to authorize the President to contract for a loan of five million dollars. Distress was the cry of the day ; relief the general demand, the chief demand com- ing from debtors to the Government for public lands purchased under the then credit system, this debt at that time ag- gregating twenty-tliree millions of dollars. The banks failed, money vanished, instal- ments were coming due which could not be met ; and the opening of Congress in November, 1820, was saluted by the arrival of memorials from all the new States pray- ing for the relief to the purchaser of the public lands. The President referred to it in his annual message of that year, and Congress passed a measure of relief by changing the system to cash sales instead of credit, reducing the price of the lands, and allowing present debtors to apply pay- ments already made to portions of the land purchased, relinquishing the remain- der. Applications were made at that time for the esta])lishment of the pre- emptive system, but without effect ; the new States continued to press the question and finally prevailed, so that now the pre- emptive princiiile has become a fixed part THE TARIFF — AMERICAN SYSTEM. 25 of our land system, permanently incorpo- rated with it, and to the equal advantage of the settler and the government. The session of 1820-21, is remarkable as being the first at which any proposition was made in Congress for the occupation and settlement of our territory on the Columbia river — the only part then owned by the United States on the Pacific coast. It was made by Dr. Floyd, a representa- tive from Virginia, who argued that the establishment of a civilized j^ower on the American coast of the Pacific could not fail to produce great and wonderful bene- fits not only to our own country, but to the people of Eastern Asia, China and Japan on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean, and that the valley of the Colum- bia might become the granary of China and Japan. This movement suggested to Senator Benton, to move, for the first time publicly in the United States, a resolution to send ministers to the Oriental States. At this time treaties with Mexico and Spain were ratified, by which the United States acquired Florida and ceded Texas ; these treaties, together with the Missouri compromise — a measure contemporaneous with them — extinguished slave soil in all the United States territory west of the Mississippi, except in that portion which was to constitute the State of Arkansas ; and, including the extinction in Texas consequent upon its cession to a non-slave- holding power, constituted the largest ter- ritorial abolition of slavery that was ever up to that period effected by any political power of any nation. The outside view of the slave question in the United States, at this time, is that the extension of slavery was then arrested, circumscribed, and confined within narrow territorial limits, while free States were permitted an almost unlimited expansion. In 1822 a law passed Congress abolish- ing the Indian factory system, which had been established during Washington's ad- ministration, in 1796, under which the Government acted as a factor or agent for the sale of supplies to the Indians and the ]Hirchase of furs from them ; this branch of the service then belonged to the depart- ment of the Secretary of War. The abuses discovered in it led to the discontinuance of that sj'stem. The Presidential election of 1824 was approaching, the candidates were in the field, their respective friends active and busy, and popular topics for the canvass in earnest requisition. Congress was full of projects for different objects of internal nnprovement, mainly in roads and canals, and the friends of each candidate exerted themselves in rivalry of each other, under the supposition that their opinions would Btand for those of their principals. An act for the preservation of the Cumberland Road,which passed both hoases of Congress, met with a veto from President Monroe, accompanied by a state paper in exposi- tion of his opinions upon the whole sub- ject of Federal interference in matters of inter state commerce and roads and canals. He discussed the mea.sure in all its bear- ings, and plainly showed it to be uncon- stitutional. After stating the question, he examined it under every head of constitu- tional derivation under which its advo- cates claimed the power, and found it to be granted by no one of them and virtually prohibited by some of them. This was then and has since been considered to be the most elaborate and thoroughly con- sidered opinion upon the general question i which has ever been delivered by any American statesman. This great state pa- per, delivered at a time when internal im- jirovement by the federal government had become an issue in the canvass for the Presidency and was ardently advocated by three of the candidates and qualified by two others, had an immense current in its power, carrying with it many of the old strict constructionists. The revision of the tariff", with a view to the protection of home industry, and to the establishment of what was then called " The American System," was one of the large subjects before Congress at the ses- sion of 1823-24, and was the regular com- mencement of the heated debates on that question which afterwards ripened into a. serious difficulty between the federal gov- ernment and some of the Southern States. The presidential election being then de- jjending, the subject became tinctured with party politics, in which so far as that in- gredient was concerned, and was not con- trolled by other considerations, members divided pretty much on the line which al- ways divided them on a question of con- structive powers. The protection of do- mestic industry not being among the pow- ers granted, was looked for in the inciden- tal ; and denied by the strict construction- ists to be a substantive term, to be exer- cised for the direct purpose of protection ; but admitted by all at that time and ever since the first tariff act of 1789, to be an incident to the revenue raising power, and an incident to be regarded in the exercise of that power. Revenue the object, pro- tection the incident, had been the rule in the earlier tariffs ; now that rule was sought to be reversed, and to make protection the object of the law, and revenue the inci- dent. Mr. Henry Clay was the leader in the proposed revision and the champion of the American system ; he was ably sup- ported in the House by many able and effective speakers ; who based their argu- ment on the general distress then alleged to be prevalentin the country. Mr. Daniel Webster was the leading speaker on the 26 AMERICAN POLITICS. other side, and disputed the universality of the distress which had been described ; and contested the propriety of high or pro- hibitory duties, in the present active and intelligent state of the world, to stimulate industry and manufacturing enterprise. ' The bill was carried by a close vote in both Houses. Though brought forward avowedly for the protection of domestic manufactures, it was not entirely supported on that ground ; an increase of revenue being the motive with some, the public debt then being nearly ninety millions. An increased protection to the products of several States, as lead in Missouri and Illi- nois, hemp in Kentucky, iron in Pennsyl- yania, wool in Ohio and New York, com- manded many votes for the bill ; and the impending presidential election had its in- fluence in its favor. Two of the candidates, Messrs. Adams and Clay, voted for and avowedly supported General Jackson, who voted for the bill, was for it, as tending to give a home sup- ply of the articles necessary in time of war, and as raising revenue to pay the public debt ; Mr. Crawford was opposed to it, and Mr. Calhoun had withdrawn as a Presiden- tial candidate. The Southern planting States were dissatisfied, believing that the new burdens upon imports which it im- posed, fell upon the producers of the ex- ports, and tended to enrich one section of the Union at the expense of another. The attack and support of the bill took much of a sectional aspect; Virginia, the two Carolinas, Georgia, and some others, being unanimous against it. Pennsylva- nia, New York, Ohio, and Kentucky being "unanimous for it. Massachusetts, which up to this time had no small influence in commerce, voted, with all, except one member, against it. With this sectional aspect, a tariff for protection, also began to assume a political aspect, being taken un- der the care of the party, afterwards de- nominated as Whig. The bill was ap- proved by President Monroe; a proof that that careful and strict constructionist of the constitution did not consider it as de- prived of its revenue character by the de- gree of protection which it extended. A subject which at the present time is exciting much criticism, viz: proposed amendments to the constitution relative to the election of President and Vice-Presi- dent, had its origin in movements in that direction taken by leading Democrats dur- ing the campaign of 1824. The electoral •college has never been since the early elec- tions, an independent body free to select a President and Vice-President; though in theory they have been vested with such powers, in practice they have no such prac- tical power over the elections, and have had none since their institution. In every ca»e the elector has been an instrument, bound to obey a particular impulsion, and disobedience to which would be attended with infamy, and with every penalty which public indignation could inflict. From the beginning they have stood pledged to vote for the candidate indicated by the public will ; and have proved not only to be use- less, but an inconvenient intervention be- tween the people and the object of their choice. Mr. McDuflie in the House of Representatives and Mr. Benton in the Senate, proposed amendments; the mode of taking the direct vote to be in districts, and the persons receiving the greatest number of votes for President or Vice- President in any district, to count one vote for such office respectively which is noth- ing but substituting the candidates them- selves for their electoral representatives. In the election of 1824 four candidates were before the people for the office of President, General Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. None of them received a majority of the 261 electoral votes, and the election devolved upon the House of Representa- tives. John C. Calhoun had a majority of the electoral votes for the office of Vice- President, and was elected. Mr. Adams was elected President by the House of Representatives, although General Jack- son was the choice of the people, having received the greatest number of votes at the general election. The election of Mr. Adams was perfectly constitutional, and as such fully submitted to by the people ; but it was a violation of the demos krateo prin- ciple ; and that violation was equally re- buked. All the representatives who voted against the will of their constituents, lost their favor, and disappeared from public life. The representation in the House of Representatives was largely changed at the first general election, and presented a full opposition to the new President. Mr. Adams himself was injured by it, and at the ensuing presidential election was beat- en by General Jackson more than two to one. Mr. Clay, who took the lead in the House for Mr. Adams, and afterwards took upon himself the mission of reconciling the people to his election in a series of public speeches, was himself crippled in the effort, lost his place in the democratic par- ty, and joined the Whigs (then called the national republicans). The democratic principle was victor over the theory of the Constitution, and beneficial results ensued. It vindicated the people in their right and their power. It re-established parties upon the basis of principle, and drew anew party lines, then almost obliterated under the fusion of parties during the "era of good feeling," and the efforts of leading men to make personal parties for them- selves. It showed the conservative power I TENURE OF OFFICE— ELIGIBILITY. 27 of our goverment to lie in the people, more than in its constituted authorities. It showed that they were capable of exercis- ing the function of self-government, and lastly, it assumed the supremacy of the de- mocracy for a long time, and until lost by causes to be referred to hereafter. The Presidential election of 1824 is remarkable under another aspect — its results cautioned all public men against future attempts to govern presidential elections in the House of Representatives ; and it put an end to the practice of caucus nominations for the Presidency by members of Congress. This mode of concentrating public opinion be- gan to be practiced as the eminent men of the Revolution, to whom public opinion awarded a preference, were passing away, and when new men, of more equal preten- sions, were coming upon the stage. It was tried several times with success and general approbation, because public sentiment was followed — not led — by the caucus. It was attempted in 1824 and failed ; all the op- ponents of Mr. Crawford, by their joint efforts, succeeded, and justly in the fact though not in the motive, in rendering these Congress caucus nominations odious to the people, and broke them down. They were dropped, and a different mode adopted — that of party nominations by conventions of delegates from the States. The administration of Mr. Adams com- menced with his inaugural address, in which the chief topic was that of internal national improvement by the federal gov • crnment. This declared policy of the ad- ministration furnished a ground of opposi- tion against Mr. Adams, and went to the reconstruction of parties on the old line of strict, or latitudinous, construction of the Constitution. It was clear from the begin- ning that the new administration was to have a settled and strong opposition, and that founded in principles of government — the same principles, under different forms, which had discriminated parties at the commencement of the federal govern- ment. Men of the old school — survivors of the contest of the Adams and Jefferson times, with some exceptions, divided ac- cordingly — the federalists going for Mr. Adams, the republicans against him, with the mass of the younger generation. The Senate by a decided majority, and the House by a strong minority, were opposed to the policy of the new President In 1826 occurred the famous debates in the Senate and the House, on the proposed Congress of American States, to contract alliances to guard against and prevent the establishment of any future European co- lony within its borders. The mission though sanctioned was never acted upon or carried out It was authorized bv very nearly a party vote, the democracy as a party being against it The President, Mr. Adams, stated the objects of the Congress to be as follows : " An agreement between all the parties represented at the meeting, that each will guard, by its own means, against the establishment of any future European colony within its own borders, may be advisable. This was, more than two years since, announced by my prede- cessor to the world, as a principle result- ing from the emancipation of both the American continents. It may be so de- veloped to the new southern nations, that they may feel it as an essential appendage to their independence." Mr. Adams had been a member of Mr. Monroe's cabinet, filling the department from which the doctrine would emanate. The enunciation by him as above of this "Monroe Doctrine," as it is called, is very different from what it has of late been sup- posed to be, as binding the Urtited States to guard all the territory of the New World from European colonization. The mes- sage above quoted was written at a time when the doctrine as enunciated by the former President through the then Secre- tary was fresh in the mind of the latter, and when he himself in a communication to the American Senate was laying it down for the adoption of all the American na- tions in a general congress of their depu- ties. According to President Adams, this " Monroe Doctrine " (according to which it has been of late believed that the United States were to stand guard over the two Americas, and repulse all intrusive colo- nists from their shores), was entirely con- fined to our own borders ; that it was only proposed to get the other States of the New World to agree that, each for itself, and by its own means, should guard its own terri- tories ; and, consequently, that the United States, so far from extending gratuitous protection to the territories of other States, would neither give, nor receive, aid in any such enterprise, but that each should use its own means, within its own borders, for its own exemption from European colonial intrusion. No question in its day excited more in- temperate discussion, excitement, and feel- ing between the Executive and the Senate, and none died out so quickly, than this, relative to the proposed congress of Ameri- can nations. The chief advantage to be derived from its retrospect — and it is a real one — is a view of the firmness with which the minority maintained the old policy of the United States, to avoid entangling al- liances and interference with the affairs of other nations; and the exposition, by one so competent as Mr. Adams, of the true scope and meaning of the Monroe doc- trine. At the session of 1825-26 attempt was again made to procure an amendment to the Constitution, ^Si relation to the mod* 28 AMERICAN POLITICS. of election of President and Vice-Presi- dent, so as to do away with all intermedi- ate agencies, and give the election to the direct vote of the people. In the Senate the matter was referred to a committee who reported amendments dispensing with electors, providing for districts equal in number to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State was entitled in Congress, and obviating all excuses for caucuses and conventions to concentrate public opinion by providing that in the event of no one receiving a ma- jority of the whole number of district votes cast, that a second election should be held limited to the two persons receiving the highest number of votes ; and in case of an equal division of votes on the second elec- tion then the House of Representatives shall choose one of them for President, as is prescribed by the Constitution. The idea being that the first election, if not re- sulting in any candidate receiving a ma- jority, should stand for a popular nomina- tion — a nomination by the people them- selves, out of which the election is almost sure to be made on the second trial. The same plan was suggested for choosing a Vice-President, except that the Senate was to finally elect, in case of failure to choose at first and second elections. The amend- ments did not receive the requisite support of two-thirds of either the Senate or the House. This movement was not of a par- tisan character ; it was equally supported and opposed respectively by Senators and Representatives of both parties. Substan- tially the same plan was recommended by Presidentj Jackson in his first annual mes- sage to Congress, December 8, 1829. It is interesting to note that at this Ses- sion of 1825 and '26, attempt was made by the Democrats to pass a tenure of office bill, as applicable to government em- ployees and office-holders ; it provided that in all nominations made by the President to the Senate, to fill vacancies occasioned by an exercise of the Presi- dent's power to remove from office, the fact of the removal shall be stated to the Senate at the same time that the nomina- tion is made, with a statement of the rea- sons for which such officer may have been removed." It was also sought at the same time to amend tlie Constitution to prohibit the appointment of any member of Con- gress to any federal office of trust or profit, during the period for which he was elec- ted ; the design being to make the mem- bers wholly independent of the Executive, and not subservient to the latter, and in- capable of receiving favors in the form of bestowals of official patronage. The tariff of 1828 is an era in our politi- cal legislation; from it the doctrine of " nullification " originated, and from that date began a serious division between the North and the South. Tliis tariff law was projected in the interest of the woolen manufacturers, but ended by including all manufacturing interests. The passage of this measure was brought about not because it was favored by a majority, but because of political exigencies. In the then ap- l^roaching presidential election, Mr. Adams, who was in favor of the " Ameri- can System," supported by Mr. Clay (hi:i Secretary of State) was opposed by Genei'al Jackson. This tariff was made an admin- istration measure, and became an issue in the canvass. The New England States, which had formerly favored free trade, on account of their commercial interests, changed their policy, and, led by Mr. Webster, became advocates of the j^rotec- tive system. The question of protective tariff had now not only become political, but sectional. The Southern States as a section, were arrayed against the system, though prior to 1816 had favored it, not merely as an incident to revenue, but as a substantive object. In fact these tariff bills, each exceeding the other in its de- gree of protection, had become a regular appendage of our presidential elections — carrying round in every cycle of four years, with that returning event ; starting in 1816 and followed up in 1820-24, and now in 1828, with successive augmentations of duties ; the last being often pushed as a party measure, and with the visible pur- pose of influencing the presidential elec- tion. General Jackson was elected, hav- ing received 178 electoral votes to 83 re- ceived by John Quincy Adams. Mr. Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, who was on the ticket with Mr, Adams, was de- feated for the office of Vice-President, and John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, was elected to that office. The election of General Jackson was a triumph of democratic principle, and an assertion of the people's right to govern themselves. That principle had been vio- lated in the presidential election in the House of Representatives in the session of 1824-25 ; and the sanction, or rebuke, of that violation was a leading question in the whole canvass. It was also a triumph over the high protective policy, and the federal internal improvement policy, and the latitudinous construction of the Con- stitution ; and of the democracy over the federalists, then called national republi- cans ; and was the re-establishment of par- ties on principle, according to the land- marks of the early years of the govern- ment. For although Mr. Adams had re- ceived confidence and office from Mr. Madison and Mr. Monroe, and had classed with the democratic party during the " era of good feeling," yet he had previously been federal ; and on the re-establishment of old party lines which began to take plac« NULLIFICATION— DEMOCRATS AND FEDERALS. 29 after the election of Mr. Adams in the House of Representatives, his affinities and policy became those of his former party ; and as a party, with many indivi- dual exceptions, they became his sui)por- ters and his strength. General Jackson, on the contrary, had always been demo- cratic, so classing when he was a Senator in Congress under the administration of the first Mr. Adams ; and when party lines were most straightly drawn, and upon prin- ciple, and as such now receiving the support of men and States which took this political position at that time, and maintained it for years afterwards ; among the latter, notably the States of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The short session of 1829-30 was ren- dered famous by the long and earnest de- bates in the Senate on the doctrine of nul- lification, as it was then called. It started by a resolution of inquiry introduced by Mr. Foot of Connecticut; it was united with a proposition to limit the sales of the public lands to those then in the market- to suspend the surveys of the public lands — and to abolish the ofiice of Surveyor- General. The effect of such a resolution, if sanctioned upon inquiry and carried into legislative effect, would have been to check emigration to the new States in the West, and to check the growth and settlement of these States and Territories. It was warmly opposed by Western members. The de- bate spread and took an acrimonious turn, and sectional, imputing to the quarter of the Union from which it came an old and early policy to check the growth of the West at the outset by proposing to limit the sale of the Western lands, by selling no tract in advance until all in the rear was sold out ; and during the debate Mr. Webster referred to the famous ordinance of 1787 for the government of the north- western territory, and especially the anti- slavery clause which it contained. Closely connected with this subject to which Mr. Webster's remarks, during the debate, related, was another which excited some warm discussion — the topic of slavery — and the effect of its existence or non- existence in different States. Kentucky and Ohio were taken for examples, and the superior improvement and popula- tion of Ohio were attributed to its exemp- tion from the evils of slavery. This was an excitable subject, and the more so be- cause the wounds of the Missouri contro- versy in which the North was the undis- puted aggressor, were still tender. Mr. Hayne from South Carolina answered with warmth and resented as a reflection upon the Slave States this disadvantageous com- parison. Mr. Benton of Missouri followed on the same side, and in the course of his remarks said, " I regard with admiration, that is to say, with wonder, the sublime morality of those who cannot bear the ab- stract contemplation of slavery, at the dis- tance of five hundred or a thousand miles off"." This allusion to the Missouri con- troversy, and invective against the free States for their part in it, by Messrs. Hayne and Benton, brought a rej^ly from Mr. Webster, showing what their conduct had been at the first introduction of the slavery topic in the Congress of the United States, and that they totally refused to in- terfere between master and slave in any way whatever. But the tojjic which be- came the leading feature of the whole de- bate, and .gave it an interest which cannot die, was that of nullification — the assumed right of a State to annul an act of Congress — then first broached in the Senate — and in the discussion of which Mr. Webster and Mr. Hayne were the champion speakers on opposite sides — the latter voicing the sentiments of the Vice-Presi- dent, Mr. Calhoun. This turn in the de- bate was brought about, by Mr. Hayne having made allusion to the course of New England during the war of 1812, and espe- cially to the assemblage known as the Hartford Convention, and to which designs unfriendly to the Union had been at- tributed. This gave Mr. Webster an op- portunity to retaliate, and he referred to the public meetings which had just then taken place in South Carolina on the sub- ject of the tariff, and at which resolves were passed, and propositions adopted sig- nificant of resisistance to the act; and con- sequently of disloyalty to the Union. He drew Mr. Hayne into their defence and into an avowal of what has since obtained the current name of " Nullification" He said, " I understand the honorable gentle- man from South Carolina to maintain, that it is a right of the State Legislature to inter- fere, whenever, in their judgment, this government transcends its constitutional limits, and to arrest the operation of its laws, * *• * * that the States may law- fully decide for themselves, and each State for itself, whether, in a given case, the act of the general government transcends its powers, * * * * that if the exigency of the case, in the opinion of any State government require it, such State gov- ernment may, by its own sovereign au- thority, annul an act of the general •gov- ernment, which it deems plainly and pal- pably unconstitutional." Mr. Hayne was evidently unprepared to admit, or fully deny, the propositions as so laid down, but contented himself with stating the words of the Virginia Resolution of 1798, as fol- lows : " That this assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government as result- ing from the compact, to which the States are parties, as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting that compact, as no farther valid than they 30 AMERICAN POLITICS. are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact, and that, in case of a de- liberate, palpable and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the States who are parties thereto have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose, for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their re- spective limits, the authorities, rights, and liberties appertaining to them." This resolution came to be understood by Mr. Hayne and others on that side of the debate, in the same sense that Mr. Webster stated, as above, he understood the gentleman from the South to interpret it. On the other side of the question, he argued that the doctrine had no foundation either in the Constitution, or on the Vir- ginia resolutions — that the Constitution makes the federal government act upon citizens within the States, and not upon the States themselves, as in the old con- federation: that within their Constitution- al limits the laws of Congress were supreme — and that it was treasonable to resist them with force : and that the question of their constitutionality was to be decided by the Supreme Court : with respect to the Virginia resolutions, on which Mr. Hayne relied, Mr. Webster disputed the interpre- tation put upon them — claimed for them an innocent and justifiable meaning — and exempted Mr. Madison from the suspicion of having framed a resolution asserting the right of a State legislature to annul an Act of Congress, and thereby putting it in the power of one State to destroy a form of government which he had just labored so hard to establish. Mr. Hayne on his part gave (as the prac- tical part of his doctrine) the pledge of for- cible resistance to any attempt to enforce unconstitutional laws. He said, " The gentleman has called upon us to carry out our scheme practically. Now, sir, if I am correct in my view of this matter, then it follows, of course, that the right of a State being established, the federal government is bound to acquiesce in a solemn decision of a State, acting in its sovereign capacity, at least so far as to make an appeal to the people for an amendment to the Constitu- tion. This solemn decision of a State binds the federal government, under the highest constitutional obligation, not to resort to any means of coercion against the citizens of the dissenting State. * * * Suppose Congress should pass an agrarian law, or a law emancipating our slaves, or should commit any other gross violation of our constitutional rights, will any gentlemen contend that the decision of every branch of the federal government, in favor of such laws, could prevent the States from de- claring them null and void, and protecting their citizens from their operation ? * * Let me assure the gentlemen that, when- ever any attempt shall be made from any quarter, to enforce unconstitutional laws, clearly violating our essential rights, our leaders (whoever they may be) will not be found reading black letter from the musty pages of old law books. They will look to the Constitution, and when called upon by the sovereign authority of the State, to preserve and protect the rights secured to them by the charter of their liberties, they will succeed in defending them, or ' perish in the last ditch.' " These words of Mr. Hayne seem almost prophetic in view of the events of thirty years later. No one then believed in any- thing serious in the new interpretation given to the Virginia resolutions — nor in anything practical from nullification — nor in forcible resistance to the tariff" laws from South Carolina — nor in any scheme of dis- union. Mr. Webster's closing reply was a fine piece of rhetoric, delivered in an elaborate and artistic style, and in an apparent spirit of deep seriousness. He concluded thus — " When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dis- figured fragments of a once glorious Union ; on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent ; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood. Let their last feeble and lingering glance, rather, behold the gorgeous ensign of the Republic, now known and honored through- out the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their ori- ginal lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory as, What is all this worth? nor those other words of delusion and folly. Liberty first and Union afterwards; but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing in all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true Ameri- can heart — Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable ! " President Jackson in his first annual message to Congress called attention to the fact of expiration in 1836 of the charter of incorporation granted by the Federal government to a moneyed institution called The Bank of the United States, which was originally designed to assist the govern- ment in establishing and maintaining a uniform and sound currency. He seriously doubted the constitutionality and expedi- ency of the law creating the bank, and was opposed to a renewal of the charter. His view of the matter was that if such an institution was deemed a necessity it should be made a national one, in the sense of being founded on the credit of the govern- ment and its revenues, and not a corpora- THE UNITED STATES BANK. 31 tion independent from and not a part of the government. The House of Repre- sentatives was strongly in favor of the re- newal of tlie cliarter, and several of its committees made elaborate, ample and argumentative reports upon the subject. These reports were the subject of news- paper and pamphlet publication; and lauded for their power and excellence, and triumphant refutation of all the President's opinions. Thus was the " war of the Bank'' commenced at once in Congress, and in the public press ; and openly at the instance of the Bank itself, which, forgetting its position as an institution of the govern- ment, for the convenience of the govern- ment, set itself up as a power, and strug- gled for continued existence, by demand for renewal of its charter. It allied itself at the same time to the political power opposed to the President, joined in all their schemes of protective tariff, and national internal improvement, and became the head of the American system. Its moneyed and political power, numerous interested affiliations, and control over other banks and fiscal institutions, was truly great and extensive, and a power which was exer- cised and made to be felt during the strug- gle to such a degree that it threatened a danger to the country and the government almost amounting to a national calamity. The subject of renewal of the charter was agitated at every succeeding session of Congress down to 1836, and many able speeches made for and against it. In the month of December, 1831, the National Republicans, as the party was then called which afterward took the name of " whig," held its convention in Balti- more, and nominated candidates for Presi- dent and Vice-President, to be voted for at the election in the autumn of the ensu- ing year. Henry Clay was the candidate for the office of President, and John Ser- geant for that of Vice-President. The platform or address to the people presented the party issues which were to be settled at the ensuing election, the chief subjects being the tariff, internal improvement, re- moval of the Cherokee Indians, and the renewal of the United States Bank charter. Thus the bank question was fully presented as an issue in the election by that part of its friends who classed politically against President Jackson. But it had also Demo- cratic friends without whose aid the re- charter could not be got through Congress, and they labored assiduously for it. The first^Bank of the United States, chartered in 1791, was a federal measure, favored by General Hamilton, opposed by Mr. Jeffer- son, Mr. Madison, and the' Republican party; and became a great landmark of party, not merely for the bank itself, but for the latitudinarian construction of the constitution in which it was founded, and the precedent it established that Congress might in its discretion do what it pleased, under the plea of being '^necessary'' to carry into effect some granted power. The non-renewal of the charter in 1811, was the act of the Republican party, then in possession of the government, and taking the opportunity to terminate, upon its own limitation, the existence of an institution whose creation they had not been able to prevent. The charter of the second bank, in 1816, was the act of the Republican party, and to aid them in the administra- tion of the government, and, as such, was opposed by the Federal party — not seeming then to understand that, by its instincts, a great moneyed corporation was in sym- pathy with their own party, and would soon be with it in action — which the bank soon was — and now struggled for a con- tinuation of its existence under the lead of those who had opposed its creation and against the party which effected it. Mr. Webster was a Federal leader on both occasions — against the charter in 1816 ; for the re-charter in 1832. The bill passed the Senate after a long and arduous con- test; and afterwards passed the House, quickly and with little or no contest at all. It was sent to the President, and vetoed by him July 10, 1832 ; the message stating his objections being an elaborate review of the subject ; the veto being based mainly on the unconstitutionality of the measure. The veto was sustained. Following this the President after the adjournment re- moved from the bank the government deposits, and referred to that fact in his next annual message on the second day of December, 1833, at the opening of the first session of the twenty-third Congress. Ac- companying it was the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, Hon. Roger B. Taney, afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, giv- ing the reasons of the government for the withdrawal of the public funds. Long and bitter was the contest between the Presi- dent on the one side and the Bank and its supporters in the Senate on the other side. The conduct of the Bank produced dis- tress throughout the country, and was so intended to coerce the President. Distress petitions flooded Congress, and the Senate even passed resolutions of censure of the President. The latter, however, held firm in his position. A committee of investi- gation was appointed by the House of Rei)resentatives to inquire into the causes of the commercial embarrassment and the public distress complained of in the numerous distress memorials presented to the two Houses during the session; and whether the Bank had been instrumental, through its management of money, in pro- ducing the distress and embarrassment of which so much complaint was made ; to 32 AMERICAN POLITICS. inquire whether the charter of the Bank had been violated, and what corruptions and abuses, if any, existed in its manage- ment ; and to inquire whether the Bank had used its corporate power or money to control the press, to interpose in politics, or to influence elections. The committee were granted ample powers for the execu- tion of these inquiries. It was treated with disdain and contempt by the Bank management ;• 'refiised access to the books and papers, and the directors and president refused to be sworn and testifj'. The committee at the next session made report of their proceedings, and asked for war- rants to be issued against the managers to bring them before the Bar of the House to answer for contempt ; but the friends of the Bank in the House were able to check the proceedings and prevent action being taken. In the Senate, the President was sought to be punished by a declination by that body to confirm the President's nomination of the four government direc- tors of the Bank, who had served the previous year ; and their re-nomination after that rejection again met with a similar fate. In like manner his re-nomination of Eoger B. Taney to be Secretary of the Treasury was rejected, for the action of the latter in his support of the President and the removal of the public deposits. The Bank had lost much ground in the public estimation by resisting the investi- gation ordered and attempted by the House of Representatives, and in consequence the Finance Committee of the Senate made an investigation, with so weak an attempt to varnish over the aflairs and acts of the corporation that the odious appellation of " white-washing committee " was fastened upon it. The downfall of the Bank speedily followed ; it soon afterwards be- came a total financial wreck, and its assets and property were seized on executions. With its financial failure it vanished from public view, and public interest in it and concern with it died out. About the beginning of March, 1831, a pamphlet was issued in Washington, by Mr. John C. Calhoun, the Vice-President, and addressed to the people of the United States, explaining the cause of a difference which had taken place between himself and the President, General Jackson, in- stigated as the pamphlet alleged, by Mr. Van Buren, and intended to make trouble between the first and second officers of the government, and to effect the political destruction of himself (Mr. Calhoun) for the benefit of the contriver of the quarrel, the then Secretary of State, and indicated as a candidate for the presidential succession upon the termination of Jackson's term. The differences grew out of certain charges against General Jackson respecting his con- duct during the Seminole war which oc- curred in the administration of President Monroe. The President justified himself in published correspondence, but the inevita- ble result followed — a rupture between the President and Vice-President — which was quickly followed by a breaking up and reconstructing the Cabinet. Some of its members classed as the political friends of Mr. Calhoun, and could hardly be ex- pected to remain as ministers to the Presi- dent. Mr. Van Buren resigned ; a new Cabinet was appointed and confirmed. This change in the Cabinet made a great figure in the party politics of the day, and filled all the opposition newspapers, and had many sinister reasons assigned to it — all to the prejudice of General Jackson and Mr. Van Buren. It is interesting to note here that during the administration of President Jackson, — in the year 1833, — the Congress of the United States, as the consequence of the earnest efforts in that behalf, of Col. R. M. Johnson, of Kentucky, aided by the re- commendation and supi^ort of the Prcsi^ dent, passed the first laws, abolishing im- prisonment for debt, under jjrocess from the Courts of the United States : the only extent to which an act of Congress could go, by force of its enactments ; but by force of example and influence, has led to the cessation of the practice of imprisoning debtors, in all, or nearly all, of the States and Territories of the Union ; and without the evil consequences which had been dreaded frpm the loss of this remedy over the person. The act was a total abolition of the practice, leaving in full force all the re- medies against fraudulent evasions of debt. The American system, and especially its prominent feature of a high protective tariff was put in issue, in the Presidential canvass of 1832; and the friends of that system labored diligently in Congress in presenting its best points to the greatest advantage ; and staking its fiite upon the issue of the election. It was lost; not only by the result of the main contest, but hj that of the congressional election which took place simultaneously with it. All the States dissatisfied with that system, were satisfied with the view of its speedy and regular extinction, under the legislation of the approaching session of Congress, ex- cepting only South Carolina. She has held aloof from the Presidential contest, and cast her electoral votes for persons who were not candidates — doing nothing to aid the election of General Jackson, with whom her interests were apparently identified. On the 24th November, 1832, two weeks after the election which de- cided the fate of the tariff, that State issued an "Ordinance to nullify certain acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws laying duties and imposts on the importation THE PRESIDENT'S SPECIAL MESSAGE. 33 of foreign commodities." It declared that jhe Congress had exceeded its constitu- tional powers in imposing high and ex- cessive duties on the theory of "protec- tion," had unjustly discriminated in favor of one class or employment, at the expense and to the injury and oppression of other classes and individuals; that said laws were in consequence not binding on the State and its citizens; and declaring its right and purpose to enact laws to prevent the enforcement and arrest the operation of said acts and parts of the acts of the Congress of the United States within the limits of that State after the first day of February ffdlowing. This ordinance placed the State in the attitude of forcible resist- ance to the laws of the United States, to take effect on the tirst day of February next ensuing — a date prior to the meeting of the next Congre-ss, which the country naturally expected would take some action in reference to the tariff laws complained of The ordinance further provided that if, in the meantime, any attempt was made by the federal government to enforce the obnoxious laws, except through the tribu- nals, all the officers of which were sworn against them, the fiict of such attempt was to terminate the continuance of South Car- olina in the Union— to absolve her from all connection with the federal government — and to establish her as a separate govern- ment, wholly unconnected with the United States or any State. The ordinance of nullification was certified bv the Governor of South Carolina to the President of the United States, and reached him in Decem- ber of the same year ; in consequence of which he immediately issued a proclama- tion, exhorting the people of South Caro- lina to obey the laws of Congress ; point- ing out and explaining the illegality of the procedure ; stating clearly and distinct- ly his firm determination fx) enforce the laws a.s became him as Executive, even by resort to force if necessary. As a state paper, it is important a^ it contains the views of General Jackson regarding the nature and character of our federal gov- ernment, expressed in the following lan- guage: " The people of the United States lormel the constitution, acting through the State Legislatures in making the com- pact, to meet and discuss its provisions, and actin:^ in separate conventions when they ratified those provisions; but, the terms used in the constitution show it to be a government in which the people of all the States collectively are represented. We are one people in the choice of Presi- dent and Vice-President. Here the States have no other agency than to direct the mode in which the votes shall be given. * The people, then, and not the j States, are represented in the executive j branch. * * * In the House of Representatives the members are all representatives of the United States, not representatives of the particular States from which they come. They are paid by the United States, not by the State, nor are they accountable to it for any act done in the performance of their legislative functions. ***** The constitution of the United States, then, forms a government, not a league ; and whether it be formed by a compact between the States, or in any other man-, ner, its character is the same. It is a gov- ernment in which all the people are repre- sented, which operates directly on the people individually, not upon the States — • they retained all the power they did not grant. But each State, having expressly parted with so many powers as to consti- tute, jointly with the other States, a single nation, cannot, from that period, possess any right to secede, because such secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity of the nation, and any injury to that unity, is not only a breach which could result from the contravention of a com- pact, but it is an offence against the whole Union. To say that any State may at pleasure secede from the Union, is to say that the United States are not a nation ; betause it would be a solecism to contend that any part of a nation might dissolve its connection with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without committing any offence." Without calling on Congress for extra- ordinary powers, the President in his annual message, merely adverted to the attitude of the State, and proceeded to meet the exigency by the exercise of the powers he already possessed. The pro- ceedings in South Carolina not ceasing, and taking daily a more aggravated form in the organization of troops, the collec- tion of arms and of munitions of war, and in declarations hostile to the Union, he found it necessary early in January to re- port the facts to Congress in a special message, and ask for extraordinary powers. Bills for the reduction of the tariff were early in the Session introduced into both houses, while at the same time the Presi- dent, though not relaxing his efforts to- wards a peaceful settlement of the diffi- culty, made steady preparations for enforc- ing the law. The result of the bills offered in the two Houses of Congress, was the passage of Mr. Clay's " compromise " bill on the 12th of February 1833, which radi- cally changed the whole tariff system. The President in his message on the South Carolina proceedings had recom- mended to Congress the revival of some acts, heretofore in force, to enable him to execute the laws in that State ; and the Senate's committee on the judiciary had reported a bill accordingly early in the AMERICAN POLITICS. session. It was immediately assailed by several members as violent and unconsti- tutional, tending to civil war, and de- nounced as " the bloody bill " — the " force bill," &c. The bill was vindicated in the Senate, by its author, who showed that it contained no novel ])rinciple; was sub- stantially a revival of laws previously in force ; with the authority superadded to remove the office of customs from one building or place to another in case of need. The bill was vehemently opposed, and every effort made to render it odious to the people, and even extend the odium to the President, and to every person urging or aiding in its passage. Mr. Webster justly rebuked all this vitupera- tion, and justified the bill, both for the equity of its provisions, and the necessity for enacting them. He said, that an un- lawful combination threatened the integ- rity of the Union ; that the crisis called for a mild, temperate, forbearing but "un- flexibly firm execution of the laws ; and finally, that public opinion sets with an irresistible force in favor of the Union, in favor of the measures reconiinended by the President, and against the new doc- trines which threatened the dissolution of the Union. The support which Mr. Web- ster gave to these measures was the regular result of the principles which he laid down in his first speeches against nullifi- cation in the debate with Mr. Hayne, and he could not have done less without being derelict to his own principles then avowed. He supported with transcendent ability, the cause of the constitution and of the countrj', in the person of a President to whom he was politically opposed, whose gratitude and admiration he earned for his patriotic endeavors. The country, with ut distinction of party, felt the same; and the universality of the feelinir was one o. the grateful instances of popular applause and justice when great talents are seen exerting themselves for the good of the country. He was the colossiil figure on the political stage during that eventful time; and his labors, splendid in their day, survive for the benefit of dixtan: posterity. During the discussion over the re-charter of the Bank of the United States, which as before mentioned, occupied the atten- tion of Congress for several years, the country suffered from a money panic, and a general financial depression and distress was generally prevalent. In 1884 a mea- sure was introduce4 into the H^nise, for equalizing the value of gold and silver, and legalizing the tender of fore gn coin, of both metals. The good effect^ of the bill were immediately seen. Gold began to flow into the country through all the channels of commerce, foreign and domes- tic ; the mint was busy ; and specie pay- ment, which had been suspended in the country for thirty years, was resumed, and gold and silver became the currency of the land ; inspiring confidence in all the pur- suits of industry. As indicative of the position of the de- mocratic party at that date, on the subject of the kind of money authorized by the Constitution, Mr. Benton's speech in the Senate is of interest. He said : " In the first place, he was one of those who be- lieved that the government of the United States was intended to be a hard money government; that it was the intention and the declaration of the Constitution of the United States, that the federal currency should consist .of gold and silver, and that there is no power in Congress to issue, or to authorize any company of individuals to issue, any species of federal paper cur- rency whatsoever. Every clause in the Constitution (said Mr. 13.) which bear? upon the subject of money — every early statute of Congress which interprets the meaning of these clauses — and every his- toric recollection which refers to them, go hand in hand in giving to that instrument the meaning which this proposition ascribes to it. The power granted to Congress to coin money is an authority to stamp me- tallic money, and is not an authority for emitting slips of paper containing promises to pay money. The authority granted to Congress to regulate the value of coin, is an authority to regulate the value of the metallic money, not of paper. The prohi- bition upon the States against making anything but gold and silver a legal ten- der, is a moral prohibition, founded in vir- tue and honesty, and is just as binding upon the Federal Government as upon the State Governments ; and that without a written prohibition ; for the difference in ihe nature of the two governments is such, hat the States may do all things which they are not forbid to do ; and the Federal Government can do nothing which it is not authorized by the Constitution to do. The framers of the Constitution (said Mr. B. ) created a hard money government. They intended the new government to re- cognize nothing for money but gold and silver ; and every word admitted into the Constitution, upon the subject of money, defines and establishes that sacred inten- tion. Legislative enactment came quickly to the aid of constitutional intention and historic recollection. The fifth statute [massed at the first session of the first Con- gress that ever sat under the present Con- stitution was full and explicit on this head. It declared, " that the fees and duties pay- able U> the federal government shall be received in gold and silver coin only." It was under General Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury, in 1791, that the policy THE INCEPTION OF THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 35 of the government underwent a change. In the act constituting the Bank of the United States, he brought forward his ce- lebrated plan for the support of the public credit — that plan which unfolded the en- tire scheme of the paper system and imme- diately developed the great political line between the federalists and the republi- cans. The establishment of a national bank was the leading and predominant feature of that plan ; and the original re- port of the secretary, in favor of establish- ing the bank, contained this fatal and de- plorable recommendation : " The bills and notes of the bank, originally made payable, or which shall have become payable, on demand, in gold and silver coin, shall be receivable in all payments to the United States." From the moment of the adop- tion of this policy, the moneyed character of the government stood changed and re- versed. Federal bank notes took the place of hard money ; and the whole edifice of the government slid, at once, from the solid rock of gold and silver money, on which its framers had placed it, into the troubled and tempestuous ocean of paper currency. The first session of the 35th Congress opened December 1835. Mr. James K. Polk was elected Speaker of the House by a large majority over Mr. John Bell, the previous Speaker ; the former being sup- ported by the administration party, and the latter having become identified with those who, on siding with Mr. Hugh ■ L. White as a candidate for the presidency, were considered as having divided from the democratic party. The chief subject of the President's message was the rela- tions of our country with France relative to the continued non-payment of the stip- ulated indemnity provided for in the treaty of 1831 for French spoliations of Ameri- can shipping. The obligation to pay was admitted, and the money even voted for that purpose ; but offense was taken at the President's message, and payment refused until an apology should be made. The President commented on this in his mes- sage, and the Senate had under consider- ation measures authorizing reprisals on French shipping. At this point Great Britain offered her services as mediator be- tween the nations, and as a result the in- demnity was shortly afterwards paid. Agitation of the slavery question in the United States really began about this time. Evil-disposed persons had largely circulated through the Southern states, pamphlets and circulars tending to stir up strife and insurrection ; and this had be- come so intolerable that it was referred to by the President in his message. Congress a* the session of 1836 was flooded with pe- titions and memorials urging federal inter- ference to abolish slavery in the States ; beginning with the petition of the Society of Friends of Philadelphia, urging the abolition of slavery in the District of Co- lumbia. These petitions were referred to Committees after an acrimonious debate as to whether they should be received or not. The position of the government at that time is embodied in the following resolution which was adopted in the Hou -e of Representatives as early as 1790, and substantially re-affirmed in 1836, as fol- lows : "That Congress have no authority to interfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them within any of the States ; it remaining with the several States to provide any regulations therein which humanity and true policy may re- quire." In the Summer preceding the Presi- dential election of 1836, a measure was in- troduced into Congress, which became very nearly a party measure, and which in its results proved disastrous to the Democrat- ic party in after years. It was a plan for distributing the public land money among the States either in the shape of credit distribution, or in the disguise of a deposit of surplus revenue ; and this for the pur- pose of enhancing the value of the State stocks held by the United States Bank, which institution, aided by the party which it favored, led by Mr. Clay, was the prime mover in the plan. That gentleman was the author of the scheme, and great cal- culations were made by the party which favored the distribution upon its effect in adding to their popularity. The Bill passed the Senate in its original form, but met with less favor in the House where it was found necessary. To effectuate substan- tially the same end, a Senate Bill was in- troduced to regulate the keeping of the public money in the deposit oanks, and this was turned into distribution of the surplus public moneys with the States, in proportion to their representation in Con- gress, to be returned when Congress should call for it ; and this was called a deposit with the States, and the faith of the States pledged for a return of the money. It was stigmatized by its opponents in Con- gress, as a distribution in disguise — as a deposit never to be reclaimed ; as a mis- erable evasion of the Constitution ; as an attempt to debauch the people with their own money ; as plundering instead of de- fending the country. The Bill passed both houses, mainly by the efforts of a half dozen aspirants to the Presidency, who sought to thus increase their popularity. They were doomed to disappointment in this respect. Politically, it was no advan- tage to its numerous and emulous support- ers, and of no disservice to its few deter- mined opponents. It was a most unfortu- nate act, a plain evasion of the Constitu- tion for a bad purpose ; and it soon gave a sad overthrow to the democracy and disap- 36 AMERICAN POLITICS. pjinted every calculation made upon it. To the States it was no advantage, raising expectations which were not fulfilled, and upon which many of them acted as reali- ties. The Bill was signed by the Presi- dent, but it is simple justice to him to say that he did it with a repugnance of feel- ing, and a recoil of judgment, which it re- quired great efforts of his friends to over- come, and with a regret for it afterwards which he often and publicly expressed. In a party point of view, the passage of this measure was the commencement of calam- ities, being an efficient cause in that gen- eral suspension of specie payments, which quickly occurred, and brought so much embarrassment on the Van Buren admin- istration, ending in the great democratic defeat of 1840. The presidential election of 1836 re- sulted in the choice of the democratic can- didate, Mr. Van Buren, who was elected by 170 electoral votes ; his opponent, Gene- ral Harrison, receiving seventy-three elec- toral votes. Scattering votes were given for Mr. AVebster, Mr. Mangum, and Mr. Hugh L. White, the last named represent- ing a fragment of the democracy who, in a spirit of disaffection, attempted to divide the democratic party and defeat Mr. Van Buren. At the opening of the second ses- sion of the twenty-fourth Congress, Decem- ber, 1836, President Jackson delivered his last annual message, under circumstances exceedingly gratifying to him. The power- ful opposition in Congress had been broken down, and he had the satisfaction of seeing full majorities of ardent and tried friends in each House. The country was in peace and friendship with all the world ; all ex- citing questions quieted at home; industry in all its branches prosperous, and the revenue abundant. And as a happy sequence of this state of affairs, the Senate on the 16th of March, 1837, expunged from the Journal the resolution, adopted three years previously, censuring the Presi- dent for ordering the removal of the de- posits of public money in the United States Bank. He retired from the presidency with high honors, and died eight years afterwards at his home, the celebrated " Hermitage," in Tennessee, in full posses- sion of all his faculties, and strong to the last in the ruling passion of his soul — love of country. The 4th of March, 1837, ushered in an- other Democratic administration — the be- ginning of the term of Martin Van Buren as President of the United States. In his inaugural address he commented on the prosperous condition of the country, and declared it to be his policy to strictly abide by the Constitution as written — no latitu- dinarian constructions permitted, or doubt- ful powers assumed ; that his political chart should be the doctrines of the demo- cratic school, as understood at the original formation of parties. The President, however, was scarcely settled in his new office when a financial panic struck tht; country with irresistible force. A general suspension of the banks, a depreciated currency, and insolvency of the federal treasury were at hand. The public money had been placed in the cus- tody of the local banks, and the notes of all these banks, and of all others in the coun- trv, were received in payment of public dues. On the 10th of "May, 1837, the banks throughout the country suspended specie payments. The stoppage of the de- posit banks was the stoppage of the Trea- sury, Non-payment by the government was an excuse for non-payment by others. The suspension was now complete ; and it was evident, and as good as admitted by those who had made it, that it was the effect of contrivance on the part of politi- cians and the so-called Bank of the United States (which, after the expiration of its national charter, had become a State cor- poration chartered by the Legislature of Pennsylvania in January, 1836) for the purpose of restoring themselves to power. The whole proceeding became clear to those who could see nothing while it was in progress. Even those of the democratic party whose votes had helped to do the mischief, could now see that the attemptto deposit forty millions with the States was destruction to the deposit banks ; that the repeal of President Jackson's order, known as the " specie circular " — requiring pay- ment for public lands to be in coin — was to fill the treasury with paper money, to be found useless when wanted ; that distress was purposely created to throw blame of it upon the party in power ; that the promptitude with which the Bank of the United States had been brought forward as a remedy for the distress, showed that it had been held in reserve for that ])urpose ; and the delight with which the whig party saluted the general calamity, showed that they considered it their own passport to power. Financial embarrassment and general stagnation of business diminished the current receipts from lands and customs, and actually caused an absolute deficit in the public treasury. In conse- quence, the President found it an inexora- ble necessity to issue his proclamation con- vening Congress in extra session. The first session of the twenty -fifth Con- gress met in extra session, at the call of the President, on the first Monday of Sep- tember, 1837. The message Avas a review of the events and causes which had brought about the panic ; a defense of the policy of the " specie circular," and a recommenda- tion to break off all connection with any bank of issue in any form ; looking to the establishment of an Independent Treasury, DEMOCRATS AND WHIGS. 37 and that the Government provide for the deficit in the treasury by the issue of treasury notes and by withholding the de- posit due to the States under the act then in force. The message and its recom- mendations were violently assailed both in the Senate and House by able and effec- tive speakers, notably by Messrs. Clay and "Webster, and also by Mr. Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts, who made a formal and elaborate reply to the whole document under thirty-two distinct heads, and recit- ing therein all the points of accusation against the democratic policy from the be- ginning of the government down to that day. The result was that the measures proposed by the Executive were in sub- stance enacted ; and their passage marks an era in our financial history — making a total and complete separation of Bank and State, and firmly establishing the principle that the government revenues should be receivable in coin only. The measures of consequence discussed and adopted at this session, were the graduation of price of public lands under the pre-emption system, which was adopt- ed ; the bill to create an independent Treasury, which passed the Senate, but failed in the House ; and the question of the re-charter of the district banks, the proportion for reserve, and the establish- ment of such institutions on a specie basis. The slavery question was again agitated in consequence of petitions from citizens and societies in the Northern States, and a memorial from the General Assembly of Vermont, praying for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and territories, and for the exclusion of future slave states from the Union. These peti- tions and memorials were disposed of ad- versely; and Mr. Calhoun, representing the ultra-Southern interest, in several able speeches, approved of the Missouri com- promise, he urged and obtained of the Senate several resolutions declaring that the federal government had no power to interfere with slavery in the States ; and that it would be inexpedient and impolitic to interfere, abolish or control it in the District of Columbia and the territories. These movements for and against slavery in the session of 1837-38 deserve to be no- ticed, as of disturbing effect at the time, and as having acquired new importance from subsequent events. The first session of the twenty-sixth Congress opened December, 1839. The organization of the House was delayed by a closely and earnestly contested election from the State of New Jersey. P'ive De- mocrats claiming seats as against an equal number of Whigs. Neither set was admit- ted until after the election of Speaker, which resulted in the choice of Robert M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, the Whig candi- date, who was elected by the full Whig vote with the aid of a few democrats — friends of Mr. Calhoun, who had for seve- ral previous sessions been acting with the Whigs on several occasions. The House excluding the five contested seats from New Jersey, was really Democratic ; hav- ing 122 members, and the Whigs 113 mem- bers. The contest for the Speakership was long and arduous, neither party adhering to its original caucus candidate. Twenty scattering votes, eleven of whom were classed as Whigs, and nine as Democrats, prevented a choice on the earlier ballots, and it was really Mr. Calhoun's Democrat- ic friends uniting with a solid Whig vote on the final ballot that gained that party the election. The issue involved was a vital party question as involving the or- ganization of the House. The chief mea- sure, of public importance, adopted at this session of Congress was an act to provide for the collection, safe-keeping, and dis- bursing of the public money. It practi- cally revolutionized the system previously in force, and was a complete and effectual separation of the federal treasury and the Government, from the banks and moneyed corporations of the States. It was violent- ly opposed by the Whig members, led by Mr. Clay, and supported by Mr. Cushing, but was finally passed in both Houses by a close vote. At this time, and in the House of Re- presentatives, was exhibited for the first time in the history of Congress, the pre- sent practice of members "pairin(j off," as it is called ; that is to say, two members of opposite political parties, or of opposite views on any particular subject, agreeing to absent themselves from the duties of the House, for the time being. The practice was condemned on the floor of the House by Mr. John Quincy Adams, who intro- duced a resolution: "That the practice, first openly avowed at the present session of Congress, of pairing off, involves, on the part of the members resorting to it, the violation of the Constitution of the United States, of an express rule of this House, and of the duties of both parties in the transaction, to their immediate consti- tuents, to this House, and to their coun- try." This resolution was placed in the calendar to take its turn, but not being reached during the session, was not voted on. That was the first instance of this justly condemned practice, fifty years after the establishment of the Government ; but since then it has become common, even in- veterate, and is now carried to great lengths. The last session of the twenty-sixth Con- gress was barren of measures, and neces^ sarily so, as being the last of our adminis- tration superseded by the popular voice, and soon to expire ; and therefore restric- ted by a sense of propriety, during the 38 AMERICAN POLITICS. brief remainder of its existence, to the de- tails of business and the routine of service. The cause of this was the result of the presidential election of 1840. The same candidates who fought the battle of 183G were again in the field. Mr. Van Buren was the Democratic candidate. His ad- ministration had been satisfactory to his jiarty, and his nomination for a second term was commended by the party in the different States in appointing their dele- gates ; so that the proceedings of the con- vention which nominated him were en- tirely harmonious and formal in their na- ture. Mr. Richard M. Johnson, the ac- tual Vice-President, was also nominated for Vice-President. On the Whig ticket, General William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, was the candi- date for President, and Mr. John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice-President. The lead- ing statesmen of the Whig party Avore again jjut aside, to make way for a milita- ry man, prompted by the example in the nomination of General Jackson, the men who managed presidential elections be- lieving then as now that military renown was a passport to popularity and rendered a candidate more sure of election. Availa- bility — for the purpose — was the only abili- ty asked for. Mr. Clay, the most promi- nent Whig in the country, and the ac- knowledged head of the party, was not deemed available; and though Mr. Clay was a candidate before the convention, tlic proceedings were so regulated that his nomination was referred to a committee, ingeniously devised and directed for the afterwards avowed purpose of prevenliiig his nomination and securing that of Gene- ral Harrison ; and of producing the intend- ed result without showing the design, and without leaving a trace behind to show what was done. The scheme (a modifica- tion of which has since been applied to subsequent national conventions, and out of which many bitter dissensions have again and again arisen) is embodied and was executed in and by means of the following resolution adopted by the convention : " Orde)-c(l, That the delegates from each State be requested to assemble as a delega- tion, and appoint a committee, not exceed- ing three in number, to receive the views and opinions of such delegation, and com- municate the same to the assembled com- mittes of all the delegations, to be by them respectively reported to their principals ; and that thereupon the delegates from each State bo requested to assemble as a delegation, and ballot for candidates for the offices of President and Vice-Presi- dent, and having done so, to commit the ballot designating the A'otes of each cand - date, and by whom given, to its commit- tee, and thereupon all the committees shall assemble and compare the several ballots, and report the result of the same to their several delegations, together with such facts as may bear upon the nomina- tion ; and said delegation shall forthwith re-assemble and ballot again for candidates for the above offices, and again commit the result to the above conanittees, and if it shall appear that a majority of the bal- lots are for any one man lor candidate for President, said committee shall report the result to the convention for its considera- tion ; but if there shall be no such majori- ty, then the delegation shall repeat the balloting until such a majority shall be obtained, and then report the same to the convention for its consideration. That the vote of a majority of eat h delegation shall be reported as the vote of that State; and each State represented here shall vote its full electoral vote by such delegation iu the committee." Ihis was a sum in poli- tical algebra, whose quotient was known, but the quantity unknown except to those who planned it ; and the result was — for General Scott, 16 votes; for Mr. Clay, 90 votes; for General Hnrrison, 148 votes. And as the law of the convcnti'^n implied- ly requires the absorption of all minorities, ihe 106 votes were swallowed up by the 148 votes and mr.de to count for General Hiirrison, presenting him as the unani- mity candidate of tl."? convention, and the defeated caniidates and all their friends bound to join in his support. And in this way tlie election of 1840 was effected — a process certainly not within the purview ol those Iramcrs of the constitution who supposed they were giving to the nation the choice of its own chiel magistrate. The contest before the people was a long and bitter one, the severest ever known in the country, up to that time, and scarcely equalled since. The whole Whig party and the large league of suspended banks, headed by the Bank of the United States making its last struggle for a new national charter in the efiort to elect a President friendly to it, were arrayed against the Democrats, whose hard-money policy and independent treasury schemes, met with little favor in the then depressed, condition of the country. Meetings were held in every State, county and town ; the people thoroughly aroused ; and every argument made in favor of the respective candidates and parties, wliieh could pos- sibly have any effect upon the voters. The danvass was a thorough one, and the elec- tion was carried for the AVhig candidates, who r^cc'ved 234 electoral votes coming from 1!) Siatc>s. The remaining 60 electo- ral votes of the other 9 States, were given to the Democratic candidate ; though the popular vote was not so unevenly divided; the actual figures being 1,275,611 for the Whig ticket, against 1,135,761 for the Democratic ticket. It was a -jomplete rout WHIGS AND DEMOCRATS— THE HOUR RULE. 39 of the Democratic party, but without the moral effect of victory. On March 4, 1841, was inaugurated as President, Gen'l Wm. H. Harrison, the first Chief Magistrate elected by the Whig party, and the first President who was not a Democrat, since the installation of Gen'l Jackson, March 4, 1829. His term was a short one. He issued a call for a special session of Congress to convene the 31st of May following, to consider the condition of the revenue and finances of the country, but did not live to meet it. Taken ill w'th a fatal malady during the last days of March, he died on the 4th of April follow- ing, having been in office just one month. He was succeeded by the Vice-President, John Tyler. Then, for the first time in our history as a government, the person elected to the Vice-Presidency of the United States, by the happening of a con- tingency provided for in tlie constitution, had devolved upon hin\ the Presidential office. The twcnty-?evcnth Congress opened in extra session at the call of the late Presi- dent, M IV 31, 1841. A Whig member- Mr. White of Kentucky — was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Whigs had a majority of forty-seven in the House and of seven in the Senate, and with the President and Cabinet of the same political party presented a harmony of aspect frequently wanting during the three previous administrations. The first measure of the new dominant party was the reneal of the independent treasury act passed at the previous session ; and the next in order were bills to establish a sys- tem of bankruptcy, and for distribution of public land revenue. The former was more than a bankrupt law ; it was practi- cally an insolvent law for the abolition of debts at the will of the debtor. It applied to all persons in debt, allowed them to institute the proceedings in the district where the petitioner resided, allowed con- structive notices to creditors in newspapers — ledared the abolition of the debt where effects were surrendered and fraud not proved ; and gave exclusive jurisdiction to the federal courts, at the will of the debtor. It was framed upon the model of the Eng- lish insolvent debtors' act of George the Fourth, and embodied most of the pro- visions of that act, but substituting a re- lease from the debt instead of a release from imprisonment. The bill passed by a close vote in both Houses. The land revenue distribution bill of this session had its origin in the fiict that the States and corporations owed about two hundred millions to creditors in Europe. These debts were in stocks, much depre- ciated by the fixilure in many instances to pay the accruing interest — in some in- ■tainces failure to provide for the principal. These creditors, becoming uneasy, wished the federal government to assume their dt bts. The suggestion was made as early as 1838, renewed in 1839, and in 1840 be- came a regular question mixed up with the Presidential eie^t / of that year, and openly engaging th3 active exertions of foreigners. Direct assumption was not urged ; indirect by giving the public land revenue to the States was the mode pur- sued, and the one recommended in the message of President Tyler. Mr. Calhoun spoke against the measure with more than usual force and clearness, claiming that it was unconstitutional and without warrant. Mr. Benton on the same side called it a squandering of the public patrimony, and pointed out its inexpediency in the de- pleted state of the treasury, apart from its other objectionable features. It passed by a party vote. This session is remarkable for the insti- tution of the hour rule in the House of Representatives — a very great limitatioa upon the freedom of debate. It was a \Vh'g measure, adopted to prevent delay in the enactment of pending bills. It was a rigorous limitation, frequently acting as a bar to profitable debate and checking members in speeches which really impart Information valuab'e to the House and the country. No doubt the license of debate has been frequently abused in Congress, as in all other deliberative assemblies, but the in essant use of the previous question, which cuts off all debate, added to the hour rule whiih limits a speech to sixty minutes (constantly reduced by interrup- tions) frequently results in the transaction of business in ignorance of what they are about by those who are doing it. The rule worked so well in the House, f )r the purpose for which it was devised — ■ made the majority absolute master of the body — that Mr. Clay undertook to have the same rule adopted in the Senate ; but the determined opposition to it, both by his political opponents and friends, led to the abandonment of the attempt in that chamber. Much discussion took place at this ses- sion, over the bill offered in the House of Representatives, for the relief of the widow of the late President — General Harrison — appropriating one year's salary. It was strenuously opposed by the Democratic members, as unconstitutional, on account of its j)rinciple, as creating a private pen- sion list, and as a dangerous precedent. Many able speeches were made against the bill, both in the Senate and House ; among. otlurs, the following extract from the speech of an able Senator contains some interestinir fncts. He said : " Look at the case of Mr. Jefferson, a man than whom no one that ever existed on God's earth were the human family more indebted to. 40 AMERICAN POLITICS. His furniture and his estate were sold to satisfy his creditors. His posterity was driven from house and home, and hisljones now lay in soil owned by a stranger. His family are scattered : some of his descend- ants are married in foreign lands. Look at Monroe — the able, the patriotic Monroe, whose services were revolutionary', whose blood was spilt in the war of Independence, whose life was worn out in civil service, and whose estate has been sold for debt, his family scattered, and his daughter buried in a foreign land. Look at Madi- son, the model of every virtue, public or private, and he would only mention in connection with this subject, his love of order, his economy, and his systematic regularity in all his habits of business. He, when his term of eight years had ex- pired, sent a letter to a gentleman (a son of whom is now on this floor) [Mr. Pres- ton], enclosing a note of five thousand dollars, which he requested him to en- dorse, and raise the money in Virginia, so as to enable him to leave this city, and re- turn to his modest retreat — his patrimonial inheritance — in that State. General Jack- son drew upon the consignee of his cot- ton crop in New Orleans for six thousand dollars to enable him to leave the seat of government without leaving creditors behind him. These were honored leaders of the republican party. They had all been Presidents. They had made great sacrifices, and left the presidency deeply embarrassed ; and yet the republican party who had the power and the strongest dis- position to relieve their necessities, felt they had no right to do so by appropri- ating money from the public Treasury. Democracy would not do this. It was left for the era of federal rule and federal supremacy — who are now rushing the country with steam power into all the abuses and corruptions of a monarchy, with its pensioned aristocracy — and to en- tail upon the country a civil pension list." There was an impatient majority in the House in favor of the passage of the bill. The circumstances were averse to delibera- tion — a victorious party, come into power after a heated election, seeing their elected candidate dying on the threshold of his administration, poor and beloved : it was a case for feeling more than of judgment, es- pecially with the political friends of the deceased — ^but few of whom could follow the counsels of the head against the impul- sions of the heart. The bill passed, and was approved ; and as predicted, it established a precedent which has since been followed in every similar ca,se. The subject of naval pensions received more than usual consideration at this ses- sion. The question arose on the discussion of the appropriation bill for that purpose. A diflFerence about a navy— on the point of how much and what kind — had always been a point of difference between the two great political parties of the Union, which, under whatsoever names, are always the same, each preserving its identity in prin- ciples and policy, but here the two parties divided upon an abuse which no one could deny or defend. A navy pension fund had been established under the act of 18^2, which was a just and proper law, but on the 3d of March, 1837, an act was passed entitled " An act for the more equitable distribution of the Navy Pension Fund." That act provided : I. That Invalid naval pensions should commence and date back to the time of receiving the inability, in- stead of completing the proof II. It ex- tended the pensions for death to all cases of death, whether incurred in the line of duty or not. III. It extended the widow's pensions for lii'e, when five years had been the law both in the army and navy. IV. It adopted the English system of pension- ing children of deceased marines, until they attained their majority. The effect of this law was to absorb and bankrupt the navy pension fund, a meri- torious fund created out of the government share of prize money, relinquished for that purpose, and to throw the pensions, arrears as well as current and future, upon the public treasury, where it was never in- tended they were to be. It was to repeal this act, that an amendment was intro- duced at this session on the bringing for- ward of the annual appropriation bill for navy ]iensions, and long and earnest were the debates upon it. The amendment was lost, the Senate dividing on party lines, the Whigs against and the Democrats for the amendment. The subject is instruc- tive, as then was practically ratified and re- enacted the pernicious practice authorized by the act of 1837, of granting pensions to date from the time of injury and not from the time of proof; and has grown up to such proportions in recent years that the last act of Congress appropriating money for arrears of pensions, provided for the payment of such an enormous sum of money that it would have appalled the original projectors of the act of 1837 could they have seen to what their system has led.' Again, at this session, the object of the tariff occupied the attention of Congress. The compromise act, as it was called, of 1833, which was composed of two parts — one to last nine years, for the benefit of manufactures ; the other to last for ever, for the benefit of the planting and con- suming inter&'it — was passed, as herein- before stated, in pursuance of an agree- ment between Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun and their respective friends, at the time the former was urging the necessity for a THE NATIONAL BANK BILL. 41 continuance of high tariff for protection and revenue, and the latter was presenting and justifying before Congress the nullifi- cation ordinance adopted by the Legisla- ture of South Carolina. To Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun it was a political necessity, one to get rid of a stumbling-block (which protective tariff had become) ; the other to escape a personal peril which his nullify- ing ordinance had brought upon him, and with both, it was a piece of policy, to enable them to combine against Mr. Van Buren, by postponing their own conten- tion ; and a device on the part of its author (Mr. Clayton, of Delaware) and Mr. Clay to preserve the protective system. It provided tor a reduction of a certain per centage each year, on the duties for the ensuing nine years, until the revenue was reduced to 20 per cent, ad valorem on all articles imported into the country. In consequence the revenue was so reduced that in the last year, there was little more than half what the exigencies of the govornment required, and different modes, by loans and otherwise, were suggested to meet the deficiency. The Secretary of the Treasury had declared the necessity of loans and taxes to carry on the govern- ment ; a loan bill for twelve millions had been passed; a tariff bill to raise fourteen millions was depending; and the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, Mr. Millard Fillmore, defended its necessity in an able speech. His bill proposed twenty per cent, additional to the existing duty on certain specified articles, sufficient to make up the amount wanted. This en- croachment on a measure so much vaunted when passed, and which had been kept inviolate while operating in favor of one of the parties to it, naturally excited complaint and opposition from the other, and Mr. Gilmer, of Virginia, in a speech against the new bill, said : " In referring to the compromise act, the true character- istics of that act which recommended it strongly to him, were that it contemplated that duties were to be levied for revenue only, and in the next place to the amount only necessary to the supply of the economi- cal wants of the government. He begged leave to call the attention of the committee to the principle recognized as the lan- guage of the compromise, a principle which ought to be recognized in all time to come b}' every department of the government. It is, that duties to be raised for revenue are to be raised to such an amount only as is necessary for an economical administra- tion of the government. Some incidental protection must necessarily be given, and he, for one, coming from an anti-tariff por- xtion of the country, would not object to j It. The bill went to the Senate where it found Mr Clay and Mr. Calhoun in posi- tions very different from what they occu- pied when the compromise act was passed — then united, now divided — then concur- rent, now antagonistic, and the antago- nism general, upon all measures, was to be special upon this one. Their connection with the subject made it their function to lead off in its consideration ; and their antagonist positions promised sharp en- counters, which did not fail to come. Mr. Clay said that he " observed that the Senator from South Carolina based his abstractions on the theories of books on English authorities, and on the arguments urged in favor of free trade by a certain party in the British Parliament. Now he, (Mr. Clay,) and his friends would not ad- mit of these authorities being entitled to as much weight as the universal practice of nations, which in all parts of the world was found to be in favor of protecting home manufactures to an extent sufficient to keep them in a flourishing condition. This was the whole difference. The Sena- tor was in favor of book theory and ab- stractions: he (Mr. Clay) and his friends, were in favor of the universal practice of nations, and the wholesome and necessary protection of domestic manufactures." Mr. Calhoun in reply, referring to his allusion to the success in the late election of the tory party in England, said : " The interests, objects, and aims of the tory party there and the whig party here, are identical. The identity of the two parties is remarkable. The tory party are the patrons of corporate monopolies ; and are not you ? They are advocates of a high tariff; and ore not you ? They are supjjort- ers of a national bank ; and are not you ? They are for corn-laws — laws oppressive to the masses of the people, and favorable to their own power; and are not you? Witness this bill. * * * The success of that party in England, and of the whig party here, is the success of the great money power, which concentrates the in- terests of the two parties, and identifies their principles." The bill was passed by a large majority, upon the general ground that the govern- ment must have revenue. The chief measure of the session, and the great object of the whig party — the one for which it had labored for ten years — was for the re-charter of a national bank. Without this all other measures would be deemed to be incomplete, and the victori- ous election itself but little better than a defeat. The President, while a member of the Democratic party, had been opposed to the United States Bank ; and to over- come any objections he might have the bill was carefully prepared, and studiously contrived to avoid the President's objec- tions, and save his consistency — a point upon which he was exceedingly sensitive. 42 AMERICAN POLITICS. The democratic members resisted strenu- ously, in order to make the measure odious, but successful resistance was impossible. It passed both houses by a close vote; and contrary to all expectation the President disapproved the act, but with such expres- sions of readiness to approve another bill which should be free from the objections which he named, as still to keep his party together, and to prevent the resignation of his cabinet. In his veto message the President fell back upon his early opinions against the constitutionality of a national bank, so often and so publicly expressed. The veto caused consternation among the whig members ; and Mr. Clay openly gave expression to his dissatisfaction, in the debate on the veto message, in terms to assert that President Tyler had violated his faith to the whig party, and had been led off from them by new associations. He said : " And why should not President Tyler have suffered the bill to become a law without his signature? Without meaning the slightest possible disrespect to him (nothing is further from my heart than the exhibition of any such feeling towards that distinguished citizen, long my per- sonal friend), it cannot be forgotten that he came into his present office under peculiar circumstances. The people did not foresee the contingency which has happened. They voted for him as Vice President. They did not, therefore, scrutinize his opinions with the care which they probably ought to have done, and would have done, if they could have looked into futurity. If the present state of the fact could have been anticipated — if at Harrisburg, or at the polls, it had been foreseen that General Harrison would die in one short month after the commencement of his administra- tion ; so that Vice President Tyler would be elevated to the presidential chair ; that a bill passed by decisive majorities of the first whig Congress, chartering a national bank, would be presented for his sanction ; and that he would veto the bill, do I hazard anything when I express the con- viction that he would not have received a solitary vote in the nominating convention, nor one solitarv electoral vote in any State in the Union?"" The vote was taken on the bill over again, as required by the constitution, and so far from receiving a two-thirds vote, it received only a bare majority, and was re- turned to the House with a message stating his objections to it, where it gave rise to some violent speaking, more directed to the personal conduct of the President than to the objections to the bill stated in his message. The veto was sustained ; and so ended the second attempt to resuscitate the old United States Bank under a new name. This second movement to establish the bauk has a secret history. It almost caused the establishment of a new party, with Mr. Tyler as its head ; earnest efforts having been made in that behalf by many promi- nent Whigs and Democrats. The entire cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Webster, resigned within a few days after the second veto. It was a natural thing for them to do, and was not unexpected. Indeed Mr. Webster had resolved to tender his resigna- tion also, but on reconsideration determined to remain and publish his reasons there- for in a letter to the National Intelligencer, in the following words : " Lest any misapprehension should ex- ist, as to the reasons which led me to differ from the course pursued by my late col- leagues, I wish to say that I remain in my place, first, because I have seen no sufficient reasons for the dissolution of the late Cabi- net, by the voluntary act of its own mem- bers. I am perfectly persuaded of the ab- solute necessity of an institution, under the authority of Congress, to aid revenue and financial operations, and to give the country the blessings of a good currency'and cheap exchanges. Notwithstanding what has passed, I have confidence that the Presi- dent will co-operate with the legislature in overcoming all difficulties in the attain- ment of these objects ; and it is to the union of the Whig party — by which I mean the whole party, the Whig President, the Whig Congress, and the Whig people — that I look for a realization of our wishes. I can look nowhere else. In the second place if I had seen reasons to resign my office, I should not have done so, without giving the President reasonable notice, and affording him time to select the hands to which he should confide the delicate and important affairs now pending in this de- partment." The conduct of the President in the matter of the vetoes of the two bank bills produced revolt against him in the party ; and the Whigs of the two Houses of Con- gress held several formal meetings to con- sider what they should do in the new con- dition of aflairs. An address to the people of the United States was resolved upon. The rejection of the bank bill gave great vexation to one side, and equal exultation to the other. The subject was not per- mitted to rest, however ; a national bank was the life — the vital principle — of the Whig party, without which it could not live as a party ; it was the power which was to give, them power and the political and financial control of the Union. A second attempt was made, four days after the veto, to accomplish the end by amend- ments to a bill relating to the currency, which had been introduced early in the session. Mr. Sargeant of Pennsylvania, moved to strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert his amendments, which were substantially the same as the vetoed THE SECOND BANK BILL. 43 bill, except changing the amount of capi- tal and prohibiting discounts on notes other than bills of exchange. The bill was pushed to a vote with astonishing rapidity, and passed by a decided majority. In the Senate the bill went to a select committee which reported it back without alteration, as had been foreseen, the committee consist- ing entirely of friends of the measure; and there was a majority for it on final passage. Concurred in by the Senate without alter- ation, it was returned to the House, and thence referred to the President for his approval or disapproval. It was disap- proved and it was promulgated in language intended to mean a repudiation of the President, a permanent separation of the Whig party from him, and to wash their hands of all accountability for his acts. An opening paragraph of the address set forth that, for twelve years the Whigs had carried on a contest for the regulation of the currency, the equalization of exchanges, the economical administration of the finan- ces, and the advancement of industry — all to be accomplished by means of a national bank — declaring these objects to be mis- understood by no one and the bank itself held to be secured in the Presidential elec- tion, and its establishment the main object of the extra session. The address then proceeds to state how these plans were frustrated : " It is with profound and poignant regret that we find ourselves called upon to in- voke your attention to this point. Upon the great and leading measure touching this question, our anxious endeavors to resjiond to the earnest prayers of the nation have been frustrated by an act as unlooked for as it is to be lamented. We grieve to say to you that by the exercise of that power in the constitution which has ever been regarded with suspicion, and often with odium, by the people — a power which we had hoped was never to be ex- hibited on this subject, by a Whig Presi- dent — we have been defeated in two at- tempts to create a fiscal agent, which the wants of the country had demonstrated to us, in the most absolute form of proof to be eminently necessary and proper in the present emergency. Twice have we with the utmost diligence and deliberation matured a plan for the collection, safe- keeping and disbursing of the public moneys through the agency of a corpora- tion a'lapted to that end, and twice has it been our fate to encounter the opposition of the President, through the application of the veto power. * * * \Ve are con- strained to sav that we find no ground to justify us in the conviction that the veto of the President has been interposed on this question solely upon conscientious and well-considered opinions of constitutional acruple as to his duty in the case presented. On the contrary, too many proofs have been forced upon our observatitm to leave us free from the apprehension that the Presi- dent has permitted him:^elf to be beguiled into an opinion that by this exhibition of his prerogative he might be able to divert the policy of his administration into a channel which should lead to new political combinations, and accomplish results which must overthrow the present divisions of party in the country ; and finally produce a state of things which those who elected him, at least, have never contemplated. * * * ^ * ^(, In this state of things, the Whigs will naturally look with anxiety to the future, and inquire what are the actual relations between the President and those who brought him into power; and what, in the opinion of their friends in Congress, should be their course hereafter. * * * The President by his withdrawal of confi- dence from his real friends in Congress and from the members of his cabinet ; by his bestowal of it upon others notwith- standing their notorious opposition to lead- ing measures of his administrations has voluntarily 6e])arated himself from those by whose exertions and suffi-age he was elevated to that office through which he has reached his present exalted station. * * -X- «• The consequence is, that those who brought the President into power can be no longer, in any manner or degree, justly held responsible or blamed for the administration of the executive branch, of the government; and the President and his advisers should be exclusively here- after deemed accountable. * * * The conduct of the President has occasioned bitter mortification and deep regret. Shall the party, therefore, yielding to .sentiments of despair, abandon its duty, and submit to defeat and disgrace ? Far from suffer- ing such dishonorable consequences, the very disappointment which it has unfor- tunately experienced should serve only to redouble its exertion.s, and to inspire it with fresh courage to persevere with a spirit unsubdued and a resolution unshak- en, until the prosperity of the country is fully re-established, and its liberties firmly secured against all danger from the abuses, encroachments or usurpations of the ex- ecutive department of the government.'' This was the manifesto, so far as it con- cerns the repudiation of President Tyler, which Whig members of Congress put forth: it was answered (under the name of an address to his constituents) by Mr. Cushing, in a counter special plea — coun- ter to it on all points — especially on the main question of which party the Presi- dent was to belong to ; the manifesto of the Whigs assigning him to the de- mocracy — the address of Mr. Cushing, claiming him for the Whigs. It was ea- 44 AMERICAN POLITICS. pecially severe on Mr. Clay, as setting up a caucus dictatorship to coerce the Presi- dent; and charged that the address em- anated from this caucus, and did not embody or represent the sentiments of all Whig leaders ; and referred to Mr. Webster's let- ter, and his remaining in the cabinet as proof of this. Put it was without avail against the concurrent statements of the retiring senators, and the confirmatory statements of many members of Congress. The Whig i)aity recoiled from the Presi- dent, and instead of the unity predicted by Mr. Webster, there was diversity and wide- spread dissension. The Whig party re- mained with Mr. Clay ; Mr. Webster re- tired, Mr. dishing was sent on a foreign mission, and the President, seeking to en- ter the democratic ranks, was refused by them, and lelt to seek consolation in pri- vacy, for his politital errors and omissions. The extra session, called by President Harrison, held under Mr. Tyler, domi- nated by Mr. Clay, commenced May 31, and ended tSept. 13, 1841 — and was replete with disappointed calculations, and nearly barren of permanent results. The pur- poses for which it was called into being, failed. The first annual message of Presi- dent Tyler, at the opening of the regular session in December, 1841, coming in so soon after the termination of the extra ses- sion, was brief and meagre of topics, with few points of interest. In the month of March, 1842, Mr. Henry Clay resigned his place in the Senate, and delivered a valedictory address to that body. He had intended this step upon the close of the previous presidential cam- paign, but had postponed it to take per- sonal charge of the several measures which would be brought before Congress at the special session— the calling of which he foresaw would be necessary. He resigned not on account of age, or infirmity, or dis- inclination for public life; but out of dis- gust — profound and inextinguishable. He had been basely defeated for the Presi- dential nomination, against the wishes of the Whig party, of which he was the ac- knowledged head — he had seen his leading measures vetoed by the President whom his party had elected — the downfall of the Bank for which he had so often pledged himself — and the insolent attacks of the petty adherents of the administration in the two Houses : all these causes acting on his proud and lofty spirit, induced this withdrawal from public life for which he was so well fitted. The address opened with a retrospect of his early entrance into the Senate, and a grand encomium upon its powers and dig- nity as he had found it, and left it. Mem- ory went back to that early year, 1806, when just past thirty years of age, he en- tered the United States Senate, and com- menced his high career — a wide and lumi- nous horizon before him, and will and talent to fill it. He said : " From the year 1806, the period of my entering upon this noble theatre of my public service, with but short intervals, down to the present time, I have been engaged in the service of my country. Of the nature and value of those services which I may have ren- dered during my long career of public life, it does not become me to speak. History, if she deigns to notice me, and posterity — if a recollection of any humble service which I may have rendered, shall be transmitted to posterity — will be the best, truest, and most impartial judges; and to them I defer for a decision upon their value. But, upon one subject, I may be allowed to speak. As to my public acts and public conduct, they are for the judg- ment of my fellow citizens; but my private motives of action — that which prompted me to take the part which I may have done, upon great measures during their progress in the national councils, can be known only to tlie Great Searcher of the human heart and myself; and I trust I shall be pardoned ior r(?peating again a declaration which I made thirty years ago: that whatever error I may have conuuitted — and doubtless I have committed many during my public service — I may appeal to the Divine Searcher of hearts for the truth of the declaration which I now make, with pride and confidence, that I have been actuated by no personal motives — that I have sought no personal aggrandize- ment — no promotion from the advocacy of those various measures on which I have been called to act — that I have had an eye, a single eye, a heart, a single heart, ever devoted to what appeared to be the best interests of the country." Mr. Clay led a great party, and for a long time, whether he dictated to it or not, and kept it well bound together, without the usual means of forming and leading parties. It was surprising that, without power and patronage, he was able so long and so undividedly to keep so great a party together, and lead it so unresistingly. He had great talents, but not equal to some whom he led. He had eloquence — superior in popular effect, but not equal in high oratory to that of some others. But his temperament was fervid, his will was strong, and his courage daring ; and these qualities, added to his talents, gave him the lead and supremacy in his yjarty, where he was always dominant. The farewell address made a deep impression upon the Senators present ; and after its close, Mr. Preston brought the ceremony to a conclu- sion, by moving an adjournment, which was agreed to. Again at this session was the subject of the tariff considered, but this time, as a WHIGS AND DEMOCRATS. 45 matter of absolute necessity, to provide a ' revenue. Never before were the coffers and the credit of the treasury at so low an ebb. A deficit of fourteen millions in the treasury — a total inability to borrow, either at home or abroad, the amount of the loan of twelve millions authorized the year before — the treasury notes below par, and the revenues from imports inadequate and decreasing. j The compromise act of 1833 in reducing the duties gradually through nine years, to a fixed low rate ; the act of 1837 in dis- tributing the surplus revenue ; and the continual and continued distribution of the land revenue, had brought about this condition of things. The remedy was sought in a bill increasing the tariff, and suspending the land revenue distribution. Two such bills were passed in a single month, and both vetoed by the President. It was now near the end of August. Con- gress had been in session for an unpre- cedentedly long time. Adjournment could not be deferred, and could not take place without providing for the Treasury. The compromise act and the land distribution were the stumbling-blocks: it was resolved to sacrifice them together; and a bill was introduced raising the duties above the fixed rate of twenty per cent., and that breach of the mutual assurance in relation to the compromise, immediately in terms of the assurance, suspended the land revenue distribution — to continue it sus- pended while duties above the compromise limit continued to be levied. And as that has been the case ever since, the distribu- tion of the land revenue has been sus- pended ever since. The bill was passed, and approved by the President, and Con- gress thereupon adjourned. The subject of the navy was also under consideration at this session. The naval policy of the United States was a question of party division from the origin of parties in the early years of the government^^the l^'ederal party favoring a strong and splendid navy, the Republican a moderate establishment, adapted to the purposes of defense more than of offense. And this line of division has continued. Under the Whig regime the policy for a great navy developed itself. The Secretary of the Navy recommended a large increase of ships, seamen and officers, involving a hea^•y expense, though the government was not in a condition to warrant any such expenditure, and no emergency required an increase in that branch of the public service. The vote was takes upon the in- wease proposed by the Secretary of the Navy and recommended by the President ; and it was carried, the veas and nays being well defined by the party line. The first session of the twenty-eighth i/ongress, which convened December 1843, exhibited in its political complexion, se- rious losses in the Whig following. The Democratic candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives, was elected over the Whig candidate — the vote standing 128 to 59. Thus an adverse majority of more than two to one was the result to the Whig party at the first election after the extra session of 1841. The President's message referred to the treaty which had lately been concluded with Great Britain relative to the northwestern territory ex- tending to the Columbia river, including Oregon and settling the boundary lines ; and also to a pending treaty with Texas for her annexation to the United States ; and concluded with a recommendation for the establishment of a paper currency to be issued and controlled by the Federal government. For more than a year before the meeting of the Democratic Presidential Conven- tion in Baltimore, in May 1844, it was evident to leading Democrats that Martin Van Buren was the choice of the party. To overcome this popular current and turn the tide in favor of Mr. Calhoun, who desired the nomination, resort was had to the pending question of the annexation of Texas. Mr. Van Buron was known to be against it, and Mr. Calhoun for it. To gain time, the meeting of the convention was postponed from December previous, which had been the usual time for holding such elections, until the following May. The convention met, and consisted of two hundred and sixty-six delegates, a decided majority of whom were for Mr. Van Buren, and cast their votes accordingly on the first ballot. But a chairman had been selected, who was adverse to his nf)mination ; and aided by a rule adopted by the convention, which required a concurrence of two-thirds to effect a nomination, the opponents of Mr. Van Buren were able to accomplish his defeat. Mr. Calhoun had, before the meeting of the convention, made known his determination, in a public address, not to suffer his name to go before that as- semblage as a candidate for the presidency, and stated his reasons for so doing, which were founded mainly on the manner in which the convention was constituted ; his objections being to the mode of choosing delegates, and the manner of their giving in their votes — he contending for district elections, and the delegates to vote indi- vidually. South Carolina was not repre- sented in the convention. After the first ballot Mr. Van Buren's vote sensibly de- creased, until finally, Mr. James K. Polk, who was a candidate for the Vice Presi- dency, was brought forward and nominated unanimously for the chief office. Mr. Geo. M. Dallas was chosen as his colleague for the Vice Presidency, The nomination of these gentlemen, neither of whom had 46 AMERICAN POLITICS. been mentioned until late in the proceed- ings of the convention, for the offices for which they were finally nominated, was a genuine surprise to the country. No voice in favor of it had been heard ; and no visible sign in the political horizon had announced it. The Whig convention nominated Henry Clay, for President ; and Theodore Fre- linghuysen for Vice-President. The main issues in the election which ensued, were mainly the party ones of Whig and Democrat, modified by the tariff and Texas questions. It resulted in the choice of the Democratic candidates, who received 170 electoral votes as against 105 for their opponents; the popular majority for the Democrats being 238,284, in a total vote of 2,834,108. Mr. Clay re- ceived a larger popular vote than had been given at the previous election for the Whig candidate, showing that he would have been elected had he then been the nominee of his party ; though the popular vote at this election was largely increased over that of 1840. It is conceded that the 36 electoral votes of New York State gave the election to Jlr. Polk. It was carried by a bare majority; due entirely to the Gubernatorial candidacy of Mr. Silas Wright, who had been mentioned for the vice-presidential nomination in connection with Mr. Van Buren, but who declined it after the sacrifice of his friend and col- league; and resigning his seat in the Senate, became a candidate for Governor of New York. The election being held at the same time as that for president, his name and popularity brought to the presi- dential ticket more than enough votes to make the majority that gave the electoral vote of the State to the Democrats. President Tyler's annual and last mes- sage to Congress, in December 1844, con- tained, (as did that of the previous year) an elaborate paragraph on the subject of Texas and Mexico ; the idea being the annexation of the former to the Union, and the assumption of her causes of grievance against the latter ; and a treaty was pend- ing to accomplish these objects. The scheme for the annexation of Texas was framed with a double aspect — one looking to the then pending presidential election, the other to the separation of the Southern States ; and as soon as the rejection of the treaty was foreseen, and the nominating convention had acted, the disunion aspect manifested itself over mf.ny of the South- ern States — beginning with South Carolina. Before the end of May, a great meeting took place at Ashley, in that State, to combine the slave States in a convention to unite the Southern States to Texas, if Texas should not be received into the Union ; and to invite the President to convene Congress to arrange the terms of the dissolution of the Union if the rejec- tion of the annexation should be perse- vered in. Responsive resolutions were adopted in several States, and meetings held. The opposition manifested, brought the movement to a stand, and suppressed the disunion scheme for the time being — only to lie in wait for future occasions. But it was not before the people only that this scheme for a Southern convention with a view to the secession of the slave States was a matter of discussion ; it was the subject of debate in the Senate ; and there it was further disclosed that the design of the secessionists was to extend the new Southern republic to the Califor- nias. The treaty of annexation was supported by all the power of the administration, but failed ; and it was rejected by the Senate by a two-thirds vote against it. Following this, a joint resolution waa early brought into the House of Repre- sentatives for the admission of Texas as a State of the Union, by legislative action ; it passed the House by a fair majority, but met with opposition in the Senate un- less coupled with a proviso for negotia- tion and treaty, as a condition precedent. A bill authorizing the President and a commissioner to be appointed to agree upon the terms and conditions of said admission, the question of slavery within its limits, its debts, the fixing of bounda- ries, and the cession of territory, was coupled or united with the resolution ; and in this shape it was finally agreed to, and became a law, with the concurrence of the President, March 3, 1845. Texas was then in a state of war with Mexico, though at that precise point of time an armistice had been agreed upon, looking to a treaty of peace. The House resolution was for an unqualified admission of the State; the Senate amendment or bill was for negotia- tion ; and the bill actually passed would not have been concurred in except on the understanding that the incoming Presi- dent (whose term began March 4, 1845, and who was favorable to negotiation) would act under the bill, and appoint commissioners accordingly. Contrary to all expectation, the outgoing President, on the last day of his term, at the instigation of his Secretary of State, Mr. Calhoun,'^ assumed the execution of the act providing for the admission of Texas — adopted the legislative clause — and sent out a special messenger with in- structions. The danger of this had been foreseen, and suggested in the Senate; but close friends of Mr. Calhoun, speaking for the administration, and replying to the suggestion, indignantly denied it for them, and declared that they would not have the " audacity" to so violate the spirit and in- ten't of the act, or so encroach upon the OREGON TREATY OF 1846. 47 rights of the new President. These state- ments from the friends of the Secretary and President that the plan by negotiation would be adopted, quieted tlie apjirehen- sion of those Senators opposed to legislative annexation or admission, and thus secured their votes, without which the bill would have failed of a majoritv. Thus was Texas incorporated into the Union. The legisla- tive proposition sent by Mr. Tyler was ac- cepted : Texas became incorporated with the United States, and in consequence the state of war was established between the United States and Mexico ; it only being a question of time and chance when the armistice should end and hostilities begin. Although Mr. Calhoun was not in favor of war with Mexico — he believing that a money payment would settle the differ- ences with that country — the admission of Texas into the Union under the legisla- tive annexation clause of the statute, was really his act and not that of the Presi- dent's; and he was, in consequence, after- wards openly charged in the Senate with being the real author of the war which followed. The administration of President Polk opened March 4, 1845 ; and on the same day, the Senate being convened for the purpose, the cabinet ministers were nomi- nated and confirmed. In December fol- lowing the 29th Congress was organized. The House of Representatives, being largely Democratic, elected the Speaker, by a vote of 120, against 70 for the Whig candidate. At this session the " Ameri- can" party — a new political organization — first made its appearance in the Na- tional councils, having elected six mem- bers of the House of Representatives, four from New York and two from Penn- sylvania, The President's first annual message had for its chief topic, the admis- sion of Texas, then accomplished, and the consequent dissatisfaction of Mexico; and referring to the preparations on the part of the latter with the apparent intention of declaring war on the United States, either by an open declaration, or by invading Texas. The message also stated causes which would justify this government in taking the initiative in declaring war — mainly the non-compliance by Mexico with the terms of the treaty of indemnity of April 11, 1839. entered into between that State and this government relative to injuries to American citizens during the previous eight years. He also referred to the fact of a minister having been sent to Mexico to endeavor to bring about a settle- ment of the differences between the na- tions, without a resort to hostilities. The message concluded with a reference to the negotiations with Great Britain relative to the Oregon boundary ; a statement of the finances and the public debt, showing the latter to be slightly in excess of seventeen millions; and a recommendation for a re- vision of the tariff, with a view to revenue as the object, with protection to home in- dustry as the incident. I At this session of Congress, the States of [ Florida and Iowa were admitted into the Union ; the former permitting slavery within its borders, the latter denying it. Long before this, the free and the slave States were equal in number, and the prac- tice had grown up — from a feeling of jealousy and policy to keep them evenly balanced — of admitting one State of each character at the same time. Numerically the free and the slave States were thus kept even : in political power a vast in- equality was going on — the increase of population being so much greater in the northern than in the southern region. The Ashburton treaty of 1842 omitted to define the boundary line, and permitted, or rather did not prohibit, the joint occu- pation of Oregon by British and American settlers. This had been a subject of dis- pute for many years. The country on the Columbia River had been claimed by both. Under previous treaties the American northern boundary extended " to the lati- tude of 49 degrees north of the equator, and along that parallel indefinitely to the west." Attempts were made in 1842 and continuing since to 1846, to settle this boundary line, by treaty with Great Britain. It had been assumed that we had a divid- ing line, made by previous treaty, along the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes from the sea to the Rocky mountains. The sub- ject so much absorbed public attention, that the Democratic National convention of 1844 in its platform of principles de- clared for that boundary line, or Avar as the consequence. It became known as the 54-40 pi ink, and was a canon of political faith. The negotiations between the gov- ernments were resumed in August, 1844. The Secretary of State, Mr. Calhoun, pro- posed a line along the parallel of 49 de- grees of north latitude to the summit of the Rocky mountains and continuing that line thence to the Pacific Ocean ; and l.e m-ade this proposition notwithstanding the fact that the Democratic party — to which he belonged — were then in a high state of exultation for the boundary of 54 degrees 40 minutes, and the presidential canvass, on the Democratic side, was raging upon that cry. The British Minister declined this pro- position in the part that carried the line to the ocean, but offered to continue it from the summit of the mountains to the Columbia River, a distance of some three hundred miles, and then follow the river to the ocean. This was declined by Mr. Calhoun. The President had declared in his inaugural address in favor of the 54-40 48 AMERICAN POLITICS. line. He was in a dilemma ; to maintain tliat position meant war with Great Britain ; to recede from it seemed impossible. The proposition lor the line of 41) degrees hav- ing been witlidrawn by tlie American gov- ernment on its non-acceptance by the Brit- ish, liad appeased the Democratic storm which had been raised against the Presi- dent. Congress had come together under the loud cry of war, in which Mr. Cass was the leader, but followed by the body of the democracy, and backed and cheered by the whole democratic newspaper press. Under the authority and order of Congress notice had been served on Great Britain which was to abrogate the joint occupation of the country by the citizens of the two powers. It was finally resolved by the British Government to propose the line of 49 degrees, continuing to the ocean, as originally offered by Mr. Calhoun ; and though the President was favorable to its acceptance, he could not, consistently with his previous acts, accept and make a treaty, on that basis. The Senate, with whom lies tlie power, under the constitu- tion, of confirming or restricting all trea- ties, being favorable to it, without respect to party lines, resort was had, as in the early practice of the Government, to the President, asking tlie advice of the Senate upon the articles of a treaty before negoti- ation. A message was accordingly sent to the Senate, by the President, stating the proposition, and asking its advice, thus shifting the responsibility upon that body, and making the issue of peace or war de- pend upon its answer. The Senate advised the acceptance of the proposition, and the treaty was concluded. The conduct of the Whig Senators, without whose votes the advice would not have been given nor the treaty made, was patriotic in preferring their country to their party — in preventing a war with Great I^ritain — and saving the administra- tion from itself and its party friends. The second session of the 29th Congress was opened in December, 1847. The President's message was chiefly in relation to the war with Mexico, which had been declared by almost a unanimous vote in Congress. Mr. Calhoun spoke against the declaration in the Senate, but did not vote upon it. He was sincerely opposed to the war, although his conduct had produced it. Had he remained in the cabinet, to do which he had not concealed his wish, he would, no doubt, have labored earnestly to have prevented it. Many members of Congress, of the same party with the ad- ministration, were extremely averse to the war, and had interviews with the President, to see if it was inevitable, before it was de- clared. Members were under the impression that the war could not last above three months. The reason for these impressions waa that an intrigue was laid, with the know- ledge of the Executive, for a peace, even before the war was declared, and a sj^ecial agent dispatched to bring about a return to Mexico of its exiled President, General Santa Anna, and conclude a treaty of peace with him, on terms favorable to the United States. And for this purpose Con- gress granted an appropriation of three millions of dollars to be placed at the dis- posal of the President, for negotiating for a boundary which should give the United States additional territory. "While this matter was pending in Con- gress, Mr. Wilmot of Pennsylvania intro- duced and moved a proviso, "' that no part of the territory to be acquired should he open to the introduction oj' slaverv/." It was a proposition not nece,-.sary for the pur- pose of excluding slavery, as the only ter- ritory to be acquired was tliat of New Mexico and California, where slavery waa already prohiliited by the Mexican laws and constitution. The proviso was there- fore nugatory, and only served to bring on a slavery agitation in the United States. For this purpose it wns seized upon by Mr. Calhoun and declared to be an outrage upon and menace to the slave-holding States. It occupied the attention of Con- gress for two sessions, and became the sub- ject of debate in the State Legislatures, several of which passed disunion resolu- tions. It became the watchword of party — the synonym of civil war, and the dissolu- tion of the Union. Neither party really had anything to fear or to hope from the adoption of the proviso — the soil was free, and the Democrats were not in a position to make slave territory of it, because it had just enunciated as one of its cardinal principles, that there was " no power in Congress to legislate upon slavery in Territo- ries." Never did tAvo political parties con- tend more furiously about nothing. Close observers, who had been watching the pro- gress of the slavery agitation since its inauguration in Congress in 1835, knew it to be the means of keeping up an agitation for the benefit of the political parties — the abolitionists on one side and the disunion- ists or nullifiers on the other — to accom- plish their own purposes. This was the celebrated Wilmot Proviso, which for so long a time convulsed the Union ; assisted in forcing the issue between the North and South on the slavery question, and almost caused a dissolution of the Union. The proviso was defeated ; that chance of the nullifiers to force the issue was lost; an- other had to be made, which was speedily done, bv the introduction into the Senate on the' 19th February, 1847, by Mr, Cal- houn of his new slavery resolutions, de- claring the Territories to be the comrnon property of the several States; denying TREATY OF PEACE WITH MEXICO. 49 the right of Congress to prohibit slavery in a Territory, or to pass any law which would have the effect to deprive the citi- zens of any slave State from emigrating with his property (slaves) into such Terri- tory. The iTitroduction of the resolutions was prefaced by an elaborate speech by Mr. Calhoun, who demanded an immediate vote upon them. They never came to a • vote ; they were evidently introduced for the mere purpose of carrying a question to the slave States on which they could be formed into a unit against the free States ; and so began the agitation which finally led to the abrogation of the Missouri Com- promise line, and arrayed the States of one section against those of the other. The Thirtieth Congres-^, which assem- bled for its first session in December, 1847, was found, so far as respects the House of Representatives, to be politically adverse to the administration. The Whigs were in the majority, and elected the Speaker; Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, being chosen. The President's message contained a full report of the progress of the war with Mexico ; the success of the American arms in that conflict; the vic- tory of Cerro Gordo, and the capture of the City of Mexico ; and that negotiations were then pending for a treaty of peace. The message concluded with a reference to the excellent results from the indepen- dent treasury sj'stem. The war with Mexico was ended by the signing of a treaty of peace, in February, 1848, by the terms of which New Mexico and Upper California were ceded to the United States, and the lower Rio Grande, from its mouth to El Paso, taken for the boundary of Texas. For the territory thus acquired, the United States agreed to pay to Mexico the sum of fifteen million dol- lars, in five annual installments; and be- sides that, assumed the claims of Ameri- can citizens against Mexico, limited to three and a quarter million dollars, out of and on account of which claims the war ostensibly originated. The victories achiev- ed by the American commanders. Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, during that war, won for them national reputa- tions, by means of which they were brought prominently forward for the Presidential succession. The question of the power of Congress to legislate on the subject of slavery in the Territories, was again raised, at this session, on the bill for the establishment of the Oregon territorial government. An amend- ment was offered to insert a provision for the extension of the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific Ocean ; which line thus extended was intended by the amendment to be permanent, and to apply to all future territories established in the West. This amendment was lost, but the bill was finally passed with an amendment incorporating into it the anti-slavery clause of the ordi- nance of 1787. Mr. Calhoun, in the Sen- ate, declared that the exclusion of slavery from any territory was a subversion of the Union ; openly proclaimed the strife be- tween the North and South to be ended, and the separation of the States accom- plished. His speech was an open invoca- tion to disunion, and from that time forth, the efibrts were regular to obtain a meet- ■ ing of the members from the slave States, to unite in a call for a convention of the slave States to redress themselves. He said: " The great strife between the North and the South is ended. The North is • determined to exclude the property of the slaveholder, and, of course, the slaveholder himself, from its territory. On this pointi there seems to be no division in the North. In the South, he regretted to say, there was some division of sentiment. The effect of this determination of the Northli was to convert all the Southern population into slaves ; and he would never consent to entail that disgrace on his posterity. . He denounced any Southern man whs would not take the same course. Gentle-- men were greatly mistaken if they sup- posed the Presidential question in the' South would override this more importanti one. The separation of the North and the South is completed. The South has now a most solemn obligation to perform — to herself — to the constitution — to the Union., She is bound to come to a decision -not . to permit this to go on any further, but to show that, dearly as she prizes the Union, there are questions which she regards as of greater importance than the Union. This is not a question of territorial govern- ment, but a question involving the con- tinuance of the Union;." The President, in approving the Oregon bill, took occa- sion to send in a special message, point- ing out the danger to- the Union from the progress of the slavery agitation, and urged an adherence to the principles of the ordi- nance of 1787 — the terms of the Missouri compromise of 1820 — as also that involved and declared in the Texas case in 1845, as the means of averting that danger. The Presidential election of 1848 was coming on. The Democratic convention met in Baltimore in May of that year; each State being represented in the con- vention by the number of delegates equal to the number of electoral votes it was en- titled to ; saving only New York, which sent two sets of delegates, and both were excluded. The delegates were, for the most part, members of Congress and office- holders. The two-thirds rule, adopted by the previous convention, was again made a law of the convention. The main ques- tion which arose upon the formation of the platform for the campaign, was the 50 AMERICAN POLITICS. doctrine advanced by the Southern mem- ' bers of non-interference with slavery in the States or in the Territories. Tlie can- didates of the party were, Lewis Cass, of Michigan, for President, and General Wm. O. Butler, of Kentucky, for Vice-Presi- dent. The Whig convention, taking advan- tage of the popularity of Genl. Zachary Taylor, for his military achievements in the Mexican war, then just ended; and his consequent availability as a candidate, nominated him for the Presidency, over Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster and General Scott, who were his competitors before the convention. Millard Fillmore was selected as the Vice- presidential candidate. A third convention was held, consisting of the disaffected Democrats from New York who had been excluded from the Baltimore convention. They met at Utica, New York, and nominated Martin Van Bnren for President, and Charles Francis Adams for Vice President. The princi- ples of its platform, were, that Congress should abolish slavery wherever it consti- tutionally had the power to do so — [which was intended to apply to the District of Columbia] — that it should not interfere with it in the slave States — and that it should prohibit it in the Territories. This party became known as " Free-soilers," from their doctrines thus enumerated, and their party cry of " free-soil, free-speech, free-labor, free-men." The result of the election, as might have been foreseen, was to lose New York State to the Baltimore candidate, and give it to the whigs, who were triumphant in the reception of 1G3 electoral votes for their candidates, against 127 for the democrats ; and none for ihe free-soilers. The last message of President Polk, in December following, gave him the oppor- tunity to again urge upon Congress the necessity for some measure to quiet the slavery agitation, and he recommended the extension of the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific Ocean, passing through the new Territories of California and New Mexico, as a fair adjustment, to meet as far as possible the views of .all parties. The President referred also to the state of the finances; the excellent condition of the public treasury; government loans, commanding a high premium; gold and silver the established currency ; and the business interests of the country in a pros- perous condition. And this was the state of affairs, only one year after emergency from a foreign war. It would be unfair not to give credit to the President and to Senator Benton and others equally promi- nent and courageous, who at that time had to battle against the bank theory and national paper money currency, as strongly urged and advocated, and to prove even- tually that the money of the Constitution — gold and silver — was the only currency to ensure a successful financial working of the government, and prosperity to the peo- ple. The new President, General Zachary Taylor, was inaugurated March 4, 1849. The Senate being convened, as usual, in extra session, for the purpose, the Vice President elect, Millard Fillmore, was duly installed; and the Whig cabinet officers nominated by the President, promptly confirmed. An additional member of the Cabinet was appointed by this administra- tion to preside over the new " Home De- partment " since called the "Interior," created at the previous session of Con- gress. The following December Congress met in regular session — the 31st since the or- ganization of the federal government. The Senate consisted of sixty members, among whom were Mr. Webster, Mr. Cal- houn, and Mr. Clay, who had returned to public life. The House had 230 members ; and although the whigs had a small ma- jority, the House was so divided on the slavery question in its various phases, that the election for Speaker resulted in the choice of the Democratic candidate, Mr. Cobb, of Georgia, by a majority of three votes. The annual message of the President plainly showed that he compre- hended the dangers to the Union from a continuance of sectional feeling on the slavery question, and he averred his deter- mination to stand by the Union to the full extent of his obligations and powers. At the previous session Congress had spent six months in endeavoring to frame a sat- isfactory bill providing territorial govern- ments for California and New Mexico, and had adjourned finally without accom- plishing it, in consequence of inability to agree upon whether the Missouri compro- mise line should be carried to the ocean, or the territories be permitted to remain as they were — slavery prohibited under the laws of Mexico. Mr. Calhoun brought forward, in the debate, a new doctrine — extending the Constitution to the territory, and arguing that as that instrument recog- nized the existence of slavery, the settlers in such territory should be permitted to hold their slave property taken there, and be protected. Mr. Webster's answer to this was that the Constitution was made for States, not territories; that it cannot operate anywhere, not even in the States for which it was made, without acts of Congress to enforce it. The proposed ex- tension of the constitution to territories, with a view to its transportation of slavery along with it, was futile and nugatoiy, without the act of Congress to vitalize slavery under it. The early part of the year had witnessed ominout movements — MR. CLAY'S COMPROMISE RESOLUTIONS. 51 nightly meetings of large numbers of mem- bers from the slave States, led by Mr. Calhoun, to consider the state of things between the North and the South. They appointed committees who prepared an address to the people. It was in this con- dition of things, that President Taylor ex- pressed his opinion, in his message, of the remedies required. California, New Mexico and Utah, had been left without governments. For California, he recom- mended that having a sufficient popula- tion and having framed a constitution, she be admitted as a State into the Union ; and for New Mexico and Utah, without mixing the slavery question with their territorial governments, they be left to ripen into States, and settle the slavery question for themselves in their State con- stitutions. With a view to meet the wishes of all parties, and arrive at some definite and permanent adjustment of the slavery ques- tion, Mr. Clay early in the session in- troduced compromise resolutions which were practically a tacking together of the several bills then on the calendar, provid- ing for the admission of California — the territorial government for Utah and New Mexico — the settlement of the Texas boun- dary — slavery in the District of Columbia — and for a fugitive slave law. It was seriously and earnestly opposed by many, as being a concession to the spirit of dis- union — a capitulation under threat of se- cession ; and as likely to become the source of more contentions than it proposed to quiet. The resolutions were referred to a special committee, who promptly reported a bill embracing the comprehensive plan of com- promise which Mr. Clky proposed. Among the resolutions offered, was the following : " Resolved, that as slavery does not exist by law and is not likely to be introduced into any of the territory acquired by the United States from the Republic of Mexi- co, it is inexpedient for Congress to pro- vide by law either for its introduction into or exclusion from any part of the said ter- ritory ; and that appropriate territorial governments ought to be established by Congress in all of the said territory, and assigned as the boundaries of the proposed State of California, without the adoption of any restriction or condition on the sub- ject of slavery." Mr. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, objected that the measure gave nothing to the South in the settlement of the question ; and he required the exten- sion of the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific Ocean as the least that he would be willing to take, with the specific recognition of the right to hold slaves in the territory below that line ; and that, be- fore such territories are admitted into the Union as States, slaves may be taken there from any of the United States at the option of their owner. Mr. Clay in reply, said : " Coming from a slave State, as I do, I owe it to myself, I owe it to truth, I owe it to the subject, to say that no earthly power could induce me to vote for a specific measure for the in- troduction of slavery where it had not be- fore existed, either south or north of that line. * * * If the citizens of those territories choose to establish slavery, and if they come here with constitutions es- tablishing slavery, I am for admitting them with such provisions in their consti- tutions ; but then it will be their own work, and not ours, and their posterity will have to reproach them, and not us, for forming constitutions allowing the institu- tion of slavery to exist among them." Mr. Seward of New York, proposed a renewal of the Wilmot Proviso, in the fol- lowing resolution : " Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than by conviction for crime, shall ever be allowed in either of said territories of Utah and New Mexico ; " but his resolution was re- jected in the Senate by a vote of 23 yeas to 38 nays. Following this, Mr. Calhoun had read for him in the Senate, by his friend James M. Mason of Virginia, his last speech. It embodied the points cov- ered by the address to the people, pre- pared by him the previous year ; the prob- ability of a dissolution of the Union, and presenting a case to justify it. The tenor of the speech is shown by the following ex- tracts from it: "I have. Senators, believed from the first, that the agitation of the sub- ject of slavery would, if not prevented by some timely and effective measure, end in disunion. Entertaining this opinion, I have, on all proper occasions, endeavored to call the attention of each of the two great parties which divide the country to adopt some measure to prevent so great a disas- ter, but without success. The agitation hag been permitted to proceed, with almost no attempt to resist it, until it has reached a period when it can no longer be disguised or denied that the Union is in danger. You have had forced upon you the great- est and gravest question that can ever come under your consideration : How can the Union be preserved ?***** Instead of being Aveaker, all the elements in favor of agitation are stronger now than they were in 1835, when it first commenced, while all the elements of influence on the part of the South are weaker. Unless something decisive is done, I again ask what is to stop this agitation, before the great and final object at which it aims — the abolition of slavery in the States — is consummated ? Is it, then, not certain that if something decisive is not now done to arrest it, the South will be forced to choose between abolition and secession ? Indeed 52 AMERICAN POLITICS. as events are now moving, it will not re- quire the South to secede to dissolve the Union. * * * * If the agitation goes on, nothing will be left to hold the States together except force." He answered the question, How can the Union be saved? with which his speech opened, by suggest- ing. " To provide for the insertion of a provision in the constitution, by an amend- ment, which will restore to the South in substance the power she possessed of pro- tecting herself, before the equilibrium be- tween the sections was destroyed by the action of the government." He did not state of what the amendment should con- .sist, but later on, it was ascertained from reliable sources that his idea was a dual executive — one President from the free, and one from the slave States, the consent of l)oth of whom should be required to all acts of Congress before they become laws. This speech of Mr. Calhoun's, is import- ant as explaining many of his previous ac- tions; and as furnishing a guide to those who ten years afterwards attempted to carry out practically the suggestions thrown out by him. Mr. Chiy's compromise bill was rejected. It was evident that no compromise of any kind whatever on the subject of slavery, under any one of its aspects separately, ] much less under all .put together, could possibly be made. There was no spirit of concession manifested. The numerous ] measures put together in Mr. Clay's bill were disconnected and separated. Each measure received a separate and inde- pendent consideration, and with a result which showed the injustice of the at- tempted conjunction ; for no two of them were passed by the same vote, even of the meml)crs of the committee which had even unanimously reported favorably upon them as a whole. Mr. Calhoun died in the spring of 1850 ; before the separate bill for the admission of California was taken up. His death took place at Washington, he having reached the age of G8 years. A eulogy upon him was delivered in the Senate by his colleague, Mr. Butler, of South Caro- lina. Mr. Calhoun was the first great ad- vocate of the doctrine of secession. He was the author of the nullification doc- trine, and an advocate of the extreme doc- trine of States Rights. He was an elo- quent speaker — a man of strong intellect. His speeches were plain, strong, concise, sometimes impassioned, and always severe. Daniel Webster said of him, that " he had the basis, the indispensable basis of all high characters, and that was unspotted integrity, unirapeached honor and char- acter ! " In July of this year an event took place which threw a gloom over the country. The President, General Taylor, contracted a fever from exposure to the hot sun at a cele- bration of Independence Day, from which he died four days afterwards. He was a man of irreproachable private character, undoubted patriotism, and established re- putation for judgment and firmness. His brief career showed no deficiency of poli- tical wisdom nor want of political training. His administration was beset with difficul- ties, with momentous questions pending, and he met the crisis with firmness and determination, resolved to maintain the Federal Union at all hazards. His first and only annual message, the leading points of which have been stated, evinces a spirit to do what was right among all the States. His death was a public calamity. No man could have been more devoted to the Union nor more opposed to the slavery agitation ; anlic mind from the one danger that now threat- ens the honor and interests of the country, and the subtlety of the Uni );i — slavery propagandism allied with disuiiionism. Let us not forget that it is not the want of generous sentiment, but of sufficient in- formation, that prevents the American peo- ple from being united in action against the aggressive policy of the slave power. Were these simple questions submitted to-day to the people of the United States : — Are you in favor of the extension of slavery ? Are you in favor of such extension by the aid or connivance of the federal government? And could they be permitted to record their votes in response, without embarrassment, without constraint of any kind, nineteen- twentieths of the people of the free States, and perhaps more than half of the people I of the slave States, would return a decided negative to both. Let us have faith in the people. Let us I believe, that at heart they are hostile to jl the extension of slavery, desirous that ' the territories of the Union be consecrated to free labor and free institutions ; and that they require only enlightenment as to the most effectual means of securing this end, to convert their cherished sentiment into a fixed principle of action. The times are pregnant with warning. That a disunion party exists in the South, no longer admits of a doubt. It accepts the election of Mr. Buchanan as affording time and means to consolidate its strength and mature its plans, which comprehend not only the enslavement of Kansas, and the recognition of slavery in all territory of the United States, but the conversion of the lower half of California into a slave State, the organization of a new slavery territory in the Gadsden purchase, the fu- ture annexation of Nicaragua and subju- gation of Central America, and the acqui- sition of Cuba ; and, as the free States are not expected to submit to all this, ultimate dismembei-ment of the Union, and the for- mation of a great slaveholding confeder- acy, with foreign alliances with Brazil and Russia. It may assume at first a moderate tone, to prevent the sudden alienation of its Northern allies ; it may delay the develop- ment of its plot, as it did under the Pierce administration ; but the repeal of the Mis- souri compromise came at last, and so will come upon the country inevitably the final acts of the dark conspiracy. When that hour shall come, then will the honest Dem- ocrats of the free States be driven into our ranks, and the men of the slave States who prefer the republic of Washington, Adams and Jefferson — a republic of law, order and liberty — to an oligarchy of slavehold- ers and slavery propagandists, governed by Wise, Atchison, Soule, and Walker, founded in fraud and violence and seeking aggran- dizement by the spoliation of nations, will bid God speed to the labors of the Repub- lican party to preserve liberty and the Union, one and inseparable, perpetual and all powerful. Washington, D. C, Nov. 27, 1856. Tlie Kansas Struggle. It was the removal of the interdiction against slavery, in all the territory north of 36'' 30,' by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise which gave legality to the struggle for Kansas, and it was the do<;- trine of popular sovereignty which gave an impartial invitation to both sides to en- ter the struggle. The aggressive men of both parties hurried emigrants to the Ter- ritory. Each accused the other of organ- ized efforts, and soon in the height of the excitement these charges were rather con- fessed than denied. A new question was soon evolved by the struggle, for some who entered from the South took their slaves with them. The Free State men now contended that sla- very w^as a local institution and confined to the States where it existed, and that it an emigrant passed into the territory with his slaves these became free. The South- ern view was, that slaves were recognized as property by the National Constitution ; that therefore their masters had a right to take them there and hold them under con- 72 AMERICAN POLITICS. stitutional guarantees, the same as any other property ; that to assert anything else would be to deny the equality of the States within their common territory, and degrade them from the rank of equals to that of interiors. This last proposition had such force that it would doubtless have received more general recognition if the North had not felt that the early compact dedicating the territories north of 36*^ 30' to freedom, had been violated. In answer to this proposition they therefore pro- claimed in their platforms and speeches, and there was no other logical answer, " that freedom was National, and slavery .Sectional." We cannot enter upon a full description of the scenes in Kansiis, but bloodshed and rapine soon followed the attempts of the opposing parties to get control of its government. What were called the " Bor- der Ruffians" by the Free State men, be- cause of active and warlike organization in Missouri and upon its borders, in the earlier parts of the struggle, seemed to have the advantage. They were supported by friends near at hand at all times, and warlike raids were frequent. The Free State men had to depend mainly upon New England for supplies in arms and means, but organizations were in. turn rapidly completed to meet their calls, and the struggle soon became in the highest degree critical. The pro-slavery party sustained the Territorial government appointed by the administration ; the anti-slavery party re- pudiated it, because of its presumed com- mittal to slavery. The election for mem- bers of the Territorial legislature had been attended with nmch violence and fraud, and it was claimed that these things prop- erly annulled any action taken by that body. A distinct and separate convention was called at Topeka to frame a State con- stitution, and the Free State men likewise elected their own Governor and Legisla- ture to take the place of those appointed by Buchanan, and when the necessary preliminaries were completed, they ap- plied for admission into the Union. After a long and bitter struggle Congress decided the question by refusing to admit Kansas under the Topeka Constitution, and by re- cognizing the authority of the territorial government. These proceedings took place during the session of 1856-7, which ter- minated immediately before the inaugura- ation of President Buchanan. At the beginning of Buchanan's admin- istration in 1857, the Republicans almost solidly faced the Democrats. There still remained part of the division caused by the American or Know-Nothing party, but its membership in Congress had already been compelled to show at least the ten- dency of their sentiments on the great question which was now rapidly dividing the two great sections of the Union. The result of the long Congressional struggle over the admission of Kansas and Nebras- ka was simply this : " That Congress was neither to legislate slavery into any Terri- tory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom ; but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States,"" and it was specially i^rescribed that wher the Territory of Kansas shall be admitted as a State, it shall be admitted into the Union with or without slavery as the con- stitution adopted should prescribe at the time of admission. This was, as it proved, but a temporary settlement on the principle of popular sovereignty, and was regarded at the time as a triumph of the views of Stephen A. Douglas by the friends of that great poli- tician. The more radical leaders of the South looked upon it with distrust, but the blood of the more excitable in both sections was rapidly rising toward fever heat, and the border men from the Free and Slave States alike were preparing to act upon a comjjromise which in effect in- vited a conflict. Tlie Presidential election in 1856 had singularly enough encouraged the more aggressive of both sections. Buchanan's election was a triumph for the South ; Fremont's large vote showed the power of a growing party as yet but partially or- ganized, and crippled by schisms which grew»out of the attempt to unite all ele- ments of opposition to the Democrats. The general plan of the latter was now changed into an attempt to unite all of the free-soil elements into a party organization against slavery, and from that time i'or- ward until its total abolition slavery was the paramount issue in the minds of the more aggressive men of the north. Lin- coln voiced the feelings of the Republi- cans when he declared in one of his Illi- nois speeches : — " We will, hereafter, speak for freedom, and against slavery, as long as the Consti- tution guaranties free speech ; until every- where, on this wide land, the sun shall shine, and the rain shall fall, and the wind shall blow upon no man who goes forth to unrequited toil." In the Congressional battle over the ad- mission of Kansas and Nebraska, Douglas was the most conspicuous figure, and the language which we have quoted from Buchanan's inaugural was the literal meaning which Douglas had given to his idea of "popular" or "squatter sover- eignty." Prior to the Kansas struggle the Free * President Buchanan's Inaugural Addrese. THE LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS DEBATE. 73 Boilers of the North had regarded Douglas as an ally of the South, and his admitted ambition for the Presidency gave color to this suspicion. He it was who reported and carried through Congress the bill for the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, a measure which at that time was thought to obstruct Southern designs in the territories of the great West, but this repeal proved in fact the first plain steps toward the free- dom of the territories. Having repealed that compromise, something must take its place, and what better than "popular sovereignty," thought Douglas. Terri- tories contiguous to the Slave States, or in the same latitude, would thus naturally revert to slavery ; while those farther north, and at that time least likely of early set- tlement, would be dedicated to freedom. There was a grave miscalculation just here. Slave-owners were not apt to change their homesteads, and could not with either profit or convenience carry their property to new lands which might or might not be fruitful in the crops best adapted to slave labor. Slave-owners were few in number compared with the free citizens of the North and the thousands of immigrants annually landing on our shores. People who had once moved from the New Eng- land or Middle States westward, were rather fond of it, and many of these swelled the tide which constantly sought homes in the territories ; and where these did not go in person their sons and daugh- ters were quite willing to imitate the early adventures of their parents. All these counted for the North under the doctrine of " popular sovereignty," and it was the failure of that doctrine to aid the South which from this time forward caused that section to mistrust the friendship of Douglas. No political writer has since questioned his motives, and we doubt if it can be done successfully. His views may have under- gone some change since 1850, and it would be singular if they had not ; for a mind as discerning as his could hardly fail to note the changes going on all about him, and no where more rapidly than in his own State. He thought his doctrine at least adapted to the time, and he stood bv it with rare bravery and ability. If it "had been accepted by the Republicans, it would have been fatal to their organization as a party. We doubt the ability of any party to stand long upon any mere com{)romise, made to suit the exigencies and avoid the dangers of the moment. It may be said that our government, first based on a con- federacy and then a constitution, with a system of checks and balances, with a di- vision of power between the people and ; the States, is but a compromise ; but the i assertion will not hold good. These things I were adopted because of a belief at the time that they were in themselves right, or as nearly right as those who participated in their adoption were given to see the right. There was certainly no attempt at a division of right and wrong, and the closest investigation will show nothing be- yond a surrender of power for the good of all, which is in itself the very essence and beginning of government. We have said that Douglas fought bravely for his idea, and every movement in his most remarkable campaign with • Lincoln for the U. S. Senate demonstrated the fact. The times were full of agitation and excitement, and these were increased when it became apparent that Buchanan's administration would aid the eifort to make Kansas a slave State. Douglas was the first to see that the application of ad- ministration machinery to his principle, would degrade and rob it of its fairness. He therefore resented Buchanan's inter- ference, and in turn Buchanan's friends sought to degrade him by removing him from the chairmanship of the Senate Com- mittee on Territories, the position which had given him marked control over all questions pertaining to the organization of territories and the admission of new States. Tlie Lincoln and Douglas Debate. The Senatorial term of Douglas was drawing near to its close, when in July, 1858, he left Washington to enter upon the canvass for re-election. The Republican State Convention of Illinois had in the month jjrevious met at Springfield, and nominated Abraham Lincoln as a candi- date for United States Senator, this with a view to pledge all Republican members of the Legislature to vote for him — a practice since gone into disuse in most of the States, because of the rivalries which it engenders and the aggravation of the dangers of de- feat sure to follow in the selection of a can- didate in advance. " First get your goose, then cook it," inelegantly describes the basic principles of improved political tac- tics. But the Republicans, particularly of the western part of Illinois, had a double purpose in the selection of Lincoln. He was not as radical as they, but he well re- presented the growing Republican senti- ment, and he best of all men could cope with Douglas on the stump in a canvass which they desired should attract the at- tention of the Nation, and give shape to the sentiment of the North on all questions pertaining to slavery. The doctrine of "popular sovereignty " was not acceptable to the Republicans, the recent repeal of the Missouri compromise having led them, or the more radical portion of them, to despise all compromise measures. The plan of the Illinois Republicans, if 74 AMERICAN POLITICS. indeed it was a well-settled plan, accom- plished even more than was anticipated, though it did not result in immediate suc- cess. It gave to the debate which followed between Lincoln and Douglas a world-wide celebrity, and did more to educate and train the anti-slavery sentiment, taken in connection with the ever-growing excite- ment in Kansas, than anything that could have happened. Lincoln's sjieech before the convention which nominated him, gave the first clear expression to the idea that there was an "irrepressible conflict" between freedom and slavery. Wm. H. Seward on October 25th following, at Rochester, N. Y., ex- pressed the same idea in these words : " It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States will sooner or later become either an entire slaveholding Na- tion, or an entirely free labor Nation." Lincoln's words at Springfield, in July, 1858, were : " If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could bet- ter judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise of putting an end to the slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. in my opinion it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. * A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dis- solved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the ■other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ulti- naate extinction ; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South." • Douglas arrived in Chicago on the 9th of July, and was warmly received by en- thusiastic friends. His doctrine of " pop- ular sovereignty " had all the attractions of novelty and apparent fairness. For months it divided many Republicans, and at one time the New York Ti-ibune showed indications of endorsing the position of Douglas — a fact probably traceable to the attitude of jealousy and hostility manifested toward him by the Buchanan administra- tion. Neither of the great debaters were to be wholly free in the coming contest. Douglas was undermined by Buchanan, who feared him as a rival, and by the more bitter friends of slavery, who could not see that the new doctrine was safely in their interest ; but these things were dwarfed in the State conflict, and those who shared such feelings had to make at least a show of friendship until they saw the result. Lincoln was at first handicapped by the doubts of that class of Republicans who thought " popular sovereignty " not bad Republican doctrine. On the arrival of Douglas he replied to Lincoln's Springfield speech ; on the 16th he spoke at Bloomiugton, and on the 17th, in the afternoon, at Springfield. Lincoln had heard all three speeches, and replied to the last on the night of the day of its delivery. He next addressed to Douglas the following challenge to debate : Chicago, July 24th, 1858. Hon. S. a. Douglas: — My Dear Sir: — AVill it be agreeable to you to make an ar- rangement to divide time, and address the same audience, during the present canvass? etc. Mr. Judd is authorized to receive your answer, and if agreeable to you, to en- ter into terms of such agreement, etc. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln. Douglas promptly accepted the chal- lenge, and it was arranged that there should be seven joint debates, each alternately opening and closing, the opening speech to occupy one hour, the reply one hour and a half, and the closing half an hour. They spoke at Ottawa, August 21st ; Free- port, August 27th ; Jonesboro', September 15th ; Charleston, September 18th ; Gales- burg, October 7th ; Quincy, October 13th ; and Alton, October 15th. We give in Book III of this volume their closing speeches in full. Great crowds attended, and some of the more enterprising daily journals gave pho- nographic repoils of the speeches. The enthusiasm of the North soon ran in Lin- coln's favor, though Douglas had hosts of friends ; but then the growing and the aggressive party was the Republican, and even the novelty of a new and attractive doctrine like that of " popular sovereignty" could not long divert their attention. The prize suspended in view of the combat- ants was the United States Senatorship, and to close political observers this was plainly within the grasp of Douglas by reason of an apportionment which would give his party a majority in the Legisla- ture, even though the popular majority should be twenty thousand against him — a system of apportionment, by the way, not confined to Illinois alone, or not pecu- liar to it in the work of any of the great par- ties at any period when party lines were drawn. Buchanan closely watched the fight, and it was charged and is still believed by the friends of the " Little Giant," that the THE LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS DEBATE. 75 administration secretly employed its pa- tronage and power to defeat him. Certain it is that a lew prominent Democrats de- serted the standard of Douglas, and that some of them were rewarded. In the heat of the battle, however, Douglas' Iriends were careless of the views of the adminis- tration. He was a greater leader than Buchanan, and in Illinois at least he over- shadowed the administration. He lacked neither money nor friends. Special trains of cars, banners, cannon, bands, proces- sions, were all supplied with lavish hands. The democracy of Illinois, nor yet of any other State, ever did so well before or since, and if the administration had been with him this enthusiasm might have spread to all other States and given his doctrine a larger and more glorious life. Only the border States of the South, how- ever, saw opportunity and glory in it, while the office-holders in other sections stood off and awaited results. Lincoln's position was different. He, doubtless, early realized that his chances for election were remote indeed, with the apportionment as it was, and he sought to impress the nation with the truth of his convictions, and this without other dis- play than the force of their statement and publication. Always a modest man, he was never more so than in this great battle. He declared that he did not care for the local result, and in the light of what tran- spired, the position was wisely taken. Douglas was apparently just as earnest, though more ambitious ; for he declared in the vehemence of the advocacy of his doctrine, that " he did not care whether slavery w;i.s voted up or voted down." Douglas had more to lose than Lincoln — a place which his high abilities had hon- »ored in the United States Senate, and \which intriguing enemies in his own party made him doubly anxious to hold. Beaten, and he was out of the field for the Presi- dency, with his enthroned rival a candi- date for re-election. Successful, and that rival must leave the field, with himself in direct command of a great majority of the party. This view must have then been presented, but the rapid rise in jjublic feel- ing made it in part incorrect. The calcu- lation of Douglas that he could at one and the same time retain the good will of all his political friends in Illinois and those of the South fiiiled him. though he did at the time, and until his death, better represent the majority of his party in the whole country than any other leader. At the election which followed the de- bate, the popular choice in the State as a whole was for Lincoln by 126,084 to 121,- 940 for Douglas; but the apportionment of 1850 gave to Douglas a plain majority of the Senators and Representatives.' At the Freeport meeting, August 27th, there were sharp questions and answers between the debaters. They were brought on by Lincoln, who, after alluding to some questions propounded to him at Ottawa, said : " I now propose that I will answer any of the interrogatories, upon condition that he will answer questions from me not ex- ceeding the same number, to which I give him an opportunity to respond. The judge remains silent ; I now say that I will an- swer his interrogatories, whether he an- swer mine or not, and that after I have done so I shall propound mine to him. " I have supposed myself, since the or- ganization of the Republican party at Bloomington in May, 1856, bound as a party man by the platforms of the party, there, and since. If, in any interrogatories which I shall answer, I go beyond the scope of what is within these platforms, it will be perceived that no one is responsible but myself. " Having said thus much, I will take up the judge's interrogatories as I find them printed in the Chicago Times, and answer them seriatim. In order that there may be no mistake about it, I have copied the interrogatories in writing, and also my answers to them. The first one of these interrogatories is in these words : Question 1. — I desire to know whether Lincoln to-day stands, as he did in 1854, in favor of the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law ? Ansicer. — I do not now, nor ever did, stand in favor of the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law. Q. 2, — I desire him to answer whether he stands pledged to-day, as he did in 1854, against the admission of any more slave States into the Union, even if the people want them ? A. — I do not now, nor ever did, stand pledged against the admission of any more slave States into the Union. Q. 3 — I want to know, whether he stands pledged against the admission of a new State into the Union, with such a Consti- tution as the people of the State may see fit to make ? A. — I do not stand pledged against the admission of a new State into the Union, with such a Constitution as the people of the State may see fit to make. Q. 4. — I want to know whether he stands to-day pledged to the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia ? A. — I do not stand to-day pledged to the abolition of slavery in the District of Co- lumbia. Q. 5. — I desire him to answer whether he stands pledged to the prohibition of the slave trade between the different States ? A. — I do not stand pledged to ])rohibi- tion of the slave trade between the different States. 76 AMERICAN POLITICS. Q. 6. — I desire to know whether he stands pledged to prohibit slavery in all the Territories of the United States, North as well as South of the Missouri Compro- mise line ? A. — I am impliedly, if not expressly, pledged to a belief in the right and duty of Congress to prohibit slavery in all of the United States' Territories. Q. 7. — I desire him to answer, whether he is opposed to the acquisition of any new territory, unless slavery is first prohibited therein ? A. — I am not generally opposed to honest acquisition of territory ; and in any given case, I would or would not oppose such ac- quisition, according as I might think such acquisition would or would not aggravate the slavery question among ourselves. "Now, my friends, it will be perceived upon an examination of these questions and answers, that so far, I have only an- swered that I was not pledged to this, that, or the other. The judge has not framed his interroga- tories to ask me anything more than this and I have answered in strict accordance with the interrogatories, and have answered truly, that I am not pledged at all upon any of the points to which I have an- swered. But I am not disposed to hang upon the exact form of his interrogatories. I am rather disposed to take up, at least some of these questions, and state what I really think upon them. " The fourth one is in regard to the abo- lition of slavery in the District of Colum- bia. In relation to that, I have my mind very distinctly made up. I should be very glad to see slavery abolished in the Dis- trict of Columbia. I believe that Congress possesses the constitutional power to abolish it. Yet, as a member of Congress, I should not, with my present views, be in favor of endeavoring to abolish slavery in the Dis- trict of Columbia, unless it should be upon these conditions : First, That the aboli- tion should be gradual ; Second, That it should be on a vote of a majority of quali- fied voters in the District; and Third, That compensation should be made to un- willing owners. With these three condi- tions, I confess I would be exceedingly glad to see Congress abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the lan- guage of Henry Clay, 'sweep from our Capital that foul blot upon our nation.' " _ I now proceed to propound to the judge the interrogatories, so far as I have framed them. I will bring forward a new in- stalment when I get them ready. I will bring now only four. The first one is : — 1. If the people of Kansas shall, by means entirely unobjectionable in all other respects, adopt a State Constitution and •isk admission into the Union under it beffire they have the requisite number of inhabitants, according to the English bill — some ninety-three thousand — will he vote to admit them? 2. Can the people of the United States Territory, in any lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the United States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the formation of a State Constitution ? 3. If the Supreme Court of the United States shall decide that States cannot ex- clude slavery from their limits, are you in ) favor of acquiescing in, adopting and fol- lowing such decision as a rule of political action ? 4. Are you in favor of acquiring addi- tional territory in disregard of how much acquisition may affect the nation on the slavery question? To these questions Mr. Douglas said: " In reference to Kansas, it is my opinion that, as she has population enough to con- stitute a slave State, she has people enough for a free State. I hold it to be a. sacred rule of universal application, to require a Territory to contain the requisite popula- tion for a member of Congress, before it is admitted as a State into the Union. 2. " It matters not what way the Supreme Court may hereafter decide, as to the ab- stract question whether slavery may or may not go into a Territory under the Constitution, the people have the lawful means to introduce it, or exclude it as they, please, for the reason that slavery cannot exist a day, or an hour, anywhere, unless it is supported by local police regulations. These police regulations can only be estab- lished by the local legislature, and if the people are opposed to slavery, they will elect representatives to that body, who will, by unfriendly legislation, effectually pre- vent the introduction of it into their midst. If, on the contrary, they are for it, their legislation will favor its extension. Hence, no matter what the decision of the Su- preme Court may be on that abstract question, still the right of the people to make a slave Territory or a free Terri- tory is perfect and complete under the Nebraska bill. " 3. The third question which Mr. Lin- coln presented is, if the Supreme Court of the United States shall decide that a State of this Union cannot exclude slavery from its own limits, will I submit to it? I am amazed that Mr. Lincoln should ask such a question. He casts an imputation upon the Su- preme Court of the United States by sup- posing that they would violate the consti- tution of the United States. I tell him that such a thing is not possible. It would be an act of moral treason that no man on the bench could ever descend to. Mr. Lincoln, himself, would never, in his par- tisan feelings, so far forget what was right as to be guilty of such an act. THE KANSAS STRUGGLE. 77 4, With our natural increase, growing with a rapidity unknown in any other part of the globe, with the tide of emigration that is fleeing from despotism in the old world, to seek refuge in our own, there is a constant torrent pouring into this coun- try that requires more land, more terri- ory upon which to settle, and just as fast xs our interests and our destiny require i\ additional territory in the North, in the ?outh, or on the Island of the Ocean, I am for it, and when we require it, will leave the people, according to the Nebraska bill, free to do as they please on the sub- ject of slavery, and every other ques- tion." The bitterness of the feelings aroused by the canvass and boldness of Douglas, can both be well shown by a brief abstract from his speech at Freeport. He had per- sisted in calling the Republicans " Black Republicans," although the crowd, the treat majority of which was there against im, insisted that he should say " iV/iite Republican." In response to these oft re- peated demands, he said :— "Now, there are a great many Black Republicans of you who do not know this thing was done. (''White, white, and great clamor)." I wish to remind you that while Mr. Lincoln was speaking, there was not a Democrat vulgar and black- guard enough to interrupt him. But I know that the shoe is pinching you. I am clinching Lincoln now, and you are scared to death for the result. I have seen this thing before. I have seen men make ap- pointments for discussions and the mo- ment their man has been heard, try to in- terrupt and prevent a fair hearing of the other side. I have seen your mobs before and defy your wrath. (Tremendous ap- plause.) " My fi'iends, do not cheer, for I need my whole time. " I have been put to severe tests. I have stood by my principles in fair weather and in foul, in the sunshine and in the rain. I have defended the great principle of self-government here among you when Northern sentiment ran in a torrent against ine, and I have defended that same great principle when Southern sentiment came down like an avalanche upon me. I was I not afraid of any test they put to me. I • knew I was right — I knew my principles were sound— fknew that the people would ; see in the end that I had done ri^ht, and , I knew that the God of Heaven would smile upon me if I was faithful in the per- formance of my duty." As an illustration of the earnestness of Lincoln's position we need only quote two paragraphs from his speech at Alton :— . ' Is slavery wrong? That is the real , ^8ue. That is the issue that will continue jin this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles — right and wrong — throughout the world. They are two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time ; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity, and the other the divine right of Kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, ' you work and toil, and earn bread, and I'll eat it.' No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a King who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and life by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.'' And again : — " On this subject of treating it as a wrong, and limiting its spread, let me say a word. Hits anything ever threatened the existence of this Union save and except this very institution of slavery ? What is it that we hold most dear among us ? Our own liberty and prosperity. What has ever threatened our liberty and prosperity save and except this institution of slavery ? If this is true, how do you propose to im- prove the condition of things? by enlarging slavery ? — by spreading it out and making it bigger? You may have a wen or cancer upon your person and not be able to cut it out, lest you bleed to death ; but surely it is no way to cure it, to engraft it and spread it over your whole body. That is no proper way of treating what you regard a wrong. You see this peaceful way of dealing with it as a wrong— restricting the spread of it, and not allowing it to go into new countries where it has not already existed. That is the peaceful way, the old-fashioned way, the way in which the fathers themselves set us the ex- ample." The administration of Pierce had left that of Buchanan a dangerous legacy. He found the pro-slavery party in Congress temporarily triumphant, it is true, and supported by the action of Congress in re- jecting the Topeka constitution and rec- ognizing the territorial government, but he found that that decision was not accep- table either to the majority of the people in the country or to a rapidly rising anti- slaA'ery sentiment in the North. Yet he saw but one course to pursue, and that was to sustain the territorial government, which had issued the call for the Lecompton con- vention. He was supported in this view by the action of the Supreme Court, which had decided that slavery existed in Kansas under the constitution of the United States, and that the people therein could only re- lieve themselves of it by the election of delegates who would prohibit it in the constitution to be framed by the Lecomp- 78 AMERICAN POLITICS. ton convention. The Free State men re- fused to recognize the call, made little, if any, preparation for the election, yet on the last day a number of them voted for State officials and a member of Congress under the Lecompton constitution. This had the effect of suspending hostilities be- tween the parties, yet peace was actually maintained only by the intervention of U. S. troops, under the command of Col. Sumner, who afterwards won distinction in the war of the rebellion. The Free State people stood firmly by their Topeka constitution, and refused to vote on ques- tions affecting delegates to the Lecompton convention. They had no confidence in Governor Walker, the appointee of Presi- dent Buchanan, and his proclamations passed unheeded. They recognized their own Governor Robinson, who in a message dated December 7th, 1857, explained and defended their position in these words : " The convention which framed the con- stitution at Topeka originated with the people of Kansas territorj-. They have adopted and ratified the same twice by a direct vote, and also indirectly through two elections of State officers and members of the State Legislatuie. Yet it has pleased the administration to regard the whole proceeding as revolutionary." The Lecompton convention, proclaimed by Governor Walker to be lawfully con- stituted, met for the second time, Sept. 4th, 1857, and proceeded to frame a constitu- tion, and adjourned finally Nov. 7th. A large majority of the delegates, as in the first, were of course pro-slavery, because of the refusal of the anti-slavery men to participate in the election. It refused to submit the whole constitution to the people, it is said, in opposition to the desire of President Buchanan, and part of his Cabinet. It submitted only the question of whether or not slavery should exist in the new State, and this they were required to do under the Kansas-Nebraska act, if indeed they were not required to submit it all. Yet such was the hostility of the pro-slavery men to submission, that it was only by three majority the proposition to submit the main question was adopted — a confession in advance that the result was not likely to favor their side of the con- troversy. But six weeks' time was also allowed for preparation, the election being ordered for Dec. 21st, 1857. Still another advantage was taken in the printing of the ballots, as, ordered by the convention. The method prescribed was to endorse the bal- lots, "Constitution with Slavery," and " Constitution with no Slavery, thus coni- pelling the voter, however adverse his views, as to other parts of the Constitution, to vote for it as a whole. As a consequence, (at least this was given as one of the rea- gons,) the Free State men as a rule refused to participate in the election, and the result as returned was 6,143 votes in favor of slavery, and 589 against it. The constitu- tion was announced as adopted, an election was ordered on the first Monday of Janu- ary, 1858, for State officers, members of the Legislature, and a member of Congress. The opponents of the Lecompton constitu- tion did not now refrain from voting, partly because of their desire to secure the repre- sentative in Congress, but mainly to secure an opportunity, as advised by their State officers, to vote down the Lecompton con- stitution. Both parties warmly contested the result, but the Free State men won, and with their general victory secured a large majority in the Legislature. The ballots of the Free State men were now headed with the words " Against the Lecompton Constitution," and they re- turned 10,226 votes against it, to 134 for it with slaverj', and 24 for it against slavery. This return was certified by J. W. Denver, " Secretary and Acting Governor," and ita validity was endorsed by Douglas in his report from the Senate Territorial Com- mittee. It was in better accord with hia idea of popular sovereignty, as it showed almost twice as large a vote as that cast under the Lecompton plan, the fairness of the return not being disputed, while that of the month previous was disputed. But their previous refusal to vote on the Lecompton constitution gave their oppo- nents an advantage in position strangely at variance with the wishes of a majority of the people. The President of that conven- tion, J. Calhoun, forwarded the document to the President with an official request that it be submitted to Congress. This was done in a message dated 2d February, 1858, and the President recommended the admission of Kansas under it. This mes.sage occasioned a violent debate in Congress, which continued for three months. It was replete with sectional abuse and bitterness, and nearly all the members of both Houses participated. It finally closed with the passage of the " Act for the admission of the State of Kansas into the Union," passed May 4th, 1858. This Act had been reported by a committee of conference of both Houses, and was passed in the Senate bv 31 to 22, and in the House by 112 to 103. There was a strict party vote in the Senate with the exception of Mr. Douglas, C. E. Stuart of Michigan, and D. C. Broderick of Cal- ifornia, who voted with the Republican minority. In the House several anti- Lecompton democrats voted with the Re- publican minority. These were Messrs. Adrian of New Jersey ; Chapman of Penn- sylvania ; Clark of New York ; Cockerill of Ohio ; Davis of Indiana ; Harris of Il- linois ; Haskin of New York ; Hickman of Pennsylvania; McKibben of California; THE KANSAS STRUGGLE. 79 Marshall ol' Illinois; Morgan of New York ; Morris, Shaw, and Smith of Illinois. The Americans who voted with the Repub- licans were Crittenden of Kentucky ; Davis of Maryland ; Marshall of Kentucky ; Ricaud of Maryland ; Underwood of Ken- tucky. A number of those previously classed as Anti-Lecompton Democrats voted against their colleagues of the same faction, and consequently against the bill. These were Messrs. Cockerill, Gwesheck, Hall, Lawrence, Pendleton and Cox of Ohio ; English and Foley of Indiana ; and Jones of Pennsylvania. The Americans who voted against the bill were Kennedy of Maryland ; Anderson of Missouri ; Eus- tis of Louisiana ; Gilmer of North Caro- lina; Hill of Georgia; Maynard, Ready and Zollicoffer of Tennessee; and Trippe of Georgia. Liecompton Constitution. The following are the political features of the Lecompton constitution : Article VII. — Slaray. Sec. 1 . The right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanc- tion, and the right of the owner of a slave to such slave and its increase is the same, and as inviolable as the right of the owner of any propei'ty whatever. Sec. 2. The legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of the owners, or without paying the owners previous to their emancipation a full equivalent in money for the slaves so emancipated. They shall have no j^ower to prevent emigrants to the .state from bringing with tliem such persons as are deemed slaves by the laws of any one of the United States or territories, so long as any person of the same age or description shall be continued in slavery by the laws of this state: Provided, That such person or slave be the bona fide property of such emigrants : And provided, also, That laws may be passed to prohibit the introduc- tion into this state of slaves who have committed high crimes in other states or territories. They shall have power to pass laws to permit the owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the rights of creditors, and preventing them from be- coming a public charge. They shall have power to oblige the owners of slaves to treat them with humanity, to provide for them necessary food and clothing, to ab- stain from all injuries to them extending to life or limb, and, in case of their neglect or refusal to comply with the direction of such laws, to have such slave or slaves sold for the benefit of the owner or owners. S"EC. 3. In the prosecution of slaves for crimes of higher grade than petit larceny, the legislature shall have no power to de- prive them of an impartial trial by a petit jury- Sec. 4. Any person who shall mali- ciously dismember, or deprive a slave of life, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted in case the like offence had been committed on a free white person, and on the like proof, except in case of insurrection of such slave. Free Negroes. Bill of Rights, Sec. 23. Free negroes shall not be allowed to live in this state under any circumstances. Article VIII. — Elections and Eights of Suffrage. Sec. 1. Every male citizen of the United States, above the age of twenty- one years, having resided in this state one year, and in the county, city, or town in which he may offer to vote, three months next preceding any election, shall have the qualifications of an elector, and be en- titled to vote at all elections. And every male citizen of the United States, above the age aforesaid, who may be a resident of the state at the time this constitution shall be adopted, shall have the right of voting as aforesaid ; but no such citizen or inhabitant shall be entitled to vote ex- cept in the county in which he shall actually reside at the time of the elec- tion. The Topeka Constitution. The following are the political features of the Topeka constitution : Slavery. i Bill of Bights, Sec. 6. There shall h^ no slavery in this state, nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime. Amendments to the Constitution. Sec. 1. All propositions for amend- ments to the constitution shall be made by the General Assembly. Sec. 2, A concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected to each house shall be necessary, after which such proposed amendments shall be again referred to the legislature elected next succeeding said publication. If passed by the second legislature by a majority of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, such amendments shall be republished as afore- said, for at least six months prior to the next general election, at which election such proposed amendments shall be sub- mitted to the people for their approval or <0 AMERICAN POLITICS. rejection ; and if a majority of the electors voting at such election shall adopt such amendments, the same shall become a part of the constitution. Sec. 3. When more than one amend- ment is submitted at the same time, they shall be so submitted as to enable the electors to vote upon each amendment separately. No convention for the forma- tion of a new constitution shall be called, and no amendment to the constitution shall be, by the general assembly, made before the year 1865, nor more than once in five years thereafter. Submisfiion of Constitution to the People. Schedule, Sec. 2. That this constitution shall be submitted to the people of Kansas for ratification on the 15th day of Decem- ber next. That each qualified elector shall express his assent or dissent to the constitution by voting a written or printed ticket, labelled "Constitution," or "No Constitution ;" which election shall be held by the same judges, and conducted under the same regulations and restric- tions as is hereinafter provided for the election of members of the general assembly. The Douglas Amendment. The following is the Douglas amend- ment, which really formed the basis of the bill for admission : " It being the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into any state or territory, nor to exclude it there- from, but to leave the ]jeople thereof per- fectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject onlv to the Constitution of the United -States." The bill which passed on the 4th of May wi^s known as the I^nglish bill, and it met the approval of Buchanan. To the measure was attached " a fundamental condition precedent," which arose from the fact that the ordinance of the convention accom- panying the constitution claimed for the new State a cession of the public lands six times greater than had been granted to other States, amounting in all to 23,500,- 000 acres. In lieu of this Congress pro- posed to submit to a vote of the people a proposition specifying the number of acres and the purposes for which the money arising from their sale were to be used, and the acceptance of this was to be followed by a proclamation that " thereafter, and without further proceedings from Congress the admission of the State of^ Kansas, into the Union, upon an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, shall be complete and absolute." The con- dition was never fulfilled, for the people at the election on the 2d of August, 1858, rejected it by a majority of 9,513, and Kan- sas was not admitted under the Lecomi^ton constitution. Finally, and after continued agitation, more peaceful, however, than that which characterized the earlier stages of the strug- gle, the territorial legislature of Kansas called an election for delegates to meet and form a constitution. They assembled in convention at Wyandot, in July, 1859, and reported a constitution prohibiting slavery. This was adopted by a majority exceeding 4000, and under it Kansas was admitted to the Union on the 29th of January, 1861. The comparative quiet between the re- jection of the English proposition and the adoption of the Wyandot constitution, was at one time violently disturbed by a raid made by John Brown at Harper's Ferry, with a view to excite the slaves to insur- rection. This failed, but not before Gov. Wise, of Virginia, had mustered his militia, and called for the aid of United States troops. The more radical anti-slavery men of the North were at first shocked by the audacity of an oflense which many looked upon as an act of treason, but the anxiety of Virginia to hang Brown and all his followers who had been captured alive, changed a feeling of conservatism in the North to one of sympathy for Brown and deeper hatred of slavery. It is but fair to say that it engendered hostility to the Union in the South. The right and wrong of slavery was thereafter more generally discussed than ever. The talent of the South favored it; while, with at least a large measure of truth it can be said that the talent of the North opposed it. So bitter grew the feeling that soon the churches of the sections began to divide, no other political question having ever be- fore disturbed the Union. We have not pretended to give a com- plete history of the Kansas trouble either in that State or in Congress, nor yet a fall history of the many issues raised on ques- tions which were but subsidiary to the main one of slavery. Our object is to show the relation of the political parties through- out that struggle, for we are dealing with the history of parties from a national view, and not with battles and the minor ques- tions or details of parliamentary struggles. The contest had cemented the Democrats of the South as it had the Republicans of the North ; it divided both the Democrats of the North and the Americans in all sections. John Bell, of Tennessee, and Sam Houston of Texas, recognized leaders of the Americans, had shown their sym- pathy with the new stand taken by Doug- las, as early as 1854. Bell, however, was less decided than Houston, and took his position with many qualifications. Hous- ton opposed even the repeal of the Mis- souri Compromise, and made the lastspeech THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 81 against it in the Senate. He closed with these words : " In the discharge of my duty I have acted fearlessly. The events of the future are left in the' hands of a wise Providence, and, in my opinion, on the decision which we make upon this question must depend union or disunion." These sentiments were shared by many Americans, and the great majority of them drifted into the Republican party. The Abolitionists from the beginning of the struggle, allied themselves with the Repub- licans, a few of their leaders proclaiming, however, that this party was not sufficiently advanced in its views. Tlie Charlestou Convention. Such was the condition of the parties when the Democratic national convention met at Charleston, S. C, on the 23d of April, 1860, it being then the custom of the Democratic party, as it is of all major- ity parties, to call its convention first. It was composed of delegates from all the thirty-three States of the Union, the whole number of votes being 303. After the ex- ample of former Democratic conventions it adopted the two-third rule, and 202 votes were required to make nominations for President and Vice-President. Caleb Cush- ing, of Mass., presided. From the first a radical difference of opinion was exhibited among the members on the question of slavery in the Territories. Almost the entire Southern and a minority of the Northern portion believed in the Dred Scott decision, and held that slave property was as valid under the constitution as any other class of property. The Douglas delegates stood firmly by the theory of popular sovereignty, and avowed their in- difference to the fact whether it would lead to the protection of slave property in the territories or not. On the second day a committee on resolutions consisting of one member from each State, selected by the State delegates, was named, and then a resolution was resolved unanimously "that this convention will not proceed to ballot I for a candidate for the Presidency until the [platform shall have been adopted." On f the fifth day the committee on resolutions I presented majority and minority reports. I' After a long discussion on the respective I merits of the two reports, they were both, [on motion of Mr.' Bigler, of Pennsylvania, ire-committed to the Committee on Reso- lutions, with a view, if possible, to promote harmony ; but this proved to be impracti- (Cable. On the sixth day of the Conven- tion (Saturdav, April 28th,) at an evening l»ession, Mr. Avery, of North Carolina, and Mr. Samuels, of Iowa, from the majority 6 and minority of the committee, again made opposite and conflicting reports on the question of slavery in the Territories. On this question the committee had divided from the beginning, the one portion em- bracing ' the fifteen members from the slaveholding States, with those from Cali- fornia and Oregon, and the other consist- ing of the members from all the free States east of the Rocky Mountains. On all other questions both reports substantially agreed. The following is the report of the major- ity made on this subject by Mr. Avery, of North Carolina, the chairman of the com- mittee: ^'Resolved, That the platform adopted by the Democratic party at Cin- cinnati be affirmed with the following ex- planatory resolutions : 1st. That the Gov- ernment of a Territory, organized by an act of Congress, is provisional and tempo- rarv, and during its existence all citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with their property in the Terri- tory, without their rights, either of person or property, being destroyed or impaired by Congressional or Territorial legislation. 2d. That it is the duty of the Federal Gov- ernment, in all its departments, to protect, when necessary, the rights of persons and property in the Territories, and wherever else its constitutional authority extends. 3d. That when the settlers in a Territory having an adequate population form a State Constitution, the right of sovereignty commences, and being consummated by admission into the Union, they stand on an equal footing with the people of other States, and the State thus organized ought to be admitted into the Federal Union whether its constitution prohibits or recog- nizes the institution of slavery." The following is the report of the minor- ity, made by Mr. Samuels, of Iowa. After re-affirming the Cincinnati platform by the first resolution, it proceeds: "Inas- much as differences of opinion exist in the Democratic party, as to the nature and ex- tent of the powers of a Territorial Legisla- ture, and as to the powers and duties of Congress, under the Constitution of the United States, over the institution of slavery within the Territories, Resolved, That the Democratic party will abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States upon questions of constitu- tional law." After some preliminary remarks, Mr. Samuels moved the adoption of the minor- ity report as a substitute for that of the majority. This gave rise to an earnest and excited debate. The difference be- tween the parties was radical and irrecon- cilable. The South insisted that the Cin- cinnati platform, whose true construction in regard to slavery in the Territories had always been denied by a portion of the Democratic party, should be explained and 82 AMERICAN POLITICS. settled by an express recognition of the principles decided by the Supreme Court. The North, on the other hand, refused to recognize this decision, and still main- tained the power to be inherent in the people of a Territory to deal with the question of slavery according to their own discretion. The vote was then taken, and the minority report was substituted for that of the majority by a vote of one hun- dred and sixty-five to one hundred and thirty-eight. The delegates from the six New England States, as well as from New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, fourteen free States, cast their entire vote in favor of the minority report. New Jersey and Pennsylvania alone among the free States east of the Rocky Mountains, refused to vote as States, but their delegates voted as individuals. The means employed to attain this end were skillfully devised by the minority of the Pennsylvania delegation in favor of nominating Mr. Douglas. The entire del- egation had, strangely enough, placed this power in their hands, by selecting two of their number, Messrs. Cessna and Wright, to represent the whole on the two most im- portant committees of the Convention — that of organization and that of resolu- tions. These gentlemen, by adroitness and parliamentary tact, succeeded in abrogat- ing the former practice of casting the vote of the State as a unit. In this manner, whilst New York indorsed with her entire thirty-five votes the peculiar views of Mr. Douglas, notwithstanding there was in her delegation a majority of only five votes in their favor on the question of Territorial sovereignty, the effective strength of Penn- sylvania recognizing the judgment of the Supreme Court, was reduced to three votes, this being the majority of fifteen on the one side over twelve on the other. The question next in order before the Convention was upon the adoption of the second resolution of the minority of the committee, which had been substituted for the report of the majority. On this ques- tion Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkan- sas, Texas, Florida, and Mississippi re- fused to vote. Indeed, it soon appeared that on the question of the final adoption of this second resolution, which in fact amounted to nothing, it had scarcely any friends of either party in the Convention. The Douglas party, without explanation or addition, voted against it. On the other hand, the old Democracy could not vote for it without admitting that the Supreme Court had not already placed the right over slave property in the Territories on the same footing with all other property, and therefore they also voted against it. In consequence the resolution was nega- .tived by a vote of only twenty-one in its favor to two hundred and thirty-eight. Had the seven Southern States just men- tioned voted, the negatives would have amounted to two hundred and eighty-two, or more than thirteen to one. Thus both the majority and the minority resolutions on the Territorial question were rejected, and nothing remained before the Conven- tion except the Cincinnati platform. At this stage of the proceedings (April 30th), the States of Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Tex- as, and Arkansas, having assigned their reasons for the act, withdrew in succession from the Convention. After these seven States had retired, the delegation Irom Virginia made an effort to restore har- mony. Mr. Russell, their chairman, ad- dressed the Convention and portrayed the alarming nature of the crisis. He ex- pressed his fears that we were on the eve of a revolution, and if this Convention should prove a failure it would be the last National Convention of any party which would ever assemble in the United States. " Virginia," said he, " stands in the midst of her sister States, in garments red with the blood of her children slain in the first outbreak of the 'irrepressible conflict.' But, sir, not when her children fell at mid- night beneath the weapon of the assassin, was her heart penetrated with so profound a grief as that which will wring it when she is obliged to choose between a sepa- rate destiny with the South, and her com- mon destiny with the entire Republic." Mr. Russell was not then prepared to answer, in behalf of his delegation, whether the events of the day (the defeat of the majority report, and the withdrawal of the seven States) were sufficient to justif\' her in taking the irrevocable step in question. In order, therefore, that they might have time to deliberate, and if they thought proper make an effort to restore harmony in the Convention, he expressed a desire that it might adjourn and afford them an opportunity for consultation. Tha Con- vention accordingly adjourned until the next day, Tuesday, May 1st ; and imme- diately after its reassembling the delega- tion from Georgia, making the eighth State, also withdrew. In the mean time the Virginia delega- tion had consulted among themselves, and had conferred with the delegation of the other Southern States which still remained in the Convention, as to the best mode ol restoring harmony. In consequence Mr. Howard, of Tennessee, stated to the Con- vention that " he had a proposition to pre- sent in behalf of the delegation from Ten- nessee, whenever, under parliamentar^• rules, it would be proper to present it." In this Tennessee was joined by Kentucky and Virginia. He should propose the fol- lowinsr resolution whenever it would be m THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 83 order : ' Resolved, That the citizens of the United States have an equal right to set- tle with their property in the Territories of the United States ; and that, under the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which we recognize as the correct exposition of the Constitution of the United States, neither the rights of person nor property can be destroyed or inpaired by Congressional or Territorial legislation.' '' On a subsequent day (May 3d), Mr. Rus- sell informed the Convention that this re- solution had, " he believed, received the approbation of all the delegations from the Southern States which remained in the Convention, and also received the ap- probation of the delegation from New York. He was informed there was strength enough to pass it when in order." Mr. Howard, however, in vain attempted to obtain a vote on his resolution. When he moved to take it up on the evening of the day it had been offered, he was met by cries of "Not in order," "Not in order." The manifest purpose was to postpone its consideration until the hour should arrive which had been fixed by a previous order of the Convention, in opposition to its first order on the same subject, for the balloting to commence for a Presidential candidate, when it would be too late. This the friends of Mr. Douglas accomplished, and no vote was ever taken upon it either at Charleston or Baltimore. Before the balloting commenced Mr. Howard succeeded, in the fiice of strong opposition, with the aid of the thirty-five votes from New York, in obtaining a vote of the Convention in re-affirmance of the two-thirds rule. On his motion thev re- solved, by 141, to 112 votes, " that the Pre- sident of the Convention be and he is here- by directed not to declare any person nominated for the oflSce of President or Vice-President, unless he shall have re- ceived a number of votes equal to two- thirds of the votes of all the electoral col- leges." It was well known at the time that this resolution rendered the regular nomination of Mr. Douglas impossible. The balloting then commenced (Tuesday evening, May 1st), on the eighth day of the session. Necessary to a nomination, under the two-thirds rule, 202 votes. .On the first ballot Mr. -Douglas received 145| votes ; Mr. Hunter, of Virginia, 42 ; Mr. Cxuthne, of Kentucky, 35}; Mr. Johnson, ot lennessee, 12 ; Mr. Dickinson, of New ^ork, 7; Mr. Lane, of Oregon, 6; Mr. loucey, of Connecticut, 21- ; Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, U, and Mr. Pearce, of Mary- land, 1 vote. The voting continued until May 3d during which there were fiftv-four addi- tional ballotings. Mr. Douglas never rose to more than 152 J, and ended in 151^ votes, 202 votes being necessary to a nomi- nation. Until 1824 nominations had been made by Congressional caucus. In these none participated except Senators and Demo- cratic States, and Representatives from Democratic Congressional districts. The simple majority rule governed in these caucuses, because it was morally certain that, composed as they were, no candidate could be selected against the will of the Democratic States on whom his election depended. But when a change was made to National Conventions, it was at once perceived that if a mere majority could nominate, then the delegates from Anti- Democratic States might be mainly instru- mental in nominating a candidate for whom they could not give a single electo- ral vote. Whilst it would have been harsh and inexpedient to exclude these States from the Convention altogether, it would have been unjust to confer on them a con- trolling power over the nomination. To compromise this diflaculty, the two-thirds rule was adopted. Under its operation it would be almost impossible that a candi- date could be selected, without the votes of a simple majority of delegates from the Democratic States. This was the argu- ment of its friends. It had now become manifest that it was impossible to make a nomination at Charleston. The friends of Mr. Douglas adhered to him and would vote for him and him alone, whilst his opponents, ap- prehending the effect of his principles should he be elected President, were equally determined to vote against his nomination. In the hope that some compromise might yet be effected, the Convention, on the motion of Mr. Russell, of Virginia, resolved to adjourn to meet at Baltimore on Monday, the 18th June ; and it was " re- spectfully recommended to the Democratic party of the several States, to make pro- vision for supplying all vacancies in their respective delegations to this Convention when it shall re-assemble." The Convention re-assembled at Balti- more on the 18th June, 1860, according tc its adjournment, and Mr. Cushing, the President, took the chair. Immediately after the reorganization of the Convention, Mr. Howard, of Tennes- see, offered a resolution, " that the Presi- dent of this Convention direct the ser- geant-at-arms to issue tickets of admission to the delegates of the Convention, as orig- inally constituted and organized at Charles- ton." Thus the vitally important question was distinctly, presented. It soon, how- ever, became manifest that no such reso- lution could prevail. In the absence of the delegates who had withdrawn at Charleston, the friends of Mr. Douglas constituted a controlling majority. Atth& 84 AMERICAN POLITICS. threshold they resisted the admission of the original delegates, and contended that by -n-ithdrawiug they had irrevocably re- signed their seats. In support of this po- sition, they relied upon the language of the resolution adjourning the Convention to Baltimore, which, as we have seen, "recommended to the Democratic party of the several States to make provision for supplying all vacancies in their respective delegations to this Convention, when it shall reassemble." On the other hand, the advocates of their readmission con- tended that a simple withdrawal of the delegates was not a final renunciation of their seats, but they were still entitled to reoccu]iy them, whenever, in their judg- ment, this course would be best calculated to restore the harmony and promote the success of the Democratic party ; that the Convention had no right to interjiose be- tween them and the Democracy of their respective States ; that being directly re- sponsible to this Democracy, it alone could accept their resignation ; that no such re- signation had ever been made, and their authority therefore continued in fiill force, and this, too, with the approbation of their constituents. In the mean time, after the adjournment from Charleston to Baltimore, the friends of Mr. Douglas, in several of these States, had proceeded to elect delegates to take the place of those who had withdrawn from the Convention. Indeed, it was manifest at the time, and has since been clearly proved by the event, that these delegates represented but a small minority of the party in their respective States. These new delegates, nevertheless,appeared and demanded seats. * After a long and ardent debate, the Convention adopted a resolution, offered by Mr. Church, of New York, and modi- fied on motion of Mr. Gilmore, of Penn- sylvania, as a substitute for that of Mr. Howard, to refer " the credentials of all persons claiming seats in this Convention, made vacant by the secession of delegates at Charleston, to the Committee on Cre- dentials." They thus prejudged the ques- tion, by deciding that the seats of these delegates had been made and were still vacant. The Committee on Credentials had been originally composed of one dele- gate from each of the thirty-three States, but the number was now reduced to twen- ty-five, in consequence of the exclusion of eight of its members from the States of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Car- olina, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. The committee, therefore, now stood 16 to 9 in favor of the nomination of Mr. Douglas, instead of 17 to 16 against it, according to its original organization. * From Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the eve of tka Rebellion, published by D. Appleton & Co., 1866. The committee, through their chairman, Mr. Krum, of Missouri, made their report on the 21st June, and Governor Stevens, of Oregon, at the same time presented a minority report, signed by himself and eight other members. It is unnecessary to give in detail these conflicting reports. It is sutficient to state that whilst the report of the majority maintained that the delegates, by with- drawing at Charleston, had resigned their seats, and these were still vacant ; that of the minority, on the contrary, asserted the right of these delegates to resume their seats in the Convention, by virtue of their original appointment. On the next day (June 22), the impor- tant decision was made between the con- flicting reports. Mr. Stevens moved to substitute the minority report for that of the majority, and his motion was rejected by a vote oi' IOO5 to 150. Of course no vote was given from any of the excluded States, except one half vote from each of the parties in Arkansas. The resolutions of the majority were then adopted in succession. Among other mo- tions of similar character, a motion had been made by a delegate in the majority to reconsider the vote by which the Con- vention had adopted the minority report, as a substitute for that of the majority, and to lay his own motion on the table. This is a common mode resorted to, ac- cording to parliamentary tactics, of de- feating every hope of a reconsideration of the pending question, and rendering the first decision final. Mr. Cessna with this view called for a vote on laying the motion to reconsider on the table. Should this be negatived, then the question of reconsideration would be open. The President stated the question to be first " on laying on the table the mo- tion to reconsider the vote by which the Convention refused to amend the majority report of the Committee on Credentials by substituting the report of the minority." On this question New York, for the first time since the meeting at Baltimore, voted with the minority and changed it into a majority. "When New York was called," says the report of the proceedings, " and re- sponded thirty-five votes" (in the nega- tive) "the response was greeted with loud cheers and applause." The result of the vote was 113.} to 138} — "so the Convention reftised to lay on the table the motion to reconsider the minority report." The Con- vention then adjourned until evening, on motion of Mr. Cochrane, of New York, amidst great excitement and confusion. This vote of New York, appearing to in- dicate a purpose to harmonize the party by admitting the original delegates from the eight absent States, was not altogether un- expected. Although voting as a unit, it THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 85 was known that her delegation were greatly divided among themselves. The exact strength of the minority was afterwards stated by Mr. Bartlett, one of its members, in the Breckinridge Convention. He said: " Upon all questions and especially upon the adoption of the majority report on cre- dentials, in which we had a long contest, the line was strictly drawn, and there were thirty on one side and forty on the other." The position of New York casting an un- divided vote of thirty-five, with Dean Rich- mond at their head, had been a controlling power from the commencement. Strong expectations were, therefore, now entertained that after the New York dele- gation had recorded their vote against a motion which would have killed the mi- nority report beyond hope of revival, they would now follow this up by taking the next step in advance and voting for its re- consideration and adoption. On the even- ing of the very same day, however, they reversed their course and voted against its reconsideration. They were then cheered by the opposite party from that which had cheered them in the morning. Thus the action of the Convention in favor of the majority report became final and conclu- sive. Mr. Cessna, of Pennsylvania, at once moved " that the Convention do now pro- ceed to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States." Mr. Russell rose and stated, " It has be- come my duty now, by direction of a large majority of the delegation from Virginia, respectfully to inform you and this body, that it is not consistent with their convic- tions of duty to participate longer in its deliberations." Mr. Lander next stated " that it became his duty, as one of the delegates from North Carolina, to say that a very large majority of the delegation from that State were compelled to retire permanently from this Convention, on account, as he conceived, of the unjust course that had been pursued toward some of their fellow-citizens of the South. The South had heretofore relied upon the Northern Democracy to give them the rights which were justly due them ; but the vote to-day had satisfied the majority of the North Carolina delegation that these rights were now refused them, and, this being the case, they could no longer re- main in the Convention." Then followed in succession the with- drawal of the delegations from Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, California, Oregon, and Arkansas. ' The Convention now ad- lourned at half-past-ten o'clock until the next morning at ten. Soon after the assembling of the Con- vention, the President, Mr. Gushing, whilst tendering his thanks to its members for their candid and honorable support in the performance of his duties, stated that not- withstanding the retirement of the delega- tions of several of the States at Charleston, in his solicitude to maintain the harmony and union of the Democratic party, he had continued in his post of labor. " To that end and in that sense," said he, " I had the honor to meet you, gentlemen, here at Baltimore. But circumstances have since transpired which compel me to pause The delegations of a majority of the States have, either in whole or in part, in one form or another, ceased to participate in the deliberations of the Convention. * * * In the present circumstances, I deem it a duty of self-respect, and I deem it still more a duty to this Convention, as at present organized, * * * to resign my seat as President of this Convention, in order to take my place on the floor as a member of the delegation from Massachu- setts. * * * I deem this above all a duty which I owe to the members of this Convention, as to whom no longer would my action represent the will of a majority of the Convention." Governor Tod, of Ohio, one of the Vice- Presidents, then took the vacant chair, and was greeted with hearty and long-continued cheers and applause from members of the Convention. Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts, now an- nounced that a portion of the Massachu- setts delegation desired to retire, but was interrupted by cries of "No," "No," " Call the roll." Mr. Cessna called for the original question, to wit, that thig Conven- tion now proceed to a nomination for Pres- ident and Vice-President. The President here ordered the Secre- tary to call the States. Maine, New Hamp- shire, and Vermont were called, and they gave an unbroken vote for Stephen A. Douglas. When Massachusetts was called, Mr. Butler rose and said he had a respect- ful paper in his hand which he would desire the President to have read. A scene of great confusion thereupon ensued, cries of " I object" being heard upon all sides. Mr. Butler, not to be baffled, contended for his right at this stage to make remarks pertinent to the matter, and cited in his support the practice of the Conventions at Baltimore in 1848 and 1852, and at Cin- cinnati in 1856. He finally prevailed, and was permitted to procee '. He then said he " would now withdra • from the Con- vention, upon the ground that there had been a withdrawal, in who ^ or in part, of a majority of the States; and further, which was a matter more pe 'sonal to him- self, he could not sit in a con-ontion where the African slave trade, which was piracy according to the laws of his country, was openly advocated." Mr. Butler then retired, followed by General Cushing and four others of the 86 AMERICAN POLITICS Massachusetts delegation. All of these had voted with the South aad against Douglas. The balloting now proceeded. Mr. Douglas received 173^ votes; Mr. Guthrie 9 ; Mr. Breckinridge 63 ; Mr. Bocock and Mr. Seymour each 1 ; and Mr. Dickerson and Mr. Wise each half a vote. On the next and last ballot Mr. Douglas received 181 J votes, eight of those in the minority having changed their votes in his favor. To account for this number, it is proper to state that a few delegates from five of the eight States which had withdrawn still remained in the Convention. On the last ballot Mr. Douglas received all of their votes, to wit : 3 of the 15 votes of Virginia, 1 of the 10 votes of North Carolina, li of the 3 votes of Arkansas, 3 of the 12 votes of Tennessee, 3 of the 12 votes of Ken- tucky, and 2-1 of the 8 votes of Maryland, making in the aggregate 14 votes. To this number may be added the 9 votes of the new delegates from Alabama and the 6 from Louisiana, which had been admitted to the exclusion of the original dele- gates. Mr. Douglas was accordingly declared to be the regular nominee of the Democra- tic party of the Union, upon the motion of Mr. Church, of New York, when, accord- ing to the report of the proceedings, " The whole body rose to its feet, hats were waved in the air, and many tossed aloft ; shouts, screams, and yells, and every boisterous mode of expressing approbation and unanimity, were resorted to." Senator Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, was then unanimously nominated as the candidate for Vice-President ; and the Convention adjourned sine die on the 23d June, the sixth and last day of its ses- sion. On the same day, but after the ad- journment, IVIr. Fitzpatrick declined the nomination, and it was immediately con- ferred on Mr. Herschel V. Johnson, of Georgia, by the Executive Committee. Thus ended the Douglas Convention. But another Convention assembled at Baltimore on the same 23d June, styling itself the " National Democratic Conven- tion." It was composed chiefly of the delegates who had just withdrawn from the Douglas Convention, and the original delegates from Alabama and Louisiana. One of their first acts was to abrogate the two-third rule, as had been done by the Douglas Convention. Both acted under the same necessity, because the preserva- tion of this rule would have prevented a nomination by either. Mr. Cushing was elected and took the chair as President. In his opening ad- dress he said : " Gentlemen of the Con- vention, we assemble here, delegates to the National Democratic Convention, duly accredited thereto from more than twenty States of the Union, for the purpose of nominating candidates of the Democratic party for the offices of President and Vice- President of the United States, for the purpose of announcing the principles of the party, and for the purpose of continu- ing and re-establishing that party upon the firm foundations of the Constitution, the Union, and the coequal rights of the several States," Mr. Avery, of North Carolina, who had reported the majority resolutions at Charleston, now reported the same from the committee of this body, and they "were adopted unanimously, amid great applause." The Convention then proceeded to select their candidates. Mr. Loring, on behalf of the delegates from Massachusetts, who with Mr. Butler had retired from the Douglas Convention, nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, which Mr. Dent, representing the Pennsylvania dele- gation present, " most heartily seconded." Mr. Ward, from the Alabama delegation, nominated E. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia; Mr. Ewing, from that of Tennessee, nomi- nated Mr. Dickinson, of New York ; and Mr. Stevens, from Oregon, nominated General Joseph Lane. Eventually all these names were withdrawn except that of Mr. Breckinridge, and he received the nomination by a unanimous vote. The whole number of votes cast in his favor from twenty States was 1032. General Lane was unanimously nomi- nated as the candidate for Vice-President. Thus terminated the Breckinridge Conven- tion. Tlie Chicago Republican Coinventlon. The Republicans had named May 16th, 1860, as the date and Chicago as the place for holding their second National Conven- tion. They had been greatly encouraged by the vote for Fremont and Dayton, and, what had now become apparent as an ir- reconcilable division of the Democracy, encouraged them in the belief that they could elect their candidates. Those of the great West were especially enthusiastic, and had contributed freely to the erection of an immense " Wigwam," capable of holding ten thousand people, at Chicago. All the Northern States were fully repre- sented, and there were besides partial de- legations from Delaware, Maryland, Ken- tucky, Missouri and Virginia, with occa- sional delegates from other Slave States, there being none, however, from the Gulf States. David Wilmot, of Penna., author of the Wilmot proviso, was made tempo- rary chairman, and George Ashman, ot Mass., permanent President. No differ- ences were excited by the report of the com- mittee on platform, and the proceedings THE AMERICAN CONVENTION. 87 throughout were characterized by great harmony, though there was a somewhat sharp contest for the Presidential nomina- tion. The prominent candidates were Wm. H. Seward, of New York ; Abraham Lin- coln, of Illinois ; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio ; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, and Edward Bates, of Missouri, There were three ballots, Mr. Lincoln receiving in the last 354 out of 446 votes. Mr. Sew- ard led the vote at the beginning, but he was strongly opposed by gentlemen in his own State as prominent as Horace Greeley and Thurlow Weed, and his nomination was thought to be inexpedient. Lincoln's successful debate with Douglas was still fresh in the minds of the delegates, and every addition to his vote so heightened the enthusiasm that the convention was finally carried "off its feet," the delegations rapidly changing on the last ballot. Lin- coln had been a known candidate but a month or two before, while Seward's name had been everywhere canvassed, and where opposed in the Eastern and Middle States, it was mainly because of the belief that his views on slavery were too radical. He was more strongly favored by the Abolition branch of the party than any other candi- didate. When the news of his success was first conveyed to Mr. Lincoln he was sit- ting in the office of the State Journal, at Springfield, which was connected by a telegraph wire with the Wigwam. On the close of the third ballot a despatch was handed Mr. Lincoln. He read it in silence, and then announcing the result said: " There is a little woman down at our house would like to hear this — I'll go down and tell her," and he started amid the ahouts of personal admirers. Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, was nominated for Vice- President with much unanimity, and the Chicago Convention closed its work in a single day. The American Couveiitlou. A " Constitutional Union," really an American Convention, had met at Balti- more on the 9th of May. Twenty States were represented, and John Bell, of Ten- HMsee, and Edward Everett, of Massachu- ."5e";ts, were named for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency. Their friends, though known to be less in number than either those of Douglas, Lincoln or Breckinridge, yet made a vigorous canvass in the hope that the election would be thrown into the House, and that there a compromise in the vote by States would naturally turn toward their candidates. The result of the great contest is elsewhere given in our Tabulated History of Politics. THE PRINCIPLES INVOLVED, Lincoln received large majorities in nearly all of the free States, his popular vote being 1,866,452; electoral vote, 180. Douglas was next in the popular estimate, receiving 1,375,157 votes, with but 12 elec- tors. Breckinridge had 847,953 votes, with 76 electors ; Bell, with 570,631 vot^s, had 39 electors. The principles involved in the contro- versy are given at length in the Book of Platforms, and were briefly these: The Republican party asserted that slavery should not be extended to the territories ; that it could exist only by virtue of local and positive law ; that freedom was na- tional ; that slavery was morally wrong, and the nation should at least anticipate its gradual extinction. The Douglas wing of the Democratic party adhered to the doctrine of popular sovereignty, and claimed that in its exercise in the terri- tories they were indifferent whether slavery was voted up or down. The Breckinridge wing of the Democratic party asserted both the moral and legal right to hold slaves, and to carry them to the territories, and that no power save the national constitu- tion could prohibit or interfere with it out- side of State lines. The Americans sup- porting Bell, adhered to their peculiar doctrines touching emigration and natural- ization, but had abandoned, in most of the States, the secrecy and oaths of the Know- Nothing order. They were evasive and non-committal on the slavery question. Preparing for Secession. Secession, up to this time, had not been regarded as treasonable in all sections and at all times. As shown in many previous pages, it had been threatened by the Hart- ford Convention ; certainly by some of the people of New England who oijposed the war of 1812. Some of the more extreme Abolitionists had favored a division of the sections. The South, particularly the Gulf States, had encouraged a secret organiza- tion, known as the " Order of the Lone Star," previous to and at the time of the annexation of Texas. One of its objects was to acquire Cuba, so as to extend slave territory. The Gulf States needed more slaves, and though the law made partici- pancy in the slave trade piracy, many car- goes had been landed in parts of the Gulf without protest or prosecution, just prior to the election of 1.S60. Calhoun had threatened, thirty years before, nullifica- tion, and before that again, secession in the event of the passage of the Public Land Bill. Jefferson and Madison had indicated that doctrine of State Rights on which secession was based in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1798, facts which were daily discussed by the people of the South during this most exciting of all Presidential campaigns. The leaders in the South had anticipated defeat at the election, and manv of them 88 AMERICAN POLITICS. made early preparations for the withdrawal of their States from the Union. Some of the more extreme anti-slavery men of the North, noting these prei)arations, for a time favored a plan of letting the South go in peace. South Carolina was the first to adopt a secession ordinance, and before it did so, Horace Greeley said in the New York Tribune: " If the Declaration of Independence justified the secession from the British Empire of thre© millions of colonists in 1776, we can not see why it would not jus- tify the secession of five millions of South- rons from the Federal Union in 1861." These views, however, soon fell into dis- favor throughout the North, and the period of indecision on either side ceased when Fort Sumter was fired upon. The Gulf States openly made their preparations as soon as the result of the Presidential elec- tion was known, as a rule pursuant to a previous understanding. The following, condensed from Hon. Edward McPher- son's " Political History of the United States of America during the Great Rebellion," is a correct statement of the movements which followed, in the several Southern States : SOUTH CAROLINA. November 5th, 1860. Legislature met to choose Presidential electors, who voted for Breckinridge and Lane for President and Vice President. Gov. William H. Gist recommended in his message that in the event of Abraham Lincoln's election to the Presidency, a convention of the people of the State be immediately called to consider and determine for themselves the mode and measure of redress. He ex- pressed the opinion that the only alterna- tive left is the " secession of South Caro- lina from the Federal Union." 7th. United States ofiicials resigned at Charleston. 10th. U. S. Senators James H. Ham- mond and James Chestnut, Jr., resigned their seats in the Senate. Convention called to meet Dec. 17th. Delegates to be elected Dec. 6th. 13th. Collection of debts due to citi- zens of non-slaveholding States stayed. Francis W. Pickens elected Governor. 17th. Ordinance of Secession adopted unanimously. 21st. Commissioners appointed (Barn- well, Adams, and Orr) to proceed to Washington to treat for the possession of U. S. Government property within the lim- its of South Carolina. Commissioners ap- pointed to the other slaveholding States. Southern Congress proposed. 24th. Representatives in Congress with- drew. Gov. Pickens issued a proclamation " announcing the repeal, Dec. 20th, 1860, by the good people of South Carolina," of the Ordinance of May 23d, 1788, and " the dissolution of the union between the State of South Carolina and other States under the name of the United States of Ameri- ca," and proclaiming to the world " that the State of South Carolina is, as she has a right to be, a separate, sovereign, free and independent State, and, as such, has a right to levy war, conclude peace, negotiate treaties, leagues, or covenants, and to do all acts whatsoever that rightfully apper- tain to a free and independent State. " Done in the eighty-fifth year of the sovereignty and independence of South Carolina." Jan. 3d, 1861. South Carolina Com- missioners left Washington. 4th. Convention appointed T. J. With- ers, L. M. Keitt, W. W. Bovce, Jas. Chest- nut, Jr., R. B. Rhett, Jr., R\ W. Barnwell, and C. G. Memminger, delegates to South- ern Congress. 6th. Convention adjourned, subject to the call of the Governor. 14th. Legislature declared that any at- tempt to reinforce Fort Sumter would be considered an open act of hostility and a declaration of war. Approved the Gov- ernor's action in firing on the Star of the West. Accepted the services of the Cataw- ba Indians. 27th. Received Judge Robertson, Com- missioner from Virginia, but rejected the proposition for a conference and co-oper- ative action. March 26th. Convention met in Charles- ton. April 3d. Ratified "Confederate" Con- stitution — yeas 114, nays 16. 8th. Transferred forts, etc., to "Con- federate " government. GEORGIA. November 8th, 1860. Legislature met pursuant to previous arrangement. 18th. Convention called. Legislature appropriated $1,000,000 to arm the State. Dec. 3d. Resolutions adopted in the Leg- islature proposing a conference of the Southern States at Atlanta, Feb. 20th. January 17th, 1861. Convention met. Received Commissioners from South Caro- lina and Alabama 18th. Resolutions declaring it the right and duty of Georgia to secede, adopted — yeas 165, nays 130. 19th. Ordinance of Secession passed— yeas 208, nays 89. 21st. Senators and Representatives in Congress withdrew. 24th. Elected Delegates to Southern Congress at Montgomery, Alabama. 28th. Elected Commissioners to other Slaveholding States. 29th. Adopted an address " to the South and the world." PREPARING FOR SECESSION. 89 March 7th. Convention reassembled. 16th. Ratified the " Confederate " Consti- tution — yeas 96, nays 5. 20th. Ordinance passed authorizing the " Confederate" government to occupy, use and possess the forts, navy yards, arsenals, and custom houses within the limits of said State. April 26th. Governor Brown issued a )iroclamation ordering the repudiation by Ihe citizens of Georgia of all debts due Northern men. MISSISSIPPI. November 26th, 1860. Legislature met Nov. 26th, and adjourned Nov. 30th. Elec- tion for Convention fixed for Dec. 20th. Convention to meet Jan 7th. Convention bills and secession resolutions passed unani- mously. Commissioners appointed to other Slaveholding States to secure " their co- operation in effecting measures for their common defence and safety." Jan. 7th, 1861. Convention assembled. 9th. Ordinance of Secession passed — yeas 84, nays 15. In the ordinance the people of the State of Mississippi express their consent to form a federal union with such of the States as have seceded or may secede from the Union of the United States of America, upon the basis of the present Constitution of the United States, except such parts thereof as embrace other portions than such seceding States. 10th. Commissioners from other States received. Resolutions adopted, recogniz- ing South Carolina as sovereign and inde- pendent. Jan. 12th. Representatives in Congress withdrew. 19th. The committee on the Confederacy in the Legislature reported resolutions to provide for a Southern Confederacy, and to establish a provisional government for seceding States and States hereafter seced- ing. 21st. Senators in Congress withdrew. March 30th. Ratified "Confederate" Constitution — yeas 78, nays 7. FLORIDA. November 26th, 1860. Legislature met. Governor M. S. Perry recommended imme- diate secession. Dec. 1st. Convention bill passed. Jan. 3d, 1861. Convention met. 7th. Commissioners from South Carolina and Alabama received and heard. 10th. Ordinance of Secession passed — yeas 62, nays 7. 18th. Delegates appointed to Southern Congress at Montgomery. 21st. Senators and Representattves in Congress withdrew. Feb. 14th. Act passed by the Legisla- ture declaring that after any actual collision between Federal troops and those in the employ of Florida, the act of holding office under the Federal government shall be declared treason, and the person convicted shall suffer death. Transferred control of government property captured, to the " Con- federate " government. LOUISIANA. December 10th, 1860. Legislature met,. 11th. Convention called for Jan. 23d. Military bill passed. 12th. Commissioners from Mississippi re- ceived and heard. Governor instructed to communicate with Governors of other southern States. Jan 23d, 1861. Convention met and organized. Received and heard Commis- sioners from South Carolina and Alabama. 25th. Ordinance of Secession passed — • yeas 113, nays 17. Convention refused to submit the ordinance to the people by a vote of 84 to 45. This was subsequently reconsidered, and the ordinance was sub- mitted. The vote upon it as declared was 20,448 in favor, and 17,296 against. Feb. 5th. Senators withdrew from Con- gress, also the Representatives, except John E. Bouligny. State flag adopted. Pilots at the Balize prohibited from bringing over the bar any United States vessels of war. March 7th. Ordinance adopted in secret session transferring to "Confederate "States government $536,000, being the amount of bullion in the U. S. mint and customs seized by the State. 16th. An ordinance voted down, submit- ting the " Confederate " Constitution to the people — yeas 26, nays 74. 21st. Ratified the* "Confederate "Consti- tution — yeas 101, nays 7. Governor author- ized to transfer the arms and property captured from the United States to the " Confederate " Government. 27th. Convention adjourned sine die. ALABAMA. January 7th, 1861. Convention met. 8th. Received and heard the Commis- sioner from South Carolina. 11th. Ordinance of Secession passed in secret session — yeas 61, nays 39. Proposi- tion to submit ordinance to the people lost — yeas 47, nays 53. *14th. Legislature met pursuant to pre-' vious action. 19th. Delegates elected to the Southern Congress. 21st. Representatives and Senators in Congress withdrew. 26th. Commissioners appointed to treat with the United States Government relative to the United States forts, arsenals, etc., within the State. The Convention requested the people of the States of Delaware, Marj-^land, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, 90 AMERICAN POLITICS. Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mis- soutri to meet the people of Alabama by their delegates in Convention, February 4th, 1861, at Montgomery, for the purpose ^of consulting as to the most effectual mode of securing concerted or harmonious action in whatever measures may be deemed most desirable for their common peace and security. Military bill passed. Commis- sioners appointed to other Slaveholding States. March 4th. Convention re-assembled. 13th. Ratified "Confederate" Constitu- tion, yeas 87, nays 6. Transferred control forts, of arsenals, etc., to " Confederate" Government. ARKANSAS. January 16th, 1861. Legislature passed Convention bill. Vote of the people on the Convention was 27,412 for it, and 15,- 826 against it. February 18th. Delegates elected. March 4th. Convention met. 18th. The Ordinance of Secession de- feated — yeas 35, nays 39. The convention effected a compromise by agreeing to sub- mit the question of co-operation or seces- sion to the people on the 1st Monday in August. May 6th. Passed Secession Ordinance — yeas 69, nays 1. Authorized her delegates to the Provisional Congress, to transfer the arsenal at Little Rock and hospital at Na- poleon to the " Confederate " Government. TEXAS. January 21st, 1861. Legislature met. 28th. People's State Convention met. 29th. Legislature passed a resolution de- claring that the Federal Government has no power to coerce a Sovereign State after she has pronounced her separation from the Federal Union. February 1st. Ordinance of Secession passed in Convention — yeas 166, nays 7. Military bill passed. 7th. Ordin^ance passed, forming the foun- dation of a Southern Confederacy. Dele- gates to the Southern Congress elected. Also an act passed submitting the Ordi- nance of Secession to a vote of the people. 23d. Secession Ordinance voted on by the people ; adopted by a vote of 34,794 in favor, and 11,235 against it. March 4th. Convention declared the State out of the Union. Gov. Houston issued a proclamation to that effect. 16th. Convention by a vote of 127 to 4 deposed Gov. Houston, declaring his seat vacant. Gov. Houston issued a proclama- tion to the people protesting against this action of the Convention. 20th. Legislature confirmed the action of the Convention in deposing Gov. Hous- ton by a vote of 53 to 11. Transferred forts, etc., to " Confederate " Government 23d. Ratified the "Confederate" Consti- tution — yeas 68, nays 2. NORTH CAROLINA. November 20th,, 1860. Legislature met Gov. Ellis recommended that the Legisla- ture invite a conference of the Southern States, or failing in that, send one or more delegates to the neighboring States so as to secure concert of action. He recommended a thorough reorganization of the militia, and the enrollment of all persons between 18 and 45 years, and the organization of a corps of ten thousand men ; also, a Con- vention, to assemble immediately after the proposed consultation with other Southern States shall have terminated. December 9th, Joint Committee on Fed- eral Relations agreed to report a Conven- tion Bill. 17th. Bill appropriating $300,000 to arm the State, debated. 18th. Senate passed above bill — yeas, 41, nays, 3. 20th. Commissioners from Alabama and Mississippi received and heard — the latter, J. Thompson, by letter. 22d. Senate bill to arm the State failed to pass the House. 22d. Adjourned till January 7th. January 8th, 1861. Senate Bill arming the State passed the House, yeas, 73, nays, 26. 30th. Passed Convention Bill — election to take place February 28th. No Secession Ordinance to be valid without being rati- fied by a majority of the qualified voters of the State. 31st. Elected Thos. L. Clingman United States Senator, February 13th. Commissioners from Georgia publicly received. 20th. Mr. Hoke elected Adjutant Gen- eral of the State. Military Bill passed. 28th. Election of Delegates to Conven- tion took place. 28th. The vote for a Convention was 46,671; against 47,333 — majority against a Convention 661. May 1st. Extra session of the Legisla- ture met at the call of Gov. Ellis. The same day they passed a Convention Bill, ordering the election of delegates on the 15th. 2d. Legislature adjourned, 13th. Election of delegates to the Con- vention took place. 20th. Convention met at Raleigh. 21st. Ordinance of Secession passed; also the " Confederate " Constitution rati- fied. June 5th. Ordinance passed, ceded the arsenal at Fayetteville, and transferred, magazines, etc., to the "Confederate" Government. PREPARING FOR SECESSION. 91 TENNESSEE. January 6th, 1861. Legislature met. 12th. Passed Convention Bill. 30th. Commissioners to Washington appointed. February 8th. Peoplp voted no Conven- tion : 67,360 to 54,156. May 1st. Legislature passed a joint re- solution authorizing the Governor to ap- point Commissioners to enter into a mili- tary league with the authorities of the *' Confederate '' States. 7th. Legislature in secret session rati- fied the league entered into by A. O. W. Totten, Gustavus A. Henry, Washington Barrow, Commissioners for Tennessee, and Henry W. Hilliard, Commissioner for " Confederate " States, stipulating that Tennessee until she became a member of the Confederacy placed the whole military force of the State under the control of the President of the " Confederate" States, and turned over to the " Confederate " States all the public property, naval stores and munitions of war. Passed the Senate, yeas 14, nays 6, absent and not voting 5 ; the House, yeas 42, nays 15, absent and not voting, 18. Also a Declaration of In- dependence and Ordinance dissolving the Federal relations between Tennessee and the United States, and an ordinance adopt- ing and ratifying the Confederate Consti- tution, these tAro latter to be voted on by the people on June 8th were passed. June 24th. Gov. Isham G. Harris de- clared Tennessee out of the Union, the vote for Separation being 104,019 against 47,238. VIRGINIA. January 7th, 1861. Legislature con- vened. 8th. Anti-coercion resolution passed. 9th. Resolution passed, asking that the status quo be maintained. 10th. The Governor transmitted a des- patch from the Mississippi Convention, an- nouncing its unconditional secession from the Union, and desiring on the basis of the old Constitution to form a new union with the seceding States. The House adopted — yeas 77, nays 61, — an amendment submit- ting to a vote of the people the question of referring for their decision any action of the Convention dissolving Virginia's con- nection with the Union, or changing its organic law. The Richmond Enquirer denounced " the emasculation of the Con- vention Bill as imperilling all that Virgin- ians held most sacred and dear." 16th. Commissioners Hopkins and Gil- mer of Alabama received in the Legisla- ture. 17th. Resolutions passed proposing the Crittenden resolutions as a basis for adjust- ment, and requesting General Government to avoid collision with Southern States. Gov. Letcher communicated the Resolu- tions of th« Legislature of New York, ex- pressing the utmost disdain, and saying that " the threat conveyed can inspire no terror in freemen." The resolutions were directed to be returned to the Governor of New York. 18th. $1,000,000 appropriated for the defence of the State. 19th. Passed resolve that if all efforts to reconcile the differences of the country fail, every consideration of honor and in- terest demands that Virginia shall unite her destinies with her sister slaveholding States. Also that no reconstruction of the Union can be permanent or satisfactory, which will not secure to each section self- protecting power against any invasion of the Federal Union upon the reserved rights of either. (See Hunter's proposition for adjustment.) 21st. Replied to Commissioners Hop- kins and Gilmer, expressing inability to make a definite response until after the meeting of the State Convention. 22d. The Governor transmitted the re- solutions of the Legislature of Ohio, with unfavorable comment. His message was tabled by a small majority. 30th. The House of Delegates to-day tabled the resolutions of the Pennsylvania Legislature, but referred those of Tennes- see to the Committee on Federal Relations. February 20th. The resolutions of the Legislature of Michigan were returned without comment. 28th. Ex-President Tyler and James A. Seddon, Commissioners to the Peace Con- gress, presented their report, and denounced the recommendation of that body as a de- lusion and a sham, and as an insult and an offense to the South. Proceedlugs of Virginia Couventlou. February 4th. Election of delegates to the Convention. 13th. Convention met. 14th. Credentials of John S. Preston, Commissioner from South Carolina, Fulton Anderson from Mississippi, and Henry L. Benning from Georgia, were received. 18th. Commissioners from Mississippi and Georgia heard ; both pictured the dan- ger of Virginia remaining with the North ; neither contemplated such an event as re- union. 19th. The Commissioner from South Carolina was heard. He said his people believed the Union unnatural and mon- strous, and declared that there was no human force — nosanctity of human touch, — that could re-unite the people of the North with the people of the South — that it could never be done unless the economy of God were changed. 92 AMERICAN POLITICS. 20th. A committee reported that in all but sixteen counties, the majority for sub- mitting the action of the Convention to a vote of the people was 52,857. Numerous resolutions on Federal Relations intro- duced, generally expressing attachment to the Union, but denouncing coercion. 26th. Mr. Goggin of Bedford, in his speech, denied the right of secession, but admitted a revolutionary remedy for wrongs committed upon a State or section, and said wherever Virginia went he was with her. March 2d. Mr. Goode of Bedford offered a resolution that, as the powers delegated to the General Government by Virginia had been perverted to her injury, and as the Crittenden propositions as a basis of adjustment had been rejected by their Northern confederates, therefore every consideration of duty, interest, honor and patriotism requires that Virginia should de- clare her connection with the Government to be dissolved. 5th. The thanks of the State were voted to Hon. John J. Crittenden, by yeas 107, nays 16, for his efforts to bring about an honorable adjustment of the national diffi- culties. Mr. Harvie of Amelia offered a resolution, requesting Legislature to make needful appropriations to resist any attempt of the Federal authorities to hold, occupy or possess the property and places claimed by the United States in any of the seceded States, or those that may withdraw or col- lect duties or imposts in the same. 9th. Three reports were made from the Committee on Federal Relations. The majority proposed to submit to the other States certain amendments to the Constitu- tion, awaiting the response of non-slave- holding States before determining whether " she will resume the powers granted by her under the Constitution of the United States, and throw herself upon her reserved rights ; meanwhile insisting that no coer- cion be attempted, the Federal forts in se- ceded States be not reinforced, duties be not collected, etc.," and proposing a Con- vention at Frankfort, Kentucky, the last Monday in May, of the States of Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas. Henry A. Wise differed in details, and went fur- ther in the same direction. Messrs. Lewis E. Harvie, Robert L. Montague and Sam- uel C. Williams recommended the immedi- ate passage of an Ordinance of Secession. Mr. Barbour of Culpeper insisted upon the immediate adoption by the non-slavehold- ing States of needed guarantees of safety, and provided for the appointment of three Commissioners to confer with the Confed- erate authorities at Montgomery. 19th. Committee on Federal Relations reported proposed amendments to the Constitution, which were the substitute of Mr. Franklin of Pa., in " Peace Confer- ence," changed by using the expression " involuntary servitude " in place of " per- sons held to service." The right of owners of slaves is not to be impaired by congres- sional or territorial law, or any pre-exist- ing law in territory hereafter acquired. Involuntary servitude, except for crime,, to be prohibited north of 36°30^ but shall! not be prohibited by Congress or any Ter- ritorial legislature south of that line. The third section has some verbal alterations, providing somewhat better security for property in transit. The fifth section pro- hibits the importation of slaves from places beyond the limits of the United States. The sixth makes some verbal changes in relation to remuneration for fugitives by Congress, and erases the clause relative to the securing of privileges and immunities. The seventh forbids the granting of the elective franchise and right to hold office to persons of the African race. The eighth provides that none of these amendments, nor the third paragraph of the second sec- tion of the first article of the Constitution, nor the third paragraph of the second sec- tion of the fourth article thereof, shall be amended or abolished without the consent of all the States. 25th. The Committee of the Whole re- fused (yeas 4, nays 116) to strike out the majority report and insert Mr. Carlile's " Peace Conference " substitute. 26th. The Constitution of the " Confede- rate" States, proposed by Mr. Hall as a sub- stitute for the report of the committee, re- jected — yeas 9, nays 78. 28th. The first and second resolutions reported by the committee adopted. April 6th. The ninth resolution of the majority report came up. Mr. Bouldin offered an amendment striking out the whole, and inserting a substitute declaring that the independence of the seceded States should be acknowledged without delay, which was lost — yeas 68, nays 71, 9th. Mr. Wise's substitute for the tenth resolution, to the effect that Virginia re- cognizes the independence of the seceding States was adoptai — yeas 128, nays 20. April 17. Ordinance of Secession passed in secret session — yeas 88, nays 55, one excused, and eight not vntintr. Same day the Commi^isioiiers adopted and ratified the Constitution of the Provi- sional Government of the " Confederate" States of America, this ordinance to cease to have legal effect if the people of Vir- ginia voting upon the Ordinance of Seces- sion should reject it. 25th. A Convention was made between Commissioners of Virginia, chosen by the Convention, and A. H. Stephens, Commis- sioner for " Confederates," stipulating that Virginia until she became a member of the Confederacy should place her military PREPARING FOR SECESSION. 93 force under the direction of the President of the "Confederate" States; also turn ■over to " Confederate " States all her pub- lic property, naval stores, and munitions of war. Signed by J. Tyler, W. B. Preston, S. McD. Moore, James P. Holcombe, Jas. , C. Bruce, Lewis E. Harvie — for Virginia ; and A. H. Stephens for " Confederate " States. June 25th. Secession vote announced as 128,884 for, and 32,134 against. July. The Convention passed an ordi- nance to the effect that any citizen of Vir- ginia holding office under the Government of the United States after the 31st of July, 1861, should be forever banished from the ■State, and be declared an alien enemy. Also that any citizen of Virginia, hereafter undertaking to represent the State of Vir- ginia in the Congress of the United States, should, in addition to the above penalties, be considered guilty of treason, and his property be liable to confiscation. A pro- vision was inserted exempting from the penalties of the act all officers of theUnited States outside of the United States, or of the Confederate States, until after Julv 1st, 1862. KENTUCKY. December 12th, 1860. Indiana militia offer their services to quell servile insur- rection. Gov. Magoffin declines accepting them. January 17th, 1861. Legislature con- vened. 22d. The House by a vote of 87 to 6 re- solved to resist the invasion of the South at all hazards. 27th. Legislature adopted the Virginia resolutions requiring the Federal Govern- ment to protect Slavery in the Territories and to guarantee the right of transit of slaves through the Free States. February 2d. The Senate passed by a vote of 25 to 11, resolutions appealing to the Southern States to stop the revolution, protesting against Federal coercion and providing that the Legislature reassemble on the 24th of April to hear the responses from sister States, also in favor of making an application to call a National Conven- tion for proposing amendments to the Con- ^■ttution of the United States, also by a vote of 25 to 14 declared it inexpedient at this time to call a State Convention. 5th. The House by a vote of 54 to 40 passed the above resolutions. March 22d. State Rights Convention as- sembled. Adopted resolutions denouncing any attempt on the part of the Govern- nient to collect revenue as coercion ; and I affirming that, in case of any such attempt, 1 the border States should make common I cause with the Southern Confederacy. [ They also recommended a border State Convention. April 24th. Gov. Magoffin called an extra session of the Legislature. May 20tli. Gov. Magoffin issued a neu- trality proclamation. September 11th. The House of Repre- sentatives by a 'vote of 71 to 26, adopted a resolution directing the Governor to issue a proclamation ordering the Confederate troops to evacuate Kentucky soil. The Governor vetoed the resolution, which was afterwards passed over his veto, and accordingly he issued the required procla- mation. October 29th. Southern Conference met at Russellville. H. C. Burnett elected Chairman, R. McKee Secretary, T. S. Bryan Assistant Secretary. Remained in secret session two days and then adjourned sine die. A series of resolutions reported by G. W. Johnson were adopted. They recite the unconstitutional and oppressive acts of the Legislature, proclaim revolu- tion, provide for a Sovereignty Convention at Russellville, on the 18th of November, recommend the organization of county guards, to be placed in the service of and paid by the Confederate States Govern- ment ; pledge resistance to all Federal and State taxes, for the prosecution of the war on the part of the United States ; and ap- point Robert McKee, John C. Breckin- ridge, Humphrey Marshall, Geo. W. Ew- ing, H. W. Bruce, Geo. B. Hodge, William Preston, Geo. W. Johnson, Blanton Dun- can, and P. B. Thompson to carry out the resolutions. November 18th. Convention met and remained in session three days. 20th. It passed a Declaration of Inde- pendence and an Ordinance of Secession. A Provisional Government consisting of a Governor, Legislative Council of ten, a Treasurer, and an Auditor were agreed upon. Geo. W. Johnson was chosen Gov- ernor. Legislative Council were: Willis B. Machen, John W. Crockett, James P. Bates, Jas. S. Chrisman, Phil. B. Thomp- son, J. P. Burnside, H. W. Bruce, J. W. Moore, E. M. Bruce, Geo. B. Hodge. MARYLAND. Nov. 27th, 1860. Gov. Hicks declined to call a special session of the Legislature, in response to a request for such convening from Thomas G. Pratt, Sprigg Harwood, J. S. Franklin, N. H. Green, Llewellyn Boyle, and J. Pinkney. December 19th. Gov. Hicks replied to A. H. Handy, Commissioner from Missis- sippi, declining to accept the programme of Secession, 20th. Wm. H. Collins, Esq., of Balti- more, issued an address to the people, iu favor of the Union, and in March a second 31st. The " Clipper " denied the exist- ence of an organization in Maryland to 94 AMERICAN POLITICS. prevent the inauguration of President Lin- coln. A. H. Handy of Mississippi addressed citizens of Baltimore in favor of disunion. January 3d, 1861. Henry Winter Davis issued an address in favor of the Union. 3d. Numerous Union meetings in vari- ous part of the State. Gov. Hicks issued An address to the people against seces- sion. 11th. John C. Legrand in a letter to Hon. Reverdy Johnson replied to the Union speech of the latter. 14th. James Carroll, former Democratic candidate for Governof, announced his de- sire to go with the seceding States. 16th. Wm. A. Spencer, in a letter to Walter S. Cox, Esq., declared against the right of Secession but for a Convention. 16. Marshal Kane, in a letter to Mayor Berrett, denied that any organization ex- ists to prevent the inauguration of Presi- dent Lincoln, and said that the President elect would need no armed escort in pass- ing through or sojourning within the limits of Baltimore and Maryland. 24th. Coleman Yellott declared for a Convention. 30th. Messrs. John B. Brooke, President of the Senate, and E. G. Kilbourn, Speaker of the House of Delegates, asked the Gov- ernor to convene the Legislature in re- sponse to public meetings. Senator Ken- nedy published his opinion that Mary- land must go with Virginia. February 18th. State Conference Con- vention held, and insisted upon a meeting of the Legislature. At a meeting in How- ard Co., which Speaker E. G. Kilbouru addressed, a resolution was adopted that " immediate steps ought to be taken for the establishment of a Southern Confed- eracy, by consultation and co-operation with such other Southern and Slave States as may be ready therefor." April 21st. Gov. Hicks wrote to Gen. Butler, advising that he do not land his troops at Annapolis. Butler replied that he intended to land there and march thence to Washington. Gov. Hicks pro- tested against this and also against his having taken forcible possession of the Annapolis and Elkridge railroad. 24th. A special election of ten delegates to the Legislature took place at Baltimore. The total vote cast in all the wards was 9,249. The total vote cast at the Presi- dential election in November, 1860, was 30,148. 26th. Legislature reassembled at Fred- erick, Annapolis being occupied by Union troops. 29th. Gov. Hicks sent a message to the Legislature communicating to them the correspondence between himself and Gen. Butler and the Secretary of War relative to the landing of troops at Annapolis. The House of Delegates voted against Secession, 53 to 13. Senate unanimously. May 2d. The Committee on Federal Re- lations, " in view of the seizure of the railroads by the General Government and the erection of fortifications," presented resolutions appointing Commissioners to the President to ascertain whether any be- coming arrangements with the General Government are practicable, for the main- tenance of the peace and honor of the State and the security of its inhabitants. The report was adopted, and Otho Scott, Robt. M. McLane, and Wm. J. Ross were appointed such Commissioners. Mr. Yellott in the Senate introduced a bill to appoint a Board of Public Safety. The powers given to the Board included the expenditure of the two millions of dol- lars proposed by Mr. Brune for the defence of the State, and the entire control of the military, including the removal and ap- pointment of commissioned officers. It was ordered to a second reading by a vote of 14 to 8. The Board was to consist of Ezekicl F. Chambers, Enoch Louis Lowe, John V. L. MacMahon, Thomas G. Pratt, Walter Mitchell, and Thomas Winans. Gov. Hicks was made ex-officio a member of the Board. This measure was strongly jiressed by the Disunionists for a long time, but they were iinally compelled to give way, and the bill never passed. 6th. The Commissioners reported the result of their interview with the Presi- dent, and expressed the opinion that some modification of the course of the General Government towards Maryland ought to be expected. 10th. The House of Delegates passed a series of resolutions reported by the Com- mittee on Federal Relations by a vote of 43 to 12. The resolutions declare that Maryland protests against the war, and does earnestly beseech and implore the President of the United States to make peace with the "Confederate" States; also, that " the State of Maryland desires the peaceful and immediate recogition of the independence of the Confederate States." Those who voted in the negative are Messrs. Medders, Lawson, Keene, Routzahn, Naill, Wilson of Harford, Bay- less, McCoy, Fiery, Stake, McCleary, an-; Gorsuch. I 13th. Both Houses adopted a resolutioij providing for a committee of eight mem- bers, (four from each House) to visit the President of the United States and the President of the Southern Confederacy. The committee to visit President Davis were instructed to convey the assurance that Maryland sympathizes with the Con- federate States, and that the people of Maryland are enlisted with their whole hearts on the side of reconciliation and peace. PREPARING FOR SECESSION. 95 June 11th. Messrs. McKaig, Yellott and Harding, Commissioners to visit President Davis, presented their report ; accompany- ing which is a letter from Jefferson Davis, expressing his . gratification to hear that the State of Maryland was in sympathy with themselves, was enlisted on the side of peace and reconciliation, and avowing his perfect willingness for a cessation of hostilities, and a readiness to receive any proposition for peace from the United States Government. 20th. The House of Delegates, and June 22d, the Senate adopted resolutions un- qualifiedly protesting against the arrest of Ross Winans and sundry other citizens of Maryland, as an "oppressive and tyran- nical assertion and exercise of military jurisdiction within the limits of Maryland, over the persons and property of her citi- zens, by the Government of the United States." MISSOURI. January 15th, 1861. Senate passed Con- vention Bill — yeas 31, nays 2. Passed House also. February 28th. Convention met; motion I to go into secret session, defeated. A reso- ! lution requiring members to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Missouri, was lost — 65 against 30. March 4. Resolution passed, 64 yeas, 35 j i>ays, appointing committee to notify Mr. Glenn, Commissioner of Georgia, that the Convention was ready to hear any com- munication from his State. Mr. Glenn was introduced, read Georgia's articles of se- cession, and made a speech urging Mis- souri to join her. 5th. Resolutions were read, ordering that the protest of St. Louis against co- ercion be reduced to writing, and a copy sent to the President of the United States ; also, resolutions were adopted informing the Commissioner from Georgia that Missouri dissented from the position taken by that State, and refused to share the honors of secession with her. 6th. Resolutions were offered by several members and referred, calling a Conven- tion of the Southern States which have not seceded, to meet at Nashville, April 15th, providing for such amendments to the Constitution of the United States as shall secure to all the States equal rights in the Union, and declaring strongly against secession. 9th. The Committee on Federal Rela- tions reported a series of resolutions, set- ting forth that at present there is no ade- quate cause to impel Missouri to leave the Union, but that on the contrary she Avill labor for such an adjustment of existing troubles as will secure peace and the rights and equality of all the States ; that the people of Missouri regard the amendments to the Constitution proposed by Mr. Crit- tenden, with their extension to territory hereafter to be required, a basis of adjust- ment which would forever remove all diffi- culties ; and that it is expedient for the Legislature to call a Convention for pro- posing amendments to the Constitution. The Senate passed resolutions that their Senators be instructed, and their Repre- sentatives requested, to oppose the pas- sage of all acts granting supplies of men and money to coerce the seceding States into submission or subjugation ; and that, should such acts be passed by Congress, their Senators be instructed, and their Re- presentatives requested, to retire from the halls of Congress. 16th. An amendment of the fifth resolu- tion of the majority report of the Com- mittee on Federal Relations, asserting that Missouri would never countenance nor aid a seceding State in making war upon the General Government, nor provide men and money for the purpose of aiding the General Government to coerce a seceding State, was voted down. 27th. The following resolution was passed by a vote in the House of 62 against 42:— Resolved, That it is inexpedient for the General Assembly to take any steps for calling a National Convention to propose amendments to the Constitution, as recom- mended by the State Convention.- July 22d. The Convention reassembled. 23d. Resolution passed, by a vote of 65 to 21, declaring the office of President, held by General Sterling Price at the last session of the Convention, vacant. A committee of seven were appointed to re- port what action they deem it advisable to take in the dislocated condition of the State. 25th. The committee presented their re- port. It alludes at length to the present unparalleled condition of things, the reck- less course of the recent Government, and flight of the Governor and other State officers from the capitol. It declares the offices of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Secretary of State vacant, and pro- vides that their vacancies shall be filled by the Convention, the officers so appointed to hold their positions till August, 1862, at which time it provides for a special elec- tion by the people. It repeals the ninth section of the sixth article of the Consti- tution, and provides that the Supreme Court of the State shall consist of seven members ; and that four members, in ad- dition to the three now comprising the Court, shall be appointed by the Governor chosen by this Convention to hold office till 1862, when the people shall decide whether the change shall be permanent. It abolishes the State Legislature, and or- 96 AMERICAN POLITICS, dains that in case, before the 1st of August, 1862, tlie Governor chosen by this Con- vention shall consider the public exigen- cies demand, he shall order a special elec- tion for the members of the State Legisla- ture. It recommends the passage of an ordinance repealing the following bills, passed by the Legislature in secret session, in May last: The military fund bill, the bill to suspend the distribution of the school fund, and the bill for cultivating friendly relations Avith the Indian tribes. It repeals the bill authorizing the appoint- ment of one major-general of the Missouri militia, and revives the militia law of 1859. A resolution was passed that a commit- tee of seven be appointed by the President to prepare an address to the people of the State of Missouri. November 26th. Jefferson Davis trans- mitted to the " Confederate " Congress a message concerning the secession of Mis- souri. It Avas accompanied by a letter from Governor Jackson, and also by an act dissolving the union with the United States, and an act ratifying the Constitu- tion of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States ; also, the Convention between the Commissioners of Missouri and the Commissioners of the Confederate States. Congress unanimously ratified the Convention entered into between the Hon. R. M. T. Hunter for the rebel Government and the Commissioners for Missouri. Inter-state Coinmlseioners. The seceding States, as part of their plan of operation, appointed Commissioners to visit other slaveholding States. They were as follows, as announced in the news- papers : South Carolina. To Alabama, A. P. Calhoun. To Georgia, James L. Orr, Ex-M. C. To Florida, L. W. Spratt. To Mississippi, M. L. Bonham, Ex-M. C. To Louisiana, J. L. Manning. To Arkansas, A. C. Spain. To Texas, J. B. Kershaw. To Virginia, John S. Preston. Alabama. To North Carolina, Isham W. Garrett. To Mississippi, E. W. Pettus. To South Carolina, J. A. Elmore. To Maryland, A. F. Hopkins. To Virginia, Frank Gilmer. To Tennessee, L. Pope Walker. To Kentucky, Stephen F. Hale. To Arkansas, John Anthony Winston. Georgia. To Missouri, Luther J. Glenn. To Virginia,. Henry L. Benning. Mississippi. To South Carolina, C. E. Hooker. To Alabama, Jos. W. Matthews, Ex-Gor. To Georgia, William L. Harris. I To Louisiana, Wirt Adams. ! To Texas, H. H. Miller. To Arkansas, George R. Fall. To Florida, E. M. Yerger. To Tennessee, T. J. Wharton, Att'y-Gen. ; To Kentucky, W. S. Featherstone, Ex-M. C. ; To North Carolina, Jacob Thompson, Ex- 1 M. C. To Virginia, Fulton Anderson. To Maryland, A. H. Handy, Judge. To Delaware, Henry Dickinson. To Missouri, Eussell. Soiitliern Congress. This body, composed of Deputies elected by the Conventions of the Seceding States, met at Montgomery, Alabama, February 4th, 1861, to organize a Southern Confed- eracy. Each State had a representation equal to the number of members of the Thirty-sixth Congress. The members were : South Carolina. Robert W. Barnwell, Ex-U. S. Senator. R. Barnwell Rhett, " " " James Chestnut, jr., " " " Lawrence M. Keitt, Ex-M. C. William W. Boyce, " " Wn. Porcher Miles, " " C. G. Memminger. Thomas J Withers. Alabama. W. P. Chilton. Stephen F. Hale. David P. Lewis. Thomas Fearn, Richard W. Walker. Robert H. Smith. Colin J. McRae. John Gill Shorter. J. L. M. Curry, Ex-M. C. Florida. J. Patten Anderson, Ex-Delegate from Washington Territory. Jackson Morton, Ex-U. S. Senator. James Powers, Mississippi. W. S. Wilson. Wiley P. Harris, Ex-M. C. James T. Harrison. Walter Brooke, Ex-U. S. Senator. William S. Barry, Ex-M. C. A. M. Clayton. Georgia. Robert Toombs, Ex-U. S. Senator. Howell Cobb, Ex-M. C. Martin J. Crawford, " Augustus R Wright, " " PREPARING FOR SECESSION, 97 Augustus H. Keenan. Benjamin H. Hill. Francis S. Bartow. E. A. Nisbet. Thomas R. R. Cobb. Alexander H. Stephens, Ex-M. C. Louisiana. Duncan F. Kenner. Charles M. Conrad, Ex-U. S. Senator. Henry Marshall. John Perkins, jr. G. E. Sparrow. E. De Clouet. Texas. (Admitted March 2d, 1861.) Louis T. Wigfall, Ex-U. S. Senator. John Hemphill, " John H. Reagan, Ex-M. C. T. N. Waul. John Gregg. W. S. Oldham. W. B. Ochiltree. Proceedings of the Southern Congress. February 4th, 1861. Howell Cobb of Georgia elected President, Johnson J. Hooper of Alabama, Secretary. Mr. Cobb announced that secession " is now a fixed and irrevocable fact, and the separation is perfect, complete and perpetual." 6th. David L. Swain, M. W. Ransom, and John L. Bridgers, were admitted as Commissioners from North Carolina, un- der resolutions of the General Assembly of that State, passed January 29th, 1861, " to effect an honorable and amicable, adjust- ment of all the difficulties that disturb the country, upon the basis of the Critten- den resolutions, as modified by the Legis- lature of Virginia," and to consult with the delegates to the Southern Congress for their " common peace, honor and safety." 7th. Congress notified that the State of Alabama had placed $500,000 at its dispo- sal, as a loan to the provisional government of the Confederacy of Seceding States. 8th. The Constitution of the Provisional Government adopted. * ''The Provisional Constitution adopted by the Seceded States differs froni the Constitution of the'l'nited States iinseveriU important particulars. The alterations and fadditiong are as follows : ALTERATIONS. 1st. The Provisional Constitution differs from the olher ^ this : Tiiat the Ifi^islative powers of the Provisional i'°^'*"}m*'nt are vested in the Congress now assemtiled. ind this body exercises all the functions that are exer- nsed by eitlier or both branches of the United States government. •ii. The Provisional President holds his office for one 'ear, unless sooner superseded by the establishment of a )ermanent Government. •^»' .K^*^'' *^''''**^ " erected into a distinct judicial dis- ™' '°?jui'eeliaving all the powers heretofore vested jD the district and circuit courts ; and the several district uages together compose the supreme bench— a majority I mem constituting a quorum. ' 7 9th. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, elected Provisional President of the Con- federate States of America, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President. The question of attacking Fort Sumter has been referred to the Congress. 11th. Mr. Stephens announced his ac- ceptance. Committee appointed to prepare a permanent Constitution. 12th. The Congress assumed " charge of all questions and difficulties now exist- ing between the sovereign States of this Confederacy and the Government of the United States, relating to the occupation of forts, arsenals, navy yards, custom-houses, and all other public establishments." The resolution was directed to be communicated to the Governors of the respective States of the Confederacy. 15th. Official copy of the Texas Ordi- nance of Secession presented. 16th. President Davis arrived and re- ceived with salute, etc. 18th. President Davis inaugurated. 19th. Tariff law passed. 21st. Robert Toombs appointed Secre- tary of the State ; C. G. Memminger, s^ - -- tary of the Treasury ; L. Pope Walker, of 4th. Whenever the word " Union " occurs in the United States Constitution the word " Confederacy " is substituted. THE FOLLOWINO ARE THE ADDITIONS. 1st. The President may veto any separate appropriation witliout vetoing the whole bill in which it is con- tained. 2d. The African slave-trade is prohibited. lid. Congress is empowered to prohibit the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of this Confed- eracy. 4th. All appropriations must be upon the demand of the President or heatls of departments. 0MIS.SI0NS. 1st, There is no prohiliition on members of Congress holding other offices of honor and emolument under ,the Provisional Government. 2d. There is no provision for a neutral spot for the location of a scat of government, or for sites for forts, ar- senals, and dock-yards ; consequently there is no reference made to tlie territorial powers of the Provisional Govern- ment. 3d. The section in the old Constitution in reference to capitation and other direct tax is omitted ; also, the sec- tion providing that no tax or duty shall bo laid on any exports. 4th. The prohibition on States keeping troops or ships of war in time of peace is omitted 5th. The Constitution being provisional merely, no provision is made for its ratification. AMENDMENTS. 1st. The fugitive slave clause of the old Constitution is so amended ;i8 to contain the word "slave," and to pro- vide for full compensation in cases of abduction of forci- ble rescue on the part of the State in which such abduc- tion or re.«cue may take place. 2il. Congress, by a vote of two-thirds, may at any time alter or amend the Constitution. TEMPORARY PROVISIONS. 1st. The Provisional Government is required to take immediate steps for the settlement of all matters between tlie States forming it and their other late confederates of the United Sjates in relation to the public property and the public debt. 'Jd. Montgomery is made the temporary seat of govern- ment. 3d. This ('onstitution is to continue one year, unless altered by a two thirds vote or superseded by a perma- nent Government. 98 AMERICAN POLITICS. Alabama, Secretary of War ; Stephen R. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy ; Judah P. Benjamin, Attorney-General, and John H. Reagan, Postmaster-General ; Philip Clay- ton, of Georgia appointed Assistant Secre- tary of the Treasury, and Wm. M. Browne, late of the Washington Constitution, Assistant Secretary of State. March 2d. The Texas Deputies re- ceived. The Confederate States. The Confederate States was the name of the government formed in 1861 by the seven States which first seceded. Bellige- rent rights were accorded to it by the lead- ing naval powers, but it was never recog- nized as a government, notwithstanding the persevering efforts of its agents near the principal courts. This result was mainly due to the diplomacy of the federal Sec- retary of State, Wm H. Seward, to the proclamations of emancipation in 1862-3, which secured the sympathy of the best elements of Great Britain and France for the federal government, and the obstinate persistence of the federal government in avoiding, as far as possible, any recognition of the existence, even de facto, of a con- federate government. The federal generals in the field, in their communications with confederate oflicers, did not hesitate, upon occasion, even to give " president " Davis his oflicial title, but no such embarrassing precedent was ever admitted by the civil government of the United States. It at first endeavored, until checked by active preparations for retaliation, to treat the crews of confederate privateers as pirates ; it avoided any official communication with the confederate government, even when compelled to exchange prisoners, confining its negotiations to the confederate commis- sioners of exchange ; and, by its persistent policy in this direction, it succeeded, with- out any formal declaration, in impressing upon foreign governments the belief that any recognition of the confederate States as a separate people would be actively re- sented by the government of the United States as an act of excessive unfriendliness. The federal courts have steadily held the same ground, that " the confederate states was an unlawful assemblage, without cor- porate power ; " and that, though the separate States were still in existence and were indestructible, their state govern- ments, while they chose to act as part of the confederate States, did not exist, even de facto. Early in January, 1861, while only South Carolina had actually seceded, though other Southern States had called conventions to consider the question, the Senators of the seven States farthest South practically assumed control of the whole movement, and their energy and unswer- ving singleness of purpose, aided by the telegraph, secured a rapidity of execution to which no other very extensive conspi- racy of history can afford a parallel. The ordinance of secession was a negative in- strument, purporting to withdraw the state from the Union and to deny the authority of the federal government over the people of the State ; the cardinal object of the senatorial group was to hurry the forma- mation of a new national government, as an organized political reality which would rally the outright secessionists, claim the allegiance of the doubtftil mass, and coerce those who still remained recalcitrant. At the head of the senatorial grouj), and of its executive committee, was Jefferson Davis, Senator from Mississippi, and natu- rally the first official step toward the for- mation of a new government came from the Mississippi Legislature, where a com- mittee reported, January 19th, 1861, reso- lutions in favor of a congress of delegates from the seceding States to provide for a southern confederacy, and to establish a provisional government, therefore. : The other seceding States at once accepted the proposal, through their State conventions, which also appointed the delegates on the ground that the people had intrusted the State conventions with unlimited pow- ers. The new government therefore beijan its existence without any popular ratio of representation, and with only such popular ratification as popular acquiescence gave. The provisional congress met Feb. 4th, at Montgomery, Ala., with delegates from South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisi- ana, Florida and Mississippi. The Texas delegates were not appointed until Feb. 14th. Feb, 8th, a provisional constitution was adopted, being the constitution of the United States, with some changes. Feb. 9th, Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was unanimously chosen provisional president, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, provisional vice-president, each State hav- ing one vote, as in all other proceedings of the body. By acts of Feb. 9th and 12th, the laws and revenue officers of the United States were continued in the confederate i States until changed. Feb. 18th, the president and vice-president were inaugu-j rated. Feb. 20th-26th, executive depart- ments and a confederate regular army were organized, and provision was made for borrowing money. March 11th, the per manent constitution was adopted by Congress. Tiie Internal legislation of the provi -i sional congress was, at first, mainW the] adaptation of the civil service in the South ern States to the uses of the new govern ment. Wherever possible, judges, post masters, and civil as well as military anc naval officers, who had resigned from_ th( service of the United States, were givei BUCHANAN'S VIEWS. 99 an equal or higher rank in the confederate service. Postmasters were directed to make their final accounting to the United States, May 31st, thereafter accounting to the Con- federate States. April 29th, the provi- sional congress, which had adjourned March 16th, re-assembled at Montgomery, having been convoked by President Davis in con- sequence of President Lincoln's prepa- rations to enforce federal authority in the South. Davis' message announced that all the seceding States had ratified the permanent constitution ; that Virginia, which had not yet seceded and entered in- to alliance with the confederacy, and that other States, were expected to follow the same plan. He concluded by declaring that " all we ask is to be let alone." May 6th, an act was passed recognizing the ex- istence of war with the United States. Congress adjourned May 22d, re-convened at Eichmond, Va., July 20th, and ad- journed August 22d, until November 18th. Its legislation had been mainly military and financial. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, had passed ordi- nances of secession, and been admitted to the confederacy. (See the States named, and secession.) Although Missouri and Kentucky had not seceded, delegates from these States were admitted in December 1861. Nov. 6, 1861, at an election under the permanent constitution, Davis and Stephens were again chosen to their re- spective offices by a unanimous electoral vote. Feb. 18th, 1862, the provisional con- gress (of one house) gave way to the per- manent congress, and Davis and Stephens were inaugurated February 22nd. The cabinet, with the successive Secretaries of each department, was as follows, including both the provisional and permanent cabi- nets: State Department. — Robert Toombs, Georgia, February 21st, 1861 ; R. M. T. Hunter, Virginia, July 30th, 1861 ; Judah P. Benjamin, Louisiana, February 7th, 1862. Treasury Department. — Charles G. Mem- minger, South Carolina, February 21.st, 1861, and March 22d, 1862; James L. Trenholm, South Carolina, June 13th, 1864. j War Department. — L. Pope Walker, :Mississippi, February 21st, 1861 ; Judah P. ^Benjamin, Louisiana, November 10th. 5I86I ; James A. Seddon, Virginia, March 22d, 1862; John C. Breckinridge, Ken- itucky, February 15th, 1865. Navy Depart)7ient.^ite])hea R. Mallorv, Florida, March 4th, 1861, and March 22d. Attorney General.—Judah. P. Benjamin, Louisiana, February 21st, 1861 ; Thomas H. Watts, Alabama, Septem])er 10th, 1861, March 22nd, 1862; George Davis, md [North Carolina, 'November 10th,'^1863. I Postmaster- General.— Henry J. Elliot, Mississippi, February 2l8t, 1865 ; John H. Reagan, Texas, March 6th, 1861, and March 22d, 1862. The provisional Congress held four ses- sions, as follows: 1. February 4-March 16th, 1861 ; 2. April 29-May 22d, 1861 ; 3. July 20-August 22d, 1861 ; and 4. Novem- ber 18th, 1861-February 17th, 1862. Under the permanent Constitution there were two Congresses. The first Congress held four sessions, as follows : 1. Febru- ary 18- April 21st, 1862; 2. August 12- October 13th, 1862 ; 3. Januarv 12-May 8th 1863 ; and 4. December 7, i863-Feb- ruary 18th, 1864. The second Congress held two sessions, as follows : 1. May 2- June 15th, 1864 ; and 2. From November 7th, 1864, until the hasty and final ad- journment, March 18th, 1865. In the first Congress members chosen by rump State conventions, or by regiments in the confederate service, sat for districts in Missouri and Kentucky, though these States had never seceded. There were thus thirteen States in all represented at the close of the first Congress ; but, as the area of the Confederacy narrowed before the advance of the Federal armies, the va- cancies in the second Congress became significantly more numerous. At its best estate the Confederate Senate numbered 26, and the house 106, as follows : Ala- bama, 9 ; Arkansas, 4 ; Florida, 2 ; Geor- gia, 10 ; Kentucky, 12 ; Louisiana, 6 ; Mis- sissippi, 1 ; Missouri, 7 ; North Carolina, 10; South Carolina, 6; Tennessee, 11; Texas, 6 ; Virginia, 16. In both Con- gresses Thomas S. Bocock, of Virginia, was Speaker of the House.* For four months between the Presiden- tial election and the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln those favoring secession in the South had practical control of their sec- tion, for while President Buchanan hesi- tated as to his constitutional powers, the more active partisans in his Cabinet were aiding their Southern friends in every practical way. In answer to the visit- ing Commissioners from South Carolina, Messrs. R. W. Barnwell, J. H. Adams and Jas. L. Orr, who formally submitted that State's ordinance of secession, and de- manded possession of the forts in Charles- ton harbor, Buchanan said : — " In ansyver to this communication, I have to say that my position as President of the United States was clearly defined in the message to Congress on the 3d inst. In that I stated that ' apart from the exe- cution of the laws, so far as this may be practicable, the Executive has no authority to decide what shall be the relations be- tween the Federal Government and South Carolina. He has been invested with no such discretion. He possesses no power to * Frcim Lalor's Eiu-i/chpirdia of Political Science, pub- lished by Rand & McNally, Chicago, 111. 100 AMERICAN POLITICS. change the relations heretofore existing between them, much less to acknowledge the independence of that State. This would be to invest a mere executive officer with the power of recognizing the dissolu- tion of the Confederacy among our thirty- three sovereign States. It bears no re- semblance to the recognition of a foreign de facto Government, involving no such responsibility. Any attempt to do this would, on his part, be a naked act of usurpation. It is, therefore, my duty to submit to Congress the whole question in all its bearings.' " Such is my opinion still. I could, therefore, meet you only as private gentle- men of the highest character, and was en- tirely willing to communicate to Congress any proposition you might have to make to that body upon the subject. Of this you were well aware. It was my earnest desire that such a disposition might be made of the whole subject by Congress, Avho alone possess the power, as to prevent the inau- guration of a civil war between the parties in regard to the possession of the Federal forts in the harbor of Charleston." Further correspondence followed between the President and other seceding State Com- missioners, and the attitude of the former led to the following changes in his Cabi- net: December 12th, 1860, Lewis Cass resigned as Secretary of State, because the President declined to reinforce the forts in Charleston harbor. December 17th, Jere- miah S. Black was appointed his suc- cessor. December 10th, Howell Cobb, resigned as Secretary of the Treasury — " his duty to Georgia requiring it." December 12th, Philip F. Thomas was appointed his suc- cessor, and resigned, January 11th, 1861, because differing from the President and a majority of the Cabinet, " in the measures which have been adopted in reference to the recent condition of things in South Carolina," especially " touching the au- thority, under existing laws, to enforce the collection of the customs at the port of Charleston." January 11th, 1861, John A. Dix appointed his successor. 29th " tiry of War, because, after the transfer of ]\Iajor Anderson's command from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, the President de- clined "to withdraw the garrison from the harbor of Charleston altogether." December 31st, Joseph Holt, Postmas- ter-General, was entrusted with the tem- porary charge of the War Department, and January 18th, 1861, was appointed Secre- tary of War. ■January 8th, 1861, Jacob Thompson resigned as Secretary of the Interior, be- cause " additional troops, he had heard, have been ordered to Charleston " in the Star of the West. John B. Floyd resigned as Secre- December 17th, 1860, Jeremiah S. Black resigned as Attorney-General, and Edwin M. Stanton, December 20th, waa appointed his successor. January 18th, 1861, Joseph Holt re- signed as Postmaster-General, and Ho- ratio King, February 12th, 1861, was ap- pointed his successor. President Buchanan, in his annual mes- sage of December 3d, 1860, appealed to Congress to institute an amendment to the constitution recognizing the rights of the Southern States in regard to slavery in the territories, and as this document embraced the views which subsequently led to such a general discussion of the right of seces- sion and the right to coerce a State, we make a liberal quotation from it : — " I have jHirposely confined my remarks to revolutionary resistance, because it has been claimed within the last few years that any State, whenever this shall be its sovereign will and pleasure, may secede from the Union in accordance with the Constitution, and without any violation of the constitutional rights of the other mem- bers of the Confederacy. That as each be- came parties to the Union by the vote of its own people assembled in convention, so any one of them may retire from the Union in a similar manner by the vote of such a convention. " In order to justify secession as a con- stitutional remedy, it must be on the prin- ciple that the Federal Government is a mere voluntary association of States, to be dissolved at pleasure by any one of the contracting parties. If this be so, the Confederacy is a rope of sand, to be pene- trated and dissolved by the first adverse wave of public opinion in any of the States. In this manner our thirty-three States may resolve themselves into as many petty, jarring, and hostile republics, each one re- tiring from the Union without responsi- bility whenever any sudden excitement might impel them to such a course. By this process a Union might be entirely broken into fragments in a few weeks, which cost our forefathers many years of toil, privation, and blood to establish. " Such a principle is wholly inconsistent with the history as well as the character of the Federal Constitution. Afler it was framed with the greatest deliberation and care, it was submitted to conventions of the people of the several States for ratifi- cation. Its provisions were discussed at length in these bodies, composed of the first men of the country. Its opponents contended that it conferred powers upon the Federal Government dangerous to the rights of the States, whilst its advocates maintained that, under a fair construction of the instrument, there was no foundation for such apprehensions. In that might;y struECffle between the first intellects of this BUCHANAN'S VIEWS. 101 or any other country, it never occurred to any individual, either among its opponents or advocates, to assert or even to intimate tiiat their efforts were all vain labor, be- cause the moment that any State felt her- self aggrieved she might secede from the Union. What a crushing argument would this have proved against those who dreaded that the rights of the States would be en- dangered by the Constitution. The truth is, that it was not until some years after the origin of the Federal Government that such a proposition was first advanced. It was afterwards met and refuted by the conclusive arguments of General Jackson, who, in his message of the 16th of January, 1833, transmitting the nullifying ordinance of South Carolina to Congress, employs the following language : ' The right of the peo- ple of a single State to absolve themselves at will and without the consent of the other States from their most solemn obli- gations, and hazard the liberty and happi- ness of the millions composing this Union, cannot be acknowledged. Such authority is believed to be utterly repugnant both to the principles upon which the General Government is constituted, and to the ob- jects which it was expressly formed to attain.' " It is not pretended that any clause in the Constitution gives countenance to such a theory. It is altogether founded upon inference, not from any language con- tained in the instrument itself, but from the sovereign character of the several States by which it was ratified. But it is beyond the power of a State like an indi- vidual, to yield a portion of its sovereign rights to secure the remainder? In the language of Mr. Madison, who has been called the father of the Constitution, ' It was formed by the States — that is, by the people in each of the States acting in their highest sovereign capacity, and formed con- sequently by the same authority which formed the State constitutions.' ' Nor is the Government of the United States, created by the Constitution, less a Govern- ment, in the strict sense of the term with- in the sphere of its powers, than the gov- ernments created by the constitutions of the States are within their several spheres. It is like them organized into legislative, 1 executive, and judiciary departments. It i operates, like them, directly on persons J and things ; and, like them, it has at com- mand a physical force for executing the powers committed to it.' "It was intended to be perpetual, and not to be annulled at the pleasure of any [ one of the contracting parties. The old Articles of Confederation were entitled Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States;' and by the thirteenth article it is expressly declared Ithat 'the articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall be perpetual.' The preamble to the constitution of the United States, having express reference to the Articles of Confederation, recites that it was established 'in order to form a more perfect union.' And yet it is contended that this ' more perfect union ' does not in- clude the esssential attribute of perpe- tuity. " But that the Union was designed to be perpetual, appears conclusively from the nature and extent of the powers con- ferred by the Constitution of the Federal Government. These powers embrace the very highest attributes of national sov- ereignty. They place both the sword and purse under its control. Congress has power to make war and to make peace; to raise and support armies and navies, and to conclude treaties with foreign govern- ments. It is invested with the power to coin money, and to regulate the value thei'eof, and to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States. It is not necessary to enumerate the other high powers which have been conferred upon the Federal Government. In order to carry the enumerated powers into effect. Congress possesses the exclusive right to lay and collect duties on imports, and, in common with the States, to lay and collect all other taxes. " But the Constitution has not only con- ferred these high powers upon Congress, but it has adopted effectual means to re- strain the States from interfering with their exercise. For that purpose it has in strong prohibitory language expressly declared that ' no State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts.' Moreover, ' without the con- sent of Congress no State shall lay any im- posts or duties on any imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws,' and if they exceed this amount, the excess shall belong to the United States. And 'no State shall, without the consent of Con- gress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.' " in order still further to secure the un- interrupted exercise of these high powers against State interposition, it is provided ' that this Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pur- suance thereof, and all treaties made or 102 AMERICAN POLITICS. which shall be made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.' " The solemn sanction of religion has been superadded to the obligations of ofBcial duty, and all Senators and Repre- sentatives of the United States, all mem- bers of State Legislatures, and all execu- tive and judicial oflScers, ' both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution.' In order to carry into effect these powers, the Constitution has established a perfect Government in all its forms, legis- lative, executive, and judicial ; and this Government to the extent of its powers acts directly upon the individual citizens of every State, and executes its own de- crees by the agency of its own officers. In this respect it differs entirely from the Government under the old confederation, which was confined to making requisitions on the States in their sovereign character. This left it in the discretion of each whether to obey or refuse, and they often declined to comply with such requisitions. It thus became necessary, for the purpose of removing this barrier, and ' in order to form a more perfect union,' to establish a Government which could act directly upon the people and execute its own laws with- out the intermediate agency of the States. This has been accomplished by the Con- stitution of the United States. In short, the Government created by the Constitu- tion, and deriving its authority from the sovereign people of each of the several States, has precisely the same right to exercise its power over the people of all these States in the enumerated cases, that each one of them possesses over subjects not delegated to the United States, but 'reserved to the States respectively or to the people.' " To the extent of the delegated powers the Constitution of the United States is as much a part of the constitution of each State, and is as binding upon its people, as though it had been textually inserted therein. "This Government, therefore, is a great and powerful Government, invested with all the attributes of sovereignty over the special subjects to which its authority ex- tends. Its framers never intended to im- plant in its bosom the seeds of its own destruction nor were they at its creation guilty of the absurdity of providing for its own dissolution. It was not intended by its framers to be the baseless fabric of a vision, which, at the touch of the en- chanter, would vanish into thin air, but a substantial and mighty fabric, capable of resisting the slow decay of time, and of defying the storms of ages. Indeed, well may the jealous patriots of that day have indulged fears that a Government of such high power might violate the reserved rights of the States, and wisely did they adopt the rule of a strict construction of these powers to prevent the danger. But they did not fear, nor had they any reason to imagine that the Constitution would ever be so in- terpreted as to enable any State by her own act, and without the consent of her sister States, to discharge her people from all or any of their federal obliga- tions. "It may be asked, then, are the people of the States without redress against the tyranny and oppression of the Federal Government? By no means. The right of resistance on the part of the governed against the oppression of their govern- ments cannot be denied. It exists inde- pendently of all constitutions, and has been exercised at all periods of the world's his- tory. Under it, old governments have been destroyed and new ones have taken their place. It is embodied in strong and ex- press language in our own Declaration of Independence. But the distinction must ever be observed that this, is revolution against an established Government, and not a voluntary secession from it by virtue of an inherent constitutional right. In short, let us look the danger fairly in the face; secession is neither more nor less than revolution. It may or it may not be a justifiable revolution ; but still it is rev- olution." The President having thus attempted to demonstrate that the Constitution affords no warrant for secession, but that this was inconsistent both with its letter and spirit, then defines his own position. He says: " What, in the mean time, is the respon- sibility and true position of the Executive? He is bound by solemn oath, before God and the country, 'to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,' and from this obligation he cannot be absolved by any human power. But what if the perfor- mance of this duty, in whole or in part, has been rendered impracticable by events over which he could have exercised no control ? Such, at the present moment, is the case throughout the State of South Carolina, so far as the laws of the United States to secure the administration of jus- tice by means of the Federal judiciary are concerned. All the Federal officers within its limits, through whose agency alone these laws can be carried into execution, have already resigned. We no longer have a district judge, a district attorney, or a marshal in South Carolina. In fact, the whole machinery of the Federal gov- ernment necessary for the distribution of remedial justice among the people has been BUCHANAN'S VIEWS. 103 demolished, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace it. " The only acta of Congress on the stat- ute book bearing upon this subject are those of the 28th Februrry, 1795, and 3rd March, 1807. These authorize the Presi- dent, after he shall have ascertained that the marshal, with his posse comitatus, is unable to execute civil or criminal process in any particular case, to call forth the militia and employ the army and navy to aid him in performing this service, having first by proclamation commanded the in- surgents ' to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within a limited time.' This duty cannot by possibility be performed in a State where no judicial au- thority exists to issue process, and where there is no marshal to execute it, and where, even if there were such an officer, the entire population would constitute one solid combination to resist him. " The bare enumeration of these provi- sions proves how inadequate they are with- out furtlier legislation to overcome a united opposition in a single State, not to speak of other States who may place themselves in a similar attitude. Congress alone has power to decide whether the present laws can or cannot be amended so as to carry out more effectually the objects of the Constitution. " The same insuperable obstacles do not lie in the way of executing the laws for the collection of customs. The revenue still continues to be collected, as heretofore, at the custom-house in Charleston, and should the collector unfortunately resign, a suc- cessor may be appointed to perform this duty. "Then, in regard to the property of the United States in South Carolina. This has been purchased for a fair equivalent, * by the consent of the Legislature of the State,' ' for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,' &c., and over these the authority ' to exercise exclusive legislation ' has been expressly granted by the Constitution to Congress. It is not believed that any at- tempt will be made to expel the United States from this property by force ; but if in this I should prove to be mistaken, the officer in command of the forts has re- ceived orders to act strictly on the defen- sive. In such a contingency the respon- sibility for consequences would rightfully rest upon the heads of the assailants. " Apart from the execution of the laws, so far as this may be practicable, the Ex- ecutive has no authority to decide what shall, be the relations between the Federal Government and South Carolina. He has been invested with no such discretion. He possesses no power to change the relations heretofore existing between them, much less to acknowledge the independence of that State. This would be to invest a mere executive officer with the power of recog- nizing the dissolution of tne Confederacy among our thirty-three sovereign States. It bears no relation to the recognition of a foreign de facto Government, involving no such responsibility. Any attempt to do this would, on his part, be a naked act of usurpation. It is, therefore, my duty to submit to Congress the whole question in all its bearings." Then follows the opinion expressed in the message, that the Constitution has con- ferred no power on the Federal Govern- ment to coerce a State, to remain in the Union. The following is the language : " The question fairly stated is, ' Has the Constitution delegated to Congress the power to coerce a State into submission which is attempting to withdraw, or has actually withdrawn from the Confedera- cy? ' If answered in the affirmative, it must be on the principle that the power has been conferred upon Congress to make war against a State. " After much serious reflection, I have arrived at the conclusion that no such power has been delegated to Congress or to any other department of the Federal Government. It is manifest, upon an in- spection of the Constitution, that this is not among the specific and enumerated powers granted to Congress ; and it is equally apparent that its exercise is not ' necessary and proper for carrying into execution' any one of these powers. So far from this power having been delegated to Congress, it was expressly refused by the Convention which framed the Constitu- tion. " It appears from the proceedings of that body that on the Slst May, 1787, the clause ' authorizing an exertion of the force of the whole against a delinquent State ' came up for consideration. Mr. Madison opposed it in a brief but powerful speech, from which I shall extract but a single sentence. He observed : ' The use of force against a State would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishmeilt, and would probably be con- sidered by the party attacked as a dissolu- tion of all previous compacts by which it might be bound.' Upon his motion the clause was unanimously postponed, and was never, I believe, again presented. Soon afterwards, on the 8th June, 1787, when incidentally adverting to the subject, he said : ' Any government for the United States, formed on the supposed practica- bility of using force against the unconsti- tutional proceedings of the States, would prove as visionary and fallacious as the government of Congress,' evidently mean- ing the then existing Congress of the old confederation." At the time of the delivery of this mes- sage the excitement was very high. The 104 AMERICAN POLITICS. extreme Southerners differed from it, in so far as it disputed both the right of revolu- tion and secession under the circumstances, but quickly made a party battle-cry of the denial of the right of the National Gov- ernment to coerce a State — a view which for a time won the President additional friends, but which in the end solidified all friends of the Union against his adminis- tration. To show the doubt M^hich this ingenious theory caused, we quote from the speech of Senator Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee (subsequently Vice-President and acting President), delivered Dec. 18th, 1860, (Congressional Globe, page 119) : — " I do not believe the Federal Govern- ment has the power to coerce a State, for by the eleventh amendment of the Con- stitution of the United States it is expressly provided that you cannot even put one of the States of this confederacy before one of the courts of the country as a jiarty. As a State, the Federal Government has no power to coerce it ; but it is a member of the compact to which it agreed in com- mon with the other States, and this Gov- ernment has the right to pass laws, and to enforce those laws upon individuals within the limits of each State. While the one proposition is clear, the other is equally so. This Government can, by the Constitution of the country, and by the laws enacted in conformity with the Constitution, operate upon individuals, and has the right and power, not to coerce a State, but to enforce and execute the law upon individuals within the limits of a State." Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, publicly objected to the message because of its earnest argument against secession, and the determination expressed to collect the revenue in the ports of South Carolina, by means of a naval force, and to defend the public proj)erty. From this moment they alienated themselves from the Pz'esident. Soon thereafter, when he refused to with- draw Major Anderson from Fort Sumter, on the demand of the self-styled South Carolina Commissioners, the separation be- came complete. For more than two months before the close of the session all friendly intercourse between them and the Presi- dent, whether of a political or social cha- racter, had ceased. Tlie Critteiicleu Compromise. Congress referred the request in the message, to adopt amendments to the con- stitution recognizing the rights of the Slave States to take slavery into the terri- tories to a committee of thirteen, consisting of five Republicans : Messrs. Seward, Col- lamer, Wade, Doolittle, and Grimes ; five from slave-holding States : Messrs. Powell, Hunter, Crittenden, Toombs, and Davis ; and three Northern Democrats ; Messrs. Douglas, Bigler, and Bright. The latter three were intended to act as mediators between the extreme parties on the com- mittee. The committee first met on the 21st De- cember, 1860, and preliminary to any other proceeding, they " resolved that no propo- sition shall be reported as adopted, unless sustained by a majority of each of the classes of the committee ; Senators of the Republican party to constitute one class, and Senators of the other parties to con- stitute the other class." This resolution was passed, because any report they might make to the Senate would be in vain unless sanctioned by at least a majority of the five Republican Senators. On the next day (the 22d), Mr. Crittenden submitted to the committee " A Joint Resolution " (the same Avhich he had two days before pre- sented to the Senate), "proposing certain amendments to the Constitution of the United States," now known as the Critten- den Comiiromise. This was truly a com- promise of conflicting claims, because it proposed that the South should surrender their adjudged right to take slaves into all our Territories, provided the North would recognize this right in the Territories south of the old Missouri Compromise line. The committee rejected this compromise, every one of its five Republican members, together with Messrs. Davis and Toombs, from the cotton States, having voted against it. Indeed, not one of all the Re- publicans in the Senate, at any period or in any form, voted in its favor. The committee, having failed to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, reported their disagreement to the Senate on the 31st December, 1860, in a resolution declaring that they had " not been able to agree upon any general plan of adjustment." Mr. Crittenden did not despair of ultimate success, notwithstanding his de- feat before the Committee of Thirteen. After this, indeed, he could no longer ex- pect to carry his compromise as an amend- ment to the Constitution by the necessary two-thirds vote of Congress. It was, therefore, postponed by the Senate on his own motion. As a substitute for it he submitted to the Senate, on the 3d January, 1861, a joint resolution, which might be passed by a majority of both Houses. This was to refer his rejected amendment, by an ordinary act of Con- gress, to a direct vote of the people of the several States. He offered his resolution in the following language : " Whereas the Union is_ in danger, and, owing to the unhajijjy divi- sion existing in Congress, it would be dif- ficult, if not impossible, for that body to concur in both its branches by the re- quisite majority, so as to enable it either to adopt such measures of legislation, or to recommend to the States such amend- THE CRITTENDEN COMPROMISE. 105 merits to the Constitution, as are deemed necessary and proper to avert that danger ; and whereas in so great an emergency the opinion and judgment of the people ought to be heard, and would be the best and surest guide to their Representatives ; Therefore, Resolved, That provision ought to be made by law without delay for tak- ing the sense of the people and submitting to their vote the following resolution [the same as in his former amendment], as the basis for the final and permanent settle- ment of those disputes that now disturb the peace of the country and threaten the existence of the Union." Memorials in its favor poured into Con- gress from portions of the North, even from New England. One of these pre- sented to the Senate was from " the Mayor and members of the Board of Aldermen and the Common Council of the city of Boston, and over 22,000 citizens of the State of Massachusetts, praying the adop- tion of the compromise measures proposed by Mr. Crittenden." It may be proper here to observe that the resolution of Mr. Crittenden did not provide in detail for holding elections by which " the sense of the people " could be ascertained. To sup- ply this omission, Senator Bigler, of Pennsylvania, on the 14th January, 1861, brought in " A bill to provide for taking the sense of the j^eople of the United States on certain proposed amendments to the Constitution of the United States;" but never was he able to induce the Senate even to consider this bill. President Buchanan exerted all his in- fluence in favor of these measures. In his special message to Congress of the 8th of January, 1861, after depicting the conse- quences which had already resulted to the country from the bare apprehension of civil war and the dissolution of the Union, he says : " Let the question be transferred from political assemblies to the ballot-box, and the people themselves would speedily re- dress the serious grievances which the South have suiFered. But, in Heaven's name, let the trial be made before we plunge into armed conflict upon the mere - assumption that there is no other alterna- tive. Time is a great conservative power. Let us pause at this momentous point, and afford the people, both North and South, an opportunity for reflection. Would that South Carolina had been convinced of this truth before her precipitate action! I, therefore, appeal through you to the peo- ple of the country, to declare in their I might that the Union must and shall be 1 preserved by all constitutional means. I i most earnestly recommend that you devote [yourselves exclusively to the question how ■this can be accomplished in peace. All other questions, when compared with this, sink into insignificance. The present is no time for palliatives ; action, prompt action is required. A delay in Congress to pre- scribe or to recommend a distinct and practical proposition for conciliation, may drive us to a point from which it will be almost impossible to recede. " A common ground on which concilia- tion and harmony can be produced is surely not unattainable. The proposition to compromise by letting the North have exclusive control of the territory above a certain line, and to give Southern institu- tions protection below that line, ought to receive universal api^robation. In itself, indeed, it may not be entirely satisfactory, but when the alternative is between a reasonable concession on both sides and a dissolution of the Union, it is an imputa- tion on the patriotism of Congress to assert that its members will hesitate for a mo- ment." This recommendation was totally disre- garded. On the 14th January, 1861, Mr. Crittenden made an unsuccessful attempt to have it considered, but it was postponed until the day following. On this day it was again postponed by the vote of every Republican Senator present, in order to make way for the Pacific Railroad bill. On the third attempt (January 16,) he suc- ceeded, but by a majority of a single vote,, in bringing his resolution before the body. Every Republican Senator present voted against its consideration. Mr. Clark, a Republican Senator from New Hampshire, moved to strike out the entire preamble and resolution of Mr. Crittenden, and in lieu thereof insert as a substitute a pream- ble and resolution in accordance with the Chicago platform. This motion prevailed by a vote of 25 to 23, every Republican Senator present having voted in its favor. Thus Mr. Crittenden's proposition to refer the question to the people was buried under the Clark amendment. This con- tinued to be its position for more than six weeks, until the day before the final ad- journment of Congress, 2d March, when the proposition itself was defeated by a vote of 19 in the afiirmative against 20 in the negative. The Clark Amendment ])revailed only in consequence of the refusal of six Seces- sion Senators to vote against it. These were Messrs. Benjamin and Slidell, of Louisiana ; Mr. Iverson, of Georgia ; ]\Iessrs. Hemphill and Wigfall, of Texas ; and Mr. Johnson, of Arkansas. Had these gentlemen voted with the border slave- holding States and the other Democratic Senators, the Clark Amendment would have been defeated, and the Senate would then have been brought to a direct vote on the Crittenden resolution. It is proper foj- reference that the names of those Senators who constituted the ma- 106 AMERICAN POLITICS. jority on this question, should be placed upon record. Every vote given from the six New England States was in opposition to Mr. Crittenden's resolution. These con- sisted of Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire ; Messrs. Sumner and Wilson, of Massachu- setts; Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island; Messrs. Dixon and Foster, of Connecticut ; Mr. Foot, of Vermont ; and Mr. Fessen- den, of Maine. The remaining twelve Totes, in order to make up the 20, were given by Messrs. Bingham and Wade, of Ohio; Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois ; Messrs. Bingham and Chandler, of Michigan ; Messrs. Grimes and Harlan, of Iowa ; Messrs. Doolittle and Durkee, of Wiscon- sin ; Mr. Wilkinson, of Minnesota ; Mr. King, of New York ; and Mr. Ten Eyck, of New Jersey. The Republicans not voting were Hale of New Hampshire ; Simmons of Rhode Island ; Collamer of Vermont ; Seward of . New York, and Cameron of Pennsylvania. They refrained from various motives, but in the majority of instances because they disbelieved in any effort to compromise, for nearly all "were recognized leaders of the more radi- cal sentiment, and in favor of coercion of the South by energetic use of the war powers of the government. This was spe- cially true of Hale, Seward, and General ■Cameron, shortly after Secretary of War, and the first Cabinet officer who favored the raising of an immense army and the ■early liberation and arming of the slaves. On December 4th, 1860, on motion of Mr. Boteler of Virginia, so much of Presi- dent Buchanan's message as related to the perilous condition of the country, was re- ferred to a special committee of one from •each State, as follows : Corwin of Ohio ; Millson of Virginia ; Adams of Massachusetts ; Winslow of l^orth Carolina ; Humphrey of New York ; Boyce of South Carolina ; Campbell of Pennsylvania ; Love of Georgia ; Ferry of •Connecticut ; Davis of Maryland ; Robin- son of Rhode Island ; Whiteley of Dela- ware ; Tappan of New Hampshire ; Strat- ton of New Jersey ; Bristow of Kentucky ; Morrill of Vermont ; Nelson of Tennessee ; Dunn of Indiana; Taylor of Louisiana; Davis of Mississippi; Kellogg of Illinois; Houston of Alabama ; Morse of Maine ; Phelps of Missouri ; Rust of Arkansas ; Howard of Michigan ; Hawkins of Florida ; Hamilton of Texas ; Washburn of Wiscon- sin ; Curtis of Iowa ; Burch of California ; Windom of Minnesota ; Stout of Oregon. Messrs. Hawkins and Boyce asked to be excused from service on the Committee, but the House refused. From this Committee Mr. Corwin report- ed, January 14th, 1861, a series of proposi- tions with a written statement in advocacy thereof Several minorrity reports were presented, but the following Joint Reso- lution is the only one which secured the assent of both Houses. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the fol- lowing article be proposed to the Legisla- tures of the several States as an amend- ment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three- fourths of said Legislatures, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the said Constitution, namely: Art. XII. No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will auth- orize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State. The Legislatures of Ohio and Maryland agreed to the amendment promptly, but events followed so rapidly, that the atten< tion of other States was drawn from it, and nothing came of this, the only Congres- sional movement endorsed which looked to reconciliation. Other propositions came from the Border and individual states, but all alike failed. Tbe Peace Convention. The General Assembly of Virginia, or the 19th of January, adopted resolutions inviting Representatives of the several States to assemble in a Peace Convention at Washington, which met on the 4th of February. It was composed of 133 Com- missioners, many from the border States, and the object of these was to prevail upon their associates from the North to unite with them in such recommendations to Congress as would prevent their own States from seceding and enable them to bring back six of the cotton States which had already seceded. One month only of the session of Con- gress remained. Within this brief period it was necessary that the Convention should recommend amendments to the Constitution in sufficient time to enable both Houses to act upon them before their final adjournment. It was also essential to success that these amendments should be sustained by a decided majority of the commissioners both from the Northern and the border States. On Wednesday, the 6th February, a re- solution was adopted,* on motion of Mr. Guthrie, of Kentucky, to refer the resolu^ tions of the General Assembly of Virginia, and all other kindred subjects, to a com- mittee to consist of one commissioner * Official Journal of the Convention, pp. 9 and 10. THE PEACE CONVENTION. 107 from each State, to be selected by the respective State delegations ; and to pre- vent delay they were instructed to report on or before the Friday following (the 8th), " what they may deem right, necessary, and proper to restore harmony and pre- serve the Union." This committee, instead of reporting on the day appointed, did not report until Friday, the 15th February. The amendments reported by a majority of the committee, through Mr. Guthrie, their chairman, were substantially the same with the Crittenden Compromise ; but on motion of Mr. Johnson, of Mary- land, the general terms of the first and by far the most important section were restricted to the present Territories of the United States. On motion of Mr. Franklin, of Pennsylvania, this section was further amended, but not materially changed, by the adoption of the substitute offered by him. Nearly in this form it was afterwards adopted by the Convention. The follow- ing is a copy : " In all the present territory of the United States north of the parallel of thirty -six degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude, involuntary servitude, ex- cept in punishment of crime, is prohibited. In all the present territory south of that line, the status of persons held to involun- tary service or labor, as it now exists, shall not be changed ; nor shall any law be passed by Congress or the Territorial Le- gislature to hinder or prevent the taking of such persons from any of the States of this Union to said territory, nor to impair the rights arising from said relation ; but the same shall be subject to judicial cogni- zance in the Federal courts, according to the course of the common law. When any Territory north or south of said line, with- in such boundary as Congress may pre- scribe, shall contain a population equal to that required for a member of Congress, it shall, if its form of government be repub- lican, be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, with or without involuntary servitude, as the Constitution of such State may provide." Mr. Baldwin, of Connecticut, and Mr. Seddon, of Virginia, made minority re- ports, which they proposed to substitute for that of the majority. Mr. Baldwin's report was a recommendation "to the I several States to unite with Kentucky in ' her application to Congress to call a Con- vention for proposing amendments to the ^ Constitution of the United States, to be I submitted to the Legislatures of the several States, or to Conventions therein, for rati- fication, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress, in accordance with the provisions in the fifth article of the Constitution." The proposition of Mr. Baldwin, re- ceived the votes of eight of the twenty-one States. These consisted of the whole of the New England States, except Rhode Island, and of Illinois, Iowa, and New York, all being free States. The first amendment reported by Mr. Seddon differed from that of the majority inasmuch as it embraced not only the present but all ftiture Territories. This was rejected. His second amendment, which, however, was never voted upon by the Convention, went so far as distinctly to recognize the right of secession. More than ten days were consumed in discussion and in voting upon various pro- positions offered by individual commis- sioners. The final vote was not reached until Tuesday, the 26th February, when it was taken on the first vitally important section, as amended. This section, on which all the rest de- pended, was negatived by a vote of eight States to eleven. Those which voted in its favor were Delaware, Kentucky, Mary- land, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. And those in the negative were Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, New Hamp- shire, Vermont, and Virginia. It is but justice to say that Messrs. Ruflin and More- head, of North Carolina, and Messrs. Rives and Summers, of Virginia, two of the five commissioners from each of these States, declared their dissent from the vote of their respective States. So, also, did Messrs. Bronson, Corning, Dodge, Wool, and Granger, five of the eleven New York commissioners, dissent from the vote of their State. On the other hand, Messrs. Meredith and Wilmot, two of the seven commissioners from Pennsylvania, dis- sented from the majority in voting in favor of the section. Thus would the Conven- tion have terminated but for the inter- position of Illinois. Immediately after the section had been negatived, the com- missioners firom that State made a motion to reconsider the vote, and this prevailed. The Convention afterwards adjourned un- til the next morning. When they reassem- bled (February 27,) the first section was adopted, but only by a majority of nine to eight States, nine being less than a ma- jority of the States represented. This change was effected by a change of the vote of Illinois from the negative to the affirm- ative, by Missouri withholding her vote, and by a tie in the New York commis- sioners, on account of the absence of one of their number, rendering it impossible for the State to vote. Still Virginia and North Carolina, and Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Ver- mont, persisted in voting in the negative. From the nature of this vote, it was mani- festly impossible that two-thirds of both Houses of Congress should act favorably 108 AMERICAN POLITICS. on the amendment, even if the delay had not already rendered such action imprac- ticable before the close of the session. The remaining sections of the amend- ment were carried by small majorities. The Convention, on the same day, through Mr. Tyler, their President, communicated to the Senate and House of Representa- tives the amendment they had adopted, embracing all the sections, with a request that it might be submitted by Congress, under the Constitution, to the several State Legislatures. In the Senate this was im- mediately referred to a select committee, on motion of Mr. Crittenden. The com- mittee, on the next day (28th Feb.), re- ported a joint resolution proposing it as an amendment to the Constitution, but he was never able to bring the Senate to a direct vote upon it. Failing in this, he made a motion to substitute the amendment of the Peace Convention for his own. Mr. Crittenden's reasons failed to con- vince the Senate, and his motion was re- jected by a large majority (28 to 7). Then next in succession came the memorable vote on Mr. Crittenden's own resolution, and it was in its turn defeated, as we have already stated, by a majority of 20 against 19. In the House of Representatives, the amendment proposed by the Convention was treated with still less consideration than it had been by the Senate. The Speaker was refused leave even to present it. Every effort made for this purpose was successfully resisted by leading Repub- lican members. The consequence is that a copy of it does not even appear in the Journal. The refusal to pass the Crittenden or any other Compromise heightened the excite- ment in the South, where many showed great reluctance to dividing the Union. Georgia, though one of the cotton States, under the influence of conservative men like Alex. H. Stephens, showed greater concern for the Union than any other, and it took all the influence of spirits like that of Robert Toombs to bring her to favor secession. She was the most powerful of the cotton States and the richest, as she is to-day. On the 22d of December, 1860, Robert Toombs sent the following exciting telegraphic manifesto from Washington : i ellow- Citizens of Georgia : I came here to secure your constitutional rights, or to demonstrate to you that you can get no guarantees for these rights from your North- ern Confederates. The whole subject was referred to a com- mittee of thirteen in the Senate yesterday. I was appointed on the committee and ac- cepted the trust. I submitted propositions, which, so far from receiving decided sup- Eort from a single member of the Repub- can party on the committee, were all treated with either derision or contempt. The vote was then taken in committee on the amendments to the Constitution, pro- posed by Hon. J. J. Crittenden of Ken- tucky, and each and all of them were voted against, unanimously, by the Black Re- publican members of the committee. In addition to these facts, a majority of the Black Republican members of the committee declared distinctly that they had no guarantees to offer, which was si- lently acquiesced in by the other members. The Black Republican members of this Committee of Thirteen are representative men of their party and section, and to the extent of my information, truly rejtresent the Committee of Thirty-three in the House^ which on Tuesday adjourned for a week without coming to any vote, after solemnly pledging themselves to vote on all proposi- tions then before them on that date. That committee is controlled by Black Republicans, your enemies, who only seek to amuse you with delusive hope until your election, in order that you may defeat the friends of secession. If you are deceived by them, it shall not be my fault. I have put the test fairly and frankly. It is de- cisive against you ; and now* I tell you up- on the faith of a true man that all further looking to the North for security for your constitutional rights in the Union ought to be instantly abandoned. It is fraught with nothing but ruin to yourselves and your posterity. Secession by the fourth of March next should be thundered from the ballot-box by the unanimous voice of Georgia on the second day of January next. Such a voice will be your best guarantee for liberty, SECUKITY, TRANQUILLITY and GLORY. Robert Toombs. important telegraphic correspond- ENCE. Atlanta, Georgia, December 26th, 1860. Hon. S. A. Donglas or Hon. J. J. Critten- den : Mr. Toombs's despatch of the 22d inst. unsettled conservatives here. Is there any hope for Southern rights in the Union ? We are for the Union of our fathers, if South- ern rights can be preserved in it. If not, we are for secession. Can we yet hope the Union will be preserved on this prin- ciple? You are looked to in this emer- gency. Give us your views by despatch and oblige William Ezzard. Robert W. Sims. James P. Hambleton. Thomas S. Powell. S. G. HO-SVELL, J. A. Hayden. G. W. Adair. R. C. Honlester. SECESSION. 109 Washington, December 29th, 1860. In reply to your inquiry, we have hopes that the rights of the South, and of every State and section, may be protected within the Union. Don't give up the ship. Don't despair of the Republic. J. J. Crittenden. S. A. Douglas. Congress, amid excitement which the above dispatches indicate, and which was general, remained for several weeks com- paratively inactive. Buchanan sent mes- sages, but his suggestions were distrusted by the Republicans, who stood firm in the conviction that when Lincoln took his seat, and the new Congress came in, they could pass measures calculated to restore the property of and jjrotect the integrity of the Union. None of them believed in the right of secession ; all had lost faith in compromises, and all of this party repudi- ated the theory that Congress had no right to coerce a State. The revival of these questions, revived also the logical thoughts of Webster in his great reply to Hayne, and the way in which he then expanded the constitution was now accepted as the proper doctrine of Republicanism on that question. No partisan sophistry could shake the convictions made by Webster, and so apt were his arguments in their application to every new development that they supplied every logical want in the Northern mind. Republican orators and newspapers quoted and endorsed, until nearly every reading mind was imbued with the same sentiments, until in fact the Northern Democrats, and at all times the Douglas Democrats, were ready to stand by the flag of the Union. George W. Curtis, in Harper^ s Weekly (a journal which at the time graphically illustrated the best Union thoughts and sentiments), in an issue as late as January 12th, 1872, well described the power of Webster's grand ability * over a crisis which he did not live to see, Mr. Curtis says : — " The war for the Union was a vindica- tion of that theory of its nature which Webster had maintained in a memorably impregnable and conclusive manner. His second speech on Foot's resolution — the reply to Hayne — was the most famous and effective speech ever delivered in this country. It stated clearly and fixed firmly in the American mind the theory of the government, which was not, indeed, origi- nal with Webster, but which is nowhere else presented with such complete and in- exorable reason as in this speech. If the poet be the man who is so consummate a master of expression that he only says per- The text of Webster's speech in reply to Hayne, now mH K ^ '^^ greatest constitutional exposition ever marte by any American orator, will be found in our book •eroted to Great Speeches on Great Issues. fectly what everybody thinks, upon this great occasion the orator was the poet. He spoke the profound but often obscured and dimly conceived conviction of a nation. He made the whole argument of the civil war a generation before the war occurred, and it has remained unanswered and un- answerable. Mr. Everett, in his discourse at the dedication of the statute of Webster, in the State-House grounds in Boston in 18591, described the orator at the delivery of this great speech. The evening before he seemed to be so careless that Mr. Ever- ett feared that he might not be fully aware of the gravity of the occasion. But when the hour came, the man was there. ' As I saw him in the evening, if I may borrow an illustration from his favorite amuse- ment,' said Mr. Everett, 'he was as un- concerned and as free of spirit as some here have often seen him while floating in his fishing-boat along a hazy shore, gently rocking on the tranquil tide, dropping his line here and there with the varying for- tune of the sport. The next morning he was like some mighty admiral, dark and terrible, casting the long shadow of his frowning tiers far over the sea, that seemed to sink beneath him; his broad pennant streaming at the main, the Stars and Stripes at the fore, the mizzen, and the peak, and bearing down like a tempest upon his an- tagonist, with all his canvas strained to the wind, and all his thunders roaring from his broadsides.' This passage Avell sug- gests that indescribable impression of great oratory which Rufus Choate, in his eulogy of Webster at Dartmouth College, conveys by a felicitous citation of what Quintilian says of Hortensius, that there was some spell in the spoken word Avhich the reader misses." As we have remarked, the Republicans were awaiting the coming of a near and greater power to themselves, and at the same time jealously watching the move- ments of the friends of the South in Con- gress and in the President's Cabinet. It needed all their watchfulness to prevent advantages which the .-secessionists thought they had a right to take. Thus Jeflferson Davis, on January 9th, 1860, introduced to the senate a bill " to authorize the sale of public arms to the several States and Territories," and as secession became more probable he sought to press its passage, but failed. Floyd, the Secretary of War, was far more successful, and his conduct was made the subject of the following historic and most remarkable report : — Transfer of U. S. Arms South In 1859-60. Report (Abstract of) made by Mr. B. Stanton, from the Committee on Military 110 AMERICAN POLITICS. Affairs, in House of Representatives, Feb. 18th, 1861. The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom -was referred the resolution of the House of Representatives of 31st of De- cember last, instructing said committee to inquire and report to the House, how, to whom, and at what price, the public arms distributed since the first day of January, A. D. 1860, have been disposed of; and also into the condition of the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, etc., etc., submit the following report : That it appears from the papers herewith submitted, that Mr. Floyd, the late Secre- tary of War, by the authority or under color of the law o'f March 3d, 1825, author- izing the Secretary of War to sell any arms, ammunition, or other military stores which should be found unsuitable for the public service, sold to sundry persons and States 31,610 flint-lock muskets, altered to per- cussion, at $2.50 each, between the 1st day of January, A. D. 1860, and the 1st day of January, A.D., 1861. It will be seen from the testimony of Colonel Craig and Captain Maynadier, that they differ as to whether the arms so sold had been found, " upon proper inspection, to be unsuitable for the public service." Whilst the Committtee do not deem it important to decide this question, they say, that in their judgment it would require a very liberal construction of the law to bring these sales within its provisions. It also appears that on the 21st day of November last, Mr. Belknap made applica- tion to the Secretary of War for the pur- chase of from one to two hundred and fifty thousand United States muskets, flint-locks and altered to percussion, at $2.15 each ; but the Secretary alleges that the acceptance was made under a misapprehension of the price bid, he supposing it was $2.50 each, instead of $2.15. Mr. Belknap denies all knowledge of any mistake or misapprehension, and insists upon the performance of his contract. The present Secretary refuses to recog- nize the contract, and the muskets have not been delivered to Mr. Belknap. Mr. Belknap testifies that the muskets were intended for the Sardinian govern- ment. It will appear bv the papers herewith submitted, that on the 29th of December, 1859, the Secretary of War ordered the transfer of 65,000 percussion muskets, 40- 000 muskets altered to percussion, and 10- 000 percussion rifles, from the Springfield Armorv and the Watertown and Water- vliet Arsenals, to the Arsenals at Fayette- ville, N. C, Charleston, S. C, Augusta, Ga., Mount Vernon, Ala., and Baton Rouge, La., and that these arms were distributed during the spring of 1860 as follows : Percussion Altered muskets, muskets. Biflec To Charleston Arsenal, 9,2S0 5,720 J.OOOi To North Carolina Arsenal, 15,480 9,520 2,00a To Augusta Arsenal, 12,380 7,r,20 2,000 To Mount Vernon Arsenal, 9,280 5,7:;0 2,000 To Baton Kouge Arsenal, 18,580 11,420 2,000- 65,000 40,000 10,000 All of these arms, except those sent to the North Carolina Arsenal,* have been seized by the authorities of the several States of South Carolina, Alabama, Loui- siana and Georgia, and are no longer in possession of the United States. It will appear by the testimony herewith presented, that on the 20th of October last the Secretary of War ordered forty colum- biads and four thirty-two pounders to be- sent from the Arsenal at Pittsburg to the fort on Ship Island, on the coast of Missis- sippi, then in an unfinished condition,^and seventy columbiads and seven thirty-two pounders to be sent from the same Arsenal to the fort at Galveston, in Texas, the building of which had scarcely been com- menced. This order was given to the Secretary of War, without any report from the Engineel department showing that said works were ready for their armament, or that the guns, were needed at either of said points. It will be seen by the testimony of Cap- tain Wright, of the Engineer department, that the fort at Galveston cannot be ready for its entire armament in less than about five years, nor for any part of it in less than two ; and that the fort at Ship Island will require an appropriation of $85,000 and one year's time before it can be ready for any part of its armament. This last named fort has been taken possession of by the State authorities of Mississippi. The order of the late Secretary of War (Floyd) was countermanded by the present Secretary (Holt) before it had been fully executed by the shipment of said guns from Pittsburg. t It will be seen by a communication from the Ordnance office of the 21st of January last, that bv the last returns there were re- maining in" the United States arsenals and armories the following small arms, viz : Percussion muskets and muskets altered to percussion of calibre 69 499,554 Percussion rifles, calibre 54 42,011 Total 541,565 * These were afterwards seized. t Th.- attempted removal of these heavy guns from Al- legheny Arsenal, late in December, 18G0, cr^-ate.l mteM6 excitement. A monster mass meeting assembled at tne cail of the Mayor of the city, and citizens of all P-'rti«» aided in the effort to prevent the slnpnient. 1 hrougQ the interposition of Hon. J. K. Moorhead, Hon. K MC v Knight, Judge Shaler. Judge Wilkms Judge Miannon and others inquiry was instituted, and a revocation oi the order obtained. The Secessionists in Congress bittenj complained of the " mob law" which thus '"towered w.tft the routine of governmental affairs.-McPherson s Historj. SECESSION. Ill Of these 60,878 were deposited in the arsenals of South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana, and are in the possession of the authorities of those States, reducing the number in possession of the United States to 480,687. Since the date of said communication, the following additional forts and military- posts have been taken possession of by parties acting under the authority of the States in which they are respectively situ- ated, viz : Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. Fort Morgan, Alabama. Baton Rouge Barracks, Louisiana. Fort Jackson, Louisiana, Fort St. Philip, Fort Pike, Louisiana. Oglethorpe Barracks, Georgia. And the department has been unofficially advised that the arsenal at Chattahoochee, Forts McRea and Barrancas, and Barracks, have been seized by the authorities of Florida. To what further extent the small arms in possession of the United States may have been reduced by these figures, your committee have not been advised. The whole number of the sea-board forts in the United States is fifty-seven ; their appropriate garrison in war would require 26,420 men ; their actual garrison at this time is 1,334 men, 1,308 of whom are in the forts at Governor's Island, New York ; Fort McHenry, Maryland; Fort Monroe, Virginia, and at Alcatraz Island, California, in the harbor of San Francisco. From the facts elicited, it is certain that the regular military force of the United States, is wholly inadequate to the pro- tection of the forts, arsenals, dockyards, and other property of the United States in the present disturbed condition of the country. The regular army numbers only 18,000 men when recruited to its maximum strength, and the whole of this force is required for the protection of the border settlements against Indian depreda- tions. Unless it is the intention of Con- gress that the forts, arsenals, dock-yards and other public property, shall be exposed to capture and spoliation, the President must be armed with additional force for their protection. In the opinion of the Committee the law of February 28th, 1795, confers upon the President ample power to call out the mili- tia,to execute the laws and protect the public property. But as the late Attorney-General has given a different opinion, the Commit- tee to remove all doubt upon the subject, report the accompanying bill, etc. OTHER ITEMS. Statenumt of Arms dktribuUd by Sale since the firU of January, 1860, to whom told and the place whence told. 1860. Arsenals. To tahom sold. No. Date of Sale. Where sold. J. W. Z»charie & Co 4,000 Feb 3 St. Louis. James T. Ames 1,(J00 Mar. U New York. Captain G. Barry »0 June 11 St. Louis. W. C. N. Swift 400 Aug. 31 Springfield. do 80 Nov. 13 do. State of Alabama 1,000 Sep. 27 Baton Rouge. do 2,600 Nov. 14 do. State of Virginia 5,000 Nov. 6 Washington, Phillips county, Ark 50 Nov. 16 St. Louis. G. B. Lamar 10,0(H) Nov. 24 Watervliet. The arms were all flint-lock muskets altered to percussion, and were all sold at $2.50 each, except those purchased by Cap- tain G. Barry and by the Phillips county volunteers, for which $2 each were paid. The Mobile Advertiser says : " During the past year 135,430 muskets have been quietly transferred from the Northern Ar- senal at Springfield alone, to those in the Southern States. We are much obliged to Secretary Floyd for the foresight he has thus displayed in disarming the North and equipping the South for this emergency. There is no telling the quantity of arms and munitions which were sent South from other Northern arsenals. There is no doubt but that every man in the South who can carry a gun can now be supplied from pri- vate or public sources. The Springfield contribution alone would arm all the mili- tiamen of Alabama and Mississippi." General Scott, in his letter of December 2d, 1862, on the early history of the Rebel- lion, states, that " Rhode Island, Delaware and Texas had not drawn, at the end of 1860, their annual quotas of arms for that year, and Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Kentucky only in part; Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Kansas were, by order of the Secretary of War, supplied with their quotas for 1861 in advance, and Pennsylvania and Maryland in part" This advance of arms to eight Southern States is in addition to the transfer, about the same time, of 115,000 muskets to South- ern arsenals, as per Mr. Stanton's report. Governor Letcher of Virginia, in his Message of December, 1861, says, that for some time prior to secession, he had been engaged in purchasing arms, ammunition, etc. ; among which were 13 Parrott rifled cannon, and 5,000 muskets. He desired to buy from the United States Government 10,000 more, when buying the 5,000, but he says " the authorities declined to sell them to us, although five times the number were then in the arsenal at Washington. " Had Jefferson Davis' bill relative to the purchase of arms become a law, the result might have been different. This and similar action on the part of the South, especially the attempted seizure and occupation of forts, convinced many 112 AMERICAN POLITICS. of the Republicans that no compromise could endure, however earnest its advo- cates from the Border States, and this earnestness was unquestioned. Besides their attachment to the Union, they knew that in the threatened war they would be the greatest sufferers, with their people di- vided neighbor against neighbor, their lands laid waste, and their houses destroy- ed. They had every motive for earnest- ness in the effort to conciliate the disagree- ing sections. The oddest partisan feature in the en- tire preliminary and political struggle was the attempt, in the parlance of the day, of " New York to secede from New York" — an oddity verified by Mayor Wood's recom- mendation in favor of the secession of NeAV York city, made January 6th, 1861. The document deserves a place in this history, as it shows the views of a portion of the citizens then, and an exposition of their interests as presented by a citizen before and since named by repeated elections to Congress. Mayor Wood's Secession Message. To the Honorable the Common Council : Gentlemen: — We are entering upon the public duties of the year under circum- stances as unprecedented as they are gloomy and painful to contemplate. The great trading and producing interests of not only the city of New York, but of the entire country, are prostrated by a mone- tary crisis ; and although similar calami- ties have before befallen us, it is the first time that they have emanated from causes having no other origin than that which may be traced to political disturbances. Truly, may it now be said, " We are in the midst of a revolution bloodless as yet." Whether the dreadful alternative implied as probable in the conclusion of this pro- phetic quotation may be averted, " no hu- man ken can divine." It is quite certain that the severity of the storm is unexam- pled in our history, and if the disintegra- tion of the Federal Government, witli the consequent destruction of all the material interests of the people shall not follow, it will be owing more to the interposition of Divine Providence, than to the inherent preventive power of our institutions, or the intervention of any other human agency. It would seem that a dissolution of the Federal Union is inevitable. Having been formed originally on a basis of general and mutual protection, but separate local inde- pendence — each State reserving the entire and absolute control of its own domestic affairs, it is evidently impossible to keep them together longer than they deem themselves fairly treated by each other, or longer than the interests, honor and fra- ternity of the people of the several States are satisfied. Being a Government created by opinion, its continuance is dependent upon the continuance of the sentiment which formed it. It cannot be preserved by coercion or held together by force. A resort to this last dreadful alternative would of itself destroy not only the Gov- ernment, but the lives and property of the people. If these forebodings shall be realized, and a separation of the States shall occur, momentous considerations will be pre- sented to the corporate authorities of this city. We must provide for the new re- lations which will necessarily grow out of the new condition of public affairs. It will not only be necessary for us to settle the relations which we shall hold to other cities and States, but to establish, if we can, new ones with a portion of our own State. Being the child of the Union, having drawn our sustenance ^rom its bosom, and arisen to our present power and strength through the vigor of our mother — when deprived of her maternal advantages, we must rely upon our own resources and assume a position predicated upon the new phase which public affairs will present, and upon the inherent strength which our geographical, commer- cial, political, and financial pre-eminence imparts to us. With our aggrieved brethren of the Slave States, we have friendly relations and a common sympathy. We have not participated in the warfare upon their con- stitutional rights or their domestic insti- tutions. While other portions of our State have unfortunately been imbued with the fanatical spirit which actuates a portion of the people of New England, the city of New York has unfalteringly preserved the integrity of its principles in adherence to the compromises of the Constitution and the equal rights of the people of all the States. We have respected the local in- terests of every section, at no time oppress- ing, but all the while aiding in the devel- opment of the resources of the whole country. Our ships have penetrated to every clime, and so have New York capi- tal, energy and enterprise found their way to every State, and, indeed, to almost every county and town of the American Union. If we have derived sustenance from the Union, so have we in return disseminated blessings for the common benefit of all. Therefore, New York has a right to ex- pect, and should endeavor to preserve a continuance of uninterrupted intercourse with every section. It is, however, folly to disguise the fact that, judging from the past. New York may have more cause of apprehension from the aggressive legislation of our own State CONGRESS ON THE EVE OF THE REBELLION. 113 than from external dangers. We have already largely suffered from this cause. For the past five years, our interests and corporate rights have been repeatedly trampled upon. Being an integral portion of the State, it has been assumed, and in effect tacitly admitted on our part by non- resistance, that all political and govern- mental power over us rested in the State Legislature. Even the common right of t vxing ourselves for our own government, has been yielded, and we are not permit- ted to do so without this authority. * * * Thus it will be seen that the political connection between the people of the city and the State has been used by the latter to our injury. The Legislature, in which the present partizan majority has the l)0\ver, has become the instrument by which we are plundered to enrich their speculators, lobby agents, and Abolition politicians. Laws are passed through their malign influence by which, under foi'ms of legal enactment, our burdens have been increased, our substance eaten out, and our municipal liberties destroyed. Self- government, though guaranteed by the State Constitution, and left to every other county and city, has been taken from us by this foreign power, whose dependents have been sent among us to destroy our liberties by subverting our political sys- tem. How we shall rid ourselves of this odi- ous and oppressive connection, it is not for me to determine. It is certain that a dissolution cannot be peacefully accom- plished, except by the consent of the Legislature itself. Whether this can be obtained or not, is, in my judgment, doubt- ful. Deriving so much advantage from its power over the city, it is not probable that a partizan majority will consent to a separation — and the resort to force by vio- lence and revolution must not be thought of for an instant. We have been distin- guished as an orderly and law-abiding people. Let us do nothing to forfeit this character, or to add to the present dis- tracted condition of public affairs. Much, no doubt, can be said in favor of the justice and policy of a separation. It may be said that secession or revolution in any of the United States would be subver- sive of all Federal authority, and, so far as the Central Government is concerned, the resolving of the community into its original elements— that, if part of the States form new combinations and Gov- ernments, other States may do the same. California and her sisters" of the Pacific will no doubt set up an independent Re- public and husband their own rich min- eral resources. The Western States, equally rich in cereals and other agricultural pro- ducts, will probably do the same. Then It may be said, why should not New York 8 city, instead of supporting by her contri- butions in revenue two-thirds of the ex- penses of the United States, become also equally independent ? As a free city, with but nominal duty on imports, her local Government could be supported without taxation upon her people. Thus we could live free from taxes, and have cheap goods nearly duty free. In this she would have the whole and united support of the Southern States, as well as all the other States to whose interests and rights under the Constitution she has always been true. It is well for individuals or communi- ties to look every danger square in the face, and to meet it calmly and bravely. As dreadful as the severing of the bonds that have hitherto united the States has been in contemplation, it is now appar- ently a stern and inevitable fact. We have now to meet it with all the conse- quences, whatever they may be. If the Confederacy is broken up the Government is dissolved, and it behooves every distinct community, as well as every individual, to take care of themselves. When Disunion has become a fixed and certain fact, why may not New York dis- rupt the bands which bind her to a venal and corrupt master — to a people and a party that have plundered her revenues, attempted to ruin her commerce, taken away the power of self-government, and destroyed the Confederacy of which she was the proud Empire City ? Amid the gloom which the present and prospective condition of things must cast over the country. New York, as a Free City, may shed the only light and hope of a future reconstruction of our once blessed Con- federacy. But I am not prepared to recommend the violence implied in these views. In stating this argument in favor of freedom, " peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must," let me not be misunderstood. The redress can be found only in appeals to the mag- nanimity of the people of the whole State. The events of the past two months have no doubt effected a change in the popular sentiment of the State and National poli- tics. This change may bring us the de- sired relief, and we may be able to obtain a repeal of the law to which I have re- ferred, and a consequent restoration of our corporate rights. Fernando Wood, Mayor. January 6th, 1861. Congress on. the E-re of the Rebellion. It should be borne in mind that all of the propositions, whether for compromise, authority to suppress insurrection, or new laws to collect duties, had to be considered by the Second Session of the 36th Con- gress, which was then, with the exception 114 AMERICAN PuLITICS. of the Republicans, a few Americans, and tlie anti-Lecompton men, supporting the administration of Buchanan. No Congress ever had so many and such grave proposi- tions presented to it, and none ever showed more exciting jjolitical divisions. It was composed of the following persons, some of whom survive, and most of whom are historic characters : SENATE. John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, Vice-President; Maine — H. Hamlin,* W. P. Fessenden. Neiv Hampshire — John P. Hale, Daniel Clark. Vermont — Solomon Foot, J. Collamer. Massachusetts — Henry Wilson, Charles Sumuer. Rhode Island — James F. Simmons, H. B. Anthony. Connecticut — L. S. Foster, Jas. Dixon. New York — William H. Seward, Preston King. New Jersey— 3. C. Ten Eyck, J. E. Thom- son. Pennsylvania — S. Cameron, Wm. Bigler. Delaware — J. A. Bayard, W. Saulsbury. Maryland — J. A. Pearce, A. Kennedy. Virginia — R. M. T. Hunter, James M. Mason. South Carolina — Jas. Chesnut,t James H. Hammond.f North Carolina — Thomas Bragg, T. L. Clingman. Alabama — B. Fitzpatrick, C. C. Clay, Jr. Mississippi — A. G. Brown, Jeff. Davis. Louisiana — J. P. Benjamin, John Sli- dell. Tennessee — A. 0. P. Nicholson, A. John- son. Arkansas — R. W. Johnson, W. K. Se- bastian. Kentucky — L. W, Powell, J. J. Critten- den. Missouri — Jas. S. Green, Trusten Polk. Ohio—B. F. AVade, Geo. E. Pugh. Indiana— J. D. Bright, G. N. Fitch. Pulinois — S. A. Douglas, L. Trumbull. Michigan — Z. Chandler, K. S. Bingham. Florida— D. L. Yulee, S. R. Mallory. Georgia — Alfred Iverson, Robt. Toombs. rexas— John Hemphill, L. T. Wigfall. Wisconsin — Charles Durkee, J. R. Doo- little. lotca — J. M. Grimes, Jas. Harlan. California — M. S. Latham. William M. Gwin. Minnesota — H. M. Rice, M. S. Wilkin- son. Oregon — Joseph Lane, Edward D. Ba- ker. »R<^8ignpd .T.inuary 17th, 1861, and succeeded by Hon. Lot M. Morrill. ■\ Did not attend. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. William Pennington, of New Jersey, Sjjeaker. Maine — D. E. Somes, John J. Perry, E. B. French, F. H. Morse, Israel Washburn, Jr.,* S. C. Foster. New Hampshire — Gilman Marston, M. W. Tappan, T. M. Edwards. Vermont— E. P. Walton, J. S. Morrill, H. E. Royce. Massachusetts — Thomas D. Eliot, James Bufifinton, Charles Francis Adams, Alexan- der H. Rice, Anson Burlingame, John B. Alley, Daniel W. Gooch, Charles R. Train, Eli Thayer, Charles Delano, Plenry L. Dawes. Rhode Island — C. Robinson, W, D. Brayton. Connecticut — Dwight Loomis, John Woodruff, Alfred A. Burnham, Orris^S. Ferry. Delaware — W. G. Whiteley. New York — Luther C. Carter, James Humphreys, Daniel E. Sickles, W. B. Ma- clay, Thomas J. Barr, John Cochrane, Gorge Briggs, Horace F. Clark, John B. Haskin, Chas. H. Van Wyck, William S. Kenyon, Charles L. Beale, Abm. B. Olin, John H.;Reynolds, Jas. B. McKean, G. W. Palmer, Francis E. Spinner, Clark B. Cochrane, James H. Graham, Richard Franchot, Roscoe Conkling, R. H. Duell, M. Ludley Lee, Charles B. Hoard, Chas. B. Sedgwick, M. Butterfield, Emory B. Pottle, Alfred Wells, William Irvine, Al- fred Ely, Augustus Frank, Edwin R. Rey- nolds, Elbridge G. Spaulding Reuben E. Fenton. New Jersey — John T. Nixon, John L. N. Stratton, Garnett B. Adrain, Jetur E. Riggs, Wm. Pennington (Speaker). Pennsylvania— T\\om2iii B. Florence, E. Joy Morris, John P. Verree, William Mill- ward, John Wood, John Hickman, Henry C. Longnecker, Jacob K. McKenty, Thad- deus Stevens, John W. Kellinger, James H. Campbell, George W. Scranton, Wil- liam H. Dimmick, Galusha A. Grow, James T. Hale, Benjamin F. Junkin, Edward McPherson, Samuel S. Blair, John Covode, William Montgomery, James K. Moorhead, Robert McKniglit, William Stewart, Chapin Hall, Elijah Babbitt. Maryland — Jas. A. Stewart, J. M. Harris, H. W. Davis, J. M. Kunkel, G. W. Hughes. Virginia — John S. Millson, Muscoe R. H. Garnett, Daniel C. De Jarnette, Roger A. Pryor, Thomas S. Bocock, William Smith, Alex. R. Boteler, John T. Harris, I Albert G. Jenkins, Shelton F. Leake, Henry A. Edmundson, Elbert S. Martin, Shcrrard Clemens. * Resigned and succeeded January 2d, 1^61, by H««. Stephen Coburn. SECESSION. 115 South Carolina — John McQueen, Wm. Porcher Miles, Lawrence M. Keitt, Mill- edge L. Bouham, John D. Ashmore, Wni. W. Boyce. North Carolina— W. N. H. Smith, Thos. Ruffin, W. Winslow, L. O'B. Branch, John A. Gilmer, Jas. M. Leach, Burton Craige, Z. B. Vance. Georgia — Peter E. Love, M. J. Crawford, This. Hardeman, Jr., L, J. Gartrell, J. W. H. Underwood, James Jackson, Joshua Hill, John J. Jones. Alabama — Jas. L. Pugh, David Clopton, Svdenh. Moore, Geo. S. Houston, W. R. W. Cobb, J. A. Stallworth, J. L. M. Curry. Mississippi — L. Q. C. Lamar, Reuben Davis, William Barksdale, 0. R. Single- ton, John J. McRae. Louisiana — John E. Bouligny, Miles Taylor, T.G.Davidson, John M. Landrum. Ohio — G. H. Pendleton, John A. Gur- ley, C. L. Vallandigham, William Allen, James M. Ashley, Wm. Howard, Thomas Corwin, Benj. Stanton, John Carey, C. A. Trimble, Chas. D. Martin, Saml. S. Cox, John Sherman, H. G. Blake, William Hel- mick, C. B. Tompkins, T. C. Theaker, S. Edgerton, Edward Wade, John Hutchins, John A. Bingham. Kentucky — Henry C. Burnett, Green Adams, S. O. Peyton, F. M. Bristow, W. C Anderson, Robert Mallory, Wm. E. Simras, L. T. Moore, John Y. Brown, J. W. Stevenson. Tennessee — T. A. R. Nelson, Horace Maynard, R. B. Brabson, William B. Stokes, Robert Hatton, James H. Thomas, John V. Wright, James M. Quarles, Em- erson Etheridge, Wm. T. Avery. Indiana — Wm. E. Niblack, Wm. H. English, Wm. M'Kee Dunn, Wm. S. Hol- man, David Kilgore, Albert G. Porter, John G. Davis, James Wilson, Schuyler Colfax, Chas. Case, John U. Pettit. niinois — E. B. Washburne, J. F. Farns- worth, Owen Lovejoy, Wm. Kellogg, I. N. Morris, John A. McClernand, James C. Robinson, P. B. Fouke, John A. Logan. Arkansas — Thomas C/ Hindman, Albert Rust, Missouri — J. R. Barrett, T. L. Anderson, John B. Clark, James Craig, L. H. Wood- son, John S. Phelps, John W. Noell. Michigan — William A. Howard, Henry Waldron, F. W\ Kellogg, De W. C. Leach. Florida — George S. Hawkins. Texas~3o\va. H. Regan, A. J. Hamilton. /oj<>a— S. R. Curtis, Wm. Vandevcr, CaZ(/brnja— Charles L. Scott, John C. Burch. Wisconsin— :id\xn F. Porter, C. C. Wash- burne, C. H. Larrabee. Minnesota— Cyrm Aldrich, Wm. AVin- dom. Oregon — Lansing Stout, ^ansas— Martin F. Conway, (sworn Jan. 30th, 1861). MR. Lincoln's views. While the various propositions above given were under consideration, Mr. Lin- coln was of course an interested observer from his home in Illinois, where he awaited the legal time for taking his seat as President. His views on the efforts at compromise were sought by the editor of the New York Ti-ibune, and expressed as follows : " ' I will suffer death before I will con- sent or advise my friends to consent to any concession or compromise which looks like buying the privilege of taking posses- sion of the Government to which we have a constitutiouEjl right ; because, whatever I might think of the merits of the various propositions before Congress, I should re- gard any concession in the face of menace as the destruction of the government it- self, and a consent on all hands that our system shall be brought down to a level with the existing disorganized state of af- fairs in Mexico. But this thing will here- after be, as it is now, in the hands of the people; and if they desire to call a conven- tion to remove any grievances complained of, or to give new guarantees for the per- manence of vested rights, it is not mine to- oppose.' " .JUDGE black's views. Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania,, was then Buchanan's Attorney General,, and as his position has since been made the subject of lengthy controversy, it is pertinent to give the following copious ex- tract from his " Opinion upon the Powers of the President," in response to an official inquiry from the Executive : — The existing laws put and keep the Federal Government strictly on the defen- sive. You can use force only to repel an assault on the public property, and aid the courts in the performance of their duty. If the means given you to collect the revenue and execute the other laws be in- sufficient for that purpose, Congress may extend and make them more effectual to that end. If one of the States should declare her independence, your action cannot depend upon the rightfulness of the cause upon which such declaration is based. Whether the retirement of a State from the Union be the exercise of a right reserved in the Constitution or a revolutionary movement, it is certain that you have not in either case the authority to recognize her in- dependence or to absolve her from her Federal obligations. Congress or the- other States in convention assembled must take such measures as may be necessary and proper. In such an event I see nO' course for you but to go straight onward in the path you have hitherto trodden, that is, execute the laws to the extent of 116 AMERICAN POLITICS. the defensive means placed in your hands, and act generally upon the assumption that the present constitutional relations between the States and the Federal Gov- ernment continue to exist until a new order of things shall be established, either by law or force. Whether Congress has the constitutional right to make war against one or more States, and require the Executive of the Federal Government to carry it on by means of force to be drawn from the other States, is a question for Congress itself to consider. It must be admitted that no such power is expressly given ; nor are there any words in the Constitution which imply it. Among the ])owers enumerated in article I. section 8, is that " to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and to make rules concerning captures on land and water." This certainly means nothing more than the power to commence, and carry on hostilities against the foreign enemies of the nation. Another clause in the same section gives Congress the power " to provide for calling forth the militia," and to use them within the limits of the State. But this power is so restricted by the words which immediately follow, that it can be exercised only for one of the fol- lowing purposes : 1. To execute the laws of the Union ; that is, to aid the Federal officers in the performance of their regular duties. 2. To suppress insurrections against the States ; but this is confined by article IV. section 4, to cases in which the State lierself shall apply for assistance against lier own people, 3. To repel the invasion of a State by enemies who come from abroad to assail her in her own territory. All these provisions are made to protect the States, not to authorize an attack by one part of the country upon another; to preserve their peace, and not to plunge them into civil war. Our forefathers do not seem to have thought that war was calculated " to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- quillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our i)Osterity." There was undoubtedly a strong and universal conviction among the men who framed and ratified the Constitu- tion, that military force would not only be useless, but pernicious as a means of hold- ing the States together. If it be true that war cannot be declared, nor a system of general hostilities carried on by the central government against a State, then it seems to follow that an attempt to do so would be ipno facto an ex- pulsion of such State from the Union. Being treated as an alien and an enemy, she would be compelled to act accordingly. And if Congress shall break up the present Union by unconstitutionally putting strife and enmity, and armed hostility, between different sections of the country, instead of the " domestic tranquillity " which the Constitution was meant to insure, will not all the States be absolved from their Federal obligations? Is any portion of the people bound to contribute their money or their blood to carry on a contest like that? The right of the General Government to preserve itself in its whole constitutional vigor by repelling a direct and positive aggression upon its property or its officers, cannot be denied. But this is a totally different thing from an oflensive war to punish the people for the political mis- deeds of their State governments, or to prevent a threatened violation of the Con- stitution, or to enforce an acknowledgment that the Government of the Ujiited States is supreme. The States are colleagues of one another, and if some of them shall conquer the rest and hojd them as sub- jugated provinces, it would totally destroy the whole theory upon which they are now connected. If this view of the subject be as correct as I think it is, then the Union must totally perish at the moment when Con- gress shall arm one part of the people against another for any purpose beyond that of merely protecting the General Government in the exercise of its proper constitutional "functions. I am, very re- spectfully, yours, etc., J. S. Black. To the President of the United States. The above expressions from Lincoln and Black well state the position cf the Repub- lican and the administration Democrats on the eve of the rebellion, and they are given for that purpose. The views of the original secessionists are given in South Carolina's declaration. Those of the con- servatives of the South who hesitated and leaned toward the Union, were best ex- pressed before the Convention of Georgia in the SPEECH OF ALEX. H. STEPHENS. This step (of secession) once taken can never be recalled ; and all the baleful and withering consequences that must follow, will rest on the convention for all coming time. When we and our posterity shah see our lovely South desolated by the de- mon of war, v-hich this act oft/ours u-ill in- evitably invite and call forth; when our green fields of waving harvest shall be trodden down by the murderous soldiery and fiery car of war sweeping over our land ; our temples of justice laid in ashes; all the horrors and desolations of war upon us ; who bttt this Convention unll he held re- sponsible for it ? and who but him who shall have given his vote for this unwise SECESSION. 117 and ill-timed measure, as I honestly think and believe, shall be held to strict account for this suicidal act by the present genera- tion, and probably cursed and execrated by posterity Jbr all coming time, for the wide and desolating ruin that will inevitably follow this act you now propose to perpe- trate? Pause, I entreat you, and consider for a moment what reasons you can give that will even satisfy yourselves in calmer moments — what reason you can give to your fellow sufferers in the calamity that it will bring upon us. What reasons can you give to the nations of the earth to justify it f They will be the calm and deliberate judges in the case; and what cause or one overt act can you name or point, on which to rest the plea of justification? Wliat right has the North assailed ? What inter- est of the South has been invaded ? What justice has been denied? and what claim founded in justice and right has been withheld? Can either of you to-day name one governmental act of wrong, deliber- ately and purposely done by the govern- ment of Washington, of which the South has a right to complain ? I challenge the answer. While on the other hand, let me show the facts (and believe me, gentlemen, I am not here the advocate of the North ; but I am here the friend, the firm friend, and lover of the South and her institutions, and for this reason I speak thus plainly and faithfully for yours, mine, and every other man's interest, the words of truth and soberness), of which I wish you to judge, and I will only state facts which are clear and undeniable, and which now stand as records authentic in the history of our country. When we of the South de- manded the slave-trade, or the importation of Africans for the cultivation of our lands, did they not yield the right for twenty years ? When we asked a three-fifths rep- resentation in Congress for our slaves, was it not granted ? When we asked and de- manded the return of any fugitive from justice, or the recovery of those persons owing labor or allegiance, was it not incor- porated in the Constitution, and again rat- ified and strengthened by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850? But do you reply that in many instances they have violated this compact, and have not been faithful to their engagements ? As individual and local communities, they may have done so ; but not by the sanction of Government; for that has always been true to Southern interests. Again, gentlemen, look at another act: when we have asked that more territory should be added, that we might spread the institution of slavery, have they not yielded to our demands in giving us Louisiana, Florida and Texas, out ot which four States have been carved, and ample territory for four more to be add- ed in due time, if you by this unwise and impolitic act do not destroy this hope, and perhaps, by it lose all, and have your last slave wrenched from you by stern military rule, as South America and Mexico were ; or by the vindictive decree of a universal emancipation, which may reasonably be ex- pected to follow'? But, again, gentlemen, what have we to gain by this proposed change of our rela- tion to the General Government? We have always had the control of it, and can yet, if we remain in it, and are as united as we have been. We have had a majority of the Presidents chosen from the South ; as well as the control and management of most of those chosen from the North. We have had sixty years of Southern Presi- dents to their twenty-four, thus controlling the Executive department. So of the Judges of the Supreme Court, we have had eighteen from the South, and but eleven from the North ; although nearly four- fifths of the judicial business has arisen in the Free States, yet a majority of the Court has always been from the South. This we have required so as to guard against any interpretation of the Constitution unfa- vorable to us. In like manner we have been equally watchful to guard our inter- ests in the Legislative branch of Govern- ment. In choosing the j^residing Presi- dents [pro tern.) of the Senate, we have had twenty-four to their eleven. Speakers of the House we have had twenty-three, and they twelve. While the majority of the Eepresentatives, from their greater population, have always been from the North, yet we have so generally secured the Speakei", because he, to a great extent, shapes and controls the legislation of the country. Nor have we had less control in every other department of the General Government. Attorney-Generals we have had fourteen, while the North have had but five. Foreign ministers we have had eighty-six, and they but fifty-four. While three-fourths of the business which de- mands diplomatic agents abroad is clearly from the Free States, from their greater commercial interest, yet we have had the principal embassies so as to secure the world-markets for our cotton, tobacco, and sugar on the best possible terms. We have had a vast majority of the higher offices of both army and navy, while a larger pro- portion of the soldiers and sailors were drawn from the North. Equally so of Clerks, Auditors, and Comptrollers filling the executive department, the records show for the last fifty years that of the thi-ee thousand thus employed, we have had more than two-thirds of the same, while we have but one-third of the white popu- lation of the Republic. Again, look at another item, and one, b< assured, in which we have a great anc vital interest; it is that of revenue, O] 118 AMERICAN POLITICS. means of supporting Government. From of- ficial documents, we learn that a fraction over three-fourths of the revenue collected for the support of the Government has uniformly been raised from the North. Pause now while you can, gentlemen, and contemplate carefully and candidly these important items. Look at another necessary branch of Government, and learn from stern statistical facts how mat- ters stand in that department. I mean the mail and Post-Olfice privileges that we jiow enjoy under the General Government as it has been for years past. The expense for the transportation of the mail in the Free States was, by the report of the Post- master-General for the year 1860 a little over $13,000,000, while the income was $19,000,000. But in the Slave States the transportation of the mail was $14,716,000, while the revenue from the same was $8,- 001,026, leaving a deficit of $6,704,974, to be supplied by the North for our accom- modation, and without it we must have been entirely cut off" from this most essen- tial branch of Government. Leaving out of view, for the present, the countless millions of dollars you must ex- pend in a war with the North ; with tens •of thousands of your sons and brothers slain in battle, and offered up as sacrifices upon the altar of your ambition — and for what, we ask again ? Is it for the over- throw of the American Government, es- tablished by our common ancestry, cement- ed and built up by their sweat and blood, and founded on the broad principles of Right, Justice and Humanity ? And as, such, I must declare here, as I have often done before, and which has been repeated by the greatest and wisest of statesmen and patriots in this and other lands, that it is the best and freest Government — the most equal in its rights, the most just in its de- cisions, the most lenient in its measures, and the most aspiring in its principles to elevate the race of men, that the sun of heaven ever shone upon. Now, for you to attempt to overthrow such a government as this, under which we have lived for more than three-quarters of a century — in which we have gained our wealth, our standing as a nation, our domestic safety while the elements of peril are around us, with peace and tranquillity accompanied with unbounded prosperity and rights un- assailed — is the height of madness, folly, and wickedness, to which I can neither lend my sanction nor my vote." The seven seceding States (South Caro- lina, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Ala- bama, Louisiana and Texas,) as shown by ■data previously given, organized their Provisional Government, with Jefferson Davis, the most radical secession leader, as President; and Alex. H. Stephens, the most conservative leader, as Vice Presi- dent. The reasons for these selections Avere obvious ; the first met the views of the cotton States, the other example was needed in securing the secession of other States. The Convention adopted a consti- tution, the substance of which is given elsewhere in this work. Stephens delivered a speech at Savannah, March 21st, 1861, in explanation and vindication of this instru- ment, which says all that need be said about it : " The new Constitution has put at rest forever all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institutions — African slavery as it exists among us — the proper status of the negro in our form of civiliza- tion . 'fhis was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jeffer- son, in his forecast, had anticipated this as the ' 7'ock upon ichich the old Union would split.' He was right. What was conjec- ture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the for- mation of the old Constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature: that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was, that somehow or other, in the order of Provi- dence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not in- corporated in the Constitution, was the prevailing idea at the time. The Constitu- tion, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly used against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sen- timent of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the idea of a government built upon it ; when the ' storm came and the wind blew, it fell.' " Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea ; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man. That slavery — subordina- tion to the superior race,'is his natural and normal condition. This, our new Govern- ment, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical and moral truth. This truth has been slow in the process of its development, like all other truths in the various departments of science. It has been so even amongst us. Many who hear me, perhaps, can recollect well, that this truth was not generally ad- mitted, even within their day. The errors SECESSION. 119 of the past generation still clung to many as late as twenty years ago. Those at the North who still cling to these errors, with a zeal above knowledged, we justly denom- inate fanatics. 4;- * * " In the conflict thus far, success has been, on our side, complete throughout the length and breadth of the Confederate States. It is upon this, as I have stated, our actual fabric is firmly planted ; and I cannot permit myself to doubt the ultimate success of a full recognition of this prin- ciple throughout the civilized and eulight- ■ened world. " As I have stated, the truth of this prin- ciple may be slow in development, as all truths are, and ever have been, in the var- ious branches of science. It was so with the princii^les announced by Galileo — it was so with Adam Smith and his principles of political economy — it was so with Har- •vey and his theory of the circulation of the blood. It is stated that not a single one of the medical profession, living at the time of the announcement of the truths made by him, admitted them. Now they are universally acknowledged. May we not, therefore, look with confidence to the ulti- mate universal acknowledgment of the truths upon which our system rests. It is the first government ever instituted upon principles of strict conformity to nature, and the ordination of Providence, in fur- nishing the materials of human society. Many governments have been founded upon the principle of certain classes ; but the classes thus enslaved, were of the same race, and in violation of the laws of nature. Our system commits no such violation of nature's laws. The negro, by nature, or by the curse against Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he occupies in our sys- tem. The architect, in the construction of buildings, lays the foundation with the proper materials, the granite ; then comes the brick or the marble. The substratum of our society is made of the material fitted by nature for it, and by experience we know that it is best, not only for the superior, but for the inferior race that it should be so. It is, indeed, in conformity with the ordinance of the Creator. It is nf)t for us to inquire into the wisdom of His ordinances, or to question them. For His own purposes He has made one race to differ from another, as He has made 'one star to differ from another star in glory.' "The great objects of humanity are best attained when conformed to His laws and decrees, in the formation of governments, as well as in all things else. Our Confed- eracy is founded upon principles in strict conformity with these laws. This stone which was first rejected by the first builders IS become the chief stone of the corner ' in our new edifice. I " The progress of disintegration in the old Union may be expected to go on with almost absolute certainty. We are now the nucleus of a growing power, which, if we are true to ourselves, our destiny, and high mission, will become the controlling power on this continent. To what extent accessions will go on in the process of time, or where it will end, the future will deter- mine." It was determined by the secession of eleven States in all, the Border States ex- cept Missouri, remaining in the Union, and West Virginia dividing from old Virginia for the purpose of keeping her place in the Union. The leaders of the Confederacy relied to a great extent upon the fact that' President Buchanan, in his several messages and re- plies to commissioners, and in the expla- nation of the law by his Attorney-General, had tied his own hands against any attempt to reinforce the garrisons in the Southern forts, and they acted upon this faith and made preparations for their capture. The refusal of the administration to reinforce Fort Moultrie caused the resignation of General Cass, and by this time the Cabinet was far from harmonious. As early as the 10th of December, Howell Cobb resigned as Secretaiy of the Treasury, because of his " duty to Georgia ; " January 26th, John B. Floyd resigned because Buchanan would not withdraw the troops from South- ern forts ; and before that. Attorney Gene- ral Black, without publicly expressing his views, also resigned. Mr. Buchanan saw the wreck around him, and his adminis- tration closed in profound regret on the part of many of his northern friends, and, doubtless, on his own part. His early policy, and indeed up to the close of 1860, must have been unsatisfactory even to himself, for he supplied the vacancies in his cabinet by devoted Unionists— by Philip F. Thomas of Maryland, Gen'l Dix of New York, Joseph Holt of Kentucky, and Ed- win M. Stanton of Pennsylvania — men who held in their hands the key to nearly every situation, and who did much to protect and restore the Union of the States. In the eyes of the North, the very last acts of Buchanan were the best. With the close of Buchanan's adminis- tration all eyes turned to Lincoln, and fears were entertained that the date fixed by law for the counting of the electoral vote — February 15th, 1861 — would inau- gurate violence and bloodshed at the seat of government. It passed, however, peace- ably. Both Houses met at 12 high noon in the hall of the House, Vice-President Breckinridge and Speaker Pennington, both democrats, sitting side by side, and the count was made without serious chal- lenge or question. On the nth of February Mr. Lincoln 120 AMERICAN i-uLITICS. left liis home for Washington, intending to perform the journey in easy stages. On parting with his friends at Springfield, he said: " Mij Friends : No one, in my position, can realize the sadness I feel at this part- ing. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century. Here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see you again. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot suc- ceed without the same Divine blessing which sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support. And I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I might receive that Di- vine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain. Again, I bid you all an affectionate fare- well." Lincoln passed through Indiana, Ohio, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania on his way to the Capitol. Because of threats made that he should not reach the Capitol alive, some friends in Illinois em- ployed a detective to visit Wiishington and Baltimore in advance of his arrival, and he it was who discovered a conspiracy in Baltimore to mob and assassinate him. He therefore passed through| Baltimore in the night, two days earlier than was antici- pated, and reached Washington in safety. On the'22d of February he spoke at Inde- pendence Hall and said : " All the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn, so far as I have been able to draw them, from the sentiments which originated in, and were given to the world from, this hall. I never had a feel- ing, politically, that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declara- tion of Independence. ******** " It was not the mere matter of the sepa- ration of the Colonies from the mother- land, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence, which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world for all future time. It was that which gave promise that, yi due time, the weight would be lifted ft'om the shoulders of men. This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Indepen- dence. Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world, if I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful ! But if this country cannot be saved without giving up the principle, I was about to say, ' I would rather be assassinated on the spot than surrender it.' ***** I have said nothing but what I am willing to live by, and if it be the pleasure of Al- mighty God, to die by ! " I those who may be hereafter recruited. But men of color, drafted or enlisted, or who may volunteer into the military service,, while they shall be credited on the quotas, of the several States, or sub-divisions of States, wherein they are respectively draft- ed, enlisted, or shall volunteer, shall not be assigned as State troops, but shall be mustered into regiments or companies as United States colored troops." 1864, Feb. 29 — Bill passed reviving the grade of Lieutenant General in the army, and Major General Ulysses S. Grant wa* appointed March 2d. 1864, June 15 — All persons of color shali receive the same pay and emoluments, ex- cept bounty, as other soldiers of the regular or volunteer army from and after Jan. 1, 1864, the President to fix the bounty for those hereafter mustered, not exceeding $100. 1864, June 20 — The monthly pay of pri- vates and non-commissioned officers was- fixed as follows^ on and after May 1 : Sergeant majors, twenty-six dollars ; quartermaster and commissary sergeants of" Cavalry, artillery, and infantry, twenty- two dollars ; first sergeants of cavalry, artillery, and infantry, twenty-four dollars ; sergeants of cavalry, artillery, and infantry, twenty dollars; sergeants of ordnance, sappers and miners, and pontoniers, thirty- four dollars; corporals of ordnance, sap- pers and miners, and pontoniers, twenty dollars ; privates of engineers and ordnance of the first class, eighteen dollars, and of the second class, sixteen dollars ; corporals of cavalry, artillery, and infantry, eighteen dollars ; chief buglers of cavalry, twenty- three dollars ; buglers, sixteen dollars ; far- riers and blacksmiths, of cavalry, and art- ficers of artillery, eighteen dollars ; privates of cavalry, artillery and infantry, sixteen dollars; principal musicians of artillery and infantry, twenty-two dollars; leader* of brigade and regimental bands, seventy- five dollars; musicians, sixteen dollars; hospital stewards of the first class, thirty- three dollars; hospital stewards of the second class, twenty-five dollars ; hospital stewards of the third class, twenty-three dollars." July 4 — This bill became a law : Be it enacted, ^ Pennsylvania — David Wilniot, Edgar Cowan. Delaware — James A. Bayard, Willard Saulsbury. Maryland — Anthony Kennedy, James A. Pearce.* Virginia* Ohio — Benjamin F. Wade, John Sher- man. Kentucky — Lazarus W. Powell, John C. Breckinridge.* Tennessee — Andrew Johnson. Indiana — Jesse D. Bright,* Henry S. Lane. , Illinois — O. H. Browning,* Lyman Trumbull. - Missouri — Trusten Polk,* Waldo P. Johnson.* Michigan — Z. Chandler, K. S. Bing- ham.* Iowa — James W. Grimes, James Harlan. Wisconsin — James R. Doolittle, Timothy O. Howe. California — Milton S. Latham, James A. McDougall. Minnesota — Henry M. Rice, Morton S. Wilkinson. Oregon — Edward D. Baker,* James W. Nesmith. Kansas — James H. Lane, S. C. Pomeroy. REPRESENTATIVES. Galusha a. Grow, of Pennsylvania, Speaker of the House. Maine — John N. Goodwin, Charles W. Walton,* Samuel C. Fessenden, Anson P. Morrill, John H. Rice, Frederick A. Pike. Neic Hampshire — Gilman Marston, Ed- ward H. Rollins, Thomas M. Edwards. Vermont— E. P. Walton, Jr., Justin S. Morrill, Portus Baxter. • Se« memorandum at the end of list. Massachusetts — Thomas D. Eliot, James Buffinton, Benjamin F. Thomas, Alexan- der H. Rice, William Appleton,* John B. Alley, Daniel W. Gooch, vJharles R. Train, Goldsmith F. Bailey,* Charles Delano, Henry L. Dawes. Rhode Island — WiWiSiXQ. P. Sheffield, George H. Browne. Connecticut — Dwight Loomis, James E. English, Alfred A. Burnham,* George C. Woodruff". Neiv York — Edward H. Smith, Moses F. Odell, Benjamin Wood, James E. Kerri- gan, William Wall, Frederick A. Conk- ling, Elijah Ward, Isaac C. Delaplaine, Edward Haight, Charles H. Van Wyck, John B. Steele, Stephen Baker, Abraham B. Olin, Erastus Corning, James B. Mc- Kean, William A. Wheeler, Socrates N. Sherman, Chauncey Vibbard, Richard Franchot, Roscoe Conkling, R. Holland Duell, William E. Lansing, Ambrose W. Clark, Charles B. Sedgwick, Theodore M. Pomeroy, Jacob P. Chamberlain, Alexan- der S. Diven, Robert B. Van Valkenburgh^ Alfred Ely, Augustus Frank, Burt Van Horn, Elbridge G. Spalding, Reuben E. Fenton. Neio Jersey — John T. Nixon, John L. N. Stratton, William G. Steele, George T. Cobb, Nehemiah Perry. Pennsylvania — William E. Lehman, Charles" J. Biddle,* John P. Verree, Wil- liam D. Kelley, William Morris Davis, John Hickman, Thomas B. Cooper,* Syd- enham E. Ancona, Thaddeus Stevens, John W. Killinger, James H. Campbell, Hen- drick B. Wright, Philip Johnson, Galusha A. Grow, James T. Hale, Joseph Baily, Edward McPherson, Samuel S. Blair, John Covode, Jesse Lazear, James K. Moorhead, Robert McKnight, John W.Wallace, John Patton, Elijah Babbitt. Delaivare — George P. Fisher. Maryland — John W. Crisfield, Edwin PI. Webster, Cornelius L. L. Leary, Henry May, Francis Thomas, Charles B. Calvert. Virginia — Charles H. Upton,* William G. Brown, John S. Carlile,* Kellian V. Whaley. Ohio — George H. Pendleton, John A. Gurley, Clement L. Vallandigham, William Allen, James M. Ashley, Chilton A. White, Richard A. Harrison, Samuel Shella- barger, Warren P. Noble, Carey A. Trim- ble, Valentine B. Horton, Samuel S. Cox, Samuel T. Worcester, Harrison G. Blake, Robert H. Nugen, William P. Cutler. James R. Morris, Sidney Edgerton, Albert G. Riddle, John Hutchins, .John A. Bing- ham. Kentucky — Henry C. Burnett,* James 8. Jackson,* Henry Grider, Aaron Harding, Charles A. WicklifFe, George W. Dunlan, Robert Mallory, John J. Crittenden, Wil- liam H. Wadsworth, John W. Menzies. See memorandum at end of list. 132 AMERICAN POLITICS. Tennessee — Horace Maynard,* Andrew J. Clements,* George W. Bridges.* Indiana — John Law, James A. Cravens, W. McKee Dunn, William S. Holman, George W. Julian, Albert G. Porter, Dan- iel W. Voorhces, Albert S. White, Schuyler CoH'ax, William Mitchell, John P. C. Shanks. Illinois — Elihu B. Washburne, Isaac N. Arnold, Owen Lovejoy, William Kellogg, William A. Richardson,* John A. Mc- Clernand,* James C. Robinson, Philip B. Fouke, John A. Logan.* Missoui-i — Francis P. Blair, Jr., James 8. Rollins, John B. Clark,* Elijah H. Nor- ton, John AV. Reid,* John S. Phelps,* John W. Noell. Michigan — Bradley F. Granger, Fer- nando C. Beaman, Francis W. Kellogg, Rowland E. Trowbridge. Iowa — Samuel R. Curtis,* William Van- dever. Wisconsin — John F. Potter, Luther Han- chett,* A. Scott Sloan. Minnesota — Cyrus Aldrich, William Win- dom. Oregon — Andrew J. Thayer.* Kansas — Martin F. Conway. MEMORANDUM OF CHANGES. The following changes took place during the Congress : IN SENATE. Fhode Island— 1862, Dec. 1, Samuel G. Arnold succeeded James F. Simmons, re- signed. Neio Jerse7/—18(y2, Dec. 1, Richard S. Field succeeded, bv appointment, John R. Thompson, deceased Sept. 12, 1862. 1863, Jan. 21, James, W. Wall, succeeded, by election, Richard S. Field. Maryland — 1863, Jan. 14, Thomas H. Hicks, first by appointment and then by election succeeded James A. Pearce, de- ceased Dec. 20, 1862. Virginia — 1861, July 13, John S. Carlile and Waitman T. Willey, sworn in place of Robert M. T. Hunter and James M. Mason, withdrawn and abdicated. Kentucky — 1861, Dec. 23, Garrett Davis gucceeded John C. Breckinridge, expelled December 4. Indiana — 1862, March 3, Joseph A. Wright succeeded Jesse D. Bright, expelled Feb. 5, 1863, Jan. 22, David Turpie, super- seded, by election, Joseph A. Wright. Illinois— \m^, Jan. 30, William A. Rich- ardson superseded, by election, O. H. Browning. Missouri — 1861, Jan. 24, R. Wilson suc- ceeded Waldo P. Johnson, expelled Jan. 10. 1862, Jan. 29, John B. Henderson suc- ceeded Trusten Polk, expelled Jan. 10. Michigan — 1862, Jan. 17, Jacob M. How- ard succeeded K. S. Bingham, deceased October 6, 1861. * See memorandum at end of list Oregon— \8Q>2, Dec. 1, Benjamin F. Hard- ing succeeded Edward D. Baker, deceased Oct. 21, 1862. IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Maine — 1862, December 1, Thomas A. D. Fessenden succeeded Charles W. Wal- ton, resigned May 26, 1862. Massachusetts — 1861, December 1, A masa Walker succeeded Goldsmith F. Bailey, deceased May 8, 1862; 1861, December 2, Samuel Hooper succeeded William Apple- ton, resigned. Connecticut — 1861, December 2, Alfred A. Burnham qualified. Pennsylvania — 1861, December 2,Charle3 J. Biddle qualified ; 1862, June 3, John D. Stiles succeeded Thomas B. Cooper, de- ceased April 4, 1862. Virginia, — 1861, July 13, John S. Carlile resigned to take a seat in the Senate ; 1861, December 2, Jacob B. Blair, succeeded John S. Carlile, resigned ; 1862, February 28, Charles H. Upton unseated by a vote of the House; 1862, May 6, Joseph Segar qualified. Kentucky — 1862, December, 1, George H. Yeaman succeeded James S. Jackson, de- ceased ; 1862, March 10, Samuel L. Casey succeeded Henry C. Burnett, expelled De- cember 3, 1861. Tennessee — 1861, December 2, Horace Maynard qualified ; 1862, January 13, An- drew J. Clements qualified ; 1863, Febru- ary 25, George W. Bridges qualified. '/ZZmojs— 1861, December 12, A. L. Knapp qualified, in place of J. A. McClernand, re- signed ; 1862, June 2, William J. Allen qualified, in place of John A. Logan, re- signed ; 1863, January 30, AVilliam A. Rich- ardson withdrew to take a seat in the Senate. Missouri — 1862, January 21, Thomas L. Price succeeded John W. Reid, expelled December 2, 1861 ; 1862, January 20, Wil- liam A. Hall succeeded John B. Clark, ex- pelled July 13, 1861 ; 1862, May 9, John S. Phelps qualified. Iowa — 1861, December 2, James F. Wil- son succeeded Samuel R. Curtis, resigned August 4, 1861. Wisconsin— 18QS, January 26, Walter D. Mclndoe succeeded Luther Hanchett, de- ceased November 24, 1862. Oregon— 1861, July 30, George K. Shiel succeeded Andrew J. Thayer, unseated. 7.owwta»ia— 1863, February 17, Michael Hahn qualified ; 1863, February 23, Ben- jamin F. Flanders qualified. Lincoln, in his message, recited the events which had transpired since his inauguration, and asked Congress to con- fer upon him the power to make the conflict short and decisive. He wanted 400,000 men, and four hundred millions of money, remarking that " the people will save their Mil. LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION, las government if the government itself will do its part only indifferently well." Con- gre3S responded by adding an hundred thousand to each request. There were exciting debates and scenes during this session, for many of the South- ern leaders remained, either through hesi- tancy or with a view to check legislation and aid their section by adver-^e criticism on the measures proposed. Mist promi- nent in the latter list was .John C. Breckin- ridge, late Vice President and now Senator from Kentucky. With singular boldness and eloquence he opposed every war mea- sure, and spoke with the undisguised pur- pose of aiding the (South. He continued this course until the close of the extra session, when he accepted a General's commission in the Confederate army. But before its close, Senator Baker of Oregon, angered at his general course, said in reply to one of Breckinridge's speeches, Aug. 1st : " What would the Senator from Ken- tucky, have? These speeches of his, sown broadcai^t over the land, what clear distinct meaning have they? Are they not intend- ed for disorganization in our very midst? Are they not intended to destroy our zeal ? Are they not intended to animate our enemies ? Sir, are they not words of bril- liant polished treason, even in the very Capitol of the Republic ?" [Here there were such manifestations of applause in the gal- leries, as were with difficulty suppressed.] Mr. Baker resumed, and turning directly to Mr. Breckinridge, inquired : " What would have been thought, if, in another Capitol, in another republic, in a yet more martial age, a Senator as grave, not more eloquent or dignified than the Senator from Kentucky, yet with the Roman purple flowing over his shoulders, had risen in his place, surrounded by all the illustrations of Roman glory, and de- clared that the cause of the advancing Hannibal wasjust, and that Carthageought to be dealt with in terms of peace? What would have been thought if, after the bat- tle of Cannae, a Senator there had risen in his place, and denounced every levy of the Roman people, every expenditure of its treasure, and every app-al to the old recol- lections and the old glories ?" There was a silence so profound throusrh- out the Senate and galleries, that a pinfall could have been heard, while every eve was fixed upon Breckinridge. Fessenden exclaimed in deen low tones, " he would have been hurled from the Tarpeian Rock !" Baker resumi'd: " Sir, a Senator himself learned far more than myself, in such lore, (Mr. Fes-ienden) tells me, in a low voice, " he would have been hurled from the Tarpeian Rock." is a grand commentary upon the It American Constitution, that we permit these words of the Senator from Ken- tucky, to be uttered. I ask the Senator to recollect, to what, save to send aid and comfort to the enemy, do these pre- dictions amount to? Every word thus utter- ed, falls a.s a note of inspiration upon every Confederate ear. Every sound thus utter- ed, is a word, (and falling from his lips, a mighty word) of kindling and triumph to the foe that determines to advance." The Republicans of the North were the distinctive " war party," i. e., they gave unqualified support to every demand made by the Lincoln administration. Most of the Democrats, acting as citizens, did like- wise, but many of those in official position, assuming the prerogative of a minority, took the liberty in Congress and State Legislature to criticise the more important war measures, and the extremists went 80 far, in many instances, as to organize oppo- sition, and to encourage it among their constituents. Thus in the States bordering the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, organized and individual efforts were made to encour- age desertions, and the " Knights of the Golden Circle," and the " Sons of Liberty," secret societies composed of Northern sym- pathizers with the South, formed many troublesome conspiracies. Through their action troops were even enlisted in South- ern Indiana, Illinois and Missouri for the Confederate armies, while the border States in the Union sent whole regiments to bat- tle for the South. The " Knights of the Golden Circle " conspired to release Con- federate prisoners of war, and invited Mor- gan to raid their States. One of the worst forms of opposition took shape in a con- spiracy to resist the draft in New York city. The fliry of the mob was several days beyond control, and troops had to be recalled from the front to suppress it. The riot was really political, the prejudices of the mob under cover of resistance to the draft, being vented on the negroes, many of whom were killed before adequate num- bers could be sent to their succor. The civil authorities of the city were charged with winking at the occurrence, and it was afterwards ascertained that Confederate agents really organized the riot as a move- ment to " take the enemy in the rear." The Republican was as distinctively the war party during the Great Rebellion, aa the Whigs were during the Revolution, the Democratic-Republicans during the War of 1812, and the Democrats during the War with Mexico, and, as in all of these war decades, kept the majority sentiment of the country with them. This is such a plain statement of facts that it is neither partisan to assert, nor a mark of party- fealty to deny. The history is indelibly written. It is stamped upon nearly every war measure, and certainly upon every political measure incident to growing oh4 of the rebellion. 134 AMERICAN POLITICS. These were exciting and memorable scenes in the several sessions of the 37lh Congress. During the first many Southern Senators and Representatives withdrew after angry statements of their reasons, eeneraliy in obedience to calls from their States or immediate homes. In this way the majority was changed. Others re- mained until the close of the first session, and then more quietly entered the rebellion. We have shown that of this class was Breckinridge, who thought he could do more good for his cause in the Federal Congress than elsewhere, and it is well for the Union that most of his colleagues dis- agreed with him as to the propriety and wisdom of his policy. If all had followed his lead or imitated his example, the war would in all probability have closed in an- other compromise, or possibly in the ac- complishment of southern separations. These men could have so obstructed legis- .lation as to make all its early periods far more discouraging than they were. As it was the Confederates had all the advan- tages of a free and fair start, and the effect ■was traceable in all of the early battles and negotiations with foreign powers. There was one way in which these advan- tages could have been supported and con- tinued. Breckenridge, shrewd and able politician as he was, saw that the way was to keep Southern Representatives in Con- gress, at least as long as Northern senti- ment would abide it, and in this way win victories at the very fountain-head of .power. But at the close of the extra ses- sion this view had become unpopular at both ends of the line, and even Brecken- , ridge abandoned it and sought to hide his original purpose by immediate service in the Confederate armies. It will be noted that those who vacated their seats to enter the Confederacy were afterwards expelled. In this connection a curious incident can be related, occuring as late as the Senate session of 1882: The widow of the late Senator Nichol- son, of Tennessee, who was in the Senate when Tennessee seceded, a short time ago rent a petition to Congress asking that the salary of her late husband, after he return- ed to Tennessee, might be paid to her. •Mr. Nicholson's term would have expired in 1865 had he remained in his seat. He did not appear at the special session of Congres,s convened in July, 18G1, and with other Senators from the South was expelled from the Senate on July 11th of that year. The Senate Committee on Claims, after examining the case thoroughly, submitted to the Senate an adverse report. After giving a concise history of the case the committee say: "We do not deem it proper, after the expiration of twenty years, to pass special acts of Congress to compen- sate the Senators and Representatives who receded in 1861 for their services in the eariy part of that j'car. We recommend that the claim of the petitioner be disal- lowed." The Sessions of the 37th Congress changed the political course of many i»ub- lic men. It nuide the Southern believers in secession still more vehement ; it sepa- rated the Southern Unionists from their former friends, and created a wall of fire between them ; it changed the temper of Northern Abolitionists, in so far as to drive from them all spirit of faction, all pride of methods, and compelled them to unite with a republican sentiment which wius making sure advances from the original declara- tion that slavery should not be extended to the Territories, to emancipation, and, finally, to the arming of the slaves. It changed many Northern Democrats, and from the ranks of these, even in re])resen- tative positions, the lines of the Repub- licans were constantly strengthened on pivotal questions. On the 27th of July Breckinridge had said in a speech : " When traitors become numerous enough treason becomes respectable." Senator Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, replied to this, and said : " God being willing, whether traitors be many or few, as I have hitherto waged war against traitors and treason, I intend to continue it to the end." And yet John- son had the year before warmly supported Breckinridge in his presidential campaign. Among the more conspicuous Republi- cans and anti-Lecompton Democrats in this session were Charles Sumner, a man who then exceeded all others in scholarly attainments and as an orator, though he was not strong in current debate. Great care and preparation marked every impor- tant effort, but no man's speeches were more admired throughout the North, and hated throughout the South, than those of Charles Sumner. An air of romance sur- rounded the man, because he was the first victim of a senatorial outrage, when beaten by Brooks of South Carolina ; but, sneered his political enemies, "no man more care- fully preserved his wounds for exhibition to a sympathetic world." He had some minor weaknesses, which were constantly displayed, and these centred in egotism and high personal pride — not very popular traits — but no enemy was so malicious as to deny his greafness. Fcssenden of Maine was one of the great lights of that day. He was apt, almost beyond example, in debate, and was a re- cognized leader of the Rcimblicans until, in the attempt to impeach President John- son, he disagreed with the majority of his party and stepped " down and out." Yet no one questioned his integrity, and all be- lieved that his vote was cast on this ques- tion in a line with his convictions. The leading: character in the House was Thad- MR. LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION. 135 deus Stevens, an original Abolitionist in sentiment, but a man eminently practical and shrewd in all his methods. The chances of politics often carry men into the Presidential Chair, into Cabinets, and with later and demoralizing frequency into Senate seats ; but chance never makes a Commoner, and Thaddeus Stevens was throughout the war, and up to the hour of his death, recognized as the great Com- moner of the Northern people. He led in every House battle, and a more unflinch- ing party leader was never known to par- liamentary bodies. Limp and infirm, he was not liable to personal assault, even in days when such assaults were common ; but when on one occasion his fiery tongue had so exasperated the Southerners in Congress as to make them show their knives and pistols, he stepped out into the aisle, and facing, bid them defiance. He was a Radical of the Radicals, and con- stantly contended that the government — the better to preserve itself — could travel outside of the Constitution. What cannot be said of any other man in history, can be said of Thaddeus Stevens. When he lay dead, carried thus from Washington to his home in Lancaster, with all of his people knowing that he was dead, he was, on the day following the arrival of his corpse, and within a tew squares of his re- sidence, unanimously renominated by the Republicans for Congress. If more poetic and less practical sections or lands than the North had such a hero, hallowed by such an incident, both the name and the inci- dent would travel down the ages in song and story.* The "rising" man in the 37th Congress was Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, elected Speaker of the 38th, and subsequently Vice President. A great parliamentarian, he was gifted with rare eloquence, and with a kind which won friends without offending enemies — something too rare to last. In the House were also Justin S. Morrill, the author of the Tariff Bill which supplied the "sinews of war," Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, then " the man of Statistics " and the " watch-dog of the treasury." Roscoe Conkling was then the admitted leader of the New York delega- tion, as he was the admitted mental superior of any oth3r in subsequent terms in the Senate, up to the time of his resigna- tion in 1881. Reuben E. Fenton, his factional opponent, was also there. Ohio was strongly represented in both parties — Pendleton, Cox and Vallandigham on the side of the Democrats ; Bingham and Ash- ley on the part of the Republicans. Illi- nois showed four prominent anti-Lecomp- ton supporters of the administration — •This incid»nt was related to the writer by Col. A. K. McClure of riiilaJelpUia, who was in Lanuifiler at the timo. Douglas in the Senate; Logan, McCler- nand and Richardson in the House ; while prominent among the Republicans were Lovejoy (an original Abolitionist), Wash- burne, a candidate for the Presidential nomination in 1880 — Kellogg and Arnold. .John F. Potter was one of the prominent Wisconsin men, who had won additional fame by accepting the challenge to duel of Roger A. Pryor of Virginia, and naming the American rifle as the weapon. Fortu- nately the duel did not come ofi". Penn- sylvania had then, as she still has. Judge Kelley of Philadelphia, chairman of Ways and Means in the 4Gth Congress ; also Edward McPherson, frequently since Clerk of the House, temporary President of the Cincinnati Convention, whose decision overthrew the unit rule, and author of several valuable political works, some of which we freely quote in this history. John Hickman, subsequently a Republi- can, but one of the earliest of the anti- Lecompton Democrats, was an admitted leader, a man of rare force and eloquence. So radical did he become that he refused to support the re-election of Lincoln. He was succeeded by John M. Broomall, who made several fine speeches in favor of the constitutional amendments touching slavery and civil rights. Here also were James Campbell, Hendricks B. Wright, John Covode, James K. Morehead, and Speaker Grow — the father of the Home- stead Bill, which will be found in Book v., giving the Existing Political Laws. At this session Senator Trumbull of Illinois, renewed the agitation of the slavery question, by reporting from the Judiciary Committee of which he was Chairman, a bill to confiscate all property and free all slaves used for insurrectionary purposes.* Breckinridge fought the bill, as indeed he did all bills coming from the Republicans, and said if passed it would eventuate in "the loosening of all bonds." Among the facts stated in support of the measure was this, that the Confederates had at Bull Run used the negroes and slayes against the Union army — a state- ment never well established. The bill passed the Senate by 33 to G, and on the 3d of August passed the House, though several Republicans there voted against it, fearing a too rapid advance would preju- dice the Union cause. Indeed this fear was entertained by Lincoln when he re- commended COMPENSATED EMANCIPaTIOX in the second session of the 37th Congress, which recommendation excited official dis- cussion almost up to the time the emanci- pation proclamation was issued as a war necessity. The idea of compensated eman- *Arnold'd "Iliiitory of Abraham Lincoln." 136 AMERICAN POLITICS. cjpation originated with or was first form- ulated by James B. McKean of New York, who on Feb. 11th, 1861, at the 2d session of the 36th Congress, introduced the fol- lowing resolution : Whereas, The "Gulf States" have as- sumed to secede from the Union, and it is deemed important to prevent the " border slave States " from following their exam- ple ; and whereas it is believed that those who are inflexibly opposed to any measure of compromise or concession that involves, or may involve, a sacrifice of principle or the extension of slavery, would neverthe- less cheerfully concur in any lawful measure for the emancipation of the slaves : Therefore, Resolved, That the select committee of five be instructed to inquire whether, by the consent of the people, or of the State governments, or by compensating the slaveholders, it be practicable for the Gen- eral Government to procure the emancipa- tion of the slaves in some, or all, of the "bor- der States ;" and if so, to report a bill for that purpose. Lincoln was so strongly impressed with the fact, in the earlier struggles of the war, that great good would follow compensated emancipation, that on March 2d, 1862, he sent a special message to the 2d session of the 37th Congress, in which he said : " I recommend the adoption of a joint resolution by your honorable bodies, which shall be substantially as follows : Resolved, That the United States ought to co-operate with any State which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery, giv- ing to such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such State in its discretion, to compen- sate for the inconveniences, public and private, produced by such change of sys- tem. " If the proposition contained in the resolution does not meet the approval of Congress and the country, there is the end ; but if it does command such approval, I deem it of importance that the States and people immediately interested should be at once distinctly notified of the fact, so that they may begin to consider whether to accept or reject it. The Federal Govern- ment would find its highest interest in such a measure, as one of the most efficient means of self-preservation. The leaders of the existing insurrection entertain the hope that this Government will ultimately be forced to acknowledge the independence of some part of the disaffected region, and that all the slave States north of such part will then say, 'the Union for which we have struggled being already gone, we now choose to go with the southern section.' To deprive them of this hope, substantially ends the rebellion ; and the initiation of emancipation completely deprives them of it as to all the States initiating it. The point is not that all the States tolerating slavery would very soon, if at all, initiate emancipation; but that, while the of!er is equally made to all, the more northern shall, by such initiation, make it certain to the more southern that in no event will the former ever join the latter in their pro- posed confederacy. I say ' initiation,' be- cause, in my judgment, gradual, and not sudden emancipation, is better for all. In the mere financial or pecuniary view, any member of Congress, with the census tables and Treasury reports before him, can readily see for himself how vcrj' soon the current expendituresof this war would I)urchase, at fair valuation, all the slaves in any named State. Such a proposition on the part of the General Government sets up no claim of a right by Federal authority to interfere with slavery within State limits, referring, as it does the abso- lute control of the subject in each case to the State and its people immediately in- terested. It is proposed as a matter of per- fectly free choice with them. " In the annual message last December, I thought fit to say, ' the Union must be preserved; and hence all indispensable means must be employed.' I said this not hastily, but deliberately. War has been made, and continues to be an indispensa- ble means to this end. A practical reac- knowledgment of the national authority would render the war unnecessary, and it would at once cease. If, however, resist- ance continues, the war must also continue; and it is impossible to foresee all the inci- dents which may attend, and all the ruin which may follow it. Such as may seem indispensable, or may obviously promise great efficiency toward ending the strug- gle, must and will come. " The proposition now made, though an offer only, I hope it may be esteemed no offence to ask whether the pecuniary con- sideration tendered would not be of more value to the States and private persons concerned, than are the institution, and property in it, in the present aspect of affairs ? " While it is true that the adoption of the i)roposed resolution would be merely initiatory, and not within itself a practical measure, it is recommended in the hope that it Avould soon lead to important prac- tical results. In full view of my great re- sponsibility to my God and to my country, I earnestly beg the attention of Congress and the people to the subject." Mr. Conkling called the question up in the House March 10th, and under a sus- j)ension of the rules, it was passed by 97 to 36. It i)assed the Senate April 2, by 32 to 10, the Republicans, as a rule, voting for it, the Democrats, as a rule, voting against it; and this was true even of those in the Border States. COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION. 137 The fact last stated excited tlie notice of President Lincoln, and in July, 18G2, he sought an interview with the Border State Congressmen, the result of which is con- tained in McPherson's Political History of the Great Rebellion, as follows : The President's Appeal to tlie Border States. The Representatives and Senators of the horder slaveholding States, having, by special invitation of the President, been convened at the Executive Mansion, on Saturday morning last, (July 12,] Mr. Lincoln addressed them as follows from a written paper held in his hand : " Gentlemex : After the adjournment of Congress, now near, I shall have no opportunity of seeing you for several months. Believing that you of the border States hold more power for good than any other equal number of members, I feel it a duty whijh I cannot justifiably waive, to make this appeal to you. "I intend no reproach or complaint when I assure you that, in my opinion, if you all had voted for the resolution in the gradual emancipation message of last March, the war would now be substantially ended. And the plan therein proposed is yet one of the most potent and swift means of ending it. Let the States which are in rebellion see definitely and certainly that in no event will the States you represent ever join their proposed Confederacy, and they cannot much longer maintain the contest. But you cannot divest them of their hope to ultimately have you with them so long as you show a determination to perpetuate the institution within your own States. Beat them at elections, ;vs you have overwhelmingly done, and, noth- ing daunted, they still claim you as their own. You and I know what the lever of their power is. Break that lever before their faces, and they can shake you no more forever. "Most of you have treated me with kindness and consideration, and I trust you will not now think I improperly touch what is exclusively your own, when, for the sake of the whole country, I ask, ' Can you, for your States, do better than to take the course I urge? ' Discarding punctilio and maxims adapted to more manageable times, and looking only to the unprece- dentedly stern facts of our case, can you do better in any possible event? Youprefer that the constitutional relations of the States to the nation shall be practicallv restored without disturbance of the insti- tution ; and, if this were done, my whole duty, in this respect, under the Constitu- tion and mv oath of office, would be per- formed. But it is not done, and we are trying to accomplish it by war. The incidents of the war cannot be avoided. If the war continues long, as it must, if the object be not sooner attained, the in- stitution in your States will be ex- tinguished by mere friction and abrasion — b^ the mere incidents of the war. It will be gone, and you will have nothing valuable in lieu of it. Much of its value is gone already. How much better for you and for your peojjle to take the steji which at once shortens the war and secures substantial compensation for that which is sure to be wholly lost in any other event! How much better to thus save the money which else we sink forever in the war! How much better to do it while we can, lest the war ere long render us pecuniarily unable to do it ! How much better for you, as seller, and the nation, as buyer, to sell out and buy out that without which the war could never have been, than to sink both the thing to be sold and the price of it in cutting one another's throats ! " I do not speak of emancipation at once, but of a decision at once to emancipate graduall;/. Room in South America for colonization can be obtained cheaply and in abundance, and v/hen numbers shall be large enough to be company and encour- agement for one another, the freed people will not be so reluctant to go. " I am pressed with a difficulty not yet mentioned, one which threatens division among those who, united, are none too strong. An instance of it is known to you. General Hunter is an honest man. He was, and I hope still is, my friend. I valued him none the less for his agreeing with me in the general wish that all men everywhere could be freed. He proclaimed all men free within certain States, and I repudiated the proclamation. He expected more good and less harm from the measure than I could believe would follow. Yet, in repudiating it, I gave dissatisfaction, if not offence, to many whose support the country cannot afford to lose. And this is not the end of it. The pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is increas- ing. By conceding what I now ask you can relieve me, and, much more, can re- lieve the country in this important point. " Ui)on these considerations I have again begged your attention to the mes- sage of March last. Before leaving the Capitol, consider and discuss it among yourselves. You are patriots and states- men, and as such I pray you consider this proposition ; and at the least commend it to the consideration of your States and people. As you would perpetuate popular government for the best people in the world, I beseech you that you do in no- wise omit this. Our common country is in great peril, demanding the loftiest 138 AMERICAN POLITICS. views and boldest action to bring a speedy relief. Once relieved, it-; form of govern- ment is saved to the world, its beloved history and cherished memories are vin- dicated, and its happy future fully assured and rendered inconceivably grand. To you, more than to any others, the privi- lege is given to assure that happiness and swell that grandeur, and to link your own names therewith forever." At the conclusion of these remarks some conversation was had between the President and several members of the delegations from the border State-^, in which it was represented that these States could not be expected to move in so great a matter as that brought to their notice in the foregoing address while as yet the Congress had taken no step beyond the passage of a resolution, exj)ressive rather of a sentiment than presenting a substan- tial and reliable basis of action. The President acknowledged the force of this view, and admitted that the border States were entitled to expect a substantial pledge of pecuniary aid as the condition of taking into consideration a proposition so important in its relations to their social system. It was further represented, in the con- ference, that the ]jeople of the border States were interested in knowing the great importance which the President attached to the policy in que-stion, while it was equally due to the country, to the President, and to themselves, that the representatives of the border slave-holding States should publicly announce the mo- tives under which they were called to act, and the considerations of public policy urged upon them and their constituents by the President. With a view to such a statement of their position, the members thus addressed met in council to deliberate on the reply they should make to the President, and, as the result of a comparison of opinions among themselves, they determined upon the adoption of a majority and minority an- swer. REPLY OF THE MAJORITY. The following paper was yesterday sent to the President, signed by the majority of the Representatives from the border slave- holding States : — Washington, July 14, 1862. To the President : The undersigned, Representatives of Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, and Mary- land, in the two Houses of Congress, have listened to your address with the profound sensibility naturally in.'*pired by the high source from which it emanates, the earn- estness which marked its delivery, and the overwhelming importance of the sub- ject of which it treats. We have given it a most respectful consideration, and now lay before you our response. We regret that want of time has not permitted us to make it more perfect. We have not been wanting, Mr. Presi- dent, in respect to you, and in devotion to the Constitution and the Union. We have not been indifferent to the great dif- ficulties surrounding you, compared with which all former national troubles have been but as the summer cloud ; and we have freely given you our sympathy and support. Repudiating the dangerous here- sies of the secessionists, we believed, with you, that the war on their part is aggressive and wicked, and the objects for which it was to be prosecuted on ours, defined by your message at the opening of the pres- ent Congress, to be such as all good men should approve. We have not hesitated to vote all supplies necessary to carry it on vigorously. We have voted all the men and money you have asked for, and even more ; we have imposed onerous taxes on our people, and they are paying them with cheerfulness and alacrity ; we have encouraged enlistments and sent to the field many of our best men ; and some of our number have offered their persons to the enemy as pledges of their sincerity and devotion to the country. We have done all this under the most discouraging circumstances, and in the face of measures most distasteful to us and injurious to the interests we repre- sent, and in the hearing of doctrines avowed by those who claim to be your friends, must be abhorrent to us and our constituents. But, for all this, -we have never faltered, nor shall we as long as we have a Constitution to defend and a Gov- ernment which protects us. And we are ready for renewed efforts, and even greater sacrifices, yea, any sacrifice, when we are satisfied it is required to preserve our admirable form of government and the priceless blessings of constitutional li- berty. A few of our number voted for the resolution recommended by your message of the 6th of March last, the greater por- tion of us did not, and we will briefly state the prominent reasons which in- fluenced our action. In the first place, it proposed a radical change of our social system, and was hur- ried through both Houses with undue haste, without reasonable time for consid- eration and debate, and with no time at all for consultation with our constituents, whose interests it deeply involved. It seemed like an interference by this Gov- ernment with a question which peculiarly and exclusively belonged to our respective States, on which they had not sought ad- vice or solicited aid. Many of us doubted V COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION. 139 the constitutional power of this Govern- ment to make appropriations of money for the object designated, and all of us thought our finances were in no condition to bear the immense outlay which its adoption and faithful execution would impose upon the national Treasury. If we pause but a moment to think of the debt its accept- ance would have entailed, we are appalled by its magnitude. The proposition was addressed to all the States, and embraced the whole number of slaves. According to the census of 1860 there were then nearly four million slaves in the country ; from natural increase they exceed that number now. At even the low average of $300, the price fixed by the emancipa- tion act for the slaves of this District, and greatly below their real worth, their value runs up to the enormous sum of $1,200,- 000,000 ; and if to that we add the cost of deportation and colonization, at $100 each, which is but a fraction more than is ac- tually paid by the Maryland Colonization Society, we have $400,000,000 more. We were not willing to impose a tax on our people sufficient to pay the interest on that sum, in addition to the vast and daily in- creasing debt already fixed upon them by the exigencies of the war, and if we had been willing, the country could not bear it. Stated in this form the proposition is noth- ing less than the deportation from the country of $1,600,000,000 worth of produc- ing labor, and the substitution in its place of an interest-bearing debt of the same amount. But, if we arc told that it was expected that only the States we represent would accept the jiropositiou, we respectfully submit that even then it involves a sum too great for the financial ability of this Government at this time. According to the census of 1800 — Slaves. Kentuckv had 225,490 Maryland 87,188 Virginia 490,887 Delaware 1,798 Missouri 114,96') Tennessee 275,784 Making in the whole 1,196,112 At the same rate of valuation these would amount to... .$358,933,500 Add for deportation and colo- nization $100 each 118,244,533 And we have the enormous sum of $478,038,133 We did not feel that we should be justi- fied in voting for a measure which, if car- ried out, would add this vast amount to our public debt at a moment when the Treasury was reeling under the enormous expenditure of the war. Again, it seemed to us that this resolu- tion was but the annunciation of a senti- ment which could not or was not likely to i)e reduced to an actual tangible proposi- tion. No movement was then matle to IH'Ovide and appropriate the funds required to carry it into effect ; and we were not en- couraged to believe that funds would be provided. And our belief has been fully justified by subsequent events. Not to mention other circumstances, it is quite suflicient for our purpose to bring to your notice the fact that, while this resolution was under consideration in the Senate, our colleague, the Senator from Kentucky, moved an amendment appropriating $500,- 000 to the object therein designated, and it was voted down with great unanimity. What confidence, then, could we reasonably feel that if we committed ourselves to the policy it proposed, our constituents would reap the fruits of the promise held out ; and on what ground could we, as fair men, approach them and challenge their sup- port? The right to hold slaves is a right apper- taining to all the States of this Union. They have the right to cherish or abolish the institution, as their tastes or their in- terests may prompt, and no one is autho- rized to question the right or limit the en- joyment. And no one has more clearly affirmed that right than you have. Your inaugural address does you great honor in this respect, and inspired the country with confidence in your fairness and respect for the law. Our States are in the enjoyment of that right. We do not feel called on to defend the institution or to affirm it is one which ought to be cherished ; i)erhaps, if we were to make the attempt, we might find that we differ even among ourselves. It is enough for our purpose to know that it is a right ; and, so knowing, Ave did not see why we should now be expected to yield it. We had contributed our full share to relieve the country at this terrible crisis ; Ave had done as much as had been required of others in like circumstances; and Ave did not see Avhy .sacrifices should be expected of us from Avhicli others, no more loyal, Avere exempt. Nor could Ave see Avhat good the nation Avould derive from it. Such a sacrifice submitted to by us would not have strengthened the arm of this Government or Aveakened that of the enemy. It was not necessary as a pledge of our loyalty, for that had been mani- fested beyond a reasonable doubt, in every form, and at every place possible. . There Avas not the remotest probability that the States Ave represent Avould join in the re- bellion, nor is there now, or of their elect- ing to go with the southern section in the event of a recognition of the independence of any part of the disaffected region. Our 140 AMERICAN POLITICS. States are fixed unalterably in their reso- lution to adhere to and support the Union. They see no safety for themselves, and no hope for constitutional liberty but by its preservation. They will, under no cir- cujnstanoes, consent to its dissolution ; and we do them no more than justice when we assure you that, while the war is conducted to prevent that deplorable catastrophe, they will sustain it as long as they can muster a man or command a dollar. Nor will they ever consent, in any event, to unite with the Southern Confederacy. The bitter fruits of the peculiar doctrines of that region will forever prevent them from placing their security and happiness in the custody of an association which has incor- porated in its organic law the seeds of its own destruction. Mr. President, we have stated with frank- ness and candor the reasons on which we forbore to vote for the resolution you have mentioned ; but you have again presented this proposition, and appealed to us with an earnestness and eloquence which have not failed to impress us, to " consider it, and at the least to commend it to the con- sideration of our kStatcs and people." Thus appealed to by the Chief Magistrate of our beloved country, in the hour of its greatest peril, we cannot wholly decline. We are willing to trust every question relating to their interest and happiness to the con- sideration and ultimate judgment of our own people. While differing from you as to the necessity of emancipating the slaves of our States as a means of putting down the rebellion, and while protesting against the propriety of any extra-territorial inter- ference to induce the people of our States to adopt any particular line of policy on a subject which peculiarly and exclusively belongs to them, yet, when you and our brethren of the loyal States sincerely be- lieve that the retention of slavery by us is an obstacle to peace and national harmony, and are willing to contribute pecuniary aid to compensate our States and people for the inconveniences produced by such a change of system, we are not unwilling that our people shall consider the propriety of putting it aside. But we have already said that we re- garded this resolution as the utterance of a sentiment, and we had no confidence that it would assume the shape of a tangi- ble, practical proposition, which would yield the fruits of the sacrifice it required. Our people are influenced by the same want of confidence, and will not consider the proposition in its present impalpable form. The interest they are asked to give up is to them of much importance, and they ought not to be expected even to en- tertain the proposal until they are assured that when they accept it their just expect- ations will not be frustrated. We regard your plan as a proposition irom the Nation to the States to exercise an admitted con- .'^titutional right in a particular manner and yield up a valuable interest. Before they ought to consider the proposition, it should be presented in such a tangible, practical, efiicient shape as to command their confidence that its fruits are contin- gent only upon their acceptance. We can- not trust anything to the contingencies of future legislation. If Congress, by proper and necessary legislation, shall provide sufficient funds and place them at your disposal, to be ap- plied by you to the payment of any of our States or the citizens thereof who shall adopt the abolishment of slavery, either gradual or immediate, as they may deter- mine, and the expense of deportation and colonization of the liberated slaves, then will our State and people take this propo- sition into careful consideration, for such decision as in their judgment is demanded by their interest, their honor, and their duty to the whole country. We have the honor to be, with great respect, C. A. WiCKLIFFE, Ch'n, Garrett Davis, R. Wilson, J. J. Crittenden, John S. Carlile, J. W. Crisfield, J. S. Jackson, H. Grider, John S. Phelps, Francis Thomas, Chas. B. Calvert, C. L. Leary. Edwin H. W^ebster, R. Mallory, Aaron Harding, James S. Rollins, J. W. Menzies, Thomas L. Price, G. W. DUNLAP, W^M. A. Hall. Others of the minority, among them Sen- ator Henderson and Horace Maynard, for- warded separate replies, but all rejecting the idea of compensated emancipation. Still Lincoln adhered to and advocated it in his recent annual message sent to Con- gress, Dec. 1, 1862, from which we take the following paragraphs, which are in themselves at once curious and interesting: " We have two million nine hundred and sixty-three thousand square miles. Europe has three million and eight hundred thou- sand, with a population averaging seventy- three and one-third persons to the square mile. Why may not our country, at some time, average as many? Is it less fertile? Has it more waste surface, by mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts, or other causes ? Is I it inferior to Europe in any natural ad- EMANCIPATION, 141 vantage ? If, then, we are at some time to be as populous as Europe, how soon? As to when this may be, we can judge by the past and the present ; as to when it ivill be, if ever, depends much on wliether we maintain the Union. Several of our States are already above the average of Europe — seventy-three and a third to the squiire mile. Massachusetts has 157 ; Rhode Island, 133 ; Connecticut, 99 ; New York and New Jersey, each, 80. Also two other great states, Pennsylvania and Ohio, are not far below, the former having 63 and the latter 59. The states already above the European average, except New York, have increased in as rapid a ratio, since passing that point, as ever before ; while no one of them is equal to some other parts of our country in natural capacity for sus- taining a dense jjopulation. "Taking the nation in the aggregate, and we find its population and ratio of in- crease, for the several decennial periods, to be as follows : 1790 3,929,827 Eatio of increase. 1800 5.305,937 35.02 per cent. 1810 7,239,814 36.45 " 1820 9,633,131 33.13 " 1830 12,866,020 33.49 " 1840 17,069,433 32.67 " 1850 23,191,876 35.87 " 1860 31,443,790 35.58 " This shows an annual decennial increase of 3i.69 per cent, in population through the seventy years from our first to our last census yet taken. It is seen that the ratio of increase, at no one of these seven periods is either two per cent, below or two per cent, above the average ; thus showing how inflexible, and, consequently, how reliable, the law of increase in our case is. Assum- ing that it will continue, gives the follow- ing results : 1870 42,323,341 1880 56,967,216 1890 76,677,872 1900 103,208,415 1910 138,918,526 1920 188,984,335 1930 251,680,914 " These figures show that our country may be as populous as Europe now is at some point between 1920 and 19S0 — say about 1925 — our territory, at seventy-three and a third persons to the square mile, be- in"; of capacity to contain 217,186,000. ' And we will reach this, too, if we do not ourselves relinquish the chance by the folly and evils of disunion, or by long and exhausting war springing from the only great element of national discord among us. While it cannot be foreseen exactly how much one huge example of secession, breeding lesser ones indefinitely, would re- tard population, civilization, and prosperity no one can doubt that the extent of it would be very great and injurious. The proposed emancipation would short- en the war, perpetuate peace, insure this increase of population, and proportionately the wealth of the country. With these, we should pay all the emancipation would cost, together with our other debt, easier than we should pay our other debt without it. If we had allowed our old national debt to run at six per cent, per annum, simple in- terest, from the end of our revolutionary struggle until to-day, without paying any- thing on either principal or interest, each man of us would owe less upon that debt now than each man owed upon it then ; and this because our increase of men through the whole period has been greater than six per cent. ; has run faster than the interest upon the debt. Thus, time alone relieves a debtor nation, so long as its popu- lation increases faster than unpaid interest accumulates on its debt. "This fact would be no excuse for de- laying payment of what is justly due ; but it shows the great importance of time in this connection — the great advantage of a policy by which we shall not have to pay until we number a hundred millions, what, by a different policy, we would have to pay now, when we number but thirty-one mil- lions. In a word, it shows that a dollar will be much harder to pay for the war than will be a dollar for emancipation on the proposed plan. And then the latter will cost no blood, no precious life. It will be a saving of both." Various propositions and measures re- lating to compensated emancipation, were afterwards considered in both Houses, but it was in March, 1863, dropped after a refusal of the House to suspend the rules for the consideration of the subject. Emancipation as a TVar Necessity. Before the idea of compensated emanci- pation had been dropped, and it was con- stantly discouraged by the Democrats and Border Statesmen, President Lincoln had determined upon a more radical policy, and on the 22d of Septembei, 18f>2, issued his celebrated proclamation declaring that he would emancipate "all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States" — by the first of January, 1863, if such sections were not " in good faith represented in Congress." He followed this by actual emancipation at the time stated. Proclamation or Sept. 23, 1863. I, Abraham Lincoln, Pre-^ident of the United States of America, and Commander- in-Chief of the army and navy thereof, do 142 AMERICAN POLITICS. hereby proclaim anfl declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and each of the States antl the jieo- ple thereof, in which States that relation IS or may be suspended or disturbed. That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tender- ing pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all slave States, so called, the people thereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States, and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, imme- diate or gradual abolishment of slavery within their respected limits; and that the effort to colonize persons of African descent with their consent upon this continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the Governments existing there, will be continued. That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- dred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free ; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of sui h persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such per- sons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, de- signate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof respective- ly, shall then be in rebellion against the United States ; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong • countervailing testimony, be deemed con- clusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not in rebellion against the United States. That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled " An act to m.alce an additional article of war," approved March 13, 1862, and which act is in the words and figures following : '' Be it enncted hy fhe Senate and House of Repra^entatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That hereafter the following shall be promulga- ted as an additional article of war, for the government of the army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such. " Article — . All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under their respective com- mands for the purpose of returning fugi- tives from service or labor who may have escaped from any persons to whom such service or bibor is claimed to be due, and any ofhcer who shall be found guilty by a court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service. "Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That this act" shall take effect from and after its passage." Also to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled " An act to supjtress insur- rection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate property of rebels, and for other purposes," approved July 17, 1862, and which sections are in the words and figures following : " Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Govern- ment of the United States or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escap- ing from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves cajitured from such persons or deserted by them, and coming under the control of the Government of the LTnitcd States ; and all slaves of such persons found on [or] being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the LTnitcd States, shall be deem- ed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves. "Sec. 10. Andbeit further enacted, Th&t no slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or .^ome offence against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner, and has not borne arms against the United Stales in the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto ; and no person engaged in the military' or naval service of the ITnitcd States shall, under any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor of any other per- son, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service." And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the military and na- val service of the United States to observe, obey, and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, the act and sections above recited. " And the Executive will in due time recommend that all citizens of the United States who shall have remained EMANCIPATION. 143 loyal thereto throughout the rebellion shall (upon the restoration ot'tlie constitutional relation between the United States and their respective States and people, if that relation shall have been suspended or dis- turbed) be compensated for all losses by acts of the United States, including the loss of slaves. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- dred and sixty-two, and of the Inde})en- dence of the United States the eighty - seventh. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By the President : William H. Seward, Secretary of State. Proclamation of January 1, 1863. Whereas, on the twenty -second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the Presi- dent of the United States, containing among other things, the following, to wit : " That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever, free; and the Executive Govern- ment of the United States, including the nailitary and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual free- dom. "That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respec- tively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States ; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States, by mem- bers chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such States shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testi- mony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are then in rebellion against the United States." Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander- in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, in time of actual armed re- bellion against the authority and Govern- ment of the United States, and as a fit and necessary wjir measure for suppressing said rel)ellioii, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accord- ance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hun- dred days from the day first above men- tioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof, respectively, are this day in rebel- lion against the United States, the follow- ing, to wit: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jef- ferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, La- fourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans,) Mis- sissippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, Northampton, Eliza- beth City, York, Princess Ann, and Nor- folk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth,) and which excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued. And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall be, free ; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all vio- lence, unless in necessary self-defence ; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Con- stitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be afiixed. Done at the city of Washington this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States of America the eighty- seventh. Abraham Lincoln, By the President: William H. Seward, Secretary of State, 144 AMERICAN POLITICS. These proclamations were followed by mauy attempts on the part of the Demo- crats to declare them null and void, but all such were tabled. The House on the 15th of December, 1862, endorsed the first by a vote of 78 to 51, almost a strict party ' vote. Two classed as Democrats, voted for emancipation — Haiglit and Noell ; seven classed as Republicans, voted against it — Granger, Harrison, Leary, Maynard, Benj. F. Thomas, Francis Thomas, and Whaley. Just previous to the issuance of the first proclamation a meeting of the Governors of the Northern Stated had been called to consider how best their States could aid the general conduct of the war. Some of them had conferred with the President, and while that meeting and the date of the emancipation proclamation are the same, it was publiclv denied on the floor of Con- gress by Mr.' Boutwell (June 25, 1864,) that the proclamation was the result of that meeting of the Governors. That they fully endorsed and knew of it, however, is shown by the following Address of loyal Governors to the President. Adopted at a meeting of Governors of loyal States, held to take measures for the more active support of the Govern- ment, at Altoona, Pennsvlvania, on the 22d day of September, 1862. After nearly one year and a half spent in contest with an armed and gigantic re- bellion against the national Government of the United States, the duty and purpose of the loyal States and people continue, and must always remain as they were at its origin — namely, to restore and perpetuate the authority of this Government and the life of the nation. No matter what con- sequences are involved in our fidelity, this work of restoring the Republic, preserving the institutions of democratic liberty, and justifying the hopes and toils of our fathers shall not fail to be performed. And we pledge without hesitation, to the President of the United States, the most loyal and cordial support, hereafter as heretofore, in the exercise of the functions of his great office. We recognize in him the Chief Executive Magistrate of the n.ation, the Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, their responsible and constitutional head, whose rightful authority and power, as well as the constitutional powers of Congress, must be rigorously and religiously guarded and preserved, as the condition on which alone our form of Government and the constitu- tional rights and liberties of the people themselves can be saved from the wreck of anarchy or from the gulf of despotism. In submission to the laws which may have been or which may be duly enacted, and to the lawful orders of the President, co-operating always in our own spheres with the national Government, we mean to continue in the most vigorous exercise of all our lawful and proper powers, contend- ing against treason, rebellion, and the pub- lic enemies, and, whether in public life or in private station, supporting the arms of the Union, until its cause shall conquer, until final victory shall perch upon its standard, or the rebel foe shall yield a dutiful, rightful, and unconditional sub- mission. And, impressed with the conviction that an army of reserve ought, until the war shall end, to be constantly kept on foot, to be raised, armed, equipped, and trained at home, and ready for emergencies, we re- spectfully ask the President to call for such a force of volunteers for one year's service, of not less than one hundred thousand in the aggregate, the quota of each State to be raised after it shall have filled its quota of the requisitions already made, both for volunteers and militia. We believe that this would be a measure of military pru- dence, while it would greatly promote the military education of the people. We hail with heartfelt gratitude and en- couraged hope the proclamation of the President, issued on the 22d instant, de- claring emancipated from their bondage all persons held to service or labor as slaves in the rebel States, whose rebellion shall last until the first day of January now next ensuing. The right of any per- son to retain authority to compel any por- tion of the subjects of the national Gov- ernment to rebel against it, or to maintain its enemies, implies in those who are al- lowed possession of such authority the right to rebel themselves ; and therefore the right to establish martial law or mili- tary government in a State or territory in rebellion implies the right and the duty of the Government to liberate the minds of all men living therein by appropriate proclamations and assurances of protection, in order that all who are capable, intel- lectually and morally, of loyalty and obedience, may not be forced into treason as the unwilling tools of rebellious traitors. To have continued indefinitely the most eflScient cause, support, and stay of the re- bellion, would have been, in our judg- ment, unjust to the loyal peojile whose treasure and lives are made a willing sacri- fice on the altar of patrotism — would have discriminated against the wife who is com- pelled to surrender her husband, against the parent who is to surrender his child to the hardships of the camp and the perils of battle, in favor of rebel masters per- mitted to retain their slaves. It would have been a final decision alike against humanity, justice, the rights and dignity of the Government, and against sound and ■REPEAL OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. 145 wise national policy. The decision of the President to strike at the root of the re- bellion will lend new vigor to the efforts and new life and hope to the hearts of the people. Cordially tendering to the Presi- dent our respectful assurance of personal and official confidence, we trust and be- lieve that the policy now inaugurated will be crowned with success, will give speedy and triumphant victories over our enemies, and secure to this nation and this people the blessing and favor of Almighty God. We believe that the blood of the heroes who have already fallen, and those who may yet give their lives to their country, will not have been shed in vain. The splendid valor of our soldiers, their patient endurance, their manly patriotism, and their devotion to duty, demand from us and from all their countrymen the homage of the sincerest gratitude and the pledge of our constant reinforcement and support. A just regard for these brave men, whom we have contributed to place in the field, and for the importance of the duties which may lawfully pertain to us hereafter, has called us into friendly con- ference. And now, presenting to our national Chief 3Iagistrate this conclusion of our deliberations, we devote ourselves to our country's service, and we will surround the President with our constant support, trusting that the fidelity and zeal of the loyal States and people will always assure him that he Avill be constantly maintained in pursuing with the utmost vigor this war for the preservation of the national life and the hope of humanity. A. G. CURTIN, John A. Andrew, Richard Yates, Israel Washburne, Jr., Edward Solomon, Samuel J. Kirkwood, O. P. Morton, By D. G. Rose, his representative, Wm. Sprague, F. H. Peirpoint, David Tod, N. S. Berry, Austin Blair. Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Lavr. The first fugitive slave law passed was that of Februarv 12th, 1793, the second and last that of September 18th, 1850. Vari- ous efforts had been made to repeal the lat- ter before the war of the rebellion, with- out a prospect of success. The situation was now different. The war spirit was high, and both Houses of Congress were in the hands of the Republicans as early as December, 1861, but all of them were not then readv to vote for repeal, while the 10 Democrats were at first solidly against it. The bill had passed the Senate in 1850 by 27 yeas to 12 nays ; the House by 109 yeas to 76 nays, and yet as late as 1861 such was still the desire of many not to offend the political prejudices of the Border States and of Democrats whose aid was counted upon in the war, that sufficient votes could not be had until June, 1864, to pass the re- pealing bill. Republican sentiment ad- vanced very slowly in the early years of the war, when the struggle looked doubt- ful and when there was a strong desire to hold for the Union every man and county not irrevocably against it; when success could be foreseen the advances were more rapid, but never as rapid as the more rad- ical leaders desired. The record of Con- gress in the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law will illustrate this political fact, in itself worthy of grave study by the poli- tician and statesman, and therefore we give it as compiled by McPherson : — Second Session, Tlilrty-Seventli Congress.* In Senate, 1861, December 26 — Mr. Howe, of Wisconsin, introduced a bill to repeal the fugitive slave law ; which was referred to the Committee on the Judici- arv. 1862, May 24— Mr. Wilson, of Massachu- setts, introduced a bill to amend the fugi- tive slave law ; which was ordered to be printed and lie on the table. June 10 — Mr. Wilson moved to take up the bill ; which was agreed to — Yeas 25, nays 10, as follows : Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Browning, Chandler, Clark, Cowan, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Harris, Howard, Howe, King, Lane of Kan- sas, Morrill, Pomeroy, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilson, of Massachusetts. — 25. Nays — Messrs. Carlile, Davis, Latham, * On the 23d of July, 1861, the Attorney General, in answer to a letter from the United States Marshal of Kansas, inquiring whether he should assist in the execu- tion of the fugitive slave law, wrote : Attorney General's Office, July 23, 1861. J. L. McDowBIX, U. S. Marshal, Kansas : Your letter, of the 11th of July, received 19th, (under fi'ank (if Senator Lane, of Kansas, i asks advice whether you should ijive your official services in tiie execution of the fugitive slave law. It is the President's constitutional duty to "take care that the laws l)e faithfully executed." That means all the laws. He has no right to discriminate, no right to exe- cute the laws he likes, and le.ave unexecuted those he dislikes And of course you and 1, his subordinates, can have no wider latitude of discreticin than he has. Mis- souri is a State in the Union. The insurrectionary dis- orders in Missouri are but individual crimes, and do not change the legal status of the State, nor change its rights and obligations as a member of the Uniril 25, the Senate acceded. May 17 — In Senate, Mr. Morrill sub- mitted a report from the Conference Com- mittee who recommend that qualified voters shall be : All citizens of the United States, and those who have declared their intention to become such, and who are otherwise de- scribed and qualified under the fifth sec- tion of the act of Congress providing for a temporary government for the Territory of Idaho approved March 3, 1863. The report was concurred in — yeas 26, nays 13. May 20 — The above report was made by Mr. Webster in the House, and agreed to — yeas 102, nays 26. IN WASHINGTON CITY.* 1864, May 6 — The Senate considered the bill for the registration of voters in the city of Washington, when Mr. Cowan moved to insert the word "white" in the first section, so as to con- fine the right of voting to white male citizens. May 12 — Mr. Morrill moved to amend the amendment by striking out the words — * In 1 S60 a vote was had in the State of New York on a proposition to permit nfttrro snffra£;e without a property qualification. Tlie result of the citv was — yeas 1,640, nays :!7,47 . In the State— yeas 197,505. nays .337,984. In I8fi4 a like propo.'ition was defeated — veas 85,406, nays 224,336. In 1862, in .\ugust, a vote was, had in the State of Illi- nois, on several jjropositions relating to negroes and mulattoes, with this result : For excluding them from the State 171.893 Against 71,:!06 100,587 Against granting them suffrage or right to office 21 ,920 For 35,649 176,271 For the enactment of laws to prohibit them from going to, or voting in, the State 198,938 Against 44,414 154,524 —from McPhtrton't Eiitory of the Great £e&eUioa. And shall have paid all sch^^i taxes and all taxes on personal property properly as- sessed against him, shall be entitled to vote for mayor, collector, register, members of the board of aldermen and board of common council, and assessor, and for every officer authorized to be elected at any election under any act or acts to which this is amendatory or supplementary, and inserting the words — And shall within the year next preced- ing the election have paid a tax, or been assessed with a part of the revenue of the District, county, or cities, therein, or been exempt from taxation having taxable estate, and who can read and write with facility, shall enjoy the privileges of an elector. May 26 — Mr. Sumner moved to amend the bill by adding this proviso : Provided, That there shall be no exclu- sion of any person from the registry on ac count of color. May 27 — Mr. Harlan moved to amend the amendment by making the word " per- son" read "persons," and adding the words — Who have borne arms in the military service of the United States, and have been honorably discharged therefrom. Wliich was agreed to yeas 26, nays 12, as follows : Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Conness, Dixon, Fessen- den. Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Harris, Johnson, Lane of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Morrill, Pomeroy, Ramsev, Sherman, Ten Evck, Trumbull, Wade, Willey, Wi Ison— 26." N.VYS — Messrs. Bvckaleu-, Carlile, Cow- an, Davis, Hendricks, McDongall, Fouell Richardson, Saulshury, Sumner, Van Winkle, Wilkinson— 12. May 28 — Mr. Sumner moved to add these words to the last proviso : And provided further, That all persons, without distinction of color, who shall, within the year next preceding the election, have paid a tax on any estate, or been as- sessed with a part of the revenue of said District, or been exempt from taxation having taxable estate, and who can read and write with facility, shall enjoy the privilege of an elector. But no ]ierson now entitled to vote in the said District, continuing to reside therein, shall be dis- franchised hereby. Which was rejected — yeas 8, nny.s 27, as follows : Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Clark, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Pomeroy, Eamsey, Sum- ner, Wilkinson — 8. Nays — Messrs. Buckaleiv, Carlile, Colla- mer, Cowan, Paris, Dixon, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Har- ris, Hendricks, Hicks, Johnson, Lane of Indiana, McDougall, Morrill, Powell, Sauls- COLOR IN WAR POLITICS. 161 bury, Slierinau, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Willey, Wilson— 27. The other proposition of Mr. Sumner, amended on motion of Mr. Harlan, was then rejected — yeas 18, nays 20, as follows: Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Dixon, Foot, Foster, Hale, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sumner, Wilkinson, Wilson — 18. Nays — Messrs. Buckalew, Carlile, Co- /wan, Davis, Grimes, Harris, Hendricks, Hicks, Johnson, Lane of Indiana, McDou- gall, Morrill, Nesmith, Poivell, Richardson, Saidshurrj, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Willey— 20'. The bill then passed the Senate, and afterward the House, without amendment. Tliird Session, TUlrty-Seventh Congress. Excluding Colored Persons from Cars. In Senate — 1863, February 27 — Pending a supplement to the charter of the Wash- ington and Alexandria Railroad Company, Mr. Sumner offered this proviso to the first seel ion: That no person shall be excluded from the cars on account of color. Which was agreed to — ^yeas 19, nays 18, as follows : Yeas — Messrs. Arnold, Chandler, Clark, Fessenden, Foot, Grimes, Harris, Howard, King, Lane of Kansas, Morrill, Pomerov, Sumner, Ten Eyck. Trumbull, Wade, Wil- kinson, Wilmot, Wilson, of Massachusetts —19. Nays — Messrs. Anthony, Bayard, Car- lile, Cowan, Davis, Henderson, Hicks, Howe, Kennedy, Lane of Indiana, Latham, McDougall , Powell, Richardson, Saiilshwy, Turpie, Willey, ^r?7A-o?i of Missouri— 18. March 2. — The House concurred in the amendment without debate, under the pre- vious question. First Session, Tlilrty-Elglitli. Congress. In Senate— 1864, February 10 — Mr. Sumner offered the following : Resolved, That the Committee on tne District of Columbia be directed to con- sider the expediency of further providing by law against the exclusion of colored persons from the equal enjoyment of all railroad privileges in the District of Colum- bia. Which was agreed to — yeas 30, nays 10. February 24 — Mr. Willey, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, made this report, and the committee were discharged. The Committee on the District of Co- lum')ia, who Avere required by resolution of the Senate, passed February 8, 1S64, " 1 > consider the expediency of further providing by law against the exclusion of colored persons from the equal enjoyment of all railroad privileges in the District of 11 Columbia," have had the matter thus re- ferred to them under consideration, and beg leave to report : The act entitled " An act to incorporate the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company," approved May 17, 1862, makes no distinction as to passengers over said road on account of the color of the pas- sengers, and that in the opinion of the committee colored persons are entitled to all the privileges of said road which other persons have, and to all remedies for any denial or breach of such privileges which belongs to any person. The committee therefore ask to be dis- charged from the further consideration of the premises. March 17 — The Senate considered the bill to incorporate the Metropolitan Rail- road Company, in the District of Columbia, the pending question being an amendment, offered by Mr. Sumner, to add to the four- teenth section the words : Provided, That there shall be no regula- tion excluding any person from any car ob account of color. Which was agreed to — yeas 19, nays 17, as follows : Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Clark, Conness, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Harlan, Howe, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Morrill, Pomerov, Ramsev, Sumner, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilson— 19. " Nays — Messrs. Buckalew, Carlile, Davis, Doolittle, Harding, Harris, Hendricks, Johnson, Lane of Indiana, Powell, Riddle, Saulsbury, Sherman, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Van Winkle, AVilley— 17. The bill then passed the Senate. June 19 — The House refused to strike out the proviso last adopted in the Senate — yeas 60, nays 76. And the bill passed the House and was approved by the President. Second Session, Tlilrty-Se-v-entli Congress. Colored Persoiis as Witnesses, In Senate — Pending the confiscation bill, June 28, 1862. Mr. Sumner moved these words as an addition to the 14th section : And in all the proceedings under this act there shall be no exclusion of any wit- ness on account of color. Which was rejected — yeas 14, nays 25, as follows: Yeas — Messrs. Chandler, Grimes, Har- lan, Howard, King, Lane of Kansas, Mor- rill, Pomeroy, Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilmot — 14. Nays — Messrs. Anthony, Browning, Carlile, Clark, Collamer, Cowan, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Harris, Henderson, Lane of Indiana, Nes- mith, Pearce, Powell, Sherman, Simmons, Stark, Ten Eyck, Willey, Wilson of Mis- souri, Wright — 25. lt>2 AMERICAN POLITICS. Pending the consideration of the supple- ment to the emancipation bill for the Dis- trict of Columbia, 1862, July 7 — Mr. Sumner moved a new section : That in all the judicial proceedings in the District of Columbia there shall be no exclusion of any witness on account of color. Which was adopted — yeas 25, nays 11. The bill then passed — yeas 29, nays 6 ; (Messrs. Carlile, Davis, Kennedy, Powell, Wilson, of Missouri, Wright.) July 9 — The bill passed the House — yeas 69, nays 36. There was no separate vote on the above proposition. Pending the consideration in the Senate of the House bill in relation to the com- petency of witnesses in trials of equity and admiralty, 1862, July 15 — Mr. Sumner offered this proviso to the first section : Provided, That there shall be no exclu- sion of any witness on account of color. Which was rejected — yeas 14, nays 23. First Session, Tliirty-Elglitli Congress. 1864, June 25 — Pending the civil appro- priation bill, in Committee of the Whole, Mr. Sumner offered this proviso : Provided, That in the courts of the United States there shall be no exclusion of any witness on account of color. Mr. Buckaiew moved to add : Nor in civil actions because he is a party to or interested in the issue tried. Which was agreed to ; and the amend- ment as amended was agreed to — yeas 22, nays 16. The Senate subsequently concurred in this amendment — yeas 29, nays 10. IN HOUSE. June 29 — The question being on agree- ing to the amendment, Mr. Mallory moved to add this proviso to the section amended in the Senate : Provided, That negro testimony shall only be taken in'the United States courts in those States the laws of which authorize such testimony. Which was rejected — yeas 47, nays (56. The amendment of the Senate was then agreed to — yeas 67, nays 48. COLORED SCHOOLS. _ June 8. — The House passed a bill to pro- vide for the public instruction of youth in Washington city, with an amendment pro- viding for separate schools for the colored children, by setting apart such a propor- tion of the entire school fund as the num- ber of colored children between the ages of six and seventeen bear to tlie whole num- ber of children in the District. The bill, with amendments, passed both Houses ■vrithout a division. On all of these questions of color, the Democrats invariably, on test votes, were found against any concession of rights to the negro. These were frequently aided by some Republicans, more conservative than their colleagues, or representing closer districts where political prejudices would affect their return to their seats. It will be observed that on nearly all these ques- tions Senator Charles Sumner took thi lead. He was at that time pre-eniinentl\ the Moses of the colored man, and led him from one right to another through Sena- torial difficulties, which by the way, were never as strong as that in the House, where Thaddeus Stevens was the boldest cham- pion of " the rights of the black man." In the field, rather in the direction of what should be done Avith the " contrabands " and escaped slaves, the Secretary of War, General Cameron, was their most radical friend, and his instructions were so out- spoken that Lincoln had to modify them. As early as December 1, 1861, General Cameron wrote : " While it is plain that the slave prop- erty of the South is justly subjected to all the consequences of this rebellious war, and that the Government would be untrue to its trust in not employing all the rights and powers of war to bring it to a speedy close, the details of the plan for doing so, like all other military measures, must, in a great degree, be left to be determined by particular exigencies. The disposition of other property belonging to the rebels that becomes subject to our arms is governed by the circumstances of the case. The Gov- ernment has no power to hold slaves, none to restrain a slave of his liberty, or to ex- act his service. It has a right, however, to use the voluntary service of slaves lib- orated by war from their rebel masters, like any other property of the rebels, in what- ever mode may be most efficient for (he de- fence of the Government, the prosecution of the war, and the suppression of rebel- lion. It is clearly a right of the govern- ment to arm slaves when it may become necessary as it is to take gunpowder from the enemy. Whether it is expedient to do so is purely a military question. The right is unquestionable by the laws of war. The expediency must be determined by circum- stances, keeping in view the great object of overcoming the rebels, re-establishing the laws, and restoring peace to the na- tion. " It is vain and idle for the Government to carry on this war, or hope to maintain its existence against rebellious force, with- out enjoying all the rights and powers of war. As has been said, the right to de- iirive the rel)els of their property in slaves and slave labor is as clear and absolute as the right to take forage from the field, or cotton from the warehouse, or powder and COLOR IN WAR POLITICS. 168 arms from the magazine. To leave the enemy in the possession of such property as forage and cotton and military stores, and the means of constantly reproducing them, would be madness. It is, therefore, equal madness to leave them in peaceful and secure possession of slave property, more valuable and efficient to them for war than forage, cotton and military stores. Such policy would be national suicide. What to do with that species of property is a question that time and circumstances will solve, and need not be anticipated further than to repeat that they cannot be held by the Government as slaves. It would be useless to keep them as prisoners of war ; and self-preservation, the highest duty of a Government, or of individuals, demands that they should be disposed of or em- ployed in the most effective manner that will tend most speedily to suppress the in- surrection and restore the authority of the Government. If it shall be found that the men who have been helil by the rebels as slaves are capable of bearing arms and per- forming efficient military service, it is the right, and may become the duty, of this Government to arm and equip them, and employ their services against the rebels, under proper military regulations, disci- pline and command. " But in whatever manner they may be used by the Government, it is plain that, once liberated by the rebellious act of their masters, they should never again be re- stored to bondage. By the master's trea- son and rebellion he forfeits all right to the labor and service of his slave ; and the slave of the rebellious master, by his ser- vice to the Government, becomes justly en- titled to freedom and protection. "The disposition to be made of the slaves of rebels, after the close of the war, can be safely left to the wisdam and pat- riotism of Congress. The representatives of the people will unquestionably secure to the loyal slaveholders every right to which they are entitled under the Consti- tution of the country." [Subsequent events proved the wisdom of this policy, and it was eventually adopt- ed by an Administration which proclaimed its policy " to move not ahead but with the people."] President Lincoln and his Cabinet mod- ified the above language so as to make it read: " It is already a grave question what shall be dme with those slaves who were abandoned by their owners on the advance of our tro?ps into southern territory, as at Beaufort district, in South Carolina. The number left within our control at that point is very considerable, and similar cases will probably occur. What shall be done with them ? Can we afford to send them forward to their masters, to be by them armed against us, or used in pro- ducing supplies to sustain the rebellion ? Their labor may be useful to us; withheld from the enemy it lessens his military re- sources, and withholding them has no ten- dency to induce the horrors of Insurrec- tion, even in the rebel communities. They constitute a military resource, andj being such, that they should not be turned over to the enemy is too plain to discus.**. Why deprive him of supplies by a blockade, and voluntarily give him men to produce them ? " The disposition to be made of the slaves of rebels, after the close of the war, can be safely left to the wisdom and pat- riotism of Congress. The Representatives of the people will unquestionably secure to the loyal slaveholders every right to which they are entitled under the Constitution of the country." Secretary Cameron was at all times in favor of " carrying the war into Africa," and it was this stern view of the situation which eventually led him to sanction measures which brought him into plainer differences with the Administration. Lin- coln took offense at the printing of his re- port before submitting it to him. Aa a re- sult he resigned and went to Russia aa Minister, on his return being again elected to the United States Senate — a place which he filled until the winter of 1877, when he resigned, and his son, J. Donald Cameron, was elected to the vacancy, and re-elected for the term ending in 1885. General B, F. Butler was the author of the " contra- band " idea. A year later the views of the Administration became more radical on questions of color, and July 22, 1862, Sec- retary Stanton ordered al) Generals in command " to seize and use any property, real or personal, which may be necessary or convenient for their several commands, for supplies, or lor other military purposes ; and that while property may be destroyed for proper military objects, none shall be destroyed in wantonness or malice. " Second. That military and naval com- manders shall employ as laborers, within and from said States, so many persona of African descent as can be advantageously used for military or naval purposes, giving them reasonable wages for their labor. " Third. That, as to both property, and persons of African descent, accounts shall be kept sufficiently accurate and in detail to show quantities andi^mounts, and from whom both property and such persona shall have come, as a basis upon which compensation can be made in proper cases ; and the several departments of this Gov- ernment shall attend to and perform their appropriate i)arts towards the execution of these orders." The manner and language employed by General McClellan in promulgating thia 164 AMERICAN POLITICS. order to the Army of the Potomac, led to his political differences with the Adminis- tration, and in the end caased him to be the Democratic candidate for President in 1864, against Lincoln. His language is peculiar and some of it worthy of presenta- tion as of political importance. He said : " Inhabitants, especially women and children, remaining peaceably at their hom©*, must not be molested; and wher- ever commanding officers find families peculiarly exposed in their persons or property to marauding from this army, they will, as heretofore, so far as they can do with safety and without detriment to the sen'ice, post guards for their protection. " In protecting private property, no refer- ence is intended to persons held to service or labor by reason of African descent. Such persons will be regarded by this army, as they heretofore have been, as oc- cupying simply a peculiar legal status under State laws, which condition the mili- tarj' authorities of the United States are not required to regard at all in districts where militarj' operations are made neces- sary by the rebellious action of the State governments. "Persons subject to suspicion of hostile puii:)Oses, residing or being near our forces, will be, as heretofore, subject to arrest and detention, until the cause or necessity is removed. All such arrested parties will be sent, a.s usual, to the Provost Marshal General, with a statement of the facts in each case. "The general commanding takes this occasion to remind the officers and soldiers of this army that we are engaged in sup- porting the Constitution and the laws of the United States and suppressing rebel- lion against their authority ; that we are not engaged in a war of rapine, revenge, or subjugation ; that this is not a contest against populations, but against armed forces and political organizations; that it is a struggle carried on with the United States, and should be conducted by us upon the highest i)rinciples known to Christian civilization." At this time such were the prejudices of Union soldiers against negroes, because of growing jiolitical agitation in the North, that many would loudly jeer them when seen within the lines. The feeling was even greater in the ranks of civilians, and yet Congress moved along, step bv step. The 37th abolished slavery in the District of Columbia ; prohibited it in all the terri- tories; confirmed the freedom of the slaves owned by those in arms against the govern- ment; authorized the employment of colored men in fortifications, their enlist- ment, etc. ; and enacted an additional article of war, which prohibited any officer from returning or aiding the return of any fugitive alave. These were rapid strides, but not as rapid as were demanded by the more radical wing of the Republican party. We have shown that most of them were opposed by the Democrats, not solidly sure Avhere they were plainly political, but this party became less solid as the war ad- vanced. Senator Wilson was the author of the bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. It excited much debate, and the range of the speeches covered the en- tire question of slavery. Those from the Border States opposed it (a few Eepublicans and all Democrats) but some of the Demo- crats of the North supported it. The vote in the Senate was 29 for to 6 against. In the House Frank P. Blair, Jr., advocated colonization in connection with the bill, but his idea met with little favor. Crit- tenden, WicklifTe and Vallandigham were prominent in opposition. Its most promi- nent advocates were Stevens of Pennsyl- vania, and Bingham of Ohio. The vote was 92 for to 38 against. The bill of Arnold, of Illinois, " to ren- der freedom national and slavery sectional," the leading idea in the platform of the convention which nominated Lincoln, pro- hibited slavery in " all the Territories of the United States then existing, or there- after to be formed or acquired in any way." It was vehemently opposed, but passed with some modifications by 58 ayes to 50 noes, and it also passed the Senate. In the Spring of 1862 General David Hunter brought the question of the enlist- ment of colored troops to a direct issue by raising a regiment of them. On the 9th of June following, Mr. Wickliffe of Ken- tucky, succeeded in getting the House to ado])t a resolution of inquiry. Corres- pondence followed with General Hunter. He confessed the fact, stated that " he found his authority in the instructions of Secre- tary Cameron, and said that he hoped by fall to enroll about fifty thousand of these hardy and devoted soldiers." When this reply was read in the House it was greeted with shouts of laughter from the Republi- cans, and signs of anger from the others. A great debate followed on the amendment to the bill providing for the calling out of the militia, clothing the President with full power to enlist colored troops, and to pro- claim "he, his mother, and wife and chil- dren forever free," after such enlistment. Preston King, of New York, was the author of this amendment. Davis, of Kentucky, and Carlisle of West Virginia, were promi- nent Senators in opposition ; while Ten Eyck, of New Jersey, Sherman of Ohio, and Browning of Illinois sought to modify it. Garrett Davis said in opposition : " Do you expect us to give our sanc- tion and approval to these things ? No, no I We would regard their authors as our worst enemies ; and there is no foreign despot- COLOR IN WAR POLITICS. 165 is.il Lu-tt could come to our rescue, that we would uot fondly embrace, before we would Bubmit to any such condition of things." Senator Fessonden of Maine, in advo- cacy of t'.ie amendment, said : " I tell the President from my place here as a Senator, and I tell the generals of our army, they must reverse their practices and course of proceeding on this subject. * * * Treat your enemies as enemies, as the worst of enemies, and avail yourselves like men of every power which God has placed in your hands, to accomplish your purpose, within the rules of civilized war- fare." The bill passed, so modified, as to give freedom to all who should perform military service, but restricting liberty to the fami- lies of such only as belonged to rebel mas- ters. It passed the House July l(3th, 1862, and receive! the sanction of the President, who said : — "And the promise made must be kept!" General Hu-.iter for his part in beginning colored enlistments, was out- lawed by the Confederate Congress. Hunter followed with an order freeing the slaves in South Carolina. In January, 1853, pursuant to a sugges- tion in the annual report of Secretary Stanton, who was by this time as radical as his predecessor in office, the House passed a bill authorizing the President to enroll into the land and naval service such number of volunteers of African descent as he might deem useful to suppress the rebellion, and for .such term as he might prescribe, not exceeding five years. The slaves of loyal citizens in the Border States were excluded from the provisions of this bill. In the Senate an adverse re- port was made on the ground that the President already possessed these powers. In January, 1863, Senator Wilson, who was by this time chairman of the Military Committee of the Senate, secured the pas- sage of a bill which authorized a draft for the National forces from the ranks of all male citizens, and those of foreign birth who had declared their intentions, etc. The bill contained the usual exemp- tions. CONFEDERATE USE OF COLORED MEN. In June, 1861, the rebel Legislature of Tennessee passed this enlistment bill, which became a law : Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That from and after the passage of this act the Governor shall be, and he is hereby, authorized, at his discretion, to receive into the military service of the State all male free persons of color between the ages of fifteen and fifty, or such numbers as may be necessary, who may be sound in mind and body, and capable of actual ser- vice. 2. That such free persons of color shall receive, each, eight dollars per month, aa pay, and such persons shall be entitled to draw, each, one ration i)er day^ and shall be entitled to a yearly allowance each for clothing. 3. That, in order to carry out tlie provi- sions of this act, it shall be the duty of the sheriffs of the several counties in this State to collect accurate information a.s to the number and condition, witli the names of free persons of color, subject to the pro- visions of this act, and shall, as it is prac- ticable, repoit the same in writing to the Governor. 4. That a failure or refasal of the sheriffs, or any one or more of them, to perform the duties required, shall bo deemed an offence, and on convictioH thereof shall be punished as a misde- meanor. 5. That in the event a sufficient number of free persons of color to meet the wants of the State shall not tender their services, the Governor is empowered, through the sheriffs of the different counties, to press such persons until the requisite number is obtained. 6. That when any mess of volunteers shall keep a servant to wait on the mem- bers of the mess, each servant shall be al- lowed one ration. This act to take effect from and after its passage. W. C. Whitthorne, Speaker of the House of Hepresentativea. B. L. Stovall, Speaker of the Senate. Passed June 28, 1861. 1862, November 2 — Governor Joseph E. Brown, of Georgia, issued a call announc- ing that if a .sufficient supply of negroes be not tendered within ten day3, General \ Mercer will, in pursuance of authority given him, proceed to impress, and asking of every planter of Georgia a tender of one fifth of his negroes to complete the fortifi- cations around Savannah. ThiB one fifth is estimated at 15,000. 1863. The Governor of South Carolina in July, issued a proclamation for 3.000 negroes to work on the fortifications, the need for them being pressing." THE changing SENTIMENT OF CONGRHBS. In the Rebel House of Representatives, December 29th, Mr. Dargan, of Alabama, introduced a bill to receive into the mili- tary service all that portion of population in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, known as "Creoles.'' Mr. Dargan supported the bill in some remarks. He said the Creoles were a mixed-blooded race. Under the treaty <)f Paris in 1803, and the treaty of Spain in 1810, they were recognized as fi-eemen. 166 amp:rican politics. Many of thorn owned large estates, and were intelligent men. They were as much devoted to our cause as any class of men in the Bouth, and were even anxious to go iuato service. They had applied to him to be received into service, and he had ap- plied to Mr. Randolph, then Secretary of War. Mr, Randolph decided against the appliciitiou, on the ground that it might lurnish to tho enemy a pretext of arming our siavi-s against us. Some time after this hi', was again applied to by them, and he went to the present Secretary of War, Mr. Seddou, and laid the matter before him. Mr. Seddou refused to entertain the proposition, on the ground that it did not come up lieff)rc him through the ndlitary authorities. To obviate this objection, Gen. Mauiy, at Mobile, soon afterwards represented their wishes to the War De- partment. Mr. Seddou refused the offer of their services, on the ground that it would be incompatible with the position we occu- pied before the world ; that it could not be done. Mr. l^argan said he difiered with the Secretnvy of War. He cared not for " the world." He cared no more for their opinions than they did for ours. He was anxiou- to bring into service every free man, be he who he may, willing to strike for our c;iuse. He saw no objection to employing C-reoks ; they would form a potent element in our army. In his dis- trict alone a brigade of them could be raised. The crisis had been brought upon us by the enemy, and he believed the time would yet come when the question would not be the Union or no Union, but whether Southern men should be permitted to live at all. In resisting subjugation by such a barbarous foe he was for employing all our available force. He would go furthrr and say that he was for arming and pvtthitj the slaves into tnilitai'i/ service. He tnas ill furor ctJcn of emlpoying them as a milHitni on/t in the defence of the country. 18(;4." The Mayor of Charleston, Charles Macbeth, summons all slaveholders within the city to furnish to the military authori- ties forthwith, one-fourth of all their male slaves between the ages of fifteen and fifty, to labor upon the fortifications. The penalty announced, in csise of failure to comply with this requisition is a fine of $200 for every slave not forthcoming. Compensa- tion is allowed at the rate of $400 a year. All free male persons of color between the ages of fifteen and fifty are required to give themselves up for the same purpose. Those not complying will be imprisoned, and set to work upon the fortifications along the coast. To free negroes no other eompensation than rations is allowed. copy of " An act to increase the efficiency of the army by the employment of free negroes .-nd slaves in certain capacities/' lately passed by the Rebel Congress. The negroes are to perform " such duties as the Secretary of War or Commanding General may prescribe.'' The first section is as follows : The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That all male free ne- groes, and other free persons of color, not including those who are free under the treaty of Paris, of 1803, or under the treaty of Spain, of 1819, resident in the Confed- erate States, between the ages of eighteen and filty years, shall be held liable to per- form such duties with the army, or in con- nection with the militarj' delences of the country, in the way of work upon the fortifications, or in government works for the production or preparation of materials of war, or in military hospitals, as the Sec- retary of War or the Commanding General of the Trans-Mississippi Department may, from time to time, prescribe; and while engaged in the performances of such duties shall receive rations and clothing and compensation at the rate of eleven dollars a month, under such rules and regulations as the said Secretary may establish: Pro- vided, That the Secretary of War or the Commanding General of the Trans-Missis- sippi Department, w'ith the approval of the President, may exempt from the opera- tions of this act such free negroes as the interests of the country may require should be exempted, or such as he may think proper to exempt on the ground of justice, equity or necessity. The third section provides that when the Secretary of War shall be unable to procure the services of slaves in any mili- taiy department, then he is authorized to impress the services of as many male slaves, not to exceed twenty thousand, as may be required, from time to time, to dis- charge the duties indicated in the first sec- tion of the act. The owner of the slave is to be paid for his services ; or, if he be killed or escape to the enemy," the owner shall receive his full value. Governor Smith, of Virginia, has made a call for five thousand male slaves to work on the batteries, to be drawn from fifty counties. The call for this force has been made by the President under a resolution of Congress. "confederate" legislation upon ne- gro PRISONERS AND THEIR WHITE OFFICERS WHEN CAPTURED.* 1863, May 1 — An act was approved de- claring that the commissioned officers of NEGROES IN THE ARMY. *T)eceiuber 23, 1862 — Jeffereon Davis issued a procl»- _^ . , I !• 1 i_ re • 1 I mation of outlawry ag:ainBt Major General B. F. ButlM; The Kicnmond press publish the Oinciai the last two clauses of which are: COLOR IN WAR POLITICS. 167 the anemy ought not to be delivered to the authorities of the respective States, (as suo-Kested in Davis's message ;) but ail cap- tives taken by the Confederate forces ought to be dealt with and disposed of by the Confederate Government. President Lincoln's emancipation pro- clamations of September 22, 1862 and .hiRiiry 1, 1863, were resolved to be in- ,• )nslstL-nt with the usages of war among .uvilized nations, and should be re- pressed by retaliation ; and the President is authorized to cause full and complete retaliation for everv such violation, in such manner and to such extent as he may think proper. . Every white commissioned otticer com- manding negroes or mulattoes in arms ao-ainst the Confederate States shall be deemed as inciting servile insurrection, and shall, if captured, be put to death, or be otherwise punished, at the discretion ot the court. . Every person charged with an ollence made punishable under the act shall be tried bv the military court of the army or corps of troops capturing him ; and, after conviction, the President may commute the punishment in such manner and on such terms as he mai/ deem proper. All negroes and mulattoes who shall be eno-aged m war or taken in arms agaiu'^' the Confederate States, or shall give aid or comfort to the enemies of the Confederate States, shall, when captured in the Con- federate States, be delivered to the author- ities of the State or States in which they shall be captured, to be dealt with accord- ing to the present or future laws of such State or States. Passage of tlxe Thirteentli Amendment. The first amendment to the Constitution growing out of the war, and one of its di- rect results, was that of abolishing slavery. It was first introduced to the House De- cember 14th, 1863, by James M. Ashley of Ohio. Similar measures were introduced bv James M. Wilson, Senators Henderson, Sumner and others. On the 10th of Feb- ruaiy. Senator Trumbull reported Hen- derson's joint resolution amended as fol- lows : " That the following article be proposed to the Legislature 5 of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said Legislatures, shall be Thinl That all negro slaves captureJ in arms lie at once aiiiven-a over to tlio executive authorition of tlio respective Stat>-» to which viiey b.;long, to be dealt with according to the laws of said States. Fourth. That the lilii against the authorities of the ditl.Tent States of thia Confederacy. valid to all intents and purposes as a part of the said Constitution, namely : " Art. 13, Sec. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punish- ment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist with- in the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legisla- tion.'' . - The Senate began the consideration ot the question March 28th, Senator Trumbull opening the debate in favor of the amend- ment. He predicted thtit within a year the necessary number of States would rat- ify it. Wilson of Massachusetts made a long and able speech in favor. Davis of Kentucky and Saulsbury of Delaware led the opposition, but Reverdy Johnson, an independent Democratic Senator from Maryland, surprised all by his bold sup- port'of the measure. Among other things he said : " I think history will bear me out m the statement, that if the men by whom that Constitution was framed, and the people by whom it was adopted, had anticipated the times in which we live, they would have provided by constitutional enactment, that that evil and that sin should in soine coraparativelv unremote day be removed. Without recurring to authority, the writ- ings public or private of the men of that day, it is sufficient for my purpose to state what the tacts will justify me in saying, that every man of them who largely par- ticipated in the deliberations of the Con- vention by which the Constitution was adopted, earnestly desired, not only upon grounds of political economy, not only up- • on reasons material in their character, but upon trrounds of morality and religion, that sooner or later the institution should terminate." Senator McDougall of California, op- posed the amendment. Harhui of Iowa, Hale of New Htnnpshire, and Sumner, made characteristic speeches in favor. Saulsbury advocated the divine right of slaverv. It passed April 8th, by 38 ayes to 6 noes', the latter comi)rising Davis and Powell of Kentucky ; McDougall of Cali- fornia ; Hendricks of Indiana; Saulsbury and Riddle of Delaware. Arnold of Illinois, was the first to se- cure the adoption in the House (Feb. 15, 1864,) of a resolution to abolish slavery ; but the Constitutional amendment required a two-thirds vote, and this it was difficu t to obtain, though all the power of the Ad- ministration was bent to that purpose, ihe discussion began May 31st ; the vote was reached June 15th, but it then fiuled ot the required two-thirds— 93 for to b5 against, 23 not voting. Its more pro- nounced advocates were Arnold, Ashley, 1G8 AMERICAN POLITICS. Brooiuall, Stevens, and Kelly of Pennsyl- vania; Farnsworth and Ingersoll of Illi- nois, and many others. Its ablest oppo- nents were Holman, Wood, Mallory, Cox and Pendleton— the latter rallying nearly all of the Democrats against it. Its Dem- ocratic friends were McAllister and Bailey of Pennsylvania ; Cobb of Wisconsin ; Griswold and Odell of New York. Before the vote was announced Ashley changed his vote so as to move a reconsideration and keep control of the question. At the next session it was passed, receiving every Re- publican and 16 Democratic votes, 8 Dem- ocrats purposely refraining, so that it would surely pass. Admission of Representatives trom. Louisiana. The capture of New Orleans by Admiral Farragut, led to the enrollment of 60,000 citizens of Louisiana as citizens of the United States. The President thereupon appointed a Military Governor for the en- tire State, and this Governor ordered an election for members of Congress under the old State constitution. This was held Dec. 3, 1862, when Messrs. Flanders and Hahn were returned, neither receiving 3,000 votes. They received certificates, pre- sented them, and thus opened up a new and grave political question. The Deino- crats opposed their admission on grounds so well stated by Voorhees of Indiana, that we quote them : " Understand this principle. If the Southern Confederacy is a foreign power, an independent nationality to-day, and you have conquered back the territory of Lou- isiana, you may then substitute a new sys- tem of laws in the place of the laws of that State. You may then supplant her civil in- stitutions by institutions made anew for her by the proper authority of this Government — not by the executive — but by the legisla- tive branch of the Government, assisted by the Executive simply to the extent of sign- ing his name to the bills of legislation. If the Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, (Mr. Stevens) is correct; if the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Conway) is correct, and this assumed power in the South is a power of the earth, and stands to-day upon equal terms of nationality with ourselves, and reconquer back State by State its territory by the power of arms, then we may govern them independently of their local laws. But if the theory we have been proceeding upon here, that this Union is unbroken ; that no States have sundered the bonds that bind us together ; that no successful disunion has yet taken place, — if that theory is still to prevail in these halls, then this cannot be done. You ure as much bound to uphold the laws of liouisiana in all their extent and in all their parts, as you are to uphold the laws of Pennsylvania or New York, or any other State whose civil policy has not been disturbed." Michael Hahn, one of the Representa- tives elect, closed a very effective speech, which secured the personal good will of the House in favor of his admission, in these words: "And even, sir, within the limits of thr dreary and desolated region of the rebel lion itself, despair, which has already tak- en hold of the people, will gain additional power and strength, at the reception of the news that Louisiana sends a message of peace, good-will, and hearty fellowship to the Union. This intelligence will sound more joyful to patriot ears than all the oft repeated tidings of ' Union victories.' And of all victories, this will be the most glorious, useful and solid, for it speaks of re- organization, soon to become the great and difficult problem with which our statesmen will have to familiarize themselves, and when this shall have commenced, we will be able to realize that God, in his infinite mercy has looked down upon our misfor- tunes, and in a spirit of paternal love and pity, has addressed us in the language as- cribed to him by our own gifted Longfel- low: " I am weary of your quarrels, Weary of your wars and bloodshed, Weary of your praj ers for vengeance, Of your wranglings and dissensions; All your strength is in your Vnion, All your danger is in dl'^rord. Therefore, be at peace, henceforward, And as brothers live together." Mr. Speaker, Louisiana — ever loyal, hon- orable Louisiana — seeks no greater bles- sing in the future, than to remain a part of this great and glorious Union. She has stood by you in the darkest hours of the rebellion ; and she intends to stand by you. Sir, raise your eyes to the gorgeous ceil- ings which ornament this Hall, and look upon her fair and lovely escutcheon. Care- fully read the patriotic words which sur- round her affectionate pelican family, and you will find there inscribed, 'Jiidice, Union, Confidence.'' Those words have with us no idle meaning; and would to God that other members of this Union, could properly appreciate our motto, our motives and our position ! " The debate attracted much attention, because of the novelty of a question upon which, it has since been contended, would have turned a different plan of reconstruct- ing the rebellious States if the I'rcsident's plans had not been destroyed by his assas- sination. Dawes, of Massachusetts, was the Chairman of the Committee on Elec- tions, and he closed the debate in favor of admission. The vote stood 92 for to 44 against, almost a strict party test, the Democrats voting no. RECONSTRUCTION 169 RECONSTRUCTION. In the House as early as Dec. 15, 1863, Henry Winter Davis moved that so much of the President's message as relates to the duty of the United IStates to guaranty a Republican form of government to the States in which the governments recog- nized by the United States have been ab- rogated or overthrown, be referred to a select committee of nine to report the bills necessary and proper for carrying into ex- ecution the foregoing guarautee,\vas passed, and on May 4th, 18(3 i, the House adopted the first reconstruction bill by 74 yeas to 66 nays — a strict party vote.* The Senate passed it by yeas 18, nays 14 — Doolittle, Henderson, Lane of Indiana, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, and Van Winkle voting with the Democrats against it. The bill authorizes the President to ap- Eoint in Ciich of the States declared in re- ellion, a Provisional Governor, jwith the pay and emoluments of a brigadier ; to be charged with the civil administration until a State government therein shall be recog- nized. As soon as the military resistance to the United States shall have been sup- pressed, and the people sufficiently re- turned to their obedience to the Constitu- tion and laws, the Governor shall direct the marshal of the United States to enroll all the white male citizens of the United States, resident in the State in their re- spective counties, and whenever a majority of them take the oath of allegiance, the loyal people of the State shall be entitled to elect delegates to a convention to act upon the re-establishment of a State gov- ernment — the proclamation to contain de- tails prescribed. Qualified voters in the army may vote in their camps. No person who has held or exercised any civil, mili- tarj'. State, or Confederate office, under the rebel occupation, and who has voluntarily borne arms against the United States, shall vote or be eligible as a delegate. The convention is required to insert in the con- stitution provisions — 1st. No person who has held or exercised any civil or military office, (except offices merely ministerial and military officekbe- lowa colonel,) State or Confederate, under the usurping power, shall vote for, or be a member of tlae legislature or governor. 2d. Involuntary servitude is forever pro- hibited, and the freedom of all persons is guarantied in said State. 3d. No debt. State or Confederate, cre- ated by or under the sanction of the usurp- ing power, shall be recognized or paid by the State. Upon the adoption of the constitution by the convention, and its ratification by the electors of the State, the Provisional Gov- * McPherson's History, page 317. ernor shall so certify to the President, who, after obtaining the assent of Congress, shall, by proclamation, recognize the gov- ernment as established, and none other, as the constitutional government of the State ; and from the date of such recognition, and not before. Senators and Representatives and electors for President and Vice-Presi- dent may be elected in such State. Until re-organization the Provisional Governor shall enforce the laws of the Union and of the State before the rebellion. The remaining sections are as follows : Sec. 12. That all persons held to invol- untary servitude or labor in the States aforesaid are hereby emancipated and dis- charged therefrom, and they and their pos- terity shall be forever free. And if any such persons or their posterity shall be re- strained of liberty, under pretence of any claim to such service or labor, the courtis of the United States shall, on habeas cor- pus^ discharge them. Sec. 13. That if any person declared free by this act, or any law of the United States, or any proclamation of the President, be restrained of liberty, with intent to be held in or reduced to involuntary servitude or labor, the person convicted before a court of competent jurisdiction of such act shall be punished by fine of not less than $1,500, and be imprisoned not less than five, nor more than twenty years. Sec. 14. That every person who shall hereafter hold or exercise any office, civil or military, except offices merely minis- terial and military offices below the grade of colonel, in the rebel service. State or Confederate, is hereby declared not to be a citizen of the United States. Lincoln's Proclamation on Reconstrnction President Lincoln failed to sign the above bill because it reached him less than one hour before final adjournment, and there- upon issued a proclamation which closed as follows : " Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do pro- claim, declare, and make known, that, while I am (as I was in December last, when bt proclamation I propounded a plan for restoration) unnrepared, ])y a formal approval of this bill, to be inflexibly com- mitted to any single plan of restoration ; and, .while I am also unprepared to declare that the free State constitutions and gov- ernments already adopted and installed in Arkansas and Louisianti shall be set aside and held for nought, thereby repelling and discouraging the loyal citizens who have set up the same as to further effort, or to declare a constitutional competency in Congress to abolish slavery in States, but am at the same time sincerf»lv hoping and 170 AMERICAN POLITICS. expecting that a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery throughout the nation may be adopted, nevertheless I am fully satisfied with the system for restoration contained in the bill as one very proper plan for the loyal people of any State choosing to adopt it, and that I am, and at all times shall be, prepared to give the Ex- ecutive aid and assistance to any such peo- ple, so soon as the military resistance to the United States shall have been sup- pressed in any such State, and the people thereof shall have sufficiently returned to their obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States, in which cases Military Governors will be apiwinted, with directions to proceed according to the bill." Admission of Arkansas. On the 10th of June, 18G4, introduced a joint resolution for the recognition of the free State government of Arkansas. A new State government had then been or- ganized, with Isaac Murphy, Governor, who was reported to have received nearly 16,000 votes at a called election. The other State officers are : Lieutenant Governor, C. C. Bliss ; Secre- tary of State, R. J. T. White ; Auditor, J. B. Berry ; Treasurer, E. D. Ayers ; Attor- ney General, C. T. .Jordan; Judges of the Supreme Court, T. D. W. Yowley, C. A. Harper, E. Baker. The Legislature also elected Senators, but neither Senators nor Representatives obtained their seats. Trumbull, from the Senate Judiciary Committee, made a long report touching the admission of the Sen- ators, which closed as follows: "When the rebellion in Arkansas shall have been so far suppressed that the loy- al inhabitants thereof shall be free to re- establish their State government upon a republican ibundation, or to recognize the one already set up, and by the aid and not in subordination to the military to main- tain the same, they will then, and not be- fore, in the opinion of your committee, be entitled to a representation in Congress, and to participate in the administration of the Federal Government. Believing that such a state of things did not at the time the claimants were elected, and does not now, exist in the State of Arkansas, the committee recommend for adoption the following resolution : " Resolved, That William M. Fishback and Elisha Baxter are not entitled to seats as Senators from the State of Arkansas." 1864, June 29— The resolution of the Committee on the Judiciary was adopted — yeas 27, nays 6. President Lincoln was known to favor the immediate admission of Arkansas and Liouisiana, but the refusal of the Senate to admit the Arkansas Senators raised an is- sue which partially divided the Republi- cans in both Houses, some of whom fa- vored forcible reconstruction through the aid of Military Governors and the machin- ery of new State governments, while others opposed. The views of those opposed to the President's policy are well stated in a paper signed by Benjamin F. Wade and Henry Winter Davis, published in the New York Tribune, August 5th, 1864. From this we take the more pithy extracts : The President, by preventing this bill from becoming a law, holds the electoral votes of the rebel States at the dictation of his personal ambition. If those votes turn the balance in his favor, is it to be supposed that his compe- titor, defeated by such means, will ac- quiesce ? If the rebel majority assert their su- premacy in those States, and send votes which elect an enemy of the Government, will we not re]}Q\ his claims ? And is not civil war for the Presidency inaugurated by the votes of rebel States? Seriously impressed with these dangers, Congress, " the jyi-oper constitutional au- thority," formally declared that there are no State governments in the rebel States, and provided for their erection at a proper time ; and both the Senate and the House of Representatives rejected the Senators and Representatives chosen under the au- thority of what the President calls the free constitution and government of Ar- kansas. The President's proclamation "holds for naught " this judgment, and discards the authority of the Supreme Court, and strides headlong toward the anarchy his pro- clamation of the 8th of December inaugu- rated. If electors for President be allowed to be chosen in either of those States, a sinis- ter light will be cast on the motives which induced the President to " hold for naught " the will of Congress rather than his gov- ernment in Louisiana and Arkansas. That judgment of Congress which the President defies was the exercise of an authority exclusively vested in Congress by the Constitution to determine what is the established government in a State, and in its own nature and by the highest judi- cial authority binding on all other depart- ments of the Government. * * * * A more studied outrage on the legisla- tive authority of the people has never been perpetrated. Congress passed a bill ; the President rt- - fused to ai)i)rove it, and then by proclam:.- tion puts as much of it in force as he sec s fit, and proposes to execute those parts by officers unknown to the laws of the United States and not subject to the confirmation of the Senate ! EECONSTKUCTION. 171 The bill directed the appointment of Provisional Governors by and with the ad- vice and consent of the Senate. The President, after defeating the law, proposes to apjioint without law^,- and with- out the advice and consent of the Senate, Militartj Governors for the rebel States ! He has already exercised this dictatorial usurpation in Louisiana, and he defeated the bill to prevent its limitation. * * * ' The President has greatly presumed on the forbearance which the supporters of his Administration have so long practiced, in view of the arduous conflict in which we are engaged, and the reckless ferocity of our political opponents. But he must understand that our sup- port is of a cause and not of a man ; that the authority of Congress is paramount and must be respected ; that the whole body of the Union men of Congress will not submit to be impeached by him of rash and unconstitutional legislation ; and if he wishes our support, he must confine himself to his executive duties — ^to obey and execute, not make the laws — to sup- press by arms armed rebellion, and leave political reorganization to Congress. If the supporters of the Government fail to insist on this, they become responsi- ble for the usurpations which they fail to rebuke, and are justly liable to the indig- nation of the people whose rights and security, committed to their keeping, they sacrifice. Let them consider the remedy for these usurpations, and, having found it, fear- lessly execute it. The question, as presented in 1864, now passed temporarily from public considera- tion because of greater interest in the closing events of the war and the Presi- dential succession. The passage of the 14th or anti -slavery amendment by the States also intervened. This was ofiicially announced on the 18th of December 1865, by Mr. Seward, 27 of the then 36 States having ratified, as follows : Illinois, Rhode Island, Michigan, Maryland, New York, West Virginia, Maine, Kansas, Massachu- setts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Mis- souri, Nevada. Indiana, Louisiana, Minne- sota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Ar- kansas, Connecticut, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia. TEXT OF THE RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES. 14:tli Coustltntlonal Amendment. Jtmt Resolution propo^mj an Amendment to the Constitu- tion of the United Slates. Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, (two- thirds of both houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said Legislatures, shall be valid as part of the Constitution, namely : [Here follows the 14th amendment. See Book IV.] Reconstruction Act of Thirty-Ninth Con- gress. An Act. to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States. Whereas no legal State governments or adequate protection for life or property now exists iu the rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas; and whereas it is necessary that peace and good order should be enforced in said States until loyal and republican State governments can be legally established : Therefore Be it enacted, &c.. That said rebel States shall be divided into military districts and made subject to the military authority of the United States, as hereinafter prescribed, and for that purpose Virginia shall consti- tute the first district ; North Carolina and South Carolina the second district ; Geor- gia, Alabama, and Florida the third dis- trict ; Mississippi and Arkansas the fourth district ; and Louisiana and Texas the fifth district. Sec. 2. That it shall be the duty of the President to assign to the command of each of said districts an ofiicer of the army, not below the rank of brigadier general, and to detail a sufficient military force to enable such officer to perform his duties and enforce his authority within the dis- trict to which he is assigned. Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of each officer assigned as aforesaid to protect all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress insurrection, disor- der, and violence, and to punisli, or cause to be punished, all distur'jers of the public peace and criminals, and to this end ne may allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of and to try offenders, or, when in his judgment it may be necessary for the trial of offenders, he shall have power to organize military commissions or tribunals for that purpose ; and all in- terference under color of State authority with the exercise of military authority un- der this act shall be null and void. Sec. 4. That all persons put under mili- tary arrest by virtue of this act shall be tried without unnecessary delaj', and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be in- flicted ; and no sentence of any military' commission or tribunal hereby authorized, aflfecting the life or liberty of any person, shall be executed until it is approved by the officer in command of the distriit, .nid 172 AMERICAN I'OLITICS. the laws and regulations for the govern- ment of the army shall not be affected by this act, except in so far as they conflict with its provisions : Provided, Tliat no sentence of death under the provisions of this act shall be carried into effect without the approval of the President. Sec. 5. That when the people of any one of said rebel States shall have formed a constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution of the United States in all respects, framed by a convention of delegates elected by the male citizens of said State twenty-one years old and up- ward, of Avhatever race, color, or previous condition, who have been resident in said State for one year previous to the day of such election, except such as may be dis- franchised for particiinition in the rebel- lion, or for felony at common law, and when such constitution shall provide that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed by all such persons as have the qualifications herein stated for electors of delegates, and when such constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the persons voting on the question of ratification who are qualified as electors for delegates, and when such con- stitution shall have been submitted to Congress for examination and approval, and Congress shall have approved the same, and when said State, by a vote of its legislature elected under said constitution, shall have adopted the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and known as article fourteen, and when said article shall have become a part of the Constitu- tion of the United States, said State shall be declared entitled to representation in Congress, and Senators and Representa- tives shall be admitted therefrom on their taking the oaths prescribed by law, and then and thereafter the preceding sections of this act shall be inoperative in said State : Provided, That no person excluded from the privilege of holding office by said proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be eligible to election as a member of the convention to frame a constitution for any of said rebel States, nor shall any such person vote for members of such convention. Sec. 6. That until the people of said rebel States shall be by law admitted to repre- sentation in the Congress of the United States, any . civil governments which may exist therein shall be deemed provisional only, and in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the United States at any time to abolish, modify, control, or supersede the same ; and in all elections to any office under such provisional govern- ments all per-ons shall be entitled to vote, and none others, who are entitled to vote under the pi'ovisions of the fifth section of this act ; and no person shall be eligible to any office under any such provisional gov- ernments who would be disqualified from holding office under the provisions of the third article of said constitutional amend- ment. Passed March 2, 1867. Supplemental Keconstractlon Act ot Vot- tietli Congress. Ax Act supplementary to an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient' government of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate restora- tion. Be it enacted, itv.. That before the first day of SeiDteniber, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the commanding general in each district defined by an act entitled " An act to j^rovide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty- seven, shall cause a registration to be made of the male citizens of the United States, twenty-one years of age and up- wards, resident in each county or parish in the State or States included in his dis- trict, which registration shall include only those persons who are qualified to vote for delegates by the act aforesaid, and who shall have taken and subscribed the fol- lowing oath or afiirmation : " I, , do solemnly swear, (or afiirm,) in the presence of Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State of ; that I have resided in said State for months next preceding this day, and now reside in the county of , or the parish of -, in said State, (as the case maybe ;) that I am twenty-one years old ; that I have not been disfranchised for participa- tion in any rebellion or civil war against the United States, nor for felony commited against the laws of any State or of the United States; that I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any executive or judicial office in any State and afterwards engaged in insurrec- tion or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have ncA'er taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I will faithfully support the Constitution and obey the laws of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, encourage others so to do, so help me God;" which oath or affirm- ation maybe administered by any register- injr officer. RECONSTRUCTION. 173 Sec. 2. That after the completion of the registration hereby provided for in any State, at such time and places therein as the commanding general shall appoint and direct, of which at least thirty days' public notice shall be given, an election shall be Iield of delegates to a convention for the purpose of establishing a constitution and civil government . for such State loyal to the Union, said convention in each State, .except Virginia, to consist of the same number of members as the most numerous branch of the State legislature of such State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned among the several districts, counties, or parishes of such State by the commanding general, giving to each representation in the ratio of voters or registered as aforesaid, as nearly as may be. The convention in Virginia shall con- sist of the same number of members as represented the territory now constituting Virginia in the most numerous branch of the legislature of said State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be ap- pointed as aforesaid. Skc. 3. That at said election the regis- tered voters of each State shall vote for or against a convention to form a constitution therefor under this act. Those voting in favor of such a convention shall have written or printed on the ballots by which they vote for delegates, as aforesaid, the words " For a convention," and those vot- ing against such a convention shall have written or printed on such ballots the words " Against a convention." The per- son appointed to sui)erintend said election, and to make return of the votes given thereat, as herein provided, shall count and make return of the votes given for and against a convention ; and the command- ing general to whom the same shall have been returned shall ascertain and declare the total vote in each State for and against a convention. If a majority of the votes given on that question shall be for a con- vention, then such convention shall be held as hereinafter provided; but if a majority of said votes shall be against aconventiou, then no such convention shall be held un- der this act : Provided, That such con- vention shall not be held unless a majority of all such registered voters shall have voted on the question of holding such i-on- vention. Sec. 4. That the commanding general of each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as may be necessary, con- sisting of three loyal officers or persons, to make and complete the registration, su- Eerintend the election, and make return to im of the votes, list-; of voters, and of the persons elected as delegates by a plurality of the votes cast at said election ; and upon receiving said returns he shall open the same, ascertain the persons elected as dele- gates according to the returns of the offi- cers who conducted said election, and make proclamation thereof; and if a ma- jority of the votes given on that question shall be for a convention, the commanding general, within sixty days from the date of election, shall notify the delegates to as- semble in convention, at a time and place to be mentioned in the notification, and said convention, when organized, shall pro- ceed to frame a constitution and civil gov- ernment according to the provisions of this act and the act to which it is supplement- ary ; and when the same shall have been so framed, said constitution shall be sub- mitted by the convention for ratification to the persons registered under the provisions of this act at an election to be conducted by the officers or persons appointed or to be appointed by the commanding general, as hereinbefore provided, and to be held after the expiration of thirty days from the date of notice thereof, to be given by said convention ; and the returns thereof shall be made to the commanding general of the district. Sec. 5. That if, according to said re- turns, the constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the votes of the registered electors qualified as herein specified, cast at said election, (^at least one-half of all the registered voters voting upon the question of such ratification,) the president of the convention shall transmit a copy of the same, duly certified, to the President of the United States, who shall forthwith transmit the same to Congress, if then in session, and if not in session, then imme- diately upon its next assembling; and if it shall, moreover, appear to Congress that the election was one at which all the reg- istered and (jualified electors in the State had an opportunity to vote freely and with- out restraint, fear, or the influence of fraud; and if the Congress shall be satisfied that such constitution meets the approval of a majority of all the qualified electors in the State, and if the said constitution shall be declared by Congress to be in conformity with the provisions of the act to which this is supplementary, and the other provisions of said act shall liave been complied with, and the said constitution shall be approved by Congress, the State shall be declared entitled to representation, and Senators and Representatives shall be admitted therefrom as therein provided. Sec. 6. That all elections in the States mentioned in the said " Act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," shall, during the operation of said act, be by ballot; and all officers making the said registration of voters and conduct- ing said elections shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the act approved July second, eighteen hun- 174 AMERICAN POLITICS. dred and sixty-two, entitled " An act to prescribe an oath of office : * Provided, That if any person shall knowingly and falsely take and subscribe any oath in this act prescribed, such jierson so offending and being thereof duly convicted, shall be sub- ject to the pains, penalties, and disabilities which by law are provided for the punish- ment of the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury. Sec. 7. That all expenses incurred by the several commanding generals, or by virtue of any orders issued, or appoint- ments made, by them, under or by virtue of this act, shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. Sec. 8. That the convention for each State shall prescribe the fees, salary, and compensation to be paid to all delegates and other officers and agents herein au- thorized or necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this act not herein other- wise provided for, and shall provide for the levy and collection of such taxes on the property in such State as may be ne- cessary to pay the same. Sec. 9. That the word article, in the sixth section of the act to which this is supplementary, shall be construed to mean section. Passed March 23, 1867. Votes of State Legislatures on tlie Four- teentlx Constitutional Amendmeut.f LOYAL STATES. Ratified — TwenUj-one Slates. Maine — Senate, January 16, 1867, yeas * This act is in tbese words : Be it eiiactffd, r affirmation: " I, A B, do solemnly swear 'or aftirm) tliat I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that T liave voluntarily given no aid, countenance counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed liostility thereto; that I have never sought nor accejited ncjr atti-mpted to exercise (he funrtions of any office whiitcvcr. under any authority or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States; that I have nut yielded a voluntary support to any pre- tended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto; and I do further swear or affiinO that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, .against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that T will hear true faith iind al- legiance to the same ; that I t.ake this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or ]iurpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on wliich I am about to enter; so help me God ;" whieh said oath, so taken and signed, shall be preserved among the files of the Court, House of Con- gress, or Department to which the said office may apper- tain. And any (lerson who slall falsely take the said oath shall be guilty of perjury, and on conviction, in ad- dition to the penalties now prescribed for that offen'^e, shall be deprived of his office, and rendered incaiiable forever after, of holding any office or place under the United St.ites. + Compiled by Hon. Edward McPherson in his Hand Book of PoUticB for 1868. 31, navs ; House, January 11, 1867, yeat 126, nays 12. AV(r Hampshire — Senate, July 6, 1866, yeas 9, navs 3 ; House, June 28, 1866, veas 207, nays 112. Vermont — SENATE, October 23, 1866, yeas 28, nays ; House, October 30, 1866, yeas 199, nays 11. Massachusetts — ^SENATE, March 20, 1867, yeas 27, nays 6 ; House, March 14, 1867, yeas 120, nays 20. Rhode Island — Senate, February 5, 1867, yeas 26, nays 2 ; House, February 7, 1867, yeas 60, nays 9 Coaaecticut — SENATE, June 25, 1866, yeas 11, nays 6; House, June 29, 1866, yeas 131, nays 92. New York — SENATE, January 3, 1867, yeas 23, nays 3 ; House, January 10, 1867, yeas 76, nays 40. Neic /e/wey— Senate, September 11, 1866, veas 11, nays 10; House, September 11, 1866, yeas 34, nays 24. Pennsylvania — Senate, January 17, 1867, yeas 20, nays 9 ; House, February 6, 1867, yeas 58, nays 29. West Virginia — Senate, January 15, 1867, yeas 15, nays 3 ; House, January 16, 1867, yeas 43, nays 11. Ohio — Senate, January 3, 1867, yeas 21, nays 12; House, January 4, 1867, yeas 64, nays 25. Tennessee — Senate, July 11, 1866, yeas 15, nays 6 ; House, July 12, 1866, yeas 43, nays 11. Indiana — Senate, January 16, 1867, yeas 29, nays 18 ; House, January 23, 1867, yeas — , nays — . Illinois — Senate, January 10, 1867, yeas 17, nays 7 ; House, January 15, 1867, yeas 59, nays 25. Michigan — SeNATE, 1867, yeas 25, navs 1 ; House, 1867, yeas 77, navs 15." Missouri — Senate, January 5, 1867, yeas 26, nays 6 ; House, January 8, 1867, yeas 85, nays 34. Minnesota — Senate, January 16, 1867, yeas 16, nays 5 ; House, January 15, 1867, yeas 40, nays 6. A'ansas -Senate, January 11, 1867, unanimously; House, January 10, 1867, yeas, 75, nays 7. Wisconsin — Senate, January 23, 1867, veas 22, nays 10; House, February 7, 1867, yeas 72, nays 12. Oregon — * Senate, , 1866, yeas 13, nays 7; House, September 19, 1866, yeas 25. nays 22. Nevada — * Senate, January 22, 1867, yeas 14, nays 2 ; House, January 11, 1867, yeas 34, nays 4. ! Rejected— Three Slates. j DeZajoare— Senate, ; HOUSB, ' February 7, 1867, yeas 6, nays 15. 1 *Unoffici»l. GENERAL McCLELLAN'S LETTERS. 175 Mari/l a nd—iiii.N ATE, March 23, 1867, yeas 4, nays 13 ; House, March 23, 1867, yea^ 12, nays 45. Kentucky/— Sei>! ATE, January 8, 1867, yeas 7, nays 24 ; House, January 8, 1867, yeas 26, nays 62. Not acted — Three St'^tes. Iowa, California, Nebraska. INSURRECTIONARY STATES. Rejected — Ten State*. Virginia — Sen^ate, January 9, 1867, unanimously ; House, January 9, 1867, 1 for amendment. North Carolina — Senate, December 13, 1836, veas 1, nays 41 ; House, December 13, 18(56, yeas 10, nays 93. South Carolina — Senate ; House, December 20, 1866, yeas 1, nays 95. (?(?orgrn?— Senate, November 9, 1866, yeas 0, nays 36 ; HousE, November 9, 1866, yeas 2, nays 131. Florida — Senate, December 3, 1866, yeas 0, nays 20 ; House, December 1, 1866, yeas 0, nays 49. Alabama — Senate, December 7, 1866, yeas 2, nays 27 ; House, December 7, 1866, yeas 8, nays 69. Mississippi — Senate, January 30, 1867, yeas 0, nays 27 ; House, January 25, 1867, yeas 0, nays 88. Louisiana SENATE, February 5, 1867, unanimously ; House, February 6, 1867, unanimously. Texas — Senate, ; House, Oc- tober 13, 1866, yeas 5, nays 67. Arkansas — Senate, December 15, 1866, yeas 1, nays 24 ; House, December 17, 1868, yeas 2, nays 68. The passage of the 14th Amendment and of tlie Reconstruction Acts, was followed by Presi dential proclamations dated August 20, 1866, declaring the insurrection at an end in Texas, and civil authority existing throughout the whole of the United States. . presidential election of 1864. The Republican National Convention met at Baltimore, June 7th, 1864, and re- nominated President Lincoln unanimous- ly, save the vote of Missouri, which was cast for Gen. Grant. Hannibal Hamlin, the old Vice-President, was not re-nomi- nated, because of a desire to give part of the ticket to the Union men of the South, who pressed Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee. " Parson " Brownlow made a strong appeal in his behalf, and by his elo- quence captured a majority of the Con- vention. The Democratic National Convention met at Chicago, August 29th, 1864, and nominated General George B. McClellan, of New .Jersey, for President, and George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, for Vice-President. General McClellan was made available for the Democratic nomination through cer- tain political letters which he had written on points of difference between himself and the Lincoln administration. Two of these letters are sufficient to show his own and the views of the party which nominated him, in the canvass which followed : Gen. McClellan 's Letters. On Political AdminUtration, July 7, 1862. Heahquarters Army of the Potomac, Camp near Harrison's Landing, Va., Ji.ly 7, 1802. Mr. President : — You have been fully inibrmed that the rebel army is in the front, with the purpose of overwhelming us by attacking our positions or reducing us by blocking our river communications. I cannot but regard our condition as criti- cal, and I earnestly desire, in view of pos- sible contingencies, to lay before your ex- cellency, for your private consideration, my general vievvs concerning the existing state of the rebellion, although they do not strictly relate to the situation of this army, or strictly come within the scope of my official duties. These views amount to convictions, and are deeply impressed upon my mind and heart. Our cause must never be abandoned; it is the cause of free in- stitutions and self-government. The Con- stitution and the Union must be i>reserved, whatever may be the cost in time, treasure, and blood. If secession is successful, other dissolutions are clearly to be seen in the future. Let neither military disaster, polit- ical faction, nor foreign war shake your settled purpose to enforce the equ:d opera- tion of the laws of the United States upon the people of every State. The time has come when the govern- ment must determine upon a civil and military policy, covering the whole ground of our national trouble. The responsibility of determining, de- claring, and supporting such civil and mil- itary policy, and of directing the whole course of national affairs in regard to the rebellion, must now be assumed and exer- cised by you, or our cause will be lost. The Constitution gives you power, even for the present terrible exigency. This rebellion has assumed the charac- ter of a war ; as such it should be regarded, and it should be conducted upon the high- est principles known to Christian civiliza- tion. It should not be a war looking to the subjugation of the people of any State, in any event. It should not be at all a war upon population, but against armed forces and political organizations. Neither confiscation of property, political execu- tions of persons, territorial organization of States, or forcible al)olition of slavery, should be contemplated for a moment. In prosecuting the war, all private property and unarmed persons should be strictly ])rotected, subject only to the ne- cessity of military operations ; all private 176 AMERICAN POLITICS. property taken for military use sliuuld be paid or receipted for; pillage and waste should be treated as high crimes ; all uu- necessary trespass sternly prohibited, and oflfensive demeanor by the military towards citizens promptly rebuked. Military ar- rests should not be tolerated, except in places where active hostilities exist; and oaths, not required by enactments, consti- tutionally made, should be neither de- manded nor received. Military government should be confined to the preservation of public order and the protection of political right. Military power should not be allowed to interfere with the relations of servitude, either by supporting or impairing the authority of the master, except for repressing disorder, as in other cases. Slaves, contraband under the act of Congress, seeking military pro- tection, should receive it. The right of the government to appropriate permanent- ly to its own service claims to slave labor should be asserted, and the the right of the owner to compensation therefor should be recognized. This principle might be ex- tended, upon grounds of military necessity and security, to all the slaves of a particu- lar State, thus working manumission in such State ; and in Missouri, perhaps in Western Virginia also, and possibly even in Maryland, the expediency of such a measure is only a question of time. A system of policy thus constitutional, and pervaded by the influences of Christianity and freedom, would receive the support of almost all truly loyal men, would deeply impress the rebel masses and all foreign nations, and it might be humbly hoped that it would commend itself to the favor of the Almighty. Unless the principles governing the future conduct of our struggle shall be made known and approved, the effort to obtain requisite forces will be almost hope- less. A declaration of radical views, es- pecially upon slavery, will rapidly disin- tegi'ate our present armies. The policy of the government must be supported by con- centrations of military power. The na- tional forces should not be dispersed in expeditions, posts of occupation, and nu- merous armies, but should be mainly col- lected into masses, and brought to bear upon the armies of the Confederate States. Those armies thoroughly defeated, the political structure which they support would soon cease to exist. In carrying out any system of policy which you may Ibrm, you will require a commander-in-chief of the army, one who possesses your confidence, understands your views, and who is competent to exe- cute your orders, by directing the military forces of the nation to the accomplishment of the objects by you proposed. I do not ask that place for myself. I am willing to serve you in such position as you may as- sign me, and I will do so as faithfully as ever subordinate served superior. I may be on the brink of eternity ; and as I hope forgiveness from my Maker, I have written this letter with sincerity to- wards you and from love for my country. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, George B. McClellan, Major- General Commanding. His Excellency A. Lincoln, President. IN FAVOR OF THE ELECTION OF GEORGE W. WOODWARD AS GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA. Okange, New Jersey, October 12, 1863. Dear Sir : — My attention has been called to an article in the Philadelphia Freas, asserting that I had written to the managers of a Democratic meeting at Allentown, disapproving the objects of the meeting, and that if I voted or s]K)ke it would be in favor of Governor Curtin, and I am informed that similar assertions have been made throughout the State. It has been my earnest endeavor hereto- fore to avoid participation in parly politics. 1 had determined to adhere to this course, but it is obvious that I cannot longer maintain silence under suth misrepresen- tations. I therefore request you to deny that I have written any such letter, or entertained any such views as those at- tributed to me in the Philadelphia Press, and I desire to state clearly and distinctly, that having ^ome days ago had a full con- versation with Judge Woodward, I find that our views agree, and I regard his flec- tion as Governor of Pennsylvania called for by the interests of the nation. I understand Judge Woodward to be in favor of the prosecution oi the war with all the means at the commai:d of the loyal States, until the military I'cwer of the re- bellion is des^troyed. I understand him to be of the opinion that while the war is urged with all possible decision and energy, the policy directing it should be in consonance with the principles of humanity and civilization, working no in- jury to private rights and properly not demanded by military necessity and recog- nized by military law among civilized na- tions. And, finally, I understand him to agree with me in tlie opinion that the sole great objects of this war are the restoration of the unity of the nation, the preservation of the Constitution, and the supremacy of the laws of the country. Believing our opinions entirely agree, upon these ] oints, I would, were it in my power, give to Judge Woodward my voice and vote. I am, very respectfully, yours, George B. "McClellaw. Hon. Charles J. Biddle. LINCOLN'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION. 177 The views of Mr. Lincoln were well known ; they were i'elt in the general con- duct of the war. The Republicans adopted as one of their maxims the words of their candidate, *' that it was dangerous to swap horses while crossing a stream." The cam- paign was exciting, and was watched by both armies with interest and anxiety. In this election, by virtue of an act of Con- gress, the soldiers in the field were per- mitted to vote, and a large majority of every branch of the service sustained the Administration, though two years before General McClellan had been the idol of the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln and Johnson received 212 electoral votes, against 21 for McClellan and Pendleton, Lincoln's Second Administration. In President Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered on the 4th of March, 1865, he spoke the following words, since oft quoted as typical of the kindly disposi- tion of the man believed by his party to be the greatest President since Washington: " With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and orphans — to do all which may achieve a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." Lincoln could well afibrd to show that generosity which never comes more prop- erly than from the hands of the victor. His policy was about to end in a great triumph. In less than five weeks later on General Lee had surrendered the main army of the South to General Grant at Appomattox, on terras at once magnani- mous and so briefly stated that they won the admiration of both armies, for the rebels had been permitted to retain their horses and side arms, and to go at once to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observed their paroles and the laws in force where they resided. Lee's surrender was rapidly followed by that of all Southern troops. Next came a grave political work — the actual reconstruction of the States lately in rebellion. This work gave renewed fresh- ness to the leading political issues incident to the war, and likewise gave rise to new issues. It was claimed at once that Lin- coln had a reconstruction policy of his own, because of his anxiety for the prompt admission of Louisiana and Arkansas, but it hud certainly never taken definite shape, nor was there time to get such a policy in shape, between the surrender of Lee and his own assassination. On the night of the 15th of April, six days after the sur- render, J.Wilkes Booth shot him while 12 sitting in a box in Ford's theatre. The nation stood appalled at the deed. No man was ever more sincerely rtiourned in all sections and by all classes. The South- ern leaders thought that this rash act had lost to them a life which had never been harsh, and while firm, was ever generous. The North had looked upon him as ''Father Abraham," and all who viewed the result of the shooting from sectional or partisan . standpoints, thought his policy of "keep- ing with the people," would have shielded . every proper interest. No public man ever ■ felt less " pride of opinion" than Lincoln, and we do believe, had he lived, that he • would have shaped events, as he did dur- ing the war, to the best interests of the ■ victors, but without unnecessary agitation? or harshness. All attempts of writers to ■■ evolve from his proclamation a reconstruc- - tion policy, applicable to peace, have been ; vain and impotent. He had none whichi would not have changed with changing circumstances. A " policy " in an execu- • tive office is too often but another name fon executive egotism, and Lincoln was almos-t absolutely free from that weakness. On the morning of Mr. Lincoln's death, , indeed within the same hour (and very properly so under the circumstances), the Vice President Andrew Johns(m was in- augurated as President. The excitement was painfully high, and the new President, in speeches, interviews and proclamations if possible added to it. From evidence in the Bureau of Military Justice he thought the assassination of Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of Secretary Seward had been procured by Jefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, Jacob Thompson, Geo. N. Saunders, Beverly Tucker, Wm. C. Cleary, and " other rebels and traitors harbored in Canada." The evidence, how- ever, fully drawn out in the trial of the co- conspirators of J. Wilkes Booth, showed that the scheme was hair-brained, and from iio responsible political source. The proclamation, however, gave keenness to the search for the fugitive Davis, and he was soon captured while making his way through Georgia to the Florida coast with the intention of escaping from the country. He was imprisoned in Fortress Monroe, and an indictment for treason was found against him, but he remained a close pris- oner for nearly two years, until times when political policies had been changed or modified. Horace Greeley was one of his bondsmen. By this time tkere was grave doubt whether he could be legally con- victed, * " now that the charge of inciting Wilkes Booth's crime had been tacitly abandoned. Mr. Webster (in his Bunker Hill oration) had only given clearer ex- pression to the American doctrine, that, * From Greeley's Becollectiom of a Busy Life, page 413. 178 AMERICAN POLITICS. after a revolt has levied a regular army, and fought therewith a pitched battle, its champions, even though utterly defeated, cannot be tried and convicted as traitors. This may be an extreme statement; but surely a rebellion which has for years main- tained great armies, levied taxes and con- scriptions, negotiated loans, fought scores of sanguinary battles with alternate suc- cesses and reverses, and exchanged tens of thousands of prisoners of war, can hardly fail to have achieved thereby the position and the rights of a lawful belligerent." This view, as then presented by Greeley, was accepted by President Johnson, who from intemperate denunciation had become the friend of his old friends in the South. Greeley's view was not generally accepted by the" North, though most of the leading men of both parties hoped the responsi- bility of a trial would be avoided by the escape and flight of the prisoner. But he was confident by this time, and sought a trial. He was never tried, and the best reiison for the fact is given in Judge Un- derwood's testimony before a Congressional Committee (and the Judge was a Republi- can) "that no conviction was possible, ex- cept by packing a jury." Andretr Joliiison. On the 29th of April, 18G5, President Johnson issued a proclamation renioving all restrictions upon internal, domestic and coastwise and commercial intercourse in all Southern States east of the Mississippi ; the blockade was removed May 22, and on May 29 a proclamation of amnesty was issued, with fourteen classes excepted therefrom, and the requirement of an " iron-clad oath " from those accepting its provisions. Proclamations rapidly fol- lowed in shaping the lately rebellious States to the conditions of peace and re- storation to the Union. These States were required to hold conventions, repeal seces- sion ordinances, accept the abolition of slavery, repudiate Southern war debts, pro- vide for Congressional representation, and elect new State Officers and Legislatures. The several constitutional amendments were of course to be ratified by the vote of the people. These conditions were eventually all complied with, some of the States being more tardy than others. The irreconcila- bles charged upon the Military officers, the Freedmen's Bureau, and the stern ap- plication of the reconstruction acts, these results, and many of them showed a politi- cal hostility wliich, after the election of the new Legislatures, took shape in what were in the North at the time denounced as "the black codes." These were passed by all of the eleven States in the rebellion. The codes varied in severity, according to the views of the Legislatures, and for a time they seriously interfered with the recognition of the States, the Republicans charging that the design was to restore slavery under new forms. In South Carolina Gen'l Sickles issued military orders, as late as January 17, 1866, against the enforcement of such laws. To assure the rights, of the frecdmen the 14th amendment of the Constitution was passed by Congress, June 18th, 1866. President Johnson opposed it, refused to sign, but said he would submit it to the several States. This was done, and it was accepted bv the required three-fourths, January 28th, 1S68. This had the eflect to do away with many of the "black codes," and the States which desired re- admission to the Union had to finally give them up. Since reconstruction, and the political ousting of what were called the "carpet bag governments," some of the States, notably Georgia, has passed class laws, which treat colored criminals dilTer- ently from white, under what are now known as the " conduct laws." Terms of sentence are served out, in any part of the State, under the control of public and private contractors, and " vagrants " are subjected to sentences which it is believed would be less extended under a system of confinement. Joliiisoii's Policy. While President Johnson's policy did not materially check reconstruction, it en- couraged Southern politicians to political eftbrt, and with their well known tact they were not long in gaining the ascendancy in nearly every State. This ascendancy excited the fears and jealousies of the North, and the Republicans announced as their object and platform "that all the re- sults of the war " should be secured before Southern reconstruction and representa- tion in Congress should be completed. On this they were almost solidly united in Congress, but Horace Greeley trained an independent sentiment which favored com- plete amnesty to the South. President Johnson sought to utilize this sentiment, and to divide the Republican party through his policy, which now looked to the same ends. He had said to a delega- tion introduced by Gov. Oliver P. Morton, April 21, 1865: " Your slavery is dead, but I did not murder it. As Macbeth said to Banquo's bloody ghost: ^ ' Never shake thy Ror^- locks at me ; Thou canst not say I did it.' " Slavery is dead, and you must pardon me if I do not mourn over its dead body ; you can bury it out of sight. In restoring IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF JOHNSON. 179 the State, leave out that disturbing and dangerous element, and use only those parts of the machinery which will move in harmony. " But in calling a convention to restore the State, who shall restore and re-estab- lish it? Shall the man who gave his in- fluence and his means to destroy the Government? Is he to participate in the( great work of reorganization? Shall he who brought this misery upon the State be permitted to control its destinies ? If this be so, then all this precious blood of our brave soldiers and officers so freely poured out will have been wantonly spilled. All the glorious victories won by our noble ar- mies will go for nought, and all the battle- fields which have been sown with dead heroes during the rebellion will have been made memorable in vain." In a speech at ^Vashington, Feb. 22nd, 1866, Johnson said : " The Government has stretched forth its strong arm, and with its physical power it has put down treason in the field. That is, the section of country that arrayed itself against the Government has been con- quered by the force of the Government itself. Now, what had we said to those people? We said, 'No compromise; we can settle this question with the South in eight and forty hours.' '• I have said it again and again, and I repeat it now, 'disband your armies, ac- knowledge the supremacy of the Constitu- tion of the United States, give obedience to the law, and the whole question is set- tled.' " What has been done since ? Their ar- mies have been disbanded. They come now to meet us in a spirit of magnanimity and say, ' We were mistaken ; we made the effort to carry out the doctrine of se- cession and dissolve this Union, and hav- ing traced this thing to its logical and physical results, we now acknowledge the flag of our country, and promise obedience to the Constitution and the supremacy of the law.' " I say, then, when you comply with the Constitution, when you yield to the law, when you acknowledge allegiance to the Government — I say let the door of the Union be opened, and the relation be re- stored to those that had erred and had strayed from the fold of our fathers." It is not partisanship to say that John- eon's views had undergone a change. He did not admit this in his speeches, but the fact wiis accepted in all sections, and the leaders of parties took position accordingly — nearly all of the Republicans against him, nearly all of the Democrats for him. So radical had this difference become that he vetoed nearly all of the political bills passed by the Republicans from 1866 until the end of his administration, but such was the Republican preponderance in both Houses of Congress that they passed them over his head by the necessary two-thirtls vote. He vetoed the several Freedmen's Bureau Bills, the Civil Rights Bill, that for the admission of Nebraska and Colo- rado, the Bill to permit Colored Suftrage in the District of Columbia, one of the Reconstruction Bills, and finally made a direct issue with the powers of Congress by his veto of the Civil Tenure Bill, March 2, 1867, the substance of which is shown in the third section, as follows : Sec. 3. That the President shall have power to fill all vacancies which may hap- pen during the recess of the Senate, by rea- son of death or resignation, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session theredfter. And if no appointment, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be made to such office so vacant or temporarily filled as aforesaid during such next session of the Senate, such office shall remain in abeyance without any salary, fees, or emoluments attached thereto, until the same shall be filled by appointment thereto, by and with the advice and con- sent of the Senate ; and during such time all the powers and duties belonging to such office shall be exercised by such other offi- cer as may by law exercise such powers and duties in case of a vacancy in such office. The bill originally passed the Senate by 22 to 10 — all of the nays Democrats save Van Winkle and Willey. It passed the House by 112 to 41 — all of the yeas Re- publicans ; all of the nays Democrats save Hawkins, Latham and Whaley. The Senate passed it over the veto by 35 to 11 — a strict party vote ; the House by 138 to 40 — a strict party vote, except Latham (Rep.) who voted nay. The refusal of the President to enforce this act, and his attempted removal of Secretary Stanton from the Cabinet when against the wish of the Senate, led to the effort to impeach him. Stanton resisted the President, and General Grant took an active part in sustaining the War Secre- tary. He in fact publicly advised him to "stick," and his attitude showed that in the great political battle which must fol- low, they would surely have the support of the army and its great commander. Impeaclmneiit Trial of Andre^v Jolinson. * The events which led to the impeach- ment of President Johnson, may be briefly stated as follows : On the 21st of Febru- ary, 1868, the President issued an order to Mr. Stanton, removing him from office as Secretary of War, and another to General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General of the * From the Century of Independence by John Sully, Bostun. 180 AMERICAN POLITICS, Army, appointing him Secretary of War od interim, directing the one to surrender and the other to receive, all the books, pa- pel's, and pubHc property belonging to the War Department. As these orders fill an important place in the history of the im- peachment, we give them here. The or- der to Mr. Stanton reads : " By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by the Constitu- tion and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication. You will transfer to Brevet Major-General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant-General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and em- ])Owered to a6t as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge." The order to General Thomas reads : "The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office as Secre- tary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim., and will immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office. Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records, books, and other public property now in his custody and charge." These orders having been officially com- municated to the Senate, that body, after an earnest debate, passed the following resolution : " Resolved, by the Senate of the United States, That under the Constitution and laws of the United States the President has no power to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other officer toper- form the duties of that office." The President, upon the 24th, sent a message to the Senate, arguing at length that not only under the Constitution, but also under the laws as now existing, he had the right of removing Mr. Stanton and appointing another to fill his place. The point of his argument is: That by a special proviso in the Tenure-of-Office Bill the va- rious Secretaries of Departments " shall hold their offices respectively for and dur- ing the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed, and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice or the Senate." The President affirms that Mr. Stanton was ap- pointed not by him, but by his predeces- sor, Mr. Lincoln, and held office only by the sufferance, not the appointment, of the present Executive; and that therefore his tenure is, by the express reading of the law excepted from the general provision, that every person duly appointed to office, " by and with the advice and consent of the Senate," etc., shall be " entitled to hold office until a successor shall have been in like manner ajDpointed and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided." The essential point of the President's argument, therefore, is that, as Mr. Stanton was not appointed by him, he had, under the Ten- ure-of-Office Bill, the right at any time to remove him ; the same right which hisown successor would have, no matter whether the incumbent had, by sufferance, not by appointment of the existing Executive, held the office for weeks or even years. " If," says the President, " my successor would have the power to remove Mr. Stan- ton, after permitting him to remain a peri- od of two weeks, because he was not ap- pointed by him, I who have tolerated Mr. Stanton for more than two years, certainly have the same right to remove him, upon the same ground, namely that he was not appointed by me but by my predecessor." In the meantime General Thomas pre- sented himself at the War Department and demanded to be placed in the position to which he had been assigned by the Pres- ident. Mr. Stanton refused to surrender his post, and ordered General Thomas to proceed to the apartment which belonged to him as Adjutant-General. This order was not obeyed, |ind so the two claimants to the Secretaryship of War held their ground. A sort of legal by-play then en- sued. Mr. Stanton entered a formal com- plaint before Judge Carter, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, charging that General Thomas had illegally exercised and attempted to exercise the duties of Secretary of War; and had threatened to " forcibly remove the complainant from the buildings and apart- ments of the Secretary of War in the War Department, and forcibly take possession and control thereof under his pretended appointment by the President of the United States as Secretary of War ad in- terim ; " and praying that he might be ar- rested and held to answer this charge. General Thomas was accordingly arrested, and held to bail in the sum of $15,000 to appear before the court on the 24th. Ap- pearing on that day he was discharged from custody and bail ; whereupon he en- tered an action against Mr. Stanton for false imprisonment, laying his damages at $150,000. On the 22d of February the House Committee on Reconstruction, through its Chairman, Mr. Stevens, presented a brief report, merely stating the fact of the at- tempted removal by the President of Mr. Stanton, and closing as follows: " Upon the evidence collected by the Committee, which is hereafter presented, and in virtue of the powers with which they have been invested by tli£^ House, they are of the opinion that Andrew John- son, President of the United States, should IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF JOHNSON. 181 be impeached of high crimes and misde- meanors. They, therefore, recommend to the House the adoiJtion of the following resolution : " Resolred, That Andrew Johnson, Pres- ident of the United States be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors." After earnest debate, the question on the resolution was adopted, on the 24:th, by a vote of 12G to 47. A committee of two members — Stevens and Bingham — were to • notify the Senate of the action of the House; and another committee of seven — Boutwell, Stevens, Bingham, Wilson, Lo- gan, Julian, and Ward — to prepare the articles of impeachment. On the 25th (February) Mr. Stevens thus announced to the Sen'ite tlie action which had been taken by the House : " In obedience to the order of the House of Representatives we have appeared be- fore you, and in the name of the House of Representatives and of all the people of the United States, we do imneach Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors in office. And we further inform the Senate that the House of Representatives will in due time exhibit particular articles of impeachment against him, to make good the sam.e; and in their name we demand that the Senate take due order for the appearance of the said Andrew Johnson to answer to the said impeachment." The Senate thereupon, by a unanimous vote, resolved that this message from the House should be referred to a select Com- mittee of Seven, to be appointed by the chair, to consider the same and report thereon. The Committee subsequently made a report laying down the rules of procedure to be observed on the trial. On the 29th of February the Committee of the House appointed for that purpose presented the articles of impeachment which they h'ld drawn up. These, with slight modification, were accepted on the 2d of March. They comprise nine articles, eight of which are based upon the action of the President in ordering the removal of Mr. Stanton, and the appointment of General Thomas as Secretary of War. The general title to the imoeachment is : " Articles exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States, in the name of themselves and all the people of the United States, against Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, as maintenance and support of their im- peachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors in office." Each of the articles commences with a preamble to the effijct that the President, " unmindful of the highduties of his office, of his oath of office, and of the require- ments of the Constitution that he should take care that the laws be faithfully exe- cuted, did unlawfully and in vnolation of the laws and Constitution of the United States, perform the several acts specified in the articles respectively ; " closing with the de- claration: "Whereby the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office." The phraseology is somewhat varied. In some cases the otiense is designated as a "mis- demeanor," in others as a " crime." The whole closes thus : " And the House of Representatives, by protestation, saving to themselves the lib- erty of exhibiting at any time hereafter any further articles or other accusation or impeachment against the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, and also of replying to his answers which he shall make to the articles herein pre- ferred against him, and of offijring proof to the same and every part thereof, and to all and every other article, accusation, or impeachment which shall be exhibited by them as the case shall require, do demand that the said Andrew Johnson may be put to answer the high crimes and misdemean* ors in office herein charged against him, and that such proceedings, examinations, trials, and judgments may be thereupon had and given as may be agreeable to law and justice." The following is a summary in brief of the points in the articles of impeachment, legal and technical phraseology being omit- ted : Article 1. Unlawfully ordering the re- moval of Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War, in violation of the provisions of the Tenure of-Office Act. — Article 2. Unlawfully ap- pointing General Lorenzo Thomas as Sec- retary of War ad interim. — ylri'tcZe 3 is sub- stantially the same as Article 2, with the addition that there was at the time of the appointment of General Thomas no va- cancy in the office of Secretary of AVar. — Article 4 charges the President with " con- spiring with one Lorenzo Thomas and other persons, to the House of Representatives unknown," to prevent, by intimidation and threats, JNIr. Stanton, the legally-appointed Secretary of War, from holding that office. — Article 5 charges the President with con- spiring with General Thomas and others to hinder the execution of the Tenure-of- Office Act ; and, in pursuance of this con- spiracy, attempting to prevent Mr. Stanton from acting as Secretary of War. — Article G charges that the President conspired with General Thomas and others to take forcible possession of the War Department. — Arti- cle 7 repeats the charge, in other terms, that the President conspired with General Thomas and others to hinder the execution of the Tenure-of-Office Act, and to pre- vent Mr. Stanton from executing the office of Secretary of War. — Article 8 again 182 AMERICAN POLITICS. charges the President with conspiring with General Tiiomas and others to take posses- sion of the property in the War Depart- ment. — Article 9 cliarges that the President called before him General Emory, Avho was in command of the forces in the Depart- ment of Washington, and declared to him that a law, passed on the 30th of June, 1867, directing that " all orders and in- structions relating to military operations, issued by the President or Secretary ol AVar, shall be issued through the General of the Army, and, in case of his inability, through the next in rank," was unconsti- tutional, and not binding upon General Emory ; the intent being to induce General Emory to violate the law, and to obey or- ders issued directly from the President. The foregoing articles of impeachment were ado2:)ted on the 2d of March, the votes upon each slightly varying, the aver- age being 125 ayes to 40 nays. The ques- tion then came up of appointment of man- agers on the part of the House to conduct the impeachment before the Senate. Upon this question the Democratic members did not vote ; 118 votes were cast, 60 being necessary to a choice. The following was the result, the number of votes cast for each elected manager being given : Stevens of Penn., 105; Butler, of Mas?., 108; Bing- ham, of Ohio, 114; Boutwell, of Mass., 113; Wilson, of Iowa, 112; Williams, ol Pe.in., 107 ; Logan, of 111., 106. The fore- going seven Representatives were, there- fore, duly chosen as Managers of the Bill of Impeachment. The great body of the Democratic members of the House entered a formal protest against the whole course of proceedings involved in the impeach- ment of the President. They claimed to rej^rcsent " directly or in principle more than one-half of the people of the United States." This protest was signed by forty- five Representatives. On the 3d the Board of Managers pre- sented two additional articles of im])each- ment, which were adopted by the House. The first charges, in substance, that " The President, unmindful of the liigh duties of his office and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to be main- tained betvr'cen the executive and legisla- tive branches of the Government of the United States, designing to set aside the rightful authority and powers of Congress, did attempt to bring into disgrace the Con- gress of the United States and the several branches thereof, to impair and destroy the regard and respect of all the good people of the United States for the Congress and legislative power thereof, and to excite the odium and resentment of all the good people of the United States against Con- gress and the laws by it enacted ; and in pursuance of his said design openly and publicly, and before divers assemblages convened in divers parts thereof to meet and receive said Andrew Johnson as the Chief Magistrate of the United States, did on the 18th day of August, in the year of our Lord 1866, and on divers other days and times, as well before as afterward, make and deliver with a loud voice certain intemperate, intiammatory, and scandalous harangues, and did therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces as well against Congress as the laws of the United States duly enacted thereby." To this article are appended copious ex- tracts from speeches of Mr. Johnson. The second article is substantiallv as follows : " The President did, on the 18th day of August, 186G, at the City of Washington, by public speech, declare and affirm in substance that the Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States was not a Congress of the United States, authorized by the Constitution to exercise legislative power under the same, but, on the contrary, was a Congress of only a part of the States, thereby denying and intending to deny that the legislation of said Congress was valid or obligatory upon him, except in so far as he saw fit to approve the same, and did devise and contrive means by which he might prevent Edwin M. Stanton from forthwith resuming the lunctions of the office of Secretary for the Dejjartment of War; and, also, by further unlawfully de- vising and contriving means to prevent the execution of an act entitled 'An act mak- ing appropriations for the f-iijiport of the army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes,' approved March 2, 1867 ; and also to prevent the execution of an act entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,' passed March 2, 1867, did commit and Avas guilty of a high mis- demeanor in office." On the 4th of March the Senate notified the House that they were ready to receive the Managers of the Impeachment. They appeared, and the articles were formallv read. The Senate had meanwhile adopted the rules of procedure. Chief Justice Chase sent a communication to the Senate to the effect that this body, when acting upon an impeachment, was a Court presided over by the Chief Justice, and that all orders and rules should be framed by the Court. On the 5th the Court was formally organized. An exception was taken to the eligibility of Mr. Wade as a member of the Court, on the ground that he was a party interested, since, in the event of the impeachment be- ing sustained, he, as President of the Senate, would become Acting President of the United States. This objection was with- drawn, and Mr. Wade was sworn as a mem- ber of the Court. On the 7th the summons for the President to appear was formally served upon him. On the 13th the Court IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF JOHNSON. 183 n'as again formally reopened. The Presi- deut appeared by his counsel, Hon. Henry Stanbery, of Ohio ; Hon. Wm. M. Evarts, of New York ; Hon. Wm. S. Groesbeck, of Ohio ; Hon. Benjamin II. Curtis, of Massa- chusetts; Hon. Tlxon>as A. 11. Nelson, of Tennessee, who asked for forty days to pre- ]>are an answer to the indictment. This was refused, and ten days granted ; it be- ing ordered that the proceedings should reopen on the 23d. Upon that day the President appeared by his counsel, and presented his answer to the articles of im- peachment. This reply was in substance as follows: The first eight articles in the Bill of Im- peachment, as briefly summed up in our last record, are based upon the action of the President in ordering the removal of Mr. Stanton, and the temporary appoint- ment of General Thomas as Secretary of War. The gist of them is contained in the first article, charging the unlawful removal of Mr. Stanton ; for, this failing, the others would fail also. To this article a con- siderable part of the President's answer is devoted. It is mainly an amplifica- tion of the points put forth in the Mes- sage of February 24th, in which he gave his reasons for his orders. The President cites the laws by which this department of the administration was created, and the rules laid down for the duties pertaining t > it ; prominent among which are : that the Secretary shall " conduct the business of the department in such manner as the President of the United States shall from time to time order and instruct; " and that he should " hold the office during the plea- sure of the President ; " and that Congress had no legal right to deprive the President of the power to remove the Secretary. He wa^, however, aware that the design of the Tenure-of-Ollice Bill was to vest this power of removal, in certain cases, jointly in the Executive and the Senate ; and that, while believing this act to be unconstitutional, yet it having been passed over his veto by the requisite majority of two-thirds, he con- sidered it to be ills duty to ascertain in how far the case of Mr. Stanton came within the Erovisions of this law ; after consideration, e came to the conclusion that the case did not come within the prohibitions of the law, and that, by that law he still had the right of re;noving Mr. Stanton ; but that, wishing to have the case decided by the Su- preme Court, he, on the 12th of August, issued the order merely suspending, not removing, Mr. Stanton, a power expreslv granted by the Tenure-of-Office Act, and appointed General Grant Secretary of War ad interim. The President then recites the subsequent action in the case of Mr. Stanton ; and, as he avers, still believing that he had the constitutional power to re- move him from office, issued the order of ' February 21st, for such removal, designing to thus bring the matter before the Su- preme Court. He then proceeds formally to deny that at this time Mr. Stanton was in lawful possession of the office of Secre- tary of War ; and that, consequently, the order for his removal was in violation of the Tenure-of-Office Act; and that it was in violation of the Constitution or of any law ; or that it constituted any official crime or misdemeanor. In regard to the seven succeeding arti- cles of impeachment the President, while admitting the facts of the order appointing General Thomas as Secretary of War ad interim, denies all and every of the crimi- nal charges therein set forth. So of the ninth article, charging an eifort to induce General Emory to violate the law, the President denies all such intent, and calls attention to the fact that while, for urgent reasons, he signed the bill prescribing that orders to the army should be issued only through the General, he at the same time declared it to be, in his judgment, unconsti- tutional ; and affirms that in his interview with General Emory he said no more than he had before officially said to Congress — • that is, that the law was unconstitutional. As to the tenth article, the first of the supplementary ones, the President, while admitting that he made certain public speeches at the times and places specified, does not admit that the passages cited are i'air reports of his remarks ; denies that he has ever been unmindful of the courtesies which ought to be maintained between the executive and legislative departments ; but he claims the perfect right at all times to express his views as to all public matters. The reply to the eleventh article, the second supplementary one, is to the same general purport, denying that he ever af- firmed that the Thirty-ninth Congress was not a valid Congress of the United States, and its acts obligatory only as they were approved by him ; and denying that he had, as charged in the article, contrived unlawful means for preventing Mr. Stanton from resuming the functions of Secretary of War, or for preventing the execution of the act making appropriations for the sup- port of the array, or that to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States. In his answer to this article the President refers to his reply to the first ar- ticle, in which he sets forth at length all the steps, and the reasons therefor, relating to the removal of Mr. Stanton. In brief, the answer of the President to the articles of impeachment is a general denial of each and every criminal act charged in the ar- ticles of impeachment. The counsel for the President then asked for a delay of thirty days after the replication of the managers of the impeachment should have been rendered, before the trial should 184 AMERICAN POLITICS. formally proceed. This was refused, and the managers of the impeachment stated that their replication would be presented the next day : it was that, " The Senate will commence the trial of the President upon the articles of impeach- ment exhibited against him on Monday, the 30th day of March, and proceed there- in with all "dispatch under the rules of the Senate, sitting upon the trial of an im- peachment." The replication of the House of Repre- sentatives was a simple denial of each and every averment in the answer of the Pres- ident, closing thus : " The House of Representatives . . . . do say that the said Andrew Johnson, Presi- dent of the United States, is guilty of the high crimes and misdemeanors mentioned in the said articles, and that the said House of Representatives are ready to prove the same." The trial began, as appointed, on March 30. There being twenty-seven States rep- resented, there were fifty-four Senators, who constituted the Court, presided over by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio. Senators : California, Cole, Con- ness ; Connecticut, Dixon, Ferry; Dehacare, Bayard, Saulsbury ; Indiana, Hendricks, lulovton; Illinois, Trumbull, Yates ; Iowa, Grimes, Harlan ; Kansas, Pomeroy, Ross ; Kentucky, Davis, McCreery ; Maine, Fes- senden, Morrill (LotM.) ; Maryland, John- son, Vickcrs ; Massachusetts, ^nmrniv, Wil- son; jl/it'A/_i!/rt7t, Chandler, Howard ; Minne- sota, Norton, Ramsay ; Missouri, Drake, Henderson ; Nebraska, Thayer, Tipton ; Nevada, Nye, Stewart; Neio Hamj)shirc, Cragin, Patterson (J. W.) ; New Jersey, Cattell, Frelinghuysen ; New York, Conk- lin, Morgan; Ohio, Sherman, Wade ; Ore- gon, Corbett, Williams ; Pennsylvania, 13uckalew, Cameron; Rhode Island, An- thony, Sprague ; re^nesA'Cf, Fowler, Patter- son (David); Vermont, Edmunds, Merrill, ( J. S.) ; West Virginia, Van Winkle, Wil- ley; Wisconsin, Doolittle, Howe. Managers for the Prosecution: Messrs. Bingham, Boutwell, Butler, Logan, Ste- vens, Williams, Wilson. Counsel for the President. Messrs. Cur- tis, Evarts, Groesbeck, Nelson, Stanbery. The following was the order of proce- dure: The Senate Convened at 11 or 12 o'clock, and was called to order by the president of that body, who, after prayer, would leave the chair, which was immedi- ately assumed by the Chief Justice, who wore his official robes. The prosecution was mainly conducted by Mr. Butler, who examined the witnesses, and, in conjunc- tion with the others, argued the points of law which came up. The defense, during the early part of the trial, was mainly con- ducted by Mr. Stanbery, who had resigned the office of Attorney-General for this pur- pose, but, being taken suddenly ill, Mr. Evarts took his place. According to the rule at first adopted, the trial was to be opened by one counsel on each side, and summed up by two on each side ; but this rule was subsequently modified so as to al- low as many of the managers and counsel as chose to sum up, either orally or by filing written arguments. THE PROSECUTION. The whole of the first day (March 30) was occupied by the opening speech of Mr, Butler. After touching upon the import- ance of the case, and the wisdom of the framers of the Constitution in providing for its possible occurrence, he laid down the fol- lowing [iroposition, supporting it by a copi- ous array of authorities and precedents : " We define, therefore, an impeachable high crime or misdemeanor to be one, in its nature or consequences, subversive of some fundamental or essential principle of government, or highly prejudicial to the public interest, and this may consist of a violation of the Constitution, of law, of an official oath, or of duty, by an act com- mitted or omitted, or, without violating a positive law, by the abuse of discretionary powers from improper motives, or for any imjiroper purpose." He then proceeded to discuss the nature and functions of the tribunal before which the trial is held. He asked : " Is this pro- ceeding a trial, as that term is understood, so far as relates to the rights and duties of a court and jury upon an indictment for crime ? Is it not rather more in the nature of an inquest?" The Constitution, he urged, " seems to have determined it to be the latter, because, under its provisions, the right to retain and hold office is the only subject to be finally adjudicated ; all yireliminary inquiry being carried on solely to determine that question, and that alone." He then proceeded to argue that this body nov.' sitting to determine the accusation, is the Senate of the United States, and not a court. This question is of consequence, he argued, because, in the latter case, it would be bound by the rules and prece- dents of common law-statutes ; the mem- bers of the court would be liable to chal- lenge on many grounds ; and the accused might claim that he could only be convicted when the evidence makes the fact clear be- yond reasonable doubt, instead of by a pre- ponderance of the evidence. The fact that in this case the Chief Justice presides, it was argued, does not constitute the Senate thus acting a court, for in all cases of im- peachment, save that of the President, its regular presiding officer presides. Moreo- ver, the procedures have no analogy to those of an ordinary court of justice. The accused merely receives a notice of the case pending against him. He is not re- IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF JOHNSON. 185 quired to appear personally, and the case will go on without his presence. Mr. Butler thus summed up his position in this regard : " A constitutional tribunal solely, you are bound by no law, either statute or com- mon, which may limit your constitutional prerogative. You consult no precedents save those of the law and cust(mi of par- liamentary bodies. You are a law unto yourselves, bound only by the natural principles of equity and justice, and that salus pnpuli suprema est lex." Mr. Butler then proceeded to consider the articles of impeachment. The first eight, he says, "set out, in several distinct forms, the acts of the President in remov- ing Mr. Stanton and appointing General Thomas, ditferi ng, in legal effect, in the purposes for which, and the intent with which, either or both of the acts were done, and the legal duties and rights in- fringed, and the Acts of Congress violated in so doing." In respect to all of these articles, Mr. Butler says, referring to his former definition of what constituted an impeachable high crime: " All the articles allege these acts to be in contravention of his oath of office, and in disregard of the duties thereof. If they are so, however, the President might have the power to do them under the law. Still, beinj: so done, they are acts of official mis- conduct, and, as we have seen, impeacha- ble. The President has the legal power to do many acts which, if done in disi"egard of his duty, or for improper purpo>es, then the exercise of that power is an official misdemeanor. For example, he has the power of pardon ; if exercised, in a given case, for a corrupt motive, as for the pay- ment of money, or wantonly pardoning all criminals, it would be a misdemeanor." Mr. Butler affirmed that every fact charged in the first article, and substan- tially in the seven following, is admitted in the reply of the President; and also that the general intent to set aside the Tenure-of-Office Act is therein admitted and justified. He then proceeded to dis- cuss the whole question of the power of the President for removals from office, and especially his claim that this power was imposed upon the President by the Consti- tution, and that it could not be taken from him, or be vested jointly in him and the Senate, partly or in whole. This, Mr. Butler affirmed, was the real question at issue before the Senate and the American people. He said : " His the President, under the Constitu- tion, the more than royal prerogative at will to remove fi'om office, or to suspend from office, all executive officers of the United States, either civil, military or naval, and to fill the vacancies, without any restraint whatever, or possibility of re- straint, by the Senate or by Congress, through laws duly enacted ? The House of Representatives, in behalf of the people, join issue by affirming that the exercise of such powers is a high misdemeanor in office. If the affirmative is maintained by the respondent, then, so far as the first eight articles are concerned — unless such corrupt purposes are shown as will of themselves make the exercise of a legal power a crime — the respondent must go, and ought to go, quit and free. This point as to the legal right of the President to make removals from office, which constitutes the real burden of the articles of impeachment, -was argued at length. Mr. Butler assumed that the Sen- ate, by whom, in conjunction with the House, the Tenure-of-Office Act had been passed over the veto of the President, would maintain the law to be constitu- tional. The turning point was whether the special case of the removal of Mr.- Stanton came within the provisions of this law. This rested upon the proviso of that law, that — " The Secretaries shall hold their office during the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed, and for one month thereafter, subject to removal ]>y and with the advice and conssnt of the Senate." The extended argument upon this point, made by Mr. Butler, was to the effect that Mr. Stanton having been appointed by Mr. Lincoln, whose term of office reached to the 4th of j\Lirch, 1860, that of Mr. Stanton existed until a month later, unless he was previously removed by the concurrent ac- tion of the President and Senate. The point of the argument is, that Mr. Johnson is merely serving out the balance of the term of Mr. Linc(iln, cut short by his as- sassination, so that the Cabinet officers ap- pointed b}^ Mr. Lincoln held their places, by this very pnn'iso, during that term and for a month thereafter ; for, he argued, if Mr. Johnson was not merely serving out the balance of Mr. Lincoln's term, then he is entitled to the office of President for four full years, that being the period for which a President is elected. If, continues the • argument, Mr. Stanton's commission was vacated by the Tenure-of-Oflice Act, it ceased on "the 4th of April, 1865 ; or, if the act had no retroactive effect, still, if IMr. Stanton held his office merely under his commission from Mr. Lincoln, then his functions would have ceased upon the passage of the bill, March 2, 1867 ; and, consequently, Mr. Johnson, in " employ- ing "him after that date as Secretary of War, was guilty of a high misdemeanor, which would give ground for a new arti- cle of impeachment. After justifying the course of Mr. Stan- ton in holding on to the secretaryship in 18G AMERICAN POLITICS, opposition to the wish of the President, on the ground that " to desert it now woukl he to imitate the treachery of his accidental chief," Mr. Butler proceeded to discuss the reasons assigned by the Presi- dent in his answer to the articles of im- peachment for the attempt to remove Mr. Stanton. These, in substance, were, that the President believed the Tenure-of-Of- fice Act was unconstitutional, and, there- fore, void and of no etfect, and that he had the right to remove him and appoint another person in his place. Mr. Butler urged that, in all of these proceedings, the President ]irofessed to act upon the as- sumption that the act was valid, and that his action was in accordance with its pro- visions. He then went on to charge that the appointment of General Thomas as Secretary of War ad interim, was a sepa- rate violation of law. By the act of Feb- ruary 20, 1863, which repealed all previous laws inconsistent with it, the President was authorized, in case of the " death, resignation, absence from the seat of Gov- ernment, or sickness of the head of an executive department," or in any other case where these officers could not perform their respective duties, to appoint the head of any other executive department to ful- fil the duties of the office " until a succes- sor be appointed, or until such absence or disability shall cease." Now, urged Mr. Butler, at the time of the appointment of General Thomas as Sectary of War ad interim, Mr. Stanton "had neither died nor resigned, was not sick nor absent," and, consequently, General Thomas, not being the head of a department, but only of a bureau of one of them, was not eligi- ble to this appointment, and that, there- fore, his appointment was illegal and void. The ninth article of impeachment, wherein the President is charged with en- deavoring to induce General Emory to take orders directly from himself, is dealt with in a rather slight manner. Mr. But- ler says, "If the transaction set forth in this article stood alone, we might well ad- mit that doubts might arise as to the suffi- ciency of the proof;" but, he adds, " the surroundings are so pointed and signifi- cant as to leave no doubt in the mind of an impartial man as to the intents and purposes of the President" — these intents being, according to Mr. Butler, " to induce General Emory to take orders directly from himself, and thus to hinder the exe- cution of the Civil Tenure Act, and to prevent Mr. Stanton from holding his office of Secretary of War." As to the tenth article of impeachment, based upon various speeches of the Presi- dent, Mr. Butler undertook to show that the reports of these speeches, as given in the article, were substantially correct; and accepted the issue made thereupon as to whether they are " decent and becom- ing the President of the United States, and do not tend to bring the office into ridicule and disgrace." After having commented upon the eleventh and closing article, which charges the President with having denied the au- thority of the Thirty-ninth Congress, ex- cept so far as its acts were approved by him, Mr. Butler summed up the purport of the articles of impeachment in these words : " The acts set out in the first eight arti- cles are but the culmination of a series of wrongs, malfeasances, and usuri)ation3 committed by the respondent, and, there- fore, need to be examined in the light of his precedent and concomitant acts to grasp their scope and design. The last three articles presented show the perver- sity and malignity with which he acted, so that the man as he is known may be clearly spread upon record, to be seen and known of all men hereafter We have presented the facts in the con- stitutional manner ; we have brought the criminal to your bar, and demand judg- ment for his so great crimes." The remainder of Monday, and a por- tion of the following day, were devoted to the presentation of documentary evidence as to the proceedings involved in the order for the removal of Mr. Stanton and the appointment of General Thomas. The prosecution then introduced witnesses to testify to the interviews between Mr. Stanton and General. Thomas. They then brought forward a witness to show that General Thomas had avowed his deter- mination to take forcible possession of the War Office. To this Mr. Stanbery, for the defense, objected. The Chief Justice de- cided the testimony to be admissible. Thereupon Senator Drake took exception to the ruling, on the ground that this ques- tion should be decided by the Senate — not by the presiding officer. The Chief Jus- tice averred that, in his judgment, it was his duty to decide, in the first instance, upon any question of evidence, and then, if any Senator desired, to submit the deci- sion to the Senate. Upon this objection and appeal arose the first conflict in the Senate as to the powers of its presiding officer. Mr. Butler argued at length in favor of the exception. Although, in this case, the decision was in favor of the prosecution, he objected to the power of the presiding officer to make it. This point was argued at length by the mana- gers for the impeachment, who denied the right of the Chief Justice to make such decision. It was then moved that the Senate retire for private consultation on this point. There was a tie vote — 25 ayes and 25 nays. — The Chief Justice gave his casting vote in favor of the motion for IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF JOHNSON. 187 consultation. The Senate, by a vote of 31 to 19, sustuined the Chief Justice, deciding that " the presiding officer may rule on all questions of evidence and on incidental questions, which decision will stand as the judgment of the Senate for decision, or he may, at his option in the first instance, submit any such question to a vote of the members of the Senate." In the further progress of the trial the Chief Justice, in most important cases, submitted the ques- tion directly to the Senate, without him- self giving any decision. Next morning (April 1) Mr. Sumner offered a resolution to the effect that the Chief Justice, in giv- ing a casting vote, "acted without author- ity of the Constition of the United States." This was negatived by a vote of 27 to 21, thus deciding that the presiding officer had the right to give a casting vote. The witness (Mr. Burleigh, delegate from Dakotah,) who had been called to prove declarations of General Thomas, was then asked whether, at an interview between them, General Thomas had said anything as " to the means by which he intended to obtain, or was directed by the President to obtain, posession of the War Department." To this question Mr. Stanbery objected, on the ground that any statements made by General Thomas could not be used as evi- dence against the President. Messrs. But- ler and Bingham argued that the testi- mony was admissible, on the ground that there was, as charged, a conspiracy be- tween the President and General Thomas, and that the acts of one conspirator were binding upon the other; and, also, that in these acts General Thomas was the agent .of the President. The Senate, by 39 to 11, decided that the question was admissible. Mr. Burleigh thereupon testified sub- stantially that General Thomas informed him that he had been directed by the Pres- ident to take possession of the War De- partment ; that he was bound to obey his superior officer ; that, if Mr. Stanton ob- jected, he should use force, and if he bolt- ed the doors they would be broken down. The witness was then asked whether he had heard General Thomas make any statement to the clerks of the War Office, to the effect that, when he came into con- trol, he would relax or rescind the rules of Mr. Stant )n. To this question objection was made by the counsel of the President on the ground of irrelevancy. The Chief Justice was of opinion that the question was not admissible, but, if any Senator de- manded, he would .submit to the Senate whether it should be asked. The demand having been made, the Senate, by a vote of 28 to 22, allowed the question to be put, whereupon Mr. Burleigh testified that General Thomas, in his presence, called before him the heads of the divisions, and told them that the rules laid down by Mr. Stanton were arbitrary, and that he should relax them — that he should not hold them strictly to their letters of instruction, but should consider them as gentlemen who would do their duty — that they could come in or go out when they chose. Mr. Bur- leigh further testified that, subsequently, General Thomas had said to him that the only thing which prevented him from tak- ing possession of the War Department was his arrest by the United States marshal. Other witnesses were called to prove the declarations of General Thomas. Mr. Wilkeson testified that General Thomas said to him that he should demand possess- ion of the War Department, and, in case Mr. Stanton should refuse to give it up, he should call upon General Grant for a suf- ficient force to enable him to do so, and he did not see how this could be refused. Mr. Karsener, of Delaware, testified that he saw General Thomas at the President's house, told him that Delaware, of which State General Thomas is a citizen, expect- ed him to stand firm ; to which General Thomas replied that he was standing firm, that he would not disappoint his friends, but, that, in a few days, he would " kick that fellow out," meaning, as the witness supposed, i\Ir. Stanton. Thursday, April 2d. — Various witnesses were introduced to testify to the occur- rences when General Thomas demanded ])ossession of the War Department. After this General Emory was called to testify to the transactions which form the ground of the ninth article of impeachment. His testimony was to the effect that the Presi- dent, on the 22d of February, requested him to call ; that, upon so doing, the Pres- ident asked respecting any changes that had been made in the disposition of the troops around Washington ; that he in- formed the President that no important changes had been made, and that none could be made without an order from Gen- eral Grant, as provided for in an order founded upon a law sanctioned by the President. The President said that this law was unconstitutional. Emory replied that the President had approved of it. and that it was not the prerogative of the officers of the army to decide upon the constitu- tionality of a law, and inthatopinion he was justified by the opinion of eminent counsel, and thereupon the conversation ended. The prosecution then endeavored to in- troduce testimony as to the appointment of Mr. Edmund Cooper, the Private Sec- retary of the President, as Assistant Sec- retary of the Treasury, in support of the eighth and eleventh articles of impeach- ment, which charge the President Avith an unlawful attempt to control rhe disposition of certain public funds. This testimony, by a vote of 27 to 22, was ruled out. The prosecution now, in support of the 188 AMERICAN POLITICS. tenth and eleventh articles of impeach- ment, charging the President with endeav- oring to " set aside the rightl'ui authority of Congreis," offered a telegraphic dis- patch from the President to Mr. Parsons, at that time (January 17, 1867) Provisional Governor of Alabama, of which the follow- ing is the essential part: " I do not believe the people of the ■whole country will sustain any set of in- dividuals in the attempt to change the whole character of our Government by en- abling acts in this way. I believe, on the contrary, that they will eventually uphold all who have patriotism and courage to stand by the Constitution, and who place their confidence in the people. There should be no faltering on the part of those who are honest in their determination to sustain the several coordinate departments of the Government in accordance with its origi- nal design." The introduction of this was objected to by the counsel for the Presi- dent, but admitted by the Senate, the vote being 27 to 17. The whole Friday, and a great part of Saturday, (April 3d and 4th,) were occu- pied in the examination of the persons who reported the various speeches of the President which form the basis of the tenth article, the result being that the reports were shown to be either substantially or verbally accurate. Then, after some tes- timony relating to the forms in which commissions to ofBce were made out, the managers announced that the case for the prosecution was substantially closed. The counsel for the President thereupon asked that three working days should be granted them to prepare for the defense. This, after some discussion, was granted by the Senate by a vote of 36 to 9, and the trial was adjourn'ed to Thursday. April 9th. THE DEFENSE. The opening speech for the defense, oc- cupying the whole of Thursday, and a part of Friday, was made by Mr. Curtis. Reserving, for a time, a rejoinder to Mr. Butler's argument as to the functions of the Senate when sitting as a Court of Im- peachment, Mr. Curtis proceeded to a con- sideration of the articles of impeachment, in their order, his purpose being " to ascer- tain, in the first place, what the substantial allegations in each of them are, what is the legal proof and effect of these allegations, and what proof is necessary to be adduced in order to sustain them." The speech is substantially an elaboration of and argu- ment for the points embraced in the an- swer of the President. The main stress of the argument related to the first article, which, as stated by Mr. Curtis, when stripped of all technical language, amounts exactly to these things: " First. That the order set out in the ar- ticle for the removal of Mr. Stanton, if executed, would have been a violation of the Tenure-of-Office Act. " Second. That it was a violation of the Tenure-of-Ofhce Act. " Third. That it was an intentional vio- lation of the Tenure-of-OfRce Act. "Fuia-fh. That it was in violation of the Constitution of the United States. "Fifth. That it was intended by the President to be so. " Or, to draw all these into one sentence, which I hope may be intelligible and clear enough, I suppose the substance of this first article is that the order for the remo- val of Mr. Stanton was, and was intended to be, a violation of the Constitution of the United States. These are the allega- tions which it is necessary for the honor- able managers to make out in order to support that article." Mr. Curtis proceeded to argue that the case of Mr. Stanton did not come within the provisions of the Teiiure-of- Office Act, being expressly excepted by the proviso thai Cabinet officers should hold their places during the term of the President by whom they were appointed, and for one month thereafter, unless removed by the consent of the Senate. Mr. Stanton was appointed by Mr. Lincoln, whose term of oftae came to an end by his death. He argued at length against the proposition that Mr. Johnson was merely serving out the remainder of Mr. Lincoln's term. The object of this exception, he said, was evi- dent. The Cabinet officers were to be "the immediate confidential assistants of the President, for whose acts he was to be responsible, and in whom he was expected to repose the gravest honor, trust, and con- fidence ; therefore it was that this act has connected the tenure of office of these offi- cers with that of the President by whom they were appointed." Mr. Curtis gave a new interpretation to that clause in the Constitution which prescribes that the President " may require tlie opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments upon any sub- ject relating to the duties of their several offices." He understood that the word "their" included the President, so that he might call upon Cabinet officers for advice " relating to the duties of the oflice of these principal (/fficers, or relating to the duties of the President himself," This, at least, he affirmed, had been the practical inter- pretation put upon this clause from the beginning. To confirm his position as to the intent of the Tenure-of-Office Act in this respect, Mr. Curtis quoted from speeches made in both houses at the time when the act was passed. Thus, Senator Sherman said that the act, as passed — " Would not prevent the present Presi- dent from removing the Secretary of War, IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF JOHNSON. 189 the Secretary of the Navy, or the Secretary of Sta te ; and, if I supposed that either of these gentlemen was so wanting in man- hood, in honor, as to hold his j)lace after the politest intimation from the President of the United States that his services were no longer needed, I certainly, as a Senator, would consent to his removal at any time, and so would we all." Mr. Curtis proceeded to argue that there was really no removal of Mr. Stanton; he still held his place, and so there was " no case of removal within the statute, and, therefore, no case of violation by removal." But, if the Senate should hold that the or- der for removal was, in effect, a removal, then, unless the Tenure-of-Office Act gave Mr. Stantoit a tenure of office, this removal would not have been contrary to the pro- visions of this act. He proceeded to argue that there was room for grave doubt whether Mr. Stanton's case came within the provisions of the Tenure-of-Office Act, and that the President, upon due conside- ration, and having taken the best advice within his power, considering that it did not, and acting accordingly, did not, even if he was mistaken, commit an act " so wil- ful and wrong that it can be justly and properly, and for the purposes of this prosecution, termed a high misdemeanor." He argued at length that the view of the President was the correct one, and that " the Senate had nothing whatever to do with the removal of Mr. Stanton, whether the Senate was in session or not." Mr. Curtis then went on to urge that the President, being sworn to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, must carry out any law, even though passed over his vetc, except in cases where a law which he be- lieved to be unconstitutional has cut off a power confided to him, and in regard to which he alone could make an issue which would bring the matter before a court, so as to cause "a judicial decision to come between the two branches of the Govern- ment, to see which of them is right." This, said he, is what the President has done. This argument, in effect, was an answer to the first eight articles of impeachment. The ninth article, charging the Presi- dent with endeavoring to induce General Emory to violate the law by receiving or- ders directly from him, was very briefly touched upon, it being maintained that, as shown by the evidence, " the reason why the President sent for General Emory was not that he might endeavor to seduce that distinguished officer from his allegiance to the laws and Constitution of his country, but because he wished to obtain informa- tion about military movements which might require his personal attention." As to the tenth article, based upon the President's speeches, it was averred th it they were in no way in violation of the Constitution, or of any law existing at the time when they were made, and were not therefore, impeachable offenses. The rei)ly to the eleventh article was very brief. The managers had " compounded it of the materials which they had previously worked up into others," and it " contained nothing new that needed notice." Mr. Curtis concluded his speech by saying that — " This trial is and will be the most con- spicuous instance that has ever been, or even can be expected to be found, of American justice or of American injustice ; of that justice which is the great policy of all civilized States; of that injustice which is certain to be condemned, which makes even the wisest man mad, and which, in the fixed and unalterable order of God's providence, is sure to return and plague the inventor." At the close of this opening speech for the defense. General Lorenzo Thomas was brought forward as a witness. His testi- mony, elicited upon examination and cross- examination, was to the effect that, having received the order appointing him Secre- tary of War ad interim, he presented it to Mr. Stanton, who asked, "Do you wish me to vacate the office at once, or will you give me time to get my private property together?" to which Thomas replied, "Act your pleasure." Afterward Stanton said, " I don't know whether I will obey your instructions." Subsequently Thomas said that he should issue orders as Secretary of War. Stanton said he should not do so, and afterward gave him a written direc- tion, not to issue any order except as Ad- jutant-General. During the examination of General Thomas a question came up which, in many ways, recurred upon the trial. He was asked to tell what occurred at an interview between himself and the President. Objection was made by Mr. Butler, and the point was argued. The question was submitted to the Senate, which decided, by a vote of 42 to 10, that it was admissible. The testimony of Gen- eral Thomas, from this point, took a wide range, and, being mainly given in response to questions of counsel, was, apparently, somewhat contradictory. The substance was that he was recognized by the Presi- dent as Secretary of War ; that, since the impeachment, he had acted as such only in attending Cabinet meetings, but had given no orders ; that, when he reported to the President that Mr. Stanton would not vacate the War Department, the President directed him to "take possession of the office;" that, without orders from the President, he had intended to do this by force, if necessary; that, finding that this course might involve bloodshed, he had abandoned this purpose, but that, after this, he had, in several cases, affirmed his purpose to do so, but that these declara- 100 AMERICAN POLITICS. tions were " merely boast and brag." On tlie Ibllowing day General Thomas was re- called as a witness, to enable him to cor- rect certain points in his testimony. The first was the date of an unimportant trans- action ; he had given it as taking place on the 21st of February, whereas it should have been the 2 2d. The second was that i the words of the President were that he should " take charge," not " take posses- ! siou " of the War Department. In expla- nation of the fact that he had repeatedly sworn to the words " take possession," he said that these were " put into his mouth." Finally, General Thomas, in reply to a di- rect question from Mr. Butler, said that his testimony on these points was "all wrong." Lieutenant-General Sherman was then called as a witness. After some unim- portant questions, he was asked in refer- ence to an interview between himself and the President which took place on the 14th of January: "At that interview what conversation took place between the Presi- dent and you in reference to Mr. Stan- ton?" To this question objection was made by Mr. Butler, and the point was elaborately argued. The Chief Justice decided that the question was admissible within the vote of the Senate of the pre- vious day ; the question then was as to the admissibility of evidence as to a conversa- tion between the President and General Thomas ; the present question was as to a conversation between the President and General Sherman. " Both questions," said the Chief Justice, " are asked for the pur- pose of procuring the intent of the Presi- dent to remove Mr. Stanton." The ques- tion being submitted to the Senate, it was decided, by a vote of 28 to 23, that it should not be admitted. The examina- tion of General Sherman was continued, the question of the conversation aforesaid being frequently brought forward, and as often ruled out by the Senate. The only important fact elicited was that the Presi- dent had twice, on the 25th and 30th of January, tendered to General Sherman the office of Secretary of War ad interim. On Monday, April 13th, after transac- tions of minor importance, the general matter of the conversations between the President and General Sherman again came up, upon a qiiestion propounded by Senator Johnson — " When the President tendered to you the office of Secretary of War ad interim, did he, at the very time of making such tender, state to you what his purpose in so doing was ? " This was admitted by the Senate, by a vote of 26 to 22, Senator Johnson then added to his question, " If he did, what did he state his purpose was?" This was admitted by a vote of 25 to 26. The testimony of Gen- eral Sherman, relating to several inter- views, was to the effect that the President said that the relations between himself and Mr. Stanton were such that he could not execute the otlice of President without making provision to appoint a Secretary of War ad interim, and he oflered that office to him (General Sherman), but did not state that his purpose was to bring the matter directly into the courts. Sherman said that, if Mr. Stanton Avould retire, he might, although against his own wishes, undertake to administer the office ad interim, but asked what Avould be done in case Mr. Stanton would not yield. To this the President replied, " He will make no opposition ; you present the or- der, and he will retire. I know him bet- ter than you do; he is cowardly." General Sherman asked time for reflection, and then gave a written answer, declining to accept the appointment, but stated that his reasons were mostly of a personal na- ture. On the 14th the Senate adjourned, on account of the sudden illness of Mr. Stan- bery. It re-assembled on the 15th, but the proceedings touched wholly upon for- mal points of procedure and the introduc- tion of unimportant documentary evidence. On the IGth Mr. Sumner moved that all evidence not trivial or obviously irrelevant shall be admitted, the Senate to judge of its value. This was negatived by a vote of 23 to 11. The 17th was mainly taken up by testi- mony as to the reliability of the reports of the President's speeches. Mr. Welles, Sec- retary of the Navy, was then called to tes- tify to certain proceedings in Cabinet Council at the time of the appointment of General Thomas. This was objected to. The Chief Justice decided that it was ad- missible, and his decision was sustained by a vote of 26 to 23. The defense then en- deavored to introduce several members of the Cabinet, to show that, at meetings pre- vious to the removal of Mr. Stanton, it was considered whether it was not desira- ble to obtain a judicial determination of the unconstitutionality of the Tenure-of- Office Act, This question was raised in several shapes, and its admission, after thorough argument on both sides, as often refused, in the last instance by a decisive vote of 30 to 19, The defense considered this testimony of the utmost importance, as going to show that the President had acted upon the counsel of his constitu- tional advisers, while the prosecution claimed that he could not plead in justifi- cation of a violation of the law that he had been advised by his Cabinet, or any one else, that the law was unconstitutional. His duty was to execute Hhe laws, and, if he failed to do this, or violated them, he did so at his own risk of the consequences. With the refusal of this testimony, the GRANT. 191 case, except the final summings up and the verdict of the Senate, was virtually closed. The case had been so fully set forth in the opening speeches of Messrs. Butler and Curtis, and in the arguments which came up upon points of testimony, that there remained little for the other counsel except to restate what had before been said. After the evidence had been closed the case was summed up, on the part of the managers by Messrs. Boutwell, Williams. Stevens, and Hingham in oral arguments, and Mr. Logan, who filed a written argu- ment, a:id on the part of the President by Messrs. Nelson, Groesbeck, Stanbery, and Evarts. Many of these speeches were dis- tinguished by great brilliancy and power, but, as no new points were presented, we omit any summary. The Court decided to take a vote upon the articles on Tuesday, the 12th of May, at 12 o'clock, M. A secret session was held on Monday, during which several Senators made short speeches, giving the grounds upon which they expected to cast their votes. On Tuesday the Court agreed to postpone the vote until Saturday, the 16th. Upon that day, at 12 o'clock, a vote was taken upon the eleventh article, it hiving been determined to vote on that article first. The vote resulted in 35 votes for conviction, and 19 for acquittal. The question being put to each Senator, " How say you, is the respondent, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, guilty or not guilty of a high misdemeanor as charged in the article ?" — those who re- sponded guilty were Senators Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Chandler, Cole, Conk- ling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Ed- munds, Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill, of Ver- mont, Morrill, of Maine, O. P. Morton, Nye, Patterson, N. H. Pomeroy, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tij)ton, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson and Yates. Those who responded not guilty were Senators Bayard, Buckalew, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, P\'ssenden, Fowler, Grimes, Hen- derson, Hendricks, Johnson, M'Creery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Sauls- bury, Trumbull, Van Winkle and Vickers. The Constitution requiring a vote of two-thirds to convict, the President was acquitted on this article. After taking this vote the Court adjourned until Tues- day, May 26th, when votes were taken upon the second and third articles, with precisely the same result as on the elev- enth, the vote in each case standing 35 for conviction and 19 for acquittal. A verdict of acquittal on the second, third, and elev- enth articles was then ordered to be en- tered on the record, and, without voting on the other articles, the Court adjourned sine die. So the trial was ended, and the President acquitted. The political differences between Presi- dent Johnson and the Republicans were not softened by the attempted impeach- ment, and singularly enough the failure of their effort did not weaken the Republi- cans as a party. They were so well united that those who disagreed with them passed at least temporarily from public life, some of the ablest, like Senators Trumbull and Fessenden retiring permanently. Presi- dent Johnson pursued his policy, save where he was hedged by Congress, until the end, and retired to his native State, ap- parently having regained the love of his early political associates there. Grant. The Republican National Convention met at Chicago, 111., May 2Uth, 1868, and nominated with unanimity, Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois, for President, and Schuy- ler Colfax, of Indiana, for Vice President. The Democratic Convention met in New York City, July 4th, and after repeated ballots finally compromised on its presiding officers,* notwithstanding repeated and ap- * The following is a correct table of the ballots in the New York Democratin Convention : Candidates. Horatio Seymour OforKe H. "Pendleton... Amirew .Joluison Winfield S. Haneock ... Sanfoid E Church Asa I'acker Joel Parker James R. Knglish James K. Doolittle Ueverily Johnson Thomas A. Hendricks. F. P. Hlair, Jr Thomas Ewing J. Q. .\dams rSeoiKe B. McClellan.... Salmon P.Chase Franklin Pierce John T. Hoffman Stephen J. Field Thomas H. Seymour.... 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 9 1(1.5 104 noj4 nsy 122 12ii^ ■7 12 80 '3 my, 111 144^ ■33^ i'2 87 ... '"a '3 135>^ 22 "e 12 "a is 4 \i±y^ 16 12 121 13 "9 2 5 1351^ 19 12 132 "s 317 Gforge H. Pi ndleton Andrew .loljnson Winfield S. Hancock. Sanford E. Chureli A>a Pai'ker Joel Parker James E. EnLlisli James K. Doolittle Reverdy Johnson Thomas A. Flendricks F. P. Blair, Jr Thomas Ewing , J. Q. Adam« George B. MeClellan Salmon P. Chase Franklin Pieroe John T. Hoffman Stephen J. Fi.ld Tliomas H. Sevniour Necessary to choice 212 * General Blair was nominated unaninaously on the first ballot. READMISSION OF REBELLIOUS STATES. 193 em men had settled in the South. All of them were now denounced us political ad- venturers bv the rebels who opposed the amendments, reconstruction and froedman's bureau acts. Many of tlusc organized themselves first into Ku Klux Klans, secret societies, organized with a view to affright negroes from participancy in the elections, and to warn white men of opposing politi- cal views to leave the country. The object of the organization broadened with the troubles which it produced. Efforts to affri2,ht were followed by midnight assaults, by horrible whippings, outrages and mur- ders, hardly a fraction of which could be traced to the perpetrators. Doubtless many of the stories current at the time were exaggerated by partisan newspapers, but all of the official reports made then and since go to show the dangerous exces- ses which political and race hostilities may reach. In Georgia the whites, by these agencies, soon gained absolutepoliti- cal control, and this they used with mwe wisdom than in most Southern States, for under the advice of men like Stevens and Hill, they passed laws providing for free public sjhools, etc., but carefully guarded their newly acquired power by alsO" passing tax laws which virtually disfranchised more than half the blacks. Later on, several Southern States imitated this form of poi- litical sagacity, and soon those in favor of "a white man's government," (the popular battle cry of the period) had undisputed control in Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas — States which the Re- publicans at one time had reason to believe they could control. The Enforcement Acts. To repress the Ku Klux outrages. Con- gress in May 31, 1870, passed an act giving to the President all needed powers to pro- tect the freedmen in their newly acquired righLs, and to punish the perpetrators of all outrages, whether upon whites or blacks. This was called in Congress the Enforce- ment Act, and an Amendatory Enforce- ment Act was inserted in the Sundry Civil Bill, June 10, 1872. The Ku Klux Act was passed April 20, 1871, All of these measures were strongly advocated by Sena- tor Oliver P. Morton, who through this advocacy won new political distinction as the special champion of the rights of the blacks. Later on James G. Blaine, then the admitted leader of the House, opposed some of the supplements for its better en- forcement, and to this fact is traceable the refusal on the part of the negroes of the South to give him that warm support as a Presidential candidate which his high abili- ties commanded in other sections. The several Enforcement Acts and their supplements are too voluminous for inser- 13 tion here, and they are of little u e save as relics of the bitter days of reconstruction. They have little force now, although some of them still stand. They became a dead letter after the defeat of the " carpet-bag governments," but the President enforced them as a rule with moderation and wisdom. The enforcement of the Ku Klux Act led to the disbanding of that oiganization after the trial, arrest and conviction of many of the leaders. These trials brought out the facts, and awakened many South- ern minds, theretofore incredulous, to ihe enormity of the secret political crimes which had been committed in all the South- ern States, and for a time popular senti- ment even in the South, and amongst for- mer rebel soldiers, ran strongly against the Klan, With fresh political excitements, however, fresh means of intimidation were employed at elections. Rifle clubs were formed, notably in South Carolina and Mississippi, while in Louisiana the " White League' sprang into existence, and was organized in all of the neighboring States. These were more difficult to deal with. They were open organizations, created un- der the semblance of State militia acts. They became very popular, especially among the younger men, and from this time until the close of the Presidential election in 1876, were potent factors in several Southern States, and we shall have occasion further on to describe their more important movements. Reatlml88lon of Rebellions States. Before the close of 18G9 the Supreme Court, in the case of Texas vs. White, sus- tained the constitutionality of the Recon- struction acts of Congress, It held that the ordinances of secession had been " ab- solutely null;" that the seceding States had no right to secede and had never been out of the Union, but that, during and after their rebellion, they had no govern- ments " competent to represent these States in their relations with the National gov- ernment," and therefore Congress had the power to re-establish the relations of any rebellious State to the Union, This de- cision fortified the position of the Repub- licans, and did much to aid President Grant in the diflScult work of reconstruc- tion. It modified the assaults of the Dem- ocrats, and in some measure changed their purpose to make Reconstruction the pivot around which smaller political issues should revolve. The regular session of the 4l8t Congress met Dec, 4th, 1869, and before its close Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi had all complied with the conditions of re- construction, and were re-admitted to the Union. This practically completed the work of reconstruction. To summarize : — 194 AMERICAN POLITICS. Tennessee was re-admitted July 24th, 18GG ; Arkansas, June 22d, 1868 ; North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida under the act of June 25th, 1868, which provided that as soon as they fulfilled the conditions imposed by the acts of March, IJ 67, they should be re- admitted. All did this promptly except Georgia. Virginia was re-admitted Jan- uary 25th, 1870; Mississippi, Feb. 23d, 1870; Texas, March 30th, 1870, Georgia, the most powerful and stubborn of all, had passed State laws declaring negroes incapa- ble of holding office, in addition to what was known as the "black code," and Con- gress reiused fiill admission until she had revoked the laws and ratified the 15th Amendment. The State finally came back into the Union July 15th, 1870. The above named States completed the ratification of the 15th amendment, and the powers of reconstruction were plainly Used to that end. Some of the Northern States had held back, and for a time its ratification by the necessaiy three-fourths wa.s a matter of grave doubt. Congress next passed a bill to enforce it, May 30th, 1870. This made penal any interference, by force or fraud, with the right of free and full manhood suffrage, and authorized the President to use the army to prevent violations. The measure was generally supported by the Republicans, and opposed by all of the Democrats. The Republicans through other guards about the ballot by passing an act to amend the naturalization laws, which made it penal to use false naturalization papers, authorized the appointment of Federal supervisors of elections in cities of over 20,000 inhabitants ; gave to these power of arrest for any offense committed in their view, and gave alien Africans the right to naturalize. The Democrats in their oppo- sition laid particular stress upon the extra- ordinary powers given to Federal super- visors, while the Republicans charged that Seymour had carried New York by gigan- tic naturalization frauds in New York city, and sought to sustain these charges by the unprecedented vote polled. A popular qTiotation of the time was from Horace Greeley, in the New York Tn'hwe, who showed thnt under the manipulat:ons of the Tweed ring, more votes had been cast for Seymour in one of the warehouse wards of the city, " than there were men, women, children, and cats and dogs in it." The Liegal Tender Decision. The Act of Congress of 1862 had made " greenback " notes a les^l tender, and they passed a^ such until 1869 against the pro- testa of the Democrats in Congress, who had questioned the riaht of Congress to ieeue paper money. It was on this issue that Thaddeus Stevens admitted the Re- publicans were travelling " outside of the constitution " with a view to preserve the government, and this soon became one of his favorite ways of meeting partisan ob- jections to Avar measures. At the Decem- ber term of the Supreme Court, in 1860, a decision was rendered that the action of Congress was unconstitutional, the Court then being accidentally Democratic in its composition. The Republicans, believing they could not afford to have their favorite, and it must be admitted most useful finan- cial measure questioned, secured an in- crease of two in the number of Supreme Justices — one under a law creating an ad- ditional Justiceship, the other in place of a Justice who had resigned — and in March, 1870, after the complexion of the Court had been changed through Republican ap- pointments made by President Grant, the constitutionality of the legal tender act was again raised, and, with Chief Justice Chase (who had been Secretary of the Treasury in 1862 ijresiding) the previous decision was reversed. This was clearly a partisan struggle before the Court, and on the part of the Republicans an aband(m- ment of old landmarks impressed on the country by the Jackson Democrats, but it is plain that without the greenbacks the war could not have been pressed with half the vigor, if at all. Neither party was consistent in this struggle, for Southern Democrats who sided with their North- ern colleagues in the plea of uncon- stitutionality, had when "out of the Union," witnessed and advocated the issue of the same class of money by the Con- federate Congress. The difference was only in the ability to redeem, and this ability depended upon success in arms — the very thing the issue was designed to promote. The last decision, despite its partisan surroundings and opposition, soon won popularity, and this popularity was subsequently taken as the groundwork for the establishment of Tlie Greenback Party. This party, with a view to ease the rigors of the monetary panic of 1873, ad- vocated an unlimited issue of greenbacks, or an " issue based upon the resources of the country." So vigorously did dis- contented leaders of both parties press this idea, that they soon succeeded in demoral- izing the Democratic minority— which was by this time such a plain minority, and so greatly in need of new issues to make the people forget the war, that it is not surprising they yielded, at least par- tially, to new theories and alliances. The present one took them away from the principles of Jackson, from the hard- money theories of the early days, and would laud them they knew not where, nor did THE GREENBACK PARTY. 195 many of them care, if they could once more get U2ion their feet. Some resisted, and comparatively few of the Democrats in the Middle States yielded, but in part of New England, the great West, and nearly all of the South, it waa for several years quite difficult to draw a line between Greenbackers and Democrats. Some Re- publicans, too, who had tired of the "old war issues," or discontented with the man- agement and leadership of their party, aided in the construction of the Green- back bridge, and kept upon it as long as it was safe to do so. In State elections up to as late as 1880 this Greenback element was a most important factor. Ohio was carried by an alliance of Greenbackers and Democrats, Allen being elected Governor, only to be supplanted by Hayes (after- wards President) after a most remarkable contest, the alliance favoring the Green- back, the Republicans not quite the hard- money, but a redeemable-in-gold theory. Indiana, always doubtful, passed over to the Democratic column, while in the Southern States the Democratic leaders made open alliances until the Greenback- ers became over-confident and sought to win Congressional and State elections on their own merits. They fancied that the desire to repudiate ante-war debts would greatly aid them, and they openly advo- cated the idea of repudiation there, but they had experienced and wise leaders to cope with. Tliey were not allowed to monopolize this issue by the Democrats, and their arrogance, if such it may be called, was punished by a more complete assertion of IDemocratic power in the South than was ever known before. The theory in the South was welcomed where it would siiit the Democracy, crushed where it would not, as shown in the Presidential election of 1880, when Garfield, Hancock and Weaver (Greenbacker) were the can- didates. The latter, in his stumping tour of the South, proclaimed that he and his friends were as much maltreated in Ala- bama and other States, as the Republicans, and for some cause thereafter (the Demo- crats alleged "a bargain and sale") he f»ractically threw his aid to the Repub- icans — this when it became apparent that the Greenbackers, in the event of the elec- tion going to the House, could have no chance even there. Gen'l Weaver went from the South to Maine, the scene of what was regarded at that moment as a pivotal struggle for the Presidency. Blaine had twice been the most prominent candidate for the Presi- dency— 187G and 1880— and had both times been defeated by compromise candi- dates. He was still, as he had been for many years. Chairman of the Republican State Committee of Maine, and now as •ver before swallowed the mortification of defeat with true political grace. The Greenbackers had the year before formed a close alliance with the Democrats, and in the State election made the result so close that for many weeks it remained a matter of doubt who was elected Governor, the Democratic Greenbacker or the Re- publican. A struggle followed in the Legislature and before the Returning Board composed of State officers, who were Democrats, (headed by Gov. Gar- celon) and sought to throAV out returns on slight technicalities. Finally the Repub- licans won, but not without a struggle which excited attention all over the Union and commanded the presence of the State militia. Following Garfield's nomination another struggle, as we have stated, was inaugurated, with Davis as the Republican nominee for Governor, Plaisted the Demo- cratic-Greenback, (the latter a former Re- publican). All eyes now turned to Maine, which voted in September. Gen'l Weaver was on the stump then, as the Greenback candidate for President, and all of his efforts were bent to breaking the alliance between the Greenbackers and Demo- crats. He advocated a straight-out policy for his Greenback friends, described his treatment in the South, and denounced the Demo- cracy with such plainness that it displayed his purpose and defeated his object. Plaisted was elected by a close vote, and the Republicans yielded after some threats to invoke the "Garceloa precedents." This was the second Democratic-Green- back victory in Maine, the first occurring two years before, when through an alli- ance in the Legislature (no candidate having received a majority of all the popu- lar vote) Garland was returned. The victory of Plaisted alarmed the Re- publicans and enthused the Democrats, who now denounced Weaver, but still sought alliance with his followers. Gene- ral B. F. Butler, long a brilliant Republi- can member of Congress from Massachu- setts, for several years advocated Green- back ideas without breaking from his Re- publican Congressional colleagues. Be- cause of this fact he lost whatever of chance he had for a Republican nomination for Governor, " his only remaining politi- cal ambition," and thereupon headed the Greenbackers in Massachusetts, and in spite of the protests of the hard-money Democrats in that State, captured the De- mocratic organization, and after these tac- tics twice ran for Governor, and was de- feated both times by the Republicans, though he succeeded, upon State and "anti-blue blood" theories, in greatly re- ducing their majority. In the winter of 1882 he still held control of the Demo- cratic State Committee, after the Green- back organization had passed from view, 196 AMERICAN POLITICS. and " what will he <\o next?" is one of the political questions of the hour. The Greenback labor party ceased all Congressional alliance with the Democrats after tJicir quarrel with General Weaver, and as late as the 47th session — 18S1-82 — rei'used all alliance, and abstained from exercising what some still believe a " bal- ance of power " in the House, though nearly half of their numb'^r were elected more as Republicans than Greenbackers. As a party, the Greenbackers, standing alone, never carried either a State or a Congressional district. Their local suc- cesses were due to alliances with one or other of the great parties, and with the passage of the panic they dissolved in many sections, and where they still obtain it is in alliance with labor unions, or in strong mining or workingmen's districts. In the Middle States they won few local successes, but were strong in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. Advocates of similar theories have not been wanting in all the countries of Western Europe follow- ing great wars or panics, but it was re- served to the genius of Americans to estab- lish an aggressive political party on the basis of theories which all great political economists have from the beginning an- tagonized as unsafe and unsound. The Prolilbltory Party. The attempt to establish a third party in the Greenback, begot that to establish a National Prohibitory Party, which in ISSO ran James Black of Pennsylvania, as a candidate for the Presidency, and four years previous ran Neal Dow of Maine. He, however, commanded little attention, and received but sparsely scattered votes in all the States. The sentiment at the base of this party never thrived save as in States, particularly in New England, where it sought to impress itself on the prevail- ing political party, and through it to influ- ence legislation. Neal Dow of Maine, first advocated a prohibitory law, and by his eloquent advocacy, secured that of Maine, which has stood for nearly thirty years. That of Massachusetts has recently been repealed. The prohibitory amendment to the Constitution of Kansas was adopted in 1881, etc. The Prohibitory Party, how- ever, never accomplished anything by sep- arate political action, and though fond of nominating candidates for State and local officers, has not as yet succeeded in hold- ing even a balance of power between the political parties, though it has often con- tused political calculations as to results in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecti- cut, Massachusetts, etc. It seems never to have taken hold in any of the Southern States, and comparatively little in the Western, until the whole country was sur- prised in 1880 by the passage of the Kan- sas amendment by over 20,00U majority in a vote of the people invoked by the Legis- lature. An effort followed to submit a sim- ilar amendment through the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1881. It passed the House by a large majority, but after discussion in the Senate, and amendments to indemnify manufacturers and dealers in liquor (an amendment which would cripple if it would not bankrupt the State) was adopted. Gov- ernor St. John of Kansas, a gentleman fond of stumping for this amendment, insists that the results are good in his State, while its enemies claim that it has made many criminals, that liquor is everywhere smug- gled and sold, and that the law has turned the tide of immigration away from that great State. The example of Kansas, however, will probably be followed in other States, and the Prohibitory Party will hardly pass from view until this latest experiment has been fairly tested. It was also the author of " Local Option," which for a time swept Pennsylvania, but was repealed by a large majority after two years' trial. Annexation of San Domingo. The second session of the 41st Congress began December 5th, 1870. With all of the States represented, reconstruction be- ing complete, the body was now divided politically as follows : Senate, 61 Repub- licans, 13 Democrats ; House 172 Republi- cans, 71 Democrats. President Grant's an- nual message discussed a new question, and advocated the annexation of San Do- mingo to the United States. A treaty had been negotiated between President Grant and the President of the Republic of San Domingo as early as September 4th, 18()9, looking to annexation, but it had been re- jected by the Senate, Charles Sumner be- ing prominent in his opposition to the measure. He and Grant experienced a growing personal unpleasantness, because of the President's attempt to negotiate a treaty without consulting Mr. Sumner, who was Chairman of the Committee on For- eign Affairs, and it was charged that through the influence of the President he was removed by the Republican caucus from this Chairmanship, and Senator Si- mon Cameron put in his place. Whether this was true or not, the differences be- tween Grant and Sumner were universally remarked, and Sumner's imperious pride led him into a very vindictive assault up- on the proj>osition. Grant gave few other reasons for annexation than military ones, suggested that as a naval station it would facilitate all home operations in the Gulf, while in the hands of a foreign power, in the event of war, it would prove the depot for many and dangerous warlike prepa- THE FORCE BILL. 197 rations. The question had little political significance, if it was ever designed to have any, and this second attempt to bring the scheme to the attention of Congress, was that a joint resolution (as in- the annexa- tion of Texas) might be passed. This would require but a majority, but the ob- jection Avas met that no Territory could be annexed without a treaty, and this must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. A middle course was taken, and the Presi- dent was authorized to appoint three Com- missioners to visit San Domingo and as- certain the desires of its people. These reported favorably, but the subject was finally dropped, probably because the pro- position could not command a two-thirds vote, and has not since attracted attention. Amendatorjr Enforcement Acts. The operation of the loth Amendment, being still resisted or evaded in portions of the South, an Act was passed to enforce it. This extended the powers of the Fed- eral supervisors and marshals, authorized in the first, and gave the Federal Circuit Courts exclusive jurisdiction of all cases tried under the provisions of the Act and its supplements. It also empowered these Courts to punish any State officer who should attempt to interfere with or try such cases as in contempt of the Court's jurisdiction. The Republicans sustained, the Democrats opposed the measure, but it was passed and approved February 28, 1871, and another supplement was insert- ed in the Sundry Civil Bill, and approved June 10th, 1872, with continued resistance on the part of the Democrats. After the appointment of a committee to investi- gate the condition of affairs in the South- ern States, Congress adjourned March 4th, 1871. The Alabama Claims. During this year the long disputed Ala- bama Claims of the United States against Great Britain, arising from the depreda- t.ons of the Anglo-rebel privateers, built and fitted out in British waters, were re- ferred by the Treaty of Washington, dated May 8th, 1871, to arbitrators, and this was the first and most signal triumph of the plan of arbitration, so far as the Government of the United States was concerned. The arbitrators were appointed, at the invitation of the governments of Great Britain and the United States, from these powers, and from Brazil, Italy, and Switzerland. On September 14th, 1872, they gave to the United States gross dam- ages to the amount of $15,500,003, an amount which has subsequently proved to be really in excess of the demands of mer- chants and others claiming the loss of property through the depredations of the rebel ram Alabama and other rebel priva- teers. We append a list of the representa- tives of the several governments : Arbitrator on the part -of the United States — Charles Francis Adams. Arbitrator on the part of Great Britain, — ■ The Right Honorable Sir Alexander CocKBUKN, Baronet, Lord Chief Justice of England. Arbitrator on the part of Italy — His Ex- cellency Senator Count Sclopis. Arbitrator on the part of Switzerland — Mr. Jacob Stampfli. Arbitrator on the part of Brazil — Baron D'Itajuba. Agent on the part of the United States — J. C. Bancroft Davis. Agent on the part of Great Britain — Right Honorable Lord Tenterden. Counsel for the United States — Caleb Gushing, William M. Evarts, Morri- son R. Waite. Counsel for Great Britain — Sir RouN- dell Palmer. Sol icitor for the United States — Charles C. Be AM AN, Jr. Tlie Force BUI. The 42d Congress met March 4, 1871, the Republicans having suff'ered somewhat in their representation. In the Senate there were 57 Republicans, 17 Democrats; in the House 138 Republicans, 103 Demo- crats. James G. Blaine was again chosen Speaker. The most exciting political question of the session was the passage of the " Force Bill," as the Democrats called it. The object was more rigidly to enforce observance of the provisions of the 14th Amendment, as the Republicans claim ; to revive a waning political power in the South, and save the " carpet-bag " govern- ments there, as the Democrats claimed. The Act allowed suit in the Federal courts against any person wdio should deprive another of the rights of a citizen, and it made it a penal offense to conspire to take away any one's rights as a citizen. It also provided that inability, neglect, or refusal by any State governments to suppress such conspiracies, or their refusal to call upon the President for aid, should be deemed a denial by such State of the equal protec- tion of the laws under the 14th Amend- ment. It further declared such conspira- cies " a rebellion against the government of the United States," and authorized the President, when in his judgment the pub- lic safety required it, to suspend the privi- lege of habeas corpus in any district, and suppress any such insurrection by the -irmy and navy. 198 AMERICAN POLITICS. Ptrsldent Hayes'g Civil Service Order. Executive Mansion, Washington, /une 22, 1877. Sir : — I desire to call your attention to the following paragraph in a letter ad- dressed by me to the Secretary of the Treasury, on the conduct to be observed by the officers of the General Government in relation to the elections : " No officer should be required or per- mitted to take part in the management of political organizations, caucuses, conven- tions or election campaigns. Their right to vote and to express their views on public questions, either orally or through the press, is not denied, provided it does not interfere with the discharge of their oflfi- cial duties. No assessment for political purposes on officers or subordinates should be allowed." This rule is applicable to every depart- ment of vhe Civil Service. It should be understood by every officer of the General Government that he is expected to conform his conduct to its requirements. Very respectfully, R. B. Hayes. Some of the protests were strong, and it is difficult to say whether Curtis, Julian, or Eaton — its three leading advocates — or the politicians, had the best of the argu- ment. It was not denied, however, that a strong and very respectable sentiment had been created in favor of the reform, and to this sentiment all parties, and the President as well, made a show of bowing. It was fashionable to insert civil service planks in National and State platforms, but it was was not such an issue as could livein the presence of more exciting ones; and while to this day it has earnest and able advo- cates, it has from year to year fallen into greater disuse. Actual trial showed the impracticability of some of the rules, and President Grant lost interest in the subject, as did Congress, for in several instances it neglected to appropriate the funds necessary to carry out the provisions of the law. President Arthur, in his message, to Con- gress in December, 1381, argued against its full application, and showed that it blocked the way to preferment, certainly of the middle-aged and older persons, who could not recall their early lessons ac- quired by rote ; that its effect was to ele- vate the inexperienced to positions which required executive ability, sound judgment business aptitude, and experience. The feature of the message met the endorsment of nearly the entire Republican press, and at this writing the sentiment, at least of the Republican party, appears to favor a partial modification of the rules. The system was begun January 1st, 1872, but in December, 1874, Congress refused to make any appropriations, and it was for a time abandoned, with slight and spasmodic revivals under the administration of Presi- dent Hayes, who issued the foregoing order. By letter from the Attorney-General, Charles Devens, August 1, 1877, this order was held to apply to the Pennsylvania Re- publican Association at Washington. Still later there was a further exposition, in which Attorney-General Devens, writing from Washington in October 1, 1877, ex- cuses himself from active participation in the Massachusetts State campaign, and says : " I learn with surprise and regret that any of the Republican officials hesitate either to speak or vote, alleging as a reason the President's recent Civil Service order. In distinct terms that order states that the right of officials to vote and express their views on public questions, either orally or through the press, is not denied, provided it does not interfere with the discharge of their official duties. If such gentlemen choose not to vote, or not to express or en- force their views in support of the princi- ples of the Republican party, either orally or otherwise, they, at least, should give a reason for such a course which is not jus- tified by the order referred to, and which is simply a perversion of it."' Yet later, when the interest in the Penn- sylvania election became general, because of the sharp struggle between Governor Hoyt and Senator Dill for Governor, a committee of gentlemen (Republicans) visited President Hayes and induced him to " suspend the operation of the order " as to Pennsylvania, where political contribu- tions were collected. And opposition was manifested after even the earlier trials. Benjamin F. Butler de- nounced the plan as. English and anti-Re- publican, and before long some of the more radical Republican papers, which had in- deed given little attention to the subject, began to denounce it as a plan to exclude faithful Republicans from and permit Democrats to enter the offices. These now argued that none of the vagaries of political dreamers could ever convince them that a free Government can be run without political parties ; that while rota- tion in office may not be a fundamental element of republican government, yet the right of the people to recommend is its corner-stone; that civil service would lead to the creation of rings, and eventually to the purchase of places; that it would es- tablish an aristocracy of office-hoklers,.who could not be removed at times when it might be important, as in the rebellion fot the Administration to have only friends in public office ; that it would establish grades and life-tenures in civic positions, etc. For later particulars touching civil ser- vice, see the Act of Congress of .1883, and the regulations made pursuant to thesanif* in Book V. I THE LIBERAL REPUBLICANS, 199 Amnestjr. The first regular session of the 42d Con- gress met Dec 4th, 187L The Democrats consumed much of the time in efforts to pass bills to remove the political disabilities of former Southern rebels, and they were materially aided by the editorials of Hor- ace Greeley, in the New York Tribune, which had long contended for universal amnesty. At this session all such efforts were defeated by the Republicans, who in- variably amended such propositions by ad- ding Sumner's Supplementary Civil Rights Bill, which was intended to prevent any dis- crimination against colored persons by common carriers, hotels, or other chartered or licensed servants. The Amnesty Bill, however was passed May 22d, 1872, after an an agreement to exclude from itsprovisions all who held the higher military and civic positions under the Confederacy — in all about 350 persons. The following is a copy : Be it enacted, etc., (two-thirds of each House concurring therein,) That all legal and political disabilities imposed by the third section of the fourteenth article of the amendments of the Constitution of the United States are hereby removed from all persons whomsoever, except Senators and Representatives of the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congress, officers in the judicial, military, and naval service of the United States, heads of Departments, and foreign ministers of the United States. Subsequently many acts removing the disabilities of all excepted (save Jefferson Davis] from the provisions of the above, were passed. The lilberal Republicans. An issue raised in Missouri gave imme- diate rise to the Liberal Republican party, though the course of Horace Greeley had long pointed toward the organization of something of the kind, and with equal plainness it pointed to his desire to be its champion and candidate for the Presi- dency. In 1870 the Republican party, then in control of the Legislature of Mis- souri, split into two parts on the question of the removal of the disqualifications im- posed upon rebels by the State Constitu- tion during the war. Those favoring the removal of disabilities were headed by B. Gratz Brown and Carl Schurz, and they called themselves Liberal Republicans ; those opposed were called and accepted the name of Radical Republicans. The former quickly allied themselves with the Democrats, and thus carried the State, though Grant's administration " stood in" with the Radicals. As a result the dis- abilities were quickly removed, and those who believed with Greeley now sought to promote a reaction in Republican senti- ment all over the country. Greeley was the recognized head of this movement, and he was ably aided by ex-Governor Curtin and Col. A. K. McClure in Pennsylvania ; Charles Francis Adams, Massachusetts ; Judge Trumbull, in Illinois ; Reuben E. Fenton, in New York ; Brown and Schurz in Missouri, and in fact by leading Re- publicans in nearly all of the States, who at once began to lay plans to carry the next Presidential election. They charged that the Enforcement Acts of Congress were designed more for the political advancement of Grant's adherents than for the benefit of the country ; that instead of suppressing they were calcula- ted to promote a war of races in the South ; that Grant was seeking the establishment of a military despotism, etc. These leaders were, as a rule, brilliant men. They had tired of unappreciated and unrewarded service in the Republican party, or had a natural fondness for " pastures new," and, in the language of the day, they quickly succeeded in making political movements " lively." In the spring of 1871 the Liberal Repub- licans and Democrats of Ohio — and Ohio seems to be the most fertile soil for new ideas — prepared for a fusion, and after fre- quent consultations of the various leaders Avith Mr. Greeley in New York, a call was issued from Missouri on the 24ih of Janu- ary, 1872, for a National Convention of the Liberal Republican party to be held at Cincinnati, May 1st. The well-matured plans of the leaders were carried out in the nomination of Hon. Horace Greeley for President and B Gratz Brown for Vice- President, though not without a serious struggle over the chief nomination, which was warmly contested by the friends of Charles Francis Adams. Indeed he led in most of the six ballots, but finally all the friends of other candidates voted for Greeley, and he received 482 to 187 for Adams. Dissatisfaction followed, and a later effort was made to substitute Adams for Greeley, but it failed. The original leaders now prepared to capture the Demo- cratic Convention, which met at Baltimore, June 9th. By nearly an unanimous vote it was induced to endorse the Cincinnati platform, and it likewise finally endorsed Greeley and Brown — though not without many bitter protests. A few straight-out Democrats met later at Louisville, Ky., Sept. 3d, and nominated Charles O'Coiior, of New York, for President, and John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, for Vice- President, and these were kept in the race to the end, receiving a popular vote of about 30,000. The regular Republican National Con- vention was held at Philadelphia, June 5th. It renominated President Grant unanimously, and Henry Wilson, of Mas- 200 AMERICAN POLITICS. sachusetts, for Vice-President by 364J votes to 321 J for Schuyler Colfax, who thus shared the fate of Hannibal Hamlin in his second candidacy for Vice-President on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln. This change to Wilson was to favor the solid Republican States of New England, and to prevent both candidates coming from the West. Civil Serr-ice Reform. After considerable and very able agita- tion by Geo. W. Curtis, the editor of Harper's Weekly, an Act was passed March 3d, 1871, authorizing the President to be- gin a reform in the civil service. He ap- pointed a Commission headed by Mr. Cur- tis, and after more than a year's preparation this body defeated a measure which se- cured Congressional approval and that of President Grant. The civil service law (and it is still a law though more honored now in the breach than the observance) embraced in a single section of the act making appropri- ations for sundry civil expenses for the year ending June 30, 1872, and authorize the President to prescribe such rules and reg- ulations for admission into the civil ser- vice as will best promote the efficiency thereof, and ascertain the fitness of each candidate for the branch of service into which he seeks to enter. Under this law a commission was appointed to draft rules and regulations which were approved and are now being enforced by the President. All applicants for position in any of the government departments come under these rules : — all classes of clerks, copyists, coun- ters ; in the customs service all from deputy collector down to inspectors and clerks with the salaries of $1200 or more ; in ap- praisers' offices all assistants and clerks ; in the naval service all clerks ; all light- house keepers ; in the revenue, supervisors, collectors, assessors, assistants ; in the pos- tal really all postmasters Avhose pay is over $200, arid all mail messengers. The rules apply to all new appointments in the de- partments or grades named, except that " nothing shall prevent the reappointment at discretion of the incumbents of any of- fice the term of which is fixed by law." So that a postmaster or other officer escapes their application. Those specially exempt are the Heads of Departments ; their immediate assistants and deputies, the diplomatic service, the judiciary, and the district attorneys. Each branch of the service is to be grouped, and admission shall always be to the lowest grade of any grouj). Such appointments are made for a probationary term of six months, when if the Board of Examiners approve the in- cumbent is continued. This Board of Ex- aminers, three in number in each case, shall be chosen by the President from the several Departments, and they shall ex amine at Washington for any position there, or, when directed by an Advisory Board, shall assign places for examination in the several States. Examinations are in all cases first made of applicants within the office or department, and from the list three reported in the order of excellence ; if those within fail, then outside applicants may be examined. In the Federal Blue Book, which is a part of this volume, we give the Civil Service Rules. When first proposed, partisan politics had no part or place in civil service re- form, and the author of the plan was him- self a distinguished Republican. In fact both parties thought something good had been reached, and there was practically no resistance at first to a trial. The Democrats resisted the passage of this bill with even more earnestness than any which preceded it, but the Republi- can discipline was almost perfect, and when passed it received the prompt ap- proval of President Grant, who by this time was classed as " the most radical of the radicals." Opponents denounced it as little if any less obnoxious than the old Sedition law of 1798, while the Republi- cans claimed that it was to meet a state of growing war in the South — a war of races — and that the form of domestic violence manifested was in the highest degree dan- gerous to the peace of the Union and the safety of the newly enfranchised citizens. The Credit MobUier. At the second session of the 42d Con- gress, beginning Dec. 2, 1872, the speaker (Blaine) on the first day called attention to the charges made by Democratic orators and newspapers during the Presidential campaign just closed, that the Vice Presi- dent (Colfax), the Vice President elect (Wilson), the Secretary' of the Treasury, several Senators, the Speaker of the House, and a large number of Representatives had been bribed, during the years 18()7 and 1868, by Oakes Ames, a member of the House from Massachusetts ; that he and his agents had given them presents of stock in a corporation known as the Credit Mobilier, to influence their legislative ac- tion for the benefit of the Union Pacific Railroad Compay. Upon Speaker Blaine's motion, a com- mittee of investigation was appointed by Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York, a noted Democrat temporarily called to the Chair. After the close of the campaign, (as was remarked by the Republic Magazine at the time) the dominant party might well have claimed, and would have insisted had they been opposed to a a thorough investigation THE CREDIT MOBILIER. 201 and a full exposure of corruption, that the verdict of the people in the late canvss was sufficient answer to these charges ; but the Republican party not merely grunted all the investigations sought, but sum- moned on the leading committee a ma- jority of its political foes to conduct the inquest. The committee consisted of Messrs. Po- land, of Vermont; McCreary, of Iowa ; Banks, of Massachusetts ; Niblack, of Indi- ani, and Merrick, of Maryland. Messrs. Poland and McCreary — the two Republicans — were gentlemen of ability and standing, well known for their integ- rity, moderation, and impartiality. Gen- eral Banks was an earnest supporter of Horace Greeley, upon the alleged ground that the Republican organization had be- come effete and corrupt : while Messrs. Niblack and Merrick are among the ablest representatives of the Democratic party ; in fact, Mr. Merrick belonged to the ex- treme Southern school of political thought. Having patiently and carefully exam- ined and sifted the entire testimony — often "painfully conflicting," as the committee remarked — their report ought to be con- sidered a judicial document commanding universal approval, yet scraps of the testi- mony and not the report itself were used with painful frequency against James A. Garfield in his Presidential canvass of 1880. There has not been a state paper 8ubm"tted for many years upon a similar subject that carried with it greater weight, or which bore upon its face a fuller reali- zation of the grave responsibilities assumed, and it is the first time in the political his- tory of the United States that an all-im- portant investigation has been entrusted by the dominant party to a majority of its po- litical foes. The report of the committee gives the best and by far the most reliable history of the whole affair, and its presentation here may aid tn preventing partisan misrepre- sentations in the future — misrepresenta- tions made in the heat of contest, and doubtless regretted afterwards by all who had the facilities for getting at the facts. We therefore give the OFFICIAL EEPOUT OF THE CREDIT MO- BILIER INVESTIGATINa COMMITTEE. Mr. Poland, from the select committee to investigate the alleged Credit Mobilier briberv, made the following report Febru- ary 18, 1873 : The special committee appointed under the folloioing resolutions of the House to wit : Whereas, Accusations have been made in the public press, founded on alleged letters of Oakes Ames, a Representative of Massachusetts, and upon the alleged affi- davits of Henry S. McComb, a citizen of Wilmington, in the State of Delaware, to the effect that members of this House were bribed by Oakes Ames to perform certain legislative acts for the benefit of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, by presents of stock in the Credit Mobilier of America, or by presents of a valuable char- acter derived therefrom : therefore, Resolved, That a special committee of five members be appointed by the Speaker pro tempore, whose duty it shall bo to in- vestigate whether any member of this House was bribed by Oakes Ames, or any other person or corporation, in any matter touching his legislative duty. Resolved, further. That the committee have the right to employ a stenographer, and that they be empowered to send for persons and papers ; beg leave to make the folloiving report : In order to a clear understanding of the facts hereinafter stated as to contracts and dealings in reference to stock of the Credit Mobilier of America, between Mr. Oakes Ames and others, and members of Con- gress, it is necessary to make a preliminary statement of the connection of that com- pany with the Union Pacific Railroad Com- j)any, and their relations to each other. The company called the " Credit Mo- bilier of America " was incorporated by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and in 1864 control of its charter and franchises had been obtained by certain persons in- terested in the Union Pacific Railrf)ad Company, for the purpose of using it as a construction company to build the Union Pacific road. In September, 18(34, a con- tract was entered into between the Union Pacific Company and H. M. Hoxie, for the building by said Hoxie of one hundred miles of said road from Omaha west. This contract was at once assigned by Hoxie to the Credit Mobilier Company, as it was expected to be when made. Under this contract and extensions of it some two or three hundred miles of road were built by the Credit Mobilier Company, but no considerable profits appear to have been realized therefrom. The enterprise of building a railroad to the Pacific was of such vast magnitude, and was beset by so many hazards and risks that the capitalists of the country were generally averse to in- vesting in it, and, notwithstanding the lib- eral aid granted by the Government it seemed likelv to fail of completion. In 1865 or 1866, Mr. Oakes Ames, then and now a member of the House from the State of Massachusetts, and his brother Oliver Ames became interested in the Union Pacific Company and also in the Credit Mobilier Company as the agents for the construction of the road. The Mes- srs. Ames were men of very large capital, and of known character and integrity in business. By their example and credit, 202 AMERICAN POLITICS. and the personal efforts of Mr. Oakes Ames, many men of capital were induced to embark in the enterprise, and to take stock in the Union Pacific Company and also iu the Credit Mobilier Company. Among them were the firm of S. Hooper & Co., of Boston, the leading member of which, Mr. Samuel Hoo])er, was tlien and is now a member of the House ; Mr. John B. Alley, then a member of the House from Massachusetts, and Mr. Grimes, then a Senator from the State of Iowa. Not- withstanding the vigorous efforts of IMr. Ames and others interested with him, great difficulty was experienced in securing the required capital. In the spring of 1867 the Credit Mo- bilier Company voted to add 50 per cent, to their capital stock, which was then two and a half millions of dollars ; and to cause it to be readily taken each subscriber to it was entitled to receive as a bonus an equal amount of first mortgage bonds of the Union Pacific Company. The old stock- holders were entitled to take this increase, but even the favorable terms offered did not induce all the old stockholders to take it, and the stock of the Credit Mobilier Company was never considered worth its par value until after the execution of the Oakes Ames contract hereinafter men- tioned. On the 16th day of August, 1867, a con- tract was executed between the Union Pa- cific Railroad Company and Oakes Ames, by which Mr. Ames contracted to build six hundred and sixty-seven miles of the Union Pacific road at prices ranging from $42,000 to $96,000 per mile, amounting in the ag- gregate to $47,000,000. Before the con- tract was entered into it was understood that Mr. Ames was to transfer it to seven trustees, who were to execute it, and the profits of the contract were to be divided among the stockholders in the Credit Mo- bilier Company, who should comply with certain conditions set out in the instru- ment transferring the contract to the trus- tees. The Ames contract and the trans- fer to trustees are incorporated in the evi- dence submitted, and therefore further re- cital of their terms is not deemed neces- sary. Substantially, all the stockholders of the Credit Mobilier complied with the condi- tions named in the transfer, and thus be- came entitled to share in any profits said trustees might make in executing the con- tract. All the large stockholders in the Union Pacific were also stockholders in the Credit Molnlier, and the Ames contract and its transfer to trustees were ratified by the Union Pacific, and received the assent of the great body of stockholders, but not of all. After the Ames contract had been exe- cuted, it was expected by those interested that by reason of the enormous prices agreed to be paid for the work very large profits would be derived from building the road, and very soon the stock of the Cred- it Mobilier was understood by thot^e hold- ing it to be worth much more than its par value. The stock was not in the market and had no fixed market value, but the holders of it, in December, 1867, consid- ered it worth at least double the par value, and in January and February, 1868, three or four times the par value, but it docs not ap])ear that these facts were generally or l)ubliely known, or that the holders of the stock desired they should be. The foregoing statement the committee think gives enough of the historic details, and condition and value of the stock, to make the following detailed facts intelli- gible. Mr. Oakes Ames was then a member of the House of liepresentatives, and came to Washington at the commencement of the session, about the beginning of December, 1867. During that month Mr. Ames en- tered into contracts with a considerable number of members of Congress, both Sen- ators and Representatives, to let them have shares of stock in the Credit Mobilier Company at par, with interest thereon from the first day of the previous July. It does not appear that in any instance he asked any of these persons to pay a higher price than the par value and interest, nor that Mr. Ames used any sj^ecial effort or ur- gency to get these persons to take it. In all these negotiations Mr. Ames did not enter into any details as to the value of the stock or the amount of dividend that might be expected upon it, but stated gen- erally that it would be good stock, and in several instances said he would guarantee that they should get at least 10 per cent, on their money. Some of these gentlemen, in their con- versations with Mr. Ames, raised the ques- tion whether becoming holders of this stock would bring them into any embar- rassment as members of Congress in their legislative dction. Mr. Ames quieted such suggestions by saying it could not, for the Union Pacific had received from Congress all the grants and legislation it wanted, and they should ask for nothing more. In some instances those members who con- tracted for stock paid to Mr, Ames the money for the price of the stock, par and interest; in others, where they had not the money, Mr. Ames agreed to carry the stock for them until they could get the money or it should be met by the divi- dends. Mr. Ames was at this time a large stock- holder in the Credit Mobiler, but he did not intend any of these transactions to be sales of his own stock, but intended to ful- THE CREDIT MOBILIER. 203 fill all these contracts from stock belong- ing to the company. At this time there were about six hun- dred and fifty shares of the stock of the com- pany, which had for some reason been placed in the name of Mr. T. C. Durant, one of the leading and active men of the concern. ]Mr. Ames claimed that a portion of this stock should be assigned to him to enable him to fulfill engagements he had made for stock. Mr. Durant claimed that he had made similar engagements that he should be allowed stock to fulfill. Mr. McComb, who was present at the time, claimed that he had also made engage- ments for stock which he should have stock given him to carry out. This claim of McComb was refused, but after the stock Avas assigned to Mr. Ames, McComb insisted that Ames should distribute some of the stock to his (McComb's) friends, and named Senators Bayard and Fowler, and Kepresentatives Allison and Wilson, of Iowa. It was finally arranged that three hun- dred and forty-three shares of the stock of the company should be transferred to Mr. Ames to enable him to perform his engage- ments, and that number of shares were set over on the books of the company to Oakes Ames, trustee, to distinguish it from the stock held by him before. Mr. Ames at the time paid to the company the par of the stock and interest from the July pre- vious, and this stock still stands on the books in the name of Oakes Ames, trustee, except thirteen shares which have been transferred to parties in no way connected with Congress. The committee do not find that Mr. Ames had any negotiation what- ever with any of these members of Con- gress on the subject of this stock i:)rior to the commencement of the session of De- cember, 1867, except Mr. Scofield, of Penn- sylvania, and it was not claimed that any obligation existed from Mr. Ames to him as the result of it. In relation to the purpose and motives of Mr. Ames in contracting to let members of Congress have Credit Mobilier stock at par, which he and all other owners of it considered worth at least double that sum, the committee, upon the evidence taken by them and submitted to the House, can- not entertain doubt. When he said he did not suppose the Union Pacific Company would ask or need further legislation, he stated what he believed to be true. But he feared the interests of the road might suffer by adverse legislation, and what he desired to accomplish was to enlist strength and friends in Congress who would resist any encroachment upon or interference with the rights and privileges already se- cured, and to that end wished to create in them an interest identical with his own. This purpose is clearly avowed in his let- ters to McComb, copied in the evidence. He says he intends to place the stock "where it will do most^good to us." And again, "we want more friends in this Con- gress." In his letter to McComb, and also in his statement prepared by counsel, he gives the philosophy of his action, to wit, "That he has found there is no difficulty in getting men to look after their own property." The committee are also satis- fied that Mr. Ames entertained a fear that, when the true relations between the Credit Mobilier Company and the Union Pacific became generally known, and the means by which the great profits expected to be made were fully understood, there Avas danger that congressional investigation and action would be invoked. The members of Congress Avith Avhom he dealt Avere generally those Avho had been friendly and favorable to a Pacific Rail- road, and Mr. Ames did not fear or exj)ect to find them favorable to movements hos- tile to it; but he desired to stimulate their activity and Avatchfulness in opposition to any unfavorable action by giving them a personal interest in the success of the en- terprise, especially so far as it affected the interest of the Credit Mobilier Companv. On the 9th day of December, 1867, Mr. C. C. Washburn, of Wisconsin, introduced in the House a bill to regulate by law the rates of transportation over the Pacific Railroad. Mr. Ames, as Avell as others interested in the Union Pacific road, Avas opposed to this, and desired to defeat it. Other mea- sures apparently hostile to that company Avere subsequently introduced into the House by Mr. Washburn of Wisconsin, and Mr. Washburne of Illinois The commit- tee believe that Mr. Ames, in his distribu- tions of stock, had specially in mind the hostile efforts of the Messrs. Washburn, and desired to gain strength to secure their defeat. The reference in one of his letters to "Washburn's move" makes this quite apparent. The foregoing is deemed by the commit- tee a sufficient statement of facts as to Mr. Ames, taken in connection Avith what will be subsequently stated of his transactions with particular persons. Mr. Ames made some contracts for stock in the Credit Mobilier Avith members of the Senate. In public discussions of this subject the names of members of both Houses have been so connected, and all these transactions were so nearly simultaneous, that the committee deemed it their duty to obtain all evidence in their poAver, as to all persons then mem- bers of either House, and to report tho same to the House. Having done this, and the House having directed that evidence transmitted to the Senate, the committee consider their OAvn poAverand duty, as Avell as that of the House, fully performed, so 204 AMERICAN POLITICS. far as members of the Senate are concerned. Some of Mr. Ames's contracts to sell stock were with gentlemen who were then mem- bers of the House, but are not members of the present Congress. The committee have sought for and ta- ken all the evidence within their reach as to those gentlemen, and reported the same to the House. As the House has ceased to have jurisdiction over them as members, the committee have not deemed it their duty to make any special finding of facts as to each, leaving the House and the country to their own conclusions upon the testimony. In regard to each of the members of the present House, the committee deem it their duty to state specially the facts they find proved by the evidence, which, in 6ome instances, is painfully conflicting. MR. JAMES G. BLAINE, OF MAINE. Among those who have in the public press been charged with improper partici- pation in Credit Mobil ier stock is the pre- sent Speaker, Mr. Blaine, who moved the resolution for this investigation. The com- mittee have, therefore, taken evidence in regard to him. They find from it that Mr. Ames had conversation with Mr. Blaine in regard to taking ten shares of the stock, and recommended it as a good investment. Upon considcation Mr. Blaine concluded not to take the stock, and never did take it, and never paid or received anything on account of it ; and Mr. Blaine never had any interest, direct or indirect, in Credit Mobilier stock or stock of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. MR. HENRY L. DAWES, OF MASSACHUSETTS. Mr. Duwes had, prior to December, 1867, made some small investments in railroad bonds through Mr. Ames. In December, 1867, Mr. Dawes applied to Mr. Ames to purchase a thousand-dollar bond of the Cedar Rapids road, in Iowa. Mr. Ames informed him that he had sold them all, but that he would let him have for his thousand dollars ten shares of Credit Mo- bilier stock, which he thought was better than the railroad bond. In answer to in- quiries by Mr. Dawes Mr. Ames said the Credit Mobilier Company had the con- tract to build the Union Pacific road, and thought they would make money out of it, and that it would be a good thing ; that he would guarantee that he should get 10 per cent, on his money, and that if at any time ilr. Dawes did' not want the stock he would pay back his moncv with 10 per cent, interest. Mr. Dawes made some fur- ther inquiry in relation to the stock of Mr. John B. Alley, who said he thought it was good stock, but not as good as Mr. Amos thought, but that Mr. Ames's guarantee would make it a perfectly safe investment. Mr. Dawes thereupon concluded to pur- chase the ten shares, and on the 11th of January he paid Mr. Ames $800, and in a few days thereafter the balance of the price of this stock, at par and interest from July previous. In June, 1868, Mr. Ames received a dividend of 60 per cent, in money on this stock, and of it paid to Mr. Dawes $400, and applied the balance of $200 upon accounts between them. This $400 was all that was paid over to IMr. Dawes as a dividend upon this stock. At some time prior to December, 1868, Mr. Dawes was informed that a suit had been commenced in the courts of Pennsylvania by former owners of the charter of the Credit Mobilier, claiming that those then claiming and using it had no right to do so. Mr. Dawes thereupon informed Mr. Ames that as there was a litigjition about the matter he did not desire to keep the stock. On the 9th of December, 1868, Mr. Ames and Mr. Dawes had a settlement of their mat'.ers in which Mr. Dawes was al- lowed for the money he paid for the stock with 10 per cent, interest upon it, and ac- counted to Mr. Ames for the $400 he had received as a dividend. Mr. Dawes re- ceived no other benefit under the contract than to get 10 per cent, upon his money, and after the settlement had no further in- terest in the stock. MR. GLENNI W. SCOFIELD, OF PENN- SYLVANIA. In 1866 Mr. Scofield purcha.°ed some Cedar Rapids bonds of Mr. Ames, and in that year they had conversations about Mr. Scofield taking stock in the Credit Mobilier Company, but no contract was consummated. In December, 1867, Mr. Scofield applied to Mr. Ames to purchase more Cedar Rapids bonds, when Mr. Ames suggested he should purchase some Credit Mobilier stock, and explained generally that it was a contracting company to build the Union Pacific road; that it was a Pennsylvania corporation, and he would like to have some Pennsylvanians in it; that he would sell it to him at par and in- terest, and that he would guarantee he should get 8 per cent, if Mr. Scofield would give him half the dividends above that. Mr. Scofield said he thought he would take $1,000 of the stock; but before any- thing further was done Mr. Scofield was called home by sickness in his family. On his return, the latter part of Januarj', 1868, he spoke to Mr. Ames about the stock, when Mr. Ames said he thought it was all sold, but he would take his money and give him a receipt, and get the stock for him if he could. Mr. Scofield there- upon paid Mr. Ames $1,041, and took his recei}tt therefor. Not long after Mr. Ames informed ^Ir, Scofield he could have the stock, but could THE CREDIT MOBILIER. 205 not give him a certificate for it until he could get a hirger certificate dividend. Mr. Scofield received the bond dividend of 80 per cent., which was payable January 'S, 18G8, taking a bond for $1,0(H) and paying Mr. Ames the ditierence. Mr. Ames re- ceived the 60 per cent, casli dividend on the stock in June, 1868, and paid over to Mr. Scofield $600, the amount of it. Before tlie close of that session of Con- gress, which was toward the end of July, Mr. Scofield became, for some reason, dis- inclined to take the stock, and a settlement was made between them, by which Mr. Ames was to retain the (Credit Mobilier stock and Mr. Scofield took a thousand dollars Union Pacific bond and ten shares of Union Pacific stock. The precise basis of the settlement does not appear, neither Mr. Ames nor Mr. Scofield having any full date in reference to it; Mr. Scofield thinks that he only re- ceived back his money and interest upon it, while Mr. Ames states that he thinks Mr. Scofield had ten shares of Union Pacific stock in addition. The committee do not deem it specially important to settle this diflercnce of recollection. Since that settlement Mr. Scofield has had no interest in the Credit Mobilier stock and derived no benefit therefrom. MK. JOHN A. BINGHAM, OF OHIO. Tn December, 1867, Mr, Ames advised Mr. Bingham to invest in the stock of the Credit Mobilier, assuring him that it would return him his money with profitable divi- dends. Mr. Bingham agreed to take twenty shares, and about the 1st of Febru- ary, 1868, paid to Mr. Ames the par value of the stock, fur which Mr. Ames executed to him some receipt or agreement. Mr. Ames received all the dividends on the stock,, whether in Union Pacific bonds, or sti>ck, or money ; some were delivered to Mr. Bingham and some retained by Mr. Ames. The matter was not finally ad- justed between them until February, 1872, when it was settled, Mr. Ames retaining the twenty shares of Credit Mobilier stock, and accounting to Mr. Bingham for such dividends upon it as Mr. Bingham had not already received. Mr. Bingham was treated as the real owner of the stock from the time of the agreement to take it, in December, 1867, to the settlement in Feb- ruary, 1872, and had t^e benefit of all the dividends upon it. Neither Mr. Ames nor Mr. Bingham had such records of their dealing as to be able to give the precise amount of those dividends. MR. WILLIAM D. KELLEY, OF PENNSYL- VANIA. The committee find from the evidence that in the early part of the second session of the Fortieth Congress, and probabl7 in December, 1867, Mr. Ames agreed with Mr. Kelley to sell him ten shares of Credit Mobilier stock at par and interest from July 1, 1867. Mr. Kelley was not then prepared to pay for the stock, and Mr. Ames agreed to carry the stock for him until he could pay for it. On the third day of January, 1868, there was a dividend of 80 per cent, on Credit Mobilier stock in Union Pacific bonds. Mr. Ames received the bonds, as the stock stood in his name, and sold them for 97 per cent, of their face. In June, 1868, there was a cash dividend of 60 per cent., which Mr. Ames also re- ceived. The jjroceeds of the bonds sold, and the cash dividends received by Mr. Ames, amounted to $1,376. The par value of the stock and interest thereon from the previous July amounted to $1,047 ; so that, after paying for the stock, there was a balance of dividends due Mr. Kelley of $329. On the 23d day of June, 1868, Mr. Ames gave Mr. Kelley a check for that sum on the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives, and Mr. Kelley re- ceived the money thereon. The committee find that Mr. Kelley then understood that the money he thus re- ceived was a balance of dividends due him after paying for the stock. All the subsequent dividends upon the stock were cither in Union Pacific stock or bonds, and they were all received by Mr. Ames. In September, 1868, Mr. Kelley received from Mr. Ames $750 in money, which was understood between them to be an advance to be paid out of dividends. There has never been any ad- justment of the matter between them, and there is now an entire variance in the tes- timony of the two men as to Avhat the transaction between them was, but the committee are unanimous in finding the facts above stated. The evidence reported to the House gives some subsequent con- versations and negotiations between Mr. Kelley and Mr. Ames on this subject._, The committee do not deem it material to refer to it in their report. MR. JAMES A. GARFIELD, OF OHIO. The facts in regard to Mr. Garfield, as found by the committee, are identical with the case of Mr. Kelley to the point of re- ception of the check for $329. He agreed with Mr. Ames to take ten shares of Credit Mobilier stock, but did not pay for the same. Mr. Ames received the 80 per cent, dividend in bonds and sold them for 97 per cent., and also received the 60 per cent, cash dividend, which together paid the price of the stock and interest, and left a balance of $329. This sum was paid over to Mr. Garfield by a check on the Sergeant- at-Arms, and Mr. Garfield then understood this sum wjis the balance of dividends after paying for the stock. Mr. Ames receiyed 206 AMERICAN POLITICS. all the subsequent dividends, and the com- mittee do not find that, since the payment of the $329, there has been any communi- cation between Mr. Ames and Mr. Garfield on the subject until this investigation be- gan. Some correspondence between Mr. Garfield and Mr. Ames, and some conver- sations between them during this investi- gation, will be found in the reported testi- mony. The committee do not find that Mr. Ames, in his negotiations with the persons above named, entered into any detail of the relations between the Credit Mobilier Company and the Union Pacific Company, or gave them any specific information as to the amount of dividends they would be likely to receive further than has been al- ready stated. They all knew from him, or otherwise, that the Credit Mobilier was a contracting company to build the Union Pacific road, but it does not appear that any of them knew that the profits and dividends were to be in stock and bonds of that company. The Credit Mobilier Company was a State corporation, not subject to congres- sional legislation, and the fact that its pro- fits were expected to be derived from building the Union Pacific road did not, apparently, create such an interest in that company as to disqualify the holder of Credit Mobilier stock from participating in any legislation affecting the railroad company. In his negotiations with these members of Congress, Mr. Ames made no suggestion that he desired to secure their favorable influence in Congress in favor of the railroad company, and whenever the question was raised as to whether the ownership of this stock would in any way interfere with or embarrass them in their action as members of Congress, he assured them it would not. The committee, therefore, do not find, as to the members of the present House above named, that they were aware of the object of Mr. Ames, or that they had any other purpose in taking this stock than to make a profitable investment. It is appa- rent that those who advanced their money to pay for their stock present more the ap- pearance of ordinary investors than those who did not, but the committee do not feel at liberty to find any corrupt purpose or knowledge founded upon the fact of non- payment alone. It ought also to be observed that those gentlemen who surrendered their stock to Mr. Ames before there was any public ex- citement upon the subject, do not profess to have done so upon any idea of impro- priety in holding it, but for reasons afl^ect- ing the value and security of the invest- ment. But the committee believe that they must have felt that there was some- thing 60 out of the ordinary course of business in the extraordinary dividends they were receiving as to render the in- vestment itself suspicious, and that this was one of the motives of their action. The committee have not been able to find that any of these members of Congress have been affected in their official action in consequence of their interest in Credit Mobilier stock. It has been suggested that the fact that none of this stock was transferred to those with whom Mr. Ames contracted was a circumstance from which a sense of impro- priety, if not corruption, was to be infer- red. The committee believe this is capable of explanation without such inference. The profits of building the road, under the Ames contract, were only to be divided among such holders of Credit Mobilier stock as should come in and become par- ties to certain conditions set out in the contract of transfer to the trustees, so that a transfer from Mr. Ames to new holders would cut off the right to dividends from the trustees, unless they also became par- ties to the agreement ; and this the com- mittee believe to be the true reason why no transfers were made. The committee are also of opinion that there was a satisfactory reason for delay on Mr. Ames's part to close settlements with some of these gentlemen for stock and bonds he had received as dividends upon the stock contracted to them. In the fall of 1868 Mr. McComb commenced a suit against the Credit Mobilier Company, and Mr. Ames and others, claiming to be entitled to two hundred and fifty shares of the Credit Mobilier stock upon a sub- scription for stock to that amount. That suit is still pending. If McComb pre- vailed in that suit, Mr. Ames might be compelled to surrender so much of the stock assigned to him as trustee, and he was not therefore anxious to have the stock go out of his hands until that suit was terminated. It ought also to be stated that no one of the present members of the House above named appears to have had any knowledge of the dealings of Mr. Ames with other members. The committee do not find that either of the above-named gentlemen, in contract- ing with Mr. Ames, had any corrui)t mo- tive or purpose himself, or was aware that Mr. Ames had any, nor did either of them suppose he was guilty of any impropriety or even indelicacy in becoming a purchaser of this stock. Had it appeared that these gentlemen were aware of the enormous di- vidends upon this stock, and how they were to be earned, we could not thus ac- quit them. And here as well as anywhere, the committee may allude to that subject. Congress had chartered the Union Pacific road, given to it a liberal grant of lands, and promised a liberal loan of Government THE CREDIT MOBILIER. 207 bonds, to be delivered as fast as sections of the road were completed. As these alone might not be sufficient to complete the road, Congress authorized the company to issue their own bonds for the deficit, and secured them by a mortgage upon the road, which should be a lien prior to tliat of the Government. Congress never intended that the owners of the road should execute a mortgage on the road prior to that of the Government, to raise money to put into their own pockets, but only to build the road. The men who controlled the Union Pacific seem to have adopted as the basis of their action the riglit to incumber the road by a mortgage prior to that of the Government to tlie full extent, whether the money was needed for the construction of the road or not. It was clear enough they could not do this directly and in terms, and therefore they reported to the device of contracting with themselves to build the road, and fix a price high enough to require the issue of bonds to the full extent, and then divide the bonds or the proceeds of them under the name of profits on the contract. All those acting in the matter seem to have been fully aware of this, and that this was to be the effect of the transaction. The sudden rise of value of Credit Mobilier stock was the result of the adoption of this scheme. Any undue and unreasonable profits thu^ made by themselves were as much a fraud upon the Government as if they had sold their bonds and divided the money without going through the form of denominating them profits on building the road. Now had these facts been known to these gentlemen, and had they understood they were to share in the proceeds of the scheme, they would have deserved the severest censure. Had they known only that the profits were to be paid in stock and bonds of the Union Pacific Company, and so make them interested in it, we cannot agree to the doctrine, which has been urged before us and elsewhere, that it was perfectly legiti- mate for members of Congress to invest in a corporation deriving all its rights from and subject at all times to the action of Congress. In such case the rulea of the House, as well as the rules of decency, wouUl require such member to abstain from voting on any question affecting his interest. But, after accepting the position of a member of Congress, we do not think he has the right to disqualify himself from acting upon subjects likely to come before Con- gress without some higher and more urgent motive than merely to make a profitable investment. But it is not so much to be feared that in such case an interested mem- ber would vote as that he would exercise his influence by personal appeal to his fel- low-members, and by other modes, which often is far more potent than a single silent vote. We do not think any member ought to feel so confident of his own strength as to allow himself to bebrouglit into this temp- tation. We think Mr. Ames judged shrewdly in saying that a man is much more likely to be watchful of his own in- terests thau those of other people. But there is a broader view still which we think ought to be taken. This country is fast becoming filled with gigantic corporations, wielding and controlling immense aggrega- tions of money, and thereby commanding great influence and power. It is notorious in many State legislatures that these in- fluences are often controlling, so that in effect they become the ruling power of the State. Within a few years Congress has, to some extent, been brought within similar influences, and the knowledge of the pub- lic on that subject has brought great dis- ci edit upon the body, far more, we believe, than there were facts to justify. But such is the tendency of the time, and the belief is far too general that all men can be ruled with money, and that the use of such means to carry public measures is legitimate and proper. No member of Con- gress ought to place himself in circum- stances of suspicion, so that any discredit of the body shall arise on his account. It is of the highest importance that the na- tional legislature should be free of all taint of corruption, and it is of almost equal necessity that the people should feel confi- dent that it is so. In a free government like ours, we can- not expect the people will long respect the laws, if they lose respect for the law- makers. For these reasons we think it behooves every man in Congress or in any public position to hold himself aloof, as far as possible, from all such influences, that he may not only be enabled to look at every public question with an eye only to the public good, but that his conduct and mo- tives be not suspected or questioned. The only criticism the committee feel compelled to make on the action of these members in taking this stock is that they were not suf- ficiently careful in ascertaining what they were getting, and that in their judgment the assurance of a good investment was all the assurance they needed. We commend to them, and to all men, the letter of the venerable Senator Bayard, in response to an offer of some of this stock, found on page 74 of the testimony. The committee find nothing in the con- duct or motives of either of these members in taking this stock, that calls for any recommendation by the committee of the House. 208 AMERICAN POLITICS. MR. JAMES BROOKS, OF NEW YORK. The case of Mr. Brooks stands upon a difierent state of facts from any of those al- ready given. The committee tind from the evidence as follows : Mr. Brooks had been a warm advocate of a Pacific llailroad, both in Congress and in the public press. After persons interested in the Union Pacific road had obtained control of the Credit Mobilier charter and organized under it for the purpose of making it a construction company to build the road, Dr. Durant, who was then the leading man in the en- terprise, made great eflbrts to get the stock of the Credit Mobilier taken. Mr. Brooks was a friend of Dr. Durant, and he made some eflbrts to aid Dr. Durant in getting subscriptions for the stock, introduced the matter to some capitalists of New York, but his eflbrts were not crowned with suc- cess. During this period Mr. Brooks had talked with Dr. Durant about taking some of the stock for himself, and had spoken of taking fifteen or twenty thousand dollars of it, but no definite contract was made between them, and Mr. Brooks was under no legal obligation to take the stock, or Durant to give it to him. In October, 1867, Mr. Brooks was appointed by the President one of the Government directors of the Union Pacific road. In December, 1867, after the stock of the Credit Mobilier was understood, by those familiar with the affairs between the Union Pacific and the Credit Mibilier, to be worth very much more than par, Mr. Brooks applied to Dr. Durant, and claimed that he should have two hundred shares of Credit Mobilier stock. It does not appear that Mr. Brooks claimed he had any legal contract for stock that he could enforce, or that Durant considered himself in any way legally bound to let him have any, but still, on account of what had been said, and the efforts of Mr. Brooks to aid him, he con- sidered himself under obligations to satisfy Mr. Brooks in the matter. The stock had been so far taken up, and was then in such demand, that Durant could not well comply with Brooks's de- mand for two hundred shares. After con- siderable negotiation, it was finally ad- justed between them by Durant's agreeing to let Brooks have one hundred shares of Credit Mobilier stock, and giving him with it $5,000 of Union Pacific bonds, and $20,- 000 of Union Pacific stock. Dr. Durant testifies that he then considered Credit Mobilier stock worth double the par value, and that the bonds and stock he was to give Mr. Brooks worth about $9,000, so that he saved about $1,000 by not giving Brooks the additional hundred shares he claimed. After the negotiation had been concluded between Mr. Brooks and Dr. Doraut^ Mr. Brooks said that as he was a I Government director of the Union Pacific road, and as the law provided such direc- tors should not be stockholders in that company, he would not hold this stock, and directed Dr. Durant to transfer it to Charles H. Neilson, his son-in-law. The whole negotiation with Durant was con- ducted by Mr. Brook? himself, and Neilson had nothing to do with the transaction, except to receive the transfer. The $10,- 000 to pay for the one hundred shares was paid by Mr. Brooks, and he received the .$5,000 of Pacific bonds which came with the stock. The certificate of transfer of the hun- dred shares from Durant to Neilson is dated December 26, 1807. On the 3d of January, 1868, there was a dividend of 80 per cent, in Union Pacific bonds paid on the Credit Mobilier stock. The bonds were received by Neilson, but passed over at once to Mr. Brooks. It is claimed, both by Mr. Brooks and Neilson, that the $10,- 000 paid by Mr. Brooks lor the stock was a loan of that sum by him to Neilson, and, that the bonds he received firm Durant, and those received for the dividend, were delivered and held by him as collateral security for the loan. No note or obligation was given for the money by Neilson, nor, so far as we can learn from either Brooks or Neilson, was any account or memorandum of the trans- action kept by either of them. At the time of the arrangement or settlement above spoken of between Brooks and Du- rant, there was nothing said about Mr. Brooks being entitled to have 50 per cent, more stock by virtue of his ownership of the hundred shares. Neither Brooks nor Durant thought of any such thing. Some time after the transfer of the shares to Neilson, Mr. Brooks called on Sidney Dillon, then the president of the Credit Mobilier, and claimed he or Neilson was entitled to fifty additional shares of the stock, by virtue of the purchase of the one hundred shares of Durant. This was claimed by Mr. Brooks as his right by virtue of the 50 per cent, increase of the stock hereinbefore described. Mr. Dillon said he did not know how that was, but he would consult the leading stock- holders, and be governed by them. Mr. Dillon, in order to justify himself in the transaction, got up a paper authorizing the issue of fifty shares of the stock to Mr. Brooks, and procured it to be signed by most of the principal shareholders. After this had been done, an entry of fifty shares was made on the stock-ledger to some per- son other than Neilson. The name in two places on the book has been erased, and the name of Neilson inserted. The com- mittee are satisfied that the stock was first entered on the books in Mr. Brooks's name. Ml. Neilson soon after called for the cer* THE CREDIT MOBILIER. 209 tificate for the fifty shares, and on the 29th of Februarj', 1868, the certificate was issued to him, and the entry on the stock-book was changed to Neilson. Neilson procured Mr. Dillon to advance the money to pay for the stock, and at the same time delivered to Dillon $4,000 Union Pacific bonds, and fifty shares of Union Pacific stock as collateral security. These bonds and stock were a portion of divi- dends received at the time, as he was al- lowed to receive the same per centage of dividends on these fifty shares that had previously been paid on the hundred. This matter has never been adjusted be- tween Neilson and Dillon. Brooks and Neilson both testify they never paid Dillon. Dillon thinks he has received his pay, as he has not now the collaterals in his pos- session. If he has been paid it is probable that it was from the collaterals in some form. The subject has never been named between Dillon and Neilson since Dillon advanced the money, and no one connected with the transaction seems able to give any further light upon it. The whole business by which these fifty shares were procured ■was done by Mr. Brooks. Neilson knew nothing of any right to have them, and only went for the certificate when told to do so by Mr. Brooks. The committee find that no such right to fifty shares additional stock passed by the transfer of the hundred. And from Mr. Brooks's familiarity with the afiairs of the company, the committee believe he must have known his claim to them was un- founded. The question naturally arises. How was he able to procure them ? The stock at this time by the stockholders was considered worth three or four times its par value. Neilson sustained no relations to any of these people that commanded any favor, and if he could have used any influence he did not attempt it ; if he had this right he was unaware of it till told by Mr. Brooks, and left the whole matter in his hands. It is clear that the shares were procured by the sole efforts of Mr. Brooks, and, as the stockholders who consented to it supposed, for the benefit of Mr. Brooks. What power had Mr. Brooks to enforce an unfounded claim, to have for $5,000, stock worth $15,000 or $20,000? Mr. McComb ■iwears that he heard conversation between Mr. Brooks and Mr. .John B. Alley, a large stockholder, and one of the executive com- mittee, in which Mr. Brooks urged that he should have the additional fifty shares, be- cause he was or would procure himself to be made a Government director, and also that, being a member of Congress, he " would take care of the democratic side of the House." Mr. Brooks and Mr. Alley both deny having had any such conversation, or that Mr. Brooks ever made such a statement to 14 Mr. Alley. If, therefore, this matter rested wholly iipon the testimony of Mr. Mc- Comb, the committee would not feel justi- fied in finding that Mr. Brooks procured the stock by such use of his official posi- tion; but all the circumstances seem to point exactly in that direction, and we can find no other satisfactory solution of the question above propounded. Whatever claim Mr. Brooks had to stock, either legal or moral, had been adjusted and satisfied by Dr. Durant. Whether he was getting this stock for himself or to give to his son-in-law, we believe, from the cir- cumstances attending the whole transac- tion, that he obtained it knowing that it was yielded to its official position and in- fluence, and with the intent to secure his favor and influence in such positions. Mr. Brooks claims that he has had no interest in this stock whatever ; that the benefit ' and advantage of his right to have it he gave to Mr. Neilson, his son-in-law, and that he has had all the dividends upon it. The committee are unable to find this to be the case, for in their judgment all the facts and circumstances show Mr. Brooks to be the real and substantial owner, and that Neilson's ownership is merely nominal and colorable. In June, 1868, there was a cash dividend of $9,000 upon this one hundred and fifty shares of stock. Neilson received it, of course, as the stock was in his name ; but on the same day it was paid over to Mr. Brooks, as Neilson says, to pay so much of the $10,000 advanced by Mr. Brooks to pay for the stock. This, then, repaid all but $1,000 of the loan; but Mr. Brooks continued to hold $16,000 of Union Pacific bonds, which Neilson says he gave him as collateral security, and to draw the interest upon all but $5,000. The interest upon the others, Neilson says, he was permitted to draw and retain, but at one time in his testimony he spoke of the amount he was allowed as being Christmas and New Year's presents. Neilson says that during the last summer he borrowed $14,000 of Mr. Brooks, and he now owes Mr. Brooks nearly as much as the collaterals ; but, ac- cording to his testimony, Mr. Brooks for four years held $16,000 in bonds as security for $1,000, and received the inter- est on $11,000 of the collaterals. No ac- counts appear to have been kept between Mr. Brooks and Neilson, and doubtless what sums he has received from Mr. Brooks, out of the dividends, were intended as presents rather than as deliveries of money belonging to him. Mr. Brooks's efforts procured the stock ; his money paid for it ; all the cash divi- dends he has received ; and he holds all the bonds, except those Dillon received, which seem to have been applied toward paying for the fifty shares. Without 210 AMERICAN POLITICS. further comment on the evidence, the committee find that the one hundred and fifty shares of stock appearing on the books of the Credit Mobilier in the name of Neilson were really the stock of Mr. Brooks, and subject to his control, and that it was so understood by both the par- ties. Mr. Brooks had taken such an inter- est "in the Credit Mobilier Company, and was so connected with Dr. Durant, that he must be regarded as having full knowledge of the relations between that company and the railroad company, and of the contracts between them. He must have known the cause of the sudden increase in value of the Credit IMobilier stock, and how the large expected profits were to be made. We have already expressed our views of the propriety of a member of Congress be- coming the owner of stock, possessing this knowledge. But Mr. Brooks was not only a member of Congress, but he was a Government director of the Union Pacific Company. As such it was his duty to guard and watch over the interests of the Govern- ment in the road and to see that they were protected and pre>itiiiiissioncrs, and ! that it has been ptiblislied the above speci- fied time ; and any such paper purporting to have been published at said city, and to ! be a public newspaper, shall be presumed ' to have been so published at the date thereof, and to be a public newspaper. Sec. 10. In all cases under the provi- sions of this act, the rules of evidence shall be the same as in other civil actions, ex- cept as hereinbefore otherwise provided. All fines recovered under the provisions of this act shall be paid into the county ; treasury of the county in which the suit is SUPPLEMENTARY CIVIL RIGHTS BILL, 221 tried, by the person collecting the same, in the manner now provided by law, to be used for county purposes. The remedies hereby given shall be regarded as cumula- tive to the remedies now given by law against railroad corporations, and this act shall not be construed as repealing any 'statute giving such remedies. Suits com- menced under the provisions of this act shall have precedence over all other busi- ness, except criminal business. Sec. 11. The term "railroad corpora- tion," contained in this act, shall be deemed and taken to mean all corpora- tions, companies, or individuals now own- ing or operating, or which may hereafter own or oi:»erate any railroad, in whole or in part, in this State ; and the provisions of this act shall apply to all persons, firms, and companies, and to all associations of persons, whether incorporated or other- wise, that shall do business as common carriers upon any of the lines of railways in this State (street railways excepted) the same as to railroad corporations therein- before mentioned. Sec. 12. An act entitled " An act to pre- vent unjust discriminations and extortions in the rates to be charged by the different railroads in this State for the transporta- tion of freight on said roads," approved April 7, A. D. 1871, is hereby repealed, but such repeal shall not aflfect nor repeal any penalty incurred or right accrued under said act prior to the time this act talces effect, nor any proceedings or prose- cutions to enforce such rights or penalties. Approved May 2, 1873. S, M. CULLOM, Speaker House of Representatives. John Early, President of the Senate. John L. Beveridge, Governor. The same spirit, if not the same organi- zation, led to many petitions to Congress for the regulation of inter-state commerce and freight rates, and to some able reports on the subject. Those which have com- manded most attention were by Senator Windom of Minnesota and Representative Reagan of Texas, the latter being the au- 1 lor of a bill which commanded much I )nsideration from Congress in the sessions of 1878-'80, but which has not yet secured favorable action. In lieu of such bill Senator Cameron, of Pennsylvania, intro- duced a joint resolution for the appoint- ment of a Commission to investigate and report upon the entire question. Final action has not yet been taken, and at this writing interest in the subject seems to have flagged. The disastrous political action attempted by the Grangers in Illinois and Wisconsin, led to such general condemnation that sub- sequent attempts were abandoned save in isolated cases, and as a rule the society has passed away. The principle upon which it was based was wholly unsound, and if strictly carried out, would destroy all home improvements and enterprise. Parties and societies based upon a class, and directed or perverted toward political objects, are very happily short-lived in this Republic of ours. If they could thrive, the Repub- lic could not long endure. Supplementary Civil Rlglits Bill. Senator Sumner's Supplementary Civil Rights Bill was passed by the second ses- sion of the 43d Congress, though its great author had died the year before — March 11th, 1874. The text of the Act is given in Book V. of this volume, on Existing Political Laws. Its validity was sustained by the U. S. District Courts in their in- structions to grand juries. The first con- viction under the Act was in Philadelphia, in February, 1876. Rev. Fields Cook, pastor of the Third Baptist colored church of Alexandria, Virginia, was refused sleep- ing and eating accommodations at the Bing- ham House, by Upton S. Newcomer, one of its clerks ; and upon the trial of the case, in the U. S. District Court, John Cadwalader, Judge, instructed the jury as follows : The fourteenth amendment of the Con- stitution of the United States makes all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, citizens of the United States, and provides that no State shall make or en- force any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State * * * deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This amendment expressly gives to Congress the power to enforce it by appropriate legislation. An act of Congress of March 1, 1875, enacts that all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theatres and other places of public amusement, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color, and makes it a crimi- nal offense to violate these enactments by denying to any citizen, except for reasons by law api)licable to citizens of every race and color, * * * the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facili- ties or privileges enumerated. As the law of Pennsylvania had stood until the 22d of March, 1867, it was not wrongful for inn- keepers or carriers by land or water to dis- 222 AMERICAN POLITICS, criminate against travelers of the colored race to such an extent as to exclude them from any part of the inns or public con- veyances which was set apart for the ex- clusive accommodation of white travelers. The Legislature of Pennsylvania, by an act of 22d of March, 1867, altered the law in this respect as to passengers on railroads. But the law of the State was not changed as to inns by any act of the State Legisla- ture. Therefore, independently of the amendment of the Constitution of the United States and of the act of Congress now in question, the conduct of the de- fendant on the occasion in question might, perhaps, have been lawful, . It is not ne- cessary to express an opinion upon this point, because the decision of the case de- pends upon the effect of this act of Con- gress. I am under opinion tliat under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitu- tion the enactment of this law was within the legislative power of Congress, and that we are bound to give effect to the act of Congress according to its fair meaning. According to this meaning of the act I am of opinion that if this defendant, being in charge of the business of receiving travelers in this inn, and of providing necessary and proper accommodations for them in it, re- fused such accommodations to the witness Cook, then a traveler, by reason of his color, the defendant is guilty in manner and form as he stands indicted. If the case depended upon the unsupported tes- timony of this witness alone, there might be some reason to doubt whether this de- fendant was the person in charge of this part of the business. But under this head the additional testimony of ]Mr. Annan seems to be sufficient to remove all reason- able doubt. If the jury are convinced of the defendant's identity, they will con- sider whether any reasonable cloubt of his conduct or motives in refusing the accom- modations to Fields Cook can exist. The case appears to the court to be proved; but this question is for the jury, not for the court. If the jury have any reasonable doubt, they should find the defendant not guilty ; otherwise they will find him guilty. The jury brought in a verdict of guilty. March 1, 1876, and the Court imposed a fine of $500. Tlie Morton Amendment. In the session of '73, Senator Morton, of Indiana, introduced an amendment to the Constitution providing for the general choice of Presidential Electors by Con- gressional districts, and delivered several speeches on the subject which attracted much attention at the time. Since then many amendments have been introduced on the subject, and it is a matter for an- nual discussion. We quote the Morton Amendment as the one most likely to com- mand favorable action : " Resolved by the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of each House concurring therein:) That the fol- lowing article is hereby proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the Constitution, to wit: " Article — . " I. The President and Vice-President shall be elected by the direct vote of the people in the manner following: Each State shall be divided into districts, equal in number to the number of Eepresenta- tives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress, to be composed of con- tiguous territory, and to be as nearly equal in population as may be ; and the person having the highest number of votes in each district for President shall receive the vote of that district, which shall count one pres- idential vote. " II. The person having the highest number of votes for President in a State shall receive two presidential votes from the State at large. " III. The person having the highest number of presidential votes in the United States shall be President. " IV. If two persons have the same number of votes in any State, it being the highest number, they shall receive each one presidential vote from the State at large ; and if more than two persons shall have each the same number of votes in any State, it being the highest number, no presidential vote shall be counted from the State at large. If more persons than one shall have the same number of votes, it being the highest number in any district, no presidential vote shall be counted fromi that district. " V. The foregoing provisions shall ap- ply to the election of Vice-President. " VI. The Congress shall have power to provide for holding and conducting the elections of President and Vice-President, and to establish tribunals for the decision of such elections as may be contested." VII. The States shall be divided into districts by the legislatures thereof, but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter the same. The present mode of election is given in Book V. of this volume. The 'WlilslEy Ring. During 1875 an extensive Whisky Ring, organized to control revenue legislation and avoidance of revenue taxes, was dis- THE WHITE LEAGUE. 223 covered in the West. It was an associa- tion of distillers in collusion with Federal officers, and for a time it succeeded in de- frauding the government of the tax on dis- tilled spirits. This form of corruption, after the declaration by President Grant — *'let no guilty man escape" — was traced by detectives to the portals of the White House, but even partisan rancor could not connect the President therewith. O. E. Babcock, however, was his private Secre- tary, and upon him was charged complicity with the fraud. He was tried and acquit- ted, but had to resign. Several Federal officers were convicted at St. Louis. Impeacliinent of Belknap. Another form of corruption was dis- covered in 1876, when the House im- peached Wm. W. Belknap, the Secretary of War, on the charge of selling an Indian trading establishment. The first and main specification was, that— On or about the second day of Novem- ber, eighteen hundred and seventy, said William W. Belknaj), while Secretary of War as aforesaid, did receive from Caleb P. Marsh fifteen hundred dollars, in con- sideration of his having appointed said John S. Evans to maintain a trading- establishment at Fort Sill aforesaid, and for continuing him therein. The following summary of the record shows the result, and that Belknap escaped punishment by a refusal of two-thirds to vote " guilty : " The examination of witnesses was be- gun, and continued on various days, till July 26, when the case was closed. August 1. — The Senate voted. On the first article, thirty-five voted guilty, and twenty-five not guilty. On the second, third and fourth, Mr. Maxey made the thirty-sixth who voted guilty. On the fifth, Mr. iVIORTON made the thirty-seventh who voted guilty. The vote on first was : Voting Guilty — Messrs. Bayard, Booth, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Cockrell, Cooper, Davis, Dawes, Dennis, Edmunds, Gordon, Hamilton, Harvey, Hitchcock, Kelly, Kernan, Key, McCreery, McDonald, Merrimon, Mitchell, Morrill of Vermont, Norivood, Oglesby, Randolph, Ransom, Robertson, Sargent, Saulsbury, Sherman, Stevenson, Thurman, AVadleigh, Wallace, Whyfe, Withers~35. Voting Not Guilty — Messrs. Allison, Anthony, Boutwell, Bruce, Cameron of Wisconsin, Christiancy, Conkling, Cono- ver, Cragin, Dorsey, Eaton, Ferry of Michi- gan, Frelinghuysen, Hamlin, Howe, In- galls, .Tones of Nevada, Logan, McMillan, Paddock, Patterson, Spencer, West, Win- dom, Wright— 25. Mr. Jones of Florida declined to vote. Those " voting not guilty" generally de- nied jurisdiction, and so voted accordingly. Belknap had resigned and the claim was set up that he was a private citizen. - Tlie Wliite League. By 1874 the Democrats of the South, who then generally classed themselves as Conservatives, had gained control of all the State governments except those of Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina. In nearly all, the Republican governments had called upon President Grant for mili- tary aid in maintaining their positions, but this was declined except in the presence of such outbreak as the proper State authori- ties could not suppress. In Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, Grant declined to interfere save to cause the Attorney General to give legal advice. The condition of all these governments demanded constant attention from the Ex- ecutive, and his task was most difficult and dangerous. The cry came from the Demo- cratic partisans in the South for home-rule ; another came from the negroes that they were constantly disfranchised, intimidated and assaulted by the White League, a body of men organized in the Gulf States for the purpose of breaking up the " carpet- bag governments.'' So conflicting were the stories, and so great the fear of a final and destructive war of races, that the Con- gressional elections in the North were for the first time since the war greatly in- fluenced. The Forty-fourth Congress, which met in December, 1875, had been changed by what was called " the tidal wave," from Republican to Democratic, and M. C. Kerr, of Indiana, Avas elected Speaker. The Senate remained Republican with a re- duced margin. The troul)les in the South, and especially in Louisiana, had been in the year previous and were still of the gravest character. Gen'l Sheridan had been sent to New Or- leans and on the 10th of January, 1875, made a report which startled the country as to the doings of the White League. As it still remains a subject for frequent quo- tation we give its text: SHERIDAN'S REPORT. New Orleans, January 10, 1875. Hon. W. W. Belknap, Secretary of War : Since the year 1866, nearly thirty-five hundred persons, a great majority of whom were colored men, have been killed and wounded in this State. In 1868 the official record shows that eighteen hundred and eighty-four were killed and wounded. From 1868 to the present time, no official investigation hiuj been made, and the civil authorities in all but a few cases have been 224 AMERICAN POLITICS. unable to arrest, convict and punish per- petrators. Consequently, there are no cor- rect records to be consulted for informa- tion. There ia ample evidence, however, to show that more than twelve hundred persons have been killed and wounded du- ring this time, on account of their political sentiments. Frightful massacres have oc- curred in the parishes of Bossier, Caddo, Catahoula, Saint Bernard, Saint Landry, Grant and Orleans. The general charac- ter of the massacres in the above named parishes is so well known that it is unneces- sary to describe them. The isolated cases can best be illustrated by the following in- stances which I have taken from a mass of evidence now lying before me of men killed on account of their political princi- ples. In Natchitoches Parish, the num- ber of isolated cases reported is thirty- three. In the parish of Bienville, the number of men killed is thirty. In Eed River Parish the number of isolated cases of men killed is thirty-four. In Winn Par- ish the number of isolated cases where men were killed is fifteen. In Jackson Parish the number killed is twenty ; and in Cata- houla Parish the number of isolated cases reported where men were killed is fifty ; and most of the country parishes through- out the State will show a corresponding state of affairs. The following statement will illustrate the character and kind of these outrages. On the 29th of August, 1874, in Red River Parish, six State and parish officers, named Twitchell, Divers, Holland, Howell, Edgerton and Willis, were taken, together with four negroes, under guard, to be carried out of the State, and were deliberately murdered on the 30th of August, 1874. The White League tried, sentenced, and hung two negroes on the 28th of August, 1874. Three negroes were shot and killed at Brownsville, just before the arrival of the United States troops in the parish. Two White Leaguers rode up to a negro cabin and called for a drink of water. When the old colored man turned to draw it, they shot him in the back and killed him. The courts were all broken up in this district, and the district judge driven out. In the parish of Caddo, prior to the arrival of the United States troops, all of the officers at Shreveport were com- I>elled to abdicate by the White League, which took possession of the place. Among those obliged to abdicate were Walsh, the mayor, Rapers, the sheriff, Wheaton, clerk of the court, Durant, the recorder, and Ferguson and Renfro, administrators. Two colored men, Avho had given evidence in regard to frauds committed in the parish, were compelled to flee for their lives and reached this city last night, having been smuggled through in a cargo of cotton. In the parish of Bossier the White League have attempted to force the abdication of Judge Baker, the United States Commis- sioner and parish judge, together with O'Neal, the sheriff, and Walker, the clerk of the court ; and they have compelled the parish and district courts to suspend opera- tions. Judge Baker states that the White Leaguers notified him several times that if he became a candidate on the republican ticket, or if he attempted to organize the republican party, he should not live until election. They also tried to intimidate him through his family by making the same threats to his wife, and when told by him that he was a United States commissioner, they notified him not to attempt to exercise the functions of his office. In but few of the country parishes can it be truly said that the law is properly enforced, and in some of the par- ishes the judges have not been able to hold court for the past two years. Human life in this State is held so cheaply, that when men are killed on account of political opinions, the murderers are regarded rather as heroes than as criminals, in the locali- ties where they reside, and by the White League and their supporters. An illustra- tion of the ostracism that prevails in the State may be found in a resolution of a White League club in the parish of De Soto, which states, " That they pledge themselves under (no?) circumstances after the coming election to employ, rent land to, or in any other manner give aid, com- fort, or credit, to any man, white or black, who votes against the nominees of the white man's party." Safety ibr individuals who express their opinion in the isolated portion of this State has existed only when that opinion was in favor of the principles and party supjiorted by the Ku-Klux and White League organizations. Only yes- terday Judge Myers, the parish judge of the parish of Natchitoches, called on me upon his arrival in this city, and stated that in order to reach here alive, he was obliged to leave his home by stealth, and after nightfall, and make his way to Little Rock, Arkansas, and come to this city by way of Memphis. He further states that while his father was lying at the point of death in the same village, he was unable to visit him for fear of assassination ; and yet he is a native of the parish, and pro- scribed for his political sentiments only. It is more than probable that if bad gov- ernment has existed in this State it is the result of the armed organizations, which have now crystallized into what is called the White League ; instead of bad government developing them, they have by their ter- rorism prevented to a considerable extent the collection of taxes, the holding of courts, the punishment of criminals, and vitiated public sentiment by familiarizing it with the scenes above described. 1 am now engaged in compiling evidence for a THE WHITE LEAGUE. 225 detailed report upon the above subject, but it will be some time before I can obtain all the requisite data to cover the cases that have occurred throughout the State. I will also report in due time upon the same suliject in the States of Arkansas and Mis- jjissippi. P. H. Sheridan, LituteiMTit- General. President Grant said in a special mes- sage to Congress, January 13, 1875: — " It has been bitterly and persistently alleged that Kellogg was not elected. Whether he was or not is not altogether certain, nor is it any more certain that his competitor, McEnery, was chosen. The election was a gigantic fraud, and there are no reliable returns of its result. Kellogg obtained possession of the office, and in my opinion has more right to it than his competitor. " On the 20th of February, 1873, the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the Senate made a report, in which they say they were satisfied by testimony that the manipulation of the election machinery by Warmoth and others was equivalent to twenty thousand votes ; and they add, to recognize the McEnery government ' would be recognizing a government based upon fraud, in defiance of the wishes and intention of the voters of the State.' As- suming the correctness of the statements in this report, (and they seem to have been generally accepted by the country,) the great crime in Louisiana, about which so much has been said, is, that one is holding the ofiice of governor who was cheated out i of twenty thousand votes, against another whose title to the office is undoubtedly j based on fraud, and in defiance of the } wishes and intentions of the voters of the i State. "Misinformed and misjudging as to the nature and extent of this report, the sup- porters of McEnery proceeded to displace by force in some counties of the State the appointees of Governor Kellogg; and on the 13th of April, in an eff'ortof that kind, a butchery of citizens was committed at Colfiix, which in blood-thirstiness and bar- barity is hardly surpa.ssed by any acts of -;avaie warfare. " To put this matter beyond controversy, I quote fi*om the charge of Judge Woods, ' "f the United States circuit court, to the jury in the case of the United States vs. ''ruikshank and others, in New Orleans, in March, 1874. He siid : i ■ ' In the case on trial there are many ficts not in controversy. I proceed to state some of them in the presence and hearing of counsel on both sides; and if I state a-^ a conceded fact any matter that is disputed. tlu'V can correct me.' "Aft.r .statinjr the uri.Lrin of the -iiffi- ]5 culty, which grew out of an attempt of white persons to drive the parish judge and sheriff, appointees of Kellogg, from office, and their attempted protection by colored persons, which led to some fight- ing in which quite a number of negroes were killed, the judge states: "' Most of those who were not killed were taken prisoners. Fifteen or sixteen of the blacks had lifted the boards and taken refuge under the floor of the court- house. They were all caj)tured. About thirty-seven men were taken prisoners ; the number is not definitely fixed. They were kept under guard until dark. They were led out, two by two, and shot. Most of the men were shot to death. A few were wounded, not mortally, and by pre- tending to be dead were afterward, during the night, able to make their escape. Among them was the Levi Nelson named in the indictment. " ' The dead bodies of the negroes killed in this affair were left unburied until Tues- day, April lo, when they were buried by a deputy marshal and an officer of the militia from New Orleans. These persons found fifty- nine dead bodies. They show- ed pistol-shot wounds, the great majority in the head, and most of them in the back of the head. In addition to the filty-nine dead bodies foiuid, some charred remains of dead bodies were discovered near the court-house. Six dead bodies were found under a warehouse, all shot in the head but one or two. which were shot in the breast. '" The only white men injured from the beginning of these troubles to their close were Hadnot and Harris. The court- house and its contents were entirely con- sumed. " 'There is no evidence that any one in the crowd of whites bore any lawful war- rant for the arrest of any of the blacks. There is no evidence that either Nash or Cazabat, after the affair, ever demanded their offices, to which they had set up claim, but Register continued to act as parish judge, and Shaw as Sheriff. " ' These are facts in this case, as I under- stand them to be admitted.' " To hold the people of Louisiana gen- erally responsible for these atrocities would not be just ; but it is a lamentable fact that insuperable obstructions were thrown in the way of punishing these murderers, and the so-called conservative papers of the State not only justified the massacre, but denounced as Federal tyranny and despot- ism the attempt of the United States offi- cers to bring them to justice. Fierce de- nunciations ring through the country about office-holding and election matters in Louisiana, while everyone of the Colfax miscreants goes unwhipped of justice, and Tto \v;iv cHii be found in this boasted !:i;id 226 AMERICAN POLITICS. of civilization and Christianity to punish the perpetrators of this bloody and mon- strous crime. " Not unlike this was the massacre in August last. Several northern young men of capital and enterprise had started the little and flourishing town of Coushatta. Some of them were republicans and office- holders under Kellogg. They were there- fore doomed to death. Six of them were seized and carried away from their homes and murdered in cold blood. No one has been punished; and the conservative press of the State denounced all efforts to that end, and boldly justified the crime." The House on the 1st of March, 1875, by a strict party vote, 155 Republicans to 86 Democrats, recognized the Kellogg gov- ernment. The Senate did the same on March 5th, by 33 to 23, also a party vote. Under the influence of the resolution unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives of the United States, recommending that the House of Repre- sentatives of that State seat the persons rightfully entitled thereto from certain districts, the whole subject was, by consent of parties, referred to the Special Commit- tee of the House who examined into Louisiana affairs, viz. : Messrs. George F. Hoar, William A. Wheeler, William P. Frye, Charles Foster, William Walter Phelps, Clarkson N. Potter and Samuel S. Marshall, who, after careful examination, made an award, which was adopted by the Legislature in April, 1875. It is popularly known as the " Wheeler Compromise." Text of tlie WKeeler Compromise. New Orleans, March, 1876. Whereas, It is desirable to adjust the difficulties growing out of the general elec- tion in this State, in 1872, the action of the Returning Board in declaring and pro- mulgntino- the results of the general elec- tion, in the month of November last, and the organization of the House of Repre- sentatives, on the 4th day of January last, such adjustment being deemed necessary to the re-establishment of peace and order in this State. Now, therefore, the undersigned mem- bers of the Conservative party, claiming to have been elected members of the House of Representatives, and that their certifi- cates of elertion have been illegally with- held by the Returning Board, hereby severally agree to submit their claims to seats in the House of Representatives to the awnrd and arbitrament of George F. Hoar, William A. Wheeler. William P. Frye, Ch;u-les Foster, William Walter Phelps, Clarkson N. Potter, and Samuel S. Marshall, who are hereby authorized to examine and determine the same upon the t'quitios of the several cases; and when such awards shall be made, we hereby severally agree to abide by the same : And such of us as may become members of the House of Representatives, under this arrangement, hereby severally agree to sustain by our influence and votes the joint resolution herein set forth. [Here follow the signatures of the Demo- crats who claimed that their certificates of election as members of the House of Re- presentatives had been illegally withheld by the Returning Board.] And the undersigned claiming to have been elected Senators from the Eighth and Twenty-Second Senatorial Districts, hereby agree to submit their claims to the fore- going award and arbitrament, and in all respects to abide the results of the same. [Here follow the signatures of the Demo- crats, who made a like claim as to seats in the Senate.] And the undersigned, holding certifi- cates of election from the Returning Board, hereby severally agree that upon the com- ing in of the award of the foregoing arbi- trators they will, when the same shall have been ratified by the report of the Commit- tee on Elections and Qualifications of the body in session at the State House claim- ing to be the House of Representatives, attend the sitting of the said House for the purpose of adopting said report, and if said report shall be Jidopted, and the mem- bers embraced in the foregoing report shall be seated, then the undersigned seve- rally agree that immediately upon the adoption of said report they will vote for the following joint resolution : [Here follow the signatures of the Demo- cratic members of the House of Represen- tatives in relation to whose seats there was no controversy.] JOINT RESOLTTTION. Resolved, by the General Asfemhbj of the State of J>ovisuina, That said Assembly, without approving the same, will nf t dis- turb the present State Government claim- ing to have been elected in 1872, known as the Kellogg Government, or seek to im- peach the Governor lor any past official acts, and that henceforth it will accord to said Governor all necessary and legitimate support in maintaining the laws and ad- vancing the peace and ) rospcrity of the people of this State: and that the House of Representatives, as to its members, as constituted under the award of (Jeorge F. Hoar, W. A. Wheeler, W. P. Frye, Charles Foster, Samuel S. Marshall, Clarkson N. Potter, and William Walter Phelps, shall remain without change except by resignation or death of members until a new general election, and that the Senate, as now organized, shall also remain un- changed except so far as that body shall make changes on contests. TEXT UF THE WHEELER COMPROMISE. 227 TEXT OF THE AWARD. New York, March 18, 1875. The undersigned having been requested to examine the claims of the person.s here- inafter named to seats in the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Louisiana, and having examined the re- turns and the evidence relating to such claims, are of opinion, and do hereby find, award and determine, that F. S. Goode is entitled to a seat in the Senate from the Twenty-second Senatorial District ;• and that J. B. Elam is not entitled to a seat in the Senate from the Eighth Senatorial District; and that the following named persons are entitled to seats in the House of Representatives from the following named parishes respectively: From the Parish of Assumption, R. R. Beaseley, E. F. X. Dugas ; from the Parish of Bien- ville, James Brice ; from the Parish of De Soto, J. S. Scales, Charles Schuler; from the Parish of Jackson, E. Kidd ; from the Parish of Rapides, James Jeffries, R. C. Luckett, G. W. Stafford ; from the Parish of Terrebone, Edward McCollum, W. H. Keyes ; from the Parish of Winn, George A. Kelley. And that the following named persons are not entitled to seats which they claim from the following named parishes respectively, but that the persons now holding seats from said parishes are entitled to retain the seats now held by them ; from the Parish of Avoyelles, J. O. Quinn ; from the Parish of Iberie, W. F. Schwing ; from the Parish of Caddo, A. D. Land, T. R. Vaughan, J. J. Koran. We are of opinion that no person is en- titled to a seat from the Parish of Grant. In regard to most of the cases, the undersigned are unanimous; as to the others the decision is that of a majority. George F. Hoar, W. A. Wheeler, W. P. Frye, Charles Foster, Clarkson N. Potter, William Walter Phelps, Samuel S. Marshall. This adjustment and award were accept- ed and observed, until the election in No- vember, 18 r6, when a controversy arose as to the re ult, the Republicans claiming the ekc-ion of Stephen B. Packard as Govern- or by about 3,500 majority, and a Republi- can Legislature ; and the Democrats claim- ing the election of Francis T. Nicholls as Governor, by about 8,000 mnjority, and a Democratic Legislature. Committees of gentlemen visited New Orleans, by request of President Grant and of various politi- cal organizations, to witness the count of the vote^ by the Returning Board. And in December, 1876, on the meeting of Con- gress?, committees of investigation were ap- pointed by the Senate and by the House of Representatives. Exciting events were now daily transpiring. On the 1st of Jan- uary, 1877, the Legislature organized in the State House without exhibitions of vio- lence. The Democrats did not unite in the proceedings, but met in a separate build- ing, and organized a separate Legislature. Telegraphic communication was had be- tween the State House and the Custom House, where was the office of Marshal Pitkin, who with the aid of the United States troops, was ready for any emergency. About noon the Democratic members, ac- companied by about 500 persons^ called at the State House and demanded admission. The officer on duty replied that the mem- bers could enter, but the crowd could not. A formal demand was then made upon General Badger and other officials, by the spokesman, for the removal of the obstruc- tions, barricades, police, etc., which pre- vented the ingress of members, which being denied, Col. Bush, in behalf of the crowd, read a formal protest, and the Democrats retired. Gov. Kellogg was presented by a committee with a copy of the protest, and he replied, that as chief magistrate and conservator of the peace of the State, be- lieving that there was danger of the or- ganization of the General Assembly being violently interfered with, he had caused a police force to be stationed in the lower portion of the building ; that he had no motive but to preserve the peace; that no member or attache of either house will be interfered with in any way, and that no United States troops are stationed in the capitol building. Clerk Trezevant declined to call the House to order unless the police- men were removed. Upon the refusal to do so, he withdrew, when Louis Sauer^ a mem- ber, called the roll, and G8 members — a full House being 120 — answered to their names. Ex-Gov. Hahn was elected Speaker, re- ceiving 53 votes as agninst 15 for Ex-Gov. Warmoth. ^ The Senate was organized by Lieutenant- Governor Antoine with 19 present — a full Senate being 30 — eight of whom held over, and 11 were returned by the Be.iit to Democratic " visiting statesmen " in I lie four disputed sections. In 1878, the I'otter Investigating Committee subse- i[uent!y confiinird the " cipher dispatches " but Mr. T;l(!eii denied any knowledge of them. The second session of the 44th Congress met on Dec. r)tli, 1876, and while by that time all knew the dangers of the approach- ing electoral count, yet neither House would consent to the revision of the joint rule regulating the count. The Republi- cans claimed that the President of the Sen- ate had the s<^le authority to open and an- nounce the returns in the presence of the two Houses ; the Democrats plainly disputed this right, and claimed that the joint body could contro'. the count under the law. Some Democrats went so far as to say that the House (which was Democratic, with Samuel J. Randall in the Speaker's chair) could for itself decide when the emergency had arrived in which it was to elect a President:. There was grave danger, and it was as- serted that the Democrats, fearing the President of the Senate would exercise the power of declaring the result, were preparing first to forcibly and at least with secrecy swear in and inaugurate Tilden. Mr. Watterson, member of the House from Kentucky, boasted that he had completed iwrangements to have 100,000 men at Washington on inauguration day, to see that Tilden was installed. President Grant and Secretary of War Cameron, thought the condition of affairs critical, and both made active though secret preparations to secure the safe if not the peaceful inaugu- ration of Hayes. Grant, in one of his sen- tentious utterances, said he " would have peace if he had to fight for it." To this end he sent for Gov. Hartranft of Penn- sylvania, to know if he could stop any at- tempted movement of New York troops to Washingt<^>n, jus he had information that the purpose was to forcibly install Tilden. Gov. Hartranft replied that he I'ould do it with the National Guard and the Grand Army of the Republic. He was told to return to Harrisl)urg and j)repare for such an emergency. This he did, and as the Legislature was then in session, a Repub- lican caucus was called, and it re-solved, without knowing exactly why, to sustain any action of the Governor with the re- sources of the State. Secretary Cameron also sent for GenT Sherman, and for a time went on with comprehensive prepa- rations, which if there had been need for completion, would certainly have put a speedy check upon the madness of any mob. There is a most interesting unwrit- ten history of events then transpiring which no one now living can fully relate without unjustifiable violations of political and personal confidences. But the danger was avoided by the patriotism of prominent members of Congress representing both of the great political parties. These gentle- men held several important and private conferences, and substantially agreed upon a result several days before the exciting struggle which followed the introduction of the Electoral Commission Act. The leaders on the part of the Republicans in these conferences were Conkling, Edmunds, Frelinghuysen ; on the part of the Demo- crats Bayard, Gordon, Randall and Hewitt, the latter a member of the House and Chairman of the National Democratic Committee. The Electoral Commission Act, the basis of agreement, was supported by Conkling in a .speech of great power, and of all men engaged in this great work he was at the time most suspected by the Republicans, who feared that his admitted dislike to Hayes would cause him to favor a bill wiiich would secure the return of Tilden, and as both of the gentlemen were New Yorkers, there was for several days grave fears of a combination between the two. The result showed the injustice done, and convinced theretofore doubting Republi- cans that Conkling, even as a partisan, was faithful and far-seeing. The Electoral Commission measure was a Democratic one, if we are to judge from the character of the votes cast for and against it. In the Senate the vote stood 47 for to 17 against. There were 21 Republicans for it and 16 against, while there were also 26 Demo- crats for it to only 1 (Eaton) against. In the House much the same proportion was maintained, the bill passing that body by 191 to 86. The following is the text of the ELECTORAL COMMISSION ACT. An act to provide for and regulate the counting of votes for President and Vice- President, and the decision of questions arising thereon, for the term commencing March fourth, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and seventy-seven. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in the hall of the House of Represen- tatives, at the hour of one o'clock poat THE ELECTORAL COUNT. 231 meridian, on the first Thursday in Febru- ary, Anno Damini eighteen liundred and seventy-seven ; the President of the Senate shall be their presiding officer. Two tellers shall be previously appointed on the part of the Senate, and two on the part of the H )u^e of Representatives, to whom shall be handed, as they are opened by the Pre- sident of the Senate, all the certificates, ;ind papers purporting to be certificates, of the electoral votes, which certificates and •)apers shall be opened, presented and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the States, beginning with the letter A; and said tellers having then read the same in presence and hearing of the two Houses, shall make a list of the votes as they shall appear from the said certificates ; and the votes having been ascertained and counted as in this act provided, the result of the 8am<> shall be delivered to the President of the Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of the vote, and the names of the persons, if any elected, which announce- ment shall be deemed a sufficient declara- tion of the persons elected President and Vice-President of the United States, and, together with a list of the votes, be entered ■on the journals of the Houses. Upon such reading of any such certificate or paper when there shall only be one return from a State, the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and without argu- ment, the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received. When all objections so made to any vote or paper from a State shall have been re- ceived and read, the Senate shall there- upon withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the Senate for its decision ; and the Sjx'aker of the House of Represen- tatives shall, in like manner, submit such objections to the House of Representatives for its decision ; and no electoral vote or votes from any State from which but one return has been received shall be rejected, except by the affirmative vote of the two Houses. When the two Houses have votes, they shall immediately again meet, and the presiding officer shall then an- nounce the decision of the question sub- mitted. Sec. 2. That if more than one return, or paper purporting to be a return from a State, shall have been received by the President of the Senate, purporting to be the cer- tificate of electoral votes given at the last preceding election for President and Vice- President in such State (unless they shall bo duplicates of the same return), all such returns and papers shall be opened by him in the presence of the two Houses when met 'IS aforesaid, and read by the tellers, and all such returns and papers shall thereupon be submitted to the judgment and decision as to which is the true and lawful electoral vote of such State, of a commission consti- tuted as follows, namely : During the ses- sion of each House, on the Tuesday next preceding the first Thursday in February, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, each House shall, by viva voce vote, appoint five of its members, with the five associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States to be ascertained as hereinafter pro- vided, shall constitute a commission for the decision of all questions upon or in respect of such double returns named in this sec- tion. On the Tuesday next preceding the first Thursday in February, Anno Domini, eighteen hundred and seventy -seven, or as soon thereafter as may be, the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States now assigned to the first, third, eighth, and ninth circuits shall select, in such manner as a majority of them shall deem fit, another of the associ- ate justices of said court, which five per- sons shall be members of said commission ; and the person longest in commission of said five justices shall be the president of said commission. The members of said commission shall respectively take and subscribe the following oath : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case maybe,) that I will impartially examine and consider all questions submitted to the commission of which I am a member, and a true judgment give thereon, agri-eably to the Constitution and the laws : so help me God ; " which oath shall be filed with the Secretary of the Senate. When the commission shall have been thus organized, it shall not be in the power of either House to dissolve the same, or to with- draw any of its members ; but if any such Senator or member shall die or become ])hysically unable to perform the duties required by this act, the fact of such death or physical inability shall be by said commission, before it shall proceed fur- ther, communicated to the Senate or House of Representatives, as the case may be, which body shall immediately and without debate proceed by viva voce vote to fill the place so vacated, and the pereon so appointed shall take and subscribe the oath hereinbefore prescribed, and become a member of said commission ; and in like manner, if any of said justices of the Su- preme Court shall die or become physically incapable of performing the duties re- quired by this act, the other of said jus- tices, members of the said commission, shall immediately appoint another justice of said court ameml)er of said (■(.mmission, and in like manner, if any cA' said justices of the Supreme Court shall die or become physically incapable of performing the duties required by this act, the other of said 232 AMERICAN POLITICS. justices, members of the said commission, shall immediately appoint another justice of said court a member of said commission, and, ill such appointment, regard shall be had to the impartiality and freedom from bias sought by the original appointments to said commission, who shall thereupon immediately take and subscribe the oath hereinbeft)re prescribed, and become a member of said commission to fill the vacancy so occasioned. All the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates of tho electoral votes of each State shall be opened, in the alphabetical order of the States, as provided in section one of this act ; and when there shall be more than one such certificate or paper, as the certifi- cates and papeis from such State shall so be opened (excepting duplicates of the same return), they shall be read by the tellers, and thereupon the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and with- out argument, the ground thereof, and .shall be signed by at least one Senator and one member of the House of Representa- tives before the same shall be received. When all such objections so made to any certificate, vote, or paper from a State shall have been received and read, all such cer- tificates, votes and papers so objected to, and all papers accompanying the same, together with such objections, shall be forthwith submitted to said commission, which shall proceed to consider the same, with the same powers, if any, now possessed for that purpose by the two Houses acting separately or together, and, by a majority of votes, decide whether any and what votes from such State are the votes provid- ed for by the Constitution of the United States, and how many and what persons were duly appointed electors in such State, and may therein take into view such peti- tions, depositions, and other papers, if any, as shall, by the Constitution and now exist- ing law, be competent and pertinent in such consideration ; which decision shall be made in writing, stating briefly the ground thereof, and signed by the members of said t;ommission agreeing therein ; whereupon the two Houses shall again meet, and such decision shall be read and entered in the journal of each house, and the count- ing of the vote shall proceed in conformity therewith, unless, upon objection made thereto in writing by at least five Senators and five members of the House of Repre- sentatives, the two Houses shall separately concur in ordering otherwise, in which case such concurrent order shall govern. No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon until the objections previ- ously macfe to the votes or papers from any State .shall have been finally disposed Sec. 3. That, while the two Houses shall be in meeting, as provided in this act, no debate shall be allowed and no question shall be put by the presiding ofiicer, except to either House on a motion to withdraw ; and he shall have power to preserve order. Sec. 4. That when the two Houses sepa- rate to decide upon an objection that may have been made to the counting of any electoral vote or votes from any State, or upon objection to a report of said conlmi^>- sion, or other (jucstion arising under thi< act, each Senator and Representative may speak to such objection or question ten min- utes, and not oitener than once; but alter such debate shall have lasted two hours, it shall be the duty of each House to put the main question without further debate. Sec. 5. That at such joint meeting of the two Houses, seats shall be provided as fol- lows : For the President of the Senate, the Speaker's chair ; for the Speaker, immedi- ately upon his left ; the Senators in the body of the hall upon the right of the pre- siding otficer ; for the Representatives, in the body of the hall not provided for the Senators ; for the tellers. Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House of Rejire- sentatives, at the Clerk's desk ; for the other officers of the two Houses, in front of the Clerk's desk and upon each side of the Speaker's platform. Such joint meeting shall not be dissolved until the count of electoral votes shall be completed and the result declared ; and no recess shall be taken unless a question shall have arisen in regard to counting any such votes, or other- wise under this act, in which case it shall be competent for either House, acting sepa- rately, in the manner hereinbefore provid- ed, to direct a recess of such House not be- yond the next day, Sunday excepted, at the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon. And while any question is being considered by said commission, either House may pro- ceed with its legislative or other business. Sec. 6. That nothing in this act shall be held to impair or affect any right now ex- isting under the Constitution and laws to question, by proceeding in the judicial courts of the United States, the right or title of the person who shall be declared elected, or who shall claim to be President or Vice-President of the United States, if any such light exists. Sec. 7. That said commission shall make its own rules, keep a record of its proceed- ings, and shall have power to employ such persons as may be necessarv for the trans- action of its business and the execution of its powers. Approved, January 29, 1877. Members of tlie Commission. Hon. Nathan Clifford, Associate Ji**- tice Suprane Court, First Circuit. THE TITLE OF PRESIDENT HAYES. 233 Hon. William Stuo:^q, Associate Justice Supreme Court, Third Circuit. Hon. Samuel F. Miller, Associate Justice Supreme Court, Eighth Circuit. Hon. Stephen J. Field, Associate Jus- tice Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit. Hon. Joseph P. Bradley, Associate Justice Supreme Court, Fifth Circuit. Hon. George F. Edmunds, United States Senator. Hon. Oliver P. Morton, United States Senator. Hon. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, United States Senator. Hon. Allen G. Thurman, United States Senator. Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, United States Senator. Hon. Henry B. Payne, United States Representative. Hon. Eppa Hunton, United States Rep- resentative. Hon. JosiAH G. Abbott, United States Representative. Hon, James A. Garfield, United States Representative. Hon. George F. Hoar, United States- Representative. The Electoral Commission met Febru- ary 1st, and by uniform votes of 8 to 7, de- cided all objections to the Electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon, in favor of the Republicans, and while the two Houses disagreed on nearly all of these points by strict party votes, the electoral votes were, under the provisions of the law, given to Hayes and Wheeler, and the final result declared to be 185 electors for Hayes and Wheeler, to 184 for Tilden and Hendricks. Questions of eligi- bility had been raised against individual electors from Michigan, Nevada, Pennsyl- vania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wis- consin, but the Commi-ision did not sustain any of them, and as a rule they were un- supported by evidence. Thus closed the gravest crisis which ever attended an elec- toral count in this country, so far as the Nation was concerned ; and while for some weeks the better desire to peacefully settle all differences prevailed, in a few weeks partisan bitterness was manifested on the part of a great majority of Northern Demo- crats, who believed their party had been deprived by a partisan spirit of its right- ful President. Tile Title of President Hayes. The uniform vote of 8 to 7 on all im- portant propositions considered by the Electoral Commission, to their minds showed a partisan spirit, the existence of which it was difficult to deny. The action of the Republican " visiting statesmen " in Louisiana, in practically overthrowing the Packard or Republican government there, caused distrust and dissatisfaction in the minds of the more radical Republicans, who contended with every show of reason that if Hayes carried Louisiana, Packard must also have done so. The only sens blc excuse for seating Hayes on the one side and throwing out Governor Packard on the other, was a patriotic desire for peace in the settlement of both Presidential and Southern State issues. This desire was plainly manifested by President Hayes on the day of his inauguration and for two years thereafter. He took early occasion to visit Atlanta, Ga.,and while at that point and en route there made the most concilia- tory speeches, in which he called those who had engaged in the Rebellion, " broth- ers," " gallant soldiers," etc. These speech- es excited much attention. They had lit- tle if any effect upon the South, while the more radical Republicans accused the President of " slopping over." They did not allay the hostility of the Democratic party, and did not restore the feeling in the South to a condition better than that which it had shown during the exciting days of the Electoral count. The South then, under the lead of men like Stephens, Hill and Gordon, in the main showed every desire for a peaceful settlement. As a rule only the Border States and Northern Demo- crats manifested extreme distrust and bit- terness, and these were plainly told by some of the leaders from the Gulf States, that so far as they were concerned, they had had enough of civil war. As late as April 22, 1877, the Maryland Legislature passed the following : Resolved by the General Assemhh/ of Maryland, That the Attorney General of the State be, and he is hereby, instructed, in case Congress shall provide for expe- diting the action, to exhibit a bill in the Supreme Court of the United States, on behalf of the State of Maryland, with proper parties thereto, setting forth the fact that due effect has not been given to the electoral vote cast by this State on the 6th day of December, 1876, by reason of fraudulent returns made from other States and allowed to be counted provisionally by the Electoral Commission, and subject to judicial revision, and praying said court to make the revision contem])lated by the act establishing said commission ; and upon such revision to declare the returns from the States of Louisiana and Florida, which were counted for Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler, fraudulent and void, and that the legal electoral votes of said States were cast for Samuel J. Tilden as President, and Thomas A. Hendricks as Vice President, and that by virtue there- of and of 184 votes cast by other States, of which 8 were cast by the State of Mary- land, the said Tilden and Hendricks were 234 AMERICAN POLITICS. duly elected, and praying said Court to decree accordingly. It was this resolution which induced the Clafkson N. Potter resolution of investi- gation, a resolution the passage of which was resisted by the Republicans through fi ibustering for many days, but was finally passed by 14G Democratic votes to 2 Demo- cratic vf)tes (Mills and Morse) against, the Republicans not voting. Tlie Ciplier Despatches. An amendment offered to the Potter resolution but not accepted, and defeated by the Democratic majority, cited some fair specimens of the cipher dispatches exposed by the New York Tribune. These are matters of historical interest, and con- vey information as to the methods which politicians will resort to in desperate emer- gencies. A\^e therefore quote the more per- tinent portions. Rf solved, That the select committee to whom this House has committed the in- vestigation of certain matters affecting, as is alleged, the legal title of the President of the United States to the high office which he now holds, be and is hereby in- structed in the course of .its investigations to fully inquire into all the facts connected with the election in the State of Florida in November, 1876, and especially into the circumstances attending the transmission and receiving of certain telegraphic dis- patches sent in said year between Tallahas- see in said State and New York City, viz. : "Tallahassee, November 9, 1876. " A. S. Hewitt, New York : "Comply if possible with my telegram. " Geo. P. Rarey." Also the following : "Tallahassee, December 1, 1876. "W. T. Pelton, Neiv York: " Answer Mac's dispatch immediately, or we will be embarrasssed at a critical time. Wilkinson Call." Also the following : " Tallahassee, December 4, 1876. " W. T. Pelton : " Things culminating here. Answer Mac's despatch to-day. W. Call." And also the facts connected with all telegraphic disi)atches between one John F. Coyle and said Pelton, under the lat- ter's real or fictitious name, and with any and all demands for money on or about December 1, 1876, from said Tallahassee, on said Pelton, or said Hewitt, or with any attempt to corrupt or bribe any official of the said State of Florida by any person acting for said Pelton, or in the interest of Samuel J. Tilden as a presidential candi- date. Also to investigate the charges of in- timidation at Lake City, in Columbia county, where Joel Niblack and other white men put ropes around the necks of colored men and proposed to hang them, but released them on their promise to join a Democratic club and vote for Samuel J. Tilden. Also the facts of the election in Jackson county, where the ballot-boxes were kept out of the sight of voters, who voted through openings or holes six feet above the ground, and where many more Republican votes were thus given into the hands of the De- mocratic inspectors than were counted or returned by them. Also the facts of the election in Waldo precinct, in Alachua county, where the passengers on an emigrant-train, passing through on the day of election, were al- lowed to vote. Also the facts of the election in Manatee county, returning 235 majority for the Tilden electors, where there were no county officers, no registration, no notice of the election, and where the Republican party, therefore, did not vote. Also the facts of the election in the third precinct of Key West, giving 342 Demo- cratic majority where tlie Democratic in- spector carried the ballot-box home, and pretended to count the ballots on the next day, outside of the precinct and contrary to law. Also the facts of the election in Hamil- ton, where the election-officers exercised no control over the ballot-box, but left it in unauthorized hands, that it might be tampered with. Also the reasons why the Attorney- General of the State, Wm. Archer Cocke, as a member of the Canvassing Board, offi- cially advised the board, and himself voted, to exclude the Hamilton county and Key West precinct returns, thereby giving, in any event, over 500 majority to the Re- publican electoral ticket, and afterwards protested against the result which he had voted for, and whether or not said Cocke was afterward rewarded for such protest by being made a State Judge. OREGON. And that said committee is further in- structed and directed to investigate into all the facts connected with an alleged at- tempt to secure one electoral vote in the State of Oregon for Samuel J. Tilden for President of the United States, and Thom- as A. Hendricks for Vice-President, by un- lawfully setting up the election of E. A. Cronin as one of such presidential electors elected from the State of Oregon on the 7th of November, the candidates for the THE CIPHER DESPATCHES. 235 prL'>itIeruial electors on the two tickets be- ing as follows : On the Fvepublican ticket: W. C. Odell, J. C. Carhvright, and John W. Watts. On the Democratic ticket : E. A. Cronin, W. A. Laswell, and Henry Klippel. The votes received by each candidate, as shown by the official vote as canvassed, declared, and certified to by the Secretary of State under the seal of the State, — the Secretary being under the laws of Oregon sole canvassing-officer, as will be shown hereafter, — being as follows : W. K. Odell received 15,206 votes John C. Cartwright received.... 15,214 " John W. Watts received 15,206 " E. A. Cronin received 14,157 " W. A. Laswell receiyed 14,149 " Henry Klippel received 14,136 " And by the unlawful attempt to bribe one of said legally elected electors to recognize said Cronin as an elector for President and Vice-President, in order that one of the electoral votes of said State might be cast for said Samuel J.Tilden as President and for Thomas A. Hendricks as Vice-Presi- dent ; and especially to examine and inquire into all the facts relating to the sending of money from New York to some place in said Oregon for the purposes of such bribery, the parties sending and receiving the same, and their relations to and agency for said Tilden, and more particu- larly to investigate into all the circum- stances attending the transmission of the following telegraphic despatches : "Portland, Oregon, Nov. 14, 1876. *' Gov. L. F. Groveu : " Come down to-morrow if possible. " W. H. Effinger, " A. NOLTNER, " C. P. Bellinger." " Portland, November 16, 1876. •" To Gov. Grover, Sale7n ; " We want to see you particularly on account of despatches from the East. " William Strong, S. H. Reed, "C.P.Bellinger, W.W.Thayer, " C. E. Bronaugh." Also the following cipher despatch sent from Portland, Oregon, on the 28th day of November, 1876, to New York City : " Portland, Noveviber 28, 1876. "To W. T. Pelton, No. 15 Gramerci/ Park, New York : " By vizier association innocuous negli- gence cunning minutely previously read- mit doltish to purchase afar act with cunning afar sacristy unweighed afar pointer tigress cattle superannuated sylla- bus dilatoriness misapprehension contra- band Kountz bisulcuous top usher spinifer- ous answer. J. H. N. Patrick. " I fully endorse this. " James K. Kelly." Of which, when the key was discovered, the following was found to be the true in- tent and meaning: " Portland, November 28, 1876. " To W. T. Pelton, No. 15 Gramercy Park, New York: " Certificate will be issued to one Demo- crat. Must purchase a Republican elector to recognize and act with Democrats and secure the vote and prevent trouble. De- posit $10,000 to my credit with Kountz Brothers, Wall Street. Answer. J. H. N. Patrick. " I fuUv endorse this. "James K. Kelly." Also the following : " New York, November 25, 1876. "A. Bush, Salem: " Use all means to prevent certificate. Very important. C. E. Tilton." Also the following : " December 1, 1876. " To Hon. Sam. J. Tilden, No. 15 Gra- mercy Park, New York : " I shall decide every point in the case of post-office elector in favor of the highest Democratic elector, and grant certificate accordingly on morning of 6th instant. Confidential. Governor." Also the following : " San Francisco, December 5. " Ladd & Bush, Salem : " Funds from New York will be de- posited to your credit here to-morrow when bank opens. I know it. Act accordingly. Answer. W. C. Griswold." Also the following, six days before the foregoing : " New York, November 29, 1876. " To J. H. N. Patrick, Portland, Oregon : " Moral hasty sideral vizier gabble cramp by hemistic welcome licentiate muskeete compassion neglectful recoverable hathouse live innovator brackish association dime afar idolator session hemistic mitre." [No signature.] Of which the interpretation is as follows; " New York, November 29, 1876. " To J. H. N. Patrick, Portland, Oregon : " No. How soon will Governor decide certificate? If you make obligation con- tingent on the result in March, it can be done, and slightly if necessary." [No signature.] Also the following, one day latt-r : 236 AMERICAN POLITICS. " Portland, November 30, 1876. " To W. T. Pelton, No. 15 Ch-amercy Park, New York : "Governor all right without reward. Will issue certificate Tuesday. This is a secret. Republicans threaten if certificate issued to ignore Democratic claims and fill vacancy, and thus defeat action of Gover- nor. One elector must be paid to recog- nize Democrat to secure majority. Have employed three lawyers, editor of only Re- publican paper as one lawyer, fee $3,000. Will take $5,000 for Republican elector; must raise money ; can't make fee contin- gent. Sail Saturday. Kelly and Bellin- ger will act. Communicate with them. Must act promptly." (No signature]. Also the following : " San Francisco, December 5, 1876. " To Kountze Bros., No. 12 Wall St., New York : " Has my account credit by any funds lately ? How much ? " J. H. N. Patrick." Also the following : " New York, December 6. " J. H. N. Patrick, San Francisco : " Davis deposited eight thousand dollars December first. Kountze Bros." Also the following : " San Francisco, December 6. " To James K. Kelly : "The eight deposited as directed this morning. Let no technicality prevent winning. Use your discretion." [No signature.] And the following : "New York, December 6. "Hon. Jas. K. Kelly: "Is your matter certain? There must be no mistake. All depends on you. Place no reliance on any favorable report from three southward. Sonetter. Answer quick." [No signature.] Also the following: "December 6, 1876. "To Col. W. T. Pelton, 15 Oramercy Park, N. Y. : "Glory to God! Hold on to the one vote in Oregon! I have one hundred thousand men to back it up ! " Corse." And said committee is further directed to inquire into and bring to light, so far as it may be possible, the entire correspondence and conspiracy referred to in the above telegraphic despatches, and to ascertain \vliat were the relations existing between air» of the parties sending or receiving said despatches and W. T. Pelton, of New York, and also what relations existed between said W. T. Pelton and Samuel J. Tilden, of New York. April 15, 1878, Mr. Kimmel introduced a bill, which was never finally acted upon, to provide a mode for trying and deter- mining by the Supreme Court of the United States the title of the President and Vice- President of the United States to take their respective offices when their election to such offices is denied by one or more of the States of the Union. The question of the title of Presideni was finally settled June 14, 1878, by the following report of the House Judiciary Commitee : Report ot the Judiciary Committee. June 14 — Mr. Hartridge, from the Committee on the Judiciary, made the fol- lowing report: The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom were referred the bill (II. R. No. 4315) and the resolutions of the Legisla- ture of the State of Maryland directing judicial proceedings to give effect to the electoral vote of that State in the last elec- tion of President and Vice-President of the United States, report back said bill and resolutions with a recommendation that the bill do not pass. Your committee are of the opinion that Congress has no power, under the Consti- tution, to confer upon tlie Supreme Court of the United States the original juris- diction sought for it by this bill. The only clause of the Constitution which could be plausibly invoked to enable Con- gress to provide the legal machinery ibr the litigation proposed, is that which gives the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in " cases " or " controversies " between a State and the citizens of another State. The committee are of the opinion that this expression " cases " and " controversies " was not intended by the franiers of the Constitution to embrace an original pro- ceeding by a State in the Supreme Court of the United States to oust any incum- bent from a political office filled by the de- claration and decision of the two Houses of Congress clothed with the constitutional power to count the electoral votes and de- cide as a final tribunal upon the election for President and Vice-President. The Forty-fourth Congress selected a commis- sion to count the votes for President and Vice-President, reserving to itself the rigut to ratify or reject such count, in the wny prescribed in the act creating such com- mission. By the joint action of the two Houses it ratified the count made by the commission, and thus made it the expres- sion of its own judgment. All the l~>c"i.art;!n-7it> of the Federal THE HAYES ADMINISTRATION, 237 Government, all the State governments in their relations to Federal authority, for- eign nations, the people of the United States, all the material interests and indus- tries of the country, have acquiesced in, and acted in accordance with, the pro- nounced finding of that Congress. In the opinion of this committee, the present Congress has no power to undo the work of its predecessor in counting the electoral vote, or to confer upon any judicial tri- bunal the right to pass upon and perhaps set aside the action of that predecessor in reference to a purely political question, the decision of which is confided by the Con- stitution in Congress. But apart from these fundamental ob- jections to the bill under consideration, there are features and provisions in it which are entirely impracticable. Your committee can find no warrant of authority to summon the chief-justices of the supreme courts of the several States to sit at Washington as a jury to try any case, however grave and weighty may be its nature. The right to summon must carry with it the power to enforce obedience to tha mandate, and the Committee can see no means by which the judicial officers of a State can be compelled to assume the functions of jurors in the Supreme Court of the United States. There are other objections to the prac- tical working of the bill under considera- tion, to which we do not think it necessary to refer. It may be true that the State of Mary- land has been, in the late election for President and Vice-President, deprived of her just and full weight in deciding who were legally chosen, by reason of frauds perpetrated by returning boards in some of the States. It may also be true that these friudulent acts were countenanced or encouraged or participated in by some who now enjoy high offices as the fruit of such frauds. It is due to the present gen- eration of the people of this country and their posterity, and to the principles on which our Government is founded, thit all evidence tending to establish the fact of .such fraudulent practices should be c ilmlv, carefully, and rigorouslv examined. But your committee are of the opinion that the consequence of such examination, if it disrloses guilt upon the part of any in high otfioial position, should not be an ef- fort to set aside the judj^ment of a former C->n:i:ress as to the election of a President and Vice-President, but should be confined to the punishment, by legal and constitu- tional means, of the oflenders, and to the preservation and perpetmtion of the evi- dences of their guilt, so that the American people may be protected from a recurrence of the crime. Your committee, therefore, recommend the adoption of the accompanying resolu- tion : Resolved, That the two Houses of the Forty- fourth Congress having counted the votes cast for President and Vice-Presi- dent of the United States, and having de- clared Rutherford B. Hayes to be elected President, and William A. Wheeler to be elected Vice-President, there is no power in any subsequent Congress to reverse that declaration, nor can any such power be exercised by the courts of the United States, or any other tribunal that Congress can create under the Constitution. We agree to the foregoing report so far as it states the reasons for the resolution adopted by the committee, but dissent from the concluding portion, as not having re- ference to such reasons, as not pertinent to the inquiry before us, and as giving an implied sanction to the propriety of the pending investigation ordered by a ma- jority vote of the Houseof Representatives, to which we were and are opposed. Wm. p. Frye. O. D. Conger. E. G. Lapham. Leave was given to Mr. Knott to pre- sent his individual views, also to Mr. But- ler (the full committee consisting of Messrs. Knott, Lynde, Harris, of Virginia, Hartridge, Sfenger, McMahon, Culberson, Frye, Butler, Conger, Lapham.) The question being on the resolution re- ported by the committee, it was agreed to — yeas 235, nays 14, not voting 42. The Hayes Admluistrationi. It can be truthfully said that from the very beginning the administration of Pre- sident Hayes had not the cordial support of the Republican party, nor was it solidly opposed by the Democrats, as was the last administration of General Grant. His early withdrawal of the troops from the Southern States, — and it was this with- drawal and the suggestion of it from the " visiting statesmen " which overthrew the Packard government in Louisiana, — em- bittered the hostility of many radical Re- publicans. Senator Conkling was conspi- cuous in his opposition, as was Logan of Illinois; and when he reached Washing- ton, the younger Senator Cameron, of Pennsylvania. It was during this admi- nistration, and because of its conservative tendencies, that these three leaders formed the purpose to bring Grant again to the Presidency. Yet the Hayes' administra- tion was " not always conservative, and many Republicans believed that its mode- ration had afforded a much needed breath- ing spell to the country. Toward its close all became better satisfied, the radical por- 288 AMERICAN POLITICS. tion by the President's later efTorts to pre- vent the intimidation of negro voters in the South, a form of intimidation which was now accomplished by means of rifle clubs, still another advance from the White League and the Ku Klux. He made this a leading feature in his annual message to the Congress which began December 2d, 1878, and by a virtual abandonment of his earlier policy he succeeded in reuniting what were then fast separating wings of his own party. The conference report on the Legislative Appropriation Bill was adopted by both Houses June 18th, and approved the 21st. The Judicial Expenses Bill was vetoed by the President June 23d, on the ground that it would deprive him of the means of executing the election laws. An attempt on the part of the Democrats to pass the Bill over the veto failed for want of a two-thirds vote, the Repul)licans voting solidly against it. June 26th the veltoed bill was divided, the second division still forbidding the pay of deputy marshals at elections. This was again vetoed, and the President sent a .special message urging the necessity of an appropriation to pay United States marshals. Bills were accord- ingly introduced, but were defeated. This failure to appropriate moneys called for continued until the end of the session. The President was compelled, therefore, to call an extra session, which he did March 19th, 1879, in words which briefly explain the cause : — THE EXTRA SESSION OF 1879. "The failure of the last Congress to make the requisite appropriation for legis- lative and judicial purposes, for the ex- penses of the several executive departments of the Government, and for the support of the Army, has made it necessary to call a special session of the Forty-sixth Con- gress. "The estimates of the appropriations needed, which were sent to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury at the opening of the last session, are renewed, and are herewith transmitted to both the Senate and the House of Representatives. " Regretting the existence of the emer- gency which requires a special session of Congress at a time when it is the general judgment of the country that the public welfare will be best promoted by perma- nency in our legislation, and by peace and rest, I commend these few necessary mea- sures to your considerate attention." By this time both Houses were Demo- cratic. Tn the Senate there were 42 De- mocrats, '^3 Republicans and 1 Independent (David Davisl. In the House 149 Demo- crats, 180 Republicans, and 14 Nationals — a name then assumed by the Greenbackers and Labor-Reformers. The House passed the Warner Silver Bill, providing for the unlimited coinage of silver, the Senate Fi- nance Committee refused to report it, the Chairman, Senator Bayard, having refused to report it, and even after a request to do so from the Democratic caucus, — a course of action which heralded him evory where as a " hard-money " Democrat. The main business of the extra session was devoted to the consideration of the Appropriation Bills which the regular ses- sion had failed to pass. On all of these the Democrats added " riders " for the purpose of destroying Federal supervision of the elections, and all of these political riders were vetoed by President Hayes. The discussions of the several measures and the vetoes were highly exciting, and this excitement cemented afresh the Re- publicans, and caused all of them to act in accord with the administration. The De- mocrats were equally solid, while the Na- tionals divided — Forsythe, Gillette, Kelley, Weaver, and Yocum generally voting with the Republicans; De La Matyr, Steven- son, Ladd and Wright with the Demo- crats. President Hayes, in his veto of the Army Appropriation Bill, said : " I have maturely considered the im- portant questions presented by the bill en- titled 'An Act making appropriations lor the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, and for other pur- poses,' and I now return it to the House of Representatives, in which it originated, with my objections to its approval. "The bill provides, in the usual form, for the appropriations required for the support of the Army during the next fiscal year. If it contained no other provisions, it would receive my prompt approval. It includes, however, further legislation, which, at- tached as it is to appropriations which are requisite for the efficient performance of some of the most necessary duties of the Government, involves questions of the gravest character. The sixth section of the bill is amendatory of the statute now in force in regard to the authority of j^ersons in the civil, military and naval service of the United States 'at the place where any general or special election is held in any State ' This statute was adopted February 25, 1865, after a protracted debate in the Senate, and almost without opposition in the House of Representatives, by the con- current votes of both of the leading j)oli1 ical parties of the country, and became a law by the approval of President Lincoln. It was re-enacted in 1874 in the Revised Sta- tutes of the United States, sections 2002 and 5528. ******* " Upon the assembling of this Congress, in pursuance of a call for an extra session, which was made necessary by the failure ! of the Fortv-fifth Congress to make the THE HAYES ADMINISTRATION. 239 needlul appropriations for the support of the Government, the question was presented whether the attempt made in the last Con- gress to engraft, by construction, a new principle upon the Constitution should be persisted in or not. This Congress has ample opportunity and time to pass the appropriation bills, and also to enact any political measures which may be deter- mined upon in separate bills by the usual and orderly methods of proceeding. But the majority of both HouiSes have deemed it wise to adhere to the principles asserted and maintained in the last Congress by the majority of the House of Representatives. That principle is that the House of Repre- sentatives has the sole right to originate bills for raising revenue, and therefore has the right to withhold appropriations upon which the existence of the Government may depend, unless the Senate and the Presi- dent shall give their assent to any legisla- tion which the House may see fit to attach to appropriation bills. To establish this principle is to make a radical, dangerous, and unconstitutional change in the charac- ter of our institutions. Tiie various De- partments of the Government, and the Army and Navy, are established by the Constitution, or by laws passed in pursuance thereof. Their duties are clearly defined, and their support is carefully provided for l)y law. The money required for this pur- pose has been collected from the people, and is now in the Treasury, ready to be paid out as soon as the appropriation bills are passed. Whether appropriations are made or not, the collection of the taxes will go on. The public money will accu- mulate in the Treasury. It was not the in- tention of the frimers of the Constitution that any single branch of the Government should have the power to dictate conditions upon which this treasure should be applied to the purpose for which it was collected. Any such intention, if it had been enter- tained, would have been plainly expressed in the Constitution." The vote in the House on this Bill, not- withstanding the veto, was 148 for to 122 against — a party vote, save the division of the Na'ioiils, previously given. Not re- ceiving a two-third -i vote, the Bill filled. The other approoriation bills with po- litical riders shared the same fa*^e, as did the bi.l to prohibit military interference at elections, the modification of the law touch- m:r supervisors and marshals at congres- sionil election?, etc. The debates on these measures were bitterly partism in their character, as a few quotations from the Congressional Record will show : Th3 Republican view was succinctly and very eloquently stated by General Garfield, when, in his speech of the 29th of March, 1879, he said to the revolutionary Demo- cratic House : " The last act of Democratic dominatioa in this Capitol, eighteen years ago, waa striking and dramatic, perhaps heroic. Then the Democratic party said to the Re- publicans, ' If you elect the man of your choice as President of the United States we will shoot your Government to death ; ' and the people of this country, refusing to be coerced by threats or violence, voted as they pleased, and lawfully elected Abra- ham Lincoln President of the United States. "Then your leaders, though holding a majority in the other branch of Congress, were heroic enough to withdraw from their seats and fling down the gage of mortal battle. We called it rebellion ; but we recognized it as courageous and manly to avow your purpose, take all the risks, and fight it out on the open field. Notwith- standing your utmost efforts to destroy it, the Government was saved. Year by year since the war ended, those who resisted you have come to believe that you have finally renounced your purpose to destroy, and are willing to maintain the Government. In that belief you have been permitted to re- turn to power in the two Houses. " To-day, after eighteen years of defeat, the book of your domination is again opened, and your first act awakens every unhappy memory and threatens to destroy the confidence which your professions of patriotism inspired. You turned down a leaf of the history that recorded your last act of power in 1861, and you have now signal- ized your return to power by beginning a second chapter at the same page; not this time by a heroic act that declares war on the battle-field, but you say if all the legis- lative powers of the Government do not consent to let you tear certain laws out of the statute-book, you will not shoot our Government to death as you tried to do in the first chapter; but you declare that if we do not consent against our will, if you cannot coerce an independent branch of this Government against its will, to allow you to tear from the statute-books some laws put there by the will of the people, you will starve the Government to death. [Great apnlause on the Republican side.] " Between death on the field and death by starvation, I do not know that the American people will see any great differ- ence. The end, if successfullv reached, would be death in either case. Gentlemen, you have it in your power to kill this Gov- ernment; you have it in your power, by withholding these two bills, to smite the nerve-centres of our Constitution with the paralysis of death ; and you have declared your purpose to do this, if you cannot break down that fundamental element of free consent which up to this hour has always ruled in the legislation of this Govern- ment." 24U AMERICAN POLITICS. The Democratic view was ably given by Representative Tucker of Virginia, April 3, 1879 : " I tell you, gentlemen of the House of Representatives, the Army dies on the oOfh dai/ ■>/ June, unless we resuscitate it by legislation. And what is the (juestion here on this bill ? Will you resuscitate the Army after the 30th of June, with the power to use it as keepers of the polls ? That is the question. It is not a question | of repeal. It is a que-tion of re-enact- ment. If you do not appropriate this money, there will be no Army after the 30th of June to be used at the polls. The only way to secure an Army at the polls is to appropriate the money. Will you ap- propriate the money for the Army in order that they may be used at the polls f We say no, a thousand times no. * * * The gentlemen on the other side say there must be no coercion. Of whom ? Of the Presi- dent ? But what right has the President to coerce us ? There may be coercion one way or the other. He demands an uncon- ditional supply. Tie say we will give him no supply but upon co)iditions. * * * When, therefore, vicious laws have fas- tened themselves upon the statute-book which imperil the liberty of the people, this House is bound to say it will appro- priate no money to give effect to such laws until and except upon condition that they are repealed. [Applause on the Demo- cratic side.J * -^ We will give him the Army on a single condition that it shall never be used or be present at the polls when an election is held for members of this House, or in any presidential election, or in any State or municipal election. * * * Clothed thus with unquestioned power, bound by clear duty, to expunge these vi- cious laws from the statute-book, following a constitutional method sanctioned by venerable precedents in English history, we feel that we have the undoubted right, and are beyond cavil in the right, in de- claring that with our grant of supply there must be a cessation of these grievances, and we make these appropriations condi- tioned on securing a free ballot and fair juries for our cit zons." The ■'~^enate, July 1, passed the House bill placing quinine on the free list. The extra session finally passed the Ap- propriation bills without riders, and ad- journed July 1st, 1879, with the Republi- can party far more firmly united than at the beginning of the Hayes administra- tion. The attempt on the part of the Demo- crat:; to pass these political r'ders, and their threat, in the words of Garfield, who had then succeeded Stevens and Blaine as the Republican Commoner of the House, re- awakened all the partisan animosities which the administration of President Hayes had up to that time allayed. Even the President caught its spirit, and plainly manifested it in his veto messages. It was a losing battle to the Democrats, for they had, with the view not to " starve the gov- ernment," to abandon their position, and the temporary demoralization which fol- lowed bridged over the questions pertain- ing to the title of President Hayes, over- shadowed the claims of Tiklen, and caused the North to again look with grave con- cern on the establishment of Democratic power. If it had not been lor this extra session, it is asserted and believed by many, the Republicans could not have so soon gained control of the lower House, which they did in the year following; and that the plan to nominate General Han- cock i'or the Presidency, which originated with Senator Wallace of Pennsylvania, could not have otherwise succeeded if Til- den's cause had not been kept before his party, unclouded by an extra session which was freighted with disaster to the Demo- cratic party. The Ifcgro Exodus. During this summer political comment, long after adjournment, was kept active by a great negro exodus from the South to the Northwest, most of the emigrants going to Kansas. The Republicans ascribed this to ill treatment, the Democrats to the opera- tions of railroad agents. The people of Kansas welcomed them, but other States, save Indiana, were slow in their manifes- tations of hospitality, and the exodus soon ceased for a time. It was renewed in South Carolina in the winter of 1881-82, the de- sign being to remove to Arkansas, but at this writing it attracts comparatively little notice. The Southern journals generally advise more liberal treatment of the blacks in matters of education, labor contracts, etc., while none of the Northern or W^est- ern States any longer make efforts to get the benefit of their labor, if indeed they ever did. Closing Hours of the Hayes Administra- tion. At the regular session of Congress, which met December 1st, 1879, President Hayes advised Congress against any further legis- lation in reference to coinage, and favored the retirement of the legal tenders. The most important political action ta- ken at this session was the passage, for Congress was still Democratic, of a law to nrevent the use of the army to keep the peaio at the polls. To this was added the G.vrfie'.d proviso, that it should not be con- strued to prevent the Constitutional use of the army to suppress domestic violence in a State — a proviso which in the view of the Republicans rid the bill of material partisan objections, and it was therefore CLOSING HOURS OF HAYES' ADMINISTRATION. 241 passed and approved. The " political ri- ders " were again added to the Appropria- tion and Deficiency bills, but were again vetoed and failed in this form to become laws. Uj^on these questions President Hayes showed much firmness. During the session the Democratic opposition to the General Election Law was greatly tem- pered, the Supreme Court having made an important decision, which upheld its con- stitutionality. Like all sessions under the administration of President Hayes and since, nothing was done to provide perma- nent and safe methods for completing the electoral count. On this question each party seemed to be afraid of the other. The session adjourned June 16th, 1880. The second session of the 46th Congress began December 1st, 1880. The last an- nual message of President Hayes recom- mended the earliest practicable retirement of the legal-tender notes, and the niainte- nance of the present laws for the accumula- tion of a sinking fund sufficient to extin- guish the public debt within a limited peri- od. The laws against polygamy, he said, should be firmly and effectively executed. In the course of a lengthy discussion of the civil service the President declared that in his opinion " every citizen has an equal right to the honor and profit of en- tering the public service of his country. The only just ground of discrimination is the measure of character and capacity he has to make that service most useful to the people. Except in cases where, upon just and recognized principles, as ujjon the theory of pensions, offices and promotions are bestowed as rewards for past services, their bestowal upon any theory which dis- regards personal merit is an act of injus- tice to the citizen, as well as a breach of that trust subject to which the appointing power is held. Considerable space was given in the Message to the condition of the Indians, the President recommending the passage of a law enabling the govern- ment to give Indians a title-fee, inaliena- ble for twenty-five years, to the farm lands assigned to them by allotment. He also repeats the recommendation made in a former message that a law be passed admit- ting the Indians who can give satisfactory prool' of having by their own labor sup- ported their families for a number of years, and who are willing to detach themselves fi'om their tribal relations, to the benefit of the Homestead Act, and authorizing the government to grant them patents contain- ing the same provision of inalienability for a certain period. The Senate, on the 19th, appointed a committee of five to investigate the causes of the recent negro exodus from the South. On the same day a committee was appoint- ed by the House to examine into tne> sub- ject of an inter-oceanic ship-canal. 16 The payment of the award of the Hali- fax Fisheries Commission — $5,500,000 — to the British government was made by the American minister in London, November 23, 1879, accompanied by a communica- tion protesting against the payment being understood as an acquiesqence in the re- sult of the Commission " as furnishing any just measure of the value of a participa- tion by our citizens in the inshore fishei'ies of the British Provinces." On the 17th of December 1879, gold was sold in New York at par. It was first sold at a premium January 13,1862. It reached its highest rate, $2.85, July 11, 1864. The electoral vote was counted without any partisan excitement or disagreement. Georgia's electoral college had met on the second instead of the first Wednesday of December, as required by the Federal law. She actually voted under her old Confed- erate law, but as it could not change the result, both parties agreed to the count of the vote of Georgia " in the alternative," i. e. — "if the votes of Georgia were counted the number of votes for A and B. for Presi- dent and Vice-President would be so many, and if the votes of Georgia were not counted, the number of votes for A and B. for President and Vice-President would be so many, and that in either case A and B are elected." Among the bills not disposed of by this session were the electoral count joint rule; the funding bill ; the Irish relief bill ; the Chinese indemnity bill ; to restrict Chinese immigration ; to amend the Constitution as to the election of Presidejit ; to regulate the pay and number of supervisors of elec- tion and special deputy-marshals ; to abro- gate the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty ; to pro- hibit military interference at elections ; to define the terras of office of the Chief Su- pervisors of elections ; for the appointment of a tariff commission; the political assess- ment bill ; the Kellogg-Spofford case ; and the Fitz-John Porter bill. The regular appropriation bills were all completed. The total amount appropria- ted was about .$186,000 000. Among the special sums voted were $30,000 for the cen- tennial celebration of the Yorktown vic- tory, and $100,000 for a monument to com- memorate the same. Congress adjourned March 3d, 1881, and President Hayes on the following day re- tired from office. The effect of his admin- istration was, in a political sense, to strengthen a growing independent senti- ment in the ranks of the Republicans — an element more conservative generally in its views than those represented by Conkling and Blaine. This sentiment began with Bristow, who while in the cabinet made a show of seeking out and punishing all cor- ruptions in government office or service. On this platform and record he had con- 242 AMERICAN POLITICS. tested with Hayes the honors of the Presi- dential nominations, and while the latter was at the time believed to well represent the same views, they were not urgently pressed during his administration. Indeed, without the knowledge of Hayes, what is believed to be a most gigantic " steal," and which is now being prosecuted under the name of the Star Route cases, had its birth, and thrived so well that no import- ant discovery was made until the incoming of the Garfield administration. The Hayes administration, it is now fashionable to say, made little impress for good or evil upon the country, but impartial historians will give it the credit of softening party as- perities and aiding very materially in the restoration of better feeling between the North and South. Its conservatism, al- ways manifested save on extraordinary oc- casions, did that much good at least. Tlie Campaign of 1880. The Republican National Convention met June 5th, 1880, at Chicago, in the Ex- position building, capable of seating 20,000 people. The excitement in the ranks of the Republicans was very high, because of the candidacy of General Grant for what was popularly called a "third term," though not a third consecutive term. His three powerful Senatorial friends, in the face of bitter protests, had secured the in- structions of their respective State Conven- tions for Grant. Conkling had done this in New York, Cameron in Pennsylvania, Logan in Illinois, but in each of the three States the opposition was so impressive that no serious attempts were made to substi- tute other delegates for those which had previously been selected by their Congres- sional districts. As a result there was a large minority in the delegations of these States opposed to the nomination of Gene- ral Grant, and the votes of them could only be controlled by the enforcement of the unit rule. Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, the President of the Convention, decided against its enforcement, and as a result all of the delegates were free to vote upon ei- ther State or District instructions, or as they chose. The Convention was in session three days. We present herewith the Ballots. BALLOTS. 2 3 Grant, 304 305 305 305 305 305 Blaine, 284 282 282 281 281 281 Sherman, 93 94 93 95 95 95 Edmunds, 34 32 32 32 32 31 Washburne,30 32 31 31 31 31 Windom, 10 10 10 10 10 10 Garfield, 1 1 1 2 2 Harrison, 1 Ballots. 7 8 9 10 11 12 Grant, 305 306 308 305 305 304 Blaine, 281 284 282 282 281 283 Sherman, 94 91 90 91 62 93 Edmunds, 32 31 31 30 31 31 Washburne,31 32 32 22 32 33 Windom, 10 10 10 10 10 10 Garfield, 1112 2 1 Hayes, 1 2 Ballots, 13 14 16 16 17 18 Grant, 305 305 309 306 303 305 Blaine, 285 285 281 283 284 283 Sherman, 89 89 88 88 90 92 Edmunds, 31 31 31 31 31 31 Washburne,33 35 36 36 34 35 Windom, 10 10 10 10 10 10 Garfield, 1 Hayes, 1 1 Davis, 1 McCrary, 1 Ballots, 19 20 21 22 23 24 Grant, 305 308 305 305 304 305 Blaine, 279 276 276 275 274 279 Sherman, 95 93 96 95 98 93 Edmunds, 31 31 31 31 31 31 Washburne,31 35 35 35 36 35 Windom, 10 10 10 10 10 10 Garfield, 11112 2 Hartranft, 1111 Ballots, 25 26 27 Grant, 302 303 306 Blaine, 281 280 277 Sherman, 94 93 93 Edmunds, 31 31 31 Washburne, 36 35 36 Windom, 10 10 10 Garfield, 2 2 2 There was little change from the 27th ballot until the 36th and final one, which resulted as follows : Whole number of votes 755 Necessary to a choice 378 Grant 306 Blaine 42 Sherman S Washburne 5 Garfield 399 As shown. General James A. Garfield, of Ohio, was nominated on the 36th ballot, the forces of General Grant alone remain- ing solid. The result was due to a sudden union of the forces of Blaine and Sherman,, it is believed with the full consent of both,, for both employed the same wire leading from the same room in Washington in telegraphing to their friends at Chicago. The object was to defeat Grant. After Garfield's nomination there was a tempo- rary adjournment, during which the friends of the nominee consulted Conkling and his leading friends, and the result was the selection of General Chester A. Arthur THE CAMPAIGN OF 1880. 243 of New York, for Vice-President. The object of this selection was to carry New York, the great State which was then al- most universally believed to hold the key to the Presidential position. The Democratic National Convention met at Cincinnati, June 22d. Tilden had up to the holding of the Pennsylvania State Convention been one of the most prominent candidates. In this Convention there was a bitter struggle between the Wallace and Randall factions, the former favoring Hancock, the latter Tilden. Wal- lace, after a contest far sharper than he expected, won, and bound the delegation by the unit rule. When the National Convention met, John Kelly, the Tam- many leader of New York, was again there, as at St. Louis four years before, to oppose Tilden, but the latter sent a letter disclaiming that he was a candidate, and yet really inviting a nomination on the is- sue of " the fraudulent counting in of Hayes." There were but two ballots, as follows : FIRST BALLOT. Hancock 171 Bayard 153i Payne 81 Thurman G?A Field 66 Morrison 62 Hendricks 46 \ Tilden 38 Ewing 10 Seymour 8 Randall 6 Loveland 5 McDonald 3 McClellan 3 English 1 Jewett 1 Black 1 Lothrop 1 Parker 1 SECOND BALLOT. Hancock 705 Tilden 1 Bayard 2 Hendricks 30 Thus General Winfield S. Hancock, of New York, was nominated on the second ballot. Wm. H. English, of Indiana, was nominated for Vice-President. The National Greenback-Labor Conven- tion, held at Chicago, June 11, nominated General J. B. Weaver, of Iowa, for Presi- dent, and General E. J. Chambers, of Texas, for Vice-President. In the canvass which followed, the Re- publicans were aided by such orators as Conkling, Blaine, Grant, Logan, Curtis, Boutwell, while the Camerons, father and son, visited the October States of Ohio and Indiana, as it was believed that these would determine the result, Maine having in September very unexpectedly defeated the Republican State ticket by a" small ma- jority. The Democrats were aided bv Bayard, Voorhees, Randall, Wallace, Hill, Hampton, Lamar, and hosts of their best orators. Every issue was recalled, but for the first time in the history of the Repub- licans of the West, they accepted the tariff issue, and made open war on Watterson's plank in the Democratic platform — " a tariff for revenue only." Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana, all elected the Republican State tickets with good margins ; West Virginia went Democratic, but the result was, not- withstanding this, reasonably assured to the Republicans. The Democrats, how- ever, feeling the strong personal popularity of their leading candidate, persisted with high courage to the end. In November all of the Southern States, with New Jer- sey, California,* and Nevada in the North, went Democratic ; all of the others Re- publican. The Greenbackers held only a balance of power, which they could not exercise, in California, Indiana, and New Jersey. The electoral vote of Garfield and Arthur was 214, that of Hancock and Eng- lish 155. The popular vote was Republi- can, 4,442,950; Democratic, 4,442,035; Greenback or National, 306,867 ; scatter- ing, 12,576. The Congressional elections in the same canvass gave the Republicans 147 members ; the Democrats, 136 ; Green- backers, 9 ; Independents, 1. Fifteen States elected Governors, nine of them Republicans and six Democrats. General Garfield, November 10, sent to Governor Foster, of Ohio, his resignation as a Senator, and John Sherman, the Secretary of the Treasury, was in the win- ter following elected as his successor. The third session of the Forty-sixth Congress was begun December 6. The President's Message was read in both Houses. Among its recommendations to Congress were the following : To create the office of Captain-General of the Army for General Grant ; to defend the inviola- bility of the constitutional amendments ; to promote free popular education by grants of public lands and appropriations from the United States Treasury ; to ap- propriate $25,000 annually for the expen- ses of a Commission to be appointed by the President to devise a just, uniform, and efficient system of competitive exami- nations, and to supervise the application of the same throughout the entire civil service of the government ; to pass a law defining the relations of Congressmen to appointments to oflBce, so as to end Con- gressional encroachment upon the appoint- ing power ; to repeal the Tenure-of- office Act, and pass a law protecting ofiice- holders in resistance to political assess- ments ; to abolish the present system of executive and judicial government in Utah, and substitute for it a government by a commission to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, or, in case the present government is con- tinued, to withhold from all who practice • One Democratic elector was defeated, being cut by over 500 voters on a local issue. 244 AMERICAN POLITICS. polygamy the right to vote, hold office, and sit on juries ; to repeal the act authorizing the coinage of the silver dollar of 412^ grains, and to authorize the coinage of a new silver dollar equal in value as bullion with the gold dollar; to take favorable ac- tion on the bill providing for the allotment of lands on the different reservations. Two treaties between this country and China were signed at Pekin, November 17, 1881, one of commerce, and the other se- curing to the United States the control and regulation of the Chinese immigration. President Hayes, February 1, 1881, sent a message to Congress sustaining in the main the findings of the Ponca Indian Commission, and approving its recom- mendation that they remain on their reser- vation in Indian Territory. The Presi- dent suggested that the general Indian policy for the future should embrace the following ideas : First, the Indians should be prepared for citizenships by giving to their young of both sexes that industrial and general education which is requisite to enable them to be self-su])p()rting and capable of self-protection in civilized com- munities; second, lands should be allot- ted to the Indians in severalty, inalienable for a certain period ; third, the Indians should have a fair compensation for their lands not required for individual allot- ments, the amount to be invested, with suitable safeguards, for their benefit ; fourth, with these prerequisites secured, the Indians should be made citizens, and invested with the rights and charged with the responsibilities of citizenship. The Senate, February 4, passed Mr. Morgan's concurrent resolution declaring that the President of the Senate is not in- vested by the Constitution of the United States with the right to count the votes of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, so as to determine what votes shall be received and counted, or what votes shall be rejected. An amendment was added declaring in effect that it is the duty of Congress to pass a law at once providing for the orderly counting of the electoral vote. The House concurred February 5, but no action by l)ill or otherwise has since been taken. Senator Pendleton, of Ohio, December 1/), 1881, introduced a bill to regulate the civil service and to promote the efficiency thereof, and also a bill to prohibit Federal officers, claimants, and contractors from making or receiving assessments or contri- butions for political purposes. The Burnside Educational Bill passed the Senate December 17, 1881. It pro- vides that the proceeds of the sale of pub- lic land and the earnings of the Patent Office shall be funded at four per cent., and the interest divided among the States in proportion to their illiteracy. An amendment by Senator Morgan provides for the instruction of women in the State agricultural colleges in such branches of technical and industrial education as are suited to their sex. No action has yet been taken by the House. On the 9th of February the electoral votes were counted by the Vice-President in the presence of both Houses, and Gar- field and Arthur were declared elected President and Vice-President of the United States. There was no trouble as to the count, and the result previously stated was formally announced. The Three Per Cent. Fniiding BlU. The .3 per cent. Funding Bill passed the House March 2, and was on the following day vetoed by President Hayes on the ground that it dealt unjustly with the Na- tional Banks in compelling them to accept and employ this security for their circu- lation in lieu of the old bonds. This fea- ture of the bill caused several of the Banks to surrender their circulation, conduct which for a time excited strong political prejudices. The Republicans in Congres8 as a rule contended that the debt could not be surely funded at 3 per cent. ; that 3j was a safer figure, and to go below this might render the bill of no effect. The same views were entertained by President Hayes and Secretary Sherman. The Dem- ocrats insisted on 3 per cent., until the veto, when the general desire to fiind at more favorable rates broke party lines, and a Sh per cent, funding bill was passed, with the feature objectionable to the National Banks omitted. The Republicans were mistaken in their view, as the result proved. The loan was floated so easily, that in the session of 1882 Secretary Sherman, now a Senator, him- self introduced a 3 per cent, bill, which passed the Senate Feb. 2d, 1882, in this shape :— Be it enacted, &c. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to receive at the Treasury and at the office of any Assistant Treasurer of the United States and at any postal money order of- fice, lawful money of the United States to the amount of fifty dollars or any multiple of that sum or any bonds of the United States, bearing three and a-half per cent, interest, which are hereby declared valid, and to issue in exchange therefore an equal amount of registered or coupon bonds of the United States, of the denom- ination of fifty, one hundred, five hundred, one thousand and ten thousand dollars, of such form as he may prescribe, bearing in- terest at the rate three per centum per annum, payable either quarterly or semi- annually, at the Treasury of the United iliSTURY OF THE NATIONAL LOANS. 245 States. Such bonds shall be exempt from all taxation by or under state authority, and be payable at the pleasure of the United States. " Provided, That the bonds herein authorized shall not be called in and paid so long as any bonds of the United ^5tates heretofore issued bearing a higher rate of interest than three per centum, and w'li ^h shall be redeemable at the pleasure of the United States, shall be outstanding and uncalled. The last of the said bonds originally issued and their substitutes under this act shall be first called in and this order of payment shall be followed until all shall have been paid." The money deposited under this act shall be promptly applied solely to the re- demption of the bonds of the United States bearing three and a-half per centum in- terest, and the aggregate amount of de- posits made and bonds issued under this act shall not exceed the sum of two hun- dred million dollars. The amount of law- ful money so received on deposit, as afore- said, shall not exceed, at any time, the sum of twenty-five million dollars. Be- fore any deposits are received at any pos- tal money office under this act, the post- master at such offi:;e shall file with the Secretary of the Treasury his bond, with satisfactory security, conditioned that he will promptly transmit to the Treasury of the United States the money received by him in conformity with regulations to be prescribed by such secretary ; and the de- posit with any postmaster shall not at any time, exceed the amount of his bond. Sectiox 2. Any national banking asso- ciation now organized or hereafter or- ganized desiring to withdraw its circulat- ing notes upon a deposit of lawful money with the Treasury of .the United States as provided in section 4 of the Act of June 20, 1874, entitled " An act fixing the amount of United States notes providing for a redistribution of National bank cur- rency and for other purposes," shall be re- quired to give thirty days' notice to the Controller of the Currency of its intention to deposit lawful money and withdraw its circulating notes ; provided that not more than five million of dollars of lawful money shall be deposited during any cal- ender month for this purpose ; and pro- vided further, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to bonds called for redemption by the Secretary of the Trea- sury. Sectiont 3. That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to authox'ize an in- crease of the public debt. In the past few years opinions on the rates of interest have undergone wonderful changes. ]\Iany supposed — indeed it was a "standard" argument — that rates must ever be higher in new than old countries, that these higher rates comported with and aided the higher rates paid for commodi- ties and labor. The funding operations since the war have dissipated this belief, and so shaken political theories that no party can now claim a monopoly of sound financial doctrine. So high is the credit of the government, and so abundant are the resources of our people after a com- paratively short period of general prosper- ity, that they seem to have plenty of sur- plus funds with which to aid any funding operation, however low the rate of interest, if the government — State or National — shows a willingness to pay. As late as February, 1882, Pennsylvania funded seven millions of her indebtedness at 3, 3J and 4 per cent., the two larger sums commanding premiums sufficient to cause the entire debt to be floated at a little more than 3 per cent., and thus floating commands an additional premium in the money ex- changes. History of tlie National Loans. In Book VII of this volume devoted to Tabulated History, we try to give the read- er at a glance some idea of the history of our National finances. An attempt to go into details would of itself fill volumes, for no class of legislation has taken so much time or caused such a diversity of opinion. Yet it is shown, by an admirable review of the loans of the United States, by Rafael A. Bayley, of the Treasury Department published in the February (1882) number of the International Review, that the "finan- cial system of the government of the United States has continued the same from its organization to the present time." Mr. Bayley has completed a history of our Na- tional Loans, which will be published in the Census volume on " Public Debts." From his article in the Review we con- dense the leading facts bearing on the his- tory of our national loans. The financial system ofthe United States, in all its main features, is simple and well defined, and its very simplicity may proba- bly be assigned as the reason why it ap- pears so difficult of comprehe ision by many people of intelligence and education. It is based upon the principles laid down by Alexander Hamilton, and the practical adoption ofthe fundamental maxim which he regarded as the true secret for render- ing public credit immortal, viz., " that the creation of the debt should always be ac- companied with the means of extinguish- ment." A foithful adherence to this sys- tem by his successors has stood the test of nearly a century, with the nation at peace or at war, in prosperity or adversity ; so that, with all the change that progress has entailed upon the people of the age, no valid grounds exist for any change here. " During the colonial period, and under 246 AMERICAN POLITICS. the confederation, the financial operations of the Government were based on the law of necessity, and depended for success upon the patriotism of the people, the co- operation of the several States, and the assistance of foreign powers friendly to our cause. " It was the willingness of the people to receive the various kinds of paper money issued under authority of the Continental Congress, and used in payment for services and supplies, together with the issue of similar obligations by the different States, for the redemption of which they assumed the responsibility ; aided by the munificent gift of money from Louis XVI. of France, followed by loans for a large amount from both France and Holland, that made vic- tory possible, and laid the foundations for the republic of to-day, with its credit un- impaired, and with securities command- ing a ready sale at a high premium in all the principal markets of the world. " Authorities vary as to the amount of paper money issued and the cost of the war for independence. On the 1st of Septem- ber, 1779, Congress resolved that it would ' on no account whatever emit more bills of credit than to make the whole amount of such bills two hundred millions of dol- lais.' Mr. Jefferson estimates the value of this sum at the time of its emission at $36,367,719.83 in specie, and says ; ' If we estimate at the same value the like sum of $200,000,000 supposed to have been emitted by the States, and reckon the Federal debt, foreign and domestic, at about $43,000,000, and the State debt at $25,000,000, it will form an amount of $140,000,000, the total sum which the war cost the United States. It continued eight years, from the battle of Lexington to the cessation of hostilities in America. The annual expense was, therefore, equal to about !|?17,500,000 in specie,' " The first substantial aid rendered the colonies by any foreign power was a free gift of money and military supplies from Louis XVI. of France, amounting in the aggregate to 10,000,000 livres, equivalent to $1,815,000. " These supplies were not furnished openly, for the reason that France was not in a i)osition to commence a war with Great Britain. The celebrated Caron de Beaumarchais was employed as a secret agent, between whom and Silas Deane, as the political and commercial agent of the United States, a contract was entered into whereby the former agreed to furnish a large amount of military supplies from the arsenals of France, and to receive Ameri- can produce in payment therefor. " Under this arrangement supplies were furnished bv the French Government to the amount of 2,000,000 livres. An addi- tional 1,000,000 was contributed by tlie Government of Spain for the same pur- pose, and through the same agency. The balance of the French subsidy was paid through Benjamin Franklin. In 1777 a loan of 1,000,000 livres was obtained from the ' Farmers General of France ' under a contract for its repayment in American tobacco at a stipulated price. From 1778 to 1783, additional loans were obtained from the French King, amounting to 34,- 000,000 livres. From 1782 to 1789, loans to the amount of 9,000,000 guilders were negotiated in Holland, through the agency of John Adams, then the American Minis- ter to the Hague. " The indebtedness of the United States at the organization of the present form of government (including interest to Decem- ber 31, 1790) may be briefly stated, as fol- lows : Foreign debt $11,883,315.96 Domestic debt 40,256,802.45 Debt due foreign officers... 198,208.10 Arrears outstanding (since discharged) 450,395.52 Total $52,788,722.03 To this should be added the individual debts of the several States, the precise amount and character of which was then unknown, but estimated by Hamilton at that time to aggregate about $25,000,000. " The payment of this vast indebtedness was virtually guarantied by the provisions of Article VI. of the Constitution, which says : ' All debts contracted, and engage- ments entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the Unitedf States under this Constitution as under the confederation.' On the 21st of September, 1789, the House of Repre- sentatives adopted the following resolu- tions : Resolved, That this House consider an adequate provision for the support of the public credit as a matter of high import ance to the national honor and prosperity. Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to prepare a plan for that purpose, and to report the same to this House at its next meeting. " In reply thereto Hamilton submitted his report on the 9th of January, 1790, in which he gave many reasons for assuming the debts of the old Government, and of the several States, and furnished a plan for supporting the public credit. His rec- ommendations were adopted, and embodied in the act making provision for the pay- ment of the debt of the United States, approved August 4, 1790. "This act authorized a loan of $12,000,- 000, to be applied to the payment of the foreign debt, principal and interest ; a loan equal to the full amount of the domestic debt, jaayable in certificates issued for its HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL LOANS. 247 amount according to their specie value, and computing the interest to December 31, 1791, upon such as bore interest; and a further loan of $21,500,000, payable in the principal and interest of the certificates or notes which, prior to January 1, 179(), were issued by the respective States as evi- dences of indebtedness incurred by them for the expenses of the late war. ' In the case of the debt of the United States, in- terest upon two-thirds of the principal only, at 6 per cent., was immediately paid ; interest upon the remaining third was de- ferred for ten years, and only three per cent, was allowed upon the arrears of in- terest, making one-third of the whole debt. In the case of the separate debts of the States, interest upon four-ninths only of the entire sum was immediately paid ; in- terest upon two-ninths was deferred for ten years, and only 3 per cent, allowed on three- ninths.' Under this authority 6 per cent, stock was issued to the amount of $30,060,- 511, and deferred 8 per cent, stock, bear- ing interest from January 1, 1800, amount- ing to $14,635,386. This stock was made subject to redemption by payments not ex- ceeding, in one year, on account both of principal and interest, the proj^ortion of eight dollars upon a hundred of the sum mentioned in the certificates ; $19,719,237 was issued in 3 per cent, stock, subject to redemption whenever provision should be made by law for that purpose. " The money needed for the payment of the principal and interest of the foreign debt was procured by new loans negotiated in Holbmd and Antwerp to the amount of $9,-400,0i)0, and the issue of new stock for the balance of $2,024,900 due on the French debt, this stock bearing a rate of interest one-half of one per cent, in ad- vance of the rate previously paid, and re- deemable at the pleasure of the Govern- ment. Subsequent legislation provided for the establishment of a sinking fund, under the management of a board of com- missioners, consisting of the President of the Senate, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and Attorney General, for the time being, who, or any three of whom, were authorized, under the direction of tlie President of the United States, to make purchases of stock, and otherwise provide for the gradual liquidation of the entire debt, from funds set apart for this purpose. On assuming the position of Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton found himself en- tirely without funds to meet the ordinaiy expenses of the Government, except by borrowing, until such time as the revenues from duties on imports and tonnage began to come into the Treasury. Under thesu circumstances, he was forced to make ar- rangements with the Bank of New York and the Bank of North America for tem- porary loans, and it was from the moneys received from these banks that he paid the first installment of salary due President Washington, Senators, Representatives and officers of Congress, during the first ses- sion under the Constitution, which began at the city of New York, March 4, 1789. " The first ' Bank of the United States ' appears to have been proposed by Alex- ander Hamilton in December, 1790, and it was incorporated by an act of Congress, approved February 25, 1791, with a capi- tal stock of $10,000,000 divided into 25,- 000 shares at $400 each. The government subscription of $2,000,000, under authority of the act, was paid by giving to the bank bills of exchange on Holland equivalent to gold, and borrowing from the bank a like sum for ten years at 6 per cent, inter- est. The bank went into operation very soon after its charter was obtained, and declared its first dividend in July, 1792. It was evidently well managed, and was of great benefit to the Government and the people at large, assisting the Government by loans in cases of emergency, and forc- ing the 'wildcat' banks of the country to keep their issues ' somewhere within reasonable bounds.' More than $100,000,- 000 of Government money was received and disbursed by it without the loss of a single dollar. It made semi-annual divi- dends, averaging about 8^ per cent., and its stock rose to a high price. The stock belonging to the United States was sold out at different times at a profit, 2,220 shares sold in 1802 bringing an advance of 45 per cent. The government subscription, vv ith ten years' interest amounted to $3,200- 000, while there was received in dividends and for stock sold $3,773,580, a profit of nearly 28.7 per cent. In 1796 the credit of the Government was very low, as shown by its utter failure to negotiate a loan for the l)urpose of paying a debt to the Bank of the United (States for moneys borrowed and used, partly to pay the expenses of sup- pressing the whisky insurrection in Penn- sylvania and to buy a treaty with the pirates of Algiers. On a loan authorized for $5,000,000, only $80,000 could be ob- tained, and this at a discount of 12j per cent.; and, there being no other immediate resource, United States Bank stock to the amount of $1,304,260 was sold at a pre- mium of 25 per cent. " Under an act approved June 30, 1798, the President was authorized to accept such vessels as were suitable to be armed for the public service, not exceeding twelve in number, and to issue certificates, or other evidences of the public debt of the United States, in payment. Tlie ships George Washington, Merrimack, Maryland and Patapsco, brig Richmond, and frigates Boston, Philadelphia, John Adams, Essex and New York, were purchased, and 6 per 248 AMERICAN POLITICS. cent, stock, redeemable at the pleasure of Congress, was issued in payment to the amount of fe^711,700. "The idea of creating a navy by the purchase of vessels built by private parties and issuing stock in payment therefor, seems to have originated with Hamilton. " In the years 1797 and 1798 the United States, though nominally at peace with all the world, was actually at war with France — a war not formally declared, but carried on upon the ocean with very great viru- lence. John Marshall, Elbridge Gerry and Charles C. Pinckney were appointed en- voys extraordinary to the French Repub- lic, with power for terminating all differ- ences and restoring harmony, good under- standing and commercial and friendly in- tercourse between the two nations ; but their efforts were in vain, and extensive preparations were made to resist a French invasion. It was evident that the ordinary revenues of the country would be inade- quate for the increased expenditure, and a loan of $5,000,000 was authorized by an act approved July 16, 1798, redeemable at pleasure after fifteen years. The rate of interest was not specified in the act, and the market rate at the time being 8 per cent, this rate was paid, and it was thought by a committee of Congress that the loan was negotiated ' upon the best terms that could be procured, and with a laudable eye to the public interest. ' A loan of $3,500,000 was authorized by an act ap- proved May 7, 1800, for the purpose of meeting a large deficit in the revenues of the preceding year, caused by increased expenditures rendered necessary on ac- count of the difliculties with France, and stock bearing 8 per cent, interest, reim- bursable after fifteen years, was issued to the amount of $1,481,700, on which a pre- mium was realized of nearlj' 5| per cent. These are the only two instances in which the Government has paid 8 per cent, in- terest on its bonds. " The province of Louisiana was ceded to the United States by a treaty with France, April 30, 1803, in payment for which 6 per cent, bonds, payable in fifteen years, were issued to the amount of $11,- 250,000, and the balance which the Gov- ernment agreed to pay for the province, amounting to $3,750,000, was devoted to reimbursing American citizens for French depredations on their commerce. These claims were paid in money, and the stock redeemed by purchases made under the di- rection of the Commissioners of the Sink- ing Fund within twelve years. Under an act approved February 11, 1807, a portion of the 'old 6 per cent.' and 'deferred stocks" was refunded into new stock, bear- ing the same rate of interest, but redeema- ble at the pleasure of the United States. This was done for the purpose of placing it within the power of the Government to reimburse the amount refunded within a short time, as under the old laws these stocks could only be redeemed at the rate of 2 per cent, annually. Stock was issued amounting to $6,294,051, nearly all of which was redeemed within four years. Under the same act old ' 3 per cent, stock ' to the amount of $2,861,309 was converted into 6 i^er cents., at sixty-five cents on the dollar, but this was not reimbursable with- out the assent of the holder until after the whole of certain other stocks named in the act was redeemed. The stock issued under this authority amouifted to $1,859,871. It would appear that the great majority of the holders of the "' old stock " j)referred it to the new. A loan equal to the amount of the principal of the public debt reimbursa- ble during the current year was authorized by an act approved May 1, 1810, and $2,- 750,000 was borrowed at 6 per cent, interest from the Bank of the United States, for the purpose of meeting any deficiency arising from increased expenditures on account of the military and naval establishments. This was merely a temporary loan, which was repaid the following year. " The ordinary expenses for the year 1812 were estimated by the Committee of Ways and Means of the House of Representatives at $1,200,000 more than the estimated re- ceipts for the same period, and the impend- ing war with Great Britain made it abso- lutely necessary that some measures should be adopted to maintain the public credit, and provide the requisite funds for carrying on the Government. Additional taxes were imposed upon the people, but as these could not be made immediately available there was no other resource but new loans and the issue of Treasury notes. This was the first time since the formation of the new Government that the issue of such notes had been pro])osed, and they were objected to as engrafting on our system of finance a new and untried measure. " Under various acts of Congress ap- proved between March 4, 1812, and Feb- ruary 24, 1815, 6 per cent, bonds were is- sued to the amount of $50,792,674. These bonds were negotiated at rates varying from 20 per cent, discount to par, the net cash realized amounting to $44,530,123. A fur- ther sum of $4,025,000 was obtained by temporary loans at par, of which sum $225,000 was for the purpose of repairing the public buildings in Washington, dam- agecl by the enemy on the night of August 24, 1814. These 'war loans' were all made redeemable at the pleasure of the Government after a specified date, and the fiiith of the United States was solemnly pledged to provide sufficient revenues for this purpose. The ' Treasury note system ' was a new feature, and its success waa re- garded as somewhat doubtful. HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL LOANS. 249 " Its subsequent popularity, however, \ra8 owing to a variety of causes. The notes were made receivable everywhere for dues and customs, and in payment for pub- lic lands. They were to bear interest from the day of issue, at the rate of 5 2-5 per cent, per annum, and their payment was guaranteed by the United Stiites, principal and interest, at maturity. They thus fur- nished a circulating medium to the coun- try, superior to the paper of the suspend- ed and doubtful State banks. These issues were therefore considered more desirable than the issue of additional stock, which could be realized in cash only by the payment of a ruinous dis- count. The whole amount of Treasury notes issued during the war period was $36,680,794. The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund were authorized to provide for their redemption by purchase, in the same manner as for other evidences of the public debt, and by authority of law $10,- 575,738 was redeemed by the issue of cer- tificates of funded stock, bearing interest at from 6 to 7 per cent, per annum, redeenaa- ble at any time after 1824. " During the years 1812-13 the sum of $2,984,747 of the old 6 per cent, and de- ferred stocks were refunded into new 6 per cent, stock redeemable in twelve years ; and by an act approved March 31, 1814, Con- gress having authorized a settlement of the ' Yazoo claims ' by an' issue of non-interest- bearing stock, payable out of the first re- ceipts from the sale of public lands in the Missisipi territory, $4,282,037 was issued for this purpose. On the 24th of February, 1815, Secretary Dallas reported to Congress that the public debt had been increased, in consequence of the war with Great Bri- tain, !?68,783,122, a large portion of which was due and unpaid, while another con- siderahl 'i proportion was fast becoming due. Tlieie unpaid or accruing demands were in part for temporary loans, and the balance for Treasury noxcs either due or maturing daily. To provide for their pay- ment a new loan for the full amount needed was authorized by act of March 3, 1815, and six per. cent stock redeemable in fifteen years, was issued in the sum of $12,288,148. This stock was sold at from 95 per cent, to par, and was nearly all re- deemed in 1820 by purchases made by the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund. " The Government became a stockholder in the second Bank of the United States, to the amount of 70,000 shares, under the act of incorporation, approved April 10, 1816. The capital stock was limited to $35,000,000, divided into 350,000 s]i;ire-i of $100 each. The Government snliscrijition was paid by the issue of 5 per cent, stock to the amount of $7,000,000, redeemable at the pleasure of the Government. This was a profitable investment for the United States, as in ad- dition to $1,500,000 which the bank paid as a bonus for its charter, the net receipts over and above disbursements amounted to $4,993,167. The available funds in the Treasury on the 1st of January, 1820, were less than $250,000, and the estimated defi- ciency for the year amounted to nearly $4,000,000. This state of affairs was owing partly to the disastrous effects of the com- mercial crisis of 1819, heavy payments for the redemption of the public debt, contin- ued through a series of years, and large outstanding claims, amounting to over $30,000,000, resulting from the late war with Great Britain. To meet the emer- gency, a loan was authorized by act of May 15, 1820, and $999,999.13 was borrowed at 5 per cent., redeemable in twelve years, and $2,0000,000 at 6 per cent., reimbursable at pleasure, this latter stock realizing a pre- mium of 2 per cent. By act of March 3, 1821, 5 per cent, stock amounting to $4,735,- 276 was issued at a premium of over 5^ per cent., and the proceeds used in payment of the principal and interest of the public debt falling due within the year. " An effort was made in 1822 to refund a portion of the 6 per cent, war loans of 1812-14 into 5 per cents., but only $56,705 could be obtained. Two years later the Government was more successful, and, un- der the act of Mav 26, 1824, 6 per cent, stock of 1813 to the amount of $4,454,728 was exchanged for new stock bearing 42- per cent, interest, redeemable in 1833-34. During the same year $5,000,000 was bor- rowed at 42" per cent, to provide for the payment of the awards made by the Com- missioners under the treaty with Spain of February 22, 1819, and a like amount, at the same rate of interest, to be applied in paying off that part of the 6 ])er cent, stock of 1812 redeemable the following year. The act of March 3, 1825, author- ized a loan of $12,000,000, at 4i per cent, interest, the money borrowed to be applied in jJaying off prior loans, but only $1,539,- 336 was exchanged for an equal amount of 6 per cent, stock of 1813. " In the year 1836 the United States was, for the first time in the history of the coun- try, practically out of del)t. Secretary Woodbury, in his report of December 8, 1836, estimated the amount of public debt still outstanding at about $328,582, and this remained unpaid solely because payment had not been demanded, amjile funds to meet it having been deposited in the United States Bank and loan offices. The debt outstanding consisted mainly of un- claimed interest and dividends, of claims for services and supplies during the Revo- lution, and of old Treasury notes, and it is supposed that payment of these had not been asked for solely because the evidences of the debt had been lost or destroyed. The estimates showed the probability of a 250 AMERICAN POLITICS. surplus of at least $14,000,000 in the Trea- Bury at the close of the year 1836, and this estimate proved to be far below the truth. In this favorable condition of the public finances, Congress adopted the extraordi- nary resolution of depositing the surplus over $5,000,000 with the several States, and under the act of June 23, 1836, surplus revenue amounting to $28,101,644.91 was •so deposited. " In 1837, however, the state of the country had changed. The ' flush ' times •of 1835 and 1836 had been succeeded by extraordinary depression, which ultimately j)rotluced a panic. In May most of the t)anks suspended specie payments. The sales of public lands, and the duties on the importations of foreign goods, which had helped to swell the balance in the Treasury to over $42,000,000, had fallen off enor- mously. Even on the goods that were im- ported it was difficult to collect the duties, for the law compelled them to be paid in specie, and specie was hard to obtain. It had become impossible not only to pay the fourth installment of the surplus at the end of 1836 to the several States, but even to meet the current expenses of the Govern- ment from its ordinary revenues. In this ■emergency the Secretary of the Treasury suggested that contingent authority be given the President to cause the issue of Treasury notes. This measure was gener- ally supported on the ground of absolute necessity, as there was a large deficit al- ready existing, and this was likely to in- crease from the condition of the country at that time. The measure was opposed, however, by some who thought that greater economy in expenditures would relieve the Treasury, Avhile others denounced it as an attempt "to start a Treasury bank." " However, an act was aj^proved October 12, 1837, authorizing an issue of $10,000,- 000 in Treasury notes in denomination- not less than fifty dollars, redeemable in one year from date, with interest at rates fixed by the Secretary, not exceed- ing 6 per cent. These notes, as usual, were receivable in payment of all duties and taxes levied by the United States, and in payment for public lands. Prior to 1846, the issue of notes of this character amounted to $47,002,900, bearing interest at rates varying from one-tenth of one per cent, to 6 per cent. To provide in part for their redemption, authority was granted for the negotiation of several loans, and $21,021,094 was borrowed for this purpose, bonds being issued for a like sum, bearing interest at from 5 to 6 per cent., redeema- ble at specified dates. These bonds were sold at from 2^ per cent, discount to 3 J per cent, premium, and redeemed at from par to 191 per cent, advance. " War with Mexico was declared May 13, 1846, and in order to provide against a deficiency a further issue of $10,000,000 in Treasury notes was authorized by act of July 22, 1846, under the same limitations and restrictions as were contained in the act of October, 1837, except that the authority given was to expire at the end of one year from the passage of the act. The sum of $7,687,800 was issued in Treasury notes, and six per cent, bonds having ten years to run were issued under the same act to the amount of $4,999,149. These were sold at a small advance, and redeemed at various rates from par to eighteen and two-thirds per cent, premium. " The expenses incurred on account of the war with Mexico were much greater than the original estimates, and the failure to provide additional revenues sufficient to meet the increased demands made a new loan necessary, as well as an additional issue of notes, wliich had now become a popular method of obtaining funds. Under the authority granted by act of January 28, 1847, Treasury notes to the amount of $26,122,100 were issued at par, redeemable one and two years from date, with interest at from 5 2-5 to 6 per cent. More money still being needed, a 6 per cent, loan, hav- ing twenty years to run, was placed upon the market, under the authority of the same act, and bonds to the amount of $28,- 230,350 were sold at various rates, ranging from par to 2 per cent, premium. Of this stock the sum of $18,815,100 was redeemed at an advance of from 11 to 211 per cent., the premium paid (exc'usive of commis- sions) amounting to $3,466,107. Under the act of March 31, 1848, 6 per cent, bonds, running twenty years, were issued to the amount of $16,O0(),O00, and sold at a premium ranging from 3 to 4.05 per cent. This loan was made for the same purpose as the preceding one, and $7,091,658 was redeemed by purchase at an advance ranging from 8 to 22.46 per cent., the premium paid amounting to $1,251,258. " The widespread depression of trade and commerce which occurred in 1857 was severely felt by the Government, as well as by the people, and so great was the de- crease in the revenues from customs that it became absolutely necessary to provide the Treasury with additional means for meeting the demands upon it. Treasury notes were considered as preferable to a new loan, and by the act of December 23, 1857, a new issue was authorized for such an amount as the exigencies of the public service might require, but not to exceed at any one time $20,000,000, These notes were receivable in payment for all debts due the United States, including customs, and were issued at Various rates of inter- est, ranging from 3 to 6 per cent., to the amount of $52,778,900, redeemable one year from date, the interest to cease at the expiration of sixty days' notice after HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL LOANS. 251 maturity. In May, 1858, the Secretary of the Treasury informed Congress that, owing to the appropriations having been increased by legislation nearly $10,000,000 over the estimates, while the customs revenue had fallen off to a like amount, it would be necessary to provide some means to meet the deficit. In these circumstances, a new loan was authorized by act of June 14, 1858, and 5 per cent, bonds amounting to $20,000,000, redeemable in fifteen years, were sold at an average premium of over 8V per cent. Under the act of December 17, 1873, $13,957,000 in bonds of the loan of 1881, and $260,000 in bonds of a loan of 19)7, were issued in exchange for a like amount of bonds of this loan. " The act of June 22, 1860, authorized the President to borrow $21,000,000 on the credit of the United States, the money to be used only in the redemption of Trea- sury notes, and to replace any amount of such notes in the Treasury which should have been paid in for public dues. Only $7,022,000 was b(^rrowed at 5 per cent, in- terest, the certificates selling at from par to 1.45 per cent, premium. The failure to realize the whole loan was caused by the political troubles which culminated in the civil war. In September, bids were in- vited for $10,000,000, and the whole amount offered was speedily taken. It soon be- came evident, however, that war was inevi- table, and a commercial crisis ensued, dur- ing which a portion of the bidders forfeit- ed their deposits, and the balance of the loan was withdrawn from the market. Au- thority was granted by the act of Decem- ber 17, 1860, for a new issue of Treasury notes, redeemable in one year from date, but not to exceed $10,000,000 at any one time, with interest at such rates as might be offered by the lowest responsible bid- ders after advertisement. An unsuccess- ful attempt was made to pledge the receipts from the sale of public lands specifically for their redemption. The whole amount of notes issued under this act was $10,010,- 900, of which $4,840,000 bore interest at 12 per cent. Additional offers followed, ranging from 15 to 36 per cent., but the Treasury declined to accept them. " Up to this period of our national exist- ence the obtaining of the money necessary for carrying on the Government and the preservation inviolate of the public credit had been comparatively an easy task. The people of the several States had contributed in proportion to their financial resources ; and a strict adherence to the fundamental maxim laid down by Hamilton had been inaintained by a judicious system of taxa- tion to an extent artlply sufficient to pro- vide for the redemption of all our national securities as they became due. But the time had come when we were no longer a united people, and the means required for defraying the ordinary expenses of the Government were almost immediately cur- tailed and jeopardized by the attitude of the States which attempted to secede. The confusion which followed the inauguration of the administration of President Lincoln demonstrated the necessity of providing unusual resources without delay. A sys- tem of internal revenue taxation was in- troduced, and the tariff adjusted with a view to increased revenues from customs. As the Government had not only to exist and pay its way, but also to provide for an army and navy constantly increasing in numbers and equipment, new and extiaor- dinary methods were resorted to for the purpose of securing the money which must be had in order to preserve the integrity of the nation. Among these were the issue of its own circulating medium in the form of United States notes* and circulating notes, t for the redemption of which the faith of the nation was solemnly pledged. New loans were authorized to an amount never before known in our history, and the success of our armies was assured by the determination manifested by the peo- ple themselves to sustain the Government at all hazards. A brief review of the loan transactions during the period covered by the war is all that can be attempted within the limited space afforded this article. The first war loan may be considered as having been negotiated under the authority of an act approved February 8, 1861. The cred- it of the Government at this time was very low, and a loan of $18,415,000, having twenty years to run, with 6 per cent, inter- est, could only be negotiated at a discount of $2,019,776.10, or at an average rate of $89.03 per one hundred dollars. From this time to June 30, 1865, Government se- curities of various descrijjtions were issued under authority of law to the amount of $3,888,686,575, including the several issues of bonds. Treasury notes, seven-thirties, legal tenders and fractional currency. The whole amount issued under the same au- thority to June30, 1880, was $7,137,646,836, divided as follows : Six per cent, bonds $1,130,279,000 Five per cent, bonds 196,118,300 Temporarv loan certificates.. 969,992,250 Seven-thirty notes 716,099,247 Treasurv notes and certifi- cates of indebtedness 1,074,713,132 Old demand notes, legal tend- ers, coin certificates and fractional currency 3,050,444,907 Total $7,137,646,836 "This increase may be readily accounted for by the continued issue of legal tenders, * Commonly sailed " Greenbacks," or " Legal Ten»ie» notes " t (tommonly called " National Bank notes." 252 AMERICAN POLITICS. compound interest notes, fractional cur- rency and coin certificates, together with a large amount of bonds issued in order to raise the money necessary to pay for mili- tary supplies, and other forms of indebted- ness growing out of the war. The rebel- lion was practically at an end in May, 1865, yet the large amount of money re- quired for immediate use in the payment and disbandment of our enormous armies necessitated the still further negotiation of loans under the several acts of Congress then in force, and it was not until after the 31st of August, 1865, that our national debt began to decrease. At that time the total indebtedness, exclusive of the " old funded and unfunded debt " of the Revo- lution, and of cash in the Treasury, amounted to $2,844,646,626.56. The course of our financial legislation since that date has been constantly toward a reduction of the interest, as well as the principal of the public debt. " By an act approved March 3, 1865, a loan of $600,000,000 was authorized upon similar terms as had been granted for pre- vious loans, with the exception that no- thing authorized by this act should be made a legal tender, or be issued in smaller denominations than fifty dollars. The rate of interest was limited to 6 per cent, in coin, or 7.3 per cent, in currency, the bonds issued to be redeemable in not less than five, nor more than forty, years. Authority was also given for the conversion of Trea- sury notes or other interest-bearing obliga- tions into bonds of this loan. An amend- ment to this act was passed April 12, 1866, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury, at his discretion, to receive any Treasury notes or other obligations issued under any act of Congress, whether bearing interest or not, in exchange for any description of bonds authorized by the original act ; and also to dispose of any such bonds, either in the United States or elsewhere, to such an. amount, in such manner, and at such rates as he might deem advisable, for lawful money, Treasury notes, certificates of in- debtedness, certificates of deposit, or other representatives of value, which had been or might be issued under any act of Congress ; the proceeds to be used only for retiring Treasury notes or other national obligations, provided the public debt was not increased thereby. As this was the first important measure presented to Congress since the close of the war tending to place our secu- rities upon a firm basis, the action of Con- gress in relation to it was looked forward to with a great deal of interest. The dis- cussion took a wide range, in which the whole financial administration of the Go- vernment during the war was reviewed at length. After a long and exciting debate the bill finally passed, and was approved by the President. Under the authority of these two acts, 6 per cent, bonds to the amount of $958,483,550 have been issued to date. These bonds were disposed of at an aggregate premium of $21,522,074, and un- der the acts of July 14, 1870, and January 20, 1871, the same bonds to the amount of $725,582,400 have been refunded into other bonds bearing a lower rate of interest. The success of these several loans was remarka- ble, every exertion being used to jirovide lor their general distribution among the people. " In 1867 the first issue of 6 per cent, bonds, known as five-twenties, authorized by the act of Feb. 25, 1862, became re- deemable, and the question of refundirig them and other issues at a lower rate of in- terest had been discussed by the Secretary of the Treasury in his annual reports, but the agitation of the question as to the kinds of money in which the various obligations of the Government should be paid, had so excited the apprehension of investors as to prevent the execution of any refunding scheme. " The act to strengthen the public credit was passed March 18, 1869, and its effect was such as secured to the public the strong- est assurances that the interest and princi- pal of the public debt outstanding at that time would be paid in coin, according to the terms of the bonds issued, without any abatement. " On the 12th of January, 1870, a bill authorizing the refunding and consolidation of the national debt was introduced in the Senate, and extensively debated in both Houses for several months, during which the financial system i>ursued by the Go- vernment during the war was freely re- viewed. The adoption of the proposed measure resulted in an entire revolution of the refunding system, under which the public debt of the United States at that time was provided for, by the transmission of a large amount of debt to a succeeding generation. The effect of this attempt at refunding the major portion of the public debt was far more successful than any si- milar effort on the part of any Government, so far as known. The act authorizing refunding certifi- cates convertible into 4 per cent, bonds, approved February 20, 1879, was merely intended for the benefit of parties of limit- ed means, and was simply a continuation of the refunding scheme authorized by previous legislation. " The period covered precludes any at- tempt toward reviewing the operation by which the immediate predecessor of the present Secretary reduced the interest on some six hundred millions of 5 and 6 per cent, bonds to So per cent. It is safe to say, however, that under the administration of the present Secretary there will be no de- viation from the original law laid down by Hamilton. REPUBLICAN FACTIONS. 253 James A. Garfield. James A. Garfield and Chester A. Ar- thur were publicly inaugurated President and Vice President of the United States March 4, 1881. President Garfield in his inaugural ad- dress promised full and equal protection of the Constitution and the laws for the negro, advocated universal education as a safe- guard of suffrage, and recommended such an adjustment of our monetary system "that the purchasing power of every coined dollar will be exactly equal to its debt- paying power in all the markets of the world." The national debt should be re- funded at a lower rate of interest, without compelling the withdrawal of the National Bank notes, polygamy should be prohibit- ed, and civil service regulated by law. An extra session of the Senate was opened March 4. On the 5th, the follow- ing cabinet nominations were made and confirmed: Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, of Maine ; Secretary of the Treas- ury, William Windom, of Minnesota; Secretary of the Navy, William H. Hunt, of Louisiana ; Secretary of War, Kobert T. Lincoln, of Illinois ; Attorney General, Wayne MacVeagh, of Pennsylvania ; Post- master General, Thomas L. James, of New York ; Secretary of the Interior, Samuel J. Kirkwood, of Iowa. In this extra session of the Senate Vice President Arthur had to employ the cast- ing vote on all questions where the parties divided, and he invariably cast it on the side of the Republicans. The evenness of the parties caused a dead-lock on the ques- tion of organization, for when David Davis, of Illinois, voted with the Democrats, the Republicans had not enough even with the Vice President, and he was not, therefore, called upon to decide a question of that kind. The Republicans desired new and Republican officers ; the Democrats de- sired to retain the old and Democratic ones. Repnltllcaix Factions. President Garfield, March 23d, sent in a large number of nominations, among which was that of William H. Robertson, the leader of the Blaine wing of the Republi- can party in New York, to be Collector of Customs. He had previously sent in five names for prominent places in New York, at the suggestion of Senator Conkling, who had been invited by President Garfield to name his friends. At this interview it was stated that Garfield casually intimated that he would make no immediate change in the New York Collectorship, and both fac- tions seemed satisfied to allow Gen'l Edwin A. Merritt to retain that place for a time at least. There were loud protests, however, at the first and early selection of the friends of Senator Conkling to five important places, and these protest* were heeded by the President. With a view to meet them, and, doubtless, to quiet the spirit of faction rapidly developing between the Grant and anti-Grant elements of the party in New York, the name of Judge Robertson was sent in for the Collectorship. He had bat- tled against the unit rule at Chicago, dis- avowed the instructions of his State Con- vention to vote for Grant, and led the Blaine delegates from that State while Blaine was in the field, and when with- drawn went to Garfield. Senator Conkling now sought to confirm his friends, and hold back -his enemy from confirmation ; but these tactics induced Garfield to withdraw the nomination of Conkling's friends, and in this way Judge Robertson's name was alone presented for a time. Against this course Vice-President Arthur and Senators Conkling and Piatt remonstrated in a let- ter to the President, but he remained firm. Senator Conkling, under the plea of " the privilege of the Senate," — a courtesy and custom which leaves to the Senators of a State the right to say who shall be con- firmed or rejected from their respective States if of the same party — now sought to defeat Robertson. In this battle he had arrayed against him the influence of his great rival, Mr. Blaine, and it is presumed the whole power of the administration. He lost, and the morning following the secret vote. May 17th, 1881, his own and the resignation of Senator Piatt were read. These resignations caused great excitement throughout the entire country. They were prepared without consultation with any one — even Vice-President Arthur, the in- timate friend of both, not knowing any- thing of the movement until the letters were opened at the chair where he pre- sided. Logan and Cameron — Conkling's colleagues in the great Chicago battle — were equally unadvised. The resignations were forwarded to Gov. Cornell, of New York, who, by all permissible delays, sought to have them reconsidered and withdrawn, but both Senators were firm. The Senate confirmed Judge Robertson for Collector, and General Merritt as Con- sul-General at London, May 18th, Presi- dent Garfield having Avisely renewed the Conkling list of appointees, most of whom declined under the changed condition of affairs. These events more widely separated the factions in New York — one wing calling itself " Stalwart," the other " Half-Breed," a term of contempt flung at the Indepen- dents by Conkling. Elections must follow to fill the vacancies, the New York Legis- lature being in session. These vacancies gave the Democrats for the time control of the United States Senate, but they thought it unwise to pursue an advantage which 254 AMERICAN POLITICS. would compel them to show their hands for or against one or other of the opposing Republican factions. The extra session of the Senate adjourned May 20th. "The New York Legislature began ballot- ing for successors to Senators Conkling and Piatt on the 31st of May. The majority of the Republicans (Independents or "Half- breeds") supported Chauncey M. Depew as the successor of Piatt for the long term, and William A. Wheeler as the successor of Conkling for the short term, a few sup- porting Cornell. The minority (Stalwarts) renominated Messrs. Conkling and Piatt. The Democrats nominated Francis Keruan for the long term, and John C. Jacobs for the short term ; and, on his withdrawal, Clarkson N. Potter. The contest lasted until July 22, and resulted in a compro- mise on Warner A. Miller as Piatt's suc- cessor, and Elbridge G. Lapham as Conk- ling's successor. In Book VII., our Tabu- lated History of Politics, we give a correct table of the ballots. These show at a sin- gle glance the earnestness and length of the contest. The factious feelings engendered thereby were carried into the Fall nominations for the Legislature, and as a result the Demo- crats obtained control, which in part they subsequently lost by the refusal of the Tammany Democrats to support their nominees for presiding officers. This De- mocratic division caused a long and tire- some deadlock in the Legislature of New York. It was broken in the House by a promise on the part of the Democratic candidate for Speaker to favor the Tam- many men with a just distribution of the committees — a promise which was not satisfactorily carried out, and as a result the Tammany forces of the Senate joined hands with the Republicans. The Repub- lican State ticket would also have been lost in the Fall of 1881, but for the inter- position of President Arthur, who quickly succeeded in uniting the warring factions. This work was so well done, that all save one name on the ticket (Gen'l Husted) succeeded. The same factious spirit was manifested in Pennsylvania in the election of U. S. Senator in the winter of 1881, the two wings taking the names of " Regulars " and " In- dependents." The division occurred be- fore the New York battle, and it is trace- able not alone to the bitter nominating contest at Chicago, but to the administra- tion of President Hayes and the experi- ment of civil service reform. Administra- tions which are not decided and firm upon political issues, invariably divide their parties, and while these divisions are not always to be deplored, and sometimes lead to good results, the fact that undecided administrations divide the parties which they represent, ever remains. The exam- ples are plain : Van Buren's, Tyler's, Fill- more's, Buchanan's, and Hayes'. The lat- ter's indecision was more excusable than that of any of his predecessors. The in- exorable firmness of Grant caused the most bitter partisan assaults, and despite all his efforts to sustain the " carpet-bag govern- ments " of the South, they became unpopu- lar and were rapidly supplanted. As they disappeared. Democratic representation from the South increased, and this increase continued during the administration of Hayes — the greatest gains being at times when he showed the greatest desire to con- ciliate the South. Yet his administration did the party good, in this, that while at first dividing, it finally cemented through the conviction that experiments of that kind with a proud Southern people were as a rule unavailing. The re opening of the avenues of trade and other natural causes, apparently uncultivated, have ac- complished in this direction much more than any political effort. In Pennsylvania a successor to U. S. Senator Wm. A. Wallace was to be chosen. Henry W. Oliver, Jr., received the nomi- nation of the Republican caucus, the friends of Galusha A. Grow refusing to enter after a count had been made, and declaring in a written paper that they would not participate in any caucus, and would independently manifest their choice in the Legislature. The following is the first vote in joint Convention • OLIVER. Senate House WALLACE. 20 Senate 16 75 House 77 Total 95 Total 93 GROW. AGNEW. Senate 12 Senate 1 House 44 House Total 56 Total 1 BREWSTER. BAIRD. Senate Senate House 1 House 1 Total 1 m'veagh. Senate House 1 Total. Total. Whole number of votes cast, 248 ; ne- cessary to a choice, 125. On the 17th of January the two factions issued opposing addresses. From these we quote the leading ideas, which divided the factions. The " Regulars " said : "Henry W. Oliver, jr., of Allegheny county, was nominated on the third ballot, receiving 79 of the 95 votes present. Un- der the rules of all parties known to th« REPUBLICAN FACTIONS. 255 present or past history of our country, a majority of tliose participating should have been sufficient ; but such was the desire for party harmony and for absolute fairness, that a majority of all the Republican mem- bers of the Senate and House was required to nominate. The effect of this was to give those remaining out a negative voice in the proceedings, the extent of any priv- ilege given them in regular legislative ses- sions by the Constitution. In no other caucus or convention has the minority ever found such high consideration, and we be- lieve there remains no just cause of com- plaint against the result. Even captious faultfinding can find no place upon which to hang a sensible objection. Mr. Oliver was, therefore, fairly nominated by the only body to which is delegated the power of nomination and by methods which were more than just, which, from every stand- point, must be regarded as generous ; and in view of these things, how can we, your Senators and Representatives, in fairness withhold our support from him in open sessions ; rather how can we ever abandon a claim established by the rules regulating the government of all parties, accepted by all as just, and which are in exact harmony with that fundamental principle of our Government which proclaims the right of the majority to rule? To do otherwise is to confess the injustice and the failure of that principle — something we are not pre- pared to do. It would blot the titles to our own positions. There is not a Senator or member who does not owe his nomina- tion and election to the same great prin- ciple. To profit by its acceptance in our own cases and to deny it to Mr. Oliver would be an exhibition of selfishness too flagrant for our taste. To acknowledge the right to revolt when no unfairness can be truthfully alleged and when more than a majority have in the interest of harmony been required to govern, would be a tra- vesty upon every American notion and upon that sense of manliness which yields when fairly beaten." The " Independent " address said : " First. We recognize a public senti- ment which demands that in the selection of a United States Senator we have regard to that dignity of the office to be filled, its important duties and functions, and the qualifications of the individual with refer- ence thereto. This sentiment is, we un- derstand, that there are other and higher qualifications for this distinguished posi- tion than business experience and success, and reckons among these the accomplish- ments of the scholar, the acquirements of the student, the mature wisdom of experi- ence and a reasonable familiarity with public affairs. It desires that Pennsylva- nia shall be distinguished among her sister Commonwealths, not only by her populous cities, her prosperous communities, her vast material wealth and diversified indus- tries and resources, but that in the wis- dom, sagacity and statesmanship of her representative she shall occupy a corres- ponding rank and influence. To meet this public expectation and demand we are and have at all times been willing to su- bordinate our personal preferences, all local considerations and factional difier- ences, and unite with our colleagues in the selection of a candidate in whom are com- bined at least some of these important and essential qualifications. It was only when it became apparent that the party caucus was to be used to defeat this popular desire and to coerce a nomination which is con- spicuously lacking in the very essentials which were demanded, that we determined to absent ourselves from it. * * * * " Second, Having declined to enter the caucus, we adhere to our determination to defeat, if possible, its nominee, but only by the election of a citizen of unquestioned fidelity to the principles of the Republi- can party. In declaring our independency from the caucus domination we do not forget our allegiance to the party whose chosen representatives we are. The only result of our policy is the transfer of the contest from the caucus to the joint con- vention of the two houses. There will be afforded an opportunity for the expression of individual preferences and honorable rivalry for an honorable distinction. If the choice shall fall upon one not of ap- proved loyalty and merit, the fault will not be ours." After a long contest both of the leading- candidates withdrew, and quickly the Reg- ulars substituted General James A. Beaver, the Independent Congressman, Thomas M. Bayne. On these names the dead-lock remained unbroken. Without material change the balloting continued till Febru- ary 17th, when both Republican faction* agreed to appoint conference committees of twelve each, with a view to selecting by a three-fourths vote a compromise candi- date. The following were the respective committees: For the Independents: Sena- tors Davis, Bradford ; Lee, Venango ; Stew- art, Franklin ; Lawrence, Washington ; Representatives Wolfe, Union ; Silver- thorne, Erie ; Mapes, Venango ; McKee, Philadelphia ; Slack, Allegheny ; Stubs, Chester; Niles, Tioga; and Derickson, Crawford. For the Regulars : Senators Greer, Butler ; Herr, Dauphin ; Smith, Philadelphia ; Keefer, Schuylkill ; Cooper, Delaware ; Representatives Pollock, Phila- delphia ; Moore, Allegheny ; Marshall, Huntingdon; Hill, Indiana; Eshleman, Lancaster; Thomson, Armstrong; and Billingsley, Washington. The joint convention held daily sessions and balloted without result until February 256 AMERICAN POLITICS. 22d, when John I. Mitchell, of Tioga, Congressman from the 16th district, was unanimously agreed upon as a compro- mise candidate. He was nominated by a full Republican caucus on the morning of February 23d, and elected on the first bal- lot in joint convention on that day, the vote standing: Mitchell, 150; Wallace, 92; MacVeagh, 1; Brewster, 1. The spirit of this contest continued until fall. Senator Davies, a friend of Mr. Grow, was a prominent candidate for the Repub- lican nomination for State Treasurer. He was beaten by General Silas M. Baily, and Davies and his friends cordially made Baily's nomination unanimous. Charles S. Wolfe, himself the winter before a can- didate for United Stales Senator, was dis- satisfied. He suddenly raised the Inde- pendent flag, in a telegram to the Phila- delphia Press, and as he announced was "the nominee of a convention of one" for State Treasurer. After a canvass of re- markable energy on the part of INIr. Wolfe, General Baily was elected, without sufier- ing materially from the division. Mr. Wolfe obtained nearly 50,000 votes, but as almost half of them were Democratic, the result was, as stated, not seriously affected. The Independents in Pennsylvania, however, were subdivided into two wings, known as the Continental and the Wolfe men — the former having met since the election last fall, (State Senator John Stewart, chairman) and proclaimed them- selves willing and determined to abide all Republican nominations fairly made, and to advocate " reform within the i)arty lines." These gentlemen supported Gen. Baily and largely contributed to his suc- cess, and as a rule they regard with dis- favor equal to that of the Regulars, what is known as the Wolfe movement. These divisions have not extended to other States, nor have they yet assumed the shape of third parties unless Mr. Wolfe's individual canvass can be thus classed. Up to this writing (March 10, 1882,) neither wing has taken issue with President Arthur or his appointments, though there were some temporary indications of this when Attor- ney General MacVeagh, of Pennsylvania, persisted in having his resignation ac- cepted. President Arthur refused to ac- cept, on the ground that he desired Mac- Veagh's services in the prosecution of the Star Route cases, and Mr. MacVeagh with- drew for personal and other reasons not yet fully explained. In this game of po- litical fence the position of the President was greatly strengthened. Singularly enough, in the only two States where factious divisions have been recently manifested in the Republican ranks, they effected almost if not quite as seriously the Democratic party. There can be but one deduction drawn from this. to wit: — That a number in both of the great parties, were for the time at least, weary of their allegiance. It is possible that nothing short of some great issue will restore the old partisan unity, and partisan unity in a Republic, W'here there are but two great parties, is not to be deplored if relieved of other than mere political dif- ferences. The existence of but two great parties, comparatively free from fiictions, denotes government health ; where divi- sions are numerous and manifest increas- ing growth and stubbornness, there is grave danger to Republican institutions. We need not, however, philosophize when Mexico and the South American Repub- lics are so near. Tlie Caucus. Both the " Independents " of Pennsyl- vania and the " Half-Bi-eeds " of New York at first proclaimed their opposition to the caucus system of nominating candidates for U. S. Senators, and the newspapers in their interest wrote as warmly for a time against " King Caucus" as did the dissat- tisfied Democratic journals in the days of De Witt Clinton. The situation, however, was totally different, and mere declamation could not long withstand the inevitable. In Pennsylvania almost nightly " confer- ences " were held by the Independents, as indeed they were in New York, though in both States a show of hostility was kept up to nominating in party caucus men who were to be elected by representative, more plainly legislative votes. It was at first claimed that in the Legislature each man ought to act for himself or his constituents, but very shortly it was found that the cau- cuses of the separate wings were as binding upon the respective wings as they could have been upon the whole. Dead-locks were interminable as long as this condition of affairs obtained, and hostility to the . caucus system was before very long quietly discouraged and finally flatly abandoned, for each struggle was ended by the ratifi- cation of a general caucus, and none of them could have been ended without it. The several attempts to find other means to reach a result, only led the participants farther away from the true principle, under republican forms at least, of the right of the majority to rule. In Pennsylvania, when Mr. Oliver withdrew, fifty of his friends assembled and informally named General Beaver, and by this action sought to bind the original 95 friends of Oliver. Their conduct was excused by the plea that they represented a majority of their fac- tion. It failed to bind all of the original number, though some of the Independents were won. The Independents, rather the original 44, bound themselves in writing not to change their course of action unleaa THE CAUCUS. 257 there wai secured the previous concurrence of two-thirds, and this principle was ex- tended to the; 56 who supported Mr. Buyne. Tlien wlien tlie joint committee of 24 w;ts agreed upon, it was bound by a rule re- quiring thrsc-fourths to recommend a can- didate. All of these were plain departures from a great principle, and the deeper the contest became, the greater the departure. True, the->e were but voluntary forms, but they were indefensible, and are only re- ferred to now to show the danger of mad assaults upon great principles when per- sonal and factious aims are at stake. Op- position to the early Congressional caucus was plainly right, since one department of the Government was by voluntary agencies actually controlling anotlier, while the law gave legal lorms which could be more pro- perly initiated through voluntary action. The writer believes, and past contests all confirm the view that the voluntary action can only be safely employed by the power by the l.iw with the right of selection. Thus the people elect township, county and State officers, and it is their right and duty by the best attainable voluntary action to indicate their choice. This is done through the caucus or convention, the latter not differing from the former save in extent and possibly breadth of representation. The same rule applies to all offices elective by the people. It cannot properly apply to appointive offices, and while the attempt to apply it to the election of U. S. Senators shows a strong desire on the part, frequently of the more public-spirited citizens, to ex- ercise a greater share in the selection of these officers than the law directly gives them, yet their representatives can very properly be called upon to act as they would act if they had direct power in the pre- mises, and such action leads them into a party caucus, where the will of the majority of their respective parties can be fairly ascertained, and when ascertained re- spected. The State Legislatures appoint U. S. Senators, and the Eepresentative-J and Senators of the States are bound to consider in their selection the good of the entire State. If this comports with the wish of their respective districts, very well ; if it does not, their duty is not less plain. Probably the time will never come when the people will elect United States Senators ; to do that is to radically change the Federal system, and to practically de- stroy one of the most important branches of the Government; yet he is not a careful observer who does not note a growing dis- position on the part of the people, and largely the people of certain localities, and imaginary political sub-divisions, to control these selections. The same is true of Presidential nominations, where masses of people deny the right of State Conventions to instruct their delegates-at-Iarge. la 17 many States the people composing either of the great parties now select their own representative delegates to National Conventions, and where their selections are not respected, grave party danger is. sure to follow. There is nothing wrong in this, since it points to, and is but paving the way for a more popular s'^'ection of Presidents and Vice Presidents — to an eventual selection of Presidential electors probably by Congressional districts. Yet those to be selected at large must through practical voluntary forms be nominated in that way, and the partisan State Conven- tion is the best method yet devised for this- work, and its instructions should be as- binding as those of the people upon their representatives. In this government of ours there is voluntary and legal work delegated to the people directly ; there i» legal work delegated to appointing powera, and an intelligent discrimination should ever be exercised between the two. " Ren- der unto Csesar those things which are Caesar's," unless there be a plain desire, backed by a good reason, to promote popu- lar reforms as enduring as the practices and principles which they are intended to support. Fredrick W. Whitridge, in an able re- view of the caucus system published * in La- lor's Encydopcedia of Political Science, says : "A caucus, in the political vocabulary of the United States, is primarily a private meeting of voters holding similar views, held prior to an election for the purpose oi furthering such views at the election. With the development of parties, and the rule of majorities, the caucus or some equivalent has become an indispensable- adjunct to party government, antl it may now be defined as a meeting of the majority of the electors belonging to the same party in any political or legislative body held preliminary to a meeting thereof, for the purpose of selecting candidates to be voted for, or for the purpose of de- termining the course of the party at the meeting of the whole body. The candidates of each party are univer- sally selected by caucus, either directly or indirectly through delegates to conven- tions chosen in caucuses. In legislative bodies the course of each party is oftea predetermined with certainty in caucus, and often discussion between parties has been, in consequence, in some degree superseded. The caucus system is, in short, the basis of a complete electoral system Avhich has grown up within each party, side by side with that which is alone contemplated by the laws. This condition has in recent years attracted much atten- tion, and has been bitterly announced as an evil. It was, however, early foreseen. John Adams, in 1814, wrote in the " Tenth * By Rand Jt.MtNally, Chicago, IlL, 1883. 258 AMERICAN POLITICS. Letter on Government:" "They have invented a balance to all balance in their caucuses. We have congressional caucuses, state caucuses, county caucuses, city cau- cuses, district caucuses, town caucuses, parish caucuses, and Sunday caucuses at church doors, and in these aristocrat! cal caucuses elections have been decided." The caucus is a necessary consequence of majority rule. If the majority is to define the policy of a party, there must be some method within each party of ascertaining the mind of the majority, and settling the party programme, before it meets the op- posing party at the polls. The Carlton and Keform clubs discharge for the Tories and Liberals many of the functions of a congressional caucus. Meetings of the members of the parties in the reichstag, the corps legislatif and the chamber of deputies are not unusual, although they have generally merely been for consulta- tion, and neither in England, France, Germany or Italy, has any such authority been conceded to the wish of the majority of a party as we have rested in the deci- sion of a caucus. What has been called a caucus has been established by the Liberals of Birmingham, England, as to which, see a paper by W. Eraser Rae, in the " International Eeview " for August, 1880. The origin of the term caucus is obscure. It has been derived from the Algonquin word Kaio-kaiv-wus — to con- sult, to speak — but the more probable derivation makes it a corruption of caulkers. In the early politics of Boston, and particularly during the early difficul- ties between the townsmen and the British troops, the seafaring men and those em- ployed about the ship yards were promi- nent among the town-people, and there ■were numerous gatherings which may have very easily come to be called by way of reproach a meeting of caulkers, after the least influential class who at- tended them, or from the caulking house or caulk house in which they were held. What was at first a derisive description, came to be an appellation, and the gather- ings of so-called caulkers became a cau- cus. John Pickering, in a vocabulary of wojrds and phrases peculiar to the United States (Boston, 1816), gives this derivation of the word, and says, several gentlemen mentioned to him that they had heard this derivation. Gordon, writing in 1774, says : " More than fifty years ago Mr. Samuel Adams' father and twenty others, one or two from the north end of the town where all the shin business is carried on, used to meet, make a caucus and lay their plan for introducing certain persons into places of trust and power. When they had settled it they separated, and each used their particular influence within his own circle. He and his friends would furnish 1 themselves with ballots, including the names of the parties fixed upon, which they distributed on the days of election. By acting in concert, together with a care- ful and extensive distribution of ballots, they generally carried their elections to their own mind. In like manner it was that Mr. Samuel Adams ^rst became a representative for Boston." [History oj the American Revolution, vol. i., p. 365.) February, 1763j>-»Adams writes in his diary : " This duy I learned that the cau- cus club meets at certain times in the gar- ret of Tom Dawes, the adjutant of the Bos- ton regiment. He has a large house and he has a movable partition in his garret which he takes down and the whole club meets in his room. There they smoke tobacco until they cannot see one end of the room from another. There they drink flip, I suppose, and there they choose a moderator who puts questions to the vote regularly ; and selectmen, assessors, col- lectors, wardens, fire wards and representa- tives are regularly chosen in the town. Uncle Fairfield, Story, Euddock, Adams, Coo])er, and a rudis indigestaques moles or others, are members. They send commit- tees to wait on the merchants' club, and to propose in the choice of men and measures. Captain Cunningham says, they have of- ten solicited him to go to the caucuses ; they have assured him their benefit in his business, etc." [Adams' Works, vol. ii., p. 144.) Under the title caucus should be considered the congressional nominating caucus ; the caucuses of legislative assem- blies ; primary elections, still known out- side the larger cities as caucuses ; the evils which have been attributed to the latter, and the remedies which have been pro- posed. These will accordingly be men- tioned in the order given. " The democratic system is the result of the reorganization of the various anti- Tammany democratic factions, brought about, in 1881, by a practically self-ap- pointed committee of 100. Under this sys- tem primary elections are to be held annu- ally in each of 678 election districts, at which all democratic electors resident in the respective districts may participate, pro- vided they were registered at the last gene- ral election. The persons voting at any primary shall be members of the election district association for the ensuing year, which is to be organized in January of each year. The associations may admit demo- cratic residents in their respective districts, who are not members, to membership, and they have general supervision of the inte- rests of the party within their districts. Primaries are held on not less than four days' public notice, through the newspa- pers, of the time and place, and at the ap- pointed time the meeting is called to order by the chairman of the election district as- THE CAUCUS. 259 soc'.ation, provided twenty persons be pre- sent; if tliat number shall not be present, the meeting may be called to order with a less number, at the end of fifteen minutes. The fir-it business of the meeting is to se- lect a cliairman, and all elections of dele- gates or committeemen shall take place in open meeting. E ich person, as he offers to vote, states his name and residence, which may be compared with the registration list at the last election, and each person shall state for whom he votes, or he may hand to the judges an open ballot, having designated thereon the persons for whom he votes, and for what positions. Nominations are all made by conventions of delegates from the districts within which the candidate to be cho ;en is to be voted for. There is an as- sembly district committee in each assembly district, composed of one delegate for each 100 votes or fraction thereof, from each election district within the assembly dis- trict. There is also a county committee composed of delegates from each of the as- sembly district committees. The function of these committees is generally to look af- ter the interests of the parties within their respective spheres. This system is too new for its workings to be as yet fairly criti- cised. It may prove a really popular sys- tem, or it may prove only an inchoate form of the other systems. At present it can only be said that the first primaries under it were participated in by 27,000 electors. "The evils of the caucus and primary election systems lie in the stringent obliga- tion which is attached to the will of a for- mal ma,jority ; in the fact that the process of ascertaining what the will of the major- ity is, has been surrounded with so many restrictions that the actual majority of votes are disfranchised, and take no part in that process, so that the formal majority is in consequence no longer the majority in fact, although it continues to demand recogni- tion of its decisions as such. " The separation between the organiza- tion and the party, between those who no- minate and those who elect, is the sum of the evils of the too highly organized cau- cus system. It has its roots in the notion that the majority is right, because it is the majority, which is the popular view thus expressed by Hammond : ' I think that when political friends consent to go into caucus for the nomination of officers, eveiy member of such caucus is bound in honor to support and carry into effect its deter- mination. If you suspect that determina- tion will be so preposterous that you can- not in conscience support it, then you ought on no account to become one of its mem- bers. To try your chance in a caucus, and then, because your wishes are not gratified, to attempt to defeat the result of the deli- berat'on of your friends, strikes me as a palpable violation of honor and good faith. You caucus for no other possible purpose than under the implied argument that the opinion and wishes of the minority shall be yielded to the opinions of the majority, and the sole object of caucusing is to ascertain what is the will of the majority. I repeat that unless you intend to carry into effect the wishes of the majority, however con- trary to your own, you have no business at a caucus.' [Political History nf New Yorl:, vol. i., p. 192). — In accordance with this theory, the will of the majority becomes obligatory as soon as it is made known, aiul one cannot assist at a caucus in order to ascertain the will of the majority, without thereby being bound to follow it; and the theory is so deeply rooted that, under the caucus and primary election system, it has been extended to cases in which the ma- jorities are such only in form. " The remedies as well as the evils of the caucus and nominating system have been made the subject of general discussion in connection with civil service reform. It is claimed that that reform, by giving to pub- lic officers the same tenure of their positions which is enjoyed by the employes of a cor- poration or a private business house, or during the continuance of efficiency or good behaviour, would abolish or greatly dimi- nish the evils of the caucus system by de- priving public officers of the illegitimate incentive to maintain it under which they now act. Other more speculative remedies have been suggested. It is proposed, on the one hand, to very greatly diminish the number of elective officers, and, in order to do away with the pre-dctermination of elec- tions, to restrict the political action of the people in their own persons to districts so small that they can meet together and act as one body, and that in all other affairs than those of these small districts the people should act by delegates. The the- ory here seems to be to get rid of the ne- cessity for election and nominating ma- chinery. (See 'A True Republic,' by Al- bert Strickney, New York, 1879; and a se- ries of articles in Scribner's Monthly for 1881, by the same writer). On the other hand, it is proposed to greatly increase the number of elections, by taking the whole primary system under the protection of the law.* This plan proposes: 1. The direct nomination of candidates by the members of the respective political parties in place of nominations by delegates in conventions. 2. To apply the election laws to primary elections. 3. To provide that both politi- cal parties shall participate in the same primary election instead of having a differ- ent caucus for each party. 4. To provide for a final election to be held between two candidates, each representative of a party * This was partially done by the Legislature cl Pennsylvania m 1881. 260 AMERICAN POLITICS. who have been selected by means of the primary election. This plan would un- doubtedly do away with the evils of the present caucus system, but it contains no guarantee that a new caucus system would not be erected for the purpose of influ- encing ' the primarj' election' in the same manner in which the present primary sys- tem now influences the final election. (See however ' The Elective Franchise in the United States,' New York, 18$0, by D. C. McClellan.) — The effective remedy for the evils of the caucus system will probably be found in the sanction of primary elections by law. ■•"' * * Bills for this purpose were introduced by the Hon. Erastus Brooks in the New Y(n-k Legislature in 1881, which provided substantially ibr the system pro- posed by Mr. McClellan, but they were left unacted upon, and no legislative attempt to regulate primaries, except by providing for their being called, and for their pro- cedeure, has been made elsewhere. In Ohio what is known as the Baber law pro- vides that where any voluntary political association orders a primary, it must be by a majority vote of the central or control- ling committee of such party or association ; that the call must be published for at least five days in the newsjjapers, and state the time and place of the meeting, the autho- rity by which it was called, and the name of the person who is to represent that au- thority at each poll. The law also provides for challenging voters, for punishment of illegal voting, and for the bribeiy or inter- vention of elertors or judges. [Rev. Stat. OAj'o, sees. 291(5-2921.) A similar law in Missouri is made applicable to counties only of over 100,000 inhabitants, but by this law it is made optional with the volun- tary political association whether it will or not hold its primaries under the law, and if it does, it is provided that the county shall incur no expense in the conduct of Buch elections. [Laws of Missouri, 1815, p. 54.) A similar law also exists in Cali- fornia. (Laws of California, 1865-1866, p. 438.) These laws comprise all the existing legislation on the subject, except what is known as the Landis Bill of 1881, which requires primary officers to take an oath, and which punishes fraud." Assassination of President Garfleld. At 9 o'clock on the morning of Satur- day, July 2d, 1881, President Garfield, ac- companied by Secretary Blaine, left the Executive Mansion to take a special train from the Baltimore and Potomac depot for New England, where he intended to visit the college from which he had gradu- ated. Arriving at the depot, he was walk- ing arm-in-arm through the main waiting- room, when Charles J. Guiteau, a persist- ent applicant for an office, who had some time previously entered through the main door, advanced to the centre of the room, and having reached within a few feet of his victim, fired two shots, one of which took fatal effect. The bullet was of forty- four calibre, and striking the President about four inches to the right of the spinal column, struck the tenth and badly shat- tered the eleventh rib. The President sank to the floor, and was conveyed to a room where temporary conveniences were attainable, and a couch was improvised. Dr. Bliss made an unsuccessful effort to find the ball. The shock to the President's system was very severe, and at first appre- hensions were felt that death would ensue speedily. Two hours after the shooting, the physicians decided to remove him to the Executive Mansion. An army ambu- lance was procured, and the removal ef- fected. Soon after, vomiting set in, and the patient exhibited a dangerous degree of prostration, which threatened to end speed- ily in dissolution. This hopeless condition of affairs continued until past midnight, when more favorable symptoms were ex- hibited. Dr. Bliss was on this Sunday morning designated to take charge of the case, and he called Surgeon -General Barnes, Assistant Surgeon-General Wood- ward, and Dr. Royburn as consulting phy- sician. To satisfy the demand of the country, Drs. Agnew, of Philadelphia, and Hamilton, of New York, were also sum- moned by telegraph, nnd arrived on a special train over the Pennsylvania Rail- road, Sunday afternoon. For several days immediately succeeding the shooting, the patient suffered great inconvenience and pain in the lower limbs. This created an apprehension that the spinal nerves had been injured, and death was momentarily expected. On the night of July 4th a favorable turn was observed, and the morn- ing of the 5th brought with it a vague but undefined hope that a favorable issue might ensue. Under this comforting con- viction, Drs. Agnew and Hamilton, after consultation with the resident medical at- tendants, returned to their homes; first having published to the country an in- dorsement of the treatment inaugurated. During July 5th and 6th the patient con- tinued to improve, the pulse and respira- tion showing a marked approach to the condition of healthfulness, the former being reported on the morning of the 6th at 08, and in the evening it only increased to 104. On the 7th Dr. Bliss became very confident of ultimate triumph over the malady. In previous bulletins meagre hope was given, and the chances for reco- very estimated at one in a hundred. From July 7th to the 16th there was a slight but uninterrupted improvement, and the country began to entertain a confident hope that the patient would recover. "BOSS RULE." 261 Hope and fear alternated from day to day, amid the most j)aiiilul excitement. Oa the 8th of August Drs. Agnew and Hamilton had to perform their second operation to allow a free flow of pus from the wound. This resulted in an important discovery. It was ascertained that the track of the bullet had turned from its downward detlection to a lorward course. The operation lasted an hour, and ether was administered, the eflect of which was very unibrtunate. Nausea succeeded, and vomiting followed every effort to adminis- ter nourishment for some time. However, he soon rallied, and the operation was pro- nounced successful, and, on the following day, the Prevd^nt, for the first time, wrote his name. On the 10th he signed an im- portant extradition paper, and on the 11th wrote a letter of hopefulness to his aged mother. On the 12th Dr. Hamilton ex- pressed the opinion that the further at- tendance of hlnnelf and Dr. Agnew was unnecessary. The stomach continued weak, however, and on the i'")tli nausea re- turned, and the most menacing physical prostration followed the frequent vomiting, and the evening bulletin announced that " the President's condition, on the whole, is less satisfactory." Next a new complication forced itself upon the attention of the physicians. This was described as " inflammation of the right parotid gland." On August 24th it was decided to make an incision below and forward of the right ear, in order to prevent suppuration. Though this opera- tion was pronounced satisfactory, the pa- tient gradually sank, until August 25th, when all hope seemed to have left those in attendance. Two days of a dreary watch ensued ; on the 27th an improvement inspired new hope. This continued throughout the week, but failed to build up the system. Then it was determined to remove the pa- tient to a more favorable atmosphere. On the 6th of September this design was exe- cuted, he having been conveved in a car arranged for the purpose to Long Branch, where, in a cottage at Elberon, it was hoped vigor wouM return. At first, indi- cations justified the most sanguine expec- tations. On the 9th, however, fever re- turned, and a cough came to harass the wasted sufferer. It was attended with purulent expectoration, and became so troublesome as to entitle it to be regarded as the leading feature of the case. The surgeons attributed it to the septic condi- tion of the blood. The trouble increased until Sa*^urdav, September 10th, when it was thought the end was reichod. He rallied, however, and improved rapidly, during the su 'ceeding few davs, and on Tuesday, the 13th, was lifted from the bed and placed in a chair at the window. The improvement was not enduring, however, and on Saturday, September 17th, the rigor returned. During the nights and days succeeding, until the final moment, hope rose and tell alternately, and though the patient's spirits fluctuated to justify this change of feeling, the improvement failed to bring with it the strength neces- sary to meet the strain. President Garfield died at 10.35 on the night of Sept. 19th, 1881, and our nation mourned, as it had only done once before, when Abraham Lincoln also fell by the hand of an assassin. The assassin Guiteau was tried and convicted, the jury rejecting his plea of insanity. President Arthnr. Vice-President Arthur, during the long illness of the President, and at the time of his death, deported himself so well that he won the good opinion of nearly all classes of the people, and happily for weeks and months all factious or partisan spirit was hushed by the nation's great calamity. At midnight on the 19th of Sejitember the Cabinet telegraphed him from Long Branch to take the oath of office, and this he very properly did before a local judge. The Government cannot wisely be lef^ without a head for a single day. He was soon afterwards again sworn in at Washing- ton, with the usual ceremonies, and took occasion to make a speech which improved the growing better feeling. The new President requested the Cabinet to hold on until Congress met, and it would have remained intact had Secretary Windom not found it necessary to resume his place in the Senate. The vacancy was offered to ex-Governor Morgan, of New York, who was actually nominated and confirmea before he made up his mind to decline it. Judge Folger now fills the place. The several changes since made will be found in the Tabulated History, Book VII. It has thus far been the effort of Presi- dent Arthur to allay whatever of factious bitterness remains in the Republican party. In his own State of New York the terms " Half-Breed " and "Stalwart" are pass- ing into comparative disuse, as are the terms " Regulars " and " Independents " in Pennsylvania. '1, there was granted to Brigham Young the "sole control of City Creek and Canon for the sum of five hundred dollars." By an ordinance dated January 9, 1850, the " waters of North Mill Creek and the waters of the Canon next north" were granted to Heber C. Kimball. On the same day was granted to George A. Smith the " sole control of the canons and timber of the east side of the ' Wc'^t Mountains." On the 18th of January, 1851, the North Cottonwood Canon was granted exclusively to Williard Richards. On the 15th of Janu- > Act of March 2, 1850. «Act of January 19, 1866. ary, 1851, the waters of the "main chan- nel " of Mill Creek were donated to Brig- ham Young. On the 9th of December, 1850, there was granted to Ezra T. Benson the exclusive control of the waters of Twin Springs and Rock Springs, in Tooelle Val- ley; and on the 14th of January, 1851, to the same person was g'-anted the control of all the canons of the " West Mountain " and the timber therein. By the ordinance of Sejjtember 14, 1850, a " general con- ference of the Church of Latter Day Saints" was authorized to elect thirteen men to become a corporation, to be called the Emigration Company ; and to this com- pany, elected exclusively by the church, was secured and appropriated the two islands in Salt Lake known as Antelope and Stansberry Islands, to be under the exclusive control of President Brigham Young. These examples are given to show that the right of the United States to the lands of Utah met no recognition by these people. They a))propriated them, not only in a way to make the people slaves, but indicated their claim of sovereignty as superior to any. Young, Smith, Benson and Kimball were apostles. Richards was Brigham Young's counselor. By an act of December 28, 1855, there was granted to the " University of the State of Deseret" a tract of land amounting to about five hundred acres, inside the city limits of Salt Lake City, without any reservation to the occupants whatever ; and everywhere was the autiiority of the United States over the country and its soil and people utterly ignored. Not satisfied with making the grants re- ferred to, the Legislative Assembly entered upon a system of municipal incorporations, by which the fertile lauds of the Territory were withdrawn from the operation of the preemptive laws of Congress; and thus while they occupied these without title, non- Mormons were unable to make settlement on them, and they were thus engrossed to Mormon use. From a report made by the Commissioner of the General Land Of- fice to the United States Senate,' it appears that the municipal corporations covered over 400,000 acres of the public lands, and over GOO square miles of territory. These lands2 are not subject to either the Home- stead or Preemption laws, and thus the non- Mormon settler was prevented from attempt- ing, except in rare instances, to secure any lands in Utah. The spirit which prompted this course is well illustrated by an instance which was the subject of an investigation in the Land Department, and the proofs are found in the document just referred to. George Q. Cannon, the late Mormon dele- gate in Congress, was called to exercise his 1 Senate doc. 181, 4Gth Congress. *Sec. 2, 258, Bev. Stat. U.S. 268 AMERICAN POLITICS. duties as an apostle to the Tooelle "Stake" at the city of Grantville. In a discourse on Sunday, the 20th day of July, 1875, Mr. Cannon said : ' '' God has given us (mean- ing the Mormon people) this land, and, if any outsider shall come in to take land which we claim, a piece sijc feet by tu-o is all they are entitled to, and that will last them to all eternity." By measures and threats like these have the' Mormons unlawfully controlled the ag- ricultural lands of the Territory and ex- cluded therefrom the dissenting settler. The attempt of the United States to es- tablish a Surveyor-General's office in Utah in 1855, and to survey the lands in view of disposing of them according to law, was met by such opposition that Mr. Burr, the Surveyor-General, was compelled to fly for life. The monuments of surveys made by his order were destroyed, and the records were supposed to have met a like fate, but were afterwards restored by Brigham Young to the Government. The report of his experience by Mr. Burr was instru- mental in causing troops to be sent in 1857 to assert the authority of the Government. When this army, consisting of regular troops, was on the way to Utah, Brigham Young, as Governor, issued a proclamation, dated September 15, 1857, declaring mar- tial law and ordering the people of the Territory to hold themselves in readiness to march to repel the invaders, and on the 29th of September following addressed the commander of United States forces an or- der forbidding him to enter the Territory, and directing him to retire from it by the same route he had come. Further evidence of the Mormon claim that they were inde- pendent is perhaps unnecessary. The trea- sonable character of the local organization is manifest. It is this organization that controls, not only the people who belong to it, but the 30,000 non-Mormons who now re- side in Utah. Every member of the territorial Legisla- ture is a Mormon. Every county officer is a Mormon. Every territorial officer is a Mormon, except such as are appointive. The schools provided by law and supported by taxation are Mormon. The teachers are Mormon, and the sectarian catechism af- firming the revelations of Joseph Smith is regularly taught therein. The municipal corporations are under the control of Mor- mons. In the hands of this bigoted class all the material interests of the Territory are left, subject only to such checks as a Federal Governor and a Federal judiciary can impose. From beyond the sea thej' im- port some thousands of ignorant converts annually, and, while the non-Mormons are increasing, they are overwhelmed by the muddy tide of fanaticism shipped in upon 1 According to the ailldavits of Samuel Howard and others, page 14. them. The suffrage has been bestowed unon all classes by a statute so general that the ballot box is filled with a mass of votes which repels the free citizen from the ex- ercise of that right. If a Gentile is cho- sen to the Legislature (two or three such instances have occurred), he is not admit- ted to the seat, although the act of Congress (June 23, 1874) requires the Territory to pay all the expenses of the enforcement of the laws of the Territory, and of the care of persons convicted of offenses against the laws of the Territory. Provision is made for jurors' fees in criminal cases only, and none is made for the care of criminals.^ While Congress pays the legislative ex- penses, amounting to ,$20,000 per session, the Legislature defiantly refuses to comply with the laws which its members are sworn to support. And the same body, though failing to protect the marriage bond by any law whatever requiring any solemnities for entering it, provided a divorce act which practically allowed marriages to be annulled at will.''' Neither seduction, adultery nor incest find penalty or recognition in its legal code. The purity of home is destroyed by the beastly practice of plural marriage, and the brows of innocent children are branded with the stain of bastardy to gratify the lust which cares naught for its victims. Twenty-eight of the thirty-six members of the present Legislature of Utah are re- ported as having from two to seven wives each. While the Government of the Uni- ted States is paying these men their mile- age and per diem as law-makers in Utah, those guilty of the same oflense outside of Utah are leading the lives of felons in con- vict cells. For eight years a IVIormon dele- gate has sat in the capitol at Washington having four living wives in his harem in Utah, and at the same time, under the shadow of that capitol, lingers in a felon's prison a man who had been guilty of mar- rying a woman while another wile was still living. For thirty years have the Mormons been trusted to correct these evils and put them- selves in harmony with the balance of civilized mankind. This they have refused to do. Planting themselves in the heart of the continent, they have persistently defied the laws of the land, the laws of modern society, and the teachings of a common humanity. They degrade woman to the office of a breeding animal, and, after depriving her of all property rights in her husband's estate,' all control of her children,* they, with ostentation, bestow upon her the ballot in a way that makes it a nullity if contested, and compels her to use it to perpetuate her own degrada- tion if she avails herself of it. 1 See Report of Attflrney-Gener.al Unitcil Ptntes, 1880-81. « Act of March 0, I,8G2. 3 Act of February 16, 1872. * Sees. 1 and 2, act of February 3, 1852. THE SOUTH AMERICAN QUESTION, 269 No power has been given to the Mor- mon Hierarchy that has not been abused. The right of representation in the legishi- tive councils lias been violated in the ap- portionment of members so as to disfran- chise the non-Mormon class.^ The system of revenue and taxation was for twenty- five years a system of confiscation and ex- tortion.^ The courts were so organized and controlled that they were but the organs of the church oppressions and ministers of its vengeance.* The legal profession was abolished by a statute that prohibited a lawyer from recovering on any contract for service, and allowed every person to appear as an attorney in any court.* The attorney was compelled to present " all the facts in the case," whether for or against his client, and a refusal to disclose the confidential communications of the latter subjected the attorney to fine and imprison- ment.' No law book except the statutes of Utah and of the United States, " when applicable," was permitted to be read in any court by an attorney, and the citation of a decision of the Supreme Court of the United State-*, or even a quotation from the Bible, in the trial of any cause, sub- jected a lawyer to fine and imprisonment." The practitioners of medicine were equally assailed by legislation. The use of the most important remedies known to modern medical science, including all an- aesthetics, was prohibited except under conditions which made their use impossi- ble, " and if death followed" the adminis- tration of these remedies, the ])erson ad- ministering them was declared guilty of manslaughter or murder.' The Legislative Assembly is but an organized conspiracy against the national law, and an obstacle in the way of the advancement of its own people. For sixteen years it refused to lay its enactments before Congress, and they were only obtained by a joint resolutioa demanding them. Once in armed rebel- lion against the authority of the nation, the Mormons have always secretly stru;^,- gled for, as they have openly prophesied, its e-itire overthrow. Standing thus in the pathway of the material growth and devel- opmeit of the Territory, a disgrace to the balance of the country, with no redeeming virtue to plead for further indulgence, this travesty of a local government demands radical and speedy reform. The Soatb American Question. If it was not shrewdly surmised before it is niw known that had" President Garfield 1 Soi> act of .Tanuary 17 18R2. - Act of January V, I'l.i-l, goc. 14, 'ActH of Jan 21, 18>.t, and of January, 1855, sec. 20. < Act of February 18, 1H.=i2. 6 Act of February 18, 1852. •Act of January 14, 1 854. 'Sec. 106, Act March G, 1852. lived he intended to make his administra- tion brilliant at home and abroad — a view confirmed by the policy conceived by Secretary Blaine and sanctioned, it must be presumed, by President Garfield. This policy looked to closer commercial and political relations with all of the Eepublics on this Hemisphere, as developed in the following quotations from a correspond- ence, the publication of which lacks com- pleteness because of delays in transmitting all of it to Congress. Ex-Secretary Blaine on the 3d of Janu- ary sent the following letter to President Arthur: " The suggestion of a congress of all the American nations to assemble in the city of Washington for the purpose of agreeing on such a basis of arbitration for interna- tional troubles as would remove all possi- bility of war in the Western hemisphere was warmly approved by your predecessor. The assassination of July 2 prevented his issuing the invitations to the American States. After your accession to the Pre- sidency I acquainted you with the project and submitted to you a draft for such an invitation. You received the suggestion • 1 1 oo with the most appreciative consideration, and after carefully examining the form of the invitation directed that it be sent. It was accordingly dispatched in November to the independent governments of Ameri- ca North and South, including all, from the Empire of Brazil to the smallest re- oublic. In a communication addressed by the present Secretary of State on January 9, to Mr. Trescot and recently sent to the Senate I was greatly surprised to find a proposition looking to the annulment of these invitations, and I was still more sur- prised when I read the reasons assigned. If I correctly apprehend the meaning of his words it is that we might offend some European powers if we should hold in the United States a congress of the " selected nationalities" of America. "This is certainly a new position for the United States to assume, and one which I earnestly beg you will not permit this government to occupy. The European powers assemble in congre'ss whenever an object seems to them of sufficient import- ance to justify it. I have never heard of their consulting the government of the United Stites in regard to the propriety of their so assembling, nor have I ever known of their inviting an American representa- tive to be present. Nor would there, in my judgment, be any good reason for their so doing. Two Presidents of the United States in the year 1881 adjudged it to be expedient that the American powers should meet in congress for the sole purpose of agreeing upon some basis for arbitration of differences that mav arise between them and for the prevention, as far as possible, 270 AMERICAN POLITICS. of war in the future. If that movement is now to be arrested for fear that it may give offense in Europe, the voluntary hu- miliation of this government could not be more complete, unless we should press the European governments for the privilege of holding the congress. I cannot conceive how the United [States could be placed in a less enviable position than would be se- cured by sending in November a cordial invitation to all the American governments to meet in Washington for the sole pur- pose of concerting measures of peace and in January recalling the invitation for fear that it might create "jealousy and ill will " on the part of monarchical govern- ments in Euroi)e. It would be difficult to devise a more effective mode for making enemies of the American Government and it would certainly not add to our prestige in the European world. Nor can I see, Mr. President, how European governments should feel "jealousy and ill will " towards the United States because of an effort on our own part to assure lasting peace be- tween the nations of America, unless, in- deed, it be to the interest of European power that American nations should at intervals fall into war and bring re- proach on republican government. But from that very circumstance I see an ad- ditional and powerful motive for the American Governments to be at peace among themselves. "The United States is indeed at peace with all the world, as ]\Ir. Frelinghuysen well says, but there are and have been serious troubles between other American nations. Peru, Chili and Bolivia have been for more than two years engaged in a desperate conflict. It was the fortunate intervention of the United States last spring that averted war between Chili and the Argentine Republic. Guatemala is at this moment asking the United States to interpose its good offices with Mexico to keep off war. These important facts were all communicated in your late message to Congress, It is the existence or the men- ace of these wars that influenced President Garfield, and as I supposed influenced yourself, to desire a friendly conference of all the nations of America to devise methods of permanent peace and conse- quent prosperity for all. Shall the United States now turn back, hold aloof and re- fuse to exert its great moral power for the advantage of its weaker neighbors? If you have not formally and finally re- called the invitations to the Peace Con- gress, Mr. President, I beg you to consider well the effect of so doing. The invitation •was not mine. It was yours. I performed only the part of the Secretary' — to advise and to draft. You spoke in the name of the United States to each of the indepen- dent nations of America. To revoke that invitation for any cause would be embar- rassing ; to revoke it for the avowed fear of "jealousy and ill will " on the part of European powers would appeal as little to American pride as to American hospitality. Those you have invited may decline, and having now cause to doubt their welcome will, jierhaps, do so. This would break up the congress, but it would not touch our dignity. " Beyond the philanthropic and Christian ends to be obtained by an American con- ference devoted to peace and good-will among men, we might well hope for material advantages, as the result ot a bet- ter understanding and closer friendship with the nation of America. At present the condition of trade between the United States and its American neighbors is un- satisfactory to us, and even deplorable. According to the oflicial statistics of our own Treasury Department, the balance against us in that trade last vear was ^120,000,000— a sum greater than the yearly product of all the gold and silver mines in the United States. This vast balance was paid by us in foreign exchange, and a very large proportion of it went to England, where shipments of cotton, pro- visions and breadstufis supplied the money. If anything should change or check the balance in our favor in Euro- pean trade our commercial exchanges with Spanish America would drain us of our reserve of gold at a rate exceeding $100,- 000,000 per annum, and would probably precipitate a suspension of specie payment in this country. Such a result at home might be worse than a little jealousy and ill-will abroad. I do not say, Mr. Presi- dent, that the holding of a j^eace congress will necessarily change the currents of trade, but it will bring us into kindly re- lations with all the American nations; it will promote the reign of peace and law and order ; it will increase production and consumption and will stimulate the de- mand for articles which American manu- facturers can furnish with profit. It will at all events be a friendly and auspicious beginning in the direction of American influence and American trade in a large field Avhich we have hitherto greatly ne- glected and which has been practically monopolized by our commercial rivals in Europe. As Mr. Frelinghuysen's dispatch, fore- shadowing the abandonment of the peace congress, has been made public, I deem it a matter of propriety and justice to give this letter to the press. Jas. G. Blaine. The above well presents the Blaine view of the proposition to have a Con- gress of the Republics of America at Washington, and under the patronage of this government, with a view to settle all THE SOUTH AMERICAN QUESTION. 271 difnculties by arbitration, to promote trade, and it i.^ presumed to form alliances ready to suit a new and advanced application of the Monroe doctrine. The following is the letter proposing a conference of North and South American Republics sent to the U. S. Ministers in Ceatral and South America : Sir: The attitude of the United States with respect to the question of general peace on the American Continent is well known through its persistent efforts for years past to avert the evils of warfare, or, these efforts failing, to bring positive con- flicts to an end through pacific counsels or the advocacy of impartial arbitration. This attitude has been consistently main- tained, and always with such fairness as to leave no room for imputing to our Govern- ment any motive except the humane and disinterested one of saving the kindred States of the American Continent from the burdens of war. The position of the United States, as the leading power of the new world, might well give to its Govern- ment a claim to authoritative utterance for the purpose of quieting discord among its neighbors, with all of whom the most friendly relations exist. Nevertheless the good offices of this Government are not, and have not at any time, been tendered with a show of dictation or compulsion, but only as exhibiting the solicitous good will of a common friend. THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN STATES. For some years past a growing disposi- tion has been manifested by certain States of Central and South America to refer dis- putes affecting grave questions of inter- national relationship and boundaries to arbitration rather than to the sword. It has been on several occasions a source of profound satisfaction to the Government of the United States to see that this country is in a large measure looked to by all the American powers as their friend and mediator. The just and impartial counsel of the President in such cases, has never been withheld, and his efforts have been rewarded by the prevention of sanguinary strife or angry contentions be- tween peoples whom we regard as brethren. The existence of this growing tendency convinces the President that the time is ripe for a proposal that shall enlist the good will and a>"tive co-operation of all the States of the Western Hemisphere both North and S^uth, in the interest of hu- manity and for the common weal of na- tions. He conceives that none of the Govern- ments of America can be less alive than our own to the dangers and horrors of a state of war, and especially of war between kinsmen. He is sure that none of the chiefs of Government on the Continent can be less sensitive than he is to the saci-ed duty of making every endeavor to do away with the chances of fratricidal strife, and he looks with hopeful confidence to such active assistance from them as will serve to show the broadness of our common hu- manity, the strength of the ties which bind us all together as a great and har- monious system of American Common- wealths. A GENERAL CONGRESS PROPOSED. Impressed by these viev.'s, the President extends to all the independent countries of North and South America an earnest in- vitation to participate in a general Con- gress, to be held in the citv of Washing- ton, on the 22d of November, 1882, for the purjiose of considering and discussing the methods of preventing war between the nations of America. He desires that the attention of the Congress shall be strictly confined to this one great object; and its sole aim shall be to seek a way of per- manently averting the horrors of a cruel and bloody contest between countries oftenest of one blood and speech, or the even worse calamity of internal commotion and civil strife; that it shall regard the burdensome and far-reaching consequences of such a struggle, the legacies of exhausted finances, of oppressive debt, of onerous taxation, of ruined cities, of paralyzed in- dustries, of devastated fields, of ruthless conscriptions, of the slaughter of men, of the grief of the widow and orphan, of em- bittered resentments that long survive those who provoked them and heavily afflict the innocent generations that come after. THE MISSION OF THE CONGRESS. The President is especially desirous to have it understood that in putting forth this invitation the United States docs not as- sume the position of counseling or attempt ing, through the voice of the Congress, to counsel any determinate solution of exist- ing questions which may now divide any of the countries. Such questions cannot properly come before the Congress. Its niission is higher. It is to provide for the interests of all in the future, not to settle the individual differences of the present. For this reason especially the President has indicated a day for the assembling of the Congress so far in the future as to leave good ground for the hope that by the time named the present situation oii the South Pacific coast will be happily termi- nated, and that those engaged in the con- test may take peaceable part in the discus- sion and solution of the general question affecting in an equal degree the well-being of all. It seems also desirable to disclaim in ad- 272 AMERICAN POLITICS. vance any purpose on the part of the United fe^uilcci to prejudge the issues to be presented to the Congress. It is far from the intent of ihls Government to appear before the Congress as in any sense the protector of its neighbors ortlie predestined and neces.-ary arbitrator of their disputes. The United States will enter into the deliber- ations of the Congress on the same footing as other powers represented, and with the loyal determination to approach any pro- posed solution, not merely in its own inter- est, or with a view to asserting its own power, but as a single member among many co-ordinate and co-equal States, So far as the iniluence of this Government may be potential, it will be exerted in the direction of conciliating wdiatever con- flicting interests of blood, or government, or historical tradition that may necessarily come together in response to a call embracing such vast and diverse ele- ments. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE MINISTERS, You will ])resent these views to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, enlarging, if need be, in such terms as will readily occur to you upon the great mission which it is within the power of the proposed Congress to accomplish in the in- terest of humanity, and the firm purpose of the United States of America to main- tain a poution of the most absolute and impartial fricndsliip toward all. You will, therefore, in the name of the President of the United States, tender to his Excel- lency, the President of , a formal invitation to send two commissioners to the Congress, provided with suih powers and instructions onbehalf of their Govern- ment as will enable them to consider the questions brought before that body within the limit of submission contemplated by this invitation. The United States, as well as the other powers, will in like manner be represented by two commissioners, so that equality and impartiality will be amply secured in the proceedings of the Congress. In delivering this invitation through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, you will read this despatch to him and leave with him a copy, intimating that an answer is desired by this Government as promptly as the just consideration of so important a propo- sition will permit. I am, sir, your obedient servant, James G. Blaine. Minister liOgan's Rfply. The following is an abstract of the re- ply of Minister Logan to the above. " From a full review of the situation, as heretofore detailed to you, I am not clear as to being able to obtain the genuine co- operation of all the States of Central America in the proposed congress. — Each, 1 have no doubt, will ultimately agree to send the specified number of commission- er-i and assume, outwardly, an appearance of sincere co-operation, but, as you will j>crceivc from your knowledge of the pos- ture of aflairs, all hope of eflecting a union of these States except upon a basis the leaders will never permit— that of a free choice of the whole people — will be at an end. The obligation to keep the peace, imjiosed by the congress, will bind the United States as well as all others, and thus prevent any efforts to bring about the ' desired union other than those based upon a simple teiiderof good ofhces — this means until the years shall bring about a radical change — must be as inefficient in the future as in the past. The situation, as it ap- pears to me, is a difficult one. As a means of restraining the aggressive tendency of Mexico in the direction of Central Ameri- ca, the congress would be attended by the happiest results, should a full agreement be reached. But as the Central American States are now in a chaotic ccndition, politi- cally considered, with their future status wholly undefined, and as a final settlement can only be reached, as it now appears, through the oj^eration of military forces, the hope of a Federal union in Central America would be crushed, at least in the immediate present. Wiser heads than my own may devise a method to harmonize these difficulties when the congress is ac- tually in session, but it must be constantly remembered that so far as the Central American commissioners are crncerned they will represent the interests and posi- tive mandates of their respective govern- ment chiefs in the strictest and most abso- lute sense. While all will probably send commissioners, through motives of expedi- ency, they may possibly be instructed to secretly defeat the ends of the convention. I make these suggestions that you may have the whole field under view. " I may mention in this connection that I have received information that up to the tenth of the present month only two mem- bers of the proposed convention at Pana- ma had arrived and that it was considered as having failed." Contemporaneous with these movements or suggestions was another on the j art of Mr. BLaine to secure from England a mod- ification or abrogation of the Clayton- Bulwcr treaty, with the object of giving to the United States, rather to the Eepublics of North and South America, full super- vision of the Isthmus and Panama Canal when constructed. This branch of the correspondence was sent to the Senate on the 17th of Februarj'. Lord Granville, in his despatch of January 7th to Minister West in reference to the Clayton-Bulwer THE SOUTH AMERICAN QUESTION. 273 analogy Treaty controversy, denies any between the cases of the Panama and Suez Canals. He cordially concurs in Mr. Blaine's statement iu regard to the unex- ampled development of the Pacific Coast, but denies that it was unexpected. He says the declaration of President Monroe anterior to the treaty show that he and his Cabinet had a clear prevision of the great future of that region. The de- velopment of the interests of the British possessions also continued, though possibly less rapidly. The Government are of the opinion that the canal, as a water way be- tween the two great oceans and Europe and Eastern Asia, is a work which concerns not only the American Continent, but the whole civilized world. With all deference to the considerations which prompted Mr. Blaine he cannot believe that his propo- sals will be even beneficial in themselves. He can conceive a no more melancholy spectacle than competition between nations in the construction of fortifications to com- mand the canal. He cannot believe that any South American States would like to admit a foreign power to erect fortifications on its territory, when the claim to do so is accompanied by the declaration that the canal is to be regarded as a part of the American coast line. It is difficult to be- lieve, he says, that the territory between it and the United States could retain its pres- ent independence. Lord Granville believes that an invitation to all the maritime states to participate in an agreement based on the stipulations of the Convention of 1850, would make the Convention adequate for the purposes for which it was designed. Her Majesty's Government would gladly see the United States take the initiative towards such a convention, and will be prepared to endorse and support such action in any wav. provided it does not conflict with the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. Lord Granville, in a subsequent despatch, draws attention to the fact that Mr. Blaine, in using the argument that the treaty has been a source of continual difliculties, omits to state that the questions in dispute which related to points occupied by the British in Central America were removed in 1860 by the voluntary action of Great Britain in certain treaties concluded with Honduras and Nicaragua, the settlement being recognized as perfectly satisfactory by President Buchanan. Lord Granville says, further, that during this controversy America disclaimed any desire to have the exclusive control of the canal. The Earl contends that in cases where the details of an international agreement liave given rise to difficulties and discus- sions to such an extent as to cause the contracting parties at one time to contem- plate its abrogation or modification as one of several possible alternatives, and where 18 it has yet been found preferable to arrive at a solution as to those details rather than to sacrifice the general bases of the en- gagement, it must surely be allowed that such a fact, far from being an argument against that engagement, is an argument distinctly in its favor. It is equally plain thateither of the contracting parties which had abandoned its own contention for the purpose of preserving the agreement in its entirety would have reason to complain if the ditierences which had been settled by its concessions were afterwards urged as a reason for essentially modifying those other provisions which it had made this sacrifice ■. to maintain. In order to strengthen these arguments, the Earl reviews the corres- pondence, quotes the historical points made by Mr. Blaine and in many instances in- ■ troduces additional data as contradicting ; the inferences drawn by Mr. Blaine andi supporting his own position. The point on which Mr. Blaine laid particular stress in his despatch to Earl- Granville, is the objection made by the • government of the United States to any concerted action of the European powers f)r the purpose of guarantying the neu-- trality of the Isthmus canal or determin-- ing the conditions of its use. CHILI AND PERU. The entire question is complicated by the war between Chili and Peru, the latter owning immense guano deposits in which American citizens have become financially interested. These sought the friendly in-, tervention of our government to prevent Chili, the conquering Republic, from ap- propriating these deposits as part of her war indemnity. The Landreau, an original French claim, is said to represent $125,- 000,000, and the holders were prior to and during the war pressing it upon Calderon, the Peruvian President, for settlement; the Cochet claim, another of the same class, represented $1,000,000,000. Doubt- less these claims are speculative and largely fraudulent, and shrewd agents are inter- ested in their collection and preservation. A still more preposterous and speculative movement was fathered by one Shipherd, who opened a correspondence with Minis- ter Hurlburt, and with other parties for the establishment of the Credit Industriel, which was to pay the $20,000,000 money indemnity demanded of Peru by Chili, and to be reimbursed by the Peruvian nitrates and guano deposits. THE SCANDAL. All of these things surround the ques- tion with scandals which probably fail to truthfully reach any prominent officer of our government, but which have neverthe- less attracted the attention of Congress to 274 AMERICAN POLITICS. such an extent that the following action lias been already taken : On February 24th Mr. Bayard offered in the Senate a resolution reciting that where- as publication has been widely made by the public press of certain alleged public commercial contracts between ceitaincom- j)anies and copartnerships of individuals relative to the exports of guano and nitrates from Peru, in Avhicli the mediation by the Government of the United States between the Governments of Peru, Bolivia and Chili is declared to be a condition for the effectuation and continuance of the said contracts ; therefore be it resolved, that the Committee on Foreign Relations be instructed to inquire whether any promise or stipulation by which the intervention by the United States in the controversies ex- isting between Chili and Peru or Chili and Bolivia has been expressly or impliedly given by any person or persons officially connected with the Government of the United States, or whether the influence of . the Government of the United States has been in any way exerted, promised or inti- mated in connection with, or in relation to the said contracts by any one officially con- nected with the Government of the United States, and whether any one officially con- nected Avith the Government of the United States is interested, directly or indirectly, with any such alleged contracts in which the mediation as aforesaid of the United States is recited to be a condition, and that the said committee have power to send for persons and paper and make report of their proceedings in the premises to the Senate at the earliest possible day. Mr. Edmunds said he had drafted a resolution covering all the branches of " that most unfortunate affair " to which reference was now made, and in view of the ill policy of any action which would commit the Senate to inquiries about de- claring foreign matters in advance of a careful investigation by a committee, he now made the suggestion that he would have made as to his own resolution, if he had offered it, namely, that the subject be referred to the Committee on Foreign Re- lations. He intimated that the proposition prepared by' himself would be considered by the committee as a suggestion bearing upon the pending resolution. Mr. Bayard acquiesced in the reference with the remark that anything that tended to bring the matter more fully before the country was satisfactory to him. The resolution accordingly went to the Committee on Foreign Relations. In the House Mr. Kasson, of Iowa, offered a resolution reciting that whereas, it is alleged, in connection with the Chili Peruvian correspondence recently and officially published on the call of the two Houses of' Congress, that one or more Ministers Plenipotentiary of the United States were either personally interested or improjierly connected with a business transaction in which the intervention of this Government was requested or expected and whereas, it is alleged that certain pa- pers in relation to the same .subject have been improperly lost or removed from the files of the State Department, that there- fore the Committee on Foreign Affairs be instructed to inquire into said allegations and ascertain the facts relating tliereto, and report the same with such recommen- dations as they may deem proper, and they shall have power to send for persons and papers. The resolution was adopted. THE CLAIMS. The inner history of what is known as the Peruvian Company reads more like a tale from the Arabian Nights than a plain statement of facts. The following is gleaned from the prospectus of the compa- ny, of which only a limited number of cop- ies was printed. According to a note on the cover of these " they are for the strictly private use of the gentlemen into whose hands they are immediately placed." The prospects of the corporation are based entirely upon the claims of Cochet and Landreau, two French chemists, resi- dents of Peru. In the year 1833, the Pe- ruvian government, by published decree, promised to every discoverer of valuable deposits upon the public domain a premium of one-third of the discovery as an incen- tive to the development of great natural resources vaguely known to exist. In the beginning of 1830, Alexandre Cochet, who was a man of superior information, occu- jiicd himself in the laborious work of manu- facturing nitrate of soda in a small ojicina in Peru, and being possessed with quick intelligence and a careful observer he soon came to understand that the valuable pro- perties contained in the guano — an article only known to native cultivators of the soil —would be eminently useful as a restora- tive to the exliausted lands of the old con- tinent. With this idea he made himself completely master of the mode of applica- tion adopted by the Indians and small farmers in the province where he resided, and after a careful investigation of the chemical effects produced on the land by the proper application of the regenerating agent, he proceeded in the year 1840 to the capital (Lima) in order to interest some of his friends in this new enterprise. Not without great persuasion and much hesita- tion, he induced his countryman, Mr. Achil- les Allier, to take up the hazardous specu- lation and join with him in his discovery. He succeeded, however, and toward the end of the same year the firm of Quiroz & Allier obtained a concession for six years from the government of Peru for the ex- THE SOUTH AMERICAN QUESTION. 275 portation of all the guano existing in the afterwards famous islands of C'hinchi for the sum of sixty thousand dollars. In consequence of the refusal of that firm to admit Cochet, the discoverer, to a partici- pation in the profits growing out of this contract a series of lawsuits resulted and a paper war ensued in which Cochet was baffled. In vain he called the attention of the government to the nature and value of this discovery ; he was told that he was a " visionary." In vain he demonstrated that the nation possessed hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in the grand deposits: this only confirmed the opinion of the Council of State that he was a madman. In vain he attempted to prove that one cargo of guano was equal to fourteen cargoes of grain ; the Council of State cooly told him that guano was an article known to the Spaniards, and of no value : that Commis- sioner Humbolt had referred to it, and that they could not accept his theory respecting its ^superior properties, its value and its probable use in foreign agriculture at a pe- riod when no new discovery could be made relative to an article so long and of so evi- dent small value. At length a new light began to dawn on the lethargic understanding of the officials in power, and as rumors continued to ar- rive from Europe confirming the assevera- tions of Cochet, and announcing the sale of guano at from $90 to $120 per ton, a de- gree of haste was suddenly evinced to se- cure once more to the public treasury this new and unexpected source of wealth ; and at one blow the contract with Quiroz & Allier, which had previously been extend- ed, was reduced to one year. Their claims were cancelled by the payment of ten thou- sand tons of guano which Congress de- creed them. There still remained to be settled the just and acknowledged indebt- edness for benefits conferred on the coun- try by Cochet, benefits which could not be denied as wealth and ])rosperity rolled in on the government and on the people. But few, if any, troubled themselves about the question to whom they were indebted for so much good fortune, nor had time to pay particular attention to Cochet's claims. Finally, however. Congress was led to de- clare Cochet the true discoverer of the value, uses and application of guano for European agriculture, and a grant of 5,000 tons was made in his favor September 30th, 1849, but was never paid him. After passing a period of years in hopeless expectancy — from 1840" to 1851— his impoverished cir- cumstances made it necessary for him to endeavor to procure, through the influence of his own government, that measure of support in fiivorof his claims which would insure him a competency in his old age. He resolved upon returning to France, after having spent the best part of his life in the service of a country whose cities had risen from desolation to splendor under the sole magic of his touch — a touch tbat had in it for Peru all the fabled power of the long-sought " philosopher's stone." In 18;j3 Cochet returned to France, but he was then already exhausted by enthusiastic explora- tions in a deadly climate and never rallied. He lingered in poverty for eleven painful years and died in Paris in an almshouse in 1864, entitled to an estate worth $500,000,- 000 — the richest man in the history of the world — and was buried by the city in the Potters' Field ; his wonderful history well il- lustrating that truth is stranger than fiction. THE LANDEEAU CLAIM. About the year 1844 Jean Theophile Landreau, also a French citizen, in part- nership with his brother, John C. Landreau, a naturalized American citizen, upon the faith of the promised premium of 33;^ per cent, entered upon a series of extended sys- tematic and scientific explorations with a view to ascertaining whether the depositii of guano particularly pointed out by Co- chet constituted the entire guano deposit of Peru, and with money furnished by his part- ner, John, Theophile prosecuted his search- es with remarkable energy and with great success for twelve years, identifying beds not before known to the value of not less than $400,000,000, Well aware, however, of the manner in which his fellow-country- man had been neglected by an unprinci- pled people, he had the discretion to keep his own counsel and to extort from the Pe- ruvian authorities an absolute agreement in advance before he revealed his treasure. This agreement was, indeed, for a royalty of less than one-sixth the amount promised, but the most solemn assurances were given that the lessened amount would be prompt- ly and cheerfully paid, its total would give the brothers each a large fortune, and pay- ments were to begin at once. The solemn agreement having been concluded and duly certified, the precious deposits having been pointed out and taken possession of by the profligate government, the brothers were at first put off with plausible pretexts of de- lay, and when these grew monotonous the government calmly issued a decree recog- nizing the discoveries, accepting the trea- sure, and annulling the contract, with a sug- gestion that a more suitable agreement might be arranged in the future. It will be seen that these two men, Co- chet and Landreau, have been acknow- ledged by the Peruvian government as claimants. No attempt has ever been made to deny the indebtedness. The very de- cree of repudiation reaflirmed the obliga- tion, and all the courts refused to pronounce against the plaintitts. Both of these claims came into the possession of Mr. I'cter W. Hevenor, of Philadelphia. Coch'et left one 276 AMERICAN POLITICS. son whom Mr. Hevenor found in poverty in Lima and advanced monev to push his father's claim of $500,000,000 against the government. After Si:50,000 were spent young Cochet's backer was surprised to learn of the Laudreaus and their claim. Not wishing to antagonize them, he ad- vanced them money, and in a short time owned nearly all the lifteen interests in the J.andreau claim of $125,000,000. To the Peruvian Company Mr. Hevenor lias transferred his titles, and on the basis of these that corporation maintains that eventuallv it will realize not less than $1,- 200,000,000, computed as follows : The amount of guano already taken out of the Cochet Islands — including the Chin- cha.s — will be shown by the Peruvian Cus- tom House records, and will aggregate, it is said, not far from $1,200,000,000 worth. The discoverer's one-third of this would be $400,000,000, and interest upon this amount at six per cent. - say for an equalized aver- age of twenty years— would be $480,000,000 more. The amount remaining in tbe^e islands is not positively known, and is pro- bably not more than $200,000,000 worth ; and in the Landreau deposits say $300,000,- 000 more. The Chilian plenipotentiary re- cently announced that his government are about opening very rich deposits on the Lo- bos Islands — which are included in this group. It is probably within safe limits, says the Peruvian Company's prospectus, to say that, including interest to accrue before the claim can be fullv liquidated, its owners will realize no less than $1,200,000,000. THE COUNTRIES INVOLVED. In South America there are ten inde- pendent governments ; and the three Gui- anas which are dependencies on European })0wers. Of the independent governments Brazil is an empire, having nn area of 8,609,160 square miles and 11,058,000 in- habitants. The other nine are republics. In giving area and population we use the most complete statistics at our command, but they are not strictly reliable, nor as late as we could have wished. The area and the population of the republics are : Venzuela, 426,712 square miles and 2,200,- 000 inhabitants ; United States of Colom- 1>ia, 475,000 square miles and 2,900,000 in- ]ial)itants; Peru, 580,000 square miles and 2,500,000 inhabitants; Ecuador, 208,000 square miles and 1,300,000 inhabitants; Bolivia, 842,730 square miles and 1,987,352 inhabitants; Chili, 200,000 square miles and 2,084,960 inhabitants ; Argentine Re- l)nblic, 1,323,560 square miles and 1,887,- 000 inhabitants; Paraguay, 73,000 square miles and 1,337,439 inhabitants ; Uruguay, 06,716 square miles and 240,000 inhabi- tants, or a total in the nine republics of 3,789,220 square miles and 16,436,751 in- habitants. The aggregate area of the nine republics exceeds that of Brazil 180,060 square miles, and the total population ex- ceeds that of Brazil 5,069,552. Brazil, be- ing an empire, is not comprehended in the Blaine proposal — she rather stands as a strong barrier against it. Mexico and Guatamala are included, but are on this continent, and their character and re- sources better understood by our people. In the South American countries generally the Spanish language is spoken. The edu- cated classes are of nearly pure Spanish ex- traction. The laboring classes are of mixed Spanish and aboriginal blood, or of pure aboriginal ancestry. The characteristics of the Continent are emphatically Spanish. The area and population we have already given. The territory is nearly equally di- vided between the republics and the em- pire, the former having a greater area of only 180,060 square miles; but the nine republics have an aggregate po])ulation of 5,059,522 more than Brazil. The United States has an area of 3,634,797 square miles, including Alaska; but excluding Alaska, it has 8,056,797 square miles. The area of Brazil is greater than that of the United States, excluding Alaska, by 552,- 363 square miles, and the aggregate area of the nine republics is greater by 732,423 square miles. This comparison of the area of the nine republics and of Brazil with that of this nation gives a definite idea of their magnitude. Geographically, these republics occupy the northern, western and southern portions of South America, and are contigiious. The aggregate exports and imports of South America, according to the last available data, were $529,300,000; those of Brazil, $168,930,000; of the nine republics, $360,360,000. These resolutions will bring out volumi- nous correspondence, but we have given the reader sufficient to reach a fair understand- ing of the subject. Whatever of scandal may be connected with it, like the Star Route cases, it should await official in- vestigation and condemnation. Last of all should history condemn any one in ad- vance of official inquiry. None of the governments invited to the Congress had accepted formally, and in view of obstacles thrown in the way by the present adminis- tration, it is not probable they will. Accepting the proposition of Mr. Blaine as stated in his letter to President Arthur, as conveying his true desire and meaning, it is due to the truth to say that it compre- hends more than the Monroe doctrine, the text of which is given in President Mon- roe's own words in this volume. While he contended against foreign intervention with the Republics on this Hemisphere, he ne- ver asserted the right of our government to participate in or seek the control either of the internal, commercial or foreign policy of any of the Republics of America, by ar- THE STAR ROUTE SCANDAL. 277 bitration or otherwise. So that Mr. Blaine is the author of an advance upon tiie Mon- roe doctrine, and what seems at this time a radical advance. What it may be when the United States seeks to "spread itself" by an aggressive foreign policy, and by aggrandizement of new avenues of trade, possibly new acquisitions of territory, is another question. It is a policy brilliant beyond any examples in our history, and a new departure from the teachings of Washington, who advised absolute non-in- tervention in foreiirn affairs. The new doctrine might thrive and acquire great popularity under an administration Iriendly to it ; but President Arthur has already intimated his hostility, and it is now be- yond enforcement during his administra- tion. The views of Congress also seem to be adverse as far as the debates have gone into the question, though it has some warm friends who may revive it under more favo- rable auspices. The Star Route Scandal. Directly after Mr. James assumed the position of Postmaster-General in the Cabinet of President Garfield, he disco- vered a great amount of extravagance and probably fraud in the conduct of the mail service known as the Star Routes, author- ized by act of Congress to further extend the mail fiicilities and promote the more rapid carriage of the mails. These routes proved to be very i)opular in the West and South-west, and the growing demand for mail facilities in these sections would even in a legitimate way, if not closely watched, lead to unusual cost and extravagance ; but it is alleged that a ring was formed headed by General Brady, one of the Assistant Postmaster-Generals under General Key, by which routes were established with the sole view of defrauding the Government — that false bonds were given and enormous and fraudulent sums paid for little or no service. This scandal was at its height at the time of the assassination of President Garfield, at which time Postmaster-General James, Attorney-General MacVeagh and other officials were rapidly preparing for the prosecution of all charged with the fraud. Upon the succession of President Arthur he openly insisted upon the fullest prosecution, and declined to receive the resignation of Mr. MacVeagh from the Cabinet because of a stated fear that the prosecution would suffer by his withdrawal. Mr. MacVeagh, however, withdrew from the Cabinet, believing that the new Presi- dent should not by anv circumstance be prevented from the official association of friends of his own selection ; and at this writing Attorney-General Brewster is push- ing the prosecutions. On the 24th of March, 1882, the Grand Jury sitting at Washington presented in- dictments lor conspiracy in connection with the Star Route mail service against the fol- lowing named persons: Thomas J. Bradv, J. W. Dorsey, Henry M. Vail, John W. Dorsey, John R. Miner, John M. Peck, M, C. Rerdell, J. L. Sanderson, Wm. H. Tur- ner. Also against Alvin O. Buck, Win. ti. Barringer and Albert E. Boon**, and against Kate M. Armstrong for perjury. The in- dictment against Brady, Dorsey and others, which is very voluminous, recites the ex- istence, on March 10, 1879, of the Post Of- fice Department, Postmaster-General and three assistants, and a Sixth Auditor's office and Contract office and division. "To the latter was subject," the indict- ment continues, " the arrangement of the mail service of the United States and the letting out of the same on contract." It then describes the duties of the inspectinji division. On March 10, 1879, the grana jurors represent, Thomas J. Brady was the lawful Second Assistant Postmaster-Gene- ral engaged in the performance of the du- ties of that office. AV'illiani li. Turner was a clerk in the Second Assistant Postmaster- General's office, and attended to the busi- ness of the contract division relating to the mail service over several post routes in Ca- lifornia, Colorado, Oregon, Nebraska, and the Territories. On the IGth of March, 1879, the indictment represents Thomas J. Brady as having made eight contracts with John W. Dorsey to carry the mails from July 1, 1878, to June 30, 1882, from Ver- million, in Dakota Territory, to Sioux Falls and back, on a fourteen hour time schedule, for $398 each year; on route from White River to Rawlins, Colorado, once a week of 108 hours' time, for $1,700 a year; on route from Garland, Colorado, to Parrott City, once a week, on a schedule of 168 hours' time, for !?2,74.j; on route from Ou- ray, Colorado, to Los Pinos, once a week, in 12 hours' time, for $348; on route from Sil- verton, Colorado, to Parrott City, twice a week, on 3G hours' time, for $1,488; on route from Mineral Park, in Arizona Ter- ritory, to Pioche and bade, once a week, in 84 hours' time, $2,982; on route from Tre3 Almos to Clifton and back, once a week, of 84 hours' time, for $l,oG8. It further sets forth that the Second As- sistant Postmaster-General entered into five contracts with John R. Miner on June 13, 1878, on routes in Dakota Territory and Colorado, and on March 15, 1879, with John ]\L Peck, over eight post routes. In th 3 space of sixty days after the making of these contracts thev were in full force. On March 10, 1879, John W. Dorsey, John R. !Miner, and John M. Peck, with Stophcn W. Dorsey and Henry M. Vaile, M. C. Rerdell and J. L. Sanderson, mutually in- terested in these contracts and money, to be paid by the United States to the three 278 AMERICAN POLITICS. parties above named, did unlawfully and maliciously combine and conspire to Iraud- ulently write, sign, and cause to be written and signed, a large number of fraudulent letters and communications and false and fraudulent petiiions and applications to the Postmaster-General for additional service and increase of expenditure on the routes, A\'hicli were purported to be signed by the l)eo})lo and inhabitants in the neighborhood of the routes, which were filed with the papers in the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General. Further that these parties swore falsely in describing the num- ber of men and animals required to perform the mail service over the routes and States as greater than was necessary. These false oaths were placed on file in the Second Assistant Postmaster-General's office ; and by means of Wm. H. Turner falsely making and writing and endorsing these pajiers, Avith brief and untrue state- ments as to their contents., and by Turner preparing fraudulent written orders for al- lowances to be made to these contractors and signed by Thomas J. Brady fraudu- lently, and for the benefit and gain of all the parties named in this bill, the service was increased over these routes ; and that Brady knew it was not lawfully needed and required. That he caused the order for in- creasing to be certifiec^ to and filed in the Sixth Auditor's office for fraudulent addi- tional compensation. That Mr. Brady gave ordei's to extend the service so as to include other and different stations than those men- tioned in the contract, that he and others might have the benefits and profits of it: that he refused to impose fines on these contracts I'or failures and delinquencies, but allowed them additional pay for the ser- vice over these routes. During the conti- nuance of these contracts the parties ac- quired unto themselves several large and excessive sums of money, the property of the United States, fraudulently and un- lawfully ordered to be paid them by Mr. Brady. These are certainly formidable indict- ments. Others are pending against persons in Philadelphia and other cities, who are charged with complicity in these Star Route frauds, in giving straw bonds, &c. The Star lloute service still continues, the Post Office Department under the law having eent out several thousand notifications this year to contractors, informing them of the official acceptance of their proposals, and Fome of these contractors are the same named above as under indictment. This well exemplifies the maxim of the law re- lative to innocence until guilt be shown. The Coming States. Bills are pending before Congress for the admiseion of Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico and Washington Territories. The Bill for the admission of Dakota divides the old Territory, and provides that the new State shall consist of the territory in- cluded within the following boundaries : Commencing at a point on the west line of the State of Minnesota where the forty- sixth degree of north latitude intersects the same ; thence south along the Avest boun- dary lines of the States of Minnesota and Iowa to the point of intersection with the nf)rthern boundary line of the State of Nebraska ; thence westwardly along the northern boundary line of the State of Nebraska to the twenty-seventh meridian of longitude west from Washington ; thence north along the said twenty-seventh degree of longitude to the forty-sixth degree of north latitude ; to the place of beginning. The bill provides for a convention of one hundred and twenty delegates, to be chosen by the legal voters, who shall adopt the United States Constitution and then pro- ceed to form a State Constitution and gov- ernment. Until the next census the State shall be entitled to one representative, who, with the Governor and other officials, shall be elected upon a day named by the Con- stitutional Convention. The report sets apart lands for school purposes, and gives the State five per centum of the proceeds of all sales of public lands within its limits subsequent to its admission as a State, ex- cluding all mineral lands from being thus set apart for school i^urposcs. It provides that portion of the the Territory not in- cluded in the proposed new State shall continue as a Territory under the name of the Territory of North Dakota. The proposition to divide comes from Senator McMillan, and if Congress sus- tains the division, the portion admitted would contain 100,000 inhabitants, the en- tire estimated population being 175,000 — a number in excess of twenty of the present States Avhen admitted, exclusive of the original thirteen ; while the division, which shows 100,000 inhabitants, is still in excess of sixteen States when admitted. Nevada, with less than 65,000 popula- tion, was admitted before the close Presi- dential election of 1876, and it may be said that her majority of 1,()75, in a total poll of 19,691 vo*cs, decided the Presidential result in favor of Hayes, and these votes counteracted the plurality of nearly 300,000 received by Mr. Tilden elsewhere. This fact well illustrates the power of States, as States, and however small, in controlling the aflairs of the country. It also accounts for the jealousy with which closely balanced political parties watch the incoming States. Population is but one of the considera- tions entering into the question of admit- ting territories. State sovereignty does not rest upon population, as in the make-up of the U. S. Senate neither population, THE STAR ROUTE SCANDAL. 279 size, nor resources are taken into account. Rhode Island, the smallest of all the States, and New York, the jz:reat Empire State, with over 5,000,000 of inhabitants, stand upon an equality iu the conservative branch of the Government. It is in the House of Representatives that the popula- tion is considered. Such is the jealousy of the larger States of their representation in the U. S. Senate, that few new ones would be admitted without long and con- tinuous knocking if it were not for partisan interests, and yet where a fair number of people demand State Government there is no just cause for denial. Yet all questions of population, natural division, area and resources should be given their jjroper ♦veight. The area of the combined territories — Utah, Washington, New Mexico, Dakota, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Indian is about 900,000 square miles. We exclude Alaska, which lias not been sur- veyed. Indian Territory and Utah are for some years to. come excluded from admission — the one being reserved to the occupancy of the Indians, while the other is by her peculiar institution of polygamy, generally thrown out of all calculation. And yet it may be found that polygamy can best be made amenable to the laws by the compul- sory admission of Utah as a State — an idea entertained by not a few who have given consideration to the question. Alaska may also be counted out for many years to come. There are but 30,000 inhabitants, few of these permanent, and Congress is now con- sidering a petition for the establishment of a territorial government there. Next to Dakota, New Mexico justly claims admission. The lands comprised within its original area were acquired from Mexico, at the conclusion of the war with that country, by the treaty of Guadalujie Hidalgo in 1SJ:8, and by act of September 9, 1850, a Territorial government was or- ganized. By treaty of December 30, 1853, the region south of the Gila river — the Gadsden purchase, so called — was ceded by Mexico, and by act of Augu-it 4, 1854, added to the Territory, which at that time included within its limits the present Ter- ritory of Arizona. Its prayer for admis- sion was brought to the serious attention of Congress iu 1874. Tiie bill was pre- sented in an able speech by Mr. Elkins, then delegate from the Territory, and had the warm support of many members. A bill to admit was also introduced in the Senate, and passed that body February 25, 1875, by a vote of thirty-two to eleven, two of the present members of that body, Messrs. Ingalls and Windom, being among its supporters. The matter of admission came up for final action in the House at the same session, just prior to adjournment, and a motion to suspend the rules, in order to put it upon its final passage, was lost by a vote of one hundred and fifty-four to eighty-seven, and the earnest efforts to se- cure the admission of New Mexico were thus defeated. A bill for its admission is now again before Congress, and it is a mat- ter of interest to note the representations as to the condition of the Territory then made, and the facts as they now exist. It has, according to the census of 1880, a po])u]ation of 119,5G5. It had in 1870 a population of 91,874. It was claimed by the more moderate advocates of the bill that its population then lunnbered 135,000 (15,435 more than at present), while others placed it as high as 145,000. Of this pop- ulation, 45,000 were said to be of American and European descent. It was stated by Senator Hoar, one of the opponents of the bill, that, out of an illiterate population of 52,220, by far the larger part were native inhabitants of Mexican or Spanish origin, who could not speak the English language. This statement seems to be in large degree confirmed by the census of 1880, which shows a total native white poj>ulation of 108,721, of whom, as nearly as can be as- certained, upward of 80 per cent, are not only illiterates of Mexican and Spanish extraction, but as in 1870, speaking a for- eign language. The vote for Mr. Elkins, Territorial Delegate in 1875, was reported as being about 17,000. The total vote in 1878 was 18,806, and in 1880, 20,397, show- ing a comparatively insignificant increase from 1875 to 1880. The Territory of Washington was con- stituted out of Oregon, and organized as a Territory by act of IMarch 2, 1853. Its population by the census of 1880 was 75,- 116, an increase from 23,955 in 1870. Of this total, 59,313 are of native and 15,803 of foreign nativity. Its total white jjopu- lation in the census year was 67,119; Chi- nese, 3,186 ; Indian, 4,105 ; colored, 326, and its total present population is probably not far from 95,000. Its yield of precious metals in 1880, and for the entire period since its development, while showing re- sources full of promise, has been muiA less than that of any other of the organized Ter- ritories. Its total vote for Territorial Dele- gate in 1880, while exceeding that of the Territories of Arizona, Idaho, and Wyo- ming, was but 15,823, The Territory of Arizona, organized out of a portion of New Mexico, and provided with a territorial government in 1863, con- tains about 5,000,000 acres less than the Territory of New Mexico, or an acreage exceeded by that of only five States and Territories. Its total population in 1870 was 9,658, and in 1880, 40,440, 351,60 of whom were whites. Of its total population in the census year, 24,391 were of native and 16,049 of foreign birth, the number of 2S0 AMERICAN POLITICS. Indians, Chinese, and colored being 5,000. Idaho was originally a part of Oregon, from which it was separated and provided with a territorial government by the act of March 3, 18G3. It embraces in its area a little more than 55,000,000 acres, and had in 1880 a total population of 32,610, being an increase from 14,999 in 1870. Of this population, 22,036 are of native and 9,974 of foreign birth ; 29,013 of the total inhabi- tants are white, 3,379 Chinese and 218 In- dians and colored. The Ten-itory of j\Iontana, organized by act of May 26, 1864, contains an acreage larger than that of any other Territory save Dakota. While it seems to be inferior in cereal producing capacity, in its area of valuable grazing lands it equals, if it does not excel, Idaho. The chief prosperity of the Territory, and that which promises for it a future of growing importance, lies in its extraordinary mineral wealth, the pro- ductions of its mines in the year 1880 hav- ing been nearly twice that of any other Territory, with a corresponding excess in it« total production, which had reached, on June 30, 1880, the enormou? total of over $53,000,000. Its mining industries represent in the aggregate very large in- vested capital, and the increasing products, with the development of new mines, are attracting constant additions to its popula- tion, which in 1880 showed an increase, as compared with 1870, of over 90 per cent. For particulars see census tables in tabu- lated history. Wyoming was constituted out of the Territory of Dakota, and provided with territorial government July 25, 1868. Ly- ing between Colorado and Montana, and adjoining Dakota and Nebraska on the east, it partakes of the natural characteris- tics of these States and Territories, having a fair portion of land suitable for cultiva- tion, a large area suitable for grazing pur- poses, and a wealth in mineral resources whose development, although of recent be- ginning, has already resulted in an en- couraging yield in precious metals. It is the fifth in area. Henry Randall Waite, in an able article in the March number of the International Review (1882,) closes Avilh these interest- ing paragraphs : "It will be thus seen that eleven States organized from Territories, when author- ized to form State governments, and the same number when admitted to the Union, had free populations of less than 60,000, and that of the slave States included in this number, seven in all, not one had the required number of free inhabitant'^, either j when authorized to take the first steps to- ward admission or when finally admitted ; and that both of these ste].s were taken by two of the latter States with a total popu- lation, free and slave, below the required number. Why so many States have been authorized to form State governments, and have been subsequently admitted to the Union with populations so far below the requirements of the ordinance of 1787, and the accepted rules for subsequent ac- tion may be bri«'fly explained as follows : 1st, by the ground for the use of a wide discretion afforded in the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, for the admission of States, when deemed expedient, before their population should equal the required number; and 2d, by the equally wide dis- cretion given by the Constitution in the words, 'New States may be admitted by Congress into this Union,' the only provi- sion of the Constitution bearing specifical- ly upon this subject. Eflbrts have been made at various times to secure the strict enforcement of the original rules, with the modification resulting from the increase in the population of theUni(m, which pro- vided that the number of i'rce inhabitants in a Territory seeking admission should equal the number established as the basis of representation in the apj^ortionment of Representatives in Congress, as determined by the preceding census. How little suc- cess the eflbrts made in this direction have met, may be seen by a comparison of the number of inhabitants forming the basis of representation, as established by the dif- ferent censuses, and the free population of the Territories admitted at corresponding periods. "At this late date, it is hardly to be ex- pected that rules so long disregarded will be made applicable to the admission of the States to be organized from the existing Territories. There is, nevertheless, a growing disposition on the part of Con- gress to look with disfavor upon the forma- tion of States whose population, and the development of whose resources, render the expediency of their admis.>ion ques- tionable; and an increasing doubt as to the propriety of so dividing the existing Territories as to multiply to an unneces- sary extent the number of States, with the attendant increase in the number of Repre- sentatives in the National Legislature. "To recapitulate the facts as to the pre- sent condition of the Territories with re- ference to their admission as States, it may be said that only Dakota, Utah, New Mexico and Washington are in possession of the necessary population according to the rule requiring 60,000 ; that only the three first named conform to the rule de- manding a population equal to the ]iresent basis of representation ; that only Dakota, Utah and Washington give evidence of that intelligence on the part of their in- habitants which is essential to the proper cxeri^ise, under favorable conditions, of the extended rights of citizenship, and of that THE CHINESE QUESTION. 281 progress in tlie development of their re- sources which makes self-government es- sential, safe, or in any way desirable; and that only Dakota can be said, unquestion- ably, to possess all of the requirements which, by tlie dictates of a sound policy, should be demanded of a Territory at this time seeking admission to the Union. " Whatever the response to the Terri- torial me isengers now waiting at the doors of Congress, a few years, at most, will bring an answer to their prayers. The stars of a dozen proud and prosperous States will soon be added to those already blazoned upon the blue field of the Union, and the term Territory, save as applied to the frozen regions of Alaska, will disappear from the map of the United States." Tlie Cliinese Question. Since 1877 the agitation of the prohibi- tion of Chinese immigration in California and other States and Territories on the Pacific slope has been very great. This led to many scenes of violence and in some instances bloodshed, when one Dennis Kearney led the Workingmen's party in San Francisco. On this issue an agitator and preacher named Kalloch was elected Mayor. The issue was carried to the Leg- islature, and in the vote on a constitu- tional amendment it was found that not only tha labor but nearly all classes in California were opposed t"> the Chinese. The constitutional amendment did not meet the sanction of the higher courts. A bill was introduced into Congress restrict- ing Chinese immigrant? to fifteen on each vessel. This passed both branches, but was vetoed by President Hayes on the ground that it was in violation of the spirit of treaty stipulations. At the sessions of 1881-82 a new and more radical measure was introduced. This prohibits immigra- tion to Chinese or Coolie laborers for twen- ty years. The discussion in the U. S. Senate began on the 28th of Februarv, 1882, in a speech of unusual strength by Senator John F. Miller, the author of the Bill. From this we freely quote, not alone to show the later views entertained by the people of the Pacific slope, but to give from the lips of one who knows the lead- ing facts in the history of the agitation. Abstracts from the Text of Senator Miller's Speech. On JtU Bill to ProliCbit Chinese Immigration. In the Senate, Feb. 28th, 1882, Mr. Miller said: " This measure is not a surprise to the Senate, nor a nev/ revelation to the country. It has been before Congress more than once, if not in the precise form in which it is now presented, in substance the same, and it has passed the ordeal of analytical debate and received the affirma- tive vote of both Houses. Except for the Executive veto it would have been long ago the law of the land. It is again pre- sented, not only under circumstances as imperative in their demands for its enact- ment, but with every objection of the veto removed and every argument made against its approval swept away. It is an interest- ing fact in the history of this measure, that the action which has cleared its way of the impediments which were made the reasons for the veto, was inaugurated and consum- mated with splendid persistance and en- ergy by the same administration whose ex- ecutive interposed the veto against it. Without stopping to inquire into the mo- tive of the Hayes administration in this proceeding, whether its action was in obe- dience to a conviction that the measure v/as in itself right and expedient, or to a public sentiment, so strong and universal as to demand the utmost vigor in the di- plomacy necessary for the removal of all impediments to its progress, it must be ap- parent that the result of this diplomatic action has been to add a new phase to the question in resjject of the adoption of the measure itself. " In order to fully appreciate this fact it may be proper to indulge in historical reminiscence for a moment. For many years complaints had been made against the introduction into the United States of the peculiar people who come from China, and the Congress, after careful considera- tion of the subject, so far appreciated the evil complained of as to pass a bill to in- terdict it. '■ The Executive Department had, prior to that action, with diplomatic finesse, ap- proached the imperial throne of China, with intent, as was said, to ascertain whether such an interdiction of coolie im- portation, or immigration so called, into the United States would be regarded as a breach of friendly relations with China, and had been informed by the diplomat, to whom the delicate task had been com- mitted, that such interdiction would not be favorably regarded by the Cliinese Govern- ment. Hence, when Congress, with sur- jnising audacity, passed the bill of inter- diction the Executive, believing in the ~ truth of the inlbrmation given him, thought it prudent and expedient to veto the bill, but immediately, in pursuance of authority granted by Congress, he appointed three commissioners to negotiate a treaty by which the consent of China should be given to the interdictiin proposed by Congress. These commissioners appeared before the Government of China upon this special mission, and presented the request of the Government of the United States 282 AMERICAN POLITICS. affirmatively, positively, and authorita- tively made, and after the usual diplomatic ceremonies, representations, misrepresenta- tions, avowals, and concealments, the treaty was made, the concession granted, and the interdiction agreed upon. This treaty was presented here and ratilied by the Senate, with what unanimity Senators know, and which the rules of the Senate forbid me to describe. " The new phase of this question, which we may as well consider in the outset, sug- gests the spectacle which this nation should present if Congress were to vote this or a similar measure down. A great nation cannot afford inconsistency in action, nor betray a vacillating, staggering, incon- stant policy in its intercourse with other nations. No really great people will pre- sent themselves before the world through their government as a nation irresolute, fickle, i'eeble, or petulant; one day eagerly demanding of its neighbor an agreement or concession, which on the next it ner- vously repudiates or casts aside. Can we make a solemn request of China, through the pomp of an extraordinary embassy and the ceremony of diplomatic negotiation, and with prudent dispatch exchange ratifi- cations of the treaty granting our request, and within less than half a year after such exchange is made cast aside the concession and, with childish irresolution, ignore the whole proceeding? Can we afford to make such a confession of American imbecility to any oriental power? The adoption of this or some such measure becomes neces- sarv, it seems to me, to the intellierent and consistent execution of a policy adopted by this Government under the sanction of a treaty with another great nation. " If the Executive department, the Sen- ate, and the House of Eeprcsentatives have all understood and appreciated their own action in respect of this measure ; if in the negotiation and ratification of the new treaty with China, the Executive and the Senate did not act without thought, in blind, inconsiderate recklessness — and we know they did not — if the Congress of the United States in the passage of the fifteen passenger bill had the faintest conception of what it was doing — and we know it had — then the policy of this Government in respect of so-called Chinese immigration has l)een authoritatively settled. "This proposition is submitted with the greater confidence because the action I have described was in obedience to, and in harmony with, a public sentiment which seems to have permeated the whole coun- try. For the evidence of the existence of such a sentiment, it is only necessary to produce the declarations upon this subject of the two great historical parties of the country, deliberately made by their na- tional conventions of 1880. One of these (the Democratic convention) declared that there shall be— " ' No more Chinese immigration except for travel, education, and foreign com- merce, and therein carefully guarded.' "The other (the Republican) convention declared that — " ' Since the authority to regulate immi- gration and intercourse between the United States and foreign nations rests with Con- gress, or with the United States and its treaty-making power, the Republican party, regarding the unrestricted immi- gration of the Chinese as an evil of great magnitude, invokes the exercise of these powers to restrain and limit the immigra- tion by the enactment of such just, hu- mane, and reasonable provisions as will produce that result.' " These are the declarations of the two great political parties, in whose ranks are enrolled nearly all the voters of the United States; and whoever voted at the last Presidential election voted for the adop- tion of the principles and policy expressed by those declarations, whether he voted with the one or the other of the two great parties. Both candidates for the Presidency were pledged to the adoption and execu- tion of the policy of restriction thus de- clared by their respective jiartics, and the candidate who was successful at the polls, in his letter of acceptance, not only gave expression to the sentiment of his party and the country, but Avith a clearness and conciseness which distinguished all his ut- terances upon great public questions, gave the reasons for that public sentiment." He said : " 'The recent movement of the Chinese to our Pacific Coast partakes but little of the qualities of an immigration, either in its purposes or results. It is too much like an importation to be welcomed with- out restriction ; too much like an invasion to be looked upon without solicitude. We cannot consent to alloAV any form of servile labor to be introduced among us under the guise of immigration.' ****** ** " In this connection it is proper also to consider the probable effect of a failure or refusal of Congress to pass this bill, upon the introduction of Chinese coolies into the United States in the future. An adverse vote upon such a measure, is an invitation to the Chinese to come. It would be in- terpreted to mean that the Government of the United States had reversed its policy, and is now in favor of the unrestricted im- portation of Chinese; that it looks with ftivor upon the Chinese invasion now in progress. It is a fact well known that the hostility to the influx of Chinese upon the Pacific coast displayed by the people of California has operated as a restriction, and has discouraged the importation of THE CHINESE QUESTION. 283 Chinese to siicli a degree that it is probable 1 that there are not a tenth part the number of Chinese in the country there would ; have been had this determined hostility never been shown. Des2)ite the inhospi- tality, not to say resistance, of the Cali- fornia people to the Chinese, sometimes while waiting for the action of the General G )vernment difficult to restrain within the bounds of peaceable assertion, they have poured through the Golden Gate in con- stantly increased numbers during the past year, the total number of arrivals at San Francisco alone during 1881 being 18,5G1. Nearly two months have elapsed since the 1st of January, and there have arrived, as the newspapers show, about four thousand more. "The defeat of this measure now is a shout of welcome across the Pacific Ocean to a myriad host of these strange people to come and occupy the land, and it is a re- buke to the American citizens, who have so long stood guard upon the western shore of this continent, and who, seeing the dan- ger, hive with a fortitude and forbearance most admirable, raised and maintained the only barrier against a stealthy, strategic, but peacefal invasion as destructive in its results and more potent for evil, than an invasion by an army with banners. An adverse vote now, is to commission under the broad seal of the United States, all the speculators in human labor, all the im- porters of human muscle, all the traffickers in human flesh, to ply their infamous trade without impediment under the protection of the American flag, and empty the teem- ing, seething slave pens of China upon the soil of California! I forbear further spec- ulation upon the results likely to flow from such a vote, for it presents pictures to the mind which one would not willingly con- template. "These considerations which I have presented ought to be, it seems to me, de- cisive of the action of tlie Senate upon this measure ; and I should regard the argu- ment as closed did I not know, that there still remain those who do not consider the ?uestion as settled, and who insist upon urther inquiry into the reasons f)ra policy of restriction, as applied to the Chinese. I am not one of those who would place the consideration of consistency or mere ap- pearances above consideration of right or justice ; but since no change has taken place in our relations with China, nor in our dom?stic concerns which renders a re- versal of the action of the government proper or nice-^sary, I insist that if the measure of restriction was risht and good policy whe 1 Congress passed the fifteenth passenger bill, and when the late treaty with China was negotiated and ratified, it is ritrht and expedient now. "This measure had its origin in Cali- fornia. It has been pressed with great vigor by the Representatives of the Pacific coast in Congress, for many years. It has not been urged with wild vehement decla- mation by thoughtless men, at the behest of an ignorant unthinking, prejudiced con- stituency. It has been supported by in- controvertible fact and passionless reason- ing and enforced by the logic of events. Behind these Representatives was an in- telligent, conscientious public sentiment — universal in a constituency as honest, gen- erous, intelligent, courageous, and humane as any in the Republic. " It had been said that the advocates of Chinese restriction were to be found only among the vicious, unlettered foreign ele- ment of California society. To show the fact in respect of this contention, the Leg- islature of California in 1878 provided for a vote of the people upon the question of Chinese immigration (so called) to be had at the general election of 1879. The vote was legally taken, without excitement, and the response was general. When the bal- lots were counted, there were found to be 883 votes for Chinese immigration and 154,638 against it. A similar vote was tak- en in Nevada and resulted as follows : 183 votes for Chinese immigration and 17,259 votes against. It has been said that a count of noses is an ineffectual and illusory method of settling great que-tions, but this vote of these two States settled the conten- tion intended to be settled ; and demon- strated that the people of all others in the United States who know most of the Chinese evil, and who are most competent to judge of the necessity for restriction are practically unanimous in the support of this measure. "It is to be supposed that this vote of California was the effect of an hysterical spasm, which had suddenly seized the minds of 154,000 voters, representing the sentiment of 800,000 people. For nearly thirty years this people had witnessed the effect of coolie importation. For more than a quarter of a century these voters had met face to face, considered, weighed, and discussed the great question upon which they were at last called upon, in the most solemn and deliberate manner, to express an opinion. 1 do not cite this extraordinary vote as a conclusive argument in favor of Chinese restriction ; but I present it as an important fact suggestive of argument. It may be that the people who have been brought face to face with the Chinese in- vasion arc all wrong, and that those who have seen nothing of it, who have but heard something of it, are more competent (being disinterested) to judge of its pos- sible, probable, and actual effects, than those who have had twenty or thirty years of actual continuous experience and con- tact with the Chinese colony in America; 284 AMERICAN POLITICS. and it may be tliat the Chinese question is to be settled upon considerations other thau those practical common sense reasons and principles which form the basis of po- litical science. " It has sometimes happened in dealing with great questions of governmental policy tnat sentiment, or a sort of emotional inspiration, has seized the minds of those engaged in the solution of great problems, by which they have been lilted up into the ethereal heights of moral abstraction. I trust that while we attempt the path of in- quiry in this instance we shall keep our feet firmly upon the earth. This question relates to this planet and the temporal government of some of its inhabitants ; it is of the earth earthly ; it involves prin- ciples of economic, social, and ])olitical science, rather than a question of morals ; it is a question of national policy, and should be subjected to philosophical ana'y- sis. Moreover, the question is of to-day. The conditions of the world of mankind at the present moment are those with which we have to deal. If mankind existed now in one grand co-operative society, in one universal union, under one system of laws, in a vast homogeneous brotherhood, serenely beatified, innocent of all selfish aims and unholy desires, with one visible temporal ruler, whose judgments should be justice and whose sway should be eter- nal, then there would be no propriety in this measure. " But the millennium has not yet begun, and man exists now, as he has existed always — in the economy of Providence — in societies called nations, separated by tlie peculiarities if not the antipathies of race. In truth the history of mankind is for the most part descriptive of racial con- flicts and the struggles between nations for existence. By a perfectly natural process these nations have evolved distinct civ- ilizations, as diverse in their characteristics as the races of men from which they have sprung. These may be properly grouped into two grand divisions, the civilization of the East and the civilization of the West. These two great and diverse civiliza- tions have finally met on the American shore of the Pacific Ocean. " During the late depression in busi- ness affairs, which existed for three or four years in California, while thousands of white men and women were walking the streets, begging and pleading for an oppor- tunity to give their honest labor for any wages, the great steamers made their regu- lar arrivals from China, and discharged at the wharves of San Francisco their ac- customed cargoes of Chinese who were conveyed through the city to the distril)u- ting dens of the Six Companies, and with- in three or four days after arrival every Chinaman was in his place at work, and the white people unemployed still went about the streets. This continued until the white laboring men rose in their des- peration and threatened the existence of the Chinese colony when the influx was temporarily checked ; but now since busi- ness has revived, and the pressure is re- moved, the Chinese come in vastly in- creased numbers, the excess of arrivals over departures averaging about one thousand per month at San Francisco alone. The importers of Chinese had no difficulty in securing openings for their cargoes now, and when transjiortation from California to the Eastern States is cheapened, as it soon will be, they will extend their opera- tions into the Middle and Eastern States, unless prevented by law, for wherever there is a wdiite man or woman at work for wages, whether at the ^hoe bench, in the factory, or on the farm, there is an opening for a Chinaman. Ko matter how low the wages may be, the Chinaman can afford to work for still lower wages, and if the tompetition is free, he will take the white man's place. "At this point we are met by the query from a certain class of political econo- mists, 'What of it? Suppose the Chinese work for lower wages than white men, is it not advantageous to the country to em- ploy them ? ' The first answer to such question is, that by this process white men are supplanted by Chinese. It is a sub- stitution of Chinese and their civilization for white men and Anglo-Saxon civiliza- tion. This involves considerations higher than mere economic theories. If the Chi- nese are as desirable as citizens, if they are in all the essential elements of man- hood the peers or the superiors of the Cau- casian ; if they will protect American in- terests, foster American .institutions, and become the patriotic defenders of republi- can government ; if their civilization dees not antagonize ours nor contaminate it; if they are free, independent men, fit for liberty and self-government as European immigrants generally are, then we may begin argument upon the question whether it is better or worse, wise or unwise, to permit white men, American citizens, or men of kindred races to be supplanted and the Chinese to be substituted in their places. Until all this and more can be shown the advocates of Chinese importa- tion or immigration have no base upon which to even begin to build argument. "The statistics of the manuAicture of cigars in San Fiancisco are still more sug- gestive. This business was formerly car- ried on exclusively by white people, many hundreds finding steady and lucrative em- ])loyment in that trade. I have here the certified statement from the office of the collector of internal revenue at San Fran- cisco, showing the number of white people THE CHINESE QUESTION. 285 and Chinese, relatively, employed on the 1st of November last in the manufacture of cigars. Tiie statement is as follows : Number of white men employed 493 Number ot white women employed. 170 Total whites GG3 Number of Chinese employed 5 182 " The facts of this statement were care- fully ascertained by three deputy collec- tors. The San Francisco Assembly of Trades certify that there are 8,2G5 Chinese employed in laundries. It is a well-known fact that white women who formerly did this work have been quite driven out of that employment. The same authority certifie? that the number of Chinese now employed in the manufacture of clothing in San Fruiv-isco, is 7,510, and the num- ber of whiter so employed is 1,000. In many industries the Chinese have entirely supplanted the white laborers, and thou- sands of our white people have quit Cali- fornia and sought immunity from this grinding competition in other and better- favored regions." ******** "If you would 'secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,' there must be some place reserved in which, and upon which, posterity can exist. What will the blessings of liberty be worth to posterity if you give up the country to the Chinese ? If China is to be the breed- ing-ground for peopling this country, what chance of American posterity? We of this age hold this land in trust for our race and kindred. We hold republican govern- ment and free institutions in trust for American posterity. That trust ought not to be betraved. If the Chinese should in- vade the Pacific coast with arms in their hands, whit a magnificent spectacle of martial resistance would be presented to a startled world! The mere intimation of an attempt to make conquest of our west- ern shore by force would rouse the nation to a frenzy of enthusiasm in its defense. For years a peaceful, sly, strategic con- quest has been in progress, and American statesmanship has been almost silent, until the people have demanded action, " The land which is being overrun by the oriental invader is the fairest portion of our hi^ritage. It is the land of the vine and the fig tree; the home of the orange, the olive, and the pomegranate. Its winter is a perpetu d sprineople, indispensable to the enjoyment of the righ'ts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, for the protection of which the Government of the United States was es- tablished ; and whereas in the recogni- tion of this principle this Government has freely received emigrants from all nations and vestei them with the rights of citizen- ship, &:•. Mr. Howard declares that — - The absolute right of expatriation is the great leading American principle. Mr. Morton says: That a man's right to withdraw from his native country and make his home in an- other, and thus cut himself ofl from all connection with his native country, is a part of his natural liberty, and without that his liberty is defective. We claim that the right to liberty is a natural, in- herent, God-given right, and his liberty is imperfect unless it carries with it the right of expatriation. The bill containing the preamble above recited passed the Senate by a vote of 39 to 5. The United States of America and the Emperor of China cordially recognize the inherent and inalienable right of man to change his home and allegiance, and also the mutual advantage of the free migra- tion and emigration of their citizens and subjects respectively from the one country to the other f )r purposes of curiosity, of trade, or as permanent residents. "The bill which passed Congress two years ago and was vetoed by President Hayes, the treaty of 1881, and the bill now before the Senate, have the same orisrin and are parts of the same measure. Two years ag) it was proposed to exclude Chi- nese laborers from our borders, in express disregard of our solemn treaty obli<:ati'>ns. This measure was arrested by President Hayes. The treaty of 1881 extorted from unwilling China her consent that we might regulate, limit, or susiiend the coming of Chinese laborers into this country- a con- sent of which it is proposed by this bill to take advantage. This is entitled " A bill to enforce treaty stipulations with Chi- na." " It seems necessary in discussing the statute briefly to review the history of the treaty. First let me say that the title of this bill is deceptive. There is no stipu- lation of the treaty which the bill enforces. The bill where it is not inconsistent with the compact only avails itself of a privi- lege which that concedes. China only re- laxed the Burlinganie treaty so far as to permit us to ' regulate, limit, or suspend the coming or residence ' of Chinese la- borers, ' but not absolutely to prohibit it.' The treaty expressly declares ' such limi- tation or suspension shall be reasonable.' But here is proposed a statute which for twenty years, under the severest penalties, absolutely inhibits the coming of Chinese laborers to this country. The treaty pledges us not absolutely to prohibit it. The bill is intended absolutely to prohibit it. " The second article of the treaty is this : " Chinese subjects, whether proceeding to the United States as traders, students, or merchants, or from curiosity, together with their body and household servants, and Chinese laborers, who are now in the Uni- ted States, shall be allowed to go and come of their own free will and accord, and shall be accurded all the rights, privileges, immunities, and exemptions which are ac- corded to the citizens and subjects of the most favored nations. "Yet it is difficult to believe that the com- plex and cumbrous passport system pro- vided in the last twelve sections of the bill was not intended as an evasion of this agreement. Upon what other nation, fa- vored or hot, is such a burden imposed? This is the execution of a promise that they may come and go ' of their own free wili.' " What has happened witliin thirteen years that the great Republic should strike its flag ? What change has come over us that we should eat the bravest and the tru- est words we ever spoke ? From 1 8")8 to 1880 there was added to the population of the country 42,000 Chinese. " I give a table from the census of 1880 showing the Chinese population of each State : Stafement showinr/ the Chinese pnpvlafion in each State and Territory, arcording to the United States censuses of 1870 and of 1880. Alnbama 4 Alaska Arizona 20 1,630 288 AMERICAN POLITICS. Arkansas 98 California 49,310 Colorado 7 Connecticut 2 Dakota Delaware District of Columbia 3 Florida Georgi a 1 Idaho 4,274 Illinois 1 Indiana Iowa 3 Kansas 1 71 1 2 ..v.""""! 97 2 Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Misssissippi 16 Missouii 3 Montana 1,949 Nebraska Nevada 3,152 New Hampshire New Jersey 15 New Mexico New York 29 North Carolina Ohio 1 Oregon 3,330 Pennsylvania 14 Rhode Island.. South Carolina 1 Tennessee Texas 25 Utah 445 Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin 4 234 134 75,025 610 124 238 1 13 18 17 3,378 210 33 47 19 10 481 9 5 237 27 53 52 94 1,764 18 5,420 14 176 55 924 114 9,513 160 27 9 26 141 501 Wyoming 143 6 3,182 14 16 914 Total 63,254 105,463 "By the census of 1880 the number of Chinese in this country was 105,000 — one five-hundredth part of the whole popula- tion. The Chinese are the most easily governed race in the world. Yet every Chinaman in America has four hundred and ninety-nine Americans to control him. The immigration was also constantly de- creasing for the last half of the decade. The Bureau of Statistics gives the num- bers as follows, (for the first eight years the figures are those of the entire Asiatic im- migration :) The number of immigrants from Asia, as reported l)y the United States Bureau of Statistics is as follows, namely: 1871 7,236 1872 7,825 1873 20,326 1874 13,857 1875 16,498 1876 22,943 1877 10,640 1878 9,014 Total 108,339 And from China for the year ended June 30 — 1879 9,604 1880 5,802 Total 1.5,406 Grand Total 123,745 " See also, Mr. President, how this class of immigrants, diminishing in itself, di- minishes still more in its proportion to the rapidly increasing numbers who come from other lands. Against 22,943 Asiatic immigrants in 1876, there are but 5,802 in 1880. In 1878 there were 9,014 from Asia, in a total of 153,207, or one in seventeen of the entire immigration; and this in- cludes all persons who entered the port of San Francisco to go to any South American country. In 1879 there were 9,604 from China in a total of 250,565, or one in twenty-six. In 1880 there Avere 5,802 from China in a total immigration of 513,359, or one in one hundred and two. The whole Chinese population, then, when the cen- sus of 1880 was taken, was but one in five hundred of our people. The whole Chinese immigration was but one in one hundred and two of the total immigration ; while the total annual immigration quadrupled from 1878 to 1880, the Chinese was in 1880 little more than one-half \\hat it was in 1878, and one-fourth i^hat it was in 1876. " The number of immigrants of all nations was 720,045 in 1881. Of these 20,711 Avere Chinese. There is no record in the Bureau of Statistics of the number who departed within the year. But a very high anti-Chinese authority places it above 10,000. Perhaps the expection that the hostile legislation under the trer.ty would not affect persons who entend before it took effect stimulated sonuwhat their coming. But the addition to the Cliinese population was less than one seventy- second of the whole immigration. All the Chinese in the country do not exceed the population of its sixteenth cily. All the Chinese in California hardly turpass the number which is easily governed in Shanghai by a police of one hundred men. There are as many pure blooded Gypsies wandering about the country as there are Chinese in California. What an insult to American intelligence to ask leave of China to keep out her people, because this little handful of almond-eyed Asiatics threaten to destroy our boasted civiliza- THE CHINESE QUESTION. 289 tion. We go boasting of our democracy, and our superiority, and our strength. The flag bears the stars of hope to all nations. A hundred thousand Chinese land in California and everything is changed. God has not made of one blood all the nations any longer. The self-evident truth be- ■■omes a self-evident lie. The golden rule does not apply to the natives oi' the con- tinent where it was first uttered. The United States surrender to China, the Ke- public to the despot, America to Asia, Jesus to Joss. " There is another most remarkable ex- ample of this prejudice of race which has hapjjily almost died out here, which has come down from the dark ages and which survives with unabated ferocity in Eastern Europe. I mean the hati-ed of the Jew. The persecution of the Hebrew has never, so far as I know, taken the form of an affront to labor. In every other particular the reproaches which for ten centuries have been leveled at him are reproduced to do service against the Chinese. The Hebrew, so it was said, was not a Chris- tian. He did not affiliate or assimilate into the nations where he dwelt. He was an unclean thing, a dog, to whom the crime of the crucifixion of his Saviour was never to be forgiven. The Chinese quar- ter of San Francisco had its type in every city of Europe. If the Jew ventured from his hiding-place he was stoned. His wealth made him the prey of the rapacity of the noble, and his poverty and weakness the victim of the rabble. Yet how has this Oriental conquered Christendom by the sublimity of his patience? The great poet of New England, who sits by every Ameri- can fireside a beloved and perpetual guest, in that masterpiece of his art, the Jewish Cemetery at Newport, has described the degradation and the triumph of these per- secuted children of God. How came they here ? What burst of Christian hate, What persecution, merciless and blind, Drove o'or the sea — that desert desolate — These Ishmaels and Hagara of mankind ? They lived in narrow streets and lanes obscure. Ghetto and Judenstrasa, in mirk and mire ; Taught in the school of patience to endure Tlie life of ancruish and the death of fire. \natlioma maranatha! was the cry Th.it ning from town to town, from street to street; At f'verv pite the accui'S;'d Jlordecai Was mocked and jeered, and spurned by Christian feet. Pride and humiliation hand in hand Walked with them through the world where'er they went; Trampled and beaten were they as the sand, And yet unshaken as the continent. Forty years ago — Says Lord Beaconsfield, that great Jew who held England in the hollow of his hand, and who played on her aristocracy as on an organ, who made himself the master of an alien nation, its ruler, its 19 oracle, and through it, and in despite of it, for a time the master of Europe — Forty years ago — not a longer period than the children of Israel were wandering in the desert — the two most dishonored races in Europe were the Attic and the He- brew. The world has probably by this discovered that it is impossible to destroy the Jews. The attempt to extirpate them has been made under the most favorable auspices and on the largest scale ; the most considerable means that man could com- mand have been pertinaciously applied to this object for the longest period of re- corded time. Egyptian Pharaohs, Assyrian kings, Roman emperors, Scandinavian crusaders, Gothic princes, and holy inqui- sitors, have alike devoted their energies to the fulfillment of this common purpose. Expatriation, exile, captivity, confiscation, torture on the most ingenious and massa- cre on the most extensive scale, a curious system of degrading customs and debasing laws which would have broken the heart of any other people, have been tried, and in vain. " Lord Beaconsfield admits that the Jews contribute more than their proportion to the aggregate of the vile ; that the lowest class of Jews are obdurate, malignant, odious, and revolting. And yet this race of dogs, as it has been often termed in scorn, furnishes Europe to-day its masters in finance and oratory and statesmanship and art and music. Rachel, Mozart, Men- delssohn, Disraeli, Rothschild, Benjamin, Heine, are but samples of the intellectual power of a race which to-day controls the finance and the press of Europe. " I do not controvert the evidence which is relied upon to show that there are great abuses, great dangers, great oflenses, which have grown out of the coming of this peo- ple. Much of the evil I believe might be cured by State and municipal authority. Congress may rightfully be called upon to go to the limit of the just exercise of the powers of government in rendering its aid. " We should have capable and vigilant consular officers in the Asiatic ports from which these immigrants come, without whose certificate they should not be re- ceived on board ship, and who should see to it that no person except those of good character and no person whose labor is not his own property be allowed to come over. Especially should the trade in human labor under all disguises be suppressed. Filthy habits of living must surely be with- in the control of municipal regulation. Every State may by legislation or by muni- cipal ordinance in its towns and cities pre- scribe the dimension of dwellings and limit the number who may occupy the same tenement. "But it is urged — and this in my judg- ment is the greatest argument for the bill — • 290 AMERICAN POLITICS. that the introduction of the labor of the Chinese reduces the wages of the American laborer. ' We are ruined by Chinese cheap labor " is a cry not limited to the class to whose representative the brilliant humor- ist of California first ascribed it. I am not in favor of lowering any where the wages of any American labor, skilled or unskilled. On the contrary, I believe the maintenance and the increase of the purchasing power of the wages of the American working man should be the one principal object of our legislation. The share in the product of agriculture or manufacture which goes to labor should, and I believe will, steadily increase. For that, and for that only, ex- ists our protective system. The acquisition of wealth, national or individual, is to be desired only for that. The statement of the accomplished Senator from California on this point meets my heartiest concur- rence. I have no sympathy with any men, if such there be, who favor high protection and cheap labor. " But I believe that the Chinese, to whom the terms of the California Senator attri- bute skill enough to displace the American in every field requiring intellectual vigor, will learn very soon to insist on his full share of the product of his work. But whe- ther that be true or not, the wealth he cre- ates will make better and not worse the con- dition of every higher class of labor. There may be trouble or failure in adjusting new relations. But sooner or later every new class of industrious and productive labor- ers elevates the class it displaces. The dread of an injury to our labor from the Chinese rests on the same fallacy that op- posed the introduction of labor-saving ma- chinery, and which opposed the coming of the Irishman and the German and the Swede. Within my memory in New Eng- land all the lower places in factories, all places of domestic service, were filled by the sons and daughters of American farm- ers. The Irishmen came over to take their places ; but the American farmer's son and daughter did not suffer; they were only elevated to a higher plane. In the in- creased wealth of the community their share is much greater. The Irishman rose from the bog or the hovel of his native land to the comfort of a New England home, and placed his children in a New England school. The Yankee rises from the loom and the spinning-jenny to be the teacher, the skilled laborer in the machine shop, the inventor, the merchant, or the opulent landholder and farmer of the West. A letter from F. A. Bee, Chinese Con- sul, approving the management of the es- tate, accompanied the report of the re- feree : . " Mr. President, I will not detain the Senate by reading the abundant testimony, of which this is but the sample, of the pos- session by the people of this race of the possibility of a development of every qua- lity of intellect, art, character, which fits them for citizenship, for republicanism, for Christianity. " Humanity, capable of infinite depths of degradation, is capable also of infinite heights of excellence. The Chinese, like all other races, has given us its examples of both. To rescue humanity from this degradation is, we are taught to believe, the great object of God's moral government on earth. It is not by injustice, exclusion, caste, but by reverence for the individual soul that we can aid in this consummation. It is not by Chinese policies that China is to be civilized. I believe that the immor- tal truths of the Declaration of Indepen- dence came from the same source with the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount. We can trust Him who promul- gated these laws to keep the country safe that obeys them. The laws of the universe have their own sanction. They will not fail. The power that causes the compass to point to the north, that dismisses the star on its pathway through the skies, pro- mising that in a thousand years it shall re- turn again true to its hour and keep His word, will vindicate His own moral law. As surely as the path on which our fathers entered a hundred years ago led to safety, to strength, to glory, so surely will the path on which we now propose to enter bring us to shame, to weakness, and to peril." On the 3d of March the debate was re- newed. Senator Farley protested that un- less Chinese immigration is prohibited it will be impossible to protect the Chinese on the Pacific coast. The feeling against them now is such that restraint is difficult, as the people, forced out of employment by them, and irritated by their constantly in- creasing numbers, are not in a condition to submit to the deprivations they suffer by the presence of a Chinese population im- ported as slaves and absorbing to their own benefit the labor of the country. A remark of Mr. Farley about the Chinese led Mr. Hoar to ask if they were not the inventors of the printing press and of gunpowder. To this question Mr. Jones, of Nevada, made a brief speech, which was considered remarkable, principally because it was one of the very few speeches of any length that he has made since he became a Senator. Instead of agreeing with Mr. Hoar that the Chinese had inv^ented the printing press and gunpowdfer, he said that information he had received led him to believe that the Chinese were not entitled to the credit of either of these inventions. On the con- trary, they had stolen them from Aryans or Caucasians who wandered into the king- THE CHINESE QUESTION. 291 (lom. Mr. Hoar smiled incredulously and made a remark to the effect that he had never heard of those Aryans or Caucasians before. Continuing his remarks, Mr. Farley ex- {tressed his belief that should the Mongo- lian population increase and the Chinese come in contact with the Afi'icans, the con- tact would result in demoralization and bloodshed which the laws could not pre- vent. Pig-tailed Chinamen would take the place everywhere of the working girl unless Congress extended its protection to Califor- nia and her white jseople, who had by their votes demanded a prohibition of Chinese immigration. Mr. Maxey, interpreting the Constitution in such a way as to bring out of it an argument against Chinese immi- gration, said he found nothing in it to jus- tify the conclusion that the framers of it intended to bring into this country all na- tions and races. The only people the fathers had in view as citizens were those of the Caucasian race, and they contempla- ted naturalization only for such, for they had distinctly set forth that the heritage of freedom was to be for their posterity. No- body would pretend to express the opinion that it was'expected that the American peo- ple should become mixed up with all sorts of races and call the result " our posterity." While the American people had, in conse- quence of their Anglo-Saxon origin, been able to withstand the contact with the Af- rican, the Africans would never stand be- fore the Chinese. Mr. Maxey opposed the Chinese because they do not come here to be citizens, because the lower classes of Chinese alone are immigrants, and because by contact they poison the minds of the less intelligent. Mr. Saulsbury had something to say in favor of the bill, and Mr. Garland, who vo- ted against the last bill because the treaty had not been modified, expressed his belief that the Government could exercise proper- ly all the powers proposed to be bestowed by this bill. Some time was consumed by Mr. Ingalls in advocacy of an amendment offered by him, proposing to limit the sus- pension of immigration to 10 instead of 20 years. Mr. Miller and Mr. Bayard op- posed the amendment, Mr. Bayard taking the ground that Congress ought not to dis- regard the substantially unanimous wish of the people of California, as expressed at the polls, for absolute prohibition. The debate was interrupted by a motion for an executive session, and the bill went over un- til Monday, to be taken up then as the un- finished business. On March 6th a vote was ordered on Senator Ingalls' amendment. It was de- feated on a tie vote — yeas 23, nays 23. The vote in detail is as follows: Yeas — Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Blair, Brown, Cockrell, Conger, Davis of Illinois, Dawes, Edmunds, Frye, Harris, Hoar, In- galls, Jackson, Lapham, McDill, ]\IcMil- lan, Mitchell, Morrell, Saunders, Sewell, Sherman and Teller — 23. Nays— Messrs. Bayard, Beck, Call, Came- ron of Wisconsin, Coke, Fair, Farley, Gar- land, George, Hale, Hampton, Hill of Colorado, Jonas, Jones of Nevada, Mc- Pherson, Marcy, Miller of California, IMil-- ler of New York, Morgan, Ransom, Slater, Vest and Walker— 23. Pairs were announced between Davis, of West Virginia, Saulsbury, Butler, John' son, Kellogg, Jones, of Florida, and Grover, against the amendment, and Messrs. Win- dom, Ferry, Hawley, Piatt, Pugh, Rollins and Van Wyck in the affirmative. Mr- Camden was also paired. Mr. Pxlmunds, partially in reply to Mr. Hoar argued that the right to decide what constitutes the moral law was one inherent in the Government, and by analogy the right to regulate the character of the peo- ple who shall come into it belonged to a Government. This depended upon national polity and the fact as to most of the ancient republics that they did not possess homo- geneity was the cause of their fall. As to the Swiss Republic, it was untrue that it was not homogeneous. The difference there was not one of race but of different varieties of the same race, all of which are analogous and consistent with each other. It would not be contended that it is an advantage to a republic that its citizens should be made of diverse races, with di- verse views and diverse obligations as to what the common prosperity of all required. Therefore there was no foundation for the charge of a violation of moral and public law in our making a distinction as to the foreigners we admit. He challenged Mr. Hoar to produce an authority on national law which denied the right of one nation to declare what people of other nations should come among them. John Hancock and Samuel Adams, not unworthy citizens of Massachusetts, joined in asserting in the Declaration of Independence the right of the colonies to establish for themselves, not for other peoples, a Government of their own, not the Government of some- body else. The declaration asserted the family or consolidated right of a people within any Territory to determine the con- ditions upon which they would go on, an! this included the matter of receiving the people from other shores into their family. This idea was followed in the Constitution by requiring naturalization. The China- man may be with us, but he is not of us. One of the conditions of his naturalization is that he must be friendly to the institu- tions and intrinsic polity of our Govern- ment. Upon the theory of the Massachu- setts Senators, that there is a universal oneness of one human being with every 292 AMERICAN POLITICS. other human "being on the globe, this tra- ditional and fundamental principle was entirely ignored. Such a theory as applied to Government was contrary to all human experience, to all discussion, and to every step of the founders of our Government, lie said that Mr. Sumner, the predecessor of Mr. Hoar, was the author of the law on the coolie traflic, which imposes fines and penalties more severe than those in this bill upon any master of an American ves- sel carrying a Chinaman who is a servant. The present bill followed that legislation. Mr. Edmunds added that he would vote against the bill if the twenty-year clause was retained, but would maintain the soundness of principle he had enunciated. Mr. Hoar argued in reply that the right of expatriation carried with it the right to a home for the citizen in the country to which he comes, and that the bill violated not only this but the principles of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments which made citizenship the birthright of every one born on our soil, and prohibited an abridgement of the suftrage because of race, color, etc. Mr. lugalls moved an amendment post- poning the time at which the act shall talie effect until sixty days after information of its passage has been communicated to China. After remarks by Messrs. Dawes, Teller and Bayard, at the suggestion of Mr. Brown Mr. Ingalls modified his amendment by providing that the act shall not go into effect until ninety days after its passage, ;and the amendment was adopted. On motion of Mr. Bayard, amendments were adopted making the second section read as follows : " That. any master of any vessel of whatever nationality, who shall knowingly on such vessel bring within the jurisdiction of the United States and per- mit to be landed any Chinese laborer, " &c. Mr. Hoar moved to amend by add- ing the following : " Provided, that this bill shall not apply to any skilled laborer who shall establish that he comes to this country without any contract beyond which his labor is the property of any person be- sides himself " Mr. Farley suggested that all the Chinese would claim to be skilled laborors. j Mr. Hoar replied that it would test (Whether the bill struck at coolies or at skilled labor. The amendment was rejected — Yeas, 17 ; nays, 27. Mr. Call moved to strike out the section which forfeits the vessel for the ofiense of the master. Lost. Mr. Hoar moved to amend by inserting : " Provided that any laborer who shall re- ceive a certificate from the U. S. Consul at the port wdiere he shall embark that he is an artisan coming to this country at his own expense and of his own will, shall not be affected by this bill." Lost — yeas 19, nays 24. On motion of Mr. Miller, of California, the provision directing the removal of any Chinese unlawfully found in a Customs Collection district by the Collector, was amended to direct that he shall be removed to the place from whence he came. On motion of Mr. Brown an amendment was adopted providing that the mark of a CJhinese immigrant, duly attested by a witness, may be taken as his signature upon the certificate of resignation or regis- tration issued to him. The question then recurred on the amendment offered by Mr. Farley that hereafter no State Court or United States Court shall admit Chinese to citizenship. Mr. Hawley, of Conn., on the following day spoke against what he denounced as "a bill o^ iniquities." On the 9th of March what proved a long and interesting debate was closed, the leading speech being made by Senator Jones (Rep.) of Nevada, in favor of the biP After showing the disastrous eflFects of the influx of the Chinese upon the Pa- cific coast and answering some of the argu- ments of the opponents of restriction, Mr. Jones said that he had noticed that most of those favoring Chinese immigration were advocates of a high tariff" to protect American labor. But, judging from indi- cations, it is not the American laborer, but the lordly manufacturing capitalist who is to be protected as against the European capitalist, and who is to sell everything he has to sell in an American market, one in which other capitalists cannot compete with him, while he buys that which he ha8 to buy — the labor of men — in the most open market. He demands for the latter free trade in its broadest sense, and would have not only free trade in bringing in la- borers of our own race, but the Chinese, the most skilful and cunning laborers of the world. The laborer, however, is to buy from his capitalist master in a protec- tive market, but that which he himself has to sell, his labor, and which he must sell every day (for he cannot wait, like the capitalist, for better times or travel here and there to dispose of it), he must sell in the openest market of the world. When the artisans of this country shall be made to understand that the market in which they sell the only thing they have to sell is an open one they will demand, as one of the conditions of their existence, that they shall have an open market in which to buy what they want. As the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Dawes) said he wanted the people to know that the bill was a blow struck at labor, Mr. Jones said he reitera- ted the assertion with the qualification that it was not a blow at our own, but at THE CHINESE QUESTION. 293 underpaid pauper labor. That cheap labor produces national wealth is a fallacy, as shown by the home condition of the 350,- 000,000 of Chinamen. " Was the bringing of the little brown man a sort of counter balance to the trades unions of this country? If he may be iirought here, why may not the products of his toil come in ? Now, when the la- borer is allowed to get that share from his laljor that civilization has decided he shall liave, the little brown man is introduced. He (Mr. Jones) believed in protection, and had no prejudice against the capital- ist, but he would have capital and labor equally protected. Enlarging upon the consideration that the intelligence or crea- tive genius of a countiy in overcoming ob- stacles, not its material resources, consti- tutes its wealth, and that the low wages of the Chinese, while benefiting individual employers, would ultimately impoverish the country by removing the stimulant to create labor-saving machinery and like in- ventions. Mr. Jones spoke of what he called the dearth of intellectual activity in the South in every department but one, that of politics. " This was because of the presence of a servile race there. The absence of South- ern names in the Patent Office is an illus- tration. We would not welcome the Africans here. Their presence was not a blessing to us, but an impediment in our way. The relations of the white and colored races of the South were now no nearer adjustment than they were years ago. He would prophesy that the African race would never be permitted to dominate any State of the South. The experiment to that end had been a dismal failure, and a failure not because we have not tried to make it succeed, but because laws away above human laws have placed the one race superior to and far above the other. The votes of the ignorant class might pre- ponderate, but intellect, not numbers, is the superior force in this world. We clothed the African in the Union blue and the belief that he was one day to be free was the candle-light in his soul, but it is one thing to aspire to be free and another thing to have the intelligence and sterling qualities of character that can maintain free government. Mr. Jones here ex- pressed his belief that, if left alone to main- tain a government, the negro would gradu- ally retrograde and go back to the methods of his ancestors. This, he added, may be heresy, but I believe it to be the truth. If, when the first shipload of African slaves came to this country the belief had spread that they would be the cause of political agitation, a civil war, and the future had been foreseen, would they have been al- lowed to land ? How much of this country would now I be worth preserving if the North had been covered by Africans as is South Carolina to-day, in view of their non-assimilative character? The wisest policy would have been to exclude them at the outset. So we say of the Chinese to-day, he exclaim- ed, and for greater reason, because their skill makes them more formidable compe- titors than the negro. Subtle and adept in manipulation, the Chinaman can be put into almost any kind of a factory. His race is as obnoxious to us and as impossi- ble for us to assimilate with as was the ; negro race. His race has outlived every ' other because it is homogeneous, and for ' that reason alone. It has imposed its re- ligion and peculiarities upon its conquer- 1 ors and still lived. If the immigration is ; not checked now, when it is within man- j ageable limits, it will be too late to check j it. What do we find in the condition of the Indian or the African to induce us to I admit another race into our midst ? It is because the Pacific coast favor our own civilization, not that of another race, that they discourage the coming of these peo- ple. They believe in the homogeneity of our race, and that upon this depends the progress of our institutions and everything on which we build our hopes. Mr. Morrill, (Rep.) of Vt, said he ap- preciated the necessity of restricting Chi- nese immigration, but desired that the bill should strictly conform to treaty require- ments and be so perfected that questions arising under it might enable it to pass the ordeal of judicial scrutiny. Mr. Sherman, (Rep.) of Ohio, referring to the passport system, said the bill adopt- ed some of the most offensive features of European despotism. He was averse to hot haste in applying a policy foreign to the habits of our people, and regarded the measure as too sweeping in many of its provisions and as reversing our immigra- tion policy. After remarks by Messrs. Ingalls, Far- ley, Maxey, Brown and Teller, the amend- ment of Mr. Farley, which provides that hereafter no court shall admit Chinese to citizenship, was adopted — yeas 25, nays 22. The following is the vote : Yeas — Messrs. Bayard, Beck, Call, Cam- eron of Wisconsin, Cockrell, Coke, Fair, Farley, Garland, George. Gorman, Harris; Jackson, Jonas, Jones of Nevada, ]Maxey,t Morgan, Pugh, Ransom, Slater, Teller, Vance, Vest, Voorhees and Walker — 25, Nays — Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Blair, Brown, Conger, Davis of Illinois, Dawes, Edmunds, Frye, Hale, Hill of Colorado, Hoar, Ingalls, Lapham, McDill, McMil- lan, Miller of New York, Mitchell, Mor- j rill. Plumb, Saunders and Sawyer — 22. I Mr. Grover's amendment construing the I words " Chinese laborers," wherever used i in the id, to mean both skilled and un- 294 AMERICAN POLITICS. skilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining prevailed by the same vote — yeas 26, nays 22. Mr. Brown, (Dem.) of Ga., moved to strike out the requirement for the produc- tion of passports by the permitted classes whenever demanded by the United States authorities. Carried on a viva voce vote, the Chair (Mr. Davis, of Illinois) creating no little merriment by announcing, " The nays are loud but there are not many of them." MR. INGALLS' AMENDMENT. Upon the bill being reported to the Sen- ate from the Committee of the Whole Mr. Ingalls again moved to limit the suspen- sion of the coming of Chinese laborers to ten years. Mr. Jones, of Nevada, said this limit would hardly have the effect of allaying agitation on the subject as the discussion would be resumed in two or three years, and ten years, he feared, would not even be a long enough period to enable Congress intelligently to base upon it any future policy. Mr. Miller, of California, also urged that the shorter period would not measura- bly relieve the business interest of '«the Pacific slope, inasmuch as the white immi- grants, who were so much desired, would not come there if they believed the Chi- nese were to be again admitted in ten years. Being interrupted by Mr. Hoar, he asserted that that Senator and other republican leaders, as also the last repub- lican nominee for President, had hereto- fore given the people of the Pacific slope good reason to believe that they would se- cure to them the relief they sought by the bill. Mr. Hoar, (Eep,) of Mass., briefly re- plied. The amendment was lost — yeas 20, nays 21. The vote is as follows : Yeas — Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Blair, Brown, Conger, Davis of Illinois, Dawes, Edmunds, Frye, Hale, Hoar, Ingalls, Lap- ham, McDill, McMillan, Mahone, Morrill, Plumb, Sawyer and Teller— 20. Nays — Messrs. Bayard, Beck, Call,Cam- eron of Wisconsin, Coke, Fair, Farley, Garland, George, Gorman, Jackson, Jonas, Jones of Nevada, Miller of California, Miller of New York, Morgan, Ransom, Slater, Vance, Voorhees and Walker — 2L Messrs. Butler, Camden, McPherson, Johnston, Davis of West Virginia, Pendle- ton and Ransom were paired with Messrs. Hawley, Anthony, Sewell, Piatt, Van Wyck, Windom and Sherman. Messrs. Hampton, Pugh, Vest, Rollins and Jones of Florida were paired with absentees. PASSAGE of the BILL. The question recurred on the final pas- sage of the bill, and Mr. Edmunds closed the debate. He would vote against the bill as it now stood, because he believed it to be an infraction of good faith as pledged by the last treaty ; because he believed it injurious to the welfare of the people of the United States, and particularly the people on the Pacific coast, by preventing the development of our great trade with China. The vote was then taken and the bill was passed — yeas 29, nays 15. The following is the vote in detail : — Yeas — Messrs. Bayard, Beck, Call, Cam- eron of Wisconsin, Cockrell, Coke, Fair, Farley, Garland, George, Gorman, Hale, Harris, Hill of Colorado, Jackson, Jonas, Jones of Nevada, Miller of California, Miller of New York, Morgan, Pugh, Ran- som, Sawyer, Teller, Vance, Vest, Voor- hees and Walker — 29. Nays — Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Blair, Brown, Conger, Davis of Illinois, Dawes, Edmunds, Frye, Hoar, Ingalls, Lapham, McDill, McMillan and Morrill— 15. Pairs were announced of Messrs. Cam- den, Davis of West Virginia, Grover, Hampton, Butler, McPherson, Johnston, Jones of Florida and Pendleton in favor of the bill, with Messrs. Anthony, Win- dom, Van Wyck, Mitchell, Hawley, Sewell, Piatt, Rollins and Sherman against it. Mr. Frye, (Rep.) of Me., in casting his vote, stated that he was paired with Mr. Hill, of Georgia, on all political questions, but that he did not consider this a politi- cal question, and besides, had express per- mission from Senator Hill to vote upon it. Mr. Mitchell, (Rep.) of Pa., in an- nouncing his pair with Mr. Hampton stated that had it not been for that fact he would vote against the bill, regarding it as un-American and inconsistent with the principles which had obtained in the gov- ernment. The title of the bill was amended so as to read, " An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese," though Mr. Hoar suggested that " execute " ought to be stricken out and "violate" inserted. The Senate then, at twenty' minutes to six, adjourned until to-morrow. provisions of the bill. The Chinese Immigration bill as passed provides that from and after the expiration of ninety days after the passage of this act and until the expiration of tAventy years after its passage the coming of Chinese la- borers to the United States shall be sus- pended, and prescribes a penalty of im- prisonment not exceeding one year and a fine of not more than $500 against the master of any vessel who brings any Chi- nese laborer to this country during that THE CHINESE QUESTION. 295 period. It further provides that the classes of Chinese excepted by the treaty from such prohibition— such as merchants, teach- ers, students, travelers, diplomatic agents and Chinese laborers who were in the Uni- ted States on the 17th of November, 1880 — shall be required, as a condition for their admission, to procure passports from the government of China personally identify- ing them and showing that they individ- ually belong to one of the permitted classes, which passports must have been indorsed by the dijilomatic representative of the United States in China or by the United States Consul at the port of departure. It also provides elaborate machinery for car- rying out the purposes of the act, and ad- ditional sections prohibit the admission of Chinese to citizenship by any United States or State court and construes the words "Chinese laborers" to mean both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese em- ployed in mining. The sentiment in favor of the passage of this bill has certainly greatly increased since the control of the issue has passed to abler hands than those of Kearney and Kalloch, whose conduct intensified the opposition of the East to the measure, which in 1879 was denounced as " violat- ing the conscience of the nation." Mr. Blaine's advocacy of the first bill limiting emigrants to fifteen on each vessel, at the time excited much criticism in the Eastern states, and was there a potent weapon against him in the nominating struggle for the Presidency in 1880 ; but on the other hand it is believed that it gave him strength in the Pacific States. Chinese immigration and the attempt to restrict it presents a question of the gra- vest importance, and Avas treated as such in the Senate debate. The friends of the bill, under the leadership of vSenators Mil- ler and Jones, certainly stood in a better and stronger attitude than ever before. The anti-Chinese bill passed the House just as it came from the Senate, after a somewhat exended debate, on the 23d of March, 1882. Yeas 167, nays 65, (party lines not being drawn) as follows: Yeas — Messrs. Aikin, Aldrich, Armfield, Atkins, Bayne, Belford, Belmont, Berry, Bingham, Blackburn, Blanchard, Bliss, Blount, Brewer, Brumm, Buckner, Burrows, of Missouri; Butterworth, Cabell, Cald- well, Calkins, Campbell, Cannon, Casser- lev, Caswell, Chalmers, Chapman, Clark, Clements, Cobb, Converse, Cook, Cornell, Cox, of New York ; Cox, of North Caro- lina ; Covington, Cravens, Culberts(m, Cur- tin, Darrell, Davidson ; Davis, of Illinois ; Davis, of Missouri ; Demotte, Deuster, Dezendorf, Dibble, Dibrell, Dowd, Dugro, Ermentrout, Errett, Farwell, of Illinois; Finley, Flowers, Ford, Forney, Fulkerson, Garrison, Geddes, George, Gibson, Guen- ther, Gunter, Hammond, of Georgia ; Har- dy, Harmer, Harris, of New Jersey ; Hasel- tine. Hatch, Hazelton, Heilman, Herndon, Hewitt, of New York; Hill, Hiscock, Hoblitzell, Hoge, Hollman, Horr, Houk, House, Hubbell, Hubbs, Hutchins, Jones, of Texas ; Jones, of Arkansas ; Jorgenson, Kenna, King, Klotz, Knott, Ladd, Lee- dom, Lewis, Marsh, Martin, Matson, Mc- Clure, McCook,McKenzie, McKinley, Mc- Lane, McMillan, Miller, Mills, of Texas ; Money, Morey, Moulton, Murch, Mutchler, O'Neill, Pacheco, Page, Paul, Payson, Pealse, Phelps, Phister, Pound, Eandall, Reagan, Rice of Missouri, Richardson, Robertson, Robinson, Rosecrans, Scran- ton, Shallenberger, Sherwin, Simonton, Singleton, of Mississippi, Smith of Penn- sylvania, Smith of Illinois, Smith of New York, Sparks, Spaulding, Spear, Springer, Stockslager, Strait, Talbott, Thomas, Thompson of Kentucky, Tillman, Town- send of Ohio, Townsend of Illinois, Tucker, Turner of Georgia, Turner of Kentucky, Updegraff, of Ohio, Upson, Valentine, Vance, Van Horn, Warner, Washburne, Webber, Welborn, Whitthorne, Williams of Alabama, Willis, Willetts. Wilson, Wise of Pennsylvania, Wise of Virginia, and W. A. \Vood of New York— 167. The nays were IMessrs. Anderson, Barr, Bragg, Briggs, Brown, Buck, Camp, Cand- ler, Carpenter, Chase, Crapo,Cullen, Dawes, Deering, Dingley, Dunn ell, Dwight, Far- well of Iowa, Grant, Hall, Hammond, of New York, Hardenburgh, Harris, of Mas- sachusetts, Haskell, Hawk, Henderson, Hepburn, Hooker, Humphrey, Jacobs, Jones of New Jersey, Joyce, Kasson, Ketchum, Lord, McCoid, Morse, Norcross, Orth, Parker, Ramsey, Rice of Ohio, Rice of Massachusetts, Rich, Richardson of New York, Ritchie, Robinson of Massachusetts, Russel, Ryan, Shultz, Skinner, Scooner, Stone, Taylor, Thompson of Iowa, Tyler, Updegraff of Iowa, Urner, Wadsworth, Wait, Walker, Ward, Watson, White and Williams of Wisconsin — 65. In the House the debate was partici- pated in by Messrs. Richardson, of South Carolina ; Wise and Brumm, of Pennsylva- nia; Joyce, of Vermont; Dunnell, of Min- nesota ; Orth, of Indiana ; Sherwin, of Illi- nois ; Hazelton, of Wisconsin ; Pacheco, of California, and Townsend, of Illinois, and others. An amendment offered by Mr. Butterworth, of Ohio, reducing the period of suspension to fifteen years, was rejected. Messrs. Robinson, of Massachusetts ; Cur- tin, of Pennsylvania, and Cannon, of Illi- nois, spoke upon the bill, the two latter sup- ])orting it. The speech of Ex-Governor Curtin was strong and attracted much at- tention. Mr. Page closed the debate in favor of the measure. An amendment of- fered by Mr. Kasson, of Iowa, reducing the time of susjxinsion to ten years, was re- 296 AMERICAN POLITICS. jected — yeas 100, nays 131 — and the bill was passed exactly as it came from the Senate by a vote of 167 to 65. The House then adjourned. Our Merchant Marine. An important current issue is the increase of the Navy and the improvement of the Merchant Marine, and to these questions the National Administration has latterly given attention. The New York Herald has given much editorial ability and re- search to the advocacy of an immediate change for the better in these respects, and in its issue of March 10th, 1882, gave the proceedings of an important meeting of the members of the United States Naval Insti- tute held at Annapolis the day before, on which occasion a prize essay on the subject — " Our Merchant Marine ; the Cause of its Decline and the Means to be Taken for its Revival," was read. The subject was cho- sen nearly a year ago, because it was the belief of the members of the institute that a navy cannot exist without a merchant marine. The naval institute was organized in 1873 for the advancement of profession- al and scientific knowledge in the na^'y. It has on its roll 500 members, principally naval officers, and its proceedings are pub- lished quarterly. Rear Admiral C R. P. Rodgers is president ; Captain J. M. Ram- say, vice president ; Lieutenant Command- er C. M. Thomas, secretary; Lieutenant Murdock, corresponding secretary, and Paymaster R. W. Allen, treasurer. There were eleven competitors for the prize, which is of $100, and a gold medal valued at $50. The judges were Messrs. Hamilton Fish, A. A. Low and J. D. Jones. They awarded the prize to Lieutenant J. D. J. Kelley, U. S. N., whose motto was "Nil Clarius ^quore," and designated Master C. T. Cal- kins, LT. S. N., whose motto was " Mais il faut cultiver notre jardin " as next in the order of merit, and further mentioned the essays of Lieutenant R. Wainwright, Uni- ted States Navy, whose motto was "Causa latet, vis est notissima," and Lieutenant Commander J. E. Chadwick, United States Navy, whose motto was " Spes Meliora," as worthy of honorable mention, without being entirely agreed as to their compara- tive merits. STRIKING PASSAGES FROM THE PRIZE ESSAY. From Lieut. Kelley's prize essay many valuable facts can be gathered, and such of these as contain information of permanent value we quote : "So far as commerce influences this country has a vital interest in the carrying trade, let theorists befog the cool air as they may. Every dollar paid for freight im- ported or exported in American vessels ac- crues to American labor and capital, and the enterprise is as much a productive in- dustry as the raising of wheat, the spinning of fibre or the smelting of ore. Had the acquired, the 'full' trade of 1860 been maintained without increase $80,000,000 would have been added last year to the na- tional wealth, and the loss i'rom diverted shipbuilding would have swelled the (-inu to a total of $100,000,000. " Our surplus products must find foreign markets, and to retain them ships controlled by and employed in exclusively American interests are essential instrumentalities. Whatever tends to stimulate competition- and to prevent combination benefits the producer, and as the prices abroad estab- lish values here, the barter we obtain for the despised one-tenth of exports— .$665,- 000,000 in 1880— determines the profit or loss of the remainder in the home market. During the last fiscal year 11,500,000 gross tons of grain, oil, cotton, tobacco, precious metals, &c., were exported from the United States, and this exportation increases at the rate of 1,500,000 tons annually ; 3,800,000 tons of goods are imported, or in all about 15,000,000 tons constitute the existing com- merce of this country. " If only one-half of the business of car- rying our enormous wealth of surplus pro- ducts could be secured for American ships, oiir tonnage would be instantly doubled,, and we would have a greater fleet engaged in a foreign trade, legitimately our own, than Great Britain has to-day. The United States makes to the ocean carrying-trade its most valuable contribution, no other nation giving to commerce so many bidky tons of commodities to be transported those long voyages which in every age have been so eagerly coveted by marine peoples. Of the 17,000 ships which enter and clear at American ports every year, 4,600 seek a cargo empty and but 2,000 sail without ob- taining it. " Ships are profitable abroad and can be made profitable here, and in truth during the last thirty years no other branch of industry has made such progress as the carrying trade. To establish this there are four points of comparison — commerce, rail- ways, shipping tonnage and carrying power of the world, limited to the years between 1850 and 1880 :— Jmveosel Per' Cent.. 1850. 1880. Commmerce of all na- tions S4,280,(K»0,000 $14,405,000,000 240^ Railways (miles open) 44,400 222,( ()() ;i98 Shipping tonnage 6,905,000 18,720,000 171 Carrying tonnage 8,464,000 34,280,060 304 " In 1850, therefore, for every $5,000,000- of international commerce there were fifty- four miles of railway and a maritime car- rying power of 9,900 tons ; and in 1880 the respective ratios had risen to seventy-seven OUR MERCHANT MARINE. 297 «iiles and 12,000 tons ; this has saved one- fourth freight and brought producer and consumers into such contact that we no longer hear "of the earth's products being wasted, of wheat rotting in La Mancha, wool being used to mend wads and sheep being burned for fuel in the Argentine Republic." England has mainly profited by this enormous development, the shipping of the United Kingdom earning $300,000,- 000 yearly, and employing 200,000 seamen, whose industry is therefore equivalent to £300 per man, as compared with £190 for each of the factory operatives. The freight earned by all flags for sea-borne merchandise is $500,000,00, or about 8 per cent, of the value transported. Hence the toll which all nations pay to England for the carrying trade is equal to 4 per cent. (nearly) of th6 exported values of the earth's products and manufactures; and pessimists who declare that ship owners are losing money or making small profits must be wrong, for the merchant marine is expanding every year. " The maximum tonnage of this country at any time registered in the foreign trade was in 1861, and then amounted to 5,539,- 813 tons ; Great Britain in the same year owning 5,895,369 tons, and all the other nations 5,800,767 tons. Between 1855 and 1860 over 1,300,000 American tons in ex- cess of the country's needs were employed by foreigners in trades with which we had no legitimate connection save as carriers. In 1851 our registered steamships had grown from the 16,000 tons of 1848 to 63,- 920 tons — almost equal to the 65,920 tons of England, and in 1855 this had increased to 115,000 tons and reached a maximum, for in 1862 we had 1,000 tons less. In 1855 we built 388 vessels, in 1856 306 ves- sels and in 1880 26 vessels — all for the foreign trade. The total tonnage which entered our ports in 1856 from abroad amounted to 4,464,038, of which American built ships constituted 3,194,375 tons, and all others but 1,259,762 tons. In 1880 there entered from abroad 15,240,534 tons, of which 3,128,374 tons were American and 12,112,000 were foreign — that is, in a ratio of seventy-five to twenty-five, or actually 65,901 tons less than when we were twenty- four years younger as a nation. The grain fleet sailiuLC last year from the port of New York numbered 2,897 vessels, of which 1,822 were sailing vessels carrying 59,822,- 033 bushels, and 1,075 were steamers laden with 42,426,533 bushels, and among all these there were but seventy-four Ameri- can sailing vessels and not one American steamer. "While this poison of decay has been eating into our vitals the possibilities of the country in nearly every other industry have reached a plane of development be- yond the dreams of the most enthusiastic theorizers. We have spread out in every direction and the promise of the future beggars imaginations attuned even to the key of our present and past development. We have a timber area of 560,000,000 acres, and across our Canadian border there are 900,000,000 more acres ; in coal and iron production we are approaching the Old World. 1842. 1879. Coal — Tons. Tons. Great Britain... 35,000,000 135,000,000 United States... 2,000,000 60,000,000 Iron — Great Britain... 2,250,000 6,300,000 United States... 564,000 2,742,000 During these thirty-seven years the relative increase has been in coal 300 to 2,900 per cent., in iron 200 to 400 per cent., and all in our favor. But this is not enough, for England, with a coal area less than either Pennsylvania or Kentucky, has coaling stations in every part of the world and our steamers cannot reach our California ports without the consent of the English producers. Even if electricity takes the place of steam it must be many years before the coal demand will cease, and to-day, of the 36,000,000 tons of coal required by the steamers of the world, three-fourths of it is obtained from Great Britain. " It is unnecessary to wire-draw statis- tics, but it may, as a last word, be interest- ing to show, with all our development, the nationality and increase of tonnage enter- ing our ports since 1856 : — Country. Increase. Decrease, England 6,977,163 — Germany 922,903 -— Norway and Sweden... 1,214,008 — Italv 596,907 — France 208,412 — Spain 164,683 — Austria 226,277 — Belgium 204,872 — Russia 104,009 — United States — 65,901 " This," writes Lindsay, " is surely not decadence, but defeat in a far nobler con- flict than the wars for maritime supremacy between Rome and Carthage, consisting as it did in the struggle between the skill and industry of the people of two great na- tions." We have thus quoted the facts gathered from a source which has been endorsed by the higher naval authorities. Some reader will probably ask, " What relation have these facts to American politics?" We answer that the remedies proposed consti- tute political questions on which the great parties are very apt to divide. They have thus divided in the past, and parties have turned " about face " on similar questions. 298 AMERICAN POLITICS. Just now the Democratic party inclines to " free ships " and hostility to subsidies — while the Republican party as a rule favors subsidies. Lieutenant Kelley summarized his proposed remedies in the two words: " free ships." Mr. Blaine would solve the problem by bounties, for this purpose enacting a gene- ral law that should ignore individuals and enforce a policy. His scheme provides that any man or company of men who will build in an American yard, with American material, by American mechanics, a steam- ship of 3,000 tons and sail her from any port of the United States to any foreign port, he or they shall receive for a monthly line a mail allowance of $25 per mile per annum for the sailing distance between the two ports; for a semi-monthly line $45 per mile, and for a weekly line $75 per mile. Should the steamer exceed three thousand tons, a small advance on these rates might be allowed ; if less, a corresponding reduc- tion, keeping three thousand as the average and standard. Other reformers propose a bounty to be given by the Government to the shipbuilder, so as to make the price of ail American vessel the same as that of a foreign bought, equal, but presumably cheaper, ship. Mr. Blaine represents the growing Re- publican view, but the actual party views can only be ascertained when bills cover- ing the subject come up for considera- tion. Current Politics. We shall close this written history of the political parties of the United States by a brief statement of the present condition of affairs, as generally remarked by our own people, and by quoting the views of an in- teresting cotemporaneous English writer. President Arthur's administration has had many difficulties to contend with. The President himself is the legal successor of a beloved man, cruelly assassinated, whose well-rounded character and high abilities had won the respect even of those who de- famed him in the heat of controversy, while they excited the highest admiration of those W'ho shared his political views and thoughts. Stricken down before he had time to for- mulate a policy, if it was ever his intention to do so, he yet showed a proper apprecia- tion of his high responsibilities, and had from the start won the kindly attention of the country. Gifted with the power of say- ing just the right thing at the right mo- ment, and saying it with all the grace and beauty of oratory, no President was better calculated to make friends as he moved along, than Garfield. The manifestations of factional feeling which immediately preceded his assassination, but which can- not for a moment be intelligently traced to that cause, made the path of his successor far more difficult than if he had been called to the succession by the operation of natu- ral causes. That he has met these difficul- ties with rare discretion, all admit, and at this writing partisan interest and dislike are content to "abide a' wee" before be- ginning* an assault. He has sought no changes in the Cabinet, and thus through personal and political considerations seems for the time to have surrendered a Presi- dential i^rerogative freely admitted by all who understand the wisdom of permitting an executive officer to seek the advice of friends of his own selection. Mr. Blaine and Mr. MacVeagh, among the ablest of the late President's Cabinet, were among the most emphatic in insisting upon the earliest possible exercise of this preroga- tive — the latter upon its immediate exer- cise. Yet it has been withheld in several particulars, and the Arthur administration has sought to unite, wherever divided (and now divisions are rare), the party which called it into existence, while at the sane time it has by careful management sought to check party strife at least for a time, and devoted its attention to the advancement of the material interests of the country. Appointments are fairly distributed among party friends, not divided as between fac- tions ; for such a division systematically made would disrupt any party. It would prove but an incentive to faction for the sake of a division of the spoils. No force of politics is or ought to be better under- stood in America than manufactured disa- greements with the view to profitable com- promises. Fitness, recognized ability, and adequate political service seem to consti- tute the reasons for Executive appointments at this time. The Democratic party, better equipped in the National Legisture than it has been for years — with men like Hill, Bayard, Pen- dleton, Brown, Voorhees, Lamar and Gar- land in the Senate — Stephens, Randall, Hewitt, Cox, Johnson in the House — with Tilden, Thurman, Wallace and Hancock in the background — is led with rare abi- lity, and has the advantage of escaping re- sponsibilities incident to a majority party. It has been observed that this party is pur- suing the traditional strategy of minorities in our Republic. It has partially refused a further test on the tarifi" issue, and is seeking a place in advance of the Republi- cans on refunding questions — both popular measures, as shown in all recent elections. It claims the virtue of sympathy with the Mormons by questioning the propriety of legal assaults upon the liberty of con- science, while not openly recording itself as a defender of the crime of polygamy. As a solid minority it has at least in the Se- nate yielded to the appeal of the States, on the Pacific slope, and favored the abridg- CURRENT POLITICS. 299 ment of Chinese immigration. On this question, however, the Western Republi- can Senators as a rule were equally active in support of the Miller Bill, so that what- ever the result, the issue can no longer be a political one in the Pacific States. The respectable support which the measure has latterly received has cast out of the' strug- gle the Kearneys and Kallochs, and if 'there be demagoguery on either side, it comes in better dress than ever before. Doubtless the parties will contest theii* claims to public support on their respective histories yet a while longer. Party history has served partisan purposes an average oi" twenty years, when with that history recollections of wars are interwoven, and the last war having been the greatest in our history, the presumption is allowable that it will be freely quoted so long as sec- tional or other forms of distrust are ob- servable any where. When these recollec- tions fail, new issues will have to be sought or accepted. In the mere search for issues the minority ought always to be the most active ; but their wise appropriation, after all, depends upon the wisdom and ability of leadership. It has ever been thus, and ever will be. This is about the only poli- tical prophecy the writer is willing to risk — and in risking this he but presents a view common to all Americans who claim to be " posted " in the politics of their country. What politicians abroad think of our "situation " is well told, though not always accurately, by a distinguished writer in the January (1882) number of " The London Quarterly Review." From this we quote some very attractive paragraphs, and at the same time escape the necessity of de- scriptions and predictions generallv be- lieved to be essential in rounding off a po- litical volume, but which are always dan- gerous in treating of current affairs. Speak- ing of the conduct of both parties on the question of Civil Service Reform, the writer says: " What have they done to overthrow the celebrated Jacksonian precept, ' to the victors belongs the spoils ? ' What, in fact, is it possible for thera to do under the present system? The political laborer holds that he is worthy of his hire, and if nothing is given to him, nothing will he give in return. There are tens of thou- sands of offices at the bestowal of every administration, and the persons who have helped to bring that administration into power expect to receive them. * In Great Britain," once remarked the American paper which enjoys the largest circulation in the country, ' the ruling classes have it all to themselves, and the poor man rarely or never gets a nibble at the public crib. Here we take our turn. We know that, if our political rivals have the opportunity to-day, we shall have it to-morrow. This is the philosophy of the whole thing com- pressed into a nutshell.' If President Arthur were to begin to-day to distribute offices to men who were most worthy to receive them, without reference to politi- cal services, his own party would rebel, and assuredly his path would not be strewn with roses. He was himself a vic- tim of a gross injustice perpetrated under the name of reform. He filled the impor- tant post of Collector of the Port of New York, and filled it to the entire satisfaction of the mercantile community. President Hayes did not consider General Arthur sufficiently devoted to his interests, and he removed him in favor of a confirmed wire- puller and caucus-monger, and the admin- istration papers had the address to repre- sent this as the outtome of an honest effort to reform the , Civil Service. No one really supposed that the New York Cus- tom House was less a political engine than it had been before. The rule of General Arthur had been, in point of fact, singu- larly free from jobbery and corruption, and not a breath of suspicion was ever attached to his personal character. If he had been less faithful in the discharge of his difficult duties, he would have made fewer enemies. He discovered several gross cases of fraud upon the revenue, and brought the perpe- trators to justice; but the culprits were not without influence in the press, and they contrived to make the worse appear the better cause. Their view was taken at second-hand by many of the English jour- nals, and even recently the public here were gravely assured that General Arthur represented all that was base in American politics, and moreover that he was an enemy of England, for he had been elected by the Irish vote. The authors of these foolish calumnies did not perceive that, if their statements had been correct. General Garfield, whom they so much honored, must also have been elected by the Irish vote ; for he came to power on the very same * ticket.* In reality, the Irish vote may be able to accomplish many things in America, but we may safely predict that it will never elect a President. General Arthur had not been many weeks in power, before he was enabled to give a remarkable proof of the injustice that had been done to him in this particular respect. The salute of the English flag at Yorktown is one of the most graceful incidents recorded in American history, and the order origi- nated solely with the President. A man with higher character or, it may be added, of greater accomplishments and fitness for his office, never sat in the Presidential chair. His first appointments are now ad- mitted to be better than those which were made by his predecessor for the same posts. Senator Frelinghuysen, the new Secretary 300 AMERICAN POLITICS. of State, or Foreign Secretary, is a man of great ability, of most excellent judgment, and of the highest personal character. He stands far beyond the reach of all un- worthy influences, Mr, Folger, the Secre- tary of the Treasury, possesses the confi- dence of the entire country, and the nomination of the new Attorney-General was received with universal satisfaction. All this little accords with the dark and forbidding descriptions of President Arthur which were placed before the public here on his accession to office. It is surely time that English writers became alive to the danger of accepting without question the distorted views which they find ready to their hands in the most bigoted or most malicious of American journals. "Democrats and Kepublicans, then, alike profess to be in favor of a thorough reform in the Civil Service, and at the present moment there is no other very prominent question which could be used as a test for the admission of members into either party. The old issue, which no one could possibly mistake, is gone. How much the public really care for the new one, it would be a difficult point to decide, A Civil Ser- vice system, such as that which we have in England, would scarcely be suited to the " poor man," who, as the New York paper says, thinks he has a right occasionally to ' get a nibble at the public crib,' If a man has worked hard to bring his party into power, he is apt, in the United States, to think that he is entitled to some ' recogni- tion,' and neither he nor his friends would be well pleased if they were told that, be- fore anything could be done for him, it would be necessary to examine him in modern languages and mathematics. More- over, a service such as that which exists in England requires to be worked with a sys- tem of pensions; and pensions, it is held in America, are opposed to the Republican idea,* If it were not for this objection, it may be presumed that some provision would have been made for more than one of the ex-Presidents, whose circumstances placed them or their families much in need of it. President Monroe spent his last years in wretched circumstances, and died bankrupt. Mrs. Madison 'knew what it was to want bread.* A negro ser- vant, who had once been a slave in the family, used furtively to give her ' small sums ' — they must have been very small — out of his own pocket. Mr. Pierce was, we believe, not far removed from in- * Enormous sums are, however, given to eoldiera who were wounded during the war, or who pretend that they were — for jobbciy iin an unheard of scale is practised in connection with these pensions. It is estimated tiiat 81'2O,(jOO,00O (24r,000,OOOI.) will have to be paid during the present fiscal year, for arrears of pension, and tlie num- ber of claimants is constantly increasing, [The writer evidently got these "facts" from sensational sources] — Am. PoU digence ; and it has been stated that after Andrew Johnson left the White House, he was reduced to the necessity of follow- ing his old trade. General Grant was much more fortunate; and we have re- cently seen that the American people have subscribed for Mrs. Garfield a sum nearly equal to £70,000. But a pension system for Civil Servants is not likely to be adopted. Permanence in office is another principle which has found no favor with the rank and file of either party in America, although it has sometimes been introduced into party platforms for the sake of producing a good effect. The plan of quick rotation' is far more at- tractive to the popular sense. Divide the spoils, and divide them often. It is true that the public indignation is sometimes aroused, when too eager and rapacious a spirit is exhibited. Such a feeling was dis- played in 1873, in consequence of an Act passed by Congress increasing the pay of its own members and certain officers of the Government. Each member of Congress was to receive $7,500 a year, or £1,500. The sum paid before that date, down to 1865, was $5000 a year, or £1000, and ' mileage ' free added — that is to say, members were entitled to be paid twenty cents a mile for traveling expenses to and from Washington. This Bill soon became known as the 'Salary Grab' Act, and popular feeling against it was so great that it was repealed in the following Session, and the former pay was restored. As a general rule, however, the ' spoils ' system has not been heartily condemned by the nation ; if it had been so condemned, it must have fallen long ago, " President Arthur has been admonished by his English counsellors to take heed that he follows closely in the steps of his predecessor. General Garfield was not long enough in office to give any decided indications of the policy which he intend- ed to pursue ; but, so far as he had gone, impartial observers could detect very little difference between his course of conduct in regard to patronage and that of former Presidents, He simply preferred the friends of Mr. Blaine to the friends of Mr. Conkling ; but Mr. Blaine is a politician of precisely the same class us ]Mr, Conkling — both are men intimately versed in all the intricacies of ' primaries,' the * caucus,' and the general working of the 'machine.' They are precisely the kind of men which American politics, as at present practised and understood, are adapted to produce. Mr. Conkling, however, is of more impe- rious a disposition than Mr. Blaine ; the first disappointment or contradiction turns him from a friend into an enemy. Presi- dent Garfield removed the Collector of New York— the most lucrative and most coveted post in the entire Union— and in- CURRENT POLITICS. 301 stead of nominating a friend of Mr. Conk- ling's for the vacancy, he nominated a friend of Mr. Blaine's. Now Mr. Conk- ling had done much to secure New York State for the Republicans, and thus gave them the victory ; and he thought himself (entitled to better treatment than he re- ceived. But was it in the spirit of true re- form to remove the Collector, against whom no complaint had been made, merely for the purpose of creating a vacancy, and then of putting a friend of Mr. Blaine's into it — a friend, moreover, who had been largely instrumental in securing General Garfield's own nomination at Chicago? * Is this all that is meant, when the Reform party talk of the great changes which they desire to see carried out? Again, the new President has been fairly warned by his advisers in this country, that he must abolish every abuse, new or old, connected with the distribution of patronage. If he is to execute this commission, not one term of office, nor three terms, will be sufficient for him. Over every appointment there will inevitably arise a dispute ; if a totally untried man is chosen, he will be suspected as a wolf coming in sheep's clothing; if a well known partizan is nominated, he will be denounced as a mere tool of the leaders, and tliere will be another outcry against ' machine politics.' ' One party or other,' said an American journal not long ago, 'must begin the work of administering the Government on business principles,' and the writer admitted that the work would 'cost salt tears to many a politician.' The honor of making this beginning has not yet been sought for with remarkable eagerness by either party ; but seems to be deemed necessary to promise that some- thing shall be done, and the Democrats, being out of power, are naturally in the position to bid the highest. The reform will come, as we have intimated, when the people demand it ; it cannot come before, for few, indeed, are the politicians in the United States who venture to trust them- selves far in advance of public opinion. And even of that few, there are some who have found out, by hard experience, that there is little honor or profit to be gained by undertaking to act as pioneers. " It is doubtless a step in advance, that both parties now admit the absolute ne- cessity of devising measures to elevate the character of the public service, to check the progress of corruption, and to intro- duce a better class of men into the offices which are held under the Government. The necessity of great reforms in these re- spects lias been avowed over and over again by most of the leading journals and influential men in the country. The most * The undeniablo facts of the case were as we have briefly indicated above. See, for example, a letter to the 'New York Nation,' Nov. 3, 1881. radical of the Republicans, and the most conservative of the Democrats, are of one mind on this point. Mr. Wendell Phil- lips, an old abolitionist and Radical, once imblicly declared that Republican govern- ment in cities had been a complete fail- ure.* An equally good Radical, the late Air. Horace Greeley, made the following still more candid statement : — ' There are probably at no time less than twenty thousand men in this city [New York] who would readily commit a safe murder for a hundred dollars, break open a house for twenty, and take a false oath for five. Most of these are of European birth, though we have also native miscreants who are ready for any crime that will pay.' f Strong testimony against the working of the suflrage — and it must have been most unwilling testimony — was given in 1875 by a politician whose long familiarity with caucuses and ' wire-pulling ' in every form renders him an undeniable authority. Let it be widely proclaimed,' he wrote, ' that the experience and teachings of a republican form of government prove nothing so alarmingly suggestive of and pregnant with danger as that cheap suf- frage involves and entails cheap represen- tation.' J Another Republican, of high character, has stated that ' the methods of politics have now become so repulsive, the corruption so open, the intrigues and per- sonal hostilities are so shameless, that it is very difficult to engage in them without a sense of humiliation.' " ^ Passing to another question, and one worthy of the most intelligent discussion, but which has never yet taken the shape of a political demand or issue in this country, this English writer says : " Although corruption has been suspect- ed at one time or other in almost every Department of the Government, the Pres- idential office has hitherto been kept free from its stain. And yet, by an anomaly of the Constitution, the President has some- times been exposed to suspicion, and still more frequently to injustice and misrepie- sentation, in consequence of the practical irresponsibility of his Cabinet officers. They are his chief advisers in regard to tlie distribution of places, as well as in the higher affiiirs of State, andth^ discredit of any mismanagement on their part falls upon him. It is true that he chooses them, and may dismiss them, with the concur- rence of the Senate ; but, when once ap- pointed, they are beyond reach of all effijc- tive criticism — for newspaper attacks are easily explained by the suggestion of party malice. They cannot be questioned in * Speech in New Vork, March 7, 1881. t ' Now York Tribune,' Feb. 25, 1870. t Letter in New York papers, Feb. 2(», 1875. f Mr. George William Curtia, in ' Harper's Magftztn*,* 1870. 302 AMERICAN POLITICS. Congress, for they are absolutely pro- hibited from sitting in either House. For months together it is quite possible for the Cabinet to pursue a course which is in direct opposition to the wishes of the people. This was seen, among other oc- casions, in 1873^, when Mr. Richardson was Secretary of the Treasury, and at a time when his managerhent of the finances caused great dissatisfaction. At last a par- ticularly gross case of negligence, to use no harsher word, known as the ' Sanborn contracts,' caused his retirement ; that is to say, the demand for his withdrawal be- came so persistent and so general, that the President could no longer refuse to listen to it. His objectionable policy might have been pursued till the end of the Presiden- tial term, but for the accidental discovery of a scandal, which exhausted the patience of his friends as well as his enemies. Now had Mr. Richardson been a member of either House, and liable to be subjected to a rigorous cross-questioning as to his pro- ^ ceedings, the mismanagement of which he was accused, and which was carried on in the dark, never could have occurred. Why the founders of the Constitution should have thrown this protection round the per- sons who happen to fill the chief ofiices of State, is difficult to conjecture, but the clause is clear : — ' No person holding any oflUce under the United States shall be a member of either House during his con- tinuance in office.'* Mr. Justice Story de- clares that this provision 'has been vindi- cated upon the highest grounds of public authority,' but he also admits that, as ap- plied to the heads of departments, it leads to many evils. He adds a warning which many events of our own time have shown to be not unnecessary : — ' if corruption ever eats its way silently into the vitals of this Republic, it will be because the peo- ple are unable to bring responsibility home to the Executive through his chosen Min- isters. They will be betrayed when their suspicions are most lulled by the Execu- tive, under the guise of an obedience to the will of Congress.'! The inconveniences occasioned to the public service under the present system are very great. There is no official personage in either House to ex- plain the provisions of any Bill, or to give information on pressing matters of public business. Cabinet officers are only brought into communication with the nation when they send in their annual reports, or when a special report is called for by some un- usual emergency. Sometimes the Presi- dent himself goes down to the Capitol to talk over the merits of a Bill with mem- bers. The Department which happens to be interested in any particular measure • Article I. sect. vi. 2. + ' ComDientaries, 'I., book Ui. sect. 869; puts it under the charge of some friend of the Administration, and if a member par- ticularly desires any further information respecting it he may, if he thinks proper, go to the Department and ask for it. But Congress and Ministers are never brought face to face. It is possible that American , 'Secretaries' may escape some of the in- convenience W'hich English Ministers are at times called upon to undergo ; but the most capable and honest of them forfeit many advantages, not the least of which is the opportunity of making the exact na- ture of their work known to their country- men, and of meeting party misrepresenta- tions and calumnies in the most effectual way. In like manner, the incapable mem- bers of the Cabinet would not be able, under a different system, to shift the bur- den of responsibility for their blunders up- on the President. No President suffiered more in reputation for the faults of others than General Grant.' It is true that he did not always choose his Secretaries with suf- ficient care or discrimination, but he was made to bear more than a just proportion of the censure which was provoked by their mistakes. And it was not in Gen- eral Grant's disposition to defend himself. In ordinary intercourse he was sparing of his words, and could never be induced to talk about himself, or to make a single speech in defense of any portion, of his conduct. The consequence was, that his second term of office was far from being worthy of the man who enjoyed a popu- larity, just after . the war, which Washing- ton himself might have envied, and who is still, and very justly, regarded with re- spect and gratitude for his memorable ser- vices in the field. " The same sentiment, to which we have referred as specially characteristic of the American people — hostility to all changes in their method of government which are not absolutely essential — will keep the Cabinet surrounded by irresponsible, and sometimes incapable, advisers. Contrary to general supposition, there is no nation in the world so little disposed to look favor- ably on Radicalism and a restless desire for change, as the Americans. The Constitu- tion itself can only be altered by a long and tedious process, and after every State' in the Union has been asked its opinion on the question. There is no hesitation in enforcing the law in case of disorder, as the railroad rioters in Pennsylvania found out a few years ago. The state of affairs, which the English Government has per- mitted to exist in Ireland for upwards of a year, would not have been tolerated twenty- four hours in the United States. The maintenance of the law first, the discussion of grievances afterwards ; such is, and al- ways has been, the policy of every Ameri- can Government, until the evil day of CURRENT POLITICS. 303 James Buchanan. The governor of every State is a real ruler, and not a mere orna- ment, andjthe President wields a hundred- fold more power than has been left to the Sovereign of Great Britain. Both parties as a rule, combine to uphold his authority, and, in the event of any dispute with a foreign Power, all party distinctions disap- pear as if by magic. There are no longer Democrats and Republicans, but only Americans. The species of politician, who endeavors to gain a reputation for himself by destroying the reputation of his country was not taken over to America in the ' May- flower,' and it would be more difficult than ever to establish it on American ground to-day. A man may "hold any opinions that may strike his fancy on other subjects, but in reference to the Government, he is expected, while he lives under it, to give it his hearty support, especially as against foreign nations. There was once a faction called the ' Know Nothings,' the guiding principle of which was inveterate hostility to foreigners ; but a party based upon the opposite principle, of hostility to one's own country, has not yet ventured to lift up its. head across the Atlantic. That is an in- vention in politics which England has introduced, and of which she is allowed to enjoy the undisputed monopoly. * * * " Display and ceremonial were by no means absent from the Government in the beginning of its history. President Wash- ington never went to Congress on public business except in a State coach, drawn by six cream-colored horses. The coach was an object which would excite the admira- tion of the throng even now in the streets of London. It was built in the shape of a hemisphere, and its panels were adorned with cupids, surrounded with flowers worthy of Florida, and of fruit not to be equalled out of California. The coachman and postillions were arrayed in gorgeous liveries of white and scarlet. The Phila- delphia ' Gazette,' a Government organ, regularly gave a supply of Court news for the edification of the citizens. From that the people were allowed to learn as much as it was deemed proper for them to know about the President's movements, and a fair amount of space was also devoted to Mrs. Washington — who was not referred to as Mrs. Washington, but as ' the amiable con- sort of our beloved President. ' When the President made his appearance at a ball or public reception, a dais was erected for him upon which he might stand apart from the vulgar throng, and the guests or visitors bowed to him in solemn silence. ' Repub- lican simplicity' has only come in later times. In our day, the hack-driver who takes a visitor to a public reception at the White House, is quite free to get oflT his box, walk in side by side with hia fare, and shake hands with the President with as ' much familiarity as anybody else. Very few persons presumed to ofier to shake hands with General Washington. One of his friends, Gouverneur Morris, rashly undertook, for a foolish wager, to go up to him and slap him on the shoulder, saying, ' ' My dear General, I am happy to see you : look so well.' The moment fixed upon [ arrived, and Mr. Morris, already half- i repenting of his wager, went up to the President, placed his hand upon his shoul- I der, and uttered the prescribed words. * Washington,' as an eye-witneas described the scene, ' withdrew his hand, stepped suddenly back, fixed his eye on Morris for several minutes with an angry frown, until j the latter retreated abashed, and sought I refuge in the crowd.' No one else ever tried a similar experiment. It is recorded of Washington, that he wished the ofiicial I title of the President to be ' High Mighti- I ness,' * and at one time it was proposed to I engrave his portrait upon the national j coinage. No royal levees were more punc- I tiliously arranged and ordered than those j of the First President. It was Jefferson, the founder of the Democratic party, who introduced Democratic manners into the Republic. He refused to hold weekly re- ceptions, and when he went to Congress to read his Address, he rode up unattended, tied his horse to a post, and came away with the same disregard for outward show. After his inauguration, he did not even take the trouble to go to Congress with his ! Message, but sent it by the hands of his Secretary — a custom which has been found so convenient that it has been followed ever since. A clerk now mumbles through the President's Message, while members sit at their desks writing letters, or reading the Message itself, if they do not happen to have made themselves masters of its contents beforehand." The writer, after discussing monopolies and tariffs, closes with hopes and predic- tions so moderately and sensibly stated that any one will be safe in adoj^ting them as his own. "The controversies which have yet to be fought out on these issues [the tariff" and corporate powerj may sometimes become formidable, but we may hope that the really dangerous questions that once con- fronted the American people are set at rest forever. The States once more stand in, their proper relation to the Union, and any interference with their self-government is never again likely to be attempted, for the feeling of the whole people would condemn it. It was a highly Conservative system which the framers of the Constitution adopted, when they decided that each State should be entitled to make its own laws, * [These are mere traditions tinced with the spirit of gome of the assaults raade in the " pood old days"' even against so illuBtrious a man as Washington. — .4m. PoJ.] 304 AMERICAN POLITICS. to regulate its own franchise, to raise its own taxes, and settle everything in connec- tion with its own affairs in its own way. The general government has no right whatever to send a single soldier into any State, even to preserve order, until it has been called upon to act by the Governor of that State. The Federal Government, as it has been said by the Supreme Court, is one of enu- merated powers ; ' and if it has ever acted in excess of those powers, it was only when officers in States broke the compact which existed, and took up arms for its destruc- tion. They abandoned their place in the Union, and were held to have thereby for- feited their rights as States. In ordinary times there is ample security against the abuse of power in any direction. If a State government exceeds its authority, the people can at the next election expel the parties who have been guilty of the offense ; if Congress trespasses upon the functions of the States, there is the remedy of an ap- peal to the Supreme Court, the ' final in- terpreter of the Constitution ; ' if usurpa- tion should be attempted in spite of these safeguards, there is the final remedy of an appeal to the whole nation under the form of a Constitutional Amendment, which may at any time be adopted with the con- sent of three-fourths of the States. Only, therefore, as Mr. Justice Story has pointed out, when three-fourths of the States have combined to practice usurpation, is the case ' irremediable under any known forms of the Constitution.' It would be difficult to conceive of any circumstances under which such a combination as this could arise. No form of government ever yet devised has proved to be faultless in its operation ; but that of the United States is well adapted to the genius and character of the i)eople, and the very dangers which it has passed through render it more precious in their eyes than it was before it had been tried in the fire. It assures freedom to all who live under it ; and it provides for the rigid ob- servance of law, and the due protection of every man in his rights. There is much in the events which are now taking place around us to suggest serious doubts, whether these great and indispensable ad- vantages are afforded by some of the older European systems of government which we have been accustomed to look upon as better and wiser than the American Con- stitution." A final word as to a remaining great is- sue — that of the tarift". It must ever be a political issue, one which parties cannot wholly avoid. The Democratic parly as a mass, yet leans to Free Trade ; the Repub- lican party, as a mass, favors Tariffs and high ones, at least plainly protective. Within a year, two great National Conven- tions were held, one at Chicago and one at New York, both in former times. Free Trade centres, and in these Congress was petitioned either to maintain or improve the existing tariff. As a result we see presented and advocated at the current session the Tariff Commission Bill, decisive action upon which has not been taken at the time we close these pages. The effect of the conventions was to cause the Demo- cratic Congressional caucus to reject the effort of Proctor Knott, to place it in its old attitude of hostility to protection. Many of the members sought and for the time secured an avoidance of the issue. Their ability to maintain this attitude in the face of Mr. Watterson's* declaration that the Democratic party must stand or fall on that issue, remains to be seen. * Mr. V/atterson, formerly a distinguished member of f'ongresB, is the author of the " tariff for revenue only " plank in the Democratic National Platform of 1880, and is now, as he has been for years, the chief editor of the LouisvUh Courier Journal. POLITICAL OHAl^aES IN 1882. With a view to carry this work through the year 1882 and into part of 1883, very plain reference should be made to the campaign of 1882, which in several im- portant States was fully as disastrous to the Republican party as any State elec- tions since the advent of that party to national supremacy and power. In 1863 and 1874 the Republican reverses were almost if not quite as general, but in the more important States the adverse majori- ties were not near so sweeping. Political " tidal waves " had been freely talked of as descriptive of the situation in the earlier years named, but the result of 1882 has been pertinently described by Horatio Seymour as the " groundswell," and such it seemed, both to the active participants in, and lookers-on, at the struggle. Political discontent seems to be periodi- cal under all governments, and the periods are probably quite as frequent though less violent under republican as other forms. Certain it is that no political party in our history has long enjoyed uninterrupted success. The National success of the Re- publicans cannot truthfully be said to have been uninterrupted since the first REPUBLICANS— DEMOCRATS. 305 election of Lincoln, as at times one or the other of the two Houses of Congress have been in the hands of the Democratic party, while since the second Grant administra- tion there has not been a safe working majority of Republicans in either House. Combinations with Greenbackers, Read- justers, and occasionally with dissenting Democrats have had to be employed to preserve majorities in behalf of important measures, and these have not always suc- ceeded, though the general tendency of Kide-parties has been to support the majo- rity, for the very plain reason that majori- ties can reward with power upon commit- tees and with p.atronage. Efforts were made by the Democrats in the first session of the 47th Congress to reduce existing tariffs, and to repeal the internal revenue taxes. The Repub- licans met the first movement by establish- ing a Tariff Commission, which was ap- pointed by President Arthur, and com- posed mainly of gentlemen favorable to protective duties. In the year previous (1881) the income from internal taxes was $135,264,385.51, and the cost of collecting $4,327,793.24, or 3.20 per cent. The cus- toms revenues amounted to $198,159,676.02, the cost of collecting the same $6,383,288. 10, or 3.22 per cent. There was no gene- ral complaint as to the cost of collecting these immense revenues, for this cost was greatly less than in former years, but the surplus on internal taxes (about $146,000, 000) was so large that it could not be profitably employed even in the payment of the public debt, and as a natural result all interests called upon to pay the tax (save where there was a monopoly in the product or the icanufacture) complained of the burden as wholly unnecessary, and large interests and very many people de- manded immediate and absolute repeal. The Republicans sought to meet this de- mand half way by a bill repealing all the taxes, save those on spirits and tobacco, but the Democrats obstructed and defeated every attempt at partial repeal. The Republicans thought that the moral senti- ment of the country would favor the re- tention of the internal taxes upon spirits and tobacco (the latter having been pre- viously reduced) but if there was any such sentiment it did not manifest itself in the fall elections. On the contrary, every form of discontent, encouraged lay these freat causes, took shape. While the 'ariff Commission, by active and very in- telligent work, held out continued hope to the more confident industries, those which had been threatened or injured by the failure of the crops in 1881. and by the assassination of President Garfield, saw only prolonged injury in the probable Trork of the Commission, for to meet the 20 close Democratic sentiment and to unite that which it was hoped would be gene- rally friendly, moderate tariff rates had to be fixed ; notably upon iron, steel, and many classes of manufactured goods. Manufacturers of the cheaper grades of cotton goods were feeling th^ pressure of competition from the South — where goods could be made from a natural product close at hand — while those of the North found about the same time that the tastes of their customers had improved, and hence their cheaper grades were no longer in such general demand. There was over- production, as a consequence grave depres- sion, and not all in the business could at once realize the cause of the trouble. Doubt and distrust prevailed, and early in the summer of 1882, and indeed until late in the fall, the country seemed upon the verge of a business panic. At the same time the leading journals of the country seemed to have joined in a crusade against all existing political methods, and against all statutory and political abuses. The cry of " Down with Boss Rule ! " was heard in many States, aad this rallied to the swelling ranks of discontent all who are naturally fond of pulling down leaders — and the United States Senatorial elections of 1883 qaickly showed that the blow was aimed at all leaders, whether they were alleged Bosses or not. Then, too, the forms of discontent which could not take practical shape in the great Presidential contest between Garfield and Hancock, came to the front with cumulative force after the assassination. There is little use in philosophizing and searching for sufli- cient reasons leading to a fact, when the fact itself must be confessed and when its force has been felt. It is a plain fact that many votes in the fall of 1882 were deter- mined by the nominating struggle for the Presidency in 1880, by the quarrels which followed Garfield's inauguration, and by the assassination. Indeed, the nation had not recovered from the shock, and many very good people looked with very grave suspicion upon every act of President Arthur after he had succeeded to the chair. The best informed, broadest and most liberal political minds saw in his course an honest effort to heal existing differences in the Republican party, but many acts of recommendation and appoint- ment directed to this end were discounted by the few which could not thus be traced, and suspicion and discontent swelled the chorus of other injuries. The result was the great political changes ot 1882. It be- gan in Ohio, the only important and de- batable October State remaining at this time. The causes enumerated above (save the assassination and the conflict between the friends of Grant and Blaine) operated 306 AMERICAN POLITICS. with less force in Ohio than any other sec- tion — for here leaders had not been held up aa " Bosses ;" civil service reform had many advocates among them; the people were not by interest specially wedded to high tariff duties, nor were they large payers of internal revenue taxes. But the liquor issue had sprung up in the Legislature the previous winter, the Republicans attempt- ing to levy and collect a tax from all who sold, and to prevent the sale on Sundays. These brief facts make strange reading to the people of other States, where the sale of liquor has generally been licensed, and forbidden on Sundays, Ohio had previ- ously passed a prohibitory constitutional amendment, in itself defective, and as no legislation had been enacted to enforce it, those who wished began to sell as though the right were natural, and in this way be- came strong enough to resist taxation or license. The Legislature of 1882, the ma- jority controlled by the Republicans, at- tempted to pass the Pond liquor tax act, and its issue was joined. The liquor in- terests organized, secured control of the Democratic State Convention, nominated a ticket pledged to their interests, made a platform which pointed to unrestricted sale, and by active work and the free use of funds, carried the election and reversed the usual majority. Governor Foster, the boldest of the Republican lead- ers, accepted the issue as presented, and stumped in favor of license and the sanc- tity of the Sabbath ; but the counsels of the Republican leaders were divided, Ex- Secretary Sherman and others enacting the role of ' confession and avoidance." The result carried with it a train of Republi- can disasters. Congressional candidates whom the issue could not legiraately touch, fell before it, probably on the principle that " that which strikes the head injures the entire body." The Democratic State and Legislative tickets succeeded, and the German element, which of all others is most favorable to freedom in the observ- ance of the Sabbath, transferred its vote almost as an entirety from the Republican to the Democratic party. Ohio emboldened the liquor interests, and in their Conventions and Societies in other States they agreed as a rule to check and, if possible, defeat the advance of the prohibitory amendment idea. This started in Kansas in 1880, under the lead of Gov. St. John, an eloquent temperance advo- cate. It was passed by an immense majority, and it was hardly in force be- fore conflicting accounts were scattered throughout the country as to its effect. Some of the friends of temperance con- tended that it improved the public con- dition ; its enemies all asserted that in the larger towns and cities it produced free and irresponsible instead of licensed sale. The latter seem to have had the best of the argument, if the election re- sult is a truthful witness. Gov. St. John was again the nominee of the Repub- licans, but while all of the remainder of the State-ticket was elected, he fell under a majority which must have been pro- duced by a change of forty thousand votes. Iowa next took up the prohibitory amend- ment idea, secured its adoption, but the result was injurious to the Republicans in the Fall elections, where the discontent struck at Congrei^smen, as well as State and Legislative officers. The same amendment had been pro- posed in Pennsylvania, a Republican House in 1881 having passed it by almost a solid vote (Democrats freely joining in its support), but a Republican Senate de- feated, after it had been loaded down with amendments. New York was co- quetting with the same measure, and as a result the liquor interests — well-organized and with an abundance of money, as a rule struck at the Republican party in both New York and Pennsvlvania, and thus largely aided the groundswell. The same interests aided the election of Genl. B. F. Butler of Massachusetts, but from a different reason. He had, in one of his earlier canvasses, freely advocated the right of the poor to sell equally with those who could pay heavy license fees, and had thus won the major sympathy of the interest. Singularly enough, Massachu- setts alone of all the Republican States meeting with defeat in 1882, fails to show in her result reasons which harmonize with those enumerated as making up the elements of discontent. Her people most do favor high tariffs, taxes on liquors and luxuries, civil service reforms, and were supposed to be more free from legal and political abuses than any other. Massa- chusetts had, theretofore, been considered to be the most advanced of all the States — • in notions, in habit, and in law — yet Butler's victory was relatively more pro- nounced than that of any Democratic candidate, not excepting that of Cleve- land over Folger in New York, the Democratic majority here approaching two hundred thousand. How are we to explain the Massachusetts' result? Gov. Bishop was a high-toned and able gentle- man, the type of every reform contended for. There is but one explanation. Massachusetts had had too much of re- form ; it had come in larger and fsister doses than even her progressive people could stand — and an inconsistent discon- tent took new shape there — that of very plain reaction. This view is confirmed by the subsequent attempt of Gov. Butler to defeat the re-election of Geo. F. Hoar to CURRENT POLITICS. 307 tlie U. S. Senate, by a combination of Democrats with dissatisfied Republicans. Tiie movement failed, but it came very near to success, and lor days the result was in doubt. Hoar had been a Senator of advanced views, of broad and com- prehensive statesmanship, but that com- munistic sentiment whicli occasionally crops out in our politics and strikes at all leaders, merely from the pleasure of assert- ing the right to tear down, assailed him with a vigor almost equal to that which struck Windom of Minnesota, a statesman of twenty-four years' honorable, able and sometimes brilliant service. To prejudice the people of his State against him, a photograph of his Washington residence had been scattered broadcast. The print in the photograph intended to prejudice being a coach with a liveried lackey It might have been the coach and lackey of a visitor, but the effect was the same where discontent had run into a fever. Political discontent gave unmistakable manifestations of its existence in Ohio, Massachusetts, New York (where Ex- Governor Cornell's nomination had been defeated by a forged telegram), Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Connecticut, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. The Republican position was well maintained in New Hampshire, Ver- mont, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. It was greatly improved in Virginia, where Mahone's Republican Readjuster ticket carried the State by nearly ten thousand, and where a United States' Senator and Congressman-at-large were gained, as well as some of the District Congressmen. The Republicans also im- proved the situation in North Carolina and Tennessee, though they failed to carry either. They also gained Congress- men in Mississippi and Louisiana, but the Congressional result throughout the country was a sweeping Democratic vic- tory, the 48th Congress, beginning March 4, 1883, showing a Democratic majority of 71 in a total membership of 325. In Pennsylvania alone of all the Northern States, were the Republican elements of discontent organized, and here they were as well organized as pos- sible under the circumstances. Charles S. Wolfe had the year previous proclaimed what he called his "independence of the B'tsses," by declaring himself a candidate for State Treasurer, " nominated in a con- vention of one." He secured 49,984 votes, and this force was used as the nucleus for the better organized Independent Repub- lican movement of 1882. Through this a State Convention was called which placed a full ticket in the field, and which in many districts nominated separate legisla- tive candidates. The complaints of the Independent Republicans of Pennsylvania were very much like those of dissatisfied Repub- licans in other Northern Statesjwhere no adverse organizations were set up, and these can best be understood by giving the official papers and correspondence con- nected with the revolt, and the attempts to conciliate and suppress it by the regular organization. The writer feels a delicacy in appending this data, inasmuch as he was one of the principals in the negotia- tions, but formulated complaints, methods and principles peculiar to the time can be better understood as presented by organ- ized and official bodies, than where mere opinions of cotemporaneous writers and speakers must otherwise be given. A very careful summary has been made by Col. A. K. McClure, in the Philadelphia Times Almanac, and from this we quote the data connected with the — Tlie Independent Republican Revolt In Pennsylvania. The following call was issued by Chair- man McKee, of the committee which con- ducted the Wolfe campaign in 1881 : Headquarters State Committee, Citizens' Republican Association, GiRARD House, Philadelphia, December 16, 1881. To the ladependent Republicans of Penn- sylvania : You are earnestly requested to send re- presentatives from each county to a State conference, to be held at Philadelphia, Thursday, January 12th, 1882, at 10 o'clock A. M., to take into consideration the wis- dom of placing in nomination proper per- sons for the offices of Governor, Lieuten- ant Governor; Secretary of Internal Affairs and Supreme Court Judge, and such other matters as may come before the confer- ence, looking to the overthrow of " boss rule," and the elimination of the pernicious "spoils system," and its kindred evils, from the administration of public affairs. It is of the utmost importance that those fifly thousand unshackled voters who supported the independent candidacv of Hon. Charles S. Wolfe for the oflSce of State Treasurer as a solemn protest against ring domina- tion, together with the scores of thousands of liberty-loving citizens who are ready to join in the next" revolt against " bossism," shall be worthily represented at this con- ference. I. D. MoKee, Chairman. Frank Willing Leach, Secretary. Pursuant to the above call, two hundred and thirteen delegates, representing thirty- three of the sixty-six counties, met .it the Assembly Building, January 12th, 18S2, 308 AMERICAN POLITICS, and organized by the election of John J. Pinkerton as chairman, together with a suitable list of vice-presidents and secre- taries. After a general interchange of views, a resolution was adopted directing the holding of a State Convention for the nomination of a State ticket. May 24th. An executive committee, with power to arrange for the election of delegates from each Senatorial district, was also appointed, consisting of Messrs. I. D. McKee, of Philadelphia; Wharton Barker, of Mont- gomery; John J. Pinkerton, of Chester; F. M. Nichols, of Luzerne ; H. S. McNair, of York, and C. W. Miller, of Crawford. Mr. Nichols aftewards declining to act, George E. Mapes, of Venango, was sub- stituted in his place. Before the time arrived for the meeting of the convention of May 24th, several futile efforts were made to heal the breach between the two wings of the Republican party. At a con- ference of leading Independents held in Philadelphia, April 23d, at which Senator Mitchell was present, a committee was appointed for the purpose of conferring with a similar committee from the regular organization, upon the subject of the party differences. The members of the Peace Conference, on the part of the Indepen- dents, were Charles S. Wolfe, I. D. McKee, Francis B. Reeves, J. W. Lee, and Whar- ton Barker. The committee on the part of the Stalwarts were M. S. Quay, John F. Hartranft, C. L. Magee, Howard J. Reeder, and Thomas Cochran. A preliminary meeting was held at the Continental Hotel, on the evening of April 29th, Avhich adjourned to meet at the same place on the evening of May 1st; at which meeting the following peace propositions were agreed upon : Resolved, That we recommend the adop- tion of the following principles and methods by the Republican State Conven- tion of May 10th. First. That we unequivocally condemn the use of patronage to promote personal Eolitical ends, and require that all offices estowed Avithin the party shall be upon the sole basis of fitness. Second. That competent and faithful officers should not be removed except for cause. Third. That the non-elective minor offices should be filled in accordance with rules established by law. Fourth. That the ascertained popular will shall be faithfully carried out in State and National Conventions, and by those holding office by the favor of the party. Fifth. That we condemn compulsory assessments for political purposes, and pro- scription for failure to respond either to such assessments or to requests for volun- tary contributions, and that any policy of political proscription is urjust, and calcu- lated to disturb party harniouy. Sixth. That public office constitutes a high trust to be administered solely for the people, whose interests must be paramount to those of persons or parties, and that it should be invariably conducted with the same efficiency, economy, and integrity as are expected in the execution of private trusts. Seventh. That the State ticket should be such as by the impartiality of its con- stitution and the high character and ac-. knowledged fitness of the nominees will justly commend itself to the support of the united Republican party. Resolved, That we also recommend the adoption of the following permanent rules for the holding of State Conventions, and the conduct of the party : First. That delegates to State Conven- tions shall be chosen in the manner in which candidates for the General Assem- bly are nominated, except in Senatorial districts composed of more than one coun- ty, in which conferees for the selection of Senatorial delegates shall be chosen in the manner aforesaid, and the representation of each county shall be based upon its Re- publican vote cast at the Presidential elec- tion next preceding the convention. Second. Hereafter the State Convention of the Republican party shall be held on the second Wednesday of July, except in the year of the Presidential election, when it shall be held not more than thirty days previous to the day fixed for the National Convention, and at least sixty days' notice shall be given of the date of the State Con- vention. Third. That every person who voted the Republican electoral ticket at the last Presidential election next preceding any State Convention shall be permitted to participate in the election of delegates to State and National Conventions, and we recommend to the county organizations that in their rules they allow the largest freedom in the general participation in the primaries consistent with the preservation of the party organization. M. S. Quay, J. F. Hartbanft, Thomas Cochran, Howard J. Reeder, C. L. Magee, On the part of theRepublican State Com- mittee, appointed by Chairman Cooper. Charles S. Wolfe, I. D. McKee, Francis B. Reeves, Wharton Barker, J. W. Lee, On the part of Senator Mitchell's Inde- pendent Republican Committee. CURRENT POLITICS, 309 The following resolution was adopted by the joint conference : Resolved, That we disclaim any authority to speak or act for other persons than our- selves, and simply make these suggestions as in our opinion are essential to the pro- motion of harmony and unity. In order, however, that there might be no laying down of arms on the part of the Independents, in the false belief that the peace propositions had ended the contest, without regard to whether they were ac- cepted in good faith, and put in practice by the regular convention, the following call was issued by the Independent Execu- tive Committee : Executive Committee, CiTizENs' Republican Association of Pennsylvania, Girard House. Philadelphia, May 3d, 1882. To the Independent Republicans of Pennsyl- vania : At a conference of Independent Repub- licans held in Philadelphia, on January 12th, 1882, the following resolution was adopted, to wit: Resolved, That a convention be held on the 24th day of May, 1882, for the purpose of placing in nomination a full Indepen- dent Republican ticket for the offices to be filled at the general election next Novem- ber. In pursuance and by the authority of the above resolution the undersigned, the State Executive Committee appointed at the said conference, request the Independent Re- publicans of each county of the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania to send delegates to the Independent Convention of May 24th, the basis of representation to be the same as that fixed for Senators and Repre- sentatives of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. Should the convention of May 10th fail to nominate as its candidates men who in their character, antecedents and affiliations are embodiments of the principles of true Republicanism free from the iniquities of bossism, and of an honest administration of public affairs free from the evils of the spoils system, such nominations, or any such nomination, should be emphatically repudiated by the Independent Convention of May 24th, and by the Independent Re- publicans of Pennsylvania in November next. The simple adoption by the Harrisburg Convention of May 10th of resolutions of plausible platitudes, while confessing the existence of the evils which we have stren- uously opposed, and admitting the justice of our position in opposing them, will not satisfy the Independent Republicans of this Commonwealth. AVe are not battling for the construction of platforms, but for the overthrow of bossism, and the evils of the spoils system, which animated a de- spicable assassin to deprive our loved Pres- ident Garfield of his life, and our country of its friend and peacemaker. The nomination of slated candidates by machine methods, thereby tending to the perpetuation of boss dominion in our Com- monwealth, should never be ratified by the Independent Republicans in convention assembled or at the polls. Upon this very vital point there should be no mistake in the mind of any citizen of this State. The path of duty in this emergency leads for- ward, and not backward, and forward we should go until bossism and machineism and stalwartism — aye, and Cameronism — are made to give way to pure Republican- ism. The people will not submit to tem- porizing or compromising. We appeal to the Indejjendent Republi- cans of Pennsylvania to take immediate steps toward perfecting their organization in each county, and completing the selec- tion of delegates to the Independent State Convention. Use every exertion to secure the choice as delegates of representative, courageous men, who will not falter when the time arrives to act — who will not de- sert into the ranks of the enemy when the final time of testing comes. Especially see to it that there shall not be chosen as dele^ gates any Pharisaical Independents, who preach reform, yet blindly follow boss leadership at the crack of the master's whip. Act quickly and act discreetly. A State Campaign Committee of fifty, comprising one member from each Sena- torial district, has been formed, and any one desiring to co-operate with us in this movement against the enemies of the in- tegrity of our State, who shall communi- cate with us, will be immediately referred to the committeeman representing the dis- trict in which he lives. We urgently invite a correspondence from the friends of politi- cal independence from all sections of the State. Again we say to the Independent Repub- licans of Pennsylvania in the interest of justice and the Commonwealth's honor^ leave no stone unturned to vindicate the rights of the people. I. D. McKee, Chairman. Wharton Barker. John J. Pinkerton. Geo. E. Mapes. H. S. McNair. Charles W. Miller. Frank Willing Leach, Secretary. In pursuance of the above call, the In- dependent Convention met. May 24th. in Philadelphia, and deciding that the action of the regular Republican Convention, held 310 AMERICAN POLITICS. at Harrisburg on May 10th, did not give the guarantee of reform demanded by the Independents, proceeded to nominate a ticket and adopt a platform setting forth their views. ' Although the break between the two wings of the party was thus made final to all appearances, yet all efforts for a recon- ciliation were not entirely abandoned. Thos. M. Marshall having declined the nomination for Congressman at Large on the Republican ticket, the convention was reconvened June 2l8t, for the purpose of filling the vacancy, and while in session, instructed the State Central Committee to use all honorable means to secure harmony between the two sections of the party. Accordingly, the Republican State Com- mittee was called to meet in Philadelphia, July, 13th. At this meeting the following propositions were submitted to the Inde- pendents : Pursuant to the resolution passed by the Harrisburg Convention of June 21st, and authorizing the Republican State Com- mittee to use all honorable means to pro- mote harmony in the party, the said com- mittee, acting in conjunction with the Re- publican candidates on the State ticket, respectfully submit to the State Committee and candidates of the Independents the following propositions : First. The tickets headed by James A. Beaver and John Stewart, respectively, be submitted to a vote of the Republican electors of the State, at primaries, as here- inafter providt^d for. Second. The selection of candidates to be voted for by the Republican party in November to be submitted as aforesaid, every Republican elector, constitutionally and legally qualified, to be eligible to nomination. Third. A State Convention to be held, to be constituted as recommended by the Continental Hotel Conference, whereof Wharton Barker was chairman and Francis B. Reeves secretary, to select candidates to be voted for by the Republican party in November, its choice to be limited to the candidates now in nomination, or unlimit- ed, as the Independent State Committee may prefer. The primaries or convention referred to in the foregoing propositions to be held on or before the fourth Wednesday of August next, under regulations or ap- portionment to be made by Daniel Agnew, Hampton L. Carson, and Francis B. Reeves, not in conflict, however, with the acts of Assembly regulating primary elec- tions, and the candidates receiving the highest popular vote, or the votes of a majority of the members of the convention, to receive the united support of the party. Resolved, That in the opinion of the Re- publican State Committee the above pro- positions fully carry out, in letter and spirit, the resolution passed by the Harris- burg Convention, June 21sc, and that we hereby pledge the State Committee to carry out in good faith any one of the foregoing propositions which may be ac- cepted. Jtesolved, That the chairman of the Re- publican State Committee be directed to forward an official copy of the proceedings of this meeting, together with the forego- ing propositions, to the Independent State Committee and candidates. Whereupon, General Reeder, of North- ampton, moved to amend by adding a further proposition, as follows. Fourth. A State Convention, to be con- stituted as provided for by the new rules adopted by the late Republican State Con- vention, to select candidates to be voted for by the Republican party in November, provided, if such convention be agreed to, said convention shall be held not later than the fourth Wednesday in August. Which amendment was agreed tq, and the preamble and resolutions as amended were agreed to. This communication was addressed to the chairman of the Independent State Committee, I. D. McKee, who called the Independent Committee to meet July 27th, to consider the propositions. In the meantime the Independent candidates held a conference on the night of July 13th, and four of them addressed the fol- lowing propositions to the candidates of the Stalwart wing of the party : Philadelphia, July 13th, 1882. To General James A. Beaver, Hon. William T. Davies, Hon. John M. Greer, William Henry Rawle, Esq., and Marriott Brosius, Esq. Gentlemen : By a communication re- ceived from the Hon. Thomas V. Cooper, addressed to us as candidates of the Inde- pendent Republicans, we are advised of the proceedings of the State Committee, which assembled in this city yesterday. Without awaiting the action of the In- dependent State Committee, to which we have referred the communication, and at- tempting no discussion of the existing differences, or the several methods pro- posed by which to secure party unity, we beg to say that we do not believe that any of the propositions, if accepted, would pro- duce harmony in the party, but on the contrary, would lead to wider divisions. We therefore suggest that the desired re- sult can be secured by the hearty co-op- eration of the respective candidates. We have no authority to speak for the great body of voters now giving their support to the Independent Republican ticket, nor CURRENT POLITICS. 311 can we include them by any action we may take. We are perfectly free, however, to act in our individual capacity, and de- sire to assure you that we are not only willing, but anxious to co-operate with you in the endeavor to restore peace and harmony to our party. That this can be accomplished beyond all doubt we feel en- tirely assured, if you, gentlemen, are pre- pared to yield, with us, all personal con- siderations, and agree to the following propositions : First. The withdrawal of both tickets. Second. The several candidates of these tickets to pledge themselves not to accept any subsequent nomination by the pro- posed convention. Under these conditions we will unite with you in urging upon our respective constituencies the adoption of the third proposition submitted by your committee, and conclude the whole controversy by our final withdrawal as candidates. Such withdrawal of both tickets would remove from the canvass all personal as well as political antagonisms, and leave the party united and unembarrassed. We trust, gentlemen, that your judgment will approve the method we have suggest- ed, and that, appreciating the importance of concluding the matter with as little de- lay as possible, you will give us your re- ply within a week from this date. Very respectfully, your obedient servants, John Stewart, Levi Bird Duff. George W. Merrick. George Junkin. William McMichael, Independent can- didate for Congressman at Large, dissented from the proposition of his colleagues, and addressed the following communication to Chairman Cooper : Philadelphia, July 13th, 1882. Hon. Thomas V. Cooper, Chairman, etc. Dear Sir: Your letter of July 12th is received, addressed to the chairman of the State Committee of the Independent Re- publicans and their candidates, containing certain propositions of your committee. I decline those propositions, because they involve an abandonment of the cause of the Independent Republicans. If a new convention, representing all Republicans, had nominated an entirely new ticket, worthy of popular support, and not containing the name of any candidate on either of the present tickets, and sin- cerely supporting the principles of the Independent Republicans, the necessity for a separate Independent Republican movement would not exist. Your propo- sition, however, practically proposes to re-nominate General Beaver, and reaffirm the abuse which we oppose. The convention of Independent Repub- licans which met in Philadelphia on May 24th, announced principles in which I believe. It nominated me for Congress- man at Large, and I accepted that nomi- nation. It declared boldly against boss- ism, the spoils system, and all the evils which impair Republican usefulness, and in favor of popular rule, equal rights of all, national unity, maintenance of public credit, protection to labor, and all the great principles of true Republicanism. No other ticket now in the field presents those issues. The people of Pennsylvania can say at the polls, in November, whether they approve of those principles, and will support the cause which represents them. I will not withdraw or retire unless events hereafter shall give assurance that ne- cessary reform in the civil service shall be adopted ; assessments made upon office- holders returned, and not hereafter exact- ed ; boss, machine, and spoils methods forever abandoned; and all our public offices, from United States Senator to the mo* unimportant officials, shall be filled only by honest and capable men, who v,-ill represent the people, and not attempt to dictate to or control them. I shall go on with the fight, asking the supportof all my fellow-citizens whobelieve in the principles of the Independent Re- publican Convention of May 24th. Yours truly, William McMichael. To these propositions General Beaver and his colleagues replied in the following communication : Philadelphia, July 15th, 1882. Hon. Thomas V. Cooper, Chairman Repub- lican State Committee, Philadelphia, Pa. Sir : We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt through you of a communica- tion addressed to us by the Hon. John Stewart, Colonel Levi Bird DuflF, Major G. W. Merrick, and George Junkin, Esq., in response to certain propositions submitted by the Republican State Committee, re- presenting the Republican party of Penn- sylvania, looking to an amicable and hon- orable adjustment of whatever differences there may be among the various elements of the party. Without accepting any of the propositions submitted by your com- mittee, this communication asks us, as a condition precedent to any recommenda- tion on the part of the writers thereof, to declare that in the event of the calling of a new convention, we will severally forbid the Republicans of Pennsylvania to call upon us for our services as candidates for the various po.sitions to be filled by the people at the coming election. To say 312 AMERICAN POLITICS. that in the effort to determine whether or not our nomination was the free and un- biased choice of the Republican party we must not be candidates, is simply to try the question at issue. We have no de- sire to discuss the question in any of its numerous bearings. We have placed our- selves unreservedly in the hands of the Republicans of Pennsylvania. We have pledged ourselves to act concurrently with your committee, and are bound by its ac- tion. We therefore respectfully suggest that we have no power or authority to act in- dependently of the committee, or makeany declaration at variance with the proposi- tions submitted in accordance with its ac- tion. There ought to be and can be no such thing as personal antagonism in this contest. We socially and emphatically disclaim even the remotest approach to a feeling of this kind toward any person. We fraternize with and are ready to sup- port any citizen who loves the cause of pure Republicanism, and with this decla- ration we submit the whole subject to your deliberate judgment and wise considera- tion. James A. Beaver. William Henry Rawle, Marriot't Brosius. W. T. Davies. John M. Greer. At the meeting of the Independent State Committee, July 27th, the propositions of the Regular Committee were unanimously rejected, and a committee appointed to draft a reply, which was done in the fol- lowing terms: Thomas V. Cooper, Esq., Chairman Repub- lican State Committee. Dear Sir : I am instructed to advise you that the Independent Republican State Committee have considered the four sug- gestions contained in the minutes of the proceedings of your committee, forwarded to me by you on the 12th instant. I am directed to say that this committee find that none of the four are methods fitted to obtain a harmonious and honora- ble unity of the Republican voters of Pennsylvania. All of them are inadequate to that end, for the reason that they afford no guarantee that, being accepted, the principles upon which the Independent Republicans have taken their stand would be treated with respect or put into action. All of them contain the probability that ftn attempt to unite the Republicans of the State by their means would either result in reviving and strengthening the political dictatorship which we condemn or would j)ermanently distract the Republican body, and insure the future and continued triumph of our common opponent, the Democratic party. Of the four suggestions, the first, second and fourth are so inadequate as to need no separate discussion : the third, which alone may demand attention, has the fatal defect of not including the withdrawal of that " slated '' ticket which was made up many months ago, and long in advance of the Harrisburg Convention, to represent and to maintain the very evils of control and abuses of method to which we stand op- posed. This proposition, like the others, supposing it to have been sincerely put forward, clearly shows that you miscon- ceive the cause of the Independent Repub- lican movement, as well as its aims and purposes. You assume that we desire to measure the respective numbers of those who support the Harrisburg ticket and those who find their principles expressed by the Philadelphia Convention. This is a complete and fatal misapprehension. We are organized to promote certain reforms, and not to abandon them in pursuit of votes. Our object is the overthrow of the "boss system " and of the " spoils system." In behalf of this we are willing and anxious to join hands with you whenever it is assured that the union will be honestly and earnestly for that purpose. But we cannot make alliances or agree to com- promises that in their face threaten the very object of the movement in which we have engaged. Whether your ticket has the support of many or few, of a majority or a minority of the Republican voters, does not affect in the smallest degree the duty of every citizen to record himself against the abuses which it represents. Had the gentlemen who compose it been willing to withdraw themselves from the field, as they were invited to join in doing, for the common good, by the Independent Republican candidates, this act would have encouraged the hope that a new con- vention, freely chosen by the people, and unembarrassed by claims of existing can- didates, might have brought forth the needed guarantee of party emancipation and public reform. This service, however, they have de- clined to render their party ; they not only claim and receive your repeated assurances of support, but they permit themselves to be put forward to secure the use of the In- dependent Republican votes at the same time that they represent the "bossism," the " spoils " methods, and the " machine " management which we are determined no longer to tolerate. The manner in which their candidacy was decreed, the means employed to give it convention formality, the obligations Mhich they incur by it, the political methods with which it identifies them, and the political and personal plans for whicli their official influence would be required, all 'oin to make it the most im- CURRENT POLITICS. 313 perative public duty not to give them sup- port at tliis election under any circum- stances. In closing this note, this committee must express its regret, that, having con- sidered it desirable to make overtures to the Independent Republicans, you should have so far misapprehended the facts of the situation. It is our desire to unite the Republican party on the sure ground of principle, in the confidence that we are thus serving it with the highest fidelity, and preserving for the future service of the Commonwealth that vitality of Repub- licanism which has made the party useful in the past, and which alone confers upon it now the right of continued existence. The only method which promises this re- sult in the approaching election is that proposed by the Independent Republican candidates in their letter of July 13th, 1882, which was positively rejected by your committee. On behalf of the Independent Repub- lican State Committee of Pennsylvania, I. D. McKee, Chairman. With this communication ended all efforts at conciliation. ******** The election followed, and the Demo- cratic ticket, headed by Robert E, Pattison of Philadelphia, received an average plurality of 40,000, and the Independent Republican ticket received an average vote of about 43,000 — showing that while Independence organized did not do as well in a gubernatorial as it had in a previous off-year, it yet had force enough to defeat tlie Republican State ticket headed by Gen. James A. Beaver. All of the three several State tickets were composed of able men, and the force of both of the Republican tickets on the hustings excited great interest and excitement ; yet the Republican vote, owing to the division, was not out by nearly one hundred thou- sand, and fifty thousand more Republicans than Democrats remained at home, many of them purposely. In New York, where dissatisfaction had no rallying point, about two hundred thousand Republicans re- mained at home, some because of anger at the defeat of Gov. Cornell in the State nominating convention — some in protest against the National Administrations, which was accused of the desire for direct endorsement where it presented the name of Hon Chas. J. Folger, its Secretary of the Treasury, as the home gubernatorial candidate, — others because of some of the many reasons set forth in the bill of complaints which enumerates the causes of the dissatisfaction within the party. At this writing the work of Republican repair is going on. Both the Senate and House at Washington are giving active work to the passage of a tariff bill, the re- peal of the revenue taxes, and the passage of a two-cent letter postage bill — measures anxiously hastened by the Republicans in order to anticipate friendly and defeat un- friendly attempts on the part of the Democratic House, which comes in with the first session of the 48th Congress. In Pennsylvania, as we close this review of the struggle of 1882, the Regular and Independent Republican State Committees — at least the heads thereof — are devising a plan to jointly call a Republican State Convention to nominate the State ticket to be voted for in November, 1883. The groundswell was so great that it had no sooner passed, than Republicans of all shades of opinion, felt the need of har- monious action, and the leaders every- where set themselves to the work of repair. The Republicans in the South differed from those of the North in the fact that their complaints were all directed against a natural political enemy — the Bourbons — and wherever there was opportunity they favored and entered into movements with Independent and Readjuster Democrats, with the sole object of revolutionizing political affairs in the South. Their suc- cess in these combinations was only great in Virginia, but it proved to be promising in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisi- ana, and may take more definite and generalshape in the great campaign of 1884. The Democratic party was evidently surprised at its great victory in 1882, and has not yet formally resolved what it will do with it. The Congress beginning with December, 1883, will doubtless give some indication of the drift of Democratic events. The most notable law passed in the closing session of the 47th Congress, was the Civil Service Reform Bill, introduced by Senator Geo. H. Pendleton of Ohio, but prepared under the direction of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Re- publicans, feeling that there was some public demand for the passage of a measure of the kind, eagerly rushed to its support, at a time when it was apparent that the spoils of office might slip from their hands. From opposite motives the Democrats, who had previously encour- aged, now ran away from it, but it passed both Houses with almost a solid Repub- lican vote, a few Democrats in each House voting with them. President Arthur signed the bill, but at this writing the Commission which it creates has not been appointed, and of course none of the rules and constructions under the act have been formulated. Its basic principles are fixed tenure in minor places, competitive ex- aminations, and non-partisan selections. PART 111. POLITICAL PLATFORMS. COMPARISONS AND DESCRIPTION OF ALL LEADING ISSUES. WITH TABLES FOR READY REFERENCE. POLITICAL PLATFORMS. THE FIRST POLITICAL PLATFORM ENUNCIATED IN THE UNITED STATES TO COMMAND GENERAL ATTENTION WAS DRAWN BY MR. MADISON IN 1798, WHOSE OBJECT WAS TO Pl.C^VOTJK CE THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS UNCONSTITU- TIONAL, AJfD TO DEFINE THE RIGHTS OF THE STATES. Vtr^nla Resolutions of 1798. Pronouncing' the Alien and Sedition Laws to be uncomtiiu- tiimal, and Definimj the ritjhls of the States. — Drawn by Mr. Madison. In the Virginia Honse af Delegates, Friday, Dec. 21, 1798. Resolved, That the General Assembly of Virginia doth unequivocally express a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the constitution of this state, against every aggression t^i^ier foreign or domestic; and that they vr.A support the government of the Unitet'. States in all measures war- ranted by the former. That this Assembly most solemnly de- clares a warm attachment to the Union of the states, to maintain which it pledges its powers ; and, that for this end, it is their duty to watch over and oppose every in- fraction of those principles which consti- tute the only basis of that Union, because a faithful observance of them can alone secure its existence and the public happi- ness. That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as re- sulting from the compact to which the states are parties, as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument con- stituting that compact, as no farther valid than they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact ; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dan- gerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states, who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose, for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits the authori- ties, rights, and liberties .appertaining to them. That the General Assembly doth also express its deep regret, that a spirit has, in sundry instances, been manifested by the federal government, to enlarge its powers by forced constructions of the con- stitutional charter which defines them ; and, that indications have appeared of a design to expound certain general phrases (which, having been copied from the very limited grant of powers in the former Ar- ticles of Confederation, were the less liable to be misconstrued) so as to destroy the meaning and effect of the particular enumeration which necessarily explains, and limits the general phrases, and so a.s to consolidate the states by degrees into one sovereignty, the obvious tendency and inevitable result of which would be, to transform the present republican system of the United States into an absolute, or at best, a mixed monarchy. That the General Assembly doth par- ticularly protest against the palpable and alarming infractions of the Constitution, in the two late cases of the "Alien and Sedition Acts," passed at the last session of Congress; the first of which exercises a power nowhere delegated to the federal government, and which, by uniting legis- lative and judicial powers to those of executive, subverts the general principles of free government, as well as the particu- lar organization and positive provisions of the Federal Constitution; and the other AMERICAN POLITICS. of which acts exercises, in like manner, a power not delegated by the Constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and posi- tively forbidden by one of the amendments thereto ; a power which, more than any other, ou^ht to produce universal alarm, because it is levelled against the right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right. That this state having by its Conven- tion, which ratified the Federal Constitu- tion, expressly declared, that among other essential rights, " the liberty of conscience and the press cannot be cancelled, abridged, restrained, or modified by any authority of the United States," and from its extreme anxiety to guard these rights from everj^ ()ossible attack of sophistry and ambition, laving with other states recommended an amendment for that purpose, which amend- ment was, in due time, annexed to the Constitution, it would mark a reproachful inconsistency, and criminal degeneracy, if an indifference were now shown to the most palpable violation of one of the rights, thus declared and secured ; and to the establishment of a precedent which may be fatal to the other. That the good people of this common- wealth, having ever felt, and continuing to feel the most sincere affection for their brethren of the other states; the truest anxiety for establishing and perpetuating the Union of all : and the most scrupulous fidelity to that Constitution, which is the pledge of mutual friendship, and the in- strument of mutual ha])piness; the General Assembly doth solemnly appeal to the like dispositions in the other States, in confi- dence that they will concur with this com- monwealth, in declaring, as it does hereby declare, that the acts aforesaid are uncon- stitutional ; and, that the necessary and proper measures will be taken by each for co-operating with this state, in maintain- ing unimpaired the authorities, rights, and liberties, reserved to the states, respectively, or to the people. That the governor be desired to transmit a copy of the foregoing resolutions to the executive authority of each of the other states, with a request that the same may be communicated to the legislature thereof; and that a copy be furnished to each of the Senators and Representatives representing this state in the Congress of the United States. Attest, John Stewart. 1798. December 24th. Agreed to by the Senate. H. Brooke. A true copy from the original deposited in the office of the General Assembly. John Stewart, Keeper of Rolls. Extracts from the Address to the People, which accompanied the foregoing resolu- tions : — Fellow - Citizens : Unwilling to shrink from our representative responsibility, conscious of the purity of our motives, but acknowledging your right to supervise our conduct, we invite your serious attention to the emergency which dictated the sub- joined resolutions. Whilst we disdain to alarm you by ill-founded jealousies, we recommend an investigation, guided by the coolness of wisdom, and a decision bot- tomed, on firmness but tempered with moderation. It would be perfidious in those intrusted with the guardianship of the state sover- eignty, and acting under the solemn obliga- tion of the following oath : " I do sw-ear, that I will support the Constitution of the United States," not to warn you of encroach- ments, which, though clothed with the pretext of necessity, or disguised by argu- ments of expediency, may yet establish precedents, which may ultimately devote a generous and unsuspicious people to all the consequences of usurped power. Encroachments, springing from a govern- ment whose organization cannot be main- tained without the co-operation of the states, furnish the strongest incitements upon the state legislatures'to watchfulness, and impose upon them the strongest obliga- tion to preserve unimpaired the line of partition. The acquiescence of the states under in- fractions of the federal compact, would either beget a speedy consolidation, by precipitating the state governments into impotency and contempt ; or prepare the way for a revolution, by a repetition of these infractions, until the people are aroused to appear in the majesty of their strength. It is to avoid these calamities, that we exhibit to the people the momen- tous question, whether the Constitution of the United States shall yield to a construc- tion which defies every restraint and over- whelms the best hopes of republicanism. Exhortations to disregard domestic usur- pations until foreign danger shall have passed, is an artifice which may be for ever used ; because the possessors of power, who are the advocates for its extension, can ever create national embarrassments, to be successively employed to soothe the people into sleep, whilst that power is swelling silently, secretly, and fatally. Of the same character are insinuations of a foreign in- fluence, which seize upon a laudable en- thusiasm against danger from a broad, and distort it by an unnatural application, so as to blind your eyes against danger at home. The sedition act presents a scene which was never expected ny the early friends of the Constitution. It was then admitted POLITICAL PLATFORMS. (hat the state sovereignties were only di- minished by powers specifically enumer- ated, or necessary to carry the specified powers into effect. Now federal authority IS deduced from implication, and from the existence of state law it is inferred that Congress possesses a similar power of legis- lation ; whence Congress will be endowed with a power of legislation in all cases whatsoever, and the states will be stript of every right reserved by the concurrent claims of a paramount legislature. The sedition act is the offspring of these tremendous pretensions, which inflict a death wound on the sovereignty of these states. For the honor of American understand- ing, we will not believe that the people have been allured into the adoption of the Constitution by an affectation of defining powers, whilst the preamble would admit a construction which would erect the will of Congress into a power paramount in all cases, and therefore limited in none. On the contrary, it is evident that the objects for which the Constitution was formed were deemed attainable only by a particu- lar enumeration and specification of each power granted to the federal government ; reserving all others to the people, or to the states. And yet it is in vain we search for any specified power, embracing the right of legislation against the freedom of the press. Had the states been despoiled of their sovereignty by the generality of the preamble, and had the federal government been endowed with whatever they should judge to be instrumental towards union, justice, tranquillity, common defence, gen- eral welfare, and the preservation of liberty nothing could have been more frivolous than an enumeration of powers. All the preceding arguments rising from a deficiency of constitutional power in Con- gress, apply to the alien act, and this act is liable to other objections peculiar to itself. If a suspicion that aliens are dangerous constitute the justification of that power exercised over them by Congress, then a similar suspicion will justify the exercise of a similar power over natives. Because there is nothing in the Constitution dis- tinguishing between the power of a state to permit the residence of natives and aliens. It is therefore a right originally possessed, and never s.trrendered by the respective states, and which is rendered dear and valuable to Virginia, because it is assailed through the bosom of the Constitution, and because her peculiar situation renders the easy admission of artisans and labor- ers an interest of vast importance. But this bill contains oLher features, still more alarming and dangerous. It dispen- ses with the trial by jury : it violates the judicial system; it confounds legislative, executive, and judicial powers ; it punishes without trial ; and it bestows upon the President despotic power over a numerous class of men. Are such measures consistent with our constitutional principles? And will an accumulation of ])Ower so extensive in the hands of the executive, over aliens, secure to natives the blessings of republi- can liberty ? If measures can mould governments, and if an uncontrolled power of construc- tion is surrendered to those who administer them, their progress may be easily foreseen and their end easily foretold. A lover of monarchy, who opens the treasures of cor- ruption, by distributing emolument among devoted partisans, may at the same time be approaching his object, and deluding the people with professions of republicanism. He may confound monarchy and republic- anism, by the art of definition. He may varnish over the dexterity which ambition never fails to display, with the pliancy of language, the seduction of expediency, or the prejudices of the times. And he may come at length to avow that so extensive a territory as that of the United States can only be governed by the energies of mon- archy ; that it cannot be defended, except by standing armies ; and that it cannot be united, except by consolidation. Measures have already been adopted which may lead to these consequences. They consist: In fiscal systems and arrangements, which keep a host of commercial and wealthy individuals, embodied and obedient to the mandates of the treasury. In armies and navies, which will, on the one hand, enlist the tendency of man to pay homage to his fellow-creature who can feed or honor him ; and on the other, em- ploy the principle of fear, by punishing imaginary insurrections, under the pretext of preventive justice. In swarms of officers, civil and milita,ry, who c;in inculcate political tenets tending to consolidation and monarchy, both by indulgences and severities ; and can act as spies over the free exercise of human reason. In restraining the freedom of the press, and investing the executive with legisla- tive, executive, and judicial powers, over a numerous body of men. And, that we may shorten the catalogue, in establishing by successive precedents such a mode of construing the Constitution as will rapidly remove every restraint upon federal power. Let history be consulted ; let the man of experience reflect ; nay, let the artificers of monarchy be asked what farther mate- rials they can need for building up their favorite system ? These are solemn, but painful truths ; and yet we recommend it to you not to for- get the possibility of danger from without AMERICAN POLITICS. although danger threatens us from within. Usurpation is indeed dreadful, but against foreign invasion, if that should happen, let us rise with hearts and hands united, and repel the attack with the zeal of freemen, who will strengthen their title to examine and correct domestic measures by having defended their country against foreign ag- gression. Pledged as we are, fellow-citizens, to these sacred engagements, we yet humbly and fervently implore the Almighty Dis- poser of events to avert from our land war and usurpation, the scourges of mankind ; to permit our fields to be cultivated in peace; to instill into nations the love of friendly intercourse ; to sutler our youth to be educated in virtue ; and to preserve our morality from the pollution invariably in- cident to habits of Avar ; to prevent the laborer and husbandman from being har- assed by taxes and imposts ; to remove from ambition the means of disturbing the commonwealth; to annihilate all pretexts for power aftbided by war; to maintain the Constitution ; and to bless our nation with tranquillity, under whose benign in- fluence we may reach the summit of hap- piness and glory, to which we are destined by Nature and Nature's God. Attest, JoHK Stewart, C. H. D. 1799, Jan. 23. Agreed to by the Senate. H. Bkooke, C. S. A true copy from the original, deposited in the office of the General Assembly. John Stewaet, Keeper of Eolls. Ans-vvers of the se-reral State Ijegislatnres. State of Delaware. — In the House of Eepresentatives, Feb. 1, 1799. Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representa- tiA-es of the state of Delaware, in General Assembly met, that they consider the reso- lutions from the state of Virginia as a very unjustifiable interference with the general government and constituted authorities of the United States, and of dangerous tend- ency, and therefore not fit subject for the further consideration of the General As- sembly. Isaac Davis, Speaker of the Senate. Stephen Lewis, Speaker of the H. of R's. Test— John Fisher, C. S. John Caldwell, C. H. R. State of Rhode Island and Prov- idence Plantations. — In General As- sembly, February, A. D. 1799. Certain resolutions of the Legislature of Virginia, passed on 21st of December last, being communicated to this Assembly, 1. Resolved, That in the opinion of thi.? legislature, the second section of third ar- ticle of the Constitution of the United States in these words, to wit : The judi- cial power shall extend to all cases arising under the laws of the United States, vests in the federal courts, exclusively, and in the Supreme Court of the United States ultimately, the authority of deciding on the constitutionality of any act or law of the Congress of the United States. 2. Resolved, That for any state legisla- ture to assume that authority, would be, 1st. Blending together legislative and judicial powers. 2d. Hazarding an interruption of the peace of the states by civil discord, in case of a diversity of opinions among the state legislatures ; each state having, in that case, no resort for vindicating its own opinions, but to the strength of its own arm. 3d. Submitting most important ques- tions of law to less competent tribunals ; and 4th. An infraction of the Constitution of the United States, expressed in plain terras. 3. Resolved, That although for the above reasons, this legislature, in their public capacity, do not feel themselves authorized to consider and decide on the constitu- tionality of the sedition and alien laws (so called) ; yet they are called upon by the exigency of this occasion, to declare, that in their private opinions, these laws are within the powers delegated to Congress, and promotive of the welfare of the Uni- ted States. 4. Resolved, That the governor commu- nicate these resolutions to the supreme ex- ecutive of the state of Virginia, and at the same time express to him that this legisla- ture cannot contemplate, without extreme concern and regret, the many evil and fatal consequences which may flow from the very unwarrantable resolutions afore- said, of the legislature of Virginia, passed on the twenty-first day of December last. A true copy. Samuel Eddy, Sec. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. —In Senate, Feb. 9, 1799. The legisla- ture of Massachusetts having taken into serious consideration the resolutions of the State of Virginia, passed the 21st day of December last, and communicated by his excellency the governor, relative to certain supposed infractions of the Con- stitution of the United States, by the gov- ernment thereof, and being convinced that the Federal Constitution is calculated to promote the happiness, prosperity, and safety of the people of these United States, and to maintain that union of the several states, so essential to the welfare of the whole ; and being bound by solemn oath POLITICAL PLATFORMS. to support and defend that Constitution, feel it unnecessary to make any professions of their attachment to it, or of their firm determination to support it against every aggression, foreign or domestic. But they deem it their duty solemnly to declare, that while they hold sacred the ]>rinciple, that consent of the people is the only pure source of just and legitimate ■ power, they cannot admit the right of the siate legislatures to denounce the adminis- tration of that government to which the people themselves, by a solemn compact, have exclusively committed their national concerns : That, although a liberal and enlightened vigilance among the people is always to be cherished, yet an unreasona- ble jealousy of the men of their choice, and a recurrence to measures of extremity, upon groundless or trivial pretexts, have a strong tendency to destroy all rational lib- erty at home, and to deprive the United States of the most essential advantages in their relations abroad : That this legisla- ture are persuaded that the decision of all cases in law and equity, arising under the Constitution of the United States, and the construction of all laws made in pursu- ance thereof, are exclusively vested by the people in the judicial courts of the United States. That the people in that solemn compact, which is declared to be the supreme law of the land, have not constituted the state legislatures the judges of the acts or mea- sures of the federal government, but have confided to them the power of proposing such amendments of the Constitution, as shall appear to them necessary to the in- terests, or conformable to the wishes of the people whom they represent. That by this construction of the Con- stitution, an amicable and dispassionate remedy is pointed out for any evil which experience may prove to exist, and the peace and prosperity of the United States may be preserved without interruption. But, should the respectable state of Vir- ginia persist in the assumption of the right to declare the acts of the national government unconstitutional, and should she oppose successfully her force and will to those of the nation, the Constitution would be reduced to a mere cipher, to the form and pageantry of authority, without the energy of power. Every act of the federal government which thwarted the views or checked the ambitious projects of a particular state, or of its leading and in- ftu ^ntial members, would be the object of " ' I'tsition and of remonstrance; while the people, convulsed and confused by the conflict between two hostile jurisdictions, enjoying the protection of neither, would be wearied into a submission to some bold leader, who would establish himself on the ruin.s of both. 21 The legislature of Massachusetts, al- though they do not themselves claim the right, nor admit the authority of any of the state governments, to decide upon the constitutionality of the acts of the federal government, still, lest their silence should be construed into disapprobation, or at best into a doubt of the constitutionality of the acts referred to by the State of Vir- ginia ; and, as the General Assembly of Virginia has called for an expression of their sentiments,,do explicitly declare, that they consider the acts of Congress, com- monly called "the alien and sedition acts," not only constitutional, but expedient and necessary: That the former act respects a description of persons whose rights were not particularly contemplated in the Con- stitution of the United States, who are en- titled only to a temporary protection, while they yield a temporary allegiance ; a protection which ought to be withdrawn Avhenever they become " dangerous to the public safety," or are found guilty of " treasonable machination " against the government : That Congress having been especially intrusted by the people with the general defence of the nation, had not only the right, but were bound to protect it against internal as well as external foes. That the United States, at the time of pass- ing the act concerning aliens, were threat- ened with actual invasion, had been driv- en by the unjust and ambitious conduct of the French government into warlike pre- parations, expensive and burthensome, and had then, within the bosom of the coun- try, thousands of aliens, who, we doubt not, were ready to co-operate in any ex- ternal attack. It cannot be seriously believed, that the LTnited States should have waited till the poignard had in fact been plunged. The removal of aliens is the usual preliminary of hostility, and is justified by the invari- able usages of nations. Actual hostility had unhappily long been experienced, and a formal declaration of it the government had reason daily to expect. The law, therefore, was just and salutary, and no officer could, with so much propriety, be intrusted with the execution of it, as the one in whom the Constitution has reposed the executive power of the United States. The sedition act, so called, is, in the opinion of this legislature, equally defen- sible. The General Assembly of Virginia, in their resolve under consideration, ob- serve, that when that state by its conven- tion ratified the Federal Constitution, it expressly declared, " That, among other essential rights, the liberty of conscience and of the press cannot be cancelled, abridged, restrained, or modified by any authority of the United States," and from its extreme anxiety to guard these rights Irom every possible attack of sophistry or 8 AMERICAN POLITIC ambition, with other states, recommend an, amendment for that purpose : which amendment was, in due time, annexed to the Constitution ; but they did not surely expect that the proceedings of their state convention were to explain the amend- ment adopted by the Union. The words of that amendment, cm this subject, are, " Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press." The act complained of is no abridgment of the freedom of eithej. The genuine liberty of speech and the press, is the lib- erty to utter and publish the truth ; but the constitutional right of the citizen to utter and publish the truth, is not to be confounded with the licentiousness in speaking and writing, that is only em- ployed in propagating falsehood and slan- der. This freedom of the press has been explicitly secured by most, if not all, the state constitutions ; and of this provision there has been generally but one construc- tion among enlightened men ; that it is a security for the rational use and not the abuse of the press ; of which the courts of law, the juries, and people will judge; this right is not infringed, but confirmed and established by the late act of Congress. By the Constitution, the legislative, ex- ecutive, and judicial departments of gov- ernment are ordained and established ; and general enumerated powers vested in them respectively, including those which are prohibited to the several states. Cer- tain powers are granted in general terms by the people to their general government, for the purposes of their safety and protec- tion. The government is not only em- powered, but it is made their duty to re- pel invasions and suppress insurrections ; to guaranty to the several states a repub- lican form of government ; to protect each state against invasion, and, when applied to, against domestic violence ; to hear and decide all cases in law and equity, arising under the Constitution, and under any treaty or law made in pursuance thereof ; and all cases of admiralty and maritime .jurisdiction, and relating to the law of na- tions. Whenever, therefore, it becomes necessary to cflect any of the objects de- signated, it is perfectly consonant to all just rules of construction, to infer, that the usual means and powers necessary to the attainment of that object, are also granted : But the Constitution has left no occasion to resort to implication for these powers ; it has made an express grant of them, in the 8th section of the first article, which ordains, "That Congress shall have power to make all hnvs which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by the Constitution in the govern- ment of the United States or in any de- partment or officer thereof." This Constitution has ostablis'ied a Su- preme Court of the United States, but has made no provisions for its protection, even against such improper conduct in its pres- ence, as might disturb its proceedings, un- less expressed in the section before recited. But as no statute has been passed on this subject, this protection is, and has been for nine years past, uniformly found in the application of the principles and usages of the common law. The same protection may unquestionably be afforded by a stat- ute passed in virtue of the before-men- tioned section, as necessary and proper, for carrying into execution the powers vested in that department. A construction of the different parts of the Constitution, per- fectly just and fair, will, on analogous principles, extend protection and security against the offences in question, to the other departments of government, in dis- charge of their respective trusts. The President of the United States is bound by his oath " to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution," and it is ex- pressly made his duty, "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed ; " but this would be impracticable by any created being, if there could be no legal restraint of those scandalous misrepresentations of his measures and motives, which directly tend to rob him of the public confidence. And equally impotent would be every other public officer, if thus left to the mercy of the seditious. It is hoklen to be a truth most clear, that the important trusts before enumerated cannot be discharged by the government to which they are committed, without the power to restrain seditious practices and unlawful combinations against itself, and to protect the officers thereof i'rom abusive misrepresentations. Had the Constitution withheld this power, it would have made the government responsible for the effects without any control over the causes which naturally produce them, and would have essentially failed of answering the great ends for which the people of the United States declare, in the first clause of that in- strument, that they establish the same, viz : " To form a more perfect union, es- tablish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general warfare, and secure the bless- ings of liberty to ourselves and jiosterity." Seditious practices and unlawi'ul combi- nations against the federal govei'ument, or any officer thereof, in the performance of his duty, as well as licentiousness of siieech and of the press, were punishable on the principles of common law in the courts of the United States, before the act in ques- tion was passed. This act then is an ame- lioration of that law in favor of the party accused, as it mitigates the punishment which that authorizes, and admits of any POLITICAL PLATFORMS. investigation ol' public men and measures whicti is regulated by truth. It is not in- tended to jjrotect men in office, only as they are agents of the people. Its object is to afford legal security to public offices and trusts created for the safety and hap- piness of the people, and therefore the se- curity derived from it is for the benefit of the people, and is their right. The construction of the Constitution and of the existing law of the land, as well as the act complained of, the legislature of Massachusetts most deliberately and firmly believe results from a just and full view of the several parts of the Constitution : and they consider that act to be wise and ne- cessary, as an audacious and unprincipled spirit of falsehood and abuse had been too long unremittingly exerted for the pur- pose of perverting public opinion, and threatened to undermine and destroy the whole fabric of government. The legislature further declare, that in tlie foregoing sentiments they have ex- pressed the general opinion of their consti- tuents, who have not only acquiesced without complaint in those particular measures of the federal government, but have given their explicit approbation by re-electing those men who voted for the adoption of them. Nor is it apprehended, that the citizens of this state will be ac- cused of supineness or of an indifference to their constitutional rights ; for while, on the one hand, they regard with due vi- gilance the conduct of the government, on the other, their freedom, safety and happi- ness require, that they should defend that government and its constitutional mea- sures against the open or insidious attacks of any foe, whether foreign or domestic. And, lastly, t'.iat the legislature of Mas- sacnusetts feel a strong conviction, that the several Tmited States are connected by a commou interest which ought to ren- der their 'luion indissoluble, and that this state will always co-operate with its con- federa^i states in rendering that union pro- ductive of mutual security, freedom, and happiness. Sent down for concurrence. Samuel Philips, President In the House of Representatives, Feb. 13, 179'J. Read and concurred. Edward II. Robbins, Speaker. A true copy. Attest, JoHX Avery, Secretary. State of New York. — In Senate, March 5, 1799. — Whereas, the people of the United States have established for themselves a free and independent national government: And whereas it is essential to the existence of every government, that it have authority to defend and preserve its constitutional powers inviolate, inas- much an every infringement thereof tends to its subversion : And whereas the judi- cial power extends expressly to all cases of law and equity arising untfer the Consti- tution and the laws of the United States whereby the interference of the legislatures of the particular stateB in those cases is manifestly excluded : And whereas our peace, prosperity, and happiness, eminent- ly depend on the preservation of the Union, in order to which, a reasonable confidence in the constituted authorities and chosen representatives of the people is indispen- sable : And whereas every measure calcu- lated to weaken that confidence has a ten- dency to destroy the usefulness of our pub- lic functionaries, and to excite jealousies equally hostile to rational liberty, and the principles of a good republican govern- ment : And whereas the Senate, not per- ceiving that the rights of the particular states have been violated, nor any uncon- stitutional powers assumed by the general government, cannot forbeiir to express the anxiety and regret with which they observe the inflammatory and pernicious senti- ments and doctrines which are contained in the resolutions of the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky — sentiments and doctrines, no less repugnant to the Consti- tution of the United States, and the prin- ciples of their union, than destructive to the Federal government and unjust to those whom the people have elected to ad- minister it: wherefore, Resolved^ That while the Senate feel themselves con- strained to bear unequivocal testimony against such sentiments and doctrines^ they deem it a duty no less indispensable, explicitly to declare their incompetency, as a branch of the legislature of this state, to su- pervise the acts of the general government. Resolved, Tliat his Excellency, the Governor, be, and he is hereby requested to transmit a copy of the foregoing resolu- tion to the executives of the states of Vir- ginia and Kentucky, to the end that the same may be communicated to the legisla- tures thereof. A true copy. Abm. B. Bauckhr, Clerk. State of Connecticut, — At a General Assembly of the state of Connecticut, holden at Hartford, in the said state, on the second Thursday of May, Anno Domi- ni 1799, his excellency the governor hav- ing communicated to this assembly sundry resolutions of the legislature of Virginia, adopted in December, 1798, which relate to the measures of the general government; and the said resolutions having been con- sidered, it is Resolved, That this Assembly views with deep regret, and explicitly cliV;avow3, the principles contained iu tlie jiibrosiiid reso- 10 AMERICAN POLITICS. lutioiLs, And particularly the opposition to the " Alien and Sedition Acts " — acta whicii the Constitution authorized ; which the etxigcncy'of the country rendered ne- cessary ; which the constituted authorities have enacted, and which merit the entire approtiation of this Assembly. They, therefore, decidedly refuse to concur witii the leg^islature of Virginia, in promoting -any of the objects attempted in the afore- said rccioiutiou'. And it is further resolved. That hia ex- cellency the governor be requested to trans- mit a copy of the foregoing resolution to the governor of Virginia, that it may be communicated' to the legislature of that state. Passed iu the House of Representatives nnanimously. Attest, John C. Smith, Clerk. Concuired, unanimously, in the upper House. Teste, Sam. Wyllys, Sec'y. Statb OOP New Hampshire. — In the House of Representatives, June 14, 1799. — ^The committee to take into considera- tion the resolutions of the General Assem- bly of Virginia, dated December 21, 1798 ; also certain re^solutions of the legislatture of Kentucky of the 10th of November, 1798 ; report as lollows : — The legislature of New Hampshire, hav- ing takea into consideration certain reso- lutions of the General Assembly of Vir- ginia, dated December 21, 1798 ; also cer- tain resolutions of the legislature of Ken- tucky, ofthe lOthof November, 1798,— Resolved, That the legislature of New Hampahire unequivocally express a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Con- stitution of the United States, and the con- stitution of this state, again.st every aggres- sion, either foreign or domestic, and that they will support the government of the ■ United States in all measures warranted by the fonuer. That the state legislatures are not the proper tribunals to determine the consti- tutionality of the laws of the general gov- ernment ; that the duty of such decision is properly and exclusively confided to the judicial department. That if the legislature of New Hamp- shire, fbr mere speculative purposes, were to express an opinion on the acts of the general government, commonly called ^'the Alien and Sedition Bills," that opinion would unreservedly be, that those acts are constitutional and, in the present critical situation of our country, highly ex- pexiient. That the constitutionality and expe the people: that thus was manifested their deterafiiiiation to retain to themselves the right of judging how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged without les- sening their useful freedom, anct how far those abuses which cannot be separated from their use should be toleratca rather than the use be destroyed ; and thus also they guarded against all abridgment by the United States, of the freedom of religious principles and exercises, and retained to themselves the right of protecting the same, as this, stilted by a law passed on the gen- eral demand of its citizens, had already protected them from all human restraint or interference : and that, in addition to this genenJ principle and express declaration, another and more special provision has been made by one of the amendments to the Constitution, which expressly declares, that " Congress shall make no laws respect- ing an establishment of religion^ or pro- hibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press/' thereby guarding in the same sen- tence, and under the same words, the free- dom of religion, of speech^ and of the press, insomuch that whatever violates either, throv/s down the sanctuary which covers the others ; and that libels, false- hood, and defamation, equally with heresy and false religion, are withheld from the cognisance of federal tribunals. Tliat there- fore the act of the Congress of the United States, passed on the 14th of July, 1798, entitletl " An act in addition to the act en- titled An act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," which does abridge the freedom of the press, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force. 4. Resolved, That alien friends are under the jurisdiction and protection of the laws ^ of the state wlierein they are : that no power over them has been deleg-ated to the United States, nor prohibited to the indi- vidual states distinct from their power over citizens; and it being true, as a- general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having idso declared, that " the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the s-tates, are reserved to the states re- spectively, or to the people," the act of the Congress of the United States, passed the 22d day of June, 1798, entitled " An act concerning aliens," which iii^snines power over alien friends not delegated by the Con- stitution, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force, 5. Resolved, That in addition to the gen- eral principle as well as the express de- claration, that powers not delegated are re- served, another and more special provision inferred in the Constitution, from abund- ant caution has declared, " that the migra- i;i AMERICAN POLITICS. t.iou or imj)urt;iiioii nf such persons as any of the wtatea now existing shall think {)rojier to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808." That this com ni cm wealth does admit the migra- tion of alien friends described as the sub- ject of the said act concerning aliens ; that a provision against prohibiting their migra- tion, iN .! provision against all acts equiva- lent thereto, or it would be nugatory ; that to remove theni when migrated is equiva- Jent to a proliibition of their migration, ; nd is, tlierelbro, c^ontrary to the said pro- \ ision of the Constitution, and void. 6. Resolved, Thiit the imprisonment of a person under the protection of the laws of this commoHwealth on his failure to obey the siiiwle order of the President to depart out of the United St-ate^s, as is under- taken by the said act, entitled, "An act concerning aliens," is c(mtrary to the Con- stitution, one amendment in which has provided, that " no per.sou shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law," and, that another having provided, " that in all criminal f)r(>secutioiLs, the accused shall enjoy the right to a public trial by an impartial Juiy, to be informed a.s to the nature and caiwe of the accusation, to be confronlfd v/ith the witnesses against him, to havi- <()nipulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have assist- ance of counsel for his defence," the same act undertaking tx) authorize the President to remove a i)erson out of the United States who Ls under the {)rotection of the law, on his own .suspicion, without jury, without public tri.il, without confrontation of the witnesses against him, without having wit- nesses in his favor, without defence, with- out coun.sel, is csontrary to these provisions also of the fyonstitution, is therefore not law, but utterly void and of no force. That transferring the power of judging any person who is under the protection of the laws, from the courts to the President of the United States, as is undertaken by the same act c^incerning aliens, is against the article oi' the ^Constitution which pro- vides, that *' the Judicial power of the Unitei' a majority of Congress, to ])rotect from I like exportation or other grievous pun- i-iliment the minority of the same body, the legislatures, judges, governors, and counsellors of the states, nor their other peaceable inhabitants who may venture to reclaim the constitutional rights and liber- ties of the states and people, or who, for other causes, good or bad, may be obnox- ious to the view or marked by the suspi- cions of the President, or to be thought dan- gerous to his or their elections or other interests, public or personal ; that the friendless alien has been selected as the safest subject of a first experiment ; but the citizen will soon follow, or rather \ias already followed ; for, already has a sedi- tion act marked him as a prey : that these and successive acts of the same character, unless arrested on the threshold, may tend to drive these states into revolution and blood, and will furnish new calumnies against republican governments, and new firetexts for those who wish it to be bo- ieved, that man cannot be governed but by a rod of iron ; that it would be a dan- gerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights ; that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism ; free government is found in jealousy and not in confidence ; it is jealousy and not con- fidence which prescribes limited constitu- tions to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power ; that our Con- stitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no tarther, our confidence may go ; and let the honest advocate of confidence read the alien and sedition acts, and say if the Constitution has not been wise in fixing limits to the government it created, and whether we should be wise in destroying those limits ? Let him say what the government is, if it be not a tyranny, which the men of our choice have conferred on the President, and the President of our choice has assented to and accepted over the friendly strangers, to whom the mild spirit of our country and its laws had pledged hospitality and protection ; that the men of our choice have more respected the bare suspicions of the President than the solid rights of innocence, the claims of justification, the sacred force of truth, and the forms and substance of law and justice. In questions of power, then, let no more be said of confidence in man, but bii^l him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. That this Coinnion wealth does therefore call on its co-states for an expression of their sentiments on the acts concerning aliens, and for the punishment of certain crimes hereinbefore specified, plainly declaring whether these acts are or are not authorized by the federal compact. And it doubts not that their sense will be so announced as to prove th^ir attachment to limited government, whether general or jjarticular, and that the rights and liberties of their co-states will be exposed to no dangers by remaining embarked on a com- mon bottom with their own : but they will concur with this commonwealth in consid- ering the said acts as so palpably against the Constitution as to amount to an undis- guised declaration, that the compact is not meant to be the measure of the powers of the general government, but that it will proceed in the exercise over these states of all powers whatsoever. That they will view this as seizing the rights of the states and consolidating them in the hands of the general government, wiui a power assumed to bind the states (not merely in cases made federal) but in all cases whatsoever, by laws made, not with their consent, but by others against their consent ; that this would be to surrender the form of govern- ment we have chosen, and live under one deriving its powers from its own will, and not from our authority ; and that the co- states recurring to their natural rights in cases not made federal, will concur in de- claring these void and of no force, and will each unite with this Commonwealth in re- questing their re])eal at the next session of Congress. Edmuxd Bullock, S. H. R. John Campbell, S. P. T. I'assed the House of Representatives, Nov. 10, 1798. Attest, Thos. Todd, C. H. R. In Senate, Nov. 13, 1798. — Unanimously concurred in. Attest, B. Thurston, C. S. Approved, Nov. 19, 1798. J AS. Garrard, Gov. of Ky. By the Governor, Harry Toulmin, Sec. of State. House of Representatives, Thursdav, | Nov. 14, 1799. j The House, according to the standing order of the day, resolved itself into a committee of the whole House, on the state of the commonwealth, Mr. Desha in the chair ; and after some time spent therein, the speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Desha reported that the committee had taken under consideration sundry resolu- tions passed by several state legislatures, on the subject of the alien and sedition laws, and had come to a resolutioii there- upon, which he delivered in :it the clerk's 14 AMERICAN POLITICS. table, where it was read and unanimously agreed to by the House, as follows : — The representatives of the good people of this commonwealth, in General Assem- bly convened, having maturely considered the answers of sundry states in the Union, to their resolutions passed the last session, respecting certain unconstitutional laws of C'ongress, commonly called the alien and sedition laws, would be faithless, indeed, to themselves and to those they represent, were they silently to acquiesce in the prin- ciples and doctrines attempted to be main- tained in all those answers, that of Vir- ginia only excepted. To again enter the field of argument, and attempt more fully or forcibly to expose the unconstitutional- ity of those obnoxious laws, would, it is apprehended, be as unnecessary as unavail- ing. We cannot, however, but lament that, in the discussion of those interesting subjects by sundry of the legislatures of our sister states, unibunded suggestions and uncandid insinuations, derogatory to the true character and principles of this commonwealth, have been substituted in place of fair reasoning and sound argu- ment. Our opinions of these alarming measures of the general government, to- gether with our reasons for those opinions, were detailed with decency and with tem- per, and submitted to the discussion and judgment of our fellow-citizens throughout the Union. Whether the like decency and tem.per have been observed in the an- swers of most of those states who have denied or attempted to obviate the great truths contained in those resolutions, we have now only to submit to a candid world. Faithful to the true principles of the Fed- eral Union, unconscious of any designs to disturb the harmony of that Union, and anxious only to escape the fangs of despot- ism, the good people of this common- wealth are regardless of censure or calum- niation. Lest, however, the silence of this commonwealth should be construed into an acquiescence in the doctrines and principles advanced and attempted to be maintained by the said answers, or lest those of our fellow-citizens throughout the Union who so widely differ from us on those important subjects, should be deluded by the expectation, that we shall be de- terred from what we conceive our duty, or shrink from the principles contained in those resolutions — therefore. Resolved, That this commonwealth con- siders the Federal Union, upon the terms and for the purposes specified in the late compact, as conducive to the liljerty and happiness of the several states : That it does now unequivocally declare its attach- ment to the Union, and to that compact, agreeably to its obvious and real intention, and will be among the Inst to seek its dis- solution : That if those who administer the general government be permitted to transgress the limits fixed by that compact, by a total disregard to the special delega- tions of power therein contained, an amii- hilation of the state governments, and the creation upon their ruins of a general cf)n- solidated government, will be the inevita- ble consequence: That the principle and construction contended for by sundry of the state legislatures, that the general gov- ernment is the exclusive judge of the ex- tent of the powers delegated to it, stop nothing short of despotism — since the dis- cretion of those who administer the gov- ernment, and not the Constitution, would be the measure of their powers : That the several states who formed that instrument being sovereign and inde])endent, have the unquestionable right to judge of the in- fraction ; and that a nullification by those sovereignties of all unauthorized acts done under color of that instrument is the right- ful remedy : That this commonwealth does, under the most deliberate reconsid- eration, declare that the said alien and sedition laws are, in their opinion, palpa- ble violations of the said Constitution ; and, however cheerfully it may be disposed to surrender its opinion to a majority of its sister states, in matters of ordinary or doubtful policy, yet, in momentous regula- tions like the present, which so vitally wound the best rights of the citizen, it would consider a silent acquiescence as highly criminal : That although this com- monwealth, as a party to the federal com- pact, will bow to the laws of the Union, yet it does, at the same time, declare that it will not now, or ever hereafter, cease to opjDose in a constitutional manner every attempt, at what quarter soever offered, to violate that compact. And, finally, in or- der that no pretext or arguments may be drawn from a supposed acquiescence on the part of this commonwealth in the con- stitutionality of those laws, and be thereby used as precedents for similar future viola- tions of the federal compact — this com- monwealth does now enter against them its solemn protest. Extract, &c. Attest, T. Todd, C. H. R. In Senate, Nov. 22, 179i>— Read and con- curred in. Attest, B. Thurston, C. S. "WasliingtoM's Farewell Address to the Peo- ple of the Vnited States, Sept. 17, 1796. Accepted as a Platform for the Pcoji/c oj the Nation, regard- less of party. Friends and Fellow-citizens: — The period for a new election of a citi- zen to administer the executive govern- ment of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in desig- nating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me pro- POLITICAL PLATFORMS, 16 per, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expi'cssion of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be as- sured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his coun- try ; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence, in my situation, might imply, I am influenced by no dimi- nution of zeal for your future interests; no deficiency of grateful respect of your past kindness ; but am supported by a full con- viction that the step is compatible with both. The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suf- frages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I con- stantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, pre- vious to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you ; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea. I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer ren- ders the pursuit of inclination incompati- ble with the sentiment of duty or propriety ; and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that, in the present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire. The impressions with which I first un- dertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have with good intentions contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience, in my own eyes — perhaps still more in the eyes of others — has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the in- creasing weight of years admonishes me, more and more, that the abode of retire- ment is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circum- stances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the politi- cal scene, patriotism does not forbid it. In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me ; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness un- equal to my zeal. If benefits have re- sulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direc' tion, were liable to mislead; amidst ap- pearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging ; in situations in which, not unfrequently, want of suc- cess has countenanced the spirit of criti- cism, — the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans, by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated by this new idea, I shall carry it wi^n me to my grave, as a strong incitement to un- ceasing vows, that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its benefi- cence ; that union and brotherly affection may be perpetual ; that the free Constitu- tion, which is the- work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained ; that its ad- ministration, in every department, may be stamped with wisdom and virtue ; that in fine, the happiness of the people of these states, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preser- vation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recom- mending it to the apjdause, the affection, and the adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it. Here, perhaps, I ought to stop; but a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehen- sion of danger natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemjtlation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments, which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable ob- servation, and which appear to me all-im- portant to the permanency of your felicity' as a people. These will be afforded to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warning of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel ; nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion. Interwoven as is the love of liberty with 16 AMERICAN POLITICS. every ligament of your hearts, no recom- mendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. The unity of government which consti- tutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence — the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you fo highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, Ironi different causes and from differ- ent quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as this is the point in your political fortress against which, the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively, (thougii often covertly and insidiously) directed, — it is of infinite mo- ment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness ; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accus- toming yourself to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preserva- tion with jealous anxiety; discountenan- cing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can, in any event, be abandoned ; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link to- gether the various parts. For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that coun- try has a right to concentrate your affec- tions. The name of American, which be- longs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patri- otism, more than appellations derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of diflFerence, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have, in a common cause, fought and triumphed together ; the independence and liberty you possess are the Avork of joint counsels and joint efforts, of common dan- gers, sufferings, and successes. But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are generally outweighed by those which ap- {)ly more immediately to your interest ; lere every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole. The North, in an unrestrained inter- course with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds, in the productions of the latter, great ad- ditional resources of maritime and com- mercial enterprise, and precious materials of manufacturing industrj^ The South, in the same intercourse benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow, and its commerce expanded. Turn- ing partly into its own channels the sea- men of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated ; and while it con- tributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protec- tion of a maritime strength to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of in- terior communication, by land and by water, will more and more find, a valuable vent for the commodities which eacli brings from abroad or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies re- quisite to its growth or comfort, and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must, of necessity, owe the secure enjoy- ment of indispensable outlets for its own ])roductions, to the weight, influence, and the maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interests as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connexion with any foreign power, must be intrinsically pre- carious. While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular in- terest in union, all the parts combined can- not fail to find, in the united mass of means and efforts, greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent inter- ruption of their peace by foreign nations ; and what is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries, not tied together by the same government ; which their own rivalship alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments and intrigues, would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to re- publican liberty ; in this sense it is that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of one ought to endear to you the pre- servation of the other. These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic de- sire. Is there a doubt, whether a commoi government can embrace so large a sphere ? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation, in such a case, were criminal. POLITICAL PLATFORMS, 17 We are authorized to hope, that a proper organization of the whole, with the aux- iliary agency of governments for the re- spective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to Union, affecting all parts of our country, while ex- perience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be rea- son to distrust the patriotism of those who, in any quarter, may endeavor to weaken its bands. In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as a matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations — Northern and Southern — Atlantic and Western : whence designing men may en- deavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire in- fluence within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of oth- er districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart- burnings which spring from these misrep- resentations ; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by paternal affection. The inhabi- tants of our Western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head ; they have seen in the negotiation by the executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event through- out the United States, decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them, of a policy in the general government, and in the Atlantic States, unfriendly to their interest in regard to the Mississippi — that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secure to them everything they could desire in respect to ■*our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wis- dom to rely ibr the preservation of these advantages on the Union by which they were procured ? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren, and connect them with aliens? To the efficacy and permanency of your Union a government of the whole is indis- pensable. No alliance, however strict be- tween the parties, can be an adequate sub- stitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances, in all time, have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of govern- ment, better calculated than your former for an intimate union, and for the effica- cious management of your common con- cerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed — adopted upou full investigation and ma- ture deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers — uniting security with energy, and con- taining within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your con- fidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, ac- quiescence in its measures, are duties en- joined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of government; but the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacred- ly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and right of the people to estab- lish government, presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government. All obstruction to the execution of laws, all combinations and associations under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive to this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force, to put in the place oi' the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community ; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous pro- jects of fashion, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans, digested by common counsels and modified by mu- tual interests. However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, am- Ijitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the ])ower of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins oi' government; destroying, afterwards, the very engines which had lifted them to un- just dominion. Towards the preservation of your gov- ernment, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its princij^les, however specious the j^retexts. One method of as- sault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to un- dermine what cannot be directly over- thrown. In all the changes to which yoii may be invited, remember that :iiiic and 18 AMERICAN POLITICS. habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions ; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country ; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion ex- poses to perpetual change, from the end- less variety of hypothesis and opinion ; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a govern- ment of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispen- sable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distri- buted, and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprise of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits de- scribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property. I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state with particu- lar reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you, in the most solemn manner, against the banefi.il effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under diflerent shapes in all govern- ments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed ; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissensions, which, in different ages and countries, has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads, at length, to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and re- pose in the absolute power of an indi- vidual ; and sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own ele- vation on the ruins of public liberty. Without looking forward to an ex- tremit}-^ of this kind (which, nevertheless, ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to dis- courage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils, and enfeeble the public adminis- tration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealon-lace itself in the condition of hav- ing given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingrati- tude for not giving more. There can be POLITICAL PLATFORMS, 21 no greater error than to expect, or calcu- late upon, real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish ; that they will control the usual current of the pas.5ions, or prevent our nation from run- ning the course wl ich has hitherto marked the destiny of nations ; but if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good ; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign in- trigue-*, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism ; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have been dictated. How far, in the discharge of my official duties, I have been guided by the princi- ples which have been delineated, the pub- lic records, and other evidences of my con- duct, must witness to you and the world. To myself, the assurance of my own con- science is, that I have at least believed my- self to be guided by them. In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the 23d of Aj)ril, 1793, is the index to my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both Houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, un- influenced by any attempts to deter or di- vert me from it. After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and inter- est to take a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it with mod- eration, perseverance, and firmness. The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not neces- sary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that, according to my understand- ing of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all. The duty of holding neutral conduct may be inferred, without anything more, from the obligation which justice and hu- manity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain invio- late the relations of peace and unity to- wards other nations. The inducements of interests, for observ- ing that conduct, will' best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predominant motive lias been to endeavor to gain time to our country to olltioii Platforms. The first national platform of the Aboli- tion party upon which it went into the contest in 1840, favored the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and Territories ; the inter-stateslave-trade, and a general oi^position to slavery to the full extent of constitutional power. In 1848, that portion of the party which did not support the Buffalo nominees took the ground of affirming the constitutional authority and duty of the General Govern- ment to abolish slavery in the States. Under the head of " Buffiilo," the plat- form of the Free Soil party, which nomi- nated Mr. Van Buren, will be found. 1840. — Democratic Platform, Baliimore, May 5. Resolved, That the Federal government is one of limited powers, derived solely from the constitution, and the grants of power shown therein ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the government, and that it is inexpe- dient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers. 2. Resolved, That the constitution does not confer upon the general government the power to commence and carry on a general system of internal improvements. 3. Resolved, That the constitution does not confer authority upon the Federal government, directly or indirectly, to as- sume the debts of the several states, con- tracted for local internal improvements or other state purposes ; nor would such as- sumption be just or expedient. 4. Resolved, That justice and sound po- licy forbid the Federal government to foster one branch of industry to the detri- ment of another, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of another portion of our common country — that every citizen and every section of the country has a right to demand and insi.st upon an equality of rights and privileges, and to complete and ample protection of persons and property from domestic violence or foreign aggression. 5. Resolved, That it is the duty of every branch of the government to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in con- ducting our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required to defray the necessary expenses of the government. 6. Resolved, That Congress has no power to charter a United States bank ; that we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to the best interests of the coun- try, dangerous to our republican institu- tions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place the business of the country within the control of a concen- trated money power, |ind above the laws and the will of the people. 7. Resolved, That Congress has no power under the constitution, to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several states ; and that such states are the sole and proper judges of everything per- taining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the constitution ; that all efforts, by Abolitionist's or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in rela- tion thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequen- ces, and that all such efforts have an inevi- table tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and endanger the stability and permanence of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend to our political institutions. 8. Resolved, That the separation of the moneys of the government from banking institutions is indispensable for the safety of the funds of the government and the rights of the people. 9. Resolved, That the liberal principles embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the constitution, which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal prin- ciples in the democratic faith ; and every attempt to abridge the jiresent privilege of becoming citizens, and the owners of soil among us, ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the alien and sedition laws from our statute book. Whereas, Several of the states which have nominated Martin Van Buren as a candidate for the presidency, have put in nomination different individuals as candi- dates for Vice-President, thus indicating a diversity of opinion as to the person best entitled to the nomination ; and whereas, some of the said states are not represented in this convention ; therefore, Resolved, That the convention deem it AMERICAN POLITICS. expedient at the present time not to choose between the individuals in nomination, but to leave the decision to their repub- lican fellow-citizens in the several states, trusting that before the election shall take place, their opinions will become so con- centrated as to secure the choice of a Vice- President by the electoral college. 1843. 1. Resolved, -Lilberty Platform. Buffulo, August 30. That human brotherhood is a cardinal principle of true democracy, as well as of pure Christianity, which spurns all inconsistent limitations ; and neither the political party which repudiates it, nor the political system which is not based upon it, can be truly democratic or per- manent. 2. Resolved, That the Liberty partj^ placing itself upon this broad principle, will demand the absolute and unqualified divorce of the general government from slavery, and also the restoration of equal- ity of rights among men, in every state where the partv exists, or may exist. 3. Resolved, That the Liberty party has not been organized for any temporary pur- pose by interested politicians, _ but has arisen from among the people in conse- quence of a conviction, hourly gaining ground, that no other party in the country represents the true principles of American liberty, or the true spirit of the constitu- tion of the United States. 4. Resolved, That the Liberty party has not been organized merely for the over- throw of slavery ; its first decided effort must, indeed, be directed against slave- holding as the grossest and most revolting manifestation of despotism, but it will also carry out the principle of equal rights into all its practical consequences and applica- tions, and support every just measure con- ducive to individual and social freedom. 5. Resolved, That the Liberty party is not a sectional party but a national party ; was not originated in a desire to accom- plish a single object, but in a comprehen- sive regard to the great interests of the whole country ; is not a new party, nor a third partv, but is the party of 1776, re- viving the principles of that memorable era, and striving to carry them into prac- tical application. 6. Resolved, That it was understood in the times of the declaration and the constitu- tion, that the existence of slavery in some of the states was in derogation of the prin- ciples of American liberty, and a deep stain upon the character of the country, and the implied faith of the states and the nation was pledged that slavery should never be extended beyond its then exist- ing limits, but should be gradually, and yet, at no distant day, wholly abolished by state authority. 7. Resolved, That the faith of the states and the nation thus pledged, was most nobly redeemed by the voluntary aboli- tion of slavery in several of the states, and by the adoption of the ordinance of 1787, for the government of the territory north- west of the river Ohio, then the only ter- ritory in the United States, and conse- quently the only territory subject in this respect to the control of Congress, by which ordinance slavery was forever ex- cluded from the vast regions which now compose the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and the territory of Wisconsin, and an incapacity to bear up any other than freemen was impressed on the soil itself. 8. Resolved, That the faith of the states and the nation thus pledged, has been shamefully violated by the omission, on the part of many of the states, to take any measures whatever for the abolition of slavery within their respective limits ; by the continuance of slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the territories of Louisiana and Florida ; by the legislation of Congress ; by the protection afforded by national legislation and negotiation to slaveholding in American vessels, on the high seas, employed in the coastwise Slave Traffic ; and by the extension of slavery far beyond its original limits, by acts of Congress admitting new slave states into the Union. 9. Resolved, That the fundamental truths of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- ness, was made the fundamental law of our national government, by that amend- ment of the constitution which declares that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. 10. Resolved, That we recognize as sound the doctrine maintained by slaveholding jurists, that slavery is against natun^.l rights, and strictly local, and that its ex- istence and continuance rests on no other support than state legislation, and not on any authority of Congress. 11. Resolved, That the general govern- ment has, under the constitution, no pow- er to establish or continue slavery any- where, and therefore that all treaties and acts of Congress establishing, continuing or favoring slavery in the District of Co- lumbia, in the territory of Florida, or on the high seas, are unconstitutional, and all attempts to hold men as property within the limits of exclusive national jurisdic- tion ought to be prohibited by law. 12. Resolved, That the provisions of the POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 27 constitution of the United States which confers extraordinary political j^owers on the owners of slaves, and thereby consti- tuting the two hundred and fifty thousand slaveholders in the slave states a privi- leged aristocracy ; and the provisions for the reclamation of fugitive slaves from service, are anti-republican in their char- acter, dangerous to the liberties of the peo- ple, and ought to be abrogated. 13. Resolved, That the practical opera- tion of the second of these provisions, is seen in the enactment of the act of Con- gress respecting persons escaping from their masters, which act, if the construc- tion given to it by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Prigg vs. Pennsylvania be correct, nullifies the ha- beas corpus acts of all the states^ takes away the whole legal security of per- sonal fi-eedom, and ought, therefore, to be immediately repealed. 14. Resolved, That the peculiar patron- age and support hitherto extended to slavery and slaveholding, by the general government, ought to be immediately with- drawn, and the example and influence of national authority ought to be arrayed on the side of liberty and free labor. 15. Resolved, That the practice of the general government, which prevails in the slave states, of employing slaves upon the public works, instead of fi-ee laborers, and paying aristocratic masters, with a view to secure or reward political services, is utterly indefensible and ought to be abandoned. 16. Resolved, That freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of petition, and the right of trial by jury, are sacred and inviolable ; and that all rules, regula- tions and laws, in derogation of either, are oppressive, unconstitutional, and not to be endured by a free people. 17. Resolved, That we regard voting, in an eminent degree, as a moral and reli- gious duty, which, when exercised, should be by voting for those who will do all in their power for immediate emancipation. 18. Resolved, That this convention re- commend to the friends of liberty in all those free states where any inequality of rights and privileges exists on account of color, to employ their utmost energies to remove all such remnants and effects of the slave system. Whereas, The constitution of these Uni- ted States is a series of agreements, cove- nants or contracts between the people of the United States, each with all, and all with each ; and, Whereas, It is a principle of universal morality, that the moral laws of the Crea- tor are paramount to all human laws ; or, in the language of an Apostle, that " we ought to obey God rather than men ; " and, Whereas, The principle of common law — that any contract, covenant, or agree- ment, to do an act derogatory to natural right, is vitiated and annulled by its in- herent immorality — has been recognized by one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, who in a re- cent case expressly holds that " a7ii/ con- tract that rests upon such a basis is void ;" and. Whereas, The third clause of the second section of the fourth article of the constitu- tion of the United States, when construed as providing for the surrender of a fugitive slave, does "rest upon such a basis," in that it is a contract to rob a man of a natural right — namely, his natural right to his own liberty — and is therefore ab- solutely void. Therefore, 19. Resolved, That we hereby give it to be distinctly understood by this nation and the world, that, as abolitionists, con- sidering that the strength of our cause lies in its righteousness, and our hope for it in our conformity to the laws of God, and our respect for the rights of man, we owe it to the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, as a proof of our allegiance to Him, in all our civil relations and offices, whether as pri- vate citizens, or public functionaries sworn to support the constitution of the United States, to regard and to treat the third clause of the fourth article of that instru- ment, whenever applied to the case of a fugitive slave, as utterly null and void, and consequently as forming no part of the constitution of the United States, when- ever we are called upon or sworn to sup- port it. 20. Resolved, That the power given to Congress by the constitution, to provide for calling out the militia to suppress in- surrection, does not make it the duty of the government to maintain slavery by military force, much less does it make it the duty of the citizens to form a part of such military force ; when freemen unsheathe the sword it should be to strike for liberty, not for despotism. 21. Resolved, That to preserve the peace of the citizens, and secure the blessings of freedom, the legislature of each of the free states ought to keep in force suitable statutes rendering it penal for any of its inhabi- tants to transport, or aid in transporting from such state, any person sought to be thus transported, merely because subject to the slave laws of any other state ; this remnant of independence being accorded to the free states by the decision of the Supreme Court, in the case of Prigg vs. the state of Pennsylvania. 1844.— AVhlR Platform. BiiUimore, 3[roper for carrying the granted powers into full execution, and that powers not granted or necessarily implied are reserved to the states respec- tively and to the people. Second. The state governments should be held secure to their reserved rights, and the General Government sustained in its constitutional powers, and that the Union should be revered and watched over as the palladium of our liberties. Third. That while struggling freedom everywhere enlists the warmest sympathy of the Whig party, we still adhere to the doctrines of the Father of his Country, as announced in his Farewell Address, of keeping ourselves free from all entangling alliances with foreign countries, and of never quitting our own to stand upon for- eign ground ; that our mission as a repub- lic is not to propagate our ojjinions, or im- pose on other countries our forms of gov- ernment, by artifice or force, but to teach by example, and show by our success, moderation and justice, the blessings of self-government, and the advantages of free institutions. Fourth. That, as the people make and control the government, they should obey its constitution, laws and treaties as they would retain their self-respect and the re- spect which they claim and will enforce from foreign powers. Fifth. Governments should be conduc- ted on the principles of the strictest econo- my ; and revenue sufficient for the expen- ses thereof, in time of peace, ought to be derived mainly from a duty on imports, and not from direct taxes ; and on laying such duties sound policy requires a just discrimination, and, when practicable, by specific duties, whereby suitable encour- agement may be afforded to American in- dustry, equally to all classes and to all jDortions of the country. Sixth. The constitution vests in Con- gress the power to open and repair har- bors, and remove obstructions from navi- gable rivers, whenever such improvements are necessary for the common defense, and for the protection and facility of commerce with foreign nations or among the states, said improvements being in every instance national and general in their character. Seventh. The Federal and state govern- ments are parts of one system, alike neces- sary for the common prosperity, peace and 34 AMERICAN POLITICS. security, and ought to be regarded alike with a cordial, habitual and immovable at- tachment. Respect for the authority of each, and acquiescence in the just consti- tutional measures of each, are duties re- quired by the plainest considerations of national, state and individual welfare. Eighth. That the series of acts of the 32d Congress, the act known as the Fugi- tive Slave Law included, are received and acquiesced in by the Whig party of the United States as a settlement in principle and substance of the dangerous and excit- ing questions which they embrace ; and, so far as they are concerned, we will main- tain them, and insist upon their strict en- forcement, until time and experience shall demonstrate the necessity of further legis- lation to guard against the evasion of the laws on the one hand and the abuse of their powers on the other — not impairing their present efficiency ; and we deprecate all further agitation of the question thus settled, as dangerous to our peace, and will discountenance all efforts to continue or renew such agitation whenever, where- ever or however the attempt may be made ; and we will maintain the system as essen- tial to the nationality of the Whig party, and the integrity of the Union. 1853.— Free-soQ Platform. PiUsburg, Augitsl 11. Having assembled in national conven- tion as the free democracy of the United States, united by a common resolve to maintain right against wrong, and freedom against slavery; confiding in the intelli- gence, patriotism, and discriminating jus- tice of the American people ; putting our trust in God for the triumph of our cause, and invoking His guidance in our endea- vors to advance it, we now submit to the candid judgment of all men, the following declaration of principles and measures : 1. That governments, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, are instituted among men to secure to all those inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with which they are endowed by their Creator, and of which none can be deprived by valid legislation, except for crime. 2. That the true mission of American democracy is to maintain the liberties of the people, the sovereignty of the states, and the perpetuity of the Union, by the impartial application of public affairs, without sectional discriminations, of the fundamental principles of human rights, strict justice, and an economical adminis- tration. 3. That the Federal goyernment is one of limited powers, derived solely from the constitution, and the grants of power there- in ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the government, and it is inexpedient and dangerous to ex- ercise doubtful constitutional powers. 4. That the constitution of the United States, ordained to form a more perfect Union, to establish justice, and secure the blessings of liberty, expressly denies to the general government all power to deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; and, there- fore, the government, having no more power to make a slave than to make a king, and no more power to establish slavery than to establish a monarchy, should at once proceed to relieve itself from all responsibility for the existence of slavery, wherever it possesses constitutional power to legislate for its extinction. 5. That, to the persevering and importu- nate demands of the slave power for more slave states, new slave territories, and the nationalization of slavery, our distinct and final answer is — no more slave states, no slave territory, no nationalized slavery, and no national legislation for the extra- dition of slaves. 6. That slavery is a sin against God, and a crime against man, which no human en- actment nor usage can make right ; and that Christianity, humanity, and patriot- ism alike demand its abolition. 7. That the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is repugnant to the constitution, to the prin- ciples of the common law, to the spirit of Christianity, and to the sentiments of the civilized world; we, therefore, deny its binding force on the American people, and demand its immediate and total re- peal. 8. That the doctrine that any human law is a finality, and not subject to modi- fication or repeal, is not in accordance with the creed of the founders of our gov- ernment, and is dangerous to the liberties of the people. 9. That the acts of Congress, known as the Compromise measures of 1850, by mak- ing the admission of a sovereign state con- tingent upon the adoption of other mea- sures demanded by the special interests of slavery ; by their omission to guarantee freedom in the free territories ; by their at- tempt to impose unconstitutional limita- tions on the powers of Congress and the people to admit new states ; by their pro- visions for the assumption of five millions of the state debt of Texas, and for the pay- ment of five millions more, and the cession of large territory to the same state under menace, as an inducement to the relin- quishment of a groundless claim ; and by their invasion of the sovereignty of the states and the liberties of the people, through the enactment of an unjust, op- pressive, and unconstitutional fugitive POLITICAL PLATFORMS. oO slave law, are i)roved to be inconsistent with all the principles and maxims of de- mocracy, and wholly inadequate to the settlement of the questions of which they are claimed to be an adjustment. 10. That no permanent settlement of the slavery question can be looked for ex- cept in the practical recognition of the truth that slavery is sectional and freedom national ; by the total separation of the general government from slavery, and the exercise of its legitimate and constitutional influence on the side of freedom ; and by leaving to the states the whole subject of slavery and the extradition of fugitives from service. 11. That all men have a natural right to a portion of the soil ; and that as the use of the soil is indispensable to life, the right of all men to the soil is as sacred as their right to life itself. 12. That the public lands of the United States belong to the people and should not be sold to individuals nor granted to corpora- tions, but should be held as a sacred trust for the benefit of the people, and should be granted in limited quantities, free of cost, to landless settlers. 13. That due regard for the Federal constitution, a sound administrative poli- cy, demand that the ftinds of the general government be kept separate from bank- ing institutions ; that inland and ocean postage should be reduced to the lowest possible point ; that no more revenue should be raised than is required to defray the strictly necessary expenses of the pub- lic service and to pay ofl' the public debt ; and that the power and patronage of the government should be diminished by the abolition of all unnecessary oflices, salaries and privileges, and by the election of the people of all civil officers in the service of the United States, so far as may be consist- ent with the prompt and efficient transac- tion of the public business. 14. That river and harbor improvements, when necessary to the safety and con- venience of commerce with foreign nations, or among the several states, are objects of national concern ; and it is the duty of Congress, in the exercise of its constitu- tional powers, to provide for the same. 15. That emigrants and exiles from the old world should find a cordial welcome to homes of comfort and fields of enterprise in the new ; and every attempt to abridge their privilege of becoming citizens and owners of soil among us ought to be resist- ed with inflexible determination. 16. That every nation has a clear right to alter or change its own government, and to administer its own concerns in such manner as may best secure the rights and promote the happiness of the people ; and foreign interference with that right is a dangerous violation of the law of nations. against which all independent govern- ments should protest, and endeavor by all proper means to j^revent ; and especially is it the duty of the American government, representing the chief republic of the world, to protest against, and by all pro- per means to prevent, the intervention of kings and emperors against nations seek- ing to establish for themselves republican or constitutional governments. 17. That the independence of Hayti ought to be recognized by our government, and our commercial relations with it placed on the footing of the most favored nations. 18. That as by the constitution, "the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citi- zens in the several states," the practice of imprisoning colored seamen of other states, while the vessels to which they belong lie in port, and refusing the exercise of the right to bring such cases before the Su- preme Court of the United States, to test the legality of such proceedings, is a fla- grant violation of the constitution, and an invasion of the rights of the citizens of other states, utterly inconsistent with the professions made by the slaveholders, that they wish the provisions of the constitu- tion faithfully observed by every state in the Union. 19. That we recommend the introduc- tion into all treaties hereafter to be nego- tiated between the United States and for- eign nations, of some provision for the amicable settlement of difficulties by a re- sort to decisive arbitrations. 20. That the free democratic party is not organized to aid either the Whig or Democratic wing of the great slave compro- mise party of the nation, but to defeat them both ; and that rejiudiating and re- nouncing both as hopelessly corrupt and utterly unworthy' of confidence, the pur- pose of the Free Democracy is to take pos- session of the Federal government and ad- minister it for the better protection of the rights and interests of the whole people. 21. That we inscribe on our banner Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men, and under it will fight on and fight ever, until a triumjjhant victory shall reward our exertions. 22. That upon this platform, the con- vention presents to the American people, as a candidate for the office of President of the United States, John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and as a candidate for the office of Vice-President of the United States, George W. Julian, of Indiana, and earnestly commend them to the support of all freemen and all parties. 1856.— Tbe American Platform. Adopted at Philadelphia February 21. 1, An humble acknowledgment to tho 36 AMERICAN POLITICS. Supreme Being for His protecting care vouchsafed to our fathers in their success- ful revolutionary struu:gle, and hitherto manifested to us, their descendants, in the preservation of the liberties, the indepen- dence, and the union of these states. 2. The perpetuation of the Federal Union and constitution, as the palladium of our civil and religious liberties, and the only sure bulwarks of American Lridepend- ence. 3. Americans must rule America ; and to this end native-hoYw citizens should be se- lected for all state, federal, and municipal offices of government employment, in pre- ference to all others. Nevertheless, 4. Persons born of American parents residing temporarily abroad, should be entitled to all the rights of native-born citizens. 5. No person should be selected for polit- ical station (whether of native or foreign birth), who recognizes any allegiance or obligation of any description to any foreign prince, potentate, or power, or who refuses to recognize the federal and state constitu- tions (each within its sphere) as paramount to all other laws, as rules of political ac- tion. 6. The unequaled recognition and main- tenance of the reserved rights of the several states, and the cultivation of harmony and fraternal good-will between the citizens of the several states, and, to this end, non- interference by Congress w'ith questions appertaining solely to the individual states, and non-intervention by each state with the affairs of any other state. 7. The recognition of the right of native- born and naturalized citizens of the Uni- ted States, permanently residing in any territory thereof, to frame their constitu- tion and laws, and to regulate their domes- tic and social affairs in their own mode, subject only to the provisions of the fed- eral constitution, with the privilege of ad- mission into the Union whenever they have the requisite population for one Representative in Congress: Provided, al- ways, that none but those who are citizens of the United States under the constitu- tion and laws thereof, and who have a fixed residence in any such territory, ought to participate in the formation of the con- stitution or in the enactment of laws for said territory or state. 8. An enforcement of the principles that no state or territory ought to admit others than citizens to the right of suffrage or of holding political offices of the United States. 9. A change in the laws of naturaliza- tion, making a continued residence of twenty-one years, of all not heretofore provided for, an indispensable requisite for citizenship hereafter, and excluding all paupers and persons convicted of crime from landing upon our shores ; but no in- terference with the vested rights of for- eigners. 10. Ojiposition to any union between church and state ; no interference with religious faith or worship ; and no test- oaths for office. 11. Free and thorough investigation into any and all alleged abuses of public functionaries, and a strict economy in pub- lic expenditures. 12. The maintenance and enforcement of all laws constitutionally enacted, until said laws shall be repealed, or shall be de- clared null and void by competent judicial authority. 13. Opposition to the reckless and un- wise policy of the present administration in the general management of our national affairs, and more especially as shown in removing "Americans" (by designation) and conservatives in principle, from office, and placing foreigners and ultraists in their places ; as shown in a truckling sub- serviency to the stronger, and an insolent and cowardly bravado towards the weaker powers ; as shown in reopening sectional agitation, by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise ; as shown in granting to un- naturalized foreigners the right of suffrage in Kansas and Nebraska ; as shown in its vacillating course on the Kansas and Ne- braska question ; as shown in the corrup- tions which pervade some of the depart- ments of the government ; as shown in dis- gracing meritorious naval officers through prejudice or caprice ; and as shown in the blundering mismanagement of our foreign relations. 14. Therefore, to remedy existing evils and prevent the disastrous consequences otherwise resulting therefrom, we would build up the " American Party " upon the principles hereinbefore stated. 15. That each state council shall have authority to amend their several constitu- tions, so as to abolish the several degrees, and substitute a pledge of honor, instead of other obligations, for fellowship and admission into the party, 16. A free and open discussion of all political principles embraced in our plat- form. 1856. — Democratic Platform, Adopted at Cincinruiti, June 6. Resolved, That the American democracy place their trust in the intelligence, the patriotism, and discriminating justice of the American people. Resolved, That we regard this as a dis- tinctive feature of our political creed, which we are proud to maintain before the world as a great moral element in a form of government springing from and upheld by the popular will ; and we con- POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 37 traat it with the creed and practice of federalism, under whatever name or form, which seeks to palsy the will of the con- stituent, and which conceives no imposture too monstrous for the popular credulity. Resolved, therefore, That entertaining these views, the Democratic party of this Union, through their delegates, assembled in general convention, coming together in a spirit of concord, of devotion to the doc- trines and faith of a free representative government, and appealing to their fellow citizens for the rectitude of their intentions, renew and reassert, before the American people, the declaration of princij^les avowed by them, when, on former occa- sions, in general convention, they have preseated their candidates for the popular suffrage. L That the Federal government is one of limited power, derived solely from the constitution, and the grants of jiower made therein ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the gov- ernment, and that it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtftil constitu- tional powers. 2. That the constitution does not confer upon the general government the power to commence and carry on a general system of internal improvements. 3. That the constitution does not confer authority upon the Federal government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts of the several states, contracted for local and internal improvements or other state purposes; nor would such assumption be just or expedient. 4. That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interests of one portion of our common country ; that every citizen and every section of the country has a right to demand and insist upon an equality of rights and j^rivileges, and a complete and ample protection of persons and property from domestic violence and foreign aggression. . 5. That it is the duty of every branch of the government to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in conducting our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required to de- fray the necessary expenses of the govern- ment and gradual but certain extinction of the public debt. 6. That the proceeds of the public lands ought to be sacredly applied to the national objects specified in the constitution, and that we are oi^posed to any law for the dis- tribution of such proceeds among the states, as alike inexpedient in policy and repug- nant to the constitution. 7. That Congress has no power to char- ter a national bank ; that we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to the best interests of this country, danger- ous to our republican institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place the business of the country within the control of a concentrated money power and above the laws and will of the people ; and the results of the democratic legisla- tion in this and all other financial measures upon which issues have been made between the two political parties of the country, have demonstrated to candid and practical men of all parties their soundness, safety, and utility in all businesis pursuits. 8. That the separation of the moneys of the government from banking institutions is indispensable to the safety of the funds of the government and the rights of the people. 9. That we are decidedly opposed to taking from the President the qualifietl veto power, by which he is enabled, under restrictions and responsil)ilities amply suffi- cient to guard the public interests, to sus- pend the passage of a bill whose merits can not secure the approval of two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representa- tives, until the judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, and which has savetl the American people from the corrupt and tyrannical dominion of the Bank of the United States and from a corrupting sys- tem of general internal improvements. 10. That the liberal princiisles embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of Inde- pendence, and sanctioned in the Constitu- tion, which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the democratic faith ; and every at- tempt to abridge the privilege of becom- ing citizens and owners of soil among us, ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the alien and sedition laws from our statute books. And whereas, Since the foregoing decla- ration was uniformly adopted by our prede- cessors in national conventions, an adverse political and religious te.st has been secretly organized by a party claiming to be exclusively Americans, and it is proper that the American democracy should clearly define its relations thereto; and declare its determined opposition to all secret political societies, by whatever name they may be called — Resolved, That the foundation of this union of states having been laid in, and its prosperity, expansion, and pre-eminent example in free government built upon, entire freedom of matters of religious con- cernment, and no respect of persons in re- gard to rank or place of birth, no party can justly be deemed national, constitu- tional, or in accordance with American principles, which bases its exclusive organ- ization upon religious oj)inio'ns and acci- dental birth-place. And hence a political 38 AMERICAN POLITICS. crusade in the nineteenth century, and in the United States of America, against Catholics and foreign-born, is neither justi- iied by the past history or future prospects ol' tlie country, nor in unison with the spirit of toleration and enlightened free- dom which peculiarly distinguishes the American system of jjopular government. Resolved, That we reiterate with renewed energy of purpose the well-considered declarations of former conventions upon the sectional issue of domestic slavery, and concerning the reserved rights of the states — 1. That Congress has no power under the constitution to interfere with or con- trol the domestic institutions of the several states, and that all such states are the sole and proper judges of everything apper- taining to their own affairs not prohibited by the constitution ; that all efforts of the Abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in rela- tion thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous conse- quences, and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the hap- piness of the people and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by auy friend of our political institutions. 2. That the foregoing proposition covers and was intended to embrace the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress, and therefore the Democratic party of the Union, standing on this national platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful exe- cution of the acts known as the compro- mise measures, settled by the Congress of 1850 — "the act for reclaiming fugitives from service or labor " included ; which act, being designed to carry out an express provision of the constitution, can not, Avith fidelity thereto, be repealed, or so changed as to destroy or imjiair its efficiency. 3. That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at renewing in Congress, or out of it, the agitation of the slavery ques- tion, under whatever shape or color the attempt may be made. 4. That the Democratic party will faith- fully abide by and uphold the principles laid down in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1792 and 1798, and in the report of Mr. Madison to the Virginia legislature in 1799; that it adopts these principles as constituting one of the main foundations of its political creed, and is resolved to carry them out in their obvious meaning and import. And that we may more distinctly meet the issue on which a sectional party, sub- sisting exclusively on slavery agitation, now relies to test the fidelity of the people, north and south, to the constitution and the Union — 1. Resolved, That claiming fellowship with and desiring the co-operation of all who regard the preservation of the Union under the constitution as the paramount issue, and repudiating all sectional parties and platforms concerning domestic slavery which seek to embroil the states and in- cite to treason and armed resistance to law in the territories, and whose avowed pur- pose, if consummated, must end in civil war and disunion, the American democracy recognize and adopt the principles con- tained in the organic laws establishing the territories of Nebraska and Kansas, as em- bodying the only sound and safe solution of the slavery question, upon which the great national idea of the people of this whole country can repose in its determined conservation of the TJnion, and non-inter- ference of Congress with slavery in the territories or in the District of Columbia. 2. That this was the basis of the com- promise of 1850, confirmed by both the Democratic and Whig parties in national conventions, ratified by the people in the election of 1852, and rightly applied to the organization of the territories in 1854. 3. That by the uniform application of the Democratic principle to the organiza- tion of territories and the admission of new states, with or without domestic sla- very, as they may elect, the equal rights of all the states will be preserved intact, the original compacts of the constitution main- tained inviolate, and the perpetuity and expansion of the Union insured to its ut- most capacity of embracing, in peace and harmony, every future American state that may be constituted or annexed with a re- publican form of government. Resolved, That we recognize the right of the people of all the territories, includ- ing Kansas and Nebraska, acting through the legally and fairly expressed will of the majority of the actual residents, and when- ever the number of their inhabitants justi- fies it, to form a constitution, with or with- out domestic slavery, and be admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality with the other states. Resolved, finally, That in view of the condition of 'the popular institutions in the old world (and the dangerous tendencies of sectional agitation, combined with the attempt to enforce civil and religious disa- bilities against the rights of acquiring and enjoying citizenship in our own land), a high and sacred duty is devolved, with in- creased responsibility, upon the Demo- cratic party of this country, as the party of the Union, to uphold and maintain the rights of every state, and thereby the union of the states, and to sustain and ad- vance among us constitutional liberty, by continuing to resist all monopolies and ex- clusive legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, and by a vigi- POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 39 lant and constant adherence to those prin- ciples and compromises of the constitution which are broad enough and strong enough lo embrace and uphold the Union as it WIS, the Union as it is, and the Union as it shall be, in the full ex^jression of the energies and capacity of this great and progressive people. 1. Resolved, That there are questions (connected with the foreign policy of this country which are inferior to no domestic questions whatever. The time has come for the peojjle of the United States to de- clare themselves in favor of free seas and progressive free trade throughout the world, and, by solemn manifestations, to place their moral influence at the side of their successful example. 2. Resolved, That our geographical and political position with reference to the other states of this continent, no less than the interest of our commerce and the develoj^- ment of our growing power, requires that we should hold sacred the principles in- volved in the Monroe doctrine. Their bearing and import admit of no miscon- struction, and should be applied with un- bending rigidity. 3. Resolved, That the great highway which nature, as well as the assent of states most immediately interested in its main- tenance, has marked out for free commu- nication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, constitutes one of the most impor- tant achievements realized by the spirit of modern times, in the unconquerable energy of our people ; and that result would be secured by a timely and efficient exertion of the control which we have the right to claim over it; and no power on earth should be suffered to impede or clog its progress by any interference with relations that may suit our policy to establish be- tween our government and the govern- ments of the states within whose dominions it lies ; we can under no circumstances sur- render our preponderance in the adjust- ment of all questions arising out of it. 4. Resolved, That in view of so com- manding an interest, the people of the United States cannot but sympathize with the efforts which are being made by the ])eople of Central America to regenerate that portion of the continent which covers uhe passage across the inter-oceanic isthmus. 5. Resolved, That the Democratic party will expect of the next administration that every projjcr etlbrt be made to insure our ascendency in the Gulf of Mexico, and to miintain permanent protection to the great on the line of the railroad. Resolved, That appropriations of Con- gress for the improvement of rivers anc' harbors of a national character, requiret for the accommodation and security of oui existing commerce, are authorized by the constitution, and justified by the obligation of government to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Resolved, That we invite the affiliation and co-operation of the men of all parties, however differing from us in other respects, in support of the principles herein de- clared ; and believing that the spirit of our institutions, as well as the constitution of our country, guarantees liberty of con- science and equality of rights among citi- zens, we oppose all proscriptive legislation affecting their security. 1856 AVUlg Platrorm. Baltimore, September 13. Resolved, That the Whigs of the United States, now here assembled, hereby de- clare their reverence for the constitution of the United States, their unalterable at- tachment to the National Union, and a fixed determination to do all in their power to preserve them for themselves and their posterity. They have no new princi- ples to announce ; no new platform to es- tablish ; but are content to broadly rest — where their fathers rested — upon the con- stitution of the United States, wishing no safer guide, no higher law. Resolved, That we regard with the deepest interest and anxiety the present disordered condition of our national af- fairs — a portion of the country ravaged by civil war, large sections of our population embittered by mutual recriminations; and we distinctly trace these calamities to the cul]iable neglect of duty by the present national administration. Resolved, That the government of the United States was formed by the conjunc- tion in political unity of wide-sj)read geo- graiihical sections, materially differing, not only in climate and products, but in social and domestic institutions ; and that any cause that shall permanently array the different sections of the Union in political hostility and organize parties founded only on geographical distinctions, must inevit- ably prove fatal to a continuance of the National Union. Resolved, That the Whigs of the United States declare, as a fundamental article of POLITICAL PLATFOliMS. 4i political faith, an absolute necessity for avoiding geographical parties. The dan- ger, so clearly discerned by the Father of his Country, has now become fearfully apparent in the agitation now convulsing the nation, and must be arrested at once if we would preserve our constitution and our Union from dismemberment, and the name of America from being blotted out from the family of civilized nations. Resolved, That all who revere the con- stitution and the Union, must look with •alarm at the parties in the field in the present presidential campaign — one claim- ing only to represent sixteen northern states, and the other appealing mainly to the passions and prejudices of the southern states ; that the success of either faction must add fuel to the flame which now threatens to wrap our dearest interests in a common ruin. Hesolved, That the only remedy for an evil so appalling is to support a candidate pledged to neither of the geographical sec- tions nor arrayed in political antagonism, but holding both in a just and equal regard. We congratulate the friends of the Union that such a candidate exists in Millard Fillmore. Hesolved, That, without adopting or re- ferring to the peculiar doctrines of the party which has already selected Mr. Fill- more as a candidate, we look t/^ him as a well tried and faithful friend of the consti- tution and the Union, eminent alike for his wisdom and firmness — for his justice and moderation in our foreign relations — calm and pacific temperament, so well be- coming the head of a great nation — for his devotion to the constitution in its true spirit — his inflexibility in executing the laws but, beyond all these attributes, in possessing the one transcendent merit of being a representative of neither of the two sectional parties now struggling for political supremacy. Resolred, That, in the present exigency of political aflairs, we are not called upon to discuss the subordinate questions of ad- ministration in the exercising of the con- stitutional powers of the government. It is enough to know that civil war is raging, and tliat the Union is in peril ; and we proclaim the conviction that the restora- tion of Mr. Fillmore to the presidency will furnish the best if not the only means of restoring peace. and at the same time to widen the political divisions of the countryj by the creation and encouragement of geographical and sectional parties ; therefore, Resolved, That it is both the part of patriotism and of duty to recognize no po- litical principles other than The Consti- tution OF THE Country, the Union of THE States, and the Enforcement of THE Laws ; and that as representjjtives of the Constitutional Union men of the coun- try, in national convention assembled, w« hereby pledge ourselves to maintain, pro- tect, and defend, separately and unitedly, these great principles of public liberty and national safety against all enemies at home and abroad, believing that thereby peace may once more be restored to the country, the rights of the people and of the states re-estiiblished, and the government again placed in that condition of justice, frater- nity, and equality, which, under the exam- ple and constitution of our fathers, has solemnly bound every citizen of the United States to maintain a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquil- lity, provide for the common defense, pro- mote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to oun^elves and our posterity. I860.— Constitutional Union Platform. BaUimore, May 9. Whereas, Experience has demonstrated that platforms adopted by the partisan conventions of the country have had the effect to mislead and deceive the people. 1860.-Repnbllcan Platform, Chicago, May 17. Resolved, That we, the delegated repre- sentatives of the Republican electors of the United States, in convention assembled, in discharge of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the following declarations; 1. That the history of the nation, dur- ing the last four years, has fully establish- ed the propriety and necessity of the or- ganization and perpetuation of the Re- publican party, and that the causes which called it into existence are permanent in their nature, and now, utoie than ever be- fore, demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph. 2. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Inde- pendence and embodied in the federal constitution, " That all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creatrotert the natural 44 AMERICAN POLITICS. ized citizeu iu all his rights, whether at home or in foreign lands, to the same ex- tent as its native-horn citizens. Whereas, One of the greatest necessi- ties of the age, in a political, commercial, postal, and military point of view, is a speedy communication between the Pa- cific and Atlantic coasts ; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Democratic ])arty do hereby j^ledge themselves to use every laeajis in their power to secure the passage of some bill, to the extent of the constitu- tional authority of Congress, for the con- struction of a Pacific railroad from the iVi ississippi river to the Pacific ocean, at lh(- earliest practicable moment. President shall be elected by a direct vote of the people. 12. That the question of the reconstruc- tion of the rebellious states belongs to the people, through their representatives in Congress, and not to the Executive. 13. That the confiscation of the lands of the rebels, and their distribution among the soldiers and actual settlers, is a mea- sure of justice. 1864 Radical Platforiu. GleneJ^und, May 'M. 1 . That the Federal Union shall be pre- served. 2. That the constitution and laws of the United Htatas must be observed and obeyed. 3. That the Rebellion must be sup- pressed by force of arms, and without com- promise. 4. That the rights of free speech, free [•ress and the habeas corpus be held invio- late, save in districts where martial law has been i)roclaimed. 5. That the Rebellion has destroyed aiavery ; and the federal constitution should be so amended as to prohibit its re-establinhmeut, and to secure to all men absolute equality before the law. 6. That integrity and economy are de- manded, at all times in the administration of the government, and that in time of war the want of them is criminal. 7. That the right of asylum, except for crime and subject to law, is a recognized principle of American liberty ; and that any violation of it can not be overlooked, and must not go unrcbuked. 8. That the national policy known as the " Monroe Doctrine " has become a re- cognized principle ; and that the estab- lishment of an anti-republican govern- ment on this continent by any foreign power can not be tolerated. 9. That the gratitude and support of ijie nation are <.lue to the faithful soldiers and the earnest leaders of the Union army and navy, for their heroic achievement tmd deathless valor in defense of our ira- f>eriled country and of civil liberty. 10. That the one-term i)olicy for the pre.sidency, adopted by the people, is Btrengthene-d by the force of the existing crisis, and should be maintained by con- stitutional amendment. 11. That the constitution should be so am ended that the President and Vice- 1864. -Republican. Platform. Baltimore, June 7. Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to maintain, against all their enemies, the integrity of the union and the paramount authority of the constitution and laws of the United States ; and that, laying aside all differ- ences of political opinions, we pledge our- selves, as Union men, animated by a com- mon sentiment and aiming at a common object, to do everything in our power to aid the government in quelling, by force of arms, the Rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bringing to the pun- ishment due to their crimes the rebels and traitors arrayed against it. Resolved, That we approve the determi- nation of the government of the United States not to compromise with rebels, nor to offer them any terms of peace, except such as may be based upon an " uncondi- tional surrender " of their hostility and a return to their allegiance to the constitu- tion and laws of the United States ; and that we call upon the government to main- tain this position, and to prosecute the war with the utmost possible vigor to the complete suppression of the Rebellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing pa- triotism, the heroic valor, and the undying devotion of the American people to the country and its free institutions. Resolved, That as slavery was the cause, and now constitutes the strength, of this Rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere hostile to the principles of re- j)ublican government, justice and the na- tional safety demand its utter and com- plete extirpation from the soil of the Re- public ; and that we uj>hold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the government, in its own defense, has aimed a death-blow at the gigantic evil. We are in favor, furthermore, of such an amend- ment to the constitution, to be made by the people in conformity with its provis- ions, as shall terminate and forever pro- hibit the existence of slavery within the limits or the jurisdiction of the United States. Resolved, That the thanks of the Amer- ican people are due to the soldiers and sailors of the army and navy, who have periled their lives in defense of their POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 45 country and in vindication of the honor of its flag ; that the nation owes to them some permanent recognition of their pa- triotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provision for those of their survivors who have received disabling and liDuorable wounds in the service of the ("luatry; and that the memories of those \vho have fallen in its defense shall be K'ld iu grateful and everlasting remem- brance. Resolved, That we approve and applaud the practical wisdom, the unselfish patri- otism, and the unswerving fidelity to the constitution and the principles of Ameri- can liberty with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, the great duties and responsibilities of the presidential office ; that we approve and indorse, as demanded by the emergency and essential to the preservation of the nation, and as within the provisions of the constitution, the measures and acts which he has adopt- ed to defend the nation against its open ^md secret foes ; that we approve, especial- ly, the Proclamation of Emancipation, and the employment, as Union soldiers, of men heretofore held in slavery ; and that we have full confidence in his deter- mination to carry these, and all other con- stitutional measures essential to the salva- tion of the country, into full and complete effect. Resolved, That we deem it essential to the general welfare that harm )ny should prevail in the national councils, and we regard as worthy of public confidence and official trust those only who cordially in- dorse the principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which should characterize the administration of the government. Resolved, That the government owes to all men employed in its armies, without regard to distinction of color, the fiill pro- tection of the laws of war ; and that any violation of these law-', or of the usages of civilized nations in the time of war, by the rebels now in arms, should be made the subject of prompt and lull redress. Resolved, That foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development of resources, and increase of power to this nation — the asy- lum of the oppressed of all nations — should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy. Resolved, That we are in favor of the speedy construction of the railroad to the Pacific coast. Resolved, That the national faith, pledged for the redemption of the public debt, must be kept inviolate ; and that, for this pur- pose, we recommend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures and a vigorous and just system of taxa- ti-);i ; ami that it i-; the dutv of cverv loyal state to sustain the credit and promote the use of the national currency. Resolved, That we approve the position taken by the government, that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference the attempt of any European power to overthrow by force, or to sup- plant by fraud, the institutions of any re- publican government on the western con- tinent, and that they will view with ex- treme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and independence of this, our country, the efforts of any such power to obtain new footholds for monarchical governments, sustained by a foreign military force, in near proximity to the United States. 1864r.— Democratic Platform. Chicago, Augutt 29. Resolved, That in the future, as in the past, we will adhere with unswerving fidel- ity to the Union under the constitution, as the only solid foundation of our strength, security, and happiness as a peo- ple, and as a frame-work of government equally conducive to the welfare and pros- perity of all the states, both northern and southern. Resolved, That this convention does ex- plicitly declare, as the sense of the Ameri- can people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under the pretense of a military necessity of a war power higher than the constitution, the constitution it- self has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare demand that immediate eftbrts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of all the states, or other peaceable means, to the end that, at the earliest practicable mon^ent, peace may be restored on the basis of the federal union of all the states. Resolved, That the direct interference of the military authority of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware, was a shameful violation of the constitution ; and the repetition of such acts in the ap- proaching election will be held as revolu- tionary, and resisted with all the means and power under our contrel. Resolved, That the aim and object of the Democratic party is to preserve the Fede- ral Union and the riglits of the states un- impaired ; and they hereby declare that they consider the administrative usurpa- tion of extraordinary and dangerous pow- ers not granted by the constitution, the subversion of the civil by the military law in states not in insurrection, the arbitrary 46 AMERICAN POLITICS. military arrest, imprisonment, trial, and sentence of American citizens in states where civil law exists in full force, the suppression of freedom of speech and of the jiress, the denial of the right of asy- lum, the open and avowed disregard of state rights, the employment of unusual test-oaths, and the interference with and denial of the right of the people to bear arms in their defense, as calculated to prevent a restoration of the Union and the perpetuation of a government deriving its just powers from the consent of the gov- erned. Resolved, That the shameful disregard of the administration to its duty in respect to our fellow-citizens who now are, and long have been, prisoners of war, in a suffering condition, deserves the severest reproba- tion, on the score alike of public policy and common humanity. Resolved, That the sympathy of the De- mocratic party is heartily and earnestly extended to the soldiery of our army and the sailors of our navy, who are and have been in the field and on the sea under the flag of their country ; and, in the event of our attaining power, they will receive all the care and protection, regard and kind- ness, that the brave soldiers of the Repub- lic have so nobly earned. 1868. Republican Platform. Chicago, May 20. 1. We congratulate the country on the assured success of the reconstruction poli- cy of Congress, as evinced by the adoption, in the majority of the states lately in rebel- lion, of constitutions securing equal civil and political rights to all ; and it is the duty of the government to sustain those institutions and to prevent the people of such states from being remitted to a state of anarchy. 2. The guarantee by Congress of equal suffrage to all loyal men at the south was demanded by every consideration of pub- lic safety, of gratitude, and of justice, and must be maintained ; while the question of suffrage in all the loyal states properly be- longs to the people of those states. 3. We denounce all forms of repudiation as a national crime ; and the national honor requires the payment of the public indebtedness in the uttermost good faith to all creditors at home and abroad, not only according to the letter but the spirit of the laws under which it was con- tracted. 4. It is due to the labor of the nation that taxation should be equalized and re- duced as rapidly as the national faith will permit. 5. The national debt, contracted as it has been for the preservation of the Union for all time to ^come, should be extended over a fair period for redemption ; and it is the duty of Congress to reduce the rate of interest thereon whenever it can be honest- ly done. 6. That the best policy to diminish our burden of debts is to so improve our credit that capitalists will seek to loan us money at lower rates of interest than we now pay and must continue to pay, so long as re pudiation, partial or total, open or covert is threatened or suspected. 7. The government of the United States should be administered with the strictest economy ; and the corruptions which have been so shamefully nursed and fostered by Andrew Johnson call loudly for radical re- form. 8. We profoundly deplore the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln, and regret the accession to the presidency of Andrew Johnson, who has acted treacherously to the people who elected him and the cause he was pledged to support ; who has usurped high legislative and judicial functions ; who has refused to execute the laws ; who has used his high office to induce other officers to ignore and violate the laws ; who has employed his executive powers to render insecure the property, the peace, liberty, and life of the citizen ; who has abused the pardoning power ; who has denounced the national legislature as un- constitutional ; who has persistently and corruptly resisted, by every means in his power, every proper attempt at the recon- struction of the states lately in rebellion ; who has perverted the public patronage into an engine of wholesale corruption ; and who has been jtistly imj)eached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and pro- perly pronounced guilty thereof by the vote of thirty -five Senators. 9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers, that because a man is once a subject he is always so, must be resisted at every hazard by the United States, as a relic of feudal times, not au- thorized by the laws of nations, and at war with our national honor and independence. Naturalized citizens are entitled to pro- tection in all their rights of citizenship as though they were native-born ; and no citizen of the United States, native or na- turalized, must be liable to arrest and im- prisonment by any foreign power for acte done or words spoken in this country ; and, if so arrested and imprisoned, it is the duty of the government to interfere in his behalf. 10. Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late war, there were none entitled to more special honor than the brave soldiers and seamen who endured the hardships of campaign and cruise, and imperiled their lives in the service of the country. The POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 47 bounties and pensions provided by the laws for these brave defenders of the na- tion are obligations never to be forgotten ; the widows and orphans of the gallant dead are the wards of the people — a sacred legacy bequeathed to the nation's protect- ing care. 11. Foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the wealth, de- velopment, and resources, and increase of power to this Republic, the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy. 12. This convention declares itself in sympathy with all oppressed people who are struggling for their rights. 13. That we highly commend the spirit of magnanimity and forbearance with which men who have served in the Rebel- lion, but who now frankly and honestly co-operate with us in restoring the peace of the country and reconstructing the southern state governments upon the basis of impartial justice and equal rights, are re- ceived back into the communion of the loyal people ; and we favor the removal of the disqualifications and restrictions im- posed upon the late I'ebels, in the same measure as the spirit of disloyalty shall die out, and as may be consistent with the safety of the loyal people. 14. That we recognize the great princi- ples laid down in the immortal Declara- tion of Independence, as the true founda- tion of democratic government; and we hail with gladness every effort toward making these principles a living reality on every inch of American soil. 1868. — Democratic Platform. New York, July 4. The Democratic party, in national con- vention assembled, reposing its trust in the intelligence, patriotism, and "discrimi- nating justice of the people, standing upon the constitution as the foundation and limitation of the powers of the government and the guarantee of the liberties of the citizen, and recognizing the questions of slavery and secession as having been set- tled, for all time to come, by the war or voluntary action of the southern states in constitutional conventions assembled, and never to be revived or reagitated, do, with the return of peace, demand — 1. Immediate restoration of all the states to their rights in the Union under the con- stitution, and of civil government to the American people. 2. Amnesty for all past political offenses, and the regulation of the elective franchise in the states by their citizens. 3. Payment of all the public debt of the United States as rapidly as practicable — all money drawn from the people by taxa: tion, except so much as is requisite for the necessities of the government, economically administered, being honestly applied to such payment ; and where the obligations of the government do not expressly state upon their face, or the law under Vhich they were issued does not provide that they shall be paid in coin, they ought, in right and injustice, to be paid in the law- ful money of the United States. 4. Equal taxation of every species of property according to its real value, in- cluding government bonds and other pub- lic securities. 5. One currency for the government and the people, the laliorer and the office- holder, the pensioner and the soldier, the producer and the bondholder. 6. Economy in the administration of the government ; the reduction of the standing army and navy; the abolition of the Freed- men's Bureau and all political instrumen- talities designed to secure negro suprema- cy ; simplification of the system and dis- continuance of inquisitorial modes of as- sessing and collecting internal revenue; that the burden of taxation may be equal- ized and lessened, and the credit of the government and the currency made good ; the repeal of all enactments for enrolling the state militia into national forces in time of peace ; and a tariff' for revenue upon foreign imports, and such equal taxa- tion under the internal revenue laws ^as will afford incidental protection to domes- tic manufactures, and as will, without im- pairing the revenue, impose the least bur- den upon, and best promote and encourage, the great industrial interests of the coun- try. 7. Reform of abuses in the administra- tion ; the expulsion of corrupt men from office ; the abrogation of useless officers ; the restoration of rightful authority to, and the independence of, the executive and judicial departments of the government; the subordination of the military to the civil poAver, to the end that the usurpa- tions of Congress and the despotism of the sword may cease. 8. Equal rights and protection for na- turalized and native-born citizens, at home and abroad ; the assertion of American na- tionality which shall command the re- spect of foreign powers, and furnish an example and encouragement to people struggling for national integrity, 'constitu- tional liberty and individual rights ; and the maintenance of the rights of natural- ized citizens against the absolute doctrine of immutable allegiance and the claims of foreign powers to punish them for alleged crimes committed beyond their jurisdic- tion. In demanding these measures and re- forms, we arraign the Radi';al party for its 48 AMEKICAN POLITICS. disregard of right and the unparalleled oppression and tyranny which have marked its career. After the most solemn and unanimous pledge of both Houses of Congress to prosecute the war exclusively for the maintenance of the government and the preservation of the Union under the constitution, it has repeatedly violated the most sacred pledge under which alone was rallied that noble volunteer army which carried our flag to victory. Instead of restoring the Union, it has, so far as in its power, dissolved it, and subjected ten states, in time of profound peace, to mili- tary despotism and negro supremacy. It has nullified there the right of trial by jury; it has abolished the habeas corpus, that most sacred writ of liberty ; it has overthrown the freedom of speech and press; it has substituted arbitrary seizures and arrests, and military trials and secret star-chamber inquisitions, for the consti- tutional tribunals ; it has disregarded, in time of peace, the right of the people to be free from searches and seizures ; it has entered the post and telegraph offices, and even the private rooms of individuals, and seized their private papers and letters, without any specific charge or notice of affidavit, as required by the organic law. It has converted the American capitol into a bastile ; it has established a system of spies and official espionage to which no constitutional monarchy of Europe would now dare to resort. It has abolished the right of appeal, on important constitutional questions, to the supreme judicial tribu- nals, and threatens to curtail or destroy its original jurisdiction, which is irrevoca- bly vested by the constitution ; while the learned Chief Justice has been subjected to the most atrocious calumnies, merely because he would not prostitute his high office to the support of the false and parti- san charges preferred against the Presi- dent. Its corruption and extravagance have exceeded anything known in history; and, by its frauds and monopolies, it has nearly doubled the burden of the debt created by the war. It has stripped the President' of his constitutional power of ippointment, even of his own cabinet, tinder its repeated assaults, the pillars of the government are rocking on their base ; and should it succeed in November next, and inaugurate its President, we will meet, as a subjected and conquered people, amid the ruins of liberty and the scattered fragments of the constitution. And we do declare and resolve that ever since the people of the United States threw off all subjection to the British crown, the privilege and trust of suffrage have belonged to the several states, and have been granted, regulated, and con- trolled exclusively by the political power of each state respectively ; and that any attempt by Congress, on any pretext what- ever, to deprive any state of this right, or interfere with its exercise, is a flagrant usurpation of power which can find no Avarrant in the constitution, and, if sanc- tioned by the people, will subvert our form of government, and can only end in a single, centralized, and consolidated, gov- ernment, in which the separate existence of the states will be entirely absorbed, and an unqualified despotism be established in place of a federal union of co-equal states. And that we regard the construction acts (so called) of Congress as usurpations, and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void. That our soldiers and sailors, who car- ried the flag of our country to victory against the most gallant and determined foe, must ever be gratefully remembered, and all the guarantees given in their favor must be faithfully carried into execution. That the public lands should be dis- tributed as widely as possible among the people, and should be disposed of either under the pre-emption of homestead lands or sold in reasonable quantities, and to none but actual occupants, at the minimum price established by the government. When grants of public lands may be al- lowed, necessary for the encouragement of important public improvements, the pro- ceeds of the sale of such lands, and not the lands themselves, should be so applied. That the President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, in exercising the power of his high office in resisting the aggres- sions of Congress upon the constitutional rights of the states and the people, is en- titled to the gratitude of the Avhole Ameri- can people ; and, on behalf of the Demo- cratic party, we tender him our thanks for his patriotic efforts in that regard. Upon this platform, the Democratic party appeal to ever>' patriot, including all the conservative element and all who de- sire to support the constitution and restore the Union, forgetting all past differences of opinion, to unite with us in the present great struggle for the liberties of the peo- ple; and that to all such, to whatever party they may have heretofore belonged, we extend the right hand of fellowship, and hail all such, co-operating with us, as friends and brethren. Resolved, That this convention sympa- thizes cordially with the workingmen of the United States in their efforts to protect the rights and interests of the laboring classes of the country. Resolved, That the thanks of the con- vention are tendered to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, for the justice, dignit>', and impartiality with which he presided over the court of impeachment ou th» trial of President Andrew Johnson. POLITICAL PLATFOiLMS. 49 1S7!J.— Labor Reform Platform. Columbus, February 21. We hold that all political power is in- herent in the people, and free government founded on their authority and established for their benefit ; that all citizens are equal in political rights, entitled to the largest religious and poliiical liberty compatible with the good order of society, as also the use and enjoyment of the fruits of their labor and talents ; and no man or set of men is entitled to exclusive separable en- dowments and privileges or immunities from the government, but in consideration of public services ; and any laws destruc- tive of these fundamental principles are without moral binding force, and should be repealed. And believing that all the evils resulting from unjust legislation now affecting the industrial classes can be re- moved by the adoption of the principles contained in the following declaration : therefore. Resolved, That it is the duty of the gov- ernment to establish a just standard of distrilnition of capital and labor, by provid- ing a purely national circulating medium, based on the faith and resources of the na- tion, issued directly to the people without the intervention of any system of banking corporations, which money shall be legal tender in the payment of all debts, public and private, and interchangeable, at the option of the holder, for government bonds bearing a rate of interest not to ex- ceed 3.65 per cent., subject to future legis- lation by Congress. 2. That the national debt should be paid in good faith, according to the original contract, at the earliest option of the gov- ernment, without mortgaging the property of the people or the future exigencies of Jabor to enrich a few capitalists at home >and abroad. 3. That justice demands that the burdens of government should be so adjusted as to bear equally on all classes, and that the exemption from taxation of government bonds bearing extravagant rates of inter- est, is a violation of all just principles of revenue laws. 4. That the public lands of the United States belong to the people, and should not be sold to individuals nor granted to corporations, but should be held as a sa- cred trust for the benefit of the people, and .should be granted to landless settlers only, in amounts not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres of land. 5. That Congress should modify the tariff 9o as to admit free such articles of common use as we can neither produce nor grow, and lay duties for revenue mainly upon articles of luxury and upon such ar- ticles of manufacture as will, we having the raw materials, assist in further develop- ing the resources of the country-. 6. That the presence in our country of Chinese laborers, imported by capitalists in large numbers for servile use is an evil entailing want and its attendant train of misery and crime on all classes of the American people, and should be prohib- ited by legislation. 7. That we ask for the enactment of a law by which all mechanics and day-la- borers employed by or on behalf of the government, whether directly or indirectly, through persons, firms, or corporations, contracting with the state, shall conform to the reduced standard of eight hours a day, recently adopted by Congress for na- tional employes ; and also for an amend- ment to the acts of incorporation for cities and towns, by which all laborers and me- chanics employed at their expense shall conform to the same number of hours. 8. That the enlightened spirit of the age demands the abolition of the system of contract labor in our prisons and other re- formatory institutions. 9. That the protection of life, liberty, and property are the three cardinal prin- ciples of government, and the first two are more sacred than the latter ; therefore, money needed for prosecuting wars should, a« it is required, be assessed and collected from the wealthy of the country, and not entailed as a burden on posterity. 10. That it is the duty of the govern- ment to exercise its power over railroads and telegraph corporations, that th<^y shall not in any case be privileged to exact such rates of freight, transportation, or charges, by whatever name, as may bear unduly or unequally upon the producer or consumer. 11. That there should be such a reform in the civil service of the national govern- ment as will remove it beyond all partisan influence, and place it in the charge and under the direction of intelligent and com- petent business men. 12. That as both history and experience teach us that power ever seeks to perpetu- ate itself by every and all means, and that its prolonged possession in the hands of one person is always dangerous to the in- terests of a free people, and believing that the spirit of our organic laws and the sta- bility and safety of our free institutions are best obeyed on the one hand, and secured on the other, by a regular constitutional change in the chief of the country at each election ; therefore, we are in favor of limiting the occupancy of the presidential chair to one term. 13. That we are in favor of granting general amnesty and restoring the Union at once on the basis of equality of rights and privileges to all, the impartial adminis- tration of justice being tlie only true bond of union to bind the states together and re- store the government of the people. 14. That we demand the subjection of 50 AMERICAN POLITICS. the military to the civil authorities, and the confinement of its operations to nation- al purposes alone. 15. That we deem it expedient for Con- gress to supervise the patent laws so as to give labor more fully the benefit of its own ideas and inventions. 16. That fitness, and not political or per- sonal considerations, should be the only recommendation to public office, either ap- pointive or elective ; and any and all laws looking to the establishment of this prin- ciple are heartily approved. 1872.— ProKlljition Platform. Columbus, Ohio, February 22. The preamble recites that protection and allegiance are reciprocal duties ; and every citizen who yields obediently to the full commands of government should be pro- tected in all enjoyment of personal security, personal liberty, and private property. That the traffic in intoxicating drinks greatly impairs the personal security and personal liberty of a great mass of citizens, and renders private property insecure. That all political parties are hopelessly un- willing to adopt an adequate policy on this question : Therefore, as a national conven- tion, we adopt the following declaration of principles : That while we acknowledge the pure patriotism and profound statesmanship of those patriots who laid the foundation of this government, securing at once the rights of the states severally and their in- separable union by the federal constitution, we would not merely garnish the sepulchres of our republican fathers, but we do hereby renew our pledges of solemn fealty to the imperishable principles of civil and reli- gious liberty embodied in the Declaration of Independence and our federal constitu- tion. That the traffic in intoxicating beverages is a dishonor to Christian civilization, a political wrong of unequalled enormity, subversive of ordinary objects of govern- ment, not capable of being regulated or re- strained by any system of license whatever, and imperatively demands, for its suppres- sion, effective legal prohibition, both by state and national leg^'^lation. That there can be no greater peril to a nation than existing party competition for the liquor vote. That any party not op- posed to the traffic, experience shows will engage in this competition — will court the favor of criminal classes— will barter away the public morals, the purity of the ballot, and every object of good government, for party success. That, as prohibitionists, we will individ- ually use all eiforts to persuade men from the use of intoxicating liquors ; and we in- vite all persons to assist in this movement. That competence, honesty, and sobriety are indispensable qualifications for holding office. That removals from public office for mere political differences of opinion are wrong. That fixed and moderate salaries of pub- lic officers should take the places of fees and perquisites ; and that all means should be taken to prevent corruption and encourage economy. That the President and Vice-President should be elected directly by the people. That we sre in favor of a sound national currency, adequate to the demands of bus- iness, and convertible into gold and silver at the will of the holder, and the adoption of every measure compatible with justice and public safety to appreciate our present currency to the gold standard. That the rates of ocean and inland post^ age, and railroad telegraph lines and water transportation, should be made as low as possible by law. That we are opposed to all discrimination in favor of ca})ital against labor, as well as all monopoly and class legislation. That the removal of the burdens imposed in the traffic in intoxicating drinks will emancipate labor, and will practically pro- mote labor reform. That suffrage should be granted to all persons, without regard to sex. That the fostering and extension of com- mon schools is a primary duty of the gov- ernment. That a liberal policy should be pursued to promote foreign immigration. 18T3.— Iill>eral RepuWican Platform. Cincintiali, May 1. We, the Liberal Republicans of the United States, in national convention as- sembled at Cincinnati, proclaim the follow- ing principles as essential to just govern- ment. 1. We recognize the equality of all men before the law, and hold that it is the duty of government, in its dealings with the people, to mete out equal and exact justice to all, of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or political. 2. We pledge ourselves to maintain the union of these states, emancipation, and enfranchisement, and to oppose any re- opening of the questions settled by the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth aniend- ments of the constitution. 3. We demand the immediate and abso- lute removal of all disabilities imposed on account of the Rebellion, which wa- fi'a'.ly subdued seven vears ago, bclieviiiii that POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 51 universal amnesty will result in complete pacification in all sections of the country. 4. Local self-government, with impartial sufirage, will guard the rights of all citi- gens more securely than any centralized power. The public welfare requires the supremacy of the civil over the military authority^ and the freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus. We demand for the individual the largest lib- erty consistent with public order, for the state self-government, and for the nation a return to the methods of peace and the constitutional limitations of power. 5. The civil service of the government has become a mere instrument of partisan tyranny and personal ambition, and an ob- ject of selfish greed. It is a scandal and reproach upon free institutions, and breeds a demoralization dangerous to the per- petuity of republican government. We, therefore, regard a thorough reform of the civil service as one of the most pressing necessities of the hour ; that honesty, ca- pacity, and fidelity constitute the only valid claims to public employment ; that the of- fices of the government cease to be a mat- ter of arbitrary favoritism and patronage, and that public station shall become again a post of honor. To this end, it is impera- tively required that no President shall be a candidate for re-election. 6. We demand a system of federal taxa- tion which shall not unnecessarily interfere with the industry of the people, and which shall provide the means necessary to pay the expenses of the government, economi- cally administered, the pensions, the inter- est on the public debt, and a moderate re- duction annually of the principal thereof; and recognizing that there are in our midst honest but irreconcilable differences of opinion with regard to the respective sys- tems of protection and free trade, we remit the discussion of the subject to the jieople in their congressional districts and the de- cision of Congress thereon, wholly free from Executive interference or dictation. 7. The public credit must be sacredly maintained, and we denounce repudiation in every form and guise. 8. A speedy return to specie payment is demanded alike by the highest considera- tions of commercial morality and honest government. 9. We remember with gratitude the hero- ism and sacrifices of the soldiers and sailors of the Republic ; and no act of ours shall ever detract from their justly earned fame or the full rewards of their patriotism. 10.. We are opposed to all further grants of lands to railroads or other cor])orations. The public domain should be held sacred fo actual settlers. 11. We hoia that it is the duty of the government, in its intercourse with foreign natidM-. 'o cultivate the fricndshii)s of peace, by treating with all on fair and equal terms, regarding it alike dishonorable either to demand what is not right or sub- mit to what is wrong. 12. For the promotion and success of these vital principles and the support of the candidates nominated by this conven- tion, we invite and cordially welcome the co-operation of all patriotic citizens, with- out regard to previous political afiiliatioua. 1S7S.— Democratic Platform, BaUimore, July 9 We, the Democratic electors of the United States, in convention assembled, do present the following principles, already adopted at Cincinnati, as essential to just government : [Here followed the " Liberal Republican Platform ;" which see above.] 187ii.— Republican Platform, Philadelphia, June 5. ^ The Republican party of the United States, assembled in national convention in the city of Philadelphia, on the 5th and 6th days of June, 1872, again declares its faith, appeals to its history, and announces its position upon the questions before the country ; 1. During eleven years of supremacy it has accepted, with grand courage, the sol- emn duties of the time. It suppressed a gigantic rebellion, emancipated four mil- lions of slaves, decreed the equal citizenship of all, and established universal suffrage. Exhibiting unparalleled magnanimity, it criminally punished no man for political offenses, and warmly welcomed all who proved their loyalty by obeying the laws and dealing justly with their neighbors. It has steadily decreased, with firm hand, the resultant disorders of a great war, and initiated a wise and humane policy toward the Indians. The Pacific railroad and similar vast enterprises have been gener- ously aided and successfully conducted, the public lands freely given to actual settlers, immigration protected and encouraged, and a full acknowledgment of the natural- ized citizen's rights secured from European powers. A uniform national currency has been provided, repudiation frowned down, the national credit sustained under the most extraordinary burdens, and new bonds negotiated at lower rates. The rev- enues have been carefully collected and honestly applied. Despite annual large reductions of the rates of taxation, the public debt has been reduced during Gen- eral Grant's presidency at the rate of a hundred millions a year, great financial 52 AMERICAN POLITICS. crises have been avoided, and peace and plenty prevail throughout the land. Me- nacing foreign difficulties have been peace- fully and honorably compromised, and the honor and power of the nation kept in high respect throughout the world. This glorious record of the past is the party's best pledge for the future. We believe the people will not intrust the government to any party or combination of men composed chiefly of those who have resisted every step of this beneficent progress. 2. The recent amendments to the national constitution should be cordially sustained because they are right, not merely tolerated because they are law, and should be carried out according to their spirit by appropriate legislation, the enforcement of which can safely be intrusted only to the party that secured those amendments. 3. Complete liberty and exact equality in the enjoyment of all civil, political, and public rights should be established and effectually maintained throughout the Union by efficient and appropriate state and federal legislation. Neither the law nor its administration should admit any discrimination in respect to citizens by reason of race, creed, color, or previous condition of servitude. 4. The national government should seek to maintain honorable peace with all na- tions, protecting its citizens everywhere, and sympathizing with all peoples who strive for greater liberty. 6. Any system of civil service under which the subordinate positions of the government are considered rewards for mere party zeal is fatally demoralizing ; and we, therefore, favor a reform of the system, by laws which shall abolish the evils of patronage, and make honesty, efficiency, and fidelity the essential quali- fications for public positions, without prac- tically creating a life tenure of office. 6. We are opposed to further grants of the public lands to corporations and mo- nopolies, and demand that the national domain be set apart for free homes for the people. 7. The annual revenue, after paying cur- rent expenditures, pensions, and the inter- est on the public debt, should furnish a moderate balance for the reduction of the principal ; and that revenue, except so much as may be derived from a tax upon tobacco and liquors, should be raised by duties upon importations, the details of whicli should be so adjusted as to aid in securing remunerative wages to labor, and promote the industries, prosperity, and growth of the whole country. 8. We hold in undying honor the sol- diers and sailors whose valor saved the Union. Their jiensions are a sacred debt of the nation, and the widows and orjihans of those who died for their country are en- titled to the care of a generous and grate- ful people. We favor such additional legis- lation as will extend the bounty of the government to all our soldiers and sailor* who were honorably discharged, and who j in the line of duty became disabled, with- out regard to the length of service or the ! cause of such discharge. I 9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers concerning alle- giance — "once a subject always a subject" — • having at last, through the efforts of the Republican party, been abandoned, and the American idea of the individual's right to transfer allegiance having been accepted by European nations, it is the duty of our government to guard with jealous care the rights of adopted citizens against the as- sumption of unauthorized claims by their former governments, and we urge contin- ued careful encouragement and protection of voluntary immigration. 10. The franking privilege ought to be abolished, and a way prepared for a speedy reduction in the rates of jjostage. 11. Among the questions which press for attention is that which concerns the rela- tions of capital and labor ; and the Re- publican party recognizes the duty of so shaping legislation as to secure full pro- tection and the amplest field for capital, and for labor, the creator of capital, the largest opportunities and a just share of the mutual profits of these two great ser- vants of civilization. 12. We hold that Congress and the President have only fulfilled an imperative duty in their measures for the suppression of violence and treasonable organizations in certain lately rebellious regions, and for the protection of the ballot-box ; and, therefore, they are entitled to the thanks of the nation. 13. We denounce repudiation of the public debt, in any form or disguise, as a national crime. We witness Avith pride the reduction of the principal of the debt, and of the rates of interest upon the bal- ance, and confidently expect that our ex- cellent national currency will be perfected by a speedy resumption of specie payment. 14. The Republican party is mindful of its obligations to the loyal women of America for their noble devotion to the cause of freedom. Their admission to wider fields of usefulness is viewed with satisfaction ; and the honest demand of any class of citizens for additional rights should be treated Avith respectful considera- tion. 15. We heartily approve the action of Congress in extending amnesty to those lately in rebellion, and rejoice in the growth j of peace and fraternal feeling throughout the land. ' 16. The Republican party proposes to respect the rights reserved by the people to POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 53 themselves as carefully as the powers dele- gated by them to the states and to the federal government. It disapproves of the resort to unconstitutional laws for the pur- pose of removing evils, by interference with rights not surrendered by the people to either the state or national government. 17. It is the duty of the general govern- ment to adopt such measures as may tend to encourage and restore American com- merce and ship-building. 18. We believe that the modest patriot- ism, the earnest purpose, the sound judg- ment, the practical wisdom, the incorrupti- ble integrity, and the illustrious services of Ulysses S. Grant have commended him to the heart of the Am,erican people ; and with him at our head, we start to-day upon a new march to victory. 19. Henry Wilson, nominated for the Vice- Presidency, known to the whole land from the early days of the great struggle for liberty as an indefatigable laborer in all campaigns, an incorruptible legislator and representative man of American insti- tutions, is worthy to associate with our great leader and share the honors which we pledge our best efforts to bestow upon them 187i3. — Democratic (Straight-out) Platform, LouiaviUe, Ky., September 3. Whereas, A frequent recurrence to first principles and eternal vigilance against abuses are the wisest provisions for liberty, which is the source of progress, and fidelity to our constitutional system is the only protection for either : therefore, Resolved, That the original basis of our whole political structure is consent in every part thereof. The people of each state voluntarily created their state, and the states voluntarily formed the Union ; and each state provided by its written constitu- tion for everything a state could do for the protection of life, liberty, and property within it; and each state, jointly with the others, provided a federal union for foreign and inter-state relations. Resolved, That all governmental powers, whether state or federal, are trust powers coming from the people of each state, and that they are limited to the written letter of the constitution and the laws passed in pursuance of it; which powers must be exercised in the utmost good faith, the constitution itself stating in what manner they may be altered and amended. Resolved, That the interests of labor and capital should not be permitted to conflict, but should be harmonized by judicious legislation. While such a conflict con- tinues, labor, which is the parent of wealth, is entitled to paramount consideration. Resolved, That we proclaim to the world that princijile is to be preferred to power ; that the Democratic party is held together by the cohesion of time-honored princi- ples, which they will never surrender in exchange for all the ofiices which Presi- dents can confer. The pangs of the mi- norities are doubtless excruciating; but we welcome an eternal minority, under ihe banner inscribed with our principles rather than an almighty and everlasting majority, jiurchased by their abandonment. Resolved, That, having been betrayed at Baltimore into a false creed and a false leadership by the convention, we repudiate both, and appeal to the people to approve our platform, and to rally to the polls and support the true platform and the candi- dates who embody it. 1875. — The American National Platform, Adopted in Mass Meeting, Pitlslnirg, June 'J. We hold : 1. That ours is a Christian and not a heathen nation, and that the God of the Christian Scriptures is the author of civil government. 2. That God requires and man needs a Sabbath. 3. That the prohibition of the importa- tion, manufacture, and sale of intoxicating drinks as a beverage, is the true policy on the temperance question. 4. The charters of all secret lodges granted by our federal and state legisla- tures should be withdrawn, and their oaths prohibited by law. 5. That the civil equality secured to all American citizens by articles 13th, 14th, and 15th of our amended constitution should be preserved inviolate. 6. That arbitration of differences with nations is the most direct and sure method of securing and perpetuating a permanent peace. 7. That to cultivate the intellect without improving the morals of men is to make mere adepts and experts: therefore, the Bible should be associated with books of science and literature in all our educa- tional institutions. 8. That land and other monopoliea should be discountenanced. 9. That the government should furnish the people witli an ample and sound cur- rency and a return to specie payment, as soon as practicable. 10. That maintenance of the public credit, protection to all loyal citizens, and justice to Indians are essential to the honor and safety of our nation. 11. And, finally, we demand for the American people the abolition of electoral colleges, and a direct vote for President and Vice-President of the United States. 54 AMERICAN POLITICS. [Their candidates were James B. Walker, Wheaton, Illinois, for President; and Don- ald Kirkpatrick, Syracuse, New York, for Vice-President.J 1876.— Proliibltloii Reform Platform, Cleoelaud, Uhto, May 17. The Prohibition Reform party of the United States, organized in the name of the people, to revive, enforce, and perpet- uate in the government the doctrines of the Dechiration of Independence, submit, in this centennial year of the republic, for the Buffrages of all good citizens, the following platform of national reforms and measures: First. The legal prohibition in the Dis- trict of Columbia, the territories, and in every other place subject to the laws of Congress, of the importation, exportation, manufacture, and traffic of all alcoholic beverages, as high crimes against society ; an amendment of the national constitu- tion, to render these prohibitory measures universal and permanent ; and the adop- tion of treaty stipulations with foreign powers, to prevent the importation and ex])()rtation of all alcoholic beverages. Second. The alxjlition of class legisla- tion, and of special privileges in the gov- ernment, and the adoption of equal sufiViige and eligibility to office, without distinction (ft' race, religious creed, property, or sex. Third. The appropriation of the public lands, in limited quantities, to actual set- tlers only ; the reduction of the rates of inland and ocean postage ; of telegraphic communication ; of railroad and water transportation and travel, to the lowest practical point, by force of laws, wisely and ju-^tly framed, with reference, not only *to the interest of capital employed, but to the higher claims of the general good. Fourth. The suppression, by laws, of lotteries and gambling in gold, stocks, pro- duce, and every form of money and pro- perty, and the penal inhibition of the use of the public mails for advertising schemes of gambling and lotteries. Fifth. The abolition of those foul enor- mities, polvgamy and the social evil ; and the protection of purity, peace, and hap- pine-ss of homes, by ample and efficient legislation. Sixth. The national observance of the Christian Sabbath, established by laws prohibiting ordinary labor and business in all dejmrtments of public service and private employment (works of necessity, charity, and religion excepted) on that day. Seventh. The estal^lishraent, by mvnda- tory provisions in imtional and state con- stitutions, and by all necessary legislation, of a system of free public schools for the universal and forced education of all the youth of the land. Eighth. The free use of the Bible, not as a ground ' of religious creeds, but as a text-book of the purest morality, the best liberty, and the noblest literature in our public schools, that our children may grow up in its light, and that its spirit and prin- ciples may pervade our nation. Ninth. The separation of the govern- ment in all its departments and institu- tions, including the public schools and all funds for their maintenance, from the con- trol of every religious sect or other asso- ciation, and the protection alike of all sects by equal laws, with entire freedom of religious faith and worship. Tenth. The introduction into all treaties hereafter negotiated with foreign govern- ments of a provision for the amicable set- tlement of international difficulties by arbitration. Eleventh. The abolition of all barbar- ous modes and instruments of punishment; the recognition of the laws of God and the claims of humanity in the discipline of jails and prisons, and of that higher and wiser civilization worthy of our age and nation, which regards the reform of criminals as a means for the prevention of crime. Twelfth. The abolition of executive and legislative patronage, and the election of President, Vice-President, United States Senators, and of all civil officers, so far as practicable, by the direct vote of the peo- ple. Thirteenth. The practice of a friendly and liberal policy to immigrants from all nations, the guaranty to them of ample protection, and of equal rights and privi- leges. Fourteenth. The separation of the money of government from all banking institu- tions. The national government, only, should exercise the high prerogative of issuing paper money, and that should be subject to prompt redemption on demand, in gold and silver, the only equal stand- ards of value recognized by the civilized world. Fifteenth. The reduction of the salaries of public officers in a just ratio with the decline of wages and market prices ; the abolition of sinecures, unnecessarj' offices, and official fees and perquisites ; the prac- tice of strict economy in government ex- penses ; and a free and thorough investi- gation into any and all alleged abuses of public trusts. 1876.— Independent (GreenbacU) Platform, Inriianapoliit, hid., Mny 17. The Independent party is called into existence by the necessities of the people, whose industries are prostrated, whose labor is deprived of its just reward by a POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 55 ruinous policy which the Republican and Democratic parties refuse to change ; and, in view of the failure of these parties to furnish relief to the depressed industries of the country, thereby disa])pointing the just hopes and expectations of the suffer- ing people, Ave delare our principles, and invite all independent and patriotic men to join our ranks in this movement for fi- nancial reform and industrial emancipation. First. We demand the immediate and unconditional repeal of the specie resump- tion act of January 14, 1875, and the res- cue of our industries from ruin and disas- ter resulting from its enforcement ; and we call upon all patriotic men to organize in every congressional district of the country, with a view of electing representatives to Congress who will carry out the wishes of the people in this regard and stop the present suicidal and destructive policy of contraction. Second. We believe that a LTnited States note, issued directly by the government, and convertible, on demand, into United States obligations, bearing a rate of inter- est not exceeding one cent a day on each one hundred dollars, and exchangeable for United States notes at par, will afford the best circulating medium ever devised. Such United States notes should be full legal tenders for all purposes, except for the payment of such obligations as are, by existing contracts, especially made paya- ble in coin ; and we hold that it is the duty of the government to provide such a circulating medium, and insist, in the language of Thomas Jefferson, that " bank paper must be suppressed, and the circu- lation restored to the nation, to whom it belongs." Third. It is the paramount duty of the government, in all its legislation, to keep in view the full development of all legiti- mate business, agricultural, mining, manu- facturing, and commercial. Fourth. We most earnestly protest against any further issue of gold bonds for sale in foreign markets, by which we would be made, for a long period, " hewers of wood and drawers of water " to for- eigners, especially as the American people would gladly and promptly take at par all bonds the government may need to sell, provided they are made payable at the op- tion of the holder, and bearing interest at 3.65 per cent, per annum or even a lower rate. Fifth. We further protest against the Bale of government bonds for the purpose of purchasing silver to be used as a sub- stitute for our more convenient and less fluctuating fractional currency, which, al- though well calculated to enrich owners of silver mines, yet in operation it will still ftirther oppress, in taxation, an already overburdened people. 24 1876.— Republican Platform, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 14. When, in the economy of Providence, this land was to be purged of human slavery, and when the strength of the gov- ernment of the people, by the people, and for the people, was to be demonstrated, the Republican party came into power. Its deeds have passed into history, and we look back to them with pride. Incited by their memories to high aims for the good of our country and mankind, and looking to the future with unfaltering courage, hope, and purpose, we, the representatives of the party, in national convention as- sembled, make the following declaration4 of principles: 1. The United States of America is ai nation, not a league. By the combined; workings of the national and state govern-- ments, under their respective constitu- tions, the rights of every citizen are se-- cured, at home and abroad, and the com?- mon welfare promoted. 2. The Republican party has preserved! these governments to the hundredth anni- versary of the nation's birth, and they are now embodiments of the great truths spo- ken at its cradle — "That all men are crer ated equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that for the atr tainment of these ends governments have been instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the govr erned." Until these truths are cheerfully obeyed, or, if need be, vigorously enforcedy the work of the Republican party • is un- finished. 3. The permanent pacification' of the southern section of the Union; and the complete protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment of all their rights, is a duty to which the Republican party stands sa- credly pledged. The power to provide for the enforcement of the principles embodied in the recent constitutional amendments is vested, by those amendments, in the Con- gress of the United States ; and we declare it to be the solemn obligation of the legis- lative and executive departments of the government to put into immediate and vigorous exercise all their constitutional powers for removing any just causes of discontent on the part of any class, and for securing to everv' American citizen complete liberty and exact equality in the exercise of all civil, political, and public rights. To this end we imperatively de- mand a Congress and a Chief Executive whose courage and fidelity to these duties shall not falter until these results are placed beyond dispute or recall. 4. In the first act of Congress signed by President Grant, the national government assumed to remove any doubt of its pux- 56 AMERICAN POLITICS. pose to discharge all just obligations to the public creditors, and "solemnly pledged ks faith to make provision at the earliest practicable period I'or the redemption of the United States notes in coin." Com- mercial prosi)erity, jmlilic morals, and na- tional credit demand that this promise be fulfilled by a continuous and steady pro- gress to specie i)ayment. 6. Under the constitution, the President and heads of departments are to make nopiinations for office, the Senate is to ad- vise and consent to appointments, and the House of Representatives is to accuse and prosecute faithless officers. The best in- terest of the public service demand that these distinctions be respected ; that Sena- tors and Representatives who may be judges and accusers should not dictate ap- pointments to office. The invariable rule in appointments should have reference to the honesty, fidelity, and capacity of the appointees, giving to the party in power those places where harmony and vigor of administration require its policy to be rep- resented, but permitting all others to be filled by persons selected with sole refer- ence to the efficiency of the public service, and the right of all citizens to share in the honor of rendering faithful service to the country. 6. We rejoice in the quickened con- science of the ]ieople concerning political affairs, and will hold all public officers to a rigid responsibility, and engage that the prosecution and punishment of all who be- tray official trusts shall be swift, thorough, and unsparing. 7. The public school system of the several states is the bulwark of the American Re- public ; and, with a view to its security and permanence, we recommend an amend- ment to the constitution of the United States, forbidding the application of any l)ublic funds or property for the benefit of any schools or institutions under sectarian control. 8. The revenue necessary for current exj)enditures, and the obligations of the j)ublic debt, must be largely derived from duties uj)on importations, which, so far as possible, should be adjusted to promote the interests of American labor and ad- vance the prosperity of the whole country. 9. We reaffirm our opposition to further grants of the public lands to corporations and monopolies, and demand that the na- tional domain be devoted to free homes for the people. 10. It is the imperative duty of the gov- ernment so to modify existing treaties with European governments, that the same pro- tection shall be afforded to the adopted American citizen that is given to the na- tive-born ; and that all necessary laws should be passed to protect emigrants in the absence of power in the states for that purj)ose. 11. It is the immediate duty of Con- gress to fully investigate the efl'ect of the immigration and importation of Mongo- lians upon the moral and material in- terests of the country. 12. The Republican party recognizes, with approval, the substantial advances recently made towards the establishment of equal rights for women by the many important amendments effected by Repub- lican legislatures in the laws which con- cern the personal and property relations of wives, mothers, and widows, and by the appointment and election of women to the superintendence of education, charities, and other public trusts. The honest de- mands of this class of citizens for addi- tional rights, privileges, and immunities, should be treated with respectful consider- ation. 13. The constitution confers upon Con- gress sovereign power over the territories of the United States for their government; and in the exercise of this power it is the right and duty of Congress to prohibit and extirpate, in the territories, that relic of barbarism — polygamy ; and we demand such legislation as shall secure this end and the supremacy of American institu- tions in all the territories. 14. The pledges which the nation has given to her soldiers and sailors must be fulfilled, and a grateful people will always hold those who imperiled their lives for the country's preservation in the kindest remembrance. 15. We sincerely deprecate all sectional feeling and tendencies. We, therefore, note with deep solicitude that the Demo- cratic party counts, as its chief hope of success, upon the electoral vote of a united south, secured through the efforts of those who were recently arrayed against the na- tion ; and we invoke the earnest attention of the country to the grave truth that a success thus achieved would reopen sec- tional strife, and imperil national honor and human rights. 16. We charge the Democratic party with being the same in character and spirit as when it sympathized with treason ; with making its control of the House of Repre- sentatives the triumph and opportunity of the nation's recent foes; with reasserting and applar.ding, in the national capital, the sentiments of unrepentant rebellion ; with sending Union soldiers to the rear, and promoting Confederate soldiers to the front ; with deliberately proposing to repu- diate the plighted faith of the government; with being equally false and imbecile upon the overshadowing financial questions; with thwarting the ends of justice by its partisan mismanagement and obstruction of investigation ; with proving itself POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 57 through the period of its ascendency in the lower house of Congress, utterly in- competent to administer the government ; and we warn the country against trusting a party thus alike unworthy, recreant, and incapable. 17. The national administration merits commendation for its honorable work in the management of domestic and foreign affairs, and President Grant deserves the continued hearty gratitude of the Ameri- can people for his patriotism and his emi- nent services in war and in peace. 18. We present, as our candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, two distinguished statesmen, oi eminent ability and character, and con- spicuously fitted for those high offices, and we confidently appeal to the American people to intrust the administration of their i)ub]ic affairs to Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler. 1876.— Democratic Platform. St. Louis, Mo., June 27. We, the delegates of the Democratic party of the United States, in national con- vention assembled, do hereby declare the administration of the Federal government to be in urgent need of immediate reform ; do hereby enjoin upon the nominees of this convention, and of the Democratie party in each state, a zealous effort and co- operation to this end ; and do hereby ap- peal to our fellow-citizens of every former j)olitical connection to undertake, with us, this first and most pressing patriotic duty. For the Democracy of the whole coun- try, we do here reaffirm our faith in the per- manence of the Federal Union, our devo- tion to the constitution of the United States, with its amendments universally accepted as a final settlement of the controversies that engendered civil war, and do here re- cord our steadfast confidence in the per- petuity of republican self-government. In absolute acquiescence in the will of the majority — the vital principle of repub- lics; in the supremacy of the civil over the military authority ; in the total separation of church and state, for the sake alike of civil and religious freedom ; in the equal- ity of all citizens before just laws of their own enactment; in the liberty of indi- vidual conduct, unvexed by sumptuary laws; in the faithful education of the ris- ing generation, that they may preserve, enjoy, and transmit these best conditions of human happiness and hope — we behold the noblest products of a hundred years of changeful history ; but while upholding the bond of our Union and great charter of these our rights, it behooves a free peo- ple to practice also that eternal vigilance which is the price of liberty. Reform is necessary to rebuild and es- tablish in the hearts of the whole people the Union, eleven years ago happily res- cued from the danger of a secession of states, but now to be saved from a corrupt centralism which, after inflicting upon ten states the rapacity of carpet-bag tyranny, has honey-combed the offices of the Federal government itself, with incapacity, waste, and fraud ; infected states and municipali- ties with the contagion of misrule; and locked fast the j^rosperity of an industrious people in the paralysis of " hai'd times." Reform is necessary to establish a sound- currency, restore the public credit, and maintain the national honor. We denounce the failure, for all these eleven years of peace, to make good the. promise of the legal tender notes, which are a changing standard of value in the hands of the people, and the non-jiayment of which is a disregard of the plighted faith of the nation. We denounce the improvidence which, in eleven years of peace, has taken from the people, in federal taxes, thirteen times the whole amount of the legal-tender notes, and squandered four times their sum in useless expense without accumulating any reserve for their redemption. We denounce the financial imbecility and immorality of that party which, dur- ing eleven years of peace, has made no ad- vance toward resumption, no preparation for resumption, but, instead, has obstructed resumption, by wasting our resources and exhausting all our surplus income ; and, while annually professing to intend a speedy return to specie payments, has an- nually enacted fresh hinderances thereto. As such hinderance we denounce the re- sumption clause of. 1875, and we here de- mand its repeal. We demand a judicious system of prepa- ration, by public economies, by official re- trenchments, ?nd by wise finance, which shall enable the nation soon to assure the whole world of its perfect ability and of its perfect readiness to meet any of its pro- mises at the call of the creditor entitled to payment. We believe such a system, well devised, and, above all, intrusted to com- petent hands for execution, creating, at no time, an artificial scarcity of currency, and at no time alarming the public mind into a withdrawal of that vaster machinery of credit by which ninety-five per cent, of all business transactions are performed. A system open, public, and inspiring general confidence, would, from the day of its adoption, bring healing on its wings to all our harassed industries — set in motion tlie wheels of commerce, manufactures, and the mechanic arts — restore employinent to la- bor — and, renew, in all its natural sources, the prosperity of the people. Reform is necessary in the sum and 68 AMERICAN POLITICS. modes of federal taxation, to the end that capital may be set free from distrast and liil)or lightly burdened. We denounce the present tariff", levied upon nearly four thousand articles, as a masterpiece of injustice, inequality, and false pretence. It yields a dwindling, not a yearly rising, revenue. It has impover- i shed many industries to subsidize a few. It prohibits imports that might purchase fhe products of American labor. It has degraded American commerce from the first to an inferior rank on the high seas. Ic has cut down the sales of American manufactures at home and abroad, and depleted the returns of American agri- culture — an industry followed by half our people. It costs the people five times more than it produces to the treasury, ob- structs the processes of production, and Avastes the fruits of labor. It promotes fraud, fosters smuggling, enriches dis- honest officials, and bankrupts honest merchants. We demand that all custom- house taxation shall be only for revenue. Reform is necessary in the scale of public expense — federal, state, and municipal. Our federal taxation has swollen from sixty millions gold, in 1860, to four hundred and fifty millions currency, in 1870; our ag- gregate taxation from one hundred and fifty- four millions gold, in 1800, to seven hun- dred and thirty millions currency, in 1870 --or, in one decade, from less than five dollars per head to more than eighteen dollars per head. Since the peace, the people have paid to their tax-gatherers more than thrice the sum of the national debt, and more than twice that sum for the Federal government alone. We demand a rigorous frugality in every department and from every officer of the government. Reform is necessary to put a stop to the prjfiigate waste of public lands, and their diversion from actual settlers, by the party in power, which has squandered 200,000,000 of acres upon railroads alone, and, out of more than thrice that aggregate, has dis- posed of less than a sixth directly to tillers of the soil. Reform is necessary to correct the omis- sion of a Republican Congress, and the errors of our treaties and our diplomacy which have stripped our fellow-citizens of foreign birth and kindred race, recrossing the Atlantic, of the shield of American citizenship, and have exposed our brethren of the Pacific coast to the incursions of a race not spi-ung from the same great parent stock, and in fact now, by law, denied citizenship through naturalization, as being neither accustomed to the traditions of a ]'rogressive civilization nor exercised in liberty under equal laws. We denounce the policy which thus discards the liberty- loving German and tolerates a revival of the coolie trade in Mongolian women, im- ported for immoral purposes, and Mongolian men, held to perform servile labor contracts and demand such modification of the treaty with the Chinese Empire, or such legisla- tion within constitutional limitations, as shall prevent further importation or immi- gration of the Mongolian race. Reform is necessary, and can never be effected but by making it the controlling issue of the elections, and lifting it above the two false issues with which the office- holding class and the party in power seek to smother it: 1. The false issue with which they would enkindle sectarian strife in respect to the public schools, of which the establishment and support belongs exclusively to the several states, and which the Democratic party has cherished from their foundation, and is resolved to maintain, without preju- dice or preference for any class, sect, or creed, and without largesses from the trea- sury to any. 2. The false issue by which they seek to light anew the dying embers of sectional hate between kindred peoples once estranged, but now reunited in one indivisible re- public and a common destiny. Reform is necessary in the civil service. Experience proves that efficient, economical conduct of the governmental business is not possible if its civil service be subject to change at every election, be a prize fought for at the ballot-box, be a brief re- ward of party zeal, instead of posts of honor assigned for proved competency, and held for fidelity in the public employ ; that the dispensing of patronage should neither be a tax upon the time of all our public men, nor the instrument of their ambition. Here, again, promises, falsified in the per- formance, attest that the party in power can work out no practical or salutary re- form. Reform is necessary, even more, in the higher grades of the public service. Presi- dent, Vice-President, Judges, Senators, Representatives, Cabinet officers — these, and all others in authority — are the people's servants. Their offices are not a private perquisite ; they are a public trust. When the annals of this Republic show the dis- grace and censure of a Vice-President ; a late Speaker of the House of Representa- tives marketing his rulings as a presiding officer ; three Senators profiting secretly by their votes as law-makers ; five chairmen of the leading committees of the late House of Representatives exposed in jobbery ; a late Secretary of the Treasury forcing ba- lances in the public accounts ; a late At- torney-General misappropriating public funds ; a Secretary of the Navy enriched, or enriching friends, by percentages levied off the profits of contractors with his de- partment ; an Ambassador to England con- cerned in a dishonorable speculation ; the POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 59 President's private secretarj' barely escap- ing conviction \i\Km trial for guilty comijli- city in frauds upon the revenue; a Secre- tary of War impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors — the demonstration is complete, that the first step in reform must be the [)e()ple's choice of honest men from another party, lest the disease of one poli- tical organization infect the body politic, and lest by making no change of men or parties we get no change of measures and no real reform. All these abuses, wrongs, and crimes — the product of sixteen years' ascendency ol the Republican party — create a necessity for reform, confessed by the Republicans themselves ; but their reformers are voted down in convention and displaced from the cabinet. The party's mass of honest voters is powerless to resist the 80,000 office-hold- ers, its leaders and guides. Reform can only be had by a peaceful civic revolution. We demand a change of system, a change of administration, a change of parties, that we may have a change of measures and of men. Resolved, That this convention, repre- senting the Democratic party of the United States, do cordially indorse the action of the present House of Representatives, in re- ducing and curtailing the expenses of the Federal government, in cutting down sa- laries and extravagant appropriations, and in abolishing useless offices and places not required by the public necessities ; and we shall trust to the firmness of the Democra- tic members of the House that no commit- tee of conference and no misinterpretation of the rules will be allowed to defeat these wholesome measures of economy demanded by the country. Resdlned, That the soldiers and sailors of the Republic, and the widows and or- phans of those who have fallen in battle, have a just claim upon the care, protection, and gratitude of their fellow-citizens. 1878.-Xational Platform. Tuledo, Ohio, February 22. Whereas, Throughout our entire country the value of real estate is depreciated, in- dustry paralyzed, trade depressed, business incomes and wages reduced, unparalleled distress inflicted upon the poorer and mid- dle ranks of our people, the land filled with fraud, embezzlement, bankruptcy, crime, suffering, pauperism, and starvation ; and Whereas, This state of things has been brought about by legislation in the interest of, and dictated by, money-lenders, bankers and bondholders ; and Whereas, While we recognize the fact that the men in Congress connected with the old political parties have stood up man- fully for the rights of the people, and met the threats of the money power, and the ridi(ule of an ignorant and subsidized press, yet neither the Republican nor tlie Democratic parties, in their policies, pro- pose remedies for the existing evils ; and Whereas, The Independent Greenback party, and other associations more or less effective, have been unable, hitherto, to make a formidable opposition to old party organizations; and Whereas, The limiting of the legal-tender quality of the greenbacks, the changing of tairrency bonds into coin bonds, the d«?- monetization of the silver dollar, the ex- empting of bonds from taxation, the con- traction of the circulating medium, the proposed forced resumption of specie pay- ments, and the prodigal waste of the public lands, were crimes against the people; and, as far as possible, the results of these cri- minal acts must be counteracted by judi- cious legislation : Therefore, We assemble in national con- vention and make a declaration of our principles, and invite all patriotic citizens to unite in an effort to secure financial re- form and industrial emancipation. Tlic organization shall be known as the " Na- tional Party," and under this name we will perfect, without delay, national, state, and local associations, to secure the election to office of such men only as will pledge themselves to do all in their power to es- tablish these principles : First. It is the exclusive function of the general government to coin and create money and regulate its value. All bank issues designed to circulate as money should be suppressed. The circulating medium, whether of metal or paper, shall be issued by the government, and made a full legal- tender for all debts, duties, and taxes in the United States, at its stamped value. Second. There shall be no privileged class of creditors. Official salaries, pensions, bonds, and all other debts and obligation?!, public and private, shall be discharged in the legal-tender money of the United States strictly according to the stipulations of the laws under which they were con- tracted. Third. The coinage of silver shall he placed on the same footing as that of gold. Fourth. Congress shall provide said money adequate to the full employment of labor, the equitable distribution of its pro- ducts, and the requirement of business, fixing a minimum •Amount per capita of the population as near as may be, and other- wise regulating its value by wise and equi- table provisions of law, so that the rate of interest will secure to labor its just rewartl. Fifth. It is inconsistent with the genius of popular government that any species of private property should be exempt firoin 60 AMERICAN POLITICS-. bearing its proper share of the public biu'deris. Government bonds and money should be taxed precisely as other property, and a graduated income tax should be levied for the support of the government and the payment of its debts. . Sixth, i'ublic lands are the common property of the whole people, and should not be sold to speculators nor granted to railroads or other corporations, but should be donated to actual settlers, in limited quantities. Seventh. The government should, by gen- eral enactments, encourage the develop- ment of our agricultural, mineral, mecha- nical, manufacturing, and commercial re- sources, to the end that labor may be fully and profitably employed ; but no monopo- lies should be legalized. Eighth. All useless offices should be abol- ished, the most rigid economy favored in every branch of the public service, and severe punishment intlicted upon public oflSicers who betray the trusts reposed in them. Ninth. As educated labor has devised means for multiplying productions by in- ventions and discoveries, and as their use requires the exercise of mind as well as body, such legislation should be had that the number of hours ol' daily toil will be reduced, giving to the working classes more leisure for mental improvement and their several enjoyments, and saving them from [)remature decay and death. Tenth. The adoption of an American monetary system, as proposed herein, will harmonize all differences in regard totarifi' Hnd federal taxation, reduce and equlize the cost of transportation by land and water, distribute equitably the joint earn- ings of capital and labor, secure to the producers of wealth the results of their labor and skill, and muster out of service the vast army of idlers, who, under the t^.xisting system, grow rich upon the earn- ings of others, that every man and woman may, by their own efforts, secure a compe- tency, so that overgrown fortunes and ex- treme poverty will be seldom found within the limits of our republic. Eleventh. Both national and state govern- ments should establish bureaus of labor and industrial statistics, clothed with the power of gathering and publishing^ the same. Twelfth, That the contract system of em- ploying labor in our prisons and reforma- tory institutions works great injustice to our mechanics and artisans, and should be prohibited. Tuirteenth. The importation of servile labor into the United States from China is a problem of the most serious importance, find we recommend legislation looking to its suppression. , Fourteenth. We believe in the supremacy of law over and above all perishable ma- terial, and in the necessity of a party of united people that will rise above old party lines and prejudices. We will not affiliate in any degree with any of the old parties, but, in all cases and localities, will organize anew, as united National men — nominate for office and oflBcial positions only such persons as are clearly believers in and identified with this our sacred cause ; and, irrespective of creed, color, place of birth, or past condition of political or other serv- itude, vote only for m^n who entirely abandon old party lines and organizations. 1879. -IVatioiial Liberal Platformt C'inviiiiuiti, Ohio, Septembtr 14. 1. Total separation of Church and State, to be guaranteed by amendment of the United States constitution ; including the equitable taxation of church property, se- cularization of the public schools, abroga- tion of Sabbatarian laws, abolition of chap- laincies, prohibition of public appropria- tions for religious purposes, and all mea- sures necessary to the same general end. 2. National protection for national citi- zens in their equal civil, political, and re- ligious rights, to be guaranteed by amend- ment of the United States constitution and afforded through the United States courts. 8. Universal education, the basis of uni- versal suffrage in this secular Republic, to be guaranteed by amendment of the United States constitution, requiring every state to maintain a thoroughly secularized public school system, and to permit no child within its limits to grow up without a good elementary education. 1880.— Independent Republican Principles. I. Independent Republicans adhere to the republican principles of national supre- macy, sound finances, and civil service re- form, expressed in the Republican plat- form of 1S76, in the letter of acceptance of President Hayes, and in his message of 1879 ; and they seek the realization of those principles in practical laws and their efficient administration. This requires, 1. The continuance on the statute-book of laws protecting the rights of voters at national elections. But national supre- macy affords no pretext for interference with the local rights of communities ; and the development of the south from its pre- sent defective civilization caTi be secured only under constitutional methods, such as those of President Hayes. 2. The passage of laws which shall de- prive greenbacks of their legal-tender quality, as a first step toward their ulti- POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 61 mate withdrawal and cancellation, and shall maintain all coins made legal tender at such weight and fineness as will enable them to be used without discount in the commercial transactions of the world. 3. The repeal of the act^ which limit the terms of office of certain government offi- cials to four years ; the repeal of the tenure-of-office acts, which limit the power of the executive to remove lor cause ; the establishment of a permanent civil service commission, or equivalent measures to as- certain, by open competition, and certify to the President or other appointing power the fitness of applicants for nomination or appointment to all non-political offices. II. Independent Republicans believe that local issues should be independent of party. The words Repub'.i/an and Demo- crat should have no weight in determining whether a school or city shall be adminis- tered on business principles by capable men. With a view to this, legislation is asked which shall prescribe for the voting for local and for state officers upon sepa- rate ballots. III. Independent Republicans assert that a political party is a co-operation of voters to secure the practical enactment into legislation of political convictions set forth as its platform. Every voter accept- ing that platform is a member of that party ; any representative of that party op- posing the principles or evading the pro- mises of its platform forfeits the support of its voters. No voter should be held by the action or nomination of any caucus or convention of his party against his private judgment. It is his duty to vote against Dad measures and unfit men, as the only means of obtaining good ones ; and if his party no longer represents its professed j)rinciples in its practical workings, it is his duty to vote against it. IV. Independent Republicans seek good nominations through participation in the primaries and through the defeat of bad nominees ; they will labor for the defeat of any local Republican candidate, and, in co-operation with those holding like views elsewhere, for the defeat of any general Republican candidate whom they do not deem fit. 1880. Republican Platform. Chicago, Illinois, June 2. The Republican party, in national con- Tention assembled, at the end of twenty years since the Federal government was first committed to its charge, submits to the people of the United States its brief report of its administration : It suppressed a rebellion which had armed nearly a million of men to subvert the national authority. It reconstructed the union of the states with freedom, in- stead of slavery, as its corner-stone. It transformed i'our million of human beings from the likeness t)f things to the rank of citizens. It relieved Congress from the in- tamous work of hu,nting fugitive slaves, and charged it to see that slavery does not exist. It has raised the value of our paper cur- rency from thirty-eight per cent, to the par of gold. It has restored, upon a solid basis, i)ayment in coin for all the national obligations, and has given us a currency absolutely good and equal in eveiy part of our extended country. It has lifted the credit of the nation from the point where six per cent, bonds sold at eighty-six to that where four per cent, bonds are eagerly sought at a premium. Under its administration railways have increased from 81,000 miles in 1S60, to more than 82,000 miles in 1879. Our foreign trade has increased from $700,000,000 to $1,150,000,000 in the same time ; and our exports, which were $20,- 000,000 less than our imports in 18(30, were $2(34,000,000 more than our imports in 1879. AVithout resorting to loans, it has, since the war closed, defrayed the ordinary ex- penses of government, besides the accruing interest on the public debt, and disbursed, annually, over $30,000,000 for soldiers' pensions. It has paid $888,000,000 of the public debt, and, by refunding the balance at lower rates, has reduced the annual interest charge from nearly $151,000,000 to less than $89,000,000. All the industries of the country have revived, labor is in demand, wages have increased, and throughout the entire coun- try there is evidence of a coming prosperity greater than we have ever enjoyed. Upon this record, the Republican party asks for the continued confidence and sup- port of the people ; and this convention submits for their approval the following statement of the jjrinciples and purposes which will continue to guide and inspire its efforts : 1. We affirm that the work of the last twenty years has been such as to com- mend itself to the favor of the nation, and that the fruits of the costly victories which we have achieved, through immense diffi- culties, should be preserved ; that the peace regained should be cherished ; that the dissevered LTnion, now happily restored, should be perpetuated, and that the liber- ties secured to this generation should be transmitted, undiminished, to future gene- rations; that the order established and the credit acquired should never be impaired ; that the pensions promised should be paid ; that the debt so much reduced should be extinguished by the full payment of every dollar thereof; that the reviving industries should be further promoted ; and that the 62 AMERICAN POLITICS. commerce, already so great, should be steadily encouraged. 2. The constitution of the United States is a supreme law, and not a mere contract ; out of confederate states it made a sove- reign nation. Some ])0wers are denied to the nation, while others are denied to states ; but the boundary between the pow- ers delegated and those reserved is to be determined by the national and not by the state tribunals. 3. The work of popular education is one left to the care of the several states, but it is the duty of the national government to aid that work to the extent of its constitu- tional ability. The intelligence of the na- tion is but the aggregate of the intelligence in the several states ; and the destiny of the nation must be guided, not by the genius of any one state, but by the aver- age genius of all. 4. The constitution wisely forbids Con- gress to make any law respecting an es- tablishment of religion ; but it is idle to hope that the nation can be protected against the influences of sectarianism while each state is exposed to its domination. VV^e, therefore, recommend that the constitution be so amended as to lay the same prohibi- tion upon the legislature of each state, to forbid the appropriation of public funds to the support of sectarian schoo'.s. 6. We reaffirm the belief, avowed in 1876, that the duties levied for the pur- pose of revenue should so discriminate as to favor American labor ; that no further grant of the public domain should be made to any railway or other corporation ; that slavery having perished in the states, its twin barbarity — polygamy — must die in the territories ; that everywhere the pro- tection accorded to citizens of American birth must be secured to citizens by Ameri- can adoption. That we esteem it the duty of Congress to develop and improve our water-courses and harbors, but insist that further subsidies to private persons or cor- porations must cease. That the obliga- tions of the republic to the men who j^re- served its integrity in the diy of battle are undiminished by the lapse of fifteen years since their final victory — to do them perpet'ial honor is, and shall forever be, the grateful privilege and sacred duty of the American peonle. 6. Since the authority to regulate immi- gration and intercourse between the United States and foreign nations rests with the Congress of the United States and its treaty-making powers, the Republican party, regarding the unrestricted immigra- tion" of the Chinese as an evil of great magnitude, invoke the exercise of that power to restrain and limit that immigra- tion by the enactment of such just, humane, and reasonable provisions as will produce that result. That the purity and patriotism which characterized the early career of Ruther- ford B. Hayes in j)eaceand war, and which guided the thoughts of our immediate pre- decessors to select him for a presidential candidate, have continued to inspire him in his career as chief executive, and that history will accord to his administration the honors which are due to an efficient, just, and courteous discharge of the public business, and will honor his interposition between the people and proposed partisan laws. 8. We charge upon the Democratic party the habitual sacrifice of patriotism and justice to a supreme and insatiable lust for office and patronage. That to obtain pos- session of the national and state govern- ments, and the control of place and position, they have obstructed all eflfbrts to promote the purity and to conserve the freedom of sutl'rage ; have devised fraudulent certifi- cations and returns ; have labored to un- seat lawfully-elected members of Congress, to secure, at all hazards, the vote of a ma- jority of the states in the House of Repre- sentatives ; have endeavored to occupy, by force and fraud the places of trust given to others by the people of Maine, and rescued by the courageous action of Maine's pa- triotic sons ; have, by methods vicious in principle and tyrannical in practice, at- tached pj^'tisan legislation to a})])ropria- tion bills, upon whose passage the very movements of government depend ; have crushed the rights of the individual ; have advocated the principle and sought the lavor of rebellion against the nation, and have endeavored to obliterate the sacred memories of the war, and to overcome its inestimably valuable results of nationality, personal irecdom, and individual equality. Equal, steady, and complete enforcement of the laws, and protection of all our citizens in the enjoyment of all privileges and im- munities guaranteed by the constitution, are the first duties of the nation. The dan- ger of a solid south can only be averted by the faithful perlbrmance of every promise which the nation made to the citizen. The execution of the laws, and the punishment of all those who violate them, are the only safe methods by which an enduring peace can be secured, and genuine prosperity es- tablished throughout the south. What- ever promises tbe nation makes, the na- tion must perform ; and the nation can not with safety relegate this duty to the states. The solid south must be divided by the peaceful agencies of the ballot, and all opinions must there find free expression ; and to this end honest voters must be pro- tected against terrorism, violence, or fraud. And we affirm it to be the duty and the purpose of the Republican party to use all legitimate means to restore all the states of this Union to the most perfect harmony POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 63 which may be practicable ; and we submit to the practical, sensible people of the United States to say wliether it would not be dan- gerous t) the dearest interests of our coun- try, at this time to surrender the adminis- tration of the national government to a party which seeks to overthrow the exist- ing policy, under which we are so prosper- ous, and thus bring distrust and confusion where there is now order, confidence, and hope. 9. The Republican party, adhering to a principle affirmed by its last national con- vention, of respect for the constitutional rule covering appointments to office, adopts the declaration of President Hayes, that the reform of the civil service should be thorough, radical, and complete. To this end it demands the co-operation of the legislative with the executive department of the government, and that Congress shall so legislate that fitness, ascertained by proper practical tests, shall admit to the public service ; and that the power of re- moval for cause, with due responsibility for the good conduct of subordinates, shall accompany the power of appointment. 1880.— National (Greenliack) Platform, Chicago, Illinois June 9. The civil government should guarantee the divine right of every laborer to the re- sults of his toil, thus enabling the pro- ducers of wealth to provide themselves with the means for physical comfort, and facilities for mental, social, and moral cul- ture; and we condemn, as unworthy of our civilization, the barbarism which im')oses upon wealth-producers a state of drudgery as the price of a bare animal existence. Notwith landing the enormous increase of productive power by the universal intro- duction of labor-saving machinery and the discovery of new agents for the in"crease of wealth, the task of the laborer is scarcely lightened, the hours of toil are but little shortened, and few producers are lifted from poverty into comfort and pecuniary independence. The associated monopolies, the international syndicates, and other in- come classes demand dear money, cheap labor, and a strong government, and, hence, a weak people. Corporate control of the volume of money has been the means of dividing society into hostile classes, of an unjust distribution of the products of labor, and of building up monopolies of associated capital, endowed with power to confiscate private property. It has kept money scarce ; and the scarcity of money enforces debt-trade, and public and cor- porate loans ; debt engenders usury, and usury ends in the bankruptcy of tlie bor- rower. Other results are — deranged mar- kets, uncertainty in manufacturing enter- prises and agriculture, precarious and intermittent employment for the laborer, industrial war, increasing pauperism and crime, and the consequent intimidation and disfranchisement of the producer, and a rapid declension into corporate feudalism. Therefore, we declare — First. That the right to make and issue money is a sovereign power, to be main- tained by the people for their common benefit. The delegation of this right to corporations is a surrender of the central attribute of sovereignty, void of constitu- tional sanction, and conferring upon a sub- ordinate and irresponsible power an abso- lute dominion over industry and commerce. All money, whether metallic or paper, should be issued, and its volume controlled, by the government, and not by or through banking, corporations ; and, when so issued, should be a full legal tender for all debts, public and private. Second. That the bonds of the United States should not be refunded, but paid as rapidly as practicable, according to con- tract. To enable the government to meet these obligations, legal-tender currency should be substituted for tlie notes of the national banks, the national banking sys- tem abolished, and the unlimited coinage of silver, as well as gold, established by law. Third. That labor should be so pro- tected by national and state authority as to equalize its burdens and insure a just dis- tribution of its results. The eight hour law of Congress should be enforced, the sanitary condition of industrial establish- ments placed under the rigid control, the competition of contract convict labor abol- ished, a bureau of labor statistics estab- lished, factories, mines, and workshops in- spected, the employment of children under fourteen years of age forbidden, and wages paid in cash. Fourth. Slavery being simply cheap labor, and cheap labor being simply sla- very, the importation and presence of Chinese serfs necessarily tends to brutalize and degrade American labor; therefore, immediate steps should be taken to ab- rogate the Burlingame treaty. Fifth. Railroad land grants forfeited by reason of non-fulfillment of contract should be immediately reclaimed by the govern- ment, and, henceforth, the public domain reserved exclusively' as homes for actual settlers. Sixth. It is the duty of Congress to reg- ulate inter-state commerce. All lines of communication and transportation should be brought under such legislative control as shall secure moderate, fair, and uniform rates for passenger and freight traffic. Seventh. We denounce as destructive to property and dangerous to liberty the ac- tion of the old parties in fostering and su£« 64 AMERICAN POLITICS. taining gigantic land, railroad, and money corporations, and monopolies invested with and exercising powers belonging to the government, and yet not responsible to it for the manner of their exercise. Eighth. That the constitution, in giving Congress the power to borrow money, to declare war, to raise and support armies, to provide and maintain a navy, never in- tended that the men who loaned their money for an interest-consideration should be preferred to the soldiers and sailors who periled their lives and shed their blood on land and sea in defense of their country ; and we condemn the cruel class legislation of the Republican party, which, while pro- fessing great gratitude to the soldier, has most unjustly discriminated against him and in favor of the bondholder. Ninth. All property should bear its just proportion of taxation, and we demand a graduated income tax. Tenth. We denounce as dangerous the efforts everywhere manifest to restrict the right of suffrage. Eleventh. We are opposed to an increase of the standing army in time of peace, and the insidious scheme to establish an enor- mous military power under the guise of militia laws. Twelfth. We demand absolute democra- tic rules for the government of Congress, placing all representatives of the people upon an equal footing, and taking away from committees a veto power greater than that of the President. Thirteenth. We demand a government of the people, by the people, and for the peo- ple, instead of a government of the bond- holder, by the bondholder, and for the bondholder ; and Ave denounce every at- tempt to stir up sectional strife as an effort to conceal monstrous crimes against the people. Fourteenth. In the furtherance of these ends we ask the co-operation of all fair- minded people. We have no quarrel with individuals, wage no war on classes, but only against vicious institutions. We are not content to endure further discipline from our present actual rulers, who, having dominion over money, over transportation, over land and labor, over the press and the machinery of government, wield unwar- rantable power over our institutions and over life and property. 1880.— Prohibition Reform Platform, Cleveland, Ohio, June 17. The prohibition Reform party of the United States, organized, in the name of the people, to revive, enforce, and perpetu- ate in the government the doctrines of the Declaration of Independence, submit, for tli*» suffrage of all good citizens, the follow- ing platform of national reforms and mea- sures : In the examination and discussion of the temperance question, it has been proven, and is an accepted truth, that alcoholic drinks, whether fermented, brewed, or dis- tilled, are poisonous to the healtliy human body, the drinking of which is not only needless but hurtful, necessarily tending to form intemperate habits, increasing greatly the number, severity, and fatal termina- tion of diseases, weakening and deranging the intellect, polluting the affections, hard- ening the heart and corrupting the morals, depriving many of reason and still more of its healthful exercise, and annually bring- ing down large numbers to untimely graves, producing, in the children of many who drink, a predisposition to intemperance, insanity, and various bodily and mental diseases, causing diminution of strength, feebleness of vision, fickleness of purpose, and premature old age, and inducing, in all future generations, deterioration of moral and physical character. Alcoholic drinks are thus the implacable foe of man as an individual. First. The legalized importation, manu- facture, and sale of intoxicating drinks ministers to their use, and teaches the erro- neous and destructive sentiment that such use is right, thus tending to produce and perpetuate the above mentioned evils. tiecond. To the home it is an enemy — proving itself to be a disturber and de- stroyer of its peace, prosperity, and hap])i- ness ; taking from it the earnings of the husband ; depriving the dependent wife and children of essential food, clothing, and education ; bringing into it profanity, abuse, and violence ; setting at naught the vows of the marriage altar ; breaking up the family and sundering the children from the parents, and thus destroying one of the most beneficent institutions of our Cre- ator, and removing the sure foundation of good government, national prosperity, and welfare. Third. To the community it is equally an enemj"^ — producing vice, demoralization, and wickedness ; its places of sale being resorts of gaming, lewdness, and debauch- ery, and the hiding-place of those who prey upon society ; counteracting the efficacy of religious effort, and of all means of intellectual elevation, moral purity, social happiness, and the eternal good of mankind, without rendering any counter- acting or compensating benefits ; being in its influence and effect evil and only evil, and that continually. Fourth. To the state it is equally an enemy— legislative inquiries, judicial inves- tigations, and official reports of all penal, reformatory, and dependent institutions showing that the manufacture and sale of .such beverages is the promoting cause of POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 65 intemperance, crime, and pauperism, and of demands upon j)ulplic and private charity, imposing the hirger part of taxation, para- lyzing thrift, industry, manufactures, and commercial life, wliich, but for it, would be unnecessary ; disturbing the peace of streets and highways ; filling prisons and poor-liouses ; corrupting politics, legisla- tion, and the execution of the laws ; short- ening lives ; diminishing health, industry, and productive power in manufactures and art; and is manifestly unjust as well as injurious to the community upon wliich it is imposed, and is contrary to all just views of civil liberty, as well as a violation of the fundamental maxim of our common law, to use your own property or liberty so as not to injure others. Fifth. It is neither right nor politic for the state to afford legal protection to any traffic or any system which tends to waste the resources, to corrupt the social habits, and to destroy the health and lives of the people ; tliat the importation, manufacture, and sale of intoxicating beverages is j)roveu to be inimical to the true interests of the individual home, community, and state, and destructive to the order and wel- fai'e of society, and ought, therefore, to be classed among crimes to be prohibited. Sixth. In this time of profound peace at home and abroad, the entire separation of the general government from the drink- traffic, and its prohibition in the District of Columbia, territories, and in all places and ways over which, under the constitu- tion, Congress has control and power, is a political issue of the first importance to the peace and jsrosperity of the nation. There can be no stable peace and protection to personal liberty, life, or property, until secured by national or state constitutional provisions, enforced by adequate laws. Seventh. All legitimate industries require deliverance from the taxation and loss which the liquor traffic imposes upon tliem ; and financial or other legislation could not accomplish so much to increase production and cause a demand for lalior, and, as a result, for the comforts of living, as the suppression of this traffic woull bring to thousands of homes as one of its blessings. Eighth. The administration of the gov- ernment and the execution of the laws are through political parties ; and we arraign the Republican party, which has been ia continuous power in the nation for twenty years, as being false to duty, as falr,e to loudly-proclaimed principles of equal jus- tice to all and special favors to none, and of protection to the weak and dependent, insensible to the mischief which the trade in liquor has constantly inflicted upon in- dustry, trade, commerce, and the social happiness of the people ; that 5,(552 dis- tilleries, 3,830 breweries, and 175,2i)6 places for the sale of these poisonous liquors, in- volving an annual waste to the nation of one mUlion five hundred thousand dollars, and the sacrifice of one hundred thousand lives, have, under its legislation, grown up and been fostered as a legitinuite source of revenue ; that during its history, six terri- tories have been organized and five states been admitted into the Union, with consti- tutions provided and approved by Con- gress, but the prohibition of this debasin;£ and destructive traffic has not been pro- vided, nor even the people given, at the time of admission, power to forbid it in any one of them. Its history further shows, that not in a single instance has an original prohibitory law been passed by any state that was controlled by it, while in four states, so governed, the laws found on its advent to power liave been repealed. At its national convention in 1872, it de- clared, as part of its party faith, that " it disapproves of the resort to unconstitu- tional laws for the purpose of removing evils, by interference with rights not sur- rendered by the people to either the state or national government," Avhicb, the au- thor of this plank says, was adopted by the platform committee with the full and implicit understanding that its purpose was the discountenancing of all so-called temperance, prohibitory, and Sunday laws. Ninth. We arraign, also, the Democra- tic party as unfaithful and unworthy of reliance on this question ; for, although not clothed with power, but occupying the relation of an opposition party during twenty yeai's past, strong in numbers and organization, it has allied itself with liquor-tralfickers, and become, in all the states of the Union, their special political defenders, and in its national convention in 187(3, as an article of its political faith, declared against prohibition and just laws in restraint of the trade in drink, by say- ing it was opposed to what it was pleased to call "all sumptuary laws." The Na- tional party has been dumb on this ques- tion. Tenth. Drink-traffickers, having the his- tory and experience of all ages, climes, and conditions of men, declaring their business destructive of all good — finding no support in the Bible, morals, or reason — appeal to misapplied law for their justification, and intrench theinselves behind the evil ele- ments of political party for defense, party tactics and party inertia become battling forces, protecting this evil. Eleventh. In view of the foregoing facts and history, we cordially invite all voters, without regard to former party aftiliations, to unite with us in the use of the ballot for the abolition of the drinking system, under the authority of our national and state governments. We also demand, as a right, that women, having the privileges of citi- zens in other respects, be clothed with the 66 AMERICAN POLITICS. ballot for their protection, and as a rightful means for the proper settlement of the liquor question. Tweljth. To remove the apprehension of some who allege that a loss of public rev- enue would Ibilow the suppression of the direct trade, we confidently point to the experience of governments abroad and at home, which shows that thrift and revenue from the consumption of legitimate manu- factures and commerce have so largely ibl- lowed the abolition of drink as to fully supply all loss of liquor taxes. Tuirtecnth. We recognize the good provi- dence of Almighty God, who has preserved and prospered us as a nation ; and, asking for His Spirit to guide us to ultimate suc- cess, we all look for it, relying upon His omnipotent arm. 1880.— Demociatic Platform, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 22. The Democrats of the United States, in convention assembled, declare : First. We pledge ourselves anew to the constitutional doctrines and traditions of the Democratic party, as illustrated by the teachings and examples of a long line of Democratic statesmen and patriots, and embodied in the platform of the last na- tional convention of the party. Secund. Opposition to centralization, and to that dangerous spirit of encroach- ment which tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism ; no sumptuary laws ; separation of the chureh and state for the good of each ; common schools fostered and protected. Third. Home rule ; honest money, con- sisting of gold and silver, and paper, con- vertible into coin on demand ; the strict maintenance of the public faith, state and national ; and a tariff for revenue only ; the SLil)ordination of the military to the civil power ; and a general and thorough relbrm of the civil service. Fourth. The right to a free ballot is a right preservative of all rights ; and must and shall be maintained in every jjart of the United States. Fifth. The existing administration is the representative of conspiracy only ; and its claim of right to surround the ballot-boxes with troops and deputy marshals, to in- timidate and obstruct the elections, and the unprecedented use of the veto to main- tain its corrupt and despotic power, insults the people and imperils their institutions. We execrate the course of this administra- tion in making places in the civil service a reward for i)oiitical crime ; and demand a reform, by sUitute, which shall make it for- ever impossible for a defeated candidate to bribe his way to the seat of a usurper by billeting villains upon the people. Sixth. The great fraud of 1876-7, by which, upon a false count of the electoral votes of two states, the candidate defeated at the polls was declared to be President, and, for the first time in American history, the will of the people was set aside under a threat of military violence, struck a deadly blow at our system of representa- tive government. The Democratic party, to preserve the country from the horrors of a civil war, submitted for the time, in the firm and patriotic belief that the people would punish the crime in 1880. This is- sue precedes and dwarfs every other. It imposes a more sacred duty upon the people of the Union than ever addressed the con- sciences of a nation of I'reemen. Seventh. The resolution of Samuel J. Tilden, not again to be a candidate for the exalted place to which he was elected by a majority of his countrymen, and from which he was excluded by the leaders of the Republican party, is received by the Democrats of the United States with deep sensibility ; and they declare their confi- dence in his wisdom, patriotism, and in- tegrity unshaken by the assaults of the common enemy ; and they further iissure him that he is followed into the retirement he has chosen for himself by the sym[)athy and respect of his fellow-citizens, who re- gard him as one who, by elevating the standard of the public morality, and adorn- ing and iHirifying the public service, merits the lasting gratitude of his country and his ])arty. Eighth. Free ships, and a living chance for American commerce upon the seas ; and on the land, no discrimination in favor of transportation lines, corporations, or monopolies. Ninth. Amendments of the Burlingame treaty ; no more Chinese immigration, ex- cept for travel, education, and foreign com- merce, and, therein, carefully guarded. Tenth. Public money and public credit for public purposes solely, and public land for actual settlers. Eleventh. The Democratic party is the friend of labor and the laboring man, and pledges itself to protect him alike against the cormorants and the commune. Twelfth. We congratulate the country upon the honesty and thrift of a Demo- cratic Congi-ess, which has reduced the public expenditure $10,000,000 a year; upon the continuation of prosperity at home and the national honor abroad ; and, above all, upon the promise of such a change in the administration of the govern- ment as shall insure a genuine and lasting reform in every department of the public service. POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 67 Vlrg^inla Ilepn'bllcan. [Adopted AuguM 11.] Whereas, It is proper that when tlie people assemble in convention they should avow distinctly the principles of govern- ment on which they stand ; now, therefore, be it, Resoleed, That Ave, the Republicans of Virginia, hereby make a declaration of our allegiance and adhesion to the principles of the Republican party of the country, and our determination to stand squarely by the organization of the Republican ])arty of Virginia, always defending it against the assaults of all persons or parties what- soever. Second. That amongst the principles of the Republican party none is of more vital imijortance to the welfare and interest of the country in all its parts than that which pertains to the sanctity of Government contracts. It therefore becomes the special duty and province of the Republican party of Virginia to guard and protect the credit of our time-honored State, which has been besmirched with repudiation, or received with distrust, by the gross mismanagement of various factions of the Democratic party, which have controlled the legisla- tion of the State. Third. That the Republican party of Virginia hereby pledges itself to redeem the State from the discredit that now hangs over her in regard to her just obligations for moneys loaned her for constructing her internal improvements and charitable in- stitutions, which, permeating every quarter of the State, bring benefits of far greater value than their cost to our whole people, and we in the most solemn form pledge the Republican party of the State to the full payment of the whole debt of the State, less the one-third set aside as justly falling on West Virginia ; that the industries of the country should be fostered through pro- tective laws, so as to develop our own re- sources, employ our own labor, create a home market, enhance values, and promote the happiness and prosperity of the people. Fourth. That the public school system of Virginia is the creature of the Repub- lican party, and we demand that every dollar the Constitution dedicates to it shall be sacredly applied thereto as a means of educating the children of the State, with- out regard to condition or race. Fifth. That the elective franchise as an equal right should be based on manhood qualification, and that we favor the, repeal of the requirements of the prepayment of the capitation tax as a prerequisite to the franchise as opposed to the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of the condition whereby the State was read- mitted as a member of our Constitutional Union, as well as against the spirit of the Constitution ; but demand the imposition of the capitation tax as a source t)f revenue for the support of the public schools with- out its disfranchising effects. Sixth. That we favor the repeal of the disqualification for the elective franchise by a conviction of petty larceny, and of the infamous laws which place it in the power of a single justice of the peace (oft- times being more corrupt than the criminal before him) to disfranchise his fellow-man. Seventh. Finally, that wc urge the repeal of the barbarous law permitting the im- position of stripes as degrading and inhu- man, contrary to the genius of a true and enlightened people, and a relic of bar- barism. [The Convention considered it inexpe- dient to nominate candidates for State officers.] Virginia Rcatljuster. [Adopted Jnne 2.] First. We recognize our obligation to support the institution for the deaf, dumb and blind, the lunatic asylum, the public free schools and the Government out of the revenues of the State ; and we depre- cate and denounce that policy of ring rule and subordinated sovereignty which for years borrowed money out of banks at high rates of interest for the discharge of these paramount trusts, while our revenues were left the prev of commercial exchanges, available to th3 State only at the option of speculators and syndicates. Second. We reassert our purpose to settle and adjust our State obligations on the ])rinciples of the " Bill to re-establish pub- lic credit," known as the "Riddleberger bill," passed by the last General Assembly and vetoed by the Governor. We main- tain that this measure recognizes the just debt of Virginia, in this, that it assumes two-thirds of all the money Virginia bor- rowed, and sets aside the other third to West Virginia to be dealt with by her in her own way and at her own pleasure ; that it places those of her creditors who have received but 6 per cent, instalments of in- terest in nine years upon an exact equality with those who by corrupt agencies were enabled to absorb and monopolize our means of payment ; that it agrees to pay such rate of interest on our securities as can with certainty be met out of the rev- enues of the State, and that it contains all the essential features of finality. Third. We reassert our adherence to the Constitutional requirements for the " equal and uniform" taxation of property, ex- empting none except that specified by the Constitution and used exclusively for "re- ligious, charitable and educational pur- poses." G8 AMERICAN POLITICS. Fourth. We reassert that the paramount obligation of the various works ut' internal improvement is to the people of the State, by whose authority they were created, by whose money they were constructed and by whose grace they live ; and it is enjoin- ed upon our representative and executive officers to enforce the discharge of that duty ; to insure to our people ^uch rates, facilities and connections as will protect every industry and interest against dis- crimination, tend to the development, of our agricultural and mineral resources, en- courage the investment of active capital in manufactures and the profitable employ- ment of labor in industrial enterprises, grasp for our city and our whole State those advantages to which by their geographical position they are entitled, and fulfil all the great public ends for which they were de- signed. Fifth. The Eeadjusters hold the right to a free ballot to be the right preservative of all rights, and that it should be maintained in every State in the Union. "We believe the capitation tax restriction upon the suf- frage in Virginia to be in conflict with the XlVth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. We believe that it is a violation of that condition of reconstruc- tion wherein the pledge was given not so to amend our State Constitution as to de- prive any citizen or class of citizens of a right to vote, except as punishment for such crimes as are felony at common law. We believe such a prerequisite to voting to be contrary to the genius of our institu- tions, the veiy foundation of which is re- presentation as antecedent to taxation. We know that it has been a failure as a measure for the collection of revenue, the pretended reason for its invention in 1876, and we know the base, demoralizing and dangei-ous uses to which it has been jsros- tituted. We know it contributes to the increase of monopoly power, and to cor- rupting the voter. For these and other reasons we adhere to the purpose hitherto expressed to provide more effectual legisla- tion for the collection of this tax, dedicated by the Constitution to the public free schools, and to abolish it as a qualification for and restriction upon suffrage. Sixth. The Readjusters congratulate the whole people of Virginia on the progress of the last few years in developing mineral resources and promoting manufacturing enterprises in the State, and they declare their purpose to aid these great and grow- ing industries by all proper and essential legislation, State and Federal. To this end they will continue their eft'orts in behalf of more cordial and fraternal relations be- tween the sections and States, and espe- cially for that concord and harmony which will make the country to know how earn- estly and sincerely Virginia invites all men into her borders as visitors or to become citizens without fear of social or ijolitical ostracism ; that every man, from whatever section of country, shall enjoy the fullest freedom of tliought, speech, jiolitics and religion, and that the State which first formulated these principles as fundamental in free government is yet the citadel for their exercise and protection. Virginia Democratic. [Adopted August 4.j The Conservative Democratic party of Virginia — Democratic in its Federal rela- tions and Conservative in its State policy — assembled in convention, in view of the present condition of the Union and of this Commonwealth, for the clear and distinct assertion of its political principles, doth declare that we adopt the following articles of political faith : First. Equality of right and exact jus- tice to all men, special privileges to none ; freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of the person under the pro- tection of the habeas corpus ; of trial by juries impartially selected, and of a pure, upright and non-partisan judiciary ; elec- tions by the people, free from force or fraud of citizens or of the military and civil of- ficers of Government ; and the selection for public offices of those who are honest and best fitted to fill them ; the support of the State governments in all their rights as the most competent administrations of our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies ; and the preservation of the General Govern- ment in its whole constitutional vigor as the best sheet-anchor of our peace at home and our safety abroad. Second. That the maintenance of the public credit of Virginia is an essential means to fjhe promotion of her prosperity. We condemn repudiation in every shape and form as a blot upon her honor, a blow at her permanent welfare, and an obstacle to her progress in wealth, influence and power ; and that we will make every effort to secure a settlement of the public debt, with the consent of her creditors, which is consistent with her honor and dictated by justice and sound public policy; that it is eminently desirable and proper that the several classes of the debt now existing should be unified, so that equality, which is equity, may control in the annual pay- ment of interest and the ultimate redemp- tion of principal ; that, with a view of se- curing such equality, we pledge our party to use all lawful authority to secure a settle- ment of the State debt so that there shall be but one class of the public debt ; that we will use all lawful and constitutional means iu our power to secure a settlement POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 69 of the State debt upon the basis of a 3 per cent, bond, and that the Conservative- Democratic party pledges itself, as a part of its policy, not to increase the ijreseut rate of taxation. Third. That we will uphold, in its full constitutional integrity and efficieucj% our public-school system for the education of both white and colored children — a system inaugurated by the Constitution of the State and established by the action of the Conservative party years before it was re- quired by the Constitution ; and will take the most effectual means for the faithful execution of the same by applying to its support all the revenues set apart for that object by the Constitution or otherwise. Fourth. Upon this declaration of prin- ciples we cordially invite the co-operation of all Conservative Democrats, whatever may have been or now are their views upon the public debt, in the election of the nominees of this Convention and in the maintenance of the supremacy of the Democratic party in this State. Resolved, farther, That any intimation, coming from any quarter, that the Con- servative- D^>mocratic party of Virginia has been, is now, or proposes to be, opposed to an honest ballot and a fair count, is a calumny upon the State of Virginia as un- founded in fact as it is dishonorable to its autliors. That special efr)rts be made to foster and the agricultural, mechanical, manufacturing and other indus- trial interests of the State. That, in common with all good citizens of the Union, we reflect with deep abhor- rence upon the crime of the man who aimed a blow at the life of the eminent citizen who was called by the constitutional voice of fifty millions of people to be the President of the United States ; and we tender to him and to his friends the sym- pathy and respect of this Convention and of those we represent, in this great calam- ity, and our hearty desire for his complete restoration to health and return to the dis- charge of his important duties, for the wel- fare and honor of our common country. encourage COMPARISON OF PLATFORM PLANKS ON GREAT POLITICAL aUESTIONS. General Party Doctrines. DEMOCRATIC. 1856— That the liberal principles embodied by Jeffer- son in the Declara- tion of Independ- ence, and sanctioned in the Constitution, which makes ours REPUBLICAN. 1856— That the maintenance of the principles promul- gated in the Decla- ration of Independ- ence and embodied in the Federal Con- stitution, is essential DEMOCRATIC. tlie land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed o f every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic faith; and every attempt to abridge the present privilege of becom- ing citizens and the owners of soil among us ought to be re- sisted with the same spirit which swept the alien and sedi- tion laws from our statute books. [Plank 8. 1860— Reaffirm- ed. 1864— 1868— 1872— We recog- nize the equality of all men before the law, and hold that REPUBLICAN. to the preservation of our Republican institutions, and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of tlie States, and the union of the States shall be pre- served; that with our Republican fathers, we hold it to be a self-evident truth that all men are en- dowed with the in- alienable rights to ;ife, liberty, and the pursuit o f happi- ness, and that the primary object and ulterior design of our Federal Govern- ment were to secure these rights to all persons within its exclusive jurisdic- tion. [Plank 1. 1860— That the maintenance of the principles promul- gated in the Decla- ration of Independ- ence and embodied in the Federal Con- stitution. "That all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- piness ; that to se- c u r e these rights governments are in- stituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the gov- erned," is Cosential to the preservation of our Republican institutions ; and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and the Union of the States must and shall be preserved. [Plank 2. 1864— 1868— 1872— Complete liberty and exact equality in the en- joyment of all civil, 70 AMERICAN POLITICS. DEMOCRATIC. it is the duty of Gov- ernment in its deal- ings with the peo- ple to mete out equal and exact jus- tice to all, of what- ever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or politi- cal, [riauk 1. 1876— 1880 — Opposi- tion to centraliza- tionism, and to that dangerous spirit of encroachment which tends to con- solidate the powers of all the depart- ments in one, and thus to create, what- ever be the form of Government, a real despotism. [Plank 2. REPUBLICAN. political and public rights should be es- tablished and eliec- tually maintained throughout the Un- ion by efficient and appropriate State and Federal Legis- lation. Neiiherthe law nor its adminis- tration should ad- mit any discrimina- tion in respect of citizens by reasons of race, creed, color or previous condi- tion of servitude. I Plank 3. 1876— TAe United States of America in a Na tio n not a league. By the com- bined workings oi the National and IState Governments, under their respec- tive constitutions, the rights of every citizen are secured at home or abroad, and the common welfare promoted. 1880— 27ie consti- tution of the United States is a sttpreme law and not a mere contract. Out of confederate States it made a sovereign nation. Some pow- ers are denied to the nation, while others are denied to the States, but the boundary between the powers dele- gated and those re served is to be de termined by the Na tional, and not b) the State tribunal. [Cheers.^ [Plank 2. The RebeUlon. DEMOCRATIC. 1864— That this convention does ex- plicithj declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the ex- REPUBLICAN. 1864— That it is the highest duty oi every American cit- i z e n to maintain against all their enemies the integ- rity of the Union and the paramount DEMOCRATIC. periment of war, during which, un- der the pretense of a military necessity or war-power higher than the Constitu- tion, the Constitu- tion itself has been disregarded in every part, and public lib- erty and private right alike trodden down, and the ma- terial prosperity of the country essen- tially impaired, jus- tice, humanity, lib- erty, and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to the ultimate convention of the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that, at the earliest practi- cable moment peace may be restored on the basis of the Fed- eral Union of the States. [1st resolution. REPUBLICAN. authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States ; and that lay- ing aside all differ- e n c e s of political opinions, Ave pledge ourselves as Union men, animated by a common s e n t i- ment, and aiming at a common object, to d o everything i n our power to aid the Government, in quelling by force of arms the rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bringing to the pun- ishment due to their crimes the rebels and traitors arrayed against it. That we approve the determination of the Government of the LTnited States not to compromise with rebels, or to offer them any terms of peace, except such as may be based upon an un- conditional sur- render of their hos- tility and a return to their just allegi- ance to the Constitu- tion and laws of the United States ; and that we call upon the Government to maintain this posi- tion and to prose- cute the war with the utmost possible vigor to the com- plete suppression of the rebellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing p a- triotism, the heroic valor, and the un- dying devotion o f the American peo- ple to the country and its free institu- tions. [1st and 2d resolu- tions.] Home DEMOCRATIC. 1856— That we recognize the right Rule. REPUBLICAN. 1856— * * * The dearest consti- POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 71 DEMOCRATIC. of the people in all the Territories, in- cluding Kansas and Nebraska, acting through the legally and fairly expressed will of a majority of actual residents, and wherever the number of their in- habitants justifies it, to form a constitu- tion * * * and be admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality with the other States. REPUBLICAN. tutional rights of the people of Kan- sas have been fraud- ulently and violent- ly taken from them ; their territory has been invaded bj'^ an armed force; spur- ious and pretended legislative, judicial, and executive of- ficers have been set over them, by whose usurped authority, sustained by tjae military power of the Government, tyrannical and un- constitutional laws have been enacted and enforced ; the right of the people to keep and bear arms has been in- fringed ; test-oaths of an extraordinary and entangling na- ture have been im- posed as a condition of exercising the right of suffrage and holding office ; the right of an ac- cused person to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury has been de- nied ; the right of the people to be se- cure in their per- sons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seiz- ures, has been vio- lated ; they have been deprived of life, liberty, and prop- erty without d u e process of law ; that the freedom of speech and of the press has been abridged; the right to choose their rep- resentatives has been made of no effect ; murders, rob- beries, and arsons have been instigated and encouraged, and the offenders have been allowed to go unpunished ; that all these things have been done DEMOCRATia 25 1860— That when the settlers in a Ter- ritory, having an ad- equate population, form a State Consti- tution, the right of sovereignty com- mences, and, being consummated by ad- mission into the Un- ion, they stand on an equal footing with the people of other States; and the State thus organized ought to be admitted into the Federal Union, whether its consti- tution prohibits or recognizees the insti- tutionof slavery. [Plank 3, Breckin- ridge, Dem. 1864— 1868 — After the most solemn and unanimous pledge of. both Houses of Con- gress to prosecute the war exclusively for the maintenance of the Government and the preservation of the Union under the Constitution, it [the Republican party] has rep'^atedly vio- REPUBLICAN. with the knowledge, sanction, and pro- curement of the present Adminis- tration, and that for this high crime against the Consti- tution, the Union, and humanity, we arraign the Admin- istration, the Presi- dent, his advisers, agents, supporters, apologists, and ac- cessories, either be- fore or after the fact, before the country and before the world ; and that it is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these atrocious outrages and their accom- plices to a sure and condign punish- ment. [Plank 3. I860 — That the maintenance invio- late of the rights of the States, and espe- cially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusive- ly, IS essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and pnduranceof our political fabric de- pends; and we de- nounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Terri- torj', no matter un- der what pretext, aa among the gravest of crimes. [Plank 4. 1864— 1868 — We con- gratulate the coun- try on the assured success of the recon- struction policy of Congress, as evinced by the adoption, in the majority of the States lately in re- bellion, of constitu- tions securing equal civil and political rights to all ; and it 72 AMERICAN POLITICS. DEMOCRATIC. lated that most sa- cred pledge under which alone was ral- lied that noble vol- unteer army which carried our flag to victory. Instead of restoring the Union, it has, so far as in its power, dissolved it, and subjected ten States, in time of profound peace, to military despotism and negro suprema- cy. It has nullified there the right of trial by jury ; it has abolished the habeas corpus, that most sa- cred writ of liberty ; it has overthrown the freedom of speech and the press ; it has substituted arbitrary seizures and arrests, and military trials and secret star-cham- ber inquisitions for the constitutional tribunals ; it has disregarded in time of peace the right of the people to be free from searches and seizures ; it has en- tered the post and telegraph offices, and even the private rooms of individuals, and seized their pri- vate papers and let- ters without any spe- cific charge or notice of affidavit, as re- quired by the or- ganic law ; it has converted the Amer- can Capitol into a bastile ; it has estab- lished a system of spies and official es- pionage to which no constitutional mon- archy of Europe would now dare to resort; it has abol- ished the right of appeal on important constitutional ques- tions to the supreme judicial tribunals, and threatens to cur- tail or destroy its original jurisdiction, which is irrevocably REPUBLICAN. is the duty of the Government to sus- tain those institu- tions and prevent the people of such States from being remitted to a state of anarchy. DEMOCRATIC. vested by the Con- stitution, while the learned Chief Jus- tice has been sub- jected to the most atrocious calumnies, merely because he would not prostitute his high office to the support of the false and partisan charges preferred against the President. * * * Under its repeated assaults the pillars of the Government are rocking on their base, and should it succeed in Novem- ber next and inaugu- rate its President, we will meet as a sub- jected and conquered people, amid the ruins of liberty and the scattered frag- ments of the Consti- tution. 1872— Local self- government, with impartial suff'rage, will guard the rights of all citizens more securely than any centralized power. The public welfare requires the supre- macy of the civil over the military au- thority, and freedom of persons under the protection of the ha- beas corpus. We de- mand for the indi- vidual the largest liberty consistent with public order ; for the State self- government, and for the nation a return to the methods of peace and the con- stitutional limita- tions of power. [Plank 4. 1880—* * " Home Rule." [Plank 3. BSPUBLICAir. 1872 — We hold that Congress and the President have only fulfilled an im- perative duty in their measures for the suppression o f violent and treason- able organizations in certain lately rebel- lious regions, and for the protection of the ballot-box ; and, therefore, they are entitled to the thanks of the nation. [Plank 12. 1880— Internal Improvements. DEMOCRATIC. 1856— That the Constitution does not confer upon the general Government the power to com- REPUBLICAU. 1856— That ap- propriations by con- gress for the im- provement of riven* and harbors of a na- POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 73 DEMOCRATIC. mence and carry on a general system of internal improve- ments. [Plank 2. 1860— ReaflSrmed. 1864— 1868— 1872— 1876— 1880— Plank 2 of 1856 reaffirmed. REPUBLICAN. tional character, re- quired for the ac- commodation and security of our exist- ing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution and justified by the obli- gation o f Govern- ment to protect the lives and property of its citizens. fPlank 7. I860— That ap- propriations by Con- gress for river and harbor improve- ments of a national character, required for the accommoda- tion and security of an existing com- merce, are author- ized by the Constitu- tion and justified by the obligation of Government to pro- tect the lives and property of its citi- zens. [Plank 15. 1864— 1868— 1872— 1876— 1880— * * * That we deem it the duty of Congress to de- velop and improve our seacoast and harbors, but insist that further subsi- dies to private per- sons or corporations must cease. The National Debt and Interest, tbe Public Credit) Repudiation, etc. DEMOCRATIC. 1864— REPUBLICAN. 1864— That the National faith, pledged for the re- demption of the public debt, must be kept inviolate, and that for this purpose we recommend eco- nomy and rigid re- sponsibility in the public expenditures, and a vigorous and just system of taxa- tion ; and that it is the duty of every DEMOCRATIC. 1868— Payment of the public debt of the United States as rapidly as practica- ble ; all moneys drawn from the peo- ple by taxation, ex- cept so much as is requisite for the ne- cessities of the Gov- ernment, economi- cally administered, being honestly ap- plied to such pay- ment, and where the obligations of the Government do not expressly state upon their face, or the law under which they were issued does not provide that they shall be paid in coin, they ought, in right and in justice, to be paid in the lawful money of the United States. [Plank 3. Equal taxation of every species of pro- perty according to its real value, in- cluding Government bonds and other public securities. [Plank 4. 1872 — We de- mand a system of Federal taxation which shall not un- necessarily interfere with the industries of the people, and REPUBLICAN. loyal State to sustain the credit and pro-- mote the use of the National currency. [Plank 10. 1868 — We de- nounce all forms of repudiation as a Na- tional crime ; and the National honor requires the pay- ment of the public indebtedness in the uttermost good faith to all creditors at home and abroad, not only according to the letter, but the spirit of the laws under which it was contracted. [Plank 3, It is due to the labor of the nation that taxation should be equalized and re- duced as rapidly as the national faith will permit. [Plank 4. The national debt, contracted as it has been for the preser- vation of the Union for all time to come, should be extended over a fair period for redemption ; and it is the duty of Con- gress to reduce the rate of interest thereon whenever it can be honestly done. [Plank 5. That the best po- licy to diminish our burden of debt is to so improve our cred- it that capitalists will seek to loan us money at lower rates of interest than we now pay and must continue to pay so long as repudiation, partial or total, open or covert, is threat- ened or suspected. [Plank 6. 1872— * * * A uniform national currency has been provided, repudia- tion frowned down, the national credit sustained under the 74 AMERICAN POLITICS. DEMOCRATIC. Tvrhich shall provide the means necessa- ry to pay the expen- ses of the Govern- ment, economically administered, the pensions, the inter- est on the public debt, and a mode- rate reduction an- nually of the princi- pal thereof. * * * The i)ublic credit must be sacredly maintained, and we denounce repudia- tion in every form and guise. [Plank 7. 1876— Reform is necessary to estab- lish a sound curren- cy, restore the pub- lic credit, and main- tain the national honor. REPUBLICAN. most extraordinary burdens, and new bonds negotiated at lower rates. * * [Plank 1. We denounce re- pudiation of the public debt, in any form of disguise, as a national crime. We witness with pride the reduction of the principal of the debt, and of the rates of interest upon the balance. [Plank 13. DEMOCRATIC. REPUBLICAN. cent, bonds are eagerly sought at a premium. [Preamble. Resumptiou. 1880— *** Hon- est m o n e y — t h e strict maintenance of the public faith — consisting of gold and silver, and pa- per convertible into coin on demand ; the strict mainte- nance of the public faith. State and na- tional. [Plank 3. 1876— In the first act of Congress signed by President Grant, the National G o V e r n m e n t as- sumed to remove any doubts of its purpose to discharge all just obligations to the public credi- tors, and " solemnly pledged its faith to make provision at the earliest practica- ble period for the redemption of the United States notes in coin." Commer- cial prosperity, pub- lic morals, and na- tional credit demand that this promise be fulfilled by a con- tinuance and steady progress to specie payment. [Plank 4. 1880— It [the Re- publican party] h^ raised the value of our paper currency from 38 per cent, to the par of gold [ap- plause] ; it has re- stored, upon a solid basis, payment in coin of ail national obligations, and has given us a currency absolutely good and equal in every part of our extended country [applause] ; it has lifted the credit of the nation from the point of where 6 per cent, bonds sold at 86, to that where 4 per DEMOCRATIC. 1872 — A speedy return to specie pay- ment is demanded alike by the highest c o n s i d e rations of commercial morali- ty and honest gov- ernment. [Plank 8. 1876 — We de- nounce the financial imbecility and im- morality of that party, which, during eleven years of peace, has made no ' advance toward re- sumption, no prepa- ration for resump- tion, but instead has obstructed resump- tion, by wasting our resources and ex- hausting all our sur- plus income; and, while annually pro- fessing to intend a speedy return to specie payments, has annually enac- ted fresh hindrances thereto. As such hindrance we de- nounce the resump- tion clause of the act of 1875, and we here demand its repeal. 1880—* * * Hon- est money, * * * consisting of gold, and silver, and pa- per convertible into coin on demand. REPUBLICAN. 1872—* * * Our excellent national currency will be perfected by a spee- dy resumption of specie payment. [Plank 13. 1876— In the first act of Congress signed by President Grant, the National Government as- sumed to remove any doubts of its purpose to discharge all just obligations to the public credi- tors, and solemnly pledged its faith to make provision at the "earliest practicable period for the redemption of the United States notes in coin." Com- mercial prosperity, public morals and national credit de- mand that this pro- mise be fulfilled by a continuous and steady progress to specie payment. 1880— * * * It [the Republican party] has restored, upon a solid basis, payment in coin of all National obli- g a t i o n s , and has given us a currency absolutely good and equal in every part of our extended country. Capital and Iiabor. DEMOCRATIC. REPUBLICAN. 1868 — Resolved, That this conven- tion sympathize cor- d i a 1 1 y with the working men of the United States in 1868— POLITICAL PLATFORMS. •5 DEMOCRATIC. their efforts to pro- tect the rights and interests of the la- boring classes of the country. 1872— REPUBLICAN. 1880— The Demo- cratic party is the friend of labor and the laboring man, and pledges itself to protect him alike against the cormo- rant and the com- mune. [Plank 13. 1872— Among the questions which press for attention is that which concerns the relations of capi- tal and labor, and the Republican par- ty recognizes the du- ty of so shaping le- gislation as to secure rail protection and the amplest field for capital, and for labor, the creator of capital the largest opportu- nities and a just share of the mutual profits of these two great servants of ci- vilization. [Plank 11. 1880— Tariff. DEMOCRATIC. 1856 — The time has come for the people of the United States to declare themselves in favor REPUBLICAN. 1856— of *■)(•* progressive free trade through- out the world, by solemn manifesta- tions, to place their moral influence at the side of their suc- cessful example. [Resolve i. That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Govern- ment to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of any other, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of another portion of our com- mon country. [Plank 4. DEMOCRATIC. I860— Reafirmed. 1864— 1868— * * * A tariff for revenue upon foreign im- ports, and such equal taxation under the Internal Revenue laws as will afford incidental protec- tion to domestic manufactures, and as will, without im- pairing the revenue, impose the least burden upon and best promote and encourage the great industrial interests of the country. [Plank 6. 1872— * * * -^ Re- cognizing that there are in our midst honest but irrecon- cilable differences of opinion with regard to the respective systems of protection and free trade, we remit the discussion of the subject to the people in their Con- gressional districts, and to the decision of the Congress thereon, wholly free from executive in- REPUBLICAX. 1860— That, while providing revenue for the support of the general Govern- ment by duties upon imports, sound poli- cy requires such an adjustment of these imposts as to encour- age the development of the industrial in- terests of the whole country ; and we commend that poli- cy of national ex- changes which se- cures to the work- ingmen liberal wa- ges, to agriculture re- munerative prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commer- cial prosperity and independence. [Plank 12. 1864— 1868— 1872— * * * * Revenue except so much as may be derived from a tax upon tobacco and liquors, should be raised by duties upon importations, the details of which should be so adjusted as to aid in securing remunerative wages to labor, and pro- mote the industries, prosperity, and growth of the whole country. [Plank 7. 76 AMERICAN POLITICS. DEMOCRATIC. terference or dicta- tion. [Plank 6. 1876— **** We demand that all custom-house taxa- tion shall be only for revenue. [Plank 11. 1880— * * * * A tariff for revenue on- ly. [Plank 3. REPUBLICAN. 1876— The reve- nue necessary for current expendi- tures and the obliga- tions of the public debt must be largely derived from duties upon importations, which so far as pos- sible, should be ad- justed to promote the interests of American labor and advance the prosper- ity of the whole country. [Plank 8. 1880— Reaffirmed. Kducatlon. DEMOCRATIC. 1876— The false issue with which they [the Republi- cans] would enkindle sectarian strife in re- spect to the public schools, of which the establishment and support belong exclusively to the several States, and which the Democra- tic party has cherish- ed from their foun- dation, and is resolv- ed to maintain with- out prejudice or preference for any class, sect, or creed, and without larges- ses from the Trea- sury to any. 1880— * * * Com- mon Schools foster- ed and protected. [Plank 2. REPUBLICAN. 1876— The public school system of the several States is the bulwark of the American Republic, and with a view to its security and per- manence we recom- mend an Amend- ment to the Consti- tution of the United States, forbidding the application of any public funds or property for the ben- efit of any schools or institutions under sectarian control. [Plank 4. 1880— The work of popular education is one left to the care of the several States, but it is the duty of the National Government to aid that work to the ex- tent of its constitu- tional ability. The intelligence of the natiion is but the aggregate of the in- telligence in the several States, and the destiny of the Nation must be DEMOCRATIC. REPUBLICAN. guided, not by the genius of any one State, but by the average genius of all. [Plank 3. Duty to Union Soldiers and Sailors. DEMOCRATIC. 1864 — That the sympathy of the De- mocratic party is heartily and earnest- ly extended to the soldiery of our army and sailors of our navy, who are and have been in the field and on the sea under the flag of our coun- try, and, in the event of its attaining pow- er, they will receive all the care, protec- tion, and regard that the brave soldiers and sailors of the Republic so nobly earned. [Plank 6. jggg ******* That our soldiers and sailors, who car- ried the flag of our country to victory, against a most gal- lant and determined foe, must ever be gratefully remem- bered, and air the guarantees given in their favor must be faithfully carried into execution. REPUBLICAN. 1864— That the thanks of the Ameri- can people are due to the soldiers and sailors of the army and navy, who have periled their lives in defense of the coun- try and in vindica- tion of the honor of its flag; that the na- tion owes to them some permanent re- cognition of their pa- triotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provi- sion for those of their survivors who have received disabling and honorable wounds in the serv- ice of the country ; and that the memor- ies of those who have fallen in its defence shall be held in grateful and ever- lasting remem- brance. [Plank 4. 1868— Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late war, there were none en- titled to more espe- cial honor than the brave soldiers and seamen who endured the hardships of campaign and cruise and imperiled their lives in the service of their country ; the bounties and pensions provided by the laws for these brave defenders of the nation are obli- gations never to be forgotten ; the wi- dows and orphans of the gallant dead are the wards of the peo- ple — a sacred legacy bequeathed to the nation's care. [Plank 10. POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 77 DEMOCRATIC. 1872—* We re- member with grati- tude the heroism and sacrifices of the soldiers and sailors of the Republic, and no act of ours shall ever detract from their justly earned fame for the full re- ward of their patriot- isir [Plank 9. 1876—*** The soldiers and sailors of the Republic, and the widows and or- phans of those who nave fallen in battle, have a just claim upon the care, pro- tection, and grati- tude of their fellow- citizens. [Last resolution, 1880— REPUBLICAN. 1872— We hold in undying honor the soldiers and sailors whose valor saved the Union. Their pensions are a sacred debt of the nation, and the widows and orphans of those who died for their country are entitled to the care of a gen- erous and grateful people. We favor such additional le- gislation as will ex- tend the bounty of the Government to all our soldiers and sailors who were honorably discharg- ed, and who in the line of duty became disabled, without re- gard to the length of service or the cause of such discharge. [Plank 8. 1876— The pledges which the nation has given to her soldiers and sailors must be fulfilled, and a grateful people will always hold those who imperiled their lives for the country's preserva- tion, in the kindest remembrance. [Plank 14. 1880— That the obligations of the Republic to the men who preserved its in- tegrity in the day of battle are undimin- ished by the lapse of fifteen years since their final victory. To do them honor is and shall forever be the grateful pri- vilege and sacred duty of the Ameri- can people. DEMOCRATIC. duty of this Govern- ment to protect the naturalized citizen in all his rights, whether at home or in foreign lands, to the same extent as its native-born ci- tizens. [Plank 6. Naturalization and Allegiance. DEMOCRATIC. 1860— That the De- mocracy of the Uni- ted States recognize it as the imperative REPUBLICAN. 1860 — The Re- publican party is opposed to any change in our na- 1864— 1868 — Equal rights and protec- tion for naturalized and native-born citi- zens at home and abroad, the assertion of American nation- ality which shall command the re- spect of foreign powers, and furnish an example and en- couragement to peo- ple struggling for national integrity, constitutional liber- ty, and individual rights and the main- tenance of the rights of naturalized citi- zens against the ab- solute doctrine of immutable allegi- ance, and the claims of foreign powers to punish them for al- leged crime com- mitted beyond their jurisdiction. [Plank 8. 1872— REPUBLICAN, turalization laws, or any State legislation by which the rights of citizenship hith- erto accorded to im- migrants from for- eign lands shall be abridged or impair- ed ; and in favor of giving a full and ef- ficient protection to the right of all clas- ses of citizens, whether native or naturalized, both home and abroad. [Plank 14. 1864— 1868— The doc- trine of Great Bri- tain and other Euro- pean Powers, that because a man is once a subject he is always so, must be resisted at every hazard by the Uni- ted States, as a re- lic of feudal times, not authorized by the laws of nations, and at war with our national honor and independence. Na- turalized citizens are entitled to protec- tion in all their rights of citizenship as though they were native-born ; and no citizen of the United States, native or na- turalized, must be liable to arrest and imprisonment by any foreign power for acts done or words spoken in this country ; and, if so arrested and im- prisoned, it is the duty of the Govern- ment to interfere in his behalf. [Plank 9. 1872 — The doc- trine of Great Bri- tain and other Eu- ropean Powers con- cerning allegiance — " once a subject always a subject " — having at last, through the efforts of the Republican party, been aban- 78 AMERICAN POLITICS, DEMOCRATIC. 1876— 1880— REPUBLICAN. doned, and the Ame- rican idea of the in- dividual's right to transfer allegiance having been accep- ted by European nations, it is the duty of our Govern- ment to guard with jealous care the rights of adopted citizens against the assumption of unau- thorised claims by their former Gov- ernments, and we urge continued care- ful encouragement and protection of voluntary immigra- tion. [Plank 9. 1876— It is the im- perative duty of the Government so to modify existing trea- ties with European governments, that the same protection shall be afforded to the adopted Ameri- can citizen that is given to the native- born, and that all necessary laws should be passed to protect emigrants in the absence of pow- er in the State for that purpose. [Plank 10. 1880— * * * * Everywhere the pro- tection accorded to a citizen of American birth must be se- cured to citizens by American adoption. [Plank 5. The Chinese. DEMOCRATIC. 1876 — Reform is necessary to correct the omissions of a Republican C o n - gress, and the errors of our treaties and our diplomacy, which have stripped our fellow-citizens of foreign birth and kindred race re- crossing the Atlan- tic, of the shield of American citizen- REPUBLICAN. 1876— It is the immediate duty of Congress to fully in- vestigate the eflect of the immigration and importation of Mongolians upon the moral and ma- terial interests of the country. [Plank 11. DEMOCRATIC. ship, and have ex- posed our brethren of the Pacific coast to the incursions of a race not sprung from the same great jjarent stock, and in fact now by law de- nied citiz-enship through naturaliza- tion as being neither accustomed to the traditions of a pro- gressive civili- zation nor ex- ercised in liberty under equal laws. We denounce the policy which thus discards the liberty- loving German and tolerates a revival of the coolie trade in ]\Iongolian women imported for im- moral purposes, and Mongolian men held to perform servile labor contracts, and demand such modi- fication of the trea- ty with the Chinese Empire, or such le- gislation within con- stitutional limita- tions, as shall pre- vent further impor- tation or immigra- tion of the Mongo- lian race. 1880 — Amend- ment of the Burlin- game Treaty. No more Chinese immi- gration, except for travel, education, and foreign com- merce, and therein carefully guarded. [Plank 11. REPUBLICAN. 1880— Since the authority to regu- 1 a t e immigration and intercourse be- tween the United States and foreign nations rests with the Congress of the United States and the treaty-making power, the Republi- can party, regarding the unrestricted im- migration of Chinese as a matter of grave concernment under the exercise of both these powers, would limit and restrict that immigration by the enactment of such just, humane, and reasonable laws and treaties as will produce that result. [Plank 6. POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 79 civil Service. DEMOCRATIC. 1872 — The civil service of the gov- eriment has become a nere instrument of partisan tyranny and personal ambi- tion and an object of selfish greed. It is a scaadal and re- proach upon free in- stitutions and breeds a d e m o r a 1 iza- tion dangerous to the perpetuity of Republican Govern- ment. We therefore regard a thorough reform of the civil service as one of the most pressing neces- sities of the hour; that honesty, ca- pacity and fideli- ty constitute the only valid claim to public employment ; and the offices of the Government cease to be a matter of ar- bitrary favoritism and patronage, and public station be- come again a post of honor. To this end it is imperative- ly required that no President shall be a candidate for re- election. 1876— Reform is necessary in the civil service. Ex- perience that proves efficient, economical conduct of Govern- mental business is not possible if the civil service be sub- ject to change at every election, be a prize fought for at the ballot-box, be a brief reward of party zeal, instead of posts of honor assigned for proved competency, and held for fidelity in the public «m- REPUBLICAN. 1872 — Any system of the civil service, under which the subordinate p o s i - tions of the Govern- ment are considered rewards for mere party zeal is fatally demoralizing, and we therefore favor a reform of the system by laws which shall abolish the evils of patronage and make honesty, efficiency and fidelity the es- sential qualifications for public positions, without practically creating a life ten- ure of office. [Plank 5. 1876— Under the Constitu t i o n the President and heads of Departments are to make nomina- tions for office ; the Senate is to advise and consent to ap- pointments, and the House of Represen- tatives to accuse and prosecute faithless officers. The best interest of the pub- lic service demands that these distinc- tions be respected ; that Senators and Representa tives DEMOCRATIC. ploy ; that the dis- pensing of patron- age should neither be a tax upon the time of all our pub- lic men, nor the in- strument of their ambition. 1880— * * Tho- rough reform in the civil service. REPUBLICAN. who may be judges and accusers should not dictate appoint- ments to office. The invariable rule in appointments should have refer- ence to the honesty, fidelity and capacity of the appointees, giving to the party in power those places where harmo- ny and vigor of ad- ministration require its policy to be re- presented, but per- mitting all others to be filled by persons selected with sole reference to the effi- ciency of the public service, and the right of all citizens to share in the honor of rendering faith- ful service to the country. [Plank 5. 1880 — The Re- publican party, ad- hering to the prin- ciples affirmed by its last National Convention of re- spect for the Consti- tutional rules gov- erning appoint- ments to office, adopts the declara- tion of President Hayes, that the re- form of the civil ser- vice should be tho- rough, radical and complete. To this end it demands the co-operation of the legislative with the executive depart- ments of the Gov- ernment, and that Congress shall so legislate that fitness, ascertained by pro- per practical tests, shall admit to the public service. 80 TABULATED HISTORY— ELECTORAL VOTE. •mox 05 •* Iff CO CO « eo t~- »a r-H r-l 00 05 O X t— CD *0 CO "^ CO CO •^ t^ CD t- cc CD I-H r-t CO r- f— ( CO 00 a: 1-1 CO CO 00 CO --J" 00 CO 0: < •1^0 aoSajQ ■BpBAa^ opBJOioo SBSUBX BJisBjqaij — ■sm_ VJA.01 SBX3X BpUOI^ •«A'AV UB3iqoTXV 8BSnB5lJV ijnossij^ sioai[n ■BUBtpUJ CO CO CO . 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C3 to 0) CO H^ C - O m a P a P tb a P^.-£ --' bD t« l> ^ — -Oh ■^ ^- a) . <= * c5 «« a £ a 3 o bo !^ := a P fe a ^p 3 *: eS .s w ;> c »3 03 s J oj ti ^ tt* ^. - o a f< o 3 ^ a eS a ^a bC (O > fl o fe fl O en 03 CO C^ a> o a> rH (In >• Sh 00 >< Ft Ah a> us ® X r^ /«-< 4^ M 00 co OoQ OQQ coc ua> C04I oa> tji«) o«> oo^;r'i' oo>H;-«t. oot*;"^' ripLi>>p:4 riCLi^pLi ,^PL|>-pU| 82 TABULATED HISTORY— ELECTORAL VOTE, OiOO'O COt^cot^ ■^S^-'JfOI ■^•^OO-^-^OO 0(M35C* ■<* 00 •* Tt* ^ o vO lO «c 00 00 00 to 05 oa 05 05 as OS ; O^ Oi a> a> a CO 00 00 o : o 05 : CR : 05 00 00 00 00 00 «D O CO l-H ; rH : O lO 00 00 00 00 00 00 CO CD CO CO CO CO CO CO -* CO -* CO to CO CO CO CO CO UO CO CO CO to CO >o CO CO CO CO CO CO : CO CO CO CO CO ■* ^ Tt< -* ■* IM CO CO CO CO CD lO lO to lO 05 a> 05 00 00 00 00 00 ^ : :tH J^^ -3 i a . 4> ^' >; ^ -^^ -e; TO " a aj . . . hp Pi 3 aja 7^ o s aj Jx a 53 -d w H^.2 a,-W o Ah O a-2 §•3 5 3 a eS c8 *J-»^ Ph a • s a - eS oj aj ^ ^ ee&H O bD-'^ ^ .j-O w -^ S o d --^ t^ ci o a e< >>'^a .S !- « o -^a a a ^ S "" 2 OJ O cj 4> fl o ^- g -^ - a> CO a 2 ^ 3 g fl a> rt K J :^ f-^ a CQ •-I d - S3 d ;3 d cj Ph S ""^ o go ^ d P-^ • d'5-2 o oS g d '3 ri 1-5 Ch K- ^ g d da* !^ (jj ro C3co>- ■^to a>m oooQ ioo OOi^iTi^ GO »< rH ^1 r'Pn •* CO CO 4> 00 ^ O) CO .a ^< P=-P^ 00 oo CO « 00 »< rH PUl AMERICAN POLITICS. 83 •{■B^OX •1^0 uoSajQ ■epBAa^ •^ O eo rH CO ^ CO (M 00 C^ 1-1 t^ 00 -^ I-H l-H CO Op^JOlOQ SBSUB^ 'Biis'Baqa^ •tiaii\[ •siAi. a a a '-H c o «M0i BBX8J, •BpiJOIJ •«A"Ai. ub3ii{oii^ jSBSU^JiaV u I unossii\[ « Q H IK » I » siouini ■BUBipaj iC3lo,ina;H ■BUjismoi ONO •UU8X ■ssiH 'Btn'Bq'B^v BiSjoaf) Q !» H » Q M « 04 PS o O < o H •O'S pu Jill's j^ •0 "N ■biuiSjia aj'BAi'BpG •Bunaj jfasjof '^ VOA "N •nuoo pu^isi '^ •SS'BI^ •jnoouaA. •durBjTN •9ni'Bi\[ iO 00 ; ; 00 CO o : to 00 CO (N lO 00 ■* C^ : 00 : t^ 00 00 : CO (N • CO : o T-i : 00 CO CO CD 05 : w : CO xffl CO CD CD va P4 E-i COt~-lOlOCOCOr-li— Ir-l^ iOt1<1.0^ t1 --^-s M ,- fl ^•sS o >-- « OM> a; m' CJ 4> •^ h >-(li « 5* bO 01 P4 O- J3 a) ^ . « ci!cL."--J : ^ .2 - " s a. S r- l-t a O „Ooo •o SS ^a •a 3<^ p^-'kJ'H rl . 1^ to a, * -- 1^^ ep^ ,2 -o • ^ >^ -W H 1^ o • o . .1—1 Sj •-' ■« 00 a) 00 "^ rH Ph B4 TABULATED HISTORY— APPORTIONMENT. « a o "O c n • .t S J B C 5 S 3 £ ^ §• B« r « 3 i ? (n 4 I. ^ S "I o o p. a. cs •o c (n o a o 928 ^28 CO »o CO 00 to CO t-^»-tC^OOco.-tt~r-(cDTjicO'>J'-i>.'5r-Tt^OOeO>-Ht^>-iCOT}-iCSOOc0i-ic0»-(CD-<*ic0CSrHiCit^-^C0i-iCSt^C005i-irH 1— iCSi— II— IT-H i-HrH T-H COCS oocacooocso-*oo cs rH rH rH 618 oovocoi-HTfirHcsoocooa^i-icDTt^cocsrHiot^-^eoi-HCSt-cooii-ii-i 1— iCSi— 11— It- 1 1— li— 1 1—1 COCS OOCSCOOOC<)0-*00 cs 1-1 ^-1 1-1 818 00»OCOrH'^rHCSOOCOOcO'-ICOTj(COi-lT-l>Or-'«<*i-iC<)OOcoOcOOCO-*COi-iO>Ot-MOi-i 1— iCSi— ii— ii— 1 rHi— ( I-l eocs t-cscooocso-*ao cs I— 1 T-H T— 1 218 ao»o«OrH'<*.01CiOi-it^iMCDOOCS0>-^00 1— 11— li— li— li— 1 1— li— 1 1—1 COCSC^ 1— li— ( 808 a0»0i-0i-ir}irH0SO05CSOcDOc0-*iC0i-iO»01^C005i-iC^t^C^05Oi-i rHi— IrHi-HrH i— 1i— t i— 1 COCS r-CScoOOCS05-*a) cs I-ll-l Z08 ooio»Oi-i-«*ii-ic^0505Cso-^Oco-^corHoot^cocoi-icsi^cso50'H rHi— IrHi-l rHr-l i— 1 COCS r-cscOOOCSOS-^OO C^ 1-1 rH 908 OOiOkOrHTtlrHCS0501SSOcDOCOTt1COi-lOvOt~eOeOi-lCSt^rH050i-l 1— ti— IrHi— 1 rHi— t rH COCS CDCSCOOOCSOli^lOO cs rH rH eo8 OOlOlOrH'*rHCS0505(MOCOOCO'*CDi-lOkOt^COCOi-lCqt^rH050i-l i—ll— It-Hi— 1 rHi— 1 r-^ COCS CDCSCOOOCSOirJiOO cs 1-1 T-l ^08 OOlOlOrH->S(rH!M05a5!MOCDOCO''*QO cs rH 108 00»O»0i-l'*i-li-l01CIiCSOC0OC0'^ffl-HO'0t~C0e0rHCSt-l-l0005rH rHrHrHi— 1 rHT-l rH COi-l COCSCD050CS05TKOO cs rH 008 t^iO>OT-<-*rHrH0505C^)OCOOCOTtlCOi-lOvOJ:^eOCOi-O>OT-l-rJli-lrHOS00CSOCOOCO'i*C0i-lO»Ot^C0C0T-lCSt~rH0005i I— li— li— IrH rHT-H 1—1 COi— I cscoaioscso5"*Q0 cs i62 t^iOiOi-IT}irHT-ia5aOCSOcOOcOTj«COi-iO»Ol^COCOrHCSl--OQOO>rHcOCSC005C5CSC5rJioO rHi— li— IrH ,-( 1-t rl COi— ICS 962 t-lO»Ol-ITfrHCOCSCOO>05CS05'*00 T-Hi— IrHi— ( 1— II— 1 1—i COrHCS 962 t-U3>OrHTtlrHrH0500CqOCOOCOTfl»Oi-lO>OJr~eOCOrHC^t^OQOC»rH»OCSC00505CS05'*<» rHpHi— IrH I— It— 1 i—i COl— iCS ^62 r^lO>Ol-l'*rHrH0500CSOCDOlO'^u3^0»01--eOCOl-lCSr^OOOOirHlOCSCOOi05CS05T}IOO 1-Hi— li— IrH rHrH rH COrHCS 862 l:^iOOi-i'^i-ii-i05004SOcOOkOTjCS03'^00 T-> 1-1 fl 1-1 rHrH rH COi-lCS OOi*'^rH'^rHCSaS05C005COOCOlOCOi-l05eOCOeOT-trHCOt^COOOOi-lt^CS»OOCOe005Ci>00 T-lrH rH rH rH CO CS CS f-< CO cs 5 «s '3 a 2 E Ht- C o o * a '^ •n ^ ^2 t- ii a ° a) - >, is .M a in cj eS jj trj ^ .« ^ 9 E5 13 5 J S b ^ ^ ^ c3 o a o-— «5 S s- p ea " S^ ? 6: &: E= ■' 2 -a .2 >■ to c8 P a .3 ^ a "^ o _ .a -3 00 *> d ° o H o St TABULATED HISTORY— AMERICAN TARIFFS. 85 ■a o o O CQ m a S cS o « o a o 3 a c8 C5 a o a o 3 c3 02 t)0 cS X) 0) o eS bO 3 M o Pi o 0< iOt--OOOC000000 T-i.-ir-iT-i.-ic ; : : P< ^ lO ''S "5 t~ :; . 1— ( >— I rH •— c o o o o -tJ •tJ -*J .w t- o C^ C^ S^ ^ 3 p. u o CO o o o •<*< N ^ CO (M 2 t) u 00 ■^ o S (N "3 da <*! =!«! P. Pi p. o o lo CC '^ CO Pi It- O C^ »0 lO t-- o _ I0i0i0>0i000»00i»0i0>0 0>0 i-H r-ii-ii-ti-ieOC^C^C^(MiMC lO o Pi Pi P^ P, O CO o CO o o o o o o (M CO ■^ CO CO CO o 3 « - - vO t- O 3 o -UN O O t^ t~ tOlOlOt^OCOCOCOCO 00 a» 3 3 o a> . Pi <0 oj o ■* . X :: P< Pi O O U3 (M €©■ CO iM 6^ ^- 1— I ?-i 1— I y a «j . . . t) - . . P4 kO UD O lO »o »o t^ o o o i-l rH ■— I CO 5<< C^ 3 C ■ 3 3 5 : z S § g - ^ - Pi b - 05 « " P< 3 a> u 00 o »o IM l-H • in oo •— I =3 O ^ O /->■ ""I P. . . - - 5 P< ' "* ' § 2 Tji (M IM 00 00 Q^... ........ . i-i«....,......g, ■s £ eooooooooooooo u P. P. g ; 93 U Pi »—t I— I »-i ft •* i-H^IMIMlMuSCOCO CO CO IM M IM CO (M e*t (M cq CO CO o 00 = S^- -*< 00 to 00 83 CO J2 to CO '"' p, ci o3 IfH 3^«:H»5l*H -> »; m -3 3 o bC >- 00 00 ;5J rH —I IM ~ ' ^^ IM "3 «J .J -^ *; bO S * 3 a> ^ < a "M •* n: to to ^ 00 00 « 3 3 3 "3 « o 3 T3 ki a> x> 3 o J3 IS o H « a 9 O « rs o o o M « 3 9 S ■V 9 tJ 3 •O O if 9 oi o CQ tiO 3 CO 9 X! 9 tlO OS O. a •3 9 9 o 3 05 H o 9 >? S -s — CO Si 73 9 m e i? 3 S 3 3m *S >-> ^ u o S 86 AMERICAN POLITICS. STATUTES OP LIMITATIONS. State Laws with reference to limitations of actions, shott- ing the limit of time on which action may be brought. States and TEaBITOBlES, Alabama Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut JDaliota Delaware Dist. of Columbia. Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire.. New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina.... Ohio Ontario (U. Canada) Oregon Pennsylvania.. Quebec (L. Canada) Rhode Island.. South Carolina. Tennessee Te-xas Utah Vermont , Virginia Washington Tertry West Virginia.. Wisconsin Wyoming Assault, ander, re- evin, etc. ga og m o 5 a o s T3 m a 1-5 Yrs Yrs. Yrs. Yrs. 1 3 6 20 1 3 5 10 3 2 4 5 1 2 2 3 1 6 6 6 2 6 6 20 1 3 6 20 1 3 3 12 2 5 3 20 1 4 6 7 3 2 4 5 1 6 10 20 2 6 20 20 2 5 10 20 1 3 5 5 1 5 5 15 1 3 5 10 2 6 20 20 3 3 3 12 2 6 20 20 2 6 6 10 2 6 6 10 1 3 6 7 1 4 5 6 2 2 4 6 2 6 20 20 2,6 6 20 20 1 — 10 2 6 6 20 1 3 10 10 1 6 15 15 1 3 10 10 1 6 15 15 1 5 5 .30 2 1 6 10 1 6 6 20 1,2 5 5 30 1 6 6 20 2 6 6 20 1 6 6 20 1 2 4 10 1 2 4 5 2 6 14 8 5 5 5 10 2 3 6 9 5 5 6 10 2 6 6 20 1 6 15 10 — c S "rt *^ X3 03 > a Yrs. 10 10 5 3 17 20 20 12 20 20 5 10 20 10 15 15 20 20 12 20 10 20 7 10 4 10 20 10 20 10 15 10 15 30 20 20 30 20 20 10 7 8 20 20 10 20 21 The Recent American Tariffs, under Re- -vlsed Statutes, Sec. ^24:91, et seq. CUMMODITIES. RATE 01" DUTY. Ale, porter, and beer— in bottles.... 35 c. per gall. " " " in casks 25 c. per gall. Aniline dyes or colors {and^^p. c.'} Animals, living — cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, etc 20 per cent. Barley 15 c. per bush. Books and other printed matter.... 25 per cent. Braids of straw 30 per cent. Brushes 40 per cent. Buttons 30 per cent. Chee«e 4 c. per lb. China, porcelain and parian ware, plain, white, and not decorated in any manner 45 per cent. Do. gilded, ornamented or deco- rated in any manner 50 per cent. Do. other earthen, stone, or crock- ery ware, white, glazed, edged, printed, or dipped, or cream colored 40 per cent. Coal, bitumen, and shale 75 c. per ton. Corsets and corset-cloth, valued at $6 per dozen, or less 82 per doz. Do. valued over $fi per dozen 35 per cent. Cotton, manufactures of — plain bleached, value 20 cents or less per square yard 6>^ c. per sq. yd. COMMODITIES. Do. printed or colored, value 25 cents or less per square yard Do. Hosiery Do. Lac»8, cords, braids, gimps, galloons and cotton laces, colored and insertings Do. Thread-yarn, warps, or warp- yarn not wound on spools, valued at over 60 and not exceeding 80 cents per pound Cotton, valued at over 80 cents per pound Do. Velvet, velveteens, velvet bind- ings, ribbons, and vestings Currants, Zante, or other Diamonds (cut), cameos, mosaics, gems, pearls, rubies, and other precious stones, not set Dolls Embroideries, of cotton or wool.... Fans Feathers, ostrich, cock, and other ornamental Feathers and flowers, artificial and ornamental, not otherwise pro- vided for Figs Fire-crackers, in boxes of 40 packs, not exceeding 80 to the pack Flax linens, valued at 30 cents or less per square yard Do. valued at above 30 cents per square yard Do. Burlaps, and like manufac- tures of flax, jute, or hemp, of which either shall be the com- ponent of chief value (except bagging for cotton Do. Duck, canvas, paddings, cotton bottoms, diapers, crash, hucka- backs, handkerchiefs (not hem- med), lawns, or other manufac- tures of flax, jute, or hemp, valued at .30 cents or less per square yard Do. valued at above 30 cents per gqnare yard Do. Thread, twine and pack-thread Do. all other manufacture^ of flax not otherwise provided for Fruits and nuts : — Almonds, not shelled " shelled Filberts and walnuts Prunes Raisins Furs, and manufactures of Glass-ware : — Porcelain, Bohemian, cut, en- graved, painted, colored, printed, stained, silvered, or gilded, not including plate-glass silvered, or looking-glass plates Plate-glass, cast, polished, not silvered, iibove 24 by 30, and not above 24 by 60 Above 24 by 60 Window-glass, cylinder, crown, or common, unpolished, above 10 by 15 and not above 16 by 24 Above 16 by 24 and not above 24 bv30 Above 24 by 30 Manufactures of, not otherwise specified Hats, bonnets, and hoods, straw.... Hemp, jute, and other fibre:— Bags, cotton-bags, and bagging (except bagging for cotton) Jute and sunn-hemp Jute butts •" Manila, India, and other like sub- stitutes for hemp India Rubber, manufactures of :— Braces, vyebbing, etc Iron and steel, manufactures of: — In slabs, blooms, loops, etc Pig-iron Scrap-iron, old, wrought Manufactures of iron, not other- wise provided for BATE OF DtTTT. J5l4e. per sq. ) (yd. 4 20 p. C.J 35 per cent. 35 per cent. (30c. per lb.) ( and 20 p. c. J ( 40 c. per lb. 1 ( and 20 p. c. J 35 per cent. 1 c. per lb. 10 per cent, 35 per cent. 35 per cent. 35 per cent. 25 per cent. 50 per cent. 2]4 c. per lb. $1 per box. 35 per cent. 40 per cent. 30 per cent 35 per cent. 40 per cent. 40 per cent. 40 per cent. 6 c. per lb. 10 c. per lb. 3 c. per lb. 1 c. per lb. 2}4 c. per lb. 20 per cent. 40 per cent. 25 c. per sq. ft. 60 c per sq. ft 2 c. per lb. 2}4 c. per lb. 3 c. per lb. 40 per cen'. 40 per cent. 40 per cent. $15 per ton. $6 per ton. 825 per ton. 35 per cent. 35 per cent. S7 per ton. $8 per ton. 35 per cent TABULATED HISTORY— AMERICAN TARIFFS. 87 COMMODITIES. BATE Of DCTT. Iron and steel, manufactures of: — Steel, and manufactures of pen- knives, jack-knives and pocket- kniTe.x 50 per cent. All other cutlery.including sword blades 35 per cent. In ingots, bars, coils, sheets, and steel-wire, not less than ^ inch diameter, valued at 7 cents per pound or less 2% c. per lb. Valued at above 7 cents and not over 11 cents per pound 3 c. per lb. Muskets, rifles, and other fire- arms 35 per cent. Railway bar, or rails, wholly of steel 114 c. per lb. Manufaclures of steel, not other- wise provided for 45 per cent. Jewelry of gold, silver, or other metal, or imitations of. 25 per cant. Lead, and manufactures of: — Pigs and bars, and molten 2 c. per lb. Leather, and manufactures of: — Calf-skins, tanned, or tanned and dressed 25 per cent. Gloves, of kid or leather, of all descriptions 60 per cent. Upper leather of all kinds, and skins, dressed and finished, of all kinds, not otherwise provided for 20 per cent. Manufactures of, and articles of leather, or of which leather shall be a component part, not other- wise provided for 35 per cent. Lemons and oranges 20 per cent. Marble, and manufactures of: Veined and all other, in block, f50 c. per cu.) roughed or squared, not other- -; ft. & 20 p. c. S- wise specified ( per cu. ft. j Mats of cocoa-nut, china, and all other floor-matting, of flags, jute, or grass 30 per cent. Metal, manufactures of, not other- wise provided for 35 per cent. Musical instruments .30 per cent. Oils, olive, salad, in bottles or flasks $1 per gall. Opium 81 per lb. OJDium prepared for smoking $6 per lb. Paintings and statuary, not by American artists 10 per cent. Papier-mache, manufactures, arti- cles, and wares of 35 per cent. Pickles, sauces, and capers 35 per cent. Rice, cleaned 23^ c. per lb. Salt, in bags, sacks, barrels, or other packages 12 c. per 100 lbs. Salt, in bulk 8 c. per 100 lbs. Sardines and anchovies, packed in oil or otherwise 4 c. per box. Seed!, flaxs. or lius. (56 lbs. to bush.) 20 c. per bush. Silk : — Braids, laces, fringes, galloons, buttons, and ornaments, dress and piece goods 60 per cent. Velvets 60 per cent. Ribbons 60 per cent. Ribbons (edge of cotton) 50 per cent. Silk manufactures not otherwise provided for, made of silk, or of which silk is the component or chief value 60 per cent Manufactures of, which have as a component thereof 25 percent., or over, In value of cotton, flax, wool, or worsted 60 per cent. Soda caustic 1\^ c per lb. Soda ash I4 c. per lb. Spices : Cassia, and Cassia Vera 10 c. per lb. Nutmegs 20 c. per lb. Pepper, black and white grain ... 5 c. per lb. Spirits and wines : — Brandy, proof $2 per gall. Cordials, liqueurs, arrack, ab- sinthe, kirschwasser, ratafia 82 per gall. Spirits, other, manufactured or distilled from grain 82 per gall. Spirits, other (except brandy), manufactured or distilled from other materials 82 per gall. Cologne-water and other per- ( 83 per gall, 'i fumery, of which alcohol forms < and 50 per c. > the principal ingredient I. per gall. J 26 COMMODITIES. Sugar and molasses : — Molasses Molasses concentrated, tank-bot- toms, sirup of sugar-cane, and RATB OF DUTT. 5 c. plus per cent, per lb. l}4 c. plus 25 ) Boelado 1 25 c. per lb. Sugar: • / 1% c. phis All notabove No. 7 Butch standard ( 25 p. c. p. lb. Above No. 7 and not above No. j 2 c. plus 25 10 (p. c. per 111. I Above No. 7 and not above No. 10 2 c per lb. Above No. 13 and not above No. f 2^^ c. plus 25) 16 \ p. c. per lb. J Tartar, cream of 10 c. per lb. Tartar, argols, other than crude 6 c. per lb. Tin, plates or sheets 1 1-10 c. per lb. Tobacco, and manufactures of:— Leaf, unmanufactured and not stemmed .35 c. per lb. (82.50 per lb.) Cigars, cigarettes, and cheroots.. ■< and 25 p. 0. > ( per lb. J Toys, wooden and other 50 per cent. Watches, of gold or silver 25 per cent. Wines, Champagne, and all other sparkling, in bottles, containing not more than 1 pint each and more than ]/^ pint $3 per dozen. Wines, Champagne, and all other sparkling, in bottles, containing not more than 1 quart and more than 1 pint dozens " Still wines, in casks galls. " in bottles, containing each not more than 1 quart and not more than 1 pint doz. bots. Wood : Boards, planks, deals, and other lumber M. ft. " Manufactures of, not otherwise provided for 36 per cent. Wools, hair of the alpaca, goat, etc. : Raw and manufactured. Class No. 1. clothing wool, value 32 cents or less per lb lbs. " Value 32 cents or less per pound lbs. 86 per doz. 40 c. per gall. 81.60 i>er doz. 82 per M. ft. flO c. per lb.) I & 11 p. c. / 10 c. p. lb. &) 11 p. c, less y 10 per c. ) f " Value over 32 cents per /12 c. per lb. ) pound lbs. ( A 10 p. c. 1 " Class No. 2, value over 32 cents ( 12 c. per lb. I per pound lbs. ( & 10 p. c. / " Class No. 3, carpet and other similar wools, valued at 12 cents or less per lb lbs. " Value over 12 cents per pound lbs. " Carpets and carpetings of all kinds, .\ubus8on and Axminster, and carpets woven whole for rooms sq.yds. " Brussels carpet wrought by Jac- quard machine sq. yd. " Brussels tapestry, printed on the warp or otherwise sq. yds. " Patent velvet and tapestry vel- vet, printed on the warp or otherwise sq. yds. " Dress goods, women and chil- dren's, and real or imitation Italian cloths, valued at not ex- ceeding 20 cents per sq. yd sq. yds. " Valued at above 20 cents per square yd sq- yds. " Dress goods, women and chil- dren's, and real or imitation Italian cloths, weighing 4 ounces and over per square yard lbs. " Hosiery, valued at above 80 cents per pound lbs. "Manufactures not otherwise (^^ specified, valued at above J80 -< 435^.0. '50 c. per lb, & 35 p. c r 3 c. per lb. 6 c. per lb. 50 per cent. ^44 c. per sq. 1 yd. 4 35 p. c. I f 28 c. per sq. I yd. &35p.c. i I 40 c. per sq. | |yd.&35p.c. 6 c. per iq. yd. & 35 p. c. rs c. per sq. [yd. ife40p. c. 50 c. per lb. & 35 p. c. f 50 c. per lb. I ■ buttons,etc lb». I *50p. c. f " Yarns, valued at above 80 cents fSO e. per lb.) per pound lbs. ( & 50 p. c. / Zinc, in sheets 2% c. per lb. THE CUSTOMS TARIFF OF GREAT BRITAIN. No protective duties are now levied on goods imported. Customs duties being charged solely for the sak« of revenue. Formerly the articles subject to duty numbered nearly a thousand; now they are only twen- ty-two, the chief being tobacco, spirits, tea, and wine. The following is a complete list: Articles. Duty. £ s. d. Ale pr beer, spec, gravity not exceeding 10G5°perbbl 8 Ale or beer, spec, gravity not exceeding 1090°, per bbl 11 Ale or beer, spec, gravity exceeding 1090°, per bbl 16 Beer, Mum, per bbl 110 Beer, spruce, spec, gravity not exceeding 1190°, per bbl 110 Beer, spruce, exceeding 1190°, per barrel.. 14 Cards, playing, per doz. packs 3 9 Chickory (raw or kiln-dried), cwt- 13 3 Chicory (roasted or ground), lb 2 Chloral hydrate, pound 13 Chloroform, pound 3 Cocoa, pound 1 Cocoa, cwt., husks and shells 2 Cocoa paste and chocolate, pound 2 Coffee, raw, cwt 014 Coffee, kiln-dried, roasted or ground, per pound 2 Collodion, gallon 14 Essence of spruce, 10 per cent, ad valorem Ethyl, iodide of, gallon 13 Ether, gallon 15 Fruit, dried, cwt 7 Abticlbs. Duty. £ 8. s. Malt, per quarter 14 9 Naphtha, purified, gallon 10 5 Pickles, in vinegar, gallon 1 Plate, gold, ounce 17 Plate, silver, ounce 0.1 6 Spirits, brandy, Geneva, rum, etc., gallon. 10 5 Spirits, rum, from British Colonies, gallon 10 2 Spirits, cologne water, gallon 16 6 Tea, pound 6 Tobacco, unmanufactured, lb 3 1% Tobacco, containing less than ten per ct. of moisture, lb 3 6 Cavendish or Negro-head 4 6 Other manufactured tobacco 4 Snuff, containing more than 13 per cent. of moisture, lb 3 9 Snuff, less than 13 per cent, of moisture, lb. 4 6 Tobacco, cigars, pound 5 Varnish, containing alcohol, gallon 12 Vinegar, gallon 3 Wine, containing leas than 26° proof spi- rit, gallon 10 Wine, containing more than 26° and less than 42 spirit, gallon 2 6 Wine, for each additional degree of strength beyond 42°, gallon 3 PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS. PRESIDENTS. Terra Name. Qualified. *1 George Washington April 30, 1789 2 " " March 4, 1793 3 John Adams March 4,1797 4 Thomas Jefferson March 4, 1801 5 " " March 4, 1805 ■6 James Madison March 4,1809 7 " " March 4, 1813 8 James Monroe March 4, 1817 9 " " March 5, 1821 10 John Q. Adams March 4,1825 11 Andrew Jackson March 4, 1829 12 " " March 4, 1833 13 Martin Van Buren March 4,1837 14 Wm. H. Harrison March 4,1841 14a John Tyler April 6,1841 15 James K. Polk March 4, 1845 16 Zachary Taylor Marek 5, 1849 'a Millard Fillmore July 10, 1850 Franklin Pierce March 4, 1853 18 James Buchanan March 4,1857 19 Abraham Lincoln March 4,1861 20 " " March 4, 1865 aoa Andrew Johnson April 16, 1865 21 Ulysses S. Grant March 4,1869 22 " " March 4, 1873 2S Ruthsrford B. Hayes March 5, 1877 24 James A. Garfield March 4, 1881 24a Chester A. Arthur Oct. 20,1881 VICE-PRESIDEETS. Name. Qualified. John Adams - June 3, 1789 " Dec. 2, 1793 Thomas Jefferson March 4, 1797 Aaron Burr March 4, 1801 George Clinton March 4, 1805 " " March 4, 1809 Elbridge Gerry March 4, 1813 John Gaillard Nov. 25, 1814 Daniel D. Tompkins March 4,1817 " " March 5,1821 John C. Calhoun March 4, 1825 " " March 4, 1829 Martin Van Buren March 4,1833 Richard M.Johnson March 4,1837 John Tyler March 4, 1841 fSamuel L. Southard April 6,1841 fWillie P. Mangum May 31,1842 George M. Dallas March 4,1845 Millard Fillmore March 5,1849 tWilliam R. King July 11, 1850 William R. King March 4,1853 tDavid R. Atchison April 18,1853 fJesse D. Bright Dec. .5, 18,54 John C. Breckinridge March 4,1857 Hannibal Hamlin March 4, 1861 Andrew Johnson March 4,1865 tLafayette S. Foster April 15. 1865 iBenjamin F. Wade March 2, 1867 Schuyler Colfax March 4,1869 Henry Wilson March 4, 1S73 tThomas W. Ferry Nov. 22,1875 William .'V,. Wheeler March 5,1877 Chester A. Arthur March 4' 1881 tThomas F. Bayard Oct. 12, 1881 tDavid Davis Oct. 13,1881 *The figures in this column mark the terms held by the Presidents, t Acting Vice-President and President pro tern, of the Senate TABULATED HISTORY— POPULAR VOTE. 89 SUMMARY OF POPULAR AND ELECTORAL. VOTES IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, 1789-1880. a c Total Elect. Vote. Party. Candidates. -2 02 Popular Vote. 1 > 4) s 1789 10 15 16 16 73 135 138 138 George Washington GS John Adams ••4 John Jay 9 R. R. Harrison a John Rutledge 6 John Hancock 4 George Clinton 3 Samuel Huntington 2 John Milton 2 Benjamin Lincoln 1 James Armstrong 1 Eilward Telfair 1 Vacancies 4 1792 fTpHprnli^t George Washincton 132 .Tohn Adams 77 Georere Clinton 50 4 \ftron Biirr 1 Vacancies 3 Federalist 71 1796 Thomas Jeflferson 68 Thomas Pinoknev 59 Republican..., 30 Samuel Adams 15 Oliver Ellsworth. ^ 11 Georcre Clinton 7 5 .Tames Iredoll 3 Georce Washington 2 2 S Johnson 2 Charles C. Pincknev 1 1800 Thomas .Tetterson 73 73 John Adams 65 64 Federalist John Jay 1 v.. O SOD Z 21 17 18 19 24 24 _ o s> a 3 176 176 218 221 235 261 Party. For President. s s tn 15 2 12 Popular Vote. £ o > © For Vice-President.J o > o (D K 1804 Thomas Jefferson Chas. C. Pinckney 162 14 122 6 47 " " "i 128 89 1 183 34 George Clinton Rufus King George Clinton 162 14 113 1808 James Madison 3 fi Rufus King 47 . .., John Langdon 9 James Monroe 3 Vapanov 1 Republican 11 7 Elbridge Gerry 1,31 1812 D« Witt Clint^on Jared Ingersoll 86 1 Republican Federalist 16 3 D. D.Tompkins 183 U16 Rnfus Kinir John E. Howard .lames Ross 22 5 1 John Marshall 4 1 Robt. G. Harper 3 \'iLOftncies 4 231 1 4 1820 1 24 D. D. Tompkins 218 .Tohn Ci Adams Rich. Stoc cton 8 Daniel Rodney 4 Robt. G. Harper 1 Richard Rush 1 3 99 3 1824 10 8 3 3 155,872 105.321 .Tohn C. Calhoun 182 Tohn O Adams 84 jNathan Sanford 30 Reoublican Wm H Crawford 144,282 41 Nathaniel Macon 24 Republican 46,587 2" Andrew Jackson ... .i Vacancy M Van Buren 9 Henry Clay ~— 2 1 90 AMERICAN POLITICS, SUMMARY OP POPULAR AND KIiECTORAIi VOTES.— [Continued. u as is -co 182'< 24 1832 24 1836 26 1840 26 1844 26 1848 30 1852 31 1856 31 1860 33 1864 36 1868 37 1872 37 1876 38 1880 38 IS _ o s 261 288 294 294 275 290 296 296 303 314 317 366 369 369 Party. Democratic Nat. Republican. Democratic Nat. Republican., Anti-Mason e. Democratic . Whig Whig Democratic . Liberty Democratic. Whig ,. Liberty Whig Democratic, Free Soil Democratic Whig Free Democracy.. Democratic, Republican- American.... Republican Democratic Democratic "Const. Union " Republican.' Democratic. Republican.. Democratic. Republican.... Dem.and Lib. Democratic... Temperance.. Rep. Republican.... Democratic... "Greenback" "Prohibition' Republican... Democratic... " Greenback ' For President. Andrew Jackson. John Q. Adams... Andrew Jackon. Henry Clay William Wirt.... John Floyd Vacancies. Martin Van Buren. Wm. H. Harrison... Hugh L. White Daniel Webster W. P. Mangum Wm. H. Harrison... Martin Van Buren. James G. Birney.... James K. Polk.,,. Henry Clay James G. Birney. Zachary Taylor Lewis Cass Martin Van Buren. Franklin Pierce., Winfield Scott.... John P. Hale James Buchanan., John C. Fremont., Millard Fillmore.., Abraham Lincoln... J. C. Breckinridge. S. A. Douglas John Bell , Abraham Lincoln., Geo. B. McClellan.. Vacancies* Ulysses S. Grant... Horatio Seymour. Vacancies-f Ulysses S. Grant.. Horace Greeley... Chas. O'Conor James Biack T. A. Hendricks.. B. Gratz Brown... Chas. J. Jenkins.. David Davis Not counted J. R. B. Hayes S. J. Tilden Peter Cooper Green C, Smith. James A. Garfield., W. S. Hancock, James B. Weaver.. Scattering 27 4 19 11 1 17 11 2 3 22 3 11 26 8 3 31 6 Popular Vote. 647,231 509,097 687,502 530,189 33,108 761,549 736,656 1,275,017 1,128,702 7,069 1,337,243 1,299,068 62,300 1.360,101 1,220,544 291,263 1,601,474 1,386,578 156,149 1,838,169 1,341,264 874,534 1,866,352 845,763 1,375,157 589,581 2,216,067 1,808,725 3,015,071 2,709,613 3,597,070 2.834,079 29,408 5,608 4,033,950 4,284.885 81,740 9,522 4,442,950 4,442,035 306,867 12,576 W 178 83 219 49 7 11 170 73 26 14 11 234 60 170 105 163 127 254 42 174 114 180 72 12 39 212 21 81 214 80 23 286 42 IS 2 1 17 185 184 214 155 For Vice-President. John C. Calhonn. Richard Rush William Smith.... M. Van Buren John Sergeant Amos Ellmaker... Henry Lee William Wilkins., R. M. Johnson Francis Granger. John Tyler William Smith.... John Tyler R. M. Johnson., L. W. Tazewell.. James K. Polk. Geo. M. Dallas T. Frelinghuysen.. Millard Fillmore. Wm. O. Butler Chas. F. Adams... Wm. R. King Wm. A. Graham., Geo. W. Julian.... J. C. Breckinridge.. Wm. L. Dayton A. J. Donelson Hannibal Hamlin. Jo.^eph Lane H. V. Johnson Edward Everett.., Andrew Johnson,., Geo. H. Pendleton.. Schuyler Colfax. F. P. Blair, Jr Henry Wilson B. Gratz Brown.... John Q. Adams.... A. H. Colquite lohn M. Palmer... Geo. W. Juiian T. E. Bramlette.... W. 8. Groesbeck.. Willis B. Machen. N. P. Banks Wm. A. Wheeler.. T. A. Hendricks.. 8. F. Cary R. T. Stewart Chester A. Arthur.. Wm. H. English..., B, J. Chambers o > to 171 83 7 189 49 7 11 30 2 147 77 47 23 234 48 11 1 170 105 163 127 254 42 174 114 8 180 72 12 39 212 2l 81 214 80 23 286 47 1 1 14 185 184 214 155 * Not voting— Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. t Not voting— Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia. t Seventeen votes rejected, viz.: 3 from Georgia for Horace Greeley (dead), and 8 from Louisiana, and 6 from Arkansas for U, S, Grant, TABULATED HISTORY— CABINET OFFICERS. ^1 CABINET OFFICERS OF THE ADMIIVISTRATIONS. Geobge Washington, President. I. and II.; 1789-1797. Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, September 26th, 17S9 ; Edmund Randolph, Virginia, January 2d, 1794; Timothy Pickering, Pennsylvania, December lOtn, 179.5. Secretary of Treasury, Alex- ivuder Hamilton, New York, September 11th, 1789; Oliver Wolcott, Connecticut, February 2d, 1795. Secretary uf War, Henry Knox, Massachusetts, S'ptember 12th, 1789; Timothy Pickering, Penn- sylvania, January 2d, 179.5 ; James McHenry, Mary- land, January 27th, 1796. Attorney Oeneral, Edmund Randolph, Virginia, September 26th, 1789; William Bradford, Pennsylvania, January 27th, 1794; Charles Lee, Virginia, December 10th, 1795. Postmaster- Oenei'al,* Samuel Osgood, Maisachusetts, Septem- ber 26th, 1789; Timothy Pickering, Pennsylvania, August 12th, 1791 ; Joseph Habersham, Georgia, February 25th, 1795. John Adams, President. III.; 1797-1801. Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, oonlinHed; John Marshall, Virginia, May 13th, 1800. Secretary of Treasury, Oliver Wolcott, continued ; Samuel Dexter, Massachusetts, January 1st, 1801. Secretary of War, James McHenry, continued; Samuel De.x- ter, Massachusetts, May 13th, 1800; Roger Griswold, Connecticut, February 3d, 1801. Secretary of Navy, f George Cabot, Massachusetts, May 3d, 1798 ; Benja- min Stoddert, Maryland, May 21st, 1798. Attorney- General, Charles Lee, continued ; Theophilus Par- eons, Massachusetts, February 20th, 1801. Post- master-General, Joseph Habersham, continued. Thomas Jefferson, President. IV. and V. ; 1801-1809. Secretary ef State, James Madison, Virginia, March 5th, 1801. Secretary of Treasury, Samuel Dexter, continued; Albert Gallatin, Pennsylvania, May 14th, 1801. Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, Massaciiu- setts. March 5th, 1801. Secretary of Navy, Benjamin Stoddart, continued; Robert Smith, Maryland, July 15th, 1801 ; Jacob Crowninshield, Massachusetts, May, 3d, 1805. Attorney-General. Levi Lincoln, Massa- chusetts, March 5th, 1801; Robert Smith, Maryland, March 3d, 1805; John Breckinridge, Kentucky, -August 7th, 1805; Csesar A. Rodney, Pennsylvania, January 20th, 1807. Postmaster-General, Joseph Habersham, continued ; Gideon Granger, Connecti- cut, November 28th, 1801. James Madison, President. VI. and VII. ; 1809-1817. Secretary of State, Robert Smith, Maryland, March 6th, 1809;" James Monroe, Virginia, April 2d, 1811. Secretary of Treasury, Albert Gallatin, continued; George W. Campbell, Tennessee, February 9th, 1814; A. J. Dallas, Penn.sylvania, October 6th, 1814; William H. Crawford, Georgia, October 22d, 1816. Secretary of War, William Eustis, Massachusetts, March 7th, 1809: John Arm.strong, New York, Janu- ary 13th. 1813; James Monroe, Virginia, September '.47th, 1814; VVilli.am H. Crawford, (Georgia, August 1st, 1815. Secretary of Navy, Paul Hamilton, South Carolina, March 7th, 1809; William Jones, Pennsyl- ,vania, January 12th, 1813; B. W. Crowninshield. Massachusetts, December 19th, 1814. Attorney-Gen- eral, C. A. Rodney, continued; William Pinckney, Maryland, December 11th, 1811; Richard Rush, Pennsylvania, February 10th, 1814. Postmaster-Gen- eral. Gideon Granger, continued ; Return J. Meigs, Ohio, March 17th, 1814. ♦Not a Cabinet officer, but a subordinate of the Treasury Department until 1829. ■f Naval affairs were under the control of the Sec- retary of War until a separate Navy Department was organized by Act of April .30th, 1798. The Acts organizing the other Departments were of the fol- lowing dates : State, September 15th, 1789; Trcasurij, September 2d, 1789; War, August 7th, 1789. The Attorney-General's duties were regulated by tlie Judiciary Act of September 24th. 1789. James Monboe, President. VIII. and IX. ; 1817-1825. Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, Massachu- setts, March 5tate,f J a,mes Buchanan, Pennsylvania, March 6th, 1845. Secretnru of Treasury, Robert ,1. Walker, Missi,ssippi, March (ith, 1845. Sccretnrij of War, William L. Marcy, New York, March 6th, 184.5. Secretary of Navy, George Bancroft, Massachusetts, March 10th, 1846; John Y. Mason, September 9th, 1846. Attorneii-Oeneral, John Y Mason, Virginia, March 5th, 1845: Nathau Clifford, .M.iine, October nth, 1846. Postmaster- General, Cave Johnson, Ten- nessee, March 6th, 1845. Z.^CHARY Taylor and Millard Fillmore, Presidents. XVI. ; 1849-1853. Secretary of State, .lohn M. Clayton, Delaware, March 7th, 1840; Daniel Webster, Massachusetts, July 22d, 1850; Edward Everett, Massachusetts, December Cth, 1».52. Secretary of Tre/Kiiry, W. M. Meredith, Pennsylvania, March 8th, 1849 ; Thomas Corwin, Ohio, July 23d, 1850. Secretary of War, George W. Crawford, Georgia, March ' 8th, 1849 ; Winfield Scott {ad interim), Ju\y 23d, ISM ; Charles M. Conrad, Louisiana, .\ugust 15th, 1850. Secretary of Navv, William B. Preston, Virginia, March 8th, 1849; William A. Graham, North Carolina, July 22d, 1850; J. P. Kennedy, Maryland, July 22d, 1852. Sec- retary of Interior, Thomas H. Ewing, Ohio, March 8th, 1849; A. H. H. Stuart, Virginia, September 12th, 1850. Attorney- General, Reverdy Johnson, Mary- land, March 8th, 1849 ; John J. Crittenden, Kentucky, July 22d, 1850. Postmaster-General, Jacob Collamer, Vermont, March 8th, 1849; Nathan K. Hall, New York, July 23d, 1850; S. D Hubbard, Connecticut, August 31st, 1852. Fbanklin Pierce, President. XVII.; 185.3-1857. Secretary of State, William L. Marcy, New York, March 7th, 1853. Secretary of Treasury, James Guthrie, Keniucky, March 7th, 1853. Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, Mississippi, March 7th, 1853. Secretary of Navy, James C. Dobbin, North Carolina, March 7th, 1853. Secretary of Interior, Robert McClelland, Michigan, March 7th, 1853; Jacob Thompson, Mississippi, March 6th,185G. Attorney-General, Caleb Gushing, Massachusetts, March 7th, 1853. Postmaster-General, James Camp- bell, Pennsylvania, March 7th, 1853. James Buchanan, President. XVIII.; 1857-1861. Secretary of State, Lewis Cass, Michigan, March 6th, 1857; J. S. Black, Pennsylvania, December 17th, 1860. Secretary of Treasury, Howell Cobb, Georgia, March 6th, 1857 ; Philip F. Thomas, Maryland, December 12th, 1860; John A. Dix, New York, Janu- ary 11th, 1861. Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, Vir- finia, March 6th, 1857; Joseph Holt, Kentucky, anuary 18th, 1861. Secretary of A^avj/, Isaac Toucey, Connecticut, March 6th, 1857. Secretary of Interior Jacob Thompson, continued. Attorney-General, J. S. Black, Pennsylvania, March 6th, 1857 ; E. M. Stan- ton, Pennsylvania, December 20th, 1860. Postmaster- Oeneraf, Aaron V. Brown, Tennpssee, March 6th, 1857; Joseph Holt, Kentucky, March 14th, 1859; Horatio King, Maine, February 12th, 1861. Abraham Lincoi n and Andrew Johnson, Presidents. XIX. and XX.; 1861-1869. Secretary of State, William H. Seward, New Yorki March 5th, 1861. Secrttary of Trea.mry, S. P. Chase, Ohio, March 5th, 1861; VV. P. Fessenden, Maine, July 1st, 1864; Hugh McCuUoch, Indiana, March 7th, 1865. Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, Penn- sylvania, March 5th, 1861 ; Edwin M. Stanton, Penn- sylvaoia, January 15th, 1862; U.S Grant (ad intei-im), August 12th, 1807; Edwin M. Stanton (reinstated), January 14th, 1868; J. M. Schotield ; Illiaois, May 28th, 1808. Secretary of Navy, Gideon Welles, Con- necticut, March 5th. 1861. Secretary of Interior, Caleb P. Smith, March 5th, 1861 ; John P. Usher, In- diana. January 8th, 1863; James Harlan, Iowa, May 15th, 1805; O. H. Browning, Illinois, July 27th, 1866. Attorney-General, Edward Bates, Missouri, March .•ilh, isci ; Titian J. Coffee, June 22d, 1803; James Speed, Kentucky, December 2d, 1864; Henry Stan hery, Ohio, July 23d, 1806; William M. Evarts, New York, July 15th, 1808. Postmastcr-General, Mont- Somery Blair, .Maryland, March 5th, 1861 ; William lennison, Ohio, September 24th, 1864; Alexander W. Randall, Wisconsin, July 25th, 1836. Ulysses S. Grant, President. XXI. and XXII.; 1869-1877. Secretary of State, E. B. Washburne, Illinois, March 5th, 1869; Hamilton Fish, New York, March 11th, 1809. Secretary of T/-f'r.surv, George S. Boutwell, Massachusetts, March litli, 1809; William .\. Rich- ardson, Massachusetts, March 17th. 1873; Benjamin H. Bristow, Kentucky, June 2d, 1874; Lot M. Mor- rill, Maine, June 21st, 1876. Secretary of War, John A. Rawlins, Illinois. March 11th, 1869; William T. Sherman, Ohio, September 9th, 1869 ; William W. Belknap, Iowa, October 25th, 1869 ; Alphonso Taft, Ohio, March 8th, 1876; J. D. Cameron, Pennsylvania, May 22d, 1876. Secretary of Navy, Adolph E. Borie, Pennsylvania. March 5tn, 1809; George M. Robeson, New Jersey, June 25th, 1869. Secretary of Interior, Jacob D. Cox, Ohio, March 5th, 1869; Columbus Delano, Ohio, November 1st, 1870 ; Zachariah Chan- dler, Michigan,October 19th, 1875. Attorney-General, E. R. Hoar, Massachusetts, March 5th, 1869; Amos T. Akerman, Georgia, June 23d, 1870; George H. Williams, Oregon, December, 14th, 1871 ; Edwards Pierrepont, New York, April 26th, 1875; Alphonso Taft, Ohio, May 22d, 1876. Postmaster-General, J. A. J. Creswell, Maryland, March 5th, 1869; Marfhall Jewell, Connecticut, Auguj-t 24th. 1874; James M. Tyner, Indiana, July 12ih, 1876. Rutherford B. Hayes, President. XXIII. ; 1877-1881. Secretary of State, William M. Evarts, New York, March 12tn,"l877. Secretary of TVeasury, John Sher- man, Ohio, March 8th, 1877. Secretary of FTar, George W. McCrary, Iowa, March 12th, 1877; Alexander Ramsey, Minnesota. December 12th, 1879. Secretary of Navy, Richard W. Thompson, Indiana, March 12th, 1877; Nathan Goff, Jr., West Virginia, January 6th, 1881. Secretary of Interior, Carl Schurz, Mis- souri, March 12th, 1877. Attorney-General, Charles Devens, Massachusetts, March "l2th, 1877. Post- master-General, David M. Key, Tennessee, March 12th, 1877; Horace Maynard, Tennessee, August 25th, 1880. James A. Garfisld and Chester A. .\rthub. Presidents. XXIV.; 1881-1885. Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, Maine, March 5th, 1881 ; Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey, December 12th, 1881. Secretary of Treasury, William H. Windom, Minnesota, March 5th, 1881 ; Charles J. Folger, New York, October '27th, 1881. Secretary of War, Robert T. Lincoln, Illinois, March 5th, 1881. Secretary of Navy, W. H. Hunt, Louisiana, March 5th, J881. Secretary of Interior, S. J. Kirkwood, Iowa, March 5th, 1881. Attorney-General, Wayne MacVeagh, Pennsylvania, March 5th, 1881 ; Bcnja. min H. Brewster, Pennsylvania, I>ecemiier 16th, 1881. Postmaster-General, Thoma- L. James. New York, March 5th, 1881; Timothy O. Howe, Wiscon- sin, December 20th, 1881, FOREIGN IMMIGRATION SINCE 1870, BY FISCAL YKARS.— Official. Years. 1870.. 1871.. 1872. 1873., Number. 387,203 321,350 404,806 459,803 Years. 1874.. 1875. 1876. 1877., Number. 313,339 227,498 169,986 141,857 Years. 1878., 1879., 1880., 1881. Number. 138,469 177,826 457,257 669,431 Of the arrivals in 1881, 410,729 were males and 2.58,702 females. There were 153,718 from Great Britain and Ireland; 210,485 from Germany; 21.109 from Austria; 11,890 from China; 102,922 from Quebec and Ontario ; 14,437 from Nova Scotia ; 49,760 from Sweden ; 22,705 from Norway; 15,387 from Italy ; 5,227 Irom France ; 9,117 from Denmark, and 11,293 from Switzerland. TABULATED HISTO RY— PATENT FEES. 93 SIONEIRS OF THE DECLARATIOIV OF INDEPEIVDEIVCE. IN CONGRESS ASSEM- BLED JULY 4th, 1776. The following list of members of the Continental Congress, who signed the Declaration of Independenoa {although the names are included in the general list of that Congress, from 1774 to 1778), is given separately for the purpose of showing the places and dates of their birth, and the times of their respective deaths, for convenient reference : Names or the Signers. BOBN AT • Delegated Fbom Died. Adams John Braintree, Mass., 1!) Oct. 1735 Boston, Mass., 27 Si^pt 1722 Massachusetts 4 July, 1826. 2 Oct. 180:5. Adams, Samuel , Massachusetts Bartlett Josiah Amesburv, Mass., in Nov. 1729 Newington, Va, 10 Sept. 1730 Annapolis, Md., 20 Sept. 1737 Somerset Co., Md., 17 Apr. 1741.... Elizabethtown, N. J., 15 Feb. 1726 Philadelphia, Pa., in 1739 New Hampshire 19 May 1795. 10 Oct. 1797. Virginia Carroll, Chas. of CarroUton.. Maryland Maryland 14 November, 1832. 19 June, 1811. Clark, Abraham New Jersey — September, 1794. 23 Jan. 1813. Clymer, George Pennsylvania Ellerv William Newport, R. I., 22 Dec. 1727 Suffolk Co., N.Y., 17 Dec. 1734 Boston, Mass., 17 Jan. 1706 R. I. & Prov. PI 15 Feb. 1820 Floyd, William New York 4 Aug. 1821. 17 April, 1790. 23 November 1814. Franklin, Benjamin Pennsylvania., Gerry, Elbridge Gwinnet Button Marblehead, Mass., 1 July 1744.. . Encland. in 1732 Massachusetts Georgia 27 May, 1777. — Feb. 1790. Hall, Lyman Hancock, John Georgia Braintree, Mass., in 1737 Massachusetts 8 Oct. 1793. Virginia — April, 1791. 1880. Hart John Hooewell N.J. in 1715 New Jersey Heyward, Thomas, Jr Hewes, Joseph Hoooer Wil iam .. . St. Luke's, S, C, in 1746 Kineston N J. in 1730 South Carolina — March, 180a North Carolina 10 Oct. 1779 Boston, Mass., 17 June, 1742 North Carolina — Oct. 1790. Scituate, Mass., 7 Mar., 1707 R. L & Prov. PI 13 July, 1785. 5 Jan. 1796 Huntinerton Samuel Windham, Conn., 3 July 1732 Philadelphia, Pa., in 17.37 Connecticut New Jersey 9 May, 1790. 4 July, 1826. 19 June, 1794. Jefferson Thomas Shadwel , Va., 13 Apr. 1734 Virginia Stratford, Va.. 20 Jan. 1732 Stratford, Va., 14 Oct. 1734 Virginia Lee, Francis Lightfoot Virginia — April, 1797. 30 Dec. 1803. Landaff, Wales, in Mar. 1713 Albany N. Y.. 15 Jan. 1716 New York Livinirston Philin New York 12 June, 1778. Lynch, Thomas, Jr . , St. George's, S. C, 5 Aug. 1749 Chester Co., Pa., 19 Mar 1734 Middleton Place, S.C, in 1743 Morrissianna. N. Y. in 1726 South Carolina Lost at sea, 1779 McKean Thomas Delaware 24 June, 1817 Middleton Arthur, South Carolina 1 Jan. 1787. Morris Lewis New York 22 Jan. 1798. Morris, Robert Lancashire, Eng., Jan. 1733-4 Ridley Pa iu 1724 Pennsylvania 8 May, 1806. Morton John ..... Pennsylvania — April, 1777. 4 Jan. 1789. York, Va , 26 Dec. 1738 Virginia Wye-Hill Md 31 Oct. 1740 1799 Paine Robert Treat Boston Masfl.. in 1731 Massachusetts 11 May, 1804. 26 Oct. 1809. Penn John Caroline Co., Va., 17 May 1741 Cecil Co., Md., in 1734 Dover Del in 17.30 North Carolina Delaware 1798 Rodnev (IfpSAr Delaware 1783. New Castle, Del. in 1730 Pennsylvania — July, 1779. 19 April, 1813. 23 Jan. 1800. Rush, Benjamin, M.D Byberry, Pa., 24 Dec. 1745 Pennsylvania Charleston, S.C, in Nov. 1749 Newton, Mass., 19 Apr. 1721 South Carolina Sherman Roeer Connecticut 23 July, 1793. 11 July, 1806. 28 Feb. 1781. Pennsylvania Princeton N. J., 1 Oct. 1730 New Jersey Stone Thomas . . Charles Co., Md., in 1742 - Irrlind in 1716 Maryland 5 Oct. 1787. Tavlor fi-Aore'e Pennsylvania 23 Feb 1781 Thornton Matthew New Efampshire 24 June, 1803. Walton Georsre Frederick Co Va. in 1740 Georgia 2 Feb. 1804 WhioDle Wm Kittery Maine, in 1730 New Hampshire 28 Nov. 1785. Williams, Wm Lebanon, Conn., 8 Apr. 1731 Connecticut 2 Aug. 1811. Wilson James Scotland, about 1742 Pennsylvania 28 Aug. 1798. WitheriDoon tlohn Yester, Scotland, 5 Feb. 1722 Windsor, Conn., 26 Nov. 1726 Elizabeth City Co., Va., in 1726... New Jersey 15 Nov. 1794. Woloott Oliver Connecticut 1 Dec. 1797. Wythe, George 8 June, 1806. ANTE-"WAR DEBTS OF THE SEVERAL. STATES. Table showing the Debts of the several States before the war (1860-61). 8TATB8. Maine New Hampshire. Vermont Massachusetts.... Rhode Island Connecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Ohio Indiana Michigan Illinois , Wisconsin Minnesota In 1860-61. $699,500 31,669 none. 7,132,627 none, none. 34,182,976 104,000 37,964,602 none. 14.250,173 7,770,233 2,388,843 10,277,161 100,000 250,000 STATES. Iowa Missouri Kansas Kentucky < California Oregon Virginia North Carolina. South Carolina.. Georgia Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Te.\as Arkansas" Tennessee In 1860-6L 200,00C 24,734,000 loO.OOff 4,729,234 55,372 33,248,141 9,129,505 3,691,674 2,670,750 383,000 5.048,000 none. 10,023,903 3,092,622 16,643,666 94 AMERICAN POLITICS. CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT, Since the adoption of the Faieral ConKtitiUion, March 1st, 1789. The following is a list of the Presidents and Vice-Prenid-ents of the United States, as well as those who wcr* candidates for each office, since the organization of the Government: (vide pp. 21-25, 62.) Harrison died one month after his inauguration and John Tyler* became President for the rest of the term. 1845— James K. Polk* and George M. Dallas ; beat- ing Henry Clay* and Theodore Fr«ilinKhuy~en. 1849— Zachary Taylor* and Millard Fillmore; b at- ing Lewis Cass and Martin Van Buren for Pre.«idint ' and William O. Butler* and C. F. Adams, for Vice President. 1853— Franklin Pierce and William R. King*; beating Winfield Scott and William A. Graham.* 1857— James Buchanan and John C. Breckin- ridge*; beating John C. Fremont and Millard Fill- more for President, and William L. Dayton and A. J. Donaldson* for Vice President. 1861— Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin ; beating John Bell, Stephen A. Douglas, and J. C. Breckinridge* for President. 1865 — Abraham Lincoln and j ndrew Johnson * Union candidates; beating G. B. McClellan and G. H. Pendleton. 18C9— Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax; beat- ing Horatio Seymour and Frank P. Blair, jr. 1873— LTlysses S. Grant and Henry Wilson ; beating Horace Greeley and B. Grata Brown, for President and Vice President. 1877— Rutherford B. Hayes and Wm. A. Wheeler ; beating Samuel Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks. 1881 — James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur; beating General W. S. Hancock and W. H. English. .\rthur succeeded Garfield, after his death from as- sassination, Sept. 19, 1881, and David Davis is now Acting Vice President. Southern States. 1789— George Washington* and John Adams, two terms, no opposition. 1797— John Adams, opposed by Thomas Jefferson,* wlio, having the next highest electoral vote, became Vice President. 1801— Thomas Jefferson* and Aaron Burr ; beating John Adams and Charles C. Pinckney.* 1805— Thomas Jefferson* and George Clinton ; beating Charles C. Pinckney* and Rufus King. 1809— James Madison* and George Clinton ; beatr ing Charles C. Pinckney.* 1813 — .Tanies Madison* and Eldridge Gerry ; beat- ing DeWitt Clinton. 1817— James Monroe* and Daniel D. Tompkins ; beating Rufus King. 1821— James Monroe* and Daniel D. Tompkins ; beating John Quincy Adams. 1825 — John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun ;* beating Andrew Jackson,* Henry Clay,* and Wil- liam IL Crawford ;* there being four candidates for President, and Albert Gallatin for Vice President. 1829— Andrew Jackson* and John C. Calhoun*; beating John Quincy Adams and Richard Ruah. 1833— Andrew Jackson* and Martin Van Buren ; beating Henry Clay,* John Floyd,* and William Wirt for President; and William Wilkins, John Sergeant, and Henry Lee* for Vice President. 1837— Martin Van Buren and Richard M. John- son* ; beating William H. Harrison, Hugh L. White, and Daniel Webster for President, and John Tyler* for Vice President. 1841— William H. Harrison and John Tyler* ; beat- ing Martin Van Buren and Littleton W. Tazewell.* * Candidates from \ NUMBER OF ELECTORAL VOTES TO WHICH EACH STATE HAS BEEN ENTI- TLED. AT EACH ELECTION, IT89-1876. States. 00 Ir- r-l I-H r^ o 00 l-l 00 o 00 1-t 2 to 00 1-1 00 l-H 00 l-H 00 rH 00 00 l-l 00 00 00 rH g 00 rH CD >o 00 rH 9 4 4 00 9 4 4 s 8 5 5 00 rH t 5 t^ 00 IM 10 6 6 to l-H 10 6 6 3 6 3 4 11 21 15 11 .1 8 7 8 13 11 5 8 15 3 3 5 9 35 10 22 3 29 4 7 12 8 5 11 6 10 369 38 o 00 00 3 5 5 7 7 3 7 3 9 3 9 3 9 4 4 1? 7 r'alifornia 8 fl 7 3 9 3 9 3 9 3 9 3 9 3 9 4 9 4 9 4 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3 6 3 6 3 3 10 9 12 4 6 3 3 10 11 13 4 6 3 3 10 11 13 4 6 3 3 10 11 13 4 6 3 3 9 16 13 S 3 11 7 7 7 12 8 4 7 11 6 3 3 9 16 13 8 3 11 7 7 7 12 8 4 7 11 3 3 5 7 33 9 21 3 26 4 6 10 6 5 10 5 8 317 37 6 3 4 11 21 15 11 5 12 8 7 8 13 11 5 8 15 3 3 5 9 35 10 22 3 29 4 7 12 8 5 11 5 10 366 37 6 3 4 Georeia 5 4 4 4 6 6 8 8 8 3 3 9 3 5 9 3 5 11 5 9 11 6 9 11 5 9 10 9 12 1? '>?, 3 15 Iowa. 13 q Kentucky 4 4 4 8 8 12 3 12 3 12 3 9 11 15 14 6 9 11 15 14 5 9 11 15 15 5 10 10 14 15 5 10 10 14 3 15 5 10 10 14 3 12 6 9 8 12 5 12 6 9 8 12 5 12 6 8 8 13 6 12 6 8 8 13 6 12 6 8 8 13 6 4 7 9 IS R 6 8 10 10 16 10 16 10 16 11 19 11 19 11 22 11 22 R 14 IVIiohieran . .... 13 7 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 7 6 7 7 9 7 9 <» IVfi^ioiiri .. . 16 a 3 5 7 33 9 21 3 26 4 6 10 6 5 10 5 8 36 3 New Hampshire 5 6 8 7 6 7 12 12 6 7 12 12 6 7 12 12 7 8 19 14 3 7 8 19 14 3 8 8 29 15 8 8 8 29 15 8 8 8 29 15 8 8 8 36 15 16 8 8 36 15 16 7 8 42 15 21 7 8 42 15 21 7 8 42 15 21 6 7 36 11 23 6 7 36 11 23 5 7 35 10 23 5 i 10 23 5 7 35 10 23 3 27 4 8 12 4 5 15 4 9 36 North Carolina Ohio 11 23 Orecon 3 Pennsvlvania 10 3 7 15 4 8 15 4 8 3 15 4 8 3 20 4 10 5 20 4 10 5 25 4 11 8 25 4 11 8 25 4 11 8 28 4 11 11 28 4 11 11 30 4 11 15 30 4 11 15 30 4 11 15 26 4 9 13 26 4 9 13 4 6 17 27 4 8 12 4 5 15 27 4 8 12 4 6 15 .30 Rhode Island 4 South Carolina 9 Tt^nnossee 12 Tf xa** 13 Vermont 4 21 4 21 4 21 6 24 6 24 8 25 8 25 8 25 7 24 7 24 7 23 7 23 7 23 6 17 4 Virerinia 12 12 6 4 290 30 ■ 5 296 31 6 296 31 5 303 33 11 Total 91 13 135 15 138 16 138 16 176 17 176 17 218 18 221 19 235 24 261 24 261 24 288 24 294 26 294 26 276 26 401 Number of States.... 38 LRBJL"i6