wmmwiaa/tiafmmmz I IBR.\KY OF CONGRESS 0DD175MmiS wm LIBHARY OF CONGRESS. PRESENTED BY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. TiiK I'J{i;sji>i;nti\l issik, AM) ITS EFFECT UPON IlIK BUSINESS AND PKOBPKKITY OF Tin: COUNTRY. S P E E C IT Hon. ELIJOT V. (loWTMX. i>ui\KRKi> l•.^^««K^; tiik NATIOiNAL CLir. <>r illK dl V (iF NKW VoKK, nrroBEU I'.t, 1868. V li I N ri; i> i(» ic T 11 i; t' i. r i; BY BAKEIl <& GODWIN. ,Csi Published by the National Club of the City of New York, in compliance with the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted at the close of the address : Resolved, That the thanks of the Ckib be tendered to the Hon. Elliot C. CowDLN, for his able and eloquent address, and that a copy of the same be requested for publication. Club House, New York, Oct. 19, 1868. THE PRESIDENTIAL ISSUE, ANlt ITS EFFECT UPON THE BUSINESS \Mi I'lKi-IKRlTY OP THE COUNTRY. ^ SPEE( II. (jI:n. Antiion, C'liainiiuii ul" llu' cveiiiiiL;:, iu ii few felic- itous and ai)i)ioi)riate remarks relative to the important part wliicli the niereantile eonininnity had taken in the history ^ol* our eoimtry, iiitrodiicfd the Hon. I^lmot C. COWDIN, as a representative nieniiant was reeeived with a|>pl;Mise, and spoke as follows: Mk. PRESroENT AND GENTLEMEN : I UIll Mot illSCHsible of the lionor you have done me by invitintr me to address you on the is- sues of the canvass. Many important considerations press upon (jur attention, l»ut, as a merchant, I ])urpose to confine myself to topics rclatini; directly to the Presidential issue, and its eflect upon the business and prosperity of the country. In this campaii^n we are settling the policy of our country' not only for the next four years, but, doubtless, for an indefinite period stretchinc: far beyond. As patriots, then, who would so act as to promote the growth and grandeur of the Republic and maintain its integrity and stability, it becomes us to take heed what course we pursue. na])j)ily, the glorious results of the late war and the measures adt»ptid for the reconstruction (tf the insurgent States have re- lievc'(l us, and, we trust, posterity also, from many troublesomi! questions that were nourees of vexation and alarm at every Presi- dential c<»ntest for I>U years previous to the Ili'bellion. Nej^ro Slavery is dearovides that if any State shall deprive any class of its citizens of the rij^ht of sutfrai^e — as, for example, because of their color that State shall not he allowed to coimt that class in estimatiuL:; the number of liepresentalivis in ( "onopulation, instead ot" but three-fif\hs as liefore ; thus intendin<^ that the aboHti«»n ot" slavery shall inure largely to their benefit as an element of political 6 power. This arrogant demand will not be conceded. This y^ro- vision of the Constitution will stand as the supronu; law, in spite of the maledictions of disunionists in the South or their allies in the North. RECONSTRUCTION. In the Summer of 18GG, Congress tendered to the insurgent States this XlVth article, as the condition of their restoration to the Union. Pnrsuant to the evil counsels of the leaders in the Rebolh'on and an unwise President, they refused to accept it, and threw it back in the face of Congress and the people of the North. The elections of that year trium])liantly sustained the XXXIXtli Congress, and thereu])on, in the closing hours of that body, and in the opening hours of its successor, a revised plan of recon- struction was proffered to the South, wherein the Rebel States were required, as condition precedent to their complete restora- tion to the Union, to ratify this XlVth article, and to adopt Con- stitutions that should confer the right of suffrage equally upon loyal whites and blades. This plan has been fully accepted by seven of the ten late Rebel States, and is in advanced stages ot completion in the remaining three. To this entire scheme the Democratic party has declared its implacable hostility, pronounc- ing these acts of Congress and the State Governments erected under them, to be " usurpations, and unconstitutional, revolution- ary, and void ;" and by its candidate for Vice-President, and the utterances of its Southern leaders, has avowed its purpose to overthrow these Governments, deprive the loyal blacks of the elective franchise, and threatens to carry its hostility to tlie point of precipitating the country into another civil war. In the face of such declarations, tlie question at issue is not whether this plan of reconstruction is the best that couldhave been devised, nor whether the loyal blacks are entitled to the ballot ; but it rather is, whether the authority of the Government shall be sus- tained and the Union maintained against the machinations and as- saults of traitors who owe to the forbearance of the Government the very breath with which they now anathematize its laws and threaten its existence. But this provision of the reconstruction scheme will be sustained. Free suffrage is a Democratic principle, and will bo maintained by a Democratic people, even though it be re- pudiated l>v :i ]>arty that lias i)rcPervcfi notliin;^ of Democracy except tlu' name. " Rif<;lit is rifjhf, pincc God \h (Jod, And ri};ht thn day shall win ; T(» (!(iiif)t would be di.xloyalty. To fnlti the Uepublic seven thou- sand millions of money, and half a million of lives, and liarf entaileU ujion us and our posterity a colossal debt, inexorable taxation, and a lon^ train of jxtlitical, social, and financial ca- lamities. The mass of our considerate and ervative citizens jjave determined that this shall suffice for at least the remainder of the present century, an«l they will not ojdy withhold ])owcr from, but will blot out of e.xistence, the Democratic ])arty, or any party that attempts to reverse this irrevocable decree, THE r)Em)rnATTr' I'ATJTV. In this connection, let me say, in justice to the Democratic masses at the North, I believe them to be honest in their convictions, and patriotic in their purposes, and that they will not lon^ consent tolx; led either by pardoned, yet unrepentant. Rebels of the South or their allies at the North. The Democratic party was once the champion of e«|ual rij^htri and universal sutirage, of j»rogres« and reform. But through its affiliations with Slavery its brain became 8 palsied and its heart corrupted. It was by the Southern members of this party that the Rebellion was brought on. Their Northern associates oj)posed coercion, discouraged enlistments, opposed the draft, opposed the raising of money to carry on the war, opposed the abolition of Slavery even as a war measure. They were in favor of restoring the Rebel States without any safeguard for freedom, and would gladly have given back every slave to his master, and com- pelled the nation, tax-ridden as it is, to pay for every slave that was liberated, or let " the erring sisters depart in peace." Gov. Seymour, in a speech delivered by him to his fellow-townsmen of Utica, in October, 1861, said : " If it is true that Slavery must be abolished to save tlie Union, then the people of the South should be allowed to withdraw them- selves from the Government which cannot give them the protec- tion guarranteed by its terms." What is that but an explicit avowal that Slavery must be pro- tected though the Republic perish. Compare these utterances with the noble sentiments of Gen. Grant, who, in reply to the Memphis Committee, said : " The only true foundation for human government is human liberty." Fortunately for our country, the Democratic party, through- out its career, has been divided into two classes, the one clinging to the dead past, the other advancing toward the glowing future. They have diifered, not merely upon questions of policy, but at various epochs have been found for and against the honor, the glory, the very existence, of the Republic. In remote days we saw Burr, the Democratic traitor, plotting to dismember the Union ; and Jefferson, the founder of the Democratic party, bring- ing him into a court of justice, that he might be punished for his crimes. Thirty-eight years ago, while John C. Calhoun, the author of Nullilication and the father of Secession, was, in the name of Democracy, undermining the Republican fabric, Andrew Jackson uttered tlie talisnumic sentiment : " The Federal Union ! It must and shall be preserved!" At a later era, during the struggles over tlic application of the Wilmot Proviso in the Terri- tories acquired in the Mexican war, when Foote of Mississippi, and King of Alabama, and other Democratic disciples of the.Cal- 9 houn school of Slaverv propaj^andists, tlireatened to dissolve the Union it' this tinic-honorcd proviso were enforced; Jientoii, Wright, and Van Buren, whose naniCB were the synonyms ot' Democracy, vindicated both the proviso and the Union. In the recent crisis of our Union we liave seen Doujxlas and Dix, and Dickinson, and Holt, and Wadsworth, renowned Democratic chieftains, pivinp^ the l)est services, and some of them tlieir heart's blood, to sustain a Government which Davis, and Breckinrid<;e, and Toombs, and Cobb, and Wise, were tii:litin<5 to destroy. And for the victory that awaits Ulysses S. Grant in Novend)er, hin)self a true Democrat, he will be lar«;ely indebted to Democrats who can distinpnisli between principles and professions, and prefer an honest creetl to a sounding name. [Cheers.] JUen who are ready to exclaim : " In your opinions look not always back ; Your wnkf is nothinp, mind the coming track; Leave what j-ou've doae, for what you have to do, Don't be consistent, but be simjily true." [Applause.] " LET US HAVE PEACE." Fellow citizens, this country needs repose. It has sutlered un- der four years of sanpuinary strife, followed by t'.iir years of polit- ical commotion. The foundations of our civil institutions have been shaken ; our trade, manufactures, agriculture, and industrial pursuits of all kinds have languished ; our financial aftaire have been thrown into disorder ; theditloront y of ]>asaions hardly less ruinous than war, will lapse into a state of repose such as it has s»t much needed, but has not been able t«» enjoy for eicjht calamitous years. Partisan strife will then give way to peaceful 10 avocations. Interest in manufactures and agriculture will super- sede the excitement of the caucus. The music of the mill will silence the din of the hustings. The Common School will he more respected than the political convention, and a lecture on practical science will draw more hearers than the most fervid stump ha- rangue. The South will then hegin to see that an excess of poli- tics has heen her ruin, and will turn all her energies to building up her waste places, developing her immense resources, reviviug her drooping industry, instructing the masses of her population, and moving foward in a new career of prosperity and glory. In a word, she will realize what the North fully compreliends, that the cause for which she fought is irretrievably lost. Taught sub- mission to the inevitable results of the w^ar by bitter experience, she wdll turn her back upon the gloomy past and open her eyes to the bright future ; aud ere long become a powerful, rich, intelli- gent, and law-abidina: section of the Union. EFFECT OF SEYMOUK'S ELECTIOK. But elect Seymour and Blair, and every hopefid feature of this picture will be reversed. At once the South will commence a crusade to upheave the work of reconstruction. She will struggle to overthrow what she is pleased to call the carpet-bag govern- ment. She will aim to deprive the colored population of the suf- fraire. She will, in brief, do her utmost to retrieve the lost cause. That her efforts in this direction will be measureably in vain, we may well believe. For even should Gov. Seymour be elected, the people w^ho fought out the issues of the late war at the cost of so much treasure and blood will not consent to see its fruits either fraudulently or violently wrested from them. Gov. Seymour's administration, even if backed by the House of Representatives,would be confronted throughout its entire existence by a majority of the Senate. It could not repeal an existing statute nor enact a new law, nor place in power any officer from the Secre- tary of State down, without the consent of that body. Practically, it could not carry into effect any one of its cherished measures. But the consequences of even an ineffectual struggle to restore the ancient regime would be none the less pernicious to the business interests of the country, and especially to those of the South. For four years the attention of the Soutliern people would continue to be 11 diverted fmni tlieir triu- iiit(M-otits, hiiJ devoted to political a|iitati»>n. No t^reutt-r calamity cuuld hcfiill tliat jxtrtinn of tlic l^iiioii, tliaii to Hce it turn aside from the work «»f reviviufj^ its prostrate indiis trv, and j>luni;e anew into tlie stormy sea of politics, whereon it> prosperitv, its honor, its power, have once suifered so terrihif :i shipwreck. Its worst enemies conhl wish it no more dire ciilamitics than are sure to overwhehn it if its people, under the lead of those architects of ruin, llani]>ton. Hill, Beaureirard, Toombs, Wise, Fitrrest, and Vance, siiouhl, in the event of the election of Seymour and I'dair, attempt t«» execute their threats of overthrow inir the ( 'onLrressioiial ]»olicy of reconstruction, and setting up in its phice the institutions and the policies which prevaih'tl pr»;vi..us to the Rebellion. KI'FIKT OK (iUAXrs KLKCTloN. On the other hand, the eleire contidence everywlu're, woidil inaugurate a nijin ot" peace, of order, ot" permanent v, of jir»i>perity in the Snuth, wliih- tlint «'| (iov. Sevmour w<»uhl revive and invigorate the ep«jch ot' strile, ot instu\»ility, ot" ruin, suith as has hH«;lited ;unl cursed thirteen Statt^s, and twelve millions v\' p(!ople duriuir tour years ot" war, t'ollowcd Ity three years of collision between end>ittereil tactions. Nor would the contrast be hardly less strikiuf^ in the Northern States than in the Southern. What our ])eople want — (Uir capitalists autl laln»rei-s, our business luvu and j»roducers, oi' all classes — is national repose, national stability, national contidence, administra- tive ability in national atfairs. They Ion*; tor the arrival of the htiur when that st«>rmy sea of armed rebellion, political contention, and titumcial uncertainty, on which they have been tossed for ei»;ht years, will sink to rest. Its wild waves, and tierce -temix'sts, and luriil skii^ have artViijhted the timid, vexed the enterprising, and thwarted the plans of the most |irut' this din and clanmr about ri-con- struction, State rights, a white nnin's government, neirro suflVii^e, amnesty, and the like, and lonji tor a stable fjovernuient with a 12 settled policy. And tliey believe that the administration of Gen. Grant, sustained by a patriotic and patient people, will in due time secure them this far more certainly than would that of Gov. Seymonr, whose platform suggests, and insinuates, at least, repu- diation and revolution, and whose administration would rally to its support all the turbulent and rebellious elements of one section of the Union, with mucl; that is untrustworthy and unpatriotic in the other. In a word, if Seymour is elected, nothing can be per- manently settled for four years at least, for his success would be a signal of commotion throughout the country, for acrimonious collision between different branches of the Government — culmi- nating finally, perhaps, in civil war. Whereas, if Grant is elected, that vei-y fact will almost instantly dispose of all important dis- turbing issues, by promptly bringing all departments of the Gov- ernment into such harmonious cooperation as to insure quiet and stability, and inspire hope and confidence in every part of the Union, When the friction of that complicated government macliinery ceases to affi'ight the public ear, the national credit will improve ; hope will revive; men will take courage; business, both at the North and South, will spring to its feet, and move forward with elastic step ; commerce will spread her moldering wings ; manu- facture will unchain her idle wheels; trade will unbolt her closed doors, and the merchant, the mechanic, the miner, and the agri- culturist, will feel a new life throbbing through their veins. The cotton and rice plantations of the South will once more vie with the corn-fields of the West. The ingenious mechanics of the East will compete anew in generous rivalry with the enterprising miners of the West. The coal and the iron of Pennsylvania and Maryland will again seek the seaboard marts in company with the gold and silver of California and Nevada, and the hemp and wool of Kentucky and Ohio. The Atlantic ports will resume their trade with Europe in American bottoms, while the completed Pacific Railway, the wonder of an age that teems with great improvements, shall realize the dream of Columbus by opening the gates of the Orient froni the west. Then that little rivulet of additional trade with China, aris- ing out of our new and peculiar relations with her, will widen and deepen into a generous river. At the present time the largest ocean steamers in the world, running between California, Japan, and China, are unable, even now, before the completion of the Pacific Railroad, to carry the passengers and freight which are ofiered. 18 iJv tlio flection ot'Seyniour nml I'liilrall this risiiiij |)ro*«]H'rity will he clii'<'k(Hl, hrcause it is iMi])«issihl<' !<• <«>iiihiit ;rrr:it ciitcrprisi's in :h> iinsottk'cl titato of atiairs. Let UK not tovfiet tliat tlie {irttsjinity ot' tlii- ci.uiitrv tl('|M'iiils wluillv niKHi the eoiiditioii |)re('eut our l»»nk'rs. ()hscuri' tlu' hori/oii hy turhiiloiicc, and cspeciallv overcast the sky with tlu- dark clouds of civil war, and tliene visions ot'coniinir pros|>«'rity dissolve in iniiicnfjini: ni;rht. TlIK IMNANCIAL ISSTKS. The financial <[uestions involved in this (contest, lhitut;h ot'lcn discussed, I cannot wholly overlook. Our puhlic deht pressen heavily upon the industry of the country. Tlu; taxes which neces- sarily tl»»w therefrom lay their <^rasp, directly or indire<'lly, nj»on everythinj; we eat, drink, wear, or use. These are grievous l»nr- deiis. r»iit thev were incurreil in a n«>ltle strujjf^le to |ire>crve the liepuhlie. He who j^a/.es not without solicitude, npon thi' cojos sal proportions of our i^reat deht ; \h' who sulmiits, not wholly without repinini:", to the searciiiiii; exactions of the tax-j^atherer ; the iniMionaire who lit|uidates his heavy annual ass«'ssnient ; the lahori'r who pays enhanced jiriccs for everythiuij he cttiisunieS' should all reiiiendier that these hurdens were heaju'd upon them hy a hand ot" democratic liehels, who, at'ter shelun<^in<^ the «ither half into unprecedented tiiumcial disasters, are now damorini; for the election of Seymoui- and I'dair, and threateidnj^ in the event of their triumph to in\olve the country in another war. rill' neceri.sity oi' creatini.' this deht and levyinj^ these taxes is therefore to he chari^ecracy. The loyal masses tirndy met the issue. The re s<»urces of the c(»untry proved ajletpuite to the i^reat enu'rtjency. The citizens coiifrihuted of their suhstance to its trcjisurv, and freely ;^ave their hlood to vindicate its flai(. W«' triumphed; and as the hlood shall he held in everlasting remend>rance hy our children and our children's children, so posterity will discharj^e the deht to the utmost farthin<;, according to tlu; letter and spirit of the contract, in the money of the civiliz«'d world. .\yel the bonds will he paid, as will the greenbacks ukso, and h.>tli in the currency of Christendom. [Api'hiuse. ] 14 As the gratitude of the nation will prove ample to canonize the sacred dust of its heroic dead, so will its resources and its in- tegrity be found sufficient to keep faith with those who trusted it in a dark and perilous era. The Democratic press in commenting upon the result of the late elections, tauntingly remarked that the bloated foreign bondholders were rejoicing because it might enable them to realize 100 cents for what they paid only 40 cents. If througli the crimes of our enemies the national credit was thus debased, let us rejoice that through the virtues of our friends it is gradually improving, and ere long will arrive at what we all somuch desire — specie payment. Why should the credit of Massachusetts, whose 5 per cent, bonds are now selling in London at 85 cents be so much better than the credit of the United States, whose 6 per cent, bonds bring in the same market only T4: cents ? It is because the people of Massachusetts liave been a unit in upholding the credit of the Commonwealth beyond peradventure or the possibility of a doubt ; while the validity of the national debt has been questioned, and our credit materially damaged, by the authoritative declarations of the Democratic party. Nations, like individuals, must ever be mindful that credit is not only the basis of all great enterprises, but is the life of an industrial people. The Unancial disasters that would follow the success of the Democracy would aflfect our credit in all the markets of the world. Large amounts of our bonds are held in Europe. The holders already show signs of uneasiness be- cause of the Democratic threats of practical repudiation. The character of our people is on trial on every Exchange be- yond the Atlantic. Not the bondholders and moneyed men only in foreign lands, but those who stood up firmly for the Union during the war, earnestly deprecate the success of Seymour, and anxiously desire the triumph of Grant, so that the honor and in- tegrity of the nation, both financially and politically, may^be vin- dicated. John Bright, the champion of freedom and equal rights in his native land, whose thrilling eloquence resounded in our de- fence during the darkest period of the conflict, now ardently hopes for our success in the present issue. Count de Gasparin, the author of that invaluable tribute to our country, issued during the gloomiest liours of our struggle, " The Uprising of a Great Peo- ple," earnestly desires the election of Grant and Colfax. So also 15 do tll(>^t• KtluT cliaiiii'liiMS »>r lihcrty, M(l\\;iit" a .sni n|i|'U'. tools ol" (lcS|totisiii, and who ionised tor llic o\( rtlirow ot" the irieat la'puhiic in i»ur late conflict, as earnestly ho|>c lor the cltM-tion of Seymour and I'hiir ; so that throuj^li another civil war and the rciuidlation ol" our oMij^ations, the cause of Deiu«H cratic institutions may he |tut to lia/ard. and tlie creiht ot" tlicir hrightest exemphar be foully tarnished. SKY MO! i: AM) WAK— (UJANT AND I'EACE. {•'ellow citizens, it is wi^e to conlcmiijatc the jmrposcs avow ed hy our o|>|»onents in thei'vent ot their triumph. They intend to get aside the reconstruction jtolicy ot'(.'oii<;re.rtuiired him its nomination for tlru Vice-Presidency, struck the key note ot" their intents in these sipnitieant w<»rds. lie save: *' It would be the tluty of the PresiileiU elect to «U'clari' those acts null and void, disperse the carj»et-hai:; State (iovernments, allow the white people to reor:;anize their own •governments, and elect Senators and Kepresentatives.'" Nay, more. " AVe mu.-t have a President," he says, "who will trample Jnto dust the usurpations of Congress, known as tlu; Iveconstruetion aetH." Are those incendiary doctrines of the Deniocratie platform, and these revolutionary declarations of the Denmcratic candidate tor the \ ice-I*re8idency, mere empty ftounds, 8ii:nifying nothin«r ? Immediately on the adjournment of the Tammany Convention, they were caught and re-echoed by all the lea«lin^ orators of the Democratic i>arty in the Stuith, an»id tumultuous cheers of e.xeited assemblies. Hampton, Vanci', Hill, Toombs, Senunes, Peauregard, 16 Forrest, and other leading ex-E-ebels have reiterated them before applauding thousands, in every variety of phrase, in all the insur- gent States. The leading Democratic journals of the South — at Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, Atlanta, and the other great centres — have spread them before their readers, in every form of rhetoric known to the editorial pen. Need I trouble you with the reading of these speeches and articles ? They have become to us " as fa- miliar as household words." We at once recognize them as of like tenor and effect with those which issued from the same' lips and the same pens eight years ago, in the dark and troubled night which preceeded our civil war. Does charity require, does prudence allow, that we regard tliese threats as mere idle gasconade ? These men are too intelli- gent to believe, they know us too well to cherish, the delusion that they can by mere bravado bully and frighten those who trampled them down in the late war. No. They mean to carry into execution their teachings, provided they can fight to regain the lost cause under the protecting aegis of an administration elected to give full force and effect to the nullification doctrines of their national platform and the sanguinary intentions of the Blair letter, but which they do not dare even to threaten, under the administration oi' Grant and Colfax. I am aware that it has recently been claimed by these South- ern orators and editors, that the North has put too stringent a construction upon these revolutionary utterances. But there stands the record. We do not construe ; we merely quote. We do not interpret ; we merely read. We do not comment, but simply give the plain, unvarnished text. We cite the platform and the letter ; we refer to the speeches and the editorials, without note or gloss. And we tell the 105 eminent Rebels who sat in the Tammany Convention, and framed its resolutions, and dic- tated its nominations, and their echoes and expounders North and South, that though they may have since discovered that their treasonable utterances have ruined their party, for this canvass at least, they cannot be allowed at this stage of the trial to change the issues. I would fain believe that the sober second thought of these men, traitors should I not say, rather, daring and reckless as they are, will induce them to abandon a scheme so treasonable in its 17 iiic'C]»ti(»n, su impossible of execution. Wo lu-cil liardly tell tlieni that if the lejjiil voters of this country elect (ten. (traut to the Presidency, tliey will see to it that lie is re<;ularly inauirurated, in g]Mtc of all the Rebels south of Mason and Dixon's line, and all their allies north of it. Once instulleil in the White II<»u.se, tlie hero of Donelson, of Vieksburg, of C'lmttanooj^a, and of Appomat- tox, would not lack the purpose, the rourafce, the skill, nor the means, to crush utterly and forever this attempt to retrieve the lost cause by pre<'ipitatin«; the country in another civil war. The more serious, in fact the only danircr would arise from the election of Sevmour. The rcvolutionarv i>rocratic nominees by electing Grant and Colfax by a majority S(» overwhelming as to dissolve every doubt, and silence the faintest breath of clamor <>r dissent. SCHUYLER COLFAX. What candid man doubts that the country will be ^ale under their rule, and that their elevation to the Presidency and Vice- Presidency will be followed by a sea.son of quiet and repose i r)f Mr. Col tax's large experience, liberaL princijtles. strict integrity, popular manners, and ami»le ca])acity to discharge the high trusts about to be committed to his keeping, I need not speak. He is everywhere known and beloved as a wise statesman and Christian gentleman. 18 GEN. GRANT— HIS CHARACTER AND OPINIONS. Gen. Grant is one of those grand characters on which the pen of history loves to dwell. Tried in war and in peace, and tested by every vicissitude of fortune, he has proved equal to all emer- gencies. [Cheers.] Simple in his manners, modest in his utter- ances, clear-headed and generous-hearted, liberal and magnan- imous, but firm and courageous, honest, sincere, and truthful, the enemy of fraud, duplicity, and'cant, patient and cautious in con- ceiving his plans, and resolute and skillful in their execution, and possessing to an extraordinary degree that sagacity which enables one to judiciously select subordinates, and put " the right man in the right place," he will prove as wise in the Cabinet as he was heroic in the field. Gen. Grant is not a prejudiced paritsan, nor versed in the crooked ways of professional politicians. But his varied services during the war ; the wide authority he has exer- cised in a semi-civil capacity since the downfall of the Rebellion ; his supervision of the difiicult and delicate task of reconstructing a shattered Union, have shown that he has those mental traits and habitudes of mind that qualify men for the skillful adminis- tration of public afiairs on the broadest theater. Belonging to that school of men of whom Monroe and Jackson and Taylor were lively types, he has given ample proof that he only needs the occurrence of opportunity and the pressm-e of duty, to so con- duct the afiairs of the nation, as to win a place among the purest and ablest statesmen w^lio have filled the Presidential chair. Though not trained to civil office, nor accustomed to address his fellow-citizens, either with the pen or from the platform. Gen. Grant has spoken, and his sentiments are of the noblest and most inspiring character. Five years ago he said to the people of Ten- nessee : " The stability of this Government and the unity of this nation depend solely on the cordial support and the earnest loyalty of the people." In his letter to the President, protesting against the removal of the gallant Phil. Sheridan from the command of the Fifth Military District, he said : " This is a Republic where the will of the people is the law of the land. I beg that their voice may be heard." In his address to the armies of the Union, at the close of the 19 Rebellion, among other thrilling sentiment^ he gave the toUow ing : " [Jy your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour «»r danger ;ind alarm, ymir magnificent fighting, bravery, and endur- ance, you have maintained the sujiremacy of" the Union, over thrown all armed opposition to the enforcement of the laws, and the prodamatiniis forever ab(»lishing slavery — the cause and jire- text of the Rebellion — and opened the way to the rightful authorities to restore order and inaugurate peace on a permanent and enduring i)asis on every foot of American soil." In his reply to the committee notifying him of his nomination at Chicago, lie showed both his modesty and his regard for the po]>ular will when he said: "If chosen to till the high t)ttice for which you have selected me, I will give to its duties the same en- ergy, the same spirit, and the same will, I have given to the per- formance of all duties which have devolved upon me heretofore. AVhcther I shall l)e able to })erform tlioseosc against the will of the j)eople." And in his formal letter of acceptance he has given the kev- note of his adniinistration : " i'eace, :intration. will lighten the ))urden of taxation, while it eoiistaiiflv reduces the national del>t Let us have i>eace." CONCIA'SION. IIow grandly t|o these jdain, undis<^uise<. Inflexible of faith, invincible in arms." I Lou'l applause. ]