The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-23 00:00:00

The Presidential Contest in America.

The following is the text of General M‘Clellan's
letter accepting the nomination to the Presidency
from the Chic:so Convention :

Orange, N.J., Sept. 8

Gentlemen—l have the honour to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of your letter, informing me of my nomination by the
Democratic National Convention, recently assembled at
Chicago, as their candidate at the next election for Presi-

dent it the United States. It is unnecessary for me to say
to you that this nomination comes to me unsought. lam
happy to know that when the nomination was made the
record of my public life was kept in view. The effect of
long and varied service in the army, during war and peace,
has been to strengthen and m ke indelible in my mind and
heart the love and reverence for the union, constitution,
laws, and flag of our country impressed upon me in early
youth. These feelings have thus far guided the course of
my life, and must continue to do so till its end. The exis-
tence of more than cne government over the region which
once owned our flag is incompatible with the peace, the
power, and the happiness of the people. The preservation
of our Union was the sole avowed object for which the war
was commenced. It shduld have been conducted
for that object only, and in accordance with those
principles which I took occasion to declare when
in active service. Thus conducted, the work
of reconstruction would have been easy, and we might have
reaped the benefits of our many victories on land and sea.
The Union was originally formed by the exercise of a spirit
of conciliation and compromise. To restore and preserve it,

the same spirit must prevail in our counsels and in the hearts
of the people. The re-establishment of the Union in all its
integrity is, and must continue to be, the indispensable con-
dition in any settlement. So soon as it is clear, or even pro-
bable, that our present adversaries are ready for peace upon
the basis of the Union, WE should exhaust all the resources
of statesmanship practised by civilised nations, and taught
by the traditions of the American people, consistent with the
honour and interests of the country, to secure such peace,
re-establish the Union, and guarantee for the future the
constitutional rights of every State. The Union is the one
condition of peace—we ask no more. Let me add what I
doubt not was, although unexpressed, the sentiment of the
Convention, as it is of the people they represent, that when
any one State is willing to return to the Union, it should
be received at once, with a full guarantee of all its constitu.
tional rights. If a frank, earnest, and persistent effort to
obtain these objects should fail, the responsibility for ulte-
rior consequences will fall upon those who remain in arms
against the Union. But the Union must be preserved at all
hazards. I could not look in the face of my gallant comrades
of the army and navy, who have survived so many bloody
battles, and tell them their labours and the sacrifices of so
many of our slain and wounded brethren hed been in vain—
that we had abandoned that Union for which we have so often
perilled our lives. A vast majority of our people, whether in
the rrmy and navy or at home, would, as I would, hail with
unbounded joy the permanent restoration of peace on the
basis of the Union and the constitution, without the effusion
of another drop of blood. But no peace can be permanent
without -Union. As to the other subjects presented in
the resolutions of the Convention, I need only say that I
should seek in the constitution of the United States, and
the laws framed in accordance therewith, tLe rule of my
duty and the limitations of executive power ; endeavour to
restore economy in public expenditure, re-establish the supre-
macy of law, and by the operation of a more vigorous na-
tionality resume our commanding position among the nations
of the earth. The condition of our finances, the depreciation
of the paper money, and the burdens thereby imposed on
labour and capital, show the necessity of a return to a sound
I financial system, while the rights of citizens, and the rights
of States, and the binding authority of law over President,
army, and people, are subjects of not less vital importance
in war than in peace. Believing that the views here ex-
pressed
t acceptho se of the Convention,
andt
h epe
people
h t you
represent,of
the responsibility to be borne should the people ratify your
then
oraiaation. I realise the w

choice.
Conscious of my own weakness, I can only seek fervently
the guidance of the Ruler of the Universe, and, relying on
His all-powerful aid, do my best to restore union and peace
to a suffering people, and to establish and guard their liber-
ties and rights.—l am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your
obedient servant,

GEO. B. M'CLELLAN.
Hon. Horatio Seymour and others, Committee.
Mr Lincoln's acceptance of the nomination by
the National Convention, slating at Baltimore, is
couched in the following terms :--
Washington, June 27.
Executive Mansion,
Hon. William Dennison and others, a Committee of the

National Union Convention.
Gentlemen,—Your letter of the 14th inst., formally noti-
fying me that I have been nominated by the Convention
you represent tur the Presidency of
the United States for
four years from the 4th March next, has been received. The
nomination is gratefully accepted, as the resolutions of the
Convention—called the platform—are heartily approved.
While the resolution in regard to the supplanting of republi-
can govet nment upon the western continent is fully concurred
in, there might be misunderstanding were I not to say that
the position of the government in relation to the action of
France in Mexico, as assumed through the State Depart-
ment and indorsed by the Convention, among the measures
and acts of the executive,
will be faithfully maintained as
long as the state of facts shall leave that position pertinent
and applicable. I am especially gratified that the soldier
and the seaman were not forgotten by the Convention, as
they for ever must and will be remembered by the gratefu
country for whose salvation they devoted their lives.
Thanking you for the kind and complimentary terms in
which you have communicated the nomination and other
proceedings of the Convention, I subscribe myself, yours,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.