The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-24 00:00:00

afterwards by a very fluent speaker, who tt)11. much
lower ground, sad declared that " Lincoln w.-. 8 a
common man, an ordinary man, a labouring man ;
that a republican form of government required to
other kind of man for a chief rn.gistratc, and that
it was the glory of the country that any hewer of
wood or drawer of water was fit to b. 3 » President."
This kind of talk went on all day yesterday, con•
tinned till midnight, and was resumed this morning,
and will doubtless last out the day, until the Con.
vention assembles for the first time for the transac-
tion of business.

All these preliminaries are but interludes to
pass the tima and to amuse the people. In the
intervals the several delegations meet in secret to
compare noses and draw up plans for the more im.
' portent procedure of the evening. In one thing
on:v are the delegations from all the States. agreed,
M be nominated for
which is, that
r. Lincoln shall
President.
Whom to place upon the same ticket for
Vice-Presiders is as ;et undecided. Mr, Hamlin,
the actual '
'..esident does not seem tc be a
Lames of Governor Andrew"
favourite; and the a.'
-nerly a tailor and
knu-wn as the "ribboned
Johnson, of Tennessee, tor- • now a
gentleman who is popularly
ox," because ho is a renegade from 2_lle Democratic
party, and declared, while he was yet tn.-6' to tha
faith, that a renegade was like an ox in anc::"
sacrifices—to be led to slaughter with a riband
around:his neck, and who is also celebrated for being
the most accomplished adept in the art of speaking
Buncombe which the United States have produced,
and Mr. Horace Greeley, editor of the New York
Tribune, have been mentiohed for the post. The
first point to be settled, however, is the chairman..
ship of the Convention, for which there will be a
keen struggle, for the reason that any person who
occupies such a position in a nominating Convention
has a claim upon the President thereby elected for
almost any office in the Government to which he
may consider himself entitled. The two most pro-
minent, though not the most likely candidates, are
Mr. Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, and Mr.
Raymond, editor of the New York limes; the
former of whom'is said to look upon the Secretary-
ship of State, and the latter upon the Embassy to
Paris as his appropriate reward. Although the
delegations are unanimous for Mr. Lincoln, they are
dissatisfied with Mr. Lincoln's Administration, and
are believed to have exacted a promise that he will
make a clean sweep of all his Secretaries from Mr.
Seward downwards, and appoint a totally new set
of men if be be re-elected.

It appears that Mr. Lincoln's friends were unne-
cesFltrity alarmed by the statement that a delegation
of the supporters of General Fremont or Mr. Chase
was in the city and had determined to meet 24
hours in advance of the regular Convention, and
declare themselves in favour of the one term prin-
ciple. If any such meeting was held last night it
was held in secret, and the secret has been welt
kept. Nobody seems to have heard or to know
anything about it. It is, clear, however, that the
proceedings of the Cleveland Convention—tue ac-
ceptance of the nomination by General Fremont—
and the bold denunciatory letter in which he declares
that he will oppose Mr. Lincoln, but no other can-
didate of the Union party, have fallen like thunder-
claps from a blue eky among the place-holders,
office seekers, contracors, and shoddyites, who form
three-fourths, if not nine-tenths of the Lincoln de-
lagation. They fear that this great disruption of
the Republican party—unaccompanied, and not
likely to he accompanied, by any similar spirit in
the Democratic ranks—will, in the event of General
Grant's failure, or the prolongation for the next
three mouths of his bloody and, as yet, bootless
campaign, lead to the success of General M'Clellan.
The friends of M'Clsllan are delighted. They have
discovered in Fremont qualities which they never
saw before. They admire his high principle, his
stern opposition to illegality, his hatred of the Lin-
colnian despotism, and almost wish that he would
ho one of them and come over to the camp of the
" Copperheads." The Republican journals in the
Lincoln interest either belabour him with hard but
harmless words, or affect to pity him for the hope-
less shipwreck which they assert he has made both
of his reputation and his chances. But the truth
is, supposing always that Grant be removed from
the arena by his non-success in the field, that the
real struggle is more likely to be between Generals
Fremont and M'Clellan than between Mr. Lincoln
and any other candidate; and that if the contest
be decided by popular vote, and not by a
military coup detat, or the transference of
the decision from the body of the people to the
House of Representatives,—a contingency that may
arise it no candidate out of the many has the abso-
lute majority of the whole number of voters—Mr.
Lincoln's chances are the poorest of all. Of course
this is not the opinion of the Baltimore Convention.
They were sent to nominate Mr. Lincoln, and they I
will nominate him at all hezards.

JUNE 9.

Contrary to expectation the chairmanship of the
Convention has been settled without a struggle,
neither of the favenrites, Cameron or Raymond,
having manifested a desire to contest it. The pro-
vis:onal chairmanship was conferred on Dr. Brecken
ridge, of Kentucky, an uncle of General Brecken-
ridge of the Confederate army, who made a very
truculent speech, in which he asserted that the
Liberties of the Ameriean people required a great
deal of blood to consolidate them, and that the more
that was shed the longer the Republic was likely
to endure. The reverend gentleman, towever, did
not say that he was prepared to offer up his own
blood for the cause which he has at heart, which is
perhaps a pity, if it is his intention to make any
more such speeches as that with which he inaugu-
rated the proceedings of the Convention. The per-
manent chairman, elected by unanimous vote, was
Mr. Denison, formerly Governor of Ohio, who en-
feted on his functions in a milder manner and spoke
more like a man of business and less like a fiery zea-
lot than his temporary predecessor. The first busi-
ness was to decide upon the credentials of the
several delegations ; and as Louisiana, Florida, Vir-
ginia, South Carolina, and even the outlying ter-
ritories of the Union in the Far West which have
not yet arrived at the maturity of States were re-
presented, it became a matter of some interest to
know how their pretensions would be received. Mr.
Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, who has no
hope of restoring the Union, and insists upon treat-
ing
the Confederacy as a-foreign nation with which
the Republic is at war, objected to allow any dole
gates from Southern States in partial occupation of
the Federal armies to be admitted, declaring his
opinion that any
that
recognition of their claim to seats
in the Convention
would be the establishment of a
would be more injurious to the
Ffaetdaelrparlionacuipselet,h atn the loss of a
pitched battle. After
long and excited debates it Was decided to admit the
delegations, with the exception of that from South
Carolina, which was partially composed of negroes.
high position assumed
'-
supporters, who claim
as good
ttears
(aaswmhoitset
forby Phist
thehwe abnsue
glakr dooefts
hc3aelntr .1.
he Lincoln's ioinsmc
always
llt ne the
y 8
man, and sometimes a great deal
people would admit if they saw Mr.
point dis
Frederick
Douglas and Senator Lane, of
Kansaaiand
knotty
together
heard them make speeches). This
posed of, in a manner which can scarcely meet the
approbation of Mr. Wendell Phillips, Mr. Ward
Beecher, the strong-minded women, and the
Churches, a new difficulty arose as to the admission
of a second and anti-Lincoln deputation from Mis-
souri. Angry debates took place on thesuhject,butas
the deputation was the only dissentient, and its ad-
mission could have no effect upon the final decision,
it was admitted under protest. It registered 22 votes
for Gen. Grant, but afterwards supported the nom.-
nation of Mr. Lincoln, which was thus made unani-
mous. Mr, llemlin was somewhat contemptuously
set aside as Vice-President, and Governor Andrew
Johnson, of Tennessee, aimed in his stead, also by a
unanimous vote. With the adoption of a "platform,''
or series of resolutions, the proceeding terminated.
Nothing further remained but to hold the ratifi-
cation meeting in the open square in the evening.
The people of Baltimore were invited to attend
—about 4bo people—mostly soldiers, car-drivers,
labourers, and negroes; and the floating population
of the town obeyed the summons, but there was not
even a sprinkling of the trading, professional, and
wealthy classes to bear them company. A transpa-
rency was exhibited at the place of meeting, setting
forth that " the heel Of the old flag would bruise the