Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1856-09-24
Letter from Governor Reeder.
New York CITY, Sept. IS
To The Editors of the Erensag Post:

| Ii Is d
To The Editors Of the Erenlag Post +
! GENrEMEN:-The letter of your correspon.
dent FL. and your editorial comments upon it,
of the 10th inst, seem in common courtesy to
demand reply. Your correspondent does not
err in saying that ] desire the success of the
| Republican party and the election of their
candidate, and that am ready to contribute
any honorable effort to bring it about. This
is not the result Of any preference as to men,
but in spite of it, With Colonel Fremont |
am unacquainted have never seen him, nor
| had any communication with him, direct, or in
direct, verbal or written On the other hand
+ my feelings of friendship and admiration for
Mr.. buchanan as a man, are of no ordinary
character, and are strengthened by years of
| friendly intimacy and reciprocal acts of kind
ness, uninterrupted to this time by single
| misunderstanding or unpleasant feeling. and /
| would at any time defend him promptly and in
dignantly against personal attacks upon his
reputation. believe him to be man Of dis
tinguished ability, of high integrity, and valu-
able experience. He is surrounded, too, in
Pennsylvania, by many political friends, whom
personally, love and esteem, and to whom |
am united by ties of long-cherished political
and social intimacy, and the loss Of whose
friendship should regard as a great calamity
For more than quarter of a century | have
steadily labored with the Democratic party,
and never doubted that / should do so during
my life. For years 1 have exerted myself to
bring about Mr.. Buchanan's nomination. In
l84S and 1852 was one of those who carri-
ed for him the delegates of our district, and
was his jealous and ardent supporter. On
each occasion | was in the National Conyen-
ton as one Of his delegates.
These ties are exceedingly strong and hard
to sever, especially with one who is naturally
of a conservative cast, and slow to change old
habits of thought and action; and have re-
sisted for months she convictions that were
urging me to my present declaration | have
diligently sought reasons and arguments to
save myself the pain Of breaking up old asso-
Citations, and alternating myself from my old
friends but all in vain My love of country
and hatred of oppression would not allow my
feelings and inclinations either to delude my
judgement or still my conscience, and | am
compelled to forfeit my selfrespect by commit
ting what | believe to be palpably wrong or
else to enrol myself in opposition to the Dem
ocratic party.
| can see no reasonable hope of Justice and
sympathy for the people of Kansas in the snc-
cess of the Democracy. In its ranks, and
with the power to control its action, are found
the border ruffans of Missouri and their ac-
complies of the South, who have trampled up
on the constitution and all the essential princi-
| pies OF our government robbed Kansas of its
| civil liberty and right of suffrage laid waste
its territory with fire and sword, and repudia-
| ted even civilization itself.
In its platform End the enunciation of prin-
ciples which would put the rope about the
backs OF men for exercising the constitutional
right of petitioning Congress for state gov
eminent, as redress of grievances far worse
than those which led to the war of the Revo-
luton, and a declaration stigmatising as
armed resistance to law" the moderate and
1Justlfiahle self-defenee of men shamefully and
UNANIMOUSLY oppressed by ruffian violence and
outrage, beyonnd all human endurance g g
l ind the whole party of the nation assem-
bled in National Convention, with but one in
dlyldual dissent, expressing it's q unqualified
admiration" of an administration which has
lent itself as the tool and accomplice OF all the
wrongs inflicted upon Kansas, and by its We
Inality and imbecility brought the country to
an intestine war
I find all its Representatives in Congress
with three individual exceptions, laboring in
earnest zeal, BY speech and vote, to cover up
the iniquities of this administration and the
border rpfians of Missouri, and to suppress a
fair Investigation of outrages which shook both
humanity and republicanism and defy the con-
stitution and the laws.
I find these same representatives, after the