Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1856-10-03
Letter Of Gov. Reeder,
On the Approaching Election of Presi-
dent, and the Candidates.
New York Citv, Sept. Is.

To the Editors of the EVening Post
GEETLEMEx:-The letter of your cores
pondent H., and your editorial comment:
upon it Of the 9th inst, seem in common
courtesy to demand reply. Your cores
Pondent does not err in saying that ] desire
the success Of the republican party and the
election of their candidate, and that an
ready to contribute any honorable effort tC
bring it about. This is not the result of any
preference as TO men, but in spite of it,
With Col. Fremont l am unacquainted.
have never seen him, nor had any commu
nication with him, direct or indirect, verbal
or written. On the other hand, my feelings
Of friendship and admiration for Mr.. Bu
chanan, as man, are of no ordinary charac
Ter, and are strengthened by years of friend.
" intimacy and reciprocal acts of kindness
uninterrupted TO this time by single mis-
understanding or unpleasant feeling; and
would at any time defend him promptly
and indignantly against personal attack:
upon his reputation. believe him to be
a man of distinguished ability, and high
integrity and valuable 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 I should
regard as a great calamity. For moro than
quarter Of century have steadily Ia
bored with the Democratic party, and new
er doubted that l should do so during my
life. For years I have exerted myself to
bring about Mr. Buchanan's nomination.
In ls48 and 1852 I was one of those who
carried for him the delegates of our district
and was his jealous and ardent supporters
On each occasion I was in the National
Convention as one of his delegates.
These ties arc exceedingly strong and
hard to server, especially with one who is
naturally of a conservative cast, and slow to
change old habits of thought and action;
and have resisted for six months the con-
victions that were urging me to my present
declaration. have diligently sought rea.
sons and arguments to save myself the pain
Of breaking up old associations and alien.
ating myself from old friends, but all in vain
Ny love for my country and hatred of op-
preston would not allow my feelings and in
clinations either to delude my judgment OIL
still my conscience, and I am compelled to
forfeit my selfrespect by committing what
/ believe to be palpsbly wrong, or else en-
roll myselfin opposition to the Democratic
party.
I see no reasonable hope of justice and
sympathy for the people Of Kansas in the
success Of the democracy. In its ranks, and
with the power to control its action, are
found the Border Rufians of Missouri and
their aceompliees of the South, who have
trampled upon the Constitution and all the
essential principles of our Government, rob
bed Kansas of its civil liberty and right Of
suffrage, laid waste its territory with fire
and sword, and repudiatcd even civilization
itself.
In its platform I find the enunciation oi
principles which would put the rope about
the neck of men exercising the constitution
al right of petitioning Congress for State
Government, or redress Of grievances far
worse than those which led to the war Of
the Revolution, and declaration stigma
tized as ''armed resistance to law" the mod
crate and justifable selfdefence of men
shamefully and infamously oppressed by
rnfian violence and outrage beyond all hu.
man endurance.
I find the whole party of the nation as
sembled in National Convention, with but
one individual dissent expressing its "un
qualified admiration" of an Administra-
ton which has lent itself as tho tool and
accomplice of all the wrongs inflicted upon
Kansas, and by its venality and imbecility
brought the country to an intestine war.
1 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 Rufians Of Missouri, and to sup
press fair investigation of outrages which
shock both humanity and republicanism,
defy tho Constitution and laws.
find these same Representatives, after
the truth was elected IN spite Of their ef,
forts, still refusing to relieve the people from
a code Of laws imposed upon them by for
oign army and still refusing to admit them
into the Union, only for reasons which, in
the cases Of nine existing States, had been
declared untenable and of no account.
/ find them disregarding Free Consti-
tuition adopted in legal, constitutional, and
time sanctioned manner land which nc
man can doubt to have reflected the will Of
the people, and supporting law to pro
duce a substitute, which is easy to show
would have pcrpetuated in the State Gov
ernment, the usurpation which had by force
already seized upon the government of the
territory.
l find them refusing to make appropria-
tions for the army, unless that army, is tc
be used to enforce code of laws yiolatiye
on their face, of the Constitution, enacted
by Legislature in violation of the laws Of
the United States, and imposed by foreign
force upon conquered and subjugated Amer
can citizens.
/ find them, in a word, steadily aiding BY
nll their Congressional action, to make q
Slave State in northern ATTITUDES, and that,
too. against the will of its inhabitants.
1 find in the canvass now going on that
the whole tone of their party press IS in the
same direction, When the first startling in
telligence Of the outragcs in Kansas reach
ed the States, their editors denounced the
foul wrong in terms of fitting Indignation.