The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-12-08
From the Boston Atlas and Daily Bee.

From the Boston Atlas and Daily Bee. 3
A PLAN FOR THE APPORTIONMENT
AND ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO
THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CON
VENTION OF 1860.
TOLEDO, o., Sept IA, 1859.
am obliged to you for copy of the Atlas and
Daily Bee, containing notice of my letter to
the National Era of July Ia, suggesting what
you are pleased to call new and difficult plan
for electing delegates to the Republican Ma
tional Convention of 1860.
Permit me to say, that you wholly miscon
ceive the intent of my article, if you suppose
that the plan l suggest would bar out of the
State" So far from this plan barring out any
district or State in the Union, 1 distinctly
stated in my letter to the Era that / favored an
apportonment that would give one delegate
to each Congressional district in every State,
without regard to the number of Republican
votes cast, or whether they had heretofore
cast any or not" Stating that no PROPOSE
ton could probably be made for securing an
exact political representation in any COncen-
'tiOn, County, State or National, but that ex-
ceptions could be urged against the adoption
of any plan that may be proposed" Adding,
that oar duty IS to adopt the plan 1shich APP.
prorin,ates the nearest to giUing a fair and tuH
representation Of the roteS an the Organi cation"
In my letter, as first written to the Era OBJ
jected to the principle of electing VIII at are
called Senatorial delegates, or delegates from
the State at large, because do not believe that
State sovereignties should be represented in
any party convention. l subsequently struck
out the paragraph, fearing that the members
of the Republican National Committee from
the smaller States would not consent to lose
the great advantage they would have over the
larger States by adhering to the old system of
electing Senatorial delegates. Although the
propriety of giving the State of Oregon, with
but about As 900 inhabitants and 1000 Repub-
lican electors, tico or four or ten Senatorial
delegates, as some propose, and the State of
New York, with over 200, 900 Republican elect
Ors and nearly three millions of people, the
same number Of Senatorial delegates, will hard
ly be defined by any one who has given the
subject the slightest consideration. / felt will
ling, however, to have the old system continued
for the present, so far as the so-called Sena
toral delegates were concerned, providing the
district plan of electing delegates in the Vera
States, on a representative basis, could be
secured, because / felt confident the adoption
of some such plan as l propose for the election
of delegates in districts would preserve beyond
question the Republican party as distinct
national organization az the hands OF its friends.
l cannot conceive how you could have so
misinterpreted my article and in order that
you and your readers may fairly understand me,
[ will again state my proposition. l favor an
apportonment that will give one delegate to
each Congressional district in all the States,
and one additional delegate for every 5000
Republican votes, and for fraction of 1900
votes and over, another delegate, said delegates
to IL Il A. ID III 1
Opposition electors, whether Americans or
Anti-LecOmpton Democrats, who are willing to
unite with the Republican organization. But
the delegates thus elected must be citizens otthe
State and residents Of Congressional districts
they propose to represent, each delegate being 0u-
hOrized to cast but one cote az Convention. This
preeaution is necessary to prevent spurious
delegates from getting into the Convention.
You will remember that after the Convention
assembled which nominated General TAYLOR in
1913, newspaper was submitted to the Com
mittee on Credentials, purporting to have been
printed in Texas, and which contained the pre-
tended proceedings of State Wing Conven-
ton, in which they resolve, that the delegates
from the State of Louisiana be requested to
cast the vote of Texas for Gen. Taylor, and
they were permitted by the Convention to do
So in clear violation Of every principle that
should govern in the admission of delegates to
any Convention. 1t was believed them and is
still believed by large number of the delegates
| to that Convention, that no such State Conven.
| ton as the one represented ever assembled in
| Texas, and that the whole scheme was a fraud,
gotten up on the eve of the Convention, to
secure the vote of Texas for Gen. TAYLOR. /
am not prepared to say from personal knowl-
edge that such gross fraud was successfully
perpetrated on the old Wing party in l948
never having been a member of that organiza
ton but such know to be the opinions of a
number of the delegates. Be that as it may
it is well enough to guard in advance against
any such unfairness.
If there is any number of Republicans liberia
Americans, and Anti-Lecompton Democrats
residing in any district or State where the,
have no Republican organization, and the,
desire to be represented in the Republican Ma
tional Convention, let them get together by
, public call, and elect one of their number, VIII
is citizen of the State and resident of tn
, district in which the meeting is held, and NJ
, Republican viii object to the admission of sue
delegate to the National Convention.
J In the letter to which you take exceptions,
distinctly said that as Republican woul
I be the last one to object to the admission {
any delegate from any district" provided, {
: course, he was properly elected and commits
: stoned by the citizens of any State or distriC
who propose to unite with the friends ofFreedom
! but, on the contrary, said that al hoped an
e wished to see every State and district the Unio
= represented" And for the purpose of formin
a nucleus In each, district and State, aroun
II which the friends of the Republican caus
: might gather, where there was at present n
= such organization, | made it part of the pr
! posed plan that every Congressional dfstri
+ ia the y nisn should have at least one delegat
p even though they had not dozen resident R
:; publican electors in it. Thus giving the S
II Louis district in Missouri two instead Of OF
4 delegate, as you suppose, and admitting Cassil
G. NJ. Clay or any other Republican whom Il
Of friends of Freedom in his Congressional distri
re may elect to represent them. .a. = j.
x / enclose copy of letter recently writ.
Y by me, and published In the National Era,
reply to some objections urged BY the Lanes