Kanawha Valley star. [volume] (Charleston, Va. [W. Va.]) 1856-1861, 1860-07-23
SPEECH Of pr,sld,l1 Bnehanan.

u
on the occasion Of the great Breckipridge
apd Lane ratification meeting. made quite
) long speech. expressing bis satisfaction
with those nominations. The annexed is
Sreport Of his speech from The Washing
ton .sSar:'
PREsfDENT BucHAXAN's SPEECH.
After thanking them for their kindness
in calling upon him, he alluded, in the
most complimentary terms to their can
didates. Breckinridge and Lane, said they
had distinguished themselves both in
the civil and military departments Of the
government. and in his opinion no better
selection Of standard bearers could have,
been made to lead their party to victory
than those whose banner they had un.
furled that evening.
Speakingof the merits Of these distin-
guished men, he said:
Among their many other worthy quail
tiles, The fact that they are friends Of the
equality Of the sovereign States Of this
Union. in the cvmmou territory Of, the
couhs.H..sbeald e iGssa 81 ss4se Yaytrss
Of Good ri They will stand by that
principle; and who should not 7? Equal
ity is equality. Every citizen Of the
United States is equal before the Consti-
tuition and laws Of the United States, and
why should not the sovereign States Of
this Union preserve and enjoy that per-
cnat annal;t,, xvb.nh nna of that. t..t,-a...
under the Constitution. enjoys !? APP
plause. This is sound, Democratic doc
Urine. Liberty and equality are the birth.
right Of every American citizen. and just
as certain as The day succeeds the night,
SO certain will this principletef Demo
cratic justice prevail at the lax Ap-
plause. 1t must prevail. But before ]
speak further upon this subject. (and ]
do not suppose ! shall detain you long.
/ wish TO remove one stumbling block
out of the way. have ever been friend
Of regular nominees II have newer struck
a political ticket in my life. Now, was
there anything done al Baltimore to bind
the political conscience of any sound
Democrat, and to prevent him from sup
porting Breckenridge and Lane? [''No,'
and applause. .lIis
/ was contemporary with the abandon
ment ofthe old congressional convention
or rather caucus system. It was long
while ago, and probably but yehy few 0
you remember it. But under the ole
congressional caucus rule no one was adj
mitted except Democratic members Of III,
Senate and House. Under that system
there never was any danger that member.
outside Of che Democratic party coult
impose candidate upon the State which
were Democratic, and which could alone
elect him after be was proposed. Their
was no dangerof that kind, because ther,
being no persons in the caucus eycep
Democratic members of Congress, tina
afforded a perfect assurance tbat the nom
inee offhe party would at least be agree
takia II tha Damacr-sfo 5tates' rnts Gun
\ - Z 9 a5eDtion system was broker
funp. The national convention succeeded
lAVhethgf it was wisely broken up or no
shallnoi now pretend 10 say. But up
on The organization Of the national con
yeption, which admitted all the States o
The Union, according to the number O
their Senators and Representatives, i
wasSat once discovered, that il was posi-
BILE for2the anti Democratic States 10 the
national convention, combined with /
very few of the Democratic ones, to i'm
pose a candidate upon the party at any
time who was objectionable to the States
that would be called upon to elect him
And that. as was foreseen. would weaker
the strength, and destroy the energy o
the party. 1t was a substitute for the
rule observed in the congressional eau
Gus, to which ! have referred, and ofithe
same. effect. r.
1t was believed at Che time, for was
part and parcel Of the movement, that il
the two-thirds rule there would always
be a majority Of Democratic States salts
fed with the nominations and read u ia
rush into the contest, to elect the eaiidi,
date. The two,thirds rule, then, was
the main pillar of the National Conven.
ton. 1t has been destroyed at Baltimore
and the National Convention has STUN.
bled into ruin as National Convention
The wisdom of the two-shirds rule, how.
ever. is manifest from the present condi;
ton Of the affairs Of the country. If Ii
had prevailed, no candidate could have
been nominated against the expressed
viii Of every Democratic State IN the
Union, against The expressed views Of
nearly every Democratic Senator ID the
Union, and Of three fourths Of the Demo
cratic Representatives. This tWo-ihirds
rule, then. has been prostrated, and there
is nothing in the way of any Democrat
voting for Breckenridge aud Lane III the
proceedings of the assemblage at Balti-
more. II mast be confessed, however,
that Breckenridge is in the same condi-
tion with Douglas in this respect
The convention that nominated him, al
though twas composed Of nearly all the
Democratic States, did not contain two.
thirds; and therefore every Democrat is
at perfect liberty 70 vote as be thinks
proper, without running counter to any
regular nomination Of the party.
Three enthusiastic cheers were here
given for tie nominees.l
Well, now, after this discussion after
relieving myself from all responsibility,
| will now make few remarks to YOU,
stating why prefer Breckinridge and
Lane 70 any and all other candidates in
the field. Loud applause. The soy
ereign States Of this Union are one vasi
partnership. The Territories are ac-