The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-06-18
speech or +. j. Breekinriage.

arrrt .rMEN OF THE CONVENTION: You
rannot he more sensible than I am that the
mart which have to perform here to-day
is merely matter Of form, and acting upon
the principles Of my whole life. was in
clined, when the suggestion was made 70
me from various quarters, that Il vas IN me
minds of many members OF the convention
to confer this distinction upon me, to ear
nesflv decline to accept 1t. Because have
never sought honors, have never sought
elistinction. l have been a working man,
and nothing else. But certain considera-
Nons led me to change my mind. Jap
planse.
too small for the good of the country
These are the men who-merely by their
example, by their pen. by their voice-try
TO do GOOD. and all the more in perilous
times. without regard to the reward that
may come. 1t is given to many such men
to understand, by the distinction conferred
upon me, one Of the humblest of their class,
that there are men whom the country will
cherish, and who will not be forgotten
Here is another motive relative to your
selves and to the country at large. It is
good for you ; it is good for every nation
and every people, every State and every
party, to cherish all generous impulses, to
follow all noble instincts, land where are
men more noble, more generously to purge
yourselves Of all se.f-seekers and betray-
ers. and to confer Offices, if it he only in
mere form, upon those who are worthy to
be trusted, and ask nothing more. Jap
plause.l Now, according to my convictions
of propriety, having said this. / should say
nothing more. Cries of "Go on!']
But it has been intimated to me from
many quarters, and in way which I cam
not disregard, that should disappoint the
wishes Of my friends, and perhaps the just
expectations Of the Convention, If did not
as briefly and yet as precisely as could,
which have brought US here. Therefore. in
q very few words, and as plainly as can,
] will endeavor t. draw your attention to
one and another Of these great matters in
which we are all engaged.
In the FIRST place, nothing can be more
plain than the fact that you are here as rep
resentatives of great nation-voluntary
law; but Rs really representing the feelings
and princip!es-and, if you choose, the pre-
judices-of the American people as ii it
were written in their laws and already
passed by their votes. For the man that
you will nominate here for the Presidency
Of the United States and ruler of great
people, in a great crisis, is just rs certain, ]
suppose, to become that ruler, AS anything
under Heaven is certain before 1t is done
prolonged cheeringl. And moreover, you
will allow me to say, though perhape it is
hardly strictly proper that should, but as
far as know your opinions, suppose il
IL Just as certain now before you utter it,
whose name you will utter, and which will
be responded to from one end to the other
Of this nation, as it viii after it has been ut
tered and recorded by yonr secretary.-
Does any man doubt that this Convention
intends to say that Abraham Lincoln shall
be the nominee? tGreat applause.l
What I wish, however, to call your atten-
ton to is the grandeur Of the mission upon
which you are met, and therefore the dig
nifty and solemnity, earnestness and con-
scientiousness with which, representing one
of the greatest, and certainly one Of the
charge these duties. (Applause.
Nov, beside the nomination Of President
and Vice President, in regard to which lat
ter once will say nothing, because
know there il more or less difference OF
opinion among you-but, beside these
nominations, you have other most solemn
duties to perform. You have to organize
You have to put it in whatever form your
wisdom will suggest, that viii unite all
your wisdom, energy, and discrimination
to gain the victory, which have already
said was in our power. More than that,
you have to lay down with clearness and
precision the principles on which you in
lend to carry On this great political contest,
meath them, and the glory Of the country
which lies before us il we succeed, plainly,
not in double sense; briefly, not il . trea-
tise, with the dignity and precision Of q
great people-to utter by its representatives
the political principles by which they in
tend to live, and for the sake Of which they
are willing TO die, 90 that all men every
where may understand precisely what we
mean, and lay that furrow 60 deeply and
clearly that while every man who is wor.
thy 70 associate with freemen may zee il
and pass upon it, every man who ID un'
worthy may be either unable 70 pass it, Of
may Be driven far from it. We want none
but those who are 1like % to be with US
Now among these principles, il you viii
allow me to say it, the drst and most Gus
nation 70 BE- destroyed. (Applause.J W.
are q nation, no doubt q peculiar one,
nation formed Of States, and no nation ex
cept % these States form it; and these
States are no States except az they arr
States in that nation. They had no more
right 70 repudiate the nation than the ma
ton has to repudiate them. None Of them
and God helping us, we will vindicate thai
fr,,fh. 20 that it shall never be disputed any
more in this world. IApplause.l
II l. fearful utterance that il set before
us. but there are great compensations 70,
It, Those Of yon who have alluded TO this
subject. know that from the foundation o.
the nresen* Government, before and since
our present Constitution was formed there
have always been parties that had no faith
in our Government. The men that formed
it we're doubtful of its success. and the mer
who opposed its formation did no: desire
Retaining Won on this subject, that for al
the outcfy about our violation Of the Con.
stitution, this present Lying generation
and this present Union party are. more
.horonshly devoted 70 the Constitution
than any Saueration that has ever Lived I'M
der it. (Applnlse.
While say that, and solennly believe
=. and believe i il esparle Of the strongest