The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1866-07-28
The Philadelphia Convention.

The Philadelphia Convention.
Two political conventions have been called to
meet in Philadelphia, one on the 18th of August
and the other on the Sd of September. The first
was originally called by Mr.. Randall, of Wis
consin, who held the position of First Assistant
Postmaster General but who has, since the res
ignation of Governor Dennison, received from
the President the appointment of Postmaster
General. He was joined by Senator Doolittle, of
Wisconsin, Cowan, of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ray
mond, of New York. Montgomery Blair, of Md,
and several other renegades from the Union par
ty. The ostensbe object Of this Convention is
to nationalize the Union party on the basis OF
the Presidents reconstruction policy in contra
distinction to the Congressional plan as set forth
in the proposed amendment to the Constitution
and the important enactments which have passed
the present Congress. In plain terms, it is
hold scheme of set of men like Cowan and
Doolittle (both of whom were last winter re-
uuested by their State Legislatures to resign their
seats in the Senate and go home, to save them
selves from political ruin by getting up "new
party" in which their right to lead would be
undisputed. OF course, movement like this,
from men who in the last Presidential election
supported Lincoln and johnson, gave great joy
to The Southern rebels and their copperhead al
lies in the North. They thought they saw in it
the certain and complete overthrow of the party
which carried the war to a successful termination
and sustained the Federal Union, at all hazards,
against traitors. Not to take advantage of this
boilers, Convention to strengthen their own ranks
by absorbing the few original Union men in the
North who continue to adhere to the peculiar
policy of Andrew johnson, would be to betray
a stupidity common to copperheads only in very
cold weather. Accordingly the so-called Demo-
Gratis of both Houses of Congress issued circu-
lar endorsing Randalfs Convention and urging
the faithful to send delegates. Finding their al
lies going into the thing with strength sufficient
to control it, the "amnestied'' throughout the
South began to discuss the propriety of sending
delegates also. Their discussion resulted in con-
vincng themselves that, their Northern friends
were likely to use the Convention for the purpose
of recognizing the Democratic party, and
through it to assist the South in once more get
ting control Of the Government there could be
no harm in sending delegates and taking part in
National Union Convention" which would
be managed by such men as Vallandigham, Ben
Wood and George H. Pendeton Prominent
rebels, therefore, took hold of the movement and
are having delegates appointed from all the South
ern States. The chosen representatives, SO far,
are men like Stephens, of Georgia, Marmaduke
Johnson late General in the rebel army, and
ex-members of the rebel Congress. Indeed, the
highest recommendation man can have for any
position in the South is that he devoted all his
energies for four long years, to destroy the Gov
ernment. If he made himself prominent in the
field or upon the forum in originating or contin-
uing the war against the Nations life, he is,
above all others, the proper person to choose as
delegate to represent the reconstructed" sent-
ment of the rebel States and to mingle in frater-
nal fellowship with the leaders of that part of the
rebel army which was scattered over the North
ern States and which was never called into action,
exceptin rotous demonstrations to resist the draft.
Such will be the ''make up of the Convention
of the l4th of August. Originating with few
Northern men who supported the war, but who,
after it was over, proposed to surrender all the
glory of the victory and all the good that should
result from il, to the traitors, it has been appro
priated and will be controlled by traitors in word
and deed, and traitors in word and thought
As a Convention to reorganize and nationalize
the Union party it is unnecessary that party is
the only truly national party in the country
all others are sectional; welded to the dstinc-
tive Southern ideas of civilization" and States
Rights The friends of the Union are trying to
destroy this political sectionalism and to make
the cardinal principles of Union and Freedom &C
ceptabIe and cheerfulIy acknowledged as national
ideas in every State of the Union-as it is in
Massachusetts, so shall it be in South Carolina
The other Convention to which we have allu-
ded will be made up of entirely different materi-
al 1t is to be composed exclusively of Southern
Unonists-sueh as Bolts and Pierpont of Virgin
ia, Maynard and Stokes Of Tennessee, Hill, of
Georgia, and Hamilton, of Texas Weare sorry
that we cannot name Andrew johnson along
with these steadfast loyalists of the South His
record during the war would give him promi-
nent position among his compatriots. Why he
is not with them and of them now, it is not our
purpose at present to explain.
1t is needless to indicate which of these Con-
yentions has the sympathy and best wishes of the
great Union party of the States that remained
faithful to the country and particularly of the
loyal men of Maryland. Both Conventions, al
though having widely different objects in view,
spring from the one great, underlying, all-absorb-
ing question of the day, namely :-"Shall trea-
son be made odious and loyalty honorable, or
shall the former be called respectable and the
latter disgracedT' This is the question of the
times. The result of the copperhead Convention
will undoubtedly be to encourage the rebels to
organize into compact party to aid, at least by
moral and material" means in handing over the
Government to Northern copperheads which will
be the first step towards reinstating some of the
very men who inaugurated the rebellion and
prosecuted it with so much humanity. Thus
will treason be rewarded, and devotion to Union
and country condemned and punished-JefR Da-
Wis exalted into hero martyr, and Abraham
Lincoln execrated az q tyrant and usurper by
sI,a rnlar. ~ tho NATHAN