Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1868-08-11
THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATIONS.
Mr. sEYMOUR's LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE.
He Endorses Every Plank in the Demo-
cratic Platform.
UrIcA. Angnst 4. 1865

Al bhS 49,
on the 18th ult., in the presence of a vast
multitude, on behalf of the National Demo
cratic Convention, you rendered to me its
unanimous nomination as the candidate for
the office of President of the United States,
l stated l had no words Z" adequate to express
my gratitude for the good will and kindness
which that body had shown to me-" Its
nomination was unsought and unexpected
1t was my ambition to take an active part,
from which l am now excluded, in the great
struggle going on for the restoration of good
government, OF peace and prosperity to our
country, but L have been caught up by the
overwhelming tide which is bearing US on to
a great political change. and [ find myself
unable to resist its pressure. You have also
given me a copy of the resolutions put forth
by the Convention showing its positions upon
all the great questions which now agitate the
country. As the presiding officer of that
Convention, [ am familiar with their scope
and import. As one of its members. [ am a
party to their terms. They are in accord with
my views and | stand upon them in the con-
test upon which we are now entering, and [
shall strive to carry them out in future where
ever 1 may be placed, in political or private
life. 1 then stated that,I would send you
these words of acceptance in a letter, as is
the customary form. | see no reason upon
reflection to change or qualify the terms OF
my approval of the resolutions OF the Conven-
ton.
/ have delayed the more formal act of COM
municating to you in writing what L then
publicly said for the purpose of seeing what
light the action of Congress would throw up
on the interests of the country. Its acts
since the adjournment of the Convention
show an alarm lest a change of political power
will give to the people what they ought to
have-a clear statement of what has been
done with the money drawn from them DUR
ing the past eight years. Thoughtful men
feel that there have been wrongs in the finan-
cial management which have been kept from
the public knowledge. The Congressional
power has not only allied itself with military
power which is to be brought to bear direct
ly upon the elections in many states, but it
also holds itself in perpetual session, with the
avowed purpose Of making such laws as it
shall see fit in view of the elections which
will take place within a few weeks. 1t did
not, therefore adjourn, but took a recess, to
meet again if its partlzan interests shall de-
mand its reassembling. Never before in the
history Of our country has Congress thus
taken 4 menacing attitude towards its electors.
Under its influence some Of the States organ
lied by its agents are proposing to deprive
the people Of the right to vote for Presiden-
tial electors, and the first bold steps are taken
to destroy the rights of suffrage. 1t is not
strange, therefore, that thoughtful men see
in such action the proof that there is with
those who shape the policy of the Republican
party motives stronger and deeper than the
mere wish to hold the political power; that
there is a dread Of some exposure which
drives them on to acts so desperate and so
impolitic. Many Of the ablest leaders and
journals of the Republican party have open
~ dcplored the violence of Congressional ac-
ton and its tendency to keep up discord in
our country. The great interests Of our
Union demand peace, order, and u return to
those industrial pursuits without which we
cannot maintain the faith or honor of our gov
ernment. The minds of business men are
perplcxed by uncertainties. The hours of
toll Of our laborers are heightened by the
costs of living made by the direct and indi-
rect exactions of Government. Our people
are harassed by the heavy and frequent de-
mands of the tax-gatherer. Without distinc-
ton of party there is a strong feeling in IA
vor OF that line ofaction which shall restore
order and confidence and shall lift off the
burdens which now hinder and vex the in,
dustry of the country. Yet at this moment
those in power have thrown in the Senate
chamber aud Congressional hall new elements
of discOrd and violence men have been ad-
mitted as representatives of some Of the
Southern States with the declaration upon
their lips that they cannot live in the States
they claim to represent without military pros
lection. These men are to make laws for the
North as well as the South. These men who
a few days since were seeking as suppliants
that Congress would give them power within
their respective States are to-day the masters
and controllers of the actions of those bodies.
Entering them with minds filled with pas
sions, their first demands have been that Con-
gress shall look upon the States from which
they came az in conditions of civil war; that
the majority Of their populations, embracing
their intelligence, shall be treated as public
enemies that military forces shall be kept
up at the cost OF the people of the North, and
that there shall be no peace and order at the
South save that which is made by arbitrary
power. Every intelligent man knows that
these men owe their seats in Congress to the
disorder in the South. Every man knows that
they not only owe their present positions to
disorder, but that every motive springing from
the love of power, OF gain, of a desire for ven
geance, prompts them to keep the South in
anarchy. While that exists they are inde-
pendent of the will or wishes of their fellow
citizens. While confusion reigns they are
the dispensers Of the profits and the honors
which grow out of a Government of mere
force. These men are now placed in posi-
tons where they can not only urge their views
of policy, but where they can enforce them.
When others shall be admitted in this man
ner from the remaining Southern States, al
though they will have more power in the Sen
ate than a majority of the people of this
Union, living in nine of the great States. In
vain the wiscst members of the Republican
party protested against the policy that led to
this result. While the chiefs Of the late re-
bellion have submitted to the results of the
war, and are now quietly ENGAGED in the usual