Bloomsburg democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1867-1869, 1868-08-12
Horatl0 Seymour's Letter OF Ac.
rr CeptanCe.
UTICA, August 4, 1868,

Horatio Seymour's Letter OF Ac-
| rS ceptance.
3 UTICA, August 4, 1858.
GENTLEMEN When in the city Of New
York on the llth ult, in the presence Of a
vast multitude, on behalf Of the National
Democratic Convention, you rendered To me
its unanimous nomination as the candidate
for the Office Of President of the United
States, l stated had no words adequate
to express my gratitude for the good will
and kindness which that body had shown to
me- Its nomination was unsought and
unexpected. It was my ambition to take
an active part, from which I am now OK.
c!uded, in the great struggle going on for
the restoration Of good government, Of
peace and prosperity 10 our country, but /
have been caught up by the overwhelming
tide which is bearing US on to great politi.
cal change, and l find myself unable to re.
sist its pressure. You have also given me
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 I am
party to their terms They are in accord
with my views, and I stand upon them in
the contest upon which we are now enter.
ing, and shall strive to carry them out in
future wherever l may be placed, in politi:
cal or private life l then stated that I
would send you these words Of acceptance
, in letter, as is the customary form. / see
no reason, upon reflection, to change or
qualify the terms Of my approval Of the res
oluti0ns Of the convention.
have delayed the more formal act Of
communicating to you in writing what I
then publicly said for the purpose Of seeing
what light the action Of Congress would
throw upon the interests of the country.
Its acts since the adjournment of the con.
yention show an alarm lest change Of po-
litical 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 during the past eight years.
Thoughtful men feel that there have been
wrongs in the financial management which
have been kept from the public knowledge.
The Congressional power has not only allied
itself with the military power, which is to
be brought to bear directly upon the elec.
tions in many States, but it also holds itself
in perpetual session, with the avowed pur.
pose Of making such laws as it shall see fit
in view Of the elections which will take
place within few weeks. 1t did not, there
fore, adjourn, but took q recess, to meet
again il its partisan interests shall demand
its reassembling, Never before in the his.
tory Of our country has Congress thus taken
Under its influence some Of the States, or
ganized by its agents, are proposing to de-
privc the people Of the right to vote for
Presidential electors, and the first bold steps
arc 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 po.
litical power, that there is dread Of some
exposure which drives them on to acts so
desperate and so impolitic. Many Of the
ablest leaders and journals of the Republi-
can party have openly deplored the violence
of Congressional action and its tendency to
keep up discord in our country. The great
interests Of our country demand peace, or
der and return to those industrial pursuits
without which we cannot maintain the faith
or honor Of our Government. The minds
of business men are perplexed by uncertain.
ties. The hours Of toll Of our laborers are
heightened by the costs Of living made by
the direct and indirect exactions of Govern
ment. Our people are harrassed by the
heavy and frequent demands of the tax
gatherer. Without distinction of party,
there is strong feeling in favor of that line
of action which shall restore order and con.
fidence, and shall lift off the burdens which
now hinder and vex the industry Of the
country. Yet at this moment those in power
have thrown in the Senate chamber and
Congressional hall new elements Of discord
and violence; men have been admitted 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 protec-
ton. These men are to make laws for the
North as well as the South. These men,
who few days since were seeking as suppl
ants 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 passions, their first demands have
been that Congress shall look upon the
States from which they came as in condi
tions of civil war; that the majority of their
populations, embracing their intelligence,
shall be treated as public enemies; that mil
itary 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 dis
order. but that every motive springing from
the love of power, Of gain, Of desire for
vengeance, prompts them to keep the South
in anarchy. While that exists they are in
dependent Of the will or wishes of their fel-
low.citizens. While confusion reigns they
are the dispensers of tho profits and the
honors which grow out Of government Of
mere force. These men are now placed in
positions where they can not urge their
views Of policy, but where they can enforce
them. When others shall be admitted in
this manner from the remaining Southern
States, although they will have in truth no
constituents, they will have more power in
the Senate than q majority Of the pcople of
this Union, living in nine Of the great
States. In vain the wisest members Of the
Republican party protested against the pol
icy that led to this result. While the chiefs
Of the late rebellion have submitted to the
results of the war, and are now quietly en-
gagged in the usual pursuits for the support