The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1868-08-21
THE PRESIDENCY.
Mr. Seymour's letter Accepting th'
Nomination.

The following is Horatio Seymour's
acceptance of the Democratic nomina-
tion for the presidency:
UTICA, August 4, 1868. Gentlemen: !:
When, in the city of New York, on
the 11th ultimo, in the presence of a
vast multitude, on behalf of the nation
al Democratic convention, you tender
ed to me its unanimous nomination as
their candidate for the Office of Presi-
dent of the United States, / stated /
had no words adequate to express my
gratitude for the good will and kind
ness which that body has shown to me.
It's nomination was unexpected. 1t
was my ambition to take an active
dart, from which / am now excluded,
in the great struggle going on for the
restoration of good government, of
peace and prosperity to our coutry.
But have been caught by the whelm-
ing tide which is bearing us on to a
great political change, and l find my
self unable to resist its pressure. You
have also given me copy of the reso-
lutions put forth by the convention,
showing its position upon all the great
questions which now agitate the coun-
try. AS the presiding officer of that
convention, l am familiar with their
scope and import; as one of its mem
bers | am a party to their terms. They
are in accord with my views, and |
stand upon them in the contest upon
which we are now entering, and / shall
strive to carry them out in future,
wherever l may be placed, in political
or private life.
| then stated that | 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 convention.
/ have delayed the mere formal act
Of communicating to you in writing
what / thus publicly said, for the pur-
pose Of seeing what light the action of
Congress would throw upon the inter
ests of the country. It's acts since the
adjournment of the convention show
an alarm lest a change ofpolitical pow
er 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 fl
nancial management which have been
kept from the public knowledge. The
congressional party has not only allied
Itself with military power, which is
to be brought to bear directly upon
the election in many States, but it also
holds itself in perpetual session, with
the avowed purpose Of making such
laws as ii shall see fit, in view of the
elections which will take place within
q few weeks. 1t did ,lottharefore adj
journ, but took recess, to meet again
if its partisan interests shall demand
its reassembling. Never before in the
history of our country has Congress
thus taken a menacing attitude to-
wards its electors. Under its infiu-
ence, some of the States organized 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, motive stronger and deeper
than the mere wish to hold 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 journ-
ais of the Republican party have open
ly deplored the violence of congression-
al action, and its tendency to keep up
discord in our country. The great in
terests of our country demand peace,
order, and a return to those industrial
pursuits without which we cannot
maintain the faith of our government.
The minds of business men are per-
picked by uncertainties. The hours
of toll of our laborers are heightened
by the costs of living made by the di-
rect and indirect eXactions of govern
ment. Our people are harassed 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 re-
store order and confidence, 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 into 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 we'll as the South.
These men, who, few days since,
were seeking as suppliants that Con-
gress 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
come as in conditions of civil war;
that the majority of their populations,
embracing their intelligence, shall be