The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1868-07-30
THURSDAY. JULY 80, 1865.

Gen. Blair's Letter Of Accept
ance.
Washington, July 81.
To Gen. George w. Morgan, Chair.
man of tho Committee of the Ma
tional Democratic Convention:
GENERAL take tho earliest op-
portunity Of replying to your letter
notifying me Of my nomination for
vice president Of tho United States
by the National Democratic conven-
ton, recently held in the city of
New York. ] accept, without hesi.
tation, the nomination rendered in q
manner 80 gratifying, and give you
and tho committee my thanks for
the very kind ana complimentary
language in which you have convey
ed to me the decision Of the convon-
ton.
l have carefully read tho rcsolu-
tions adopted by the convention, and
most cordially concur in every prin-
ciple and sentiment they announce.
My opinion upon all the questions
which divide the great contending
parties have been freely expressed
on all suitable occasions, and / do
not deem it necessary at this time to
repeat them. The issue upon which
the contest turns is clear, and cannot
be obscurod or distorted by the soph-
istries of our adversarics. They all
resolve themselves into tho old and
overcoming struggle of a few men
to absorb the political power of the
nation. This effort, under every
conceivable nam4 and disguise, has
always character Ted the opponents
of tho Democratic barty, but at no
time has the att t&ipt assumed 80
open and daring sbapo as in this
contest.
The adversariessof FREQ and consti-
tutional govcrnmeht, in defiance of
tho express language of the constitu,
ton, have erected > military despo-
tism in ten of the states of the union,
have taken from the president tho
power vested in him by the supreme
law, and have deprived the supreme
court of its jurisdiction; and tho right
Of trial by jury, and tho great writ of
right, the habeas corpus, tho shield of
safety for every citizen, which have
descended to us from the earliest ira.
ditions Of our ancestors, and for which
our revolutionary fathers fought to
secure to their posterity forever in
the fundamental charter of our libcr-
ties, have been ruthlessly trampled
under foot by the fragment of con-
gress; whole states and communities
of people of our race have been at
tainted, convicted, condemned, and
deprived of their rights as citizens,
without prcsentmcnt, trial, or wit
nesscs, but by congressional enact
mont of er post tacto laws, and in de-
fiance of tho constitutional prohibi-
ton, denying to q full and loyal con-
gross tho authority to pass any bill
Of attainder or er pest facto law.
The same usurping authority has
substituted as electors, in place of
men Of your own race thus illegally
attainted and disfranchised, o host of
ignorant negroes, who are supported
in idlcness with the public money,
and combined together to strip the
whiterace ofthoir birthright, through
tho management of frcedmen's bu-
reaus and enisarics of conspirators in
other states; and to complete the OPP
preston, the military power of the
nation has been placed ut their dis
posal: In order to make this barba-
rism supreme, the military leader un-
der whose prestige this usurping
congress has taken refuge since the
condemnation of their schemes by
the free people Of the north, in the
elections of the last year, whom they
have selected as their candidate to
shield themselves from the result Of
their wickcdness and crime, has an
nonnced his acceptance of the nomi-
nation, and his Willingness to main
tain their usurpations over 5000, 900
white people of the south, fixed to
the earth with his bayonets. Heck
claims ..Let MS have peace" "Peacc
reigns in Warsaw" was the announce
| ment which heraldcd the doom of the
liberties ofa nation. "The empire is
peace" exclaimed Bonaparte, when
freedom and its defenders expired
under the sharp edge of the sword.
The peace to which Grant invites us
is the peace of despotism and death.
When we seek to restore the con-
i stitution by executing the will Of tho
people, commencing the reconstruc-
tion acts already pronounced upon in
the elections of last year, and which
will, I am convinced, be still more
emphatically expressed by the elec-
ton of the demcratic candidate for
president of the unitcdStates, we ayc
denounced rs rcvolutionists by tho
partisans of this vindiciive congress.
Negro suffrage, which the popular
votes of New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Con-
necticut, and the other states have
condemned as expressly against tho
/ lcbtcI VI tuo COustktutAOl, uiuoI hteCiiu,
because their senators and represen-
tatives have willed it. If tho people
shall again condemn these atrocious
measures by the election Of the DEM
ocratic candidate for president, they
must not be disturbed, although de-
| cided to be unconstitutional by the
supreme court, and although the
| president is sworn to maintain and
support the constitution. The will
| Of a fraction Of congress reinforced
with its partisan cmissaries, sent
to the south and supported thorc by
soldiery, must stand against the will
| Of the poopIe and tho decision of ths
supreme court, and the solemn oath
fthe president TO maintain and sup
port tho constitution.
is il revolutionary to execute ths
will Of the pcople2 Is it revolutiona
i ry in the president to keep inyiola.'
: his oath to sustain the constitution
This false construction of tho vita
principles of our government is the
last resort Of those who would sway
and suparcedo our tine--honoget
, , institution. The nation vii
say the constitution must restored