Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-06-11
Letters Of Aecsptanse froms Grant an,
r Cslfax.
o WAsHINoToN, ID. c., May 20, 1868.

| w AsHiNtION, ~. W, may 20, iooos
To General Joseph II. Haw,ey, Presf-
dent Of the National Union Repubh-
In formally accepting the nomina-
tion Of the National Union Republican
Convention of the 21st Of May, IL seems
proper that some statement Of my views
beyond the mere acceptance of the
nomination, should be expressed. The
proceedings of the Convention were
marked with wisdom, moderation and
patriotism, and believe express the
the feelings Of the great mass Of those
who sustained the country through its
trials. endorse their resolutions. If
elected to the office of President of the
United States it will be my endeavor to
administer all the laws In good faith,
with economy, and with view of Civ
ing, peace. quiet and projections every
where. In times like the prcsentit Is
impossible, or at least imminently i'm
proper, to lay down policy to be ad-
hered to right or wrong. Through an
administration of four years new polit-
ical issues not foreseen are constantly
arising the views of the public ON old
purely administrative officer should al
ways be left free TO execute the will of
the people. 1 always have respected
that will, and always shall. Peace and
universal prosperity, its sequence, with
economy of the administration, will
tighten the burden of taxation, while it
constantly reduces the national debt.
Let us have peace.
With great respect, your obedient
servant, u. s. GRANT.
The following is the reply Of Speaker
Colfax to the committee announcing
his nomination by the Chicago Conven-
tion.
WASHINGTON, D. c., May S0 1858.
To j. III. Hdwley, President of the Ma
ttonat Union Republican Convention ::
DEAR SIR-Ths platform adopted by
the patriotic Convention over which
yeu presided, and the resolutions which
SO happily supplement it, so entirely
agree with my views as to Just nation
al policy that my thanks are due to the
delegates, as much for this clear and
auspicious defamation of principles as
for the nomination with which have
been henored and which gratefully
accept. When great rebellion which
imperilled the national existence was
at last overthrowny the duty of all
others devolving on those entrusted
with the responsibility of legislation
evidently was to require that the re-
volted States should be re-admitted in
participation in the Government against
which they had erred, only on such O
basis as to increase and fortify, not to
weaken or endanger the strength and
power of the nation, certainly no one
ought to have claimed that they should
be remitted undera rule that their recog-
milton as States could ever again be used
as at the opening of the war, to defy the
fnationai authority or to destroy the
national unity. This principle has been
the pole star OF those who have infiexibly
insisted on the Congressional plan your
Committeeso cordially indorsed. Baffied
by Executive opposition and persistent
refusals to accept any plan ofreconstruc-
ton proposed by Congress, justice and
public safety at last combined to teach
us that only by an enlargement of suf-
frage in those States could the desired
end be attained, and that it was even
more safe to give the ballot to those who
loved the Union than to those who had
sought Intellectually to destroy it, The
assured success of their legislation is
being written on the adamant of histo-
ry, and it will be our triumphant vindi-
cation more clearly too, than ever
before. Does the nation now recognize
that the greatest glory of a republic is,
that it throws the shield its protection
over the humblest and weakest of its
people, and vindicates the rights of the
poorandthe powerlessa as faithfullyas those
OF the rich and the powerful? / rejoice,
too, i'll this connection, to find in your
platform the frank and fearless avowal
that naturalized citizens must be protect
ed abroad at every hazard, as though
they were native born. Our whole peo-
pie are foreigners or descendants of for
eigners. Our fathers established by
| nr aino fhni,. nj rI.f h.,
1t remains for us to establish the right
to welcome TO our shores all who are
willing, by oaths of allegiance, to be-
come American citizens. Perpetual
allegiance, as claimed abroad, is only
another name for perpetual bondage. and
would make all slaves to the soil where
first they saw the light. Our National
cemeteries prove how faithful these oaths
of fidelity to the adopted land have
been sealed in the life blood of thousands
upon thousands. Should we not, then,
protect their living brethren in the full
enjoyment ofthat nationality for which,
side by side with the native born, our
soldiers of foreign birth laid down their
lives? 1t was fitting, too, that the rep
resentatives of party which has proved
SO true to national duty in time of war
should speak so clearly In time of peace,
lof tne maintenance, untarnished, of
the national honor, national credit, and
good faith as regards Its debts-the cost
Of our national existence. 1 do not
need to extend this reply by further
comment on platform which has elicit
ed such hearty approval throughout the
land. The debt Of gratitude itacknowl-
edges to the brave men who saved the
Union from destruction the frank APP
proyai oi Amnesty. based on repentance
and loyalty the demand for the most
rigid economy and honesty in the gov
erpment; the sympathy of the party of
liberty throughout the world who long
for the liberty we now enjoy and the
recognition of the sublime principles of
the Declaration of Independence, are
worthy of the organization ON whose
banners they are to be written In the
coming contest. Its past record cannot
be bl0tted out or forgotten. If there
had been no Republican party, slavery
would to-day cast its baleful shadow
over the republic. Ifthere had been no
Republican party, free speech and free
press would be as unknown from the
Potomac to the Rio Grande as ten years
ago. If the Republican party could
have been stricken from existence when
the banner of rebellion was unfurled
and when the response of no coertion
was heard at the North, We would have
no nation to-day. But for the Republi-
can party daring to risk the odium of