The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-07-07
The Fourth an New York City-POlft
icaI Letters to TammaDy Society.

three brigades of the State militia, a meet
] ing of the Tammany political society. festl-
| walls of the Germans and at the different
| institutions, and quite fine display OF fire.
works In the evening. -
The feature Of the Tammany celebration
was the reading Of letters from prominent
public men who were not personally pres
ent, among them Governor Hoffman, OF
New York; Hon. John Quincy Adams, OF
| Massachusetts, Gen. Geo. Is. Mcclellan,
Hon. Montgomery Blair, and others. one
paragraph of Gov. Hoffman's letter reads:
"The acceptance or non-acceptance OF
certain amendments which have recently
been made q part of the Constitution OF
| the United States is not practical ques-
| ton. The civil status of the colored man
| is established, and he is in actual possession
of the right of suffrage. The task before
us is to save the Constitution as whole.
/ TO save it as it is requires our best efforts.
The question of the day is whether we are
| to live under Constitution ut all, Whlch
shall be construed by IN impartial court,
so as to limit and restrain, as it was intended
| to do, legislative and executive power alike,
or under hollow form Of Constitution,
interpreted, according to the expediency
| of the hour, by Congress itself, such inter;
pretation being enforced by an unrestraned
Executive"
To a similar effect writes Gen. Mcclellan
"Aet us leave behind us the dead issues
of the past, and look only TO the present
and the future. Slavery is dead-dead
let it remain forever, and let no one dis
turb its grave. The negro has the right to
! yote-let him keep it; but strive to educate
him to fitness for the high privilege con.
ferred upon him. Show him who his real
friends are, and we will eventually turn in
our own favor the weapon so carefully
forged for our destruction. Let us hope
that the enunciation of the financial princi-
ples of the party will be so clear that no
one can cast the shadow of Il doubt upon
our intentions as to fulfilling, in the broad
est sense, all the obligations of the nation.
Rather than indulge in abstract discussions
| as to the meaning Of this or that obligation,
| let us advocate, and when in power
pursue, such policy as will make the paper
dollar as good as the gold dollar, so that
the question will practically settle itself.
| To secure this result it must be clearly un-
derstood throughout the world that every
| dollar Of the principal ana interest OF the
national debt will be fully paid when DUE"
Referring to the terms of the invitation
extended by the Tammany Society, Mr.
| Adams's breath of spirit anlmates the fol-
| lowing sentences:
L L
crat. nor invoke the memory Of the fathers
as n partisan. On that day am Il citizen
of the United States, and during that day |
will not permit myself to think that any
| heir of the heritage devised by the declura-
tion. can barter his birthright Tor political
nnttopes, For those few hours, at least, l
choose to dwell upon the conflict OF funda-
| mental principles which preceded all strug-
giles of party policy among us. L love to
linger for little upon the beautiful fea-
lures of our political system-falr and
| young-before they were defaced by pas
sion and distorted by disease. would ded-
icate the time to studying the public virtue
| which made union, selt-goVernment, aud
| indencndence, possible for our fathers, and
| 10 strengthening those affections which
can alone make them stable for their chill
dren. The Union, which was formed to
| cast of a foreign yoke and repel external
AGGRESSION is now imperiled by petty
malice which seeks to indurate and tx the
haterul PASSIONS OF civil war into habit of
government. 1t has unhappilY become the
interest of a faction to blow the dying en-
hers of strife, and to revive the fading
memories Of fraternnl dissention. But the
/ day we celebrate teaches us lesson most
solemn and impressive upon the duty OF
concession, selt-sacritice, and mutual char
Il
lei MS remember to-day that the 'rebels'
are of the same blood with us, and must
be made of one heart with us.
awe cannot long be held together by
force or united only by common and
deathless hate. Nor is it less needful, at
this time of contempt fer constitutional
safeguards and abandonment of the most
cherished charter of personal freedom, to
revive the jealous spirit OF revolutionary
liberty which animated the opposition OF
Jefferson, and which no people which
means to be free can ever suffer TO slumber
| or sleep. Let us cherish to-day kindDess
as comprehensive as the Union, love OF
local seff-government as sturdy as the foun-
dations Of the States, and fealty to the
destiny of the Republic, single and stead
fast"
Twenty severe casualties, more or less Sc,
rious, are noted eleven fires, all small, and
| five "fishts," 60 to complete the picture OF
what the New York papers intimate is u
.s model" Fourth of July.