Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1872-05-30

Mr.. Greeley's Reply.
New York, May 20-Gentlemen-l
have chosen not to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of your letter Of the Sd instant uh~
til [ could learn how the work Of your
Convention was received in all parts of
our great country, and judge whether
that work was approved and ratified by
the mass Of our fellow-citizens. Their
response has. from day to day. reached
me through kilograms, letters, and the
comments Of journalists Independent Of
official patronage and Indifferent to the
smiles OF frowns Of power The number
and character of these unconstrained,
uupurch ased unsolicited utter4nces satisfy
me that the movement which found ex-
preston at Cincinnati has received the
stamp Of public approval and been hailed
by majority of our countrymon as the
harbinger of a bitter day for the Re-
public.
I do not misinterpret this approval as
especially complimentary to myself, nor
even to the cLivalrous and justly-esteem-
cd gentleman with whose name / thank
your committee for assoclat!ug mine. l
received and welcome il as spontaneous
and deserved tribute to that adm irable
platform of principles wherein your Con
vention so tersely, SO lacidly, SO forcibly
set forth the convictions which impelled
and the purposes which guided its course
a platform which. casting behind it the
wrtck and rubbish of worn out conten-
IONS and by gone feuis, embodies in fl.
and few words the needs and aspirations
Of to-day. Though thousands stand
ready to condemn your every act, hardly a
syllable Of criticism Or cavil has been
aimed at your platform, OF which the
substance may be fairly epitomized as
folloss:
First. All the political rights and
franchises which have been acquired
through our lite bloody commissions must
and shall be guaranteed, maintained, en-
joyed and respected cvelmore.
Second. AL the political rights and
franchises which have been lost through
that convulsion should and must be
promptly restored aud rc-established, so
that there shall be henceforih no pro
scribed class, and no DISTINGUISHED caste
within the limits of our Union, whose
long cslranged people shall rcunite and
fraternize upon the broad basis of uni
yersal amnesty and impartial suffrage.
Third. That, subject to our solemn
constitutional obligations to maintain the
equal rights Of all citizens, cur policy
should aim at local sel!-goyernmcnt. and
not at Capitalization; that the civil
au hority should be supreme over the
military; that the writ of heaJeas corpus
should be jealousy upheld as the safe
guard of personal freedom; that the in
dividual citizens should enjoy the largest
liberty consistent with public order, and
that there shall be no Federal subyersiou
Of the internal polity of the several States
and municipalities. but that each shall
be left free to enforce the rights and
promote the wellOeing Of its inhabitants
by such means as the judgement Of its
own people shall prescribe.
Fourth. There shall be real, and not
merely simulated. reforme in civil SER
vice of the Republic; to which end it is
indispensable that tue chief. dispenser of
its vast official patronage shall be shield
ed from the main temptation to use his
powor selhshly by rule forblding and
precluding reelection that the raising
of revenue, whether BY tariff or other
wise. be recognized and treated as the
peoples immediate business, to be shaped
and directed by them through their
Representatives in Congress, whose
action thereon the President must neither
override by his veto, attempt to dictate,
nor presume to punish, by bestowing
office only on those who agree with hial ),
or withdrawing it from those who do not
Sixth. That the public lands must be
saeredly reserved for occupation and
acquisition by cultiva.ors. ana not re-
cklessly squaudered on the pro-
jectors of railroads, for which our people
have no present need, and the premature
construction of which is annually plung
ing US into deeper and deeper abysses Of
foreign Indebtedness.
Seventh. That the achievement of
these purposes Of universal benefcence is
expected and sought at the hands of all
who approve them, irrespective Of party
affiliations.
Eighth That the public faith must at
all hazards be maintained aud the
National credit preserved.
By a careful attention to details, each
Congressman has this term managed to
get along with forty knives, twenty six
gold pene, twenty two hair brushes, and
twenty-six cakes Of scented soap. This
s free country.
Ninth. That the patriotic devoted
ness and inesiimable sevices oil our citi-
zans, who. as soldiers or sailors, upheld
the flag and maintained the unity of tie
Republic, shall ever be gratefully renem-
bered and honorably roquiued.
These propositions. SO ably and forci-
bly, presented in the platform of your con
vention, have already fixed the attention
and commanded tie approval of large
majority ofour countrymen. who joyful
ly adopt them, as do, as the basis of
true. benifecnt rational reconstruction
of a new departure from jealousies; strifes
and hates, which have DO adequate no.
tives or even a PLAUSIBLE pretcxt, into an
Of peace, fraternity and mutu-
ii good will. In vain do the drill ser
geants Of decaying organizations flourish
their truncheons and angrily
insist that tie flies shall be closed and
Strengthened. In vain do the whippers-
. of our parties, once vital because root
q in the vitalnaa3s Of the hour, protest