The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-08-11
A Vow 1hlrd rerm movement.

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dent that the democratic party mean to COM
init themselves to imitation; that there is great
danger that they may be able 70 carry the
country next year for TINS policy, and that
the only way to avert this evil is for the re-
publican party to renominate the President
who, they believe, is the strongest man be-
fore the people. They conclude, therefore,
it g said, with an urgent request to General
Grant 10 allow himself to be brought forward
as a candidate and the expression of a belief
that il is his duty to do so. There is a report
also that a similar letter viii be sent to Gen
eral Grant by leading citizens Of New York.
These reports revive the interest in General
Grants letter to the President Of the Penn
sylvania Republican Convention. If that
letter had positively declined renomina-
1 ton, as being contrary to the traditions Of
the government and opposed to the practice
and the principles laid down by Washington
and Jefferson, then, OF course, such a request
I could meet only with refusal. General
Grant would feel bound now, as much as
ever before, TO reply in the words Of Wash
ington or the even stronger language of JEFF
events which lead up to General Grants
letter.
On the 10Th of August 1874, the Pennsyl-
vsnia republicans presented John f. Hart
ranft TO the republicans of other States as a
candidate for the Presidential nomination in
1876
No answer from the White House
IN. al - L
Republican Convention declared ''that the
unwritten law enacted by the example of the
Father of His Country in declining a renomi-
nation to the third Presidential term is as
controlling as though it was incorporated in
the national constitution and ought never to
be violated"
No answer from the White House
On the 18th of January, 1875, the New
! Hampshire Republican Convention declared
''unalteable opposition to the election of any
man to the Presidency of the United States
for third term"
Still no word from General Grant though
/ the Vice President and a great number of the
most eminent and faithful republican leaders
in Congress were extremely and publicly
anxious that the President should relieve the
/ public fears bya decided declaration that he
would not on any account be candidate and
did not favor third term
/ AT the close of the session Of Congress the
! sum of what was known Of the Presidents
thoughts on the question may be thus
stated. He had, after the fall elections,
pointed to the fact that Dix, anti-third term
republican, in New York, had lost his cleo
ton, while In South Carolina the decided
third term republicans had carried the State.
This seemed to him to show that the third
1 term was not unpopular 2. 1t was notorious
that his intimates and favorites were all
third termers 8. On the adjournment of
Congress he made a number of appointments
and chose all third termers. 4. In the
Southern States it began to be noticed that
federal ofice-holders were, with few excep-
tions, strong third termers. Thus matters
stood until, on the Goth of May, the Penn
sylyania Republican Convention resolved,
that we declare firm, unqualified adherence
to the unwritten law of the Republic, which
wisely, and under the sanction of the most
venerable Of examples limits the Presiden-
tial service Of any citizen TO two terms, and
we, the republicans of Pennsylvania, in
recognition of this law, are unalterably OPP
posed to the election to the Presidency of
any person for q third term"
This drew the Presidential badger Three
days after the adoption Of this resolution
General Grant replied to it, in a letter to the
President of tho Convention in which,
separating the resolution into its two parts,
he in decisive words declared himself OPP
posed TO both. The first part of the Penn
sylvania resolution speaks of the ''unwritten
law Of the Republic, which wisely, and under
the sanction Of the most venerable of exam
PIES limits the Presidential service of any
citizen TO two terms" To this General
Grant makes this retort:-''The question of
the number of terms allowed to any one
Executive can only come up in the shape of
q proposition to amend the constitution,
shape in which all political parties can par
ticipate, fixing the length Of time or the
number of terms for which any one person
shall be eligible for the Office of President.
He could hardly have expressed in more per-
tinent words his contempt for the Gun
written law Of the Republic" about which
the Pennsylvanians were babbling
But in the second part Of the resolution the
Pcnnsylvanians declared themselves as a
convention, ''unalterably opposed to the cleo
ton to the Presidency Of any person for a
third term" To this General Grants retort
is equally contemptuous. He writes-'Un-
til such an amendment is adopted the people
cannot be restricted in their choice by reso-
luton, further than as they are now
restricted as to age, nativity &c"
Briefly, the unwritten law of the constitu-
ton is bosh, and convention cannot by
resolutions bind the people. That is the