The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1876-06-01
THE HARTFORD CONvEN
| Brief Review Of its Sessions and Purposes

The memory of the Hartford convention, the
first secession convention ever held in the United
States is 10th to die ont of American politics.
1t is now brought mp by vote of both houses
of the Connecticut Legislature appropriating
$500 900 for the erection of a new State House in
Hartford, always provided that the authorities
of that city subscribe an equal amount towards
the building and furnish site. The present
capitol built in 1876, is memorable rs the place
in which the Hartford convention met, and ira
dition still points to the r. ght hand as You face
the presiding officer of the Senate, as the exact
spot where the tweDty-three delegates held their
deliberations while sitting in half circle about
the huge fire rendered grateful by New Eng
land December and January. Assembling on
the 18th of the of the former month, 1874, the
convention remained i'll session to the 9th of
January, 1915, the composition of the assembly
being as follows: From Massachusetts, 9 dele
gates from Connecticut, z; Rhode Island, q (;
New Hampshire, 3; Vermont, |. The occasion
of the gathering was this: That the New Eng
land States deemed themselves hardly used dur
ing the war of 1874, by the form, or as some in
sist, the fact of draft law of the Federal gov
eminent, and in compliance with call from
Massachusetts for n convention to protest against
the same, appointed delegates. George Cabot,
of Massachusetts, was elected president, and
Theodore Dwight appointed secretary.
The sessions of the convention were held with
closed doors, so that its proceedings were never
known beyond the report and very meagge jour
nal put forth This report is in four resolutions
which may be thus synopsized: first, denounc-
ing military drafts and conscriptions by the Fed
eral government; second, applying to said gov
eminent for leave for the New England States
to defend themselves by State action third, re-
commencing the Legislatures of the several New
England States to authorize the governors there
of, respectively, to put their militia in fighting
trim and fourth, calling oil other States tn
unite with those represented in the convention
to demand the adoption of six amendments TO
the Federal Constitution. The first of these
proposed changes was to exclude slaves from the
basis of the representation, e., to abrogate the
three-ffths rule, something which has at last
been done, though by counting the blacks up
twO-fftlIs instead of down three; the second to
require two-thirds vote of each house of Con-
gress to admit new States, provision which, 1t
is curinns to remark, was Incorporated in the
Confederate constitution third, embargo for
more than sixty days; fourth, no Introduction of
commerce with foreign nations without two
thirds vote in either hOnse; fifth, to require a
like twOthirs vote to declare war; and sixth,
that the Presidency should be for one term only
another provision inserted in the Confederate
constitution and the exact doctrine assidu-
ously favored by Mr.. Greeley, and even endorsed
when first entering the white house by Mr..
Grant-and that no State furnish the President
two terms in succession. Whether a disruption
of the Union was ever mooted in the convention
is a matter that can now hardly be cleared of
doubt. In 1893, Mr. Dwight, the secretary, pub
lished history of the body, bnt does not meet
this point as fully as his opportunities allowed
him, and in the certificate of Mr.. Cabot, the pres
ident, that the journal put forth is an actual
transcript of the proceedings, there is a like mis-
tness, the certificatIon speaking of discussions,
when on the Journal no discussions appear, bnt
only the mention that there We're discussions.
The popular impression long that the pro-
priety of secession was considered, and the prob
abilities lean in favor of this view Whatever
10 tall- lof hn,x tha tat