Wilmington journal., 1876-06-30

tration Of the federal government to be
| in urgent need of immediate reform;
| do hereby euj pin upon the nominees
| OF this convention aud of the demo
cratic party III each State "A Jealous
| effort aud co operation to this end and
do hereby appeal to our fellow citizens
OF every former po ltical connection to
| undertake with us this first aud most
pressing pltriotic duty for the democ-
racy of siie whole country. We do here
reaffirm our faith IN the permanency
of the Federal Union, our devotion to
| the constitution Of the United States
| with its amendments universally ac-
| cepted as a final settlement of the con-
| troversies that engendered ciSii war,
| aud do here record our steadfast con
| tdence in the perpetuity of republican
| self government, i'll absolute acquies-
cence in the will of the majority, the
| vital principle of republics, ii the
| supremacy of the civil over the militia
ry authority, in the total separation of
church and State for the sake alike of
civil and religious freedom, in the
equality of all citizens before the just
laws of their own enactment, in the
liberty of individual conduct, uuyexed
by slrmptna.y laws; i'll the faithful
education Of the rising generation that
they may preserve. enlarge and trans
NIT these best conditions of human hap
piness. We behold the noblest products
of a hundred years of ch :ngeful his.-
tory, but, while upholding the bond of
our union aud g:eat charter of these
our rights, it behOoves u free people to
practice also that eternal vigilance
which is the price of liberty. Reform
is necessary to rebuild and establish
In the hearts of the whole people of
this Union, eleven years ago happily
resaved from. the danger of a corrupt
Capitalization which, after inf1lcting
upon ten States the rapacity of carpet
bag tyrannies, has honeycombed the
Offices of the federal government itself
with lncapacity, waste and fraud; in
fected States and municipalities with
the contagion of misrule aud locked
fast the prosperity of our indus.
trious people in the paralysis
of hard times. Reform is necessary
to establish q sound currency, restore
the public credit and. maintain the
national honor. We denounce tho
failure for all these eleven years to
lake good the promise of the legal
tender notes which are a changing
standard of value in the hands of the
people, and the non payment of which
is "a disregard of the pltghted faith of
the II alton. We denounce the imprOvi-
dence which in eleven years of peace
has taken from the people in federal
taxes thirteen times the whole amount
of the legal tender notes aud squan-
dered fOur times this sum iii useless,
expense without hccnmulating any re
serve for their redemption. We de
nounce the financial imbecilIty and
immortality of that party which: dur
ing eleven years of peace, las made
no advance toward resumption; that
instead has Obatructed resumption by
WASTING our resources and rN:lau 1ring
all our surplus Income, and whii,. an
nnaily protesting tu intend ii ap,-s..ly
return tO-specie payment has ANNUALLY
enacted fresh hindrauc-a thert-t" As
such hiudrance wo drnouuce the
resun4 ptiOn clause Of I le act OF 1879,
and we here demand its repeal. We
demauI IL lutIcInus sNatrm uf prepl
ration by public economies, by official
retr-nchmcnts and by wise finance,
which aEaiI enable the nation to az
snre the whole world of its perfect
ability aud its perfect readiness To
uleet any IF its promises at the call
of the creditor entitled to payment
We bnlIev8 such system we'll
devised and. above all, entrusted TO-
competent hands for execution, Gre
ating at no time an artificial scarcity
of currency and Mt 10 lime alarming
the public mind into and withdrawal
of the vaster machinery of credit by
which Linety five per cent. of all bust
ness transactions are performed, IA
system open, public and inspiring
general confidence, would, from the
day of its adoption, bring healing ON
its wings to all Our harassed industry
and set in motion the wheels of com
merce, manufactures and the mechan-
zeal arts, restore employment 10 labor
and renew in all its national source the
prosperity of the people. Reform ia
necessary in the sum and mode OF the
federal taxation to the end that capital
may be set free frOta dlstrust, and
labor lightly burdened. We denounce
the present tariff levied upon nearly
4, 900 articles as master piece of in
Justice, inequality and false pretence.
1t yields a dwindling, not a yearly
rising, of the revenue. It has i'm
poverished many Industries to sub
merge q few. 1t prohibits imports
that might purchase the products OF
American labor. 1t has degraded
American commerce from the first to
an inferior rank upon the high seas.
1t has cut down the sales of American
manufactures at home and abroad and
depleted the returns of American
agriculture or industry, followed
l. iA -
the people five times moro
than 1T produces to the treasury,
obstructs the processes of production
promotes fraud an fosters smuggling.
enriches dishone..t officials and
bankrupts honest merchants. We
demand that all custom house taxation
shall only be for revenue. [. form is
necessary in the scale of public expense.
federal, State and municipal. Our
federal taxation has swollen from sixty
millions i'll gold in 1860 to 450 millions
taxation from lSl millions III gold in
1860 to 730 millions III currency in
1870, or in ono decade, from less than
five dollars per head to more than
eighteen dollars per head. Since the
peace the people have paid to their tax
patncrers more han thrice the SUM of
the national debt aud more thaa twice
that sum for the federal government
alone. We demand a vigorous frugality
in every depart t,nent and from every
officer of the government. Reform is
necessary to put stop to the protll8ate
waste OF public lands and their
diversion from actuat settlers by the
party in power which has squandered
two hundred millions of acres upon
railroads alone. and out of more than
thrice that aggregate has disposed
of less than sixth directly
to the tlllers of the soil.
Reform is necessary to correct the
omissions Of the Republican Congress
and the errors of our treaties and our
diplomacy, which have stripped onr
fellow citizens of foreign birth and
kindred rnce recrossing the AtlautIc OF
the shield of American citizenship, and
have exposed our brethren of the Pa