The daily gazette., 1877-10-29
Mr.. Tilden Talks.
A VIGOROUS ASSERTION OF HIS
CLAIM TO THE PREsIDENCY-A
GREAT CRIME THAT. CANNOT
BE CoNDoNED.

GREAT CRIME THAT CANNOT
BE coNDoNED. <ll a
Hon. Samuel ]. Tilden was seren-
AIDED at his residence, Gramercy Park,
New York, on Saturday night. An inn
mense crowd seized the opportunity
to pay their respects to the great Re-
former. Hon. Augustus Schell intro
duced him as the man who was
hon estly elected President OF the Uni
ted States. Mr.. TiIden made long
and spirited address, referring at fret
to the result OF his observation abroad
Ne said his trip had repaired as much
rs three months could the waste of six
yeaEs conse Grated 10 an effort for gov
Sfnnental reform In the city, State
and nation" Then, addressing b i'm
self to political a&airs, he recommend
ed the Democratic State ticket to the
support of his fellow-citizens, and
spoke as follows ON the late Presiden-
sial campaign and election:
The increase of power in the FEEDER
al Government during the last twenty
years, the creation of a vast office
holding class, with Its numerous de-
pendents, and the growth of the means
of corrupt influence, have well nigh
destroyed the balance of our complex
sYstem. 1t was my judgment in 1876
that public opinion, demanding q
change of administration, needed to
embrace two-thirds of the people at
the beginning OF the canvass In order
to cast a majority of votes ut the cleo
tion. If this tendency is arrested It's
inevitable result Will De the prac tical
destruction of our system. Let the
Federal Government grasp power over
tue great corporations OF our country
and acquire the means of addressing
their interest and their fears; let il
take jurisdiction of riots which it is
the duty of the State to suppress, let it
find pretexts for increasing the army,
soon those in possession of the govern
ment will have a power with which
no opposition can successfully COM
plete. The experience of France un-
der the Third Napoleon shows that,
with elective forms and universal suff
rage, despotism can be established
and maintained. In the canvass of
1876 the Federal Government embark
eu in the contest with unscrupulous
activity.
A member of the Cabinet was the head
of partisan committee. Agents stood
at the doors of the pay Offices to exact
contributions from official subordinateS.
The whole ofhce-holdlng class were
made to exhaust their power. Even the
army, for the first time, to the disgust of
the soldiers and many of the Officers, was
moved about the country as an election
eering instrument. All this was done
who was making the air vocal with pro-
fe ssions of civil service reform, to be be-
gun after he had himself exhausted all
the immoral advantages of civil service
abuses. Public opinion in some States
YVES overborne by corrupt influences and
by fraud. But so strong was the desire
for reform that the Democratic candi-
dates received 4,300,000 suffrages. This
was majority of the popular vote of
about 10000, and of 1 ,250,0O0 of the white
citizens. 1t was a vote 100000 larger
than General Grant received in 1872, and
100000 larger than he received in 1868.
For all that the rightfully elected candi-
dates of the Democratic party were coun-
ted out and great fraud trlumphed
which the American people have not
condoned and will never condone. Pro-
Yes, the crime will never be condoned
and it never should be. 1 do not de-
nounce the fraud as affecting my person
al interests, but because it stabbed the
very foundations of free government.
Loud cheers.] / swear, in the presence
of you all, and l call upon you to bear
witness to the oath, to watch, during the
remainder of my life, over the rights of
the citizens of our country with a Jealous
90 a nc
cur again, and l call upon you to unite
with me in the defense of our sacred and
precious inheritance, The government
of the peuple must not be suffered to be-
come only an empty name. Loud ap-
plause.l
The step from an extreme degree of
corrupt abuses in the elections to a sub
version of the elective system itself is
natural. No sooner was the election
over than the whole power of the ofhce-
holding class ledsby Cabinet Minister,
was eXerted to procure and did procure
fIom the State canvassers of two States
illegal and fraudulent certificates, which
were made preteXt for a false count of
the electoral votes. To senable these
officers to exercise the immoral courage
necessary to the parts assigned to them,
and to relieve them from the stlAldlty
which God has implanted in the human
detachments of the army We're sent 10 al
ford them shelter. The expedients by
which the votes of these two States We're
rejected, and the votes of the electors
having the illegal aud fraudulent certif-
Gates were counted, and the menace OF
usurpation by the President of the SEN
ate of dictorial power over all the ques-
tions in controversy, and the menace OF
the enforcement of his pretended authorl-
ty by the army and navy, the terrosm OF
the business classes and the kindred
measures by which the false count was
eonsummated are know. The result is
the establishment of IA preeede Mt destruc-
tive of our whole elective system. APP
plause.
The temptation to those in possession
of the government to perpetuate their
own power by similar methods will al
ways exist, and if the example shall be
sanctioned by success the succession OF
government IN this country will come to
| be determined by fraud or force, as it has
been.in almost every other country; and
the experience will be reproduced here
which has led to the general adoption OF
the hereditary system in order to avoid
/ confusion and civil war.
The magnitude of political crim'
must be measured by its natural ant
necessary consequences. Our great re
public has been the only example in thu
| yorId ofa ra0t.lar nd ordarlu FRO onafar n