The daily gazette., 1879-02-10

the disputed States, even those to whicl
/ believed we were entitled, except b,
discussion, argument, reason, truth, jus
lice. Hete Governor Iildens voice ranl
with vehrmence. There never was
tlme. moment, not an instant IN whicf
| ever entertained an idea of seeking tc
Obtain these certificates by any venal IN
uucemeni, any promise OF money or ol
once to the men who had them 10 give
aud dispose of my purpose on that sub
lect was perfectly distinct and invarable
/ That was generally assumed BY all my
4 friends without discussion it may nave
! been sometimes so expressed, but GER
tainly whenever the slightest oceaslo n
arose for it to be discussed 1t was ex-
pressed IL was never deviated from in
word or act.
MIR. TILDEN's PERoRATToN.
To the people who have, | believe,
elected me President of the United
STATES, to the four and ne.quarter mil
lions of citizens who gave me their suf-
frages ! owed duty and service and
every honorable sacrifice, but not sur
render of on- Jot or lille of my sense Of
right or NV personal self-respect, what
ever the disappointment to those who
voted for me, whatever the public conse-
quences of suffering from subversion
OF the electoral system, by which alone
true government can be carried on
bv whatever casuistry a ditferent course
might he advocated or defended, / was
resolved that if there was to he an auc-
ton Of tue Chief Magistracy of my
country / would not be among the bid
ders (Applau,e.) ] was determined in
such an event, or apprehension of such
an event, that | would meet such de-
graded condition of public affairs, not by
sharing in it in any degree. not by ac-
quescence, not by toleration, but by an
unqualified, perpetual protest, appealing
to the people to re3ssert, re-es ablish
their great rights, the greatest Of their
rights, the right without which all Others
were wortblrss-their right to elective
sef-government.
THE OFFER TO PELToN IN BALTIMORE.
IN the first place i suppose these gem
tlemen were giving their persO nal atten-
ton 10 all these matters; these gentle
men had the real power and Pelion did
not; they were able to supervise him.
Mr.. O. oper, in particular, had charge of
the money, with out which Pelton could
notlnvolve them to the extent of cent;in
the next place, Mr.. Cooper as the gen
tleman from whom / derived the infor-
nation solelv and exclusively about the
Baltimore affair; in the third place, l re-
gard the Baltimore thing as very foolish
and very wrong but still very inchoate
transaction; now, the civil law dose not
recognize purposes until they imbodv
themselves in action; the Church DIS
tinguisheS these purposes merely as sim
pie faults; Pelton had not as far as |
knew, done anything except receive "a
proposition from set of republicans to
sell their State; the proposition died of
borning; 1t did not strike me as though
there was any posi- biliiy of its succeed
ing or any similar transaction, without
meaning 10 excuse felton in the least;
at that time the atmosphere was full of
the venality and frauds of these return
ing boards in the disputed States, and of
tn ir offers. (Here Mr.. Tilden in an
outbnrst of pent up feeling brought down
his fist upon the table.)
"BEFoRE GOD AND MY COUNTRY"
Before God ami my country i belive
the votes and certi ficates Of Florida and
Louisiana were bought, and that the
p ssidency was controlled by their pur-
chse: Pelton seeing that state Of things
committed fault, an eror-committed a
wrong; he adopted the idea it was ,justi.
fable to fight fire with fire; he adopted
the idea when he saw the Presidency
being taken away from the man who had
been elected by the people according to
the law and, In fact, thought it legiti-
mate to defeat that crime by the means
he took; he was entirely unjust fable;
/ adopted an entirely different system;
scorned to defend my righteous title by
such means as were employed to acquire
a felonIous possession; Pelton did not
come up to that standard he may
be tried, convicted, condemned; public
opinion may punish him at the same time,
even though that fault must be judged of
according to the facts of the time and ac-
cording to what was being done and
what was done; his act was inch0ate on
the other side the act that was done was
a complete and consummated one to give
up the possession of the Presidency of
the United States to man who was not
elected, and the representatives, the
champions of that condition of things,
were the men whose cou>ciences were
troubled with the inchoate wrong l
spoke of.