Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1880-06-21
TILDEN's LETTER.
uo,,EA Withdraw or net with
ar.wNo Claims that He wal
I.u 'lected President.

The Nav York delegation held
; meeting lest nj hit a. the Grand H0'
, at which the lea Or purporting to be
withdrawsI of Mr. Tildsn for the Pres
dency was read. A 'ser al.uuing ~ VI
services he had rena> 'reo 70 tne Dem
cratic party tor forty years OF LIS IL
amongst which was IL 9 breaking =
the canal ring, which W . ioilowed e
his nomination for the P esioency' M
Tilden says
j 1t is my right and priviIA 9 mere !
say that was nominated "a u e'ecte
to the Presidency, absolutely 'ee lro'
any engagement in respect to "a exei y
else Of Its powers or the dispcssl OF u
patronage. Through the whole Srlo
Of my relationship to the Presften y
did everything in my power to ele' .,
and nothing to lower moral standsa
in the competition of parties. By wba
nefarious means the basis for faiN
count was laid in several Of the Ststes,
| need not recite.
These are now matters Of history
about which whatever diversity Of
opinion may have existed in either Of
the great parties Of the country at the
time of their consumation has since
practically disappeared. .,
/ refused to ransom from the Returni
ing Boards Of Southern States the doou-
mentary evidence, by the suppression Of
which and by the Substitution Of fraud!
ulent and forged papers, pretezt was
made for the preparation of a false
count.
The Constitutional duty Of the two
Houses Of Congress to count the Blec-
toral votes as cast, and to give effect to
the will Of the people as expressed by
their suffrsges was never fulfilled.
An Electoral Commission for the ex-
istence Of which have no responsible
lty, was formed, and to 1t the two
Houses of Congress abdicated their
duty to make the count by law enact
ing that the count of the Commission
should stand as final unless overruled
by the concurrent action of the two
Houses. Its false count was not over.
ruled, owing to the completely Of Re-
publican majority of the Commission,
controlled by its Republican majority
of eight to seven.
The Electoral Commission counted
out the men elected by the people, and
counted in the men not elected by the
people. That subversion of the cleo
tion created new issue for the deci-
sion of the people of the United States,
trsnseending in Importance all ques-
tions of administration. 1t involved
the vital principle Of self government
through elections by the people. The
immense growth ofthe means Of corrupt
influence over the ballot box which is
at the disposal Of the party having
the executive administration has al
ready become present evil and great
danger, tending to make elections irre-
sponsible to public opinion, hampering
the power pfthe people to change their
rulers, and enabling the men holding
the machinery of government to con-
tinue and perpetuate their power.
It was my opinion in 1876 that the
opposition, attempting to change the
administration, needed to include at
least two thirds Of the voters at the
opening of the canvass, in order to re-
tain majority at the election. If, af-
ter such obstacles had been overcome,
and majority Of the people had voted
to change the administration of their
Government, the men in Office could
still procure a false count, founded upon
frauds, perjury and forgeries, furnish
ing pretext O. documentary evidence
on which to base that false count,
and if such transaction were not only
successful, but il, after allotments of
its benefits were made to its contrivers,
abettors and apologists by the chief
beneficiary of the transactions, it were
condoned by the people, apractieal de-
struction Of elections by the people
would have been accomplished.
The failure to install the candidates
chosen by the people, contingency
conseq uent upon no act or omission OF
mine, and beyond my control, has thus
left me for the last three years and IN
til now, when the Democratic party, by
its delegates in National Convention
assembled, shall chose a new leader,
the involuntary but necessary represen~
tative of this momentuous issue, as
such, denied the immunities Of private
life, without the powers conferred by
public station, subject to uncessing
falsehoods and calumnies from the par
tisans of an Administration laboring in
vain to justify Its existence.
have, nevertheless, steadfastly en-
deavored to preserve to the Democratic
party of the United States the supreme
issue before the people for their decision
next November, whether this shall be
q Government by the sovereign people
elections, or Government by
discarded servants holding over by
force and fraud, and I have withheld
no sacrifice and neglected no opportu-
nifty to uphold, organize and consoli-
date agair st the enemies of representa-
tive institutions, the great party which
alone, under God, can etfectually resist
their overthrow. Ia
Having now borne faithfully my full 9
sha of labor and care in the public
service, and wearing the marks of its i
burden, desire nothing so mach as an
honorable discharge. I wish to lay t
down the honors and tolls ofeven quasi !
party leadership, and seek the repose =,
Of private life. In renouncing q re- Q
for the Presidency, do 50
with no doubt in my mind as to the d
vote Of the State of New York, or Of the D
United States, but because l believe :,
hat 1t IL renunciatioa of reelection d
10 the Presidency. n
To those who think my nomination
md reelection indispensable to an q
,ffectual vindication Of the right Of the a
,oonlo tn alact THAR yulars violated in