Year: 1860

The great ratification meeting, whicl took place Tn Washington City on the 9tt July, having adjourned to the Executive Mansion and paid their respects to the Chief Magistrate, MT. Buchanan appeared and spoke as follows:

 FRIENDS AND FELLOW CITIZENS: thank you from my heart for the honor of this visit. l cordially congratulate you ons the preference which you have expressed for Major Breckinridge and Gen. Lane as can didates for the Presidency and Vice Presi- dency of the United States over all com petitors. Applause. They are men whose names are known to the country; they need no eulogy from me. They have served their country in peace and in war. They are statesmen as well as soldiers, and in the day and hour of danger they will ever be at their post. They are conservative men; and m the course of their administration they will be equally just to the North and to the South, to the East and to the West.

 Applause. Above all, and first of all, they are friends of the Constitution and of the Union, cheers, and they will stand by them to the death. Renewed cheers. But we ought not to forget that they are also friends to the equality of the sovereign States of this Union in the common terri tories of the country. Cries of "good" They will maintain that principle, which should receive the cordial appreciation of us all. Equality is equity. Every citizen of the United States is equal before the constitution and the laws; and why should not the equality of the sovereign States composing this Union be held in like re- verence? This is good democratic doctrine. Liberty and equality are the birthright of every American citizen; and just as cer- talnly as the day succeeds the night, so certain will this principle of democratic justice eventually prevail over all opposi- tlon. Cheers. But, before speak further upon the subject-and I shall not detain you very long-I wish to remove one stum- bling block out of the way.

 l have ever been the friend of regular mo- minations. l have never struck political ticket in my life. Now, was there any thing done at Baltimore to bind the politi- cal conscience of any sound democrat, or to prevent him from supporting Breckin- ridge and Lane? ["No! mol" l was CO., temporary with the abandonment of the old congressional convention or caucus. This occurred long time ago; very few, If any, of you remember it. Under the old con gressional convention system, no person was admitted to seat except the demo- cratic members of the Senate and House of Representatives. This rule rendered 1t absolutely certain that the nominee, who- ever he might be, would be sustained at the election by the democratic States of the Union. By this means it was rendered inn possible that those which could not give an electoral vote for the candidate when noml- mated should control the nomination and dictate to the democratic States who should be their nominee.

 This system was bandoned-whcther wisely or not I shall express no opinion. The national convention was substituted Tn its stead. All the States, whether demo- cratic or not, were equally entitled to send delegates to this convention, according to the number of their Senators and tepre- sentatives in Congress.

 A difficulty at once arose which never could have arisen under the congressional convention system. If a bare majority of the national convention thus composed could nominate a candidate, he might be nominated mainly by the anti-democratlc States. against the will of large majority of the democratic States Thus the noml- nating power would be separated from the electinr power, which could not fail to be destructive to the strength and harmony of the democratic party.

 To obviate this serious difficulty Tn the organization of a national convention, and at the same time to leave all the States thelr full vote. the two thirds rule was adopted It was believed that under this rule no can didate could ever be nominated without embracing within the two-thirds the votes of decided majority of the democratic States. This was the substitute adopted to retain, at least in great degree, the power to the democratic States, which they would have lost by abandoning the congressional convention system. This rule was man nillar in the edifce of national conventions. Remove it, and the whole must become ruin This sustaining pillar was broken to pieces at Baltimore by the convention when nominated Mr. Douglas. After thls the body was no longar national convention; and no democrat. however devoted to regu- lar nominations, was bound to give the nominee his support; he was left free to act according to the dictates of his own judS- ment and conscience. And here, in pas sing. I may observe that the wisdom of the two-thirds rule is justified by the events passing around us. Had it been faithfully observed, no candidate could have been nominated against the will and wishes of almost every certain democratic State in the Union, against nearly all the democratic Senators, and more than three-fourths of the democratic Representatives in Congress. ICheers.

 I purposelv avoid entewng upon any dis cussion respecting the exclusion from the convention of regularly elected delegates from different democratic States. If the convention which nominated Mir. Douglas was not regular democratic convention, it must be confessed that Breckinridge is in the same condition in that respect. The convention that nominated him, although it was composed of nearly all the certain democratic States, did not contain the two- thirds; and therefore every democrat is at perfect liberty to vote as he thinks proper, without running counter to any regular nomination of the party. Applause and cries of three cheers for Breckinridge and Lane" Holding this position, 1 shall present some of the reasons why l prefer Mr. Breckinridge to MT. Douglas. This I shall do without attempting to interfere with any individual democrat or any State democratic organization holding different opinions from myself. The main object of all good democrats, whether belonging to the one or the other wing of our unfortu- nate division, is to defeat the election of the republican candidates; and l shall never op- pose any honest and honorable course cal culated to accomplish this object.

 To return to the point from which have digressed. l am in favor of Mr. Breckin ridge because he sanctions and sustains the perfect equality of all the States within the common territories, and the opinion of the supreme court of the United States estab fishing this equality. The sovereign States