Year: 1864

I General Trenonrs Position Defined
Tine Question Before che BaItimers
Convention.


The letter Of General Fremont announcing
the acceptance Of his nomination a. the candi
date Of the "radicM democracy" of the late
Cleveland Convention for the next Presidency
very clearly defines his position The single
sentence Of this letter, however, which de-
clares that We have to-day in Abraham Lin
coins administration "the abuses Of military
dictatorship without Its unity of action and
vigor Of execution" will suffice to show the
reader that the precise ground upon which
General Fremont stands is implacable hostility
to the continuance Of this administration in
power.


But, In order that there shall be no doubt
upon the subject General Fremont says:-"If
the Convention at Baltimore will nominate any
man whose past life justifes we'll grounded
confidence in his fidelity to our cardinal princi
pies, there is no reason why there should be any
division among the really patriotic men of the
country. My own decided preference is to aid
in this way Gin supporting the Baltimore nomi-
nee), and not to be myself candidate. But if
Mr.. Lincoln should be renominated, as I be-
lieve 1t would be fatal to the country to en-
dorse a policy and renew power which have
cost us the lives of thousands of men, and
needlessly put the country on the road to
bankruptcy there will remain no alternative
but to organize against him every element OF
conscientious opposition with the view to pre-
vent the missorunes of his reelection"


In other words, General Fremont says to the
Baltimore Convention. which meets to-day
"Drop Abraham Lincoln, and nominate new
man, and am with you; bat if yon put up Mr.
Lincoln fora second term I will do my best
as an Independent radical candidate, to defeat
his election" This proposition is entitled to
the respectful attention of the Convention. and
cannot be safely disregarded as a bagatele
General Fremont speaks not alone for himself
but as the organ of very considerable party
at his back, including, we suspect, majority
Of the republican voters Of New York and the
balance OF power at least in every other State
from New Jersey to California. This party in
the name Of Fremont or Fremont, as the organ
Of this party, has taken this position against
Abraham Lincoln. as a President who 'has
been weighed in the balance and found want
ing" Will the Baltimore Convention. then,
in the denomination Of Old Abe, determine
to hazard the chances of his defeat and the
success Of the Chicago joint stock democratic
candidates That is the question to be settled


It will not meet the difficulty to say that
General Fremont has allowed his personal dis
appointments, his offended vanity or some
family quarrel to lead him into this outside
situations be true or false, the difficulty to be
considered IS that General Fremont is sup
ported by an extensive organization Of intelli-
gent and earnest men, who conscientiously be-
lieve that Abraham Lincoln is deplorabe
failure and that another term to him Of four
years in the White House will be the ruin Of
the country. financially and politically, at
home and abroad, the ruin and destruction Of
our whole republican system, root and branch.
The radicals, whose honest convictions have
thus been turned against Honest Old Abe,
not TO be appeased by any measure Of re-
dress short Of his rejection at Baltimore OF by
the public.


What the jugglcrs Of the Convention will do
in regard to this matter we cannot undertake
to conjecture. We should Judge, however, from
the cautious but ominous observations OF the
New York Tribune upon the subject, that Hor-
ace Greeley and his disgusted radicals have
had enough of Old Abe, and that they have
an iron in the fire which will play the mischief
with all the calculations Of Mr.. Seward and his
good man Friday. Tkurlow Weed. At all
events, we have this assurance: that the bold.
emphatic consistent and strong position as
sumed by Fremont and his Independent radi-
Gals, OF ali creeds and all nations, against Lin
coin, secures the defeat OF Lincoln in June or
in November-at Baltimore or before the grand
jury Of the people.