40, z:ratitti gutettipitat.
AUGUST 130,-1865.
fit. The"
printing presses shall be free to every .
- person who undertakes to examine thelarel
ceedings file legislature, or any -branch of
government; and no /aw shall ever be made
to restrain the right thereof. The free commu
nication of thought and opinions is one of the
Invaluable. rights of men; and - every' citizen
may freely speak, write and print on any sub
ject ;_being responsible for they abuse of that
liberty. In prosecutions for the publication of
papers Investigating the official conduct of offi
cers, or men in public capacities, or where the
matter published is proper for public informa
tion, the truth thereof may be 'given in evi
dence."
DEMOCRATIC STATE TICKET
FOR AUDITOR GENERAL
Col. W. W. 11. DAVIS, of Bucks County.
FOR SURVEYOR GENERA
Col. JOHN P. LINTON, of Cambria Co,
The Democratic State Central Committee.
The Democratic State Central Committee
;Will meet at the Merchants' hotel, Phila
lelphia, on TUESDAY, the sth of SEP
TEMBER, at 4 o'clock P. 11.. Punctual at
tendance is requested.
W. A. WALLACE,
Chairman State Central Committee
To the Democracy of the City and County
of Lancaster.
•
In, pursuance of authority given the un
dersigned by a resolution of County Com
mittee, adopted at their meeting on Satur
day, August 19, you aro requested to as
semble in the several wards of the city, and
boroughs and townships of the county, on
SATURDAY, THE 16TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER
NEXT, then and there to elect not less than
three, nor more than five delegates to repre
sent such district in a general County Con
vention to be held on WEDNECOAY, SEP
TEMBER 20TH, next, at 11 o'clock A. M., at
the rooms of the Young Men's Democratic
Association, for the purpose of placing in
nomination a ticket to be supported at the
ensuing October election.
The Township Committees are urged to
give early notice of the time and place of
meeting for the election of delegates.
H. It, TSHLTDY, Chairman.
A. J. STEINMAN, Secretary.
TOWNSHIP COMMITTEES.
Adamstown Bor.—Samuel Styer, Henry
Stauffer, Richard Regan.
Bart.—Edwin Garrett, Harrison Graham,
John J. Coulter.
Breeknoek.—H. Shimp, R. E. Shober,
Simon Kind, K. 'Witmer, B. Seifert.
Caernarvon.—John Yohn, George Rigg,
Silas Viler, Jacob Yohn, M. Ringwalt.
Clay.—Curtis Miller, Samuel Enck, Geo.
Flory, John Demmy, John Getz.
Colerain.—A. I). Whiteside, J. P. Swish
er, George Sampson.
Columbia—N.,W.—A. J'elew, J. R.*Eber-
Lein, R. T. Ryon, A. %ellars, J. M. Watts.
Columbia—S. W.—Geo. Tille, Cornelius
Tyson, Benjamin Herr, F.Schillot, Morgan
Hays.
Cocalico East. —Cyrus Ream, Reuben
Shorman, G. E. Shimp.
Cocalico West.—ltenben Bucher, V
Bechtel, Benj. Ebling, Benj. Kegerise.
Conestoga.—JohnJohn lless, Martin, J.
S. Welsh, W. W. Woods, H. D. StehmalL
Conoy.—J. L. Haldeman„ T. A. Miller, J.
B. Small, J. Filbert, D. Metzler.
Donegal East.—T. J. Albright, J. F. Ja
cobs, A. Gettemacher, N. L. Pock, Jacob
Murray.
Donegal West.—Christian Harr, Matthias
Shenk, Jonathan IMlenderfer.
Drumore.—Clark Phillips, Clarkson Jef
fries, S. B. Moore, E. I). Waters, Aaron Cox.
Earl.—Wm. Custer, Levi Holl, Barton
Winters, A. Carpenter, J. C. Martin.
Earl East.—.l. W. Stauffer, S. Moyer, J.
Wooniert, Sloat, E. S. Hammond.
Earl West.-I.lenry Kafroth, John For
ney, C. Hunsehberger, .Jacob Bear.
Ephrata.—M. S. Keller, David Weider,
Samuel Slough, M(,eagie Pierce, R.
Winters.
Elizabeth.—Joseph S. Keener, B. Breiti
gain, 0. Caldwell, T. 'Masterson.
Elizabethtown Bor.—Jas. Wilson, B
Shultz, John Shea tjer, A. Ilarrantr, J. Felix
Eden.—Hutt. Evans, D. D. Hess, Win
Kunkle, David Myers, Win. Brown.
Fulton.—Samuel Wicks, Harvey Swift,
S. W. Scott, Joseph Sinedey, J. B. Jenk
ins, W. Whitaker, J. B. Bunwoody.
Hempfield East.—R. Bowman, H. Hoff
man, S. Minnick, Daniel Sehner, Col. D.
Ringwalt.
Hemptield Rettew, James
Boys, H. H. Weller, E. Yohn, Frederick
Lampeter East.—.J. C. Dunlap, Enoch
Lytle, A. D. Hills, A. T. Lytle, Isaac Gra
bill.
Lampeter West.—J. M. Miller, Samuel
'Weaver, E. It. Miller, C. Himes, J. Eshel
man.
City,
N. W. Ward.—Win. MeCornsey, J.
W. F. Swift, Lewis Zecher, W. H. Shober,
Geo. Yeislev.
City, N. E. Ward.—J. M. Amweg, J
Sprenger, John Rose, .John Wilhelm, A.
Z. Hingwalt.
City, S. W. W.—Win. P. Brinton, Win
Wilson, James Peoples, John Diekel, Alex
Harris.
City, S. E. Ward.—\V. A. Morton, Mich
ael McCullom, A. Shank, Jos. McGonigle,
J. H. Reigart.
Lancaster Twp.—Pcter E. Lightner, Ben.
- Huber, Henry Wilhelm.
Leacock.—Jacob Becher, Robt. Wade, S.
M. Bitter, Isaiah McKi flips, John Royer, jr.
L.lacock Upper.—Peter Kellenberger,
Cyrus Miller, Geo. Marks, Daniel Weidler.
Little Britain.—Win. Hays, B. S. Patter
son, Robert It. Clondenin, Sylvester Wilson.
Manheini Bor.—Benj. Donavin, H. D.
Miller, Jacob G. Leber.
Manhehn Twp.—J. K. Grube, E. Kauff
man, Henry Brown, Jacob Hiestand, S.
Hambright.
Millerstown.—Conrad A. Krause, George
Brown, Jacob Frantz, James Morrison.
Indiantown.—C..T. Rhoads, P. Kline, D.
Shoal!; A. Sourbeer, M. R. Sourbeer.
Marietta.—E. F. McElroy, C. Bucher, C.
Howar, John ('rull, S. Cushman.
Martic.—henry Galen, John McLaugh
lim.Amos Shirk, C. T. Soulsby.
Mount Joy Bor.—C. W. Johnston, A.
Culp, A. I). Reese, G. W. Shaffner, S. Don
avin.
Mount Joy Twp.—John Gautz, David
Farmer J. S. Baker.
Paradise.—Henry Girvin, Henry Rutter,
C. Laverty, John Nelson. Jacob Creamer.
Penn.—Jacob Busser, jr., Emanuel Keen
er, Jacob Eberly.
Pequea.—John Selmer, Michael. Zercher,
G. E. Sehner, Neal Tyson.
Providence.—Capt..l.M. Raub, Howard
Dance, A. N. Rutter, D. Reese, - W. Brenne
man.
Rapho.—Michael Baker, llonry Shelly,
Frederick Gantz.
Strasburg Bor.—R. P. Spencer, J. P. Kil
burn, Alex. Shultz, Wtn. Black, Hiram S.
Keen.
Strasburg Twp.—S. Graham, Jac. Spind
ler, B. Reynolds, Benjamin Myers, Samuel
Wiker.
Sadsbury.—J. R Townsend, Mahlon Fox,
J. A. Rhea.
Salisbury.—Wm. Martin, John Patton,
B. F. Houston, Truman Wallace, T. W.
Henderson.
Warwick.—Hiram K line, Jonathan Buch,
Josiah Suavely.
Washington Bor.—John Charles, John
Shartzer, Cyrus Shultz, William Parker,
Israel. Hoover.
The Rival Platforms
We publish to-day the platforms of
both the Democratic and the Abolition
parties of this State. Let every reader
of this paper take the time necessary to
compare them. The Democratic plat
form speaks out boldly and fearlessly;
it sums up the rights of the people and
announces the firm resolve of the party
to stand by them; it demands that the
Constitution be sacredly regarded, and
the civil law rendered supreme through
out the land. It is broad, national and
patriotic. The people will sustain it,
because they well know that by so doing
they are sustaining their own most
sacred and cherished rights as freemen."
Home Again
John W. Baughman, Esq.: the able
and fearless editor of the Frederick (Md.)
Citizen, who was cruelly banished over
a year ago for " opinion's sake " from
his home and family and his business
entirely ruined by that cold-blooded
tyrant David Hun ter,a Major General (?)
in the Army of the United States, has
returned to his home again, and resum
ed the publication of his paper, the first
number of the re-issue of which is now
before us. We hope the Democracy of
Maryland will accord to Mr. B. a hearty
and generous support, for there is cer
tainly no man more deserving of it. Let
the Democracy everywhere stand by
the men who stood by them in the
" days. which tried men's souls."
FISHER AMES called the Democratic
party of, his time (1790-1808) Jacobins
James Watson Webb, after the United
States Bank had bought him for fifty
thousand dollars,.nicknamed the party
Locofoco. Quartermaster Hurtt styled
them Copperheads in 1861; and the venal
Cincinnati Commercial displayed its
ingentfity in the name Butternut. But
the names won't stick. It is the Demo
cratic party all the time.
The State Convention.
The Democratic State Convention,
which met in Harrisburg on Thursday
last, was one of remarkable fullness and
strength. Evei,s/Senatorial and Hap=
resentative district in the State wasrep
resented, in nearly every instance, by
the delegates originally chosen. There
were not more than half Et dozen cases
of substitution: Very many of the
ablest and purest Demeicrats in the State
had seats in the Convention, and were
active participants in its harmonious de
liberations.
The prevailing tone of the body was
a feeling of confident and trustful hope
fulness, combined with an inflexible re
solve that seemed to subordinate all
other sensations. The Democracy of
Pennsylvania have resolutely deter
mined to win in the coming contest,
and we have no doubt that they will
most triumphantly succeed.
The platform is a full, firm, open and
honest expression of the political creed
of the Democracy of this great State.
It is eminently conservative, and will
commend itself to the heart and the
conscience of every right thinking
voter in this commonwealth. In
strong contrast to the platform
of the Republican party, it will
command the respect and chal
lenge the admiration of every man who
reads it. It is lengthy, but that was a
necessity under the circumstances. It
takes more than a few words to de
nounce the wrong and unconstitutional
acts of our opponents, and to define our
own public policy at the present time.
In spite of its length, the platform
adopted on Thursday by the Democratic
party of this State will be more univer
sally read and more generally approved
by the sensible conservative voters of
Pennsylvania than any paper of the
kind which has been put forth for years.
From Thursday the Democratic party
of Pennsylvania dates a new era in its
existence, and " marks with a white
stone" the lucky day which will here
after be recognized as the commence
ment of a renewed lease of power. It
seeks the ascendency, which it will
surely attain in the coming contest, not
for the sake of any petty emoluments of
office, for these things it cares but little,
but that it may be once again in a posi
tion which will enable it to lead this
great nation along the peaceful ways of
increasing prosperity and renewed and
continuing greatness and glory.
The Pending Political Contest
The political contest now going on in
this State is one of no ordinary impor
tance, not because of any very great
magnitude attaching to the offices to be
filled, but because vital and fundamen
tal principles will be seriously affected
by the result. The candidates of the
two great political parties are now fairly
before the people, and it is hazarding
nothing to say that the nominees of the
Democratic party have the advantage
of their opponents. In military repu
tation, gained by long and arduous ser
vice, the marks of which they can show
in numerous honorable scars, they are
more than fully the equals of their op
ponents. In talents, iii education, in
fitness for the positions for which they
have been named, they are decidedly
their superiors. They are men of lives
so pure and of reputation so spotless
that no assault cad be made upon them
even by the unscrupulous and lying
Abolition press.
The Contest must therefore be deter
mined, as it should be, by the political
principles of the candidates, as set forth
in the platforms on which they have
been placed. Here the distinction be
tween them is well marked and very
clearly defined,
The platform of the Republican party
has in it but three strong points :
First, it entirely dissents from the re
construction policy of President John
son, under which the States recently in
revolt are now rapidly preparing peace
ably to resume their places in the Union,
demands that he shall make an entire
change in his policy, and insists upon
keeping up an enormousstauding army
to rule them by force of military power.
Secondly, it shows by its refusal to
utter one word against negro suffrage,
and by its covert endorsementof that doc
trine, that, in opposing President John
son's reconstruction policy, the lead
ers of the Republican party of this State
are in full sympathy with the radical
fanatics of New England.
Thirdly, it calls for an indefinate in
crease of the tariff.
If in all the verbage of the Repub
lican platform there is any other single
political principle enunciated, we con
fess we cannot see it.
What a contrast does the platform
adopted by the Democratic State Con
vention present? We have not the time
or room for a proper analysis of it to
day. There is not a conservative right
thinking man in the State who cannot
endorse it fully and take his stand
squarely upon it.
The Poor Man's Curse
A New York paper says that scores of
men in that city, have sold out their
real estate and put their money in gov
ernment bonds which draw large inter
est, but are exempt from all taxation.—
The same thing has occurred in other
cities and towns. The rich men invest
in bonds—the interest is paid in gold.—
The rich man has nothing to do but
live at his ease and roll in luxury, ex
empt from taxation on every dollar he
has in these bonds. The poor mall must
pay the expenses of government, and
pay interest to the rich man. He must
pay increased rents and prices for all he
has and every thing he needs for the
support of his family. He must pay the
tax gatherer, while the man who has
his thousands in bonds laughs, pays
nothing and grows richer every day.—
The poor man goes to war and gets kill
ed or disabled by wounds—the rich man
remains a private in the rear rank of
life. The poor man pays all the taxes;
and he is obliged to keep out of business
for the reason that he cannot afford to
pay double interest on money and bear
all the taxation besides.
This is Abolitionism. This is part of
the grand policy the people appear to be
in love with ; but would it not be better
to exempt houses, manufactories, ma
chinery and poor men's wages from tax
ation, and compel the rich people to pay
a portion of the war debt ? We are sure
it would be better for the country, and
at the same time would only be carry
ing out the great Jeffersonian doctrine
of equal and exact justice to all men.
They are All Democrats
Slander it as they may the Shoddy
party, says the Harrisburg Patriot, can
not get on without the Democracy. 'l' he
shoddy organs not only announce their
Chairman of the Central Committee,
John Cessna, and their candidate for
Auditor General, General Hartranft, as
Democrats, and claim credit and votes
for the latter in consequence, but they
even go so far as to say that Col. Camp
bell was also once a Demodiat. It is
announced with a flourish that he was
" reared in the school of Jackson De
mocracy," (renegades always prate of
Jacksonian Democracy,) and in 1844
voted for Polk and Dallas. This anx
iety of the pedigreeless, traditionless,
mushroon - Yankee - Abolition- Shoddy
party to give their leaders and candi
date a Democratic paternity, shows
conclusively that they are hard up for
political capital. The fact is, there is
not healthy soil enough to be found in
modern shoddyism for any candidate to
take root in. The first thing done, there
fore, always is to declare that the shoddy
candidate was not always what he now
is, but that he once was a true and re
spectable " Democrat of the Jacksonian
achool."
Work for the Democracy.
The Democracy of Pennsyliania can
easily win in the present contest if they
go to Work in proper manner and with
resolute determination. What is needed
ispionipt and-efficient organization in
xivery county in the State.. This is a
work which 'must be done by each
county under-he auspices of its own
county.committee. The for work
is short, and what is done must be done
quickly. The different county commit
tees should be assembled at the earliest
possible day, and every member should
feel it a bounden duty to be present.. If
money is needed, and more or less
will be required everywhere, steps
should be taken to raise it at once.—
There should be a county fund and a
fund in each township. There is not
an election district in the State where
there are not some voters for whom
means of conveyance to the polls must
necessarily be provided, or their votes
will be lost. This cannot be done with
out expense, hence the absolute need of
raising a fund. Let a Democratic club
be started in every election district in
the State, and weekly meetings
be held until the election. In
these, arrangements can be made for
seeing every doubtful voter, for
furnishing proper reading matter to all
who will read, for making out lists of
voters, for properly parceling out the
work to be done and assigning each de
partment of labor to competent hands,
and thus ensuring that every Democrat,
and every Conservative citizen who is
ready to vote " the white man's ticket,"
shall not fail to be at the polls. An
effbrt thus made throughout the State
would ensure the defeat of the negro
suffrage party by a majority of such pro
portionsas would forever kill it in Penn
sylvania. Is not this a.sutlicient incen
tive to labor? Let there be immediate
organization, and prompt energetic ac
tion. That is needed, and it is all that
is needed. We have the chances all in
our favor,and the tide of popular opinion
is fully with us. Shall we not go to work
with that earnest zeal which becomes
menwhose best interests are atstake? We
are assured that the Democracy of
Pennsylvania feel the importance of se
curinga right decision on thegreat issues
before the people in the coming Cam
paign. The masses of the Democratic
party are fully alive to their own inter
ests and ready to act with the prompt
ness and vigor necessary to secure the
most glorious triumph. All that is need
ed is proper organization, proper local
organization, effected through the agen
cy of the different county committees.
Heretofore this work has not been half
done. Whenever and wherever it was
well done the good results were seen.
There is time enough to organize every
election district in the State, and barely
time enough. It must be done, done
fully and effectually, and done quickly.
The State Central Committee meets
on Tuesday the sth day of September.
We have no doubt it will do its work
wisely and well, but after all it will
have to depend upon the County Com
mittees. They are the agencies by which
the work of the coming campaign must
be done. Let them meet at once and
effect the most thorough and perfect or
ganization. If a delinquent member is
found in any district, let the work be
devolved upon some one who will at
tend to it yromptly and efficiently. A
little system, a little patience, and a
good dealof hard work is What is wanted.
We hope all our exchanges will urge
forward the work of organization at
once. They can do much in this way.
If we fail to win in the present contest
it will be our own fault, and we will
deserve defeat. With proper, prompt
organization we cannot fail.
The `• Tycoon's" Navy
A few years ago the Japanese govern
ment, having been infused with the
Anglo Saxon spirit of enterprise, made
an appropriation of three millions of
dollars for the construction of three
magnificent steam vessels for its navy.
The Tycoon and his cabinet having be
come convinced of the superiority of
Americans in shipbuilding, the money
and the contract for constructing the
steamers were entrusted to Mr. Pruyn,
our Minister at the Japanese court. One
of these ships, named the Fuslyama,
after a sacred mountain of the empire,
was launched at one of the shipyards of
this city in May of last year, and com
pleted and made a most successful trial
trip of three days to sea in the following
September, and she was to have left im
mediately after for Japan ; but owing to
our national complications with certain
foreign Powers consequent upon the re
bellion in the South, she has been de
tained till the present time. that
all these difficulties have been overcome
there is no longer any necessity for
keeping her here. The Fuslyama is a
fine steamer of over one thousand tons,
magnificently fitted up and finished in
every respect, and is armed with one
hundred-pounder and three thirty
pounder Parrott rifles, foul' nine-inch
Dahlgrens and four twenty-pounder
brass smooth bores--in all twelve guns.
Profession and Practice
It will be remembered that the late
Republican State Convention refused
by a vote of 17 yeas to 111 nays to adopt
the following resolution :
Resolved, That this convention, repre
senting the loyal people of Pennsylvania,
recognizes the claims of the citizen soldiers
of the State on its confidence and gratitude
as superior to those of all others ; and in
token of this, its declaration, it will nomi
nate as candidates for office none but those
who have proven their loyalty and patri
otism by services in the field, against the
enemies of the republic.
The action of the Abolitionists in this
city fully accords with the proscriptive
spirit of the above resolution. They
made many and loud professions of
friendship for the soldiers before their
nominating conventions met; but when
the time came to test their sincerity
they refused to place a single soldier on
their ticket, and gave all the offices to
the old and worn-out political backs of
their party. In every instance in which
a soldier and a civilian came into con
test the former was beaten out of sight
—the soldiers' candidate for Mayor poll
ing only 14 votes, and their candidate
for District Attorney only 5 !—Age.
The Wirz Trial a Long One
Should the Wirz trial not progress
faster than it has the last week several
months will be consumed in bring the
proceedings to a close, as only half a
dozen of the more than one hundred and
fifty witnesses have been examined.
The commission give the defense the
greatest latitude of examination.
The Cholera In Turkey
Our minister at Constantinople offi
cially informs this government that the
cholera continues to extend its ravages,
and says, had the proper quarantine re
gulations been inforced at first the in
troduction of the disease from Egypt
might have been prevented. It seems
to him, from the experience at Constan
tinople, that it will be advisable for the
United States to guard against it by the
most rigid quarantine regulations.
THE trustees appointed by Judge
Packer for the management of the new
Polytechnic School, have adopted the
name of " Lehigh University," by
which the institution is to be known.—
"Packer College" was urged by several
members of the board of trustees, and
the citizens in the Lehigh Valley, but
the donor forbade it. An election of of
ficers also took place, and the following
gentlemen were selected : Wm. Bacon
Stevens, D. D., L. L. D., Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania,
President,; Rev. E. M. Potter, Secre
tary ; •E. P. Wilbur, Treasurer. :_-.
Gross Abuie of Pardoning Power.
Daliy the public ear is stunned by the,.
announcement of a fresh batch of thit'3.
most horrid., crimes. Murders have
grown so common of late that the an
nouncement of a new one scarcely ex
cites comment, unless it be of extraor
dinary atrocity, or attended by other
circumstances which have a tendency
to render its recital more exciting than
usual. Human life is getting tobe held
very cheap, and the saying "murder
will out" seems to be no longer true
among us. Murderers, escape easily in
these days. One would suppose the ap
parent increased insecurityof life would
impress upon courts and juries the ab
solute necessity of meting out the full
punisliment merited by crime; but it
really seems to be more difficult than it
ever was before to secure convictions,
especially for capital offences. Now and
then a jury is to be found doing its
whole duty, but then the pardoning of
the Governor is evoked and not unfre
quently grossly misapplied.
'l'he Governor of this State has no
right to misuse the great trust reposed
in him by the grant of pardoning power
for the purpose of relievingany criminal
from the penalty justly due to his
crimes. It was never conferred for any
such purpose. It was only intended to
enable him to correct mistakes made by
courts and juries, or to relieve, when it
was ascertained on examination, that
there were mitigating circumstances
not known to or properly understood by
the judicial tribunal when sentence
was passed. 'The Governor has no
shadow of right to interfere for the pur
pose of preventingmerited punishment,
no odds how severe the sentence of a
competent judicial tribunal may be.
When a criminal has had a fair and im
partial trial by liis peers, and been found
guilty of the offence for which he was
lawfully arraigned, it is a gross outrage
for the Governor, either for political
reasons, or from any other selfish or
interested motives, to interfere to
prevent the full execution of the solemn
sentence of the law. When he does so
he violates his duty to the public, breaks
his solemn oath of office, does violence
to his own conscience, if he has any,
tramples upon the law of the land, in
cites bad men to the commission of
crimes, renders the life and property of
those lie has sworn to protect insecure,
and turns loose the enemies of society
to prey upon it—and all this he does
without any authority, and in violation
of his plainest and highest duties.
Governor Curtin has already been
guilty in this respect more than once ;
but the most glaring and unmitigated
outrage of_ the kind which he has yet
perpetrated, is the unconditional pardon
of the three murderers recently—Convict
ed and sentenced at Carlisle. Our read
ers will remember the clear and able
summing up of the facts contained in
the sentence of Judge Graham, which
we published someday's since. Itis sure
that there never was a more foul and
brutal murder committed. There were
no mitigating circumstances, unless the
fact that the Ruperts were pursuing
their victim for thepurposeof makingtha
paltry sum of thirty dollars by his ar
rest as a deserter was sufficient to justi
fy them in murdering him most foully.
Governor Curtin seems to have so con
sidered it, and he turned the bloody
handed, bloody-minded villains loose.
For so doing he deserves the execration
of all decent citizens and richly merits
impeachment. No man of right feeling,
who has a knowledge of the facts in this
case can ever respect him hereafter.
We append the following account of
the transaction from the Carlisle Vo/iot
ficr, and thus dismiss, for the present,
this most damnable outrage : .
In our last we stated that the three
brothers, Howard, Henry and Lewis
Rupert, the murderers of Wilson T.
Vanasdlan, of Penn township, in Jan
uary last, had been sentenced by Judge
Graham—the first named " to be hanged
by the neck until dead," and the two
latter to the penitentiary for a term of
years. The day following this righteous
sentence Governor Curtin pardoned the
culprits, and they were at once set at
liberty.
We have had occasion frequently to
complain of the reckless manner that
the one man power has been exer
cised by that utterly reckless man, Cur
tin. We have noticed for some years
that the Governor cares nothing for the
rights of the people at large, but in the
exercise of the arbitrary power placed
in his hands by the Constitution, he is
governed entirely by political consider
ations. In nearly every instance where
murder, theft, burglary or any other
crime had been committed by men of
his owu party—" loyal Republicans "
he has granted pardons immediately af
ter conviction. Indeed he has, by the
exercise of this power, nearly emptied
our prisons, for it is a fact that nine
tenths of the men convicted for the last
four years of loathsome crimes were his
political adherents.
But, of all the pardons ever granted
by the Governor, this pardon of the
Ruperts is the most to be condemned,
for there was not even a semblance of
excuse for it. That Vainisdlan had been
murdered in cold blood—that the mur
der was concocted, planned and agreed
upon by the three Ruperts long before
it took place, was proved to the satis
faction of every man who was present
at the trial of the culprits. The diaboli
cal crime was not the result of passion
—the parties had had no quarrel, no
dispute. Vanasdlan, their victim, re
garded the Ruperts as neighbors, and
personal, if not political, friends.—
They gave him no warning, but shot
him down in the road, near ,his own,
dwelling, and in the presence of his ter
rified wife and little children. He lived
but a short time after receiving the
fatal shot, but during the few minutes
he did live the the Ruperts crowded
about the dying man, heaping curses
upon him, and making efforts to draw
boots upon his cold and pulseless feet,so
that they might, as they said, "take the
body to Carlisle." It is difficult to con
ceive more heartless brutality. Never
in the history of crime, have we read or
heard of more savage inhuman conduct
on the part of murderers. During Van
asdlan's struggles with life, when the
red fountain was rapidly flowing from
his heart, and his eyes were glazed, the
Ruperts stood by, armed to the teeth,
and refused to permit his wife to place
her dying husband upon a bed or even
to put a pillow under his head! Had a
demon from the lower regions stepped
into Vanasdlan's dwelling at that mo
ment, he would have whispered into
the earsof the Rilperts, "hold, brothers !
you are going too far; the Prince of
Darkness requires no such heartless
wickedness as this, and is already satis
fled with what you have done."
The Ruperts had a fair trial. Indeed,
their guilt was so manifest, their con
duct so brutish, that the attorneys for
the Commonwealth had little to do ex
cept to acquaint the jury with the naked
facts, as testified to by many unim
peached witnesses. There was not a
single mitigating circumstance in favor
of the accused ; they had not a thread
to hang a rope upon. The jury was com
posed of intelligent and fair men—seven
Republicans and five Democrats—and
were unanimous in rendering a verdict,
the only question that staggered them a
little being whether or not they should
declare the whole three guilty of mur
der in the first degree.
And these three Ruperts—these cold
blooded and heartless murderers—have
been turned loose upon society by Gov.
Curtin! Let the Governor come up into
our valley and hear the loud deep curses
of the people, and he may form an idea
of their temper, and learn their senti
ments in regard to his insolent inter
ference with law and justice. He, the
Governor, may be of opinion that his
political partisans can commit murder
with impunity and escape punishment,
but we doubt whether we have many
Republicans in this county who will
indorse the infamous conclusion. By
granting pardon to the Ruperts, Gov.
Curtin proves himself a bad and dan
gerous man to be invested with a power
that ,was seldom used at all by his pre
decessors. By this act of clemency, he
endorses fearful and revolting crime,
disregards law, public opinion and
morals, and will receive the execrations
of an oaraged people.—Carlisle
teen "- *-- ' - .'•:= - -
Our Candidates.
The Patriot and Union has the fol
lowing biographical sketches of our can
didates
CoL W. W. H. Davis, the Democratic_
candidate for Auditor Geniirel,:iri a na
tive, of Bricks county. He is a son of
Gen.. John Davis, of 'Davisville, whose
name is familiar to the people of Penn
sYlvania. .
Col. Davis received his education at
the military academy at Norwich, Ver
mont, and having graduated from that
institution was appointed Professor of
Mathematics and Military Instructor at
the Military Academy of Portsmouth,
;VsL This, position, he filled with dis
tinguished ability for two years, when
he reaigned,l and returned to Bucks
county, and studied law under Judge
Fox, of Doylestown. Having been ad
mitted to the bar, he attended and fin
ished his legal studies at the Cambridge
University law school.
While at Cambridge, the war with
Mexico broke out, and Col. Davis with
patriotic zeal volunteered his services,
and enlisted in the Massachusetts regi
ment then being raised by the Hon. Ca
leb Cushing. He was immediately
made Adjutant of the regiment, and in
that capacity and various staff appoint
ments served during the war, partici
pating in all those great battles which
reflected so much credit upon the arms
of the United States. For gallant con
duct he was promoted to a Captaincy
and held that rank during the last year
of the war.
Upon the conclusion of peace, Col.
Davis commenced the practice of law in
Doylestown, and continued in the quiet
pursuit of his legal labors until 18.52,
when he was culled upon by President
Pierce to accept the position of United
States District Attorney for the Terri
tory of New Mexico. He proceeded to
New Mexico in October of that year,
and held the position of District Attor
ney until 18.54, when he was appointed
Secretary of State for the Territory, and
in that capacity was Acting Governor
and Superintendent of Indian ..kfliiirs for
four years until November, 1857, when
he resigned the position and returned to
his home in Bucks county. In 1858 he
purchased the Doylestown Deniocret,
published in Bucks county,, , which he
still owns and edits.
When the rebellion commenced, in
1861, Colopel Davis immediately volun
teered his services, and reused the first
armed Man in his native county and
congressional district. With a company
of eighty (80) men he immediately
marched to Harrisburg, joined the 25th
Penna. regiment, and served through
out the three months' campaign in the
army of the Upper Potomac, command
ed by Major General Patterson. At the
expiration of his term of service in Sep
tember, 1861, he was mustered out, and
returning to Bucks county, immediate
ly raised a regiment of infantry, 104th
Pa., and a six gun battery, under special
instructions from the War Department.
On the Ist of November, 1861, he pro
ceeded to Washington with his regi
ment, and was immediately placed in
command of a brigade, from which
time he continued in active service,
(except when disabled by his wounds,)
until the Ist of October, 1864, when he
was mustered out, by reason of the ex
piration of his term of service.
His gallant regiment served one year
in the Army of the Potomac, and was
afterwards transferred to the Army of
North Carolina, then to South Carolina.
Colonel D. commanded a brigade or
division during the greater part of three
years. He was severely wounded by a
rifle ball in the left elbow at the terrible
battle of Fair Oaks, and was also shot
in the left breast by a spent ball at the
same engagement. The Colonel par
ticipated in all the operations before
Charleston, commanding a brigade or
division during the entire period.
From the first day of January to the
Ist of April, he had command of the
siege operations on Morris Island di
rected against Charleston, having under
his command a division of three bri
gades, and in July 1864, at the battle of
John's Island, S. C., his right hand was
carried away by a shell. While serving
in the Department of the South Colonel
Davis had, at different periods, com
mand of Folly Island, Beaufort and the
District of Hilton Head. The colors of
his regimemt, now among the archives
of the Commonwealth, hear the names
of Yorktown, Lee's Mills, Chickahomi
ny, Savage Station, Fair Oaks, Seven
Pines, White Oak Swamp, Carter's Hill,
James Island, Morris Island, seige of
Charleston and John's Island.
Col. Davis has numerous testimonials
from the ablest generals under whom
he has served, complimenting him in
the highest terms upon his bravery in
battle, and the faithful discharge of his
military duties. In early life he re
ceived the degree o,f A. M. from his
Alma Mater, and he is also an honorary
member of the Pennsylvania Historical
Society and of the Long Island Histori
cal Society. He is not unknown to the
literary world, being the author of a
work on New Mexico, published by
Harper Brother in 1856, and he has
now ready for press a history of the con
quest of New Mexico by the Spaniards.
He has also been a frequent contributor
to the press, and periodicals of the day.
Our candidate for Surveyor General,
Col. JOHN P. LINTON, is a young man
of about thirty-three years, a native of
Cambria country, a pure patriot, au
honest, upright man and a splended
representative of the incorruptible
mountain Democracy. He is the son of
Robert P. Linton, at various times
Sheriff of the county, and grandson of
Peter Levergood, Esq., who, many
years ago, was Canal Commissioner of
the Commonwealth. By profession Col.
LiNroN is a lawyer, and before the war
he was fast making his way to eminence
at the county bar. In general intelli
gence he is far above the average, and
professionally he is well known among
the legal fraternity for his acquirements.
He was a student of Jefferson Colledge,
and subsequently studied law with and
became the law partner of Hon. Cyrus
L. Pershing. This latter fact is of itself
a guarantee for his intelligence and
When, in 1861, the war was brought
upon the country, he was a lieutenant
of a holiday. volunteercompany. Mainly
through his effbrts the organization was
maintained, the company recruited to
the maximum number, and, upon the
declination of other officers, he was
unanimously proclaimed captain. With
his company be faithfully served during
the three months' campaign.
At the termination of the three
months' campaign, Cols. Linton, Camp
bell and M'Dermott at once recruited a
regiment, (the 55th) and . the officers
were soon after, in August, 1861, com
missioned as follows : Colonel, Jacob
M. Campbell ; (Republican candidate
for Surveyor (ieneral ;) Lieutenant Col.
Bernard McDermott; (one of the sol
diers of the war with Mexico;) Major,
John P. Linton. Subsequently Colonel
M'Dermott resigned on account of ill
health, which, on February Ist, 1803,
advanced Major Linton to the position
of Lieutenant-Colonel.
The regiment was immediately as
signed to duty along the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad. During the whole of
the early period of the war, when the
mouth of the Shenandoah Valley was
the scene of constant alarms and raids,
the 54th Regiment was stretched as a
cordon of protection to the lower tier of
Pennsylvania counties. We have not
time nor space in this article to follow
the regiment through its later history ;
this will afford matter for subsequent
articles. It is sufficient to say that
after about two years of detached service
the regiment was ordered to take part
in the active operations up the Valley.
During most of this later and more
active period of service, Colonel
Campbell was away from the regiment
—in temporary command of a division
or brigade, it is stated—so that Col.
LINTON had the honor of leading the
54th in the battles of Newmarket and
Piedmont. And most bravely and gal
lantly be led his regiment on those dis
astrous fields. In both those battles
he was severely wounded, butfalthough
for a time compelled to go home for
treatment, he scarcely remained long
enough from his post to fully recover—
so wedded was he to his regiment, his
duty and the serious work required of
him.
When the 54th was subsequently
ordered to the front, before Petersburg,
Col. LINTON, we believe, still retained
direct command, and again led his men
in those hard-fought engagements which
proved so disastrous to that gallant old
reginient. Hereafter we shall furnish a
detailed history of this regiment and its
commander in battle.
Col. Linton is a candidate of whom
the Democracy may well feel proud.
There is not positively a speck or flaw
in his history or character. His claims
do not rest alone upon his military ser
vices. He is a just man—an honest, an
honorable and true man. He could not
evade a duty if he *duld and 'he would
not if he could. 'l tieverconiiirOMlses:
with wrong, and in the "same manner
that he performs his own duty he is ex
acting upon others subject to his con
trol. But, though firm and unyielding
where right and honor are e,oncerned,
he /13 one of the most temperate, genial
and agreeable of men in' all the social,
relations. Should he be elected, the
people can rely upon having secured an
officer who will be an ornamentand gain
to the State—one whom neither party
nor personal nor family friendship, can
swerve from duty.
The Democratic Slate Convention
The President's Restoration Policy En
dorsed—The Rights of Freemen Assert
ed—Nominations for State Officers.
The following is the report furnished
by telegraph to the Associated Press of
the proceedings of the Democratic State
Convention, which is about as correct
and impartial as could be expected :
HARRISBURG, Aug. 24.—The Demo
cratic State Convention met at two
o'clock P. M., and was temporarily or
ganiZed by electing Robert L. Johnson,
of Cambria, President, and A. D. Boi
leau of Philadelphia, Benjamin Whit
man of Erie, and D. H. Nieman of
Northampton, Secretaries.
Mr. Smith, of Lancaster, submitted a
resolution providing for the appoint
ment of a committee of one from each
Senatorial district to report permanent
officers.
Mr. Lamberton moved to amend, that
the convention proceed to elect a perma
nent President, and that the Senatorial
delegates select one member from each
district for Vice Presidents and Secre
taries, and also one from each Senator
ial district as a Committee on Resold
tions, to whom all resolutions on State
and National subjects shall be referred
without debate.
The amendment was not agreed to,
and the original resolution was adopted.
A recess wasthen taken, to permit the
delegates to indicate the Committee on
Organization.
The committee on being announced,
retired for consultation, and aftera short
time returned, and reported the Hon.
Richard Vaux of Philadelphia, as per
manent President of the convention,
with a Vice President for each Senator
ial districtand twenty-nine Secretaries.
Mr. Vaux, on taking his seat, said :
GENTLEMEN OE THE CONVENTION : The
Democratic party of Pennsylvania, by her
representatives, in conformity to the ancient
usages of the party, is again assembled in
State Convention. Since the days of Thomas
Jefferson, in every crisis of our country's
history, we have assembled in the Capitol
of this Connnonwealth, bold and defiant,
standing on the principles of constitutional
liberty, which can alone maintain us as a
happy and prosperous people. [Applause.]
And amid threats of violence and the men
aces of power, the Democrats never quailed.
During the last four years of war and op
pression, when the pressure of executive
power was used to destroy the Democratic
party—when to be a Democrat was some
thing more than at any period in our past
history, the Democracy met the enemy upon
the great principles of the Constitution, and
defied the party in power. [Cheers.] We
have here met again, and let us do as our
fathers in past days of our history
have done, stand on the broad prin
ciples of the Constitution and de
mand those rights and privileges
which belong to the States and to the
people. We will be satisfied with nothing
less. [Applause.] These principles cannot
be changed by fanatics or over-ridden by
power. The rights of the people arc dear
to them ; the rights of the States are dear
to them. [Applause.] Our fathers made
this compact of Federal unity under hardly
less than inspiration, and it cannot he al
tered by fanatics Or destroyed by power.
Its provisions ore for us and for our chil
dren, and mint necessity shall not de
prive us ofeither of these rights or privileges.
[Applause.] Let it be then distinctly un-.
derstood, that the dignity of American citi
zenship must not be degraded or contami
nated by association or an equality with an
inferior race, either socially or politically.
[lmmense applause.] Gentlemen of the
onvention, having by your partiality been
chosen to preside over your deliberations, I
ask your indulgence, and promise to per
tbrm my duties to the utmost of my ability.
The Chair is now ready for any motion that
may be
,niade. [Applause.]
A Committee on Resolutions, com
posed of one from each Senatorial dis
trict was appointed, to whom all resolu
tions on National and State affitirs were
referred without debate.
Mr. H. W. Petriken offered a resolu
tion that the soldiers of 1861 and 1862,
having enlisted with little or no bounty,
should receive one hundred and sixty
acres of land, and urging upon the next
Congress the justice of maintaining
such an appropriation. Referred.
The Hon. J. S. Black, Chairman of
the committee, reported the following
resolutions
The preamble asserts the betrayal of
their trust by the party in power since
1861.
The resolutions affirm the fidelity of
Pennsylvania Democrats to the Union,
and declare that the slaughter, debt and
disgrace of the civil war was a conse
quence of their counsels being disre
garded. That the Constitution ought to
be obeyed at all times, under all circum
stances, and in every part of the
country, the oath to support it being
universally binding, and it is only by a
rigid enforcement of its provisions that
we can hope for liberty or peace. The
palladium of all our political rights are
trial by jury, habeas corpus, free press,
free speech, immunity from punish
ment, except upon legal conviction by
an impartial jury, and the right of
white citizens to vote at State elections
according to State laws.
The Convention concurs with l'resi
dent Johnson in the opinion that State
ordinances of secession are nullities,and
the States therefore are all as much in
the Union as ever, the people owing the
same duties and clothed with the same
rights as before, and the resumption of
the old position shall not be impeded by
that portion which always opposed the
Union, who declare it legally dissolved
and is malignantly laboring to prevent
its restoration.
The resolutions argue strongly against
negro suffrage as a high crime against
the Constitution, and a deliberate and
wicked attempt to degrade the white
race to the low level of the black, and
express willingness to support President
Johnson in restoring the States; giving
them a representation in Congress, and
saving them from the curse of negro
equality ; but can only give its full ap
proval to the administration of Presi
dent Johnson if he adheres to the Con
stitution and the laws, and punishes
kidnapping and robbery when com mit
ed by his own officers, anti suffers no
person to be murdered by military com
missions.
The Convention then proceeded to
ballot for Auditor General as follows:
W.W. H. Davis, of Bucks let. 20 3d.
Col. Franklin Vansant, of Bucks.. S
atti
Isaac Slenker, of Colon 11 41 .
Wellington H. 1,1:11, of 'olumbia.. 11 5 7
Robert J. Hemphill, of Phil'a. ..... le ...
W. Workman, of Washington 2 ..
Wm. Hopkins, of Washington__ 13 11)
S. T. Shuggert, of Centre ...
Chas. D. Manley, of Delaware
And the nomination of Col. Davis was
declared unanimous.
The Convention then proceeded to
ballot for Surveyor General as follows :
t d. 3d.
John I'. Linton, of Cambria IS 2
2,3 57 75
Jas. P. Barr, of Allegheny. 44 55 50
H. A. Hambright, of Lancaster
Judge Reilly, of Schuylkill
Abrin. Lamberton of Cumberland. 8 ...
David Karshaden,of Clinton 8 11 -
John Cummings, of Snyder
J. P. Surtzer, of Allegheny
And the nomination of (201. Linton
was declared unanimous.
The President was authorized to ap
point one person from each Senatorial
district as a State Central Committee,
and the lion. W. A. Wallace, of Clear
field county, was chosen by the Con
vention -Chairman of the State Com
mittee.
Mr. Petriken, of Lycoming county,
re-offered his resolution:that,in the esti
mation of the Convention, the soldiers
of 1801 and 1862, who enlisted with little
or no bounty, are entitled to, and should
receive an appropriation of 160 acres of
land, or a fair equivalent in money, and
that such an appropriation be urged
upon the next Congress.
The resolution was discussed for some
time, and finally passed, modified as
follows:
Resolved, That we are in favor of so
equalizing the bounties paid to soldiers in
1161 and 1862, that they shall receive the
same pay and bount. as the soldiers of 1863
and 1864, and that Congress should mako
an appropriationtbr this purpose.
The Convention then took a recess to
afford the members an opportunity of
selecting a State Central Committee,
which resulted in the appointment of
the following :
Chairman, Hon. W. A. Wallace, Clear
field.
First District—C. C. Kamerly,
Second District—Jas. McCarthy.
Third District—Jamesqlopkins.
Fourth District—A. R. Schofield.
Fifth District,-Josiah B. Houpt and Robt,
E. Monaghan.
Sixth District—Franklin Vanzant.
Seventh District—Robert McDowelL
Eighth District, -- Ernientrout.
Ninth District— Denice.
- Tenth Distriet—Win: H. Infiniti&
- Eleventh DistzeietWaShingtori
Twelfth DiAtrict—J. B. Stark.
Thirteenth District—Stephen Pierce.
Fourteenth District—H. W. Petriken.
Fifteenth District—Thomas Chalfant.
Sixteenth District—Beni. Foster.
Seventeenth District—H. B. Swarr and H.
T - ; Shitltx.'
.tighteenth District—john Cresswell.
Nineteenth District—F. M. Kimmel.
Twentieth District—G. H. Spang.
Twenty-first District—E. D. Parker, W
M. F. Reynolds.
Twenty-second District—Philip Com
mins.
Twenty-third District—W. W. Barr.
Twenty-fourth District—Robert Gwin.
Twenty-fifth District—John G. Dunn and
Andrew Burke.
Twenty-sixth District—W. W. Smith.
Twenty-seventh District—Jamb Zeigler.
Twenty-eighth District—Alfred Price.
Twenty-ninth District—M. Park Davis.
Committees were appointed to notify
the candidates of their nomination.
After addresses by Judge Black and
Richard Faux, the Convention adjourn.
ed sine die.
The Rival State Platforms
DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM
WHEREAS, It is the imperative duty
and should be the exclusive desire of
every American citizen entrusted with
the power of controlling public affairs,
by his vote or otherwise, to see that
they are administered with a single eye
to the great objects which our fore
fathers had in view whgn they laid the
foundations of this Republic, namely :
"To form a more perfect Union, estab
lish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defence, pro
mote the general welfare, and secure
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and
our posterity." AND WHEREAS, The
men and the party administering
the
Federal Government since 1801, have
betrayed their trust, violated their most
sacred obligations, disregarded the com
mands of the fundamental law, cor
ruptly squandered the public money,
denied justice to the people, perverted
the whole Government from its original
purpose, and, thereby, have brought
untold calamities upon the country ;
therefore,
1. Bell Resolved, That we, the Demo
cracy of Pennsylvania, are now, as we
always have been, faithful to the union
of the States, opposing the secession of
the South with all our influence and
having no sympathy or association
whatever with that party in the North
which plotted against the Union and
pronounced the Constitution " a cov
nant with death and an agreement with
hell."
2. That if the counsels of the Demo
cratic party had prevailed, the Union
would have been saved in allits integrity
and honor, without the slaughter, debt
and disgrace of a civil war ; but when
the formation of sectional parties in the
North and in the South and in the ad
vent of one of those parties into the seats
of Federal power made wara fact which
we could not control, we sustained the
Federal authorities in good faith, asking
nothing at their hands except a decent
respect for our legal rights and some
show of common honesty in the man
agement of our financial affairs ; but in
both those particulars we were disap
pointed and betrayed.
3. That the CONSTITUTION established
by our revolutionary fathers is entitled
to our unqualified respect and obedi
ence ; the oath to support it is binding
religiously, morally and legally, at all
times, under all circumstances and in
every part of the country upon all pub
lic officers from the highest to the low
est, as well as upon private citizens, it
is only by a strict observance of its pro
visions and a rigid enforcement of its
obligations in all the States that we can
hope for Union, Liberty or Peace; he
who wilfully violates it, or counsels its
violation by others, is a public enemy
and a dishonest man.
4. That among the rights guaranteed
to us by the plainest words of the Con
stitution are these—free speech, a free
press, freedom from arbitrary arrest and
illegal imprisonment, trial by jury, the
writ of habcos corpus, the perfect im
munity of all persons not in the army
or navy from any species of punishment
for crime or pretended crime which is
not the legal consequence of a regular
conviction by an impartial jury—the
absolute - subordination of all military
power to the civil authority, and the
privilege of white citizens to vote at
State electioi4 according to the laws of
the State.
5. That we fully concur with Presi
dent Johnson in the conviction ex
pressed by him in 1860, and repeated
several times since, that the Federal
Government is sovereign within its
proper sphere ; that it acts not through
or upon the States but directly upon in
dividuals ; that the States could not
absolve the people from their federal
obligations; that the State ordinances
of secession were nullities; and, there
fore, when the attempted revolution'
came to an end by the submission of
the insurgents, the States were as much
a part of the Union as they had been
before, their people were bound to the
same duties and clothed with the same
rights, excepting, of course, such rights
as individuals among them had legally
forfeited by their own acts in the mean
time. And we hereby declare that, so
far as we can prevent it, the resump
tion of their proper places in the Union
by those States, some of whose citizens
were lately in rebellion, shall not be
impeded or delayed by the unlawful
interference of that faction at the North
which always was hostile to the Union,
which now pronounces it legally dis
solved, and which is still malignantly
laboring to prevent its restoration.
6. That the effort now making by cer
tain persons to use the power of the
General Government, with a view to
force negro suffrage on the States against
the will of the people, and contrary to
existinrr '
laws, is not only a high crime
against the Constitution, but a deliber
ate and wicked attempt toputthe States
of this Union (all of them more or less,
and some of them entirely) under the
domination of negroes, to Africanize a
large portion of the country and degrade
the white race morally and socially, 'as
well as politically, to the low level of
the black. We will not acknowledge
the incapacity of ourown race to govern
itself, nor surrender the destinies of the
country into the hands of negroes, nor
put ourselves under their guardianship,
nor give up to them the political privi
leges which we inherited from our
fathers; and we exhort our, brethren
in other States to take up the stone atti
tude and maintain it firmly.
7. That we. will support President
Johnson in every just effort he may
make to place all the States in their
proper position, to give them a fair rep
resentation in Congress and to save them ,
from the curse of negro equality. He
shall have our hearty approval when he
inflicts legal punishment by means of
legal tribunals upon offenders against
the United States, and we will be with
him sincerely to sustain and uphold
him in every measure which looks to
the maintenance of the public credit.—
But our full approval of his administra
tion can be founded only in the belief
that he will execute the law, the whole
law and nothing but the law in all parts
of the country ; that be will not allow
the military to interfere with state elec
tions ; that he will punish kidnapping
and robbery through the legal authori
ties whether committed by federal offi
cers or :private citizens ; and that he
will suffer no person to be murdered by
military commission. We go for meas
ures not men, and upon these measures
there can be no compromise ; he that is
not for us, is against us.
8. That in view of our enormous Na
tional debt, the great weight of our State
taxes and the local burdens imposed
upon us in divers ways, economy and
retrenchment becomes an important
duty of all our representatives ; and to
this end the vast standing army now on
foot ought to be disbanded, the navy
should be reduced, and the corrupt and
extravagant practices lately introduced
into the Government should be totally
abolished.
9. That our revenue laws need to be
carefully revised in such manner, that
while the public creditwill be maintain
ed the national honor preserved, taxa
tion will be equal and just.
10. That the gallant soldiers of the
Republic, who so nobly risked their
lives in defence of the Union and the
Constitution, merit and will receive the
undying gratitude of the American
people. Living, they shall live in our
warmest affections—and, dying, their
memories will be cherished for all time
to come. To say—as our political op
ponents do—that they fought and bled
and died mainly for the freedom of the
negro, is a gross insult on their patriot
ism, and an outrage which will be in
dignantly resented by their surviving
comrades through the ballot-box.
.11. That the noble manner in which
the Democratic press of this Common
wealth have contended in defenceof the
liberties of the nation, amid trials and.
difficulties almost unparalleled, is de
serving of our grateful recognition and.
,should entitle it to the encouragement:
of every Couetitution4oving citizen:
12. That we re-affirm our adherencp
to the Monroe . Doctrine. - -
13. Resolved, That we are in favor of
equalizing the hounties paid to soldiers
in 1861 and 1862, that they shall receive_
the same pay and bounty as the soldiers
of 1863 and 1884 ; and that- Congress
should make an appropriation for this
purpose.
ABOLITION PLATFORM
- - •
1. That as representatives of the loyal
people of the Commonwealth, we rev
erently desire to offer our gratitude to
Almighty God, whose favor has vouch
safed victory to the national arms, en
abled us to eradicate the crime of slavery
from our land, and to render treason
against the Republic impossible forever
more ; and next to Him, our thanks are
due and are hereby tendered to our
brave soldiers and sailors, who, by their
endurance, sacrifices, and illustrious
heroism, have secured to their country
Peace, and to the downtrodden every
where an asylum of Liberty; who have
shown that the war for the restoration
of the Union is not a failure, and whose
valor has proven for all time the fact
that this Government of the People is
as invincible in its strength as it is ben
eficien t in its operation.
2. That revering the memory of Abra
ham Lincoln, great martyr of liberty,
we cannot show greater honor to his
name than by a generous support of his
fellow patriot and successor, Andrew
Johnson, the President of the United
States, who has been called to complete
the task which he left unfinished. His
unbending patriotism iu the past is a
sure guarantee 'that in the momentous
future the authority of the Government
will be upheld, and the rights and hher
ties of all the citizens of the Republic
secured.
:3. That the mild and generous method
of reconstruction ()tiered by the Presi
dent to the people lately in rebellion, in
the judgment of this Convention, has
not been accepted in the spirit of honest
loyalty and gratitude ; but with such
evidence of defiance and hostility as to
impel us to the conviction that they can
not safely be entrusted with the politi
cal rights which they forfeited by their
treason, until they have proven their
acceptance of the results of the war, by
incorporating them in constitutional
provisions and securing to all men with
in their borders their inalienable right
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happi
ness.
-1. That having conquered the rebel
lious States, they should be held in sub
jection, and the treatment they are to
receive and the laws which are to govern
them, should be referred to the law
making power of the nation to which it
legitimately belongs.
5. That as the late rebellion was wan
tonly precipitated by the property hold
ers of the South, it is but just that they
should pay the expenses of the war,
and Congress should declare as forfeited
and vested in the Government the
property of all rebels whose estates ex
ceed the sum of 510,000, and that the
proceeds of the property so confiscated
should be applied to increase the pen
sions of those entitled thereto by. the
casualties of the war,topay the damages
done by the enemy to loyal citizens, and
to:reduce the burden of the national debt.
6. That it is duty of Congress so to revise
the revenue laws as to aftbrd increased
protection to American industry ; to se
cure the development of the industrial
wealth of the people ; to render labor
profitable and remunerative ; to build.
up home markets for our agriculturists;,
to attract capital to the mineral fields of
the country, and to provide revenue for
the maintenance of the public credit ;
and this Convention recognizes the chief
enemy to a policy of protection in that
European power which for four years.
has furnished piratical vessels of war to,
the rebels, and thus endeavored to drive.
our commerce from the seas.
7. Thatany attempt byforeign nations:
to establish monarchical government on
this continent is evidence of a design to,
destroy Republican institutions. Re
gard for our own safety and for the fu
ture security of the Republic demand
that no such attempt should succeed.
8. That it is the duty of Congress to
secure the full Federal bounty to all
honorably discharged soldiers, irrespec
tive of the date of their enlistment.
9. That we recognize in Edwin 51.
Stanton, the fearless, honest . and able
head of the Department of War, a pub
lic servant who has deserved well of his
country, and has borne himself so clear
in his great office as to merit the earnest
gratitude of all loyal men ; and we ten
der to him and to his distingished col
leagues in the Cabinet our thanks for
their valuable services in the cause of
liberty and law.
10. That the constant devotion of Gov
ernor Curtin to the best interests of the
State and nation, during the last four
years, and his indefatigable efforts on
all occasions to pay the just debt of
gratitude we owe our national defenders
not merely by words, but also by deeds, :
entitles him to the thanks of every loyal
citizen of Pennsylvania.
11. That this Convention, represent
ing the loyal peopl6 of Pennsylvania,
recognizes the claims of our citizen sol
diers on our confidence and gratitude;
and that in nominations for offices es
pecial regard should be paid to the
claims of those who have faithfully
served their country in the army or the
navy in the suppression of rebellion.
L. That the leaders of the Democratic
party stand arraigned before the people
of Pennsylvania for constantly obstruct
ing the efforts of the constituted authori
ties to maintain the life of the republic.
They did this:
By inflaming the passions of their
ignorant followers against the legally
elected officers of the Federal Govern
ment, and refraining from•all approach
against treason or armed traitors.
By procuring a decision from the
Democratic judges of our supreme court,
denying the right of the Government to
the services of the citizens of this State
for the defence of their imperilled coun
try.
By discouraging men from volunteer
ing in the armies of the Union ; thus
rendering it necessary to succumb to
treason, or to pay large bounties and so
burdening every ward, township and
borough in the state with debt to fill
the ranks of our armies.
By opposing the eni iSiment of negroes
for our defence, although one white
man less was required for every black
one who could be enlisted, and this at
the very moment when the battle of
Gettysburg was raging on the soil of
Pennsylvania, and the result of that
decisive battle was uncertain.
By denying to our soldiers the right
to vote while fighting for the flag of our
fathers, on the plea that such rights
were not allowed by our Constitution,
and by opposing an amendment which
removed their objections, and relieved
our hraVe soldiers from this disability.
By exaggerating the public indebted
ness, denying the public credit, and
teaching that the financial resources of
the North were unequal to, the suppres
sion of the rebelion.
By a shameful opposition to measures
for extending relief to the families of
Union soldiers, and by a malignant ef
fort by these means to secure the suc
cess of the rebels in the field, or such a
protraction of the war as would exhaust
the nation in its effort to subdue their
friends.
By now heaping abuse upon the Gov
ernment for punishing assassins and
their accomplices; by demanding the
release of leading traitors, by frowning
down all attempts to bring to punish
ment the fiends who starved our sol
diers,and by assuringrebelsthat neither
in person nor property shall they be
punished for their crimes.
And if anything were wanting to
complete their infamy, we have it in
their determined opposition to free
labor, and to a tariff which, while it
would make labor profitable by protect
ing the working men of Pennsylvania
from British. competition, would largely
increase the revenue essential to the
maintenance of the public faith and
credit.
The report of the committee having
been read, Mr. Cessna moved that the
whole be adopted, with the exception of
the resolution marked eleven (11,) and
that separate action be had on the reso
lution designated as No. 11, which was
unanimously agreed to.
The resolution No. 11 was then separ
ately considered.
Mr. Todd offered the following amend
ment to the resolution reported by the
committee.
Resolved, That this Convention, rep
resenting the loyal people of Pennsyl
vania, recognises the claims of our citi
zen soldiers on our confidence and
gratitude as superior to all others, and
that in token of the sincerity of this, its
declaration, it will nominate none as
candidates for office who have not
proved their loyalty and patriotism by
services in the field against the enemies
of the Republic. •
Mr. Todd demanded the yeasan nays.
on this amendment, and cl a
vote was.
taken, with the following-result: - -
Yeas Nays 17. :