TEHMS OF PUBLICATION.
THE REFOBTEB is published every Thursday Morn
by E. O. GOODBICH, at $2 per annum, in ad
vance-
VDVEKTISEMENTS exceeding fifteen lines nre
serted at TEN CENTS per line for first insertion,
, 1 FIVE CENTS per line for subsequent insertions
Vv'cial notices inserted before Marriages and
j>' ITBS, will be charged FIFTEEN CENT, per line for
1 ; jjj S eition All resolutions of Associations ;
communications of limited or individual interest,
, notices of Marriages and Deaths exceeding five
J.. are charged TEN CENTS per line.
1 Year. 6 mo. 3 mo.
One Column, $75 $-10 S3O
j ~ 40 25 15
One Square, 10 7i 5
"stray, Caution, Lost and Found, and oth
or'advertisements, not exceeding 15 lines,
three weeks, or less, $1 50
Vdmiuistrator's and Executor's Notices.. .2 00
Vuditor's Notices 2 50
Business Cards, five lines, (per year) 5 00
llcrch uits and others, advertising their business
. ;bo charged S2O. They will be entitled to 4
iniuu. confined exclusively to their business, with
privilege of change.
-JT Advertising in all cases exclusive of sub
scription to the paper.
JOB FEINTING of evory kind in Plain andFan
cv c dors, done with neatness und dispatch. Hand
i ;; s , lllanks, Cards, Pamphlets, &c., of every va
ri:v and style, printed at the shortest notice. The
UTROBTEB OFFICE has just been re-fitted with Power
pusses, and every thing in the Printing line can
K executed in the most artistic manner and at the
v,st rates. TEEMS INVARIABLY CASH.
Itoiitol.
Co
SPEECH OF THOMAS J. DURANT,
Of yew Orleans.
An immense gathering of people assem
bled in front of the headquarters of the
Union League, in Philadelphia, on Friday
evening 31st ult., to welcome the southern
2. valists attending the Convention. The
assemblage was called to order by Hon.
W. D. Kelley, who after some appropriate
remarks introduced THOMAS J. DURANT, Esq.,
(■! New Orleans, whose appearance was
welcomed by cheer upon cheer. When or
der had been partially restored, he said :
Before this powerful gathering of loyal
and patriotic men, 1 rise, citizens, with the
deepest emotion to express the overpower
ing sense of gratitude I feel for the warm
reception you have given me on this occa
sion. I would be doing injustice to myself
did 1 not now, in the outset, express the
gratitude I feel to those gentlemen who
have awarded me with so much kindness
the great privilege of addressing on this
night so respectable an assemblage of my
fellow-citizens of the State of Pennsylva
nia. To you, too, I tender the acknowledge
ment of my warmest thanks for the greet
ing you have given me ; and 1 know well
that 1 am by no means to attribute it to
any humble merits which I may have ap
peared to possess, but that 1 anx to attri
bute it to that noble cause of Unionism in
the South which for the moment finds in
me a most unworthy representative. [Ap
plause.] A great statesman of Pennsyl
vania—one who illustrated the walks both
of politics and science—one whom Penn
sylvania sent to the Continental Congress
to aid the immortal Jefferson in framing
that Declaration which has become a char-
tor of human rights—that illustrious Penn
rvlvaiiian once said, " Where liberty dwells
there is my country." [Great cheering.]—
And now, escaping from cold and averted
I ks to meet with warm greetings, fleeing
m the assassin's knife, which was placed
at my throat and that of every Union man,
11, too, coino to the shore of the Delaware
aud say with that illustrious statesman,
"Here liberty dwells, and here is my coun
try." [Cheers.] You must not, 1 assure
yu, citizens, expect to be entertained in
".lie mode in which you might hope to be
: m the battering introduction I have re
ived this evening from my learned friend
vi. has just addressed you. I propose, on
invitation of these conspicuous citizens
f Pennsylvania, who have so kindly hon
red me, to say something this evening on
subject they have indicated in their in
vitation, to say something of that dire
vent which darkened the 30th of July in
Xew Orleans, and to say something of the
vause that produced that horrid result, and
t the remedy, which, in my judgment,
ought ie provided to prevent the repetition.
In tim current of my discourse, it is quite
' t ssihle I may say things that perhaps
H v he unaccustomed to your ears, and it
-ay fall to my lot to make some remarks
j: you may not think altogether correct ;
-Uny fellow-citizens, I implore your in
- ,'etice iu advance, for 1 assure you that
• itever I do say will be but in obedience
the conscientious dictates of my heart j
-•judgment.
The events which preceded the 30th of :
y in Louisiana have passed into the do
-n uf history, and no doubt are familiar
. u all. When, iu 18G2, that gallant old
•ting of the modern seas who lately pass- |
e spot where I am now standing,
-ght his fleet before the rebel forts that
vainly thought protected New Or
jnr>, and laid it across the Crescent Gity j
' to bring that rebellious population 1
r his guns, when that was achieved
the flag of the Union once more greet- j
• the longing gaze of the Union men of j
Orleans, we hailed it as the harbinger
safety, as the flag of freedom, as the
yrtibol of the restoration of our rights.
' -'t passed on and the military chieftain
• bad been appointed by the late lament
• President to superintend the afl'airs of
-t department was removed, and another
•wstituted in his place, to whom it seemed
• 1, under authority vested in him at
j to call together a convention
] -bat portion of the people Louisiana
1 iling in New Orleans and the parishes j
•ediately surrounding it, for the purpose
forming a constitution and frame of gov
ineut under which it was hoped that
.isiana might ultimately be admitted to
• original position as a sister State of
K Union. This movement, citizens, did
I fully meet the approbation of men who I
i- in New Orleans were denounced, and
still treated as Radicals ; and the main
. ction to the movement was that it was
cu ianu ti 0 n of Executive will, and that
ml not flow from an act of Congress, for
"• uion said at that time the reconstruc
: of the Union and the restoration of the
I •rrectionary States is the business of
i U-gislativo Department of the General •
| vvruiucnt, and not of the Executive.
M their opinions were overruled. The
•funding general of the department, by |
u o of the military authority which he '■
ssed to govern the people inhabiting j
■ " led, as I have said, the convention.
I'tvcteded to its labors ; it framed a con
--oti.jji, which was submitted to that por
of the people who were within the
hues, was proclaimed as having been
'l'ted, and the oflicers elected (I refer to
' executive oflicers) —the officers who
j ' lected to administer that government
"'1 upon the discharge of their func
f"; hen that convention adjourned,
■* so with a resolution authorizing its
present president, under circumstances
E. O. GOODRICH, Publisher.
VOLUME XXVII.
specified in the resolution of adjournment,
to call the convention together when the
emergencies arose for which the resolution
itself provided. That was the cause, that
the motive, and that the origin of the rc
convocation of the convention, which was
made the pretext for the wholesale slaugh
ter of Union men in New Orleans on the
30th of July. After the Governor who
was first elected under that Constitution,
the Hon. Michael Halm, had been elected
by the Legislature, under it, to a seat in
the Senate of the United States, the Lieu
tenant Governor of the State, Mr. Well ,
of the parish of Rapids, succeeded to the
Executive chair. Under instructions, as it
was said, from the Executive at Washing
ton, he used the full measure of his Execu
tive patronage to promote the welfare of
those who had most largely striven to ov
erthrow the Government of the United
States. Under his administration every of
fice in the gift of the Executive was filled
with an incumbent who had served in the
rebel army, or who had done service in the
vigilance committees, or who had made
himself conspicuous in civil life for his ad
hesion to the Confederate cause ; and so
well did this master of policy carry out his
work, that when, in the ensuing fall, the
elections for the Legislature came on, there
was, so far as my knowledge goes (and I
believe that I am correct in what 1 say),
~ • ~ />
not one man elected to the Legislature—
to either branch—who would call himself a
Union man ; nay, more, not one who wou'd
not have felt it as a deep offence if any one
had applied that designation to him. Hence
the State was completely under the rule of
men who had used their best efforts to ov
erturn the Government of the United States
and who had plunged Louisiana into the
vortex of a rebellion. Immediately were
seen the natural consequences in the legis
lation of a body so chosen as the one I
have described. The most oppressive laws
were passed with regard to the labor of the
newly-emancipated people ; odious distinc
tions were made in every direction, and the
whole system of government—executive,
legislative and judicial—was so organized
and constituted that justice or right in the
case of a citizen of African descent or a
citizen of conspicuous Union sentiments, in
most quarters of the State, could not be
obtained. This condition of things to ma
ny became insufferable, and they turned
their attention to those resolutions to which
I have called your attention, which auth
orized the President of the Constitutional
Convention of 1804 to reconvoke it. When
the idea of reconvoking this Constitutional
assembly was first put forth, and up to the
time when it was in a degree consummated
the same objection was present to the
minds of Radical men that had existed
when the convention was originally con
vened under the orders of the major gener
al commanding the department of the Gulf.
They viewed it as an improper thing in it
self, that a convention should spring from
the executive department of the Govern
ment ; they thought it impolitic that the
Union men of the South should attempt to
march faster than the Congress of the Uni
ted States seemed willing to move. [Great
applause.] For it became evident to all
men of sober reflection that if in any of the
insurrectionary States the Union men at
tempted to go farther than the limits as
signed to them by Congress they would be
exposed to all the evils of rebel vengeance
ana executive neglect. tney reauy De
came exposed to much worse. But you
will perceive, citizens, that none of these
objections, either on the score of legality
or of policy, were or could be made by the
partisaus of the executive theory of recon
struction, because that portion of the peo
ple and the executive had taken the exact
ly opposite ground, and it did not lie in
their mouths to make such objections. And
candor compels me also to say that there
was a large body of men among the Union
ists in Louisiana as well able to judge as
those who were styled most radical, as
well able to grapple with questions of law
as they were, who thought that it was en
tirely legal to recall that convention into
being. I have never heard that the former
president of that convention, the Hon.
Judge Durell, ol the District Court of the
United States in Louisiana, ever objected
to recalling it into being on the ground that
the call would be illegal. The gentleman
who was chosen to preside over the pre
liminary deliberations, in the absence of
Judge Durell, as a judge of the Supreme
Court of Louisiana, a native of the adjoin
ing State of Mississippi, a life-long resident
of Louisiana. I refer to the name of the
lion. R. K. Howell ; and when I present
his name all who have been in Louisiana
will bear me out when 1 say 1 mention the
name of a man of spotless integrity, of
blameless life, of high judicial experience
and legal knowledge. He gave the move
ment the sanction of his name, and, as I
have said, lent to it the appearance of le
gality by presiding over its preliminary
meetings and deliberations. Nor were
there wanting other men who added re
spectability to the movement. Mr. Ilahn,
himself a lawyer of high standing at the
bar of New Orleans and a man of most re
spectable attainments, who had been hon
ored by the friendship of the late Chief
Magistrate of the United States, and who
enjoyed the respect of the Union men of
New Orleans—he also sanctioned the
movement. So that although there was
dissent, both on the ground of legality and
on the ground of expediency, among sin
cere friends of the Union in Louisiana, as
to the reconvocation of that convention,
yet the opinions were equally balanced and
no man was presumptious enough to say
that the recall of the convention was so ut
terly illegal that it was plainly immoral or
improper to attempt it.
But, fellow-citizens, what did that con
vention do ? It assembled, in the first
place, in order to ascertain what number of
its members could still be secured in at
tendance, and its only act was to call up
on the Governor of the State of Louisiana
to issue writs of election for the purpose of
securing a representation of those parishes
which at the time of the original assem
bling were under the control of the Confed
erate authorities, and where no elections to
a Union convention could then be held. I
wish now, in the most impressive manner
of which I am capable, to direct your at
tention to a great fact which effectually
disposed of the question of the illegality of
that convention in the mind of the Chief
Executive of the United States, and in the
opiniou of every citizen outside the limits
TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., SEPTEMBER 13,1866.
of Louisiana. That was that towards the
end of July, in answer to the request of
this constitutional convention, the Gover
nor of Louisiana, in his official capacity, is
sued writs of election to fill up the vacan
cies from those parishes where no elections
had been previously held ; and 1 declare it
in the feeble strength of what reputation 1
may have for being able to interpret the
laws of my country, that when the Execu
tive of a State proclaims an election and
orders his sheriff in a parish or county to
hold it, no power outside of that State can
question his act. [Great applause.] What
would be thought, fellow-citizens, if the
people or the Governor of New York should
question the right of the Governor of Penn
sylvania to order an election in his State ?
What would be thought if the President of
the United States should inquire of the
Governor of Massachusetts why he ordered
a particular election in the old Bay State ?
What answer would be given to such an
interrogatory ? It is plain, fellow-citizens,
that there could be but one ; that it did
not lie within the province or the function
of him who put the interrogatory to inquire
into the matter at all. [Applause.] A Chief
Magistrate of the Union deals with States
only through their executive or legislative
departments ; he can come in contact offi
cially with the people and the governor of
a State in no other way. The fourth sec
tion of the fourth article of the Constitu
tion of the United States declares that the
United States shall protect each State in
the Union against domestic violence, on
the application of the Legislatux-e, or, if the
Legislature cannot be convened, on the ap
plication of the Executive ; and therefore
it follows as an irresistible conclusion that
even in the emergency of domestic violence
the President of the United States cannot
interpose unless the Legislature, if it be in
convention, or the Governor, in its absence,
shall call upon that high officer so to do.—
Now it is known to you all that the honor
ed Chief Magistrate of this nation has re
peatedly recognized Louisiana as a State
in the Union ; that he has declared the re
bellion in that State at an end ; that he
aas proclaimed it restored to all its origi
nal functions and prerogatives as a State
in the Union, and he has even upbraided
the Congress of the United States because
that body was not prompt enough, in his
opinion, in coinciding with his judgment
ind admitting Representatives and Sena
tors from that State; therefore, from the
point of view of the Executive, any inter
ference in Louisiana with writs of election
nrdered by her chief Executive Magistrate
nust, with due deference be it said, be
treated—from that point of view, I say —as
i mere act of Executive usurpation. In the
case of Louisiana, no Executive call had
ceen made, no Legislature was in session,
md therefore the exigency provided for by
the Constitution had not arisen, and the
juestion propounded to Gov. Wells by the
President of the United States was a ques
tion which, within the terms of the Consti
tution, he had no right to propound. But,
ellow-citizens, what was the consequence ?
[ trust that I understand too well my duty
xs an American citizen to speak in terms
that should be in the slightest degree dis
respectful of the President of the United
states. I know that here, where every citi
zen is a part of the Government, a becom
ng self-respect forbids each one to treat
the Chief Magistrate otherwise than with
courtesy and deference. It is impossible
that he should have meditated any harm.—
Has he not himself, citizens, told us fre
quently—announced to us in terms that
were unmistakable, and which have im
pressed themselves on our memory—that
he had trodden the paths of glory and
sounded all the depths and shoals of honor;
that he had nothing more to hope for from
his country, and that his career of glory
was run ?
[At this point of the speaker's remarks,
the arrival of the Republican Invincibles,
headed by a baud of music, compelled him
to defer speaking for several moments.—
The invincible boys were greeted with
rousing cheers which were repeated again
and again by the vast multitude, which by
this time covered every available inch of
ground in front of the League Home. The
speaker finally resumed as follows :]
I was saying, citizens, that in our Repub
lic, where each man feels that he himself
is part and parcel of the Government, a be
coming self-respect forbids him to treat the
Chief Magistrate of his country in any oth
er mode than that of the most courteous
deference. And, indeed, if he were not the
Chief Magistrate, it is our bounden duty to
treat every opponent in debate as an an
tagonist surely, but not as an enemy.—
With his moti%-es we are not concerned, but
with the bearings of his conduct, with the
consequences of his measures we have a
right to make full inquiry, and it is our du
ty to criticise them in a spirit of fairness
and candor.
I regret deeply to be compelled to say,
as one who was an eye-witness of those
scenes in New Orleans which have sent a
thrill of horror through the loyal heart of
the nation, that the interposition of the
Chief Magistrate of the country in the af
fairs of Louisiana, most terribly misunder
stood by those to whom he addressed him
self, has produced the terrible results of
the 30th July.
On that day, citizens, our glowing sun
rose majestically over the city of New Or
leans ; all nature smiled under his bounte
ous beams ; the Queen City of the valley
of the Mississippi lay there bathed in the
glorious sunlight like a rich diamond in a
monarch's crown, or as the brightest jewel
in the girdle of the Republic. No indica
tion in the heavens foreshadowed the dark
fatality that was to approach that day.—
The Union citizen,in pursuit of his business
avocations, went to his desk, his workshop
and his store that day. Was there any
thought of apprehension in any man's mind,
it was immediately silenced, for there float
ed the American flag over New Orleans,
the guarantee of protection,and there stood
an American general with an American ar
my to shield the Union citizen if any peril
should occur. The Union man, unconscious
of harm, was pursuing the daily business
of life. But what was that sound that smote
upon his ear ? It was like the stifled cry of
a distant multitude. "No ; 'twas but the
wind or the car rattling o'er the stony
street." He thinks again of the flag that
is protecting him, and turns once more to
the business of the day. But hark ! that
REGARDLES3 OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER.
sound comes again ; he starts from his
seat ; he listens more attentively. But hark
again 1 That nearer shout brings faster
on the murderers; the streets are filled
with an infuriated populace ; a band of as
sassins in the garb of policemen, headed by
that prince of murderers,the Mayor of New
Orleans, appears in the streets to reap the
long account of smouldering vengeance. A
procession of citizens peaceably bearing
the American llag attempted to appear up
on the streets to do honor to a convention
which, it was said, was to bestow upon
them the natural rights from which their
race had long been excluded in our coun
try ; they are assaulted in the streets with
murderous weapons and dispersed. The
members of the convention sitting there
had heard these sounds of tumult also, but
were without apprehension ; for did not
the American flag float over them, and was
there not an American general there to pro
thern ? They ordered their sergeant-at arms
to proceed to the houses of absent citizens
to summon their attendance. As he puts
his foot upon the sidewalk, emerging from
the building, a murderous and traitorous
shot salutes him in the back ; he falls welt
ering in blood. A native of Louisiana, a
gallant man, who had taken up arms under
the flag of our country, and served honora
bly in a Louisiana Union regiment, falls on
the streets of the city slaughtered when in
the peaceable execution of his duty. A
friend conveys him to his vehicle ; the
shouts of the savage mob salutes him as
he drives off; he has not life enough left
to reach his home ; ho hoars the cry of the
multitude in the distance ; he hears it but
he heeds it not ; his eye is with his heart,
and that is far away, for he is thinking of
the dear wife and children at home, that
await their dying father ; with his expir
ing strength he clasps the shoulder of the
man that drives the vehicle, and says, with
his fainting breath, " Give my love to my
dear wife and child." He expires there be
fore he reaches home. A reverend man,
who opened the proceedings that morning
with prayer, who stood beside him who
now addresses you, on the Fourth of July,
when we commemorated the anniversary
of our nation's birth—this reverend man,
fresh from the service of his Maker, invok
ing a blessing on the leaders of the con
vention, and descending with the emblem
of peace in his hand to still these furious
men, whom he too little knew—he also is
slaughtered in cold blood and treated with
marks of such savage cruelty that you
would scarcely believe it if I had the
tongue to narrate them to you.
Yes, under the blows of these more than
savages, the wretched Horton sunk to the
ground ; and barely having time to reach
his home and receive the consolations of his
wife and children—receiving in vain the
best surgical did--he sinks back, and his
spirit returns to his God who gave it.
But who is .that I see dragged by me,
where I saw men slaughtered in front of
my own place of business ? Who is that,
bareheaded under the scorching rays of an
almost tropical sun, his hair dishevelled,
his garments torn to fragments, his whole
countenance all streaming with blood—
who is he thus ruthlessly dragged through
the streets with four armed assailants trail-
ing him almost in the dust despite of bis
crippled limb ? He is tbe man wbo bad
been Governor of Louisiana under tbat
very Constitution wbieb it is now pretend
ed was so sacred tbat nobody could say it
should be changed. It was tbe very man
wbo bad enjoyed tbe confidence of Mr. Lin
coln,your revered Cuief Magistrate - [Great
applause.] It was tbe Honorable Michael
Halm wbo was thus ignominiously dragged
through tbe streets of tbe city.
But I cannot dilate upon these horrors.—
Tbe public prints have made you all but
too familiar with them. Not even tbe bit
terest of our foes, I believe, could now tell
tell them without a tear. 1 do not wish to
impress it upon your minds, citizens, tbat
tbe whole mass of tbe population of New
Orleans wbo joined in that confederate
movement were men of this stamp. There
are among them numerous honorable ex
ceptions—men with whom my life was
safe, and tbe life of any Union man ; but 1
tell you, and tell you truly, as I hope to
stand in judgment, that these well meaning
and honorable men cannot control tbe sav
age element tbat elevated them to power.
They, in the bands ot tbat mob, have no
power to restrain or disperse ; and up to
this moment (and you must blush for tbe
inhabitants of New Orleans when I say it),
even up to this moment, no meeting of re
spectable citizens of New Orleans, of for
mer Confederate sympathies has yet been
held to denounce these bloody and atro
cious murders. Can it be tbat they have
not excited sufficient indignation and sym
pathy here in tbe free North ? I will not
permit myself to believe it; I will not for
one moment so asperse your good name as
to breathe tbe thought that there is less
sympathy evinced for the sufferers in this
atrocious tragedy because the greater part
of them were men of African descent. For
each one of those mangled victims was a
man as we are. He had hung upon a wo
man's breast in infancy, and some dear
creature loved him and took him off to his
home to attend him in his dying moments,
with the same sympathies that your rela
tives in like- circumstances would bestow
on you. [Applause.] And more, the Con
gress of the United States, in the exercise
of their constitutional powers,has proclaim
ed the black man in the South, and every
where where this flag floats, a citizen of
the United States [great cheering], enti
tled, in the fullest sense of the words, to
the enjoyment of all his civil rights and
privileges as such. Therefore I will not
suppose that one tear the less has been
shed, that one sigh the less of sympathy
has heaved the bosoms of the loyal North
because the principal subjects of the ven
geance of the infuriated people in New Or
leans at this time were citizens of African
descent. It cannot be that you sympathize
with them less on that account, for did not
the poet well say,
Greasy locks and black complexion cannot forfeit
nature's claim ;
Skins may differ, but affection dwells in white and
black the same.
The speaker stated further, that every
reflecting man must have concluded that
the reconvocation of that convention was
but the pretext for a concerted slaughter
of all the Union men in the city of New
Orleans. This was substantiated by tile
manner in which the murders were carried
out and the official reports subsequently
published. He then proceeded to consider
what remedies could be applied for these
evils. The unfortunate men whose circum
stances permitted were flying from their
homes in the South to seek refuge and hos
pitality and freedom of thought and discus
sion here in the North.
How long was this to continue ? It was
for the people of the North to answer. He
then reviewed the question of reconstruc
tion from the different standpoints of the
hour, and closed his interesting remarks
with an eloquent and touching appeal to
his hearers to be true to themselves m this
great struggle.
Upon the conclusion of the above address,
Mr. Duranf received the compliment of
three hearty rounds of cheers.
THE UNION STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE-
This important committee had a large
meeting Monday afternoon, at their rooms
No. 1105 Chesnut street. Reports from the
different counties were received, and all
were of the most gratifying character.
The following address was ordered to be
published :
COMMITTEE ROOMS, NO. 1105, Chesnut St.
PHILADELPHIA, September 3, 1866.
FELLOW CITIZENS —The superficial observ
er might suppose, after the fearful strug
gles, sacrifices and sufferings of the last
five years, that we could safely relax our
efforts and watchfulness, and, returning to
our individual affairs, permit the machinery
of government to run itself. An intelli
gent and patriotic survey of the situation,
however, will not warrant any such con
clusion, but will impress us more than ever
with the truth and wisdom of the adage,
" Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Six years ago the people lawfully elected
Abraham Lincoln President of the United
States. The minority, enemies of our gov
ernment and country, refused to submit to
their defeat at the polls, and, for the first
time in our history, appealed from the bal
lot-box to the sword. They defiantly threw
off all the obligations of constitutions and
laws, rushed madly into civil war, and
fought with malignity and desperation for
four long bloody years in the wicked at
tempt to overthrow and utterly destroy the
! government handed down by our fathers.
This they did under the pretext that a State
had a constitutional right to secede from
the Union. The same thing had been at
tempted by South Carolina in 1863 ; but,
under the vigorous administration of Pres
ident Jackson, the effort signally failed,
and the doctrine on which it was based
was repudiated. But in 1856, when the
Democratic party of Cincinnati nominated
James Buchanan for President, they revi
ved the old State rights dogma of seces
sion, by readopting the Virginia and Ken
tucky resolutions of 1798 and 1799, as a
part of their platform. And at the Charles
ton Convention, in 1860, although the par
ty thero split into two parts, the one nomi
nating Douglas and the other Breckinridge
for President, both factions readopted these
i same resolutions. These resolutions do
not hold the relations of the States to the
United States as constituting a govern
ment in the ordinary and proper sense of
the term, but declared to be merely a com
pact, and that "as in all other cases of
compact among parties having no common
judge, each party has an equal right to
judge for itself, as well of infractions as
of the mode and measure of redress."
Under this free Democratic charter for
rebellion, the election of Abraham Lincoln
was claimed by the rebel States as an " in
fraction " of the " compact," and they
chose secession and civil war as the "mode"
and the destruction of the Union and of
the government as " the measure of re
dress." Hence, when the war broke upon
us in all its fury, we found the Democratic
party paralyzed. It was suddenly brought
face to face with the practical application
of its own political creed, by its own polit
ical friends. Hence, too, the sad demorali
zation and want of loyalty and patriotism
shown by that party during the whole war.
Those of them who preferred their country
to their party and platform abandoned both
platform and party, and under the flag of
their country manfully rallied to put down
the rebellion, while the leaders and the
mass of the party did otherwise.
They had so repeatedly proclaimed the
right of secession they believed it, aud
were everywhere found justifying or ex
cusing the rebellion, denouncing every
means used to suppress it ; predicting the
war a failure, aud endeavoring to make
good their predictions, and boldly denying
there was any power in the government to
" coerce a State." The Democratic party
thus acquired a reputation for connivance
at treason and disloyalty to the country
which justly consigned it to continuous aud
overwhelming defeats, until at the close of
the war it had not a Governor or a Legis
lature in a single loyal State, except little
Delaware aud the Legislature of Kentucky.
And since the Philadelphia Convention it
seems to have fallen upon the expedient of
other noted criminals, and resolved to sally
forth under a new name.
Not until April, 1865, were the rebels
finally overcome, and then only by the pow
er of our armies, which they could no long
er withstand. There was no voluntary
surrender, but their arms were stricken
from their bloody hands. The great con
spiracy against freedom had failed, and the
armies and people of eleven revolted States
were at the mercy of the conquerors, pro
fessing a willingness to accept any terms
the victors might impose. Congress had
then recently adjourned, and, under the law,
would not assemble until the following De
cember, unless convened by the President
in extra session. The occasion seemed to
be one of sufficient novelty and importance
to require a meeting of Congress, but the
President judged differently. He proclaim
ed that these States had been deprived of
" all civil government," and the Supreme
Court of the United States declared the
whole population thereof to be " alien ene :
mies."
The President proceeded, by proclama
tions, by appointment of provisional gov
ernors aud other means, to create govern
ments for these rebellious States, and up
on the annual meeting of Congress made
report of what had been done, and recom
mended the admission of Representatives.
Congress claimed to have jurisdiction over
the whole subject, and pi'oceeded to inquire
whether or not governments had been es
tablished, and whether, under all the cir
cumstances, it would be proper to restore
those rebellious people and States to their
#3 per* Annum, in Advance.
former relations and rights in the Union,
without first imposi ig some terms upon
them as security for the future ?
The great question is not whether the
States themselves shall be restored, hut
whether they shall have representation in
Congress with or without terms. Our po
i litical adversaries—Democrats, rebels and
their sympathizers, north and south—say
without terms and conditions, and forthwith
Congress, by the almost unanimous vote of
all the members who sustained the war, has
proposed sundry amendments to the Consti
tution of the United States, to he submit
ted to the State Legislatures for ratifica
tion ; and it will he the duty of the Legis
lature we are about to elect to approve or
disapprove these fundamental changes in
the national Constitution. These amend
ments are the terms fixed by Congress on
which the States lately in rebellion and
their people can resume their practical re
lations to the national Union. These terms
may he brieliy stated as follows :
1. That all persons born or naturalized
in the United States shall he citizens there
of ; and that all citizens shall have equal
protection in the enjoyment of life, liberty
and property.
2. That representation shall he appor
tioned among the States according to num
bers, hut that classes disfranchised without
cause shall not be counted in fixing the
basis of Federal representation.
3. That all who are guilty of treason and
perjury shall he ineligible to office, unless
the disabil ty be removed by a two-thirds
vote of Congress.
4. That the-v .lidity of the national ob
ligations incurred in the war shall not he
questioned, and all rebel debts and claims
for slaves shall be void.
The States of Tennessee, Connecticut
and New Hampshire, by the uction of their
several legislatures, have already ratified
these amendments by very large majorities.
Our friends in Congress and out of Con
gress are united in the conviction that
these terms are pre-eminently magnani
mous, wise aud just ; that they are the le
gitimate fruits of the war, and essential to
our peace and security for the future. By
the storms of civil war some of the land
marks made by our fathers were taken
away, and some of the ancient foundations
laid by them were moved. Let us wisely
readjust them, so that our temple of liber
ty may stand upon the broader and firmer
foundation of universal liberty and impar
tial justice.
In March, 1806, the Union party assem
bled in convention to nominate a candidate
for Governor. It reaffirmed its patriotic
principles as proclaimed and fought for
during the war, and declared it to be the
right and duty of Congress to prescribe the
terms of reconstruction. On this platform
Major General John W. Geary was nomin
ated for Governor by a unanimous vote,and
subsequently his nomination was enthusi
astically indorsed by a large and intelli
gent Convention of the Soldiers and Sailors
of the State. He is no obscure personage,
hut one of the representative men of these
eventful times. As a civilian he has filled
with ability and distinction many import
ant public positions, requiring intelligence,
discretion and the highest order of integri
ty and administrative ability. He has been
a farmer, teacher, a civil engineer, a law
yer and manufacturer. He has served the
people as postmaster and mayor of a city,
as Judge of a court, and as Governor of a
territory. As a volunteer soldier he is the
pride of his comrades, and an honor to tis
State.
He went out from liome to the Mexican
war as a captain, and came back with hon
ors as the colonel of his regiment. He en
tered the service in the late rebellion as a
colonel, and fought it all the way through,
having been promoted' to the exalted rank
of major general " for fitness to command
and promptness to execute." This valiant
and faithful soldier was present at and par
ticipated in sixty battles, and was four
times wounded in action, but never once
defeated. He made the entire circuit of
the rebel confederacy, and fought its au
thors and defenders from every State that
acknowledged their usurped authority. He
has given to his country his first-born son,
killed in battle ; he has perilled his life and
shed his blood for the flag and cause of our
country, and he bears upon his person the
honorable scars from many a well-fought
field. Such is the candidate presented for
the suffrages of the loyal and patriotic vo
ters of Pennsylvania.
As a competitor the Democratic party has
presented the Hon. Heister Clymer. He,to >,
is a representative man ; but it is of his
party, rather than of his country. His plat
form and his campaign thus far may be
summarily comprehended in the phrase,
•' Up with the rebel, and down] with thene
gro." He is a lawyer by profession, and it
is believed he never held any office except
that of State Senator. His public record,
therefore, is short one, and consists entirely
of his votes and speeches during his sena
torial career. But that term covers the
entire period when the country was torn
by a distracting and bloody civil war, and
when the State was lavishly contributing
her blood and treasure for her own defence
and for that of the natioral government.—
In this tremendous struggle where did
Hiester Clymer stand ? And what did he
do ? He has made his record, and let it
answer.
In ISGI he voted against the bill for the
arming of the State, and after the news of
the attack on Fort Sumter had fired the
hearts of our people, and thousands were
mlly to the defence of our insulted flag,
Mr. Clymer caused to be entered upon the
journals of the Senate his solemn protest
against the bill for arming the State.
In 1865, when reverses had overtaken
our armies and our credit was strained to
the utmost to keep men in the field, Mr.
Clymer voted against the joint resolution
providing for the collection of the taxes
levied by the United States.
In 1863 Mr. Clymer voted against the
bill to enable our soldiers and sailors to
vote when absent in the service.
In 1864 be dodged the vote on the pro
posed constitutional amendment allowing
soldiers in the field the right to vote, and
after said amendment had passed he voted
against the bill to carry it into effect.
He voted against the bill to define and
punish offences of a treasonable character,
and against the bill to legalize the pay
ment of bounties to volunteers
In February, 1864, in a speech in the
' Senate,referring to the recent defeat of Val-
laudigham iu Ohio, aud of Woodward in
Pennsylvania, Mr. Clymer said : "I say
now and believe that it was the greatest
ealamity that has yet befallen this country
that those two men were not elected."
Such is an outline of the inglorious rec
ord of Hiester Clymer, and by it, as he de
clared on a recent occasion, he is determin
ed to stand. His whole public career and
all his official acts and public declarations
of the opinion have been uniformly consis
tent. Ilis record may be searched in vain
for a vote or sentiment evincing true loyal
ity to the flag or cause of the country, or
which was not at the time in harmony with
the prevailing political sentiment at Rich
mond and Charleston. Upon these records
and candidates we most confidently appeal
to the patriotic voters of the Keystone
State for the most emphatic verdict in fav
or of the right.
Sundry dispatches captured from the en
emy disclose his mode of organization and
plan of campaign. The chairman of their
State Central Committee, as a sort of head
centre, appoints a reliable subordinate in
every election district in the State, and
those from the debris of the late " Knights
of the Golden Circle," and such other ma
terials as can be had, are required to or
ganize "mystic circles," or Democratic
clubs, which are to register the voters,
collect money for the party, distribute doc
uments, and do various other things to in
sure the full party vote. These are semi
inilitary organizations, and the members
are admitted by initiation, at which the
candidate " places his rigbt hand on his
left breast," and enters into moat solemn
vows to " vote against all men who are
willing to give the negro either political or
social equality in this State, or in any oth
er State, District or Territory of this coun
try." Their watchwords are " Silence,"
"Obedience," "Vigilance." It is a pity
that the great light of these magnanimous
patriots should he longer concealed under
a bushel, and that they can find nothing
more important to do in this great crisis of
our country's fate. But forewarned should
he forearmed. Guard well against these
insidious appeals to the prejudices of our
people, and attempts to mislead them by
such means. Be not deceived by the stale
clamor about negro equality aud negro suf
frage. These favorite hobbies were sup
posed to have been ridden to death at our
last election, when, as now, they were de
clared by these same men to be the great
issues of the contest. They are now rais
ed up and brought upon the track again,
mounted by the same riders, and destined
to the same ignoble end. The constitution
of Pennsylvania permits only white men to
vote. By its terms it can he amended on
ly once in every five years, and having
been amended in ISG4, allowing the sol
diers the right to vote, it cannot, in con
formity with its own provisions, he amend
ed again until 1807. It is hoped, therefore,
our Democratic friends will restrain them
selves, and not press negro suffrage upon
us before authorized by the constitution of
the State.
NUMBER 16.
Complete your township ami county or
ganizations without delay ; revive at once
everywhere the Leagues and Associations
which proved of such vast service during
the war; let every friend feel that he has
something to do in the good work, and pro
ceed forthwith to do it with all his might.
Exclude side issues and suppress all local
quarrels and personal aspirations, and la
bor only for the public good. See to it
that all needful assessments are made in
due time. Be not discouraged by the
boasting and clamor of our adversaries j
they have been ingloriously defeated in
every contest for years, and cannot prevail •
against us. Nothing but out base betray
al by the President and the hope of office
could have galvanized them into sufficient
vitality to make another fight against the
victorious hosts of freedom. The physical
conflict, for the time at least, is ended, but
the moral coullict between loyalty and dis
loyalty continues,and the grave question is,
whether the one or the other shall rule the
State and the nation. We urge harmony,
energy, systematic, associated and individ
ual labor, and a renewal of the tires of pat
riotism. The loyal and patriotic people of
the State have nobly sustained us and the
cause of the country, under the heavy pres
sure and discouragements of drafts,bereav
ments, taxation and carnage, and when
nothing but an abiding faith in the justice
of God could enable us to see the end.—
Surely there can be no faltering now, when
the goal is almost reached, and when one
more united rally for our principles and our
flag will unable us to secure the ripe fruits
of the late dreadful conflict, and to garner
them safely for ourselves and our children.
We stand over the ruins of a gigantic
rebellion,the most formidable enemy repub
lican institutions ever encountered. We
stand by the graves of three hundred thou
sand of our noblest men, who counted their
lives well spent when offered freely for lib
erty and Union. In the presence of their
speechless but eloquent dust ; in the pres
ence of the doubting and sneering enemies
of free government at home and abroad ; in
the presence of the oppressed millions,who,
from beneath crushing despotisms,watched
our flag with tears, hopes and prayers ; be
fore the rapidly-coming millions of the fu
ture ; before a God of justice, and in the
name of all that makes faithfulness to Him
and honor amoug men, we stand pledged to
secure and maintain forever the principles
for which our brothers died.
By order of the Committee.
F. JORDAN, Chairman.
EARLY RISING. —EarIy rising gives long
days, invigorating light in abundance, and
healthy cheeks. This beautiful passage
from Bulwer's Caxtons, is worthy of perpet
ual remembrance : "I was always an early
riser. Happy the man who is ! Every mor
ning comes to him with a virgin's love, full
of bloom and purity and freshness. The
gladnesss of a happy child. I doubt if any
man can be called "old" as long as he is an
early walker. And youth—take my word
for it —youth in dressing gown and slippers,
dwadling over breakfast at noon, is a very
decrepit, ghastly image of the youth which
sees the sun blush over the mountains and
the dews sparkle upon blossoming hedg
rows."
To DETECT COITER IN PICHLES AND GREAN
TEA. —Put a few leaves of the tea,or soma
of the pickle, cut small, into a phial with
two or three drachms of liquid ammonia di
luted with onehalf the quantity of water.—
Snake the phial, when, if the most minute
portion of copper is present, the lipuid will
assume a fine blue color.
A convalscent soldier in a hospital iu
Paris, while stretching himself, exclaimed, "Oh
God •*" A young and very pretty sister of eharito
ran up and inquired, ' 'What would you have God
to do to you? lam his daughter." "Accept my
for his son-in-law," replied the saucy fellow.
GEN. Butler got oft' a good thing the
other day, A Johnsonite was making congratula
tory observations to him on the touching scene at
Philadelphia, and remarked that "extremes meet."
"Yes," said Butler, "so they do when a dog chases
his tail, but both extremes belong to the same
dog!"
IT is not great wealth, nor high station,
which makes a man happy. Many of the most
wretched beings on earth have both. But it is a
radiant, sunny spirit, which knows how to bear lit
tle trials and to enjoy little comforts, and which
thus extracts happiness from every incident of life.