A. J. GERRITSON:, Publisher.}
•0 v ICI P. : : 10
LBTIRR FROM JUDGE BLACK, IN REPLY TO
BEV. ALPILED NEVIN, D. D.
To the Rev. Alfred Nevin, D. D. :
My DEAR Sin :. Your letter addressed
to me through the Philadelphia Evening
Bulletin, ,disappoints me; because I did
not expect it to come in that way, and
because it does not cover the subjectin is
sue between us. But if lam silent you
friends will say with some show of reas
on, that you have vindicated political
preaching so, triumphantly that all oppo
sition is confounded. I must therefore
speak freely in reply.
I fully concede the right you claim for
clergymen to select their own themes and
handle them as they please. You say
truly that neither lawyers nor physicians.
nor any other order of men have the least
authority' to control you in these particu
lars. But you will not deny that this is a
privilege which may be abused; you ex
pressly admit that some clergymen have
have abused it, " and by doing so did
more than any other class of men to com
mence and continue the late rebellion."—
While, therefore, we can assert no power
to dictate your conduct, much less to
force you, we are surely not wrong when
we entreat you to impose upon yourselves
those restrictions which reason and reve
lation have shown to be necessary for the
good of tLe church and the safety of civil
society.
I acknowledge that your commission
is a very broad one. You must "declare
the whole counsel of God," to the end
;hat sinners may be convinced and con
verts built up in the holy faith. Truth,
::stice, temperance, humility, mercy,
peace, brotherly kindness, charity—the
whole circle of the Christian virtues, must
he assiduously taught to your hearers;
and if any of them be inclined to the op
posite vices you are to denounce them
without fear, by private admonition, by
open rebuke, or by a general delivery of
the law which condemns them.
You are not, bound to pause in the per
formance of this duty because it may of
fend a powerful ruler or a strong political
But, the political preacher directs
the attention of his hearers away from
their own sins, to the sins, real or impu
ted, of other people. By Leactng - nisi
eougregatton that they are better than
other men he file their hearts wi h self
,'r•ntent, bigotry, spiritual pride, envy ha
tred, inAlice, and all unelt.ir t .b'ettes. In
r•tead of casting the beam ow of their eye,
h. igeitert theta tot ruck the :note from
tiieir brother's. lle does not till them
%hitt they shall do to be saved, but lie in -1
r:racts thrill very, carefully how they
act for the destruction of others.—
lic rouses and encourages to the utmost
of his ability those brutal passions vtliich
result in riot, bloodshed, spoliation, civil
war, and general corruption of morals.
Yuu commit a grievous error in sup
posing that politics and religion are so
mingled together that you cannot preach
one without introducing the other.
Christ and his apostles kept them per
fectly separate. They announced the
great facts of the Gospel to each individ
ual whom they addressed. When these
were accepted, the believer was told to
repent and be baptized for the remission
of his sins, and afterward, to regulate his
own life by the rules of a pure and per
fect morality. They expressed no prefer
ence for one form of government over an
other ; they provoked no political revolu
tions, and they proposed no legal reforms.
If they bad done so, they would have
flatly contradicted the declaration that
Christ's kingdom was not of this world.
But they accepted the relations which
were created by human law and exhort
ed the disciples to discharge faithfully the
duties which arose out of them.
Though the laws which defined the au
thority of husbands, parents, masters and
magistrates ' were as bad as human per
versity could make them, yet the early
Christians contented themselves with
teaching moderation in the exercise of
legal power, and uniformly inculcated the
virtues of obedience and fidelity upon
wives, children, slaves and subjects--
They joined in no clamors for or against
any . administration, but simply testified
against sin before the only tribunal which
Christ ever erected on earth ; that is to
say, the conscience of tbo sinner himself.
The vice of political preaching was whol
ly unknown to the primitive church.
It is true that-Paul counseled obedience
to the government of Nero ; and I am
aware that modern clergymen interpret
his words as a justification of the doctrine
that support of an existing administration
is " part of their allegiance to God." Sev
eral synods .and other eclesiastical bodies
have solemnly resolved souiethiug to that
effect. But they forget that. what Paul
advised was simple submission not active
assistance, to Nero. The Christians of
that day did not indorSe his atrocities
merely because bewas "the administra
tion duly placed in power." They.did not
go with him to the theatre, applaud his
acting, or praise him in the churches When
he kidnapped their brethren, set fire to a.
city or desolate a province. Nor, did they
assist at his apotheosis after his deatb,,or
pi onounce funeral sermon's to show that
he was greater than Scipio, more virtu
ons`thart, Cato, and more e loquent, than
Cicero. • Political preachers Would have
done this, but Paul and Peter did no such
thing..
There is nothing" e' in the Scriptures to
justify the Church in applying its disci
pline to any member for offenses purely
political, much less .for MS mete opinions
or feelings on public affairs. The clergy
are without authority, as they are often
without fitness, to decide for their congre
gations what is right or what is wrong in
the legislation of the country.
• They are not called or sent to propa
crate any kind of political doctrine. The
bhurch and the State are entirely separ
ate and distinct in their origin, their ob
jects, and the sphere of their action ; in
somuch that the organism of one can nev
er be used for any purpose of the other
without injury to both.
Do I therefore say that the Christian
religion is to have no influence on the po
litical destiny of man ? Parfrom it. Not
withstanding the unfaithfulness of many
professors, it has already changed the
face of human society ; and it will yet ac
complish its mission by spreading peace,
independence, truth, justice and liberty,
regulated by law,
"from the sea to the
uttermost ends of the earth." But this
will be accomplished only by reforming
and elevating the individuals of whom so
ciety i composed ; not by exasperating
communities against each other ; not by
any alliance with the governments of the
world ; not by any vulgar partnership
with politicians to kill and plunder their
enemies.
Every time a man is reformed and his
character brought up to the standard of
( hristian morality, an addition is made,
greater or less, to that righteousness
which exalteth a nation, and an equal sum
substracted from the sin which is a re
proach to any people. Sometimes a sin
gle conversion is extremely important in
its immediate effect upon the public in
terest of a whole nation. No doubt the
acceptance of the truth by Dionysius the
Areopagite had much to do in moulding
the subsequent laws and customs o
Athens.
A gospel preacher addresses the con
sciences of his hearers for the honest pur
pose of converting them from the error of
their ways; a political preacher speaks
to one community, one party or one sect,
sup - BIS Llienic is community,
.L , IIC4i“-Do va.
The latter effects no religious pur
pose whatever ; but the chances are nine
ty-nine in a hundred that he excites the
bad passions of thole whu are present,
while he slanders the absent and undefen
ded. Both cla.ses of preachers freqnent
ly speak upon the saute ur similar sub
jects, but they du so with different ob
jects and aims.
I will make my meaning more clear by
taking your own illustrations. You be
lieve in the first day of the week as a
Sabbath, and so believing your duty un
doubtedly is to exhort all persons under
your charge to observe it strictly ; but
you have no right to preach a crusade
against the Jews and Seventh-day Bap
tists, to get intolerant laws enacted a
gainst them for keeping Saturday as a
day of rest.
If drunkenness be a sin which easily
besets your congregation, you may warn
them against it, and inasmuch as abstin
ence is always easier than moderation,
you may advise them to touch not, taste
not, and handle not; but your position
gives you no authority to provoke violent
hOstilities against tavern keepers, liquor
dealers or distillers.
If any of your hearers be ignorant or
coarse enough to desire more wives than
one, you should certainly teach them that
polygamy is the worst feature of Asiatic
manners, inconsistent with Christianity,
and dangerous to domestic happiness ;
but you cannot lawfully urge them to car
ry fire and sword into the territory of the
Mormons merely because some of the
Mormons are in this respect less holy than
you. If the holdinkof slaves or- bond.
servants be a practical question among
the members of your church, I know of
nothing which forbids you to teach what
ever you conscientiously believe to be
true on that subject. But in a communi
ty where slavery is not only nnknown but
impossible, why should any preacher
make it 'the subject of his weekly vituper
ation ? Yon do not improve the religion
of the slaveholder by traducing his ar
acter; nor wend the spiritual condition of
yogr own people by, making them thirst
for the blood of their fellow men.
If any one to whom the.service of an
other by the laws of the State in which
lie lives, shall need your instructions to
regulate his personal conduct toward the
slave you are, bound in the first place to
tell him, that so long as that relation ex
ists, he should behave with 'the *most
humanity and kindness ;f0r..t14 you hAve
the clear warraut,of the Apostolic eiana
-ple and precept.
In dealing with such a person you may
go as much faither as your own conscious
interpretation - of the Bible, will carry you.
If you ,are sure that the divine law does,
under - all eireumstatides; - makellie mere
existence of such 'a relation Sinful on the
part of the master, you should' induce him
to :dissolve it by the itanlediate emanci
pation of . bis slaves ; for that„is trukh,to
you which you believe to be true:
MONTROSE, PA., TUESDAY, AUG. 21, 1866.
But *here is the authority for preach
ing hatred of those who understand the
scripture differently? What precept can
you show for inciting servile insurrec
tion ? Who gave you the right to say
that John Brown was better than any
other thief and murderer, morel., be
cause his crimes were committed against
pro-slavery men ?
I think the minister, in his pulpit dis
courses, is forbidden to touch at all upon
that Ass of subjects which arc purely po
litical; such, for instance, as the bankillg
law, tariff, railroad charters, State rights,
the naturalization laws and negro suf
frage. These are questions of mere polit
ical expediency ; religion takes no cogni
zance of them ; they come within the sole
jurisdiction of the statesman ; and the
church has no more ri g ht to take sides
upon them than the civil government has
to use its legislative, judicial or executive
power for the purpose of enforcing; prin
ciples wholly religious.
In short, if I ant not entirely mistaken,
a Christian minister has no authority to
preach upon any subjects except those in
which divine revelation has given him an
infallible rule of faith and practice; and,
even upon them, he must speak always
for the edification of his own hearers,
" rightly dividing the word of truth" so
as to lead them in the way of all right
eousness. When he does more than this,
he goes beyond his commission, he be
comes a scurvy politician and his influ
ence is altogether pernicious.
The use of the clerical office for the pur
pose ofpromulgating political tenets,uuder
any circumstances, or with any excuse, is
in my judgment not only without any , au
thority, but is the highest crime that can
he committed against the government of
God, or man. Perhaps I ought not to
make this broad assertion without giving
some additional reasons fur it.
In the first place it is grossly dishon
est. I employ you as a minister, pay
your salary, and build you a church be
cause I have confidence in your theologi
teal doctrines. But you may be at the
same time wholly unfit for my political
leader. Now you are guilty of a base
fraud upon me it; instead of preaching re-
ligion, you take advantage of the posi
tion I have given you to ventilate your
crude and ignorant notions on State af
fairs. I have asked for bread and you
give me a stone ; instead of the fish I bar
4_, •
pent that sfings - and poisons me.
It destroys the unity of the church.—
There is no room for rational dispute
about the great truths of Christianity;
but men will never agree upon political
slbjects, fur human government is at best
but a compromise of st lfish interests and
conflicting pas:.ions. When you mix the
two together you break the church into
fragments, and instead of " one Lord, one
faith, and one baptism," you create a
thousand warring sects, and substitute
the proverbial bitterness of the odium the
ologieum for the " charity which thinketh
no evil."
No one will deny that a union of the
church and state is always the cause of
bad government, perverted religion, and
corrupt morals. Ido not mean merely
that legal union which exists in Europe.
an countries. That is bad enough ; but
you have less common sense than I give
you credit for if you do not see that this
adulterous connection assumes its most
polluting form when the church is volun
tarily prostituted by her own ministers to
a political party in a popular govern
ment.
The evil influence of such connections
upon Church and State is easily accouut
et! for.
Both of them in combination will do
what either would recoil from if standing
alone. A politician, backed by the prom
ise of the clergy to sustain him, can safe
ly defy honesty and trample upon law,
for, do what he may, he is assured of cler
ical support here, and of heaven hereaf
ter.
The clergy on the other hand, and
those who are under their influence, easi
ly acquire the habit of praising indiscrim
inately whatever is done by, their parLY
men. Acting and reacting upon one an
other, they go down together in the di
rection of the pit that is bottomless; and . l
both. are found to have "a strange alacri
ty at sinking."
No man can serve two masters faith
fully ; for he must hate one if he loves the
other. A minister who admires and fol
lows such men as those who have already
ruled and ruined this country, must ne
cessarily despise the character of Christ.
If he glorifies the cruelty, rapacity and
falsehood of his party leaders, he is com
pelled by an ;inflexible law .of human
ture to "deny the Lord who bought
him:"
„ The experience •of fifteen centuries
proves that political preachers arc the
'great curse of the world. More than half
the bloody wars which'at different times
have desolated christendom, were pro
duced by their direct instigation ; and
whereyer they have thrust themselves in
to a Contest commenced by others,' they
always envenomed the strife and made it
r more cruel, tiavK4e . and uncompronifsing..
The.religions Wari, so called, had nothing
religious about them except that they
were hissed up by the clergy: 'Look batk
'mid see if this be net true.
The Arian controversy (the first great
schism) was followed by wars in which
millions of lives were lost. Do you sup
pose the real quarrel was for the insertion
or omission of Itlioque in that part, of the
creed which describes the processiog of
the Holy Ghost ? Did a homoorisian
slaughter his brother because he was a
homoofisian ? No, it was not the differ
ence of a dipthong, but the plunder of an
empire that they fought for. It was the
politics of the church, not her religion,
that infuriated the parties, and converted
men into demons.
The thirty years war in Germany is of
ten supposed to have been a fair stand up
fight between the two leading forms of
Christianity. It was not so. The relig
ious difference was a false pretense of the
political preachers for the promotion of
their own schemes.
There was not a sane man on all that
continent who • would have felt himself
impelled by motives merely religions to
murder his neighbor for believing or
disbgeving in transubstantiation. If
proof of this were wanting, it might be
found in the fact that, long before the
war ended, the sectarian cries were aban
ed, and Catholics as well as Protestants,
were fighting on both sides.
It is utterly impossible to believe that
the clergy of England and Scotland, if
they had not been politicians, would have
thought of waging bloody wars to settle
questions of election and reprobation,fate,
fore-knowledg,e, free will and other points
of metaphysical theology. Nor would
they, apart from their politics, have en
couraged and committed horrid crimes of
which they were guilty in the name of re-
Can you think that the Irish were ins:ti
ded, and compered, and oppressed, and
murdered and robbed, for centuries,ruere
ly beetuse the English loved and believed
in the Protestant religion ? I suppose
you know that those brutal atrocities
were carried on for the purpose of giving
political preachet's in England possession
of the churches, cathedrals, glebe lands
and tithes which belonged to the Irish
Catholics. The soldier was also reward
ed by confiscations and plunder. The
Church 'find the State hunted in couples,
and Ireland was the prey which they ran
down together.
Conk; to our country, you find Mas
sachusetts and Connecticut in Colonial
`.. 4 i — T.,.`"rgii r e . r i s P . Their treacherous warn
upon the — Indians for purposes wholly
mercenary; their enslaving of white per
sons and red ones,and selling them abroad
or "swapping them for blackamoors ;"
their whipping, imprisoning and killing
Quakers and Baptists, for their conscien
tious opinions ; and their base treatment
of men 'like Roger Williams and his
friends, will mark their Government thro'
all time as one of the cruelest and mean
est that ever existed.
Political preachers have not behaved
.any better since the revolution than be
fore. About the commencement of the
present century they werb busy in their
vile vocation all over New England and
continued it for many years. The wilful
and deliberate slanders habitually uttered
from the pulpit against Jefferson, Madi
son, and the friends who supported them
were a disgrace to human nature.. The
immediate effect of this. was the Yankee
plot to secede from the Union, followed
by corrupt combinations with a foreign
enemy to betray the liberties of the coun
try. Its remoter consequences are seen
in the shameless rapacity and bitter ma
lignitir which, even at this moment, are
bowfin. for the property and blood of an
unarmed and defenceless people.
You and I both remember the political
preaching, which ushered in and support
ed the reign of the snow Nothings,
Blood 'rubs and Plug LTglies, when Ma
ria Monk was a saint, and Joe Barker
was Mayor of Pittsburgh; when pulpits
resodnded .every Sunday with the most
injurious falsehoods against Catholics ;
when the public mind was debauched by
the, inculcation of hypocrisy and decep
; when ministers met their political
'allies in sworn •secresy to plot against the
rights of their fellow citizens. You cannot
forget what came of this-riot, murder,
church-burning, lawless violence all over
the land, and the subjugation of several
great States to the political rule of a par- ,
ty 4Ostitute alike of principle and capaci
ty.
reould. easily prove that those clerical
politicians who have tied their churches
to the tail of the abolition party, aro crim
inal on a grander scale than any of their
predecessors. But I forbear, partlY,tu
catk I hallo no time, and partly because
it may, for aught I know, be a sore sub
ject with you. I would not excite your
wrath, but rather "provoke you to good
works."
Apart from the general subject there
aretwo.er 'three special ideas expressed
in your letter front which I venture to
dissent.
.
You thatthough a minister. may
speak from ; the pulpit on politics ho ought
,not.to indicate: what party he belongs to.
It strikes me that if be has a party, and
wants .to give ecclesiastical aid or com
fort, he,should boldly avow himself to be
Avila', 114 is, 1'46 :! that., all..men may know
Siucerity is the first of virtun,l,z„
(See Fourth Page.)
RESTORATION.
10 :I t . 0 %,
.1 340 I ).
The_National Union' Convention met in
Philadelphia,on the 14th inst. . At about
noon the delegates began to arrive at.tiott
wigwam, and the galleries filled up with
the spectators. A band over the entrance
door beguiled the time with mush). The
first inipulse given to the proceediogs'was
the announcement, Postmaster-Gerel
Randall, that the delegations from Massa
chusetts and South Carolina would enter;
arm in arm. This caused the whole as-
semblage to rise and cheer lustily; and,
as the representatives of those two States
headed by Mr. Orr of South Carolina and
General Couch of Massachusetts, walked
up one of the aisles in this fraternal man-
ner, the highest degree of excitement and
enthusiasm was Manifested—the band
playing successively,
Flag," "Away down South in Dixie,"
" The Star Spangled Banner," and " Yan-
kee Doodle."
Mem waved their hats and
cheered vociferously, and the ladies Aviived
their handkerchiefs. Mr. Hogan, Memb
er of Congress from Missouri, then called
for likehonors for President Johnson, to
the Uphill, the Red, White and Blue, &e.
Altogether, the convention seemed to open
under very promising aspices as to har
mony and general good feeling.
Hori. A. W. Randall, at half-past 12 o'-
clock, called the convention to order; and
said: For the purpose of the. temporary,
organization of this Convention,l propose
that General John A. Dix, of lew
act as temporary ;Chairman. The propo
sition was unanimously agreed to.
Gen. Dix, who, on advancing to the
desk of the presiding officer, }vas greeted
with cordial and. prolonged cheering said:
BPLIECLI OF GRNER.S.L DIN.
Gentlemen of the Convention, and Fel
low citizens* of the whole Union, [cheers:]
I return you my sincere thanks for the
honor you have done me in choosing me
to preside temporarily over your deliber
ations. I regard it as a distinction en°
ordinary character, not only on account of
the high personal and political standing
of the gentlemen who compose this 'con
vention, but because it is a convention of
the people of all the States i&i t hit u linvz,*
1 .
harmony and good judgment, it win lead
to the mast important results. It may be
truly said that no body of men ;has met
on this continent ander circumstances so
momentous and so delicate since the year
1787—the year when our ancestors as
sembled in this city tofi-ame a better gev
ernment for the States which were parties
to the old. Confederation—a government
which has been confirmed and made more
enduring, as we trust, by the fearful trials
and perils which it has encountered and
overcome. (Applause.) The Constitu
tion which they came here to frame, we
are here to vindicate and restore. (Cheers)
We are here to assert the supremacy of
representative government over all who
are within the confines of the Union ; a
government which ,cannot, without the
violation "ofits fundamental principles, be:
extended over any but those who are rep
resented in it, (loud applause) over those'
who, by virtue of that representation, are'
entitled to a voice in the administration
of the public affairs. (Rene - wed applause)
It' was, such a government oar fathers '
framed. and 'put in 6peratiiin. kis the
government which we ere bound by eve
ry consideration of 'fidelity, justice - and
good faith to defend' and to maintain.
(Cheers) Gentlemen, we are - not living
under such a government. (Applause and
cries of " That's..true.") Thirty-six States
have for months been governed by twen
ty-five ; eleyen States have - bear wholly
without representation 'in the legislative
body of the nation ; the numerical-propor
tion of the represented States to the un
represented has just been' changed by the
admission of the delegation from Tennes
see—a unit taken from the smaller and
added to the larger Oninher ; ten' Btrites
are still denied the representation in Con
gress to which they' are entitled under
the Constitution. It' is this wrong which
we have come hero to 'protest against,
and as far as in us lies, to redress. (Ap
plause.)
When the President of the United St's
declared that armed resistance to the au
thority of the Union was over, all the
States had a right .to' be represented in
the National Legislature. (Loud cheer
ing.) They bad tinder the Con
stitution. They bad. the right under the
resolutions passed by both houses "Of Con
gress in 1861. Those resolutions, were
not concurrent, but they were subStanti
ally identical.
More.oVer, the_StateS were' entitled to
he se:represented bri other grdtindA of
fairn'e'ss and geedfaith. The Vresideut,
not hi T ursuance; of any constitutional
power, had ;"called on the confed'orated
States to accePt conditions for their rid-
mission to the exercise of their legitimate
functions as members of the Union, these
coVitions being' the ratification of' the_
amendments tothe Constitution alplist
ing sfayery,:do' the rePadiatip,
debts cnikra4eif 011bitto
it,OVernineni. rlieBii - Cotitiiitana were
1 VOLtME .-.-X.,III;'N't:IIII.ER.-1.54:
met and aecepted. ' The'exaotien•
conditions is tinjasc a t violatitaief the'
faith
.of the government, subversiie of the
principles of: our political system . and,
dangerous tolhe •piiblic prosperity 'and'
peace. (Applause) - •
- Each bows' of: Tr*sy, - as 'tint
judge of the' Sltialifinations of its ow'n'
members; 'reject 'individuals for jest'
muse, but the - tivo bodies, acting ,
jointly; canna eiclude _entire delegatione
without an unwarrantable assumption of
power. "''(Applause). Congress has not
only done this, it has gone farther. - It
has-mcarporated now conditions into a
mendments to the Constitution, and sub
mitted them for the ratification of the
States. There is no probability that
these amendments - will I , e ratified by three
fourths of the *.ates: To insist on the
conditions they contain is to prolong hi
definitely the exclusion of more than 011;3•; • •
fourth of the States from representation'
in Congress. Is this the government our
fathers fought to establish? (Cries of -
"No! No ) Is this the Union we have
been fighting to preserve ? ("No! Nor)
The President has done all in his power .
to correct this wrong (applause), and to
restore the legislative body to its full pro-
portions, by g iving to all the members of
the 'Union their proper share in the pub
lic councils. (Cheers.) Legislation with
out representation is an anomaly in our
political sy s tem. Under any other form
of government-it would be but another
name for usurpation and-misrule.
Gentlemen; I trust that in our delibera
tions here we shall -confine ourselves to
one main purpose—that of redressing the
wrong to which I 'have referred, There
is much in the administration of the gov
elliiinent which needs amendment—genie '
things to be done and others to be un
done. There are commercial and finan
cisl reforms which are indispensable to
the public svelfard. But we shall have . :
the power to carry' out these until we'
change the political"toinplexion of Cong.
ress. (Enthusiastic and long-continued
applause.) This should be our first, oar
immediate aim, It is in'the Congressional
districts that the vital contest is to take
'place. The eontrol of one branch of Con
gress will enable 'ns - . to prevent paktial,
unjust, •and perniciOns legislation. The
control Of both hoaseS; with the power to .
introduce and carry out saltitaryteforms s
C _
rr e TaVt'takkers-in.l -
*
. •
with wise,harnioniOusanjudieloesaction
on our part, and on the part of those' ive `-
represent, this need not be long delayed.
(Applause)'.' I believe that public opinion
is right, and, that it is only necessary to
present to the people more clearly the is
sues between 'us and the political organi
zation which' controls the action of Con
gress.
And, gentlemen, is not the object for
which we are contending, aeons:ummotion
worthy Of our highest and most'deroted
efforts, to bring baOk the - republio (purl-
fied, strengthened by the fiery ordeal
through which it has pasSed) to its an
cient prosperity and power (applause) to
present to the world an example worthy
- of imitation, not a 'mere Utopian vision of
good government, but the grand old real
ity of the Vetter times (applause) with
which:the memory of our fathers; the rec
ollections of the past ; and all our hopes of
-- the flittire,- are inseperably entwined
(ctieersyL-ext ccluiqTrix,, ONE FLAG, OM!
UNION 40E44E4 STATES. (Long con
tinued applause.)
"Rally around the
The convention was opened with prayer
after which the call, ,for the, convention
was read. ,:Appropriate, rules of order,
were adopted, and committees appointed
on credentials and organization. Next
the circular inviting Democrats to parti
cipate in the convention, was read, .alao
the address-:of Democratic Congressmen
approving the convention.
The convention adjourned to meet at
12 o'clock to-morrow.
Wednesday's Proceedings.
The weather being now pleasant, the
attendance Was
with prayer._
r_reeeedinfig
were opened- with prayer. The commit
tee on organization, reported the name, of
lion. J. R. Doolittle of Wisconsin for the
Presidency of the convention, and a V . ice
Pr.esident and Secretary from each State, ,
Senator p., who was received with in
tense epthusiasm, said:
ammo' • or sr:lA.l.cm DoouriEta. - ,
Gentlemen of the Convention and Fel- .
low. Citkiens of the United States, (ap
plans°) For the distinguished _honor of
being called upon to preside over the de-
liberations of this Convention, I sincerely,
thank you. I could , have wishedi'that >,
its responsibility had fallen mpon another; •
but relying ,upowthat txmrtesy and gen-.
crone, cOnfidenee 4hich hate called , me to
the chair, I will enter upon its duties with
an. earnest:desire for ,the success of that,-
great cause in . which we are-now engsgad.
Among the great • events. of our day,
this.etruvention, iu my opininn,:will prove
to be buotolthe greatest, for ,
"PeaCe bath lier victories,
No less reupwneil.thau war." . ': ,
Amnl this
,C 11 vectiOn IS`
o riiVOl heir - 410,
cittining• viato•
ry FOr the tirsti time is siSE - )%eatili's nay
`1 „i , _ ?