North Branch democrat. (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, August 22, 1866, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    TT Proprietor
NEW SERIES,
A weekly Democratic r-~.-
paj>er, devoted to Poll 'svJtoJ
ties News, the Arts r j ''l
and Sciences Ac. Pub- " I '
ished every Wednes- |
jav, at Tankhannock *" {! ftaglw
Wyoming County,Pa ' 5| A >MrH- f
BY HARVEY SICKLERa
Terms —1 copy 1 year, (in advance) £2 00
o t paid within six mouths, #2.50 will be charged
NO paper will be DISCONTINUED, unlit all ar
rearages are paid; unless at the option of publisher.
auvehtising.
10 lines or , j < I . f
less make three four , tiro three six one
nt square iceeks ueeks matn moth moth year
~ TT).;' foT 2,255 2,87 3,00; 5,00
1 Square 1,00 U- 4 >50 6,'00
i ' 3 00) 3,75 4,75, 5,50 7.0U ; 9,00
i r iu'.iin 40 1 450 0,50 8,00 10,00 15,00
i i 600 6 50. ICOO 12.00 17-00 25.00
! 1 ft'oir 750 14,00 is.oo 25.0(^35,00
} 10,00' 12 W i7 .°° 22 '°° 20.00 40,00
' EXECUIORS~'aDMINIST6 A'iGltS and AUDI
TOR'S NOTICES, of the usual length, '2,ao
oniTU HUE 5 .- exceeding ten lin s, each ; RF.LI
O?0l S an l LITER VRV NOTICES, not ot genera
interest, one halt tue regular rules.
Business Cards of one square, with paper, So
JOI3 "WOTIK
of all kinds neatly executed, and at prices o sui
he times.
All TRANSIENT ADVERTISEMENTS and JOB
WORK must be paid f. r, when ordered.
fiusinrss IjJiKt*.
rYa/X 5
ft PHYSICIAN I SUMK®
LL . Newton Centre. Luzerne County la.
nKO H. TITTON, ATTORNEY AT LAW
(.T Tunkhannoek, Pa. Office n Stark s Brick
ock, Ttoga street.
IITM, M. PI ATT. ATTORNEY AT LAW, 0
\\ (ice in Stark's Brick Block li->g St., funk
hannock,Pa.
ss{jr Buehlfi jjDousu
H AKHiSUr Hfif I'KNNA.
The undersigned having lately pur based the
" nUMHLER lior.-E " property, has already com
menced sa.h alterations and improvements as will
lender this old and popul,-; House equal, if not supe
rior, to any Ho tl in ilie ( itv of .larris' i.rg.
A continuance of the public patronage refpect
fully solicited. GI .-Q j, BOLTON'
WALL'S HOTEL,
LATE AMERICAN HOUSE,
TUSK.IIAN SOCK, VV V O.VIINU CvL, PA.
establishment has recently been refitted an
furnished in the latest style Every attention
will be given to the comfort and convenience of those
who patronise the House.
T. B. WALL, Owner and Proprietor..
Tunkhanneck, September 11, ISOI.
NORTH BRANCH HOTEL,
MES HOP PEN, WYOMING COI'NIY, PA
VVui. 11. UOIIT ItKiHT, Prop'r
a -VYING resumed the proprietorship of the above
Hotel, the undersigned will .pare no effort to
render the house an agreeable place of sojourn for
all who may favor it with \^ r RXRIGIIT .
dune, 3rd, 1863
fjta* jDotfl,
TOWANDA, 3?A .
). 11. B ART LET,
| Late oit. p BRAINARD HOUSE, ELMIRA, VV •
PKOI'IUETOR.
The MEANS HOTEL, i* one of the LARGEST
and BEST ARRANGED Houses in the country—lt
is fitted up in the most modern and improved -style,
and no pain ire spired to make it a pleasant and
agreeable stopping-place for all,
v 3, n'2l, ly-
CLARKE, KEENE*. &CO.,
11 AN C FACTL'HKHS AND WHOLESALE DEALERS IN
LADIES', MISSES'& GENTS'
§ilk ant) £assimm I)ats
AND JOBBERS IN
IIATS. CAPS, FI RS, STRAW GOODS,
JPAR.VMH.S AND L'MHRELLAN.
BUFFALO AND FANCY ROBES,
349 BH O AID WAY,
CORNER OF LEONARD STREET,
susw w©an.
B R. CLARK,
A. C KEEMEV, >
8. LKEENEV. J
M7GILMAN,
BENTIST.
\ T OILMAN, has permanently located in Tunk
1* L. hannock Borough, and respectfully tenderhi
professional services to the citisens of this placeand
surrounding country. „ . — T n
ALL WORK WARRANTED, TO GIVE SATIT
' Office over Tattoo's Law Offiencar the Post
Office
NEW
TAILORING SHOP
The Subscriber having had a sixteen year* prac
tical experience in cutting and making clothing,
now offers his services in this line to the citixensof
NICHOLSON and vicinity.
Those wishing to got Fits will find his shop the
Place to get theui.
JOEL, R. SMITH.
vd-n59-6mos
THE GREAT
NATIONAL CONVENTION
AT PIIILADELPiIIA.
HARMONIOUS ASSEMBLAGE OF
UNION MEN FROM EVERY
STATE AND TERRITORY.
DIsrrwiONISM AND RADICALISM
IOSSIGSED TO THEIR GRAVE,
SOUTH CAROLIN* AND MASSACHUSETTS
STRIKE HANDS AND SMoKE THE CAL
UMKT OF PEACE.
"A rxios of lilies, a union of land 3,
A union of states Done can sever,
A union of hearts a union of h.inJs,
And the flag of our union foruvek."
THE MEETING OF THE CONVENTION.
At about noon the members of the Con
vention began to arrive, and soon fili d up
the body of the hall. The galieries also he
came pretty well filled. A hand, stationed
over the entrance door, beguiled the time
with music. The impulse given to the pro
ceedings was the announcement by post
master! iein ral Randall,that the delegations
from Massachusetts and South Carolina
would now enter, arm in arm. This caus
ed the whole assemblage to rise and cheer
lustily ; and, as the representatives of those
two States, headed b\ Mr. Orr, of South
Carolina, and General Couch of Massachu
setts, walked up one of the aisles in this
fraternal manner, the highest degree of ex
citement and enthusiasm was manifested
the band playing successively, "Rally
around the Flag," "Away down South in
Dixie," "The Star Spangled Banner," and
"Yankee Doodle." Men waved their hats,
clapped their hands, and cheered vocifer
ously ; and the few ladies present (not
more than a score or two) waved their
handkerchiefs. Mr. llogan, number of
Congress from Missouri, then called for
like honors to President Johnson, to the
Union, to the Red, White and Blue, cVe.—
Altogether, the Convention seemed to open
under very promising auspices as to. har
mony and general good feeling.
Hon, A W. Randall, at half-past 12
o'clock, eal ed the Convention to order, and
said : For tiie purpose of the temp >rarv or
ganization of this Convention, I propo-e
that General John A. Dix, of New York,act
as the temporary Chairman.
The proposition was unanimously agreed
to.
SPEECH OK GENERAL JOHN A, DIX.
General Dix, \* .< advancing to the
desk of the presiding officer, was greeted
with cordial and prolonged cheering, said :
Gentlemen of the Convention, and Fel
low-citizens of the whole Union, (applause:)
I return you my sincere thanks for the hon
or you have done me in choosing me to
preside temporarily over your deliberations.
I regard it as a distinction of no ordinary
character, not onlv on account of the high
personal and political standing of the gen
tlemen who compose this Convention, but
because it is a convention of the peopie of
all the States r.f this Union (elw ers), and
because we cannot doubt that, if its pro
ceedings are conducted with harmony and
good judgment, it will lead to the most im
portant results. It may be truly said that
no body of men has met on this continent
under circumstances so momentous ami so
delicate since the year 1 787—'he year when
our ancestors assembled in this city to
frame a better government for the States
which were parties to t l, e old Confederation
—a government which has been confirmed
and made more enduring, as we trust, by
the fearful trials and perils which it lias en
countered and overcome. [Applause.] The
Constitution which they enme here to frame
wo are here to vindicate and to restore.—
[Cheers.] We are here to assert the supre
macy of representative government over all
who are within the confines of the Union ;
a government which cannot, without the
violation of its 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. (Renewed applause.)—
It was. such a government our fathers fram
ed and put in operation. It is the govern
ment which we are bound bv everv consid
eration of fidelity, justice and good faith to
defend and to maintain, [cheers]. Gen
tlemen, we arc not living under such a gov
ernment. [Applause and cries of "That
is true."] Thirty-six States have for months
been governed by twenty-five ; eleven
States have been wholly without represen
tation in the legislative body of the nation ;
the numerical proportion of the represent
ed States to the unrepresented has just
been changed by the admission of the dele
gation from Tennessee —a unit taken from
the smaller and added to the larger number.
Ten States are still denied the representa
tion in Congress to which they are entitled
under the Constitution. It is this wrong
which we have come here to protest against,
and as far as in us lies, to redress. [Great
applause.] MTben the President of the
United States declared that armed resis-
tance to the authority of the Union was
orer, all the States had a right to be repre-
"TO SPEAK HIS THOUGHTS IS EVERT FREEMAN'S RIGHT. "-Thomas Jefferson.
TUNKHANNOCK, PA., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1866.
sented in the National Legislature. [Loud
cheering.] They had the right under the
Constitution. They had the right under
resolutions passed by both houses of Con
gress in 1801. Those resolutions were not
concurrent, hut they were substantially
identical.
Moreover, the Slates were entitled to be
so represented on other grounds of fairness
and good faitii. The President, not in pur
suance of any constitutional power, had
called on the confederated States to accept
conditions for tliwir admission to the exer
cise of their legitimate functions as mem
bers of the Union, those conditions being
the ratification of the amendments to the
Constitution, abolishing slavery, and the
repudiation of the debts contracted in the
effort to overthrow the government. These
conditions were met and accepted. The
exaction of new conditions is unjust, a vio
lation of the faith of the government, sub
versive of the principles of our political
system, and dangerous to the public pros
perity and peace, [Applause.]
Each House of Congress may, as the
judge of the qualifications of its own mem
bers, r ject individuals for just cause, but
the two bodies, acting conjointly, cannot
exclude entire delegations without an un
warrantable assumption of power. [Ap
plause] Congress has not only done this :
it has gone farther. It has incoiporated
new condiiious into amendments to the Con
stitution, arid submitted them for the ratifi
cation of the States. There is no proba
bility that these amendments will be rati
fied by three-fourths of the States. To in
sist on the conditions they contain is to
prolong indefinitely the exclusion of more
than one-fourth of the States from represen
tation in Congress. [Applause.] Is this
the government our fatliers fought to estab
lish ? [Cries of "No ! No!"j Is this the
Union we have been fighting to preserve?
["No! No!"] The President has done all
in his power to correct this wrong [ap
plause,] and to restore the legislative body
to its full proportions, by giving to all the
members of the Union their proper share
in the public counc.ls, [Cheers.] Legis
lation without representation is an anomaly
in our political system Under any other
form of government it would he but anoth
er 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 government,
i which needs amendment —some tilings to
be done and others to be undone. Tliere
i are commercial and financial reforms which
| are indi>pen*able to the public welfare. But
we shall r.ot have the power to carry out
these until we change the po! tical com
plex on of Congi ess. [Enthusiastic aid
long continued applause.) This should be
our first, oor immediate aim. It is in the
Congressional districts that the vital con
test is to take place. The control of one
i branch of Congress will enable us to pre
! vent partial, unjust, and pernicious legisla
tion. The control of both bouses, with the
power to introduce and carry out Salutary
! reforms, and "bring the government back,"
| in the language of Jefferson, "to the repub
lican tack," will come later. [Cheers.]
But. with wise, harmonious and judicious
i action on our part, and on the part of those
I we represent, this need not he long delay
-1 ed. [Applause ] I believe that public
opinion is right, and that it is only necessa
ry to present to the peop'e clearly the is
| sues between us and the political organiza
tion which controls the action of Congress.
And, genth men, is not the object for
! which we are contending a consummation
| worthy of our highest and mo-t devoted
1 efforts, to bring back the republic (purified,
I strengthened by the fiery ordeal through
, which it had passed) to its ancient prosper
; lty and power (applause) to present to the
; world, an example worthy of imitation, not
j a mere Utopian vision of good government,
but the grand old reality cf the better times
(applause) with which the memory of our
; fathers, the recollections of the past, and
all our hopes of the future, are inscparabjy
i entwined (cheers) one country, one flag,
one Union of equal States.
PRATER BY REV. MR. M'DONALD
Thccliaiiman then said : It has been sug
gested that the proceedings be opened with
prayer, and the Divine blessing will now
be invoked by by llev. J. N. McDonald. —
The call for the convention was then read.
THE CALL FOR THE CONVENTION.
A National Union Convention of at
least two delegates from each Congression
al district of all the States, two from each
Territory, two from the District ot Colum
bia, and four delegates at large from each
State, w ill be held at the city of Philadel
phia, or the second Tuesday (14th) of Au
gust next.
Such delegates will be chosen by the
electors of the several States who sustain
the Administration in maintaining uniuo
ken the Union of the States, under the
Constitution which our fathers established,
and who ag*ee in the following proposi
tions, viz:
The Union of the States is, in every
case, indissoluble, and is perpetual; and
the Constitution of the United States, and
the laws passed by Congress in pursuance
thereof, supreme and Constant, and univer
sal in their obligations.
The rights, the dignity, and the equality
of the States in the Union, including the
right of representation in Congress, are
solemnly guaranteed by that Constitution,
to save which from overthrow so much
blood and treasure were expended in the
late civil war.
There is no right, anywhere, to dissolve
the Union, or to separate States from the
Union, either by voluntary withdrawal, by
force of arms, or by Congressional action,
neither by the secession of the States, nor
by the exclusion of their loyal and quali
fied representatives, nor by the national
government in any other form.
Slavery is abolished, and neither can
nor ought to be re established in any State
or Territory within our jurisdiction.
Each State has the undoubted right to
prescribe the qualifications of i's own
electors, and no external power rightfully
can, or ought to, dictate, control, or influ
ence the free and voluntary actiou of the
States in the exercise of that right.
The maintenance ihvi date ot the rights
of the St ates, and especially of the right of
each State to order and control its own
domestic concerns, according to its own
judgment exclusively, subject only to the
Constitution of the United State, is essen
tial to that balance of oower on which the
perfection and endurance of our political
fabric depend, and the overthrow .of that
system by the usurpation and centraliza
tion of power in Congress would be a revo
lution, dangerous to republican govern
ment and destructive ot liberty.
Each House of Congress is made, by the
Constitution, the sole judge of the elec
tions, returns, and qualifieations of its
members; but the exclusion of loyal S n
ators and Representatives, properly chosen
and qualified, under the Constitution ami
laws, is unjust and revolutionary.
Every patriot should frown upon all
those acts and proceeding*, everywhere,
which serve no other purpose than to re
kindle the animosities of war, and the ef
fect of which upon our moral social, and
maternal interests at home, and upon our
standing abroad, differing only in degree,
is injurious like war itself.
The purpose of the war having been to
preserve the Union and ihe Constitution
bv putting down the rebellion, and the
rebellion having been suppressed, all re
sistance to the authority of the general
government being at an end, and the war
having ceased, war measures should aUo
cease, and stould he followed by measures
of peaceful administration, so that union,
harmonv, and concord may be encouraged
and industry, commerce, and the arts of
peace revived and promoted ; and the ear
ly restoration of all the States to the exer
cise of their constitutional powers in the
national government is indispensably ne
cessary to the strength and the defense of
the republic, and to the maintenance of the
public credit.
All such ( lectors in the thirty-six States
and nine TM rttoi ies of the United Stabs,
and in the District of Columbia, who, in a
sp tit of patriotism and low for the Union
••an rise above personal and sectional con
sidera'ions, and who de-ire t > s'e a truly
National Convention, which shall represent
all the States and Territories of the Union,
assemble as friends and brothers, under the
national flag, to hold counsel tog' ther upon
the state of the Union, and to take meas
ures to avert possible danger from the same,
—are specially requested to take part in
the choice of such delegates.
But no delegate will take a seat in such
Convention who does not loyally accept
the national situation and eordiallv endorse
the principles above set forth, and who is
not attached in true allegiance to the Con
stitution, the Union, and the government
of the United States.
WASHINGTON, June 25, 1860.
A. W. RANDALL, I 'rest.,
J. R. DOOLITTLE, | Executive
O. 11. BROWSIMG, ! Committee of
EDGAK COWAN, j the National
CHARLES KNAP, | Union Club.
SAMUEL FOWLER,
ADJOURNMENT.
After reading, the address of the Demo
cratic menbers of congress. The circular
letter of invitation issued by A. W, Ran
dall,and Lewis D. campbeil. The appoint
ment of Committees on credential, perma
nent organization <fcc. On motion of lion.
Montgomery Blair, the convention ad
journed to meet to-morrow at 12 o'clock M.
SECOND DAY'S PROCEEDINGS.
At 12 o'clock M. the temporary chair
man, Gen Dix, called the convention to
order, and announced that Rev Mr. llol
singer, of Tennessee, would open the pro
ceedings with prayer.
PERMANENT OFFICERS.
Hon. Montgomery Blair, from the com
mitlee on Permanent Organization, report
ed the following list of permanent officers
of the convention :
For President Hon. James R. Doolit
tle, of Wisconsin.
(The list of Vice Presidents and Secreta
ries, which our limited space will not allow
us to publish, embraced the names of scores
of the most distinguished statesmen, Jur
isls, and generals, selected from every state
and Territory in the Union. — ED.)
The report of the committee was adopt
ed.
The chairman then said :
I hare the pleasure, gentlemen, of intro
ducingtoyou, as the permanent presiding
officer of this convention, the lion. James
R. Doolittle, ot Wisconsin, (cheering.)
SPEECH OP SENATOR DOOLITTLE.
Mr Doolittle, who was most enthusiasti
cally received, said:
Gentlemen of the Convention and Fellow
citizens of the United States, (applause.)—
For the distinguished honor of being call
ed upon to preside over the deliberations of
TERMS, S2 00 FUEL AimtJM
this Convention, I sincerely thank you. I
could have Wished that its responsibilities
had fallen upon another ; but relying upon
that courtesy and,generous confidence which
have called me to the chair, I will enter up
on its duties with an earnest desire for the
success of that great cause in which we are
now engaged.
Among the great events of our day, this
Convention, in my opinion,will prove to be
one of the greatest, for , ,
"Peace hath her victories,
No* less renowned, than war."
[Applause ]
And this Convention is one of her victor
ies—may I not say, a crowning victory ?
For the first time in six years, a national
convention, representing all the States,now
assembles. [Loud aud long-continued ap
plause.] Six long weary years!
As we look back, O what-an interval of
tears, and agony, and blood ! During that
period we have been engaged in the nios
gigantic civil war the world has ever seen
—wasting our resources, drenching a thous
and battle-fields in fraternal blood, and car
rying to premature graves our fathers, our
sons, and our brothers, by hundreds of
thousands. But, thanks be to Almighty
God, the war i p over. [Applause.] Peace,
blessed peace, has come (cheers): and the
assurances which we here witness tells us
that peace has come, and "come to stay."—
[Applause.] Oh ! my fellow citizens,
it the whole people of the United States
could at this moment look in upon this
Convention, if they could see what we now
witness—the North and the South, the
East and the West, joining together in
fraternal association as friends and fellow
citizens, our work would be already
dene. [Great applause.] If they could
have seen, as we saw, Massachusetts and
South Carolina (cheers,) by their foil del
egations, coming arm and arm into this
great Convention ; if they could have seen
this body, greater in numbers, in Weight
of character and in brains than ever yet
assembled on this continent, under one
roof, (applause,) melting to tears of joy and
gratitude to witness this commingling,
there would he nostrnggle at the pons in
the coining election. [Loud applause.]
Wlicn I -euiember that it was Massachu
setts and South Carolina, that in the Con
vention which framed the Constitution,
voted against the abolition of the slave
trade ; that it was Massachusetts that in
1812, through some of her citizens, taught
the doctrines of nullification which South
Carolina reasserted in 1833, aud in the
form of secession again reasserted in ISfiU;
when I call to mind that South Carolina
tired ih • lirt gun in this contest, and that
the veins of Ma*sacltn*efts poured out the
first blood in the struggle [abplanse;]-
wiien I call t<> mind all these memories
and, at the *anie time, ask the people of
the country to look in on this Convention
and see those two leading States of the
Union coming here in fraternal embrace,
approaching the common altar of a com
mon country, ready io make common sac
rifices for the good of the whole—l say.
could the whole people of thee United
States witness all this, there would re
main no further work for us in the fall
elections. [Applause.] If the people ot
Massachusetts could have witnessed it, not
a single member would lie returned to
Congress from that State until he had giv
en the most sacred pledge that he would
do all in his power in Congress to recog
nize the equality and dignity of all the
States under the constitution, including
the sacred, inalienable rights of every
State under the constitution to representa
tion in both houses of congress. [Loud
and prolonged cheering.]
Gentlemen of the Convention, I shall go
into no argument on this occasion. (Cries
of "Go on'.'') The distinguished gentleman
who spoke from this place yesterday (Gen
eral l)ix) said all that 1 would desire to
say, aud much better than I could say it.—
1 indorse, and take great pleasure iu fully
indorsing, all that he said, sentence by
sentence, word by word Fellow-citizens,
(uufortniiately, it may be.) the whole peo
ple of the United State are not here to wit
ness what is now transpiring. Therefore
the great work still rests upon us. From
this time until the election of the next Con
gress we should be untiring in our exer
tions to see to it that if the present Con
gress shall continue to refuse the sacred
right of representation to equal States, the.
next Congress shall recognize that right.—
When this is done the Union will be re
stored, and when the Union is restored w*e
shall he prepared, in my judgment, to en
ter upon a higher and nobler career among
the nations of the earth than has yet been
witnessed in the history of any government
upon which the sun of heaven ever shqne.
We shall stand in the vanguard of civiliza
tion aud of We shall lead the way
by the light of for all the oth
er nations of the earth.
Gentlemen, without detaining you long-.
e., I will :nter at once upon the duties ot
the Chair. (Mr. Do-'little tdok his seat
amid enthusiastic and prolonged cheering.)
General J B. Steadman of Ohio, chair
man of the committee ou credentials then
made a report.
A letter was then read from Hon, C. L.'
Vallandigham approving the objects ,of the
convention, but tor the sake of harmony
declining a seat in that body.
COMMITTEE ON RESOLVLION AND ADDRESS.
Senator Cowan, of Pennsylvania, offered
the following resolution : •*
Resolved, That a committee of two from
each State and Territory be .appointed to
prepare resolutions and an address for the
convention.
• v ■ ' A'\ W- > ' (>) b' m ''
VOL. 6 NO. 3.
After the appointment of the committee
ot wtach l-fon. Edgar Cowan was the chair
man. The chairman of the convention
arose and said:
I beg leave to announce a telegraphic
dispatch just received from the President of
the United States.
The delegates and audience generally
rose from their seats, and stood while the
following dispatch was being read, which l
was received with great enthusiasm, cheers
waving of hats, kc.
WASHINGTON, August 14, '66.
To the Hon. 0. H. Browning, and Hon.
A- IV. Randall, convention at Philadel
phia :
I thank you for your cheering and en
couraging dispatch. The finger of Provi
dence is unerring and will guide you safely
th*pngh. The people must be trusted and
the country will be restored. My faitlbia
nnshaken as to ultimate success.
ANDREW JOHNSON." '
THE THIRD DAY'S PROCEEDINGS.
Hon J. R. Doolittle, the chairman, at
ten o'cock called the convention to order,
and announced that Rev, J. B. Reirnensyn
der, of Lewis'iown, Pa-, would open the
proceedings with prayer.
DECLARATIONS OF PRINCIPLES.
Hon. Edgar Cowan—Mr. Chairman,
on behalf of the committee who 1 were ap
( f>ointed to prepare resolutions and an ad
dress, 1 desire to statu that the committee
' have givui very careful and elaborate con
i >i J oration to the subject during all of yes
'terdfay and a good part of last night, and
1 beg leave lo report a declaration of prin
ciples, adopted unanimously by the com
mittee, (which the Secretary of the con
vention will read.) and an address to the
people of the country, which will -be read
by the Hon. Henry J. Raymond, of New
York. [Applause.)
The Secretary then read the followiDgr
DECLARATIONS OF PRINCIPLES.
The National Union convention, now
assembled iu the city of Philadelphia, com
posed of delegates from every State and
Territory in the Union, admonished by
the solemn lessons which for the last fire
years it has pleased the Supreme Ruler of
the Universe to give to the American peo
ple : profoundly grateful for the return of
pt-ace; desirous as are a large majority
of their countrymen, in all sincerity, to
forget and foreiveithe past: revering the
Constitution as it comes to us from our an
cestors:- regarding the Union in its resto
ration as more sacred than ever; looking
with deep-anxiety into the future as of in
stant and continuing trial, hereby issues and
proclaims .the following Declaration of Prin
ciples and Purposes, on which they have,,
with perfect unanimity, agreed:
Fi •st. We hail with gratitude to Al
mighty God the end of war, and the return
of peace to an afflicted and beloved land.
Second. The war just closed has main
tained the authority of the constitution,
with all the powers which it confers, and
all the restrictions which it imposes upon
the general government, unabridged and
and it has preserved the Un
ion, with the equal rights, dignity and au
thority of the States, perfect and unimpair
ed. [Applause.]
Third. Representation in the Congress
of the United States, and in the electoral
colleges, is a right recognized by the con
stitution as abiding in every State, and as a
duty, imposed upon its people—fundamen
tal in its nature and essential to the exist
ence of our republican institutions; and
neither congress, nor the general govern
ment, has any authority or power to deny
this right to any State, or to withhold its
enjoyment under the constitution from the
people thereof. [Loud cheering.]
Fourth. We call upon the people of
the United States to elect to congiess, as
members thereof, none but men who ad
mit this fundamental light of representa
tion, and who will receive to seats therein,
loyal representation from every State in
allegiance to the United States, subject to
the constitutional rights of each House to
judge the elections, returns and qualifica
tions 'of its own members. [Applause.]
Fifth, The constitution of the United
States and the laws made in pursuance
thereof are "the supreme law of the land,
,anything in the constitution or laws of any
State to the contrary notwithstanding.—
Alf the powers not conferred by the con
stitution upou the general government nor
prohibited by it to the States are "reserved
tq the States or to the people thereof,"
and among the rights thus reserved to the
States is the right to prescribe qualification
for the elective franchise therein, with
which right congress cannot interfere.—
[Long continued cheering.] No State or
combination of States has tiie right to with
draw troru the Union,or to exclude,through
their'action in congress or otherwise, any
other State'dr States from the Union.[Great
applause] The Union of these States is per,
petual and cannot be dissolved.
Sixth. Such amendments to the consti
tution of the United States may be made by
the people thereof as they may deem expe
dient, but only in the mode poiuted ont by
its provisions; and'in proposing such amend*
lufnta, whether by congress or by a con
vention, and in ratifying the same, all the
States of the Union have an equal and
an indefeasible right to a voice and a Yote
thereon. [Enthusiastic oheers.j
Seventh. Slavery is abolished and forev
er prohibited—aid there is neither desire
nor purpose on the part of the Southern
States that it should ever be re-established
upon the soil or within the jurisdiction of
•<. i .ft i> . i i ■ "* "t