permanent presiding officer. Gen. | ceptance, repudiated the sweeping John C. Fremont was here nominated policy of confiscation above indifor President, and Gen. John Coch- cated. Gen. Cochrane demurred to rane for Vice-President. The plat- such confiscation, but remitted the form adopted is as follows: question to the wisdom of Congress, "1st. That the Federal Union shall be when it should be called to act on preserved. the subject of Reconstruction. Ultimately, both candidates withdrew from the contest; convinced 3d. That the Rebellion must be sup- that the great mass of the popular "2d. That the Constitution and laws of the United States must be observed and obeyed. pressed by force of arms, and without compromise. "4th. That the rights of free speech, free press, and the habeas corpus, be held inviolate, save in districts where martial law has been proclaimed. "5th. That the Rebellion has destroyed Slavery, and the Federal Constitution should be amended to prohibit its reestablishment, and to secure to all men absolute equality before the law. "6th. That integrity and economy are demanded at all times in the administration of the Government; and that in time of war the want of them is criminal. "7th. That the right of asylum, except for crime and subject to law, is a recognized principle of American liberty; that any violation of it can not be overlooked, and must not go unrebuked. "Sth. That the national policy known as 6 the Monroe doctrine' has become a re cognized principle; and that the establishment of an anti-republican Government on this continent by any foreign power can not be tolerated. "9th. That the gratitude and support of the nation are due to the faithful soldiers and the earnest leaders of the Union army and navy for their heroic achievements and deathless valor in defense of our imperiled country and of civil liberty. "10th. That the one-term policy for the Presidency, adopted by the people, is strengthened by the force of the existing crisis, and should be maintained by constitutional amendment. "11th. That the Constitution should be so amended that the President and VicePresident shall be elected by a direct vote of the people. "12th. That the question of the reconstruction of the rebellious States belongs to the people, through their representatives in Congress, and not to the Executive. "13th. That the confiscation of the lands of the rebels, and their distribution among the soldiers and actual settlers, is a measure of justice." vote must be divided between the Union' and the 'Democratic' tickets. The Union' National Convention assembled at Baltimore, Tuesday, June 7. Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge, D. D., of Kentucky, was made temporary and Hon. William Dennison, ex-Governor of Ohio, permanent President. All but the incontestably, persistently Rebel States were found to be represented. Hon. Preston King, of N. Y., from the Committee on Credentials, reported in favor of admitting all the delegates claiming seats, but those from South Carolina and the Conservative' Unionists from Missouri: the delegations from the Territories, from the District of Columbia, and from the States of Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, and Arkansas, not to be entitled to vote. Upon consideration, this report was overruled so far as to authorize-by & vote of 310 to 151-the delegates from Tennessee to vote; those from Louisiana and Arkansas were likewise authorized to vote, by 307 to 167. The delegates from Nebraska, Colorado, and Nevada, were then allowed also to vote; but not those from Virginia, Florida, and the remaining territories. Mr. Henry J. Raymond, of N. Y., Gen. Fremont, in his letter of ac- reported the platform, which was BALTIMORE NATIONAL PLATFORM OF 1864. 659 unanimously adopted. It is as fol- the practical wisdom, the unselfish patriot lows: "Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to maintain against all their enemies the integrity of the Union and the paramount authority of the Constitution and the laws of the United States; and that, laying aside all differences and political opinions, we pledge ourselves as Union men, animated by a common sentiment, and aiming at a common object, to do everything in our power to aid the Government in quelling by force of arms the Rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bringing to the punishment, due to their crimes, the Rebels and traitors arrayed against it. "Resolved, That we approve the determination of the Government of the United States not to compromise with Rebels, nor to offer them any terms of peace except such as may be based upon an unconditional surrender of their hostility and a return to their just allegiance to the Constitution and the laws of the United States; and that we call upon the Government to maintain this position, and to prosecute the war with the utmost possible vigor to the complete suppression of the Rebellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor, and the undying devotion of the American people to their country and its free institutions. "Resolved, That, as Slavery was the cause and now constitutes the strength of this Rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere hostile to the principles of republican government, justice and the national safety demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the Republic; and that we uphold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the Government, in its own defense, has aimed a death-blow at this gigantic evil. We are in favor, furthermore, of such an amendment to the Constitution, to be made by the people in conformity with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever prohibit the existence of Slavery within the limits or the jurisdiction of the United States. "Resolved, That the thanks of the American people are due to the soldiers and sailors of the Army and the Navy who have periled their lives in defense of their country, and in vindication of the honor of the flag; that the nation owes to them some permanent recognition of their patriotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provision for those of their survivors who have received disabling and honorable wounds in the service of the country; and that the memories of those who have fallen in its defense shall be held in grateful and everlasting remembrance. "Resolved, That we approve and applaud ism and unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of American Liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, the great duties and responsibilities of the Presidential office; that we approve and indorse, as demanded by the emergency and essential to the preservation of the nation, and as within the Constitution, the measures and acts which he has adopted to defend the nation against its open and secret foes; that we approve especially the Proclamation of Emancipation, and the employment as Union soldiers of men heretofore held in slavery; and that we have full confidence in his determination to carry out these and all other constitutional measures essential to the salvation of the country into full and complete effect. "Resolved, That we deem it essential to the general welfare that harmony should prevail in the National councils; and we regard as worthy of public confidence and official trust, those only who cordially indorse the principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which should characterize the administration of the Government. "Resolved, That the Government owes to all men employed in its armies, without regard to distinction of color, the full protection of the laws of war; and that any violation of these laws or of the usages of civilized nations in the time of war by the Rebels now in arins should be made the subject of full and prompt redress. "Resolved, That the foreign immigration which in the past has added so much to the wealth and development of resources and increase of power to this nation, the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy. "Resolved, That we are in favor of a speedy construction of the railroad to the Pacific coast. "Resolved, That the National faith, pledged for the redemption of the public debt, must be kept inviolate; and that for this purpose we recommend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures, and a vigorous and just system of taxation; that it is the duty of every loyal State to sustain the credit and promote the use of the National Currency. "Resolved, That we approve the position taken by the Government, that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference the attempt of any European power to overthrow by force or to supplant by fraud the institutions of any republican government on the Western Continent, and that they will view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and independence of this our country, the efforts of any such power to obtain new footholds for monarch ical governments, sustained by a foreign military force in near proximity to the United States." On proceeding to vote for a Presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln was named by the delegates from each State and Territory permitted to vote, save Missouri, which named Gen. Grant. Mr. Lincoln was then unanimously nominated. The Convention proceeded to vote for Vice-President, with the following result: Andrew Johnson....200 Hannibal Hamlin....150 59 Several delegations thereupon changed to Johnson; who was nominated without further balloting by 494 votes to 26 for others. that the Rebellion was already reeling under their heavy blows-that Richmond and Atlanta were on the point of falling-and that their fall involved that of the Confederacy. No doubt, no apprehension, disturbed the serenity of the Baltimore platform-builders. Their language was that of a monarch who had subdued an insurrection, and was intent on dispensing rewards to his lieutenants and pronouncing the doom of the defeated insurgents. In this spirit, the Convention met, acted, and dissolved; assured that the year 1861 would witness alike the reelection of President Lincoln and the downfall of the Rebellion. Events soon transpired which materially changed the aspect of affairs. Gen. Grant's determined attack at Cold Harbor was found to have been not merely unsuccessful-that had been frankly and promptly admitted These nominations were formally tendered and heartily accepted. Mr. Johnson's letter of acceptance, in its allusion to Slavery, tersely expressed what had ere this become the generally accepted faith of War Demo--but an exceedingly expensive and crats as follows: damaging failure-damaging not "It is in vain to attempt to reconstruct merely in the magnitude of our the Union with the distracting element of Slavery in it. Experience has demonstrated its incompatibility with free and republican governments, and it would be unwise and unjust longer to continue it as one of the institutions of the country. While it remained subordinate to the Constitution and laws of the United States, I yielded to loss, but in its effect on the morale and efficiency of our chief army. It had extinguished the last hope of crushing Lee north of the James, and of interposing that ariny between it my support; but when it became rebel-him lious, and attempted to rise above the Government, and control its action, I threw my humble influence against it." The resolves of the Union, like those of the Radical Convention, were, as we have seen, pitched in a very high key. The delegates had been chosen, had assembled, and deliberated, in the prevalent conviction that Grant's advance from the Rapidan and Sherman's from the Tennessee had each been a series of unbroken and not costly successes and the Confederate capital. The failure to seize Petersburg when it would easily have fallen, and the repeated and costly failures to carry its defenses by assault, or even to flank them on the south-the luckless conclusion of Wilson's and Kautz's raid to Staunton riverSheridan's failure to unite with Hunter in Lee's rear-Sturgis's disastrous defeat by Forrest near GuntownHunter's failure to carry Lynchburg, and eccentric line of retreat-Sherman's bloody repulse at Kenesaw, and GOV. CHASE AND THE NATIONAL FINANCES. 661 with preeminent ability, energy, and courage. When he accepted it, on the accession of Mr. Lincoln, the Finances were already in chaos; the current revenue being inadequate, even in the absence of all expenditure or preparation for war; his predecessor" having attempted to borrow $10,000,000 in October, 1860, and obtained only $7,022,000-the bid the compelled slowness of his advance on Atlanta-Early's unresisted swoop down the Valley into Maryland, his defeat of Wallace at the Monocacy, and his unpunished demonstration against the defenses of Washington itself the raids of his troopers up to the suburbs of Baltimore, on the Philadelphia Railroad, and even up into Pennsylvania; burning Chambersburg and alarming even Pitts-ders to whom the balance was awardburg and finally the bloody, wretched choosing to forfeit their initial ed fiasco of the Mine explosion before Petersburg-these, and other reverses, relieved by a few and unimpressive triumphs-rendered the midsummer of 1864 one of the gloomiest seasons of our great struggle for the upholders of the National cause. An impudent and treasonable stock-jobbing forgery, purporting to be a Proclamation by the President' -confessing the failure of Grant's advance on Richmond and the cooperating efforts, and ordering a fresh levy of men to recruit our decimated armies-though speedily detected and exposed, had meantime been flashed over the country; and had, while producing its intended effect on the prices of the National and other securities, caused a momentary sinking of the popular heart, which its exposure did not wholly countervail. deposit rather than take and pay for their bonds. Thenceforth, he had tided over till his resignation, by selling treasury notes payable a year from date at 6 to 12 per cent. discount; and when, after he had vanished from the scene, Gen. Dix, who succeeded him in Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet, attempted" to borrow a small sum on twenty-year bonds at 6 per cent., he was obliged to sell those bonds at an average discount of 9 per cent. Hence, of Mr. Chase's first loan of $8,000,000, for which bids were opened" ten days before Beauregard first fired on Fort Sumter, the offerings ranged from 5 to 10 per cent. discount; and only $3,099,000 were tendered at or under 6 per cent. discount-he, in the face of a vehement clamor, declining all bids at higher rates of discount than 6 per cent., and placing, soon afterward, the balance of the $8,000,000 in twoyear treasury notes at par or a fraction over. Another and profounder shock to public confidence followed; in the resignation" of Hon. Salmon P. Chase as Secretary of the Trea- Such were the financial auspices sury. Gov. Chase had filled in the under which the Republic compublic service, through years of doubt, menced the most gigantic and costly depression, and disaster, the second struggle that the world had ever place in importance, and the first known-a struggle in which it was in the magnitude of its require- ultimately required to keep on foot ments, and had discharged its duties an army of one million men, with a 'May 18. 10 June 30. "Howell Cobb, of Georgia. 12 In Feb., 1861. "April 2. of the contest. Had the wildest devotee of 'Manifest Destiny' been asked beforehand to estimate the extent to which our Government could borrow money or incur debt to prosecute a Civil War which imperiled its existence, he could hardly have gone beyond One Thousand Millions of Dollars-which was barely a third of the debt actually created; and, when we consider also the State and local debts likewise incurred in raising and fitting out their several contingents, the actual debt incurred was probably over Four Billions-the total expenditure in prosecuting the War on our side being considerably above that stupendous sum. The marvel of this achievement is not dwarfed by the fact that the Rebels encountered even greater financial straits and struggled through kindred difficulties. They were fighting almost always on their own soil vast and costly steam navy-a war | conclusion, was the standing miracle in which well-appointed armies had to be transported by water or by railroads for hundreds of miles a war for which nearly every weapon, every carriage, every means of offense or defense, had to be created or bought on the spur of the exigency-a war wherein our inexperience and lack of adaptation to the business were serious elements of cost--a war wherein countless millions had to be raised on the heel of every great disaster-often, when our seat of Government was in imminent peril of capture, and when foreigners, with scarcely an exception, proclaimed our cause already hopelessly lost, and deafened the general ear with their vehement protests against the criminal madness of pouring out rivers more of blood and heaping up mountains of debt to no possible end but to gratify a sullen, stupid, brutal obstinacy—a bankrupt but inexorable pride. When we add that a very considerable proportion of the wealth and intelligence of the loyal States was profoundly hostile to the prosecution of the War on our part, as fatal to all hopes of any desirable or even possible restoration of the Union, and, very naturally, not only refrained from subscribing to the loans continually pressed on the market, but dissuaded others from subscribing, and that we number few moneyed capitalists among our people—most, even of those in thrifty and comfortable circumstances, being oftener in debt than otherwise, while very few are accustomed to control considerable sums in money-it must be felt that the raising, in one way or another, of the gigantic loans and other means whereby the War was at length brought to a triumphant they used railroads, &c., as though they were public property-nearly all their men of wealth and position either were or professed to be wholly devoted to their cause, and ready to contribute whatever they had to its maintenance. They paid nothing as bounties to recruits, obtaining them by a relentless conscription; their marches were hundreds of miles to our thousands. On the ocean, they spent little or nothing; while our outlay for vessels, in building, equipping, and maintaining our fleets and naval armaments, amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. True, they were obliged to resort to irredeemable paper earlier, while its depreciation proceeded faster and much farther than ours; but, having ceased to pay their soldiers, and |