POLAR REGIONS POLITICAL CONVENTIONS. 



217 



chloride of iron, the solution of the per sulphate of 

 iron, dialyzed iron or some other soluble sesqui-eom- 

 pound of iron, by an alkali. Ammonia is frequently 

 employed as the alkali, but in order to free the precipi- 

 tate from it much washing is required, and as time is 

 a matter of the greatest importance, it is therefore 

 preferable to add to the iron solution magnesia in ex- 

 cess. The powder which falls after such treatment is 

 a mixture of the hydrated sesqui-oxide of iron and 

 magnesia, and is believed by many chemists _to be su- 

 perior to the hydrated sesqui-oxide of iron as an anti- 

 dote to arsenic. It is the officinal antidotum arsenici 

 of the Prussian Pharmacopoeia and has been officinally 

 recognized in the last revision of the U. S. Pharma- 

 copoeia (Ferri- Oxidum Hydratum cum Magnesia, U. 

 S. P., 1880). 4. Nitrate of Silver. It has for its an- 

 tidote common salt, which is very much more effective 

 than soap or the alkalies. 



Alkaline Poisons have for their antidote vegetable 

 or dilute mineral acids. When these are not to be 

 had, or even if they be used, it is very well, in most 

 cases, to administer bland oils, which act in part by 

 forming a soap with the alkali, and in partly mechani- 

 cal sheathing the stomach and bowels from the local 

 action of the poison. 



Of the neutral or elementary potions one of the 

 most important is phosphorus, whose antidote is not, 

 as was formerly thought, freshly calcined magnesia or a 

 fixed oil, but sulphate of copper. Very old European 

 oil of turpentine is also antidotal and officinal, but 

 American emulsions seem to have no such property. 



Very few vegetable poisons have reliable chemical 

 antidotes, but tuunic acid forms with alkaloids salts 

 which are not readily dissolved in the stomach and ab- 

 sorbed. Whenever a poison containing an alkaloid has 

 been taken, tamiic acia or nutgalls may be given, and 

 follow immediately by an emetic and such a cathartic 

 as castor oil, in order to remove the only partially inert 

 tan n ate. Mustard flour is the most rapidly acting and 

 easily attainable emetic in poisoning. A tablespoonful 

 may be given at once in a tumblerful of water and 

 repeated in fifteen minutes if required. The principal 

 poisons depending for their activity upon an alkaloid 

 up 1 <>/>iinii, beOaaonna, /ii/axcyamiw or henltane, stra- 

 iiiiiniiiin or " Jinuon weed,'' nux vomfat, hemlock or 

 conium. tenter hemlork, (\ili\,nr bean, poisonous miuh- 

 roomt, veruirinii rn-iilr, nrnniif. cKfptatU, GeUfminum 

 or i/ftlow jessamine. Strychnia and morphia are alka- 

 loktt. (H. c. w.) 



POLAR REGIONS. See ARCTIC EXPLORA- 

 TION-. 



POLITICAL CONVENTIONS form the present 

 customary method in the United States of nominating 

 persons to be voted for at elections. These conventions 

 are of various grades, State, city, county, aud Congres- 

 sional district, but all are conducted in practically the 

 same way. The citizens of a political party are in- 

 vited to meet at a primary election in their precinct, or 

 division, to choose delegates to these conventions, who 

 are in theory free to name candidates and to vote ac- 

 cording to their own judgment on the names presented. 

 In some cases, however, the people vote also directly 

 for the candidate and the delegate is required simply 

 to register the will of the majority of those who 

 elected him. The dangers and difficulties attending 

 this method and others which have been used are 

 discussed under CAUCUS (q. .) This article will give 

 simply a brief outline of the various national con- 

 ventions. 



As early as September, 1812, a convention in which 

 eleven States were represented was held in New 

 York, and nominated DeWitt Clinton for the Presi- 

 dency. Madison, then President, had already been 

 nominated for a second term by a Congressional cau- ] 

 cus. Both candidates and their respective followers | 

 belonged to the Republican party, but Madison, hav- j 

 ing the ''regular " nomination, was elected. The 

 (>>>(< in of nominating by Congressional caucus fell 

 VOL. IV. o 



to pieces in 1824, when only one-third of the Repub- 

 lican members of Congress attended the caucus which 

 nominated William IT Crawford. Other candidates 

 were presented in various ways, and, there being no 

 choice by the people, the House of Representatives 

 elected John Quincy Adams. Andrew Jackson, who 

 had received a plurality of the electoral votes, was 

 forthwith nominated by the Legislature of Tennessee as 

 presidential candidate for the next ejection, and this 

 action being approved by the Democratic party through- 

 out the country, he was elected in 1828 overPres. J. Q. 

 Adams, who refused to use his power of patronage 

 to assist his own election. 



In September, 1830, a national conference of citizens 

 opposed to Free Masonry (see ANTI-MASONRY) was 

 held in Philadelphia. It had been called by the New 

 York Anti-Masonic State Convention, and was pre- 

 sided over _by Francis Granger of that State. It 

 called a national nominating convention, which met 

 in Baltimore, Sept. 26-28, 1831, and nominated Wil- 

 liam Wirt, of Maryland, for President, and Amos Ell- 

 maker, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-President. The ex- 

 ample of this first national political convention was 

 followed by the " National Republican " convention 

 which assembled in Baltimore, Dec. 12, 1831. James 

 Barbour, of Virginia, presided ; Henry Clay, of Ken- 

 tucky, was unanimously nominated for President, and 

 John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-President. 

 The Democratic party also adopted this method in 

 the following May and held a convention at Balti- 

 more, at which Martin Van Buren was selected as 

 candidate for Vice President, a second term of Presi- 

 dency having been already conceded to Jackson. (See 

 DEMOCRATIC PARTY.) 



In May, 1835, a national Democratic convention 

 was held at Baltimore, 21 States being represented, 

 and Andrew Stephenson, of Virginia, presided. At 

 this convention the present rule of the Democratic 

 party requiring a two-thirds vote to insure a nomina- 

 tion was adopted. Martin Van Buren was then unani- 

 mously nominated for President, and Richard M. 

 Johnson, of Kentucky, was chosen for Vice-President, 

 receiving 178 votes to 87 votes for William C. Rives, 

 of Virginia. Gen. William H. Harrison, of Ohio, 

 the opposition candidate to the Democracy in 1836, 

 was nominated by a State convention in Pennsylvania 

 and by several other bodies. 



In 1839 a national Whig convention was held 

 in Harrisburg, Pa. James Barbour presided, and 

 Gen. Harrison was nominated for President on the first 

 ballot, receiving 148 votes. John Tyler, of Virginia, 

 was selected as Vice-President. In December, 1839, 

 a convention of Abolitionists was held at Warsaw, N. 

 Y., and nominated James G. Birney, of New York, for 

 President and Francis J. Lemoyne, of Pennsylvania, 

 for Vice-President. On May 5, 1840, a national Demo- 

 cratic convention assembled at Baltimore and Martin 

 Van Buren was unanimously renominated,but no choice 

 was made for a Vice-President. This was the first 

 convention to frame a platform, declaring the ideas and 

 wishes of the party. 



A national Whig convention met at Baltimore on 

 May 1, 1844, nominated Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for 

 President by acclamation ; and chose for Vice-Presi- 

 dent T. Frehnghuysen, of New Jersey. On May 27 the 

 national Democratic convention met in the same city. 

 The two-thirds rule was adopted, and after a session 

 of 3 days James K. Polk, of Tennessee, was nomi- 

 nated for President. Silas Wright, of New York, was 

 selected for Vice-President, but declined, and George 

 M Dallas, of Pennsylvania, was chosen to fill his 

 place. On the first ballot Martin Van Buren had 146 

 votes, Lewis Cass 83, R. M. Johnson 29, and Jame* 

 Buchanan 4. Van Buren's name was withdrawn after 

 the 8th ballot ; and on the 9th Polk received 233 votes- 

 to 29 for Cass and 2 for Van Buren. The national 

 convention of the Liberty party met in Buffalo, 2S.Y., 

 Aug. 30, 1844, and nominated James Cr. Birney, ot 



