ILLINOIS. 



397 





whoso achievements in bohnlf of national union. 

 -, eounl laws, and the equal protection of 

 .^es of citizens, irrespective ot color or nativity, 

 ,r i-.-lipsod those of all former parties ; and that 

 we congratulate the people upon its patriotic and suc- 

 cessful career; upon the accomplishment of every 

 it proposed, the enforcement of every principle 

 vod, the redemption of every pledge it has given, 

 mi. I the overthrow of every enemy that sought to de- 

 - purposes. It has shown the world the form 

 rnmnit which possesses the greatest strength 

 with tho largest liberty and highest happiness of the 

 citizen. 



Resolved, That the Republican party deserves the 

 i-'MitUonoe and continued support of tho country for 

 giving the poor man a free, homestead ; for building 

 ' icifio Railway, and opening tho wilderness to 

 civilized occupation ; for striking the shackles from a 

 rao of bondmen, and endowing thorn with citizen- 

 ship ; for crushing a wicked and gigantic rebellion, 

 and saving the Union ; for perfecting tho groat work 

 of reconstruction ; for restoring all the seceding mem- 

 bers of the Union as free and equal States ; for settling 

 tho disputed doctrine of the right of expatriation in 

 accordance with the American theory ; for vindicating 

 the Monroe doctrine in the case of the French invasion 

 of our sister republic; for maintaining the honor, 

 preserving the integrity of the Union, and improving 

 tho national credit under most trying circumstances ; 

 and for elevating the American Union from the con- 

 dition of a divided, discordant half slave-confederacy, 

 to a homogeneous, united republic, first in the scale 

 of nations in freedom, power, and influence. 



Resolved, That the Republican party will in the fu- 

 ture, as in the past, successfully insist and carry out 

 all necessary measures and reforms which tho prog- 

 ress and continued prosperity of the country reauire, 

 and that it will deal wisely and honestly with tho 

 questions of finance, taxation, and currency, as they 

 arise, and that there is no other party which has given 

 evidence of any ability to deal with these questions, 

 except by measures whose inevitable effect would be 

 to produce universal bankruptcy. 



Resolved. That we cordially indorse the Adminis- 

 tration of President Grant as honest, economical, and 

 efficient, and congratulate the country on its success 

 in reducing the national debt $160,000,000, and the 

 interest thereof $10,000,000, in the brief space of 

 eighteen months; which was accomplished by fidelity 

 in collection of the revenue, and retrenchment in 

 the expenses of the Government ; and we especially 

 felicitate the public on the fact that this policy has 

 enabled Congress to reduce internal taxation and taritf 

 duties $80,000,000 per annum, and will hereafter per- 

 mit still further large abatements of taxes and duties 

 on the necessaries of life, without impairing the na- 

 tional credit, or embarrassing the machinery of admin- 

 istration. 



Resolved, That to permit the control of the Govern- 

 ment to pass into the hands of a party which refuses 

 to accept in good faith tho results of the suppression 

 of tho rebellion, would be a public calamity ; and that 

 its malicious attacks on the public credit, in the shape 

 of repudiation, and its disregard of the public welfare, 

 in the revival of the dead issues of reconstruction, 

 deserve the emphatic condemnation of all patriotic 

 citizens. 



Resolved, That as taxation is a pecuniary burden 

 imposed by public authority on the property of the 

 people for the maintenance of government, the pay- 

 ment of its debts, and the promotion of the general 

 welfare, Congress ought not to tax the substance or 

 earnings of the citizen for any other purpose than 

 those above indicated ; and that it is wrongful and 

 oppressive to enact revenue laws for the special ad- 

 vantage of one branch of business at the expense of 

 another ; and we hold that the best system of pro- 

 tection to industry is that which imposes the lightest 

 burdens and fewest restrictions on the property and 

 business of the people. 



Resolved, That as tho natural, inevitable place for 

 the capital of the Republic is in the heart of the Mis- 

 sissippi Valley, toward which the centre of popula- 

 tion, wealth, and power is gravitating, and an the re- 

 moval of the capital from its present inconvenient 

 and exposed locality is only a question of time, we 

 oppose all further expenditures of public money for 

 the enlargement of old government buildings or the 

 erection of new ones, as a useless waste of the treasure 

 of the people, and our Senators and Representatives 

 in Congress are hereby requested to vote against all 

 such appropriations in tho future. 



Resolved, That we congratulate the people of Illi- 

 nois on the adoption of a constitution suited to tho 

 present growth and exigencies of the State, embody- 

 ing the best teachings of political wisdom and expe- 

 rience, and containing the germs of tho highest and 

 noblest type of human government, and we tender 

 our thanks to the late Constitutional Convention, for 

 the persevering efforts and complete success with 

 which they discharged the important and delicato 

 duties committed to them. 



Resolved, That, while adhering to our national policy 

 of avoiding entangling alliances and complications 

 with foreign powers, we heartily sympathize with the 

 brave efforts of tho German people to protect their 

 fatherland against invasion and spoliation by the 

 imperial despot who has suppressed freedom of speech 

 and of the press in his own country, and finally signal- 

 ized his career by plunging two great nations into a 

 causeless and needless war. 



The Democratic Convention assembled at 

 Springfield on the 14th of September, and 

 nominated the following ticket: For Con- 

 gressman at large, "William B. Anderson ; State 

 Treasurer, Charles Kidgeley ; Superintendent 

 of Public Instruction, Charles Frinse ; Peni- 

 tentiary Commissioners, F. T. Sherman and 

 Thomas Kedmond. The .platform adopted 

 was in the following language : 



Resolved, That the happiness of tho American 

 people and the protection of their liberties are not 

 to be found in a splendid government supported by 

 powerful monopolies and aristocratic establishments, 

 but, in the language of our great leader, Jackson, 

 " in a plain system, devoid or pomp, protecting all, 

 and granting favors to none ; dispensing blessings 

 like the dews of heaven, unseen and unfelt save in 

 the freshness and beauty they contribute to pro- 

 duce." That it is the mission of the Democracy, 

 in accordance with its time-honored principles, to 

 reinstate the administration of the Government in 

 these, its ancient ways, and, by the restoration of 

 the practice of the virtues of frugality, honesty, and 

 devotion to the public weal, to place the country again 

 upon that course, the pursuit of which can alone ren- 

 der it for ages to come united, prosperous, and free. 



Resolved, That we are in favor of free trade on 

 principle, and while conceding the legality of a tar- 

 iff for revenue simply, we denounce a protective 

 tariff as not authorized under the Federal Constitu- 

 tion ; as destructive of the best interests of our 

 people, and as enriching the few at the expense of 

 the many. That we are opposed to monopolies and 

 to subsidizing corporations by the use 01 the peo- 

 ple's money and the people's lands. That the bonds 

 issued by tho Federal Government should bo sub- 

 jected to Federal taxation, except when otherwise 

 explicitly provided by law. That wo ore opposed 

 to the present system of national banks, and all le- 

 gislation of every kind which exalts capital at the 

 expense of the people and the Government, and that 

 so long as a paper currency is in use ampn^ our peo- 

 ple we are in favor of the people furnishing tlieir 

 own obligations as such currency, and reaping the 

 benefits to be derived therefrom. That the national 

 debt should be paid at tho earliest practicable mo- 



