(<>.\NT.(TKTT. 



253 



citizen now occupying the presidential chair, 

 by his earnest efforts for the restoration of tho 

 Union upon its proper basis by his manly and 

 manlike position in opposition to negro 

 suffrage by bis resistance to the insane and 

 un\\ i>e eit'urts of a Congressional majority, who 

 seek to de.-troy tho Constitution of our fathers 

 by mi-ichievi'us amendments lias deserved well 

 oi' liis country ; and a courageous perseverance 

 in tho course so taken will place the name of 

 Andrew Johnson high upon the roll of renown, 

 and second to none of tho great statesmen who 

 have illustrated the annals of the Union." 



The Republican State Convention met at 

 Hartford on February 14th. It numbered over 

 four hundred delegates, comprising a large 

 number of the leading men of the party, and 

 was distinguished by harmony and ability. 

 "William A. Buckingham, who had been the 

 Republican candidate for Governor for tho 

 seven previous years, having declined a renomi- 

 nation, Joseph R. Hawley, late a brigadier-gen- 

 eral of volunteers in the United States Army, 

 was nominated, for Governor in his stead on 

 the first ballot, and accepted the nomination in 

 a speech to the convention. F. "Winchester 

 was then nominated for Lieutenant-Govern or ; 

 L. E. Pease for Secretary of State; Henry G. 

 Taintor for Treasurer ; and Robbins Battell for 

 Comptroller. Among tho resolutions adopted 

 was one expressing confidence in the wisdom 

 and patriotism of the Republican majority in 

 Congress, and one heartily approving the re- 

 cent order of General Terry, approved by tho 

 President, for the protection of the freedmen 

 of Virginia against the legislation of that State. 

 Tho two following expressed the sentiments of 

 tho convention respecting Presidents Lincoln 

 and Johnson : 



Resolved, That we unite our lamentations with those 

 of the nation over the grave of the honest, unflinch- 

 ing, patriotic, and great-hearted Abraham Lincoln, 

 whose name will stand by the side of that of Wash- 

 ington while the Republic endures. 



Jteeolved, That we gladly express onr confidence in 

 the integrity, ability, and patriotism of his successor, 

 Andrew Johnson, who braved secession in the Senate, 

 and defied armed rebellion in Tennessee; who sprang 

 from the people, and is identified with all their in- 

 terests ; and we do pledge him our hearty support in 

 his labors fora just, complete, and permanent res- 

 toration of the Lnion. 



On February 19th, less than a week after the 

 meeting of the Republican Convention. Presi- 

 dent Johnson returned tho Freedmen's Bureau 

 bill to Congress with his veto. Although not 

 wholly unprepared for this act, tho party which 

 had elected him, and had hitherto given him its 

 support, was at first uncertain what course to 

 pursue whether to break with the President, 

 or to endeavor to reconcile the differences be- 

 tween himself and Congress. And in no State 

 was this more noticeable than in Connecticut, 

 where a strong conservative element had al- 

 ways existed in the Republican ranks. The 

 Democrats, on the other hand, avowed them- 

 selves heartily in favor of the political views em- 



I in the President's veto message, and of 

 bis whole plan of restoring tho Southern States 

 to tlirir relations with tho Union. For several 

 weeks after the State canvass commenced. Loth 

 parties, as represented by their platforms, sup- 

 ported the President's restoration policy, and 

 many of the Republicans who sided with Con- 

 gross on the Freedmen's Bureau question were 

 inclined to believe that tho differences between 

 that body and tho Executive were merely dif- 

 ferences of opinion as to tho best means to bo 

 employed in reconstructing the Union, and not 

 as to the end to be attained, and could eventu- 

 ally bo reconciled. Others, however, were pre- 

 pared, if necessary, to break with the President, 

 should a reconciliation prove to be impossible. 

 Under these circumstances the election began 

 gradually to assume an importance which lifted 

 it from the arena of local politics. The success 

 of the Democratic ticket, it was supposed, would 

 indicate an unqualified approval by the people 

 of Connecticut of the Executive policy, while 

 the return of the Republican candidates would 

 leave the issue undecided. 



Rumors meanwhile began to be circulated 

 that the President would throw the weight of 

 his influence in favor of Mr. English, the Dem- 

 ocratic candidate, and would require all Con- 

 necticut officeholders to vote for him. This was 

 denied by Mr. Johnson in an interview with a 

 delegation of Connecticut Republicans, headed 

 by General Hawley, in which he also said that, 

 though by no means desirous to interfere with 

 the local elections of any State, he would be 

 pleased, in the present instance, to see his politi- 

 cal friends successful. Equally strong evidence 

 respecting the President's sympathies was af- 

 forded by James F. Babcock, Collector of New 

 Haven, and an intimate personal friend, who, 

 on hearing the rumor that Federal officeholders 

 would be expected to vote for English, went to 

 Washington, and sought an interview with Mr. 

 Johnson. "I -told him," he observed in a 

 speech delivered at a public meeting in Xew 

 Haven shortly afterward, " if this rumor were 

 true, I must, of necessity, resign my position, 

 feeling it incompatible with honor to retain it 

 under such a condition. This statement the 

 President assured me was totally false. Instead 

 of demanding votes for Mr. English, he was op- 

 posed to his election, because ho represented 

 the principles of the party which had opposed 

 the nation in its struggle for self-preservation." 

 The following communication, addressed by Mr. 

 Babcock and another citizen of Connecticut to 

 the Washington Chronicle, may be considered 

 to represent tho views of a considerable num- 

 ber of the party with which they were affiliated : 



WASHINGTON CITT, March 2-2, 1864. 

 In an editorial article of the Chronicle of this morn- 

 ing, we understand you to favor the idea that the 

 result of the New Hampshire election is in some re- 

 spects a verdict against the Union policy of President 

 Johnson, and an approval of the action of Congress, 

 so far as that action is at variance with thl- desires 

 of the President ; and you also intimate, as we under- 

 stand you, that the election of General Hawley in 



