108 



IOWA. 



ney-General, T. E. Bissell; Reporter of the 

 Supreme Court, E. II. Stiles; Clerk of the 

 Supreme Court, Charles Lindeman. Among 

 the resolutions adopted were the following in 

 reference to the grave political questions be- 

 fore the country : 



Mesolved, That the first and highest duty of our 

 free Government, is to secure to all its citizens, re- 

 gardless of race, religion, or color, equality before 

 the law, equal protection from it, equal responsibility 

 to it; and to all that have proved their loyalty by 

 their acts, an equal voice in making it. 



Resolved, That the reconstruction of the States ' 

 lately in rebellion belongs, through their Representa- 

 tives in Congress, to the people who have subdued 

 the rebellion and preserved the nation, and not to 

 the Executive alone. 



Itesolved, That we heartily approve of the joint 

 resolution lately passed by the Senate and House of 

 Representatives in Congress, assembled, proposing 

 to the Legislatures of the several States an additional 

 article by way of amendment to the Federal Consti- 

 tution ; and that we pledge the ratification of that 

 amendment by the Legislature of loyal Iowa. 



Jfaofatd, That, in the firm and manly adherence of 

 the Union party in Congress to the above principles, 

 we recognize new guaranties of the safety of the na- 

 tion; and we hereby pledge to Congress our con- 

 tinued and earnest support. 



Other resolutions advocated the enforcement 

 of the Monroe doctrine, favored the equaliza- 

 tion of bounties to the soldiers, and condemned 

 dishonesty and carelessness in every department 

 of the public service. 



On the 28th of June a convention of '' Con- 

 servative Republicans " assembled at DCS Moines, 

 and was called to order by General Benton, the 

 candidate of that party and of the Democrats 

 for Governor at the election of 18G5. A pream- 

 ble and resolutions, reported by a committee 

 of which General Benton was chairman, were 

 then adopted. The preamble recited that the 

 members of the couvcntion, being unable to co- 

 operate with the radical and dominant element 

 of the Republican party in the political meas- 

 ures which it had initiated, had decided to 

 establish a political association to be known as 

 the National Union party. The following are 

 the essential principles on which the new organ- 

 ization was declared to stand : 



We hold that the Constitution of the United States 

 is the palladium of our liberty, and that any depar- 

 ture from its requirements by the legislative, execu- 

 tive or judicial departments of the Government is 

 subversive of the fundamental principles of our re- 

 publican institutions. 



Repudiating the Radical doctrine of State rights 

 and secession on the one hand, and centralization of 

 Federal authority on the other, as equally dangerous, 

 and believing that no State can secede, and the war 

 having been prosecuted on our part, as expressly de- 

 clared by Congress itself, to defend and maintain the 

 supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the 

 Union inviolate, with all its dignity and equality and 

 the rights of the States unimpaired. The Federal 

 arms having been victorious, we hold that all the 

 States are still in the Union and entitled to equal 

 rights under the Constitution, and that Congress has 

 no power to exclude a State from the Union, to gov- 

 ern it as a Territory, or to deprive it of representation 

 in the councils of the nation, when its Representatives 

 have -been elected and qualified in accordance with 

 the Constitution and laws of the land. 



While we fully concede to the Fedeial Government 

 the power to enforce obedience to the Constitution, 

 and laws enacted in conformity with it, and to pun- 

 ish those who resist its legitimate authority in the 

 several States, we believe that the maintenance in- 

 violate of the rights of the Sjtates, and especially of 

 the right of each State to order and control its own 

 domestic institutions, according to its own judgment 

 exclusively, is essential to that balance of power 

 on which the perfection and endurance of our politi- 

 cal feeedom depends. 



We hold that each State has the right to prescribe 

 the qualifications of its electors, and we are opposed 

 to any alterations of the provisions of our State in- 

 stitution on the subject of suffrage. 



We cordially indorse the restoration policy o* 

 President Johnson as wise, patriotic, constitutional, 

 and in harmony with the loyal sentiment and pur- 

 poses of the people in the suppression of the rebel- 

 lion, with the platform upon which he was elected, 

 with the declared policy of the late President Lin- 

 coln, the action of Congress, and the pledges given 

 during the war. 



We regard the action of Congress in refusing to 

 admit loyal Representatives from States recently in 

 rebellion as .unwarranted by the Constitution, and 

 calculated to complicate rather than adjust our na- 

 tional troubles. 



The ratification, by the Legislatures of the several 

 States, of the-amendment to the Constitution of the 

 United States for the abolition of slavery settles that 

 vexed question and meets our hearty approval. 



We are opposed to any further amendments to the 

 Constitution of the United States until all the States 

 are represented in Congress and have a vote ia 

 making the same. 



The convention then nominated the following 

 candidates for State officers : Secretary of State, 

 Colonel S. G. Van Ananda ; Treasurer, General 

 George A. Stone ; Auditor, Captain li. W. Cross ; 

 Register, S. P. McKennie; Attorney-General, 

 Captain W. Bolinger ; Supreme Court Reporter > 

 Captain J. W. Limute ; Clerk, Louis Kinzey. 



The Democratic Convention met at Des 

 Moines on July llth, and adopted resolutions 

 reaffirming adherence to Democratic principles, 

 in favor of the policy of President Johnson, and 

 pledging him the support of the Democrats of 

 Iowa ; in favor of the immediate admission of 

 the rebellious States, and in favor of union with 

 any body for this purpose ; in favor of the taxa- 

 tion of the United States bonds; against a 

 tariff; against the prohibitory liquor law; in 

 favor of the Monroe doctrine ; in favor of the 

 Philadelphia Convention ; in favor of pensions 

 and bounties to soldiers, and in favor of the late 

 Fenian movement. 



After some discussion the convention decided 

 to support the candidates nominated by the 

 Conservative Republicans, with the exception 

 of those for Reporter and Clerk of the Supreme 

 Court, in whose places they substituted the 

 names of T. J. Stoddard and J. F. Gottschalk. 



The political canvass was conducted here as 

 elsewhere with great animation, and the elec- 

 tion, which took place on October 9th, resulted 

 largely in favor of the Republicans. The fol- 

 lowing was the vote for Secretary of State : 



Wright, Republican 91,22? 



Van Ananda, Dem. and Couserv. Rep 55,815 



Majority for Wright 35,412 



