ILLINOIS. 



351 



Union on a footing of equality with the other States, 

 whenever the conditions imposed in the reconstruc- 

 tion laws should have been complied with. 



3. That we denounce all forms of repudiation as a 

 national crime ; and that the national honor requires 

 the payment of the public indebtedness, in the utmost 

 good faith, to all creditors at home and abroad, ac- 

 cording to the letter and spirit of the laws under 

 which it was contracted. 



4. That it is due to the labor of the nation that 

 taxation should be equalized and reduced as rapidly 

 as the national faith will permit, and that any sur- 

 plus which may remain in the Treasury, after econom- 

 ical and necessary appropriations, shall be applied to 

 the reduction of the public debt by purchase in open 

 market. 



5. That the burden of the national debt should be 

 extended over a fair time before redemption, and that 

 it is the duty of Congress to reduce the rate of interest 

 on such debt whenever and however it can be lawfully 

 done. 



6. That as it is probable that no form of Govern- 

 ment indebtedness will be presented for many years. 

 the principal of the war debt being the heritage or 

 the future, it is premature to consider the question 

 of calling in the loans. ; that, before the first issue of 

 such indebtedness becomes payable, the currency of 

 the country will be equivalent in value to gold, unless 

 the enemies of the public credit should, in the mean 

 while, destroy it. 



7. That General Ulysses S. Grant, by his remark- 

 able series of triumphs in the field of battle, and by 

 his equally remarkable success in executing the re- 

 construction laws of Congress, has twice rescued the 

 country from the greatest perils, that the consummate 

 ability and loyalty which he has exhibited in every 

 emergency of peace and war have made him the most 

 illustrious exponent of the principles which triumphed 

 in the late war for the Union, and is the natural suc- 

 cessor of Abraham Lincoln in the affections of the 

 people ; and our delegates in the Chicago Convention 

 are hereby instructed to cast their votes for him as 

 nominee of the Republican party for the office of 

 President of the United States. 



8. That the right of expatriation is a natural and in- 

 herent right, and is indispensable to " the enjoyment 

 of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ;" that 

 while the 'citizen owes allegiance to the Government, 

 the Government owes protection to the citizen ; and 

 that it is- the duty of the Government of the United 

 States to protect all its citizens, native-born and 

 naturalized, in the full enjoyment of the same, and 

 by whomsoever, and under whatever color or pretence, 

 these rights may be invaded. 



9. That the thanks of the American people are due 

 to the soldiers and sailors of the army and navy who 

 have perilled their lives in defence of their country 

 and in vindication of the honor of its flag ; that the 

 nation owes to them a perpetual recognition of their 

 patriotism and valor ; and that ample and permanent 

 provision should be made for those of their survivors 

 who have received disabling and honorable wounds 

 in the service of their country ; and that the memory 

 of those who have fallen in its defence will be held 

 in grateful and everlasting remembrance. 



10. That we reiterate and reaffirm the following 

 resolutions of the recent Democratic Convention ot 

 Illinois, to wit : "Resolved^ That in the administra- 

 tion of the present system of internal revenue a re- 

 form is loudly called for, and which, in our judgment, 

 can only be effected by expelling from p" lace the pres- 

 ent horde of thieves and plunderers, who have riot- 

 ed and fattened upon the substance of the people, and 

 who, under the pretence of collecting the revenue 

 for the Government, have succeeded in enriching 

 themselves at the expense of the people ; " and, in- 

 asmuch as the frauds here recited have been mainly, 

 if not wholly, committed since Andrew Johnson be- 

 trayed his own party and sought the alliance and 

 friendship of the Democratic party, by removing 



the appointees of Abraham Lincoln, and filling their 

 places with supporters of his policy of reconstruction, 

 we can seen no end to the corruption prevailing in the 

 collection of the revenue but in a change in the ad- 

 ministration of the presidential office. 



11. That the wages of labor constitute, in this 

 country, one of the strongest bonds of society ; and 

 as labor is confined to no race, nalionality, or creed, 

 the rights of laboring men are everywhere the same. 



12. That as those rights cannot be assailed any- 

 where by slavery or by any of its modifications with- 

 out inflicting wrong upon labor everywhere, there- 

 fore, in the issue now before the American people, 

 we most earnestly invite the cooperation of every la- 

 boring man in our efforts to shape the institutions of 

 the Southern States, that the rule shall be universal 

 and inviolable, " An honest day's wages fora faithful 

 day's work." 



13. That the Republican party, mindful of the 

 truth that genuine national greatness and prosperity 

 must always be founded upon public morality, recog- 

 nize in perfect civil and religious liberty, in support 

 of which our forefathers fought and bled, the most 

 efficient means to raise the moral standard of the 

 people. 



The Legislature of 1867 made provision for 

 submitting to the suffrages of the people the 

 question of holding a convention to revise and 

 amend the constitution of the State, the time 

 of holding the election for delegates, in case 

 the people decided in favor of the convention, 

 to be fixed by the next Legislature, and the 

 convention to be held within three months 

 after such election. This was one of the ques- 

 tions before the people at the last election, and 

 they decided that the convention should be 

 held. The total vote cast was 444, 860, of which 

 223,124 were for the convention, giving a ma- 

 jority of 704 in the whole State in favor of 

 revising the constitution. The election on the 

 general ticket resulted in a large Republican 

 majority. The whole vote cast for presiden- 

 tial electors was 449,436, of which 250,293 were 

 in favor of Grant's election, and 199,143 for 

 Seymour. Grant's majority, 51,150. General 

 John A. Logan was nominated by the Repub- 

 licans, and Dickey by the Democrats for 



member of Congress at large, to represent the 

 whole State in the House of Representatives at 

 "Washington. Logan's majority at the election 

 was 55,987. Members of Congress were also 

 elected from the thirteen congressional dis- 

 tricts, nine of whom were Republicans, and four 

 Democrats. The State officers elected were all 

 Republican. The Legislature, which meets bi- 

 ennially, assembled on the 5th of January, 1869. 

 Its composition is as follows : 



Senate. 



Republicans 18 



Democrats 7 



11 



House. Joint Ballot. 



58 76 



27 34 



31 



42 



. Rep. majority 



The Governor of Illinois is chosen for a term 

 of four years. R. J. Oglesby who had been 

 the efficient Executive of the State since the be- 

 ginning of 1865, retired from office immediately 

 after the opening of the Legislature, and on the 

 13th of January, 1869, General John K Palmer 

 was inaugurated as the fourteenth Governor 

 of the Commonwealth. 



