MAINE. 



449 



urrency which was made a legal tender by that act, 



such as are by their terms made so payable ; and that 

 all such bonds as are made payable in currency should 

 be paid as fast as it is possible to do so without in- 

 flating the currency beyond a safe and just point. 



Resolved, That so long as the currency consists in 

 whole or in part of paper money, issued under the au- 

 thority of the national Government, such paper should 

 be issued directly by the Government itseli. and that 

 the great and valuable privilege of issuing three hun- 

 dred millions of this money, yielding a profit equal to 

 eighteen millions annually in gold, has been too long 

 enjoyed by favored individuals, associated under the 

 national banking law, and should forthwith be as- 

 sumed by the people represented by the political au- 

 thority of the nation. 



Resolved. That the men who fought for the Union 

 were entitled to the same currency as the men who 

 loaned the money, and that the bayonet-holders, la- 

 borers, farmers, and bondholders, should be paid 

 alike. 



Resolved, That we recognize with unaffected pleasure 

 the presence of the patriotic soldiers and sailors now 

 in this hall. They heroically met the enemy with the 

 bayonet when our Government was assailed by force, 

 and now with equal patriotism oppose the enemy with 

 the ballot where the Government is assailed by politi- 

 cal strategy. 



Resolved, That this convention unanimously re- 

 nominate Hon. Eben F. Pillsbury as a candidate for 

 the gubernatorial chair of Maine, and recommend him 

 to the people of the whole State as eminently quali- 

 fied for the position, and entitled to their cordial sup- 

 port. 



A convention of the conservative soldiers and 

 sailors of the State was held on the same day. 

 Their sentiments were expressed as follows : 



We, the conservative soldiers and sailors of Maine, 

 assembled in delegate convention at Augusta, June 

 23, 1868, resolve that we will never allow the Union, 

 for which we and our comrades fell, to be destroyed 

 by the machinations of the reckless and unprincipled 

 men who-now absorb all branches of the Government 

 within the Congress of the United States. Believing 

 the party in power to be false to the best interests of the 

 country, and knowing them to have been false in their 

 promises to the soldiers who fought for the Union, 

 the conservative soldiers and sailors of Maine sol- 

 emnly declare their intention to use all honorable 

 means within their power to restore the harmony of 

 all the States, to assert the supremacy of the Consti- 

 tution and the laws, and to restore our divided coun- 

 try to that unity and prosperity which so long made 

 us a paragon among nations, and which was inspired 

 by the spirit of seventy-six. To this> end we pledge 

 ourselves to sustain the great conservative party of 

 the country in this, the hour of the nation's peril. 



The Republican Convention was held at 

 Portland on the 8th of July. General Joshua 

 L. Chamberlain was renominated, and the fol- 

 lowing platform of principles adopted : 



Resolved, That this convention, representing the 

 views of the Union men of Maine, emphatically ap- 

 proves the platform of principles recently adopted by 

 the National Republican Convention in Chicago as 

 fairly expressive of the political faith and purposes 

 of the loyal citizens of the republic. 



Resolved, That General Ulysses S. Grant, for his 

 genius and services in war, and for his calm and 

 sagacious statesmanship in peace, deserves the con- 

 fidence and will receive the enthusiastic support of 

 the patriotic freemen of Maine for the Chief Magis- 

 tracy of the nation at the election in November. 



Resolved, That Hon. S. Colfax, of Indiana, by his 

 VOL. vni. 29 A 



integrity and patriotism as a citizen, his ability and 

 success as a public man ; and his long and unwavering 

 devotion to sound national principles, is eminently 

 qualified for the high place to which he is nominated 

 by the National Republican Convention, and the 

 Union men of Maine pledge him their unity and 

 cordial support for the vice-presidency. 



Resolved, That to General Joshua L. Chamberlain, 

 distinguished alike by his ability and bravery as a 

 soldier, and by his successful administration of the 

 gubernatorial office which he fills with admirable 

 satisfaction to the people of Maine, this convention 

 pledges united support and triumphant election in 

 September. 



Resolved, That to the living and to the memory of 

 the dead of all those who, by land or sea, perilled 

 life and limb to crush the recent rebellion and save 

 the Eepublic from dismemberment and overthrow, 

 this convention offers renewed tokens of gratitude 

 and homage. 



Resolved, That the proposition made by the recent 

 Democratic Convention of the State, to admit the 

 rebels of the South to a share in the tax on Govern- 

 ment bonds, is a fraud and an outrage on the loyal 

 people of the North, under the delusive promise of 

 lightening taxation at home. ^ The resolution pro- 

 poses to rob the people of Maine by assessing a tax 

 on the deposits ol savings banks, on the treasures of 

 our insurance companies, and on the hard earnings 

 of the humblest labor invested in Government bonds, 

 and to divide the amount raised among all the States, 

 thus giving to the rebels of Texas more than two 

 dollars where the loyal men of Maine get one. "We 

 denounce the proposition as an attempt to enrich the 

 rebels at the expense of loyal men, and to subject 

 our national debt to the base end of lighting anew 

 the smouldering embers of Southern rebellion. 



Resolved, That the Democratic National Conven- 

 tion, now in session in New York, may be regarded 

 as an arranged effort to renew the spirit and ac- 

 complish the purposes of the lately suppressed rebel- 

 lion. Its membership is largely composed of men 

 who led the rebel hosts against the flag of the Union 

 during the recent bloody conflict, and of those who 

 plotted treason in the rebel Congress at Richmond 

 during our four years of national sorrow; its first 

 aim in the new revolt is to destroy the Government 

 credit and then overthrow by revolutionary violence 

 the constitutional governments in the Southern 

 States. Its ill-concealed* movements against the first 

 and its openly avowed purpose to accomplish the 

 second should at once alarm and arouse all good 

 citizens who desire the peace, prosperity, and con- 

 tinued Union of the States. 



There was also a Soldiers and Sailors' Con- 

 vention on the same day, at which the platform 

 of the National Soldiers and Sailors' Conven- 

 tion at Chicago was adopted without change, 

 and the Chicago nominations of the Repub- 

 lican party heartily indorsed. An additional 

 resolution was adopted, calling upon the State 

 and national governments to show substantial 

 evidence of their indebtedness to the nation's 

 defenders by furnishing employment, so far as 

 possible, to the maimed soldiers and sailors. 



The election, which occurred on the second 

 Monday in September, resulted in the choice of 

 General Chamberlain for Governor, by a ma- 

 jority of 20,403. The whole vote was 131,265. 

 Chamberlain received 75,834, Pillsbury 55,431. 

 Five Representatives to Congress were chosen, 

 all Republican. At the presidential election, 

 112,822 votes were cast ; TO, 426 were for Grant, 

 and 42,396 for Seymour, giving the Republican 

 ticket a majority of 28,030. The Legislature 



