MASSACHUSETTS. 



503 



policy toward the Southern section of the country, in 

 place of promoting that reconciliation which was its 

 obvious duty, it has embittered the hostility be- 

 tween the diiferent classes, and arrayed the white 

 and black races against each other in a manner that 

 is fatal to the best interests of the nation, and, worst 

 of all, pernicious to the welfare of the colored race, 

 of which it assumes to be the especial protector. 



3. Resolved. That we cordially indorse Horace 

 Greeley and B. Gratz Brown as eminently tit for the 

 posts assigned them by the two great National Con- 

 ventions, and we denounce the constantly-reiterated 

 pretence that the rights of the frecdmen will be less 

 secure under their administration a wanton insult 

 to the intelligent people of the nation, and a dis- 

 honest trick to retain power in bad hands by impos- 

 ing on the ignorant and credulous. 



4. Resolved, That the Hon. Charles Sumner, by his 

 efforts to secure to all classes perfect equality before 

 the law, to restore an honest currency, to promote 

 the harmony and reconciliation of the States, and 

 especially by his masterly and unanswerable expos- 

 ure of the untrustworthiness of the present Adminis- 

 tration, has won a new and transcendent title to the 

 veneration and gratitude of the Commonwealth and 

 the country. 



5. Resolved, That labor is the creator of capital 

 and is what originates the only valid title to the 

 private possession of it, and that the possession of 

 capital, as free civilized society is necessarily con- 

 structed, is the only thing besides charity which can 

 prevent the necessity of excessive labor. Therefore, 

 all that the State can do to alleviate labor, unless it 

 should arbitrarily attempt to enforce charity at the 

 expense of capital, which is inconsistent with the 

 rights of property, and would only injure the laborer 

 in the end, is to give him the utmost facility honest- 

 ly to acquire capital, by seeing that he is not unjustly 

 or unnecessarily taxed, that he enjoys the best 

 means of education and has the benefit of well man- 

 aged financial and cooperative institutions, whereby 

 bis smallest savings of capital may earn the largest 

 profit, and the doing of this is held to be the highest 

 duty of the State. 



6. Resolved, That the action of the Grant party of 

 this Commonwealth at a recent convention in declar- 

 ing for a prohibitory liquor law affords the strongest 

 evidence of its corruption and hypocrisy on the tem- 

 perance question, when we consider that, having for 

 years held the control of the offices of this Common- 

 wealth and had in charge the execution of its laws, 

 they have failed to enforce this law, excepting in 

 particular localities and with venal discrimination. 



7. Resolved, That the presence of laws upon the 

 statute-book without an attempt to enforce the same, 

 or a partial or corrupt attempt at their enforcement, 

 is demoralizing in its effect on the people. It has a 

 tendency to produce disrespect for the law ; therefore 

 all laws" existing of this character should, in the 

 judgment of this convention, be either vigorously 

 and impartially enforced or repealed. 



In the Democratic Convention " the declara- 

 tion of principles framed at Cincinnati and 

 approved at Baltimore " was " adopted by the 

 Democracy of this Commonwealth," and the 

 party was pledged to a "hearty support of 

 the candidates there nominated." Conference 

 committees were appointed by the two con- 

 ventions to make up a joint ticket, which was 

 adopted and was as follows: For Governor, 

 Charles Sumner, of Boston ; for Lieutenant- 

 Govern or, George W. Stearns, of Chicopee ; 

 for Secretary of State, George H. Munroe, of 

 Boston ; for Treasurer and Receiver General, 

 Levi Hay wood, of Gardner; for Auditor, P. 

 A. Collins, of Boston ; for Attorney-General, 

 Waldo Coburn, of Dedham ; for electors at 



large, Chester W. Chapin, of Springfield, and 

 Frank W. Bird, of Walpole. The following 

 resolution was adopted, ratifying the ticket, 

 after which the two conventions united in the 

 same hall for speech-making and congratula- 

 tions : 



Resolved, That w commend the candidates pre- 

 sented by the concurrent action of the two Conven- 

 tions this day to the suffrages of the honest voters 

 of the Commonwealth, and their triumphant election 

 will insure a discontinuance of the trifling legislation 

 and corrupt practices which have made odious the 

 existing Administration. 



Mr. Sumner, who was out of the country 

 when the nominations were made, declined to 

 stand as candidate for Governor, and the name 

 of F. W. Bird was substituted on the ticket by 

 the State Central Committees. 



A Labor Eeform Convention had been held 

 on the 21st of August, at Framingham, but it 

 was decided to make no nominations. The 

 committee appointed to draw up a platform 

 of principles failed to agree, and two reports 

 were made, but after some discussion the fol- 

 lowing brief resolution was adopted as a sub- 

 stitute for both : 



Resolved, That the whole power and strength of 

 the Labor party in this State is concentrated in the 

 single issue of reducing the hours of labor for the 

 factory operatives, and that we will not vote for any 

 member of the Legislature who opposes this simple 

 act of justice and humanity. 



The only other resolution adopted was this : 

 Resolved, That we demand that women who do 

 the same kind of work as men shall receive the same 

 wages, and that we demand the ballot for women. 



The convention was thinly attended, and 

 rather inharmonious. 



At the election on the 4th of November, the 

 total vote cast for presidential electors was 

 192,732, of which 155.472 were in favor of 

 Grant and Wilson, and 59,260 in favor of Gree- 

 ley and Brown, making the majority of Grant 

 and Wilson 74,212. The total vote for Gov- 

 ernor was 193,526, of which Washburn re- 

 ceived 133,900, and Bird 59,626; majority for 

 Washburn, 74,274. The entire Republican 

 State ticket was chosen, and a full Republican 

 delegation elected to Congress from the eleven 

 districts. The State Legislature consists of 

 39 Republicans and 1 Democrat in the Senate, 

 and 217 Republicans and 23 Democrats in the 

 House of Representatives. In December, Hen- 

 ry L. Pierce, Republican, was chosen Mayor 

 of the city of Boston by a majority of 79 over 

 Win. Gaston, the Democratic candidate. The 

 Board of Aldermen of Boston consists of 9 

 Republicans and 3 Democrats, the Common 

 Council of 38 Republicans and 26 Democrats. 



On the 9th and 10th of November the city 

 of Boston was visited by a terrible conflagra- 

 tion, which swept through the richest business 

 quarter, destroying large granite stores and 

 warehouses, and vast amounts of merchan- 

 dise. Th,e fire broke out at about 7 o'clock in 

 the evening of the 9th, at the corner of Sum- 

 mer and Kingston Streets, and, owing to the 



