UNITED STATES. 



779 



Mr. B. Gratz Brown also accepted the nom- 

 ination as candidate for the vice-presidency, 

 in a letter dated May 31st. 



Many Liberal Republicans were dissatisfied 

 with the nomination of Mr. Greeley, and a 

 meeting was held in Steinway Hall, New 

 York, on May 30th, composed of such persons. 

 Their sympathies were in favor of the adop- 

 tion of a less rigid protective policy than was 

 to be expected under Mr. Greeley. In com- 

 pliance with the views of this meeting, a con- 

 ference was subsequently held at the Fifth 

 Avenue Hotel, New York, on June 20th, of 

 persons invited, as follows : 



NEW YORK, June 6, 1872. 



The undersigned desire to have a conference of 

 gentlemen who are opposed^ to the present Adminis- 

 tration and its continuance in office, and deem it ne- 

 cessary that all the elements of the opposition should 

 be united for a common effort at the coming presi- 

 dential election. 



They respectfully invite you to meet a number of 

 gentlemen belonging to the different branches of the 

 opposition, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, 

 on June 20, at 2 P.M., for the purpose of consulta- 

 tion, and to take such action as the situation of 

 things may require. 



Your attention is respectfully drawn to the fact 

 that this invitation is strictly personal to yourself, 

 and a prompt reply is earnestly requested, addressed 

 to Henry D. Lloyd, secretary of the committee, post- 

 office box 2.209. 



CARL SCIIURZ, 

 JACOB D. COX, 

 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, 

 OSWALD OTTENDORFER, 

 DAVID A. WELLS, 

 JACOB BRINKERHOFF. 



A series of resolutions was adopted, and "Win. 

 S. Groesbeck, of Ohio, nominated for President, 

 and Frederick L. Olmsted of New York, for 

 Vice-President. During the excitement of the 

 canvass, this ticket was entirely forgotten. 



The regular Republican Convention assem- 

 bled in Philadelphia on June 5th, and was 

 organized by the appointment of Thomas Set- 

 tle, of North Carolina, as permanent chairman. 

 The following resolutions were adopted : 



The Republican party of the United States, as- 

 sembled in National Convention in the city of Phila- 

 delphia, on the 5th and 6th days of June, 1872, 

 again declares its faith, appeals to its history, and 

 announces its position upon the questions before the 

 country. 



1. During eleven years of supremacy, it has ac- 

 cepted with grand courage the solemn duties of the 

 times. It suppressed a gigantic rebellion, emanci- 

 pated four million slaves, decreed the equal citizen- 

 ship of all, and established universal suffrage. Ex- 

 hibiting unparalleled magnanimity, it criminally 

 punished no man for political offences, and warmly 

 welcomed all who proved their loyalty by obeying 

 the laws, and dealing justly with their neighbors. 

 It has steadily decreased with a firm hand the re- 

 sultant disorders of a great war, and initiated a wise 

 and humane policy toward the Indians. 



The Pacific Railroad and similar vast enterprises 

 have been generously aided and successfully con- 

 ducted, the public lands freely given to actual set- 

 tlers, immigration protected and encouraged, and a 

 full acknowledgment of the naturalized citizens' 

 rights secured from European powers. A uniform 

 national currency has been provided, repudiation 

 frowned down, the national credit sustained under 



most extraordinary burdens, and new bonds nego- 

 tiated at lower rates. The revenues have been care- 

 fully collected and honestly applied. Despite annual 

 large reductions of the rates of taxation, the public 

 debt has been reduced during General Grant's presi- 

 dency at the rate of one hundred millions a year. 

 Great financial crises have been avoided, and peace 

 and plenty prevail throughout the land. Menacing 

 foreign difficulties have been peacefully and hon- 

 orably composed, and the honor and power of the 

 nation kept in high respect throughout the world. 



This glorious record of the past is the party's best 

 pledge for the future. 



We believe- the people will not intrust the Gov- 

 ernment to any party or combination of men com- 

 posed chiefly of those who resisted every step of this 

 beneficial progress. 



2. Complete liberty and exact equality in the en- 

 joyment of all civil, political, and public rights, 

 should be established and effectually maintained 

 throughout the Union by efficient and appropriate 

 State and Federal legislation. Neither the law nor 

 its administration should admit of any discrimina- 

 tion, in respect of citizens, by reason of race, creed, 

 color, or previous condition of servitude. 



3. The recent amendments to the national Con- 

 stitution should be cordially sustained because they 

 are right, not merely tolerated because they are law; 

 and should be carried out according to their spirit 

 by appropriate legislation, the enforcement of which 

 can safely be intrusted only to the party that secured 

 those amendments. 



4. The national Government should seek to main- 

 tain honorable peace with all nations, protecting its 

 citizens everywhere, and sympathizing with all peo- 

 ples who strive for greater liberty. 



5. Any system of the civil service, under which 

 the subordinate positions of the Government are 

 considered rewards for mere party zeal, is fatally 

 demoralizing, and we therefore favor a reform of the 

 system by laws which shall abolish the evils of pa- 

 tronage, and make honesty, efficiency, and fidelity, 

 the essential qualifications for public position, without 

 practically creating a life-tenure of office. 



6. We are opposed to further grants of the public 

 lands to corporations and monopolies, and demand 

 that the national domain be set apart for free homes 

 for the people. 



7. The annual revenue, after paying the current 

 debtj should furnish a moderate balance for the re- 

 duction of the principal, and the revenue, except so 

 much as may be derived from a tax on tobacco and 

 liquors, be raised by duties upon importation, the du- 

 ties of which should be so adjusted as to aid in secur- 

 ing remunerative wages to labor, and promote the 

 growth, industries, and prosperity of the whole 

 country. 



8. We bold in undying honor the soldiers and 

 sailors whose valor saved the Union. Their pensions 

 are a sacred debt of the nation, and the widows and 

 orphans of those who died for their country are en- 

 titled to the care of such additional legislation as will 

 extend the bounty of the Government to all our sol- 

 diers and sailors who were honorably discharged, 

 and who in the line of duty became disabled, without 

 regard to the length of service, or the cause of such 

 discharge. 



9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other Euro- 

 pean powers concerning allegiance, " once a subject 

 always a subject," having at last, through the efforts 

 of the Republican party, been abandoned, and the 

 American idea of the individual's right to transfer 

 allegiance having been accepted by European nations, 

 it is the duty of our Government to guard with jealous 

 care the right of adopted citizens against the as- 

 sumption of unauthorized claims by their former 

 Governments, and we urge continual careful encour- 

 agement and protection of voluntary immigration. 



10. The franking privilege ought to be abolished, 

 and the way prepared for a speedy reduction in the 

 rate of postage. 



