224 



DELAWARE. 



Six delegates to the St. Louis Convention 

 were then chosen. 



The Democrats of the State held a conven- 

 tion at Dover on the 7th of September, for the 

 nomination of a candidate for member of Con- 

 gress. The Hon. James Williams was renomi- 

 nated, and the following was adopted as the 

 platform of the party : 



The Democracy of Delaware, represented by the 

 delegates of this convention, reaffirm the attachment 

 of the party to the principles of republican govern- 

 ment as established by the men who framed the 

 Federal Constitution, and insist that only by a faith- 

 ful observance of those principles can the just pow- 

 ers of the General and State Governments be main- 

 tained and the rights of all the people be assured. 



Resolved 1. That all attempts on the part of the 

 Executive Department of the Federal Government to 

 interfere with elections in the States is a usurpation 

 of power, subversive of the rights of the States and 

 the liberties of the people. We therefore denounce 

 the recent military order of the Secretary of War 

 directing the General of the Army to distribute sol- 

 diers in the Southern States as indicative of a pur- 

 pose on the part of the Administration and its sup- 

 porters to prevent, if possible, a free and fair exercise 

 of the elective franchise in those States. 



2. That the late circular of the Attorney-General 

 of the United States to the United States marshals 

 is an attempt to usurp the authority of the govern- 

 ments of the States and to place the control of the 

 elections in the hands of unscrupulous United States 

 marshals, and thereby to force tne election of a Re- 

 publican Executive against the will of the people. 



3. That the extravagant and wasteful expenditure 

 of the public money since the termination of the 

 war has entailed oppressive taxation and brought 

 financial distress upon the country ; and demands, no 

 less than the corruptions that have existed under 

 Republican rule, a change in the management of 

 public affairs. 



4. That we charge that much of the embarrassment 

 under which the business and industries of the 

 ciuritry are suffering is attributable to the exhaustive 

 drain of Federal taxation upon the resources of the 

 people, and that much of the money extorted by 

 taxation from the people of the country has been 

 squandered in political jobs and not appropriated to 

 advance the interests or the country. 



5. That the Administration of President Grant has 

 been marked by a disregard and contempt for con- 

 stitutional and legal obligations and the rights and 

 interests of the people; that the prolongation of 

 Republican rule would be a continuation of the op- 

 pression, corruption, and extravagance, which have 

 existed for the last eleven years. 



6. That the true interests of the American people 

 demand a change in ths administration of public 

 affairs, which can only be effected by a defeat of the 

 party controlling the Government; that the election 

 of Mr. Hayes, influenced as he would be by the men 

 who have surrounded President Grant and shaped 

 his Administration, would fail to secure purity or 

 economy in the administration of the Govern- 

 ment. 



7. That in the candidates for President and Vice- 

 President, nominated by the National Democratic 

 Convention at St. Louis, and the platform of prin- 

 ciples enunciated by said convention, as well as in 

 the letters of acceptance both of Mr. Tilden and Mr. 

 Hendricks, we have the assurance, pledge, and guar- 

 antee that the success of the Democratic party in the 

 present canvass will insure reform in the civil ser- 

 vice of the country, purity in the administration of 

 the Government, economy in the expenditures of the 

 public money, reduction in taxation, prosperity to 

 the country, and happiness to the people of every 

 section of our common country. 



The following resolution was unanimously 

 adopted, on motion of James L. Walcott, of 

 Kent County : 



Resolved, That we are, and always have been, in 

 favor of the white men of the country controlling the 

 Government; and therefore we appeal with confi- 

 dence to the white voters ? only, for the success of 

 the principles enunciated in the foregoing resolu- 

 tions. 



The Republicans met in convention at Do- 

 ver on the 13th of September, and nominated 

 Levi C. Bird for Congress, besides presenting 

 a ticket for presidential electors. They also 

 adopted the following resolutions: 



Resolved, That we declare our hearty concurrence 

 in the declaration of principles adopted by the Na- 

 tional Republican Convention of June 14, 1876, and 

 congratulate the country on the nomination of Ruth- 

 erford B. Hayes and "William A. Wheeler, and ac- 

 cept their lives, services, and communications as the 

 evidence of the determination of the Republican 

 party to secure the blessings of good government, 

 pure public service, and the equal and constitutional 

 rights of every citizen of the United States. 



Resolved, That recognizing the duty of the national 

 Government to aid in the restoration of harmonious 

 relations in every part of our common Union upon 

 the basis of the amended Constitution, we unquali- 

 fiedly affirm that this duty can be better performed 

 by those to whom the nation is indebted for its 

 preservation than those who were so lately banded 

 for its destruction, and whose continued persecution 

 of their fellow-citizens and denial of their civil rights 

 demonstrate that they either do not understand the 

 true principles of republican government, or that 

 they are unwilling to yield obedience to the obliga- 

 tions imposed by the fundamental law ; and that 

 the declared purpose of the President, Secretary of 

 War, and the Attorney-General, in conformity with 

 the resolution adopted by the Democratic House of 

 Representatives, to use the military power of the 

 Government so far as is necessary to secure a free 

 ballot to all citizens of whatever party or race in the 

 coming presidential election, deserves and will re- 

 ceive the indorsement and gratitude of the people 

 of the United States. 



Resolved, That the recent Republican victories in 

 Vermont and Maine afford conclusive and most 

 gratifying evidence that the people understand what 

 party is the safe depositary of the public good, and 

 of their determination not to withdraw the faculties 

 of government from those by whom they have been 

 so faithfully administered, but to continue the mani- 

 festation of their confidence in those by whom the 

 republic was preserved, until there shall be no right 

 unsecured and no wrong unredressed. 

 _ Resolved, That our thanks are due to our fellow- 

 citizens of Wilmington for the recent vindication 

 of the principles of honesty and economy in public 

 service, and we confidently rest in the assurance that 

 the action of the new council will afford a marked 

 contrast to the extravagance and corruption of its 

 predecessor. 



Resolved, That we arraign the Democratic party of 

 this State as being organized and conducted in utter 

 disregard of the interests of the people, and especially 

 in the matter of levying taxes ; that it is actuated for 

 the purpose of the preservation of its power, rather 

 than collection of revenue. 



Resolved, That we renew the demand of the Re- 

 publican party of Delaware for an improved school 

 system, and we equally demand that the schools be 

 kept free from any and every sectarian and ecclesi- 

 astical influence. 



Resolved, That we renew the pledges of the Repub- 

 lican party in favor of equality of representation to 

 the General Assembly. 



