VERMONT. 



797 



lehsenlng of the burdens imposed on labor, or by the 

 ruluction of offices anil taxation. 



it. An holiest civil-service reform ; strict 8ec"iuit- 

 atiilitv i.i' our ollk'ialh, enforced l,v competent cisil 

 iiintil remcJie*; the restoration of the D.-in..- 

 V.M* of lidiu->ty, fidelity, sad capacity us qual- 

 ification- I'nr public "ilicials. 



8. HoiiL-ft payment ot' the public debt; sacred 

 preservation uf the public faith. 



4. Free schools exempt from sectarian control ; no 

 appropriation of puhlio money for sectarian institu- 

 tions. A free press, accountable for abuse to civil 

 mi. I criminal laws. 



6. Home rule; no centralization of State or Fed- 

 eral power: no Federal interference in the State or 

 municipal election.-. 



\posure and speedy punishment of corruption 

 and peculation in tin- administration of public affairs. 



7. '(.-1.1 and silver as the only legal tender; no 

 currency inconvertible witli coin ; coin the only cur- 

 rency recognized by the Constitutic 11. 



8. Steady steps toward the resumption of specie 

 payments ; no steps backward. 



5. Tariff for the purpose of revenue only. 



10. In the confidence that our delegates to the Na- 

 tional Democratic Convention at St. Louis will sup- 

 port only those candidates who are the proper repre- 

 sentatives of their principles, we leave them to the 

 free exercise of tlieir discretion in the choice of men 

 best fitted to bring about thorough reform in the 

 administration of our national afi'airs. 



11. In the interest of honest and pure govern- 

 ment outraged, our free institutions periled, and to 

 redeem the American name from the stigma cast 

 upon it by the astounding and unparalleled corrup- 

 tion of the party now in power, we cordially invite 

 the codperation'witli us of all honest men, irrespec- 

 tive of former party affiliation. 



12. That the thanks of the people are due to 

 the House of Representatives of ihe United States 

 for reducing appropriations and confining expendi- 

 tures within the proper limits ; also for instituting 

 investigations, and unearthing frauds and corrup- 

 tions in high places ; and that in this convention Me 

 commend the action of the Democrats of New York 

 and Connecticut in the large reduction of State tax- 

 ation which they have produced, as a practical return 

 to the economy and strict accountability which al- 

 ways characterized the administration of the Gov- 

 ernment under the rule of Democrats. 



Tlie Republicans held their State Convention 

 at Montpelier on June 27th, for the purpose of 

 nominating their State and electoral tickets. 

 For the office of Governor, Horace Fairbanks, 

 of St. Johnsbury, was nominated. For the 

 offices of Lienten ant-Governor and State Treas- 

 urer, Redfield Proctor, of Rutland, and John 

 A. Paije, of Montpelier, were nominated with- 

 out opposition. As candidates for presidential 

 electors at large, Jacob Estey, of Brattleboro, 

 and Charles E. Honghton, of Bennington, were 

 nominated. 



As the platform of this convention, two 

 resolutions were reported and accepted by the 

 convention : the one adopting the platform 

 which had been shortly before adopted by the 

 National Republican Convention at Cincinnati ; 

 the other promising for the State ticket as 

 large a majority of votes at the election as 

 was ever before obtained. 



The election, held on September 5th, resulted 

 in the complete success of the Republican can- 

 didates. The aggregate number of votes polled 

 m the State for Governor was 65,736, of which 



Mr. Fairbanks received 44,698, Mr. Bingham, 

 21,OoH: showing a majority of 23,660 for the 

 former over the latter. 



With regard to the State Legislature, the 

 thirty members elected for the Senate were all 

 Republicans. In the House of Representatives 

 there are 200 Republicans and 81 Democrat-. 



The Legislature assembled for the regular 

 SC---IOH at Montpelier on the 4th of October, 

 1876, when both Houses were promptly organ- 

 ized. In the Lower House, John W. Stewart, 

 Republican, was elected Speaker by a vote of 

 186 to 27; the latter number having been cast 

 for J. W. Bliss, the Democratic nominee for 

 that office. 



The two Houses successively met in joint 

 assembly on the 16th, 21st, and 24th of Novem- 

 ber, and elected the Secretary of State, with 

 some other officers of the Executive Depart- 

 ment ; the seven Judges ot the Supreme Court, 

 md i) number of the principal officers control- 

 ling the management of charitable and other 

 institutions under State charge. For Secretary 

 of State, George Nichols, of Northfield, the 

 present incumbent, was reflected fortwo years; 

 for Auditor of Accounts, Jedediah B. Lndd, 

 of Alburg; for Adjutant and Inspector-Gen- 

 eral, James S. Peck, of Montpelier; for Quar- 

 termaster-General, Levi G. Kingsley, of Rut- 

 Ir.nd; for Railroad Commissioner, Marion W. 

 Bniley, of St. Allans; for Superintendent of 

 Public Education, the present incumbent, Ed- 

 ward Conant, of Randolph, was reflected for 

 another two-years' term; for Chief-Justice of 

 the Supreme Court, John Pierpont, of Ver- 

 gennes ; for Associate Justices : first district 

 James Barret, of Woodstock; second district 

 Hoyt H. Wheeler, of Jamaica; third dis- 

 trict Homer E. Boyce, of St. Albans ; fourth 

 district Timothy P. Redfield, of Montpelier; 

 fifth district Jonathan Ross, of St. Johns- 

 bury; sixth district II. Henry Powers, of 

 Morristown. All of these judges were re- 

 elected. 



At the election of November 7, 1876, the 

 Republican candidates for presidential electors 

 were chosen ; also their nominees for Congress- 

 men generally. The popular vote for the Re- 

 publican electors wns 44,092 ; for the Demo- 

 cratic electors, 20,254: Republican majority, 

 23,838. 



The vote polled for presidential electors was 

 canvassed by the county clerks on November 

 21st. At tre opening of their meeting, coun- 

 sel for the Democratic party appeared before 

 the Board of Canvassers, and, upon the ground 

 which he maintained thr.t they were vested 

 with judicial as well as ministerial powers, 

 he claimed and offered to prove that Ihnry 

 N. Sollace, one of the Republican electors re- 

 turned as elected, was ineligible to such office, 

 because he at the time held the office of Post- 

 master of Bridport; that the votes cast for 

 him, being therefore null and void, could not 

 be counted nor he declared elected ; bnt that 

 the votes cast for Amos Aldrich, the Demo- 



