name of Mr. Johnson, who was of Southern birth, but had been from the commencement of the war thoroughly identified with the Union cause, was considered to give great strength to the ticket.

The opposition, with a view of adding to the strength of their party, postponed their convention to the 29th of August. In the interval between the meeting of the Republican Convention and that date, many events, they supposed, might occur to increase the public craving for peace and compromise, and to bring into discredit the acts and policy of the Administration. The move was a sagacious one, for up to the 29th of August the progress of the National arms had not been in accordance with public expectation, considering the enormous scale on which preparations were made, and many of that numerous class who invariably side with the successful party were beginning to grow lukewarm or to waver in their support of Mr. Lincoln. So powerful, in such a crisis as the country was then passing through, is the influence of military success to sustain a party, be its cause ever so just a one, that if a long train of reverses had followed the commencement of the autumn, it is not improbable that the contest between the Republican and opposition candidates for the Presidency might have been close and exciting. But September brought the fall of Atlanta and the victories of Sheridan in the valley, and it was seen that Grant, while apparently making slight progress, was in reality holding Lee by an iron grip within his intrenchments at Petersburg, and preventing him from sending a single man to re-enforce the rebel armies in the West. As this conviction dawned upon the public mind, confidence was restored, the faint-hearted plucked up courage, and the crisis was past. This change of opinion, however, could not be foreseen by the leaders of the opposition, and therefore their postponement of their convention was on the whole a clever stroke of policy, the failure of which was through no fault of its advisers.

For months before the meeting of the convention, which took place in Chicago, but one prominent name was in the mouths of Democratic politicians in connection with the Presidency, and that was General McClellan's. We have stated how he was taken up by these men in the first flush of his military reputation, and how the political ideas which he then imbibed, by arraying him in opposition to the Administration, and prompting him to go beyond the line of his proper duty, impaired his usefulness as a soldier. Since his removal from the command of the Army of the Potomac, in November, 1862, he had relinquished no one of those political views, and his long retirement from active duty was regarded by his friends as a species of martyrdom, prompted by the fears and hatred of the Government. The popularity which he had once possessed, both in and out of the army, it was believed, had experienced no diminution. A man of undoubted ability, of many accomplishments, having the appearance and address of a polished gentleman, and of unblemished private character, he formed in some respects a marked contrast to the Republican candidate, and was decided to combine in himself more elements of success than any other man in the ranks of the opposition. Under these circumstances his nomination was a foregone conclusion, and was secured on the first

ballot, the only competitor against him having any show of strength being Governor Seymour, of New York. This result was, neverthe less, unpalatable to that wing of the Democratic party of which men like Vallandigham were the exponents, because McClellan was professedly in favor of prosecuting the war against the rebellion; and for the purpose of securing their support, George H. Pendleton, a member of the Thirty-seventh Congress, from Ohio, and one of their ablest men, was nominated for the Vice-Presidency. The ticket thus comprised a candidate for President in favor of war, and a candidate for Vice-President pledged in the strongest terms to oppose it. The following platform, adopted by the convention, expressed, it will be seen, the views of the peace men :

• Resolved, That in the future, as in the past, we will adhere with unswerving fidelity to the Union under the Constitution, as the only solid foundation of our strength, se curity, and happiness as a people, and as a framework of government equally conducive to the welfare and prosperity of all the States, both Northern and Southern.

"Resolved, That this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experi ment of war, during which, under the pretence of a military necessity, or war power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare de mand that immediate efforts be made for the cessation of hostilities with a view to an ultimate convention of all the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that at the earliest practicable moment peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States.

"Resolved, That the direct interference of the military authority of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware, was a shameful violation of the Constitution, and a repetition of such acts in the approaching election will be held as revolutionary, and resisted with all the means and power under our control.

"Resolved, That the aim and object of the Democratic party is to preserve the Federal Union and the rights of the States unimpaired, and they hereby declare that they consider the administrative usurpation of extraordinary and dangerous power not granted by the Constitution, the subversion of the civil by military law in States not in insurrection, the arbitrary military arrest, imprisonment, trial, and sentence of American citizens in States where civil law exists in full force, the suppression of freedom of speech and of the press, the denial of the right of asylum, the open and avowed disregard of State rights, the employment of unusual test oaths, and the interference with and the denial of the right of the people to bear arms, as calculated to prevent a restoration of the Union and the perpetuation of a Government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed.

"Resolved, That the shameful disregard of the Administration of its duty in respect to our fellow-citizens, who now and long have been prisoners of war in a suffering condition, deserves the severest reprobation, on the score alike of public, and common humanity. "Resolved, That the sympathy of the Democratic party is heartily and earnestly extended to the soldiery of our army, who are and have been in the field under the flag of our country, and in the event of our attaining power they will receive all the care, protection, regard, and kindness that the brave soldiers of the republic have so nobly earned,"

When these resolutions were made public, many earnest and patriotic men, who were sincerely in favor of the war, and who continued to support McClellan because they believed him to be equally sincere, predicted that he would decline the nomination, if such a platform was to guide his public acts in the event of his election. All doubt as to

the course which the Democratic candidate would pursue was, however, soon dispelled by the following letter of acceptance :

"ORANGE, N. J., September 8, 1864. "GENTLEMEN:-I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, informing me of my nomination by the Democratic National Convention, recently assembled at Chicago, as their candidate, at the next election, for President of the United States. "It is unnecessary for me to say to you that this nomination comes to me unsought. "I am happy to know that when the nomination was made, the record of my public life was kept in view.

"The effect of long and varied service in the army, during war and peace, has been to strengthen and make indelible in my mind and heart, the love and reverence for the Union, Constitution, laws, and flag of our country, impressed upon me in early youth. "These feelings have thus far guided the course of my life, and must continue to do so to its end.

"The existence of more than one Government over the region which once owned our flag is incompatible with the peace, the power, and the happiness of the people.

"The preservation of our Union was the sole avowed object for which the war was commenced. It should have been conducted for that object only, and in accordance with those principles which I took occasion to declare when in active service.

"Thus conducted, the work of reconciliation would have been easy, and we might have reaped the benefits of our many victories on land and sea.

"The Union was originally formed by the exercise of a spirit of conciliation and compromise. To restore and preserve it, the same spirit must prevail in our councils, and in the hearts of the people.

"The re-establishment of the Union in all its integrity is, and must continue to be, the indispensable condition in any settlement. So soon as it is clear, or even probable, that our present adversaries are ready for peace, upon the basis of the Union, we should exhaust all the resources of statesmanship practised by civilized nations, and taught by the traditions of the American people, consistent with the honor and interests of the country, to secure such peace, re-establish the Union, and guarantee for the future the constitutional rights of every State. The Union is the one condition of peace-we ask no more.

"Let me add what I doubt not was, although unexpressed, the sentiment of the Convention, as it is of the people they represent, that when any one State is willing to return to the Union, it should be received at once, with a full guarantee of all its constitutional rights.

"If a frank, earnest, and persistent effort to obtain those objects should fail, the responsibility for ulterior consequences will fall upon those who remain in arms against the Union. But the Union must be preserved at all hazards.

"I could not look in the face my gallant comrades of the army and navy, who have survived so many bloody battles, and tell them that their labors and the sacrifices of so many of our slain and wounded brethren had been in vain; that we had abandoned that Union for which we have so often perilled our lives.

"A vast majority of our people, whether in the army and navy or at home, would, as I would, hail with unbounded joy the permanent restoration of peace, on the basis of the Union under the Constitution, without the effusion of another drop of blood. But no peace can be permanent without Union.

"As to the other subjects presented in the resolutions of the convention, I need only say that I should seek, in the Constitution of the United States, and the laws framed in accordance therewith, the rule of my duty, and the limitations of executive power; endeavor to restore economy in public expenditure, re-establish the supremacy of law, and, by the operation of a more vigorous nationality, resume our commanding position among the nations of the earth.

"The condition of our finances, the depreciation of the paper money, and the burdens thereby imposed on labor and capital, show the necessity of a return to a sound financial system; while the rights of citizens and the rights of States, and the binding authority of law over President, army, and people, are subjects of not less vital importance in war than in peace.

"Believing that the views here expressed are those of the convention and the people you represent, I accept the nomination.

"I realize the weight of the responsibility to be borne should the people ratify your choice.

"Conscious of my own weakness, I can only seek fervently the guidance of the Ruler of the universe, and, relying on His all-powerful aid, do my best to restore union and peace to a suffering people, and to establish and guard their liberties and rights. "I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"Hon. HORATIO SEYMOUR, and others, Committee."

"GEO. B. MCCLELLAN.

From about the middle of September, when the canvass commenced to be actively conducted, there could be little doubt of the result, and the only question seemed finally to be respecting the majority which Mr. Lincoln would receive. The election took place on November 8th, and resulted in the choice of the Republican candidates, by the following vote:

The year 1864 was marked by two indirect attempts to commence negotiations for peace, which resulted in nothing. In the middle of

HISTORY OF THE GREAT REBELLION.

July, Colonel James F. Jaques, of the Seventy-third Illinois Volunteers, accompanied by Mr. Edward Kirke, was permitted to enter the rebel lines in front of Petersburg, and proceed to Richmond, where he obtained an interview with Jefferson Davis. Though clothed with no authority to speak for either President Lincoln or the Government, and much less to act for them, he was nevertheless received with cordiality by Davis, to whom he explained the basis on which, in all probability, the United States Government would consent to treat for peace. Davis having intimated very decidedly that no peace could be contemplated by him or his Government, without the recognition of the independence of the "Southern Confederacy" by the United States, Colonel Jaques and his companion took their departure, no wiser than when they reached Richmond.

The next attempt at peace negotiations was conducted through more practised hands, but resulted none the more favorably for the peace party. Early in July, Mr. Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, received from W. Cornell Jewett, a political adventurer of some notoriety, information that certain prominent rebel refugees in Canada were desirous of holding an interview with him at Niagara Falls. The following letter from Mr. Greeley to the President in ref erence to this matter formed the prelude to the attempted negotiations:

"NEW YORK, July 7, 1864.

MY DEAR SIR:-I venture to enclose you a letter and telegraphic dispatch that I received yesterday from our irrepressible friend, Colorado Jewett, at Niagara Falls. I do not indorse Jewett's positive averment think they deserve attention. Of course

that his friends at the Falls have 'full powers' from J. D., though I do not doubt that I let that statement stand as simply evidencing the anxiety of he thinks they have. the Confederates everywhere for peace. So much is beyond doubt.

"And therefore I venture to remind you that our bleeding, bankrupt, almost dying country also longs for peace-shudders at the prospect of fresh conscriptions, of further wholesale devastations, and of new rivers of human blood; and a wide-spread conviction that the Government and its prominent supporters are not anxious for peace, and do not improve proffered opportunities to achieve it, is doing great harm now, and is morally certain, unless removed, to do far greater in the approaching elections.

"It is not enough that we anxiously desire a true and lasting peace. We ought to demonstrate and establish the truth beyond cavil. The fact that A. H. Stephens was not permitted a year ago to visit and confer with the authorities at Washington has done harm, which the tone of the late National Convention at Baltimore is not calculated to counteract.

"I entreat you, in your own time and manner, to submit overtures for pacification to the Southern insurgents, which the impartial must pronounce frank and generous. "If only with a view to the momentous election soon to occur in North Carolina, and of the draft to be enforced in the Free States, this should be done at once. I would give the safe-conduct required by the rebel envoys at Niagara, upon their parole to avoid observation, and to refrain from all communication with their sympathizers in the loyal States; but you may see reasons for declining it. But whether through them or otherwise, do not, I entreat you, fail to make the Southern people comprehend that you, and all of us, are anxious for peace, and prepared to grant liberal terms. venture to suggest the following

"PLAN OF ADJUSTMENT.

"1. The Union is restored, and declared perpetual.

"2. Slavery is utterly and forever abolished throughout the same.

I

"3. A complete amnesty for all political offences, with a restoration of all the inhabitants of each State to all the privileges of citizens of the United States.