President, by whom the war had thus far been conducted. The nation, moreover, had entire faith in his integrity, his sagacity, and his unselfish devotion to the public good.

The Union and Republican Convention met at Baltimore on the day appointed, the 8th of June. It numbered nearly five hundred delegates, chosen by the constituents of each Congressional district of the loyal States, and by the people in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas, in which the rebel authority had been overthrown, and who sought thus to renew their political relations with the parties of the Union. The Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, was appointed temporary chairman, and aroused the deepest enthusiasm of the convention by his patriotic address on taking the chair. He He proclaimed openly his hostility to slavery, and demanded, as essential to the existence of the nation, the complete overthrow of the rebellion, and condign punishment for the traitors by whom it had been set on foot. In reference to the nomination of a presidential candidate, he simply expressed the common sentiment when he said :

Nothing can be more plain than the fact that you are here as representatives of a great nation-voluntary representatives, chosen without forms of law, but as really representing the feelings and principles, and, if you choose, the prejudices of the American people, as if it were written in their laws and already passed by their votes. For the man that you will nominate here for the Presidency of the United States and ruler of a great people, in a great crisis, is just as certain, I suppose, to become that ruler as any thing under heaven is certain before it is done. And moreover you will allow me to say, though perhaps it is hardly strictly proper that I should, but as far as I know your opinions, I suppose it is just as certain now, before you utter it, whose name you will utter-one which will be responded to from one end to the other of this nation, as it will be after it has been uttered and recorded by your secretary."

The permanent organization was effected in the afternoon, by the choice of Hon. William Dennison, ExGovernor of Ohio, as president, with twenty-three vicepresidents, each from a different State, and twenty-three

secretaries. After a speech from Governor Dennison, and another from Parson Brownlow, of Tennessee, the con vention adjourned till Wednesday morning at nine o'clock.

The first business which came up when the convention reassembled, was the report of the Committee on Credentials. There were two important questions which arose upon this report. The first was the Missouri question-there being a double delegation present from that State. The committee had reported in favor of admitting the delegation called the Radical Union Delegation to seats in the convention, as the only one elected in conformity with usage and in regular form. An effort was made to modify this by admitting both delegations to seats, and allowing them to cast the vote of the State only in case of their agreement. This proposition, however, was voted down by a large majority, and the report of the committee on that point was adopted. This result had special importance in its bearing upon the vexed state of politics in Missouri, which had hitherto, as we have seen, caused Mr. Lincoln much trouble.

The next question, which had still greater importance, related to the admission of the delegations from Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Congress had passed a resolution substantially excluding States which had been in rebellion from participation in national affairs until specifically readmitted to the Union-while it was known that President Lincoln regarded all ordinances of secession as simply null and void, incapable of affecting the legal relations of the States to the National Government. At the very opening of the convention an effort had been made by Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, to secure the adoption of a resolution against the admission of delegates from any States thus situated. This, however, had failed, and the whole matter was referred to the Committee on Credentials, of which Hon. Preston King, of New York, had been appointed chairman. Mr. King, on behalf of this committee and under its instructions, reported in favor of admitting these delegates to seats, but without

giving them the right to vote. Mr. King, for himself, however, and as the only member of the committee who dissented from its report, moved to amend it by giving them equal rights in convention with delegates from the other States. This amendment was adopted by a large majority, and affected in a marked degree the subsequent action of the convention. The report was further amended so as to admit delegates from the Territories of Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada, and also from Florida and Virginia, without the right to vote-and excluding a delegation from South Carolina. Thus amended it was adopted.

Mr. H. J. Raymond, of New York, as chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, then reported the following declaration of principles and policy for the Union and Republican party :

THE BALTIMORE PLATFORM.

Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to maintain, against all their enemies, the integrity of the Union and the paramount authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that, laying aside all differences of political opinion, we pledge ourselves as Union men, animated by a common sentiment and aiming at a common object, to do every thing in our power to aid the Government in quelling by force of arms the rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bringing to the punishment due to their crimes the rebels and traitors arrayed against it.

Resolved, That we approve the determination of the Government of the United States not to compromise with rebels, or to offer any terins of peace except such as may be based upon an unconditional surrender of their hostility and a return to their just allegiance to the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that we call upon the Government to maintain this position and to prosecute the war with the utmost possible vigor to the complete suppression of the rebellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor, and the undying devotion of the American people to their country and its free institutions.

Resolved, That as slavery was the cause and now constitutes the strength of this rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere hostile to the principles of republican government, justice and the national safety demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the republic; and that while we uphold and maintain the acts and proclama

tions by which the Government, in its own defence, has aimed a deathblow at this gigantic evil, we are in favor, furthermore, of such an amendment to the Constitution, to be made by the people, in conforinity with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever prohibit the existence of slavery within the limits or the jurisdiction of the United States.

Resolved, That the thanks of the American people are due to the soldiers and sailors of the army and the navy, who have perilled their lives in defence of their country and in vindication of the honor of its flag; that the nation owes to them some permanent recognition of their patriotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provision for those of their survivors who have received disabling and honorable wounds in the service of their country; and that the memories of those who have fallen in its defence shall be held in grateful and everlasting remembrance.

Resolved, That we approve and applaud the practical wisdom, the unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of American liberty with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, the great duties and responsibilities of the Presidential office; that we approve and indorse, as demanded by the emergency and essential to the preservation of the nation, and as within the provisions of the Constitution, the measures and acts which he has adopted to defend the nation against its open and secret foes; that we approve especially the Proclamation of Emancipation and the employment as Union soldiers of men heretofore held in slavery; and that we have full confidence in his determination to carry these and all other constitutional measures, essential to the salvation of the country, into full and complete effect.

Resolved, That we deem it essential to the general welfare that harmony should prevail in our national councils, and we regard as worthy of public confidence and official trust those only who cordially indorse the principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which should characterize the administration of the Government.

Resolved, That the Government owes to all men employed in its armies, without regard to distinction of color, the full protection of the laws of war, and that any violation of these laws, or the usages of civilized nations in time of war, by the rebels now in arms, should be made the subject of prompt and full redress.

Resolved, That the foreign immigration which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development of resources, and increase of power of this nation, the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy.

Resolved, That we are in favor of a speedy construction of the railroad to the Pacific coast.

Resolved, That the national faith, pledged for the redemption of the public debt, must be kept inviolate, and that for this purpose we recom· inend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures, and a

vigorous and just system of taxation, and that it is the duty of every loyal State to sustain the credit and promote the use of the national currency. Resolved, That we approve the position taken by the Government, that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference the attempt of any European power to overthrow by force, or to supplant by fraud, the institutions of any republican government on the Western Continent; and that they will view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and independence of their own country, the efforts of any such power to obtain new footholds for monarchical governments, sustained by foreign military force, in near proximity to the United States.

These resolutions were adopted unanimously and with great enthusiasm. A motion was then made that Abraham Lincoln be nominated for re-election by acclamation, but this was afterwards withdrawn, and a ballot taken in the usual way; the only votes that were not given for Mr. Lincoln were the twenty-two votes of Missouri, which, as was explained by the chairman of the delegation, were given under positive instructions for General Grant. Mr. Lincoln received four hundred and ninetyseven votes, and on motion of Mr. Hume, of Missouri, his nomination was made unanimous, amid intense enthusiasm.

The contest over the Vice-Presidency was spirited but brief. The candidates before the convention were Vice-President Hamlin, Hon. D. S. Dickinson, of New York, and Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee. The struggle lay however between Mr. Johnson and Mr. Dickinson. The action of the Convention in admitting the delegates from Tennessee to full membership had a powerful effect in determining the result. Mr. Johnson received two hundred votes on the first call of the States, and it being manifest that he was to be the nominee, other States changed, till the vote, when declared, stood four hundred and ninety-two for Johnson, seventeen for Dickinson, and nine for Hamlin.

The National Executive Committee was then appointed, and the convention adjourned. On Thursday, June 9, the committee appointed to inform Mr. Lincoln of his nomination waited upon him at the White House. Governor Dennison, the President of the Convention and