MR. EVERETT'S ACCEPTANCE. BOSTON, May 29, 1860. MY DEAR SIR: I have duly received your letter of the 11th, in which you inform me officially, that the National Union Convention, recently in session at Baltimore, had done me the honor to nominate me as its candidate for the office of Vice-President of the United States.

I am deeply impressed with this manifestation of the favorable opinion of the Convention, comprising as it did among its members so many persons distinguished for public service, patriotism and intelligence; and fairly representing a considerable portion of the conservative feeling of the country. For the great cordiality with which, as you inform me, my name was proposed and received, my warmest thanks are due.

The grateful acceptance of such a nomination would, under ordinary circumstances, be a matter of course; but it has unavoidably been with me the subject of long and anxious hesitation. The grounds of this hesitation I owe it to the Convention which has honored me with this mark of its confidence, and to myself, to explain; Joath as I am to dwell on matters of personal interest of no importance to the public.

It is generally known that I have, for some years past, retired from active participation in political life, not, as I hope I have shown, from indolence or want of sympathy with my fellow-citizens in the pursuit of the great objects of social life. The reasons of my retirement have been more than once publicly stated, and I beg to repeat them here from my speech at the Union meeting in Faneuil Hall last December:

"I did not suppose that anything could occur which would make me think it my duty to appear again on this platform, on any occasion of a political character; and had this meeting been of a party nature, or designed to promote any party purposes, I should not have been here. When compelled, by the prostration of my health, five years ago, to resign the distinguished place which I then filled in the public service,it was with no expectation, no wish, and no intention of ever again mingling in the scenes of public life. I have, accordingly, with the partial restoration of my health, abstained from all participation in political action of any kind; partly because I have found a more congenial, and, as I venture to think, a more useful occupation, in seeking to rally the affections of my countrymen, North and South, to that great name and precious memory which are left almost alone of all the numerous kindly associations which once bound the different sections of the country together, and also because, between the extremes of opinion that have long distracted and now threaten to convulse the country, I find no middle ground of practical usefulness, on which a friend of moderate counsels can stand."

me;

It having been suggested to me, notwithstanding these avowals, that I might be thought of, at the Union Convention, as a candidate for the Presidency, I requested, by telegraphic message and by letter, that my name, if brought forward, might be withdrawn. It is true that in these communications I had only in view a nomination to the Presidency, none other having been suggested to but all the reasons above indicated, which led me in advance to decline such a nomination, apply with equal force to the Vice-Presidency. These reasons, of course, still exist in unimpaired force, and I cannot now take an active part in politics without abandoning a deliberately formed purpose, and even exposing myself to the suspicion of insincerity in its persistent avowal. Without dwelling upon these considerations, of which, however, I am sure the weight will be admitted, I beg leave to advert for a moment to my connection with the movement for the purchase of Mount Vernon, to which your letter alludes in such obliging terms. The favor which has attended my exertions in that cause (if I may without indelicacy say anything on that subject) has been mainly the result of my known and recognized disconnection from party politics. If it could have been even plausibly insinuated that I was, or intended to become, a candidate for high political honors, I should, în my various excursions in aid of that fund, have laid myself open to the imputation of speaking one word for Mount Vernon and two for myself. As it is, the people through out the Union have generously given me credit for hav

ing a single eye to that meritorious object. As far as the purchase of Mount Vernon is concerned, that object has been effected, under the judicious and efficient management of the Regent and Vice-Regents of the Association, with the aid of their intelligent and active assistants throughout the Union. But a sum of money equal to that already raised is still wanting for the repair of the Mansion, the inclosure of the land purchased, the restoration of the house and grounds, as far as practicable, to their condition in 1800, and the establishment of a permanent fund for their conservation. I own that I am desirous still to enjoy the privilege of coöperating in this noble work, which, however, it will be impossible for me to do to any advantage, whatever may be the result of the present canvass, if I am drawn into the vortex of a strenuously contested election. There are many parts of the country which I have not yet visited. I had promised myself a rich harvest from the patriotic liberality of the States on the Gulf of Mexico, and of those on the Mississippi River (which I have not yet been able to visit, with the exception of Missouri, through often kindly invited), and I confess that it is very painful to me to withdraw from that broad field of congenial labor to tread the thorny and thankless paths of politics.

Apart from the pecuniary aspects of the case, which, however, are of considerable importance, I will candidly say that in holding up to the admiring veneration of the American people the peerless name of Washington, (almost the only bond of fraternal sentiment which the bitterness of our sectional controversies has left us), I feel as if I was doing more good, as far as I am able to do any good, and contributing more to revive the kindly feeling which once existed between North and South, and which is now, I grieve to say, nearly extinct, than I could possibly do by engaging in the wretched scramble for office-which is one great source of the dangers that threaten the country.

These considerations, and others of a still more personal nature, have necessarily occasioned me to reflect long and anxiously, before accepting the nomination with which the Union Convention has honored me. In yielding at length to the earnest solicitations which have been addressed to me, from the most respectable sources in almost every part of the Union, I make a painful sacrifice of inclination to what I am led to believe a public duty. It has been urged upon me, and I cannot deny that such is my own feelings, that we have fallen upon times that call upon all good citizens, at whatever cost of personal convenience, to contribute their share, however humble, to the public service.

I suppose it to be the almost universal impression-it is certainly mine-that the existing state of affairs is extremely critical. Our political controversies have substantially assumed an almost purely sectional characterthat of a fearful struggle between the North and the South. It would not be difficult to show at length the perilous nature and tendency of this struggle, but I can only say, on this occasion, that, in my opinion, it cannot be much longer kept up, without rending the Union. I do not mean that either of the great parties in the country desires or aims at a separation of the States as a final object, although there are extremists in considerable numbers who have that object in view. While a potent and a baleful influence is exercised by men of this class, in both sections of the Union, a portion of the conservative masses are insensibly and gradually goaded into concurrence with opinions and sentiments with which, in the outset, they had no sympathy. Meantime, almost wholly neglecting the main public interests, our political controversies turn more and more on questions, in reference to which, as abstract formulæ, the great sections of the country differ irreconcilably, though there is nothing practically important at stake which requires the discussion to be kept up. These controversies are carried on with steadily increasing bitterness and exasperation. The passions thus kindled have already led to acts of violence and bloodshed, approaching to civil war in the Territories, and attempted servile insurrection in the States. The great religious and philanthropic associations of the country are sundered, and the kindly social relations of North and South seriously impaired. The national House of Representatives, hovering on the verge of anarchy, requires weeks to effect an organization, which ought to be the work of an hour, and it holds its sessions (many of its members, I am told, armed with concealed weapons), on the crust of a volcano. The candidates for the Presidency representing respectively the dominant sectional ideas, will, at the ensuing election, in all probability, be supported by a purely geographical vote. In other words, we are already brought to a pass, at which North and South cannot and will not cooperate in the periodical reorganization of the Government.

Can such a state of things long continue, especially with the ever-present risk of new causes of exasperation? I own it seems to me impossible, unless some healing course is adopted, that the catastrophe, which the mass of good citizens deprecate, should be much longer delayed. A spirit of patriotic moderation must be called into action throughout the Union, or it will assuredly be broken up. Unless the warfare of inflammatory speeches and incendiary publications is abandoned, and good citizens, as in 1776 and 1757, North and South, will agree to deal with the same elements of discord (for they existed then as now), as our Fathers dealt with them, we shall but for a very few years longer be even nominally brethren of one family. The suggestion that the Union can be maintained by the numerical predominance and military prowess of one section, exerted to coerce the other into submission, is, in my judgment, as self-contradictory as it is dangerous. It comes loaded with the death smell from fields wet with brothers' blood. If the vital principle of all republican government "is the consent of the governed," much more does a union of coequal sovereign States require, as its basis, the harmony of its members and their voluntary coöperation in its organic functions.

Believing, for these reasons, that healing counsels must be listened to, if we are much longer to remain one people, I regard the late National Union Convention as a movement in the right direction. I could wish that it had been earlier assembled; with less exclusive reference to official nominations, and with a more comprehensive representation, if possible, of the conflicting opinions of the country. On general principles and in ordinary times, I admit that third parties are objectionable, but in the existing state of affairs, if there is to be any escape from the present illomened conflict, it would seem that a commencement must be made with such a meeting as that of the 9th and 10th, at Baltimore. It was a fair representation of the conservative opinion of the country; and the calmness, gravity and good feeling with which its proceedings were conducted, cannot be too highly praised.

In adopting as its platform the Constitution without

note or comment, the Convention, as it seems to me, pursued a wise and patriotic course. No other course was thought of in the earlier days of the Republic. Electioneering platforms are almost without exception equivocal and delusive. It is objected that men differ as to the meaning of the fundamental law; but they differ not less as to any gloss or commentary. The Constitution, in its fair and natural interpretation, is the only basis on which good citizens in every part of the country can now unite; and any attempt to go further will usually have no other effect than to cause those who agree on great practical principles to differ on metaphysical subtleties, or to bring together, by artfully constructed phrases and from selfish

motives, those who have nothing else in common.

The candidate for the Presidency, presented by the Union Convention, is every way worthy of confidence and support. I speak from personal knowledge and long association with him in the public service. His distinguished talent, large experience in public affairs, proved integrity and sterling patriotism furnish the amplest pledge for an honest and efficient administration of the government at home and abroad. A citizen of the South, and loyal to her constitutional rights, his impartial and conciliatory course as a public man affords a ground on which he can be supported in either section of the country, without dereliction of principle, and by men of all parties, without a painful sacrifice of former preferences.

Deeply regretting that the Convention has not put it in my power to pay an equally cordial and emphatic tribute to some worthy candidate for the Vice-Presidency, but

feeling it a duty to give the desired proof of sympathy with their patriotic efforts to restore the happy days of brotherly concord between the different sections of our beloved country. I remain, dear sir, sincerely yours, EDWARD EVERETT.

MR. EVERETT ON SUMNER.

Soon after the brutal assault on Charles Sumner, in 1856, Mr. Everett, in some remarks delivered at Taunton, Mass., referred to the subject as follows:

blood of an unarmed, defenceless man, and he a Senator of Massachusetts: if by laying down my life this hour, I could undo what has been done the last two years (beginning with the disastrous repeal of the Missouri Compromise) to embitter the different parts of the country against each other, and weaken the ties which unite them, I would willingly, cheerfully, make the sacrifice.

In a letter, written subsequently, in explanation of these remarks, Mr. Everett said

I have condemned from the outset, and still most decidedly condemn the policy of the late Administration towards Kansas. I opposed the Kansas-Nebraska bill in the Territorial Committee, of which I was a member. I voted against the amendment to the bill by which the Missouri Compromise was repealed. I opposed the bill to the best of my ability, in a speech delivered in the Senate on the 8th of February, 1854, of which I send you a copy; and I should have voted against it on its passage (as I stated in my place at the next meeting of the Senate) had not severe illness compelled me, at 3 o'clock in the morning, to leave the Senate chamber before the vote was taken. I informed my Southern political friends, when the bill was brought in, that it ought to be entitled a bill to "annihilate all conservative feeling in the non-slaveholding States." With these views of the subject, though, as I trust, for reasons higher than any effect on party politics, I fully concurred in the main line of argument in Mr. Sumner's speech. Abstaining, however, habitually myself from all personalities in debate, and believing that they always irritate and never persuade nor convince I could not of course bestow my " unqualified approbation" on the manner in which he treated the subject.

GEORGIA ON EVERETT.

On the accession of Gen. Harrison to the Presidency, in 1840, he nominated the Hon. Edward Everett as minister to England, and this nomination was resisted with great pertinacity by the entire force of the Democratic party in the Senate, on the ground of Mr. Everett's Anti-Slavery sentiments, already quoted. The Whigs having a majority in the Senate, the nomination, after a severe struggle, was confirmed. Among those voting for the Confirmation was the Hon. James McPherson Berrien, of Georgia; but his vote on this occasion was so distasteful to the people of Georgia that the legislature of that State adopted the following resolve:

Edward Everett, now minister to England, of the power Resolved, That the opinions publicly proclaimed by and obligation of Congress to abolish Slavery in the District of Columbia, to interdict the slave-trade between the States, and to refuse the admission into the Union of any character, subversive of the rights of the South, and if Territory tolerating Slavery, are unconstitutional in their carried out, will destroy this Union; and that the Hon. John McPherson Berrien, in sustaining for an important appointment, an individual holding such obnoxious sentiments, has omitted a proper occasion to give an efficient check to such sentiments, and in so doing has not truly represented the opinions or wishes of the people of Georgia, of either political party.

The vote of the legislature on the adoption of this resolve was: In the Senate, Ayes 40; Nays 0. In the House, Ayes 101; Nays 40.

JUDGE DOUGLAS ON THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE.

In a speech delivered at Springfield, Ill., in 1849, Senator Douglas, in speaking of the Missouri Compromise, said:

It has received the sanction of all parties in every section of the Union. It had its origin in the hearts of all patriotic men who desired to preserve and perpetuate the blessings of our glorious Union-an origin akin to that of the Constitution of the United States, conceived in the same spirit of fraternal affection, and calculated to at some distant day to sever the sacred bond of Union. All the evidences of public opinion seem to indicate that this Compromise has become canonized in the hearts of the American people as a sacred thing, which no ruthless hand would be reckless enough to disturb.