States not instructed to vote as an unit, to vote as they please. This will add about twenty-five votes to the Douglas strength-and will give the current which is running toward his nomination greater impetuosity and more formidable power. There is a great deal in this current, in a Convention in which, as in this, the mere politicians largely predominate. There are many eager to make themselves conspicuous in the eyes of the man upon whom they look as the next President. He has offices within his gift, foreign missions-and all that. You know how it is--you know how it was in the Cincinnati Convention. There are several Southern States whose delegations are 66 unsound." Even the Alabama delegation contains two Douglas men. They have to vote with the rest, but their presence is influential. The ultras of South Carolina, standing upon their dignity, did not go into the Convention for the nomination of delegates to the National Convention. Their virtue was superior to the blandishments of a National caucus. The consequence is, Mr. Orr, whose position I detailed you in another letter, comes here with the vote of the State in his hand-and I am now convinced that Douglas can get it whenever it would give him the nomination. The New Yorkers, of both factions-and Fernando Wood has no chance are purchasable. Some of the delegates are government officers, but the last sands of this administration are running out, and its displeasure is no longer feared. The eyes of Federal gold worshipers are turned to the coming man, and when Douglas can be nominated by the vote of New York, he will get it. And so of other States. But there will be a rupture. There is a portion of the South, as represented here, that cannot and will not submit to Douglas on a platform that tolerates the notion of "Popular Sovereignty." A great battle is to be fought on the platform. It is, I believe, as I write, being fought in the committee on Resolutions. There are radical and inextinguishable feuds in the Democratic party, and they must come out here and now. THIRD DAY. There was much noise and confusion about town last night. The Southern men kept up their spirits by aid of a band of music, and speeches by the leaders of the fire-eaters. The speakers were very severe on the "bobtailed pony from Illinois. Fernando Wood was serenaded, and made an able and adroit response, which was entirely acceptable to the South. He was looking forward to an explosion of the Convention, and his nomination as Vice-President by the Southern leadIt is the general impression this morning, as I have just informed you by telegraphic dispatch, that there will be an explosion of the Convention that it is indeed inevitable, and that the Convention is only held together now by endeavors of the various factions, which are irreconcilably hostile, to make a record suitable for their ulterior purposes. ers. The hall is very much crowded. Those who have tickets, send them out after they get in, and others come in. In this way every body who understands the trick, and nearly every body does, gets in. So there is an infernal crowd. Fortunately the atmosphere is much cooler than beretofore. The ladies have become anxious on the subject of the Con vention. Their gallery is as full as possible, and still crowds of them are besieging the stairways. The Convention was opened with prayer, which is presumed to have been very solemn and fervent, but nobody heard it. The first thing in order was to inquire whether there was any committee ready to report. There being none, the unfinished business of yesterday was taken up. This was in relation to the adoption of a rule that, in debate, no delegate should speak more than once, nor more than fifteen minutes. 66 Proceedings were interrupted by a gallant gentleman from Missouri, who proposed to relieve the ladies who were 'hanging on the stairways." The Convention invited the ladies to come in and take seats in the chairs under the galleries. The immoderately anxious Douglas men wanted the fifteen minute rule adopted. They were too anxious to put down the screws, however, and were defeated. The vote was 121 for the fifteen minute rule, and 182 against. Now, according to the rules adopted-being those of the House of Representatives-the hour rule is in force. The vote as taken by States stands as follows-not a test for or against Douglas-but a test of prudence: It is a general remark that the Convention has narrowly escaped doing a very foolish thing. It would have been unsafe to have choked down de bate into fifteen minute speeches. It would not do to bottle up wrath so intense. It is now hoped that the South's fire will pale in long speeches, and become ineffectual in the course of their hour harangues. A debate followed, on the propriety of gag laws. It was said, on behalf of the South, that eloquence must be resorted to. The State of Alabama must not be gagged. Her eloquence must be allowed to flow. Lowry of Indiana thought it a very equivalent compliment to the del egates, to suppose that much talk would move any of them from their convictions. As for eloquence, on such occasions, it was too prone to degenerate into invective. It was contended by a delegate from Delaware, that the hour rule, under the operation of the previous question, would be the most horrible of gags. After a free interchange of views, the fifteen minute rule was adopted, with this proviso, that the rule should not be applied in discussions on the platform. The speakers will each be allowed an hour to ventilate the Territorial question. This is about the best thing that could be done. A conversation sprung up between Walker of Missouri, and Cochrane, pending a motion to open the galleries to the public. Walker informed the ladies that Mr. Cochrane was a bachelor. The information was received with immense approbation. Cochrane acknowledged his desperate condition, and expressed his willingness to enter into the marriage relation. Walker said that it was apparent that the reason why Cochrane had not married was because he could not. He moved to lay the New York bachelor on the table. The Chair tolerated this nonsense for some time, but at last interposed, and summarily shut down upon it. Mr. Vallandigham made an explanation of the action of the Executive committee regarding the issue of tickets, which was satisfactory. The Convention then refused to throw open the doors to the miscellaneous public. There was now no business before the Convention, the committee on Credentials not being able to report-the Convention adjourned to four o'clock, when the New York fight will come off. It will be warm, and loud and long. A considerable majority of the Convention will be in favor of excluding the Fernando Wood and Ike Cook delegations. The Convention is most fortunate in having so excellent a presiding officer as Caleb Cushing. Mr. Cushing's head is wonderfully clear, and his knowledge of parliamentuary law-and the rules of the House of Representatives-perfect. All his statements of the questions that are before the house, are distinct and downright, and no one thinks, as yet, of taking an appeal from his decisions. This will help the Convention materially in its great tribulation. More intense interest than has yet prevailed is felt in the forthcoming New York fight. This will consume the afternoon session, and to-morrow we will have the platform fight, and I do not see how it will be possible to prevent a disruption of the Convention. The South makes it a point of honor that the platform shall not be one capable of a double construction, but shall be one which cannot be fairly interpreted to mean any thing short of "sound Southern doctrine," that is, the protection of slave property in the Territories, and the unequivocal repudiation of the Douglas doctrine of squatter, or popular sovereignty. The Northern delegates don't care much about the honor of the matter. It is of the most grave consequence to them, involving, as I have before said, for them, the issues of life and death. Their political existence depends absoltely upon their ability to construe the platform adopted here to mean popular sovereignty," in other words, upon such a form of words in the platform, as will allow them to declare, in the North, that the officially expressed Democratic doctrine is that the people of the Terri tories may, while in their territorial condition, abolish or exclude slavery. They cannot, dare not yield the opportunity for pressing this pretext. The South will not allow it. Here, then, is the "irrepressible conflict" —a conflict between enduring forces. You may with propriety use, respecting it, language as strong as that of Mr. Seward in his Rochester speech. The Douglas Democracy, you know, only want the pretext to use before the people. They are willing to acquiesce in the decision of the Supreme Court, knowing beforehand that the decision would be against them. The South stands upon what they believe to be principle, and they cannot in honor, as they say, allow the Northern branch of the party to yield so far to the Abolition pressure, as to take refuge from it under a false and fraudulent pretense. The preponderant faction of the Northern Democracy say the Southern doctrine of protection of slave property in the Territories is "inadmissible ❞—that is the word—and I believe they have, when the pinch comes, a majority of the Convention. The South says a platform with two faces is no longer tolerable. And the South has in this position a majority of the States. There is a majority in the committee on Platform in favor of amending the Cincinnati Platform so as to repudiate its Northern interpretation. The States of Pennsylvania, Oregon and California, as here represented, are with the South in this matter. The inevitable consequence is, there will be two reports from the committee on Platform. The majority report, favored by a minority of the Convention-and the minority report, favored by the majority. Upon the adoption of the Cincinnati Platform, with its "popular sovereignty beresy" understood to be attached, and constituting its vitality, the South must withdraw. At least half a dozen States will certainly go, and how many more, and how many fragments of others, it is impossible to say. Then the majority Convention will nominate Douglas. The South will be sustained in its secession by the whole power of the Administration, and by the Southern Senators, who would be murdered, politically, by the nomination of Douglas in a full Convention, upon a platform on which it would be possible for him to stand. When it was determined yesterday, as it was by an overwhelming vote, to adopt a platform before nominating a candidate, it appeared that there was no hope remaining of the unity of the Convention. Both factions voted to have the platform first. The only possible way to keep the Convention together from the start, was for the Douglas men to withdraw his name; and then the South, with another man, would have been willing to mitigate the asperities of the slave code platform. The disruption of this Convention insures the nomination of Seward at Chicago-but not his election. Southern secession here, would give Douglas strength in some of the Northern States. There would be no possibility of his election, however, for he would certainly lose several Southern States. He might, and the chances are that he would, carry Northern States enough to defeat the election of Seward. Thus the election would be thrown into Congress-and eventually into the Senate. This is beyond question the game of the Southern men, and it looks as if the chances were that it would win. These are not only my opinions and speculations here to-day, but they are such as are cur rent among those who are candid with themselves and frank in giving expression to their views. AFTERNOON SESSION. After some immaterial controversy, Judge Krum of Missouri, chairman of the committee on Credentials, presented the following report and resolutions, upon which the committee had agreed, and he claimed for it the attention of the Convention: MAJORITY REPORT. To the National Democratic Convention: MR. PRESIDENT :---Your committee on Credentials, immediately after their appointment, entered upon the discharge of the duties assigned them, and carefully examined the credentials of the several delegates to this Convention. Your committee find that all the States of the Union, except the States of Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois and New York are represented in this Convention by delegates duly elected in the several States by State or District organizations of the Democratic party, and your committee append to this report, as a part thereof, full lists of the delegates so selected. Your committee further report that there were contesting claimants to the seats held by the delegations in the following cases, viz: In the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts. In the State of Illinois, and-- In the State of New York. The contestants in these several cases had a full and impartial hearing before your committee, and, after a full consideration of their respective claims, your committee are of opinion that the sitting delegates in these Districts and States are justly entitled to their respective seats. All of which is respectfully submitted, JOHN M. KRUM, Chairman. Resolved, That the sitting delegates to this Convention from the State of Illinois, of whom Col. W. A. Richardson is chairman, are entitled to their respective seats. Resolved, That Cornelius Doherty and K. S. Chappee, delegates representing the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts, are entitled to their respec tive seats. Resolved, That F. M. Landham and Robert J. Brent, delegates representing the Fourth Congressional District of Maryland, are entitled to their respective seats. Resolved, That the delegates to this Convention from the State of New York, of which Dean Richmond is chairman, are entitled as such to seats therein. Adopted. Mr. Brooks, of Alabama, presented the following Minority Report and Resolutions: MINORITY REPORT. To the Honorable President of the National Democratic Convention : The undersigned, members of the committee on Credentials, under an imperious sense of duty, are constrained to dissent from the report of the majority of this committee, and respectfully recommend that the two delegations from the State of New York be authorized to select each thirty-five delegates, and that the seventy Delegates thus selected be admitted to this Convention as the delegates of the New York Democracy, and that they be allowed two hours to report their selection-the two delegates to vote separately, each to be entitled to |