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mies abroad as one of the most terrible tests to which the republican institutions of the country had been or could be subjected, was evident. We were called upon in the very heat of civil war-that war involving questions upon which even the loyal portion of the country was almost evenly dividedto elect a president for four years. With immense armies in the field and immense navies afloat,-with fresh drafts for troops threatened or in progress,-with discord among the friends of the government and the foes of the rebellion,-and with a watchful opposition, skilled in party warfare, taking advantage of every mistake of the government and every success of its enemies, to push its own fortunes in the strife for power, it is not strange that cool observers looked doubtfully upon the result, as it related to the power of a republican government to take care of itself, and maintain its hold upon the nation and its place among the governments of the world. How well the people behaved in this startling emergency, the calm discussions of the presidential campaign, the solemn and conscientious manner of the people at the polls, the triumph of the national arms, and the present peace and stability of the country, bear witness.

Mr. Chase, the distinguished Secretary of the Treasury, had his friends, and they were many and powerful. General Fremont had also his friends, who felt that he had not been well treated by the administration, and who were anxious for a diversion in his favor. Although both of these gentlemen had strong adherents among the politicians, and although either of them would have been cordially supported by the people under favorable circumstances, it was abundantly evident that the great masses of the people were in favor of Mr. Lincoln. He had had experience, and had grown wise under its influence. His unobtrusive character and his unbending honesty had won their confidence; and, although the future looked dark, they were conscious that progress had been made toward the destruction of the rebellion, and that, if the policy of war should be pursued, it would inevitably ultimate in the national success. They were convinced, also, that the way to

a permanent peace was through war.

Under these circum

stances, they were reluctant to change leaders and rulers. The result was, that, at an early day, Mr. Chase withdrew his name from the list of candidates, and left much of the disaffected element afloat.

Outside of the republican and democratic parties, there was no organization; and, to institute one, an irresponsible call was issued, for a convention to be held at Cleveland, Ohio, on the thirty-first of May. The call represented that the public liberties were in danger, and declared for the "one-term principle," by which Mr. Lincoln should be set aside, however efficiently he might have served the government. The regular convention of the republican party, which was to be held at Baltimore on the eighth of June, was denounced in the call, as failing to answer the conditions of a truly national convention, in consequence of its proximity to "administrative influence."

The people recognized this call to be simply what it, in reality, was—an anti-Lincoln demonstration; and paid no attention to it, except in one or two instances. The Germans of Missouri did something by way of indorsement; as did also a few radicals elsewhere, who had really never been members of the republican party proper.

Mrs. E. Cady

The convention was held at the appointed time; and it brought together an insignificant number of politicians, selfappointed to their seats in the convention. It was, in no sense, the offspring of the popular feeling or conviction; and its action found no response in the popular heart. Fremont's name formed the rallying point of the convention. Wendell Phillips and Frederick Douglass sent letters to it. Stanton approved of the convention in a letter. John Cochrane presided, and was honored with the nomination for Vicepresident, on the ticket with General Fremont. The platform adopted dealt briefly with generalities, condemning no person save by implication, and containing no vital element which had not already been appropriated by the mass of republicans throughout the nation. Although the convention was organ

ized and engineered to bring an influence to bear upon the Baltimore Convention, it failed to have influence anywhere.

The saddest feature of the whole movement was General Fremont's connivance with it, when he could not but see that its only influence would be to divide the friends of the gov ernment; and the eagerness with which he accepted his nomination. He opened his letter of acceptance by speaking of the convention as an assemblage of the "representatives of the people," when he ought to have known that they were nothing of the kind. General Fremont, it is to be remembered here, was the republican candidate for the presidency eight years before, receiving the honor of every republican vote. The party had once been beaten with him for its standard-bearer; and, if he had been thoroughly magnanimous, he would have remembered it. At the opening of the war, Mr. Lincoln had given him the highest military commission he had it in his power to bestow; and, after his Missouri failure, he had created a department for him. In this, he had not won distinguished honor; and when, at last, he was subordinated to another General, to meet the conditions of a great emergency, he threw up his position on a point of etiquette, and retired from his command. Mr. Lincoln had found it very difficult to please the General, or to satisfy his friends. The President was supposed to be jealous of him; and, if the readers of the life of Mr. Lincoln are not already convinced that such jealousy could have no place in him, no present attempt to vindicate his motives will avail. The truth was that Mr. Lincoln entertained none but the kindliest feelings toward him, though it is doubtful whether he had great confidence in his administrative and military ability. General Fremont knew, of course, that the little band of men gathered at Cleveland did not represent the republican party; and he knew that the republican party loved Mr. Lincoln. The party had been true to General Fremont, even if they had been disappointed in him. When he undertook to stab the official reputation of the President, he was engaged in the attempt to ruin the chosen man of the republican party. "Had Mr. Lincoln remained

faithful to the principles he was elected to defend, no schism could have been created, and no contest could have been possible," said the General in his letter. Had the people decided that Mr. Lincoln was faithless to the principles he was chosen to defend? Had the republican party so decided? "The ordinary rights secured under the Constitution and laws of the country have been violated," continued the General. He charged the administration with managing the war for personal ends, with "incapacity and selfishness," with "disregard of constitutional rights," with "violation of personal liberty and the liberty of the press," and with "feebleness and want of principle." Among the objects of the convention itself, he recognized the effort "to arouse the attention of the people" to certain alleged facts, which he had enumerated; "and to bring them to realize that, while we are saturating southern soil with the best blood of the country, in the name of liberty, we have really parted with it at home." His own preference, he declared: would be to aid in the election of some one, other than Mr. Lincoln, who might be nominated at Baltimore, “But if Mr. Lincoln should be nominated," said he, "as I believe it would be fatal to the country to indorse a policy and renew a power which has cost us the lives of thousands of men, and needlessly put the country on the road to bankruptcy, there will be no other alternative but to organize against him every element of conscientious opposition, with the view to prevent the misfortune of his re-election."

General Fremont, virtuous above his party, virtuous above Mr. Lincoln, quick to see encroachments upon the rights of the people in advance of the people themselves, ready to find personal motives in the management of the war by the administration, and himself, of course, acting solely upon principle, failed to be appreciated by those whose good he so tenderly sought. The republican party gave him no response, other than at once and forever to count him out of its confidence and affections. Convention, platform, and candidates were early counted among political lumber; and whether the General at last withdrew from the field as a matter of principle,

or from personal considerations, does not appear. He withdrew his name from the list of candidates before the people in September, after it became evident to everybody that his po sition was a damage to the national cause, administering a parting thrust at Mr. Lincoln in the words: "In respect to Mr. Lincoln, I continue to hold exactly the sentiments contained in my letter of acceptance. I consider that his administration has been politically and financially a failure, and that its necessary continuance is a cause of regret for the country." General Fremont, an old favorite of the republican party, and a man who virtually claimed to be a better republican than the majority of his party, said this, and said it with a purpose, or, wantonly, without a purpose, when he knew that the alternative of Mr. Lincoln's election was the election of General McClellan, on a peace platform, supported by such patriots as Fernando Wood and Clement L. Vallandigham.

Four days before the date appointed for the assembling of the Baltimore Convention, a meeting was held in New York to do honor to General Grant. The General had not then concluded the war, and had not, in fact, met with decisive suc cesses with the army of the Potomac. There was no special occasion for the meeting, except to influence the Baltimore Convention in the selection of a candidate. To cover their real intent, they invited Mr. Lincoln to attend; and he sent the following letter in response:

"Gentlemen-Your letter inviting me to be present at a mass meet ing of the loyal citizens, to be held at New York on the fourth inst., for the purpose of expressing gratitude to Lieutenant-general Grant for his signal services, was received yesterday. It is impossible for me to attend. I approve, nevertheless, whatever may tend to strengthen and sustain General Grant and the noble armies now under his direction. My previous high estimate of General Grant has been maintained and heightened by what has occurred in the remarkable campaign he is now conducting; while the magnitude and difficulty of the task before him does not prove less than I expected. He and his brave soldiers are now in the midst of their great trial; and I trust that, at your meeting, you will so shape your good words that they may turn to men and guns moving to his and their support.

"Yours truly,

A. LINCOLN."

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