Another Manifesto Against Lincoln

The following is tho circular issned by the Chase committee at Washington and circulated through the Legislature and at the espita! rif Ohfo: The effort now makinfi; to forestal} the action of the republican imtional oonvention by procuring the formal nomination of Mr. Lincoln in State Legislatures and other public bodies, is deeply to be deplored. The more so, becaijse this moveraent originates wilh the recipients of Executive fnvor and patronage, eome of hom hold high stations in the idminïstration of we, Lincoln, whose object is to perpetúate the.r own power and mearisof pecumary acbancement, without h.ny regard whatever tó tos welfare of the country. While iheao nomina tions are made to arpear as though they em: nated frora the spontaoeous will of the peoplöj tho animus in realitv is to defeat their will al'ogether, by produoing such a public clamor in belii.lf of Air. Lincoln, as to prevent the assembling of tho uational conventidn at all ; pr if it should assemble, to torco his Domination upon the country, irres puctive of the popular will. Id time of civil war, with all lts attendant caiamities, the attempt to advance the personal interest and a:ubition of any one man, or number of men, without regard to the public good, desarves and shouid receive universa) condemnation. To the proper discussion of Mr. Lincoln's claim to be a candidate for the next Preeidentiftl term, there can be no reasonable objootion ; but it is the people, find not Mr. Lincoln and bis dupendents, who shouid decide upon his claim. While the great body of the American people have everything at stako upon the right administrution oí the governmeut, they have really no personal interest in its patronage. Therefore, they are the only disinteres'ed party to select the Presidential candidate without interierence (rom Executive ijjfluences. Biit now it is too early to cornmit the people to the fortunes of any Presidential aspirant. The issues of war are ayar uncertain, and though we have every reáson lo hope our gallant armies raay have dastroyed the rebel power belore the rhesling of tha convention, they may not. ! At all evento, the people will be much beíter prepared to decide three or lour montha henee, than tbey can possibly be to-day. Alreadv has this prematuro acción alieiiated mauy of the fnends of freedom, who beüeve that even witb a fair nornination.jin a full convention, Mr. Liucoln cannot be reelected to the Presideupy, There are many goud rensons in the very philosopby of representative govorniiieiit, againsi the eleotion of a President (or a eecnnd teriii. The unboundod popularity oí Gen. f iiituntfton duriDg h3 iulmin.itraüoi, convinced the American pePÍ ''''"A ïad he been lesa than Washington, ie might, by the patronage of office, bayë -mbvcrted the liberties of the country by procuring his ovvn elepijon periodicallv for lile. Tbe want of a cnnstitutional ümjta tion to the niiiiiber of terms to which a President might bo eligible, was then fe!t to be a sorious defect. Washington, participated in this sentiment, and peremptorily refused to allow hiinself to be elected íor a third Urrn ; and his decisión furnished a precedent which had all the force of a con stitutiooal refltrictioii'. Duriug the doininalion of the republican party, irom Jefterson to Monroe, the practïce of the President nomina ttng himself for the second term, and then his successor, through the ma chiuery of a caucus, which virttutlly translerred the power of ekction irom the pgoplo to Üie adfninistration, was becomiog a precedent which thrèaiened the subversión of repubücan fiberty. "f; ' Oen. J ickson, in order to ramntain the independence of the eective' franchise, became a candiiiatu' of the peop!e in oppositiorï '.o this aucus system, and tbbufill (Jeffifttèd át grat, as, iii }8:Ï3, triuniphaiitly electpd agaiiist the patronage of the govrrnment. Froi that day nu President, nntil Mr. Lincoln, ever attempU'd to revive that, odious system, ol havinj; liimself norcinated wtthoat consulting tho peop'e in a National Convention. Gen. Jackson was made a candidato by the people for second term agakint bifl wil!, and olected vvith urparalleled vvitli unanimity. Yet, such was the unbounded etithusiasm he inspired, that Jackson s;iw, as did every reflectjng man, that the danger to liherty wbich oecurred under Wasbington's tratioD was repeuting itseir. And so utterijj opposed v;r? Innt Btern patriot t'o the use of patronage ior the purpose of pro'curing a re e]ectjnp to thu Prcsidency, Ihat ha laid . doyn thu ona term principio as a j damontal doctrine ui our democratie system, and it became a part of he po litical creed of thu people ; 80 strong, that no President frun Éhftt day has, been re-elected, and prob.ibly nsver ■ will be by a fair expression ol the popular will. li President Lincoln, in defiance of the toachingi pf Japkpn, ir, vinlation of the greut principies which underlie our düinocrutic iustitutions, aad ia the face of the eoleinn waraings of history, eau n;!ö 3P wield bis patronage af. to söcui-ö his eleclion for u second term, who so bliod as not to see that four years henee he will have lees difficolty in securing his election for a third term ? For with au ai rny of more than half a niillion of citizeu soldiers poder hi6 ooramand, and aa aanua! putroDugo of a thousand mitlions ol money. he can, if he has one-half tht brain attributed to him by fnends, have himself elected from teto to term duriDg his natural liie. If tho " military nenessity" suppHt-s a reuson now for his nomination, and the extraordinary patronage ocoasioned by the war lurnishes the means of his election, as a matter of course his interest is then to prolong the war as a moana of perpetuating his power. No muo with tho patriot ism of a Washiugton or a Jackson would Seek 1o place hiinself in a position vvhere his inlerest and his personal ambition would be coincident with tha contiou-' anee of the rebeliion nnd the perpetuity of the war. Bilt, asida from the consideration of the aecood term principie, there Í6 still another and mrre foroïble objeutión to the re nomination of President Liocoin. ' The peoplo have lost all confidenoo in hisabllity to suppress the tebellion nnd restore the Union. It is impossible to nut out of view tho fact that there is a general teeling of disappointment n the loyfll North, tbat aiter auch a wasting of its precious blood, and siioli a vast expenditure of treasure, the rebellion contiouea UDSubduecl ; and sil ihc proroises of the acdminisiraUon time und ngain, for its speedy overtbrow havo been falsified. Tho truth is, that theru is not a man who does not wear tho livery of office, or is not in the pay oí the gener.il governnipni, who does not foei mortified and humbled that our nation, with its twenty nailüons of loyal people ia the North, with íour miH'íOns pf axiliafib in the South, to say nothin of a largo host of Unioü men Uien-. h;is not pucceeded yct in ovorthrmving the inq)eaj slave oügaruhay, vchit-h doi'S uot riiimber live millions all to!d ! How is it that Jeffürson Davis, with Dis slender resources, without 11 navy, without mamiiautories, acid has twic-e sent rebel hordes aeross the PoiOfpati, putting in j(!(ipardy eveu thn personal jiberty of IJr. Lincoln himseli. It is impngsibie to prevent the American peopla from niaking mrr.i'inting couiparis(ii)3 bt-ivvarn the rabgl ' ornef and thé Prèsideotoi theX"n;ted States. They well understand svhy this comiition oí things exista at the end of the thiid year ol Mr. Liocoln's terra. The fault is not in the want of tntelligence and bravery on the part oi our soldiere, or the fkill of our offii:er#. Fcr poth eoldierp and oflicers hare proven, on many a battle-tíeld, that, in endnrant-ws abd valor, and all the element. thut conetitute the great soldier, thoy are the equals, ii not the superiors, of the rebsis. It wij] Oft do to throw the blame upon the country, for it has furnished alj the iiieu and mofiov tha President hufl akej. f..r. ' It wil! dot do to obnrga it upon the syiTipiUlnjéra at the Nort'i, for they Lave hyvu fiad 1111 rne;ms ot ínterfering with the orders of 'he Prefiident.. The respcuiBibility rfst.- alone upon him. iie haa been vveak atnl vapjllatiog thronghout, süeininly jr.cup'ubl.q o! ti.-ttling upon any definitd line ot poficy in regard to the i'ebelüpn. Two tïiegru-s in regard to it have, and now divido the Americap people. One is. tliat the Southern States ars e'till State of the American Union; that their poe val oonstitutïpnS and laws, though sil nt ia the presence of the rebel power, wi'l upon the suppression of the rebelíión, revive, and the people return to their former right's. "The other theory is, that they are no longer States in tbe American Union; in the ser.se of the constitution, but the rebellion havliig acquirod the strength and consistency of a belligerént power, the status of the entire population has betn changed from oiti.ens !o ahens, and they do net return to their rights upon tho suppreisinn "i the rebelhon, but only tósuch as the supremo legisliitive power may give thetn. ; liad Mr. Lincoln adop'ed fii her one of' these 'theóries, and adhered to it vigorously, he might long siuoe hu va end'jii the rebellion. Had he chosen the firs', he conld, belore this. have bro-ght bac-k the States, wit!) their iu?titutiuiis and lawg, slaves and uil Ilud he adopted the olher, and austnioed Freraont and I-I'uiter, the friends of freodpm know that the rebel armies might long ago havo been overthrown, and the hole rebel territory in ñon of the United States, vvith the mnüacles of every slavo stiicketi off trom the Susquehunoa to the Rio G randt'. Th is vanülation and inuoeision of tho President, has been the real cause vit y pur w-ll-appointed armies hare not succecthd in the destructim of the reheUkm. He has constnntiy been going betweeti the two theones, tating no positive ground for ettber, bul holding on to tbè skirts of both. Whelher f rom tlie fetsbkiDera o! his will, which has been uncqual to the terníiti? preseore of tho respective le;idera of tiiose ibeofies, ot whether from the want oi ntellectual frap, K'e ;l ivaüy been unable to cönipfetiêtid their philtwophy, li-nm the want of politic:il pr neiple umJ indiflforenee to truth, hhas wilk that species of cunning, which characterizes a cerlain rhiss of laicyers, snvght 1o ride b-tk theorie, for the pw puse of securing lis re-elecion. Thj cant about " llonost. Oíd Abe" v:is it üit amusing. it thea becume ridicaljus, but now it is ubsoluteiy criminal. Honesty tignifies oothin, unlesB is aV;:r,"c;ty (0 r-ield tb pcTéf Tn the itnguagt) of Wendtll Phillips, j " whn euros toi' the hcmesy oj the Preiidcnt, iwIi;h- he be c.rmble t is uot hnarsty bilt oupacÜU 'Ha. is watited.'' When the nntion n?MÍri place? in tho bands of a oo#ft)ander-in-cHe{ ihrjlives of all its abie-boiüed men, uik! all ita mttvial wenkh, it will wnDt a better guarmitoc th;ui thfi aulcetideata of our joculkr President furnitiir thüt tho power wil! bo wielJii.l ably, eiBoienlly, and Rurt'lv, for tha perpetuity of the Ullioti. Shnuld Mr. Ltnooln be forced npon the ootintry in deflance oí the botter judgtiu'nt rf the rofniblionti party, and tho demooratio party be judk'ious in planting a candidafe fnr tho proseoation of tho war, pon tho first theory abovo indicatod, (whioh in their theory), ?Ir. Lincoln will bo most unquostionably defeated, unless he should be ternpted, in an evil hour, to uae ïuilitiiry power in liis hands by euppresnng the freeflom of the elections in tr,u loyal States. A yictoiy won by tho aword would be o victory, bnt a lamontablo düfeat to the friends of liberty. A convenüoD of patriot, i{ wiso, will never nomínate for tho Presidenev a mililiuy leader in actual coinajaud oí an nrmy, rnur.b lesa the comiminder-iiichief, uno nnw has rnoie than half a million íoldieri under his eommaod, and f necessury to success, niigi-.t have a million boforo the nxt Pi dentiiil eiertion, Tho temptation to a military cnndi dato to uso thc sword to 6eoure hia own clection is too greut, tho waniings oí hiítury too mpronsive, for tho Ameri can peoplo ever voluntarity to consent ío so hnZiirdoiit an experiment. Never before in our history iins auch a coinbiníition of high qiiaüties been required as wül be needed in the administrution of tiw gíivernraent f oí the next four }-e:ira, The wnf has croatod a debt tho magnitude of which is astounding to consider. The interest alone will oppress the peo4t fiar yaars to come ; t tho ame time the ineans oí' diaoljarging the dcbt will, by the necofsary operations af the wár, hayo boen tearfully weakpfloi. &j rnany hundreds oí thoufnds of men have been called frorn their industrial pursuits never to ratúrn to them; so rnuch of the material wealth of the courtry has been destroyed ; so many fields for tahe prnduction of its ereat fitaDies laid wasle; indeed ito wjicvio iaiior svtem has been pervertcu or disorganized. To rec.ovcr the nation frdm this stato of Ltter exbaustion, and restore it to its wonted prosperit.y, will demand an order oí intelligence which is bestowed upen ,ut few nseu in any country at tfie game time, and the inightiost intel lect in our laud might woll trembjö inassuming such responsibiüty. Wo jKant in our coming Fresi.der,.t an ad yanced tbinker; a statesman proiound iy versed iij politïoal and economie icience, one who iuljy oomprehendi tho spirit of the ags tj jphjsh we live.