Gratz Brown's Letter Of Acceptance

Sr. Louis, June 1. - In reply to a notification of hia nomination as Vico President by tho Cinoiiinati Convention, Gov. Browu raakes the following response: Executive Office, ) Jefferson City, May 31st, 1872, } CTextlBHEK - Your letter advising mo of the uction of tho Liberal lloijublican Gonvention at Cincinnati has been re ceived, and I return through yon niy neknowledgment of tho honor which has been eonforrod upon me. I accept the 'nomination as a candidato for Vico-Prcsident and I indorso most eor&ially the resolution setting forth thn principios on which this appeal is made tb tho wholo people of the United States. A centurj" is closing upon our expoñenco of Kopublican govornment, and while that lapse of time has witnossed tho great expansión of our freo institutions, yet it has not been without illustrations also of the grave dangers to tlio atability of sttch a system. Of thoso succcssfuUy tincountered it is needless to speak. Those which reinain to menaco us most throateningly aro providod against, I flrmly bolievo, in tho wisc and j : i. 1 1 1 ■ measures proposed by your platform. It bas coma to be tho practico of thoso elevated to positions of nrttional authority to regard the public seraneo, not as a pub lic trust, but only as a raenns to retain power. This results in substituting a part}' organization for tho governmeni itself, coustitutesjajcontrol ainenable tono laws or inoralitics, impairs all independent thought,. enables the few to rulo the many, and makes personal allegiance tho road to favor. It requires little forecast to perceive that this will wreek our liberties, unloss thore be interposod the timely reform of the administration f'roiu lts highnst to its lowost station, which shall not only forbid abuses but UkewtfA taLo ttway tho incentive to thoir praotice. "Wearied with contentions that are car riod on in the avarico of spoils, the country demanda reposo ; it resonts tho effort of oilicials to dragoon it again into partisan hostility, and will zoalously sustain any movemont promising a suro dclivorancc of the perils which havo been conaected with the war. It is safe to say that O'ily these are now to be foarcd whioh come of an abuse of victory into permanent estrangenient. Tho Union is fortifiod by more power than ever before, and it remaine as an imperativo duty to cement our nationality by perfect reoonciliation. At the North ai v,-ide-spread sympathy ís arouscd im behalf of thoso States which, long after the termination of resisto neo to rightful Federal authority, ure still plundorod under the guise of loyalty, and tyrannized over in the name of froodoui. Along witluthis feeling is present, too, the reoognition that in completo amnesty alone can bo ibund a hope of :iny return to oonstitutional government, as of old, or any devolopmeut of a more enduring unity or brcader national life in the future. Amuosty, however, to bfi efficacious imisl bo roal, not nominal - genuino, not evasive. It must carry along with it equal rights, as wü as equal protoction to all. For tho romoval of disabilities as to some, ■with the onforcement as to others, leaves room for suspicion that pardon is measured by political gain. Esijecially wiil 8ueh proifered clemenoy be futilo in the presence of renewed attempts at prolonging a suspension of tho kabeas corpus, in a persistent resort to niartial rathör than civil law, in upholding those agencies to aliónate tho races, whero concord is most essential, and ia preparing auother elabórate caiupaign on the bftsis of dead issuos and arbitrary interventions. All will rightly credit sueh conduct as but a mockery of amnesty, and demand an admiuistration which can give a better warrant of honesty in the great work of reconstruction and reform. Tn tho array of sectional intorests a republic so widespread as ours is never entirely safe from serious conflicts. These beoomo still more dangerous when eomplicatcd with the question of taxation, whero uuequal burdens are Lelieveel to be ïmposed on ono part at tho expense of auot ïer part. It was a bold as well as admirable policy, in tho interest of present a? well as futuro tranquility, to withdraw the decisión ot industrial and revbnue mattors from tho virtual arbitration of the.electoral college, chesen with a single animating purposo of party ascendancy, and refer thom for a moro direct popular expression to each Congressional district, iustead of being muzzled by some evasivo deolaration. The country is theroby invited to itafrankest utterances, and sections which would revolt at being denied a voico out of deference to other succois would be content to acquiesce in a general judgmeut, honestly electpd. If local government be, as it undoubtedly is, the most vital principie of our institutions, much advance will be made toward reostablishing it by enabling the people to pass upon questions so nearly affecting their woll being, dispassionately through their local representations. Tho pree.ipitancy which would forco a coutrolling declaration on tax or tariff through a Prosidential eandidacy is only a disguised forin of c(;:itra]ization, involving hazard0U8 roacbea-of Executive influeuco. The conclusión will bo raueh more impartially determined, and tntik less disturbanco to trado and finauee, by appealing to the most divorsified interests, tO' all. An expression of industrial issues can bn thus likewise emancipated from tho power of great monopolie, each canvass mado to determine its special instruction. and each representativo held to fidelity tow.ard bis immcdiate constituent-:. Alíese are the most prominent features of that general conctrt of action whioh proposcs to replacu the present adininistration by one mere in sympathy with the aspirations of the massus of our countrynien. Of courye such concert cannot be obtaincd by thrusting evcry minor or past flifference into the foreground, and ït will bc for the people, thereforo, to determine whether these objections are of sueli magnitude and present urgency as to justify them in deleriing other adjustmcnts until the country -n-ill be ñtsf wstored to a freo suíTragc, uninflueneed by. official dictation, and ours becoincs : free Kopublic, roleased from the apprehension of central domination. Without referring in detail to the various other propositions embracüd in the resolutionn of thocsnvention, but soeing how all coti.ieiaplttto the restoration of power io til!? poople, peace to tin; nation, puritv to the gcvernmcnt - that ihey oondemn the attemrjt to eetablish an ascendanov of the military o-ver tbe civil rule and utiirm with expïicitiii'ss the maintenance of eqnal freedom to all citi.-ns, irrespective of nu e, prcvious comlition, or pending disubilities, I have only to plcdge again aiy sincero co-operation. I.bavo the honor to romain, very reIgectfully, yours, ligiwd) B. GRATZ BROWV.