earth. The  government  had  passed  through  the  vicissitades
and  the  perils  of  civil  war. Severe  losses  in  life  and  in  pn^
erty  had  been  endured,  and  heavy  burdens  had  been  imposed
upon  the  people. The  war,  too,  like  all  great  contests  whicb
rouse  the  piissions  and  test  the  endurance  of  nations,  hadgiven^
new  scope  to  the  ambition  of  political  parties,  and  fresh
pulse  to  plans  of  innovation  and  reform. But  now,  for  th<
first  time  after  six  years  of  alienation  and  conflict,  every
and  every  section  of  the  land  was  again  represented  in  a  Ni
tional  Convention,  the  members  of  the  body  again  meeting
citizens  of  a  common  country. Therefore  the  address  contii»—
ued  :  it  should  be  remembered,  first,  always  and  even'wher^  ^
that  the  war  has  ended  and  the  nation  is  again  at  peace ;  th^'C
this  convention  had  assembled  to  take  friendly  counsel,  aa^
that  its  work  was  to  be,  not  that  of  passion  nor  of  resentment
for  past  offences,  but  of  calm  and  sober  judgment   and  a  lil>-
ei*al  statesmanship. In  the  second  place,  the  address  argued
the  necessity  of  recognizing  the  full  significance  and  promptly
accepting  all  the  legitimate  consequences  of  the  political  results
of  the  war. Thirdly,  it  insisted  upon  the  importance  of  an  ac-
cur.ite  understanding  of  the  real   character  of  the  war,  and  of
the  victor}'  by  which  it  was  closed. Then  came  a  declaration
that  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  remained  precisely
as  before  the  war ;  that  this  had  been  iterated  and  reiterated  hv
the  Executive  and  by  Congress  ;  and  that  only  since  the  war  had
been  announced  "  the  right  of  conquest  and  of  confiscation,  the
right  to  abrogate  all  existing  governments,  institutions,  and  laws,
and  to  subject  the  territory'  conquered  and  its  inhabitants  to  such
laws,  regulations,  and  deprivations  as  the  legislative  department
of  the  government  may  see  fit  to  impose."     After  this  followed
an  elaborate  argument  adverse  to  the  action  taken  by  Con-
gress, turning  upon  the  point  that  it  was  unjust  to  refuse  to
ten  States  a  representation  in  Congress,  —  unjust  because  those
States  were  not  in  rebellion,  but  were  one  and  all  '^in  an  atti-
tude of  loyalty  towards  the  government,  and  of  sworn  alle-
giance to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.**

To  this  address  was  appended  a  "*  Declaration  of  Principles,'*


'      BATMOKD  IN  OOXGRESS,  ETO. 