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SEPTEMBER 15th, 1852.
To the Liberty Party:
The undersigned, in discharging one of their duties as your Committee, did, on the 3d instant, send to Hon. John P. Hale a letter, of which the following is a copy. A like letter, save the change in the name of the person and, also, of the office, to which he is nominated, they sent, at the same time, to Hon. George W. Julian.
"CANASTOTA, September 2d, 1852.
Hon. JOHN P. HALE.
Dear Sir, - The National Convention of the Liberty Party has, this day, appointed a Committee consisting of ourselves. One of our duties is to inquire:
1st. Whether you believe, that Civil Government is instituted for the purpose of maintaining all the political rights of all its subjects, male or female, black or white; and, therefore, that every political party is to regard itself as organized for the purpose of securing this equal justice at the hands of Civil Government?
2d. Whether you believe, that slavery, so far from being capable of legalization, is a naked piracy, around which there can be no possible legal covering; a matchless crime and fraud, to which no Constitution, nor Legislature, nor Judiciary can afford the least possible shelter?
We had expected, that long ere this time, you would, in the terms of your acceptance of your nomination to the Presidency of the United States, have made so explicit an avowal of your political creed, as to render any inquiries into the character of that creed quite superfluous. So far, however, is this expectation from being fulfilled: that we are not yet aware, that you have accepted the nomination.
Permit us to express the hope, that you will favor us with an early answer, directed to Gerrit Smith, Peterboro, Madison Co. N. Y.
GERRIT SMITH,
No answer has been received from either of the gentlemen; and, hence, it is our duty to call another Convention of the Liberty Party for the purpose of nominating candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency. It will be held in the City of Syracuse on Thursday the last day of the present month, and will begin its Sessions at 9 A.M. We are constrained to call this Convention, not because we entertain unfavorable opinions of Mr. Hale and Mr. Julian - for we honor and love them. They are wise and good men; and are hearty abolitionists; and the greater their vote, the greater will be our joy. We are constrained to call the Convention, because the Liberty Party is unwilling to vote for any candidate for any office, who is not openly and distinctly with it on the great questions submitted to Mr. Hale and Mr. Julian. We do not expect to see a large Convention: - for the Liberty Party, though, as we trust, of some value as an educator of the public mind, is, nevertheless, in point of numbers, quite insignificant.
We have appointed the Convention to be held the 30th day of September to the end, that those, who shall attend it, may, also, attend the Celebration of the Anniversary of the Rescue of Jerry. That Celebration will take place in the same City, the following day: and as it will be the Celebration of one of the most important and honorable events in the history of American liberty, it will, doubtless, be attended by vast numbers of true-hearted men and women.
The undersigned take the liberty to suggest, that the persons attending the Convention from the State of New York do, at the close of it, nominate State Officers, so far as the nominations of such Officers by the Free Democracy may prove to be unsatisfactory. It is very desirable, that none of them should prove to be unsatisfactory, inasmuch as every thing is desirable, which shall hasten the day, when the Liberty Party can, without surrendering any of its great principles, identify itself with, and merge itself in, the Free Democracy. That day will have come, when the
Free Democracy has clearly and certainly espoused those principles. The Liberty Party, much as it is attached to its name and organization, will, notwithstanding, hold itself ever ready to give up both. But, we trust; that it will never be ready to give up its principles. A wrong nomination; made in the name of the Free Democracy, or even a wrong platform, built in its name, will not have the effect to hold us back from uniting ourselves with the Free Democracy, provided we believe, that the masses of its members are sound in their political creed. Nevertheless, such errors, especially if repeated, must make us slower to confide in those masses.
GERRIT SMITH,
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URL: http://libwww.syr.edu/digital/collections/g/GerritSmith/481.htm Last modified: January 21, 2003 11:18 AM |
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