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Chicago was far exceeded by the unanimity with which the platform was adopted. And now ignore the platform and take the nomination? In ancient tales we read of men who, in order to enjoy all the good things of the world, pledged their souls to the devil by compact; and they did enjoy the good things of this world, but then played the virtuous in order to save their souls; but at the appointed time, the devil produced the compact signed with blood, and claimed and took the forfeit. And this Presidential candidate thinks he can enjoy the good things of this world, and then, by playing the virtuous, cheat the devil out of his dues? Vain undertaking! This devil will be too much for the man who wrote the Woodward letter, and either the good things of this world will not be enjoyed, or the forfeit will be claimed and taken! (Loud cheers and applause.)
No, no this is no jest! I am in sober earnest, and mean what I say. Either that party must go to pieces, or it must be held together by bargain and sale. If it goes to pieces, well and good; the smaller the pieces, the better. (Laughter and cheers.) But if it be held together by bargain and sale, what is the price at which the support of the surrender men can be secured? What assurances, what secret pledges must be given? And you know well enough that those old party-leaders are not the men who work merely for the gratification of another man’s ambition.
How will it be when the leaders of the surrender party press around the throne and claim the forfeit? Will the new war President then lean for strength upon his brother Pendleton, that most abject and submissive of all surrender Democrats?
How magnificent a combination would be this: Horatio Seymour as Secretary of State and chief of the circumlocution-office; Seymour, of Connecticut, as Secretary of the Navy; Vallandigham as Secretary of War; and Fernando Wood, in consideration of the peculiar lustre which his honesty sheds upon his talents, Secretary of the Treasury. (Peals of laughter.) And would such a combination, if bargain as a last refuge be resorted to, would it be more wonderful than the harmony of the Chicago Convention? Is not the support of all of them necessary?
No, no, I am not jesting. If the party be held together and the Cabinet should be a complete Pandemonium, there would be nothing surprising in it. Such arrangements have been seen before, when things were working smoothly, and when there was no apparent conflict between platform and candidate. How, then, may it be now, when the necessities of the party are so pressing that they must resort to extreme remedies to save it? (Cheers.)
Meanwhile, you will see them walk from voter to voter and say, “Are you for war? So are we, my friend; here is our candidate!” or, “Are you for peace? So are we, my friend; here is our platform!”—only in one thing treating all alike, in deceiving each other and in deceiving all! For when they say, “We are for war,” may not the answer be, “You lie, for here is your platform!” Or, when they say, “We are for peace,” may not the answer be, “You lie, for here is your candidate!” (Cheers and applause.)
Americans, what a spectacle is this! How sad, how loathsome an exhibition! And it is in this way that a great nation is to decide of its future! In this gulf of deception and duplicity you would sink the fortunes of your country? From my inmost heart, from the very depth of my profoundest convictions, I warn you. Out of this, nothing can grow but a peace that cannot last, or a war that will not end; a peace without honor and solidity, or a war without faith, without nerve, without success, without decision. (Great applause.)
It is with a sense of relief that I turn from this fearful labyrinth of confused contradictions, of dark arrangements, of continually shifting pretences, to another programme of peace policy, which has at least the merit of consistency in its principles, of unyielding firmness in its policy, and of straightforward clearness in its propositions. It is the platform of the great Union party. (Applause.) Let us examine the wisdom of its policy with a view to the restoration of peace. Its first resolution reads thus:
“Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to maintain against all their enemies the integrity of the Union and the paramount authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that, laying aside all differences and political opinions, we pledge ourselves as Union men, animated by a common sentiment, and aiming at a common object, to do everything in our power to aid the Government in quelling by force of arms the rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bringing to the punishment due to their crimes the rebels and traitors arrayed against it.”
This, at least, is clear and definite. There are no “ifs” nor “buts.” Starting from the conviction that disunion will bring on interminable conflicts, and that, if, in the interest of fear alone, the Union must, absolutely must be restored—and only our enemies abroad and traitors at home doubt that—and that the rebels will not consent to reünion unless the victories of our army and navy bring them to terms—and only fools doubt that—it is affirmed that there is nothing left to us but to seek peace by a resort to arms, by vigor and energy in its prosecution of the war, and by a faithful and devoted support of the Government in its efforts to secure a speedy and decisive victory. This we explicitly declare to be the sense of the loyal American people. (Applause.) Not one of the points we have won is given up; not one step is done backward; not one advantage gained is jeopardized by a prevaricative policy; and while the Democratic promise of armistice and premature concession, by exhibiting a flagging spirit and a vacillating purpose, can only serve to encourage the rebels to persevere in their resistance, our inflexible determination will make them count the cost; and if the Southern people are really tired of the war, if they really want peace, they will at last have to make up their minds, once for all, that they cannot get rid of this war, with
