ZZZQ 
 1848 
 
 Address Adopted by the Whig State 
 Convention at Worcester, 
 September 13, 1848
 
 ADDUESS 
 
 ADOPTED BT TH> 
 
 WHIG STATE CONVENTION, 
 
 AT 
 
 WORCESTER, SEPTEMBER 13, 1848. 
 
 TOOBTHBR WITH TRB 
 
 RESOLUTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 Fellow Citizens : 
 
 The period is approaching when you will be called upon to perform the 
 important duty, and exercise the high prerogative of freemen, in c.isting your 
 suffrages for a chief Magistrate of this great Republic. This duty, al all times 
 responsible, is rendered more so at the present time by the peculiar condition of 
 the country, and the novel state of political parties. The whig and the demo- 
 cratic parties have selected their respective candidates for the Presidency ; and, in 
 all human probability, one or the other of them will be elected either by the people, 
 or by the House of Representatives. And the practical question submitted to 
 your consideration is, which do you prefer ? Which, in your opinion, will best 
 promote the welfare of the country, and secure the prosperity of the people, 
 Gen. Taylor, or Gen. Cass ? 
 
 We need not inform you that Gen. Taylor was not the first choice of the 
 whigs of Massachusetts. We had a distinguished citizen of our own State, 
 whose acknowledged pre-eminence in the whig ranks, and whose tried fidelity 
 to the whig cause, through a long period of public service, which he has render- 
 ed illustrious by his talents, and useful to his country and mankind, recommended 
 him to the confidence of the people of our own State, and the Union. We pla- 
 ced him early before the country through our State Convention of September 
 last, as a northern candidate, and one upon whom the North and the 
 South might rely with safety and hope of success. His claims were urged 
 in the National Convention, and if he had obtained the nomination, we 
 should have expected the support of the whig party in every section 
 of the country. But the claims of another distinguished individual pre- 
 vailed ; and the question now is, whether we shall yield that support to 
 a citizen of another State, which we should have had a right to demand, if 
 the nomination had fallen upon the favorite candidate of Massachusetts. 
 
 In the Convention the North were more fully represented than the South, there 
 being but one vacancy fvom the free, and nine from the slave-holding States. 
 The result of that convention is known. Gen. Taylor and Mr. Fillmore have 
 been recommended to the people of the United States, as suitable candidates to 
 fill the two first offices in the gift of the American people. 
 
 The }VJilg Platform. — WJiigs, the True and Original Free Soil 
 
 Party. 
 
 We approach you, fellow citizens, as Whigs, a party whose views and senti- 
 ments are well known. The doctrines we have advocated, and the opinions wo 
 have promulgated, cannot have been forgotten; the mutual efforts we hav«
 
 
 made, and the trials iwe'X*^.*'*?^^??®^,^^ the last twelve years, in that cause, 
 must have united the whigs in all parts of the country by the strongest ties. 
 We have stood upon the grand platform from which our name was derived ; 
 and have maintained the rights of the people against executive prerogative and 
 usurpation. We have maintained, that, as our government was instituted for 
 the good of the people, it was the duty of the government so to regulate the cur- 
 rency and the commerce of the country, as to protect the labor, encourage the 
 industry, and develope the resources of the Republic ; so to improve our harbors 
 and rivers, as to secure the property and save the lives of our citizens ; so to 
 dispose of the public lands, as to promote the interests of all the States. These 
 doctrines we have affirmed as whigs, and as whigs we cannot now abandon 
 them. "We believe them to be identical with the prosperity of the country, and 
 while we stand by our country's interest, we cannot forsake these fundamental 
 principles. 
 
 But, fellow citizens, we address you not only as whigs, but as northern whigs, 
 as Massachusetts whigs. We stand where our glorious old Commonwealth has 
 always stood, on the platform of free labor, a free press, and free soil. The 
 whigs of the North, and especially the whigs of Massachusetts, may rightfully 
 claim the appellation of the yree soz7j9a/-<y. Our whig delegation in Congress 
 for more than a quarter of a century, have been uniform in resisting the exten- 
 sion of slavery. In 1836, when Arkansas was admitted into the Union, the 
 voice of Massachusetts was heard against the slave feature of her constitution. 
 The late and lamented Adams moved to amend the bill, and our present worthy 
 Chief Magistrate, Gov. Briggs, used this emphatic language on the floor of the 
 House, on that occasion ; — " I never can consetit, with the vieivs I now entertain, 
 to give a vote or do any other act which shall sanction the principle or extend the 
 existence of slavery. In the deep conviction of my heart, I believe it to be politic 
 cally atid morally wrong." During the same Congress, on the bill for rifling the 
 mails, for which Mr. Van Buren gave the casting vote, our distinguished Senator 
 from Worcester made two able and manly speeches, in which he denounced the 
 bill as " establishing an espionage, a scrutiny into the contents of the mail, which 
 would violate its sanctity, and frustrate the whole design of it." He regarded 
 it as a violation of the freedom of the press, and as a measure which would ena- 
 ble the ruling party of the country to exclude from the mail any political infor- 
 mation which was thought adverse to its interest. From that period to the 
 present, the Whigs in Congress from this Commonwealth have uniformly op- 
 posed the extension of slavery, and the encroachments of its poicer. They have 
 advocated the right of petition, denounced the gag rule, and condemned in the 
 strongest terms the annexation of Texas. They have voted against the slave 
 feature in the constitutions of Florida and Texas ; against the introduction of 
 slavery into Iowa, and Oregon, New Mexico and California ; against paying for 
 runaway slaves, and in favor of the abolition of slavery in the District of Colum- 
 bia, in every form in which it has been presented. All this has been done by 
 our Whig delegation in Congress, not from any desire to produce a schism among 
 the Whigs, or to build up a new party ; but from an honest conviction that sla- 
 very was an evil, and ought to be circumscribed. In this manly course in Con- 
 gress — the only field in which the doctrine of free soil can be made a practical 
 question, — the Whig party in Massachusetts have nobly sustained their Repre- 
 sentatives. May we not then with propriety claim to be a free soil party ? We 
 do not pretend that this is the only article in our creed ; we do not wish to be 
 ingulfed in a single idea. We know that in the practical affairs of government, 
 our rulers must meet almost every question, and we have a platform sufficiently 
 broad to cover every great question of national policy. 
 
 As Whigs of this description — standing on this broad platform, we address 
 you ; and we call upon you in a cool, dispassionate manner to survey the whole 
 ground, to reflect upon the tendency of every measure, and then adopt a policy 
 worthy of patriots, and honorable to our ancient Commonwealth. We have
 
 TK 
 3 
 
 already said that General Taylor or General Cass would in all probability be 
 the next President of the United States. AVho shall be elected? In whose 
 hands will the institutions of our country and the liberties of the people be 
 most secure? This question involves the political character of the two candi- 
 dates. From a full and careful view of the whole subject, we have no hes- 
 itation in giving our preference to Gen. Taylor, and in recommending him for 
 your support; and we are confident that the more you study his character, the 
 miore cheerfully will you give him your suffrages. 
 
 Gen. Taylor. — His Character., and the Reasons why he should he 
 supported by Whigs. 
 
 Though Gen. Taylor was in the first instance brought prominently before 
 the people by his brilliant military achievements, yet it is not as a mere military 
 man, that we commend him to your consideration. "We are aware that the for- 
 tune of a battle may turn upon a mere accident, against which no human fore- 
 sight could guard, and hence a single victory does not afford any just criterion 
 , by which to test the ability of the commander. But when a general, having the 
 ^ sole command of an army, is successful, through successive campaigns — when, 
 ^y with an inferior force, he is able to baffle or elude the enemy, to advance with 
 'f success or retreat with safety ; to change the whole plan of a battle in the 
 very face of the enemy, so as to conform to some new exigency, and to succeed 
 in all his efforts — this shows powers of mind of no ordinary character, and those 
 intellectual resources which will qualify a man for almost any station. Such 
 has been the success of Gen. Taylor ; and we allude to it as furnishing the best 
 evidence of those mental endowments which are all important in the Presiden- 
 tial chair. Tried by this test, we are confident that Gen. Taylor will not be 
 found wanting. 
 
 But while we maintain that military science and operations in the field are 
 
 <i well calculated to develope the intellect, we are free to admit that the discipline 
 
 ^ of the camp has too often converted the officer into the tyrant, and has led him 
 
 j! to assume authority, and to raise the military above the civil power. This may 
 
 ^ be considered the natural tendency of a life in the service. But when a man 
 
 , has spent most of his life in the camp, and has resisted all these temptations, 
 
 \ and is modest, merciful and law-abiding in spite of his military training, it 
 
 ^ furnishes the most conclusive evidence of the soundness of his judgment, the 
 
 benevolence of his heart, and the purity and strength of his character. Such 
 
 we believe to be the case with General Taylor. When therefore we present 
 
 his name to the good people of Massachusetts, we do not present him as the 
 
 mere military man, or victorious general. No, we take more elevated ground ; 
 
 we present him as a man of vigorous intellect, of sound judgment, of warm 
 
 patriotism, of incorruptible integrity, of active benevolence, of personal purity. 
 
 The testimony of men in all conditions and callings, and of both political parties, 
 
 fully sustains this view of his character. They represent him as simple and 
 
 ^ unaffected in his manners, exemplary in private life, industrious in his 
 
 J^abits, and systematic in the transaction of business, possessing a mind of a 
 
 S superior order, with great clearness of perception and firmness of purpose. 
 
 4^ With a high moral sense, he unites stern justice with the most condescending 
 
 •^ mercy ; and by the goodness of his heart and the force of his character, wins 
 
 the affections and commands the confidence of all who know him. 
 
 In politics he is a Whig of the old school ardently devoted to the constitu- 
 tion, and if elected President, the highest object of his ambition will be to ad- 
 minister the government on the principles of the constitution, and to walk in the 
 footsteps of the fathers of the Republic. 
 
 If there were any reason to doubt his capacity, we would refer you to his cor- 
 respondence with the War Department, which, for discipline of thought, maturi-
 
 ty of judgment, practical common sense, force of diction, and dignified submission 
 to the civil power under the greatest personal provocations, is not surpassed by 
 any correspondence in the archives of the government. 
 
 We are aware that our political opponents have attempted to make it appear 
 that Gen. Taylor has avowed no political opinions, and is committed to no line 
 of national policy ; but nothing can -be more erroneous. In his letter to Capt. 
 Allison, he says : " I reiterate what I have often said — I am A Whig, but not 
 an ultra Whig. If elected I would not be the mere President of a party. I 
 would endeavor to act independent oi party domination. I should feel bound 
 to administer the government untrammelled by party schemes. I have no 
 private purposes to accomplish — no party projects to build up — no enemies to 
 punish — nothing to serve but my country." Such is the language of Gen. 
 Taylor himself, and we venture to say that no enlightened statesman in the land 
 can take exceptions to such principles. Gen. AVashington, when a candidate for 
 the Presidency, went even farther than Gen. Taylor in this particular. In u 
 letter to Gen. Lincoln, March 11, 1789, Gen. Washington said: 
 
 " Shoul 1 it become inevitably necessary for me to go into the chair of gov- 
 ernment, I have determined to go free from all positive engagements of every 
 nature lohatsoever. This is the answer I have already given to a multiplicity 
 of applications ; and I have assigned as the true reason of my conduct, the pre- ^ ^ 
 dominant desire I had of being at liberty to act with a sole reference to justice ^ 
 and the public good." 
 
 Here, fellow citizens, we have the example of Washington, and we trust that 
 the whigs of this day will be satisfied with what received public approval in 
 1789. Gen. Taylor, like his illr.-Lrious predecessor, takes the constitution as 
 his platform, and desires to go into the chair of government untrammelled by 
 party schemes, so that he may better promote the public interest, and restore 
 the government to its original purity. We can readily perceive how the mere 
 partisan, who is seeking his own personal interest, sho'uld object to such a 
 course, and repudiate such sentiments ; but for the honor of the whig party, we 
 hope that there arc but few such to be found within our ranks. • 
 
 The present state of the country, and the condition of our public affairs, are '• 
 truly alarming. The encroachments of the Executive upon the Legislative de- 
 partment of the government have become the crying political sin of the land, ' 
 and are doing more to defeat the grand objects of our free institutions than all 
 other causes combined. We have seen during the reign of the present Execu- » 
 tive, the power of Congress paralysed, and the will of the people defeated by the 
 shameless interference of the President and his Cabinet ; and when bills have 
 passed both branches, having for their object the payment of just debts, and the 
 security of life and property, the President, by the arbitrary exercise of the veto 
 power, has prevented their becoming the law of the land. And while he has 
 been laboring to curtail the powers of the Legislative department, he has been 
 constantly enlarging his own prerogative by usurpations more alarming than 
 any thing which has occurred since the establishment of the government. He 
 has assumed the war-making power in violation of one of the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of the Constitution. He has instituted civil governments in Mexican 
 provinces, and executed Mexican citizens for treason, contrary to the establish- ^ 
 ed law of nations, and in defiance of the power of Congress. He has assumed -^ 
 the law-making power by levying duties upon our own citizens trading in Mexi- 
 can ports. These acts of usurpation, together with the prostitution of public 
 patronage for the vile purposes of party, are calculated to create the most seri- 
 ous apprehensions in the breast of every lover of his country. If such prac- 
 tices are tolerated — if such wanton usurpations are not checked by the stern 
 rebuke of the American people, our government will soon degenerate into a 
 despotism. 
 
 By the election of Gen. Taylor we have the assurance that these abuses 
 will be reformed, and that the Legislative department of the government will
 
 be restorer! to its constitutional prerogative, lie tells us in his Allison letter, 
 from which we have already quoted, that it shall he one of his first ohjects, if 
 elected, to confine the veto power to its constitutional limits. His words are 
 these: "The power given hy tiic Constitution to tlie Executive to interpose his 
 veto, is a high conservative power ; but in my opinion should never he exer- 
 cised except in cases of clear violation of the Constitution, or manifest haste 
 and want of consideration by Congress. Indeed, I have thought, that, for many 
 years past, the known opinions and wishes of the Executive have exercised 
 undue and injurious influence upon the Legislative department of the govern- 
 ment ; and for this cause I have thought our system was in danger of undergo- 
 ing a great change from its true theory. The personal opinions of the indi- 
 vidual who may happen to occupy the Executive chair, ought not to control the 
 action of Congress on questions of domestic policy ; nor ought his objections to 
 be interposed where questions of constitutional poioer have been settled by the 
 various departments of the government, and acquiesced in by the people. Upon 
 the subject of the taritf, the currency, the improvement of our great highways, 
 rivers, lakes, and harbors, the will of the people, as expressed through their 
 Representatives in Congress, ought to be respected and carried out by the 
 Executive." Confiding in these declarations of Gen. Taylor, every intelligent 
 whig in the Commonwealth must give him his firm and cordial support. 
 
 Gen. Taylor is also a man of peace. Having witnessed the devastation and 
 horrors of war, he hjis pledged himself, if elected, to cultivate friendly relations 
 with all nations. In his Allison letter he says, " My life has been devoted to 
 arms ; yet / look upon war at all times, and under all circumstances, as a na- 
 tional calamity to be avoided if compatible with national honor. The princi- 
 ples of our government, as well as its true policy, are opposed to the subjugation 
 of other nations, and the dismemberment of other countries by conquest. In the 
 language of the great Washington, ' Why should we quit our own to stand on 
 foreign ground ! ' " 
 
 In a letter to the Hon. Truman Smith, of the House of Representatives, he 
 uses similar language. " I need hardly reply to your concluding inquiry, that I 
 am a peace man, and that I deem a state of peace to be absolutely necessary to 
 the proper and hecdthful action of our republican institutions. On this import- 
 ant question, I freely confess myself to be the unqualified advocate of the prin- 
 ciples so often laid down by the Father of his country, and so urgeixtly recom- 
 mended by him in his farewell address to the American people. Indeed I think 
 I may safely say, that no man can put a more implicit faith than I do, in the 
 wisdom of his advice, lohen he urges upon us the propriety of always standing 
 upon our own soil." 
 
 Such are the declared views of the whig candidate for the Presidency, and 
 we are confident that they must meet a hearty response from every whig in 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Critical Condition of the Countrij, and Danger of Collisions 
 with other Powers, and of having more Acquisitions of Terri- 
 tory, and a further Extension of Slaverg. — Gen. Cass a Da?i- 
 gerous Man. — Comparison between him and Gen. Tai/lor. 
 
 In the present distracted state of the world, when a little indiscretion might 
 involve us in a foreign war, nothing is more important than that the man at the 
 head of this Republic should be disposed to cultivate peace and friendship with 
 foreisn powers. We are aware it has been s;ud by our opponents, tliat the war 
 with ^Mexico is closed, and that our foreign relations are at this time of the most 
 peaceful character. But, fellow citizens, we feel bound to say, that there is 
 danger, and in our opinion great danger, of further annexations of foreign terri-
 
 tory, and hence further collisions with foreign powers. The spirit of conquest 
 has been excited and inflamed, and the lust of dominion is now cherished by 
 the democratic party. 
 
 We have been told that we are destined to rule the continent, and become an 
 ocean-bound Republic. A proposition was introduced into the Senate by a 
 democratic member, during the last Congress, for the annexation of Cuba to the 
 United States, and that measure is now freely talked of in high democratic circles. 
 Within the last six months, the President of the United States has gravely re- 
 commended to Congress an armed occupation of Yucatan, one of the States of 
 Mexico ; and that too after we had ratified a treaty of peace with that Republic, 
 and concluded an armistice by which all military operations were to be sus- 
 pended. And this measure, base and treacherous as it was, was warmly advocated 
 and strenuously pressed, by Gen. Cass and other leading democratic Senators. 
 The new scheme, which has been advertised at New Orleans, under the decep- 
 tive caption of a " Buffalo Hunt," has more of reality in it than meets the eye. 
 We are persuaded that a plot has been deliberately formed for collecting a large 
 armed force in the United States, and entering Mexico for the purpose of effect- 
 ing a revolution in that portion of Mexico lying south and east of the Sierra 
 Madre range of mountains ; and when these provinces are wrested from that 
 weak and distracted nation, we shall be asked to annex them to the United 
 States ! In this plot several leading democratic officers who have served in 
 Mexico, are said to be engaged, and some of the democratic pi-iuts have had the 
 unblushing effrontery to justify the measure. 
 
 We do not assert that the Administration are actually engaged in this infa- 
 mous scheme ; but judging from their past conduct, we have no doubt but that 
 they look upon it with satisfaction. Almost every mail brings us additional ev- 
 idence that such a project is maturing. We say then there is great danger that 
 before the Chief Magistrate now about to be elected, shall have completed his 
 term, some of these mad schemes will ripen into action, and unless great pru- 
 dence is exercised, we shall find ourselves engaged in another war for the ac- 
 quisition of territory, into which slavery may be introduced. 
 
 With Gen. Taylor for President, vre are confident that all such wild and 
 wicked conspiracies would receive a stern rebuke. With his disposition for 
 peace, and his aversion to foreign acquisition, we are persuaded that he would 
 strictly enforce the neutrality laws of the country ; and if any of our citizens 
 were bad enough to expatriate themselves for the purpose of exciting rebellion 
 in a nation with whom we are at peace, that he would, not take them and their 
 plunder into the Union as a reward for their iniquity. We feel so confident that 
 Gen. Taylor views all such schemes with disapprobation, that we presume that he 
 will speak out upon this subject before the election, should any of these plots 
 assume a tangible shape. 
 
 But what may be expected from Gen. Cass on these subjects ? We feel con- 
 strained to believe that he would give them his support. He was a warm advo- 
 cate for that first act of infimy, the annexation of Texas. He has justified the 
 President in trampling upon the constitution and commencing a war of conquest 
 without the consent of Congress. No member of the democratic party has 
 manifested a more belligerent, blood-thirsty spirit than Gen. Cass. When the 
 subject was first presented to the Senate, his cry was, " Let us enter the Mexican 
 territory, and conquer a peace at the point of the bayonet — let us talce possession 
 of the city of Montezuma and dictate our ows conditions." In January 
 last, when the subject of the war was under consideration, Gen. Cass ridiculed 
 the idea that there was any thing to fear even if we should acquire the whole of 
 Mexico. "If we should swallow Mexico to-morro"w," said he, "I 
 DO NOT BELIEVE IT WOULD KILL US. The Senator from North Carolina 
 and myself may not live to see it ; but I am by no means satisfied that the day 
 will not come in which the whole of the vast country around us 
 will form one of the most magnificent empires that the world has yet seen.**
 
 Again he said, "We may have to make the great experiment so dreaded by 
 the Senator from South Carolina, and the Senator from Kentucky, and annex 
 THE DOMAINS OP Mexico TO OUR OWN. 7%?s is the penalty which 
 national injustice has often been called to pay, and which Mexico may be 'pre- 
 paring for herself" 
 
 Such are the recorded declarations of Gen. Cass ; and from them it is mani- 
 fest that he was not only in favor of this war of conquest, but that he was for 
 dismembering, if not acquiring the whole of Mexico. Nor did his ambition stop 
 here. He fondly anticipated the time, when " the whole vast country around 
 us " would be annexed to the United States. In accordance with these antici- 
 pations, we find him, in May last, advocating the aggressive policy of taking an 
 armed possession of Yucatan. 
 
 With such a man at the head of the Nation, we should hardly escape further 
 accessions of Territory. He has declared that we were destined to swallow up 
 the neighboring nations, and he would, no doubt, regard it as his duty to fulfil 
 this great destiny. While Gen. Taylor would consider it as the highest honor 
 to stand upon our "own soil," Gen. Cass would bo desirous of "swallowing the 
 whole of Mexico." While the former would cultivate peace, and strive to 
 increase the resources of the country ; the latter, in his thirst for acquisition, 
 would direct those resources to the prosecution of foreign wars. 
 
 On the question of the ordinance of 1787, the sentiments of Gen. Taylor are 
 believed to be in accordance with those of the Whigs of Massachusetts, 
 while those of Gen. Cass are known to be directly opposed to them. The Dem- 
 ocratic candidate has told us in his letter to A. O. P. Nicholson, Esq., that Con- 
 gress has no constitutional power to exclude Slavery from our newly acquired 
 Territories ; consequently he would veto any Bill which contained the provision 
 of the Ordinance of 1787. On the other hand, Gen. Taylor has told us in his 
 Allison letter, that he should leave all questions of " domestic policy " to the 
 action of Congress, and should feel bound to carry out their will. It is true that 
 he claims the right of exercising the veto power in cases of clear unconstitution- 
 ality; but he says that the President ought not to interpose his objections, 
 ^^ where questions of constitutional power have been settled by the various Depart- 
 ments of the Government^ and acquiesced in by the people" 
 
 Now, if there ever was a question settled by the various Departments of the 
 Government and acquiesced in by the people, it must be that of the Ordinance of 
 1787. It was affirmed by the first Congress, and expressly recognized in the 
 organization of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Oregon; 
 and has the sanction of Washington and his successors in office, and has been 
 sustained by the highest judicial tribunals of the country. Here, then, is a case 
 where Gen. Taylor would be bound to withhold his veto, in case Congress should 
 pass a Bill excluding Slavery from the Territories. Nor is this all ; he has 
 pledged himself not to attempt to influence the action of Congress on this or any 
 other question of domestic policy. 
 
 The (lificrence between the two candidates is such as might be expected from 
 their relative positions — one being the candidate of the Whig, and the other of 
 the Democratic party. Gen. Taylor is a safe conservative Whig ; Gen. Cass a 
 radical, reckless Democrat : the one is an open, frank, and honest old soldier ; 
 the other a sly, artful, intriguing politician : the one would respect the will of 
 the people as expressed by their Representatives; the other would trample it 
 under foot : the former is a friend of peace ; the latter, an advocate for war : 
 the one would stand upon our own soil to improve it ; the other would grasp at all 
 the country around us. In a word, Gen. Ta}lor would labor to restore our 
 Government to its original purity, by copying the example of Washington, Adams 
 and Madison ; while Gen. Cass would depart from every principle of the Con- 
 Btitution by following the example of James K. Polk. 
 
 Gen. Cass has, by adopting the Resolutions of the Baltimore Convention, en- 
 dorsed every act of usurpation of which the present Executive has been guilty j
 
 and in a speech made on his return to Michigan, he said " our triumph will be 
 an approval by the country of the present administration, and will give direc- 
 tion to the one which shall succeed it." The election of Gen. Cass, therefore, 
 will be an approval of all the abominations of James K. Polk, and a pei'petua- 
 tion of his corrupt administration. 
 
 Whigs of Massachusetts, we have thus presented for your consideration, the 
 characters and political sentiments of Gen. Taylor, and Gen. Cass, the two can- 
 didates from which a selection will be made for the Chief Magistracy of the next 
 four years. And we ask you to exercise your judgment, and choose with delib- 
 eration. Let no preconceived opinion, no hasty resolve, influence your final 
 action, but having surveyed the whole field, adopt that course which true wisdom 
 may suggest, and enlightened patriotism approve. 
 
 Candidate for the Vice Presidency, Millard Fillmore. 
 
 We have presented to you somewhat in detail the characters and qualifica- 
 tions of the two candidates for the Presidency. Thus far we have omit- 
 ted to mention our candidate for the Vice Presidency; because the charac- 
 ter, moral and political, of Millard Fillmore is known and appreciated by 
 every freeman in this Commonwealth. You all remember his services in 
 Congress. You are convinced of his distinguished ability, you know his moral 
 worth. You all feel perfectly conscious that if elected, and the case should re- 
 quire it, he would give his casting vote against the extension of slave territory ; 
 and if by any casualty the office of President should become vacant, the inter- 
 ests of the country would be perfectly safe in his hands. 
 
 Organization of a Third Party. Its effects upon the Presidential 
 Question, and upon the Cause of Free Soil. 
 
 We are aware that there is a third candidate before the people, and that great 
 efforts are being made to induce the Whigs of Massachusetts to forsake their 
 former friends, and to unite in this effort to build up a third party. Before we 
 attempt to inquire into the merits of this new candidate, we will remind you of 
 the obvious effect of such an organization. Without this division, the AVhigs of 
 the country would be able to elect Gen. Taylor ; but if the new candidate shall 
 draw more votes from the Whig party than from the democratic, this new or- 
 ganization will increase the chances of the success of Gen. Cass. This new 
 party has not the slightest prospect of electing their own candidate ; and the 
 only effect of the movement must be either to elect or to increase the chances of 
 the democratic candidate. We had a full and perfect illustration of this princi- 
 ple in our last Presidential election. In 1844, the Whig candidate was pledged 
 against the annexation of Texas, and the democratic candidate in its favor. 
 The liberty party put a third candidate in nomination, and withdrew so many 
 votes from Mr. Clay, as to give the plurality to Mr. Polk, and secure his 
 election. This effect was pointed out to them in advance. Tliey were told that 
 they would defeat the great object they professed to have in view, and by divid- 
 ing the Whig strength, they would bring in the democratic candidate, and with 
 him we should have Texas, war, and the extension of slaver;.'. But their blind 
 zeal for what they called principle, induced them to persevere, and the evils 
 under which we are now laboring, are in a gr(?at degree- chargeable to their in- 
 considerate devotion to party. The votes which were given to the third party 
 candidate at that time in the State of New York alone, would, if given to Mr. 
 Clay, have secured his election, and have saved the country from the calamities 
 which have since befallen it.
 
 This example is too recent, and its efTects have been too calamitous to be 
 soon foigotten by the intelligent AVhigs of Massachusetts. But, fellow citizens, 
 you are now asked to try this experiment again. You are asked now, in 1848, 
 to adopt the very policy which, in 1844, brought Texas into the Union, with 
 " all our woes." 
 
 The analogy between the two cases is perfect. Now as then the third party 
 have not the least prospect of electing their candidate, or even of obtaining a 
 single electoral vote. The only effect of their elTorts which can be anticipated 
 by the most sanguine among them, i-; to defeat a choice, and throw the election 
 into the House of Representatives, where the election must be made by States, and 
 where the democrats have three States majority. If this new organization sliall 
 succeed in Avilhdrawing from the whig party a number sulFiciently large to give 
 Gen. Cass the plurality in New York, or Ohio, and thereby secure his election 
 by the people or by the House of Kepresentatives, they will, we fear, find, when 
 it is too late, that they have defeated the very object they profess to have at 
 heart. We venture to predict that if Gen. Cass is elected, slavery will be 
 extended over New Mexico and California, and in all probability we shall, during 
 his administration, have the Republic of the Rio Grande, or of the Sierra Madre, 
 or the Island of Cuba, added to the Union. "With such additions of Southern 
 and slaveliolding territory the friends of free soil would be found in a ho[)eless 
 minority at least in one branch of the Legislature, and the glorious cause of 
 freedom thrown back ten or perhaps twenty years. 
 
 Nor is it at all improbable that the election of Cass will make sure the defeat 
 of the Wilmot Proviso. In case of his election it will be said, that the whole 
 question has been submitted to the people, and they have declared tluit Southern 
 citizens with their property shall not be excluded from these territories. That 
 ai'gument was found to be all-powerful in the case of Texas annexation, and it 
 will be found equally potent in this case. This verdict of tin; people, together 
 with the patronage which he would hold in his hand, and which he would use 
 without scruple or stint, would enable Gen. Cass to wield the destinies of the 
 nation, and indulge in his favorite scheme of " swallowing " all adjacent territory. 
 With this whole subject before him, every true friend of *' free soil " should take 
 heed to his steps, and beware lest he adopt a policy which will defeat his own 
 object, and perpetuate an evil he is laboring to destroy. 
 
 Mr. Van Btiren, Candidate of the Third Partt/ — Ilis Character, 
 Principles, and Claims for support from Whigs and other Free 
 Soil Men. 
 
 But who is the candidate, by whom those who profess to be the exclusive 
 friends of free soil, propose to circumscribe the area of slavery ? It is a man 
 who has been known throughout the land as "a Northern man with Southern 
 principles;" a man who when Vice I'resident of the United States gave his 
 casting vote for one of the most odious slavery measures which ever disgraced 
 the Halls of Congress — a bill for rifling the mail, and preventing every jiami hlet, 
 newspaper, or letter touching the subject of slavery, from being transjiorted 
 therein ; a man who when a candidate for the Presidency said, " I must go into 
 the Presidential chair the infcomble and nncotnpromising opponent of ontf 
 attempt to ahoUsh slavery in the District of Cohimbia, against the wishes of the 
 sJavehoJdinrj States," and who pledged himself to veto any bill seeking that 
 object ; — a man who when President of the United States attempted the exer- 
 cise of an unconstitutional power, in dooming the free negroes of the Amistad to 
 perpetual slavery! This is the " anti-slavery," "free soil" candidate, wiio is 
 presented to the freemen of Massachusetts for their suffrages, by men too who 
 profess to make the subject of free territory pai'amount to every other ! They 
 2
 
 10 
 
 call upon you as lovers of freedom to support a man who has shown more ser- 
 vility to the slave power than any man in the free States. Tliey ask you as 
 whigsy to i-ally round the standard of a man, who has for the last twenty years 
 been the very embodiment of the most radical democracy. Thej ask you as 
 friends of the protective policy to aid in the election of a man who has pro- 
 nounced the tarilF of 1842, wrong in principle and in its details. As opponents 
 of the odious sub-treasury scheme, you are urged to sustain the man who first 
 pressed it upon the attention of Congress, and used all his patronage to force it 
 upon the country. In a word, the wbigs of Massachusetts are urged, in 1848, 
 to enlist under the banner of one, who in 1840 was, for his partisan policy, his 
 hostility to the best interests of the people, and his political profligacy, con- 
 demned, repudiated, and driven from office by the indignant freemen of the 
 land, with a voice more overwhelming than any other man in this country has 
 ever been doomed to hear. 
 
 But, fellow citizens, you have been told that the old parties have become cor- 
 rupt, and that it is necessary to form a new party based upon moral principle. 
 But what do these political moralists propose to you ? They propose to take 
 for their leaders and guides such men as Alartin Van Buren, and Benjamin F. 
 Butler, and G. Q. Cambreling, whose very names are synonymous with political 
 intrigue. 
 
 "We do not wish to be uncharitable, but we only speak the sentiment of a vast 
 majority of the freemen of the land, when we say that Martin Van Buren has 
 done more to corrupt the politics of the country, by banishing moral principle, 
 and converting every political movement into a mere game, than any man in the 
 nation. The corrupt and corrupting political maxims — '■^All is fair in poli- 
 tics" " To the victors belong the spoils" etc., had their origin with the famous 
 Albany Regency, of which Mr. Van Buren was the leader and head. While, 
 therefore, we adroit that there is too great laxity of morals in both political 
 parties, w^e confess that we should despair of a reformation in a school of w^hich 
 Martin Van Buren was the teacher. 
 
 Consequences of the New Organization^ and its Effects ujjon the 
 Election of true Whigs and Free Soil Memhers of Congress. 
 
 But, fellow citizens, you are not Qnly to contemplate this new organization in 
 its effects upon the Presidential, but with reference to our local elections. Our 
 glorious old Commonwealth has at the present time a full delegation in both 
 Houses of Congress, of good men and true, upon the question of free soil. Mr. 
 Webster in his late speech in the Senate, and in fact in speeches before popular 
 assemblies made years ago, laid down this free soil doctrine of no more slave 
 territory. Mr. Davis, in repeated instances, by votes and speeches, has done the 
 same. Our delegation in the House has always been as true as the needle to 
 the pole on all questions connected with slavery. Nor is this any new impulse 
 which has seized them within a few months. The Whig portion of our del- 
 egation has been true for years. In 1844, a petition from the State of New 
 York, praying that the ordinance of 1787 might be applied to all our terri- 
 tory west of the Mississippi, was presented, and a motion was made by a 
 northern democrat to reject it by laying it upon the table ; and while John P. 
 Hale of New Hampshire, and George Rathbun, and Preston King, and Charles 
 S. Benton, and Joseph H. Anderson and Le4nuel Stetson of New York, now 
 leading Barnburners and bosom friends of Mr. Van Buren, voted in favor of its 
 rejection, the names of Adams, and Baker, and Grinnell, and Hudson, and King, 
 and Rockwell, and Winthrop are recorded against it. So in relation to the 
 annexation of Texas, the entire whig delegation of Massachusetts resisted it to 
 the utmost, while these New York free soil gentlemen recorded their names 
 tn its favor on the final vote. It is unnecessary to speak of our delegation since
 
 11 
 
 that period. They stand committed in word and deed in favor of the free soil 
 principle. In the present House of Representatives we have ten free soil votes 
 which can be relied upon at all times. But let this now movement be carried 
 into our Congressional elections, and if the free soil party obtain the support 
 which they anticipate, the result must be that in most of our Districts tiicre 
 can be no election. So that if this policy is pursued, we may go into the 
 next House of Representatives, not with ten reliable votes on all occasions, but 
 with only two or three. And on the most important questions of the session, 
 yes, on the very question of the extension of slavery, we may be defeat<'(l by 
 the vacancies occasioned by this new organization. We commend this part of 
 the subject to the special consideration of all who sincerely desire to prevent 
 any ftirther extension of the slave institution. 
 
 Therf^ are a few dissatisfied whigs, who say they feel indignant at the attempt 
 of the slave power to extend this institution into territory now free. So do we. 
 And we are resolved as firmly as they can be, to resist that unholy attempt, and 
 to do all in our power to confine slavery within its present limits. Under 
 all the circumstances of the case, we are satisfied that the election of Gen. 
 Taylor is the most effectual way of securing the object which we all have at 
 heart ; and we advise and forewarn our whig friends, who have formerly acted 
 with us, that any other course must end in the election of Gen. Cass, and 
 consequently in the further extension of slavery. Such are our convictions, and 
 such we believe will be the conclusion to which all free soil whigs will come 
 on due reflection. 
 
 We are not at all surprised at the course pursued by the barnburners of New- 
 York. They are among the most radical democrats of that State, and can 
 naturally support Mr. Van Buren. We are not surprised at the course pursued 
 by the leading abolitionists of this State ; they also are all democrats, and can 
 without scruple support Mr. Van Buren, especially when by so doing they 
 can distract the whigs, against whom they have been arrayed for years. But 
 how sound and consistent whigs, or sincere and intelligent liberty men, can yield 
 their support to Martin Van Buren is more than we can comprehend. 
 
 Fellow Citizens, though we have already extended this address beyond our 
 original design, we cannot conclude without putting you upon your guard against 
 some of the insidious attempts that are being made to draw you from the sup- 
 port of Gen. Taylor. You will be told, as you have been, that he is not a Whig, 
 and hence Whigs cannot support him with consistency. You are aware that he 
 has said repeatedly that he is a ]\'hig, and in his letter of July 21, 184G, to 
 Wm. E. Russell, he uses this strong language : '' I am a Whig, and shall ever be 
 devoted in individual opinion to the principles of that parti/." But who are 
 those that object to Gen. Taylor, because he is not a Whig? They are the very 
 men who have given in their adhesion to Martin Van Buren, the Prince of 
 Democracy. 
 
 A labored attempt has been and is still made to convince the freemen of 
 Massachusetts that Gen. Taylor is known to be so devoted to Slavery and 
 the slave power, that the whole South, without distinction of party, will ^nve him 
 their support. No representation can be more unfounded. The friends of 
 Gen. Taylor have never relied upon South Carolina, and Texas and Missouri, 
 and those Southern States which are thoroughly democratic. They have 
 maintained that Gen. Taylor's personal popularity might secure him some of the 
 Southern States, which were democratic by a small majority ; beyond this they 
 never had any hopes of southern support. ' They have seen from the first, that 
 the southern democratic press, with the. Union at their head, have charged Gen. 
 Taylor with being in favor of the Wilmot Proviso : and the late speech of Mr. 
 Calhoun at Charleston, shows most conclusively that the loading spirit of the 
 South has far more confidence in Gen. Cass than in Gen. Taylor, so far as Sla- 
 very is concerned. 
 
 Another artifice which has been resorted to is, to represent that Gen. Cass
 
 12 
 
 has no strength, and will hardly be able to carry a State ; and that conse- 
 quently the real contest lies between Gen. Taylor and Mr. Van Buren. This 
 is a mere stratagem, designed to lull the whigs into a state of apathy. Believe 
 no such representations. The democratic party are making a desperate effort 
 throughout the country, and whoever is acquainted with their discipline and the 
 power of their drill must be satisfied that they will make a great show of strength 
 on the day of trial. Many of those who pretend to favor this free soil move- 
 ment, will, after they have induced the whigs to forsake their party, fall quietly 
 back into the democratic ranks, and give their votes for Cass and Butler. 
 
 But let not national politics engross your whole attention, and leadVou to 
 neglect your own Commonwealth. Remember that you have a State to save, . 
 as well as a nation to redeem. It has always been the pride of our good citi- 
 zens that we have had an enlightened conservative government at home, what- 
 ever may have been the character of the General Government. Although 
 there are questions of National policy upon which there may not be an entire 
 unanimity among the Whigs of Massachusetts, no real difference can exist with 
 regard to the policy of our own State, or the candidates whom we have selected 
 to administer its government. We present for your sufTrages a tried and faith- 
 ful Whig, who knows your interests and will, with fidelity, protect them. With 
 George N. Briggs at the head of our affairs, we shall all feel that the honour 
 of the Commonwealth will be preserved, and her welfare promoted. And we 
 present him to you not only as a man of great personal worth, but as an expe- 
 rienced and excellent Chief Magistrate, Avhose past services are known and 
 appreciated by all. We present him to you not only as a whig, but as a " free 
 soil " whig — and one who many years ago declared his attachment to the free 
 soil principle, not as a mere speculative abstraction, but as a practical truth by 
 which his own actions were governed at that time, and have been governed 
 since. With him is associated another long-tried and faithful officer in whose 
 integrity, moral and political, the public have the most entire confidence. He, 
 too, is a whig of the " free soil " stamp, and has labored in that cause when 
 Martin Van Buren and many of his recent converts were bowing to the slave 
 power, and courting the favor of slaveholders. But we will not consume your 
 time in setting forth the merits of these men. George N. Briggs and John 
 Reed are well known to you, and knowing them, we are confident that you will 
 give them your cordial support. Can any Massachusetts Whig prefer Stephen 
 C Phillips to George N. Briggs; or John Mills, whose vote contributed to the 
 election of James K. Polk as President, and the annexation of Texas, to John 
 Reed ? 
 
 Freemen of Massachusetts, you have a great and important work to perform. 
 The whigs of other States are looking to 3'ou with the deepest interest. They 
 know that the old Bay State has always been true to herself and to the country, 
 and has never failed to do her duty in the day of trial. They expect that you 
 will sustain your well-earned character, and not be found wanting in this trying 
 emergency. You have it in your power to choose your electors by the people, 
 and thus save yourselves from the disgrace of momentary defeat, and the Com- 
 monwealth from the expense of an extra session of the Legislature. For your own 
 credit as a whig State, for the honor of the party to which you belong, for the 
 success of the great cause in which you are engaged, and for the welfare of the 
 country of which you are a constituent part, we call upon you to come forward in 
 your strength, and sustain your principles. At the last Presidential election 
 you marched to the polls, after you knew that the battle was lost, and by an 
 overwhelming majority showed that you contended for principle. Let your ex- 
 ample at that time stimulate you now to the faithful discharge of your duty. 
 Then you were not disheartened by defeat, now the prospect of victory beckons 
 you on. Reports from all parts of the State and of the country, are of the most 
 encouraging character. Having served in the whig ranks, most of our friends
 
 13 
 
 will be found at tlicir posts on the day of election. The free soil doctrine being 
 with them a fixed principle, and not a spasmodic emotion, they will bow at 
 their accustomed whig altar, and not be fr)und going after strange gods, — 
 which neitiier they nor their fathers have known. 
 
 We say then, fellow citizens, do your duty with ])ronip(ne.ss and ahicrity. 
 As you are enjoying blessings which were purchased by liie sacrifices of your 
 patriot fathers, so you should be willing to make some sacrifices for those who 
 are to come after you. The liberties of liie country are in danger. Executive 
 power is oversluulowing every dei)artm(:nt of the goveriunent. Plots, extrava- 
 gant as they are wicked, are already laid to bring into tlie Union large portions 
 of foreign territory, on which to plant an institution repugnant to every princi- 
 ple of republicanism. These evils must be arrested at every hazard. And the 
 power to do it, is in the ])eople themselves. Let, then, the freemen of the land 
 make one patriotic effort, and show the present corrupt administration that the 
 righteous indignation of an injuied j)eople will not sleep forever. But what- 
 ever may be done in other parts of the country, let old Massachnselts do her 
 duty. Let her stand firm, '' whoever may falter, or whoever may fly." Let 
 her stand firm, and " show the parasites of power, that there is one community 
 they cannot corrupt — one State they cannot seduce — one Swiss Canton 
 they can never conquer." 
 
 KESOLUTIONS. 
 
 The following Resolves were read to the Convention and unanimously adopted. 
 
 Eesolved, That the Whigs of Massachusetts in 1848, were Massachusetts 
 Whigs in 1840, and in 1844; in 184(', when, by an overwhelming majority in 
 the State and Country, we thrust from the scat of executive power, Maktin 
 Van Buuen, the subservient and unscrupulous instrument of Southern dicta- 
 tion ; in 1844, when, by a vote in our own State not less decisive, we spurned 
 with indignation the nomination of James K. Polk, and the Baltimore platform, 
 with its progressive principles of war, annexation, and slavery extension ; and 
 that now, as in those memorable years, we stand firmly, as we have always 
 stood, upon the platform of Free Labor, a Free Press, and Free Soil. 
 
 Resolved, That as Whigs we have always maintained, a-s a fundamenud prin- 
 ciple of our Government, that the legi--lative branches should be kept i'lcc from 
 executive influence and dictation; that the voice of the people sheuld be heard 
 through their representatives in the Congress of the United States, unawed and 
 unrestrained; that the veto power, which is but the expression of one man's 
 opinion, should never be exercised, •' except in cases of clear violation of the 
 Constitution, or manifest haste and want of consideration by Congress." 
 
 Resolved, That we have never surrendered and will never surrender our 
 common principles as a Whig party. We believe that our government was in- 
 stituted to promote the peace, pros|)erity and happiness of the pco|.le ; that it is 
 the duty of the goverument to regulate wisely the currency and the commerce 
 
 ;tr>8(»H.'i
 
 14 
 
 of the country ; to protect the labor and encourage the industry of the people ; 
 
 to adopt and carry out a judicious system of measures for internal improvement, 
 to clear our rivers and harbors from all obstructions to navigation and com- 
 merce ; to make such a disposition of the public lands as shall advance the in- 
 terests of all the States ; to encourage free intercourse and intelligence among 
 the people by a reasonable reduction of the rates of postage ; and generally by 
 a careful, conscientious and far-seeing administration of our public affairs, to 
 establish " the healthful and proper action of our republican institutions." 
 
 Hesolved, That being impressed with a profound sense of our responsibility 
 as the representatives of the Whigs of Massachusetts — that responsibility which 
 attaches to our words, acts and votes — we cannot fail on this occasion, as we 
 have never failed on any other general assemblage of the Whigs of Massachu- 
 setts, to record in the most solemn and deliberate manner, our unqualified oppo- 
 sition to any extension of the institution of slavery into new territories, or any 
 acquisitions of territory for the purpose of such extension. 
 
 On this question the voice of Massachusetts has been unwavering and uni- 
 form ; and never has that voice spoken with higher eloquence and power than 
 when our distinguished Senator in Congress, speaking for himself, and for the 
 whole People of the Commonwealth, said : " I consent to no farther extension of 
 the area of slavery in the United States, and no further increase of slave repre- 
 sentation in the House of Representatives." 
 
 Resolved, That entertaining these opinions and convictions, we do most cordially 
 adopt and ratify the nomination of ZACHARY TAYLOR, of Louisiana, and 
 MILLARD FILLMORE, of New York, as the candidates of the whole Whig 
 party of the Union for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the United States ; 
 and believing them to be, in the sense of these resolutions, Whigs, honest and ca- 
 pable, we here pledge ourselves, one and all, to make the most unwearied efforts 
 to place them in the offices to which they have been nominated. 
 
 Resolved, That while we feel an intense interest in the affairs of the General 
 Government, and a confident expectation that our chosen candidates for the 
 Presidency and Vice Presidency will be elected ; we cannot forget that Massa- 
 chusetts is a Whig State, and that under a Whig administration her people have 
 been prosperous and happy. 
 
 In the assurance that GEORGE N. BRIGGS and JOHN REED will, 
 by their ability, faithfulness and inflexible integrity, so administer our State af- 
 fairs as to insure the continuance of that prosperity and happiness, we again 
 present them to the Whigs of Massachusetts as our candidates for Governor and 
 Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth.
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 At half past 11 o'clock, the Convention was called to order, by Col. A. H. 
 Bullock, of "Worcester, and, on motion of Judge Barton, of Worcester, Hon. 
 Joseph Bell, of Boston, was chosen temjioraiy Chairman of tlie Convention. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Sciiouler, of Boston, Joseph M. Wightmak, of Boston, 
 was appointed Secretary of the Convention. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Dewet, of Williamstown, the members of the State Central 
 Committee, and the Chairmen of the several County Committees, were requested 
 to take seats in the Convention. 
 
 On motion of Mr. George Marston, of Barnstable, the Senators and Rep- 
 resentatives in Congress from this State, were requested to take seats in the 
 Convention. 
 
 On motion of Hon. Albert H. Nelson, of "Wobum, it was voted, that a 
 Committee of five be appointed, to collect the credentials of members, and report 
 thereon. 
 
 The following is the Committee : Messrs. Nelson, of "Woburn ; Dwight, of 
 Springfield ; Morey, of Boston ; Willard, of Millbury ; Lowe, of Gloucester. 
 
 On motion of Hon. George Bliss, of Springfield, a Committee of one from 
 each county was raised, to report a system of organization and list of oflicers for 
 the Convention. 
 
 The following is the Committee : — Messrs. Bliss, of Hampden, Thatcher, of 
 SuflTolk, Chapman, of Essex, Wolcott, of Middlesex, Mixter, of AVorcester, West, 
 of Hampshire, White, of Franklin, Goodrich, of Berkshire, Simmons, of Norfolk, 
 Ferry, of Bristol, Hyde, of Plymouth, Doane, of Barnstable, Easton, of Nan- 
 tucket and Dukes. 
 
 The Committee on the subject reported the following list of officers for the 
 Convention : 
 
 For President, 
 Hon. DANIEL P. KING, of Danvers. 
 Vice Presidents. 
 Hon. SAMUEL A. ELIOT, of Boston. 
 « DAVID PINGKEE, of Salem. 
 « IIOBART SPENCER, of Ashby. 
 " BENJ. F. THOMAS, of Worcester. 
 « JOHN HOWARD, of Springfield. 
 « ANSEL PHELPS, of Greenfield. 
 Gen. II. A. S. DEARBORN, of Roxbury. 
 Hon. JOHN DAGGETT, of Attleboro'. 
 « ZENAS D. BASSETT, of Barnstable, 
 « SETH SPRAGUE, of Duxbury. 
 « ITHAMER CONKET, Esq , of Amherst. 
 « WILLIAINI MITCHELL, of Nantucket. 
 
 SAMUEL ROSSITER, Esq., of Great Barrington. 
 Secretaries. 
 J. M. Wightman, of Boston ; Matthias Ellis, of Carver ; Rodman H. Wells, 
 of Adams ; Lewis Chesbrough, of Taunton ; Samuel Willard, Jr. of Deerfield. 
 
 Hon. Levi Lincoln, of Worcester, and Judge Warren, of Boston, were 
 appointed to conduct the President elect to the chair. The Vice Presidents 
 and Secretaries next took their seats. 
 
 The PresidtMit then requested Rev. Edward E. Hale, of Worcester, to ad- 
 dress the Throne of Grace.
 
 16 
 
 Mr. PnocTOU, of Danvers, moved that a committee of five be appointed to 
 collect, sort and count the votes for Governor. This motion was subsequently 
 re-considered, on motion of Hon. MvuoN La.wrence, of Belchertown. He 
 said the people about him wanted a nomination by acclamation. He wanted to 
 have a shout raised that would reach the hills of Berkshire. The reconsidera- 
 tion v/as carried unanimousl)\ Mr. Lawrence then nominated GEORGE N. 
 BRIGGS, for Governor of the Commonwealth, which was carried amid the 
 most enthusiastic cheers. Governor Lincoln then moved that the Hon. JOHN 
 REED be nominated for Lieutenant Governor, which was carried with the 
 same unanimity and enthusiasm. 
 
 Col. Bullock, of Worcester, moved that a committee of one from each 
 county be appointed to nominate two Electors at large. The following is the 
 Committee : 
 
 A. H. BULLOCK, of Worcester. N. W. COFFIN, of Suffolk. N. 
 SILSBEE, Jr., of Essex. T. RICE, Jr. of Middlesex. E. M. WRIGHT, 
 of Hampshire. G. WALKER, of Hampden. A. HOWL AND, of Franklin. 
 E. H. KELLOGG, of Berkshire. E. P. TILESTON, of Norfolk. J. ED- 
 DY, of Bristol. S. S PRAGUE, of Plymouth. S. HILLIARD, of Barnstable. 
 W. C. STARBUCK, of Nantucket and Dukes. 
 
 On motion of Hon. Joseph Bell, the following gentlemen were appointed 
 a Committee, to report an Address to the people of JMassachusetts : 
 
 Joseph Bell, of Suffolk ; Benjamin Thompson, of Middlesex ; Ebenezer 
 Bradbury, of Essex ; George Denny, of Worcester ; Jehiel Abbott, of Hamp- 
 shire ; Horace Gould, of Franklin ; Daniel N. Dewey, of Berkshire ; F. W. 
 Lincoln, of Norfolk ; Oliver Ames, Jr., of Bristol ; Philander Washburn, of 
 Plymoutli ; Charles Marston, of Barnstable ; David Baker, of Nantucket ; 
 D. Fisher, of Dukes. 
 
 Mr. Ha YD EX, of Boston, then offered the following resolution, which was 
 carried. 
 
 Resoloed, That the Delegates to this Convention from the several Con- 
 gressional Districts in this Commonwealth be requested to retire and report to 
 the Convention, a candidate for Elector of President and Vice President of the 
 United States for each of said Districts. Mr. Nelson, Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on credentials, reported that it appeared that nearly all the cities and 
 towns of this Commonwealth were represented, and that the number of Del- 
 egates duly acci'edited was nine hundred and eighty-three. 
 
 Col. Bullock, Chairman of the Committee to nominate two Electors at large, 
 reported that they had unanimously agreed to report the names of — 
 Hon. LEVI LINCOLN, of Worcester, 
 Hon. EDMUND DWIGHT, of Boston, 
 As electors, at large. The following are the District Electors : 
 No. 1— ALBERT FP:ARING, of Boston. 
 « 2— DAVID PINGREE, of Salem. 
 « 3— JAMES II. DUNCAN, of Haverhill. 
 « 4— ISAAC LIVERMORE, of Cambridge. 
 « 5— BENJ. F. THOMAS, of Worcester. 
 « 6— MYRON LAWRENCE, of Belchertown. 
 « 7— ASA HOWL AND, of Conway. 
 « 8— H. A. S. DEARBORN, of Roxbury. 
 « 9— WM. BAYLIES, of West Bridgewater. 
 « 10— WM. R. E ASTON, of Nantucket. 
 Mr. Bell, of Boston, then reported the address and resolutions. 
 The Convention was ably and eloquently addressed by the Hon. RuFUS 
 Choate, Hon. Robert C. Winturop, Hon. Charles Hudsox, and Hon, 
 B. F. Thomas. 
 
 After a vote of thanks to the Officers of the Convention, nine cheers for 
 Taylor and Fillmore, and six for Briggs and Reed, the Convention aJjourned.
 
 27 35 -^
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES 
 
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