The Daily Madisonian

OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

TYLER DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION,

Holden in Baltimore, at Calvert Hall,

Monday, May 27, 1844.

At 12 o'clock, noon, the Convention was called to order by Mr. Delazon Smith, of Ohio, and on his motion William Shaler, Esq., of New York, was unanimously elected Chairman, pro tem. George C. Baldwin, of New York, and Mr. McReynolds, of Michigan, were nominated as Secretaries, pro tem.—Mr. McReynolds declined, and Wm. C. Whitehead, of Virginia, was nominated in his stead, thereupon the Convention unanimously elected Messrs. Baldwin and Whitehead as Secretaries pro tem.

A resolution was then adopted, that a Committee of one from each State be appointed to report a list of permanent officers for the Convention. The Committee consisted of the following gentlemen: R. R. Hinman, of Ct.; Vespasian Ellis, of Mo.; Thos M. Hope, of Illinois; Thos. Floyd, of Md.; James W. Crooks, of Mass.; Wm. N. Bronaugh, of Ark.; Delazon Smith, of Ohio; C. Pierce, of Penn.; Isaac S. Rowland, of Michigan; Peter Laidlaw, of Louisiana; Robt. H. Armstead, of Va.; D. Lockwood, of Delaware. Sylvester Brown, of N. C., J. G. Hadley, of N. H., Edward R. Brown, of R. I.; O. V. Hollenbeck, of Vt.; W. C. Decay, of N. J.; L. S. Eddy, of New York.

This Committee reported the following named gentlemen as permanent officers of the Convention:

PRESIDENT,

Hon. Joel W. White, of Connecticut.

VICE PRESIDENTS,

Patrick J. Devine, of Maine;

J. G. Hadley, of New Hampshire;

Asa T. Newhall, of Massachusetts;

Frederick A. Summer, of Rhode Island;

Ephraim Williams, of Connecticut;

O. V. Hollenbeck, of Vermont;

Edmund S. Derry, of New York;

W. C. Mulford, of New Jersey;

David Lynch, of Pennsylvania;

D. Lockwood, of Delaware;

Michael C. Sprigg, of Maryland;

William Collins, of Virginia;

Sylvester T. Brown, of North Carolina;

John P. Rutter, of Missouri;

John V. Eustice, of Illinois;

James Graham, of Louisiana;

M. S. Kreider, of Ohio,

John Stockton, of Michigan;

Wm. N. Bronaugh, of Arkansas.

SECRETARIES.

Wm. C. Whitehead, of Virginia;

George Roberts, of Massachusetts;

George E. Baldwin, of New York;

Samuel Heintzelman, of Pennsylvania;

Cornelius M. Cole, of Maryland;

David Sanderson, of New Jersey;

J. W. Wilson, of Louisiana;

John Orser, of New York;

H. P. Darrow, of New Jersey.

Mr. White, on taking the chair, addressed the Convention, as follows:

Gentlemen of the Convention: The unexpected honor you have thought proper to confer on me by the selection you have just made, is deserving my warmest thanks. I am of the opinion, however, that a more judicious choice could have been made from the many able and experienced gentlemen here assembled. But as you have called me to the chair, to preside over your deliberations, I will endeavor to discharge the duties assigned me to the best of my abilities, and I trust that the mantle of charity will be thrown over any errors I may commit.

We are called upon, gentlemen, to discharge a duty of no ordinary magnitude. We have come together from every section of the country, deputed by our democratic fellow-citizens, to act with reference to the nomination of a candidate for the Presidency, and to cast our votes for an honest man; and that man, allow me to say, is John Tyler, of Virginia. (Loud cheering.) The expectations and wishes of our constituents, the masses, have been expressed on this point, in a manner not to be misunderstood. The man who has so nobly stood by the Constitution of his country—who has saved the Democratic party, and raised it up from the prostrate condition in which it was left at the close of the campaign of 1840, is the only man whose name has been placed in our hands by the People. (Great applause.)

I rejoice to find that I am surrounded by men who have long been identified with Jeffersonian Democracy—men who have grown gray in that glorious cause. That the purest patriotism and love of country will be the guide of all our actions, I will not indulge a doubt. Let all we do be done with a single eye to the country's glory. I will add, that I feel the utmost desire to discharge the duties of the post you have assigned me in a manner which shall satisfy every member of this large and highly respectable assembly.

I cannot take the chair without assuming the responsibility of proposing three hearty cheers for Tyler and Texas. [This suggestion was responded to with three tremendous cheers.]

On motion, the Chair appointed the following gentlemen Sergeant-at-arms: P. A. Southall, of Maryland; Wm. P. Sangston, of Virginia; E. F. Thomas, of Missouri; and J. C. Fairchild, of Ohio.

A prayer was then, on the adoption of a motion to that effect, made by the Rev. Dr. Kreider; who subsequently offered the following resolution, which he prefaced with some appropriate remarks:

Resolved, That we cheerfully respond to the proceedings of the numerous State, County, and District Conventions and primary assemblies in every section of the Union, which have nominated JOHN TYLER, OF VIRGINIA, as the Democratic candidate for the next Presidency, and this Convention hereby proclaim him by acclamation the Candidate of the People for the Chief Magistracy at the ensuing election, confident that he will not only be triumphantly elected at the polls, but will achieve as decided a victory over the Whigs on the subject of the annexation of Texas to the Union as he achieved by the vetoes of the United States Bank, which were so universally popular throughout the country, and were so nobly sustained by the People.

Upon this resolution, Mr. Eddy and Mr. Derry, of New York, made a few remarks in favor of the postponement of the adoption of the resolution until after the final action on the Presidential nomination of another Convention then being held in the city.—Messrs. Whiting, of Virginia, and Smith, of Ohio, advocated the immediate adoption of the resolution. The "question" being called for from all parts of the Hall, the resolution was put and adopted by acclamation.

Mr. J. T. Hutton, of New York, offered a resolution, which was seconded by L. S. Eddy, of New York, that a committee of twenty-five be appointed to confer with the other Convention, to take into consideration the propriety of dissolving the two Conventions, and refer the whole matter back to the People; which resolution was laid upon the table by an unanimous vote.

Mr. Thomas T. Cropper, of Virginia, offered a resolution that a committee of five be appointed by the Chair, to wait on John Tyler and notify him of his nomination by this Convention, as the Democratic candidate for the office of President of the United States; which was unanimously adopted.

Mr. Sprigg, of Maryland, offered a resolution that a committee of nine be appointed by the Chair, to draft an Address to the People of the United States; which was adopted.

A resolution was also adopted that a committee of one from each State be appointed by the Chair, to make a report to the Convention, in relation to Vice President to be run on the ticket with John Tyler.

On motion, the Convention then adjourned to meet to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock.

Tuesday Morning, May 28.

At 9 o'clock the Convention was called to order by the President of the Convention. The proceedings of the day previous were read by Mr. Roberts, of Massachusetts, one of the Secretaries, and approved by the Convention.

The President then announced the following committees appointed under the resolutions adopted yesterday: To wait on John Tyler, of Virginia, and inform him of his nomination as a candidate for the next Presidency, Messrs. Thos. T. Cropper, Virginia; T. M. Hope, Illinois; Amos Hallohan, Pennsylvania; J. W. Crooks, Massachusetts, and W. F. P. Taylor, New York.

The Committee to report a candidate for the Vice Presidency, consisted of the following gentlemen: Wm. Shaler, New York; P. J. Devine, Maine; J. G. Hadley, New Hampshire; S. Jackman, Massachusetts; Wm. Ennis, Rhode Island; Luther Loomis, Connecticut; O. V. Hollenbeck, Vermont; J. A. Simpson, New Jersey; Caleb Pearce, Pennsylvania; D. Lockwood, Delaware; Thos. Lloyd, Maryland; Wm. Collins, Virginia; Sylvester Brown, North Carolina; V. Ellis, Missouri; Thos. M. Hope, Illinois; Peter Laidlaw, Louisiana; Caspar Thiel, Ohio; J. Humphreys, Michigan; W. N. Bronaugh, Arkansas, and P. Winston, Indiana.

The chair stated that he had not appointed the committee to draft resolutions and an Address to the People of the United States, it was an important committee, and he preferred that it should be appointed by the Convention, and report to Central Committee of the Union, at Washington.

Mr. St. John, of New York, and Mr. Delazon Smith, of Ohio, then addressed the Convention.—Upon the conclusion of Mr. Smith's remarks the following preamble and resolution, reported by the Committee on the Vice Presidency, was read and adopted:

Whereas, The Tyler Democratic National Convention have nearest their heart the success of the great principles of Democracy in the coming Presidential contest: Therefore, to this end, be it unanimously

Resolved, That this committee recommend the appointment of a National Nominating Committee of seven persons, by the President of the Convention, whose duty it shall be to report a candidate for the Vice Presidency through the public papers, as soon as practicable, and that this committee be discharged from the further Consideration of the subject.

Mr. Ogden, of Penn-Yan, New York, then addressed the Convention. On the conclusion of his speech, a motion was made to give three cheers for the State of New York, which was responded to by three as hearty cheers as it seemed possible for any body of men to give forth.

Mr. Cropper, of Virginia, responded to the remarks of Mr. Ogden, in an eloquent and impressive manner, and sat down amid loud cheers for "New York and Virginia."

Mr. George E. Stanton, of New York, offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That this Convention authorize their chairman to report to the Central Committee at Washington the names of the committee of nine that was duly authorized by this Convention on Monday to draft an Address to the People of the United States.

Mr. John Maguire offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That the proceedings of this Convention be published in all the Democratic papers of the country, with the names of the delegates attached; and that our Democratic friends be requested to have them published in pamphlet form, for distribution in all the States.

Mr. Armstead, of Virginia, offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That it be recommended to the States to hold conventions on the 4th of July, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, for the purpose of framing electoral tickets.

Mr. Lewis F. Thomas, of Missouri, and Mr. Wm. Ennis, of Rhode Island, then addressed the Convention.

Thos. Dunn English, of Pennsylvania, at the request of the venerable Amos Hallohan, the patriarch of the Democracy in that State, moved, "That the thanks of the Convention be presented to the President, for the ability and impartiality with which he has presided over its deliberations"—which was unanimously adopted.

Mr. Pond, of New York, moved "that the thanks of the Convention be presented to the citizens of Baltimore, for their polite attentions to the members of the Convention." And Mr. Whiting moved "that the thanks of the Convention be tendered to the officers, generally, of the Convention." Both of which motions were unanimously adopted.

The President, Judge White, then addressed the Convention, as follows:

Gentlemen: Having come together from every section of this wide-extended Confederacy to consult and act in concert in selecting candidates to fill the highest offices within the gift of a free people, who shall sustain those great and important measures best calculated to advance the prosperity and happiness of our nation, that subject has received your candid deliberations with a unanimity unparalleled, and the labors of the Convention have closed.

The vote of thanks you have tendered me for the manner in which I have presided over this vast assembly of freemen, fills my heart with gratitude: in return, please accept my grateful acknowledgments. Also, I tender my thanks to the members of the Convention for their cordial co-operation in sustaining the Chair in its decisions, and their gentlemanly deportment to preserve order. Also I do most respectfully tender my warmest thanks to the citizens of Baltimore, for the very civil treatment that we have received, in and out of the Convention.

We are now to separate to return to our families and constituents, never more to see each other.—The thought fills my heart with grief; but we have a duty to perform. Let us meet the question manfully; let those principles which have been so eloquently disseminated by the gentlemen who have addressed this Convention be by us sown broad cast over the whole country; their force will be irresistible, and the name that we have raised for the support of freemen, John Tyler, the able and fearless defender of our country, her Constitution and her institutions, will triumph in victory.

In conclusion, allow me to say, that you have my best wishes that you may safely return to your families and friends; and my prayer is that the God of heaven may grant you peace and happiness in this world and the world to come. Farewell.

Mr. Gay, of New York, moved "that the Convention do now adjourn sine die," which was agreed to, and, on motion of Mr. Smith, of Ohio, nine hearty cheers were given for "Tyler and Texas."
P. J. Devine, J. G. Hadley, Asa T. Newhall, Frederick A. Sumner, Ephraim Williams, O. V. Hollenbeck, Edmund S. Derry, W. C. Mulford, David Lynch, D. Lockwood, Michael C. Sprigg, William Collins, Sylvester T. Brown, John P. Rutter, John V. Eustace, James Graham, M. S. Kreider, John Stockton, Wm. N. Bronaugh, Vice Presidents.

Wm. C. Whitehead, George Roberts, George E. Baldwin, Samuel Heintzelman, Cornelius M. Cole, David Sanderson, C. J. Fairchild, J. W. Wilson, John Orser, H. P. Darrow, Secretaries.