Official proceedings of the National Democratic convention, held at New York, July 4-9, 1868.: Reported by George Wakeman, official reporter of the Convention.

OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE
Hon. THOMAS L. PRICE, of Missouri, here assumed the chair.
Mr. VALLANDIGHAM, of Ohio. -Mr. President: In times of great public
exigency, and especially in times of great public cal,amity, every personal
consideration must be yielded to the public good. (Applause.) The safety
of the people is the supreme law, and the safety of the American Republic
demands the nomination of Horatio Seymour, of New York. (Cheers.)
Ohio cannot - Ohio will not accept his declination, and her twenty-one votes
shall stand recorded in his name. (Cries of "Good, good!" and cheers.)
And now I call upon the delegations from all the States represented on this
floor; upon the delegations from all the States of this Union, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, from the great lakes to the gulf, disregarding those
minor considerations which justly it may be, properly I know, tend to sway
them in casting their ballots, to make this nomination unanimous; and, be fore God, I believe that in November the judgment of this Convention will
be confirmed and ratified by the people of all the United States. (Applause.)
Let the vote of Ohio stand recorded then -twenty-one votes for Horatio
Seymour. (Immense and continued applause.)
Mr. KERaNAN, of New York.- Mr. President: Belonging to the delegation
from the State of New York, and coming from the district where the Presi dent of this Convention lives I cannot, as an individual delegate, refrain
from asking the indulgence of this Convention in making one or two obser vations. And in order that we may relieve everybody, in order that we may
relieve our Chairman from every bit of sensitiveness on the question of honor,
I desire to say, on behalf of the delegation from the State of New York, that
they have had neither lot nor part in the motion, which in our hearts we yet
rejoice to hear from the State of Ohio. (Applause.) We heard but recently
that some such movement was thought, by wise and good men, necessary for
the safety of our country, but our hearts were coerced out of deference to
the sensitiveness of the gentleman who presides over this Convention, and
we told them we could have neither lot nor part in it, unless others over came that which we had never been able to do. Now, sir, let me say another
word; we have balloted two or three days; we have balloted, thank God, in
the best of temper and of spirits; we have resolved, and we required the
judgment of two-thirds of the delegates of this Convention for our nomninee,
to the end that we might be sure, for the sake of our country, that we
would have a majority of the electors next November. And, after striving
hard, after striving long, and after consulting as well as we could in reference
to the various names brought before us, we have not been able yet to coinvince the judgment of two-thirds of the Convention for the candidates we
have supported. New York has steadily voted her judgment, with kind feelings to other candidates. We have pronounced as our second choice for a
distinguished citizen of Indiana. But it seems to me that, after this long
struggle, and in this crisis of our affairs, and in view of what is so important
to every man, woman, and child in this Union, that we should succeed in
November, - it seems to me now, in reference to our distinguished Chairman,
that his h6nor is entirely safe. No one can doubt that he has steadily and iii
good faith declined; but, now that his honor is safe, his duty to his coulntry,
his duty to his fellow-citizens, to all that shall come after us, requires that lihe
shlall let the judgment of the delegates of this Convention prevail; if they
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