He had been elected President of the United States in strict accordance with all the requirements of the Constitution.

He had been chosen without bribe, without violence, without undue pressure, by a majority of the electoral votes.

If there had been outrage upon the freedom of the ballot it was not among his supporters; if there had been a terror of public opinion, overawing the right of private judgment, it was not in the States which had voted for him, but in those Southern communities where, by threats of violence, the opportunity to cast a ballot was denied to electors favorable to his cause.

If he should now yield, he evil results would be immeasurable and irremediable.

"As a private citizen," he said, "the Executive could not have consented that Republican institutions shall perish; much less could he in betrayal of so vast and so sacred a trust as these free people have confided to him." He avowed that, in full view of his great responsibility, he had so far done what he had deemed his duty.