Our Presidential Nomination.

Brother Douglass:—The state of the case in regard to our Liberty Party nomination for President, ought to be distinctly understood. My view of it is thus:

Gerrit Smith is as really our candidate now, as he ever was, or certainly, as much so as he was when we last voted for him. Last Sept., when we nominated him at Buffalo, as is his custom, he declined. Professor Hudson of Oberlin made a powerful speech, in which he maintained the argument that Mr. Smith ought to accept. Mr. Hudson attempted to answer the objections which Mr. Smith had offered, and some of us thought him eminently successful in the attempt. To this speech Mr. Smith made no reply. We took silence for consent—at least, others beside the writer did. So by many it was thought that the nomination was fairly made. There are those who will recollect, that as I was fully aware of Mr. Smith's opposition to that use of his name which we desired, and as I presumed that we could not then agree to select any other candidate, I was for postponing the nomination to a future time,—hoping, also, (I confess,) that a few months might exhibit to us some great and favorable change in political aspects, making the path of duty plain before us.

Mr. Smith earnestly remonstrated against such postponement. Then we nominated him; he declined; Mr. Hudson replied to him; Mr. Smith kept silent, not even proposing another candidate. Then for one I felt resolved to hold him to the nomination. But as he persists in declining, there is no use whatever in fighting this battle over and over again. Let us not meet for that purpose on the first day of Sept. next, at Buffalo. If no genuine anti-slavery nomination should ere that day float on any banner—none such as we can safely endorse, perhaps we may unite on the name of the author of the "Democracy of Christianity"—William Goodell.

Yours for a Righteous Civil Government,

J. R. Johnson

Syracuse, May 3d, 1852