The Democratic Convention assembled at St. Louis, Mo., June 27th. The nomination of Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, was almost a foregone conclusion before the Convention met, and he was nominated on the second ballot. Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, who was the strongest opponent of Tilden for the presidential nomination, was named for Vice-President by a unanimous vote. The Democratic platform of 1876 was a lengthy and remarkable one, containing "the sustended arguments of a stump speech." Its planks, with few exceptions, began with "we denounce" or "reform is necessary," and it was a general arraignment of the entire course of the Republican Party while in power, and stated near its conclusion, "reform can only be had by peaceful, civic revolution. We demand a change of system, a change of administration, and a change of parties, that we may have a change of measures and men." The other political conventions of this year were the Prohibition Convention held at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 17th, at which Green Clay Smith, of Kentucky, was nominated for President, and G. T. Stewart, of Ohio, for Vice-President. The Independent National or Greenback Party met at Indianapolis May 18th, and nominated Peter Cooper, of New York, for President, and U. S. Senator Newton Booth, of California, for Vice-President, who declined and was replaced by Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio. Its platform demanded the immediate repeal of the Specie Resumption Act of January 14, 1875, and the issuance of United States notes, convertible on demand into United States obligations, bearing a rate of interest not exceeding one cent a day on each $100.00, and exchangeable for United States notes at par, as being the best circulating medium that could be devised. It insisted that bank paper must be suppressed, and it protested against the further issuance of gold bonds for sale in foreign markets, and against the sale of government bonds for the purpose of purchasing silver to be used as a substitute for fractional currency. At the election in November the Greenback Party polled a total of 81,737 votes, not influencing the electoral vote of any State, with the possible exception of Indiana, which Tilden carried with 213,526 votes to 208,011 for Hayes, Cooper receiving 17,233 in this State. The total Prohibition vote this year was 9,522. The Democrats, throughout the campaign, had high hopes of success; the hard times which had followed the panic of 1873, the factional disturbances in the Republican Party, charges of official dishonesty, and dissatisfaction of some Republicans with the financial policy of the party, and the success of the Democrats in several of the Northern States all indicated an exceedingly close election. The Republican campaign was largely in the hands of Zachariah Chandler, of Michigan, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, as Mr. Hayes took little part in the details or organization of the canvass.