As early as the month of August, 1863, in a letter to Mr. E. B. Washburne, he said: "It became patent to my mind early in the rebellion that the North and South could never live at peace with each other except as one nation, and that without slavery. As anxious as I am to see peace established, I would not, therefore, be willing to see any settlement until this question is forever settled." Thus was General Grant, at an early moment, and upon his own judgment, brought into full accord with the Republican Party upon the two debatable and most earnestly debated questions during Mr. Lincoln's administration--the prosecution of the war and the abolition of slavery. And thus it is apparent that in 1868 he was in a condition, as to all matters of opinion, to accept a nomination at the hands of the Republican Party; and it is equally apparent that he was separated from the Democratic Party by a chasm wide, deep, and impassable. It is, however, true that General Grant's feelings were not intense, and in the expression of his opinions his tone was mild and his manner gentle. It often happened, also, that he did not undertake to controvert opinions and expressions with which he had no sympathy. This peculiarity may at times have led to a misunderstanding, or to a misinterpretation of his views. Upon this basis of his early impressions, and matured opinions his administrative policy was constructed. When he became President, there was a body of American citizens, not inconsiderable in numbers, who doubted the ability of the Government to pay the war debt; there were others who advocated payment in greenbacks, or the substitution of a note not bearing interest for a bond that bore interest; and there were yet others who denied the validity of the existing obligations. All these classes, whether they were dishonest or only misled, were alike rebuked in his inaugural address. These were his words: "A great debt has been contracted in securing to us and to our posterity the Union. The payment of this debt, principal and interest, as well as the return to a specie basis, as soon as it can be accomplished without material detriment to the debtor class, or to the country at large, must be provided for. . . . To protect the national honor, every dollar of Government indebtedness should be paid in gold, unless otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract. . . . "Let it be understood that no repudiator of one farthing of our public debt will be trusted in public place, and it will go far toward strengthening a credit which ought to be the best in the world, and will ultimately enable us to replace the debt with bonds bearing less interest than we now pay."