Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1830-04-20


tailed: Our meetings, he says, were public aud not
secret.
have admitted Mr., Cookies preference Of GoraOn's
plan, bat when he and Henderson agreed with the
whole West 20 support ours. and Mr. Cooke himself un
derook 10 otrr il, knew nothing either exprcssiy or
by implication, of his determination eventually to de-
sert ~. Had this teAn known publicly before az he
made IL known on the 10 IA oil December, what was the
use OF any further struggle! We knew befor. that
an union OF all our friends the 49, ssary
success and we perfectly knew tina, several OF them
preferred Gordons plan IL they could got ihat IL, an
arbitrary aPportonnent Of senson (wthout any
nxeu pfacuca rule oil future arrangement and this
otrarv apportonment based the population l.
In 1870 Mr.. Cooke dcuies that either or Mr.. Pow.
oil and Mason, astonished At his disclosure and
termination. I tho.o gentlemen not ast 3ni.hed
in iact they each BETRAYED that feeling by their man
ner and their words Why else did they rise 10 de
clare what they did, Why did General M'Coy de
| the same!
most earnestly entrea the re .der to peruse with al
teniion the s'aemeut Of each OF u.s. Of the
Of the l9,h D:c. Whoever will do this will perceive
that the difference il only in tribes. According to
Mr. Cook, the statement Of Mr.. Leigh Of tn disco
sure made to him, would TO have relation TO hi.
own scheme. The speech ii Mr. Powell shows tina,
he considered il having relation TO the gu stion to
be taken Gordon's plan or my proposed amen,me Mt
to II. Every word Of Mr.. Powell, as gven by Mr.
Cooke has reference to Gordons plan. And If the de-
termination OF Messrs Cooke aud Henderson were as
he says. notorious in Richmond from the time of our
meetings at the Capitol in November why was il me-
cessary to communicate that dotermin ,tion to Mr.
Leigh on the morning Of the 18th Dec, through Mr.
Neale This communication OF fact publicly kno " H.
could not be necessary TO- his government either
relation TO his own or any Other scheme, n the fact
communicated had been known TO him before. Again:
Mr. Neaie says: 1T was to me that tho gentleman
from Chcstsrtsld alluded, when he said tina, member
OF TINS House had this morning made communion
ton to him as TO the probable vote of the western
members on the proposition OF the gentleman from Al
bemarle, (Gordon) Thi. quotation make, il evident
at Tor whatever use intended, it the probable vote
on Gordons plan which the subject Of this private
communication And so far Mr. Cooke and Mr.
Henderson were concerned, it wa, a private comma.
nica'ion to Mr. Meals of their ultimate intention which
according to Mr. Cooks had been noforiou, ever snce
the 18th Of November.
Alter stating that in conversation with two
gentlemen, (ir Henderson and MIR. Cooked in which
All parties agreed in opinion that tho western plan hal
hnay tailed, and in which they expressed their fear.
that Mr.. Leigh's plan would succeed, that il would
AS, our hopes, ard that its option would he opposed
ny 'he whole west and by some in the east Mr.. Neale
represents them as saying, that il scheme odious
to the west could be defeated they had sanguine homes
ana were oil opinion that twenty or more Of the western
members, now that their favorite plan lost would
unite with the east in voting for the plan OF the -ne
man from Albemarle (Gordon,) which in their opnion
was,in i"ct more beneficial for the than their
iavorite plan: that II the eastern gentlemen would he
satisfied with the proposition of the gentlemen from Al.
nenare, they would advocate it, rs their own scheme
had failed and that they thou hi that en,Iemen from
the west On which certainly understood that the val
ley was ncluded) would very probably 10 the number
oil more th'n twenty, unite with hem-and il | con.
Cured, nigh, if thought proper, communicate the
same to my friends; hat their schemes had failed
and tina, OF the gentleman from Che-trfcd they eem.
eu obnoxious and Injurious and they cere oiHing 10
take the PLAN uOfei for presented bv the geatenian
rem dlJemdflc as He best ,ohich they thought could
be got"
Now, for whatever purpose, and with whatever
View here is direct disclosure TO Mr.. Naals Of our
ultimate determination 10 adopt Gordon's plan, If no
better could be got. Mr.. ale was authorized to COM
mnnicae this fact, il he thought proper his ffend
aud yet, according 10 Mr. Coke this very fact so CO m
municA,ei on the evening of the 18Th OF Decem Der,
aud with authority to il, fact notoriO,isly
known ever since our meeting in November-known
,la
implication But this disclosure was made to operate
on Mr. Leighs scheme. Be il so. | did not suppose
that any body feared the adoption OF that scheme
The vote on it shows that nothing be appreh.nd.
ed from it.
admit that Mr.. Cooke, on and after the 10 Dec,
voted with the west on all the occasions stated by hm
ana ye, say, that on that day he surrendered to the
~ who voted against us, and who represented a naor
OF The country; because, as have shown some of
the 4S who were with us. preferred Gordon's plan 10
ours lhey, now, knew that this pan COM Ietely
IN their power, for they assured of the support
two members from ranks, ant encoura ed with The
hope oil some twenty or more besides. After thi-,
cry attempt TO establish basis for future apporonmept
was futile and II was well known that any such at
tempt must be aboltve-There remained not to one of
those opposed to MS the least inducement to yield The
lear oil a'epara ion without doing any thing have no
DOUBT would have Increased numbers but all
grounds Tor that fear were now removed. They who
were Tor enforcing the government OF minority stem
ped on sure ground. What does Mr. Cooke give
tor thus yielding to the government Of the minority
Certainly nothing but hs and he urges it again ami a.
ms Oh GoTuop, ana the
based on that PLAN the best that could be obtained
that is was the best that those representing the mi
nory would convent TO. Let me ask what ought 10
have been done the 10Th, when on the Fundamental
question oil future appotonment, stood divi led, AZ
to sS! Ought those representing majority of more
than l4O Thousand free people, TO have yielded to those
representing the minority, merely because the latter
would not concur IN forming Constitution on the prin.
cples Of the mi ,rity! Were sent 10 Convention 10
agree to Constitution at all evens, such the mnori-
ty, our former and present political masters should a.
gree TO give us? Or had not sudden fear Of civil dis.
cordo civil ~ar, sprung up in the minds of those who
deserted US on that fatal day That such wa, the case
is fact confessed
MIR. Cooke was certainly forgetfu of facts when he
penned the following sentence e. " Throughout the
whole session, before, and and after the 10Th of De-
cember, did, on all occasions vote with the Western
party or fscnds of reform, and against he East when
any question arose involving popular rights" He
tends that his vote for Gordons plan is not an excep
ton, except that that occasion he voted with the East
MIR. Cooke must have forgotten, that he voted against
the West the 4h clause before quoted and of which
he was himself the authortha he voted against nearly
all the West motion TO strike the words 'two hirds
from the 9th clause, offered by Mr.. Madison. He GER
ainy could not have forgotten that he voted against all
the West, on adopting the Constitution itsef-a Cons-
tution sanctionng the rule of a minority and among
other provisions pepetuang 10 that minority the bene-
FIT of the slave representation in Congress forever Or
has such Constitution nothing in it subyorsive Of popu-
lar rights!
l have said in my circular, &" that Mr.. Cooke wrote
and exericd himself more in favor Of Convention, than
any other man,, and have referred to his pamphlet
entitled an Earnest Appeal TO the Friends of Reform" &
subscribed "An Incorporating Friend of Reform az
one oil his efforts. few extracts from that pamphlet
will serve TO shew the wonderful revolution which Mr.
(OO<e's iudOmcnt has under iro clio