Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1835-06-25
From the N. Y. Courier Enquirer.
TENNESSEE AND BALTIMORE CON
VENTION

As we apprehended would be the case, the
Tenpesseans are violent in their Indignation
at the outrage perpetrated upon the State IN
catching a struggling Van Buren, man at
Baltimore, and forcing him into the Conven-
ton, to give fifteen votes for candidates whom
nineteen out of every twenty citizens oil Zen
nessce hold in abhorrcnce. The Indignation
is natural, and though the good people OF
that State will probably consider the poor
creature who has suffered himself thus mis-
erably to be used as the tool of the movers IN
this gross humbug, as too contemptible tor
any personal notice, they will not fail to visit
signal vengeance upon those who have M
this manner violated all decency in his per-
son. So gross, so palpable, and so lmpudent
a knavery, has never before been perpetra-
ted in this country-and we question wheth-
er the annals of demagoglcal abomlnation
can furnish its parallel in any portion OF the
world, or in any period of its history. Inc
people have been juggled out OF their clear
rights. and befoolcd into the cholce OF very
precious villains to rule over them now %
made the most popular candidates for their
suffrages, by those underhanded arts which
political swindlers know so well how to use;
but we do not believe that it was ever before
attempted to cheat an entire Commonwealth
into measure diametrcally at war with Its
expressed wishes, by merely catching a stray
member Of its community, causing him to
stand proxy for a whole people. and to act III
their name against the well known wishes
feelings, and opinions OF that people distihct-
" understood beforehand!
The circumstances of this transaction fur
nish the most striking exemplifcotion Of the
true character of the Baltimore Convention
that could possibly be adduced; and the pre-
tension set up for the nominations there made
that they are the act of the people-that the
bodv of men sent into that assemblage to-
the express purpose of naming Martin Val
Buren, fo- the Presidency, were Z" "Jresh IRON
the people," is the baldest, as it is the clumsl
esI attempt at imposition, ever yet Ventnret
upon. II las not even the usual concomltant:
nj cunning. 1t is maladroit to a miracle, ant
the most bungling village demagogue woult
blush to be caught in such obvious stuutca
ton.
Here was congregation Of some five o
six hundred officeholders coming from twen
tv-one ont oftwenty -four States of the Union
and all of them pluporting to represent tn
noonlc of the several States whence tho
came. though it must be acknowledged tho
most of them really represented but yer
small minorities of small mnorities at home
Still their appointments had the scmblance {
an election-somebody had voted for them
and most of the members could boast OF
constituency Of dozen or twenty at least
But here was the State of Tennessee will
ont even the shadow of representation
That State was known to be very nearl
unanimous in its opposition to the objects
the Convention, and with her one hundre
thousand legal voters had absolutely refuse
TO delegate a single individual to the hun
bug assemblage.-Not Congressional Dis
trict, not a County, not Town or Nelgf
borhood--not even a Village bar-room pa
afforded a Van Buren, minority respectabl
enough in numbers to venture upon the at
surdity of having representative at BAT
moro. 1T was not even pretended by slr
ole Von Buren politician that Tennessee
would he represented such thing WI
expected, and we recolect that the partiso
newspapers. previously to the meeting
Baltimore, expressly excepted South Carol
ma and Tennessee, from the States whlC
would have delegates in the Nomlnatr
Convention.
Behold, however, the turn which thing
took. Ii was ascertained after the Convei
ton assembled, that the majority requisite I
the selection Of the man whom Mr.. Van Bl
ron had wjlled 10 be his associate in III
fsrce. could not be obtained and a Tenne
sean. who says he, /" happened to be at Ba
tmore,r- is carried into the Convention, ar
made to give the fifteen votes to which h
s,s,e would have been entitled, if she h;
consented to be represented, for Van Bnre
and 6fteen more for Richard NJ. Johnson !
By which means The latter person was des
ns,ed .. the candidate for the Vlce-Prc'
dency, and withou, which he would ls,cs no. hn "a
had ,bc majority. Tennessee, therefore, wi
,romid NOT go into that body. has thwnrted I, !,
wishes Of the great state of Virginia, wi
did 90 into it, and WIN: c: Rrves' who who's IS u
cho,ce Of the whole Virginia delegation,
defeated by Richard NJ. Johnson, tho ANA