Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1838-11-01
TIE LATE ELECTIONS-THE NEXT
PRESIDENCY

though they have Jdllcd 10 gan, In States where
probably they had no ratona ground to anticipate
| revolution in their favor And, indeed. even in
Maine aud OhIo whore the results have been more
adverse to the Wings than in any other quarter,
there will be found to have been large accession 10
the Wing popular vote Notwithstanding their defeat!
The truths, that the grossest frauds have been prac
tiscd in the recent elections, unless there has been
Almost unnatural increase Of population and stir
miraculous increase of rote7s in the States re-
ferled to--rauds which will always be more or less
resoftcd in OF political excitement wl~eh,
ever the role By ballot rrcyails-a system which wo
hope recent events will induce all the States in which
it is the practice, abolish, and to adopt in
lieu thereof the more open, manly and indepeudcn,
plan of Vrgni1, by which frauds precluded,
eyery legal voter being protected III his rights, and
those disqualified exposed to prompt and almost un-
ening scrutiny.
But tive have been alternately amused aud astonsh-
cd NJ the use which the exclusive friends Of Gen.
Harrison seem disposed to make Of our recent much
exaggerated disasters Every defeat has seem
Cd to nspite Hlm With flesh hopes OF succcss-and,
if we uuchaulaby disposed, We might even
conjecture, that, where they bad the power to avert
those defeats, they did not exert it, that they might
fnd il them prelext for the which they
now pursue--ffst, atnibu;ins those defeats to Mr..
Claws unpopulany aud, secondly procaimng
that the Hero Of Tippecanoe' is the only man
who can lead to victory. woid or two each
Of those points.
We are at a loss % know by what process of rca
soning the hiends of Gen. Harrison infer the UNI
popularity of llr. Clay from the fcsul, of the a,o
elections, which will NOT ii the same time demon
10, o. | al
Clay has been heretofore more regarded the IPlg
eandi4qte for the Presidency than Gen. Harrison
hinscll-Bo,h are conessedly sustained by different
portions of the Wing party, with the general under
standing that heir respective caims, the Of
services and qualifications, as ~e,la their "a'aila
biIity, IN other words, their chances OF success
should be submitted to Convention ei their mutual
friends from different quarters OF tho Union, whose
decision, as between the two, should be ultimately
binding upon all, Until this is done, Gen. Har-
rison is, in every sense OF the word, much candi-
date as Mr. Clay aud enc than the other has
a right 10 escape from the odiam Of defeat, any
more than he las Ito monoPollzo the honorsof
triumph. II Mr.. Clay is looked upon as the cand
date in Kentucky, Gen. Harsoni is regarded in
Ohio--tEat is, in those two States, where they 70.
spcetiyeiy reside, each has received the nomination
in both, however, vita contingent reference tho
National Convention.
If there be realty any truth in the superstition tia,
the rece nj election results in any manner atlrib-
utable 10 the fact that Mr. Clay is supposed havaa
better prospect of obtaining the nomination of the Ma
lonal Convention than Gen. Harrison, it proves two
things which the friends ofGenl harrison would bewo
presume, reluctant to admit--lst, that he is more
popular than Gen. Harrison ipstead of less so, and
therefore that he ought to receive that nomination
and 2Ily, that the friends Of Gen. Harrison, whlc,
III case Of MS nomination, they viii expect the sup
port OF Mr.. Clay sirends, VII not themselves sup
port Mr. Clay if he should be northumberland,
that they have already ia advance withdrawn from
the Wing paaty, and voted foi their opponents in
order TO DIVE Mr.. Cay from the track. Euber
horn of the dilemma is dscreditabie to Their patr-
otism, and ether be true must prove fatal to lhsr
hopes
But we do not believe either of them The Wing
party based upon principle. At least if it be not
it matters not how often ii be defeated nor how soon
1t be dissolved The sooner, indeed, the better
FVr, as one of that party utterly repudialc aud
soon the idea that we are convulsiog the county,
in mere struggle for the personal advancement Of
any man, either Clay or Harrison. We wear
mans collar, and when ind that il is 4 mere
test for individual aggtandizement,- struggle be-
tween the rival houses CT \ orl and Plantagenet-
in which no great principles Of free government and
human liberty involves, we for one will retire
from the piiiul scramble, and have neither part o.
nor lot IN the matter" The Wings are, howefe
conendlng for great principles. They eudea-
Vorng TO bring the government back to what M
JeHelson called It's Republican tack" They occu-
Ply the old Republican ground OF jealousy Of Efee"
tire usurpatioq and aggression. enlcagor-
Ing 10 restrain the accommodating tendencies OF our
system TO degenerate into the government OF one
man. They SO for legislative independence-i't
personal Liberty ofspeech aud action, which the Ex
ecutiye shal neither .'reward punish for e.
economy in experimentation the purity rs wellas
the freedom of the elective ilanchise-lor " d.
yorce" Of the Money from the Political power-tof
the preservation Of State Institutions, and the NAM
tenancc Of State Rights. To effect these purposes
they will be willing TO discard personal anhPdh'es
and to disregard personal preferences But they
deem the advancement of Mis orthdt man as pefa-
mount to the success of these principles then de-
feat inevitably awaits them; and what Is more 'ley
will deserve to be defeated.
One word more in conclusion, to the friends u
Gen. Harrison If The Van Buren, party had vi
umphed in kentucky at the late election wouu