Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1838-12-17
PENNSYLyANIA-1h Case stated.

scenes al Harrisburg, reminding iotcibly oil
the sanguinary ounages Of the French Revolution
when the Legislative Chambers occupied by
la~lcss mobs their occurrence must be deeply de-
p,ored by every friend OF his country They are
we'll aculated to with odium the cause Of free
principles. and TO bring into doubt The capacity of he
people to govern themseves--whie they must ne
cessarily weaken our pecuniary credl, abroad which
10 dependent only upon the stability Of our ns,i-
buttons. but upon their inherent power TO crush
Try attempt to disturb their regular constitutional
& Action by insurreciionary movements.
Regretting therefore, do, the cculrence
of these scenes, we regret still more TO the
tempt which has been made TO pervert them to par
~ purposes distinguished Senator from Penn
syyania Mr.. Buchanan) even coodescendiug TO en-
ter the field. for the purpose Of CLOSING over the
outragcs Of the mob, by the strange suppression OF
important fact connected with the origin of this
happy affair.
No one doubts that this mobocratic proceeding
grew out of an attempt of the Wing returning off
GERS 10 procure the recognition Of the claims of
persops to seats in the Legislature Of Penus, lvania
who did not rec Give majority OF The the peo-
pie. And in making This attempt, do not hest
tate to S. y that those officers, including Mr. Bur
~
he sanctioned it, Gov. Riner also, were guilty Of
gross outrage on the elective franchise, and on the
rights of the people. We aware that thcy JUST
~ themselves by the lea aiionis--that it was only
playing upon Their advef>aries tie same game
which they first played upon the Wings. But this
can never be regarded as legitimate defence, unrll
itbecome an ackno ledgcd maxim in law aud equity,
that one act Of 'ascaIiy jns'ihes another. The
Wings should have done Their duty as honest men,
and given The return TO the Van Buren, candidates.
who received majority Of voes-And If. as they al
iege, that majority was procured by Fraud they
should have contested the election Of the members
so returned, and dbdel the before the tribunal
constituted to decide such quesols.
We have said above that Senator Buchanan has
suppressed important fact in his nairatve--and
we may add that all Of the papers ca the same side
do the same ding. We proceed to supply the
mission
An election took place last October, in Pennsyl-
wanna, for members Of Congless and ofthe State Lee
gisla,ure. The return Judges in Philadelphia coun-
~ met, Immediately after the election to count the
votes and announce the result. 1t appeared, that,
for Congress, Nay Ior, the Wing candidate, bad beat
Ingeiso, the Van Buren, CANDIDATE, us votes
whereupon ten of the seventeen judges, belonging
to the Van Buren, patty, for some alleged tturmalI
~ in one otMe Districts Of \ ,Ithero Liberes,-
ntormaity, which, ii 1t existed at all, 'cas The act
ofone of MemSelpes,-rejc ced the uaote vote Of the
Northern Liberties, iucludi The districts ia which
ahcre informally alleged,by which 500" voters,
embracing Wig majority Of 1850, we've dstran-
Chased, aud the TO Congress gwen to Mr. In
gersol, who defeated BY 715 votes. Then ii
was, that The Wig judges, alleging like inio.nai
~ in OF the other districts represented by the
Van Buren, judges, ia the whole OF hem,
and the Wing canCi lales to the Legislature,
having a majority of the remaining votes, as Mr..
ingersoIl had majority Of the votes af,er The
<eec,ion the of the Norlhcrn Liberties,
were gwen the returns. Thus it seems that tie
Wings only acted in relation To the Legislative
ddaes as the Van Buren, Judges had pres iously
ed in reference to the Congressional candidares.-
They endeavored 10 Offset fraud by fraud; and
gain we Say rha, hereinlhey guilty of great
wrong-siuce the villany o(yhcr adversares furnish
ed no justification Of their
But the question here arlses-what was the proper
remedy of the Van Buren, patty Were they jus
fed in endeavo,ng to secure theirrighis by the in
terposton Of lawless mob Surely not. Their
remedy was precisely that which Nj. Naylo has
ueIore congress. Ill lney fSlt 10 lntVehl tHc
organization Of the Legislature by such means,
Mr.. Nayor has precisely the same right to carry
armed band to Washington, aud drive Mr., Ingersoll
la all who sustain hun from the Halls Of Con-
less The Wing members of the Legislature
have precisely the same ri CHI seats in that body
that Mr. |. has TO seat in Congress-and the mode
Undermining that ri ht is the in the
in the other, wit by the dec sion OF the respec
tive bodies to which they claim TO belong. And no
man who defends the of Mr. Ingersoll to Con-
gress can justly complain ofthe return OF the Wing
members to the Lcgislature-norcanh those who JUST
fy the interference OF mob in Ibis complain if
Mr.. Naylor & his friends should follow he example.
We protest az anst mobs oil forms. Whatever
preex Of right they may allege, there is no justin
cation for their employment in land laws. II may
'oe Indeed, that in instances, the law de-
ny or inefflciency may permit the temporary tri
umph Of the wrong doer but it is better to bear this
evil than to resort to mode of redress which is
pregnant with such vast powers OF mischief. The
same,mob which to-day vlndcates the truth, will be
I'pe tomorrow for "treason, strata2em and SPOIL
Encourage this spirit of outrage, aud we destroy the
sancuy and weaken the restraints of the law, and
thenseiorth our property, our liberty aud our lives
are al The mercy Il popular caprice, ever on the a
'e'''or excitement and always ready to be aroused
so'o dCtion by the arts of the temapopuc In this