Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1840-1842, 1841-05-11
To nur ENRON. OF rHr WHre.


Gentlemen: The article in your paper oil IN
5th inst. signed "a Conservative" has excited
much surprise, beng utterly az ioS 70 eeeou,'
for the M humour exhibited, and the ehauenging IN
obt O, others to think and Tor themselves, whie
ch,,,cterizeS that communication. 1T "a Conser
yativen had published his article before the lat
election | could have seen some excuse Tor II, bu
now II is only calculated 10 rouse passions and Tar
the A,me OF prejadices, which should by every
means he allsyei. shall not answer ~ Conser.
vtiven in the same humour in which he has attack
cd tho friends OF MIR. Gilmer for II there Is 6IeNh
between the wings and CONSERVATIVES IN the Altt
marie District do not wish to widen IT, or TO cauA
,s;ng, upk;nd feeling in the breasts OF any one OF
the many who Uttered with me IN the late election
for so To do would consider "ungenerous and illi-
beral," "glaringly inaccessible ana 'heaehery
towards those who, acting generally WIN me, nave
yet opinions OF their own, upon when tney nave
the undoub,ed right TO act, and which can not De
30 regardless of what due TO independent men, as
TO pronounce, however authoritative may CONSIDER
my opinion, rs "unjust and ilhoeral nan@u'res OF
party tactics" and garingly inexcusao'e treaenely'
| claim for myself honesty OF purpose, and am will
ing to allow others tn be actuated by the same
motives And let me here say TO "a CONSERVATIVE,
in all candour that If "your characteristic prompt
ness to rebuke injustice" had ectuated you, you
would have been bound TO rebuke "a Conserva-
tive" Tor the bera attack which he has made upon
that portion of the Wing party who nominated ana
sustained MIR. Gilmer. utterly and explicitly DIS
claim any Knowledge OF any mar@nvre 10 Inu'e
call upon "a Conservative" to produce the PROOF OF
his charge. As man. or as wing, was oound
TO Mr.. Garland by no ties which eouIu IN any
point of view prevsnt me from expressing ano actns
upon preference for another; had formed no ALI
nnce with Mr. Garland which | could not at any
time DISSOLVE without the slightest suspicion OF
"treschery" or Of ia faith. Mr.. Garland was my
representative and voted for him only so long as
my Oton judgment directed, holding IN holy abhor-
renee that party dictaton which has led to so many
evils in our country, and 20 which, as Wing,
have been and still continue to be utterly opposed
One would suppose from the dIatribe OF "A Con-
sctyays that nded means had been resorted
10 to Dust Mr.. Garland from his seat, that pghted
faith had been broken, and that MIR. Garland had
been wfully deceived by a portion OF the wing
party. Is this sol IL Is, let the proof be adduc'
ed, and for one Wing, at least, promise 10 Mr. u
the fllst reparaton. Ii 1t is nor so, cease the re-
piniags and the chickering's over which our common
foes exUlt and which they will use Tor their own be-
neft, and to our injury.
Let "a Conservative" for a moment take calm
view Of the following facts dives ing himself Of his
jealous party feelings; and II he Is the man take
him TO be. he wHl confess that his warm zeal has
overIe,p ped the Tounds OF discretion.
Mr. Garland was a candidate for Congress, and the
defeated party had avowed their intention OF not OPP
posing him. Mr. Gilmers friends, exercising right
VIII Oh has heretofore neverbeen objected to- openly
avowed their preference for him, and nominated him
in opposition TO Mr. Garland, never for a moment
objecung the Of the friends OF the latter IN
voting for him, nor after the election accusing them
of treachery Does "a Conservative" deny the
right OF MIR Gilmsrs friends thus TO acU IL he
does. he is not yet free from the rammels OF party
discipline which he underwent during his late adhe
to the Loco Focos and therefore is not qualified
Judge in the cause. II he does not, he at once adj
mts that there is no foundation for his complaints
and, least ofalI, excuse for the epithets which he
has SO freely bestowed upon Mr. Gilmers friends.
"a Conservative" shows that the Wings were IN
"vexatous, CALLING and impractichbie minority"
and that they became the majority through the ac-
cesson of the Conservatives. What is the fair de-
duciion from his bringing forward this fact so proml-
nenty in such a controversy hope "a Conser'
v5Live" does not mean that this leaving one party
md joining another is TO be paid Tor by cleeting
Conservative Office. Such suppositIon would
be unworthy Of the party with which he aets-ior,
by implication, II Impeaches the motives which IN
duccd the change. Then Il rs not brought forward
for such purposes it is only to show that We have
been together in good cause, and the Wings should
not have allowed any separation to take place, but
that the parties should act one. ii 50, why then,
in the name Of all That is reasonable IS objection
made to the Wings treating Mr. Garland one OF
them, by voting for Mr. GIimer because they liked
him better7 Every day throughout the Union this
thing Is done, and yet there Is DO suspicion Of
'treacheryp Why, in this case, should that tough
word be usedl Ii we politically sure OF dis |
trict, why not allow TO vote for the man we pre-
fer2
We acknowle ledge the debt we owe the Conserva-
tiEes. We say TO them, you have done molly, but |
you must look as patrlOtS 10 your own COusCleuCeS
for your reward and you must forget that others
battled in the s,me good cause with you and while
your Wing brethren willing TO give an equal
consideration TO your claims, they are unwilling 10
place yours above their own. lsit TOO much 10 ask
the same from you2 We ask no more, but we will
be content with no less.
Again: "a Conservative" will admit that the
person Who was the choice Of majority Of the
Wings and Conservatives, ought TO have been the
representative Of the district. The friends Of Mr.
4. line he he
event Of the election prove them TO be rghn
When by the eKertions of the Wings THAT mag
unanimous constituency, as think MIR Garland once
called them,l a Conservative was triumphanty |
elected over Gen. Gordon, the then Wing and Con-
servative majority was fully six hundred. Mr. Gil |
meT's majority at the last election about three
hundred and fifty. In that part OF the district in
which desire, the Democratic vote was a very |
small one being lat Jackson's Precinct) something
like one hundred or one hundred and fifty less than
the strength of that party there,-at Louisa Court
Court House, the Wing majority is usually about
forty. Mr.. Gilmer's majority was about that num-
Der at that place. speak OF these places, because
happen to know the votes there given, and Of one,
Jackson's the adherenis Of the late President Van
Buren, have full sway. From these facts the following
deductions TO he drawn, and TO which particu.
iarIy ask The attention of"A Conservative" Is That
II Mr. Garland had been the choice Of the majority
of the wings and Conservatives, Mr. GilmeI's ma
iority could not, by any probability, have reached
as high as was actually the case. IDLY, The vote
at Jncksons lwhere the lale dominant party
were particularly emblttered against the Conser-
vatves) and at the Courthouse, proves that there
was no combination between the Democratic votes
and JtD Wigs, and that there was no turn out"
Of the Democrats TO support Mr. Gmer IN Louisa at
least and together the votes at the two places, proves
that "a Conservative" is entirely mistaken IN sup
posing that Mr. Garland was "gTssdiig and ertiing-
" deroutd" by the adherents Of the late President
Van Buren, and JsU Wings
But throwing aside the petty feelings, (petty at
such time as this) which BIASED me to my party,
forgetting that IN strife Of party warfare have
suffered myself TO feel for men, and remembering
only the land that gave birth, the land to which
my sole allegiance is due-the glorious mother of
us a-far but alas, fading Virginia. point to her,
writing under insults heaped upon her, sinking On.
der the loads she has 90 long borne from her love oI
the Union, and invoking every son Of hers who
claims the proud privilege Of calling her mother
appealing to them m the name OF that mother, u
forget that they are Wings, Conservatives or De
mocrats mploring them 10 remember that they are
Virginians-caling to their recollection the fact
that Tor years a spirit Of opposition TO Virginia int
rests has been fOstered and is increasing IN the
North-A cloud, which at first was no larger than
my hand, resting our bright horizon, has been
daily growing larger aud darker; II has at length
spread over "a an appalling gloom while even now
an occasional fash lIghtens for moment the dark.
ness which enshtouds We, rendering only more vsi.
bic the source ana power Of the gathering storm
Let oil NWginians remember, that that spirit has
been already invoked in party contests, and that
many good men believe that those WIN guide the