Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1843-10-05
POLITICS, &C.
From the N. Y. american.
WING NATIONAL CONVENTION.

y
ed his treschery towards the party and
the principles by which he was elected
and the members Of the Harrison Cabl-
net, with one exception, true to the in.
stincts Of men of honor and Of gentlemen,
and faithful to the political friends With
whom they were identified, threw up the
high Offices which they could no longer
hold without disgrace--ihe Wing party
found itself without recognized leader.
The man to whom they had ass gned the
frs, place the hand of Death had struck
down, and the successor. never thought
OF for tina; place, became instantly giddy
with undeserved elevation, and play
such fantastic tricks as made both men
and angels weep.
In the gloom and dependency of such
moments, as in the brief bright hours be
tween the accession and death of Gen.
Harrison, and 10 the succeeding trying
scenes of the extra session, there was one
Wing who never fatered, never dsspond-
ed, never compromised his opinions, new.
er pareyed with expediency, never sought
to make terms with treachery !; but, moy,
ing right onward with the glorious Wing
banner borne aloit, he stood fearlessly by
his principles and his party. That man
need we name hun was HENRY
CLAY. The g'or.ous party which he thus
personi6ed felt the electric influence oil
such a course, and by reclamation put
him forth as their leader, who had thus
proved his ability and fitness TO lead.
From that time there has not been IN
any portion Of the United States, SO far
as we are competent to Judge, any serl-
Gus mention or thought Of any other name
than that of Henry Clay, as the name I'M
der which the Wings would fight the next
presidential battle; and therefore it was,
that at an early day we expressed the
opinion, which we still entertain, that NO
National Convention was necessary to de-
signa,e the Wing candidate.
Influenced, however, probably by tho
force of usage and precedent, ard posi-.
bly,, TOO, apprehensive that, without
Convention. some difficulty might occur
in the selection of candidate for the
Vice Presidency-(a selection that will
herceforth be made with all the caution
and discr mination that belong to that oil
the candidate for the Pres dency It'll
Wing members Of the last Congress re-
commended that National Convention
be held next May in Baltimore.
But neither then nor since was there
doubt in the public mind as to who would
be the Wing nominee. Here and there,
indeed, some few persons and presses,
clnging to an eclipsed name, and sharing
in the yindctive feelings which he who
bears it is supposed to entertain towards
Henry Clay, talked enigmatically abou,
the indiscTeet q al and hot haste OF those
Wings, who gave free utterance to their
preference of Mr.. Clay and spoke of him
as the acknowledged candidate-but the
masses every where seemed to share in
this preference ; and nowhere, within our
knowledge, up to this day, has any other
name been suggested at any gathering or
assemblage Of Wings as party.
Notwithstanding this at least apparent
unanimity, this absence Of any other name,
we find the Boston Courier and the Com
mercial Advertiser Of this city are dssat-
isfed with what they call attempts to
'foresiall public opinion in the nomina-
ton of Wing candidate for the Preslden-
cy,
What do these papers consider public
opinion? Certainly they cannot point to
any meeting of Wings as such, held for
any Of the ordinary purposes of party or
ganization or party operation. where any
name out tina, OF Henry Clay has been
mentioned, much less adopted while, on
the other hand, at very many, nay the
great majority Of those meetings when
even incidentally, and without immediate
bearing upon the business in hand, that
name has been pronounced, il has al.
ways been hailed with acclamation.
We admit, indeed, that the CONNER
cial Advertiser, with possibly the Boston
Courier and perhaps other papers, has
talked of John Mclean, and others
meaning peradventure Daniel Webster
though even that paper would hardly ven.
ture to propose openly to the Wings to
support for the Presidency a man WHO
gave TO Tylerism most of its powers OF
evil, and who must share with it, the mex
tingaishable opposition ofthe wing party.
But with the exception Of such journals,
and knots here aud there of personal
friends, we aver that of no party could u
unanimous sentiment in favor of partlc-
ular candidate be predicted, if not OF the
wing party now in favor Of Henry Clay,
We, therefore, share not at all IN the
misgivings OF the Commercial Advertiser,
respecting the possible disti action IN The
Wing ranks, that may be occasioued by
the early selection of delegates friendly
to Mr.. Clay --auguring on the contrary,
from the promptness as we'll as from the
unanimity of this course, the most entire
harmony, and not at all doubling that the
Convention, when assembled, will by ac-
cIamaton and at once, nominate as the
Wing candidate for the Presidency
HENRY CLAY.
The Wings in Richmond, are walking
,n and oroanizinu setting uood exam