Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1848-09-08
RICH MON D, V A.
Morning, September 6, ls4s.
MIILARp FILLMORE AND THE WING PRESS.

,.as dumb as an oyster" on the subject. Inc
Times does not admit its genuineness-ou' .,
OF this there is no doubt as Mr.. CaskIe snoweu
by reading from The Enquirer OF November 1910
The Times inmates that, unless Inc 'n""ei %
explained, the Wings ofthe South may not sup
port Fillmore. II says:
uTb;s leueer indicates opinions, whlcn, II un'
ia;nsd INNS, he deemed very highly opJee-
.;on,he We cannot believe that sucn op.ni sa.
.re now III they ever were) enlefialheu W IN
Fillmore. and We look, with connaenee, ~, III, be
authentic evidence IN, 'ha - 'n nf,bs as souIhS
satisfactory 10 the wings % ''e 'o1,"' :.
The whig does not express doubt oil Inc
COMMENCES OF the letter, nor does i! call Tor an
Exclamation, but It's long article, though j! wan
ders from the point and attempts 10 convict Inc
Democrats of inconsistency, is evidently intended
10 keep The Wings from flying of and to justify
them in supporting The Abolilioust Fillmore. is
unnecessary here 10 refuie the gross errors oil the
Wing in regard TO The President and the North
ern Democratic Senators. But we publish the
whole article OF the Wing 10 show The people OF
Virginia how their leading organ clings TO Fill
more, in spite OF his "very highly objectionable
and infamous letter:
From the Richmond Wig.
aTHE ENQUIRER AND Mr.. FrLLMoRE.-The
Enquirer exults over a letter from Mr.. Fillmore,
in 1888, in which he avows himself in favor of
abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia.
After the signing by Mr.. Polk Of the Oregon
bill, with the Wilmot Proyiso in it, for the in
PRODUCTION Of which, four years ago, Mr.. Win
throp was denounced as unworthy Of Southern
votes-after the abandonment of the South by
every Locofoco from the Free States but four,
when the question was fairly brought before
Congress after the repeated votes Of MIR.
Atherton and General Casss own immediate re-
preventative think il is time for the Euqui.
rer to hold its peace 1t, and its coadjutors
have, before now, taken abundant pains to prove
that the Natural Allies" thought differently on
this aud kindred subjects from the Northern
Wings The passage Of the Wilmot Proviso
dispelled that illusion. That did all the mis-
chief that has yet been done, and after that pc.
sitive oct, we submit that it is rather too late TO
arraign the abstract opinions of Mr.. Fillmore,
who, ten years ago, believed that slavery ought
to be abolished in the District Of Columbia "a
question with regard 10 which he only differs in
point Of expsdiency as to time, with every
Northern Democrat, so far as we can see, who
had a seat in Congress, and with Mr.. Van Buren,,
at the very time the Enquirer was doing all it
could to make him, q second time, President Of
the United States.
But the Southern Wings must vote for But
| Ter! He is the man who lives in the South and
holds slaves. His opinions are not to be ques-
toned Then why question those IF Gene al
Taylor, He lives still further South, and holds
still larger number Of slaves. And if MIR.
Fillmore is TO be repudiatcd BY Southern
Wings, because he is Northern man, and,
| like all Northern men, wishes to see slavery
abolished in the District Of Columbia, why
| should Southern Democrats vote for General
| Cass, who is also a Northern man, and was,
| eighteen months ago, Wilmot Proviso man?
"Bu,, as We have already intimated, il is ridi
culous, after the whole Democratic representa-
ton in the North, with the exception Of foII,
and every Democratic Senator, TO a man, have
| voted for the Wimot Proviso, and Mr.. Polk has
| signed it, for the Enquirer 10 talk ABOUT any
| mans unsoundness on the subject of slavery
Look at the acts of the they speak louder
than words. Look at the act which the Enqui
rer denounced in December last, and then saY
what right The friends of Polk and Cass have 10
rebuke any man for his opinions on this subject!
| General Cass, no doubt, approves OF Mr.. Folks
course his presses are .i,r. Polk s-his friends
are Mr. Folks friends. He is every way .denti
fed with Mr.. Polk in this act. What has Mil
lard Fillmore done, what can he do more fatal
to The interests Of the South than MIR. Polk has
already done1 or than General Cass and his
friends endorse?"
p. S.-The above was prepared Tor Yesterdays
paper, bur squeezed GU, by the pressure on our
columns. We have read the city Wing papers
OF Yesterday, and not ono OF them has yet pub.
l,shed the Abolition letter OF Fillmore, the plat
form Vi hrIi own preferred" Wing candidate
for Inc Vice Presidency. The Wing publishes
part of tn leaer, and gives garbed version
OF the rest
The Times cools of liule, and does mot be-.
lieve that Fillmore now holds the opinions. indi.
Gated in this letter." II then attempts to show that
F. is Zone of The mos, obnoxious statesmen In
the North TO the Aboi,ioniss," who ran a sepa-
rate ticket against him as candidate Tor Co
vernon, and thus caused The election OF Silas
Wrigh"--lhat Giidiugs had "assailed him most
bitterly al The Worcester Convention, because he
had, in Congress- acknowledged the right OF pro-
perry in slaves, in the case Of certain negroes
d
have already reiuted)-that the New York Til
bune had certified that Fillmore was not an Abo-
i,ionist Moreover, (says the Times,) the uni
form language OF considerale Northern Wings
to the South, then no Northern man ever can be.
With all these evidences in Mr.. Fillmore's favor,
we are convinced that the letter of 1888 does not
fairly represent his present opinions"
Now, as an offset 10 this "beliet" OF a change
OF opinions, we point TO The Abolition votes OF
Fillmore in Congress up TO lS43-as "facts from
the recoTd' which cannot be explained away
The abolition principles OF his letter were fully
carried out in his votes five years after, and pc
bel,ere, and the Wing papers have no evidence 10
the contrary, that The l"ter of 1888 docs 'fairIy
represent his present opinions"
The Wing devoies whole column 10 vague
arguments and speeuations, to show lha, Fillmore
does not now en;eriar these extreme opinions
which were adopted, says the Wing, "under lie
violent stimulus q ra,y passion" when he was
"goaded by the e1c;i, Gient OF arduous contest
The Wing farther says that Fillmore has "eiven
evidence that in his caner moments he deliber.
aley enierains h. Wing meant 10 say, we sup
pose, does not enleuain) these sentiments" 1t
then refers 10 "eentemen OF intelligence, South
ern gentlemen" Mallory, Stuart, Crockett and
others, who have served with him in Congress
and have "pronounced him upon every point con.
necled with Southern rights, The calmesl, the
most RATIONAL The sest OF all The public men
who reside north OF Maryland" Now we, on the
other side, can produce an array Of Southern gen.
tlemen, al least as Intelligent and as alive 10
Southern interests, who have served with Fill.
more in Congress, and who pronounce him an
aboltionis,. We allude 10 Andrew Stevenson,
Francis E. Rves, Henry A. Wise, William Q.
Goode, Bynum OF Louisiana, formerly Of North
Cardinal This himsy arsumen, of the Wing