Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1848-09-26
RIG II NJ ON D, VA.
Monday Morning. September 25, ls4s.
nNnscITuR A SOClIS.n

"NOSCITUR A SOCllS."
This phrase, ITO know one by his compan-
IONS" used by Mr. Lyons, and like good many
other things borrowed and repeated by Mr.. Rives'
lies at The basis Of all the present vain efforts Of
the Wings 10 make out that Gen. Cass i oppas
ed 10 the South on The slavery question. Messrs.
Lyons and Rives, by that strange obliquiiy oil
mental perception, which seems TO dictate The Tor.
tuous political course oi those gentlemen, and rem
der them in public estimation the most paricc'
specimens in the world OF The class OF noadcse,ipt
politicians, actually applied it 10 show that Gen
Cass was BaYn6nrnsr NV so lar from Gen.
Cass being associated with the Barnburners, they
than 10 any man in the Union;-so far from being
his companions, they are his most uncompromisinS
foes; and, therefore, Hpon the principle OF This
phrase Gen. Cass must he considered, as in truth
he is, the very antipods of a OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
removed in sentiment from one than any other
man in The universe.
The Wing presses, as far as We observe,
have not fallen into this blunder precisely, but
they have made one almost as objectionable in
their attempted application Of the principle of
this phrase to General Cass. They are striving
TO show that General Cass is opposed to the
South on the slavery questions, because they say
he is supported on that ground by his Northern
advocates. If be were in fact supported on sach
ground by those advocates, it would be very
unfair to infer from thence that he was SO op'
posed 10 the South, in tho face Of General Cass's
own open declaration TO the contrary. But, in
truth, he is not, as we believe, supported even
at the North on any such ground by advocates,
considerable either 10 number or character;
while many of his influential advocates there's
| for instance, Messrs. Buchanan, Dallas, Wood
| bury, &c are admitted TO concur, to very
great extent, a, least, with the South, and we
believe are heartily with Us; and many Of the
Democratic journals there, of the highest char
acter, for example, the Democratic Review,
also, take like ground with the South; and while
the bitterest and most unrelenling opposition
with which he meets al the North is from the
two factions of Abolitionsts, headed by Cor
wn Hale, Giddings, &C., and of the Barnburn
ers, with the apostate, Van Buren,, and the
'sterling Whig," young Adams, in their lead
The Wing presses, however, do find that such
comparatively unimportant papers at the North
as the "Cleveland Plandealer" which, though
a respectable journal, we doubt if our readers
ever heard Of until now, and some others, as
we'll as some comparatively insignificant meet
IF HE frinnd. dn cfoin (,pparal IN
some such grounds of general hostility to slave.
ry as an evil, of his being no slave owner. &c.,
without pretending, as far as we see that he is
not against the Wilmot Provso and other
schemes for ereiuiing siaoery from the terrific
ries-and parading all the scraps Of this sort
| they can Gull even from any Democratic village
sheet, or snatch from the mouth Of any stump
speaker, who supports General Cass al the
North on any ground which looks like opposition
to Southern views Of slavery, they would have
US thence infer that General Cass is hostile 10
those views in reference to the territories.
Now the mistake the Wings make is this:
they do not seem TO consider the predicament
in which this mode of reasoning would place
| "Old Z4ck" and themselves with him they are
looking for the mote in their brothers. eye, and
do not perceive the beam in their own. Let US
turn to the other side Of the picture, and ap.
ply this rule TO it, of Knowing man by his
companions and advocates. We need not Gull
| any scraps from particular Wing newspapers, or
| refer to the speeches of particular Wing men
and meetings at the North; giving to General
Taylor their support only on the express ground
that he will not veto the Wilmot Provso, and
that he will thus permit them TO exclude slave.
| ry from the territories Even 10 name all that
do this would be mpracticable. We assert,
| without fear Of contradiction that there is not
one Wig press, nor one Hhig man. great or
small, at the North, who does not advocate &c.
neral Taylor directly and only because he will
suffer them 10 prevent the extension of slavery
to the newly acquired territories Ifthere be one
| such, il is unknown to US, and we demand Of the
Wings, or any Of them, to point out such an one.
| They have been before challenged to do so, and
have failed 10 attempt it. The phole of Gencral
1aylor's aipocates at the North, including some
of the most notorious Aboitionis,s there, sup
port him on this ground OF hostility to slavery
| and 10 its extension. To give sanction TO this,
with the concurrence and connvance of the
Southern Wings, except in South Carolina
| they have put the name Of General Taylor on
| the same ticket with Willard Fillmore, now as
notorious an Abolitionist as Tom Corwin, or
any other; thus associating Taylor and Fill.
more' in tho closest proximity putting them
and their fortunes in the same political boat
This is not all; lest the old General might say
something that would destroy the inevitable
inference they wish 10 be made at the North
from this ominous association Of "Taylor and
they have persuaded the old General to be silent
on the slavery question, and will not let him
write or say one word about it.
Shall we know General Tayl or from these
strange companions and advocates Of his; thus
clasped in silent and apparent fondness to his
bosoml God forbid!-though it seems even his
Southern Wing friends would have US dc So,
as they, doubtless, mean that his Northern ad-
vocates shall do so. Yes, they have gagged and
manacled The brave old General, and chained
him to Willard Fillmore, the dead body of abo-
lition; depriving him Of the confidence Of his
own Southern fellow. citizens, and booming him
to inevitable and inglorous defeat, if not 10 The
imputation OF double dealing and dshonor-an
imputation, which gratitude for his past SER
vices, and admiration for his personal character,
must alone restrain all men from casting upon
him, to tarnish the splendor of his well.earned
laurels.
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
LYscHBuRo, SEPT. 81, I848.
extract lIom lo.day's Republican The pro-