Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-04-18
70 THE VOTERS OF THE COUNTIES OF
NEW KENT, CHARLES CITY, uENRICO
AND THE CITY OF RICHMOND

| NEW KENT, CHARLES CITY, HENRICO
| AND THE CITY OF RICHMOND
For the sole purpose OF calling your particular at.
enton ito an apprehended division OF the vote of your
deegaton IN the State Convention, on the basis of rep
resenton, in brief card addressed you on the Slh
| instant did no more than this. felt it high and
sacred duty to do So l deemed it due alike 10 can
dor and to the great trust you had con6ded to me- to
pursue this course. l would scorn TO give vote
which had pledged myself before the election not to
give and thus betray the interests surrendered TO my
| guardianship.
| From time to tme limitations reached me- that Won
would pre- Ter representation founded on free white
population. believe it it is gross SANDER on
your consistency and intelligence. But it became you
ana you a11ne, 10 decide welher was right wrong.
Ii wrong, desired to know it, that might conform
| 10 your wishes, or withdraw from the honorable
service TO which by your votes, Il had been assigned
WIN 1, these mtmatons came another, that Of
my colleagues was prepared to submit proposition
TOR adjusting this vexed question; and that The leading
feature OF his proposition was to give Seuenty-fue
eoers TO me East and Scpemt fine members TO the
OF numbers IN the Senate also. On Saturday the 5ih
instant, an incidental debate sprang up and was con-
uhueo nntii late hour in the Convention and during
| ~. tne distinguished gentleman from Accomac (Mr
Wise took occasion to congratulate us upon the pros
pec OF an arrangement of this question: and that this
might possibly be accomplished through the instrument
tallty OF one OF my colleagues, TO whom he more than
once appealed and who very Significantly acouiesced
IN the correctness OF those appeals chose then to
say, That Tor such compromise arrangement as |
obvious that by both OF u.s. you could not be truly rep.
iesented-the vote upon which we differed involved
The GREAT QUESTION which disturbed and divided the
Convention My colleague or myself was to msrep-
resent you Influenced by other consideration as
soemly affirm, but to carry out your views and to
perform my duty to you, and as the period for taking
inc vote was by resolution of the Convention rapid
~ approaching, prepared my card on the evening of
the 9th, and an1iously desired that it should be before
you AT the earliest possible period | made simple
statement OF facts; impugned the motives or wisdom
OF no man; assumed superiority las am certainly
| entitled to Money any one of nv colleaeues:
weighed by myself and alone, the peril of the step and
| and every form.
For this Mr.. Bots, with modesty and fortearaace
more assumed than real has chosen to issue his bull Of
accommodation and strven to make some hall a doz-
| en- false issues before you.
Processing that this task "was any thing but aereea-
hsfeengs" he has its performance as y-
or or Sullivan would rush to the ring show off their
pugisc powers fora wager and obtain the plaudits OF
| tnelr admirers, with display OF about as much "tov
or extravaganza" Skilled and long used to newspa-
per he has thought you could credit the
assertion that ne had been unnecessarily provoked to
write more than two columns in reply to a brief notice
OF less than oneelgh the space he occupies For this
outrage upon fairness and candor, the only excuse he Of
Iers SIMPLY that he the Wing nominee or Congress
from this District; and but for this he would treat the
whole with the silence and indifference deserves
ne chooses to affirm that the impression was general
throughout all classes, that they meanng my card and
the proceedings OF meeting held in Henrico county
on the 7h nst were directed him rather as the can
ddate OF the Wing party for this Congressional District
than as member OF the Convention. | shall leave it
to those who composed the meeting held in Henrico to
answer TOR their designs and Intentions answer for
myself.
First say do not believe that any such impression
d. es prevail among all classes, Mr.. Bolts has stated
and the suggestion is the offspring of his distempered
brain. Second: That it is absolutely without founda-
ton in fact that my card was prompted by any such
motive. Had that been the case, am a mere simple
ton not to have waited and let the author of this pro-
position tor the surrender Of our rights proceed in his
sefdestroying movement, by the open submission of
his schemes, and thus have committed HIM and closed
up all revenue tor an inglorious retreat. preferred
more open, honest and fair mode of action. | chose
10 eschew all trckery and, without considering how il
might or might not influence the lofty aspirations and
almost realized hopes of MIR. Bots as HE thinks TO his
restoration to seat in Congress, simply to inform the
voters of this Convention District of the probability OF
division in the vote of their delegation. Had cho-
to wait for the game TO be caught in his own trap
how easy that task would have been. But turning aside
in absolute disgust, did from any such pettg conr;-
rance Mr. b. has been warned in advance and has been
furnished the opportunity tor econsderng ard RETAINING
his scheme and thus avoiding that very political
destruction which, it that scheme had been presented in
its most Objectionable shape, might have necessarily
overwhelmed its author. Had chosen to wait quietly
for tks, Mr.. Bolts probably would have openly and on
the record committed himself in the Convention. This
might have lost him his long hoped for in Congress-
but you would have been misrepresented in the Con-
vention. preferred to avoid the latter injury, even
though in doing so it might result in the election of Mr.
Bolts to Congress-to the longed for seat in Congress-
His ridiculous suspicious haunt his imagination such
extent that any who dares differ with him on |
any subject whatever, he at once believes designs as
sail and ma Ike war upon him merely because he is the
candidate of the Wing party of this Congressional Dis
tric and this has made Mr.. Bolts subject of amuse-
ment for call classes" In observing his very Madness
well may the reflective exclam, What the deuce is
Mr. Bolts doing again"
have condemned the scheme of Mr.. Botts so far |
have heard it developed from him on the floor ofhe
Convention. speak OF an open development of it.
should hide my face in every shame before would
become the retailer OF private conversation held pri
waite, at the freside oconvvia parties No license no
permission, public private, shall under any emer-
gency, extract from me even IN self VndlcatiOn, such
communications.
These, by the gentlemen OF Virginia, have in past
time least, been looked upon with sacred regard
that nothing ought to disturb make here this remark
because Mr.. Botts has chosen to refer TO debate,
which he chaacterzes as angry, between him and my
self on the evening of the 7h inst With the result of
that debate, am satisfied; to 1t have made no RET |
ererence my card, and, now allude TO it, only be-
cause, he has chosen to thrust it before the public and
you had been present to have heard every word Of that
debate. | mean not TO disturb the subject matter of
that debates but does Mr. Bolts, desire do sol II
he does, let him proceed.
compromise or arrangement. thai Mr.. Bolts may |
choose to propose of this yexed question:; it is his right
nay is his duty TO submit any plan OF compromise
adjustment which in his judgment is JUST far and expe
dent. For six months or more, all have heard such |
his purposes but as yet, it has not been furnished
the Convention IN an authentic and tangible form. In
the next esill OF leI Tic 'oto " NC
then, at the end Of the debate possibly, nay, almost
probably, this propositions to be offered, and
hurried and hasy vote forced upon us without It's merits
and operation being fully and fairly examined by or
weighed and considered by you There is no difficult
ty in the way Of Mr.. Bolts, to avoid this. He
might under the rule of the Convention, present his
scheme and precede it with full explanation he
might deem appropriate and Just to fair comprehen
sion of his plan. True, he went SO for on Monday
night, the 7th ns as to declare that his plan did
template equal division OF the two houses OF the Ge
neral Assembly; and now with an apparent secom-
pacency, he excaims rue, this is arbitrary rule of
representation; Mr.. Scott can't for such patch
work as arbitrary rule; and with equally apparent
self complacency he represents that Mr. Madison, Mr..
Marshall and other eminent men had, in 1929 voted for
an arbitrary rule of representation. Can be credited
that this modern Scion did not know that the rule
then adopted secured to the tax-payng part of the Com
monwealth majority in both houses Of the General
Assemby-a majo lily OF some 81 or % votes; and that
taxation constituted ingredient in the then temporary