Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1851-12-04

I
to receive the subjoined letter frcn
our old friend and favorite, Major
DowNING, who, from his long silence
we had begun to fear had gone &c
that bou:n TO which he seems to ap'
prehend we must ourselves have de-
parted. We hope now TO hear from
him more frequently.-National Ie-
telligencer.
DowNINGDALE,
Down EAST IN THE STATE OF MAINE,
November 10, 1851.
Mr.. GALES q SEAToN: My dear
friends, if you are yet in the land Of
the livin, long to have a little talk
with you about the affairs Of the na-
tion. And if you amt in the land Of
the liyin, but have dropped off since
I've been away 10 the gold diggins ol
CaliGorny, if you'll coutriye. TO let
me know it III GO 10 one of the
"sperrit. rappers" cousin Nabby
knows one OF 'em) and try TO have a
chat with you that way. And ;ny
old friend Mr.. Riichie too, want to
have a chat along with him. But |
don't know where to find him, for
Uncle Joshua tells me he isn't in the
Washington Union paper no~s and
they've "carried him back to Old
Virginia. "sNow that's very bad; It's
treason agin the Government. How
can the country get along through a
Presidential campaign without Mr..
Ritchiel They never have done it,
and it can't be done; it's impossible.
! don't know who they've got in his
place in thesUniOn, nor don't care;
but1 know they never will find one
that can fight agin the Federalists
like Mr.. Richie. How many times
he's saved the country from bein eat
up. by Federalists: and, what's very
remarkable, he could fight sgin EN-
for years and years after they was
all dead, jest as well as Ne could
when they was alive. There'sstc be
great battle for the next President,
and we cant get along without Mr..
Richie. He ought not to a gone of
so; he owed his services TO the coun-
try, and he ough: to be ketched and
brought back TO Washington under
the ''fugitive slave law" That law
is carried out everywhere here to the
North, and we expect it to be carried
out to the South. What's sass for
goose is sass for gander. If the
South wants to keep the North in
the Union, she must give some good
strong proof that she is willing 10
fulfil and carry outthe fugitive slave
law. And she couldn't do it any bet
ter than to keich Mr.. Richie and
carry him back TO Washington, and
shet him up in the Union paper Office,
and tie him down in the editorial
chair, and put a ream OF paper be-
fore him and a pen in his hand, and
set him 10 writing about the next
Presidency. Then the dark fog that
now hangs over the whole country
would begin to be blowed away, and
parties could begin TO see where
they are again; and the knots and
the snarls Of politics would begin TO
be unravelled, so that we could all
tell where 10 take hold and pull with
fair chance OF doing some good
Then we might stand a good chance
TO gel President next year. But
as things now go the chance looks
slim enough.
Times isn't now as they used to be,
when we hadn't only two parties,
and severy body could tell who he
was fightin .aginst. Then a single
blast from Major Ben Russell in the
old Boston Centinel would call out
Tall. the Federalists in the country,
and make iem draw up in straight
line; and then another blast from Mr..
Richie in the Richmond Enquirer
would call out all the Republicans
into another line-and when these
two parties were called out there
wasn't nobody left but women and
children-and then the two parties
had a clear fielG before 'em, and
marched up face 10 face and had a
fair fight, and they always knew
which got whipt. But things isn't so
now a-days. There's more parties
now than you can shake a stick at.
And they face in all manner of ways,
so that when you are figh,in for one
party it would puzzle a PhiIadelphy
lawyer to tell what parties you are
fghtin aginst, or TO tell who is whipt
when the battles over. | didn't
know things was in quite so bad a
sna-l till | got home 'tother day from
Californy, and sot down and had a
long talk with Uncle Joshua, who
told me all aboutit. Uncle Joshua is
getting old, but he holds his age re.