Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-09-15
GA Farewell Shot"

Inc pandtcator's assistant, who has been cast
ing harmless ''paper bdllcts" at Gen. ScoTT ant
our humble selves for the last month, frankly con
esses In his last paper that he is tired of the ful
we have been pokitg at him in retarn, and give
us to understand that he is "OPH." Well we ar
scrry to part with such good company. The flut
tering OF the "Woodcock" has contributed largel,
to our amusement, and now that we open the doc
of its prlson-house and permit its escape, we onl.
ask the privilege Off "larcwell shot" con thu
wing" as itspeeds away to more comfortable quar-
ters.
Our adversary in the controversy which is abou
to be closed, quoted in the Iindicator of the 6tl
inst, the following paragraph from speech salt
to have been delivered by Mr.. PIERCE in theyea
1889, upon the presentation of a petition for TIT
Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia:
at is certainly no task to present the memorial
and yet cannot, in justice to my own convictions
OF duty, comply with the request, without expires
sing my deep regret, that these petitioners, many
OF whom am sure are actuated by pure motives
should so far mistake their own moral responsible
| pVtSCf
ton to this subject"
From this extract he endeavored to PROVE tina
Gen. PIERCE did not believe III the power of Con
gress to abolish Slavery in the District. Now the
meaning of the lahgtage depends entirely upon the
character of the petition under consideration at the
time Of its delivery For instance, if was such
memorial as the one presented by the ladies O
Erie County, Pennsylvania, praying not only TIE
Abolition Of Slavery in the District of Columbia
but the suppression of the trade between the State
(for the consideration of which Mr.. PIERCE voted
it is obvious that Mr.. PIERCE may have used the
language quoted by the Vindicator without any
reference to the District of Columbia. He may
have said that the petitioners mistook the powers
and duty of Congress, and have had special refer
ence to that clause of the memorial which propos-
ed to interfere with Slavery in the States. Per
ceving that the construction to be placed upon the
paragraph depended entirely upon the nature ofthe
petition we asked for further information in regard
to it. In reply the writer admits that he knows
nothing about it. lie cannot even give the date
at which the speech was delivered, having found
it in the Vindicator, copied from some other paper
published nobody knows where, which copied ii
from nobody knows what Why really, if Gen.
PIERcE's soundness is to be established upon such
evidence as this, his unsoundness may be most fair
ly and thoroughly proven by the New Boston
speech alone, which is far better authenticated
Admitting, however, that the speech is well au-
thendcated, because ''the quotation itself may be
found in speech of comparatively recent date, de-
livered by Mr.. AsBE of North Carolina, on the
floor of the House of Representatives and re-pub-
lished in" the Vindicdtor, still we say that it is
not worth button, unless it can be shown thatthe
petition proposed simply and solely the Abolition of
Slavery in the District of Columbia. We are in
vited to an investigation of the matter, but having
previously extended that invitation to the Tindi-
Gator, we must ask to be excused from the task
1t is that papers evidence and if fails to make
it good we shall be very well satisfied and very
little surprised.
None of the evidence that Mfr. - all! the Fin
dictator has produced during the progress of this
controversy has relieved Mr.. PIERCE of the charge
of Freesosm. 1t may have satisfied some that
he is not an Aboltionist of the GIDDINGs, GARRI-
SON and FRED. DOUGLASS school, which we have
never believed him to be, but that he is Free
soiler some people ,ciW believe, until he is more
satisfactorily vndicated than he has been by the
adjunct Editor of the Republican Vindicator.-
His refusal to permit EDMUND BROOKE, to bring
his slaves into the District Of Columbia cries aloud
against him, and it will be remembered that not
wthsanding our repeated illusions to it, no effort
has been made to explain his vote upon that ques-
ton.
Having thus triehy reviewed the indicators
final failure, we ask who may be most safely trust
ed by the South? and still point to the challenge
which stands at the head of our columns, urian-
swered and unanswerable-as it stood when the
Vindicator's supernulnerary conceived the grand
design of demolishing WINFIELD SCOTT.