Daily American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1852, 1852-09-11
From the Richmond Whig.J
Tho Canvass.

While the Locos have been as ill-natured ano
snappish as sore-headed bears, the Wings have
never for moment lost their good humor. We
hope it will continue thus to the end The Wings
are proud of their candidates and their cause
feel that they ought to be and will be successful
and, whether victorious or vanquished, will be
prepared to endure the dispensation of Provi.
dence with mistaken equanimity.
They have had great provication to wrath
Their noble old leader has been villifed and ira
duced in the most shameless manner He has
been stigmatized as o coWard q sWladler, and q
liar. But his friends have made no defence be.
yond reference to his deeds--a long life, crowded
with great services to his country-and the fact,
that since the commission Of his imputed base.
nesses, he has received the highest testimonials
of the confidence of Madison, of Monroe, of Jack
son, of Van Buren,, and Of Polk. The last might
have been insincere; but what language can de-
scribe the Nervousness of his conduct, if believ-
ing Scott to be O coward, a swindler, or liar,
he entrusted to him the honor of his country and
the lives of its brave soldiers Virginia, too, by
the unanimous vote of her legislature, has twice
voted him swords for his great achievements.
The Wings have not merely not defended their
leader from the base assaults upon his personal
character; they have also forborne, though great
ly tempted, to retaliate. The candidate of the
Democratic party is known to be peculiarly OBJ
noxious to personal criticism. Reports, cotempo-
raneous with his nomination, of an exceedingly
injurious character-and resting on Democratic
authority-have been current in Richmond. Gen.
Pierce himself in the canvass of "A, set an ex-
ample by which he would be entitled to very
little charity at the hands of his opponents.
During that year, in public speech at Nashua,
New Hampshire, as we are credibly informed, he
charged Mr.. Clay Nth being guilty OF eUery crime,
from card-playing TO the murder Of CIley." But
the Wings have contented themselves with con-
testing his claims to hish military virtue, and
rdiculing his heroic pretensions, by reference to
his own dispatches and the official reports of the
Commanding General For our part, we never
impugned his courage. Having heard the reports
so rife in Richmond, with respect to bis personal
habits, we ascribed his misadventures in Mexico
to them. His sudden indisposition and retire
ment from the field on the 18th of September,
when ordered !" to move Immediately under the
guns of Chepultepec Ibis continued indisposi-
ton all next day, while Chepultepec was storm
ed-and his sudden recovery the morning of the
14th, just after the fighting was over, did bear q
suspicious appearance. But we referred that
also to the same besetting sin to which we have
alluded above. What would have been the char
acter of the Locofoco comments upon the Wing
candidate, if his conduct had in any degree been
like unto that of his rival! Let candid men an
swer.
The only exception to Wing forbearance that
has occurred is to be found in paragraph ex-
tracted by us few days since from the Balti-
more American. That article charged General
Pierce, on the authority of an officer in the ar
my--a Democrat-with having submitted to q
gross personal indignity at card table the night
before he left the city of Mexico. Of course, we
shall hear more of this, as the author of the ar
ticle challenged denial, and avowed his readiness
to prove it. Every one must regret the intro
duction of such matter into the canvass but the
example being set by our opponents, they have
no one to blame but themselves.