Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-05-01
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
THE CAMPAIGN.

l7th at Delaware City, (Del) the Hon John M.
CLAYTON made speech AS he discussed, in the
course of it. subjects of national interest, says the
North American we give below brief report of his
remarks:
The part of the speech necessarily devoted to
the consideration of questions of local policy with which
the people of the State of Delaware appear at this time
to be absorbed consequence of various acts recently
passed by the Democratic legislature among others the
grant of monopoly to the Philadelphia and Baltimore
Railroad Company of the right Of passage through
tain prescribed limits for twenty years. the revival of the
lottery SYSTEM sc. But the chief topic which seemed
more than all others attract the attention of the large
meeting assembled the OCCASION was the Convention
question The Democratic Legislature had called Con-
venton upon minority vote Of the people, less than four
thousand voters having voted for the call whereas the
constitution required majority Of all the citizens in the
State entitled to vote for representatives to Justify the
call of the Convention. 1t appeared ALSO that great
outrage had been practsed by the Legislature upon the
rights of the people in geymandering the State for the
choice of Convention delegates hundreds or districts
with only two hundred voters being allowed the choice
delegate to the Convention while Others with more than
two thousand voters ten times the population were
also allowed but single delegate and at the same time
denied the right secured to them by the constitution to
vote for all the delegates from the particular county
The question chiefly discussed was whether Constitu
ton thus formed in direct violation of all the forms
scrbed by the old Constitution of 1884, could have vail
dty bestowed upon it by of ratification of the
people which the old Constitution did not REQUIRE The
assembage listened with intense attention this part of
the discussion, it Immediately affected their dearest
interests Mr. c. commended that Constitution of any
State Government could be changed in any other mode
than that prescribed by itself He did not contend that
the State Constitution he NV
election but said that that mode merely
ed as one among the means Of efecting change. He
was himself in favor Of revision of the Constitution and
had voted for but he would agree to attain his
object by deliberate violation of instrument much of
which the work of his hands, and which, when
appointed Chief Justice of the State he had sworn to
support The defects to be remedied by revision
had arisen from the increased population of of the
counties of the State which had nearly doubled that of
the others within the last twenty five years. He had de-
sired reform, by allowing representation according to
populations but would never agree to the doctrine that
the end justified the Means He proposed decided OPP
position to this unconstitutional legislation He had
always avowed himself anxious that party question
should be made of the ISSUE could it possibly be avoided
He wished the Convention called egmatey and
as could be properly brought about His argument on
the constitutional question deliberately urged and
seemed to be concusve-perfectly irresistible. He
counseed the Wings not to do evil that good might come
Of it neither to revoutionize their Government by vo
lence change for temporary expedency party
advantage that might be gained and when altering to
adhere every thing that was really mandatory in the
ITSELF far it provided for its amend
ment. He gave history of the Wing party in Delaware
from its origin, and pointed the principles of public
policy which had governed it, 1t had built up system
of public schools it had saved the State from State taxa
ton for twenty years it had greatly increased the funds
OF the State it had guarded the people against the
fractions and expansions of the currency arising out of
the waged by the General Government upon the bank
ing system of the nation and the consequence had been
that Delaware the only State in the Union that
hrpr hanly I% l,.l.
the State owed not dollar. During more than twenty
years, while the Wings held power no Wing officer en-
trusted with the State funds had betrayed the confidence
rePosed in him. proved defauer to the of
sxpence At the last election the Wings had lost the
State by paltry plurality in favor their opponents
amounting to twenty-five votes and the defeat every
body in Delaware knew, owing the desertion of
several hundred Wings the temperance question. The
Democratic party was now in power but it held power
by the votes Of minority Of the people, The Governor
was minority Governor; the Legislature minority
Legislature the Democratic Senator and Representative
IN Congress from this State hold their seats by the
Of minority OF the people; and if the Wings of the
State true to themselves at the ensuing election
they would relieve from the future domination of those
who had abused the power committed to them.
He suggested that with view to the call of Conven-
ton constitutional principles at the earliest day prac
cabe there should be concert of action among the Wings
throughout the State and that the whole question
the mode and of eectng this object should be
erred to the decision of three hundred delegates from all
the countless TO assemble the first Tuesday of June
next at the capital He impored the people suf
fer the State to be dsgraced by Dorr rebellion by
civil discord BY succession Of blunders, the State
in greater peril than it had incurred before Affairs
had reached crisis Our little ship, said he is
pidy driving among the breakers, lee Shore and
less she is speedily brought up with round turn and
restored by the gor and energy Of her to the safe
channel in which she had been successfully navigating
for than twenty years, she might encounter
disasters worse than had ever before befalen her.
Passing TO matters Of national interest, Mr. CLAYTON
took the subject of the compromise acts and said that
he acquiesced in the proprety Of sustaining them and
that the Wings Of Delaware stood by them they
had done when the originally passed There
were many who thought there had been any real
danger Of dissolution Of the Union and therefore
caon for the legislation proessedy resoed to in order
to protect and ii but he appealed to all such to
suffer the whole matter TO remain rest If not for the
sake Of the Union least for the sake of the public
guilty. To disturb these measures after all that had
occurred, would be to open the box Of Pandora and fill
the country with alarm and agitation. The representa-
ton from Delaware in Congress had vsted for all the
parate measures Of adjustment at the time of their pas
sage The Wings Of the State had approved Of their votes
two years ago, and, far concerned, there
should be no further agitation of these subjects The
truth that the people Of the United States had been
seized with the negrophobia-a disease which very
remarkable IN many of its symptoms He did not know
whether II was endemic epidemic though he believed
1t had once been confined to particular section Of the
country but had lately spread itself over the Union ge
There could be no legislation without the subject Of sa
very being brought in in way and he had known
men at the North who when they found which the
strong side Of the question: became suddenly inocuated
with the malady and thought there was nothing in the
world to be done but to keep up eternal alarm and cry
about the matter
Respecting a protective tariff he said he was one Of
those who had deserted IL