Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1852-05-21
For the Journal.
4 sma,l scrap OF History.

A Small Scrap Of History.
MEssRs EDIToRs As your paper has SO extern
siye circulation in the East and magre its demec
racy is taken by many Wings small scrap of his
tory which either escaped notice at first or has been
forgotten since,* may not be out of place in your
columns; nor out of time just now in its interest to
both classes of your readers. Besides, this will bear
you out in youT excellent leader of the 9th instant
headed :. Whig Convention and Amendments to the
State Constitution"
After the transient temporary defeat of Gov Reid,
when Free Suffrage was for the first time mooted
upon legislative carpets in the session of 184S and 49,
it is we'll known that it excited great deal of feel
ing among our Misunderstanding and Democratic-
Persons staying at Raleigh that winter, will long re-
member many of the stirring little scenes that ami
mated the two chambers, and gave new life to
body that had long needed the stimulus of some
tive, vivifying element. Anxious men walked to
and fro in the Hobbies, and behind Speakers chairs
their brows knit with heavy thought and weighty
care, while apparently calm and disinterested poll
ticians had frequent palpitations of the heart.
What particular phases of the occasion so agtated
particular men, whether it severe reflection
upon how such and such vote might affect each at
home or how such votes would affect parties, it is
foreign to this article to discuss suffice it, that the
Importance of the general question: Free Stuff
rage"-created general excitement; and that that
excitement spread abroad over the State, in
creasing in its spread until it swept everything be-
fore it. overwhelming Whiggery, and seating Gov
Reid in the Governors chair with jority of his
partyn both branches of the Legislature to receive
his first inaugural and with this general iutroduc
ton, pass to of that session that has had
much influence in unsettling the Wing party as
the has had in giving strength and stabli
ty to the Democrats.
Seeing that Free Suffrage would be triumphant,
and perpetuate the triumph of the Democratic par
ty, unless some stratagem worthy the best days of
Old Murat: Sir Sidney Smith were resorted to- at
some caucus cabal or midnight gathering of the
Raleigh Clique, it was decreed that Kenneth Ray
ner, the keenest tactican of them all, should upon
the earliest opportunity surprise Democracy revive
Whigdom, and carry outposts, strongholds and cta-
del by of those stratagetic coups for which the
Clique has obtained such Union wide notoriety.-
The principal of these stratagetc ticks, tricks or
Shots is that of " aiming nothing, and hitting the
marx - 1t the coup resorted to in the instance
under notice.
Full braced, with his credentials properly cert-
fed and sealed with the mystic arms of the cabal
vested with plenary powers of arti6ce and cunning
at discretion, the next day Mr.. Rayner arose. with
all the dignity of Lord 'Ponsonby. and (persifage
and badinage aside) with all that urbanity Of de-
meanor, which is really personal attribute of the
gentleman, Mr.. Rayner arose, and cast of
Broughams self-satisfed, easy glances around upon
the confused House of Commons
And no da1 +bo md
cept delegates from the Raleigh Clique, he astoun-
ded the House with his radical substitute for the
" Free Suffrage Bill"
1t was no other than to drop the idea improve
ment, and by the action of the Legislature call an
unrestricted. open many idea convention. If Wash
ington had stepped forth from the frame and can
vass behind the speakers chair and addressed the
House. it could scarcely have made more marked
and decided impression We we'll remember the
sudden silence and deep feeling of that moment. -
Members paused in their meditative strolls through
the lobbies, others stopped in the middle of tedious
sentences to their beloved constituents perfectly in
different old fogies dropped their newspapers, while
the speaker leant forward with more than para-
mentary interest and courtesy.
| MIR. Rayner, wrapt up in the wisdom of his own
conceit drew the comfortable mantle around him
and sat down.
Then and there, Messrs. Editors, was patched out
the egg incubated by the Raleigh Clique the night
previous. Then and there, Mr.. Rayner commenced
to roll ball which has become more than Sissy
phus plaything to the wings. To Mr. Rayner, then
is due all the honor of having given form and sub
stance to the open convention question; to him is
due all the praise and gratitude Western wings may
feel it in their hearts to bestow and to him is due
all the odium and execration eastern wings may
feel it their honest duty to heap upon his worthy
shoulders.
1t is not the first statement of this fact to say
that the most observant of the Democrats saw thro
the whole business. They saw that Mr.. Rayner was
not sincerely in favor of an open Convention thai
he was the last man in out of the Legislature tt
vote for or encourage open Convention. AnG
that open Convention, upon base basis, was
the ruling idea of ruling Wings; but that Mr. Ray
!, ner, as the representative of the great Central
Clique, was deadly hostile to Free Suffrage, and
lodged behind the Convention stratagem, so as t.
stave off and kill the more favorite and formidable
measure.
Mr.. Rayner twitted again and again upor
his candor in bringing forward the bill for an oper
Convention but he preserved logged and digni
fed silence upon all questions put to him by Demo
Gratis on the subject. He ncrer uoted for an oper
Convention for any Convention of the people
He could moi be brought to say he would vote fo
anything of the kind. But while the Democrat