Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-09-22
Mr. Wise's Speech.

The Hon. HENRY A. WISE, Democratic Flee
tor for the 7th District, addressed respectable
number of the citizens of this County at the Court
house, on Saturday last. His coming had been
heralded for week or ten days, and his fame as
an orator excited lively interest and high eXpec-
tations. The Wings anticipated his arrival with
mingled feelings of curiosity and apprehension, and
when he came and spoke both feelings naturally
led to the enquiry, Is that all
Mr.. WISE is personally entitled to great respect,
and we shall not follow the bad example of our op
ponents, in their treatment of Mr.. Boris, by APP
plying to him opprobrous epithets or offering him
any discourtesy. But ofhis public address we feel
at liberty to speak freely. Welstened attentively
to the greater part of the speech, and candor re-
qures us to say that we were utterly disappointed
We expected something statesman-like, something
great but the effort did not rise above the level of
an ingenious pett6gger and was entirely unwor-
thy of the speakers high reputation. The con-
trast exhibited between this speech and the one
delivered by Mr.. Boris few weeks ago in the
same place, was marked and striking. Mr.. Boris
was lucid in his arguments, and manly and candid
in his bearing and after listening to him every one
could give clear s connected outline ofhis remarks
Mr.. WISE was directly the reverse, and we, at
least, retain only confused recollection of his dis
course. A leading Democrat, who is a personal
friend of ours, remarked to us in the evening after
the speech, that Mr.. WISE event so deep into
matters that we plain folks could not understand
him." This may be so-we heard of another plain
man making the same complaint, Of not being able
to understand it is that we can recall at
this time very little that was said The obscurty,
however, could not have arisen from the abstruse-
ness Of the subjects discussed for no single princi
pie was more than alluded to throughout the whole
four hours harangue. The platforms of the two
parties, containing the declarations Of their princi-
pies respectively, were passed by as unworthy Of
notice.
Mr. WISE commenced his address with high
flown and rather inappropriate exordum, during
which he spoke of the Democracy as the Ghost OF
God" He then burst upon the audience with the
announcement that he brought ''glad tdings'' to
the Wings. All ears were erect to hear, and the
tidings turned out to be Mr. WIsE's declaration
that the Wings were absolved from their party al
legance! In what sense this can be ''glad IT,
dings" we are at loss to know, as it is to be pre-
sumed that neither Wings nor Democrats consider
their party allegiance a grievous yoke which they
are anxious to get rid Of But Mr.. WISE no doubt
judged from his own feelings when he concluded
that any excuse TO change sides would be hailed
by others as good news.
The reason why the Wings were absolved from
their allegiance, according to Mr.. WISE, if we
correctly understood him, was that the National
Wing Convention had failed to nominate Mr..
FILLMORE. Here he launched forth upon a eulo-
gy of that distinguished gentleman. every word q
which was heartily responded by the Wings
present, and then dashed off to denounce the lay
LoR administration account Of the action OF Gen
RILEY in California, although he was sent out and
instructed by President Polk.
Somewhere along here, Mr. WISE alluded to
Mr.. JAMES LYONS, and said that Mr.. l.. was the
author of the Virginia Wing Address of 1910,
,rhch ,cas i,dentical,cith the Democratic platform,
of 1920 In the same connection he informed
the audience that he wrote the National Wing
Address of lS40-yes, said he, extending his arm,
s'this thumb and these two fingers did it." His
posture at this iuncturc much resembled the pic
lures of certain Hindoo devotees, whose arms held
aloft in penance had become stiff and useless in
that position Mr.. WISE has gone through this
performance in all his recent speeches, and while
his evident STANDARDIZATION forbids the idea of the
act being intended penance, the frequent repeti'
ton of it may produce the same result.
But to return to the speech-After dispatching
all matters relating to the canrass of 1910, Mr..
WISE introduced what he called Nh. FILMoRE' s
''evidence" touching the present canvass. He
read copious extracts from Mr.. FILmoRs's letter
to BABcocK and labored for about an hour to show
how badly Mr.. FILLMORE had been treated BY the
National Conventioa. and that consequently the
Wigs should not support Gen. ScorT. This part
of the speech was interlarded with further lauda-
ton Of Mr.. FILLMORE, and also OF Mr. CLAY, the
latter of whom he spoke of most absurdly as hav-
ing been "houaded down" by his own party
He alluded mysterioasly to Mr.. CLAWS having
struck somebody in 1914, which he would have
proved by MI. BORIS had he been here at the time
the latter spoke; and in this connexion we may as
well mention what he stated in another part Of his
speech, that he knew more about Mr.. CLAr's o.
piaioDs than his own son did G)
Mf. FMI.MoRE's evidence" as elaborated By
Mr.. WISE, is very much weakened by some later
.evidence" which Mr. w. omitted to notice On
the 18th of July Mr.. FILLMORE wrote a letter to
friend in Philadelp hia, in which he says Gen.
SCOTT SIS justly entitled TO the support Of ere'y
true Whig" More recently he has appointed a
Scorr delegate to the National Wing Convention,
Postmaster General and the special organ of his
administration has announced that no man in the
country is more DESTROYS Of the election of General
Scorr than Mr.. FILLMORE.
NIr: WISE did not deny that Gen. ocorr was
an original and warm friend of the Compromise,
but based his objection to him in reference to sla-