Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-07-28

In order to counterfeit the effect of the speech
delivered at New. Boston by Gen. PIERCE in
December last, as reported in the Manchester and
Concord Democrats, the Washington Union has
published certificates to prove that no such sentl-
ments as those attributed to him were uttered on
the occasion. Two witnesses are brought forward
to testify in the case-a Mr.. B. +. AVER and
Mr.. j. M. CAMpBEEL-whose responsibility IS
certified to by Messrs. NoRRIs, HIBBARD and
PEAsLEE, members of Congress from New Hamp-
shire. The material parts Of Mr.. AYERS state
ment are contained in the following extracts from
his letter. Referring to the report Of Gen. PlERcEs
speech heretofore published. he says
s'Nothing could be more false and calumnious
than the account there given OF Gen. PIERcE's
remarks. | was present at the meeting, with sew
eral others from this city, and remember very DIS
tinctly the drift and substanceof isspeech. This
was the first popular meeting Of the last political
campaign, and what was held at the home OF John
Atwood, then the abolition candidate for governor.
Gen. Pierce's speech was ma My devoted TO JUS,
justification of the course pursued by himself and
the democratic party the year before,ln resembling
|
quence Of his opposition To the compromise meas
ures. In the course of his speech Gen. PIERCE
alluded to the fugitive slave law land made strong
argument in support ofsit. 1t is wholly untrue
that he pronounced it contrary to ''moral right, -
but, on the contrary, in reply to question proposed
by an abolitionist present, he said the present law
was the same, in principle and substance, as that
which had received the approval of WAsH1NnToN,
and many others Of the AVisest and purest among
the founders of the republic.
The speech was throughout thoroughly ma
tiona speech, and produced powerful effect. NO
full report of it was published, though brlet abb
stract Of it appeared shortly after in the Union
Democrat of this city. I -
remember seeing the reports copied by the
"Republic," when they first appeared, and con-
versng in regard to them with several persons
who heard Gen. PIERcE's speech. All agreed IN
pronouncing them gross perverslon and almost
entire fabrication from beginning to end. Both re-
ports were evidently written by the same lndivid-
ual, which accounts for their close similarity.
He then goes on to say that the two papers from
which the reports were copied arc violent abolition
journals, and gives extracts from them to show the
character of their opposition to Gen. PIERCE, be-
cause Of his ''subserviency, to the South and to
slavery"
Mr.. CAMpBELL's letter amounts to very little.
He simply says, 81 need not tell you that the &C
count is tissue of falsehoods from beginning to
end and encloses articles from the abolition press
"to show the estimation in which Gen. PIERCE is
held by that faction at home.'
Having published the two reports of General
P1BRcE's speech, we give the above extracts, that
our readers may have the different statements in ref
erence to the matter. The controversy is "all in
the family, and it is not for us to decide theques-
ton of veracity involved in it. The Manchester
and Concord Democrats alledge that Gen. PIERCE
said so and so; Mr.. AVER and Mr.. CAMPBELL,
also Democrats, deny that he said any such thing.
So the affair stands.
But it will be observed that Mr.. AVER makes a
general sweeping declaration and then undertakes
TO descend to particulars. The only specific de-
NAL that he makes, however, is, that Gen. PIERCE
did not declare the Fugitive Slave Law TO be
Contrary to moral right Why did he not deny
that Gen. PIERCE said he "loathed' the law, that
it was ''opposed to humanity" that che revolted
at the sight of human being in bondage" &c.
SCI. While he was specifying it would have
been well for him to go little further, and his
failure to do 80 is significant. The Republic makes
the following additional comments on Mr.. AYERS
evidence:
Mr.. Aver remembers to have seen the reports
cited by the Republic at the time OF their appear
ance. and they made such an impression on him
;tb Nyhn
in pronouncing them ''aln,oSt entire tabrlcatons"
Here we have the admission of the fact, that has
been denied in some quarters, that the reports as
published in the Republic did appear in the papers
from which we quoted them at tn" time alleged.
This is important Nor is it less important that
thouuh General Pierces friends saw these reports,
theu did not think ii prudent or erpedicn to make
ami public denial Of their correctness al the time.
Notwithstanding the great political excitement
that prevailed and the greaimportance Of correct
ing these alleged perrersions and tdbrtcdttoas at
the time and on the spot, several Of Gen. Plerces
friends were aware of the publications in question,
conversed about them, and lei them slide!
All of these New Hampshire gentlemen lay
great stress upon the fact that the two papers in
which the report of Gen. PIERcEs speech origin
ally appeared, are abolition journals How that
fact nvalidates their testimony, especially on the
most important points, we are ut loss to know.
They certainly would not undertake to iJure Gen.
PIERCE by representing him as agreeing with
them in some particulars and yet this is what they
are now said to have done.
There are other developments in connection with
this New Boston speech, which are interesting
On the 22nd of June, l647, the Legislature Of
New Hampshire passed resolutions, for which ev-
ery Democrat voted, pronouncing slavery ga moral,
social and political evil, and declaring in favor of
freesoil and the Wilmot provso. tturns out that
Messrs. AVER and CAMPBELL, or gentlemen ofthe
same Names voted for the resolutions, and Messrs.
NoRR1s and H1BBARD signed then-one as Presi-
dent of the Senate and the other asSpeaker of the
House. If then Southern people are not to believe
the report of speech because it was made by ABB
olitonists, it is not to be expected that they will
believe contradiction Of it made by Freesolers.
Mr.. AVER, in his letter, alludas to an abstract
of Gen. -P1ERcE's speech, which was published in
the Union Democrat, and which he admits to be
reliable. The Republic has hunted up that alb
stract. and it is found in no way inconsistent with
the previous reports. Gen. PIERon is represented
as telling his hearers that "slavery had been In
troduced into portion of the States in their colo
NAL condition, against the MORAL SENSE OF
THE WHOLE WORLD. It's immediate er-
trpation, was manifestly impracticable" =, From
which it is to be inferred, says the Richmond
Wing, that he would extirpate it forthwith If
acknowledgements against the moral sense of the