Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-12-12
THE CANVASS IN VIRGINIA..
To TIE E.Iiior. cCthc En9"t'r":
W~,.uSGIOS. Doc, 9th, lS

To h, EJior. ri The Emq"urr:
WA-mSGroS, Doc. 9th, 1854.
Gentlemen: congratulate you most heartily upon
the results OF the stanton Convention. No better
ticket could have been presented. Without diSlar-
nremcnt To tho other able and worthy candidates
whose nanncs were before the convention, l may be
permitted to say TIM. there wa n peculiar proprlety
in tue nomination OF Mr.. WI G. Independently Of
HE great services to the Dome Ratio purity, and his
high qualifications for the office Of Governor, his
nomination il Il pledge that Ks,ow-N othinSism, that
last and wors, hcresy Of FedGsulisIn, ID to meet 10
murcy from the Virginia Democracy u was well
said hy YOU nj the outset that "between hnow-No!il-
iuqi.m md the Democratic creed there is IN ~irrecOn-
cihnble an;aronisin." Light aud darkness are not
more ~opposot; for what is kno".NoihiuSism but the
substitute OF q III midnight caucus for the free open and
hearty action of the people! That oil the leading
statesmen Of tho Democratic party IN Virginia arc
opposed to Knew " othingism | do not doubt; but il
cnnnot be forgotten that Mr.. Wise was the fret TO
throw himself into tho breach and combat for the
constitution. Iii. celebrated letter is the nblest ar
gunicnt which has yet appeared upon th'a issnoo'
and will enlear him 10 tho friends of Constl-
lu,ional liberty throughout the land. | presume
Mr.. Wise will canvass the State thoroughly. Wo the
| uulucky knight who encounters this 'iearless tribune
| Of the proplc." Intolerance and sophIs;ry will fall
before his keen and %trcnclIant blade; 40 not envy
the Door devil who il 81. up rs his hriaGonis;.-
Whether his office be- 10 defend the obsolete doctrines
of Whiegury, az the yet more odious and repulsive
dogma OF the "isnoranus' party.
Sly ehiSf onjrSt, ho o 1rj to .u let y you po know ,"%.
,ha: AIr. Wise will be .leieatcdf Ny iro:a Is to 1900
votes. The "bras game" forms: one Of the Chief in.
stru,nents Of this party, but in ;,bis case they are TN.
d~oubtcdly confident OF SUGGEST Their hopes arc i'll
undoubtedly confident of success. Their hopes arc
in part founded upon the fullaci1us idrn that the same
opposition which was made ~ Mr.. Wlsc's nomination
in the Democratic party, VIM SHOW itsell at the cleo
49,, l,.,., l.. ,G,, ,.l fluNplrl,,t.S. .ptnly ~ %
You and ] know the Virginia democracy we'll enough
to appreciate how absurd is this hope. Tho spirit oi
harmony visible nj the cluse "i HE convention, and
tho manly ,.ndc in which the presses and speakers,
friendly to the other candidates, nave announced their
adhesion to the ticket, prove plainly, TO my mind.
that tho republican party will ONCE more meet their
foes with a compac, and u%nbroktn phnianx.
Another element OF this Know Nothing confidence,
is based OIL the ~fvllJwiu. calculations They say that
the Wing party in Nlrginja il: disbandcd, and will
make no nomination. They CAIN t" have forty
thousand i'll their orsani@ntiorJ and that OF these,
uue-iourtl, are Democrats. Ftss the Nominee of the
order they expect I" sHt the whole Wing vote OF
the Safe in opposition tnAlr. Wise aud the Demo.
Gratis who arr linked with the organization. The ac-
curacy Of this estimate is BASED, You will perceive,
upon the surrender or iner:lng at the Wing party OF
Virginia into the Know.Noth!nG columns. Ii is
thought that they ac hopeless I'll si:ccHs> under thcir
for.nrr anncr-di>piriicd by i:uacr"uS defeats, and
ready Tor any thing.
Tue morale of un army 70 re,rca; is never very
DibE, ana the virtue OF Inc " hlsk, under present cir.
cuinstnnces, will not, l imagine, prove very s;ern.-
They ue II party which have nsver he.itated at 4
corrup, coalition, il they thought they could thereby
compass at once the overthrow of the Democracy,
and the possession OF tho spoils from which they had
been long ustraciscd. Aftc. piGting now with Anti.
Masonry, now with Anti Rcnti.m, and now with
Abo,itionism, they will fall into tho embrace OF
acknowledgment with nn alacri,y rendered easy by
long habits of compliance.
There is, l think, bu, little doubt that the great body
of the Virginia Wings will support the Know othing
nominee, even though he may chance to be Il rene.
sade Democrat. There sill! lie here and there honor.
able e1ccptions-mcn, who are not such party bigots
that they are willing TO affiliate with nbolitionists,
strike down the first principles of the Constitution
and follow the dic.a,ion Of > Jacobin caucus; but You
must nuke up your minds to see the Wing flock, thick
~ huddled together, make iur what they deem the
breRk in the Democratic feGcc.
As for that portion OF the calculation which us.
sumes that ten thousand Democrats will vote the
kuow-Sothins ticket, | cauIlot G.elieve it. l am uu.