Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1855-05-01
From tho Winchester Virsinian.l

Tim hsranyuc which, true to his appointment made
threo months before, the distinguished r M St,tc
tho Democracy for the chief maSstr"cy III rI nr
pronounced in Winchester ON Moliuay, ~ clnuucucc
will Inn. he referred To rs their standard oi Gu
nv many who were fortunate enough I'd iiea' ~,
We cannot he expected to give-what our si;ncd
r;es Of the other points where he sp1ke Of ihe
attempting-nnythng like an outline of' and nrn
nn.rf,ilT conceived firmly constructed, nlIu ""
so,, illustrated argument he addressed 10 NUS
s ;n The hest we could do in The o' u uc
,oiioJ description would be less expressive u luz
reality than the simple statement unit u'', ', u" w.
snench of four hours every spot about inc
-, Liucr room of the court house where al hulVl'
" I cnId uossbly sit, stand or hang, continued Ia
n nncum;ed Groups were collected OH every posi-
ton outside where word could be caught, anu Inc
vacant places of the few who were Tor one cause OF
other compelled to retire were instantly sought by
tLronp of contestants. Fewer than We had feared
would be the case failed in securing part at least oi
the coveted entertainment Scarce one among nose
who most strongly dsscned from the speakers views
expressed the slightest disappointment or denied the
coilsulnmac skill with which he appealed to the feel
ugs und the imagnation the broad grasp he took
of Ills subject and the varying und vivid light
which played over it III his hands
Mr.. W. was ut one o'clock, introduced i'll an apt
word or two by Senator Mnsun Before this tornali-
~, however. he hud been brought to the knowledge
OF the audience in more striking way. a time.
honored democrat, soldier of 1872 who had secured
u par. directly in front Of the stand, singled out Mr..
Wise and asked him if he was that gentleman. oh
receiving reply in the affirmative, he requested "
shake of the hand. Grasping that of Mr.. W.. he eN
claimed audibly to all: "lIcre is my hand, and You
have nv heart too" 4 laundering cheer showed
how this simple incident "ook," and what maya
zine OF enthusiasm there, awaiting the m'G'c
hand which was to explore and aeve"ptt' lnna tihe
great Democratic heart is repee with life AMI hrob
bling with the impulses of old, no one who witnessed
the scenes OF Monday can for an instant doubt.
The orator, in opening bestowed brief and con.
temptuous notice on the charge of Inconsistency
brourht against him by an opposition party which
being but year DID, is necessarily composed wholly
of rcnesades. lie traced the origin Of the Secret Or.
der from the two grand abolition centres Exeter Hall
in London and Williams Hall in Boston, where liz
moving spirit was strongest. Its guidance III the
hands of the corrupt politicians of New York whose
aim il consolidation by abotonizing the Southern
States, was exposed. Mr.. Flournuv's letter. the only
form in which that discreet gentleman has placed
himself in the way Of danger IN the chmpaGh' was
not overlooked. The Winchester Convention waS do
.cribed as a bogus Convention; it having boon sub.
stituted for more regular one, which was Intcldcd
bu, failed to assemble. Tho publishing triumvlrntr
Kennedy Dabbs Il Co, were spitcd in amusing;
and twred round before the convu>ed audience
A comparison was instituted between the opposite
courses Of the different nominees "n the knnw-No-
thing ticket Mr.. Flounuy was the only one who
belonged ~ the order the Others not having been no
minated in due accordance with Know Nothing rules.
Mr. Patton, for instance who was the OF Il Sco!s-
der and disnvowed all sympathy with its proscriptive
textures. Mr.. Flournoy waswling to accept the Odum
without the office; while Mr.. Patton wanted the office
without the odium Should the former be elected,
the onth he would have To take maintain the laws
that establishing religious freedom inclusive, would
be in direct conflict with his Know Nothing oath To
excudge Catholics from Office
The absurdity of drnouncing Catholics ms foes tn
liberty was cxelnplifcd byreterence to Magma ChartH
and trial by jury which grew up under their auspices
six or eight centuries ago. Papal encroachmcnta he
considered out of the question in an age when the
Pope was upheld in his little territory, hardly larger
thnn Frederick county, only by French baynnes.-
The early rctormcrs had been in orders in the Cato
lie Church, and it BY reason only that they, or
any one else, had ever succeeded in checking it,
power Whatever there was to tenr from il, however,
Virginia. with but 1000 Catholics safe. The
worst features of its policy had been borrowed by
the Know Nothings themselves; who were out-Jesu
ting the JesutS.
The little blue book played its part well. He read
from it, and went through the grip and signs revised
and corrected up to the latest dates. He deied any
Know othng present to contradict the truth Of his
exposure. The only answer was tear-we trust of
contrition-which is said to have sparkled in the
eve of a prominent member OF tho cabal. lie con-
trasted Arnold with Lafayette, md Gates with DE
KaIb and told how gratefully Virginia had honored
tho memory of Mercer the Scotchman, the grand.
father OF John NJ. Patton, Pulaski the Pole, Neil
Montgomery the Irishman, and Carroll the Catholic.
by giving their names to counties. The war'cry oil
1872 had arisen from the claim OF the naturaiiheu
citizen TO the protection OF our government
amonr tho audience were several of clergy
men, who heard nothing Ia shock them, and some
thing we guess, strengthen their ideas OF the I'm
porlance oi preserving the dignity OF their calling
from the soil OF politics. The speaker quoted much
from Scripture a. well rs rom Tue PIe,s ni"l "p.' ~
nil cases. The disabilities Of the audience were he
aupntlv called out rich point being made IN the
description Of the manaclcd Know Nothing gong up
10 the polls.
Mr.. Wise looks feeble; having, rs ne saId' spoken
one hundred aud eighty hours III the canvass b"t
he manita.tcd wonderful endurance and he shows no.
thin, like despondrmcy He is confident OF MAORI
~ not i,S than l2,u00 We hear oi fine effects from
hs speech, in the shape nj Know Nothing CONVEX.
sions Ii eoquenco AMI strong OF any avail
agninat tIoughtless bigory, do hot how n
Know Nothing could have been found among the
crowd who emerged from the Court House.