The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-03-01
STATE DEMOCRATIC CONTENTION.


SECOND DAr--FRrDAY, FEB. 18th.
.., Lhe Convention me. at the African Church YES
y aay n,srmng at ii O'clock President LEAKE re-
"a =. 'ue enaar The church was depseiy crowd
of ~ho,e eAlly nour with delegates, large number
stats the arar, rom various sections of the
parties. ana SPECTATORS OF ~
aon, ca,nng the Convention to order the presi.
aucs NOSE persons present not n attend.
left wings of the church or Il ~ = sne ugnt ana
sitting with the delegates II WAS imness;sy, - oy
TO decide the votes on the ysrious nnsss ILL., .la
wouio eone up. Inc request was promptly eor,.
The report of the COMMITTEES ON p.,.r o..
zaton WIS then called for Otssni-
Mr. c. White, Of Hanover, the chairman ,.n.-.-
Cd series Of resolutions which, altar some discus.
The first resolution provides for the sppo;rtrna.
of an Eleetor and one more Assistant Elscsn-s
for each Electoral District, and for county EIsc.
tors.
The second, provides for the appointment. bv N.
President of a Central COMMITTEES of Vigilance and
Correspondence, to consist of tpenfy.fr any IRE
of whom will constitute quorum for the transac.
tion of business 77 =
The third, requests the delegates from the vari.
GUS counties to furnish the Secretaries with lists of
persons from whom County Committeeman Viei.
lance may be selected
The fourth, recommends each Electoral District
to appoint two delegates and two alernates to the
The fifth, asks contribution of 81 from each
member OF the Convention to be paid to Mr. VIM
r. Ritchie, to pay for printing the proceedings of
the Convention, and other necessary expenses
The sixth, appoints VIM. F. Richie and Robert
w. Hughes committee to superintend the print.
ing OF the proceedings, with power to make such
verbal corrections as they may find necessary
Mr.. j. M. johnson, of Alexandria rose to enauire
whether Hon William smith, Of Fauquier. was
entitled to a seat in the Convention During the
last gubernatorial election Mr.. Smith was the can
didate of the Know Nothing party in his district
for Congress; and but q short time since was nom.
mated and supported by the Know Nothings in
Congress for Speaker. 'If" said the speaker "he
is Democrat, am not" He concluded by of.
feripg the following resolution:
Resolved, That VIM. Smith is not entitled to
seat III this Convention
The resolution was followed by great confusion
right--he is no Democrat; while others were
equally vociferouS in exclaiming that ''Smth is a
Democrat, good and true. Hear him, hear hum
let him speak for himself"
The President, after frequent calls to order
finally restored quiet.
MIR. Smith then took the stand and addressed
the Convention. He stated that he felt ernbar.
raised in his strange position He had been De.
mocrat for thirty'six years-was the oldest Demo.
crat in the State who had held q high position In
the party-had been true and unfinching in its
darkest hours, and expected to die Democrat
He was now warred upon by his personal enemies,
by those who had choosed to question his Democ.
racy; by those who had voted for gentleman
during the last Congressional election who had de-
cared beforehand that he would support the Win.
chester nominations. with one exception Mr. 8.
stated that he had been q close reader of Demo
cratic doctrines all his life and that he was in IA
vor of strict construction of the Constitution
for upon that alone were the hopes of the South
founded. Even at this time book is being circ1-
lated in Washington and elsewhere designed to
prove the unconsttutionality of slavery. Let this
doctrine be given in to, and the fanatics Of the
North will at once be furnished with the power of
overthrowing our institutions He then referred to
the Gubernatorial nominations up to which time
his Democracy had never been doubted and sta
ted that he was not pleased with them, because he
thought great party owed something to those
who had brought it into greatness. But even
then he was disposed to be silent for the cause,
and suffer for righteousness sake. At speech
made by him in Rappahannock, two months be-
fore the Know Nothings broke in upon the old
party lines. he had taken the ground that there
could be but one great party in the Sopth-the
strict constructionist-and urged the Wings to
support the Democrats on that ground. When
the Know Nothings came out with their platform,
declaring the same doctrine had before advanced
to the Wings, could not denounce them, but on
the contrary was willing to take that portion Of
their principles which l considered good. In my
speeches declared myself Democrat, and stated
that was not Know Nothing, and had never
sought admission into their order and while ap-
proved of some of their principles, opposed 9TH
did not like their secrecy, nor the proscrip-
tive feature l had seen the dangers threatening
the country, and feeling that the salvation of the
South could only be preserved by strict construc-
ton of the Constitution repeated my convictions
when went to Congress- l saw there that the
Democrats were powerless without aid, and knew
that the only aid to be obtained was from the Know
Nothngs This was not to be obtained by denuncia.
tion and abuse, and would not engage in such q
course.
I supported Richardson, Orr and Aiken through
out, for Speaker, and proclaimed against the plu-
rality VOTE believing it would give the Black Re-
publican advantage over US. He then alluded to
the overwhelming majority he received in his dis
trict for Congress- and repeated that the time was
coming when there would be but one party in the
South-not a sectional party, but q great national
party which will present an undivided front to the
Black Republicans of the North in sustaining the
constitution rs 1t is, and in maintaining its strict
construction. Isay am q Democr at -
Mr. CLUTTER-Are you Democrat in contra
distinction to the KnowN Nothing party, and In op-
position to the Philadelphia nominees. j.
Mr.. SMITH, could not go for the Philadelphia
nominees
Mr.. NAT. TYLER, Of Warenton-H Henry A.
Wise receives the nomination of the Cincinnati
Convention, will you buckle on your armor and
support the nomination!
Mr. SMITH, have already said, there are to be
but two great parties, the Black Republican and
the Democratic. This brings me to the Conyen-
ton, and here say, will support the nominees
tGreat applause.
The discussion was continued at length, and ex.
plantations made by Messrs. Douglass, Tyler, Fun.
sten Barbour, Wallack and others; but We have
not room to notice it farther.
The question was then on Mr.. Johnsons resolu.
ton and 1t was lost by q large majority.
The President called on the Committee on Elec-
toral Districts for reports, when the following
names were presented:
FIRST rDIsTRIcT-Eleaor-C. w. Massenbug,
of Portsmouth. Assistant Eitctoy--J +. Croker.
County Electors-Princess Anne, H. Woodhouse;
Norfolk City, Thos T. Cropper; Norfolk County.
John w. Young; Nansemond, VIM. b. Wood; Isle
of Wight, James L. Wilson; Surry, NJ Q. Holt;
Southampton, VIM. B. Shands; Sussex. Littleberry
w. Mason.
SECOND Extraordinarily Rives.
Assistant Elector-Wm. 5. @. Gregory. County
Electors-Prince George, Thomas II. DanieE Anne
na Thos A. Crenshaw Petersburg ID Banks;
Greensville w T Leidy; Nottoway, NJ Rowieit;
Dinwiddie, James Boissean; Mecklenburg, Thos
f Goode Brunswick Edw'd Drumgoole.
THIRD DIsTRICT.-Eiecfor-A Hughes Dillarr,
of Henry Assistant Elecor-Wm Howertop, o.
Halifax County Eiectors-Halifax, Geo II West;
Pittsylvania, Sterling II Lester; franklin, Fien,.
ing Saunders; Henry, Geo w Booker; Patrick,
w Penn.
FOURTH DIsTRIcT-Elector-Ch Charles Irving. oi
Campbell assistant Eiector-T Tredway, Of
Prince Edward County Observation-Disclosures