Daily American organ., 1856-09-04
Maryland WING contention.


State Convention which assembled yesterday in
Baltimore for the purpose of appointing dele
gates to the Wing National Convention.
Judge Weizel, of Washington county, was called
| to the chair.
While the committees were out the convention
was addressed in very eloquent manner by
Charles b. Calvert, Esq, of Prince George.
Mr.. Calvert said he had been appointed dele.
gate to this convention prior to ts former meeting
but unfortunately did not know the fact until after
| il had adjourned, or he would have been pleased
| to have been present. He was not then, however,
| so warmly enlisted in the cause as he was now
| A Democratic document had been sent to him
| from Washington, entitled "An appeal to the
! Union men of Maryland" which had aroused his
| old Whig spirit, and he had now enlisted heartily
| for the campaign. That document consisted of
| the letters of Senators Pratt and Pearce, and
| speech of James b. Clay. Gracious God that
son of Henry Clay should be found ready to come
to the defence of man who had uttered the basest
| calumnies against his fatheri
The letter OF Senator Pratt had not been treated
| kindly by the newspapers of Baltimore. They had
said that they were not surprised at the course of
Mr. Pratt, but expected better things of Mr. Pearce
Now, he thought that If either OF them was deser
! wing Of more execration than the other, it was
! Senator Pearce which he could prove by his own
| documents. Henry Clay, as the representative of
| the Wing party, brought forward the Missouri
| Compromise as permanent settlement OF the sla.
very agitation, and it voted for by the whole
| South, and the Senators of Maryland should have
| sustained it in good faith. Had that compromise
not have been touched by that very small giant,
Stephen A. Douglas, and his Democratic compeers,
! the Republican party ould not now have had an
existence; it would have been merely an abolition
remnant, with Martin Van Buren, as its candidate,
powerless for good or evil
There was point in Mr. Pearce's letter which
he considered far more Objectionable than Mr..
Pratt had said He dwells upon the probabilities
of success" and says in effect, " if Mr.. Buchan-
an is elected, he is a Buchanan man, and if Mr..
Fillmore is elected, he is Fillmore man." This,
he remarked, is not Wing doctrine. He who
would have "rather be right than be President"
never calculated the chances of success he and
the Wing party always followed the right, let it
lead them where it might
Mr.. Calvert then read extracts from Mr.. Pearce's
letter, in which he declared his belief that Mr.
Fillmore cannot be elected, and the regret he felt
at the necessity of supporting the nominee Of the
Democratic party, to which he had been so long
opposed, and enumerates the qualifications of Mr.
buchanan. Hewould ask him why he did not speak,
also, OF the pre-emnent qualifications of Mr.. Fill
more, and set them up together for the Judgment
and choice of his constituents, If any of the old
Wing leaven was retained in his composition. His
particle OF Wing feeling or sympathy could be
discovered in any portion of it.
Both OF our Senators voted for the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise, and they were the men who
helped to bring about the present excitement,
which their letters were calculated to lash into
still wilder fury The talk of danger to the Union,
on which they base their course, is all humbug
This Union cannot be dissolved let who may be
elected. The President has no power that would
enable him to provoke dissolution Of the Union.
He is mere dispenser of Office, distributor of
the loaves and fishes, mere cypher as has been
proven by the vetoes Of President Pierce being
pushed aside by a constitutional majority. They
also, by their letters, tho position of Whig
instructors while they are the parties who should
be instructed by their constituents. The Wings
of Maryland had already taught them that they
wanted none of their instruction, and would con-
vince them that they needed them not, in Noven,-
ber by the largest majority given in the State
p Why did not Messrs. Pratt and PeaIce come
out and denounce this hdeous American party
when it was organized9 They waited too long,
and whatever they may do suspicion of in
terested motives in the course they have pursued
will attach to them They found they had no
chance with that party for the Offices which they
want and which one of them has already lost
He next referred to the letter of James B. Clay,
whom he supposed was James Buchanan Clay
He at first feared that he would disclose something
that had not been given before to the world He
was fearful that in bis last days, Mr. Clay had
communicated something to the confidence of his
son, but when he read the letter it contained no
more than they all knew. Mr.. Clay had no secrets,
but his whole life and actions were open to the
world.
He then read from Colton's private correspond
ence of Mr.. Clay the letter from Mr.. Buchanan to
Mr. Letcher in relation to the "bargain and cor
ruption charge, and spoke of the at.empt of MIR.
R. rot to make Mr. Clay, but himself the Secretary
Of State.
He also read various extracts from the cores
pondence on the subject, and proceeded to show
by these letters that there was concert of action
among the Democrats to slander Mr.. CLAY, and
James Buchanan was the tool to carry out the OBJ
eot. He also read q letter from Mr. Webster to
Dir. Clay, in which that gentleman stated that Mr..
buchanan was treated too gently, that he had not
spoken out honestly. He did not come forward as
an upright man should do and say that Mr.. Clay
never was guilty Of such thing but said that Gen.
Jackson was mistaken. why did he go to Mr.
Clay and request secrecy of the matter from him
But Henry Clay never intended to die without
leaving the record of his innocence. After these
occurrences he could never forgive Mr.. Buchanan,
although the object of his persecution did !; and
when Me- Clay once told him in conversation that lie
should forget, he replied, Mr.. Clay you may but
! never shall.n
Mr. calvert also read letter from Mr.. Clay to
Daniel Ullmann, in which he said that no man
should be nominated to the Presidency who was
not in favor of all the Compromise measures, in
cuding the Fugitive Slave law. He showed that
Mr.. Clay then declared that General Cass was the
most reliable man Of the Democratic party, but
that Mr.. Buchanan was dishonest; and whatever
Henry Clay said he adopted
With regard to Mr.. Fillmore, he desired to say
few words IT was said il Fremont was elected the
Union would be dissolved, but that was all hum
bug. There was, however, danger to be apprc-
hended If Buchanan was elected, and there is al
ways danger in the success Of the Democratic
party. It was verified In this CITY whern thnu hnd