Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-02-11
ALEXANDRIA CORRESPONDENCE
ALEXANDRIA, Feb IL, 1856

ALEXANDRIA CORRESPONDENCE
ALEXANDRIA, Feb IL, 1856
Yesterday Rev. Francis X Boyle, of W ash.
ington, preached at st. Mary's church, in aid
of the charity fund of the Young Catholic:
Friend Society. The discourse, in oil respects
an admirable one. was succeeded by large
collection. ~,
An Irishman named Hanrata. was on Fri.
day committed to Jail charged, on the finding
OF Coroner's inquest, with causing the death
Of his wife.
The Democracy assembled in general meet
ing at the Lyceum Hall on the evening Of
Thursday, B. II. Berry presided, assisted by
Levi Hurdle and G. d. Smoot as vice presi
dents, and }. Louis Kinzer acted as secretary.
Resolutions endorsing the course of the Ma
tional Administration, expressing confidence
in the State Executive, appointing thirty one
delegates to the Richmond convention, and
disapproving representation of counties by
other than residents, were passed, and the
meeting was on the eve of adjournment, when,
Hon. VIM Smith appeared at the door; upon
his entrance several voices cried, "Smith
Smith" and, thereupop, he rose to respond
and was invited to the tribune.
He was just from Washington, he said, and
came to the meeting in search of some friends !;
however, he was happy to interchange cour
tesies with his fellow citizens, and thanked
them kindly for their call upon him. Con-
gress had adjourned until Monday, and he
could but say to the meeting that the times
were full of peril, demanding the closest union
Of all friends of the constitution and the con-
federacy. The gentleman chosen Speaker,
though he had gone the circuit of parties in
eighteen months, and even now doubted by
his own friends, enc Of whom said that he
would belong to the Administration in less
than three weeks-wouId give every advan-
tage possible to the anti-slavery party. That
that election might have been prevented,
every one familiar with federal legislation
we'll knew; his MIR. s.. course, he would be
happy, at the proper time, to vindicate he
would then unveil the machinery at work,
and was certain he could lay his hand upon
his heart and say he had been faithful to his
trust. The relations with Great Britain mer-
tied particular attention. 1t is surprising
with what unanimity all parties, North and
South, united in support of the position of the
Administration. Yet the North hoped by war
to get contiguous Northern territory, and thus
offset Southern extension. For himself, he
had straight course marked out He would
give Mr. Banks fair chance nothing ex-
tenuate, or set set down aught in malice"
and II disunion came, he could say with Mac
beth, he believed it was, "Shake not thy
CORY locks at me; thou canst not say did
1t. At the conclusion Of his speech the meet
ing adjourned. AMI.
NorE.-We do not feel at liberty to permit
our correspondents account of the spee,h de-
livered by the Hon. Mr.. Smith, of Va, at
the Alexandria Democratic meeting to pass
without repeating to our many subscribers
in that Congressional district, our belief that
most Of the Democratic party in the House,
knowing we'll that the Democrats Of the dis
trict who deserted their colors in the State
election last summer, were ardent and active
friends of Mr.. Smith in the Know Nothing
lodges, and that the course of no man In the
State did more than that of Mr.. S. to bring
defeat on tho Democratic State ticket i'm that
most important crisis for the party occurring
since General Jackson's second election, did
not conceive that it would be better to elect
him to the Speakership by Democratic votes,
than that an out-and-out opponent of their
principles should be elected, wholly by the
opposition. 1t seemed to US that they very evil
IDENTIFY regarded the remedy as being worse
than the disease.
Most of those who heard the Honorable Mr..
Smiths speec h on Thursday night last, doubt
less had forcibly brought to their minds a rec
objection of the circumstances attending the
Democratic meeting in their town on the night
before their last election, on the result OF
which their triumph at the approaching Pres
idential election hung suspended by hair,
as it were, which meeting Mr.. Smith did not
attend; and those (circumstanees) attending
the meetings of the Know Nothings of Alex
andria, transpiring at the same time, after it
had been adjourned from their hall to the
street.
They must have felt the force of the decla-
ration of the gentleman who pleaded the cause
of the Hon. Mr.. Smith, in the Know Nothing
District Congressional Convention that he
had one foot in the Order" We have no
doubt, also, that our Know Nothing fellow.
citizens Of Alexandria, while watching the
late voting for Speaker, felt almost as forci-
bly, the wisdom of the reply made to that re.
mark by Fairfax delegate-that it was due
to their cause that he should be compelled by
their action On that occasion "either to with.
draw the one foot, or to bring the other in
also.".