Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-01-11
The Richmond American and the Rich
mOnd Wing.

a meeting of the 'scombined councils of the
American party in the city OF Richmond,
Virginia, was held On ths Is. Of January, at
which several resolutions were adopted, and
amongst them the following to wit;
" Resolved, As the opinion of this council, that
the agitation of slavery should cease. The rights
of the South are plain and paipable, wen defined
and understood, aud we believe they should not
longer be treated as open questions We will
maintain our guaranteed constitutional rights, and
our right of property in slaves. We believe the
continuous agitation OF this subject is made by sell
fish politicians for personal and party promotion,
and is hurtul to the South the institution of slave
ry and the permanency of the Union; and therefore
we are opposed to the introduction into the Ma
tional American platform of this, or any other
agtatng question, calculated TO distract the har-
mony of our party, or endanger the success of our
principles"
The Richmond Wing denounced the SAC
ton of the combined councils pronounced it
Misrepresentation of the views and wishes,
of nineteen-t wentieths of the American voters
of Richmond, and a palpable misrepresenta-
| ton of the voice of the American party in the
State. The American" thereupon propounds
the following pertinent inquiries to the Wing,
to wit
care you aware that the first of these resolu-
tons s copied 0erbatin et hteratim from the reso-
| lutions adopted unanimously by the American Cona
vention of the State of Georgian Are you pre-
pared to charge it a clear unequivocal, and
shameful misrepresentation of the views and wishes
| of nineteen-twenteths of the American voters of
this city, to say, that in the opinion of this Coun-
Gil the agitation of slavery should cease p Is it
paLpabte misrepresentation to say that the rights
| of the South are plain and palpable, well defined
| and understood, and that they should no longer
be treated as open questions by the SOUTH Where
| is the harm in saying that we will maintain our
guaranteed constitutional rights and our right of
| property in slaves? Do you not believe that the
continuous agitation of this subject is made by sci.
fish politicians for personal and party promotion,
and is hurtful to the South the institution of sla-
| very, and the permanency Of the Union? Are you
in favor of the introduction of this or any other
question into the American platform, for the patr-
pose Of distracting our party and endangeriag the
success Of oar principlesS There is the whole
resolution, from whereas to amen and If 1t can be
shown that any part of it is liable to sound OBJ
lection by any Southern man, we are prepared to-
abandon it, and leave our Georgia friends to bear
the entire responsibility Of this shameful msrep
resentation.'"
These were questions, which the Wing could
not answer satisfactorily to itself, nor can
any press in the South maintain for moment
a position Of antagonism to the views thus
presented by the American party of Georgia
originally, and adopted by the combined
councils of Richmond. And how docs the
Wing attempt to evade the force of the inter-
rogatories propounded by the American Hear
the Wing:
ave say, when the American puts such ques-
tons as these, Ii certainly expects no reply and
we shall certainly not condescend to make any
We know not, neither do we care, whether the
hrst resolution quoted by us on Saturday
adopted by toe American Convention of Georgia.
or not. That has nothing to do with the question
The question is, what are the views and sentiments
of the American party of Virginia? To a portion
of that resolution, however we, nor no other
Southern man, have any objections to urge But
the latter part which deprecates the introduction
into the national platform of any allusion to the
subject of slavery and Southern rights, we do OPP
pose, and shall oppose to the bitter end.'n
So, then, the Wing is obliged to admit, after
denouncing the action" of the Americans of
Richmond, without qualification or exception,
that it is only opposed to SO much of the first
resolution above copied, as reads thus
And, therefore, we are opposed to the intro
duction into the National American Platform of
this the slavery, or any other agitating question:
calculated to distract the harmony of our party, or
endanger the success Of our principles"
To this portion of the first resolution only,
and to that resolution which complimented the
Hon. John M. Bolts, the Wing then realJu
takes exception, though it denounced the whole
faction" Of the meeting
The Wing then proceeds to argue that the
object Of the last clause of the Georgia resolu-
ton, thus adopted by the combined councils
of Richmond, us simply to carry the Presden-
tial election"-"to get the spoils, without re-
ference to anything but the spoils' (" in short,
to carry that election in defiance and contempt
of principle, and without the slightest regard
to the honor and vital interests of the South
We have now found point or two worthy of
full discussion. First the Wing implicitly
admits that the Presidential election could be
carried, if this Georgia resolution above copied,
were adopted by the American party Second,
the Wing asserts that the election if thus car
ried would be "in defiance and contempt of
principle, and without the slightest regard to
the honor and vital interests of the South"
As to the first point, it is unquestionably
true, as the Wing thus admits, that the Presi-
Dental election Of 1866 can be carried upon
the basis Of the Georgia resolution, to-wit: by
emitting to incorporate into the platform of
the American party, the question of slavery,
and all other matters calculated to destroy the
harmony of the party. Now put pin there,
whilst we take up the second proposition of
the Wing, to-wit: that to carry the election
of President by excluding slavery from the
American platform, would be ain defiance and