Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-10-27
Letter from Senator Hunter.
LoYD's Essex COUNTY, VA,
C)rtnher IN 1857 {

with the questions upon which the enquirer
for some time past, has been demanding my an
swcrs But tn these last have not replied, be-
cause they were eithcraccompaniedw with threats
OF what we're considered, which made an an
swcr on my part, inconsistent with scli-resnect
, or else they were f1nndel upon my presumed re,
; sponsibtv for the editorials Of certain lewspa'
r pers within and without the State OF virginia,
which were not only not authorized to speak
for me, but which claimed no such authority
I was to bc held responsible for the course the
newspapers, unless came before the public
with a criticism of their course and disclaimer
of all sympathy with them; n responsibility
which shall never acknowledge expressly or
implicitly, by an act of mine. 10 admit such a
responsibility, would place it in the power OF
any third person who chose to inpute to me a
isympathy with the course of anv newspaper
within or without the State, to call me outin a
public criticism of its course upon any question
OF morals or politics which might ne in discus
sion, or else fix upon the charge Of concur
ring in the views oE that paper. No power
conld force upon me the Office of censor of the
public press. certainly shall not assume it
voluntarily. When any paper claims authority
to speak for me, then it may be the time TO ques'
ton me in regard to it, but not before.
But to proceed with the answer to your inter-
rogatories have to say, first, that the i;nPu-
tation of hostility, on my part, towards the Ad-
ministration ofAIr. Buchanan, IS founded upon
nothing that hive ever said or done. voted
q for him ms President and not only entertain no
feeling of hostility toward him, but | wish him
success. He has only to carry out the princi-
pies of the Democratic party, we understand
them in Virginia, to command my cordial sup
iport These so far rs applicable, will Afford
the test by which shall Judge his Administra-
ton, and support oppose its acts, as they
conform to, or depart from these principles
Nor shall | be disposed to apply thattest IN any
lcaptous, or unkind spirit but as justly and as
fairly US | can. More I could not say for any
Administration or man. never would commit
myself to support Internationally, the future
acts Of any man, but l will Judge them aS they
arise, to sustain them when | believe they are
right, and to oppose them when think they are
wrong Ny opinions upon all the great Poiit-
cal issues may be known through my votes ard
speeches, to those who feel enough OF interest in
them, TO look into my past course; anu these
will afford the best evidence Of the tests which
I shall be likely to apply, in Judging of the con-
duct ofnubic affairs. Whilst | remain III the
Senate of the United States, | shall stand there
as the representative of the principles and inter
ests of nv State so far as can understand tlIeu
and in the pursuit of these Objects should not
scruplc to differ, if necessary, with any admin
istration. In saying this, it may be perhaps
fair to add, that hope and expect to be able to
support Mr.. Buchanan's administration in the
main. Entire concurrence in the views OF any
man, ii would be too much to hope or expect
In answer TO the other interrogatory winch
you propose as to the conduct of Governor Wal
ker in Kansas have little hesitation in saying,
that Gisapprovc it. The Kansas Nebraska act
was passed under the hope that this, the last of
the territorial questions, involving the subject
Of slavery, might be settled upon some common
ground where party could be rallied from the
North and the South, the East and the West |
strong enOugllto defend the Constitution against
the assaults of its enemies and to administer the !
Al Ii. Al.
tional ideas. To rally party which might be
able to maintain the Union upon constitutional 1
principles, was an object OF high political i'm
nortance and justified some sacrifice of feeling, 4
and even of interest Accordingly, the bill was
not such as would have been framed by the del
cgates of either section, if it had been submit
ted to them alone Many, perhaps most of the II
Southern men, (of whom was one,) believed
that property in slaves was as much entitled to 4
the protection of law in the Territories of the
United States, as property in anything else; but
whilst the Northern friends Of the Kansas act
would not concede this, they agreed to unite in
reDcalin, the Missouri restriction so rs to remove
the ban under which the domestic institutions /
of the South had been placed by Federal rela-
ton Accordingly, a bill was passed upon the |
nrinciple of nOn.intervcntinn, in regard tn SlH- |
very. so far as the General Government was con- |
cerned and which left that whole subject with. |
in the control of the people OF these terrific !
rieS, when they SnOulu apply IoT uuihtSslOh as \
States. This, although not all that we thought
The South entitled TO, was great advance
upon the old order of things, so far as she
was concerned, because it removed nm I'M
lust and odious discrimination against her do
nestle institutions, from the statute book
moral triumph which was OF vast i'm.
portance to the South and to the institution OF
slavery itself Nor could the North object to
bill which merely carried out principle by
which it had recently gained so largely IN the
series of acts, denOininated as the Compromise
| Measure To all it ought to have been subject
! nr CONCENTRATION that "n'nInnn ground had
been found where = party might be rallied from
all sections of the country to administer the gov
| eminent Justly, and without sacrificing the con-
stitutional rights of any portion of the Union
Tile sole hope of accomplishing 50 happy re-
| suit depended upon submitting this question OF
slavery to the people of these territories, when
they came to form their constitutions as States,
without interference of any sort on the part OF
| the General Government. With the decision OF
the people themselves, far as the character OF
| the new States was concerned, the democratic
marty of all sections declared they would be sat
4 iStictl To fulfil then, theN conditions of this
agreement, it wasal important that there shonld
he no interference on the part OF the General
Government either through its Legislative or
Executive influence. Any such Interference
l was calculated TO diSSatisiy the one section ar
The other Under such circumstances, 1t was in
my opinion improper for the highest Executive
officer in the Territory, the Governor OF Kan
! sas, 10 attempt to- influence the decision of the
people of that Territory, upon this question OF
slavery. Such an interfcrfcrcnce on the part Of
any branch of the Federal Government, was
inconsistent with the principle of the Kan
sas-Ncbraska act Neither do | recognize
csSi col do not appoint fair and Impair
ltial mode, by which a majority of the actual
hama yisie resident settlers Of Kansas shall vote
through the fundamentally ofimpartialju judges
Edoings, and the President and Congress will
reject their constitution" If the convention
;ts.lf yy,s ler,olIy constituted and elected tho