Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1858-11-25
Irlhas been we'll remarked, that it not unfro-


quently occurs that under the speclous guises
of a so called democracy, the most insidiousand
demoralizing of oligarchies spring up, and hold
sway. II. de Tocqueville, in his democracy in
America, takes frequent occasion to point out
to the reader the almost insuperable obstacles
which intervene between popular sentiment
and its unequiVocal representation Prominent
among these are enumerated the susceptibility
of the people, in the absence Of educational adj
vantages, to be mislead in the means of arriving
at a fair expression of the public voice by the
stragetc devices of the intelligent. Numerous
citations are made by him, which we cannot
now call to mind, showing how it is possible
that the absolute wishes of the people may be
entirely frustrated, and the opinions and wishes
of few made to appear TO the world as the
vox populi twas on this theory of the great
Frenchmen, spperadded to his own experience,
that made the late Mr.. Benton the bitter enemy
of all political conventions. It is well known
that in enumerating three places into which he
never permitted himself to enter, he designated
political convention us the chicfest of them ALL
he had, he said, never been in gambling hell,
n brothel or political convention. His expe-
rience was, that such conventions, in a large
minority of cases, were the packed iuries of
partisans, whose nominations and verdicts were
''foregono conclusions" rejecting the manufac-
tured opinion of politicians, instead of the fresh
and unsulied sentiments of the people.
Wepropose to ask the people of this Congress.
sional district to consider how far these opinions
are being corroberated in the efforts now on foot
to defeat Sherrard Clemens from the represents
tiveship of the district in the next Congress.
The person of the representative is, and ought
to be, sunk out of sight in the consideration of
question like this under similar phases. We
have before US, the case of man elected, for
all practical purposes we may say, unanimously,
to represent u.s. He is elected to represent
certain political sentiment in connection with
the general good of his people in all practical
advantages arising out of such position. He
takes his seat, votes and acts throughout the
session in allmatters wherein his representative
ship is involved strictly in accordance with that
political sentiment which placed him there In
nocase does his votes, his speeches or his gene
ralrepresentatiye character deviate from what
is generally received as the pubic sentiment of
his constituency. His constituency, by their
majority, have no exceptions to take to his
course. They, in short, endorse him.
This being the case in the example before US,
Sherrard Clemcns-we come to the precedent
obtaining among his constituency, of giving to
eyeryisuch representative the benefit of second
term. In the present instance, IL is we'll known,
toour people, that . very strong effort is being
made to ovorturn this precedent, and along
with it to effectually and forever overturn
Mr.. Clemens. Now it is true, and We
wish TO consider and admit all that is ad.
missable in the premises, that no man has
any Office as matter of right,-that he is
simply tho creation of the popular will to serve
it for the time being and that the popular voice
has the right, clearland unimpeachable, to saw.
without giyinga reason why, who shall next
serve them in a similar position. Customs and
precedents are nothiug-they are mere secon-
dairy and subordinate considerations at all times
to that first and great consideration popu-
lar pleasure. When custom contravenes the
public good it should be at once sunk in the
rubbish Of the thousand and one obsolete Gus.
toms which have preceded it. This is the
theory of all true democracy. And now we
come to the great question-is it the popular
wish of this district that Mr.. Clemens should
not have the benefit of a precedent which has
heretofore accrued to his predecessors second.
term9 Do all hesurroundings of the move
made againstfhim betoken that it is of and from
the peoples Has it the car marks of popular
uprisiug9 From whence did it originate and
.howY Didit come from some remote-some
far off out of the way portion of the district,
which considered itself passed over and neg.
1ected in the representativeship Of Mr.. ClemensY
Did it come from abroad or from homer
M. Z i
natural enough, is it not, voters of this county,
we askiyou2 Has it been your will, and have
umade it known to those who are now ex-
pressing it that you are tired of having the
representative from your immediate midst that
you are so Indifferent to the supposed adyan.
tages of having Representative acquainted with
you and your interests that you, for the mere
excitement of the thing, are willing to have a
c0Ryention, and run the risk of losing the two
years of unexpired representation which prece
dent has given youa The.peOple of the other
end Of the district, through one of their papers,
-hayelalready said that they were not DESTROYS
of change If twas merely TO substitute ono