Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1858-03-09
IFOr the Intelligeneer.l
Letter 10 JIr. Clemens
WmEELING. March s. is

WHEELING, March s, 1858.
To Hon. Sherrard Clemens:
Your speech of Feb. 18th, in favor of the
Presidents Kansas policy, has been received,
read, and commented upon here. II is general
| ~ conceded bold argument in favor of mon
archy; aimed as death blow 1t popular SOver-
eighty. Now, as friend and constituent, it be-
comes my duty to kindly admOniSh You of the
dangerous political position you occupy.
The chains Of vassalage forged by the usur-
pers of Kansas and nov ordered by the Presi-
dent to be rivited, by his helpers in Congress,
on the necks of loyal but protesting people, are
| Justly regarded by the masses here, samples
of other chains to be forged for their own
necks, and riyeted, as soon as the tide of usur-
patton shall slowly and steadily wind its way
across the intervening space. Shall this be so?
No! The tOcsin of alarm is being sounded
Popular sovereignty aroused, will hurl usur-
pers, tyTpntS and monarchiStS, with all their
aiders and abettorS, from the commanding
position they now 90 upy, and fill their places
with better men, VINO viii acknowledge some
rights inherent to the people among them; at,
least, tacit acquiescence to the fundamental
principles of the State government under which
they to live. - N l-r or
But perhaps the President is sustained by
promises of executive patronage. Beware Of
sowing the wind to reap the whirwind. Look
| at the fate of Kansas. We have the testimony
of Walker and Stanton, that the President
promised a fair and unconditional submission of
the LecOmptOn Constitution Tor adoption or re-
lection. Now mark the change. Has any Lee
compton NJ. G. stronger assurance of fidelity
When the Presiden has used them to affect the
object of his ambition, one frown may blast all
their cherished hopes of promotion Again
does any one doubt the legality of the present
Legislature of Kansas? or that they reflect the
popular will of the people they represent? An
intelligent, conservative body Of men, fresh
from their respective districts, representing all
parts of the territory, resolve unanimously, that
they sOlemrly protest against admission under
the LecOmpton Constitutions; and in behalf of
the people they represent, solemnly pledge to
each other, to their friends in Congress- and the
States, their elves fortunes and sacred hon
ors, to resist the Lecompton Constitution and
Government, By FORCE OF ARMS II NECESSARY.
This, added to popular majority of over ten
thousand against Lecompton, at fair and legal
submission on the 4th of january last, are
among the many difficult points you saw proper
to dodge in your argument SOB
believe It is a principle in republican gov
ernments, that all political power must be deri
we'd from the consent of the governed But your
theory reverseS everything and only disappOints
yOnr most enthusiastic admirers. On the right
of submission to popular sovereignty, all eyes
were turned TO you the champion. Ifpopu
lar sovereignty must be accorded to the demo-
cratic party in Wheeling for choice of Postmas-
ter, upon what principle of equity can it be de-
MED apeoule in the choice of a constitution
binding all their future acts, or, in other words,
Is a Postmaster of Wheeling of more importance
than State constitutions? ttl
YOrEE OF TIE 10Th DIsrRcT.