Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1858-10-23
Renegade yEhies,


n last sanber Of the Abingdou Deaoera con
ta;ns n article in vhisA sso,ent exception 10 tn
ken y paragraph No copied and endorsed. from
the Petersburg Inselligencer some time ago. touch
ing the scandal Of an old Wing swearing by the
new lights Of Democracy. Our Abingdon contem.
porary l. very much exercised that any complaint
should b made Of Wing apostacy; and endeavors
to oSbcs IL shame Of the circumstance by declar-
ine 49, thswhoie Know Nothing party is party
Of renegades.
We shink the difficulties which obstruct the judg-
,aent Of our contemporary. in relation to this af-
fair, nay bc easily removed-insomuch that he
viii readily acknowledge the justice of our invec-
6 dive against those apostates and timeservcrs who
dsss.sed the Wing party, for no other reason in
: the world, as we believe, except that it was in
minority, and likely to continue 50.
s4.Asd, arst and most important of all, it is evil
dent that oar Abingdon contemporary and our
selves differ radically as to what constitutes
Wing. The Wing party of this country took its
name from similar party in England. Alike in
both countries, it was party Of Opposition In
England, IL was brought into existence by the ex-
ceases Of High Toryism. In America, it was brought
into existence by the excuses Of Jacksonism.--
There was scarcely CorporaPs Guard Of oppo-
nents to Jackson Democracy. until that reinarka-
BILE man set the law and the Constitution at def
ance, and by his Proclamation and Force Bill and
Removal Of the Deposites, and other high-hnnded,
despotic, and illegal acts, threatened to subvrrt
the liberties Of tho country. This il was which
give being and vitality, to the Wing party The cs
sence Of Whggery consisted in opposition To Jack
sonism, and Democracy, with its curious admix,urc
OPINIONS sake its disregard Of all law. aud its vim
dctive political persecution of all who would not
acknowledge the divinity ofits creed In short, the
Wing party became the party Of conservatism. con
stantly endesvorng to restrain the bad passions
and unchastened impulses of Democracy, and o.
prevent the practical application Of their wild and
.mischievous dogmas to the legislation Of the couu
try.
Such, in our opinion, the Wing party was-and
such 1t is. There are plenty of Wings yet in
the country, whose creed consists solely in opposi-
ton ~ Democracy--and we REGARD this, alone, as
Platform broad enough aud strong enough to
hold every conservative patriot who wishes to see
the institutions Of the country p"rrctua,cd.
Now, the American party III SO Far as it raised
tho standard Of opposition to the Democracy, was
essentially Wig party--not The Wing party,
but Wing party. For it comprehendcd the very
essence and spirit Of Whiggcry, which consists, as
we have before said, in opposition to the Wild
excuses and destructive political dogmas Of De
mooracy.
1t was Why party, with this additional re-
commendation, that it proposed system Of lcgis-
lation which designed to protect the purity Of
the ballot-box, and to check the growing prcpon-
derance of the North over the South. arising from
the excessive immigration oiforcgners. No Wing
any the less n Wing for becoming II member
Of the American party, hut the contrary he
strengthened his Whiggery by a still more signal
exhibition Of his hostility I" Radcalism. The
idea that the bemoce"' advances, that B,tts and
Cri.tcrdrr a. ..,,o-e 4..oe,. 10 be Wings when
tLes jo,.ied the American party, is II grand mis-
take. They became only better Wings than they
were at irst-for. in addition to opposition to be-
mocracy, which constituted their Whiggcry before,
they incorporated into their creed certain add.
tional articles which were cmnently in conso-
nance with the leading principle Of the Wing par
ty.
Entertaining these sentiments, our Indignation
at observing the large number of apos,ales from
the Wing party may perhaps he appreciated. If
their Whiggery Ind been Of the right sort--orpo-
siion 10 Democracy--they never would have cx-
Inflated the scandalcus spectacle ot coufratcrnity
with party that is driving the engine of Govern
ment down grade all the time, without II brake to
check it, II they had been bold men. honest men,
earnest men, manly men. they would have stood
frmly rock as many Wings did stand, and
are yet standiag even though the party organiza-
ton had been shiyered into fragments. Are they
80 cowardly that they are afraid to stand alone! ?
A true Wing. if he bea Wing from reason and in
stnct, will remain So even though he he deserted
by every ally he ever had.
When a man oonscentiously changes his poti.
cal convictions, we honor him. When we see him
change frou strong party to n weak. we are dis
posed to accept his conversion real without en-
quiry. But when we see him changing from II
weak party to q strong, and have suspicion that
it is done either from selishness or fear. we are
impatient always to apply to him that military
law which shoots down deserter, at the mouth Of
the cannon--or that naval law which reprcsses
mutiny by an exemplary suspension from the yard
arm.
Il Douglas Better than Lincolnp
We suppose the warmest friend of Judge Doug
las, however indisposed to accept the testimony Of