Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-11-13
John LetCher.

ing brighter and brighter, his hold on the
affections Of the people Of Virginia, strong
er and stronger, and his chances for the
gubernatorialn nomination more certain still
if they were ever doubtful, in spite Of the
attacks of certain Democratic journals and
politicians, who have Instituted a system Of
warfare heretofore unheard of in party
usages, county after county have declared
in his favor, and sustained by the voice o.
agrateful people, he now stands far above
and beyond the reproaches Of his enemies,
never strong but now wholly insignificant.
Any one who may yet doubt of the com
plete triumph Of Letcaer, and the gnomin-
ious discontinue of his enemies, has only
to look over the editorial columns Of the
Richmond Enquirer, for the last week or
two, to have his doubts at once removed.
The bad cause of that paper has become SO
desperate that it finds itself compelled to
-eschew all attempt at argument, and resort
to assertions the most improbable and un-
sustained by the least particle of proof
for example, it continues to declare and in
.sist in the face of all the proofs to the con
-trary-in the face Of the almost unanimous
fposition of the Virginia press, and in spite
of the declaration Of almost every single
county meeting that Mr.. Lctcher's friends
are miserable minority, and that his enc.
=inies, Of whom the Enquirer is the sole organ,
ARE a large, and will be triumphant ma
..jority Of the truth of this fact, the En-
..quirer brings not the shadow of evidence,
;and leaves it to stand or fall, according as
its very improbable assertion may or may
not be believed. Again, the Enquirer in
Its desperation, accuses Mr.. Letcher's
friends of packing county meetings for the
purpose of procuring resolutions or instruc-
tions in his favor. Now this assertion falls
TO the ground the moment it is known that
the people Of each county were regularly
notified through the press of the time and
place for the calling Of such meetings. and
this mighty but secret and undeveloped ma
jority surely did themselves great injustice
by remaining at home and allowing the dis
pissed and Insignificant minority to walk
cover the track; curious and mysterious
majority it must be indeed But Of all the
ridicnlous and unsustained assertions Of the
Enquirer, its declaration that the press of
Virginia is subsidized and corrupted by the
friends of Mr. Letcher, is the most absurd,
the most outrageous. The Enquirer makes
this assertion, and when asked for the rea-
son of its faith, it coolly reiterates its
charge and declares its time too precious to
be acasted in labored collection Of proofs.
We freely ackno Wedge the onorous duties
which devolve upon the Enquirer, when it
attempts to defeat John Letcher, and that
"collection of proofs which never existed,
would be exceedingly laborious, but we en-
phatically deny the right ofany one to make
SO serious charge against whole body Of
respectable men, without the conclusive
proof already in his possession; the "labor-
ed collection of proofs ought to have pre-
ceded, not followed the charge In the
name of the press of Virginia. we deny the
accusation and pronounce it entirely un-
true. But although the Enquirer is com
pletely whipt out, it still maintains defiant
attitude, which attitude it sets forth in very
high sounding but rather grandiloquent
language. Just lend an ear to the Enquirer,
after solemnly assuming without invitation
the position of tribune of the people, it pro-
ceeds to define its position as follows:
s'And whenever politicians newspa-
per attempts to intimidate US with threats,
we will only rise straighter and higher in
our stirrups, and sound fuller, louder,
clearer note of entire defiance"
We would humbly submit that there is
such thing as getting up straighter in
stirrups, and blowing louder and clearer
notes Of entire defiance, on occasions and
in a cause which rather suggest the idea Of
the ridiculous than that of holiness and
valor. The Enquirer, for instance, strad-
die of its Ruffner hobby, straight in the
stirrups, rushing headlong on the demo-
cratic press and people Of Virginia, is re-
markably suggestive Of that valorous knight
of la Mancha, in full tilt against the wind
mills. If the Enquirer be so fortunate as
its prototype, and comes off with life and
limb, it,may consider itself in luck.
GEN. WALKER-SoUTHERN Emigration |
AssocIAr1oN.-Gen Walkers visit to
Washington is not directly with the govern
ment. It is in fact to ascertain the extent
Of the proposed British interference. He
us satisfied that there will be no hindrance
ito lawful emigration to Nicaragua. He de-
mics the truth of the statement that there
has been sale of bonds and transit, and
hence that part of the Presidents procla-
nation must have been founded on incorrect
information. He farther says that passen-
gers leaving Mobile are expected to pay
their own expenses and act on their own re-
.sponsibility. The emigration under the