Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-05-20
o.,s,,.,. ta- ~, no.rd Of Public worh,

nal, there appeared D y
Halifax county, signed Democracy" severely
cr;t;c;s;no the recent Democratic Convention,
which assembled in this city to nominate u
oond;dotc for the Board Of Public Works. AS
oms of the Secretaries to that Convention. |
J.c,n it due to its members, to General Clay,
its nominee, and to truth and justice, that l
should correct the many misrepresentation in
which that article abounds, and into which the
author has doubtless fallen from a total want
of correct information upon the subject OF It's
proceedings. By way Of ridicule the author
says:
1--WE understand that Mr.. Glass, Mr.. Lynch
Mr.. Harvie, &c, Mr.. Lynch, Mr.. Harvte, mr.
Glass, &C., Mr.. Harvie, Mr.. Glass, MI. Lynen'
&C., &c, were in attendance. Now, no" r'u''
culous is the thing"
Now when | state that Mr.. Lynch was
not in the Convention at any time during iS
sitting and that his name no where appears !"
its proceedings, the candid reader will observe
,t once that your correspondent was totally
nninformcd upon this subject, and has
drawn upon his Imagination for his facts
Not ONLY were Mr.. Harvie and Mr.. Glass
in the Convention, but Col. f. w. Hub
hard. of Buckingham was there as chair,
man. Col. Fuqua and Mr.. Sheppard OF
Buckingham, were members. Thomas II.
Campbell, Esq. of Nottoway, Scott and Branch
of Petersburg, Col. Malone Of Norfolk, }: NJ.
Cook of Greensvillc, Senator Jones of CheS-
terfeld, Judge Wilson Of L%ynchburg, Col.
Willis Wilson of Cumberland. DR.. Clement OF
Bedford, and numbers Of other prominent ana
highly respectable and intelligent Democrats
were present rs members of the Convention,
and participated actively in its proceedings.
So much for the intelligence and respectaoilty
of the Convention. The writer makes the
following statement:
"But 4 few weeks since, after there had
been a long, long call for a Convention to nomi-
nate a candidate, our Democracy IN common
with a large portion of the party refused to at,
tend. Another call was made, and again did
our Democracy pronounce the thing unneces-
sarv and refuse to have anything to do
with it"
The writer is again entirely mistaken. The
Democracy of Halifax did recognize the Con-
~yention, and the importance of a party nomina-
ton, and appointed Delegates to attend the
sau,e. At the first meeting of the Convention,
Halifax was represented, if | mistake not, in
the person of Col. Stovall himself, and perhaps
Others. The Democracy Of Halifax, therefore,
it seems to me, with all Difference to them, are
bound to abide by the nomination. But your
correspondent complains that there was
only 'tour" majority of the whole vote
of the District represented in Convention.
Grant it; and is not a majority of .foar just as
binding as any other majority? Suppose John
Lctcher is elected by a majority Of Jour, will
YOUR correspondent consider him less the Gov
ernor of Virginia? How large a majority is to
be regarded as necessary to constitute conven-
tons? One hundred or ten thousand? What
rule is to be laid down for the action Of our
party The complaint Of your correspondent
upon this point is really remarkable, coming
as it does from one whose creed compels him
to recognize the right of the mGjority to act
for the minority. But he suggests a doubt as to
whether there was really majority represented
in the convention at all. 1prcsumc his informa-
ton upon this point is rs unreliable as | have
shown it to be upon some others. y committee
of three gentlemen was appointed to ascertain
the vote and they reported from tho best COM
~putation which they couldmake, that 4 majority
of the whole vote nas represented, and upon
this the Convention acted, as it had an unques-
tionable right to act. Your correspondent says:
"But was there even this majority-this stu
pcndous majority of four, represented in the
Convention? To make it out was it not ne
cessary to count Charlotte, Nansemond or Isle
of Wight and Prince George as in the Conven-
ton? And is it not known that these coun-
ties were not represented in the Convention,
or at least one Of them, which would leave the
meeting in the awkward and ridiculous charac-
ter Of a minority Convention ="
In reply to this, | have to say, that every
county named above uas represented in Con-
vention-every one of them. This fact, | re-
spectfully think, places your correspondent in
the awkward predicament Of building an
argument upon false premises.
Your correspondent says that he ''has seen,
or heard it stated, that Gen. Clay was nomina-
ted by a Gogsin Wing" Here, again, he is
entirely mistaken. Gen. Clay was nominated
BY a Democrat and a gentleman. If any Cog
gin man voted for Gen. Clay in Convention,
he did it upon his own hook, and without any
solicitation or knowledge on the part of the
Convention, or any member of it.
Thus have | dissipated, by a plain statement
of facts, every objection urged by your CORES.
pondent to the Convention and its action. 1t
was a fairly constituted and fairly conducted
Convention; and, without intending to dictate
to others how they should act, | feel no hest
tancy in declaring it. as my conviction, that 1t
is the duty of every Democrat, who recognizes
the binding obligations of Conventions, and
regards more the success Of that party than the
momcntary triumph Of individual members, to
endorse its action and sustain its nominee
Gen. Clay was nominated BY a t~o-thirds vote,
or, by a vote equivalent to 10000 votes; and as
90 900 votes are more than two-thirds of the
| uhole vote Of the district, Gen. Clay may truly
be declared the nominee of nm overwhelming
majority Of the whole Democratic vote of the
district.
Mr.. Treadway is far more discreet than your
correspondent who is his friend. lie (Mr. IT,
protests, first, to the Convention, because he
does not think the affair ought to be made a
party one, and for that reason he did not sub.
nit his claims to a Convention. This is candid,
and the only possible ground upon which Mr..
Treadway can consistently stand; and it is the
only one upon which Democrats can consistently
support him. Nor has Mr.. Trcadway. or his
friends, the slightest right to complain of the
Convention, or anything it did or did not. They
did not come into it, nor did they intend to do
so. Gen. Blow, Mr.. Cox. Mr.. Daniel and Gen.
Clay, did 20 into the Convention, and all OF
them checrfully abidcs its action. 1t is for the
Democratic party Of the district, therefore, to
determine whether they will support the rcgu,
lar nominee of their party, and vindicate the
propriety and necessity of conventional organi-
cation, or whether they will r~cpudiatc both,
and launch the party into the fathomlcss and
disastrous sea Of internal division and strife.
II. ii. GLASS.
The Richmond Examiner" and !" Index
Petersburg "Prcss," Norfolk argus" and all
the Democratic papers ofthe district, will please
publish this article.
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