Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1859-05-17
NO. XXI.
To the Voters Of the 9th Congressional
District. ~


some reply to the address which Mr.. John L.
Harris has disseminated broadcast among you.
In doing so shall aim more at substance than
form-I shall labor to be asbrief as possible.
In the month of January last announced my
self q candidate for Congress, subject to the de-
cision of Convention, if it should be the pleds-
ure of the Democratic party that one should be
held. | thus submitted to the pleasure of the
Democratic party the question OF Convention"
or s.no Convention" and am proud to say that
at no time, after becoming candidate, did seek
to influence any friend of mine to go .tor Con-
vention or against Convention. i left the
matter to be decided by the people, believing
them to be entirely capable of SO doing without
any active interference on my part, and eonsld-
ering that any such interference by me would be
Improper. am and always have been a. Demo-
crat. I am Democrat, not because | believe
that those who differ from me are not honest
and patriotic, but because am myself thorough
ly convinced that the best interests Of the coun-
ltry are dependent upon the success OF Democrat
lie principles How alone can those principles
be advanced9 The only true answer is, by an
united and harmonious organization, and such
an organization can alone be effected in large
district, where there are number OF candidates
lin the field, through the iDstrumentallty OF 8
Convention. Accordingly Conventions have
been for long years past almost invarlaoiy 70.
sorted to in all such cases. by both the great
parties of the country.
Was the Convention by which I was nomina.
ted held in accordance with the time honored
usages of the Democratic party7 l answer, it
was. Need remind you, In support OF this al.
legation that VIM. Taylor, Jas. Mcdowell and
John Letcher, the men who have represented
you for the last sixteen years, and whom you
always endorsed and supported, were all OF them
nominated by Democratic Conventions. iou
are all bound to admit, whether you be wings :
or Democrats. that you could not have had more
honest, capable and faithful servants than they
were. Conventions, then, in times past, nave
done you no wrong. On the contrary, they
have always worked to your advantage; you
have alwaysicheerfnlly supported the men whom
they have nominated and it had become the es-
tablished and benefcent usage Of the party,
whenever the seat in Congress became vacant,
to hold Convention and nominate some one
man as your representative. To this usage such
men as TAYLOR, Mcdowell and Letcher readily
submitted, and commend their example to all
whom it may concern. But was not, let me ask,
! Convention az necessary in March last, when
was nominated, as in 1851, when Mr.. Letcher
was nominated2 In 1861, when MIR. Letcher
was nominated, the Democratic majority In the
district was from 2700 to 3000-large enough
certainly for all practical purposes. The Demo-
cratic majority was not then, and Is not now,
| large enough to enable the Democrats to run two
candidates and elect either of them, should q
Wing candidate be running, and the Democratic
vote be about equally divided. In such an event
as this, defeat to the Democracy was then, ana
is aow, Inevitable. When Convention was
held in ] s51 and Mr.. Letcher nominated, it was
| nf
Wings; it was done in accordance with the
usages of the party, and neither you, nor even
Mr.. Harris himself, then thought OF complaining
that the Convention was an Infringement upon
your sovereign rights.
But Mr.. Harris says now--for the first time
in his life-that Conventions are odious, and
only proper when necessary to beat wing or
| an American, and that we had the universal
pledge" of the Wings and Americans that they
would not run candidate; and he says on this
account he had no hesitation in becoming oan-
didate" And yet strange to say, 6efore MIR.
Harris became candidate the Wings and Amer
leans of Rockbridge and Augusta had held coun-
ty meetings and considered this very subject OF
the propriety of their running candidate for
Congress. In Rockbridge they resolved in favor
of running one, and in Augusta they refused to
pledge themselves against doing 80. These two
counties contain majority Of the Wing and A.
merican vote of the district, which thus actually
refused to give any pledge on the subject; and
vet Mr.. Harris says that in consequence OF the
"pledges of the Opposition press aud its dlstin-
guished members" that they would not run a
candidate, he "had no hesitation in becoming
candidate" But more than this In less than
three weeks after Mr.. Harris announced himself,
the Wings and Americans of Pendleton also, In
county meetings, assembled, resolved IN favor OF
running an Opposition candidate for Congress.
These three counties contain more than tHfec-
Itffths of the "Opposition" vote of the district,
which thus retussd to gire pledge not to run q
candidate, and it is submitted to you to say
whether such action as have above set forth on
the part of the ''masses" Of the Wing and Amer
Ican parties, does not put to naught any public
or private pledges which Mr.. Harris may have
elected from the "Opposition press and its dis
tinguished members"
now proceed to consider whether it be the
fact. as asserted by Mr.. Harris, ''that majority
Of the Democratic coters of the District did not
apant Convention, and that the Convention OF
the SOth inst, was held in defiance of the popu-
lar sentiment of the Democratic party OF the dis-
Itrict. and in utter disregard Of their rights"
will proceed to show that this assertion is utter
lly unfounded, and having done so, will have Ia.
ken away from Mr.. Harris the only grounds OF
justification upon which he has planted himself
lin opposition to the action of the Convention by
(which was nominated. 1t will not be denied
THAT the Democracy of sac out of eight counties
which constitute this district declared in favor
of O Convention, and that therefose decided
majority of the counties favored Convention.
In Pendleton, Highland, Rockbridge and Bath
there was hardly voice raised IN opPoslton.-
In Augusta there was snadtt naanorsty, ana III
Hardy there was minority opposed to Oon-
yention; for all of which, in the course OF my
|argument, shall make ample and tar more than
ample, allowance. In Shendandoah large
meeting was held at the Cou-t-house on Febru-.
ary Court day. At that meeting we are inform
ed by Mr.. S. G. Williams and seven other OF the
most respectable citizens of Shenandoah, (whose
card YOU have seen,) that the resolutions in IA
vor of Convention were carried by Gerry
large majority, instead of having been "by
close vote decided to be carried, as asserted by
Mr.. Harris. You are further informed that
leight out of 12-that is to say tu0-thards-.-oI
the precincts acouesced in this determination.
II am willing to suppose that although decided
majority at this Court house meeting pronounc-
ed in favor of a Convention, and although two
thirds of the precincts acquiesced in this decision
that the vote OF Shenandoah was equally divi-
lded on the question-that half were in favor of
and half against Convention.
| How was it in Rockingham At the Febru-
sry Court very large meeting, numbering 1000
or upwards, considered the subject The ques-
ton was put, and the majority was decided to
be against Convention. But it is admitted on
all hands that very large minority voted IN
fouor of one. If this meeting was fair express
sion of the sentiment of Rockingham, then, Oh
though majority was opposed, a very args
| &c DaaG nnha