The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-09-09

When Mr.. HENRY WINTER DAVIS in his speech
at the Maryland Institute, stgmatises those who
have the misfortune TO differ from him on ques-
tions of National politics, as fools and
Thieves we take no more account of his Ian
guage than we do of the fact that, in the begin
ming of his harangue, he tells the Convention
which nominated him, that he "could not have
'taccepted their nomination under more flattering
circumstances" and assures them, at the close,
that he 'does not desire to be elected alone' but
would rather that all should ''persh together"
We may, indeed, doubt the policy and propriety
of such classification of his political opponents,
as Mr.. DAVIS proposes-as we may smile at the
modesty which affects to consider a nomination
received from such q Convention, and amid such
scenes as attended its2eliberatons and its choice.
as peculiar compliment-and marvel at the taste
which would prefer defeat in the company of Mil
TON WHITNEY, ToBE MADISON and ROBERT MILLER,
to victory without them. But we remember that
Mr.. DAVIS is rarty-man-that he was address
ing an assemblage of party-men-and that such
sentiments and language are not unusual in the
mouths Of politicians of this class. And had Mr..
DAVIS stopped here, or kept within the limits thus
defined, we should never have troubled our readers
with any comments upon his speech. But when
transcendng the bounds of party politics, and
after having exposed the Democratic party, its
weakness and corruption, to his own satisfaction
and that of his audence-Nr. DAVIS undertakes
to discuss the objects and purposes of a great
popular movement which has nothing TO do with
party, and to classify the men who are engaged
in it, under his two favorite categorics of knaves
and dupes, self-respect demands at the hands of
those who arc thus slandered and assailed, that
the assailant and assault should not pass I'M
noticed Not that Mr.. DAVIS, in direct terms,
brands with these opprobrous epithets the gentle
men whose names signed TO the call for
Town-Meeting. He is too cautious for that He
recognizes among the signers too many ''per-
ttsonal friends "-too many 'worthy supporters
sol the American party'-to venture upon the
expedient of calling names. He only implies them.
He eplores to any of his personal or poiti-
cal friends uniting in the Reform movement. He
'has not one word to say against them He does
not doubt that they are acting in good faith''-
that they are Honorable upright" conser-
''vative.' But then they are ''deceived' They
are Hmisled.' He sees it, and trusts that ''before
'the election they will see it, too--see that they
are only beiug used as ''dupes and tools, by San
''other class of sgners, who are pushing the gen.
tlemen on, and hope to ride into power over their
Hheads," and who, if successful, will ''trample
'them down. and 'laugh att them, for their
pains. The direct design of the independent move
ment is to Mr.. DAVIS vision, perfectly transparent.
1t is 'the restoration of the Democratic party to
~, Of &c Mr ~
of the origin and purposes of the Town Meeting
his estimate of the intelligence of the Americans
and the honesty of the Democrats who called it TO-
cether. In this community, which is perfectly IA
miliar with the whole history of the call, and has
the advantage, moreover, of much longer and
better acquaintance with hegentlemen who signed
it. than Mr.. DAVIS can possibly possess it is I'M
necessary to say one word in vindicaton of the
perfect good faith of the former, of the average
common sense of the latter. We turn, therefore,
from Mr. DAVIS analysis of the motives of the
call, and Of. the mental and moral characteristics
of its sgners to his discussion of the reasons which
have been popularity assigned for the movement
and which have been generally considered
to constitute its justification. They to
be found-according TO the language of the call-in
the "deplorable condition of our city" ''Deplor.
Gable" no doubt-says Mr.. DAv1s-to the Dem
ocrats, who are out-voted and out of power but
otherwise not deplorable at all He shas denied
'it heretofore" and he 'emphatically repeats the
"denial." On the contrary-'the American par
"ty has improved the condition of the city" He
has asserted it heretofore and he emphatically
'repeats the assertion"
'tThe American party established police, and there
have been street fights since Applause There has
been fight streets since the American party has
been in power between large bodies of men, except in
1857 when the Democratic rowdes tried suppress pub.
lie opinion by the that they had long OPP
pressed and stricken down the old Wing party"
We are afraid that Mr. DAVIS memory is not
very accurate on the subject of "street-6ghts" In
another part of his speech he gives an account of
one which occurred in neighboring city--a
massacre he calls it--in which he evinces
strange faculty of forgefulness Here is what he
says-in speaking Of the present National Ad-
minisration
"Let us examinc-not very critically ether-the acts
an election day the broad daylight in the face of the
worlds without authority without necessity for the
deed without warning without even reading the riot act
it was to from the barracks Washin gton city,
body of United States marines and to shoot down thir
tyve American citizens to butcher them in cold BLOOD
1t is well that Mr.. DAVIS does not promise to be
every critical in his examination Of this ''irst
"act of the Observation-Disclosures it would
be difficult to account for the discrepancy which
exists between this statement and the facts. The
latter areas everybody knows and we had sup
posed that Mr.. DAVIS knew-that the same means
of intimidation and violence having been resorted
TO in Washington for the purpose of carrying an
election there as had been previously found sue
cessful here and band of rowdies having gone
down from this city to assist in the work, among
them, the very man MARION CROP, who has since
expiaed that and other crimes upon the scaffold-
the marines were ordered out for the necessary
protection Of the people, and the preservation of
the public peace-and the whole number of persons
killed was not one fourth of ''thirty-fye" So
with reference 10 occurrences in our own city. Mr.
DAVIS statement that "since the American party
established police, there have been no street.
fights" is contradicted by the fact that it is not
two years since the conflicts of the Double
Pumps and the ''Rough Skins" kept the lower
end of Fell's Point in state Of perpetual disquiet
NOT one year since those of the "Tigers" and
sHunters were source of similar disturbance on
Federal Hill--and hardly one month since a band
of seventy or eighty men, armed with pistols and
muskets, preceded by drnm and fife, and rallying
under the cries of pioneers and ''Red Necks,"
marched to attack the rendezvous of a rival club,
the "Ashlanders, and were only repulsed by the
use of firearms, wounds being giveu and received
on both sides, the wife of the proprietor of the
house attacked being struck by missile thrown
left on the sidewalk. The subsequent exploits of
the same crew, as they marched from the scene Of
their discontinue, their shooting mother and son
at the corner Of Aisquith and McElderry streets,
and their beating lamplighter near the Belair
market, we presume, Mr.. DAVIS does not consider
as rejecting the least discredit upon the city, or at
all contravening the truth of his assertion mas
much as they did not rise to the dignity OF ian