The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-09-09
Letter from Talnarack.

Great Meeting in wabashaw-The Whole People in
Councii-Becker and Cavanaugh in Clover--Their
Grand and Hearty welcome-Sayngs and Doings
the Neutrality-suspicious. Asked ana Answered-Har-
mony and Enthusiasm, &c.
Correspondence of the Pioneer and Democrat.
WABAsnAw. September 4, 1859.
The largest, most respectable and most
attentive public meeting that has yet been
held in any town in this State below St.
Paul, convened last evening in the city of
Wabashaw, the capital of the Half-breed
Tract, to greet and welcome the Hon.
GEORGE L. BECKER and j. M. CAvANAUGH.
The people turned out en- masse every
body was eager to see and know what
manner of man our next Governor is, and
when he was introduced by JOHN B. DAVIS,
Esq, Chairman of the meeting and Presi-
dent of the Becker Club, be was greeted
with perfect torrent of applause, which
spoke as plain as anything could speak, be
can make speech, and now we shall hear
good one Sure enough he did give good
one.
The honorable gentleman commenced by
expressing his heartfelt thanks for the
honor which had been done him and his
friend, Mr.. CAvANAUeH, by the people of
Wabashaw, by their coming together in
such numbers to welcome them and hear
what they might say, and that he thought
he saw in that large. and intelligent au-
dience, which the presence of numerous
ladies rendered more cheering and flattering
to him, a sign of the success of the Demo-
cratic party in the great struggle through
which it was soon to pass.
1t is useless for me to attempt report
or even an outline of the most excellent and
convincing speech which Mr.. BECKER de-
livered. The attention with which it was
listened to, and the manifest good effect it
had on the audience, cannot be described
with pen, pencil or brush. He opened on
the enemy by reviewing the stale pretence
of ex-Gov. RAMSEY and his myrmidons, that
the Democratic party had obtained power
by fraud, and that Governor SIBLEY filled the
executive chair through the means of the
frauds practised at the ballot box, by the
Democratic party In 1857. He said that
after our State officers were served with
certificates of election, they were obliged to
serve, or the State would have been without
a government. The charge of fraud, he
said, was met by Governor S1BLEY with
challenge to his opponent, to come forward
and prove the charges that had been made.
Governor SIBLEY, he said, was brave,
honest and conscientious man, and see in
this intelligent audience" said he, "several
persons who can bear me witness, that in all
the relations of life, public and private, he
has always sustained pure and spotless re-
putation without fear, without reproach."
He was, therefore, anxious to have the charge
of fraud examined, and his right to the ex-
cutive chair contested, but when he chal-
lenged his accusers they hid their diminish
ed heads for fear that it would be proved
that they had been guilty of all the frauds
that had been perpetrated, and their shame
increased by the fact, that they had been
unsuccessful.
Mr.. BECKER then took up the Minmeso.
tian-al charge, that over 100000 of the
public money had been squandered and
stolen from the State Government, which
the Democratic party was responsible for.
After stating that no money could possibly
be taken out of the treasury bnt by vote
of the Legislature, he read from list which
he had with him, the number of appropria-
tions which had been made and the vote by
which they were passed. The vote in every
case was nearly unanimous, in some cases
only one in the negative, and in another
nine, four of which were cast by Democratic
members-so that no appropriation was a
party act, and could not be charged on the
Democratic party. A great deal of this
money was appropriations for the payment
of Territorial expenses, and one item of
1919 was to pay for printing done at the
Office of the Minnesotian, which sum went
into the pocket of the editor Of that paper,
who charges that the Democratic party
have stolen 100000! "Thus we have be-
fore u.s." said Mr.. B., "the magnificent
spectacle of man running in the crowd
and crying, stop thief!' with goodly
share of the pretended stolen property Sc
GREETED about his person!" Lond applause
followed this pleasant sally at the Doctor,
which the ladies Joined by the waving of
their handkerchiefs.
Mr.. BECKER then examined the charge
made by Governor RAMSEY, that the
Democratic party had created State debt
of$250, 900, and orders on the Treasury to an
unknown amount were floating all over the
State, which could not be redeemed, g.;
and after setting forth that no State officer
had power to draw an order on the Trea-
sury except by vote of the Legislature,