Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-05-16
Opposition Meetings
MEETING IN TEIADELPHIA AND IN THE P1PrH WAR T,
SPEECHES OF MEssRs. RICHARD<oN, ENGL1si
CALDWELL AND EDGIE 3T0N
TRIADELPHIA MEEl,1NG.

/
Edgington and English, candidates. The atten,
| dance was respectable In point of numbers, but
not large: About the usual quantity we have
always found on hand at Precintc meeting
! The farmers were busy with their planting and
did not get into town very carly aud consequent
ly it was about three o'clock when the meeting
organized. 1t met in the dancing room of the
! Iriadelphia hotel, an apartment very we'll de.
signed for the accommodation of about as many
/ people as were hands.
1t fell to the lot of NJ. Richardson, to open
| the speaking, which he did in a speech of some
three quarters OF an hour. We did not get in
until he was about half through, at which time
/ he had this point under consideration: That the
Democratic party in this county, in this canvass
were playing sort of fast AM loose game: that
they had announced their ticket in the columns
| OF the LRteltigencer citizens ticket, while it
was flying at the mast head of the Argus as
Democratic ticket They, he said, were trying
to make their calling and election sure by hood
winking the people with some of their old poll
| cy, viz: that of crying party when they were
in the minority. Mr.. r. hoped that voters, es-
pecially Democratic voters would look into this
matter; that they would consider the fact that
the present Democrats were put in nomination
by few wire pulling politicians of that party
in Wheeling, who, without consulting with the
! party, without convention, without any open
! formality, had met in the dark and concOcted
ticket and put it out as the one for which Demo-
cratic voters bound to go, No Democrat,
he said, could possibly feel himself bound by
even party ties to support this ticket. 1t had
not even the received weight and did not carry
with it the obligation that party nomination
| generally does.
As for himself, Mr. R. concluded. he would if
elected, do all that was rightfully expected of
| him, to the best of his ability. He had not
| sought the honor which had been conferred
| upon him--never expected it or knew of it
| til he had received it. The Argus, he said had
been claiming support for its Democratic ticket
.on the ground that Ohio county should send
| representatives whose sentiments were in
s0nancc with the politics of the ina jority party
in the legislature. If this advice meant any
thing, it meant that we were TO play the lackeys
at Richmond in order to get dues; that it
would be well for us
ITO crook the pregnant hinges of the knee,
That thrift may follow flaming"
He regarded such advice as an insult to the
voters of Ohio county. 1t tantamOunt to
saving that they should sell smother their
convictions abase their manhood in order to
get what their rights.
After Mr.. r. concluded, DR.. English was next
called upon. He made a speech of about half
! an hour. Its bTevItv was its chief merit
/ After DIR. English, Mr.. a. Il. Caldwell was
called to the stand. Mr. C. was laboring under
physical disability, he said, as indeed it was
! vcIY apparent III the hoarSeneSS Of his voice
and his seeming nervous Prostraton. As he
progressed in his remarks, however, he almost
entirely ovcrcame his indispositon, and he was
soon cciting the marked attention of his hear
ers to one of the best political harangucS we
had heard for some time. Mr.. e. confined
himself almost exclusively to general politics.
and he laid down his points and elaborated
them in n manner that was both pleasing and
edifying to every one present, Judging from the
attention that was paid to his Cat leasD hour
ard half speech.
He was proud to belong to the great OPPOSE
ton Party, made up OF the Wings and Amcri-
cans of the State. 1t embraced the best of all
that was contained in the old Wing party, viz I:
those who had "never surrendered who had
chung to their ancient principles in the hour OF
their adversely. After abiding to his past and
present relations to parties in Louisiana and here
, in Virginia, Mr.. c. proceeded with an analysis OF
the politics called Democratic. This party he said
had but one principIe-rather, he would SAL, mo-
5 tivc-and that was "ErPedieHcY.' The leaders OF
that partyneithcr knew nor held to anyfundamcn-
tai principles, us their partys record would show.
In 1S4S, for instance, Gen. Cass wrote his squat
ter sovereignty Nicholson letter, the doctrine OF
which was repudiated at the South, and the let
ter read so as to mean something else. In 1904
the leaders of the Democracy were in favor of
non intervention: were preaching the dogma Of
Douglas Nebraska bill. In 1855 they turned him,
Douglas out of the party for sticking to his creed
4 The party leaders said that Kansas must come
r in ms a slave State. President Buchanan joined
in with jeff. Davis, TOOmbS and the other fire.
caters and said also, that it must ndOpt slave
constitutions that it must do so in spite OF the no.
torouS fact that two to one of the people of the
/ territory were opposed to slavery. These lead
ers know that Kansas never could be slave
State by the will of the people, and so they
purposed to make it a slave State by the direct
"interCentioR" of Congress. So you see IT was
: Intervention when it suited them and non inter-
I vention when it did MT suit them.
Aud again: the Democratic leaders always de-
serted md denounced the Wing party on account
, of its 'internal Improvement" policy. They
had pronounced such policy unconstitutional
!. Yet in 1856, at the Cincinnati Convention, when
e they wanted to elect Buchanan and were in fears
t of their ability to do so, and when they knew
how popular the measure was, they added
postscript to their platform in favor of road
to the Pacific.
S And Just so, concluded Mr.. c., was their creed
upon States Rights and everything elsc-with
two exceptions, which in his opinion would have
u. been "more honored in the breach than in the
+ observance"-viz: distribution and the Sub
Treasury"
Il Mr.. C's speech was loudly nppIauded, and as
= we said before, was deserving of it.
After Mr.. Caldwell had done, sort of little
o episode came off. Some persons present sung