Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1859-03-26
Letter from the Hon. John NJ. Bolts.

bic that every delegate should be present.
Letter from the Hon. John VI. Bolts.
The opposition papers are lauding this
document as an extinguisher Of Hon John
Letcher, and Mr.. Bolts seems to have en-
tertained the same opinion when he penned
it. For our part, we would be perfectly
willing, SO far as Mr.. Letcher's prospects
are concerned, to find similar efusion
from the same source, in the columns of
the Richmond Wing, every week during
the canvass. The writer is evidently sore
very sore, under the just castigation that
his free negro proclivities have received at
the hands Of an indignant Southern peo-
pie. Seeing the effect that his hasty and
imprudent confessions were likely to have
on his many colored party, and especially
on his chosen candidate, Goggin, he first
tries to separate himself from his party and
his ticket, and then to ward off public in
dignation from his own devoted head, by a
very shrewd attempt at special pleading. -
This, with most unworthy and malignant
fling a. Mr.. Letcher's personal and politi-
cal character, under the guise of call the
ties of personal friendship" makes up the
sum and substance of this great production
He complains that Mr.. Letcher chad un-
tremendously and gratuitously introduced
his name into the canvass; as if his sound
ness or unsoundness on the slavery or other
questions had anything to do with the con-
test between Mr.. Goggin and himself; and
as if his merits or dement's were now pre-
scented for the consideration and judgment
Of the State"
Mr. Bolts is too modest by hall, he is
yet to be walked up from his sleep, to a
eense Of his own Importance, he is yet to
be told-modest unpretending man-what
everybody else has known from the origin
of the contest, that he is part and parcel
nay, aN-of the Opposition in Virginia, =
Richmond Convention-Goggin ~ Wiley
and Preston. Let him wriggle and twist as
he may, he can't get out of it-and they
can't get out of it. He is pinned upon the
the whole concern, like Nessus' shirt, and
will burn it to cinder The people know
it; they have reasoned thus, and their rea-
souing is just. A convention to nominate
candidates, is fairly and necessarily to be
presumed the exponent Of the principles
and feelings of those who delegated it.
The Richmond Con vention must therefore
be taken to represent the opposition party
Of Virginia, and the candidates nominated
by that convention, must be presumed to
hold the political doctrines and feelings Of
the convention, and Of the party which DEL
egated it. Mr.. Bolts was conspicuous
and leading member of that Convention
He made speech before it, in which he
deliberately and boldly announced all his
principles and plans Whereupon the con-
vention unanimously endorsed the whole
speech, thereby making it the speech Of each
individual member, and Of the constituency
represented by each. Goggin, Wiley and
Preston then, are mere instruments to car
ry out the doctrines of Mr.. Bolts Conven-
ton speech, and their "merits or dement's, :"
and the merits and dement's Of the party
which sustains them must be measured by
Mr.. Bolts Convention speech, which has
thus been made and adopted as the platform
Of the opposition. We think the 4sshirt' is
pinned on. Now let us inquire whether it
will burn. Mr.. Bolts takes pleasure in
saying that the regular reporters of the N.
Y. Herald, who reported his speech-re-
ported him ''in substance, with greet accu-
yacy."
This speech, thus accurately reported ar !.
nounces "that the first thing to be done, as
II, Chr. Botts) think. is to get rid Of De-
"n'ocracy! and there is but one way of doing
/" that-and that is By a union Of all the el-
enaemts Of opposition to 1t! Neither the
Republican party, the American party,
"nor the Wing party, into which the OPP
position is divided, is strong enough to
beat the Democracy by itself. Neither Of
"the two combined can do it, if the third
"element is left to cast its vote for or d.
vide it with the Democracy. *
s'Tho next step is to abate, at all events,
for the present, all sectional issues. =
this must be done, to prevent sectional is
"sue, upon achicb all the Southern States
"wiN be united intaror of the democracy.
Is such coalition likely to be
" formed - know there are some
" impracticabIe people who say they are op-
"posed to coalitions, and who would rather
+" sink to the bottom in political contest,
9 and be kept under the heel Of despotism,