Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1859-10-22

NJ VI kkckFtfON-SfIrfu
nj the GovEhSoR.-Gov. Henry A. Wise returned from
Harper's Ferry. yesterday. in the z o'clock train from
Aequia Greek, aud was received at the depot, on Broad
street, by Company D., Capt Cary, aud alarge eoneourse
OF eltfens: ne was conducted to a carriage, and thus
conveyed TO the Governors Mansion, Company q. acting
as an escort The multitude followed the eorfsye until IL
approached the City Hall, when a general rush was made
,owafds NE dove,nors grounds The portiso OF the
house and the enclosure In front were soon filed with
citizens eager To hear a speech from Ills EIcellency.-
Presently the Governor and his escort entered, and room
being made Tor them, the Governor alighted from the
carriage. entered his dwelling. aud exchanged brief greet
ings with members of his family.
He then came forward, and was received with arms
presented by Company f.-the Armory Band playing
the "Star Spangled Banner" At the conclusion Of these
ceremonies, the Governor proceeded TO address the mill
tary aud the assembled crowd of civilians. He spoke
loud applause and cheering. We annex a report Of his
remarks, which il unavoidably condensed and imperfect,
and, for convenience sake, we use the first person singu-
lar"
Capt. Cary, Company p, and feho.eeiti,ens: II you
and | never had a fellow feeling before. we have it now.
Ruuiors OF an instruction, Of an invasion, OF robberies
aud murders by rufians, on our borders, called for the
protection Of the State and her people. You. fellow
citizens and citizen soldiers, were readvto start on the
path OF duty at any moment. I thank you-as your
comnAnder-in-chief, l thank you from INV heart. l thank
you not only for being ready to start, but Il IL due Go YOU
that l should say that L kner you were ready TO do your
duty. | kept my eye upon the men, and though they
met rumor upon rumor, telegraph upon telegraph. that
there was still lighting at harpers Ferry, they went
through with buoyant hearts. (Applause) No man
DianCneu, until n news came that the victory was Won
without the aid Of their right arms. When We got there
We found the dead and the wounded. When you left
YOU bore the character of g%entlemcn; when you arrived
Mt Harpers Ferry, then you bore not only the character
of gentlemen, but the character of soldiers. Though you
were not called upon to pull a trigger, you preserved or
der, composerc, drill aud discipline, in the midst Of the
highest excitement 1 have ever witnessed.
Let me also thank the corps who LEFT this city, the
next morning, and their commander, Col. August. All,
all were on the way IA prompt "a preparation could he
made. and steam carry then. We rret many on the
way, aud here let me nav and pncOuIum to Iant Marc.
of the Alexandra Rifles, who, with the accession of his
corps enabled me to proceed with n~inety.one Virginia
soldiers, to llarper's Ferry.
L was compelled, at the Relay House, to order the re-
turn of the companies which followed me. There were
enough without them. The volunteers of jefferson, aud
Of Berkeley were there. The farmers were there with
their long guns and rifles. The D ople were there with
arms and without arms. They expected to get arms
there, but to the diSgrace-not Of Virginia-but of
somebody who il responsible, fourt zen white rufilns and
and tive negroes had taken the Armory-theT hermopy-
lie Of Hampers Ferry-ai night, where thousands of mus
kets were kept. The Governor then briefly rccapiiulatcd
the particulars Of the surprise and capture of tie place
mentioned the seizure of loo spears, aud referred to
the disapr ointment of the invaders in not finding the ne
gro"s ready and willing TO arm themselves with those
weapons. They carried oil a few slaves, but one negro
escaped from them, aud was drowned in an attempt to
get back TO his master. The fanatic, the border runian,"
ihe Chief OF Kansas who has bcen denouneing the
people of MISSOURI As border rnfians," is now a prison.
er OF trrason. lie made a great mistake as to the dis
position Of the slaves. The aboitionists cannot compre-
bend that they are held among US by a p~atriarchal ten
rrc.
Alter a brief allusion to the outlaw, Cooke, and the un.
guarded condition OF Harper's Ferry, the Governor said
There ought 10 be a guard kept there, and a the Geuer-
al Government has not provided one, either military or
civil, !. as Governor, proclaim to yol that have put
n guard there. / have put Capt Browns own Sharpc's
rifles into the hands of the people, daughter aud APP
plausel aud l will not stop until | scnd an ample sup
ply of Virginia muskets, with flint, percussion, or some
sort of a loek-to secure the proper defence Of the
place lcheersG de would have given his right arm II
our Virginia boys had been there to take the ruf.
hans who surprised the town, He was ready TO Waan
when hc beard that their force consisted of only twelve
men, and that they had taken the town in ten minutes.
There was no cowardice in that part of the people there,
because their unguarded eitise1s were prisoncrs-they
loved Washington they loved Alstcad, they loved the op-
erahves who we're prisoners. But he (Gov. w told
them that they had made n mistake; and that IL General
Washington had been a prisoner. and his life impcrilcd
by an attack, he 1.-THE Cow would have risked his own
and other lives, rs well, in making that attack without
delay. This il the spirit, aud not the exact language. of
the Governors remark
The Governor then proceeded to speak of Captain
Brown, awarding To him credit for bravery, fortiude,
and humanity towards his prisoners. lie dwelt, with an
appropriate anti-climaX, on the fact that Brown had arm
ell himself with a sword which Frederick the Great had
sent TO Gen. Geo Washington The sword belonged to
Mr.. Lewis Washington, one Of Browns prisoners. He
said that lac had a bushel of Browns correspondence
not all Of 1t. A carpet-bag full was taken to Baltimore
by the troops OF that city. and misused, 10y pubica-
uon.) The letters in his possession proved that proni.
nent men at the North were implicated in the affair
Whether our sister States OF the North will allow such
men to remain among them unrebuked or UNPUBLISHED,
remains To be seen. 1t any one should snugglc off Ger.
rit Smith, some night, and bring him to me, would
read him n moral lecture, and then send him back home.
The Governor said he remained at Harpers Ferry to pre-
vent anything like Lynch law" in Virginia. There was
no question of jurisdiction 10 be settled, as he had made
up his mind fully, and after determining that the prison
ers should be tried in Virginia, he would not have obey
ed an order to the contrary from the President of the
United States. Laughter and ~applause)
In conclusion, the Governor urged the importance of
the organization of the military throughout the State,
aud the exercise of vigilance TO guard against the dis
grace Of a similar surprise. He thanked the soldiers and
citizens for the compliment they had paid him, and de-
clared that he had done nothing but his duty in repair.
ing TO Harper's Ferry.
At the close OF the Governors speech, three lusty
cheers for him were given by the crowd, and they then
dispersed. Company F. marched down town, and elici-
ted universal admiration by the manliuess of their person
mel, aud soldier like appearance.