Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-05-20

ther it was the abolition Of slavery in tho
District of Columbia the annexation Of Texas
the admission of California, the fugitive slave
law, or the Wilmot proviso, the Northern De
mocracy has been more true to the South thar
any other Northern party.
lie pursued the Northern Opposition a'
Know Nothings into the culrert, and presented
them emerging therefrom as Black Republicans
IIeexamined the prospect of the present Oppo
sition for power, and conclusivcly proved that
they were powerless for good, that any unioI
of "all the elements" must be only for the per
manent advancement of Black Republicans
for the triumph of a sectional party, and fol
the prostraton of the South at the feet Of hcl
worst enemies. lie defended Mr. Letcher from
the charges with which he has been assailcl
he refutcd the silly cry of corruption, he As
sailed the Opposition for the endorsement o
Bolts, for the attempt ut union with Black Re
publicans. and concluded his able and often elo
quent speech with all encouraging exhortatiol
to the Democracy to stand firm to their ancient
principles, to their organization and To theil
candidates Mr. fuckers speech has given
universal satisfaction TO the Democrats of Rich
mond and added another claim to that already
large debt of gratitude which the Democracy
of Virginia owe him.
Mr. Walter Preston, the candidate Of thc
Opposition" for the position of Attorney Gen
cral followed Mr.. Tucker, and concluded the
discussion in an address of one hour and half.
1t seems TO us pity to disturb the beauty
and symmetry of his well rounded sentences,
his happy selections ofchoice poetry, his classic
illusions, and his graceful defamation. But
truth and justice forbid us to screen with our
compassionate admirations the errors Of fact
and argument the suppression of important
passages and the wilful pcrvcrsion of truth To
suit the ends of the canvass or to fill the mca
sure Of some graceful sentence with which his
address was filled. The first, AMI indeed, the
basis Of his whole speech was the "BiHy Pat
terSon" letter. Upon it he founded his charge
of corruption, and made it the principal count
in his Impeachment of the President
We will not say that Mr. Preston did wrong
by design; but we must say that he never did
right by mistake. Reading from the BILLY"
Patterson letter. did he omit an important para
graph by intention or was it the result Of forget
fulncSs? While impeachins the President for
corruption, was it by accident that he omitted
to tell his audience that "Old Wings" were 10
be the recipients Of the fund, he alleges was
corruptly used: We will supply the paragraph
omitted by Mr. Preston:
"The managing partners (Mr. NJ, Sr.. be-
ing absent in bad health are full OF energy,
straining every nerve TO keep their force du
ring this depression, and. in so Far as know,
the only OLD WmI"s, of any influence in the
district, who are in favor Of the reelection Of
Colonel Florence
1t would have been Eircr and coinportcd
better with his professions of truth and justice,
had Mr. Preston not garbled the letter, but
had told his hearers that the Democratic Pres
ident, against whom he was charging corrup-
ton, had used the public funds. not to reward
members Of the Democratic party, bat that
Mr.. PrcSton's friends, ''TIIr OLD Wings" were
the recipients Of the very corruption he was
charging. He did not do this; and the plain
reason why he did not, was that he knew that
the omitted paragraph would dscrcdit his
,,.l,oI., c,ancl, h,- tho nhcrr,lit,. nj
charging Democratic President with reward.
ing the enemies ofhis party, "tdr old Uhigs y
Thus "thc single stone from the brook" with
which this latter day David slew 'thc
Goliah of Democracy" turns out TO he 4 mere
mud JaU bcspattcring himself and "Me old
Wigs" Mr.. Preston consumed one hour o
his time upon this branch of his subject, and
the remaining half hour was devoted TO the
practical issues of the campaign in Virginia.
After arraigning Mr.. Letchcr and vindicatin@
Mr.. Summers, he informed his hearers that the
greatest wrong Mr.. lctchcr had committed in
the RuiTncr Pamphlet affair. was his Ignorance
of the civilization of Virginia" If Mr.. Lctcher
was ignorant Of the civilization of slavery
it was more misfortune than a fault; but Mr..
Preston ,t3ryot to tell his hearers that notwith-
standing his own appreciation Of the civiliza-
ton of slavery, he had at one period of his
life deliberately abandoned the "ciyiization Of
slavery" and adopted the civilization of free.
dom, had cmigrated from Virginia to New York,
had turned his back upon his now much loved
''civilization of slavery" and sought that Of
nom despised freesoil. Surely ignorance is no
greater crime than dcscrtion.
Mr. Preston forgot that Mr. Clay, though
not ignorant of this civilization, had been false
to it, and had recommended emancipation to
Kentucky; and Mr.. Preston found no fault with
Mr. Clay for this infdclity. If Mr.. Letchcrs
ignorance was crime, what has Mr. Preston
to say Of Mr.. Clay'salmost dying rccommcnda-
ton Of emancipation to Kentucky: The
speaker himself at one time deserted this civil
ization, and his idol was through life untrue TO
it; and the assault upon Mr.. Lctcher for al
legged ignorance, comes with bad grace from
such source The idea was introduced more
for the beauty with which it could be clothed,
than for any truth it contained. Mr. Preston
sought, through his whole address, more the
imaginative beauties of style, than the homely
truths Of history. lie came to make pretty
speech without regard to truth or fact, and
right well did he accomplish his object Speak
ing without any reply, the largest latitude was
before him, and he hcstatcd not to avail him
self of the opportunity. lie drew upon his
imagination for his .tacts as well as his tropes
and adopted such us would please, without
regard either to the correctness of the former
or the applicability of the latter. His CON-
parison of Gogsin with the Father of Waters"
was as far fetched rs his likeness Of him TO
"lIenfy Of France" And for the dssimilarity
of tho lottpr wp MIGHT rrfcr IN u Iu,11 inci,l,nt