Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-10-18
Mr.. Pryor-Canvass in the Fourth Congressional
District.

UtSLTlCl
McSSr>. Editors - regret very 10 see tia;
you have admitted into your columns the pro-
ducton> Of correspondent ass:,iling, indirect.
! Is, the claims of Mr.. Pryor, to scat in Con
| gry,S AS the rtguiar nominee OF his party,
in fairly organized Convention, and, admitted
10 he such by his competitor, | claim that Mr..
Pryor is ,htiNsd TO the support Of every Demo
cratic paper in the State. During the late can
vaSS Your journal ably ahyacatcd conventions,
and exposed the evils Of free fights and dSCr
| gaiizaton. ~ the organ OF oar party re-
greet, most deeply, that you should allow your
columns to be used to assail gentleman
who, in submitting his claims, but acted in &C
cordancc wi;!I your own repeatedly declared
! opinions. am confident that tie communica
ton must have been admitted without per;iSa
or. from the conviction that Mr.. Pryor could
not suffer from an invcst cation Of Isis position.
The first fling at Mr.. Pryor is in these words;
"Col. GoOdc then took the stand, and, III q
mastery speech. Astounding i'll force and logic,
kept the audience in wrapt attention for an
| hour and 4 half This gentleman is not Mr..
Prvor's match in mere defamation. but. III
power and strength a> Il dcbater, is his Supe
rior He deals less in tr0pcS and figures but
more in stubborn facts. which hc puts with
great effect and docs not exhaust himself IN
Observation-Disclosures and in turning nice periods;
/ Now the friends Of Mr.. Pryor are not undo,
the necessity Of sGccrin. al either the talent,
or want Of talent Of Col Gocic. The ability
of Mr.. Pryor and his knowledge OF public az
fairs, are not disputed questions. For ten
years he has discussed po!j;ica! issues with the
ablcst Of his opponents, aud can we'll afford Il
rely upon that general verdict Of all parties
I already given. Colonel Goohc may be good
/ knight, but lac has yet his spurs to win, while
/ his opponent wears the laurciS Of many vic,
tory. The courage of Taylor, or the Solvcmcy
of Astor, were about as diSputabic ~ the talent
Of Roger Pryor.
THEIR POSITION IrON CONVENTIONS
Your correspondent says:
Upon Mr.. Pryor he also charged inconsi>tcn.
CIV upon this subject, and attempted to show
that tie difference between them, upon the
subject Of a convention, was not 50 wide OF 50
palpable as at first might appear; for that Mr..
Pryor had qualified His adherence & u ccnycG-
ton. and his willingness to abide by lis nolni-
nation, by the condition that il should bc fair
ly gotten up, fairly organized and fairly COLI
Quoted. not the people, but himself, Ia be the
Judge. And such is Tie proncncsS OF pO!iti-
ClafiS 10 tilllk tpl.NtlIlItIN WHICH
them to be fair, and those which pass by their
claims umrair-indccd, this * 50 VIGOROUSLY
true that scarcely any man vino is defeated for
a nomination, before convention, is expected
to think otherwise than that he l.S been badly
treated.
Now this vcr>on Of Mr. pryor's position is
very inaccurate. The writer Of this heard Mr..
Pryor speak four times previous to the Con.
vent;oa, and. While it is true, that in meeting
the objections of Col. Goodc to the Convex
ton system, lac admitted their evils when un-
fair, he invariably accompanied it with the dis.
tinct declaration that he could not expect to
be cheated by lis own friends, aud that Tie
people alone had the rish; 20 decide upon the
fairness Of the Convention, ard not the aSpi-
rants Tor Office There can he no doubt about
the accuracy Of this statement.
In conclusion, the writer BEES to call the A.
tcntion Of YOUR readers to the significant fact
that this communication Is copied prominently
into the columns Of the Know Nothing paper
Ia Petersburg, and thus made to aid in beating
down the success Of the regular Democratic
nominee The Petersburg "lntclligcncci''
openly avowS, that it SGStaiuS Col. Goodc npon
the ,1.incipL, Of opposing and defeating the
Democratic organization. In this state OF things
it is but Just TO rally the Democracy 10 their
standard for surely Mr.. Pryor cannot expect
to be required to abide a Convention and then
TO be deserted BY ,lr very party which nomna.
ted him.