Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-01-28
Aitbmon0 Enquirer.
WILL THE OPPOSITION HAVE A STATE CON.
vENTI0Ni
" nIrcHlE, DuNNAvAXr. TYLER WISE
FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY 2s.


WILL THE OPPOSITION HAVE A STATE CON.
vENTI0Ni
The position of the Opposition party in Yir-
GINA presents an entire novelty in the history
of our State politics. Avowedly dismembered,
the scattered factions Of this party, if party it
may be called, are pausing to consider the diff
fercnt modes which mly be adopted to secure
new and efficient organization. There seems
. to be no excitement scarcely anything like
general enthusiasm; but there does appear,
here and there, something like quiet and ear
nest disposition to select impartally that man.
ncr Of organization which best promises to
attain the object of entire consolidation.
! The call Of convention was naturally the
first idea suggested; and certain members of
the Press have entered into the scheme con
amore. only. however. to elicit faint response.
Indeed a Convention would by no means serve
their purpose. The Know Nothing faction
although broken. dspirited. and with ranks
woiuly thinned, undoubtedly compose de-
cidcd majority of the Opposition They are
willing to ignore altogether their organization
and principles" Of 1865. But they evince no
! disposition to throw their leaders overheard.
/ And the proud old-linc Wings. who have kept
| their aristocratic rufflcS unsullied by the mire
of the culvert, find the idea of selecting leaders
| from among the whileom adherentS of Sam
altogether distasteful, whatever may be the
form Of organization under which they are
! called to rally. On the other hand the Sam
ties are by no means disposed to yield entire
precedence to those sturdy adherents Of Whig.
gerry, whose unfinchins consistency affords
the most cutting rcbukc to the late regretted
antecedents Of their proposed confederates-
/ In short, il convention shall assemble, that
Convention will most probably nominate a
/ Know Nothing ticket. And with this proba-
bility before their eyes, a large body of oldline
Wings will hold aloof from all participation in
the assemblage.
The Democracy, then, have nothing to fear
from Convention of the Opposition. wewill
net only defeat any ticket which their conven.
/ ton may nominate; but the defeat will be so
overwhelming as to place our advcrsaries even
further from their mach desired organization,
than they find themselves at present.
We shalt not be surprised, then. to see the
Richmond Convention" subjected to collapse,
and the expedient OF an independent candidate"
resorted to- Already We hear suggestions Of
the sort Some have gone SO far as to fix upon
! Andrew Hunter, Esq. Of Jefferson county, as
the available man. And some among Mr..
Hunters friends, suggest that he shall come
out as the Administration candidate, boldly as
sumo the leading features Of the Presidents
message as his platform, and call Mr.. Letcher
down on the questions involved
/ This would certainly be the stronges, card
! the Opposition could play. Mr.. Hunter is an
old line Wing, who never joined the "Amcri-
cam organization. Nevertheless, once in the
field, Know Nothinss would be obliged TO fall
into line; the old line Wings would, Of course,
rally to his support and some Of the hangers
on of the Democracy would follow their exam
pie in efforts to secure favor among the fedc-
raj powers that be.
We can well Imagine how man of Mr.
Hunters tact and intelligence would play his
part. The following would probably be the
epitome Of his opening address:
"Fcllow. Citizcns-For the last few years |
have stood aloof from existing party organiza.
I tons and the current of partisan politics. I'm
movably attached to the great plan of public
policy expoandcd by Daniel Webster and Hen
ry Clay, have Of late found no organized par
ty to embody its principles or to further it's
dictates But at this moment all unforeseen
coIjuncture offers the opportunity for re-orsan-
ization upon the platform of lS4S. From
point whence we least expected, new light
has issued to guide US back to the efficient vim
dication of the American System. The Presi-
dent of the United States, elected and sustained
by party which has hitherto staked its exist
encc on the suppression Of this policy, now
comes forward. and by official recommendations
endorses and re-asserts every leading feature Of
the time -honorcd doctrines Of the Wing party.
Internal improvements by the General Govern
mcnt. protective tariff immediate federal con-
troll over all the financial agencies of the Union,
embodying the Wing policy Of bankrupt law,
aud answering every purpose of national bank,
larger standing army. an increased navy--all
! these cri,crons Of Wing faith are openly adro-
Gated by the President And the course Of policy
adopted by the Administration, amply demon
strates that these indications arc not employed
as mere catchwortls of popularity. The whole
scheme is wcl-adaptel to the full accomplish
ment Of its obvious tendencies, and the way has
been prepared for each recommendation with un-
mistakcbe sagacity. In the fall Of 1857, when
the pressure Of financial crisis was already
reducing the receipts Of the Treasury, the
balance in the Treasury was more than suifi-
Gent to have wiped out the public debt A
narrow minded, so-called strict-construction-
is,' view would have required such an appli'
cltion of the fund More enlarged views
prevailed The Administration recognised the
hiyh dutv of relieving commercial pressure,
even at the expense Of the Treasury. The III
terest of the people was cared for. Instead Of
deferring the application Of number OF ap-
preparations, they were promptly PAID over,
and the fund was poured freely into the Golfers
of banks at the great commercial centre OF
New York. Other appropriations nave since
been applied, and the general system OF
expenditure conducted on the same liberal
principle. The consequence is that the
public debt has increased until it has become
great conservative element Of government,
supplying Investment to large capitalists; and
the current rate Of expenditure has grown to
,;,o wb;ch reouircs for its supply tariff es-