Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1860-05-10
NUMBER 20.

for him only the small pittsnce Di 1906
the email nerchant, even with n rapi,sl as
mesgre as $500, is madr to pay the first year
the oDerous tax Of sixty dohar-, and stsr
that an enormous per cen:age on bis sales.
And even the white Isboring psn. though
he mey own no c. pital ri all, be he ms-
chanic, day lsborer, or only q cssuaI'hsnd
in a harvest field. is de, by this falsely
called democratic legislation, TO pay q per
een,sge upon hs hard earned wages, 10 order
that the PRIVILEGED property Of our Eastern
taskmasters may not be compelled 10 con.
tribute its just share to the public expenses.
And, wherever we turn our eyes up end
down tie course Of legislation at Richmond
we see this unequsl and unjust exemption
following the line of slave properly. Why.
il bull or steer OF one oi our Western Vlr-
ginia farmers becomes vicious, so as to be
public nuisance. he 10 ordered by the law to
be killed, and his i"ss falls upon his owner,
and upon him alone but if /, happen that q
slave Of one Of our Eastern Virginia cap
italists becomes vicious and commits crime,
he is hanged or transported, and 1t is pro-
vided by the lew it.st his owner shall bo pad
bis assessed value OF of the State treasury.
And still again, ieIioS citizens, look at tins
fact. and ask yonfse lves how il comes that
we have a clause ia our State Constitution
by which ten thousand white men in East
ern Virginia, simply by reason Of their slave
capital. are enabled to have as greet a rsp.
resentation in one branch Of our Legsls-
ture, as forty thousand ireemen in Western
Virginia. These and o'her sggreSsions Of
the slave capitalists upon the capital sne
labor Of the non-slavehoIding white men Of
our State, committed under the banner Of
Democracy, require that another party or
ganization, mCrc powerful than any that hss
heretofore existed within our borders, sho'd
be inaupurated, in order that the personal
rights Of the laboring white citizens of
Western Virginia may be protected sgaiEss
the unjust end oppressive eneroachments,
and tyrannies Of black capital. Such an
organization, we believe, TO be the nov
great and national Republican party, con-
laws, attached to the Constitution Of out
country, constituting it IS did the early foun-
ders Of the government, and as more espsc.
tally did George Washington. Thomas JET
ferson, James Madison, and other iliuswious
Virginia statesmen, and loving the Union
and clinging to 1t as the anchor Of safety
for political liberty in the world. In COM
mon with the Republican party everywhere
we hold that slavery is local, not national .
that each State in this confedsracy u sov-
ereign, and can as Staio either establish or
abolish slavery within its own limits; that
ell the territories are and should be FREQ -
long as they remain territories; that it is the
! duty Of Congress to admit q territory as =
State wherever she has the requisite popu.
lation, be her institutions free or slave, pro
vided only that her form Of government 10
republican. In regard to slavery in our owu
State, we acknowledge the right Of every
owner to hold his slave as property right
which he acquires under tho local ls1 OF
the State; and while a. citizens of Virginia,
ard as Republicans, we believe that the
public morals and general prosperity oil our
State, which it is the province of govern
ment to great extent to protect RDa cher.
ish, are deplorsbly injured by slavsry, from
the fact, as 90 graphically stated by the
Augusta County Memorslsts to the conven.
tion Of 1879, "thet the possession and mao
agement o! of slaves form source Of end.
less vexation and misery wi hin the house.
aud waste and ruin on the farm, and that tbs
I youth OF mnny parts Of the Stats, are grow
, ing up with contempt of STEADY industry
as low, ssrvi'e thing, which contempt in.
6 duces idleness, and all ito attendant efsm.
4 macy. vice and worthlessness"-ane while
I we further believe that Virginia. in cnDse-
' quence OF the institution Of slavery. 'hal
d steadily lspssd al each decade behind aorrf
of her free State rivals. not possessing be-
= natural capabilities, and that until We maks
some provision for the gradual riddsncs o!
} this consuming evil, We never will regain
!, our natural position as Stats in the con
d frderacy; yet, nevertheless, We affirm tba
a. good citizpns we will slwtys feel our
A selves bound to uphold and vindicsts ever!
l., law and every constitutional enactment. ..
:. long as it shall remain upon our statute
n books. But we contend that under our lau
}, all white men ere equsl--that they are en-
e titled TO the rights VI free opinion and irs'
O discussion, and that all discrimmin atiens il
o favor OF privileged property, BY ~hich It II
q exempted from it's just share Of toxes. ar
: unjus, and degrading, and as such We maxi
d war against them.
e And, finally, believing as we do, that thi
r aggressive slave capital party which seek
VI everywhere, in Che General Governmsn
d and in the States, to load down the whit
d in!usry Of the country with burdens grievou
b b. borne, is in alliance with. and has sec
" tional'zed completely what was, years ag'
10 he Nationsl Democratic party; and that III
At tendency af things wherever 1t has sway
,f more and more to the dsunion and MULTI
Z. cation doctrines OF the South Carolina en-
re Ca houn school Of pylilics. we deprecste !,
m success as snbversive Of the rights OF tn
r. white men Of our country,as in5ubitibly tsnG
10 ing 10 NIKE the rich richer and the poo
" poorer, and to build up government who's
Or exclusive protection and whose horo ors O.
se emoluments shall be awarded to slave owl
ID ing oligarchy. Ant on the other hand. b.
re Iievng, as we do. that the principles 81
ne forth In the call for the National Republics
ne Conve htion at Chicago, are national in the
is character, and aggressive upon. either III
nr H., n, = ,ai,.I hut in that al