Des Arc citizen., 1860-07-18
6las .tisu 4 pDREssi aiais ssi la i RICHARD HlJOHNSo oN
THE pEopLIl OF ARKANSAS.

II Rock in April last, nominated me as tn Dem ocratic candidate for Governor Of Arkansas
 As l shall not be able to visit and speak in al
 the counties, as shoulddesire, nor in so man,
 of them as at first anticipated, Ihave deemed 1t proper to adopt this method of making my
 views generally public.a shalaalso visitant I address the citizens of as large portion of th s Stateas is possible, and l shall trust to thei courtesy and kindness for an attentive hsarlns and an impartial verdict.
 The brief limits of circular letter will no permit me to enter 80 fully as l could wisl into the detail of my views upon public ques
 tions; but hope to be sufiici iently explicit tt
 be clearly comprehended, and, as shall pre-
 sent nothing but my earnest convictons be- to request they may be we'll considered.
 shall address myself directly to the judgmen and good sense of the people. It is to them | appeal, and it is by them wish to be under stood and appreciated 'l" PVT 4f@ H*
 The office for which I have been nominated l by the Democracy is the, most honorable anC lresponsible of any in the gift of the people and when reflect that in it's wise and efficient execution, the interests, the honor, and ever J the future destiny of our State are involved, must confess that I accept the position as g candidate for it with an extreme diffidence oi my abilities: All can promisei is, if elected to bring to the execution of the duties of the office an honest and earnest desire for the
 
 prosperity and welfare of the State.
 | The Convention that honored me with the nomination for Governor assembled at tLittle Rock on ths 2d April last, It Was regularly called by the Executive Committee, appoint ed for that purpose by the State Democratic Convention of 1856, and ample notice was giv- en. Every county insthe s ate was fully noti- fled. and on the day set apart fonr- -ffths oi | them assembled in convention. The conven- 1 ton was regularly organized by the election of officers to preside over it, and committee on credentials was appointed nthe usual man Aner. fyfs tefsooro sHfN W #2 sl'g
 Two sets of delegates appeared from each of the counties of Benton and Phillips, and l they were sent before the committee on ere dentfals. The committee was composed of 1 honorable and just men, and it considered well and impartially all the facts in each case, and i reported a,cotdingly. Without anyreference mittee reported infagoraof the delegate from Benton county that was Friendly to my nomi nation, and in favor of the delegates from Phillips that were opposed to me. Their re- port was adopted in the convention by over whelming vote. d3 FtUl aid H dgl6i Rl ss The decision of the convention in regard to Phillips county, as 1t was against my friends, of course is not complained of by my enemies; but the decision in regard to Benton county,
 
 me, is for the same reason objected to. This objection at first extended only to the action of the convention. but now it is urged against me as the nominee. AA9 -f sN4f
 AlLgood and true Democrats were satisfied with the action of the convention, and thought it right. Two delegates had appeared in the convention and claimed to represent the De- mocracy of Benton county. One of them, MT. Robert Harston, wS citizen of Benton coun- ty, and the other, MT. T. C., Peek, was citi- zen of Little Rock. The convention awarded the right to represent Benton county to Mr, Harston, who was acitizen of the county, and ruled out MT. Peek, who was not citizen. Had the delegates from the meeting which Mr. Peek claimed to represent as proxy thought the matter of much importance, and had they believed their meeting to be the correct and legitimate one, it was easonable to suppose under the circumstances of a contest, they would themselves have attended They did not Attend, and the inference was strong and conclusive that the delegate from the adverse meeting, who dId attend. was clearlvYentitled to his seat citizen of Little Rock had no right to represent Benton county, when cit izen of Benton was present with his creden- tials, claiming the right The vote of the convention manifested the feeling on the sub ject. Sixteen thousand four hundred and sev- entv-five votes were cast in favor of Mr. ,Harston, and only five thousand sixty-two in favor of MT. Peek. Over three -fourths Of the votes cast were in favor of Mir. Harston as the delegate. Nf2' H''f"t-A .'E-
 Those who complain of this action, also contended for the adoption of the two-thirds rule in making nominations. Hereis decIs- ion made by vote of more thantwo- thirds made by vote ofthree -four rths--and yet they ire not satisfied This shows clearly that had my nomination been made under the two : thirds or even the three-fourths rule. it would not have pleased lhe parties now oblectihg. Thereasons assigned for opposing me are mere pfetextS, and the real reasons are carefully cencea led from the public. l sNuu5N
 Tho vote of Van Bnren county is also com plained of That vote is matter to me of 'nnfeigned regret It was the vote of proxy E in my favor.upon forged instructions, and had my nomination depended uponsit, Iworlld now decline that, nomination. It was the act of some mprudent friend, or some designing ene- my Belt, however, whom it may. it was an objectionable wrong placing me in a false po- sition. It did ,me serious injury, and in no event could have done me service.
 Had the vote of Van Buren county beenne essarV in the convention to my nomination.. would now decline hehonor. But t was not. Throwing out Van Buren county, and refusing to count it entirely, the following statement shows the result:
 | The nnrnberof votes cast, after dsductingss
 l9fthevote of Van Bnren county, were 24,37 Necessary to ehoices..... a..-l,--r z, IF, l8I t he v0ts of Rfe, Rfe H, Jotfnsons tess the vote . l of Van Buren county (455) was .'.... 13,Qol
 Thus it is conclnsively shown that the vote i of Van Bnren county was ttnneeessary to my nomination.. After dedacting thesvote of Vain Bnren, and throwing it entirely ont of the count, I had S16Wotes more than enough to se- cure my nomination. And, int this statement \ of my vote, most of the counties that instruct ed for me as their second choice ara not incll- ded. Had the cohyention failed to nominate me on the 2d blllot, and proceeded to one more ballot, l should have, received neagy,lf not quite three -fourths of the votes cast. As It is. my nomination was madeunanimous, and am before the people of the State as the Dem ocratic nominee for Governor by the unanl- nous vote of the convention. g tr
 Ihad no agency in the Van Buren county fraud. and was not aware of it until many weeks after the adjournment of the conyentlon- Am then to be held responsible for it? Am :. I to suffer from an act in which had no agen- cy. and oyer which I had no control? l have many friends in Van Bureu coauty, both polft- icaI and personal, and some political enemies, and fo them allsl now appeal. They are hoa- orable and intelligeptmen. and l submit the facts with a confidence that their Jn gmeni will aconit nie GAS far as in my power hare renAired the wrong by throwing out the