Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-12-07
TBy Adam. Erprssa.l
FRoNI wAsHINGToN.

FROM WASHINGTON.
Especial Correspondents of the 1ntellieehcer.l
--BHstness In the House Q beine Pushs
ed Forward.
WASHINGTON, Dec. s, 1860.
When your humble servant went to
college, some years ago, a asstapdiqg ques s
tion of.debate among portion 5of. his con-.
federates WAS, Do the signs fthe times
indicate n dissolution of the Union7,' 1t
was generally voted, after the debate was
over, that the signs ftheF times did. indi-,
cate that catastrophe, and it was so deci=
dec. becausethe wish was generally farther.
to the beliefin the minds Of the :, Syonne. d
scions of the South, who happened to pre-
dominate. When look back and remern-
Der how often have heard that question
thus debated and decided, it affords to me me
seryiceable clue to what see now daily
before me, and to what you and your
readers see inAalls the newspapers. 1t,
establishes to my mind beyond the shadow
of a doubt, the long entertained hope and
the cherished purpose of the cotton ele-=
ment in the South to dissolve the Union
at the first good chance it got That
chance, in its opinion, has now arrived
The election OF Mr.. Lincoln has nothing to
do with it Whatever, 1.-THE Lincoln cleo
tors who meet at noon this day at the
capitals ofztbeir respective States, " ere 10
turn about and choose Mr. Breckinridge,
no persons would deplore it more than
those who form6tbe cotton element Lin
coins election is nothing You recollect
that there is insthe books kind logic.
which is distinguished aS the post hoe.
'roptey hoclogic, and which infers, because
one thing succeeds another, that there is
a relation of cause and effect between.them.
= is commonly illustrated, you remember,
by the popular saying that the fall of
Fenterden steeple produced the formation
Of the Goodwin sands. The steeple fell
hrst, and the shoal soon afterwards s. Eap-
tIPeared. and therefore the fall OF the steerle
causedsth rise of the shoal. People who.
are anxious to find some sort of a relation
between Mr.. Lincoln's election and all
this secession business, should take down
copy of Whately's logic aud study the
above example and his comments on such
fallacious reasoning.
But "the signs of the times {now) do in!
tsdicate dissolution of the Union,;' and.
whereas, in the days to. which referred
in the beginning Of my letter. used to
uSk1llEGS 4aWUUlUEn
be compelled to vote in the affirmative
There is no doubt about Sonth Cardinals
going, and how many more will follow, is
matter of the mercst conjecture: Some
say none, others say all the Cotton States.
II isS hardly pretended that the bor1er6
States will go. They voted solid, / be-
| lievc, for tue conference, yesterday-at
least recollect of no exception. But this
IS only surface Indication. Events may
1 happen within the next few days that may
chmnge the whole current of events
begin TO doubt more and more every day
the efficacy of any such theory as political
iPrescience. The springs which control
| human affairs are in many cases too deep
and 100 minute, and in all cases too mans
fold, too complex and too variable to
make.sit possible for the intellect to deter
4 mine in advance their comb bined operation.
What olittctan, Gnfistian or Turk, at the
4 beginning ofthe year 1853, had the slightest
inklingo suspicion of5what within,a twelve
month, was to be the attitude of Russia
towards Europe? The very powerSwlich
had been =the.most trusted as The immova-.
BILE hnlYarks of conSeryA yAtisnl 4the very
Il power which had indebted athe policy
4 deepest in nithe7inertnessEofzs sh1ma n matter,
and the fnality of political arrangements,
was the very power to bolt first from its
places and throw all Europe into distnayl
Nations and dynasties, whose. interests.
4 nay, whose very exiStences, seemed de-
Itpendent on the preservation of peace
have, against their wills, as If ordered by
the voice OF F0te,z gone into battle, and
1 from battle into rev olntion, and from revo-
liution into anarchy. IrecolIect thatsai
distinguished English reviewer says that
i history is!a vessel that carries d light only
at! her stern, and not at her prov, and
hmen, after all ,learn little or nothing from.
i janything that has been. Diplomacy is
Thought to be better understood at ST..
Petersburg than5any placeFin the world,
and yet, in i l948, every Russian Ambass0-
dor in Europe, it is said, was left utterly
iswithout instruction, for the sole reason:
that the Cabinet felt itself, from day to
day, utterly unable to: form IN opinion on.
what might happen oulthe morrow. And
as it was with revolutionary Europe In
ls4s, so is it nov With us in 1860. All
men feel Ttso here, and most men &C.
knowledge it. So. And this is about all
]any one can tell about the the sissueFof the
lpresent excitement. Fs-@4 !
The hour of twelve has come again, and
again the reverend Chaplain offers up,as
lferyent and impressive prayer for the gov
ieFnmeRt. he praYs for the success of the
IConference Gommiltee- thega may be
iablesto agree stwh hen apPotnted ons some
iPlans sto7saye this great Union from going,
ITO pieces in any of its parts. He isglis=.
tened to with great attention, ,aand one
would think thai E the members were ssezz
riousty Impressed Prayer being over
1.-THE Homest dl'i ll.cnslss OPP mt is or
/ derea to be again reed q This being done;
tAIr. Grow arises oadiscuss the9pofuts of OBJ
jection ia ken 6Y the 8 steSi1 ent !in4 bis veto