The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-11-22

ducement.
GOVERNOR LETCHER's LETTER.
RICHMOND, VA, Nov. l9, 1860.
SIR :-Y esterday morning | received your extra
ordinary letter of the 18th instant. | really at
loss to understand what good end you expected
to accomplish by the preparation and transmission
of it to
The country is deeply excited. Sectional feeling
reigns supreme. The Union isseriously threatened
with disruption. Patriots and conservative men of
all parties, East, West North and South, are look
ing to the future with fearful and alarming appre
tensions. The prudent, considerate. rejecting
minds of the nation are engaged in laudable and
noble efforts to aay the excitement restore conf
dence and kind feeling, remove all irritating
of difference, and, if possible, save the Union from
dissolution. 1t is at this time, and under such cir
cumstances, that you send me letter denunciatory
of the motives and conduct of portion of the
Southern people, and which, in its tone and spirit
is we'll calculated q hope it was not so nended) to
add fuel to flame that is burning with sufficient
intensity now.
citizens YOU seem to have forgotten that your own
State is to some extent, at least, responsible for
the present alarming crisis in public affairs. If
| am not greatly mistaken, Pennsylvania is Of
| the eleven non-slaveholding States which has
passed statutes, now in full force and effect, de-
signed to obstruct the execution OF the fugitive
| slave law This is one of the grievances of which
| the Southern people have complained for years,
| and although earnest and respectful appeals have
been addressed to you to remove this cause OF irri
| tation and complaint, those appeals have passed
| unheeded.
! As a conservative man who ardenty desires the
rerpetuitv of the Union, under the Constitution,
| appeal to you and to the conservative element of
the North yourselves at once and initiate
the proper measures to secure repeal OF those OBJ
| noxious laws. Such action on the part of your Le-
| pislature will have most happy influence in re-
| iievng the Southern mind and restoring peace and
quiet throughout our now fearfully excited coun-
The South asks only for the fair and faithful ex.
ecuion of the laws passed for the recovery and pro
lection of her property-that you will cease to EN-.
barrass and lend your aid to effect their execution
cording their letter and spirt that her property
shall escape and be found in the non-saveholding
| States you will see that it is promptly restored to
| the rghtful owner. Surely there is patriotism
| enough in Pennsylvania and the other non-slave-
holding States to grant what the law has declared
to be our due, especially when the preservation OF
| the Union depends upon it. In concluding this
branch of the subject permit to add, that if the
| North will respect and uphold the rights of the
States, the Union will be perpetual, our country
will continue to grow in power and influence,
the people of all sections will have secured to them
the blessings of peace, quiet and order, and pros
| perity such as has never been known or appreca-
ted in our past history, will be the necessary result
| 1t will require prudence, wisdom and patriotism
to avert the evils now impending over our country.
| elimination and inlammatOry language can have
no other effect than to exasperate and thus precipi
tate result that is already imminent. In this hour
ofdanger to the Union it is the duty patriots in
| all sections of our country to cultivate kind,
generous and conciliatory spirit one towards
Other. Your letter, however, breathes nothing of
this kind; YOU taunt the South with your superior
ity of numbers and threaten to crush them by your
| faucied power ,
| You assure me that ''two hundred Virginians''
have agreed to place themselves under your ''cOm-
mand. in the event of disunion," and that you are
| at nv stservice'' and await my "orders." Virgin
ians owe allegiance to this Commonwealth, and
have too much respect for my fellow citizens of all
| narties to suppose that "two hundred" of them in
anv part of the State are willing to go to Pennsyl-
vania for a commander, even if they had determined
to aid in the ungraciOus work of reducing South
ern sister State to the abect condition of con-
ouered province of the Federal Government. All
true Virginians, will, am sure, recognise their OBJ
legations to the State and will hold themselves in
readiness to respond to the call of her constituted
authorities. We now have in Virginia duly and
legally organized, eighty eight troops of cavalry
twentysix companies of artillery, one hundred and
nine companies of infantry and one hundred and
ten companies of rifemen, uniformed and well pre-
pared for service. Think you, my dear sir, under
these circumstances that any "two hundred" men
in Virginia, would seriously propose to import a
commander from Pennsylvania? mol mol You
have been cruelty hoaxed by some wag, who de-
sired to play off good joke at your expense.
You have no right to come into Virginia to rails
troops for any purpose whatsoever; and take the
occasion to say to you in the kindest spirit imagn
able, that such course will BE- taken at youI
peril. 1t is made my duty to that the laws are
executed, and in the contingency referred to, they
will be executed to the letter. If you desire tC
march against Southern State, for the purpose
mentioned in your letter. raise your troops at home
and present them to the of the South as "fooc
for gunpowder." We have other and better use
| for Virginians
AS your letter is of a public character, and as tn
people OF this State may feel some interest in you
views, have thought it advisable to publish it. az
companied with my reply. number of tn