Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-05-30
Wednesday Morning, Nay 30. 1850.
CuAs. ". RUSSELL, Esq, in Yesterdays

racy of this, 10th, Congressional DlstFact'
whose delegate he was at Charleston, in
April last, and whose delegate he proposes
to be again at Baltimore, in June. The
object of the address is stated to be to
give his constituency chance in the in
terim to pass upon his stewardship,
and say whether or no they want him to
do at Baltimore as he did al Charleston
in the event of similar circumstances oc-
curing.
So far as we have seen, this manifesto of
Mr.. RusselI's is the only one issued by any
delegate to the Charleston Convention,
unless it be one or two of the seceders
who went out on purpose to get
chance to write something-and so far
as We understand Mr.. RusselI's remarks,
we have no satisfactory idea as to what
he sees in the circumstances of his posi-
ton that should have induced him to act
differently from the other delegates. We
say this. in all candor, for we have read
Mr.. Russers document quite carefully, we
might say laboriously, and some portions
of it two or three times, and We don't
gather from it anything that is OF any
considerable moment either to the Democ-
racy or the Opposition of this Congress
sional District There is good deal in it
we are free to confess, that we cant I'M
derstand, and for the reason that the words
in the syntactical arrangement assigned
them, will neither gee with the context
nor emit any light on their own account.
For instance in discussing the wisdom
and expediency of the doctrine Of interte-
renee for the protection of slavery in the
Territories, Mr.. Russell observes
By breaking up the Democratic party
upon such an issue, we would impair the
security gilmore essential rights connected
with our peculiar institution. Virgin"
has been robbed of property to the value
of millions with the connivance OF neigh
boring States. Her citizens have been
murdered and other States have given
refuge to the murderers. She is still ex-
posed to continued depreciation: aggression
and insult whenever her sister States oil
the North are controlled by the party
which there opposes the Democracy. The
complete and permanent dominion of that
adversary would practically Hnnul almost
every right of the South, except the ultl-
mate right of oppressed States. Indeed,
whether the Union is to continue with all
the present causes of irritation or is to be
riven asunder by fatal dissentions about
slavery Virginia is too TitGtLy interested m
these questions to treat them as mere themes
for poLemicaL djSquiStion or Prete1ts 70" ann
less quaTrels.
But the mere fact that Mr.. Russell in
some instances fails to make himself I'M
derstood is not the object of our Htten-
4ions to his manifesto. We all know that
he has the capacity to express himself lu-
cidly and forcibly-to understand himself
and make other people understand what
he wishes to say-when he really has
something to say, and we account for the
difficulties we have experienced in read
ing his document, on the ground that
lie is trying to perpetrate some sort OF
Virginia abstraction, such as all Virginia
Democratic politicians, at some stage or
other in their lives, are expected to at
tempt.
One or two speculations INDUCED in by
Mr.. Russell, in the course of his essay,
are of sufficient interest to justify our
quoting them. He thinks that if the
Charleston Convention had proceeded to
ballot, as they ought to have done, at the
outset, instead of going into nm angry con-
test about platform, that Mr.. Hunter
could easily have been nominated, and the
whole business of the Convention trans
acted speedily and tremendously. Mr..
Hunter was the first choice of Mr.. Russell,
and he thinks that Mr.. HIS real strength
is far greater than that which was evinced
in the Convention. For all Mr.. Russell is
the friend of Mr.. Hunter, yet he is not the
enemy of Douglas. He expressly says:
have had no sympathy for the warfare
waged against him. admire him as a
great and patriotic statesman. have
differed with him upon n dubious and per-
plexingquestion connected with an attempt
to admit Kansas. dissent from his pres
ent opinion as to the constitutional pow
ers of Territorial governments. But "c-
knowledge the gratitude which every
Southerner owes to him for as gallant and
effective service as was ever rendered by
Northern man in defence of our constitu-
tional rights.
The difficulties in the way of Douglas
nomination, are thus explained by Mr..
Russell:
If his nomination could be so made as
not to engage the party in hostility to the
constitutional principles affirmed in the
case of bred Scott, a majority of Southern
Democrats, believe, would consider his
claims without prejudice and many with
favor. The South, however, being a
minority in the Federal government aud
being constantly exposed to the assaults
of fanaticism, is not willing to pull down
with her own hands any of her constitu-
tional defences after they have been estab-
lished by the Supreme Court.
This is as much as to say that Douglas