Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-04-18

Railg Viraiaiaa.
Letter from Gen. Houston.


name to be used rs candidate for tho Prosiden-
cy before the Charleston Convention, old San Ja-
cinto makes tho subjoined reply;
GENrLEMEN Your lettor OF January Goth, was
received in due time but owing to u press of Of
fetal duties have been unable to answer II, un-
I'll the present moment. And ip iact. even at this
time, such is the complex attitude of our State af
fairs, owing to tho lndinn troubles on our Dor.
der. and the condition of our Treasury, that
will not be abe to devote that attention to it which
| would desire.
In your letter, you desire to know whether l
icW permit my name 10 be used as q candidate for
tie Presidency. before the Charleston Conceutton'
and solicit a frank oppression Of my riers Mercup.
on and will state that numerous letters, from
various parts of the Union, have reached me, ma
king tho same inquiry.
Disposed Mt oil times to give FREQ expression
to my views | shall canddly meet the question boz
fore me- Nor will il be amiss in me, to glance
at the present condition Of our politics and re-
suits.
Tho grand idea Of parties, rs maintained by
the great men of the past has been Destroyed
All those absorbing questions Of finance and gov
ernment, which rallied around Jackson and Clay,
the patriotism of the oouA,ry, differing as to the
best mode OF advancing the national Interests, yet
all striving to accomplish that end, aro lost sight
of. We are drifting onward in tho march OF ex-
t'"'hHuhc' hhi C''Iup''oh. "hioh pS''o'"o
to the whoe.country, commands scarcely pas
sing thought willie that which pertains to each
individuals section, is n theme Of distraction.
The democratic party, which eight years ngo,
carried its candidate into the Presidency by an
overwhelming m' ority, Is divided by factions-
Coalitions formed with men of moro ambition
than patriotism, have broken down the old land
marks. National men have given place to sec.
tonal agnors. Practical national questions
have given way to distractions Slavery agita.
ton has been renewed in Congress; and the
great work Of the pacifcntors of 1850, hns beon
undone. Sectionnism has bcop the canker. worm
which has ieascd on the party, until its vitality
has been well nigh consumed.
1t is needless to define Mt any lcngth tho vari-
ous hcrcsies which distract the country, each
claiming for itself the name Of Democracy. They
each have their peculiar advocates, and nre suited
TO peculiar sections or isms. Whether known by
the nGmc OF "Squattcr Sovereignty" or n Con-
gressional Slave Code for the Territories, they
arc alike opposed to the true doctrine of "nnnln-
tcrycntion, anl calculated to renew and keep
alive the dangerous agitation of the slavery ques
tion, which both the political parties pledged
to resist. "Inder whatever color or shape il is
presented" Then come the shades Of disunion
Mt tho South--men who have been the advocates
Of re.opcning the African Slave Trade--men who
sustain the secession lisunon scheme proposed
by the Legislature of South Carolina-who have
counselcd extreme measures for more than quar-
ter Of n century, and who, in the garb Of demo-
crncy have used all their energies TO promote the
work Of disunion, and prepare the way for the
erection of n Southern Coniedcracy, upon the ru-
ins of our Constitutional Union.
The Charleston Convention is to behold these
elements black spirits and white. red spirits
and grey''--cong ngomerated. Men. who have de-
voted their lives to the service of tho Constitu-
ton and National principles, are to behold the hu
initiating spectacle; and their sentiments and
council. are To be trampled under foot, by those
who go committed to doctrines subyersive of tho
Government and the rights Of the people Of tho
States.
In olcn times there were no conventions but
those designed to form organic systcms Of govern
ment. AS men become more aspiring AMI less
scrupuous with regard to the impulses Of palro-
tism, aud determination was cvinced to sacrifice
great principles in n general scramble for place
aud power, desire was manifested 10 adopt some
means by which public opinion could be concen-
tratcl upon certain individuals calculated to be
its exponcnts. The caucus system was in-
troduced. After it's practic for brief period its
tendencies were discovered to lead to the absorp-
ton Of political power in the hands Of II few, to
the prejudice Of the public veal. 1t was rcpu.
diatcd, and the spontaneous will Of tho people,
after being fairly called into action, placed Con.
Jackson in The Presidential chair. He had de-
nounccd everything like caucus dictation do.
grading to American feeling lie was elevated
the second time, when tho first attempt ut the
convention system was made, and Mr. Van Buren,
nominated as Vice President on Gen. Jacksons
ticket.
Gen Jackson refused to allow his name to be
submitted to the Convention, prcferrng his elcc.
ton to come from the people. This the first
indoctination of national politics with the sys-
ten of conventions and platforms. 1t has obtained
from that time urtl the present, and has been
subject to a continual degenerating process.
A hat .,I knct tIo
United States. After the annexation of Texas to
the Union, while member OF the United States
Senate, | was, in common with my colleagues in
Congress- instructed, in lS4S, by the Legislature
of tho State to attend at Baltimore, as n delegate
to the Convention, which there assembled and
vote the sentiments Of the State. We acted in
accordance with our instructions. From that
time to the present. my name has been used before
the Conventions. both in this State and at Balti-
more, by the direction Of the State Legislature,
without any contrivance Of mine, or without my
having been consulted on the subject.
My reason for acting in the Baltimore Conven-
tion. was that it represented the Democratic par
ty, the party to which had ever been attached,
and with which had consistently acted. As my
views were National and my politics embraced
the Union, when sectionalism began to absorb all
national issues, | set my face against it, and
when in violation of the pledges the Democratic
party had made the country the Nebraska and
Kansas Dill was introduced as n Democrat meas
ure, refused to vote for it. For this l was pro-
scribed and my name held up to censure The
name Of Democracy was invoked with the patron
age OF the Administration, and the dcnuncation
Of every demagogue North and South a-rayed
against me as u traitor to the South, and an Abo-
li'ionist Upon that have no reflections to make.
The past and present unhappy agitation on the
slavery question. and the disruption of fraternal
feeling between the North and tho South. would
seem to manifest that was not blind to tho
consequences of that measure in my resistance to
it's adoption. Since then. have deplored the
misfortunes of the country. and that Legislative