Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1860-09-07


Mr. Smith complained Of the paucity Of
his audience and. We are told, 1--WE did 10.
get to the Court House until about five min.
utes after he began,) i'll aturedly insiuua-
ted that the people had been kept away by
the Douglas men. There was a time when
we should have been surprised at such an
unfounded imputation and trick from Gov.
s.. bat alas! we should have to shut our
eyes and stop cur ears were we now to tex
pect better things Of him." The truth is,
the people had no stomach for Gov S. af.
ter the course pursued by him here at the
July court and his subsequent conduct at
Charlottesville. In this way he might fair
ly account for the small number who assem-
bled to hear him on Friday, but to the fee
bleness of his four hour harangue is attrib-
utable the fact of his inability to retain to
the close of his speech one-haf of those who
we're attracted by his reputation to hear him.
The sneerirg insinuation of the Gov, un-
just as it was, is however, az admission Of
the sceahness of the Secession party, and
the strength of Douglas in this county.
The FIRST two hours of the speech were
devoted to dry and unentertaining reca-
pitulation of the wrongs of the South and
the aggressions of the North. Much of
this was tree-none of it original.
One striking and fragrant act of tnfaira
ness on the part of the Gov in this part Of
his speech, we cannot forbear pointing out
He denounced the Missouri restriction as
great wrong and insult to the South and
lauded its repeal, but in his intense and
blind partisan bitterness against Judge DOUG
las, he undertook to assert that Judge D..
was entitled to no merit for the repeal of il
and put forward the claims of Mr. Dixon,
of KY, to that honor Now every body
knows. Judge Douglas received the unqual-
fled thanks and admiration Of the people Of
the South, almost without exception, for his
gallant efforts in TIE passage of the Nebras.
ks Kansas hiil5 and Was denounced, burnt
in efagy and villifed over the whole North
because of them.
What if Mr. Dixon did suggest the repeal
IL terms Of the Missouri Compromise line
Who but Stephen A Douglas could and dad
effect its repeal? We have not space to dis
cuss this aud other points in the first halfof
Gov. SIS speech, but shall advert to them
again perhaps
Gov. s. next proceeded to discuss the re-
cord Of Messrs. Bell and Everett. Here oc-
casicnally we perceived glimmering Of the
Ertre Billy of 1910 and 1914. Some an
irnaton was exhibited by him, especially in
his ventilation of the efforts Of the OPPOSE
ton TO slip in to power through the dissen-
sions of the Democracy.
Had Gov. Smith closed his address here,
in all probability We should have permitted
him to pass without extended comment
But like copper-head in dog blind
with venom and almost harmless because Of
his blindness, he entertained his score Of
Breckenridge friends and few Opposition
, auditors with coarse assault upon Judge
Douglas and his friends
The whole tone and temper of the Ctn-
tdsscf at large who throws himself upon his
dignity and will not discuss with the repre-
sentatiges Of a party whose leader aud mem
bers he magns and traduces, was bitter in
the extreme We should like TO review the
whole Of this portion Of the Gov S speech
not that it was iutrinsical|y worth the labor.
but simply because of the position of the
gentlemau-Ke have net, however, space
, to do so.
The Gov. read letter from President
Buchanan raising issues of veracty with
Judge Douglas, which we publish elsewhere,
and reioiced over it, He failed however to
admit eohat he hne,8, that the first issue
could only be decided by comparison Of
I character between the President and Judge
S D., there having been no witness present;
e and in reference to the End, the records Of the
= country disprove the statement of the Pres
ident that he had net removed more than
one In ten of Judge DIS friends. AS to
J the course of the Gov. in reference to this
letter, we shall have more to say at another
| time.
The last and crowning act Of unfairness
of the Gov. which we shall notice, was his
discussion of the efforts at compromise be-
tween the two Conventions. He started in
this by the assertion that the Charlottesville
Convention was ''the first general Conven-
ton he had attended for MANY, many. many
years. All did the Gov. forget the Rich
mond Convention of 1862 Has he no
memory Of man upor has Knees before the
assembled Democracy OF the State, praying
admlttance into general Conventions"
upon the score Of services long before rem
dered :? Praying forgiveness for the bland
ishing smiles With which he honey fuggled
"Sam" and-saved his seat In the Congress
of the United States?
! We doubted our own ears when the Gov:
made this assertion
The Gov. swore 'by yea and by nay"
that be had labored harder than man ever
did before, to bring about compromise
in his account of it, he garbled and quib-
bled from beginning to end, and therefore
we could scarcely give him credit for all he
asked.
i He carried the resolution fora Conference
Committee on TAursday-the Stanton Con-
uention aoere oduised of 1t that might-but
he had to be reminded there was no official
communication made, and he was forced to
come out and admit he relied upon a privote
dispatch of Mr.. N. Tyler, Nth ,vhich he
seemed remarkably familiar, sent him late
at night after the Convention adiourned.-
He complained of Mr.. NJ. e. Harman's un-
kindness, yet he took back no part of his
| ,,nfo;r ropcrt to Tho Nho ttoa~;na o..