The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-10-24


0UR people during the past week, have been
talked to" upon the political questions of the
day, until they ought to be wellinformed in re-
gard to all the issues now before the country.
On the night Of Saturday last Mr.. B. n. Kin
Jon. of Tshemingo one If the Douglas electors
for this State, addressed small audience at the
Court House. By actual count, there were less
than fifty persons present when he commenced,
and the number had dwindled down to seven be-
fore he concluded This question was pro-
pounded to him while he was upon the stand:
Does Judge Douglas hold, that when a
Southern man carries his slave into Territory,
his legal right Of property in such slave is recog
nized by the Constitution ?" To this question,
Mr. Kinyon proceeded to make a long response,
which was differently understood by those who
were present; the Douglas men insisting that be
answered it in the affirmative while the anti
Douglas men declared that his answer was in
the negative. In order to settle the dispute, Mr..
Kinyon himself was appealed to. after he left the
stand, to say what he intended the character Of
his answer to be; and he replied, without hest
tation, and very much to the discontinue Of his
partisans, that he designed to give negative an
swer to the question Mr.. Kinyon might as well
have 'pretermitted" his visit to Oxford, for it is
certain that he didnothing TO promote the inter-
ests of Douglas in this region.
On Monday, after dinner, the Hon. J. w.
Clapp, Breckenridge elector for this district
made an eloquent and elaborate speech to large
crowd, and fhllytsustained his high reputation
as political debater. He made mastery ex-
hibition of the heresy of squatter sovereignty,
and exposed the suicidal character Of the policy
which leads Southern men to support Mr. Bell
After the conclusion of Mr.. Clapp's remarks,
Dr. +. NJ. Green was called out in reply, and
made speech of some two or three hours The
Dr. is an able man, but he cannot perform i'm
possibilities. TWAS the fault of his subject that
he was driven to deal in generaties, which did
not meet the arguments presented on the other
side The principal point which he made seem
ed to be this that the sole object of govern
ment was protection; thai il the duty of pro-
lection was suspended for moment il was
equivalent to denial of all protection and that
the Democracy, by promising protection to slave
ny only "when necessary" had thereby virtual
ly abandoned the entire doctrine of protection.
On Monday night Gen. T. W. Harris, Brock
inridgc elector for the State at large, again ad-
dressed the people. The court room was
crowded to replction, not only the seats, but ev-
cry foot Of standing space, being as closely pack.
ed as was possible. The General held that
large and crowded audience spell-bound for
nearly two hours, while he proceeded, in vein
Of mingled argument and sarcasm interspcrsed
with side-splitting anecdotes administrations, to
'ventilate' the record of Mr.. Bell, and to urge,
upon men Of all parties, the importance, in the
present alarming crisis, of uniting upon Drecl-
inridge for the purpose Of asserting the imperil-
led rights of the South. His speech was uni
versally conceded to have been one of the best
that has been made here during the present
campaign.
DIR. Green was again called out, by his friends
in reply to Gen. Harris, and acquitted himself
in his usual credtable manner When he had
concluded, Col Upshaw, of Holly Springs, was
called to the stand and made a really excellent
speech but the crowd was by this time wearied
out with speaking, and his audience was COM
paratively thin.
On the whole, the cause of Breckenridge was
materially advanced by these discussions. We
have heard of several new converts to the gen.
uine Democracy.