Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1860-10-05
Hon. VIM. l.. Yancey,

between two and three hundred persons, in
the Armory building Of this place, on
Wednesday evening last As a declaimer
and specious reasoner, he has few superiors.
AS an ingenious dcbater, seeking to place
fairly and frankly before the country faith
full record of facts and an incontrovertible
accumulation Of unimpeachable testimony,
be was, In his effort Of Wednesday, totally
and painfully deficient While at times the
flashes Of a great mind would mark its line
through the mass Of his sophistry and su-
perGciality yet no one could fail to perceive
that he relied upon impassioned appeals to
sectional prejudice, and excited denunciation
and execration to produce an effect. For
instance, in abiding to the charges pre-
ferred against him, based upon his own wri-
tings, of entertaining disunion sentiments,
he denied that he did, and indignantly ex-
claimed-"I scorn it-(stamp) i trample
it under my feet-(stamp)-1 grind it be-
meath my heel"-(stanip) This kind of
logic did not answer the demand Of a read
ing, intelligent people, like the audience
that listened to him. They wanted him to
explain why it was he had written his
Slaughter letter, in which he family fore
Swallowed his plan for ''precipitoting the
Cotton States into revolution" by Keep
ing up the old party relations or all other
questions" and holding the 'sSomAern as
sue paramount, influencing PARTIES LEG
1sLArUREs and Statesmen" He said in
that letter it would not do at that time
1858-to dissolve the Democratic party
"If the Democracy were overthrow, it
would result in giving place to greater and
hungrier swarm of flies" Mark-it was
merely matter of policy with him to keep
the Democracy united then, and net regard
for the time honored principles and histor-
icai and canonized patriotism of the De-
mocracy. The Southern ISSUE was "par-
amount" and every other issue and agency
had to be bent to subserve that one. It
was the Aaron's rod that swallowed up all
others. The people Of Augusta desired and
expected to hear from Mr.. Yancey's own
lips the true Interpretation of that remarka-
Bile letter. if by any process Of contortion
he could change the literal and palpable
meaning of his own language. It is an easy
matter to pirate about the CONSTITUTIONS
Union of the Constitution,' and the like.
1t would not have been very polite for him
to have talked in any other way before a
conservative, law abiding people, such as
inhabit the ''mountain Businesses of West
Augusta" But Mr.. Yancey when down in
Alabama, remote from the sssiaye deuopu-
lated border State ofold Virginia all bosh
we have more slaves now than we had
ten years ago can aortte his disunon man.
lfestoes, and then come to Virginia and stir
the Utmost depths of the soul by his elo-
quent appeals for "the Union of the Con-
stitution. What does Stephen a. Doug
las both acrite and speak on this subject p
In his letter accepting the nomination of the
Baltimore Convention, he says: ''The Fed
eral Union must be preserved The CON-
stttMion must be maintained inrioLtte IN
all its parts. Every right guaranteed by
the Constitution must be protected by law
in all cases where Legislation is necessary
to its enjoyment. The judicial authority.
IS provided in the Constitution, must be
sustained,and its decisions implicitly obeyed
and faithfully executed The lars must
be administered and the Constitutional an.
thorlties upheld, and all unlawful resistance
suppressed" Not only has he thus written,
but in every speech that be has made since
the Baltimore Convention, he has declared
from the hastings the same undying and un-
swerving devotion to the Constitution-or
If you please, "the Union of the Constitu
ton and the equality Of the States" Mr..
Douglas word will 60 as far with the peo-
pie Of Virginia as will Mr.. Yaucey' there
fore Mr.. 7. gains nothing III his tour in tn e
wake of Judge Douglas in his lachrymose
peans to the "Unlon of the Constitution !"
This being SO, then compare their uritings
and which of the two will Virginians trust
IN this hour of contention w. T.. Yam
cey, who is in favor Of precipitattnq the
cotton States into q revolutton,'' or Stephen
A. Douglas, who declares that the "FEp-
ERAL UNION MUST BR PRESERVED. TIE Cow
sTITUTIcN MUST BE MAINTAINED INvroLATs
IN ALL IT'S PAnrs7" 1t is true Mr.. Yancev
is not candidate for any high Office [."al-
though he might have been" as he saws
yet ne is the representative man of the
Breckenridge party. He is the great entity
OF the secession movement that nominated
Mr.. Breckinriage He is the selected cham
pion to follow after Mr.. Douglas, and dispel
his "heresies." He is the mouth piece, fu-
glemap, and thinking machine Of that fac.
ton and the friends of Mr.. Breckenridge
arc responsible for his sentiments, hereto
fore aid now uttered The Executive Com
mittee at Washington are afraid to let Mr..
breckenridge himself take the stump. They
prefer a more indirect and irresponsible
course to counteract the uprising Of the pop
ular heart for Douglas wherever be has been.
Hence they keep MIR b. at home-scal his
lips-and send Mr.. Yancey out, whose re-
versatile intellect and great pow
er as public debatsr, they imagine will
stay the onward current in favor Of Doug