Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-10-08
EnR TIE ENQUIRER.

from me, nominated me rs a cana'ua'c i'
! Congress from this District. at the eleetl'n
which is to take place in November I'e%''-1
Through the newspapers, and personally
had been previously allied upon 20 declare
| myself u candidate, but had declined to DO 50,
for reasons which | have heretofore expressed.
| When, however, the people Of Hanover DID me
the honor thus to call upon me, did not feel
at liberty TO decline, but accepted the omlna-
ton and declared myself q candidate tor your
sutlragcs, as most o: you have prooaoly seen
in my reply to Mr.. Winston, the oecretary Vi
the meeting in Hanover. | deem II proper
now to say q few words to you, touching Inc
opinions which, if elected, I shall carry. with
me into the Confederate Congress, OF which II
is nroper that YOU should be fully informed
before YOU cast your votes. / have been al
wavs an ardent Southern man, and an ardent
States Rights man, because | was SATISFIED that
Republican Government could not exist With
out the Institutions Of the South, and neither
those institutions, nor any others valuable TO
liberty, could exist under q consolidated
Government. have, therefore, at all times
opposed the doctrines of the FederalistS under
the old Government. and I shall continue 10
oppose them updsr the new Government under
which we now live, ifthey shall be re asserted, as
they probably will, though ! am not without
hope that the experience Of the past has salts
fed every one that, although the Government
must necessarily be very much centralized and
strongly sustained during this war, there cati
be no safety for US in the future, nor any
guarantee against another war at soue distant
day with the Central Government, except IN
the strength and independence of the State
Governments. Upon the question OF Secss-
sion, nv. opinions have been 81 often anu SO
publicly expressed, that | presume they are
familiar to most of you. 1t may be proper,
however, to re.statc them, and therefore | will
do so. Believing as | do, and always have
done, that, without African slavery, the South
must rot only be impoverished to ruin, btcluse
her fields cannot be cultivated without it, but
ultimately enslaved, because without it no Re
public will last long. l have been always sensi'
tive as to the movements Of the AoolitloniSts
from the moment they attempted to use the
Halls Of Congress Tor the promotion oftheir
| designs, under the pretense of assert
inr the right of petition. When, therefore,
thew brought forward j. {. Fremont as their
candidate for the Presidency, in opposition to
Mr.. buchanan, / took the ground that ms
election should be the signal for the inTedl-
ate secession of the Southern States, aud 1t
is worthy of note at the present time, thai
when ] uttered that sentiment IN addressing
the people Of Pennsylvania, it was approved
openly, not only by the leaders Of the party
with which I was acting, but by tho people
generally; and again, and again was told, that
whenever that event lid occur, Pennsylvania
would be found on the South side of the lie;
and I verify believe that such would have been
the case, if there had been no traitors III the
South; for against the united South, the bloody
front of war would never have been reared
When at the next, and last election, The same
uarty selected q man inferior even to Fremont,
in intellectual qualifications, who had made
himself notorious only by his vulgar anec'
do,cs and hatred Of the South, whose institu.
tons he pronounced to be Incompatible with
those Of the North, which simply meant that
ours must be destroyed. advocated, i'll every
form in which | could reach the popular ear,
the immediate secession Of the Southern States,
(if lie was clccted) because | fOTcSaT, Us !
thought and therefore depicted, the present
state OF things, as the ineTilablc result of delay
! ard division in the S1uth, and in an address to
the people Of Herrico, in January last, use!
the following language:
"Iiy opinion, then, is, that Virginia should
adhere to the slave States Of the South, and
that her decision should DC Immediate. As
I have said, six States have already seeded
froIn all connection with the Black Rrpubll'
cans: and I have no doubt that North Carolina,
Texas. Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and
Maryland will do likewise; in short, that oil the
other slave States, except Delaware, will do
so. Certainly North Carolina, Texas and Ar
kansas will. lialI, or only the three last do, what
will be the condition Of Virginia? She must
remain, in one case, the only slI"e State, and
| the largest; in the other, one Ct four slave
States, at the feet Of tho Black Republicans.
or she must unite herself with the nine slave
States. can hardly think that any Virginian
would be mad enough to keep her, if he could,
in such u hopeless alliance with the Black Re
publicans, for, if she could not protect herself
from them (as experience has shown she could
mott when all the Southern States were co.op-
eruting with her, she certainly cannot do so
after she shall have lost the. aid Of nine Of
them. or necessity, therefore, as well as from
affection, [ hope-lrom pride and honor, she
must 20 with the great body ofthc slave States.
The only question, then, is, when shall she 20?
| say before the 4th Of March, for the follow.
ing reasons, viz:
u. Because, if Virginia remains ur"ler the
1 IlSSnlL JDSCt uIt itS iN' u''N
Seward come into power, she will be involved
in civil war, whether she submits to them or
not. If she then refuses To submit, the war
will be against her, as well rs the other scce-
ding States; and if she submits, it will be
against the seeding States, and she will be
compelled TO take part in it, with the North
or with the South. cannot conceive that she
can ever be So mad and infamous rs to fight
.,.,l ,ho Nn-,h opoinrt Tho ShnYtt 6r rpFDsE IN
fight with the South against the North. The
VIrrinian who would do so is indeed a trait.
or Enave," tit only to I'LL a towards grave; !"
and so Virginia has in fact declared, through
her representatives in the present General As
semblv, now sitting in Richmond, by their
anti coercion resolution. 1t is the dictate, then,
Of prudence, policy and wisdom, to take With
out delay the position with the South which
she Intends to take ultimately and thus, in
my opinion, she will prevent civil war, for ull
the border slave States will 60 with her, and
the Black Republicans will never attack 4 uni
ted South.
I'll. because I believe all the negotiations
will do no good, until the Southern States
have taken their position outside OF the Union,
and organized their government, when, under
the law of nations, the flag of tho Southern
Union will protect the people of that Union
from the Smallcys of the North ard the
wretched hemp rite traitors Of tho South. II,
then, the just men Of the North shall have the
power, as some strangely think they have, and
the will, to re unite with the South, upon
proper terms, they will so propose, and the
South will be free to accept, if it chooses to
do so. All negotiations in the meanwhile wi'l
only have the effect to injure the South by
delay and they are designed by the submls'
s~ionists Of the South, and will be intended,
if entered into by the North, to waste tho
time, until Lincoln and Seward and their
party get into power, and then they will cry
Treason! and let slip the dogs of wal" upon
you. The men who advise you to wait unit
hat pcriod arrives will then advise you &c
submit to the Black Republican rule. Iii
who will not face the music" now vii