Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-07-03

American citizen 10 decide in this contro-
yersy: Do you desire TO stand by, aud i've
under, the Constitution which has con-
fributed so long and SO greatly TO the hap
piness and prosperity of the people, and 10
transmit its blessings to our posterity =
I Or, do you desire the Union broken up,
/ and an oligarchy or military despotIsm es-
I tablished in its steady The leaders OF tue
/ South are striving for the latter. Tue Gov
eminent of the United States Is cxeFting
| its whole force to maintain the Integrity
| Of the former. There can be no nentrat
aground. The secession leaders have
| declared that they desire no comp.o-
| mise, except the unconditional SURRENDER
to them ofthe objects they have been ann
I ing to accomplish, and the consent OF the
| Government TO its own destruction, inc
very proposition Of compromise places
tllse Issue before the country. II implies
that the Federal Government has commit
/ ted sons great wrong which ought to be
/ remedisd. before pence can be restoredi
when ia fact the leaders in the South have
controlled the legislation OF the country
| for years, and the laws now in existence
! were made, or suggested, by themselves,
( when in power. :.
The position of this Suite is peculiar
| one at this moment. Last November, at
the Presidential election, it gave upwards
| of sixteen thousand majority for Bell and
| Douglas, both Uuion candidates for the
| Presidency. Their principal competitor
| was loudly proclaimed MS also true to the
| Union; and throughout the canvass, any
| imputation of favoring disnnion was ln-
| dignantiy- denied by the advocates OF all
the candidates. at the election for mem
beers Of tbe Convention in February last
there wsSsl majority of over sixty thous-
sud votes given to the Union candidates !;
] and the peooie by an equal minority de-
1 teTmiaed that no act of that Convention
should change the relations Of the State to
I the F,ieraI Government unless ratified by
| the popular vote. Yet the Delegates TO
that Convention passed the Ordinance of
secession, and attached the State to the
! Southern League, called the Confederate
States; and to render the step irretrievable
and defeat the whole object of requiring u
/ ratification of the people to render such
acts valid, they put them into effect i'm
mediately; and before the vote could he
taken on the question of ratification, trans
ferred the whole military force OF our State
to the President Of the Confectionery, and
surrendered to him military possession of
our territory.
/ upon us, we were called to vote upon the
ordiuance of secession. The same reign
4 ofterror which compelled Union men to vote
as they did in the Convention, WAS brought
10 bear on the people themselves. Vast
/ numbers were obliged by intimidation aud
fear Of threatened violence, to.votc for Sc
cession. Many did not vote at all. Many,
no doubt, we're Influenced Iy the consider.
! alton that the measures aireniy adopted
had pinced the Commonwealth helPlcsslv
within tue grasp of the President OF the
Southern Confederdcy, aud that she could
not escape from his power By the rejection
Of the ordinance.
1t is claimed that the ordinance Of e
Ecession has been ratified by a majority OF
i ninety -four thousand votes. Had the peo-
pIe of Virginia then so greatly changed?
:, The best evidence that they had not Is
found in the fact that, wherever the vote
I was really free, there was much larger
| majority against secession than was given
mt the election in February to the Union
| candidates for the Convention. The means
of intimidation and violence, which were
! resorted to overa large portion the State,
TO compel an appearance Of nnanimity in
favor OF secession. show that the leaders
of this movement felt that the hearts of the
people were not with them.
The nroclarnatinn of the President call
ing for seventy-ave thousand volunteer
i'troops is commonly relied upon to justify
the ordinance of secession. Tint ProclA-
nation ties issued on the 18th of April,
! 1861! II must not, however, be overlooked
thar on the 9Th of March, 1861, the pre-
tended Congress at Montgomery, provided
by law for calling into the FIELD n force of
lone bundreed thousand volunteers; aud
that ON the 18th of April the Secretary OF
War of tue Confederate States publicly
announced that war WAS commenced, and
that the capitol at Washington would be
captured before the frst of May. The in
tention to capture the capital of the Union
WAS repeatedly proclaimed in influential
papers at Richmond and other Southern
cities before the 18th of APRIL. II was in
fact long Il cherished object of the leaders
in this great conspiracy. Did they expect
the President of the Nation to yield the
capital, and retire in disgrace, without
adopting any measures Of defence? Yet
Virginia, we are told, seceded, because the
President, under such circumstances. called
volunteers to the defence of the country
need not remark to sou, Gentlemen;
how fatal the attempted Observance OF
the Union must prove to all our material
interests Secession. and annexation TO
the South, would cut off every outlet for
our productions. We cannot get them to
the Confederate States across the Aliegha-
MES. The Ouio river and the country be-
yond it would be closed to our trade.-
With Marylandiu the Union, orr outlet to
the East would be interrupted while We
could not carry our products across the
Pennsylvania liue, By the Monongahela or
other route. IRtime of war, We would en-
counter y hostile force, and 10 tiue Of
- tnTn.
The interests of the people of Virginia
were entrusted TO the Richmond eonven-
tion. How have they fulfilled that trusti
Why, il war was TO come. was orr land
made the battle ield2 Why was this Com
monweaIth interposed as n barrier to pro-
tect the States of the South, who under
took to overthrow the Union in inter dis
regard Of OR remonstrances7 In the po-
sitinn in which lie Richmond Convention