Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-08-21
VIRGINIA CONVENTION.
aIr. Lambs Speech on the Division OF
tho State.

SA
the State.
tconciudea from Yesterday.I
The report of the Chairman of the ma
/ jority Committee proposes TO extend the
/ boundaries Ofthe new State to Bull Run.
/ Will the chairman of that Committee un-
dertake TO explain to the inhabitants along
that Run this Constitution which he pro-
poses to adopt for thcn-to discuss the
matter in public meetings there, and Sc
cure US Il full and fair expression of the
people in the county of P,drflx?
Mr.. VEST think it will be recolect-
1 ed, sir, that there has already been a
vote taken upon the Constitution. /
proposed that Constitution myself, that we
might have some ground or place of be-
/ ginning, and propose that we take vote
! upon the adoption Of the old Constitution
! Aud the Constitution as it now stands,
with some slight amendments, will Ue the
Constitution of the new State. AS to the
( other questions in relation to boundaries
! &c, l will explain them perhaps ut anoth-
er time.
| Mr. LANB-Wheu the gentleman pEopo-
! ses to make that explanation, he should
( also explain another position of his OPEN
{ ing argument, which struck me as singu-
| larly inappropriate. lie stated in his
opening argument that they had included
I the county Of Fairfax aud the city of Alex
andria, within the limits of the new State
I which the minority of the Committee pro-
I pose To form, with view of thus furnish-
| ing protection to the capital Of the Union.
again.t the hosts that are now assembled
at Bulls Ran.
Mr. WEsr-Does the gentleman ask me
toexplain that now?
I +
( been Il good deal ofargument of this same
kind before this Convention. We have
| been told-the argument, of course, hats
! has been ninconsiderately urged-that this
| thing of establishing Il new State was to
1 be perfect protection TO us here against
the dangers that surround us. That it
/ would protect us against the arms of the
enemy-that it would be equal to an army
in the field Anou or gentlemen who hns
addressed the Convention would seem TO
have considered the action of this COnSen-
tion il they passed his project to be equiv
nlent 10 tile glorious efforts OF William Tell
for the defence of his country. Why, sir,
ibid William Tell defend Switzerland by
procIaiming that the boundary was here,
and giving notice to the Duke of Austria
that he must not 60 across those lines p
1 No, sir! your lives and your properly are
not to be defended by measures of this
kind. Nothing bnt stout hearts and
strong arms will defend them. They are
to be defended by the rifle and the bayonet,
and the cannon. Your paper Constitution
and your paper State will not be worth II
single musket iu defence.
Mr.. President the new State as proposed
! in the substitute last offered will have 81
population of less than $4,000. 1t will
7 .F CEzn
win be the utmost extent for mang years
to come. n much larger extent in fact than
YOU willbc able to extend your taxation
Ito. Yet the gentleman from Harrison, Mr.. }
| Carlf!e) who addressed the Convention to-
1 day, told you, form your new State and
/ you could at once get loan Sl5,0O0000
/ without any difficulty. Is-it possible that
this Convention is 10 be amused here with
assertions of this kind. Why, sir, your
whole revenue will hardly paythe interest
on one half the amount. Deduct the ne
cessary expense of your government, and
it wOnld not pay the interest on Onc-fourth
that amount. The whole revenue of your
! new State will enable you to support in
tield an army OF about 1000 uen-not n
soldier more for the, defense of so wide an
extended frontier as it will present. Yet
gentlemen this is the measure into which
re are to be precipitated and hurried on
without consideration. With the gentleman
rom Mason, | must say, "Refiect reflect"
nefOre you plunge into such system re-
tiect before You abandon the lofty position
/ which YOU now oCcupy,sin pursuit of this
| ignus fdfuis of which so large promises
have been made but of which so little is to
be expected. Why gentlemen measure the
| boundaries of your new State as laid down
/ in this document Youpropose frontier OF
| over a thousand miles. Pennsylvania, with
q population of $500 900, has from
tier of less than thousand. Ohio
with population of 1900, 900 has pop-
| ulation of less than thousand, yet with a
population OF uuder 800, 900 and an ability
Ito suppori in the field an army of only 1000
men, Won have frontier to defend of n
thousand miles. Fonr hundred miles of
lIhat frontier borders upon secession Vir-
ginia. How will you defendit? If any
defense should DC necessary, Il this Union
is not 10 be restored, how will you defend
that frontier? Why, gentlemen, m army
If iO0,O 900 men and revenue OF eighty
millions will be required to defend the
frontier. And yet you abandon the passes
of the mountains. You are not willing TO
wait until you can secure POcohontas and
iGreeubrier. You give up the main passes
of the -Alleghanies, leaving your frontier,
laccording to the military expression, en-
tirely in the air Ii the arms of IRE United
States do not succeed in this contest, and
liz the Confederate States are able to main
tain themselves, you present to them a
frontier, unsupported by natural defences,
at four hundred miles. You viii have a
State, If you accomplish your object, weak,
continnaliy relying on its neighb5rs for
support, for existence itself You will have
people who must always cali upon their
ueighbors-heretofore nobly have they re-