Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-08-17
VIRGIN1A ooNvENTIoN.
ADJOURNED sEssroN-TENTH DAY.
FRIpAY, August l6, 1861.


, The question was announced upon tn
adoption of the substitute of Mr.. Foreman
of Tyler, and upon this
Mr.. PoLsLEY, of Mason, proceeded to I'D
dress the Convention.
He said there was n great principle n
the base of our action here. Let US try tC
discover it aud adhere to it, for after all II
the principle of our action was not correct
we must certainly fail. Before proceeding
to review their action here, he proceeded
to puy his respects to the gentleman from
Harrison, who had been the hfst mover Oi
their movement here
The Convention of May had been cor
rcctly denominated mass meeting, and
the primary object of that COnven-
ton was division of the State
The county of Mason was at that time al
most Il unit fora division, but the repie-
senlatives OF that county came to that
mass meeting prepared to adopt any course
that might seem best. They listened to
the discussion at that time, and the result
of that debate WAS to satisfy them that
they were not then ready to act for di-
vision of she State; that it was then pre-
mature. He went on to speak of the some
/ what acrimonious debate that ensued be-
tween Mr.. Garlic and Messrs. jackson,
! Wiley and Peirpoint, and the offering and
/ adoption of the proposition which resulted
in hnrmoniIing their action. That proPo-
! sition did not in so many words call for IL
! reorganization of the State government,
but he was satisfied Mt the time that it
+ must result in that. he spoke of the APP
pointment of II Central Committee and the
! calling of another Convention, and said
/ that he would take it upon himself to say
that this Convention was not called for the
purpose of dividing the State, but they
were called together for the sole purpose
ofreorganizing the State government. The
appointment of that Committee was sub
stantially the appointment of provisional
government, with the gentleman from Har-
rison at its head, aud it was so understood
everywhere, by the people and by theFed-
eral authorities; aud ut the request OF that
Committee aid was furnished to Western
Virginia by the Federal Government. 1t
was substantially q provisional govern
mcnt, and so recognized by the public au-
thOrities.
Now in relation to what were the Oh
jects of the calling of this Convention, he
read the eighth resolution of the May Con-
vention, appointing the election for dele
| gates to this Convention here on the 18th
OF June, "to devise such measures and
take such action as the safety and welfare
of the people may demand" The Com
mittee proceeded to take such measures as
they deemed best, issuing addresses, &c,
| from cue of which lie read to show that
the object shudowed forth in both that adj
dress and the resolution of the May
! Con, entiOn, was to maintain their position
| in the Union to organize resistance to
/ secession. There was another address is
sued by the committee, i'll which the OBJ
| iect of this Convention was set forth as
proposing to proceed to reOrgauizu the
| government Of Virginia. and nothing more
/ nor less. Was he wrong in saying this :?
Mr.. CARL,LE said in reply. that he did
not remember whether the gentleman had
| stated it right or not the address had not
been written by himself, but by another
member of the committee.
MIR. PoLSLEY said such was his recol!ec-
ton, that it distinctly set forth that OBJ
! ject. He knew that speeches of gentlemen
in the first Convention contemplated II di-
vision, but this Convention was not to be
governed by such expressions, but by the
authorized expressions and conclusions of
that body, and the documents he referred
to showed that this Convention was called
| for the specific purpose OF Il reorganiza-
ton of the State government.
! Not only so, but such was the under
standing, and such substantially our own
! declaration in the first session of this
Convention; and must they now go back
aud reverse their own decisions deliber-
| ly made? Then they had acted upon this
very point and acted specifically, aud this
| body unanimously declared that during
the present revolutionary crisis and the
continuance of hostilities, it was inlpru-
dent and iueXpedieut to undertake a di-
vision OF the State. He read from the adj
dress prepared by the Committee on Blu
sincss and adopted by the Convention at
the close of the first sessiJ IN, to sustain
this proposition.
Now they were asked, clamorously de-
manded, to act upon the division question.
Was there not danger of committing the
error committed by the Convention at
Richmond, of exercising powers not in
tended to be conferred upon them by the
people? He thought there was. He had
therefore deemed it necessary to recur to
the powers conferred upon them by the
people They should limit themselves to
their Legitimate powers. a certain amount
of action was necessary, but it had been
determined by this Convention itself not
to take any action not absolutely necessary
for the immediate safety of the people; and
this action taken here now had received
the sanction of loyal people everywhere,
aud of the authorities of the United States.
Did they suppose if they had inaugurated
Il mere paper reorganization of the gov
ernmcut they would have received this
sanction and recognition? No, sir.
He appealed to them as statesmen to
maintain their consistency, and not to stul-
THY themselves by repudinting all their
former action. If they proceeded now to
direct a division of the State before a free
expression of the people could be had
they would do a more despotic act than
any ever done by the Richmond Conven-
ton itself. That Convention had offered
the people of the State at least the form OF
n vote, and the Northwest at least had had
a full and free expression; and now they
proposed to cut Off Eastern Virginia with.
out even the for;n of a vote. They now
proposed Il division when it was impossi-
BILE for one-fourth of even the counties in.