Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1862-08-28
Whe Wood County Resolutions-Their
Spirit, tho Spirtt OF Our People.


The Wood County FaesoIntions-Thei
Spirit, the Spirit OF Our People.
There are two resolutions passed by the
Wood county people, in their recent meet
ing at Parkersburg, to which we wish to
call special attention. They are as fol-
lows:
L RESOLVED. That we fully approve of
the bill passed by the Senate of the United
States for the admission of West Virginia
as an Independent State of the Union, AID
ask Congress at the next session to pass
the same into law of the land as the
greatest blessing they can confer upon us,
thus procuring our disenthrallment from
our oppressors of eastern Virginia.
2 Resolved, That the people of the vast
ana noble territory of West Virginia hav-
ing held their allegiance to the Union rs
paramount to all other allegiance except
that to God, have cast their lot entirely
and fully with the free people of the United
States, and with those we ''siuk or swim.
survive or perish
We need not tell our readers that the
above resolutions are the spirit of all
the resolutions whic have been passed by
the people of Western Virginia in their
mass meetings. Those people who have
been all along denouncing the proposition
TO make West Virgins free rs well as new
State should carefully note these resou-
tions. 1t is to be remembered that Mr..
Battelle's resolutions did not go near so far
as these resolutions go. The Convention
did not adopt his resolutions. They were
decr;ed by the pro-slaveryites, and were
finally voted down. We coutended then
as we do now, that the people were a long
way ahead of those who assumed TO be
their leaders. We take no credit to our
selves for discovering the signs of the
times. Ever since we were quite young
we have always heard the idea of sepa-
rate State in Western Virginia coupled
with a free State. What else but free
State could new State mean? What
would be the use of new slave State, with
no slaves in it2 We always heard this. 1t
was the idea of Phillip Doddridge and all
others of his day, that sooner or later
Western Virginia would bea separate State,
aud that necessarily she would be free
State. Aud why? Why, for the reason
given in the second resolution above-viz:
that "we have cast (our) lot entirely and
fully With the free people of the United
States, and with "those we sink or swim,
survive or perish"
a few Pro-slavery persons like Mr. CaI-
lie, and few pro-slavery papers like the
Press, endeavored to kill off this movement
by deuouncing it as an abolition scheme.
They thought they could use the old party
prejudices as usual in Western Virginia.
They thought the people would be lead as
usual. But see how great was their mis-.
takeI To-day they are both LETT on the dry
sand. The people refused to listen to
either of them. They have gone straight
ahead. Despite Garlic and despite the
Press and all their followers, the people
have held their meetings, and endorsed the
amendments to Senator Willey's bill, and
in the language of the Wood county peo-
pie have declared their determination to
"sink or swim, survive or perish" along
with the free States.
Does it not seem very strange that the
Battelle resolutions should have been voted
down even by the slender majority of three
in the Convention? Mr.. Battelle told the
men of that Convention that they did
not know the people whon they rep
resented. He was right. The represen-
tatives were afraid of the old pre-
JUDGES. They anticipated that some
men like Garlic and some papers like the
Press might appeal to the people to vote
down the New State, if they put the free
State clause in it in other words that
they might be able to make handle of
such a clause. How different has been the
result. Never were a people moro unani-
nous for any public measure than the
people of the New State for the bill
as it passed the Senate. That bill is two
years in advance of Mr.. Battclles scheme.
The people say amen to it, everywhere.
Ii is next door to an absolute certainty
that we shall get the bill through Con-
gress next December. 1t came within six
votes of passing the House at the close of
the last session. Had Mr. Carlile not turn
ed traitor to us, and done his duty as Mr..
Wiley and the others did, the bill would
have passed at the last session. 1t was kept
back simply by his treachery in Committee.
We submit in view of its speedy passage,
and the certainty that before another year
rolls away we will be free State in the
Union, that those people who have played
upon the niger string so long had better
prepare for change of tune. Their old
game of the dark ages is nearly gone.