Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1863-02-23
ADDRESs 8. 2
or sg gE p US
Hon. WAITMAN 3. WILEY,

Hon. WAITMAN :. WILEY.
Delirered before The Constitutional Con-
UentiOn of Vest TiTgtlid, an the Cfty
Of Wheeling, on thesl2tta Gluy of Feb
rUa1y, 1868, an compliance Nth a Res
ot"tion Of that body, inpitimg him to
do So -
Mn. PREsDENT-Nothing has ever sur
prised me more than the opposition which
is made to the admission Of the new. State
of West Virginia into the Union I,y n nor
ton of the people within its limits. The
assumed grounds of this opposition are.
however, little lessisurprising. tits to be
regretted that there seems to become ne
cesSlty for debatingthe question.
The fundamental objection on the part
otthe opponents of the New State appears
to consist in the idea that the proper as
sent of the Legislature of Virginia has
never been obtained, and this objection
is predicatcd on the hypothesis that what
has been called the Wheeling Legislature
was not, in fact and in law, the Legislature
OF Virginia. If this be true, the objection
is well taken, for the Constitution of the
United States expressly provides that !" no
'le1C State s.GlLbe formed or erected trit,il,
the jurisdiction Of another, State 1cithout
tie consent Of the Legislature Of the State
and OF the Congress-
| hardly suppose it is necessary to con-
trovert the idea before the people ofWest
Virginia, that the Richmond Legislature
since the 18th day of April, 1861, was the
true and righttul Legislature of Virginia.
Traitors may think so but. loyal men can
not think SO. Those who believe in the
doctrine that State has a right to secede
from the Union, may be excused for en-
Pertaining such an opinion, but those who
believe that Virginia is still III the Union,
and one Of the United States, cannot toll
crate such political heresy. Why, sir,
those men at Richmond were rebels. They
had abjured their allegiance to the United
States and sworn to support the COnstitu-
ton of the so-called Confederate States.
They had levied war against the United
States. Shall they be acknowledged as
the rightfnl Legislature of Virginia? Not
by me, sir, while God spares my life
Not by me while old flag of my fathers
hoats over one foot of ground between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans
Well, then, sir, has Virginia been with
out Legislature ever since April II,
1861 recur to the question-Was the
Legislature which consented to the forma-
ton of the new State of West Virginia the
Legislature of Virginia i'll fact and in
truth? =Szf-.a
need not rehearSe to the people of
West Virginia the atrocious proceedings
of the conSplratOrS which led to the or
ganization of the Legislature at Wheeling.
need not remind them that without their
knowledge or their assentthey were trans.
terrcd, like slaves on the block, to an in
SurrecuOnary government of selt-Constitu-
ted rulers ut Montgomery. need not re-
view the state of@tlcts existing among us
by which we were left without Judges,
sheritfs, justices of the peace, courts, and
all those arrangements of government,
Legislative, executive and judicial, neces-
Sary to the protection of our lives, liber-
tics and estates. All these matters are
still painfully fresh in the memory of ALL
The necessity TO provide some security for
ourselves was absolute. If we had been
disposed to submit ourselves to the rebel
government. it was utterly beyond our
reach-utterly unable to afford us the
slightest protection. What could we do /?
There were three alternatives before U.S.
lSt. 10 yield ourselves victims to unre-
strained anarchy and lawlessness. I'd. To
invoke the protection of military gov
crnOr, and submit ourselves to the capri
Ces of military despotism. 3D.. 0rto re-
sumo the exercise of our original inalien-
able right of establishing government
for ourselves. We chose the latter, and
the wisdom of our choice has been vindi-
Gated by the comparative security, happi-
ness and prosperity of the people where
ever the government we restored has been
established and maintained.
Our moderation in the exercise of this
prerogative has been the theme of admi-
ration by all impartial men who have ex-
amined and understood our proceedings.
Instead of assuming to organise new
State government, We simply resumed the
old government, by appointing new Off
GERS to discharge its functions in place of
those who had vacated their offices by
flight, or forfeited them by treason. This
we did, and nothing more.
And now, sir, was the government OF
Virginia, thus restored, legitimate, and
valid? Was the Legislature at Wheeling,
which gave its consent to the admission of
the State, the true and lawful Legislature
of Virginia?
And here, sir, j beg leave to refer you
to the following extract from the opinion
of Chief Justice fancy, delivered in the
celebrated case of Luther VS.. Borden,
Howard, page AZ: -
':Morever, the Constitution of the Uni
ted States, as far as it has provided for
any emergency of this kind, and authori-
Scd the general government to interfere in
the domestic concerns of a State, has
treated the subject as political IN It's mas
ture, and placed the power inthe hands OF
that department.
The fourth section of the fourth arti-
Gle of the Constitution of the United
States, provides that the United States
shall guarantee to every State in the Union
Republican form of government, and
shall protect each of them from inyasioni
and on the application of the Legislature,
or of the Executive when the Legislature
violence
Under this article of the Constitution
1t rests with Congress to decide what gov
Srnmcnt is the established one in a State.
Enr a., Iv..:a..l Cl...,..- .c.,,nr.ntntnn II