The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-01-19
efforts to "sabordinate the Onion 70 the

secession element"
Let us recall some scenes of 1861
What Kept the public peace on the goth
of April, thenext, day after the butchery
of our soldiers by Baltimore rowdies, ex-
ccpt the admirable forethought of Mayor
Sweeney, who organized special police
| force of one hundred and twenty-five men
from various classes of citizens, pro-
ceedinp which confessedly restored con-
fidence, and effectually defeated the in
cendiary disposition and intention of Mr..
A. w. Campbell, as manifested in his
attempt, that very night, to get up an
excitement by stating that the public
buildings were to be seized by secession
ISIS. True, it took the Mayor and Ser
peant very short time to convince the
excited people of the utter .absurdity OF
such stories, and they peaceably dispers-
ed; no doubt to CampbelPs great disap--
pointment. Who was it that prevented
| the intended attack of a mob on MI.
Wiley Ask Marshal Norton, Celonel
Evans, Gen. Wheat, Mr.. McMechan, Mr..
Harrison, and dozens more, and they will
tell you it was Mayor Sweeney. And
these were the facts. Mr.. Garlic had
made a speech in convention advocating
the establishment of Provisional Gov
eminent, without much regard to any
legal mode; Mr. Wiley, like sensible
and patriotic man, began speech in the
evening against Mr.. Carlile's plan, and
proposed what afterwards was called
the restored Government, which was a
lawful mode of proceeding, This did
not suit Mr. Campbell and his twenty,
thirty and fifty" Union men, and Mr..
Wiley was openly called traitor, and
threatened by Campbell's tools among the
spectators, and at midnight aparty groan-
ed under Mr.. Willey's window to show
their disapproval of his course. TheneXt
day Mr.. Wiley continued his argument,
and at noon, when the Convention was
about to take recess, Col Jas. Evans,
of MDrgantown, arose to his feet and
charged that hand bills were being
circulated to call meeting of citizens
at the Court House, at 3 o'clock T. NJ, to
get up a procession to boot and insult
certain persons in the Convention. Gen.
Wheat Indignantly denied that any per-
son in Wheeling was mean enough to at
tempt such thing. Col. Evans replied
that he could give names. The Conven-
ton adjourned in some excitement, and
Mayor Sweeney, who was on the stage
near the President, instantly went to Col.
Evans, who gave him the names Of the
committee who were getting up the meet
ing. M A. " Campbell cas one Of the
committee Mayor Sweeney Immediately
hunted for and found one member of the
committee (not Mr.. CampbelD and told
him no mob procession should or would
be permitted, and requested him to give
I'D the idea He obstinately refused, and
orders were given by Mayor S. to the
Sergeant, to have a force at the place be-
fore o'clock sufficient to arrest and quell
the attempt Marshal E. NJ. Norton, Mr.
j H. McMechan and others aided the
Mayor in his successful efforts to sup
press the meeting, which had already be-
gun to collect in front of the Court House,
and which was dispersed at last by one
of the committee announcing to the as
sembly that the committee authorized
him to say that the meeting was post
poned until further notice. No doubt in
deed that Mr.. Campbell and his twenty,
thirty and fifty" would as soon inform
the enemy at the front, as Mr.. Sweeney,
of all such proceedings 1t is moro likely
that the only communications made to
Nlr. Sweeney by the twenty, thirty and
fifty" were those (anonymous) contain
ing threats of death, confiscation, and
divers and sundry other dreadful things.
| The editor refers to "a certain docu-
lnent that emanated from under the firm
name OF Mr. Sweeney in those days." &c.
The writer has seen the letter referred to-,
and can positively assert that it is not in
the writing of A }. Sweeney. l was also
somewhat intimate with Governor Pier
pOnt, who had the letter, and he had no
hesitation i'll prOnOuncing that the firm
were perfectly justifable in writing the
letter as it was written, and the United
States grand jury, before whom the let
ter was presented, must have came to the
same conclusion, as no indictment was
found. l know not if Colonel Sweeney
ever saw the letter, as Inever heard that
he ever took any charge of the Office
business or correspondence of the firm of
L. Sweeney & Son. If Colonel S. was in
any sense committed by the Unreasonable
correspondence" which so justifes Mr.
CampDGll'S belief, why did not he and
his twenty, thirty and fifty" get this
obnoxious Mayor out of the way, so that
they could preserve thepeace" (2) with
out having to meet by dark lanterns,
and telegraph In cypher to keep him from
knowing what they did. Don't attempt
to dcctv'Mr. Sweeney, who did keep the
peace, and laud the twenty, thirty and
fifty" headed by Mr. Campbell, whose
keeping the peace was illustrated by
| their attempt ut Il certain meeting of the
| Union Club in Union Hall to inaugurate
a system of robbery and bloodshed in
our midst, which attempts were only
frustrated by the influence of honest
men, DIR. T. H. Logan, Rev. Gordon Bat
tclle, Judge Harrison, who now so ably
presides upon the bench of the Supreme
Court of Appeals, A. B. Caldwell, Esq,
and a few others.
| Mr.. Sweeney was candidate for re-
election as Mayor in 1862. All will
remember that he was then successful by
very Laudsommc majority over Mr. J.
| W. Paxton, the candidate of the twenty,
&c Yet This editor ilnpudently as
: cIts that Mr.. Sweeney was not Mayor of
| the Union men of this town. The man
is 50 utterly lost to courtesy us to tell the
people Of this city that majority are
not Union men, for they certainly en-
dorsed Mr.. SIS course in 1861 by rc-elect
ing him in 1862. Thank God! at all times
nine ont of ten OF the voters of this city
have been sound Union men, not Union
"so-callcd," as that man is who would
sacrifice Nh. Wiley OF anybody else, or
this whole community for selfish and