The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-07-02
FROM RICHMOND.
A Leaf from the Journal Of the Con.
VentIOn that passed the Ordinance
OF Secession.

R1oHMoNp. w. June %. lSGl

VentiOn tnat pusseO tne OEulhhhee
Of Secession.
Correspondence Of The LateEtgeneT.
RICHMOND, VA, June 20, 1865.
l presume that II Is not generally
known to your readers that the pro-
ceedings, iu considerable part, Of the
Virginia State Convention that assem-
bled In this city on the 18th OF Febru.
ary, 1851, and that passed an ordinance
Of secession on the 18th Of April Of the
same year, were In the fall Of that year
printed in book forln-in the volume
about the size Of the Virginia Code oI
lsGO-and are now TO be read in the
State library. ] have had an oppor-
tunity of looking through the volume
and refreshing my memory as TO many
speeches, scenes and incidents occur
ring in the earlier sessions Of the Con.
Vention, ere your correspondent and
numerous others from West Virginia
felt the pressure getting uncomfort-
ably warm. 1 have not been more In
terested in any one document than in
the resolutions offered by our COnsis-
tent and staunch union friend, James
Burley, Esq, OF Marshall county, on
the 10th day Of March, 1861. l have
copied OIL for you the sixth and
last resolution OF the series, be-
cause, at this time, in view Of what has
happened since in West Virginia, the
language used reads almost like the
words OF the old seers, and must ever
be matter ofinterest to the people OF
our new State. The resolution referred
to, reads us follows:
RA "ReSOtUGd, That the right
ofrevolution above recognized, can be
exercised as well by Il portion ofthe clti-
Zens of Il State against their State Gov
ernment, as 1t can be exercised by the
whole people OF u State against their
Federal Governments; and, when the
powers OF State Government are used
for purposes of unjust discrimination
against Il portion OF the citizens, or Il
particular section of the State, In i'm
posing upon one portion or section an
undue proportion of the burdens OF the
State Government, and in exempting
from taxation peculiar species of
property belonging, to a great extent.
10 another portion of the citizens, and
located mostly in another section orthe
State, thus increasing taxation upon ull
other interests in order to favor "pe-
Culiur Interest,"" the people thus op-
pressed, after having exhausted all
Constitutional efforts to oblain redress,
would be justified in resisting the
collection OF all revenues from
them until the injustice Aforesaid
was removed. And that any change
of the relation Virginia now sustains
TO the Federal government, against the
wishes Ofeven "a respectable minority
of her people, would be such an act OF
injustice perpetrated upon the rights of
that minority as to justify them in
changing their relation to. the State
Government by separating themselves
from that section Of the State that
had thus wantonly disregarded their
interests and detied their will,-par-
ticularly when the cause assigned for
the change of VirginiH's relations to
the said Federnl government is the al
legged insecurity in the said last mem
toned government of the peculiar spe-
cies OF property thus protected by the
organic law OF the State from contrib
uting It's due share to the support Ofthe
snid State government, by prohibiting
the taxing OF large portion OF said
property, and limiting the portion sub
ltCL u NNAuklOI " Il SIJCIllAi ANsA A"l ANSS
than that imposed upon any other spe-
cies OF property"
The foregoing resolution, as you may
well imagine, fell very dead ut the time
il was offered in the convention. Our
Union members were disposed to keep
very quiet just then, and the tire-eat-
crs, such as Jerry Morton, Montague,
Holcombe, and men Of TINT class, were
disposed to give the West IL good deal of
by play in the way of complaint, in the
hope that the members from that sec
ton might ut last be SOOthed into nc
quiescence in what was even then
iOregone conclusion-viE nm ordinance
of secession.
The Union men "roared very gently"
the threat strongly contained in the
above quoted resolution. The Eastern
men never believed for II moment that
Western Virginia would not go with
the State, although often assured that
she would not. Indeed the bigOts who
were infatuated in their zeal for seces-
sion believed that not only would Wes-
tern Virginia go with them, but in ad-
ditiOn, some Northern States. They
boosted in the convention aud out OF 1t
that admission into the shareholders
confederacy would be begged for in
short time by several of the Northern,
especially the Western, States. How
have their high born vnuntings been
brought to nought? Poor Jerry Nor
ton! | wonder what sort of a speech he
would have made nt the Inst could he
have been privileged to have addressed
the same crowd once more from the par-
lOr window of the SpOttSwOOd House,
that he addressed prior to the passage
Of the ordinance.
There urc many documents in the
volume before me that should be glad
to reproduce in the lSTELLIG ENCER did
vOurspnCe permit. The venerable John
Jnnney's speech on taking the chair was
II good Union speech" us the phrase
went ut that time. And so it was, nll
things considered. He referred to the
"tlng that for nearly II century had
"bcen borne in triumph through the
"butlle and the breeze, and which now
Floats over the Capitol, on which there
sis II slnr representing this ancient
""ommOnw wealth, ind his earnest prayer
"wus that It might rGmnin there IOr-
"cvor, prOUidCd ARRAYS, TINT It's luslre
"wus untnrnished."
"PrOvidcd always" wns the tub with
which our Union men in the convention
undertook to amuse and deceive the
secession whale. Unfortunately they
amused and deceived only themselves.
II was thus they dnllcd. It wWs thus
they neglected TO adjourn within II
month of their assembling. Tho con-
sequence Of their would be Fabian poll.
cy dawncd upon them when It was too
late to take any steps backward. c.
An Editors Trials In Utah.
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