The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-07-13
Southern Union Convention.
Aaa.s.. . ~ rsePle Of me. ssu.h. ~


WASHINGTON, July 1.-THE follow
ing is a call for convention of South
ern Unionists, to be held at Indepen-
dence Hall, in the city of Philadelphia,
on the first Monday OF September,
1886: -
Iothei loyal UDiontsts of Ae South:
The great issue is upon us. The ma
jority in Congress, and its supporters,
hrmly declare that The rights Of the
citizens enumerated in the Constitution
and established by the supreme law,
must be maintained fnyiolate. Rebels
and rebel sympathizers assert that the
rights of the citizens must belong to
the States alone, and under such regu-
lations as the respective States choose
voluntarily to prescribe. We have
seen this doctrine of State SoVereignty
carried out IN its practical results. until
all authority in Congress was denied,
the Union temporarily destroyed, the
constitutional rights OF the citi-
zens of the South, nearly anni-
Inflated, and the land desolated by civil
war. The time has come when the
structure of the State governments
must be laid on Constitutional princi-
pies, or the despotism grown up under
an atrocious leadership be permitted to
remain. We know of no other plan
than that Congress, under its Constitu-
tional power, shall now exercise its au-
thority to establish the principle where
by protection is made co-extensive
with citizenship. We maintain that
no State, either by its organic law or
legislation, can make transgression on
the rights of the citizen legitimate, We
demand and ask you to concur in de-
manding protection to every citizen of
the Great Republic on the basis of equal
INraflN = -
State Government should be recog-
niZed as legitimate under the ConstitJ-
ton in so far as it does not by its or
ganic law make impartial protection
tull and complete; under the doctrine of
State sovereignty, with rebels in the
foreground controlling Southern legis-
latures, and embittered by disappofnt-
ment in their schemes to destroy the
Union, there will be no safety for the
loyal element of the South Our
reliance for protection is now on Con-
gress, and the great Union party that
has stood and Is standing by tile
nationality, by the constitutions rights
of the citizen, and by the beneficent
principles of free government. For the
purpose of bringing the loyal Unionists
of the South into coDjunctive action
with the true friends of republican gov
ernment of the North, we invite you to
send delegates in goodly numbers from
III EoOuLuGEn oLt1best lIICluQlnE the
States of Missouri, Kentucky, West Vir-
glnia, Maryland and Delaware, to meet
at Independence Hall, in the city of
Philadelphia. on the first Monday of
September next. 1tis proposed that we
should meet at that time TO recommend
measures for the establishment of such
a Government in the South as accords
with and protects the rights of all citi-
zens. We trust the call will be respond
ed to by numerous delegations of such
as represent the true loyalty of the
South, and that kind of Government
which gives full protection to all the
rights of the citizens and such as our
fathers intended and we claim as our
birthright. Either the lovers of consti-
tutional liberty must rule the nation,
or rebels and their Rympathizers be per.
mitted to Inisrule it. Shall loyalty or
disloyalty have the keeping of thedes-
TIMES of the nation7 Let the responses
to this call which is now in circulation
for signatures, and is being numerous
ly signed, answer. ' af
Notice is given that gentlemen at n
distance can have their names attached
to it by sending request, by letter, di-
rected to DR.. w. Bingham, Washing
ton, d. c.
Signed by w. B. Stokes, Tennessee:
Joseph S. Fowler, Tennessee; James
Gettys, Tennessee; Andrew ]. Hamil-
ton, Texas; George w! Paschal, Texas:
Lorenzo Sherwood, Texas; G. w. Ash
burn, Georgia; Henry G. Cole, Geor-
gia ]. w. McClurg, Missouri; John
r. Kelso, Missouri j. f.. Benjamin..
Missouri; George W. Anderson, Mis-,
souri,; John B. Froth, Fairfax county.
Virginia; j. NJ. Stewart, Alexandria,
Virginia; Allen @. Harmon, Alexan-
driH, Virginia; Lewis Mckenzie, Viz
ginia; J. w. Hunnicutt, Virginia; John
9. Underwood, Virginia Burnham
Wardwen, Virginia; Alexander NJ.
Carolina; Daniel K. Goodloe, North
Carolina; George Reese, AlabaInn !;
D. II. Bingham, Alabama; NJ. j. Spaf-
ford, Alabama; j. II. Larcombe, Ala
bama. -W sEt