The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-05-07
on motion. the nomination was declared


was the signal fora general uprising Of the
delegates, loud cheers, wild yells, stamping
of feet, and clapping of hands, which the
Chair was unable for some time to restrain.
"A committee consisting of William H.
Samuel, James H. Platte, Jr., H. L. Wigand,
Robert Norton (negro), and J. W. D. Bland
(negro), was appointed to wait on Governor
Wells and inform him of his nomination.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
A motion being carried to 60 into the
| nomination of Lieutenant-Governor, the
name of James H. Clements, of Ports
mouth, was mentioned by score at once,
and greeted with great applause. Mr..
| Clements vacated the chair, and John Oil
yer (negro), first vice-president, put the
! question. The nomination was agreed to
without dissent, and three loud cheers were
given for Clements.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL.
For the office of Attorney-General seye-
| raj candidates were at once named. After
| several earnest electioneering speeches, the
| Convention was about to proceed to ballot,
when the committee appointed to wait on Go
| vernon Wells entered the hall. He was
I introduced by w. H. Samuel, and made his
appearance on the stage amid another round
of applause and cheers.
SPEECH OF GOVERNOR WELLS.
After alluding to the unmerited honors
thus conferred upon him, and his high sense
Of the obligation which such trust i'm
poses, he said:
1t is a qualification, gentlemen, I assure
you, to meet Convention assembled in the
city of Richmond, in the old Commonwealth
of Virginia, composed Of men of the charae-
ter I now see before me. 1t is remark
that has been made in my hearing several
times during the present day, that since the
war no body of men has assembled in this
city-that is, no political body-who stood
higher in character, higher in its personnel,
than the Convention assembled here to-
day, animated, as all have said, with
desire, o sincere desire, to address them
selves in earnestness to the work before
them-animated more, Lthank God, with a
disposition to bury all past animosities and
to encourage only loveJ affection, friend
ship, and union. And all these things,
gentlemen, are more necessary now than
ever before. There never was time in
your history, or the history of the Common
1
d single purpose to actuate all hearts than
there is to-day. We are now about COM
mcncing new campaign-a campaign in
more senses than one-a campaign which
has to be fought upon broad field, and by
men of all classes, and by men of all poll
tical compilations, as we'll as all colors
of skin. We are to meet upon this field to
settle (you believe me, gentlemen, when |
say it,) the great issues that were fought for
on a thousand bloody fields in four years OF
strife-where millions of brave men on
both sides marched in search of glory or
death. The great issue, as understand it,
of the late war was whether the law should
! be supreme or not-whether some could
have their will, trample upon the law, and
utterly ignore it. Now, we have settled the
first. 1t now returns'to us in this form:
| A Constitution is about to be submitted
to you, the object, aim, and purpose OF
which is to restore the law to its supremacy
by inaugurating to Office men qualified and
| duly elected under the law. That ls the
supremacy of the law to which | refer.
That is the great question now to be met
| Our opponents say they don't want the Con-
stitution adopted. Why? Because they
prefer a military government to civil one,
organized under this Constitution and in
pursuance of it.
| Now, the sole question is whether the law
shall become supreme again, and whether
| its supremacy shall be vindicated, and whc-
ther the Governor, who is the Chief Execu-
tive, shall be elected or appointed? The
question us to the supremacy of law is in
volved in another way. 1t is this sup
pose there is no man now listening to me
who has not his faith firmly fixed upon
this fact: that in the Commonwealth OF
Virginia ell men are to be by the law free
and equal. Applause
The other question involved is whether
the supremacy of the law is to be main
tanned in this region. 1t has become part
of the organic law of the United States,
and must be of this State-a part of the or
ganic law of the land, that amy man, with
out regard to race or color, who is born IN
the United States or under its jurisdiction
| is a citizen of the United States, and cltl-
zen of each Of the States. Applause.
Now, then, if by the law he is citizen, and
recognized as such, this being fixed fact,
in Gods name why should not he have the
means and power necessary to protect his
| rights rs citizen? [Applause.l Those
who oppose us in this campaign cannot deny
| that that is reasonable proposition, and
one which is not susceptible Of reasonable
| or successful contradiction.
They tell us as q doctrine of their party,
| by means of the press and Of individuals,
| that they will not recognize this as fact,
and that they will not submit to political
equality any longer than we have the force
| to compel them to do SO. a voice, That's
so."l Now, we are fighting that question,
whether the supremacy Of the law in this
particular is to be maintained, and think
it will. [Applause.]
And for this reason, gentlemen, it never
has happened in the history of human
ity-and God grant that it never may-that
mems rights have ever gone backward.
Men may go backward sometimes-go down
before their rights and fail to maintain
them-but right is marching on like the
great spirit of John Brown. Loud ap-
plause, "Amen," "That is good" &c.l
when a man puts himself on the wrong
side of the locomotive he knows what to
expect. Somebody has to get off the track.
| man who stands before the locomotive to
strive against the power of the steam which
| propels it must 60 down or get out of the
way. And SO it is, gentlemen, in relation
to this question and when we come to 60
into the field upon this canvass, and in this
campaign, it is our duty to sayto gentlemen
who oppose us that we don't propose to rule,
we don't propose to ruin we don't propose
TO domineer or to attack any men, but SIM
iiply to exercise our rights dHd plant our
selves fair and square upon the plain pro,
- y IL = Ax,.aa4 1ar;nninle TINT oil