The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-08-02
GhHGntelEiqe
The Democratic Meeting Last Night.

The meeting had been lavishly advertise
by posters and in the columns OF the Regis
ter A brass band had paraded the city
and the Court House bell rung loud, lon
and frequently. The audience was yer.
respectable one, and yet we believe ther
was general feeling that the meeting
was not a very great success, The dislin
guished speakers hardly came up to th'
high expectations that had been excited
The meeting was organized by calling
Mayor JEFBERs to the Chair, appointing
DANA l.. HUBBARD, Secretary, and a largl
number of very respectable gentlemen
Vice Presidents Mr. FAULKNER was thu
first speaker; and hG made u digniaed
and dispassiOnAte speech, but painfully
incomplete, itseemed to lis, considered Al
deliberate attempt to argue the qucs
tons at issue. We cannot attempt, in tllt
brief space and time ut present command
IL follow amy Ot tho speakers through
their line Of argument, Ills strongest
Indictment against 'the Constitution was
lhat-it had failed to protect the eX.rCbGls
against the disabilities that had been
imposed on them by the Legislature. lie
denounced ballot voting, wanted the old
cie Occ restored, but did not discuss the
various questions at issue anything like
rs thoroughly rs he had done in the
Berkeley resolutions. The notable things
Sbout the speech were very high eulogy
which he pronounced upon the present
Constitution and his exposure Of the folly
he characterized II rs "madness -
Of authorizing the legislature to ere.
alc public debt for internal improve.
menls, The weak place In this part
part Of his discourse, was the assumption
that there was no danger of such policy
being engrailed on new Constitution by
a Convention. 1t IL worthy Of note also
that Mr. FAULKNER expressed the deep.
,slregret at the efforts that were being
male to convert the Convention question
into party issue. No fundamental law,
he said, should II possible, be formed that
l,nol formed by the concurrence Of the
VOTES u nll the State. We hope the DEM
Wmlic Central Committee, the Wheeling
R,yi,ter, and some other Democratic pa.
pcrs we could name will take this merited
nrhnke home. ~
Mr. OKEY JOHNSON, was next
&intly called lOr, and on the slight
pnyocation offered came promptly
IN the stand Mr. JOHNSON has an
excellent pair Of lungs and vocal or
gans lie made the old Court House
ring with his stentOrian denunCiations OF
lIlcnlical Constitution. This tickled the
ears Of the grOundlings and brought down
the house. There Is nothing so conta.
glolls ~ noise. There was evident, how.
ever, painful disappointment that Mr..
.IonNsON sat down without having dlag.
noSc,l his illness last winter, when he left
his seat in the Senate, went home and re.
signed in order that the number Of that
body might be so reduced that Il lia.
kers dozen could pass the Convention
bilI lie remarked, in lcllhanded way,
that he had resigned in order that the
bill might be passed, but he forgot to
speak Of the symptoms Of the illness that
drove him away from the permanent seat.
Mr.. JOHNSON concluded his harangue
with the most debasing appeals to the
party preludiCes of his hearers 10 vote
for the call rs a Democratic measure.
Nj. TRAyERs, of Jefferson, spoke briefly
and modcstly enough lie confined him.
sell mainly to some account Of the whole.
sale dsIranChisement that had been en-.
forced in his county, and declared his
people were almost unanimous for II Con.
yention, lie expressed himself friendly
lolhr ballot system of voting and quoted
those pretty lines beginnings
There Ia weapon nrmer get
And better than the bayonet, Sc
Tie committed an error, when discuss
ng the apportionment oI representation,
by saying that not only would some Of the
counties lOse representatives in the IIcgis.
TURF because the present Constitution
confined lis To the white basis, but that
the State would suffer in Congressional
representation, tinder that provision Of
the ith amendment t1 the Constitution
OIthe United States which provides that
ltany State deny the right Of suffrage to
any class, its federal representation shall
he diminished accordingly. The appor.
ltonmcnt Of representation by our State
Constitution has no connection with fed.
crtl representation ut all. II we denied
the negroes suffrage, then Our federal rep.
Fe'cntation would he reduced Under the
Iilh article; but failing to count ihein in
The legislative basis is an entirely different
aIair-,lmsn't affect our federal relations
Mall !tA
When Mr.. TRAvERs had concluded there
We're pretty vigorous cries for Gov. STAN !,
FoS, who sa. not far from the speakers
sand But the managers ol the meeting
seem To have apprchendcd that somebody
might becalled on whom il would be very
Improper for n Democratic audience To
hgar and n messenger had been dispatch.
gl fora fourth speaker to occupy the time
UII the audience were weary enough to go
home This gentleman arrived Just In
Time. The gentleman who brought him in
ElIanl ~. ii L.. Il -