Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-11-02
POLITICAL.
THE STATE CANVASS.
Three Meetings. Last Evening.
ELOQUENT DEFENSE OF THE U. 5. COURT.

publican meeting at the City Hall was presided |
over by Jno p. McLear, and the customary Of
| ficers
Benjamin Nields Esq, was the first speaker, |
who compared the past lives OF Grant and Gree |
ley, and declared that the nomination of the lat
ter was as consistent as that King Herod should |
| be canonized Christian saint. Although nom
| mated by the Democratic party, there not |
one single Democratic idea in the platform |
adopted. He further showed the hostility of |
| the Democratic party to the amendments, and |
confessed belief to the unsafeness of Horace |
| Greeley as depository of power. His closing |
remarks were eulogistic of General Grant be- |
| cause of the achievements which he had made |
/ by reason Of his own capabilities and greatness.
| VIM. @. Spruanoe, Esq was next introduced, |
| who took as his theme Local State Government. |
i Our Government is not and never has been he |
i said, single centralized power for all purpos- |
/ es, but to the National Government is reserved |
| such powers were necessary to conduct the |
/ affairs of the State. The idea of our Govern |
i ment was novel one, but it had worked we'll |
| He then considered the state of society in the |
| South during and at tile close Of the war and
the necessity which grew out of it for the Com
| sttutional amendments to meet the defcien-
oies in our organic law. These amendments he
| said were general in their application, although
passed for the immediate benefit OF the colored
| people.
| He then considered the enforcement act-the
i creation of the Amendments-and which, like
| them, was general in its nature. 1t deals only
l
State; it imposes no duties on State officers but
/ allows the State to impose its own duties. Yet
it requires those officers to perform the duties 30
/ imposed. 1t prevents them from doing by indi-
rection what they can't do by direction Its OPP
orations relate not to the officer individual,
| but in his relation to the United States. The
| claim that our Levy Court was merely Court
| for revenue be pronounced stuff and nonsense.
1t is impossible to vote unless assessed. and this
fact makes the Levy Court qualifying officers.
/ He then paused to consider the systemactic at
| tempts at fraud in Kent and New Castle coun-
ties especially leaving unsaid those things which
we're in process of judicial Investigation and deal
ing only with those which had been settled by
The Courts and which were not before them
His defence of the Ju lges and jury eloquent,
deserved and convincing, and relieved them OF
| all imputation of partizanship. Reform, he said
was needed in our State Our Constitution is 40
years old, and has never undergone any Charge
except in the day of holding the election, On
the bottom OF the Ship of State are thousand
barnacles give us a chance and we'll clean her
bottom. Tremendous applause Reform is
also needed in our county affairs andin the Levy
Court These will never come through the Dem
ocrate party, but let the Republicans come into
power and the needed reform will be wrought.
THE MEETING AT 8rH AND CHURCH.
This meeting was presided over by Mr.. William
| Simmons, and Joshua L. Head was fret intro
duced, and made plain, practical speech of
proven facts. Mr.. IL. referred to President
| Grants character as man and an officer; of
| the numerous attacks made on nlm DY the De-
mocracy, and by selfish and disappointed men
| and that committee after committee of in
| vestigation of congress had failed TO find an
item against him. All recognized the frmuess.
beauty, magnanmity of the Presidents Indian
policy; of the humanitarian principles upon
| which they were founded and the showing up
of the results was sufficient to win the confidence
of ALL The speaker then referred to the late re-
bellion, and its being queiled by the superior
wisdom and good generalship of our Presdtn',
and OF the humane conditions of the surrender.
The treaty with England was alluded to as
having been ACCOMPLISHED without bloodshed ;
the reduction of the taxes az reaching S3OO00
per year the reduction of the government eX-
penses as being 10 per cent. less under the pres
ent administration than under Buchanan of
the increased value of our securities abroad, and
of the reduction in the price Of coal. The speak
or would say nothing to the discredit Of Horace
Greeley as a man that he had been good and
useful man, had written good and useful book,
and was a hard worker, but could not refrain
from crticising his public career.
| Henry Wilson was then mentioned, and the
| speaker said he knew him, personally, and knew
: | him TO be man Of the people, hard worker,
| and unceasing in his attention to tho American
) people. OF Gratz Brown, Mr.. II. said he was an
adrOlt politician of whom we knew but little and
of whom he would say little that by his political
manoeuvering in both parties he had become
| Governor of Missouri. and since had got sick at
-. New Haven. Our candidate for Congress, Major
Lotand, was spoken of, and the Importance
! | urged OF sending man to Congress who would
t secure to us the attention of the Government
The speaker concluded with reference to the
! reform that is needed in our own State affairs.
VIM. Silver, Esq, followed Mr. Heald in a
4 | speech in which he dwelt at length upon the
msmanagement of the Democratic party in this
State.
THE PLow BOY SPEAKS AT ODD FELLOWS HALL
4 MIR. BIdGs SHUTS HIS EYES AND GOES FOR GREE
a LEY-sECRETARY PAYNIER D1rTo.
The Democratic meeting was held at Odd Eel
g lows Hall. and was addressed by Hon. b. L
y Biggs and Secretary of State Paynter. Iguatius
d Grubb presided.
Mr.. Biggs informed the audience that Presi
dental elections occurred every four years. anC
in spite of tyranny. dungeons, and bastie the
Democracy would still vote their principles, lie
J. congratulated himself for his course i'll Congress
IN saying he had never received letter or heard {
" | word said in opposition to any act of his. Ht
l. then ran through the whole list of charges o
3, extravaganza and corruption of President Grants
IN | Administration, nclu ing $40 dishonest eollec
tors and yet he says the Government woult
1f punish county collector for neglecting by acci
g. dent for not collecting so cents from some poo
IN negro loahng around Wilmington.
lit He then canvassed the taxation question an,
h tried to show the wOrklugmen present that the.
ic were ground to the earth by the Governmen
tax but made no attempt to tell who attachet
O. the workingmans wages, taxed Loan Assoca
1b tions and actually DISTINGUISHED one-half tn
ld people of the State by unequal representation
p. Finally he went for Greeley, who was not hi
choice but he was the Democratic nominee, an
he was bound to accept him. He related til
anecdote Of the Clergyman who always gave ou
the first hymn he saw after opening his hymn
lie book. Some mischievous wag noticing this
. | pasted the song about Old Grimes hen on
he leaf On the following Sunday the parse
to- opened his book and commenced to give ou
tut this song He stopped and said - we'll Ty
been preaching these twenty years and move
G. seen that hymn before, but its in the book, Il
us sing. Horace Greeley is in the Democrat
re- hymn book; let us sing The speaker then rC
ats viewed negro suffrage and predicted untold evi
on il the negro was admitted to the jury box publ
nj schools, churches, hotels, and cemsteries Aftt
a gloomy eulogy of the White Mans party b
av. finally subsded. followed by three cheers, bl
IN, not one for poor Greeley.
OF John H. Paynter, Esq, being introduced as
OF honest man. as if such things were rarlties
the Democratic party, confined his remarl
. principally to State matters and eulogized IL
prosperity of the State under Democratic rul
and the wisdom of Democratic Legislation, dl
. ring the war. He, too, o,accepted Greeley becaui
OF | he was the Democratic nominee, and he WI
ETY. glad that Greeley and 30 many Liberal Repub
)rs cans had become Democrats, but neither
nor Mr. Biggs said anything about the Cinci
natt- baltimore Platform Mr.. Paynter mac
la. a more able address than usual, and was loud
. applauded. But not cheer was given (,
the Greeley.
of
rurApTu AVN HOME and S1D chrnmo for