The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-08-15
GfeGntelLiqEteer:
AN OPEN LETTER.
WHEELING, Aug. IA, 1876.
lao,. J. JFarrell, Esp:

lGo,. j. .Narrell, Esp:
DEARSIR: Your polite note was duly
received day or two since, inviting me
10 write letter to be read tomorrow nj
meeting Of Republicans at Valley Grove
in this county: This l am quite ready
and willing to do. The place where you
propose to hold your meeting js historical
" associated in my mind with the cause
Of Rspublicanism on Virginia soil AS
far back as 1889, when John quincy
Adams was in Congress, and when n ne
was nobIy battling in that BODY i0F Ins
a.",.J riyht Of petition, which the slave
po,',sr. Of The South and the doughtaces
" The North were attempting to
U ,h,;ire, a band of brave men, citizens Of
Ohio county tyre,idcnts Ofthe Valley Grove
riciri,v, signed petition, which was
n,c.cnied to Congress- through MIR. Ad-
ana. requesting that body to.abOlish sla-
yorv in the District OF Columbia, and to
prevent its spread as u poisonous weed,
overthc virgin soil OF the Territories Of
the Limited States. The names OF Some
Of these petitioners are familiar to you
and others in the east end OF our county.
They descrve to be cmbalmed in all our
memories. They were, first Of all, John
,;ilmOr, the mobiles. Roman OF them all
who withstood the brunt OF the persocu.
,ion that was brought against the little
hand Of which he was a member,
and whose grave, for that one act alone,
should be kept forever green by his pos
teri,y. lie vas Justice Of the Peace oil
hi. connty-a man OF standing in your
midsl-weIl known for his integrity OF
character. lie, in common with John
Bushfeld, Hugh Brownlee, William
BushfeIl, Thomas Abercrombie, William
Morrison, John Emory, John Porter,
Peregrine Whittam, Thomas Pollock,
George Whittam, and others, signed a
petition to Congress praying, as atore-
said, for the abolition Of slavery IN the
District Of Columbia, and for the preven-
ton Of its spread into any Of the terri
tories Of the Union. This petition was
presented to the House Of Representatives
by the "Old Man Eloquent" along with
many others from different parts OF the
country, and as soon as the news OF II got
back here by the stage coach mails OF those
,sys, there was an immense excitement
in the pro.slavery camp. Nearly all the
citizens Of Wheeling who gave tone to
public opinion in 1899 were in buzz over
il. The County Court, Of which John
liiImor was an honored member, were
terribly stirred up about it. The honor
able members voted at once to purge them.
.elyes Of Gilmor's presence. They passed
the following order calling on him 10 re-
sign;
ONO COUNTY COURT |
JANUARY TERN, 1889. !
Ill having been represented to the
Court that John Gilmor, Justice OF the
Peace for Ohio county, has, contrary to
the spirit II not the letter Of the Acts Of
the Legislature OF Virginia, for the sup
preston Of incendiary publications, been
guilty Of violation OF said Act, by sign
ing Abolition petitions, which said peti.
tons were presented in the House oil
Representatives by Jehn Quincy Adams;
it is ordered that said John Gilmor be
requested to resign his office OF Justice OF
the Peace forthwith, the same being the
unanimous desire Of majority OF the
acting Justices Of the county"
BIT John Gilnor and those who had
united with him in signing the petition to
Congress, we're not the men TO be dealt
with in this way. Neither the action ot
the Court nor that OF mass meeting at
the Court House, said to be (by the
Wheeling Ga:etle) "the most numerous
and respectable meeting which we have
ever witnessed in the city Of Wheeling"
had any effect towards making them re.
tract one word. Such men did not "eat
crow" The meeting referred to APPROX
cd OF the action OF the County Court. II
also resolved as follows:
"That Abolitionists as a party, OF
abolition as doctrine, have no existence
in the county OF Ohio"
"That 10 the slayeholding sections o.
the State We solemnly pledge ourseiVe:
that we will be at all times ready anc
prepared to assist them in maintaining
our common institutions, and in execut
ing the laws made in defence thereof"
The meeting seemed4o find some diff
Guilty in expressing itself with sufficient
vehemcnce in regard to Gilmor and his
cO.'igncrs. 1t, however, repudiatcd
with scorn the idea that the citizens OF
Ohio county would protect the authors
or tolerate the circulation OF such peli-
lions within their county" It spoke OF
the gOIters up Of the petitions as "iew
miserable fanatics and AbolitioniSts liy'
ing close to the line dividing PennSylva
mia and Virginia." and intimated thai
most Of them lived on the other side o.
the line 1t Furthermore resolved
THAT Il any individuafwhose name is
attached to the said petition shall be
found to have violated the laws OF the
State, We pledge ourselves to prosecute
him to the utmost rigor thereof /: and We
lg'ther pledge ourselves that II ut any
lime heretofore the citizens OF adjoining
states shall have come into our county, ol
Asreqlr shall come, and in like manner
offend, We will use every exertion tt
have thCmapprchended and punished ac'
cOrding to law"
could quote still further from tht
proceeding Of the meeting were it neces
'aFy to do so in order to show to thosC
who will be at the Valley Grove meeting
tomorrow the ordeal through which some
OI their old neighbOrs, and perhaps kins'
men, were called to pass in defense o
Iae'r rights on Virginia soil at that early
day.
The right of petition has always beer
.S' under every form Of free government ouc
OI Ihe most Sacted and inYiolable right1