The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-11-02
wILLEY'S SPEECH.

The Inteliigenesr of Monday morning
contained what purported to be synop-
sis OF Mr. WiLLEY's speech, at the Opera
House, Saturday night. From that pa
per we quoted some remarks attributed
TO him, as follows:
To show how the Democracy of West
Virginia stand on the question of Seces-
sion Notwithstanding their st. Louis
plstform) Mr.. Wiley produced copy of
the Journal of the West Virginia Consti-
tutional Convention that sat al Charles
ton in 1872, of which he was member,
and read from page l67 the following
resolution offered by the Hon. Charles
James Faulkner:
"The people Of this state, in recognizing
| the supremacy of the Federal government
within It's prescribed sphere of action,
hold that II Is government OF enumeT-
ated powers, and that all powers not dele
gated to IL, nor inhibited 10 the states, are
reserved To the states, or the people there
| OF. Among the powers so reserved by the
states is the exclusive regulation OF their
own internal government and police, and
1t is the high and solemn duty OF the
several departments Of government
created by this Constitution 10 guard and
protect the people OF this state from all EN-
croachments upon their rights so re-
served"
We referred to page l67 OF the
Journal of the Convention and found
the above, with the following proceed.
ings had thereon:
"Upon the adoption of which Mr..
johnson (of WOODY demanded the ayes
and noes. They were ordered and taken
and the substitute was adopted"
THE amendment as amended was
then adopted"
That would seem to be the end OF
the matter, as the Convention proceeded
to the consideration OF other business.
AS We remarked before, "Mr. WILEY
is not recorded as having offered any
substitute whatever to Mr.. FAULKNER's
resolution" at the time it was under con
slderation before that body.
Now the Inteltgencer rakes up the fact
that on subsequent day, and at a time
when Mr.. FAULKNER's resolution was
not before that body-it having already
been adopted-Mr. WILEY conceived
the brilliant idea-In spirit of purest
demagoguery-of trying to amend it by
the insertion of small stump speech in
its place. Against this attempt, all of
the members of the Convention voted,
with the exception Of seven or eight OF
Mr.. WILLEY'S immediate followers. His
thin demagoguery was plainly seen
through and denounced st the time, and
his mendacious attempt now to make
capital for his party by cunning device
to misrepresent the sentiments of his col
leagues in a 1eliberstive body, cannot be
too severely denounced.
But this is not more base than his ap-
plicatlon to his political opponents of
q filthy epithet which WEBSTER defines
rs "One guilty of unnatural crimes" "a
vile wretch And his further denun-
clation of the whole Democratic party as
pack of traitors. The tongue of this
Christian Statesman is almost as
loose as that of the editor of the IN
teiiigencer who denounces his neighbors'
who differ with him in politics, as a
.Communistic rsbble, ready for Treason
or blood"
This is the man who is now holding
up his hands, like the Pharisee, and show
ing the whites OF his eyes, over the ex-
posure of his most preten:ious colleague
in vituperation.