The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-07-15
Confidential Politics.

The most signal evidence OIL the unWorthl-
ness of 4 canse which must OF necessity de-
pend upon the public for its final success is
! the adoption OF secrecy By its managers; and
| the fact that the readiusters OF the Legislil-
ture formed, matured, and transacted in
secret caucuses the business OF the Com
| monWeaIth. in which every man in the
State was interested. was the first symp-
tom coniirmatory to the people OF the
suspicion already entertained that the
movement, instead OF resulting in relief to
the burdened taxpayers, would end in Il
perversion, to the qualification OF the po-
ltical aspirations OF ambitious men. The
| Legislature and the caucus being at an end,
we are not surprised to find the secret sys-
TEN still being pursued, and to see pub
| lshcd in the Richmond Dispatch circular
and address, signed by General Malone, OF
Petersburg. OF the date Of May 10th, and
headed confidential" The persons to
whom the circulars may be addressed are
requested, ''if you approve the address," to
return it with "your signature" and to
''enclose such contributions as may suit
your pleasure and convenience to defray
the necessary expenses attending the pup.
| LEGATION and distribution OF the matter"
The circular states that the address was
unanimously adopted at ga conference rep
resenting all sections OF the State, held IN
Richmond on the 18th Of April "a TACT
that, beyond a rumor at the time, Will be
new to most people, and beget some curl
osity to know how large conference 1t
was that claimed to represent" all Sec
lions OF the State, and who composed it.
Tn the Valley we have not the fullest con-
tidence in these private conferences OF
representative men, and have not yet for
gotten the disastrous conference at Har-
risonburg where the representative men
OF the Valley were to appear, and who,
| when he came, was clothed in q linen
buster, and looked uncommonly lonely.
| Whoever the representative men or the
18th OF April were, however, his main OBJ
iect seems to be, as put forth in his address,
| 10 have public meetings held, and the sena.
| tors and. delegates in the Legislature in
structed 10 vote for calling Constitutional
| Convention, which is, we gather from the
same source, the "sweling wish of the pop
ular heart" We don't know bow the Dis
patch fshed this document to the surface,
Out If its publication has not gratified the
"sweliing wish" OF the readiuster leaders
it has at least gratitied those OF the rank and
| file who no longer take an interest in read
iustment lat least under the same leaders
who. with large majority, made such an
abortion OF it last winter at Richmond), and
| who, in addition to grooming" under the
State, fax, don't wish to groan under the
leyies laid that failures may climb into Of
lice. That patriotic journal has given the
address the largest circulation it can posi-
bly, get in the State, and handsomely saved
the "expense attending its publication and
distribution" Whether the people Of Vir-
ginia would like, in their present condition,
to authorize the assembling OF convention
which, once convened, can sit rs long as its
members can find their per diem in the
treasury, is something that the taxpayers
have but one answer for, and that is that
they haven't several hundred thousand dol
lars about them at present to spare for
Richmond champagne and oysters. al libi-
tim, to body that will go there to stay
until their constituents drag them OF by the
heels.
Another specimen OF these confidential
politics is brough: to light in Southwestern
Virginia by the publication OF a circular
marked sconfdentiai," and signed, among
others, by r. A. Richardson, the late nomi-
nee OF the '.conyention " held in Mr.. Har-
yey Wartman,s parlor, at Harrisonburg, for
Lieutenant Governor, Colonel Abe Full
kerson, i, G, Fowler, and others, endorsing