The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-08-25
Wade Hampton's Version.

In behalf of Wade Hampton it is now
claimed that the current report of his Staun-
ton speech is incorrect, and he has furnished
to the New York Herald what it calls a ssper
sonally Endorsed" version of his speech.
The paper which originally published the
report OF his appeal to the Virginia Confeder-
ates-the Staunton Valley virginian-says Of
the matter:
we do not know what was in Gen. Hamp-
IONS mind when he delivered his speech in
Staanton; put we do know what his language
meant. He declared that the Democratic
party, under Hancock's lead, was fighting for
the same principles that Lee and jackson
fought for, and for which the Southern soldiers
died. There was no qualification in the terms
used. His appeal was for harmony in the
Democratic party in Virginia, and to make ei it
enectlve he brought up the war remembrance
70 touch the feelings of the audience. and in
that connection announced the PRINCIPLES
winch were at issue in the contest now being
country. VI '"o
The New York Tribune publishes the origin
al and the personally Endorsed" versions in
parallel columns, and says editorially;
The passages in italics in the first half are
.nose winch DO not appear at all in the second
half. The most careless reader cannot fol ~
observe That the eliminated passages ali have
the same strong Confederate fiavor-thev ali
ied up to the final one, which was the climax
Oh Ine speech: The question is, how did these
passages get into the speech if Mr.. Hamnton
did not utter them? Mr. Hampton MIGHT i'm
pugn the accuracy of the report were it not
that the passages which remain in his "ner.
sonaiiy indorsed' version are precisely the
same IN punctuation and phrase as those In the
in his version which are not of anv s;on;f;oaDno
IN or out. 1t is easy to see that both renorts
were originally made by the same hand. IL il
also easy to see that the eliminated passages
are IN entire harmony with the spirit of the
In making the speech Mr.. Hamilton did
very indiscreet" thing, as his Democratic
Hieh9s ADMIT. In attempting to escape from
ms oiunder by seeming denial, which denies
nos,ning, ne has gone further and done stu
pa thlng. 1t had already been said of hin. NV
Northern defenders, that ali he meant w 10y
mat the South was fighting now for local self
government, as Lee and jackson fought for
dour years; He would have been wiser to have
ADOPTED that defence. AS it is he confesses
tnat he meant something much worse thar
TINS, for he is afraid to own the declaration At
ton. -'' o"n in'erpreta-
Here is, however, an extract from the ssner.
sonally Endorsed" version:
VIII virginia, when we have success in our
very grasp; Will men who were bern FREQ mon
VINO were reared under the doctrines of .Ieffer-
son and OF Madison; will men who followed
Lee and Jackson-will you sacrifice the Demo
cratic party, will you sacrifice the South, will
you sacrifice the national government by aid.
ing E,i indirectly though it may be- to elect Re-
publican President? L cannot believe if.
heahze, II you can, what will follow Renub.
. near ,t triumph in November. You have all
seen what strides that party has made toward
! contamination; you have seen YOUR Judges
stricken down by the mailed hand of the na.
uonal government; you have seen the Repub-
mcan party mass troops at your polls to over
awe your Tree suffrage; you have seen their
deputy marshals, their supervisors, their re-
turning boards, the instruments to an over
tnrow OF the last vestige of State rights. /
teid you, my countrymen, the fate of the South
VIII be harder than ever if the Republican
party is successful in this campaign. We shall
oehold no mordssfree elections, no more nm
trammeled expression of political sentiment.
and no one OF us now living will ever again see
restoration to Democratic rule and princinle
Manifestly the South Carolina Senator re-.
lied upon rebel memories to stimulate Old
dominion zeal for Hancock. The "person-
ally indorsed" version will not help him ont of
the scrape. -