The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1882-07-25


This gentleman's promised letter makes
its appearance in the Commercial of the
4th inst. From the threatenings of his
mouth-piece, the public had looked forward
to this second utterance with curiosity if
not dread. But behold! the mountain
has labored and been delivered of a
/ mouse. Take from it its iterated and re-
iterated illusions to the organ (mean-
ing the FLoRIDIAN) its sophomore school
/ boy attacks on the State administration
and its rehash of the charges against one
of the Justices of the Supreme Court,
coupled with the complaint that some of
those who had promised to stand by him
in that fight had deserted him in the hour
of need, probably after they discovered
that the testimony was not sufficient to
convict a niger and there will be
nothing left.
Some one has said, "There be class of
writers whose productions are remarkable
! only for abundance of words; ideas which
instruct and inform the mind they are in
capable of formulating" Mr. Campbell
evidently belongs to this class. In words
/ he is abundant, in instructive ideas con-
spicuously costive. He does not even
seem to know that he has made himself
ridiculous as well by exposing his igno-
rance as by his absurd charge that the
Democracy of Middle Florida in effect
conspired and coalesced with the Radicals
to oppose the Convention movement two
years ago and that by and through such
coalition and conspiracy the movement re-
ceived its death blow when the truth is,
the Democracy in every county OF the
State contributed to that catastrophy,
nearly or quite forty per cent. of the Dem
ocratc voters in his own county doing
their share in bringing the movement to
grief, and We presume this was done as it
was done elsewhere, without reference to
what the Republicans were going to do,
one way or the other. If the vote of every
Democrat in Middle Florida had been
given in its favor, the movement would
have been defeated all the same. 1t was
natural TO suppose that as fair man Mr..
Campbell would have withdrawn his often
sye charges when the facts were brought
home to him but true to the instincts of
a blind advocate he "neither confesses
nor denies he is as dumb as clam
fearing perhaps that if he confessed he
was ignorant of the truth when he made
his absurd charge the confession would
not only spoil a well-rounded sentence but
initiate against the effect of his roar -
in other respects. So too in regard to his
positive statement that the Democracy in
1876 "pledged itself" to give the State
"a New Constitution y and that it has
been taithless for six long years in re-
deeming this promise" Nosuch pledge
was given in 1876 or at any other time.
At the two State Conventions held in
1876 and 1880 no allusion was made to a
New or Old Constitution. The subject
was wisely ignored altogether as having
no place in a Convention where views
were widely at variance and where its in
PRODUCTION would have produced no pos
! ~.-,.~ $50, Gam u
bell has mistaken in this respect the utter
ances of few men for the voice of a
whole party, just as he now mistakes bis
own utterances for the voice of a states
man. In this he not only exhibits Jupiter
like vanity, but makes proclamation OF
the fact Of his own unfitness to be leader
and guide, since nothing can be
palmer than that when a person under
takes to lecture and charge party with
talthlessness to its promises he should at
least know what pledges it has violated,
otherwise he convicts himself as "a com
mon scold.' Furthermore, we challenge
the production of a word from him or
line from his pen in advocacy of Con
vention or New Constitution before 1878
and after he had lost certain cases in the
Supreme Court. Moreover, it is suscepti-
Bile of proof that "two or three of u.s.
Mr.. Campbell being chief among the g us, .
undertook to dictate the appointments to
be made in Escambia and Santa Rosa
counties in 1877, ignoring the recommen-
dations of others and especially of Mr..
Mcguire, the Senator elect, who was con-
testing for his seat, against whose party
: fealty the Governor was cautioned to
"Je,rdre" Put this "fact of history -
against that brilliant idea that Governor
violates the Constitution and perjures
himself when he makes appointments des-
ignated by others, be they few or many,
+ and not on his own mere motion SIX
long years J" ago Mr.. Campbell wanted
the Governor to commit "pejury," but
today it is GO violation of the Constitu-
ton if an appointment is made on the
recommendation of large body Of the
constituency and not at the instance OF
"two or three of us !" o Temporal! O
mOres!
Some persons are so weak that they
thank no one for correcting their errors.
They pride themselves on their infallibil
itv and resent any attemnt to convict