The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-09-12
TIE LETTER
Gus IxrrnNAL-REyENrE OFFICE, |

"U. :. INTERNAL-REvRNCEO TF1cE,}
"DANyILLE, VA. september Ia, 1851.
Dear Judge,-I send you herewith two pledges,
| 20 sign one and have the party nominee for your
county 10 ST q, the Other and return TO me, and
| / will forward them 10 General Mahone' Uh0 a.
reefs me 10 dO ms.
and sgn his hand to his faith. Please attend to
this matter promptly. fERNALD'
THE "PLEDGE."
"PArRIcK COUNTY, yAr}
-. 1851.
81 hereby pledge myself 20 stand by the Read
iuster party and PLATFORM and to 90 into caucus
with the Readju5ter members Of the Legislature
and vote for all measures nominees. and candl-
date to be elected 10y the Legislature that meets
I'm Richmond. as TIE caucus may agree upon.
! "Giyen under my hand and seal this - day OF
September, \. d. ISL"
This document General Malone would
have never signed ii he had been mere
member Of the Legislature, possessing no
more influence than other members. | as
sumed the privilege not to sign ii. More.
/ did not deliver the other one to the county
candidate. He never knew | had if. |
had too much respect for him to allow him
TO be tempered with in this way. ! threw
one in the fire and kept the other with
Fernald's letter. Mr.. Massey has these
papers in his possession now.
| confess | felt from this time alarm at
the tendency Of affairs.
After the election / received Il
LETTER FROM GENERAL MALONE
to meet him and other leaders OF the party
in Richmond Oh the 18th % November to
consult on important political matters"
I declined TO 20 for reasons now apparent
to all. This was the meeting alluded to in
Colonel Ruffin's letters. Then and there
it was that all the incredible schemes for
Selling the liberties OF the people were
inaugurated and formulated. The Legis-
lature that met in December was mere
unth;nking. unmanly, and Illuminated
pliant machine TO carry into effect these
measures.
Immediately upon our arrival in Rich
mond-I think the night before the Lcgis-
lature met-we were summoned to eau
Gus in the chamber OF the House OF Dele
gates, and there that night vas read to lis
by General Elliott a set OF rules by which
we were to be governed that in my Opin-
ion ought to have shocked the sclf-respect
of every man who was there as the trusted
representative OF an honest constituency.
| could never get a copy OF these rules. II
am in error in my opinion, let the msn
who has them in his possession publish
them and let the people read them and de-
| eide whether ! am correct. | call for their
publication. II shall cost nothing. was
distressed TO find that an overwhelming
majority OF the caucus voted their adoption.
! Ny vote is recorded against Them at least
| | requested it 10 be done. These rules
were prepared in advance, and by the vote
| that night became the second written
pledge or deed Of individual opinion and
representative freedom to the central power.
Shortly after this, in discussion in the
Senate, it was admitted that about three
fourths OF the Readiuster members had
given and signed the fatal "pledge," and l
suppose il was then on file in the Office OF
General Malone. / do not know this. /
simply Judge from Fernald's letter to ire
what was to be done with them when signed.
| thought could then account for the adop-
ton OF the caucus rules. The members
| had lost by this pledge all option in the
matter. Too late they learned that they
were not ireemen, much less free repre-
sentatives Of cOnfiding constituencies.
THE COLLAR HAD BEEN LOCKED.
Malone had the key. 4 representative
Legislature had ceased TO exist the night
before it was born, yet had strange alb
normal life. 1t existed for over five months
in hali-conScious existence, conquered
and submissive, a horrible political abor-
ton. There were good men there, who, as
vile schemes one after another developed
themselves, would have been happy to have
resisted them, but the "plcdgc," the fatal
written "pledge," the word "TraitOr,'
to be printed in capitals, TO be hurled from
the Wing Office against any one who should
dare to break it. Such was the power held
| by one man over the members Of his party
in the Legislature OF 1SSl-'S2, who. by
some strange fascinating power, could
force men who had been elected to the
Legislature on the trust Of their unwritten
word to surrender to him and be allowed
10 tell them to their teeth that he. their
master, had no faith in them, as their con-
stituencies had, and that he must have their
bonds, under signature and seal TO him.
before they could legislate for their people.
Yet this is all hGmiliating truth.
| VI course all the reasonable schemes and
measures formulated on the 18th OF No
vember would have been made laws OF this
State had IL not been for the four "traitors.v
Can any man in this State imagine what
would have been the result had not these
men thrown themselves in the breach and
put stop to it:
~ hiuNh vi 1HCSt ulcuStlIcS his Deen en-
planned by Colonel Ruffin that | will not
go into them in detail, but call public at
tention to the following:
AS had promised my people land it is
all promised them, was determined TO
have
THE DEBT QUESTION SETTLED.
Now, all will recollect that we were elected
to the Legislature solely upon the Reid
iuster platform Of 1881. There was really
nothing In this except the Riddleberger
bill OF 1870. That was q settlement OF the
debt, by assigning one third to West Vir-
ginia, two thirds to this State, striking out
compound interest and lCar and recon
st,1ctioa interest, and then submitting the
,oholc question to the people for ratification.
This bill alone carried us all into the Le-
gislature over the Democrats, and 1t said
In It's preamble 'sthat it is confidently be-
lieyed that the people Of this State will
never acquiesce In any settlement which