The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1891-12-23
A sOUELCHER.

terms 1.-THE recent theft of the Gov
ernorship of West Virginia by the
Democratic Legislature, the cele
brated Tive performance of the
late Governor Wilson, of this State,
the same year, and the rape of the
Wetzel county ballot boxes in the
First Congressional District, all of
which outrages attracted national
attention, and concludes with, "the
honest citizens of West Virginia
will be given the opportunity next
year to rebulze these wrongs"
Is it possible that the editor of the
h,telligencer has forgotten that the
honest citizens of West Virginia
have had the opportunity for which
he longs and that these charges
were passed upon at the last general
election in this Slater Does he not
remember that the Republican party
platform of 1890 made these social
ed outrages an important issue2
Does he not reflect that General
Nathan Goff, the defeated candidate
for the Governorship. canvassed the
entire State just before the last cleo
ton and in each of his fiowcry
talks devoted at least an hour to
his eloquent discourses about his
wrongs and to earnest appeals for
his own vindication? Does he over
look the fact that the good people
of West Virginia met this issue at
the polls in 1890 and vindicatcd
General Golf and the Republican
party by majority in more than
ten years.
Did he not hear Hon. w. p. Hub
bard, chief counsel of Gen. Golf in
the gubernatorial contest, in his
candidacy for Congress in the First
district, so often carried by Gen.
Goff, make an appeal for his cleo
ton as a vindication of his party
and as rebuke to the faithful old
county of Wetzel? Was he ever
told this appeal was answered by a
majority of 64S votes for his oppo-
nent, Hon. John o. Pcndleton, while
Gen. ]. W. st. Clair, chief counsel
for Gov. Fleming, at the same cleo
ton was sent to the State Senate by
a majority of 1880 votes, more than
five times that of the preceding
election.
In the counties where the Demo
cratic members Of the Contest Com
mittee resided, the Democratic ma
jorities were largely increased; in
the counties where the Republican
members of the same committee re-
sided, the Republican majorities
were largely decreased. Judge
Edwin Maxwell, Republican mem
Der of the Contest Committe, author
of the minority report, and resi-
dent of General Colts own county,
was also a candidate for reelection
and vindication in a Republican
Senatorial district, and although
four years before he received a ma
jority of more than 600 votes, he,
too, was vindicated by majority
of 222 votes in favor of his opponent,
Hon. Orlando Hardman, Calhoun
Democrat of Calhoun county. The
Republican majority of Harrison
county, the home of General Golf,
was reduced about one-haIf the
Democratic majority of Marion
county, the home of Governor
Fleming, was triplcd. The county
of Mercer, where the imported ne
groes voted in 1888, and gave Gen
eral Golf his supposed majority, vim
Dictated Republican pretenses by a
majority of several hundred Dem
ocratic votes, and sent to the Legis-
lature of 1891 Democratic repre-
sentative. In the county of Kama
wha. where the alleged frauds were
so great as to make it impossible for
Kanawha's famous County Court to
give to either Major McGinnis or
General Golf certificate which an
honest circuit judge, though a Re-
publican, would allow to stand, in
1890 gave its response to these calls
for vindication by electing every
Democrat on the ticket save the
clerk of the circuit court.
In the Legislature of 1890, elected
in 1888, the Democrats had but one
majority on joint ballot; in the Leg
islature of 1891, elected in 1890, to
General Golf and his par.
ty, the Democrats had majority of
thirty -one on joint ballot. Thus it
will be seen that the vindication
consisted in the loss of thirty Re-
publican members of the Legisla-