Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-04-14
Tho Old Wing Party.

| We had supposed thdt Noi""~i "
| Lambs scheme for reviving the ola "id
Marty had been dismissed from the pun
10 mind as impracticable and visionary
7, eeemed TO us to have so little merit
in 1t that we expected it to die ior'h'
u,itb-to "die abornin'," in fact. FOR 'he
old wings themselves have departed this
ufe--that is, nearly all of them-ahd 'he
Generation now upon the stage know not
Ioeonh a." But a Richmond letter in the
Washington Star of the nth claims that
tho scheme is not dead nor abandoned
If colonel Lamb were TO set all that is
left of the old Wing party "corraiieu
within his new party bounds. he would
have nothing but q name. highly re-
spectable name il is, beyond douD''
Mr. Wise once said of the old WINGS
that they were drawn together or knew
one another "by the instincts OF gentle
men," 1t was also claimed in those oiden
,ires that 10 find the old Whig organ
the National Intelligencer-in the posses
sion Of a man was prima facie evidence
that he was a gentleman.
Nevertheless. the old Wing party has
gone the way of all the earth, and "ali
the Kings horses and all the Kings men
cannot recover it from the gulf or opi-
WON at sleeps its last sleep. 1t mas
fought it's last battle" and no SOUND
shall awake il to glory again.
TO show how far the present generation
has advanced its lines beyond the posi-
ton occupied by the old Wing party un-
der the leadership of Henry Clay, 1t IS
necessary only TO refer TO the WING
platform of 1874. The main objects OF
the Wing party, as set forth i'll that plat
form. we're first, the distribution OF the
proceeds Of she sales of the Puhlc
lands. Second. the abolition of the veto
power of the President OF the United
States (of course. by amending the Fede-
raj Constitution. Third. the establish
ment of a fiscal agent" of the Federal
Government, or in other words a ma
tional bank. There were none but State
banks at that time. Fourth, protection
to American industries. This plank has
been stolen from the Wings. or rather
appropriated, by the Republican party.
II there were any other articles in the
old Wing creed, we cannot now recall
them.
The Richmond letter in the Star speaks
highly of Colonel Lamb, who is indeed
worthy of all the kind words which are
therein employed in speaking of him.
But we must regard his scheme as one
which will never commend itself to pub
lie favor The "exfoliation" of General
Malone and his followers was based
upon a comparatively solid foundation
namely, the Willingness of people to get
rid of their State debts If they can do so
with any regard for public honesty. In
deed, Virginia was unable to pay her debt
as 1t had been ascertained in the funding
bill. and the Democratic leaders would
have done better to acknowledge the fact
and do what they were finally compelled
TO do-that is, to negotiate for a settle
ment upon terms dictated by the State
herself.
Colonel Lamb has no such platform
upon which to place his new party. But
he claims that he can suggest a platform
upon which all Virginians who are not
free traders nor monometallists can
stand. That is. he will favor a protective
tariff and the free coinage of silver. I'm
questonably a large majority of the
people of Virginia are friendly to the
seigniorage bill, if not to the free coin
s-tI.- A,.A ltft
that a majority of them might be styled
protectionists.
All the same, the Democrats will carry
Virginia next fall, and Colonel Lambs
new party will come to an untimely end.
There must be no divisions in our ranks
If we would escape total impoverishment.
Pension bills and taxes too heavy to be
borne would be the natural result of
again turning the Federal Government
over to the Republicans. We of the
South are already suffering from the
most odious form of absenteeism. the
curse of Ireland. We refer. of course. TO
the pension taxes which are levied upon
and collected from the people Of the
South as well as those of the North, but
are expended wholly in the North. The pro-
cess Of impoverishment goes on night
and day. and from one years end to an
others.
II the Democrats in the two houses OF
Congress would only go to work in earn
est and forthwith force the tariff bill to
a vote. as they could easily do. the Demo-
cratic party would have comparatively
plain sailing next November.