The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-04-14
GOV. PIERPONT.


ana profoundly, he knew what would
happen In the western portion OF Nirs
ginia when the government at Rich
mond should prove faNe TO the union
OF the states and attempt 10 tag the
weAt ON to the tail end or slave.
ho1aiHg eoHfcderacy.
The thing that he forecastcd and
foretOld In 1851 is exactly the thing that
happened In 1861. With the fulnllnent
OF his prophecy comes IN the public ca:
reer OF Governor Picrpont. and along
with II that peTipatetlc goveTnOrship %
ais from Wheeling to Richmond via AL
.Xundria, which has been such q puzzle
70 - many people.
What SeCSOSiOn Cost virginia,
Before the war the commonwealth OF
virginia comprised one hundred and
.orty-eight counties. covering an area
Il over, 10000 square miles. Her Sc
session movement cost her iltty-four
81 these counties and about 1890
square miles OF her territory. and re-
lucSd her from an imperial position po-
.ltlcally. 10 body polite of'the third
slaRS. When the government OF the
, whole state OF virginia was re-OTgnniz-
ed AT Wheeling In June, 1861. several
counties outside o. West Virginia were
eepFeseuted, These counties continued
20 be the IOSz: virginia recognized by
lhe government OF thc United States
after West VirSini1'S admission as a
separate state. and Alexandria became
heir seat OF government Richmond
oeirg. Ike, Gibraltar, temporarily In
The persecution OF the English" alias
1.-THE COnfe&erates."
There was at no time dual govern
nent Mt Wheeling AS some persons seem
10 suppose. " took two years TO In
subate the new state suCcessorship to
the Virginia government at Wheeling,
because every step had to be regular
under the constitution and laws Of tho
United States, pending which incuba-
Hon Wheeling and the hfty-four coun-
ties were as much part and parcel OF
Virginia as at any time In their pre-
Vious existence. The new state was not
formed aud launched by the wave OF
nnybody's hand, but was evolved Inch
by inch during those two years. Hence
up to the Goth day OF June, 1863. when
West virginia became q state under the
proclamation OF the President, after the
regular form OF proclaiming new states
rs members OF the Union, the seat OF
government OF the old state continued
20 be al Wheeling. and Governor Pier
point was the executive Of the ftfty-four
CQUukle1 OF etnDISp "Nhb AbAAlH' 1N'N
as much as ne was OF the eastern
shore" counties or OF the Potomac river
counties or any other part OF the Old
Dominion.
He'd West Virginia failed at the very
last stage OF her incubation to do Gught
that was necessary to complete her
emhryotic growth into stateship she
would have remained part OF the old
state lust as much as II the drst step
had never been contemplated. Hence
there was no state but virginia at
Wheeling until one minute after mid
night on June 90 1858, ut which mo-
ment the proclamation admitting West
Virginia Into the Union took effect. and
up 10 that moment Governor Pierpont
welded all the gubeTnatorial authority
that could be rightfully exercised with
in the boundaries Of tho afty-four
counties
Governor Foreman and all the other
officers OF the new state, including the
legislature, were not sworn in until the
forenoon OF June 20, but, nevertheless.
AZ the previous midnight the glory OF
the old state had forever departed as
the possessor OF vast domain that ex-
tended from the North Carolina line to
the northern peak OF the Panhandle,
and Daniel Webster's prophecy was
thus vlpdIcated as the most remarkable
utterancS in American history.
History Of the Restored Government
But have still failed to explain how,
in the first instance, there came to be
any VirginIan government OF any kind
at wheeling. or elsewhere save at Rich
mond, seeing that Richmond was the
seat OF authority and that John Letch-
ers term as governor was not half ex-
PRED nj the breaking out OF the war.
Who commissioned Governor PleTpont
and his fellow otlciaI! to set up rival
government at Wheeling 20 that OF
T-otcher G. Company, at Richmond? ]
would be most happy, knowing what
do OF the popular confusion on this
polnt, II could make the proper eX-
olanatiou forever clear to everybody
who may by any chance read this az
When the bill providing for the adj
mission Of West Virginia was before
the committee on territories OF the Uni
ted States senate, happened to be be-
fore that committee, along with other
friends OF the bill. The famous John p.
Hale, OF New Hampshire, was one OF
the most prominent members Of that
committee In speaking TO several OF
Us IN regard to what had taken place at
Wheeling and throughout West Virgin
"a, he said that all in all II was most
remarkable characteristics unlike
anything he had ever heard or read Of
this thing OF loyal people reclaimlnE
and resuming their sovereignty after
ItH abdlcatIon by their constituted au-
thoritioS. II WISH" said he, somebody
would write II up. I could not do It my
self" he added, but could appreciate
Il when It was written" ] have never
forgotten and have often quoted this
remark OF the first presidential candi-
date OF the Republican party, who was
nominated by It at Pittsburgh, in 1852.
The germ Of the whole movement
with which Governor Pierponts name
Is 90 Fightfully and conspicuously iden-
tilted Is contained In the late Senator
Hale's remarks, viz: "the resumption
by n loyal people or the sovereignty
belonging to them which had been alb
tIlcted by their constituted authorities.
II, az an initial proposition, politicians
and political writer's and speakers
could only get this point clearly In their
minds and memory they would have no
occasion to alphabetically condone what
was done in western Virginia In 1861
600. az II, after all. 1t was the end that
had Justified the means. instead OF the
neans and the end, and all intermediate
processes thereof. having been alike full
lV Justified under the constitution anG
laws OF the United States.
There is not iurlst OF hlGh repute In
this country, outside OF the seeded
states, that has ever questioned the per-
feet legal rightfulness OF the restored
government OF Virginia" Not one. And
~ respects the perfect riEhtfulncss and
regularity OF West Virginla's existence.
that fact is like che cdroliary that fol-
lows logically and Inevitably from the
main proposition that has been proven.
The restored government OF Virgin
IA" having been duly passed upon and
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