Year: 1868

'A@S


CONSTITUTION.


ARTICLE l. This Association shall be
known as the Democratic and Conservative
Association of - county.


ART. 2. The officers of the Association
shall be President, Vice President, Secre>
tary, Treasurer and an Executive Committee,
consisting of one member from each towns
ship in the county.


ART. 8. 1t shall be the duty of the Pres
ident to preside at all meetings of the Club,
to preserve order; of the Vice President, to
preside in the absence of the President; of
the Secretary, to record the proceedings of
the Club, and to preserve all books and pa
pers belonging to the same; of the Treasur>
er, to receive and disburse all funds belong
ing to the Club, to keep an account thereof
and to make such report from time to time as
the Club may order.


ART. a. 1t shall be the duty Of the Exec
utive committee, forthwith to obtain a COR
rect list Of all the voters Of - county,
marked Democrat, Conservative, Radical or
doubtful, as the case may be, and it shallI
thereupon be the duty of the President and
Secretary to return true copy of said lists to
the President and Secretary of the Executive
Committee of the State without delay.


ART. 5. A majority Of the members of the
Association may at any regular meeting estab-
lsh such bylaws and rnles as may be deemed
wise and proper.


ART. 6. Any white male person, over the
age of 10 years, who the same being read
aloud in his hearing, shall give his assent to
the principles and purposes set forth in the
Preamble of this Constitution, may become
member of this Association by signing the
Constitution and paying the Treasurer the
sum of -, but no voter shall be admitted
to membership without peldging himself to
participate in the elections whenever he can
do so conveniently and conscientiously.-
Certificates of membership can be had of the
Secretary.


ART. 7. The Constitution may be amended
at any regular meeting by vote OF two-thirds
of the members of the Association.


ART. 8. 1t shall be the duty Of this AS
sociaton to give all possible aid to increase
the circulation Of Democratic and Conserva-
tive newspapers and documents, and to hold
discussions upon political subjects at their
mcetn IS and, when convenient, to have cs-
says read or lectures delivered to the AssOcia
ton.


ART. 8. 1t shall be the duty of this As
socation to make faithful reports Of all it's
business to the State Executive Committee
monthly.


ART. 10. We acknowledge the Executive
Committee as the head and front Of the De-
mOcratic and Conservative party of the State
of West Virginia, and will heartily cooper
ate with the same for the overthrow Of Rad
icalism.


Your COMMITTEES deem it of special i'm
portance that great care be taken in the Sc
lection of men to whom this work is to be
assigned. Ability to do effective work should
be the first condition in the selection of each
and every officer, and those persons should in
all cases be selected, who car best meet this
requirement.


Your Committee submit this plan of or
ganization with the earnest hope that it will
meet your approval and that your Executive
Committee be directed to put it in operation
at once. 1t is clear that by rigid adherence
to the plan herewith proposed, we will be
able to poll our entire strength, and without
some such method concentrated and effective
action cannot be had We close with the
declaration that with proper general effort we
see no reason to doubt the ultimate success Of
the organization thus proposed.


The same committee also presented an ad
dress to the people of West Virginia, which
we deem too lengthy for publication in our
paper, especially as it presents only an ar
raignment of the radical party for its innu-
merablc rascalities, and general statement
of facts, with which the readers of this jour
nal at least, are painfully familiar.
| On the second day of the Convention, the
following offered by Mr.. j. NJ. Jackson, was
unanimously adopted:


Re$olUcd, That it is the sense of this Con-
vention, that it is the binding duty Of the
| Government of the United States to extend
protection to all of its citizens whether ma
tive or naturalized, in whatever land they
may be found, and that it should at once
take effective measures in behalf of those
citizens, now languishiDg in English dun
geons, either to obtain their release or to
guarantee to them fair and impartial trial.


Gen. j. J. jackson, of Wood, offered the
following, which was adopted unanimously:


Resolycd, That this Convention desire to
express to Andrew johnson, President Of the
United States. their cordial sympathy with
him in his efforts to maintain Constitutional
| Government, and in resisting the uuconstitu-
| tional encroachments Of the Congress of the
| United States. The Convention express their
! approval Of each and all of his veto messages,
and of his policy Of reconstruction Of the
/ Southern States rs disclosed in his various
messages to Congress, and they respectfully
urge him to uphold the Constitution in the
future as in the past.


Resolycd, That these resolutions be signed
by the President and Secretary and transmit
| ted to the President of the United States.


Considerable time was spent in discussing
a proposition to memorialize the Legislature
70 repeal tho obnoxious laws with reference
! to Registration and other matters designed to
perpetuate the reign of radicaism, when the
following proposition was finally agreed upon:
To tie Lcgislaturccf Vest Virginia:


The Convention assembled at Wheeling
January Sth, 1865, and representing the