THE FIRST WHEELING CONVENTION.
In compliance with the foregoing, the delegates were chosen by the
various counties, and the 13th day of May saw a swarming and excited
multitude thronging the streets of Wheeling. The delegates convened
at Washington Hall at 11 A. M., and the meeting was called to order
by Chester D. Hubbard, of Ohio county, on whose motion William B.
Zinn, of Preston county, was chosen temporary chairman, and George
R. Latham, of Taylor county, was appointed temporary secretary. Rev.
Peter T. Laishley, of Monongalia county, himself a delegate, then invoked
Divine guidance in the deliberations of the convention. A committee
on permanent organization, and also one on credentials, was appointed,
after which the body adjourned to meet at 2 P. M.
Upon reassembling, the committee on permanent organization reported
John W. Moss, of Wood county, for permanent president, and Colonel
Charles B. Waggener, of Mason, Marshall M. Dent, of Monongalia, and
J. G. Chandler, of Ohio county, secretaries. Two door-keepers and a
sergeant-at-arms were then appointed. The committee on credentials
reported accredited delegates from twenty-six counties, as follows. Hancock,
Brooke, Ohio, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Wood, Lewis, Ritchie,
Harrison, Upshur, Gilmer, Wirt, Jackson, Mason, Wetzel, Pleasants,
Barbour, Hampshire, Berkeley, Doddridge, Tyler, Taylor, Roane, Frederick,
and Marshall.
A committee on State and Federal relations was appointed, consisting
of the following named gentlemen: Campbell Tarr, Brooke county; W.
T. Willey, Monongalia; John S. Carlisle, Harrison; J. J. Jackson,
Wood; Charles Hooton, Preston; Daniel Lamb, Ohio, George McC.
Porter, Hancock; Joseph H. Machir, Mason; D. D. Johnson, Tyler;
James Scott, Jackson; G. W. Bier, Wetzel, R. C. Holliday, Marshall;
A. S. Withers, Lewis; E. T. Trayhorn, Wirt; F. H. Pierpont, Marion;
S. Dayton, Barbour; G. S. Senseney, Frederick; J. S. Burdett, Taylor;
A. R. McQuilkin, Berkeley; S. Cochran, Pleasants; J. E. Stump,
Roane; S. Martin, Gilmer; A. B. Rohrbough, Upshur; O. D. Downey,
Hampshire; Mr. Foley, Ritchie.
Everything was now in complete working order. The fact that the
convention was divided upon the subject of immediate action very soon
became apparent from the spirited discussion which characterized the
early days of the session. One party, led by the Hon. John S. Carlisle,
was in favor of an immediate division of the State, and the formation of
a government for the counties represented, all offices to be filled by temporary
appointment. Another party, headed by Hon. W. T. Willey,
declared that this was but an informal meeting of the people, no action
of which could be made binding upon them; that no vote had yet been
taken upon the ordinance of secession, therefore the State of Virginia
still had a government recognized by the Constitution of the United
States; hence any action tending in the direction of a new government
could not be other than revolutionary in its nature. An acrimonious
debate continued throughout the second and third days, and it seemed
that an adjournment would take place before the objects for which the
body had met could be accomplished; but late at night the discussion
was interrupted by the committee on State and Federal relations begging
leave to report. Campbell Tarr, the chairman of said committee, read
the report. It was a skillful production, a blending of all opinions, a
happy mean between spasmodic disruption and authorized resistance. The
first part was a review of the secession movement from its incipiency to
that time. Then followed declarations of loyalty to the Union, which
should continue on the part of the people here represented, despite all
efforts of the east to drag them out of the Union. A recommendation
was made to the people of the various counties, that, in the event
of the ratification of the ordinance of secession, they appoint delegates
on the 4th day of June to meet in a general convention on the 11th of
the same month, at some place to be hereafter designated. A last suggestion
was that a central committee, consisting of nine members, be appointed,
with power to carry into effect the objects of the convention.
The report, after a short discussion, was almost unanimously adopted,
but two votes being recorded against it. The central committee was
then appointed, consisting of John S. Carlisle, James S. Wheat, Chester
D. Hubbard, Francis H. Pierpont, Campbell Tarr, George R. Latham,
Andrew Wilson, L. H. Woodward, and James H. Paxton. Prayer was
then offered, imploring blessings upon the work performed. A thousand
voices united in singing the "Star Spangled Banner," and the convention
adjourned sine die.
