The Richmond Palladium

A Back Out.

The bills announcing the great Democratic meeting to be held at Centreville on the 20th inst., also informed the public that the Hon. T. A. Hendricks would be present and address the masses. The Republicans of Centreville thought as Mr. Hendricks was to speak at the home of Judge Morton, it would not be improper to invite Mr. Hendricks, through his friends, to a joint debate upon the political topics of the day with Mr. Morton. Accordingly some four or five days before the day of the meeting, it was proposed to a prominent Douglasite that Mr. Hendricks should divide his time with Mr. Morton. The proposal was taken under consideration. The leaders of the party hereabouts consulted and a negative answer returned, alleging as a reason that it was a Democratic meeting, and that consequently it would be unfair to Mr. Hendricks and the party to yield a portion of the time to a Republican speaker. Morton's friends urged in reply that Mr. Hendricks attended several appointments of Col. Lane—asked and was generally conceded a joint discussion. That Willard had conceded the same thing at the beginning of the campaign in 56, but it was all to no purpose. The Democracy were determined that Hendricks should not meet Morton, and a peremptory and angry refusal was given. What could have been the reason of such refusal? Were they afraid to expose their principles to Judge Morton's searching analysis before a Democratic audience, or could it have been that they doubted the ability of their champion to cope with Judge Morton in debate?—If the latter was the true cause let us have done with such sneaking insinuations as appeared in the Jeffersonian last week that Lane was afraid to, or had declined to debate with Hendricks.