Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1840-04-02

si~ ipsmressb,s dfieultes that mel lhem at every
sieI. aud and some Of whith glanced Al 10 o"'
sscf ~ iicIe Of The 18Th January, Of tha year if"'
! sh,,i' We lave already made quotation. na' ".
do not entertain that opinion now We ne fo oo'
the readers of,hs paper. ~ho are well aware % '"'
change IL has undergone aud al the process ny "h'e"
| IL has been efecncd We no longer believe slavery
either an eud or curse whether we regard
the condition and the Je.iny Of tie master or inc
slave. The eonrse pursued by the Northern lanai
les compelled 10 look ,ulo the details Of The ss-
tenn more minuieiy than We had before done; and
To compare the condition Of our slaves With the la
baring classes not only OF other countries. bni
Of The non slave gliding poron OF ouro"n: and the
result Of our alton forced 10 the concur
sion that 10 every aspect in which The question
could be viewed. domestic sefviinde Is not only Dr.
,us bile, but that IL is the best system the world
for he iaborers hemseires lii operate oppressive
ly ~ ALL il - upon the master and ooi the slaves
whose me raj l,ahiis arc better. whose intellectual
expansion is equal. and whose physical comforts
and enjo, infinitely superior 10 those Of The
lsbofing classes in any country on the lace OF the
globe, except perhaps Scotland and the United
States where education is more widely d'ifu'ed, and
where habits OF sobreiy and economy are more
generally formed and adhered TO.
Blu, our object was not either to defend or To re.
tract opinions held eight years ago. under circum
stances, nil will remember who have any reeol.
lection Of them. well ealcula 10 msiesd, as
II did. the Judgmen, even Of grave statesmen. We
only designed 10 show that The part we took in tina,
discussion was, as We had stated, slight and cas-
ual.n
Mr.. Leichcr uses towards us some harsh Ian
g1agr, which We shall not retor, because we are
well aware that all imbecies enJeavor to Dol.
ser soft Arguments by the use Of bard words
IL We had said, in The paragraph written in
Rlchmoad upon which Mr.. Letcher comment, s.
that we had taken mo part' N The Abolition
discussion. a gentleman, judging others by him
self, might have supposed, even il The asser-
ton were discovered To be erroneous that il was al
'r,ho'able to lapse of mo'y rather than 10
shameless disregard Of ruth" But when We
qualified that remark (Which WAS not, as Mr.. Lech-
~ a.se' Is an "unquai.fed deuia") by adding, ,ba,
II We did like any pant in thai discussion, j. was
''rasuot and sHtLL" and when, uton reference 10
our files we find hat We only argued the question.
and that very briefly. in two rarer, during the long
Pefod 'ht u "as The tnt jet oi discussion ~ the
Lrgisa'ute.--ilsreby showing The ,ru,h Of the
statement, which is pronounced by Mr.. LET. her 10
be sl"n,rlessly uDirur,@e nil h, well b. pardoned
II we replied To him in language hioh our feelings
prompt, bu, which our judgment Condemns. We
leave him, too. to ply the .plhet which fairly be.
longs 10 his ridiculous attempt 10 convict uffase.
hood. by sho.ng that an Article written in 1881 was
pant 81 discussion thai did not take place I'LL
1882
Mr.. Letcber says lie has an .'imI effect file of
tour paper 10, several years" aud tia, he ntends
To take the liberty inquen,l, of serving up (ou) in.
conssi' ncts." You are heartily welcome, sir
Tia, We have sometimes changed opinions. both
oi mtn aud things, is very CERTAIN. We must have
been wiser Than Solomon had We not done so, or
else TOO stupid To have opinion at all. We hap.
pen 20 think, indeed that u man may be perchance
wiser to-day ilan lie was yesterday, even II ouph
yesterday he deemed himself inl.lhblc: we do not.
thereore.look upon every change OF opinion Ms prmo
fdcie evidence OF insineefity or crlminalty. 1t is
only when mcn make something by the remuneration
oi old and the embrace of new opinions, or By p,a-
sing 10 day men whom they denounced Yesterday.
that we doubt their integrity. We will venture TO
say, that, Whatever Inconsistency Mr. Letcher ma,
discover in our opinions, enher of measures or men,
he viii never detect an instance in which the change
can be traced TO interested or unworthy motives-
Perhaps we had similar record OF his opiniops
We might give him more than a Rowland for his
Oliver.