The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-09-07
NEW YORK AND VIRGINIA.

the minds and character of the people, and its
tendency to destroy everything like candor and
frapkness in conversation or writings upon
public affairs Hitherto" he says, 81 had
been accustomed to believe that man could no
more dispense with truth for his mind than
with sun end air for his body but my Russian
journey has undeceived me. Truth is only
needful to elevated minds, or to advanced ma
tons; the vulgar accommodate themselves to
the falsehoods favorable to their passions and
habits. Here to lie is to protect society; to
speak the truth is to overthrow the State. The
twilight of politics is less transparent than the
polar sky"
The despotism Of Slavery has produced re-
suit in the Southern States similar to that
which the French philosopher observed in Rus
STA. Southern editors and politicians regard
nothing as SO fatal to the South and to Slavery
as truth; and the utmost efforts are made to
hide it from the public view. Not merely the
moral deformities of Slavery must be protected
from discussion and exposure, but even its po-
litical and economical Inconvenience are too
delicate, too sacred and too VITAL to be subject
ed 10 tie rude hand OF criticism. The most
palpable Gnd self evident facts such as the
superiority in wealth, power, education, and
civilization, of the North over the South-are
IS fer as possible kept out of sight; and when
brought before the public, they are stoutly de.
MED, and the effort is made to destroy the i'm.
preston they would naturally make, by the
most absurd fsbrications or misrepresentation
The champions Of Slavery not only seem to
think that ignorance is bliss" bat that it is
better for the people to believe lie than to
know the truth. How absurd! How wanting
in faith in God, to imagine that His truth-f5r
al truth is His-oan be injurious
The most recent instance OF this aversion to
the slightest grain of truth, which has fallen
under our observation, is exhibited in q reli-
gious newspaper published in Virginia We
give below the material portions Of the article
to which we refer:
From the Richmond Waterman and Observer
"TUE CLAIMS OF VIRGINIA UPON HER
EDUCATED sons
At the late commencement Of Hampden Sid
orator Of one Of tho Societies, and has fur
aished. ct their request, copy OF his address
Jor publication. From the account which a
correspondent gave of the performance, we
regretted the more that circumstances pre-
vented us from enjoying the pleasure of hear
ing it. Bat as we expected to see it In print
we were prepared for ( o feast Of reason and
l flow Of soul" which would in q measure
compensate for the loss sustained by not re-
3eiving it, as it fell, glo sing and burning from
the lips Of the living orator. But the reading
Of it, we must confess, has not left that warm
and genial impression upon our minds that we
bad f0ndly anticipated. He seems to US to
have gone q little out Of his way, in boasting
hat he was "Dot to the manor born" in speak
ug of his Kuickerbocker and Castilian origin,
and especially instituting comparison be-
tween the Empire State of the North and the
State Of his adoption comparison borne out
perhaps by statistics to which he refers; but
&c unfortunately refers to such statistics only
as the North is in the habit of citing when the
object is to disparage the South. That the
reader may see what we mean, we have given
a long, continuous extract from the address on
our last page.
His glance at the map of Virginia is given,
as the SEQUEL shows, in order to make the con-
ia5t between her and New York the more
striking. But what if the population, and the
wealth, and the agricultural products and the
- - -,--~sf --e-- - fHS0'r ss-
;it'zens Of Virginia are not G5 prosperous as
the citizens If New YoIk? Let Us sec.
The last census shows that the number of
acres Of improved land in Virginia is o. 800 1876.
In New York. tire number of acres Of improved
land Is , 408 964.
Bat as tue free population of Virginia is only
9i9 1873, while that Of New York is O97, 39i
it hence follows that if this improved land were
divided equally among their respective citizens,
L would give to the New Yorker a little more
than four acres, and to the Virginan little less
than eleven. But the whole domain of New
IEk, including the improred and ilnimprOved
land is 10 1l8 S84, acres, while that of Virginia
IS 20 50 3ll. Let this be divided in like
manner, and it would give to each New Yorker
a farm of a little moro than six acres, and to
e1ch Nirginian farm Of more than twenty.
seven acres.
But let Us follow the census tables still fur
Their, and bear in mind, st the same time, that
the value Ct lands is chiefly nominal-and thai
che same quality of land in Virginia is not es-
! timated g. half the price which it brings in
New Y rk, and We have the following statistics