Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-07-05
THE SOUTH" RUNS a FALSE SCENT

1.-THE SOUTH RUNS A FALSE SCENT"
We bave often seen q pack of genuine fox hunters
ifreJievably lose Reynard, through the presumptuous
oily OF q young dog. Often when hound aud hunter
are in full cry over brier and brake, pursuing bushy
tailed Reynard, come young and inexperienced pup,
will strike boldly upon a false scent and, by the
very vigor Of his cry, mis!esd the entire pack. So
has it been with our neighbor of "The South" Start
ng upon an investigation Of charges against Mr.
Letoher, by some hocus pocus only understood by
1.-The South it is now Justify rebutting our posl
ton on the African Slave Trade, when from his 81.
lenoe we inferred his appreciation of our views. line
South hopes by the very noise he Is making ABOUT
the Enquirer" to direct public attention from lite
late very remarkable anxiety to offer excuses and Ind
apologies for the maintenance OF antl'siavery seDti.
msnts. 1.-THE South" hopes popular attention will be
d;verted from his attempted reconciliation between the
'.moral'' and the 'social and political evil" Of sla'
very. 1.-THE South is we'll aware that the public
expected more consistency from the par excellence
slavery journal than a hasty willingness to be per-
fectly satisfied with an attempted distinction between
the morality of slavery and its "evils." as an ipsti-
-. .o.:.,- W. .luIIo le suroltpess with
which "The South" has attempted to put the "En.
ouirer" on trial for an offence which was passed over
In silence at the time; for if the Editor of 1.-The South"
was absent at the time our fret editorial appeared,
be was at his post when we required to the subject
for reitera,ion and explanation. At any rate The
South seems to have laid aside for some purpose the
editorials of Southern journals disagreeing with us
on the Slave Ttsde. THE South" will not under.
take to cay that it files all the Southern papers, and
II not, By soAat accident became it possessed Of all
the papers of the South that replied to our position 7
1t looks as though our ~neighbor had laid those edito-
rails aside with some design.
As our neighbor has thought proper to join the
slsve-trsde party in the attack on the Enquirer"
and to bring home to Virginia the many misreprs.
sensations Of the violent advocates OF the slave
trade, we shall reply to The South" as we did to the
Examiner because they are our neighbors, though
We refused to notice the silly clamor of the slave
trade journals. We re'tsr0te our former position.
that if the extreme Southern States shall decide to
dissolve this Union because they cannot, open The
African ,lace.lrade, Virginia will have no part
nor lot in such dissolution that Virginia will Join no
Southern Confedsracy to dissolve the Federal Union,
because Congress shall refuse to repeal The laws sup
pressing the slave.trade. Virginia has long ago de-
clsred the only contingency upon which she will dis.
solve this Union, to be "a deliberate, pslpsble and
dangerous violation Of fhe Federal constitutional
When that occurs, Virginia will dissolve her conpec-
ton with the Federal Union, and then only. Now,
though we have never regarded that article of the
Federal Constitution, giving to Congress the power
to suppress the emigration" of certain persons, to be
obligatory upon Congress to enact the law Of 1908;
but that it was a clause comforting merely a discre
tionary power upon Congress to pass said law; and
though we believe the law 10 be repealable without
any infraction of the Constitution, yet, Congress, 10
our opinion, can decline to repeal, with equal ooDsti
~tutiopal power; the said clause being discretionary
only.
Hence, in our opinion, should Congress decline to
repeal, it would not be that deliberate, palpabie,
and dangerous violation OF the Constitution" conlem.
plated by Virginia in the famous resolutions OF '9S.-
This is our Constitutional opinion; the other was q pc.
l,ico.ecopomicsl view, and The South" can make
the most of them.
1.-THE South" ney well say "since We ('The Southl
are taught to accept its tthe 'Enqui.er's'l criticism OF
Mr.. Letcher as the dictate of an impartial friendship
we can understand that we too are the object OF the
.Euquirer's' affsctionate sOicitude." Indeed, you
may! Why should we not have an "sffectionate 40
iicitude" for "The South y Are you not our legiti-
mate ofspring-the we'll beloved child of our Old
agsi We are we'll aware of your capacity for self
protection, but our 'sffectionate eolicitude" demands
the exercise Of a parents right to correct and advise.
We are taught that ito spare the rod, spoils the
child" and if our castigatious are sometimes severe,
remember that the hand that holds the rod nficts
punisbments from a sense of parental duty. and from
no love of furnishing. Then the child of our old age
may be perfectly satisfed OF our "affectionate solicit
tude."
We leave the city to morrow, and our associate
having returned from New York, being ignorant vi
the merits of this our interesting and highly %'nstruc-
tire discussion, nothing more will be eaid by the I'm
ouirer," for a while, at least.