Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1859-11-28
VIRGINIA. IlI 1880.
The southampton Insurreotion,--
Speeches Of our Leading Men.
[rran the washingtonI5iD. q Republia.l

1
4 the Virginia Legislature of 1882, occa-
stoned by the Southampton insurrection
of 1881, We transfer it to our own coll
umns.
Mr.. Moore, of Rockbridge, said:
SIN the first place, shall confine my
fremarks to such of those evils us affect the
population exclusively. And even in
that point of view, think that Slavery, as
it exists among us, may be regarded as the
hedUiest calamity which has ever befallen
any portion of the human race. If ire
look back through the long course of time
tchich has elapsed since the creation to The
present moment, ire shall scarcely be able to
point out a people IOhOse situation lcGS not, in
many respects, preferable to our olcfl and that
| Of the other States IN tcFich Negro Slavery
crisis. True, sir, we shall sec nations
/ which have groaned under the yoke of
despotism for hundreds and thousands of
years; but the individual composing those
nations have enjoyed degree of happi-
ness, peace, and freedom from apprehen-
sion, trhtch the holders Of slQpes III this
country can neUcr knotc.n
How eloquent, and how true, is this
passage! 1t embodies the most secret and
inward thought of every Virginian at this
moment. 1t follows them, waking and
l sleeping, like spectre. They feel its por-
tentous truth.
Mr.. RiYes, of Campbell, said:
"On the multiplied and desolating evils
of Slavery, he was not disposed to say
much. The curse and deteriorating con-
sequences were within the observation and
experience of the members of the House
and the people of Virginia, and it did seem
to him that there could not be two opinions
about it,
Mr.. Powell said:
81 can scarcely persuade myself that
there is a solitary gentleman in this House
| who will not readily admit that Slavery is
an evil, and that its removal, if practicable,
is consummation most deYoutly to be
wished. hare not heard, nor do I expect
to hear, a poiee raised IN this Hall to the con-
trary. Sir, the gentleman from Bucking-
ham q few days ago sketched to us, and
| sketched it, too, with amaSterly hand. a pic
turc of the witheringGud blighting effects of
Slavery. That picture is before this House,
and will not attempt to add to it a shade
or an other tint; 1 willnot, sir, lest instead
of adding to its effect, might with less
skillful hand, diminish it. Sir, Virginia,
the much-loyed and venerated mother of
us all, from being the first State in this
great Confederacy, is now the third pos
| sibly the fourth and her declining for
tunes have long since been the source of
melancholy reflection to her patriotic sons
What, sir, is the cause of this decline p
Whatever others may think, to my mind it
/ is clear that the answer to this interroga-
toey is, her slave population. Hinc lilac
lGc6rymac"
Mr.. Preston, of Jefferson, the county in
which Harper's Ferry is situated, said:
+ Sir, Mr.. Jefferson, whose hand drew
the preamble to the Bill of Rights, has
eloquently remarked, that ace had inUoked
for ourSetUcS the benefit Of u principle trhtch
ere had denied to Others. He sdtc and felt
that staUes, as men, 1Uere embraced in this
principle"
Mr.. Summers, of Kanawha, still a pro-
minent citizen of Western Virginia, and
few years back, the Wing candidate for
| Governor, said:
But, sir, the evils of this system can
not be enumerated. 1t were unnecessary
to attempt it. They glare upon us at every
step. When the owner looks to his wasted
estate, he knows and feels them. When
the statesman examines the condition of
his country, he finds her moral influence
gone, her physical strength diminished, her
| physical power wasted, he secs and must
confess them. Sir, VIC should
take courage from the goodness of the
cause in which we are engaged. It is one
on which Heaven will smile. We shall
mot be left unaided in our exertions iSld-
reTy as a national calamity. !SucLtt has been
regarded By hose agho are entirely free from
The erI Nine Of the aon-sldUedoiding States
hare generously offered to the South The com
mon treasury for the remopdL Of the common
! eVH Such, TOO, 1cGs The purport of the
resolutions su5mittedio he Senate oftI Uni
ted States by Rufus Hiing, at the close of his
long ans! Uscful public life"
Mr. Chandler, of Norfolk, said:
"But, sir, will this evil-this curse-not
increase? Will not the life, liberty, pros
perity, happiness, and safety, of those tvho
may come after as be endangered in n still
greater degree by it? How then can we
reconcile it in ourselves, to fasten this
upon them? Do we not endanger the very
national existence by entailing Slavery
upon them?"
Thomas J. Randolph, of Albcmarlc,
| grandson of air. Jefferson, said:
"The gentleman has spoken of the in
crease of the female slaves being part of
the profit. 1t is admitted; but no great
evil can be avcrted, no good attained, with
out some Inconvenience. 1t may be qucs-
toned how far it is desirable to foster and
encourage this branch of profit. 1t is a
practicc-an increasing practice, in parts
of Nirginia-to rear slaves for market
How cannn honorable mind, a patriot and
a lover of his country, bear to see this
Ancient Dominion, rendered illustrious by
the noble devotion and patriotism of her
sonsi in the canse Of Liberty, converted into
one grand menagcrie, Where men arc to be
reared for market, like oxen in the sham
hles? Is it better, is it not worse than the
slave trade-that trade which enlisted the
| labor of the good and the wise eff cycryt
creedan every cline toaholishit? <
The gentleman has happened to the Chris
tian religion in justification of Slavery.