The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1859-12-16
Governor wise's Message.
RICHMOND, Va, Dec. 8, 1869.
The Legislature of Virginia organize
today

|
The Legislature of Virginia organized
to-day.
Governor Wise's message reviews the
Harper's Ferry affair at great length
1t speaks of the spirit of fanaticis.n and
one idea of the abolitionists which has
seemed to madden whole masses of one
entire section of the country, which enters
into their religion, education, politics
prayers, Courts of Justice and Legisla.
lures: which has trained up three gener.
ations in moral and social habits of ba-
tired to the masters of African slaves in
the United States, but turns not upon
| slavery elsewhere; which would have
| sent rescue to assassins, robbers, mur-
derers and traitors, whom it has sent to
felon's graves. Unless the numeric ical ma
jority shall cease to violate the confeder-
ate faith, and cease to disturb our peace,
to destroy our lives and property, and to
deprive US of all the protection and re-
dress under the perverted forms and dis
torted workings of the Union, we must
take up arms. The issue is too essential
to be compromised any more. We cam
not stand such insults and outrages as
these Of the Harper's Ferry, without
suffering worse than death as citizens,
and without suffering in dishonor the
death of State. 1t is not to be denied
that we have many sound and sincere
friends in the non-slaveholding States !;
but tho conservative elements are passive,
whilst the fanatical are active, and the
former is fast diminishing, whilst the
latter is increasing in numbers and force.
With regard to the insurgents, he says
it is mockery to call them monomaniacs
If they We're, then large portion of the
people of many of the States are mono
maniacs. The leader himself spurned
this plea, and it was not put upon the
trials. They were prompted by the evil
spirits of incendiarism which demoralized
numerous host of enemies behind them,
who now sympathized with their deeds
before the world. These hired them,
without themselves incurring the risk OF
their crimes, and no wonder they now
sympathise with them even to madness,
and that John Brown despised the hypo-
critical cant of their pretence that he
was insane. The execution of our laws is
necessary to warn future victims not
again to be the tool of this sympathy
We have friends or we have not in the
States whence these invaders came. They
must now be not only conservative, but
Y
was impossible for so much of such SYM
pathy to exist without exciting bad men
to action-rescue or revenge. On this he
acted. He has been compelled by the
apprehension of the most unparalleled
border war to place the State in as full
panoply of military defense as if foreign
enemies invaded the United States. In
deed, one most irritating feature of this
,,ca lot< 10 thot IL hos itp IL,
British provinces which furnish asylums
for our tugitives and send them and their
hired outlaws upon us from dcpots and
is no danger from our slaves or colOred
people. The slaves taken refused to take
arms. and the first man killed was q re-
spectacle free negro while running from
the philanthropists who came to liberate
the black race.
In closing the message he says-We
must rely upon ourselves, fight for peace,
organize and arm, demand of each State
what position she means to maintain in
the future in respect to slavery and the
provision of the constitution and laws OF
the United States, and the provision of
the State laws for its protection in our
federal relations and be governed accord
ing to the manner in which the demand
may be answered. We are in arms
With regard to the reports and rumors
of organized conspiracies to obstruct our
laws, the Governor says they were from
so many sources, so simultaneous, so far
apart, from persons so unlike in evidences
of education, they could be from no con.
spiracy to hoax; but he relied not so
much upon them as upon the earnest con-
tinued appeal of sympathzers with crimes.
Let us defend our own position or yield
at once. Let us have action and resolve
upon definite settlement. No more
temporizing with the constitution-no
more compromises The other convicts
await execution, and will be executed un-
less the General Assembly orders other
wise. This will meet the open invasion
but acts only on individual convicts, and
don't settle the question of our peace and
protection in the future. 1t remains only
for me to offer myself, all that am and
all that | have to the commonwealth,
whenever she may order me or mine in
service when my term of Office closes.
The second message makes detailed re-
concentrations, and alludes to State
matters generally.
A NOVEL WAY OF ELECTiNG MEMBER OF