Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1860-01-27
SPEECH OF MIR. NEWTDMs
OR HANOVER.

on Military Affairs of the House of
Delegates Of va, app opriating $500. 900
to arm the State. The question being up
on an amendment offered by Mr.. Boreman,
of Wood, to reduce the appropriation, Mr..
Newton said: ...,. ...
MI. ,speaker-It,is not without latsp-
probation of the solemn responsibilities Of
my position that venture to raise my voice
in this debate The ordinary exigencies Of
the public service exact m ore of the wisdom
of age than Of the ardor of youth. But as
there are occasions which demand that pas
sion should be tempered by discretion. so
there are emergencies in human affairs which
require that the cautious movements Of ma
tured experience should be duickened by
the more lively instincts Of youthful impulse.
And surely if there was ever time which
demanded that the gravest wisdom and the
most ardent patriotism Of this Compio nwealth
should sit in serious and in earnest counsel
together, the indications by which we are
surrounded, admonish us that the day and
tie hour are at hand Sir, calm survey
of tie present situation Of the people of
Virginia, reveals position to which her
past history affords no parallel, The coun-
try at large is enjoying the profoundest peace.
From the national capital to the remotest
extrcmities of the confederacy, every other
section Of the country is reaping the golden
! fruits Of prosperous repose.. Free from
the calamities Of war, actual or impending,
relieved ofs the onerous burdens Of that am
biguous position, which, while it is neither
peace or war, involves inqgt Of the evils of
the one and secures none Of the advantages
of the other, industry plies it's busy task in
every department of hnman labor Here,
alone, the public tranquility is disturbed -
Here, alone. upon the soil which was the
home and is the grave of those whose valor
won this fair heritage from the foot Of Brit
ish oppression, you are called upon at a vast
cost to place yourselves in an attitude Of de-
fence-not to intimidate foreign rival
not to check the. advance Of foreign foe
but in order TO protect your very hearth
stones from the incursions of those who pro-
fess to be connected with .you by an unbrok-
en- bond Of Union and perpetual covenant
of peace. 1t is unnecessary, now, to dwell
| upon the wickedness or the folly which has
driven you into this unnatural and alarming
position. The perils by which you are en-
vironed are too yivic i. their reality to need
the emphasis Of repetition, and the only Of
fee which duty leaves you is calmly to
measure and firmly to meet the inevitable
danger which awaits us. The .propriety of
adopting some general system for ar,ning
this Commonwealth is so universally admit
ted as to need no argument to enforce its
necessity and the only question presented
upon this amendment, which can occasion
the slightest differences Of opinion among
the members of this body. touches the prin-
ciples which should control, End the objects
which should limit your legislation Upon this
important subject Prudence, dictates, and
safety demands that you should observe a
due proportion between the means adopted
and the ends to be accomp lished. 1t becomes
therefore, a matter of supreme Importance,
accurately to define the nature Of the evil
against which this bill is: Intended to'provide.
And ia this connection, it may be safely as
sumed that no preparation is sufficient which
does net contemplate the most unfavorable
possible contingency, which the facts Of the
case may authorize rational MUD to antic-
ipate. Prepare for the worst is the mandate
OF necessity, and the precept Of common
sense. Where every thing is at stake moth
ing must be neglected. And in crisis
like the present, he who fears the worst, is
a wiser counsellor than he who hopes for the
best, What then is the nature and extent
cf the evil against which you are now called
upon to provide. Is it and occasional foray
upon your Northern border that you desire
to prevent? If that be so, it would not be
unwise to indulge the hope that the local
population Of that section, reused to vigil
Ance ard stimulated to activity ~ recent
events, might of itself, be able to preserve
the peace and protect the interests of Socie-
ty. Is It the mad fanaticism Of. q few rest
less adventurers, that you find it necessary
to check !? If that be SO, it might not be
to believe, that the controlling
influence of conservative sentiment in anoth-
err section Of the Union, would correct the
evil if 1t. did not redress the wrong. Or is
it a much more impressive warning chat we
have received? Is it that The ring of the
murderous rife, snd the clash of the cross
ing bayonet, which has so recently broken
upon the startled ear Of tranquil commu7
nifty, like tie pattering fire of Lexington
and Concord, is the mere harbinger of tie
coming strife, which is to mark the strug
gle of gallant people in defence Of the home
of their fathers Sir, if thqt be so, no pol
icy is wise which does not look to indepen-
dence. No armament sufficient which does
not contemplate all the perils Of civil war
| know. not what answers the hopes or the
fears Of other gentlemen may make to these
momentous questions, BIT should be re-
nouncing that manly intrepidity of though
and of speech, which becomes the represen-
tative of free PEOPLE, if 1 permitted any
timid apprehension of public disapproval,
any selfish regard for my own personal fer,
tunes to repross the painful conviction, that
without such direct interposition of Prov
idence as God in his mercy has never yet
vouchsafed to any people, the days of this
federal Union are numbered
Approaching CHS subject ina tenn Der
which courts no unnecessary danger, and
shuns nc. essential precaution, it is my pur-
pose to show chat e7esy indication which is
capable of making an IMPRESSION upon ra-
tional mind, warns US Of the rapid, approach
of period when the social system Of the
South can find no security, except under
tie shadow of an independent government.
And that your duty to the present, as we'll
as your obligations to future generations,
imperatively demand that you should place
this Commonwealth In such a posture of