The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-12-20
LETTER FROM Ex-GOvERNO LOWE,
OF MARYLAND.
The following letter from Ex- Governor
Lowe, of Maryland, was laid before the Lee
gislature OF Virginia on Tuesday last

receipt of your letter of the 18th inst. and
the resolution of the lIouse of Delegates OF
Virginia inviting me to occupy one Of the
pivi'eged seats the floor Of the Hall /
thank you sincerely for the kind and cordial
manner in which You were pleased TO inform
me Of the distinguished honor conferred upon
me by the emil ghtened and pa tr 10 tic body over
which you preside; ana L beg yon TO assure
the House that | earnestly appreciate this
delicate and generous expression OF its appro-
baton and good Will. Although the resolution
conveys n high com pliment personal to N.Y.
self tfor which am the more grateful mas
IN uch as l feel that 1t exceeds NY actual
merits,l am, nevertheless, perfectly sensible
that the great purpose OF the repres en- tatiyes
of the people OF Virginia, in adopting this
resolution, was, to show to the world how
deeply they sympathiZe with the loyal sons
of Marylnnd in the severe tribulatioEs which
Divine Providence has sent ppon them TO try
their faith and to chasten their affec tons
Whilst bowed down to the earth in their
great agony, and driven almost to despair by
that shape deferred latich mdketL The heart sicl,
the people or Maryland are not unIn IN dfut OF
another saiutaTy purpose which the Great
DispoSer OF events may contemplate in tn us
suh1ectlng them tor a time to the lsery ordeal
ot Northern do@potiaas1 ard efaaIty-
II MARY land had entered the SoutherAOon.
federacy eight months ago, she would have
brought with her comparatively small but
exceedingly vicious class cf men, whose cor
ruption would have secretly festered in the
body polite, and ultimately, perhaps have
u.
many ef these men were ready 80 hail the
Southern banner, II convinced OF it's power
The events OF the past six months have un-
masked those Serviie camp followers OF The
Northern despot, and placed between them
and the true men Of the State gulf which
must ever remain impossible. 1t is distinctly
understood now that one or the other OF
those hostile classes must occupy and possess
the State, to the exclusion of the other,
whenever the final issue shall have been
made by an appeal to arms AS / cannot
doubt what the result Of tn.u COniiict will!
he, feel no hesitation IL predicting that
Maryland, like Kentucky ald Missouri will
come into the great cor saryauve reputl OF
the South, purified OF the social and political
contaminatiOns which were brought upon &
noble race OF men by the money seeking emf
grants from the land OF agrarian tanaticisln
and sordid passion.
Maryland viii become again the home OF
the cavaliers rs she was before the mirror of
her chivalry was din11ed by the breath OF the
lnaInm IN worsnlpeCs. Even now the shores
OF Virginia are crowded with eXled uen
who represent the ancient historical loyalty
OF their race; and at this hour, down by the
bright waters of the Chesapeake, and along
thousands OF mansions, great and small
where rvlanders Keep alive the high spirit
and cultivate the genial domestic virtues OF
their renowned ancestry. The taint of Nor.
thern peif and the ulcers of Northern Red
Republican demagoguelsTn v i'll rs pidly vanish
us the old State passes through the furnace
of atfiCtIon into which she mas been cast by
Lincoln, with a tercer rage than that of the
ldolatrous Nebuchadnezer.
Hence it is, sir that, drawing much coCso-
lauon from this faith, we strive to mitigate
the rgOr of our exile, and to stliie the sor-
row " hiCh rises in our hearts as we listen to
the wall OF our suffering friends, borne 20 our
ears upon every breeze that crosses the Pu-
tomac, and salutes the Confederate flag -
We have never permitted ourselves TO doubt
tn at that flag Will, at the proper time, be ad
SanGeu TO the OF DeDDla from tSair r
cruel thraldOm. | speak what know, when
| say, that, Respite the insolent lnockerieS OF
the Lincoln ballot box in Maryland, held bv
peTjured seris and upheld by their master 8
bavonets despite the cringing ftlsenoCd OF
official demagogues and The purchased testi-
muny Of Il recreant aud subOrned executive
despite the clanor OF subsidized press and
the puSiianimity of the mammOn- -Worshi IN
pers- there has always been III our noble
State an overwhelming majority Of the peo-
rle hostile 70 tha Northern despot, and de
worldly attached 10 the cause or Southern
independence and constitutional lberEy-
And now, after the bitter experiences of
the last half year, it is certain, beyond all per.
adventure, that the actual adhereuts OF the
Northern Government do not amount TO &
.Itne OF the pOpula non. Fraud, Intimidation.
violence. threats OF cOn1isCation, lmpriSOn-
ment, the continued pressure OF arrogant
military rule, petty official persecution, the
temptations OF patronage, and all other base
means so TaInii1ar 10 tyrants, have been used
with z4al worthy OF Il less infamous cause
to eXtort from the people OF Marylaud an ex :
preston OF "loyalty 10 the Union," as they
$ Ill persist Ill character zing the decayed re-
mains of the old Government ana yer, tn cir
bastiles are filled 70 repletion with maryland
martyrs and they uara not for one inst4n I
withdraw from her soil the armed mercena.
ries, vino, III their imbeciie terror stand
guard st the doors Of rebel women and arrest
rebel bows for wearing the obnoxious col0rs
of the Southern 1lag, more terrible to the tv
rants mlnions than any thing on earth except
the Southern steel which gIittered around
that nag on an hund red 1ields of victory
No They we'll understand that Maryland is
at heart q 'rebel,' as she was in rs and
they re1nem ber the history OF hrr deeds al d
the fate OF her tories.
1t would be act of supererogatiOu in
Tae TO undertake detailed eApla4atiou of
the causes which led To this temporary sub
lugation OF Maryland. il is due to her, how
ever, that / should briefly ailude 10 certain
prominent facts.
am perfectly convinced that she would
have left the old Union immed{ateEv had
North Carolina and Virginia gone out when
the cotton States seeded. Her Executive
had not the manhood to oppose q revolution
which he feared and hated, until be was sur
rounded by Northern bayonets. Covering .
under The storm OF popular Indignation, he
went into Monument so udre on the afternoon
of the memorable 10Th OF 4 prIl Iast whilst
the blood of the heroic youths OF Baltimore,
who had scornfully driven out of their city
twelve hundred armed abolitionitts from
ments, and there called Goa 10 witness his
loyalty TO the South, and prayed that mis- arm
might rot from the socket if he ever raised 1t
against his Southern brethren.
Such a man, as we well knew, would not
have dared 10 lift his finger against secession in
the month OF February last. 1t was, how
ever, graphically and politically i'm possi-
Bile for Maryland to Join the cotton STATES
whilst other great States, lying between her
and the new Confederacy, remained even
nominally III union with the North. The de.
lay from December 10 April was fatal to her;
and that delay was btyOud her control. Lin =
coin then came into power, with his navy
threatening the bay and rivers which pene-
trate the State ut every vital point, and wi "a
HIS army gathering its mighty columns from
the North professedly for the protection OF
the Federal Capital, but in reality, IS we
have since witnessed, for the invasion of ' IT.
ginia Maryland had no arms, no ammunition
no military organization. Her false heart ed
Governor had purposely LETT her IN 3 defence
less condition, in order that he might, with
out peril 10 himself, deliver her up, Al the
sui table lime, to be cruciled and receive mis-
thirty pieces of silver as The price OF his un.
speak able treacnery.
Then, as now, she required only arms, am =
munition, and thirty DAYS 10 organize her rural
population. Had she been fortunate rs 10
have had her lot cast south OF the Potomac,
she would have accomplished her redemption
long ago. Being the only highway from the
North 10 the Federal Capital, her sunluga-
ton of course became political and military
nece ssity with the Northern people; and rs
she was separated by wide river from her
Southern brethren and was wholly without
eXpection OF early assistance from any quar-
ter, 1t became evident that her effort to resist
invasion, however gallant and determined
would have resulted Ill certain defeat, and
the consequent destruction OF Baltimore
city, which contains two -ffths of her whole
population, and nearly ali of her commercial
capital and enterprise.
Baltimore then had less than thirty Fl We
hundred rifles and inuskets, ten or a dozen
small field pieces, and not one cannon to de-
fend the approaches To the city. She was
surrounded by the flower of the hostile army
and cut of nom all support. After the 10th
of A pril, PhiIadelphia and New York clam