Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1861-03-22
Can the people bear

~ &C Illuminating " INC pIlu0 onu An"o
hood OF every Virginian. to reflect upon the
position his State is made to assume by the
Convention now in session in Richmond
While the North, who are the aggressors
and offenders, are firm and immovable IN
their determination to make no concessions,
to give no redress for wrongs inflicted
have rejected every advance made by the
South -spurned the Crittenden amendment.
kicked the Border State proposition out Of
doors, spit upon the report of'the commit
tee Of thirtythree and strangled the Peace
Conference abortion-still Virginia is run
ming around from post to pillar endeavoring
to hatch up some seductive bait by which
she may be allowed to cringingly beg the
consideration Of her oppressors! Is it not
shameful that our beloved State is made to
assume such degraded, cowardly and hu-
initiating position? Every proposition the
Convention or Legislature has made has
been Indignantly rejected Yet she will
not assert her rights. Instead, as the ag-
grievcd party, Of no advances being made
by her--propriety and duty requiring that
she should only consider overturcs from the
aggressor she has begged and plead and is
begging and pleading with her enemy to re-
lent and acknowledge her rights! Had we
made resolute demand for them at first,
all would have been settled ere this. The
cringing, fawning course we have pursued
has emboldened the Republicans in their
policy. and instead Of granting redress, they
are welding the chains Of slavery more
closely, ana heaping up outrage and insult.
Can brave and true people longer bear
these burdens Will they not require Of
the Convention to act at once and finally :?
Can they tolerate an adjournment until fall,
and the consequent suspense in the popular
mind, accompanied by universal prostration
and almost ruin in every branch Of bust
ness, with crushing increase Of taxes p
Let them rise in their majesty and demand
in thunder tones either the final adjourn
ment Of the Convention or prompt action !!
The Spectator, in noticing an article which
appeared in the last number of the Vindi-
Gator relative to the proposition of 1t. Gov
ernor Montague, to the effect that the qucs-
ton of whether Virginia should secede or
not, be at once Submitted to the people.
refers to the fact that the editor of the Vim
dictator voted osuinss reference at the re-
cent Con vehtion election. It is true. not.
However, because We wanted faith in the
people. We were influenced BY the con-
sideration that the time was too short be-
fore the 18th of March for the Convention to
act, and for its action to be passed upon by
the people. We weFe for prompt action,
believing it was the best means of securing
our demands and forcing a conservative
course on the part Of Lincoln. The people
could just as readily have made known their
wishes in the character of the men they cleo
ted, as by voting on the result of their Ia
bors. We be!ievs in the right Of the peo-
pie, as general proposition, to hare the
amplest opportunity to adjudgs the acts Of
their servants, but there arc times when ex-
ceptions should be made to all general
rules. This We thought was one of those
periods. But now that Lincoln is iii power,
and the Virginia Convention in session, we
demand that the people shall have the priyi-
lege of passing upon every act. Let the
Micawbers of that ever-to aforementioned
body, remember that their masters, the pco-
pie, are watching them, and will hold them
to terrible responsibility.
Hon w T. Yarcap tij Dndlcv