Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-04-08

r. cnlinpcigHa cUuHtry, through which large
armies may Gi0To eGs!lr advance into the iI.o'
.iar. Oar border is, tn q considerable eXtert,
= Broken and nrcuntaircu> region, In winch
small bodies Of men would De able to check
:le advance o! IN Immensely Superior force.
!: it ,xpcctci that the spirit and scenes Of
tn. feuial age would be revived repetitiens,
across ;he Ohiu, Of the plundering f3rays OF
the English and Scotch outlaws ofthe fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries :? Even in old border
song. il runs that there ere b,eyes Oh both
sides of The border" Probably, in this i~nstance,
th. latest GveYcs would be found on the North
side, and this, ] Imagine, IN itself, would be 4
sutl! :ieut security that the peace would net be
ugcsc! in this form, from that quarter. Again,
ST. the Southern people along that border are
ern!aently military IN their spiri. and habits.
iLcr are the descendants of men who re.
ci.!..ei hat lanl from the ruthles: savage:
rrvn wlo vert ~scrently 10 their couches ut
aigi,t. "hen there was constant danger that
tf,.y might b" reused from their Slupbers by
an Ind, an war niiv"p or q blazing roof;
tie de- c .ndarts Of the men who fought, 1t Point
Pleasant, ard Of the.. .aen O; Tsst Augusta.
to yhon Washington looked in the darkcs.
houls Of The revolution. If their border was
ever invaded, these proud historic memories
wpu;u lend an inspiration Of Courage to its de.
10 CT, which. like the miraculols light that
plazcd OF the crcst Of Doomed, would strike
terror into tbs heart Of every foe.
Mir. Chairman, a great change has taken
place, not yet sufficiently appreciated in the
coalition Of the world, That must render az.
~yressiye wars Upon any country containing a
large ard brave population, almost impossible,
unless b. iu.ln=rsc and well d,scipled armies.
| refer 10 the greater facilities afforded By rail-
roads and tclrgruphs, for purposes of defence,
than for purposes Of offence. They can only
oe extensively employed in 4 friendly country.
An invading army MAJ be brought, by rail.
rrad, 20 The Verge OF the hostiie border, but,
when il crosses into the enemy's country,
every step Of It's progress must be made rs il
wa, d hundred years ago. An obstruction
placed upon the track By i single hand would
cause the destruction ct hundreds Of lives
rney NUS. tiave! slow!y, dragging q weary
icnSth Of wagsons, und camp pquipugc, and am.
munition in their train. 1l!ry must leave gar.
r'>u ) along the whole line Of their route, to
keep open a communication with their base o.
Operations. But how Id it with rail-; Dad, aud
telegrapE,, for defensive warfare? AS soon as
il could be known, that an enemy was approach
ing the li!.e Of Virginia, Maryland, or Zen.
lucky, the busy lightning, in an instant OF time.
would proclaim the fact TO the r~cInolcst from.
tiers Of Texas or Florida, and throuvhou, The
whole South, orecy ri rad facility would
be usei to concentrate al oser@ h~-iritns force
upon the point of attack. Under ordinary cir.
cGms.ancrs, the railroad cur is & magnificent
and impressive SYMBOL q; power, but our hearts
would k:"a.e with tho rapture OF patriot en-.
lluslasu, when We behe!d this lu,os; powerfu.
tysaey 0: nature and ait, pressed into the no.
DIE service Of !ibsIty, crowding with u%nlirirg
speed by ni.ht and by day, towards the post Of
Danger, and pouring all along the line Of the
bur,icr, thousands upon thousands Of frccmen,
ready and able to cover tEcir country with a
living wall Of impossible fire.
L. the c%ent Of hostiiit!es, | have always
thought that the most exposed point 70 thr Tn.
envy would be our seaboa.d, and not our Yves
tern border. If sc ever separate, VIC must
have q border line upon our frontier, instead o.
That which now separates us from Canada. Sir.
| ask cur friends from the Yves: to consider this
si,alc q~leSllon, and ~ place ,le,useive s in ina.
~.ira'irn in our condition; look nj it for a momcn
in the li:h. in which We view il. The North
western ii. trict Of Trars Allegheny has, &C
cordiri. to the statistics Of the last census,
about S, 900 slaves, while there ere more thar
100, 900 III Piedmont and Tide. Water. the
res, are distributed through the Valley, and
me South West. OF these S, 700 slaves in the
North Wss., $500 are in the county Of Kama
wha. Your people can never, therefore, be dis
turbed by any apprehension Of present or fu
lure s~ervile wars. The destruction of slave
property, would only affect you BY the reaction
Of our ruin. We, as 4 greet s!a"choiding people,
whose whole civilization is interviewer with tins
institution may naturally be more sensitive to
tor. Hy sli TING haiiowrd associations Of our
;7:3i@on ancestry and ommon glory, invoke
yen, gentlemen Of tho West, 20 let us march.
SregIrs step together. through all the future.
~ our fathers have dune in siI the past. Lei
u; ever be a. ready, rs they were in their gen,
grafton, 10 cpyc- with intcrlocHei ar.uS, The
r;5htS. 81. institutions, ard the honor Of the
p hvls State. The poe: tells ~ that liberty hac
{ 80 "0irtS, Que OF tia mountains, and one 0!
ne sea. The m~ingl;ng and blended echoes o!
both these voices, sGuInied in the ears Of our
glorious dead. Let the West stand by the
East in this hDrr Of tine greatest PERL, in all its
history: ard "ith I people whose rnity no trial
or temptation could sever, with a territory ney-
u 10 be dismerubercd, a splendid heritage o;
rswcr and fame never to be divided, the lofty
s,rIins u: Liberty will ascend from al our Tor.
d:rs. in grand and unbrckcn chorus, 50 long ~
mountain foods shall thunder in the West, or
ocean surges below in the East.
But, Sir, suppose the policy Of the Federal
Government Is not pacific, but coercion is al.
tc,uptcd, where will Virginia 20 then ? ! am
clad to know that the voice which says Flr,
gina will then 90 nowhere, is very faint nni
low. If a cocrclve policy should be adopted,
IL is now, at least, probable, the question
which will be presented to us,is one that must
be DECIDED by the heart, ard not by the head.
l. ID one that does not admit If debate. True,
sir. every material interest We possess. would
be destroyed by the suhjusaiion Of the Gulf
States al the principles Of Constitutional
liberty We have cherished, would be trampled
in tine dn,t but there are stronger conSidera-
tons yet, which would never permit US tc
stand by, and witness sucn i contamination
ir:eprcs idle sympathies and instincts of
nature. We could never sit around the
council board Of tie nation, with States
which presented themselves in garments drip.
ping with %lratcrnaI blood. No, sir, if this ad-
StaONil W ~ bGul w hilS
ing voice Of justice so deaf 10 the nournful
appeal Of tie wounded, but &c: living sym.
palhie> Of our ancient brotherhood SO lnseu-
siblo 10 the public opinion Of The civilized
world, 10 the common sentiments Of humanity,
and ~ the principles Of liberty, as to ,Gau.
gurst- this ru!icy Of coercion, upon whatever
other point there may be uncertainty, there
is no doubt, then, that this Commonwealth
Like a re.apPearius star,
Lie \ glory from afdr,
Would head the fock Of wlt."
History Informs us that Louis XIV, in the
latter part Of his life, when stripped of the
territory acquired b. q long career Of conquest,
irokcn in ,iri., hun,blcd in his fortunes, T lady 20
purchase peace from hs adversaries b. sluest
any concession, broke up the conference Of
Gortru3enburs rather than acquiescs In the
suggestion, 10 turn his arms against his grand.
Child on tho Spanish throne; and the native
magnaninity Of his hereditary enemies, sub
dued the i~nsolcnce Of triumph, and applauded