The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-03-21
VIRGINIA STATE CONVENTION
THIRTIETH DAY


WEDNESDAY,, March %. 1891,
The Convention assem- bled at hatf.pas, IA
o,Ilock Prayer by the Rev Gso. Woons
Es1nsS, Of the Monumental Church
KssoLCrToSs
Mr. BsowS, of Preston, offered a reso,u tio,
S,r taking the aSes and noes in t,onn,5,taa -.
tae Whole in the same manner that they are
tskan in ihe Convention Adoptea W
MIR SrSEp, OF Campbell, offered the fo,,ow.
ing resolution:
pr.arfd. Thai the Committee or reaa,ai pot.
ton, be la>lrne'Ga TO INQUIRE into the expedienev
- reporting 70 the Convention tYvo Drdin anon.
,r ne submitted u a vote Of the people far ~ ~.
approval or rejection on The fourth Monday in Max
npxt' one providing f"r reS1mption nv ibs 81
II the powers heretofore delegated 10 tEs Gonssa
government aud the other. a< an nlternatiye
,.tation Of the United States. which tne me- soh. n
sSrced on by the Convention to he submitted TO
,ac Notherh states ss an ultimaiun on The ac
r4pteace of which this State Will continoe io ~
Fteerah IL ;b a'on, wl, me proviso, that If sc-
~. hsve sathory 70 pass an raj oas m
c-.s.on without referTingSt back TO the people for
their ratification. ~ w
M,. EAaLr, of Franklin, moved that the
-r,oIuton be laid upon the table ON which
notion the yeas and nays were demanded and
tie roll WAS called with the following resnIt :.
YSAs-Messrs. Janney, .tPresideut) Aston. Bay.
C.aPDci tafis Carter c. b. BDfcS@n cos4.a beGrlsSS enasS
Gusts, boskiss, pormaa, Early, Fugste' GILES,
hammaUd, aoge, Hubbard, Hughes, muii. JACK.
,on Peter c. Johnston, Lewis. Mc(,iewS McSsi1
Ns,ers, Moas', orrck ostnin Pa,riek fPSSs3r Por;er
>yusr. Chapman J. stuart White and Wiiley-as
ANE-hessrs Amber, Armstrong, Blakey
Blow, houldin. Boyd Branch, Bruce Caperton
th2mbli,s. Conn, Robert y. Conrad, James III
*, Richard II. Cox. Fisher, Floarnoy, Garland
Hoycmbe Hutton, lsbei. Msrmadnke ,JTy,none J9bnsne
hsHt, ktlty, Leake, McComas, James r. Mallory
Nsrshsii. aaTye Miller, Montague, Morris, Nor
Z ., Sebistt. Nelson, Parks, Preston. Price Ran
a1iph, Richardson, Robert f. Scott William c
scott, sea~eil shehey Slaughter, ,southail speed
sPGTlorh, strange, s9theriin, Tredway, Robert
Il Turner: franklin Z. Turner, Whitfield VIII
soE. sad Wysor-6I "
50 the motion TO lay on the table was car
T!ed IN the negative. The resolutions were
then referred TO the Committee on Federal
Relations.
ORDER OF THE DAY
The hour of IL having arrived the PRRs1
nzSf announced that the Conven tion would
20 Iuto Committee OF the Whole, pursuant TO
order.
Mr. BeYn OF Botetourt, asked leave TO offer
An amendment 10 the report of the COMMITTEES
by Mr.. HALL, Of Marion
MT WILSON, of Harrison, moved that the
t1rtutlon OF 'he order be suspended. to give the
gentleman from Marion, (Mr. HAYaoxD) an
opportunity of finishing his speech on the
question of taxation
Inc motion was decided in the negative
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE.
IAr convention then resolved itself into
Committee OF the Whole, (Mr. SourHALL. of
Aibemarle, in the Chair and proceeded 10 CON
S'der the reports from the Committee on Fed
erai Relations w
Mr.. HoLcoaBE, Of AlbemarIe, being entitled
10 the floor address ed the Convention
lie commenced by comparing the situation
q Virginia 10 that of n landsfnan oyertaken
by storm in the midst of the AtIantic-tbe shin
tossing 10 and fro, and threatened by icebergs
whose contact would crush il down foreyer
We were upon the verge of revolution-a
powerful struggle between the life and death
OF people, and the simple prayer a. For life =,
put into the mouth of a hero bv the oldest of
poets on the eve of battle, was now recalled to
hs mind. He for one was ready to raise his
arm II repel the storm-and to avert the hor-
rorS OF deadly strife. 1t was the duty Of the
CHRISTIAN and the patriot, however remote
might be the danger to resist it in it's ncipiency
The danger, he believed. was impending and
the present was the time to avert it, The
people Of Albem3rlp where reposed the re-
mains of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the
Declaration of Independence, had declared
when the cloud first appeared that it was
time 10 make another declaration of Indepen-
deNer. lie went Oh to advert to the history
Of The Cons titution of the country When
lhai instrument was adopted, the question of
setuoaaltSm WAS scarcely more than a dream:
but that passive indifference has been yitalized
INTO one OF the most violent conditions of dis
cord that has ever conyuIsed a nation and
LtIt was no doubt that this dscord sprang
from an irrepressibie conflict Of opinions
which were driving the nation TO destruction
The Northern people had struck Il blow at our
rights, disregaTding the very basis of common
prosperity, equality of rights, and pursued q
system OF injustice towards us, thus COM
mrnclng revolution as dsas trous as that of
foreign enemy upon our soil. This had last
ed 'hrouSh Il period OF forty years, and his
m!hd had become settled in the conclusion
lhai We could live together no longer under
common Government. Neither the Crtten-
deA Propositions nor those of the Peace Con-
ference posses ssed the elements essential to the
security of the South. Expansion, with us,
q "a n nnI uuln aCft bai
sections reported by the Commit ttee guaranteed
thiS 10 some ex tent 1t did not go far enough. |
Unless expansion could be secured, the ulti- |
mate extinction of slavery was inevitable
The policy OF the Republican party was like |
surrounding the scorpion with belt of |
hfe. Ibtre were At present ,000, 900 slaves in |
the southern States, and according to the |
laws OF nature there would be in fifty years |
io,NH,bpU-Or one third more than the whole |
white and black population in all the South |
ern States at this time. With the proper |
means OF expansion for the diffusion of the !
slave population, the density of the white
population would be promoted; whereas,
without such means, the black population
would Increase as before stated in circum
scrihed space, and thus. within the life time
O1 our children, the way would be prepared
lof al! the horrors of seryile war. His argu-
ment IN this connection able and elabor-
ate. he conceived this question of terrific
uaiexpansion to be the rock upon which every
scheme OF compromise would be wrecked.
he proceeded 10 examine the subject in it's
political bearings--the possibility of taking
ulr power OF government from the hands Of
extremists and placing it in the hands of mo-
derate men in both see tions. The concessions |
lobe made by the North, if any are TO be made
must be such as To quiet forever the agitation
oi the slavery ques tion. The Southampton
tragedy was the result of agi Ia tion The John |
bfown raid was the result of agitation. With
agitation cons stantly sounding in the ears of
iht slave, could we expect anything else than
an occasional outburst of violence The
A!nendments proposed by the committee con-
LlheG no assurance of the removal of this
agitation. The subject of slavery would still
be mixed up with the politics OF the North,
IN the wnging of what they call a moral war
upon the institution. No such amendments
can change the anti-slavery sentiment of the
North. The Republican party had not been
formed upon the basis of a temporary expe- |
ditncy, but upon deep seated convictions of
night and wrong, which must never be relin-
pushed un til its object is accom- piished. The |
passion WAS the most iinmovable that had
ever seized upon the minds of people, and he
had no hope that it would ever be eradicated.
lie then read extracts from the speeches of
Their representative men, beginning with An
son Bnrlingame, of Massachusetts,, expires !
hNe OF the most ultra abolition sentiments ; ! ,
next, John +. Hale of New Hampshire, of
similar import and called attention to the
extract of Lincoln" read yesterday by Mr.. {
RANDOLPH; also, 10 the well known declara-
t4ohs of Chase, Seward and others. He asked ;
IL any present declaration from Mr.. Seward
'ouid reconcile the Southern people to his ;
fdsi professions as the very head and front of q
the irrepressible conflict, and as the man who s
nAa calumniated the decisions of the Supreme | /
oohrt of the United States (Mr HoLcosBg ,
s'Fe hr. Seward raking broadside, and the /
NisposItlon among the listeners 10 applaud d
'eeined almost "irrepressibie His language /
was The reality of eloquent sarcasm.l /
IF he question of party was not considered
ne nc eohlended that when parties became Sec C
dEllgOnism n |