Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1862-06-05
THE OPINION OF THE RICH
fra MOND EDITORS.

The action OF Davis and Letcher is
warmly commended in the editorial col
umns of the Dispatch, but the Examiner
abuses Davis for 'telling his beads in
stead of fighting" We copy a few pas
sages from the editorial of the Richmond
Dispatch .
eve are proud of the spirit Of our
Governments, Confederate and State, rel
alive to this question of holding and de-
Tending this State to the last. The army
will not abandon the sacred soil of Vir-
ginia. That has been made the battle
ground, and on that must the enemy es-
tablish his superiority in fair fight be-
fore it will be abandoned to him. The
evacuation of the sea-coast positions and
cities became necessity. There was no
avoiding it in consequence of the i'm
mense advantage enjoyed by the enemy in
his possession of the entire navy of the
United States, and the material and me-
chanical skill for the rapid construction of
iron-clad gunboats, while we had neither
navy nor the material and the mechani-
cal force to enable us to compete with
him in any sense. 1t is true, we had the
Virginia--but besides her, nothing. Her
destruction, and the question it involves,
suggest matters of debate which afford
neither satisfaction nor benefit now to
discuss. Our inability to meet the enemy
on the water, as general question, was
clear and indisputable, and the withdraw
al from the sea unavoidable.
Second to Virginia is the defence Of
this city, for manifold reasons-and it is
in keeping with the general purpose of
both Governments that they should re-
solve to the uttermost to defend Rich
mond. All the means in the power Of
the State and the Confederacy are pledg-
ed to this, and we may be assured that
the enemy will not be allowed to crafty
the prominent desire of his heart, to hec-
tor and domineer over the inhabitants of
this far-famed and beautiful town, until
every means is exhausted.
The President nobly says, that though
Richmond should fall, there are plenty Of
battle-felds yet In Virginia to fight fol
the cause for t,0enty gears. The sentl.
ment is as truthful as patriotic.
The Confederate Government assures
us that the Old Dominion is not to be
given up. God forbid that it should. Il
would be giving up much more than Viz
ginia The cause would be, indeed, itsel
we'll nigh surrendered in the event. TIT
Government is not only just but wise, il
its determination to stand by Virginia t.
the last.
To lose Richmond
is to lose Virginia, and to lose Virginia i
to lose the key to the Southern Confeder
cy. Virginians, Marylanders, ye VIII
have rallied to her defence, would it no
be better to fall in her streets than t.
basely abandon them, and view from tn
surrounding hills the humiliation of tn
capital of the Southern Confederacy ?
To die in her streets would be bliss
this, and to fall where tyrants strod
would be to consecrate the spot anew an
wash it of every stain.
The loss of Rich
mond. in Europe would sound like los
; of Paris or London, and moral effect wi
scarcely be less. Let us, therefore, avel
the great disaster by reliance on oul
selves. 1t is better that Richmond shout
fall as the capital of the Confederacy tina
that Richmond exist the depot of tn
hireling hord of the North. But Ricf
mond can be defended and saved fror
pollution. The fate of the capital of th
Confederacy rests with the people,"