The Abingdon Virginian. [volume] (Abingdon [Va.]) 1849-1883, 1863-08-28
From the Richmond Enquirer.
Farmers and Property Holders

the tillers of the soil, and it has striven, no
: always in vain, to guard their rights and ad
! vance their interests. It will be ever found
willing and faithful lsborer in that service
t 1t proposes to say a few words now, not Q
: praise, but of admonition and censure rather
and yet in the same service, since friendship
may he better shown by i1dicious and franz
, rebuke when occasion calls for it, than by IN
merted commentator.
; In the beginning of the war. and for many
months OF its progress, the conduct of the
farmers and planters was in everything ad
mirable. They were called on to make hea
vier sacrifices than any other class OF citizens
, and they made them promptly, freely, cheer
fully They we're IN many instances grossly
maltreated and imposed on by the officers of
the Government, and they Submitted patient
ly, believing that the public interest demand
ed the infection of private grievances and
hardships. They we're the last to experience
the benefit of the advance in prices resulting
from the large Issues of Government paper,
| bat they did not KuYmur. They resisted
longer than any Others, too, the infection Of
that disease referred to in the Presidents Pro-
clamation as "eating, like a gangrene, into
/ the heart of the people" These things are
! to their credit, and should not be forgotten.
But, alas that such things should now have
to be remembered only, and cenIeot be wit
messed. tits, indeed, astonishing to see how
utterly selfish Men have become, who, before
this war, were esteemed liberal, high minded
and public-spirited. Fl seems to be the desire
of every farmer-the only large class that csn
accumulate surplus-to obtsin the very
highest prices for every necessary Of life,
whether from his neixhbor, the Government,
or the soldier who is fishtisg to defend his
most tangible weaIth-tae very basis OF all
his profits. The prices for the necessaries of
life, and the pay Of labor Of any kind, do not
move paai g,dss,t, aud in this fact we have an
element Of discomfort which may yet endan-
ger the interests of the Southern Cenfederacy.
The first class Of our population who will con-
sent to yield in this contest, and the class in
which the decentralization of the people will
first begin, il, unhsppiiy, it should ever be-
gin, will be that which finds it almost ihlpos-
sible to live under the present system Of
prices. How important is it, then, that the
land holders and producers Of the country,
for whose substantial interest the war is wag-
ed, should be liberal and wise enough to keep
down this spirit of discomfort.
1t should be remembered that professional
men can make their way in almost any form
Of society. because al forms of society, who
ever may be masters Of the soil, need their
services. But when you take from the land
holder his possessions. he is left almost a
wreck upon the sea of life. tits atterly dis
couraging, not to say disgusting, to hear of
many Of our farmers referring the prices of.
agricultural products, the atsotNte accessories
Of life, to the cold standard. They are to be
the great losers in this contest, should it prove
unsuccessful. They are to see. perhaps, a
partition of their lands rs bounties to a dis
contented rabble soldiery; and in the most fa-
vorable view Of our failure Of success, they
are to be left without labor upon large landed
estates, the larger portions of which viii have
to be sold to Northern capitalists. to pay the
enormous taxes under which the South would
be made to groan. With them lie the great
material interests of the country; with them
the greatest hazard Of battle; and amongst
them should be found the most liberal and
selfsacrifcing spirit---a present sacrifice on
ly, to ensure a future gain. 1t should be the
desire of no man who can support his family
with even toerable comfort, to come out of
this contest better off pecuniarily than he was
at its commencement. But the property
holders of the country, in whatever form this
property may exist, are to be incalculaEle
losers in this contest, if unsuccessful; and it,
instead Of each individual acting to break
down the interests of all, himself inclusive,
they should cooperate for a common defence,
it would be more IN accordance both with pa
triotism and common sense. The people ge-
nerally should be walked up to the danger
and absurdity of acting upon any selfish prin
ciple in the present emergency.
President Davis is right when he deplores
the selfish, specializing mania in the country
whether viewed as moral question, tending
to provoke the immediate wrath of Heaven,
or as a question involving the ordinary ope-
ration of the relations existing between cause
and effect. AS general rule, every violation
Of the laws of duty or morality, under the pc
culiar constitution of the moral government
of the world, tends to work itself out into its
proper punishment in the present, by laws
which appear to be simply the ordinary laws
of Nature. When a people are engaged in a
noble cause, which should enlist their whole
sympathy, in behalf of civilization, of Chris
tianity and freedom, and believe themselves
worthy to receive aid from Higher Power
then the dereliction from duty Of the mind
and heart of whole nation becomes specta-
Gle not to be viewed with indifference.
Nor can a people recreant to such cause,
and turning its attention to gambling spirit
of speculation, expect to receive superhuman
aid under circumstances which cannot be
looked upon without disgust, even by men
themselves.
But enough of this. The people must be
walked up to a sense of their present danger.
There is but one way to accomplish this OBJ
ject. The proclamation of the President will
not suffice. The people must be brought to
lnnl, the matter Nir, the face They rnilst ho.