Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1863-09-15
NO. l6.
MR.. sHEFFEY,s ADDRESS.

I'll Mhs EFFEIzS ADDRESS,.
Il Hugh W. Shefey, Esq, of Augusta county
: was elected Speaker the House of Delegates O
7 Virginia, on Monday week. After being conduc
ted to the chair, Mr.. Sheffey addressed the Hous
as follows:
GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGArEs
accept the trust you have reposed in me
with mingled emotions of gratitude and appre
nenslon-g gratitude for the honor and apprehen.
Sion, IN view OF the grave responsibilities of the
office.
4 L know enough of its duties to understand the
dihcultles In discharging them; the tact and
promptness, the good Judgment and even tenn
/ per, the uniform courtesy and irnpartialty. as
wen as the unyieldlng firmness and the dignity
required OF him who presldes over the House of
/ Delegates ofthis ancient Commonwealth. shall
rely, however, with confidence on your generous
,orDearance towards my errors, and ON your kind
! ly cooperation, with the earnest efforts shall
make, to guide arigAt your important delibera-
tions and TO uphold the elevated character which
the House of Delegates of Virginia has always
borne Tor good order, courtesy, and heightened
decorum in the conduct of its business.
Gentlemen :-Virginia has been again called
into councA to consult for the welfare of the
republic Since | pronounced the adjourning
order to the last House of Delegates our country
has been passing under clouds big with porten
tous national calamities and personal sorrows
Amid the exultant shouts over the victory at
charlottesville, was heard deep-toned and
sorrowful wall, swelling in melancholy import
as IL vlDrated through the land, and told the
startled people that JACKSON acas no rpore-that
the Sun of popular confidence and trust had set
IN It's meridian splendor-that ssthe silver cord
was looSed and the golden bowl broken.'' even
at the fountain of victory and national joy And
as we looked up towards his departing spirit, we
could but cry, with the prophet of old, ssthe
chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof !',-
But, alas where shall we find, on whose shoul-
ders shall we discover, the mantle of the ascend
ed hero and christian Our human consultations
IN his death are, that the world mourns with us
-mourns over noble type Of humanity blotted
from life and that the fires of deathless patri-
otlsm lie smoulderlng In his ashes, to give
warmth and good cheer to his countrymen.
From Gettysburg we came back with stricken
hearts and anxious forebodings. Many, ah how
many of the best sons of the Confederacy were
met by the death shafts on that fatal field And
none of her sisters poured out there richer IL
baton of blood than Virginia but while her
tears still flow for her fallen sons, the light OF
proud, yet melancholy pleasure renders those
tears brilliant, as she thinks of the heroes of
Pickett's command.
Well may she rejoice that they were her sons
al hers; be proud of their unsurpassed hero
ism, and cherish them, dead and living, among
her brightest JEWELS. Wagram made Mcdonald
famous Gettysburg has made the heroes of Vir-
ginia, led on by the indomitable Pickett, immor-
tai And the inspiring moral of that grand charge
is that the mother of such men was not made by
God to be the handmaiden of despot.i
Amid the howl of the tempest setting in a.
gainst US, were heard, in quick succession, the
crashing sounds of Vicksburg and Port Hudson
falling before the storm; ; and the people have
stood appalled,, as if God We're verify: dealing
with US in judgment-the timid have covered
down in fear, and the weak have crouched in des-
pair. And now, with Sumter apparently crumb-
ling into ruins, and Charleston bowling her head
before the hail of fire; aye, internal fire, poured
upon it, the inquiring heart of the people, hav-
ing recently with one consent, bowed down be-
fore God in solemn devotion and prayer, rever-
entity asks what sore trial next, oh, Lord what?
1t is at such time as this, gentlemen, that
you, as the representatives of great people,
have met to consult for the common veal. You
are the kinsmen of those who led the forlorn hope
at Gettysburg you are, therefore, neither a.
larmed4by the dangers that beset you, nor dis
posed to fold your arms and let the swift cur
rents hurry on events as they will. Dangersl-
yes, there are dangers in such conflict as ours
not to dlshearten or dismay but just such dam
gers as steady the nerves of a brave man, and
make his eye glisten with the fire of sterner re-
solve to grapple with and disarm theml Your .
aim viii be, trust, to become masters of your
ana cOntroUerS OF your deSt1nleS; d
and Dravely, If need be, throw yourselves into
the torrent and guide the bark that bears you all
safely through the rapids. Virginia has work
to do--to do NOW (; she is called upon now to
put forth her full strength and assure the world
that she will be free; and confidently expect
that, under your guidance, she will step forth
boldly and tearlessly to this work and that her
sons, catching new inspiration from your acts,
will renew their vows never to lay down their
arms until they hear Virginia, again pressng'her
foe to the ground, with her heel on his neck and
her spear in his breast, once more exclain, ssSic
Semper Tyrannas ~ is7
Again, gentlemen, you are the descendants Of
a long line of honor-loying and faith-keeping an
cestors, whose lighteSt word, when given in
pledge, was firm as band of steel. You will,
be true and loyalto the troth plighted
to the sister States, when the COnfederacy was
formed and know that that pledge will be-
kept by you with chivalric honor. Let others
doubt, or hesitate or question; Virginia. IS motto
shall be, ssNulIG UestSgiG retr0rsum"-ssI tread
no step backwards Her brow shall, be ever
bathed with the sunlight of honor; and the Sis
ters of the Confederacy shall look to itas bea-
con light of safety The people you represent,
gentlemen, undaunted by disaster, and as true
to the cause as when victory smiled, and selfish
nations looked favoringly upon.us, require you
to turn bold front to danger, and to meet it
with courage and prompt action to provide for
the defence of their property and their homes;
to cheer the soldier at his biYouac, or on his
march, by the assurance that his wife and his lit
tie Ones in their far off home, shall be protected
from sudden inroads of robbers and murderers,
and that their wants shall be cared and provided
for, cost what it may and that the government
shall be cheered and Sustained In Its arduous ef-
forts, not biindly or with sfavish serviity, but
with cordial confidence and charitable construc-
tons now, ,reserving the reckoning with the pub
lie servant for calmer epoch in the future
And woe to that servant who shall abuse Virgin
ia's generous forbearance and unstinted trust in
the hour of the country's peril
Gentlemens~to some the hour may seem dark
and the portents gloomy; but to me, who have
not lost my faith that ssall that isl connected
with contest, sis full of blessings and that
God will be the ayenger of our righteous cause,
the light of better day appears bursting thro'
the clouds. N o brave, hardy and united people,
with defences and resources such as ours, yearn.
ing for liberty and sternly resolved to be free,
ever yet was conquered. Nor shall we. The
pressure of disaster is bringing closer togeth-
er; and terrible is the strength of brave peo-
pie thus brought to bay What though jackson
has fallen and Gettysburg has frowned though
Vicksburg and Port Hudson have yielded, and
Charleston is sorely pressed, all is not lost
Calmly survey the field, and the heart of every
patriot with joy echoes back the voice of the
sage and statesman of Albemarle, that, like
clear bell in an autumn morning, sounded cheer
lngy through the land few days since, bearing
the glad refrain, ssall is not lost.'' No, gentle-
men, ssthe unconquerable wilP' to be free is left
us ssthe courage never to submit or yield'' to
aIo ov,d eloF+..