Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-04-18
"rha Peculiar People A"

Tho Peculiar People
Hmm d,ubt true that the Roman augurs laughed
IN zach oths face when they met in the street, to think
b,v easily thew could cheat the credulou' PoPulae'
T,sre "a hs difference between the ancient augurs and
,,s modern Yankees the sugurs confessed their mpOs
ture 20 each otae while hey really succeeded In delndg
A. w,,Il. The Yankees assume sincerity even among
tAsmaelyes; bus do not cOntrve 10 deceive anybody
else While the whole world is laughing at THIS riaiea
lous pretenee they persevere in absurdes which car
not deluao child There is not prime PIE they aVo"
which the rest Of the world does not see them rsekessy
yi,la Ing every day There ia nos an article OF What
thew call their national faith towards which they have
not become opel here6es. There is not an OBJ
ect they profess 70 have in view that the world does
not know and declare to be impossible Of accomplish
msnt There is not single thing they profess to be-
Eeve that everybody else does not know 70 be a lie
nis fAvorte theme With them to discourse On the as
sumed failure Of Republican Institutions involved in the
dissolution Of the old Union, as if Republican insIitu-
tons could not Roursh except under Yankee protee-
,n. a IL the secession OF the Southern States had not
for one of its main ob preserve Republican insti-
tutions in the States indeed, it vas not perfectly
clear that Republican institutions had become corrupted
and enervAted in Tire North, and could only find Sc
cure refuge in the South relieved FROM Yankee control
and from the desPOtic tendencies and designs Of
q Yankee sectional majority. T5ey for a lOEs
time declared that they were fghdrG 10 re
store tRe supremacy Of the Constitution, Wh le
they deliberately tore the ConTtuion 10 pieces
that they wanted reconstruct the Union, while they
we're conducting of tubjugAtiOn A-d eonQlssi;
that they Nished to enforce The laws at the South, Wills
tbey GscNd.d AID renouaeed the fundamental lIW a.
home.
There oould be nothing more amusing If il had
not become dsgulsng than the passion for the nven
tiOu of catch phrases, which, in reality signify nothing
and have no relevancy the issue; but 10 Vhieh
they seem to attach the most monsntcus consequence
"Rgating for freedom" "HghIing to pRserTe liberty
on the American Continent" "fghing to eserVe The
nations he," Aghting to maintain the bes. Govern
msns the world ever sss"-thS is the ridiculous
sense which d, y vsIss III, tir,d air of YsnKeed
and WeAries h. worn yp's OF Yankee neVsPapers.-
The esks had a habit VII n they wanted 20 dsGu Sc
she bad sl les of aIy hing to give Ii good uame,
last as il has always been usull to prejudice the word
against good thing, BY giving it bad name. So the
Greeks called the LEFT hand the "bester" because, m
reality, il was the worse. The Yankees have sdop d
she sams system, not psrkAps, VITA Iho same object
but because they hive become perverted 10 al re-
speSts that they really do any longer know good
from evil, or vir.us from vice. We may, therefore,
regard their misuse Of terms as not SnplJ an eI2e-
dent 70 deceive, but illustration development
of their character. People Who embrace the Abomna-
tons of "niscegenadon," ard want TO improve their
own race BY malsamaton with the negro very natur
ally suppose that b. deOauching CUR slaves through the
oorruptnR influences aud mmorates Of Yankee school
mszesses, they are comforting great benefit on the
unfortunate African. Those Who think that free6cm
consists in bind submission to vulgar Illinois despOt
not unreasonably imagine that they are serving the
cause Of freedom by attempting the subuga,ion OF
neiKhbOring people. For such people the enslAve
msut Of the South appSars be the preservation Of
liberty in Ameroi; aud, to iaguSh the life OF sn
other nation, the only way to save their own.
But afsral the civilized world thoroughly understands
AL this Yankee nonsense. Toe Yankees can cheat each
other with rsnars able success; they even, no dlub
have sort of faith in their o~n falsehoods but they
cannot eheA. or delude any body else wnen Philip the
Second ordered the determination Of all the po uAtiOn
Of q Hand, be was surprised that the unreasonable
Dutshmsa should Obj'et 10 this AmAOs eIPedieni aud
shat they should perIi-aeOusly reue to be governed
BY prince so element, mid, aad debonAire." P.il!l
vas thoroughly in earnest; bat history has stamped
his uaemoIy as that OF blool thirsty and brutal "
rant Toe YAnzees decree the o0n6soItiOn of all the
property in the South and aVOW their purpose to ex
terminate the people who refuse to be governed accord
ing to 80 liberal plan. They very much in earnest
no doubt but the rest of the world gives them
credit for as much bArbAIiy as sincerity and looks
upon them a nation Of liars and assasains. We
in the habit of suppOsng hat the Yankees do not mean
all theJ say; that their threats would lick in6lmen
and that their pefVsrsons Of truth their outr ht false
hoods heir nisApplicatiou Of terms, only attempts
10 deceive The void. Uoiortuna ely il Is not So They
are mces TOO bad 70 DO hyPocriesL Their wekedness
"a real aad by no assumed. TIE sincerity which is
sometimes virtue becomes with them only an e1agge-
ration of yica No one thinks better Of the Thugs be-
s.uss thsy s,rar gle their victims with pious hope of
heaven The memory Of HsrOd lie not the less ezecrabs
because he thought be was doing God a ssrviss in de
eresnR the slaughter Of the Jewish children. Il will
not mitigate hate towards the Yankees or s1ecraon Of
tsIr memory that they think they doing service to
ths cause of Heaven and of humanity BY invading the
South and despOilng and deSmasing her people ;-by
committing ousragss the recital Of which would soil tue
page Of history and perpetatng atrocities 10 eompai
.oo with which the devastation OF Bohemia BY Waller
.ss< ard Of the PAatnats BY furenne, we're but mild
and VsniAl offences
When We take this yisW Of the case it is
not surprising that "the bet Government the
ord ever saw" should be guilty Of the worst Aets aud
tia. tia yicss and crimes Of the Oldest Governments