The Placer herald., 1864-02-13
NUMBER "a.
President LincOln's Amnesty Proclama.
tiOn in the Virginia State Legislature.

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The following resolutions were offered in
the Virginia House of Delegates by Mr.
Hutcheson, on Friday, the 18th of December,
and referred to the Committee on Confede-
rate Relations:
WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln, President
of the United States, has by various MESA.
ges and proclamations endeavored to create
the impression upon the civilized world,
that the secession of the several States of
the South and the organization Of the Con.
tederacy, were acts of those who be styles
the leaders of the people, in contradistinc.
ton to the people themselves, and was not
the free and spontaneous choice of the people;
AND WHEREAS. in order to carry out this
idea he has recently issued his Proclamation,
in which he endeavors to seduce the patriotic
soldiers of our army and the citizens of this
ancient Commonwealth from their love of
country, and incte them to the abandon.
ment of those duties which devove upon
them as descendants of the noble and hivali
rous ancestry of '76, in the present struggle
for national independence and civil and
religious liberty Therefore, we, the members
of the General Assembly Of Virginia, freely
chosen by the people in accordance with the
lime"honored laws and institutions of the
State, and fresh from association and inter-
course with our patriotic constituents, do
hereby, for and in behalf of ourselves, and
in the name Of the people of Virginia
l. Resolved, That the separation from
the United States was the deliberate act Of
the representatives of the people in conven.
ton assembled, ratified by the almost unani-
nous voice of the constitutional voters Of
the State, confirmed by a voluntary enlist
ment of more than one hundred and thirty
thousand men, cheerfully sustained by rate
of taxation unprecedented in the annals of
legislation, and defended by heroism and
seltsacrificing patriotism unexampled in the
pages of history; and that any representation,
from any quarter whatever, that the people
of Virginia have acted under duress in this
revolution, is a gross misrepresentation Of
facts and a slander upon their character;
and, having calmly counted the cost and
weighed the danger and difficulties necessary
for the achievement of the rights and in,
dependence they covet, the people of the
Old Dominion spurn with contempt the
profered pardon and amnesty Of the said
Lincoln.
2. ReSolped, That the terms proposed by
the said Proclamation are degrading to free
men, and all who seriously entertain them
are destitute of patriotism and traitors to
their country, and will be so regarded and
treated bv the authorities of this Common
wealth.
3. Resolved, That the people of Virginia
have, in this struggle, inalienaby united
their destiny, for veal or for woe, with the
other States of the Confederacy, and that
they will share the same fate, accept no
offers, make no terms OF peace that will not
secure to her sister States the same rights,
privileges and independence which we seek
for ourselves.
4. Resolced, That although the difficulties
which now seem to environ us appear to be
great, there is no just cause for alarm, be-
cause they are nothing like as distressing
and embarrassing as those which frequently
darkened the prospects and threatened with
destruction the efforts of our ancestors; and,
relying upon the same source of support
which brought them out of all their difficult
ties and crowned them with success, the
confidence in the prudence energy and
faith.ulness of the proper constituted au-
thorities, the patriotism, perseverance, and
liberalty of the people, and the courage
of our brave soldiers, guided by the wisdom
and sustained by the mercy of an Alwise
and benifcent Ruler, we have every faith in
the ultimate success of our arms and the
accomplishment of our object-the indepen-
dence Of the Confederate States of America.