Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1865-10-27
Old Virginia:

A popular Convention Of. the cx.rebcl
soldiers Of that portion Of Eastern Vir.
glnla which lies between the Rappahan.
mock aud the Pamunky rivers was re-.
Gently held at the Bruinton Church.
King and Queen County, which was in.
augurated BY a sermon from the Rev Mr..
Jeter, the eminent Baptist clergyman Of
Richmond. who was followed in u spec ech
by the Hon, K. L. Montague, Lieut.. G ov.
OF the State while john Letcher was
Governor, and since Representative ia
the Confederate Congress. His theme
was "The Responsibility Of the Young
Men Of Virginia :" and we find his dis.
course thus condensed in an admiring let.
ter to the Daily Press:
AT the outset, be stated that he be.
leved there was common error preya.
lent regarding the origin Of the late war,
1t was not from African Slavery, nor
from the gross eorruptions existing in the
old political organizations. The 'Iliad Of
our woes was other than these. 1t was
the too greAt ertensiou Of the Demo. ratio
principle; and there could be n, perma.
nent peace until this was restrained. Mr..
Montague urged upon the young men be.
fore him the cultivation of morals as the
sine qua non to prosperity that they
should make friends Of their late enc.
mics as matter of policy, but not for
the adoption Of any of the manners, Gus
toms, or ideas Of the Puritsnic race
These he secuted as absurd and danger.
Gus in the highest degree. Toward their
MANNED fellow-soldiers, and the orphans
of those who had fallen in battle, they
owed debt of sympathy and assistance
which must be cheerfully and generously
paid. 10 the negro. now placed in po.
sition of exceeding novelty and danger,
all should be just, humane, considcrate
and liberal. But above all things the
speaker urged them to be true to the
memory OF their brave comrades who had
fallen in the front rank of battle, and to
the State of Virginia-their grand old
mother. 1t would, however, argued Mr..
Montague, be impossible to establish y
permanent peace, and to avoid eternal
wrangling. unless there were two sections
u the present constitution of the United
States expunged. The first of these re.
Iates 10 the Right of Suffrage. and is
contained In the first clause of section
second, article frst, and says: The elec.
tors IN each State shall have the quali6.
numerous branch Of the State s '1 fms!
ture.' This is too general-too demo.
cratic. We must have some higher stand.
ard--some property qualification for no
man should have the right to vote who is
not interested pecuniarily in the welfare
Of the coun ry. The 9th obj ionable
feature in the Constitution, as argued by
Mr.. MontAguei is contained in the first
clause OF section eight. article ], declar.
ing the power of Congress y and col.
lect taxes, duties imports, &c. TLis was
an absorption of all the power of the
States, or rather it was such an indefinite
statement Of the authority of the Gener-
al Government, as to occasion cant.n1al
cohict OF authority. "A strict State
rights man as | am, said Mr.. NJ. /
would infinitely prefer central govern
nent with consolidated powers, such as
Alexander Hamilton advocated, to the
present form, hich is neither one thing
nor the other-neither fish nor fowl-a
mere hotch.potch Of varying clements,
liable to the absurdest construction by .
set Of pcttilosging politicians" To ex.
punge these objectionable features from
the Coastitution-to restrict the Right of
Suffrage to persons who owned real es.
tate-to su5due the radical, agrarian.
democratic elements, and to define pre-.
cisely the rights Of the States were du.
ties incumbent upon the young men Of
Virginia. Their fathers had been leaders
in the politics OF the old Union. Their
sons of this generation should at least
help to fashion the destinies of the re.
constructed federation OF States.
Mr.. Montague concluded with an elo.
quen: peroration, recalling the glory and
honor of Virginia, as illustrated in the
past. and more recently in the bloody or.
deal Of the war just concluded, and ap.
pealed to the youth to follow tie exam.
piles of Washington and Lee, both natives
of the immediate neighborhood. For
himself. he said that he felt no sorrow for
anything that he had done, nor did he
know of any honorable man engaged in
the late struggle who did, 1t was only
towards and hypocrites who were bringing
to and tawnns about the powers that be.
with words OF remorse and contrition."