Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1865-02-10

our evening SuiNtuhI NNnttiu"'
Mr. HUNTERS sPRECH.
Hon. r.. M. 4. Hunter said The cause IN which
We are engaged involves the OF liie and OF the
most sacred right II was al least satisfaction
mat IN this struggle skirts were free rom tue
bIood which had drenched the land during TINS IN
exorable war which had been waged against us win
a fsrocitV unequalled ia the history OF mahhihd'
save perhaps in the days of WailenSteini aud yet
after war waged SO dercely: We are tod by the
President of the Rued States, that We could have
mo peace till We lay down our arms aud submit 10
their laws Of cOnhscaton enacted since secession,
and laws melting slaves 10 revolt. Inc Omted
States Government tells that with our people no
terms and no agreement can be made. ere We
the rebels which they proclaim US to be, under what
authority or precedent could they tell us thai they
would NOT treat with usl In lIeS Commissioners
were sent here from England, not only TO feai with
whatever Government they could ind here, but WIN
ans class OF individuals
OF the United States. Nothing done or proposed to
be done 10 alleviate the suheIings OF TINS people.
IL II possble that LINCOLN could have believed that
,saee on such terms could be possible WITH sueh
men AS oursl (Cbeersl We are TO lay down our
arms without terms and condltiOns--we are 10 sub
NIT 10 those laws that contscate our property ana
desolate our people 1t is 10 be remembered that
when we agree TO 70. in \ conquered people, We
rive ua all the immuniries wAch we're secured 10
as under the Constitution Of the United States, ior
Lincoln had told him tnal Nilllcb oPVhN bee
man he could give no assurance OF better terms. Nor
has an been told as yet. More than three millions
of slaves we're TO be turned loose upon society, and
i 500 OO6 900 OF property 10 be coniiscated. II,
yIcn The distinction between white and black were
20 well defined, were driven to separation, what
would il be under that condition OF Things
lie drew that picture OF subjugaton which looms
mn TO our mud. He passed 10 the next question
What was 70 become OF the slaves themselyesf-
Under our system, the master supported Them but
under the system proposed by the Yankees, what
was TO become Of them /? Why, perish Of course;
nerish inevitably. Who does not know that IN
competition with the white man he must disappear
as the mist disappears before the rising Sunf The
only hone therefore of the negro was in the success
of our cause He had presented the picture OF what
We must endure should we accept the terms. lie
now turned TO the picture OF What We should WIN.
fCheers). We should win our independence snd
be the equal of nations We should do more than
this we should cover or name with glory such as
f,d never been before. We had the world against
MS, and we had but few parallels We we're to do
even more than the Dutch Republic, with which
parallel had been drawn. We shall be able TO de-
LION, system by WHICH both the white and black
man should improve together. What was the lot Of
that confederate soldier who returned battlescarred
In after years he would gather around him the graft
tude and love of the country. (Cheers) The IN
erests az stake such that 1t IS better 10 lose
Ele than Indeperienee lie believed that at this
uOur Wuen tue country NallNA W. auNA tA4N "N'iN
hasten TO the field. The deserter would hasten
from his hiding place. and the skulker from his ig
noble ease We must have faith in the endurance
If our people suffer al! and TO do all, and If the
people will endure what they manifest themselves
,bIe 70 endure, there is no reason why we should
doubt of success.
lie believed that with the blessings Of Providence,
the army that stood between utter destruction and
as. like wall of steel would win the victory, and
he hoped croskers would cease their complaints and
moaning, aud that dependency would give way to
chez rfulneSs.
Mr. suEFFEY's SPEECH.
Mr.. Shelley followed, AMI offered the resolutions
reported ia our evening edition of yesterday. He
aid ne felt that he had not been selected TO inaugu
rate the fesivty OF eloquence which was to follow
acrse of any superior personal merit, but because
he is the presiding officer of Sic House OF Dele
gates of Virginia. He thought perhaps that It was
hut meet and proper however, that one who daily
ills the venerable arm chair once occupied by Ed
mund Pendleton and the wo thies not only OF the
Revolution but antecedept TO the separation OF the
colonies from the mother country Should, on TINS
2reat occasion, be the medium for presenting reso-
utious breathing the same spirit which orr iOreta-
Tiers adopted aud sealed with their blood. Aud,
said Mr. s. If Gods wrath will ouf subpgation, NJ
.bis char be consigned 10 the funeral pyre OF our
liberty rather than grace as trophy the triumph OF
the accursed Yankees. As Nirginlan, he thought
that be would be psrdoned for saying lew words
bh~''
loved tbc old Union with all the tenderness a mo
the- feels FOR her first born; and it was not until
lincoln filed the cup OF her bitterness by his proc
lamation that she was willing to throw aside the
.i~a and take up the sword. Since then she has
been as determined and as defiant as her own blue
mountains. Yes, Virgnians, your old mother,
L ike some tall cliff that lifts its awful form,
SW-ells in the vale and midway leaves the storm,
Though its base the and clouds be spread
Eternal sunshine glitters on is head
The struggle is now for national existence, and
brave men will rather rejoice that the contest Is TO
ne so sharp: that the sword will be drawn and the
seabbard thrown away, and, in the language OF our
President shoulder 10 shoulder they are to march
to victory or death The issue is no longer in doubt,
.or if not frankly intended, il has been frankly
made by the Yankee Authorities. Iteannot, there
lore be shirked or dodged-to retreat now, is to
step into the grave of our honor. Daniel Webster,
on a memorable occasion, said al take no step
backward" and no true Southern man nor woman
can fail TO adopt the sentiment in the face Of the
humiliating ultimatum recently sent usty Lincoln
through our Commissioners. Seward, in his Au-
burn speech avOwed that the object of the Yankees
m the prosecution of the war was to preserve the
Union, because it was necessary to the very life OF
the nation. On the other hand, every Southern man
feels that not only our sacred rights, but our
honor Involved in the establishment Of our indie
pendence-and honor is the very soul Of people
Commissions may, for awhile, deprive nation OF
its possessions, ITS resources and wealth, but while
its honor is maint aimed unimpaired, it Is bound,
eventually, 10 rise superior TO its reyerses. God
ne yer made race Of the type Of Stonewall Jack
son. with chosen represe NATIVE like Davis, and a
cheftain Of the exalted worth of our own Robert
Lee to be destroyed, even though called to pass
through an ordeal as trying furnace sevea times
heated. This can never be done, said Mr.. s., with
emphasis. (Great applause.) Continuing, he SAID
Mr. Chairman don't YOU feel as | feel-Stronge
Drawer and more confident than You did ten days
agol The result of the mission Of yourself and as
.ociates 10 Hampton Roads, is to make every man
Of spirit in the Confederacy resolve TO die rather
than he subjugated. The fires of an aroused
patriotism again glow, as we all see, as in
81 aud o., and will dissipate the mist that has well
aigh enveoped- us. 1t will be jolly bonfire
Doubling, croaking, eStortion and RIGHTEOUSNESS
viii all be consumed in its cracking flames
Where, to-day, is the recohstructonist who,
a few weeks ago, was almost persuaded
10 return 10 the Union. With their heads
-. ID shnrLders they could carry their