, 1865-02-26
Action Of Virginia il Favor
of Awning Negroes.
General I1npressment and
Confscation Recon-
.mended
The Negro Question Decided.
Virginia in Favor Of Arming the
Slaves. and Consequently all the
-. First. Families think the .-.
Matter Settled: - =.
{FtoM the Richmond ENQUIRER, Feb.1e.7

ter at rest. As to giving the slaves their
freedom, this should be the reward Of faith-
ful services, Mt the end Of the war, If desired
BY the Slaves. To some it may be boon,
Negroes arc divided id opinion as to whether
they would prefer freedom to slavery but,
by all means, leave the choice to them, Let
them decide the matter. Wc do not cxpect
this reward to make soldiers Of them, disclp-
line only will do that. 1t must be dlscip-
line differing very much from that which now
holds together with loosened bands, the ar
mics Of thc Confederate States. 1t must be
discipline sharp, severe, cxaeting, which
first teaches thern their duty and then COM
pels them to perform It,. There never has
been discipline Ia the armies Of the Confedcr-
acy, but instead thereof kind Of universal
stznggIes when 1t fsels like It. All this must
be changed with the negro troops; they have
not the motives that impoi the white man to
this fight; they must be kept up to the mark
by fear oi punishment more than BY hope Of
An army is and should bca despottsm--not
absolute. Obedience Is tue titat duty Of a
soldier, and struggling great crime; not SO
great, perhaps, as 1esertion, but differing
cnly in degree, not In kind. The armies Of
Frederick The Great were weil disciplined !;
struggling was unknown IN them 1t ysus
punlshed like dcsertion, and OF de:e.tion
there Wcs very little The same discipline
not promote desert1on, for strict discipline Is
the best preventive known for desertfon. It
is a we'll known fact that descrtion, atrag-
Cling and absence without leave ute Least
Known in veil disciplined regiments, and we
believe that the fact will hold good IN the
a,ruics Of the Confederate States, and that
these crimes will be found Of greatest occur
Ind m Tcf Tan t..
the best disciplined regiments. An officer
who cannot keep his command ,togethcr Is
not ft to command men, and those regiments
from which desertlon are most frequent indi-
cate most pnmfstakab1r the officers Of which
consolidation should relieve the army.
Gen. Lee has recommended the arlning 0
tue negroes, and upon him will degolve tic
duty Of. making them soldiers. Congress
may put them In the ranks, but discipline on.
" will make them fight. By nature and long
tabit and education they nre ohedtcnt aud
docilc, so that It would appear that thete dis
eirlinc ought to be easy E.ud most cIec,iTe,
Under proper officers We believe that they
eon brought to the rery highest perfection q
dr1l! and mancuver, and taught to stand
firmly together and move with unity aud c.
1crity. But the present discipline Of thu mr.
mics of the Confederate Suites will never
make soldiers Of tho negroes; the wonder Is
how 1t has made soldiers Of white men. The
Congress has never understood the army, and
It's legislation has often proved most injurious
the true soldier, and not for the poor soldier.
Give the men rntions, clothes. aud regular
Pay. and then the Congress may let the army
alone.
One fruitful source ofabscuce without learc
has been the law granting fi1sloughs from hos.
pitals; these men in nine cases out OF ten,
never return when their fnr1oughs are out,
Are 1lc negroes to be fi1sloughcd from hospI.
tales II 50, one campaign wIll be the last ol
The negro army.
This arming Of the NEGROES Is most impo..
tant step III the progress Of this war; rightly
,and properly managed it will give materiil
strength to our aslnies, and, without doing
the lsnst injury to the Institution Of slavery,
cttcct much towards the Independence Of these
sstatce, But 1t will require much patience and
much labor to make the negroes efficient SOL
diers. The selection of tie proper officer to
undertake their drilling is most important :
upon him will depend the SUCCESS o. fntlure
Of the experiment, If he is a disclpllnarian
be viii srccccd, but i lie Is NOT, no matter
how b: az, how great stratcgist, the cxperi-
ment VIII be failure: L. ID the effort to
drill the negroes and discipline them toto SOL
dfers, there should be developed a system by
Which ctr present noble armies may b,. i'm
proved and perfected, and their UNSURPASSED
conruge become disciplined confage, there
vii! be no more disasters like those in the
valley mud At Nashville. It is upon such try
ing occasions that discipline develops its real
effects and brings ont its great results. Per
haFs i,ptariReag The negroes our officers may kara
ho1o to di,diaia+ the 1rhiles. :"
40 EEspECT OR CONSIDERATION FOR PR1vArE
PROPERTY IN THE SOUTH.
fFrom the Richmond Examiner, Fob. III
IN desastnE and discussing measures to be
taken for the defense Of our country In tue
present exigcney, the consideration ofrespect
TO private property, or tho claim or snEges-
ton tbat any kind Vi form Of private proper.
~ 1s more sacred than another, must not be
allowed to come in at all. There is no room
for such considerations; and 1t mny be eycn
unsafe to Introduce them. The question
whether negro slaves, aud how many negro
slaves, aEc to be taken for the army !; or mat
empowered to take md use al1 the cotton and
tobacco IN the Conf dcracy to sustain pnb1ic
credit nnl to be Judged Of as measurcs Of
public polity, ond to be adopted or rejected,
according to their promise Of efficiency or
otherwise for the public service Difference
dlency or probable efficiency Of either Of the
measures in question but no difference what
s0cvcl Ms to the right. For tnat sort Of diff
ference there is not an inch Of ground to stand
upon, mud any observation upon it Is irrclc-
rant.
And that for the following rcasons: When
O country y'estn6cpcndencc--that H., Its very
M-is In Imminent danger, and 1t organizes
all its powers anu RESOURCES to make Its de-
fsnse, It always assumes the power to take
certain kinds Of property, with Or without
cempensatton--th with or without being de-
riduals, but according TO the expedlcncy aud
the extgcDcy Of tho occasion. This Confcl-
c.acy already asserts the right, and axgrclscs
It, to t1ko md seize some kinds OF private
possessions, according to certain proportions,
which proportions may be cn1lrgea indcfl.
n1tcly and thcrr Is nothing mora sacred III
cotton, tobacco, or negroes, than In lay and
oate.
Further; II Compress shalt enact law to
tnko possession al I'LL the cotton and tobacco
and my for Il in Confederate securities, at q
certain rnto TO 10 determined by law; aud 4
sour Confederate paper; wa can 10 better
than that rshcn tho war Is over; then they
lauat bc understood to mcan that they con.
template some end oflhc war which tlilcayo
Confederate sccut3tics worth nuthlpg-thnt Je
contemplate future under Yankee rulc. They
after oil Our Confederate soldiers shall have
had thSlr throats cut~-whon they will ho mer-
r,ly trading OF their cotton and tobacco fot
Ert cnnacks and even gold. They thus plyo
rise to tho pcr!ious question: nru these ii,cn
with us, then, hca, t aud soul9 Il their whole
les and ~ ndsasiny cest With us! Have shey
stakca tho!r oil upon tlla ganlo like tlio rest
Of uss .Ahcr NC nso Ill bcgcarel, and dead
q IN exile, Is there iht and jolly {uturo fvr
tncmy 1t VII! noyor do to provoke such
quotations. os these
Further: II one ,man's rjghts Of property
arc protected agninBt cncroachmonB or riu3tt.
rios rom his neighbors, It Is by tho laws OF
Ms country they arc 10 protected; 1t Ia thu
cI7sienco Of an organized community,
which he calls his country, TINT assurca hun
my tights ut al1. whether Of pcrson OF OF
property; nnd without that organtzed CON.
I1unfty mid its laws uny stronger nun might l
ulTaYs come aud takc ali nc has got. Ihc
country, then, hns what may be called nn
eminent domains higher, prior Fight, both
in Tho citizen himself md In all thnt lto c!lls
hi. nvn. When that country itsctf 10 In in1-
rnincnt risk of hciug destroyed mud Its idrn-
fitv or bcn. swallowed Up By nnothtr coun~
tre. and when T. requ1gcs Of each or les cit1~
xri1s Doth bis personal service and hie means
md 3Tcalth, for t1,H, defense Of alt, plclglnE
thrm its fh1tA uud orrd!t aud destiny in tho
fIturo to sccutc them Justice, they arc
ARD bound to give rp all and to accept TINT
Il cuTIty, and thcn to toll, suffer and light to
max. that s. CURLY good. Till is thu WY.
eIu tn, only way, to redeem t',at pltdE u
often used at public meetings mot, wo trust,
alwaJsas matter OF 1or1n,) Of "out liTcs, +
And further still objections or arguments
NJ ninst tuklng mcn'a property for nubitc de.
fcnso: nould b least of III tolorable IN tho