Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-01-24

tf.oi5uzuutIonal authorities at
| Washington, and would By this lime have
| become quite an important legal body had
it not been for some of General Butler's
peculisI oddities. II seems that because
/ his military department included southern
Virginia he refused to allow any civil gov
/ eminent to be organized therein, and as
serted, and maintained by force, the mil
| itary supremacy, whereby the loyal State
government was deprived of all the resour-
| ces it would have derived from licenses
and other taxation in the cities of Norfolk
and Portsmouth. This act of General
Butler was positive injury to our cause by
preventing the loyal government of Vir-
ginis from making any progress whatever,
and this reason was one of several which
lately induced many former admirers of
the General to think that his removal
however brought about, was lucky for the
public service.
| The counties of Virginia within our lines
are the following: Alexandria, Fairfax,
Norfolk, Princess Anne, Accomac, North
amPton, Nansemond, Isle of Wight, Surrey,
Southampton. Sussex, Dinwiddie, Eliza
beth City, York, Warwick, Lancaster,
Northumberland, Richmond, Westmorelsnd
King George, Stafford, Prince William,
Loudoun, Fauquier, RaPpahanDockI war
|
| Shenandoah, and all of these can now De
organized under loyal auspices, if the State
authorities at Alexandria are allowed to do
80, as we hope they may be.
These counties are as much in our pos
session as the greater part of West Virginia
was when the new State was organized at
Wheeling, and the people would soon sub"
NIT to the State government at Alexandria
if they could see that it had force end az; H"j
tbo.iTr ma r,S'NEuLueuG 10 SuOslbntlbl
I thing, which has been duly recognized by
the national authority at Washington, and
it is high time that all obstacles thrown in
its way By our military commanders were
removed. While General Butler remained
ia command this could not be done. But
now that he is relieved we think that the
national government need not have mo.
ments hesitation in reversing his orders on
the subject, and furnishing all the aid in it's
power to enable Governor Pierpoint to give
full effect to the authority OF the loyal
State government.
Virginia, as it now stands, is in precise.
~ the same latitude as Kentucky, Nilsson :
ri, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada and the
greater part of California, all of which are
now either free o. assured to freedom
Virginia is nearly surrounded on three
sides by the free States of Maryland and
West Virginia. The small portion of her
! western border along Kentucky will soon
have feee neighbor, and that will leave
only North Carolina on the south to keep
slavery in countenance. Virginia was
Y strong in her faith in the Union, and would
: Never have rebelled if fair vote could
: have been taken in 1861, in her State con.
vention, it having been ascertained thai
| Ysecret conspirators collected horde Of
u assassins who oveTawed the opponents Of
secession or drove them away. Since
then, it is true that false notions of State
fealty have made Virginia the very back
} bone of the rebellion; but her suffering;
: have been so terrible in the war, that there
can be but little doubt of the readiness o.
all now within our lines to resume theil
loyalty and support the loyal State gov.
: ernment.
, One of the first acts of that government
would be to abolish slavery within the
limits of the commonwealth. 1t seems to
: have been forgotten that in the year 1850
the State of Virginia had more slaves than
any other State in the Union. The mum.
Der then was no less than 400 ,OOO-nearly
f half million-and of these hardly ten
t thousand were in West Virginia. The bur-
den of the war seems to have been provi-
> deutially confined to Virginia for the pur.
: pose of thoroughly destroying slavery
/ there. The States which approached Vir-
giniR in the aggregate of slaves were
these; Georgia, 49,, 900; Mississippi, 436,
900; Alabama, 435, 900; South Carolina
! 4O2, 900.
1 The vigorous military operations Of the
rebels in Virginia have saved slavery ia
the counties directly around Richmond
5 and southwest of it. But within our lines
slavery is dead. Thousands of slaves have
also escaped from within the rebel lines.
8 If we were to establish the loyal State
government firmly, and enforce its author
ity everywhere within our lines, it could
= abolish slavery, and thus hold out new in-
ducements to the negroes within the rebel
E lines to flee to US. At any rate, we have
: paid with torrents of precious blood and
: millions of treasure, for every foot of
8 ground we hold in Virginia. 1t is ours By
r right of conquest, and We should use the
power we possess BY giving the State gov
eminent chance to abolish slavery.
1.-THE State of Virginia were not right at
the threshold of he national capital, and
had not been for three years threatening
1t with siege, we should think less of the
Importance of this movement. But the
same necessity which induced US to do all
In our power TO free Maryland from bon
dage, in order that the national capital
might nolouger be beleaguered by slavery
now impels US to some mode of getting
rid OF the institution on the other side Of
the Potomac. The issue is a very impor-
tant one to the whole country, and ought
not to be forgotten or slighted.
| sPeculRtiOnS OF the sanguIne and
S0nguinRry South Carolina seceSh
3 on shsrmnn'S Sweeping SOrtIe into
their State.