The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-05-30
Persecution.

In the Dispatch Of Monday appeared
an extract from letter to the New York
Times relating to tho alleged treatment in
this city Of two gentlemen who were on
the grand jury which indicted President
DAVIS at Norfolk. Want of room postponed
this notice of that statement.
II was charged in this correspondence of
the Times that these two gentlemen (whosc
namesare not givcn) had been $50 marked
"and made the objects of persecution in
"their social ard business relations that
"thcy have been compelled to close ny
"their business, and are making prepare
"tions to leave the city" The wise and
considerable writer forthwith assumes that
these facts fare sorry commentary on the
"progress Of LOYALTY and cancellation IN the
"late rebel capital
1t is indeed very hard case that these
amiable gentlemen should not he invited
to every house and have the run of the
town-and that in their business they
should not be encouraged by every body,
but be left to "wind up" in this dcsolatcd
city, as SO many God forsakcn rebels are
compelled to do. They are so noble, so
magnanimous, so conciliatory, and for
giving, themselves, that they merit all the
kind feeling, all the respect, all the over
flowing admiration and gratitude of the
community. They have shown such love
for us--such anxiety for our comfort,
peace, and equal rights under the ConSti-
tution-such enlarged philanthropy, such
contempt for all bigotry, fanaticism, and
persecution-that our people are indeed
forgetful of all the moral and political OBJ
legations imposed upon society, not to make
demi- gods Of thcm-to see not only that
they do not suffer, but TO be sure that they
flourish: that they have the best OF the
land; that they be clothed in purple and
fine linen, and that every day is TO them
a fcast-alhcit the best of us arc Straitcned
and CONSTRUCTED in our going and coming, in
our eating and our sleeping.
We imagine that the two persons alluded
to were also members of the Alexandria
Convention of unconditional Union
men that convention which declared in
favor of DISTINGUISHING ninety-nine one
hundrcdths of the white citizens Of the
south, and eniranchising the negroes, the
late slaves OF the south. This would sim
ply lie placing the whole Government i'll
the hands of the blacks. Now, PROPOSE
ton SO monstrous could not have been
made by men who had any other sentiment
towards the great body OF the southern
people than that of deep and ineradicablc
hate and malignity. They must have been
madmen to suppose that such proposition
from them could have failed to excite in
the minds of the southern people either
reciprocal hate or the protounde>t indiiic-
renee. Could such men expect to he i'll
vitcd to neighbours house Could they
expect to sell goods to a community which
they wish to humiliate and degrade in this
manner! They are knavcs If they say
they so expected to be invited and en-
couraged, and the correspondent of the
Times is a knavc when he expresses the
opinion that it is an evidence of diSloy-
atty not to invite such men to good din
ner, not to drink with them, and not to
buy goods from them. They arc all knavcs
and hypocrites who exclaim against the
letting of such people completely alone, by
this community, as persecution.
What do these men propose to do They
propose to humiliate us in the dust-to
make us the slaves of the negroes. Had
they proposed to hang all who were parti-
cipants in, or sympathizers with, the late
"rebellion," would anybody have expected
us to invite them to break bread with us,
or to have bestowed upon them our sup
port in the way of business? Yet the pro-
posal to hang would have been brave and
humane compared with this netarious and
atrocious proposition to degrade us into the
very dirt. The former would have been
simply a proposal to kin the body-the
latter, one to kill the spirit, to break the
heart, to destroy the soul
Ills paper hSNSi oooahSu iiui
has never hunted up the members of
cliqucs opposed to the south which cut
caper or two after the surrender of our
armies. 1t thought that there was some
allowance to be made for the excitement
of the moment, and hoped that little
time for reflection might show to all the
c,ll;aS and uncharitableneSs of the hour
that all would understand, after such
reflection. the interests of the whole com
muni.y and the injuries to result from con-
tinuingF the war of prejudices after the
strife in the field had been ended. 1t has
been right in reference to the larger part
of those who commenced the prosecution
of "rebcls." But the minority continued in
their evil and vindictive course and we
now say that if the people whom these
men propose to deprive Of all right and of
all consideration in the Government
whom they propose to drag down below
the negroes-could continue to take them
by the hand and treat them with all
the courtesies and Inequalities of
intelligent and refined social life, they
would be unworthy of respect and deserv-
ing Of the very degradation to which they
are commended by the Alexandria Con-
yentiOn Rut il is an ipiustica IN this