The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-07-17
The Issue.


Government Of law. The people are to de-
eide whether they are capable of preserving
the institutions handed down to them by
their revolutionary fathers. The green
back question, which seems to have taken
O fast hold upon the northern mind, Is
really unworthy Of serious consideration III
the presence Of the one all-important Issue
alluded TO. So of the tariff, the taxation %
bonds. the reduction Of the army, &c. Ahe
abolition of the Freedmen's Bureau
part of the grand question which doh'iH''.'
all others, as are also the various ie'oi "' -
the Government in respect to personal rlgn's
which are proposed by the Democratic
nlatforn. General BLAIR spoke the truth
!, his letter to Mr.. BRoDHEAD when ne
said: owe must restore the Constitution
"before we can restore the finances, and 10
ado this we must have President who vii!
execute the will of the people by tramp
cling into dust the usurpations of Con-
"eress known as the reconstruction acts.
81 wish to stand before the Convention
uupon this issue; but it is one which en-
"braces everything else that is of value IN
ats large and comprehensive results. HH
"the one that includes all that is worth q
"contest and without it there 10 nothing
"that gives dignity, honor, or value TO the
struggle"
Upon this issue the canvass ought to be
conducted. General BLAIR was nominated
after every member Of the National Con
vention had read his letter and had hao
time to ponder it's declarations. Inc h''oi-
cal papers call his Z" bloody platform,
md pretend tc understand that he IL In
favor of going to war 20 accomplish his OBJ
iects; and TINS they endeavor to drive OIL
from his support timid or conservative men
who would rather bear any number OF pre-
sent ills than "fly to others that they know
not Of" But we do not 80 understand MIR.
BLAIR. Nor was he 80 understood by those
who nominated him. On the contrary,
he expressly declares that it is the Twill
of the people" which he proposes to
execute, and he wishes that will to be as
certained in definite manner, and pro-
claimed at the ballot box in November
next There is but this one question that
is worth contest, he says, and this ques-
ton must be decided once for all. There
40 is nothing else that gives dignity, honor,
or value to the struggle" For if the
people of the North, when this issue is pre-
scented to them, shall prove themselves I'M
able to appreciate its magnitude, and shall
declare by their acts that they are content
to have their Constitution rendered of no
effect, their form of national government
destroyed, their State governments dwarf
cd into petty municipalities, and the dear
est rights Of frcemen denied to their fellow
citizens of the South, then they will have
shown that they are incapable Of selt-go-
vernment, and ready to submit to the most
abjcct tyranny that ever cursed any ma
ton.
1t is really amazing that our northern
brethren should be 30 totally blinded as to
the wrongs which Congress has perpetrated
upon the people of ten States of the Union.
We have not one single right of trecmen.
We are as completely ut the mercy OF the
military rs the people Of Poland, Hungary,
Spain, Ireland, or any other country, ever
were. If any man is not in Jail, it Is only
because the military have not desired to
incarcerate him. If any man is allowed to
write or speak his opinions, it is only by sut-
ferance. If any man is allowed to retain his
property, it is only because the military have
not chosen to take it from him. The military
appoint our municipal officers, our Judges,
our officials of every grade. They appropri-
ate the money in our treasures to whatever
purposes they choose to use it for. They
inprison uB at will. They deny us trial by
jury. They refuse to obey the writ Of hdbeaS
corpus. They are absolute masters Of our
lives, our liberties, and our property. And
yet we are Knocked with the cry that ours
is free government, that we are free
people, and that we are not unnecessarily
molcsted either in our persons or our goods.
But if not, why not? Simply because the
military do not choose to interfere with us.
1t is not that we are protected by the Co.
vernment. On the contrary, it is that very
Government that has deprived us of every
right of freemen. 1t has taken from US the
power to protect ourselves, and robbed us
of every right of person and of property.
We are absolutely nothing else than slaves.
We are rs helpless and as powerless as ever
our own slaves were before the war. They
were always well cared for, and always al
lowed every reasonable privilege. But
they nevertheless enjoyed these blessings
only because their owners did not choose TO
act otherwise towards them. And such is
now the condition of the southern people.
They seem to be comparatively free. They
seem to enjoy many or most Of the priv
leges of free citizens. But it is not as OF
right nor as Of power that they enjoy them.
II is only because the military do not elect
to treat them otherwise. There is not civil
officer in Virginia who may not to-day be
dismissed. There is not man who may
not be imprisoned, with or without reason,
before shutdown. And we have no civil
writ to restore the one to his office or the
other to his family. Sic uolo is all the an
swer that the commanding General is ex-
pected to make TO any application.
All this is just as true of Tennessee, Lou