The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-12-07
What the Virginia Carpet-Baggers are
i, doing.

What the Virginia Carpet-Baggers are
doing.
a Washington letter in the Petersburg
Times, q Radical paper, says that com
mittee of carpet-bageers and scalawags,
(of. course this is our translation Of it's Ian
,saege,) sent from Richmond, were in Wash
iugtor on the Sd choking after the interests
of oar State" ("Our State " is gooa'j
They will urge upon Congress, hrs'' the
continuance of the Frcedmcn's Bureau IN
Virginia "for the present" That IS to
soy. until the Bureau has, by threats,
bribery, corruption, misrepresentation ana
fraud, mt the scalawags and carpet-bag-
gers in possession of the Offices of "our.
State" Next, "the holding Of an election.
=" nc the earliest possible moment, at which.
"the people shall vote upon the Consti'u-
"tion as a WHOLE" This means that unless
all decent men are disqualified for holding
Office by a test oath the carpet-baggers and
scalawags cannot get places for themselves.
They desire test cath, because they hope by
the aid of it to compel the people to vote for
them. They show the cloven footin this.
Their motives are patent. They know that
the Constitution would be much more popu-
lar without than with this oath, and that
whilst it might possibly be ratified if the
oath we're submitted separately, it is not at
all likely to be ratified with the oath in it.
But they also know that their hope of OBJ
tanning Office is contingent upon the excu-
sion of respectable men. We would re-.
mark, in parentheses, that there are few
respectable white Radicals in Virginia, but
the number is really so small that 1t Is
hardly worth while to make exceptions.
We are willing to admit, too, that there are
almost innumerable respectable Radicals
in the northern Statesmen who love
are attached to their native States
Therefore these hungry birds of prey would
rather run the risk Of having the Constitu
tion rejected than the risk of having to
compete with good men in the elections to
come off under the Constitution. They
have nothing to lose by the rejection of
that instrument. Their fears extend only
to the matter of plumber. The Constitution
is not worth ratification, in their opinion,
unless it is to be of such q nature as to in
cure to them the Offices. That is the whole
story. a
This Washington letter says: "Only five
officers in county are required by it to
take the iron clad oath. The great ma
"jority of Offices are opened to all citizens,
" without regard to past offences"
"How this world is given to lying :"
This statement is drummed into the ears of
members of Congress, and repeated in the
Radical papers, day after day, with as much
appearance Of earDestness and sincerity as
If If were true. Yet here before US is the
new Constitution, in pamphlet form, as
printed by the Rev. J. W. HUNNIcUTT, the
official printer to the Convention, and on
page 10 we find the iron-clad oath, and fol-
lowing Immediately after it the following
requirement:
"The above cath shall be taken by all
city and county officers before entering upon
their duties, and by all other State officers
not included in the above provision"
1t seems to us that if all city and county
and State officers have to take this oath,
every one in Virginia will have to take il,
whether the number be more or less than
five. We are not at ell surprised, however,
to see the Radical papers telling falsehoods
about it-not at all-no more than we should
be to hear that BEAST BUTLER had done
some disgraceful act. "'Tis their voca-
tion." But we would seriously advise the
few genteel people amongst them to beware
lest they gain by association a reputation
which they would not willingly bear.
Here is another piece of news:
" 1t is more than limited here that Gene
raj stoneman has been deceived by parties
about him in regard to matters in his de-
Partment, and his friends say he will do
better in the future than in the past.'' ....
ITO do BETTER" in carpet-bag parlanoe,
means to give more of the Offices to the
needy beggars who have been trying to get
into places of profit. We don't believe that
General SLOVENIAN is 80 verdant. He has
been in Virginia for several years, and
he knoaus who are the the people and who
are the adventures. He has no need for
advice from any one who could deceive him.