Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1868-11-10
General Blair on old Virginia

In his speech at New York last week, Gen.
BLAIR thus referred to the treatment of Vir-
GINA by the Radicals:
There is one point to which | would draw the
attention of my fellow citizens here especially.
The old State of Virginia, the mother who
has given to the Republic SO many Of its great
and exalted and lllustrious statesmen, who has
given its most exalted President, this State is
now excluded from voting for President of the
United es-eXcluded by Congressional act,
and denied the privilege OF voting for another
citizen OF this country as President of the Uni
ted States: aud simply because she refused to
degrade herseIf-refused to humble herself at
the feet of her own slaves
A voice Il hope she never will.
General Blair hope SO, too Appause.l
This noble old State, whose son, Mr.. jefferson,
wrote the Declaration OF Independence APP
plausel; whose other greater son, Goeorge
Washington, yindicated that Declaration whose
sons, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee
inspired the people to fight the battles OF the
Revolution, and at the eud OF the Revolution
donated to the Government then weak and
feeble confederacy) that wide and broad domain
r at the West, known as the Northwestern terrl>
tory-gave 1t to our country to pay its debt to
the soldiers who fought aud won the War of
independence. Applause And my fellow
citizens, not only did the State of Virginia give
this vast empire, now peopled with 100000 900
OF white people, and constituting SIX large
and magnificent States-not only did she give
the soil upon which SO many hourlshing cities
are now built but she also authorized her son,
Thomas Jefferson, to give with the soil the or
dlnance of 1877, with a clause IN 1t dedlcatlng
it to white men and freedmen forever applauSel
guarding the Northwest and the young eni>
pires that their foresight told them would rise
IN that country-guardlng them from that can
ker that was gnawlng at her vltals. And now
that these young States have grown into EN-.
plreS containing ten millions OF white peOpcs
what do we see? Their Senators and Repre-
sentatlves turning upon the old State whose
bounty gave them all that made their prosperl-
ty, their wealth, and their power; turning upon
the children aud descendants OF those whose
foresight guarded them against the evil and
curse OF negro slavery; turning upon her and
enslavIng the children OF Virginia upon her
own soil, In repayment OF her noble bounty to
the young Republic and to the great Northwest.
1t Is to me as If children had turned upon aud
were stranghng then. another. 1t Is parrIcidal
act-an act against which the whole world Will
rise up and cry out, shame! l do not believe
that In the history OF politics, In the history OF
nations anything equal III lngrautude to that
has ever been known-that these men should
be now enslaved by those who were made what
they are by the bounty of Old Virginia that
the sons OF Virginia On her soil should be asked
and compelled to take the chains which they
have stripped from the limbs of the negro, and
to allow those negroes to lord it over them at
their homes, at their birthplaces, Beside the
graves OF Washington and Jefferson Cheers