Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-06-03
from Montpelier PREGNANT
virginia Politics.

FRIEND WILLARD - "oo 20
at the leader in the Freeman OF may v.n'
entitled aPolitical Prospects in VIZ
ginia." How your paper, usually 80 cor,
rect and just in its estimate OF men anu
measures, should 90 lose itself, as to let
flow sympathy for the "new movement,
so called, in Virginia. am quite unable 10
comprehend. 1t can only be through a
Misrepresentation of the real situation In
that State, and of faith too full In the
sincerity of those men who, in 1861, ma
npuvred the State out of the Union in
fraud of the masses and who, from that
day until the surrender, were the stoutcst
hearted rebels, and since the surrender up
TO the 2Sth ult, divided their time be-
tween mourning and prayer for the lost
cause, and an implacable opposition to ev-
ery effort at reconstruction; voting III 1901
against a convention, and all the time
denouncing negro suffrage as rank here
sy, Republicanism as diabolical, and Con-
gress as a body of usurpers.
Such, in brief, are the antecedents OF
the men who are manipulating the Walk
er movement. They are the old Demo-
cratic magnates, who precipitated the re-
bellion, and on whose souls rest the blood
and ruin of Virginia. True to the blasted
pride of an affected aristocracy, hardly
possessing great eleWents of power, as
accorded by the Freeman, they have FRUIT
lessly resisted the march of events, which,
under the leadership of few brave spir-
its has brought the State back to the door
of the Union And now that the " hand
writing on the wall is clearly visible, like
Belshazzar, they are 'greatly troubled,
and their knees smite one against
another" Like him, they sec that their
"kingdom is to be divided and given to
the Modes and Persians." Some arttul
com d'ctat alone will save them. Hence,
as sort of death-bcd dodge, equivocally
acknowledging the form, yet secretly hat
ing the substance, they coolly propose to
"steal the livery of Republicanism to
serve the Democracy" in. And this Is
what the Northern press Is everywhere
hailing as an acceptance OF the situation,
and as a true repentance. To my mind,
however, there is too much of the death
rattle about il to satisfy me, with the
Freeman, that the accession of this con-
servative element is entirely spontaneous
and actuated 10y good motives; though
with the Freeman, / think, it may be
safely set down as temporary = and
because it is Temporary" it is evidently
sinister, and every true Republican
should spurn the alliance a unholy-
should shrink from contact with this gal
yanized corpse of treason. as from the cold
touch of the scaly serpent.
The radical Republicans in Virginia
Republicans Of the Vermont stamp-and
there are several there from Vermont, pro-
mincnt in the party, among the number,
hn1laNv aft1 II hall
not one Of them ncw-movement mon
very well understand that this coalition
j. temporary" for tho sole purpose OF
gaining a present advantage over the
I-nion partyyiz: the advantage of elect
ing the State ticket, and a. largely a. pos
-Ibla the legislature. then 10 be straight
way turned into permanent advantage
bv organizing ont Of the stragglcrs Incl
dent to the Republican rout and contu-
sion, a grand conservative party, with
permanent hold upon the management OF
the State. The -tragglers from the lie
publican LcaIup to be thereafter kept IN
the Democratic rank, through the sub
Siding influence of an immense patron
age: which. because of the State owner
ship .ud control Of the railroads and
canals. l.. perhaps with the solitary ex-
.ccption Of New York. unequalled by that
of any other State.
1t may here he observed that what the
fireman says about the 'rare spectacle of
those conservatives adopting the Republic
can platform because II would be better
for the State than their own and being
thus convinced. they had resolved hearth
ly to cooperate, ", u. to speak mildly,
at least apocryphal. The truth IL, they
Il LIZ. -.
ner ind6rsed the Republican platform.
At their convention on the 2sth OF April
they studiously avoided doing 80, and
ad"rtal "a at OF euuIVocal resnl ufifns
which may be made TO mean much or ut
tie, to suit the emergency. They leave
every man free to vote for or against the
constitution, and furnish him with full
authority for doing either.
This convention did not even endorse or
agree to support Walker, but withdrew
their own candidates and went into "a
Irritation with him, which, seconded as II
has been by the conservative press Of the
State, and encouraged too much by the
Republican press of the North, promises
to eliminate in an accommodation match;
in which few boiling Republicans, and
the name, not the principles of the party,
are to be prostituted to the insatiate lust
for power SO Characteristic of the Democ-
racy then to be cast off a. one throws
aside an old garment no longer fit for use.
Verify the Freeman is right III calling il
" temporary accession sure to result, if
successful in the coming election, in the
early death of the Republican, instead Of
the Democratic party there, as the FREQ
man seems 10 take for granted thereby
repeating the story OF Goldsmith's mad
dog:
"Tia man recovered of tie bite,
The dog b. WAS that died..
1t seems TO me the Freeman gives quite
too much encouragement 10 the boilers
from the Petersburg convention. Gen.
Wells, a man Of uuquestioned ability and
I ia. Is I,.-..,T,, 81