The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-01-26


hr;oS and scatbins ventilation Of that
svaterr Inv Mr.. Baldwin, I an sure, fully
arn,oed tie proper; sense Of d thing so pre-
.,,r, y,+ro,,s 30 tvrannous, so raraejous.
: M. sIearns followed Mr. Baldwin, and,
,;te Ioiaus. scared over the wounds made
hu the Hercules in Topping OFF the heads Of
the HYDRA, 40 that new ones could not again,
sprine .fofsh. Mr.! 1Stearns,} however,, was
acting by himself, not in concert with the
committee. he is wise, true man. His
ia not "o6tce Republican,
ism" He does not consider that be will be
maltreated and deprived Of his rights 'un-
less be gets notice. He wants to see his
people enfrsnchised.g He knows they are
10 he trusted--that 'yirginians are lovers Of
order and law-thst they gre flair to all
men. and will never. infringe rights which
they themselves consider sHcred. As for
Office. he would leavethat to- the people. He
desires them to eject and to select, not fear
.jng the result Of their choice, and putting
full faith In their wisdom and justice.
That Is Mr.. Stearns.a Ut ,b70d shf - SOS
He represents many Of the mostrespecta@
BILE of his party. He Is asolid, sound man;
and an honest and wise man. He'has nVeo
in Virginia q length Of time fsome thirty
Eight years. that enables him to SPEAK
truly Of Virginians-hek knows them we'll
and he has q stake in the country that
entities what he says as to the true
mode of restoring the general prosperity to
the Highest consideration for its good faith
and practices bility II To whom,is he opposed
in this /? To. the present Governor of Vir-
cinia-s man Of yesterday: recently from
Michigan, whose career in Virginia 10 most
unfayorable to him. His followers are most
all Of them exactly in his catagory.T7~ 3
l, could say much on this point about
chnracter-much that could be substantial
ted. But ne are not here 70 rake up per-
sonalities, and desire to have nothing to do
with the party of Governor Wells. Indeed,
no allusion would have been made to them
in the savings of the committee Of nine
but that they appeared in the arena as,
their asssilants, making declarations go ut
terly deceitful and fraudulent, go full Of
malice towards the committee, that it became
necessary 10 ventilate their stories and
their motives. This has been done with
dignity and efficiency. aE--f ~ -..@ -". 1
These Wells men have, indeed, very much
assisted the cause Of the committee. II has
been impossible for them to conceal their
true motives and the evident purpose OF the
machinery they have in operation to carry
them out. They avowed that they we're
only trying to secure the safety from per
sonal injury Of the loyalists. But as their
only means was plainly the Selling upon
all the offices of the State, their patriotism
and their honesty were inevitably doubted.
The question forced itself upon the most
ultra Republican, "Shall the people of
Virginia be disfranchised as long as these
hungry men deem proper, merely that they
may feed upon the public treasury of the
State :" euch question, deliberately con-
sidered in tho mind Of the most devoted
partisan, must cause him to pause and hest
tate long before yielding to the appeals Of
such men. #"0 '.'a .'-. AZ
Here comes in as appropriate the solemn
words of Mr.. Baldwin He took it for
granted that no member Of Congress now
desired vengeance. The sufferings Of their
people had been such that their worst en-
envy would have nothing to wish for" And
if "yengeance be not desired, shall those
sufferings be increased simply that a body
of men, chiefly strangers, shall monopolize
the Offices of the State7 vengeance is
passion-violent and cruel indeed but
a passion. What can we call the cold, pas
sionless, and heartless motive that would
for such a purpose fasten such persons upon
US, and submit all the best interests of the
State to the ruin of mismanagement,d dis
trust, hate, and strife2 Compared with
this, how Mr.. Stearns's wise and noble
principles rise in dignity and humanity.
He wants true Republcanism. He wants
the people to be enfranchised and to select
their own rulers. He trusts them, and is
satisfied that there can be no peace, no
thrift, no harmony, until they are freed
and are governed by men of their own Sc
lection. 1881
To this we are, am convinced, coming.
Gentlemen cannot give themselves up IN
this time of freedom from national partisan
agitation to mere prejudice. They must
consider the national welfare. Let us
take, for instance, General Paine, of Wis
consin. He is one of the most decided Re-
publicans in Congress yet gentleman
remarkable for his industry in inyestiga-
tion and for his deliberation. There could
not be more courteous gentleman and
in it's convictions, and he il very slow to
yield to things not favorable to those con-
victions. I have supposed sometimes that
he was really anxious to find out the full
merit of those things in q good degree, to
see how their force was to be broken. This
is no unusual habit. But nevertheless,
take him with all this, and trusting entirely
to his thoughtful habit and patient inVesti-
cation, can we doubt that such is the force of
right and justice in the application of the
committee of nine that it will rise superior
to any prejudice he may entertain ? He
will be called upon to make no sacrifice of
any principle of his party, in yielding to
the wishes of that committee, but in truth
will be vindicating the laws of Congress,
which have been egregiously outraged by
the constitution of Virginia now offered to
the people. Then, what are the people of
Virginia TO General Paine, or he to them
that is, in the way of justice and fair-deal-
ing between them? They are fellow-citi-
zens living under the same government;
their desires are that the government should
be the best, because both individual and
national good depend upon the fair, equal,
and faithful administration of just laws.
Why should there be any longer any obsta-
Gle to the complete establishment of these
just principles in this country Has not
the country been torn and ravaged long
enough by bitterness and strife Isn't it
time that We all, who must live under the
same government, should meet fairly and
frankly, give up our prejudices, and unite
for the promotion of the general welfare