Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-07-07

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his kingly concession will b.
honestly and legitimately exc
cuted by our corporation. Ii
regard to your inquiry as tx
the political status and condi
ton of Virginia, I will say tina
[ have been but eleven months
in the State and can but give
you my impressions, founded
upon a free interchange Of opin
ion and mingling with the PEG
pie. But I assure you it shall
be entirely free from partisan
bias. In view of all the cir
cumstances superinduced by the
logic of events made essential
by the result of the war, I con.
slider that the people of Virgin
ia are accepting the situation
and keeping pace with the
march Of the ever shifting
changed relations. In this par
ticular, I mean the people as a
mass and not the exceptional
fools as a class. There is one
thing certain that between the
two late belligerents in our CT
vii strife, that those who bore
on each side the heat and burd-
en- of the conflict there is no
material difference between
them, as they both readily &C
cede to and accept the arbitra-
ment of the sword. But as to
the politicians who done all the
blowing, and none of the fight
ing, and who I justly denomi-
nate as political prostitutes, a
different state OF feeling exists {;
and were it not for them as a
class, none Of the per sonale or
arrangements of the war would
now be existing. But to exhi-
bit to you that even they have
to keep pace with the march of
the times, | announce the fact,
that both of the political par
ties in the impending canvass
in Virginia have presented
Northern men as their Guber-
Material candidates, both of
whom assisted and sided with
the Federal Union in the late
civil strife !; and even among
the extreme Federalists there is
a desire to extirpate all objec-
tionable features of the organic
law-the Constitution of Vir-
ginia-believing that the con-
tinuance of such barbarous fea-
lures in political society are
pregnant with evil and produc-
tive of no good.
Especially is this conceded
to be the fact in view of the
fourteenth amendment of the
Federal Constitution, which
means an expression of the
nations voice TO be seclusion
for the leaders and amnesty
for the masses on the late Con-
fedcrate side; and l think that
even this feature will in time
be done away with, if the
Southern people only show, as
a community, a little more
common sense, in rapidly &C
ceding to and advancing with
the nations will and purposes
of this the freest government
vouchsafed to man, and inten-
ded by the founders of the re-
public to be the home Of the
oppressed of all lands, and es-
sentially a republic of freemen,
no matter as to their nationali-
ty, color or condition, as part
Of the grand whole of human
society.
This, you may accept as a
general synopsis of the present
political condition of affairs
here. And now a word as to
one of the specific elements of
Southern society-the negro or
black man; as to them l hardly
know what to say, except it be
to their praise, for it is conce-
ded on all sides here that they
have acted and done remarka-
bly, we'll before and since the
war in view of all circumstan-
ces; and if they are left alone
to work out their own destiny,
and are given an equal and
free chance In the race of life
with other men, 7 fear not that
they will prove themselves a
valuable and useful element Of
society; for their actions dur
ing and since the war show all
that they were alike faithful to
their masters and liherators;
and when the prejudice of the
bn,1r hoo roooad owoy opd