Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1869-02-03
The ..New Movement"


heard from upon the question now sc violently
agitating the State. As | think the voice OF
the whole State should be heard. take the
liberty Of writing to you to request that you
will put upon record what | believe to be the
| prevailing sentiment of our county. Never
| theess do not assume to speak Eek cathe
| dra." [ have had no opportunity to canvass
the whole county, but have talked with some
| Of the most substantial men from each OF the
magisterial districts, and it is my deliberate
conviction that while few favor the move
ment. and will. of course, mould to certain ex-
tent the popular sentiment, there will, notWith-
standing their utmost exertions, be very con.
siderable majority of our citizens utterly ana
unalterably opposed to the whole thing as use,
less i'll timed, time serving and unworthy OF
| Virglnlans.
Perhaps when the times are so seriously
''out of Joint as they now are, we ought not
| to be surprised at any thing that occurs, but
confess that the conduct OF the orlglnators OF
this movement somewhat astonishes me. Now
I certainly deprecate the manner in which
some of the opponents of the movement have
commented upon their action. Opprobrlous
epithets should not be applied to them tor two
reasons. lst, Because | do not think they de:
| serve them. They are men OF character and
standing, doubtless sincere patriots and totally
| incapable of the base motives by some attnout-
ed to them. %, Because to assall them with
| an iutolerant spirit, leads to strengthen their
course by giving the character of persecution
| to the opposition waged against them.
But what strikes me as passing. strange Is
| the anomalous character in which these gentle
men allow themselves to appear. There Is
| scarcely one OF them who did not stand SIX or
eight months ago upon the stump, opposing
yehemently the adoption OF the Underwood
Constitution, and in their speeches maintaining
| the position and establishing 1t cOncluSlvely
that of all the dire ills which that constitution
would entail upon posterity, by far the most
| baneiul would be colored suffrage. 1t was con-
tended that colored suffrage meant negro equal.
itv social as we'll as ciril, that If the colored
race was allowed to vote they would soon show
how they would follow the right to Its legti-
mate conclusions. This was the picture they
drew, and at the very time when these gentle
men urged and our people accepted these views
| as correct. We all knew that it was IN the
power of Congress to force this thing upon us,
and we all believed that Congress would do it.
Nevertheless we were told by Messrs. Stuart,
Baldwin and others that the honor OF Vlr-
giuia required that we should contend against
| it to the last, and that it might prevailed, at
least our honor and our dignity would be I'M
impaired And yet before twelve month has
passed we find these very men, actuated by
| patriotic motives of course (ior these Brutu-
| SEES are honorable men, maintaining the
slightly inconsistent position that we must &C
cept and support this political monstrosity
which they were wont 10 denounce as more
baneful in its effects than all the other obnox
ious features of this BaynctM Constitution put
| Al bp Iu
will force il upon us anyhow, and with it dis
reimbursement, &c Now | would Just ask
these gentlemen to answer in all candor wheth-
er they believe that ally reasonable man in the
| State of Virginia has ever had a doubt from
| the very first moment that negro suffrage was
| preached, that the dominant party meant to
| force it upon US Such has been the universal
| opinion, and the reason for adopting the pro-
| posed policy is not one whit stronger now than
| it was last summer when these gentlemen were
orposing it with tooth and nail. 1t Is In fact not
| nearly so strong, Tor then had we expressed
willingness to incorporate negro suffrage into
our constitution, we might have escaped the
proscrptive feature, but now that they have
made all their arrangements to impose this
thing on Us, whether we will or not it is hardly
reasonable to suppose that they will abate their
| terms merely because we are now willing to &C
| cept what we can no longer avoid. Congress
men may make fair promises, and fiatter the
Mine" with delusive hopes, but when the
| time comes for action it will be found that
| these same congressman have kept "Punc-
| faith" with Virginia. | would ask what has
| there been in the history OF the leaders OF the
! Radical party during the past four years to war
rant the hopes with which these gentlemen are
solacing themselves and the people OF Vlr.
GINA They required us to abolish slavery
We groaned in spirit and talked in undertones
about the propriety of leaving it to them to
do, but we finally did it through our legisla
ture They required US to repudiate our war
debt. We thought it monstrous, but we did
it, They forbade US to make any provision tor
our disabled soldiers. We pitied their condi-
ton, but thought it bad policy to provide for
them They ordered us to hold conventions
to reconstruct the State. We said we wouldn't
but we did it, and so We have gone mn yielding
a reluctant, but nevertheless implicit obedience
to all their commands, thus accomplishing all
their desires by our own voluntary acts. and at
the same time atfOrdlng them by our sullenness
excuses for continued aggresslons.
Suppose we accept this thing, what then
Why we establish it for all time, for we are re-
quired to bind ourselves by constitutional
provision never so to leglslate as to deprive
cause of race, color or former servitude.
Suppose we reject it, what then? 1t will
be forced upon us, we are told. How forced upon
us? | am Of opinion that if we reject the
Underwood Constitution or any other consttu
ton containing universal suffrage, they will be
compelled to provide tor negro suffrage, if they
provide for it at all, by constitutional amend
ment, which, if adopted, will impose it upon
all the States alike, and it will certainly be
some consolation to know that Ohio and Penn
sylvania are in the same boat with Virginia.
But yet doubt whether such an amendment
will be adopted, for several of the Northern
States are altogether opposed to it, and to my
mind, it is clear that the best policy land policy
seems to be the desideratum, is to vote down
the Underwood Constitution and abide the
ISSUE
For myself then, and for those whom rep
resent, would say to the Committee of Nine,
now at the foot stool of power, come home