The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1870-04-15
SUNSET cox ON THE VIRGINIA
CONVENTION OF 1868.

We commend to our readers tn,
following beautiful extract from tn,
speech of Hon. s. S. Cox, on the Vir
ginia Convention of 1868. That Mr.
Cox treats the subject in the righ
spirit, will not admit of serious argu
ment. The idea that in governmen
of the people, all future ages and gen
erations are to be bound by the net
OF their predecessors is simply ridicu
lous, and the fact that the Congress
of the United States should not onl,
sanction such a provision, but make i
u condition of the admission of hei
representatives to scat in the coun
sells of the nation is notifying:
In the light of progressive politica
philosophy, where is the man to rist
up and say that "all goodness and
greatness, all policies of right, and
all genius of statesmanship," belong
ed to that miserable mock ry of n Mo
sale convention which wintered il
Richmond in 1S67-s? Who will sa,
that convention made up of the I'm.
derwoods, the Wel.ses, and Chandlers
the successors of jefferson, George
Mason, and Madison y who incubated
that system of iron-clad tests which
even the military Schofeld derided
and the people rejected, were fit leg.
islators of all the ages? Oh, yes
they knew it all, and for all time =
Your bill SAYS "nevcr T. "never =
shall their work be changed. A con.
vention where ignorance was represent.
ing intelligence, and where spite pre-
vailed aid not charity and even the
mulatto BARRIERS and field hands, who
had sharpened their minds on the ra-
zor straps and cudgeled their brains
with their ox-goads, (laughter), and
had learned some lessons of kindness
towards their old masters, were con.
strained to belle their loving natures
by white bravado and cunning-such
n convention work better than Provi-
dence? His heavens are to go rolled
up like q scroll, but we make the work
of these men eternal. The seasons
shall come and go in their beautiful
Icession along the blue tinted noun
tains, but this Radical structure shall
outlive their rocky ridge! In tina,
Siulu iutuLc, doWu WHICH tIc HlsIOT1-
an, Allison, gazed when he saw Brit.
ish greatness sitting in the Old, TO rise
renewed in this New World; when
the name of England should survive,
under the shadow of ancient renown,
though hundred and fifty million
men in North America. speaking its
language and gloryiug IN its descent
when from ocean to ocean, and from
equator to pole. the oceaI sound re.
public of our dreams should arse,
sounding down this gorgeous, pros.
pective corridor of the future, we
hear the voice of this Virginia conven-
ton of 1868, Speaking out its little
treble, "You shall never, never i
change the the work of this tesselated
black and whit convention of 1868.
And when in that future the teemice
valleys and hills of Virginia shall
smile with cultivation, her population
of twenty-five millions shall be eleya.
ted in the culture of the advanced cen.
tury her magnificent river, bear hel
produce to the sea with inventions un.
dreamed of by us; her cities rival
those of Genoese, Venetian, Dutch
and Spanish in commercial enterprise
then, methinks hear the penny whis
tie of this Congress still sounding
down the gorgeous prospective, "Nc
change Never disturb the work oi
the Mosaic statesmen of 1S6Sr'