Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1870-02-02

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work of this tesselated black and
white convention of 1867 % Laugh
ter. And when in that future the
teeming valleys and hills OF Virginia
shall smile with cultivation, her pop
ulation Of twenty-five millions shall
be elevated in the culture Of the
advanced century her magnificent
rivers bear her products TO the sea
with inventions undreamed of by us
her cities rival those of the Gcnoese,
Venetian, Dutch, and Spanish in com
mercial enterprise, then, methinks |
hear the penny-whislle of this Yir.
ginia convention aud this Congress
still sounding down the gorgeous pros.
pective, "No change Never, never
disturb the work OF the mosaic states
men of 1868 :" Laughter
Such legislation as this, Mr.. Speaker,
is vain and foolish, and therefore it is
revolutionary. The attempt to con
strain men from altering their funda-
mental law is provocation TO rovolu.
ton The quiet revolutions provided
in all our constitutions are neither
violent nor tempestuous j do not
belong to the fomenters Of revolution
by means Of repressive measures I;
while / would not tie down the future
of Virginia by irrevocable laws, ]
would not give to this or to future
Congresses or Legislatures protexts
to enforce penalties by armies.
We want no pretcxts, no provoca-
tions, and no temptations like this
bill, "no Federal chapters to be backed
up by Federal bayonets" The device
Of this bill, thus developed in the
remarks of the gentleman from Wis
consin Mr.. Painel] and the gentleman
from Ohio Mr.. Lawrence], shows q
disregardcd as well as the safe pro
cesscs of judicature as Of the calm
movements Irrational progress. There
is in this measure the seeds for a crop
of armed men. At the first blush il
seemed an atrocity in advance even of
the Georgia advance upon the vindic-
tive legislation of Congress; but as
we have progressed in this debate its
enormity has grown into gigantic
proportions 1t is q bold, bad step
toward that consolidation which, TO
be secure, must be armed which, TO
be sure of its slaves and victims, must
throttle them with the mailed hand.
In conclusion, Mr.. Speaker, / will
be pardoned at least by this side of
House If / allude TO associations which
should have some influence 10 dealing
with Virginia. ! was pleased TO note
the reverence paid to the mother OF
States and statesmen by the Republi-
can member from Illinois Mr.. Farms
worth in charge of this bill.
He seemed to forget, in the bonevo-
lence Of his heart, the monstrous error
of Virginia in these later days. lie
dwelt with pride upon her ancient
renown. My friends from Ohio and
New York [ Mr. Morgan and Mr..
Wood brushed from the historic past
some of the dust which has been
gathering upon these early associa-
tions. For one | was touched by the
recital. / am no iduddtOr femporiS
acti except when the deeds of the past
are praiseworthy. Where in all the
annals of our country can we look for
incidents, events, and deeds so con-
spicnous for disinterestcd heroism,
elevated thought, eloquent speech, and
political philosophy as In Virginia.
In dealing with her errors, have
these associations no gentle ameuity,
no tender voicey There is amnesty
in the very name Of Virginia. Upon
her soil the white man from the Old
World first set his foot and planted
his settlement. Her youth was atten.
ded by romances TO which the tales of
the story-teller bear no comparison.
She made a model of republican gov
ernment before the boasted institu-
tions of other sections were conceived
or framed. In her ante-revolutionary
times she gave us soldiers for the field
and statesmen for the council-men
Of character, refinement, scholarship,
dignity, aud probity, beside whom the
giants Of these days are pigmies
beneath colossus. If she has had
her recent shame, let the drapery of
oblivion drop over it. Draw aside
another curtain, that we may gaze
upon tho majestic front of our Pdter
PdtriG! Have VIC ceased to recall
Randolph, Pendleton, Hichard Henry
Leo, and Wythe, who ten years before
the Revolution sounded the tocsin of
independence Even the school.
boys remember Henry's burst of i'm
passioned eloquenco when he warned
the House of Burgesses that the clank.
ing of their chains could be heard on
the plains of Boston. These chains
Is there no link in them "a. revive our
better patriotism Or are these
chains, once forged for Boston and
Virginia, now forged by Boston for
Virginia?
let Appomattox be forgotten at
Mount Vernon; let him who inspired
and pouned the Declaration and him
who aided so much TO devise and
shape the Constitution be remembered.
BY all the benignities which have
flowed from the precepts and exam.
pies of these demigods Of our early
day upon North and South, and
especially upon the West, let the
justice which these our benelactors
would crave for the State they cher.
ishcd be awarded Virginia is not
only the mother Of statesmen, but of
States. Sho gave the Northwest TO
the Union. Guided by her hand they
grew to honor, and even TO rival and
sarpass her Well they remembered
the teachings of their mother. When
that mother comes to them in humii-
alton, shall she be met with scorn :
Shall sho be cast from them in her
hour Of need aud dospondencyg Shall
her very pride, pardonable when il
gazcs upon hor past, be cast at her
with rcproach To insult, menace,
distrust, and degrade mother is a
scandal only less than crime Even
II that nnnthpr las wandered from thp