Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-05-06
The Richmond Calamity.

The dreadful accident which has put
Richmond and Virginia in mourning con-
tinues to call forth the profoundest ex-
pressions of sympathy and liberal profers
Of aid from all portions Of the county
The passions and prejudices Of the hour
are stifed, and political rancor and sec
tional strife are hushel in the presence of
the appalling calamity. At terrible cost
has it demonstrated that the people Of this
entire country are brothers in sympathy
and affection, which nine years of separa-
tion-the five years Of political strife be-
ing even more relentless than the four
years of active war-have not destroyed.
This calamity has produced the first free,
manly and honest expression of sympathy,
Of interest, of brotherly love, between the
sections, the more heartfelt and accepta
bile because it comes from bosoms whose
true feelings have been smothered all
these long years of war and acrimonious
peace.
Our Richmond exchanges are filed with
resolutions of sympathy and letters ex
tending moro substantial aid. From New
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago
and from cities in Virginia, liberal dona-
tions are being forwarded. Municipal
Corporations, Insurance Companies, Of
icers and crews of steamships, mercantile
firms and individuals from all parts of the
country are contributing literally to the
sufferers and the families Of the killed.
Indeed this terrible disaster seems to have
struck the tenderest heart strings Of the
whole people. Why not make it the &C.
casion of the substantial and permanent
reunion of the country ? Upon the heca
tomb which Richmond has offered TO fra
ternal feeling in the closing scenes con-
neoted with Virginia's reconstruction, let
the fires of national love be rokindled.
Savannah.
1t is very well, in order that exaggeration
may be prevented, that great mental and
physical reaction follows the pleasures at
tendant upon the excessive Inequalities of
friends. Under the influence Of the kindly
treatment and consideration received at the
hands of the citizens of Savannah during
the recent meeting Of the Southern Press
Association in that city, delegates are apt
to see everything with partial eyes. 1t is
proper, therefore, that the pen should be
restrained until the reaction has set in and
the enthusiasm somewhat worn away. 1t
useless to say to our readers that nothing
was left undone by the people of Savannah
to add to the comfort and pleasure of her
guests of the Southern press. Savannah
is the synonym Of hospitality, and upon
this occasion was only true to her past
history. Hospitality, even to excess. was
extended to her guests, not as O duty nor
as holiday occasion, but as a pleasure
and with the ease and naturalness which
custom and refinement give. There was
nothing strained, nothing forced in her
entertainment, but good-breeding went
hand in hand with abundance and genuine
hospitality overshadowed ostentatious dis
play. From the inaugural excursion to the
Forts to the magnificent dinner at the Pu-
laski, Savannah gave such greeting and
cheer to her guests as will be treasured in
their memories for years.
We were glad to sec that the scars of
war had been entirely obliterated from
the face of that beautiful city. Successive
yssits to Savannah during the past half