New-York tribune., 1870-01-10
SHALL VIRGINIA COME ny

SHALL VIRGINIA COME nv
Many. subjects will be pressed upon the at
tention of Congress forthwith. yet we deem
none of them more important or more urgent
than the restoration of Virginia to her proper
place in the councils of the Republic 1t was,
in our view, q blunder not to admit her at
once and without division or demur, on the
meeting Of Congress last month. We entreat
the Republicans of both Houses to deal with
this matter promptly and decisively.
We know what can be said--much of it with
truth, all with plausibility-against uncondi-
| tional admission. 1t is quite true that many
| Virginians firmly believe that they were right
in resisting the authority and arms of the
| UniOn-that their State had a right to secede
| from the Union for any reasons, good or bad,
| that she deemed suf1icient-that the United
States made rar on Virginia, inraded her, &c,
&c. These opinions are, in our view, at war
| with history and with common sense We hold
| that the authority Of the United States
and that of the State over the region
known tol geographers as Virginia was
alike perfect-that the State had no
more right to extrude the authority, the Off
GERS, the processes, and the mails, of the United
| States, from that region than the Union had
| a. .,.~~~ o1 oIIO otaVu' 0rU hOid, IiVIU
fore, that the State, in thus eXtrudng the Federal
authority, committed fragrant usurpatiOn and
| declared an unjust war, and that the attitude
| and efforts Of the Union were defensive from
| first to last-that is to say she fought to VIM
dcate her rightful authority, and the State to
subvert it. On every point, we hold the Union
clearly right, and the State in so far as she
resisted the Federal authority and arms, utterly
wrong.
What thenf
| When the Parliament and People of England
! expelled James ii. and called William III. over
from Holland to fill the throne which Parlia-
ment had declared vacant, there were many
whose judgment and cOnsciences revolted at
the National decision. These were minority
| in England, but they were n majority in Ire
land in Scotland proper (the Hlghlands), and
in some of the colonies. Many of those who
regarded their oath of allegiance to James as still
| valid and binding were among the best men in
the three kingdoms, embodying full share Of
its learning, piety, and genuine loyalty. Sup
| pose William had insisted that each of these
| should repent of his adhesion to James or be
! forever disfranchised and prescribed, would
| that have been wise or justY Would not the
| Realm have boen distracted and weakened by
such an exactionY
Certainly, no such was made. Present and
future loyalty any established government has
a right to exact of all subject to its sway ; it
cannot Justly require them to Tenounce and
undo the past.
"But the Rebels it is urged, are still ma
"lignant, still bitter, still implacably in
imlcal to Unionists, but especially to the
Blacks. They will use the power you pro-
"pOse to give them to crush out their loyal
neighbors and fellow citizens"
Doubtless, there are those in Virginia, and
| in every Southern State, who thus feel and
act. We cannot reasonably expect millions to
| unlearn at a word all they have supposed true
| and renounce all they have believed. You can
! not reasonably expect men reared in the belief
that Slavery was the true condition of the
Negro to be converted at once to hearty
| faith in the Equal Rights Of Men. There are
doubtless still many thousands in Virginia who
| wish that our Civil War had resulted differ
ently-that Grant had surrendered to Lee
rather than Lee to Grant.
| Suppose England had kept the Highlands
under martial law so long as any one remained
who deplored the result of the battle Of Cul-
| loden and sighed for sthe return of "Charlie
"over the water" what would have been the
probable effectf
We have perfect right to take all reason
able precautions and erect al needed barriers
against the reGstablishment Of Slavery, in
spirit and substance, in any Southern State
we have n right to take all possible care that
! Unionsts shall not be prosecuted in Virginia
merely because they are Unionists. But great
| People has no right to evince cowardice nor
that excessive apprehension of blows from a
PROSTATE foe which Is near akin to cOwardice.
/ OF course, there is some risk in admitting
! those who lately did their utmost to overthrow
our Government to full participation in po-
lItical power. Many have virtually said with
| Caliban,
! "You taught me language; and my profit ont
f., know how 10 curse.'
| We admit the whole case made out against
our position, so Far as any reasonable person
would insist on it, and say in reply, The risk
you deprccatc is one required Of US by the very
essence of republican liberty. RepuHicanism
does not imply that all men are good. but only
that, being allowed fair play. the good element