The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-02-10
AitItn,ond 1ispatth.
ruusspAY FEBRUARY 10, 1871
The Governors Message.

The Governors Message.
This document is plain and practical
The appointment of Mr.. MARYEto the Office
Of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS is briefly noticed
There are but two other paragraphs thar
will attract partisan commentary-one re-
lating to the vacatipg Of Offices and the ap-
pointment of provisional officers to MI 'he"'
until the May elections, and another s"s-
costing the election, under peculiar clrcun-
stances, by the Legislature of persons dis
qualified BY the fourteenth amendment 10
judceships, and petitioning Congress to re-
move their disabilities.
To the first Of these, of course the IN
cumbents of the Offices the Governor pro-
roses to vacate will be most seriously OPP
POSED. They will consider it very unneces-
sary, and possibly very impudent, in TO
vernon WALKER, forgetting the icy GOODNESS
with which--incompetent as most of them
are-they walked into their Offices, and re-
ceived their pay from the taxes paid by
people who neither respected nor confided
in them. 1t is certainly true that the county
and city Offices are, with exceptions, in the
hands of utterly incompetent men, who,
had they proper sensihilities, in view Of
their own unftness and the general de-
tcstation in which they are held, would
be glad to be relieved from the positions
they occupy. Some have already shown
this sort of sensibility. Now, the duty OF
appointing men to the places proposed to
he vacated will probably devolve upon the
Governor. And what of that? The duty
will be tcmporary-the provisional period
for the appointments very brief. There
will be no great power, therefore, contided
TO the Governor. We are sure he would
much rather avoid than seek 1t. 1t Will
entail uron him an amount of annoyance
which will be utterly without compensation
or consolation save that it will be pro-
ceeding essential to the proper administra-
ton of the affairs of the State.
OF the suggestion concerning the election
to jrdgeships in especial cases, lin seeking
for the "ablest, purest, and best, men,'') of
persons who are disqualified by the four
teenth amendment, the Governor under
stands better than we do the grounds upon
which he makes his recommendation. His
suggestion that Congress in such cases will
promptly and favorably consider petition
for the removal of the disabilities Of such
persons we hope is made upon the best
assurances. We are very much inclined to
doubt Congress ourselves.
But there is certainly nothing in the re-
commentator that any sensible and just
member of Congress can object to. The
Governor does not propose that those so
elected shall 60 on to discharge the duties
of their Offices. On the contrary, the
plain inference is that be thinks they cam
not until relieved. He considers the re-
moval of disabilities indispensable, and
thus shows Ill proper respect for the Constl-
tuition and laws Of Congress.
The rocomme ndations concerning the
penitentiary, the colored lunatics, and the
criminal laws and trials, are all good, prac-
teal. and prudent. He proposes revival
Of the State Guard or the establishment OF
police guard. We have long entertained
the opinion that if the former were to be
kept up it ought to be converted into q
school, where civil engineering should be
prominent feature. Such an institution
could educate number of young persons
from the age of eighteen to twenty-fve, and
be CT great service. They would be as eff
cient guards az older persons.
The message is short, sensible, and
modest, and the Legislature will, we are
sure, generally approve it.