The Placer herald., 1870-03-26
Sunset Cox on the Virginia Convention
of 1858.

We commend to our leaders the follow
ing beautiful extract from the speech Of
Honorable S. S. Cox, on the Virginia Con-
venlion Of 1868. That Mr.. Cox treats the
subject 10 the right spirit, will not admit Of
serious argument. The idea that in gov
ernment OF the people, all future ages and
generations are 10 be bound by the acts of
their predecessors is simply ridiculous. and
the fact that the Congress Of the United
States should not only sanction such pro.
vision, but make it a condition Of the ad-
mission OF her representatives to seat 10
the counsels of the nation is mortifying:
In the light Of progressive political phil.
osopby, where is the man TO rise up and
say that "aIl goodness aud greatness, all
policies of right, and all genius of states
'nanshlp" belonged to that miserable mock,
cry OF Mosaic convention which win,ers
At Richmond in l867-S9 Who will say
that convention made up Of the Under
woods, the Wellses, aud Chambers, (lbs
successors of Jefferson, Geo. Mason, and
Madison y who incubated that system of
iron-clad tests which even the military Scho-
field derlded, and the people rejected we're
tit legislators Of all the ages : Oh, YES,
they knew it all, and for all time Your
bill says "never !" "never r. shall their work
be changed. A convention where ignorance
WAS representing intelligence, and where
spite prevailed and not charity; and even
the muIalto BARRIERS and field hands, who
had sharpened their minds on the razor
straps and cudgeled their brains with their
oxgoads Qaughter,) and bad learned some
lessons OF kindness towards their old mas
ters, were constrained to belle their loving
natures by white bravado and cunning
such a convention works better than Provi-
dencel His heavens are TO be rolled up
like SCROLL but we make the work Of
these men eternal. The seasons shall come
and 90 in their beautiful procession along
.be bIue.,inlsd mountains, but this Radical
structure shall outllve their rocky ridge 10
that grand future, down which the historian,
llson, gazed when be saw "British great
ness sitting in the Old, to rise renewed 10
this New World; when the name of Eng.
land should survive, under the shadow Of
ancient renowp, through hundred aud fifty
million men in North America, speaking
it's language and glorying iu its descent"
when from ocean 10 ocean, and from eQua
tor to pole, the ocean bound republic of our
dreams should arise. sounding down this
gorgeous, prospective corridor Of the future,
we hear the voice of this Virginia conven.
ton Of 1868. squeaking out its little trebsl,
"You shall never, never change the work
of this tesselaed black and white conven.
ton Of 1868" And when 10 that future
the teeming valleys and hills Of Virginia
shall smile with cultivation, her population
of twenty five million shall be elevated 10
the culture of the advanced century; her
magnificent rivers bear her produce to the
sea with inventions uudreamed Of by US; her
cities rival those Of the Genose, Venetian,
Dutch and Spanish in commercial enter
prise. then, methiuks hear the penny wbs.
tie Of this Congress still sounding down the
Gorgeous prospective, mo change Never
disturb the work OF the Mosaic statesmen Of
1868 T.