The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-08-21
The Party War.

u. go" ~ t,ot In which 1t Is now GNU
w., c,vi, war Of lamentsble e"a'
WAS brought upon us by ''i'' frrtber
uh,ch we need not now d'scu 9Th il
.h., n say that on the part "i '"e d IN.
,.,s yarrd upon n point Of mono IA h.ve
aa, 90 of right. Whether II cou'u N"'c
~. s.n;isd ar not. it is altogether "up,o,'
49, ,,;.o,ss. We have always coh''u-
".nd = &C one of the unavoiaaoie th'nss' ~
civ" r ~ through. and ended IN The de-
feat Of the South. ,oos
The South confessed defeat, SURRENDERED
~. ,,., and her arms, and peace was re-
.,ored Not man anywhere offered resist
ancc to the authority Of the Government
The gallant soldiers who fought the battles
Immediately upon the surrender themselves
set the example of peaceful relations. in7
victors supplied the defeated VIII Wv
means of subsistence, and the officers OF 'ne
los,nc side with even luXurics. Inc gar
lant men on both sides almost rushed INTO
each others arms, and both sides buried
their enmlties. Had the settlement OF the
terms Of peace been left altogether 10 the
army the land would long since nave oceh
IN a state of profound qualification, ana nar-
monv md contentment would nave pre-
vailed everywhere.
But no such good fortune was 10 DC Sc
cured to the country. There was IN army
of oflice.holders and 40 army of asplran's'
whose prominence and ofhcial poSl'ioi'
were due TO the war. They had little meri' !,
save their bitter passions, TO recouiilenu
them for position, and they we'll knew That
the moment the country was III the ENJOY
meut Of entire peace, they would De coih-
PEELED by public opinion to leave 'he,i
offices; for it would he Incompatible WIN
the spirit OF peace, inconsistent WIN us
preservation, that men whose official lives
depended upon the continuation OF the sec
tional hostilities Of the country should be
allowed to remain in office, poisoning the
public mind and embittering the people oil
one section against the other.
General GRANT had given noble proof
of his just views bearing upon the suhJccl
in his faithful observation of the obligations
of the parol he gave to LEE and his follow
ers. He protected LEE and his lieutenants
from the prosecutions Of such creatures rs
UNDERWOOD.
General GRANTS ideas seemed, up to the
time of his Inauguration as President, 10
have run in the line OF peace. His bcs,
speech was on the subject. Let us have
peace" SAID he. His sentiments with re.
gard to the South were consistent with this
motto of his. He said of Virginia that
savages should not he expected TO live
under such a Constitution us that framed
for us by the UNDERWOOD Convention, ant
he assisted us to get rid Of the worst fea.
lures of that Constitution by plan sug
gcsted by General SCuoFIFLD.
But Gen. GRANT "saw another sight "
when he entered upon the Presidency
Then it was that the men who knew their
official lives were ended the moment the
hates and rancours of war died out went
to work too sharply, too successfully. for
the good of the nation. They won over
Gen. GRANT to their views. They eSsah-
Ii>hed ring. and controlled alike appoint.
mcn;s and policy. Their plan was to keep
alive the preiudices and malice engcndered
By the war-to fan the fines of hatred of
the South at the North. and to strike terror
in the South with the kukluX measure.
This was. in short, The policy which Sena-
tor SEIZURE dcnounces as the policy OF
disfrauchisement used 10y one party to
put the other down."
Thus we are brought to the miserable
condition Of strife-it is true, bloodleSs,
but far more disgusting than actual war,
and hardly less Injurious to the national
welfare than sthe war ofsblood through
which we have so recently passed. 1t is
the INSCRIPTIONS and dishonest use that
is now made Of the national prejudices,
and the deliberate Justification of facts and
the gross abuse of public trust that is pro-
longing the alienation of the sections and
the miseries Of the country.
Had General GRANT adhered to the views
we have above referred to, and shaped hi
policy in accordance with them, he wouG
have commanded the undivided support Of
the South. The southern people watched
him with intense interest, and their sur
prise and modification were great when
they had reluctantly to confess that General
GRANT had taken into his couu>els the very
worst part of the Republican palty-the
men who so clearly confessed that it was
necessary to keep alive the bitter prejudices
Of the war that they might hold their
offices.
This Is the source of our present trou.
bles and the degradation of public charac.
ter. The nation will vastly increase its
own dignity and happiness and thrift eve
rywhere by turning out of office the uu
worthy men who conceive truly that they
have no chance to share in plumber of the
Government save through tanning the em
bers of war and keeping alive tho sectional
hatreds.
Thus we see we have to continue the
fight against the load of prejudice and dis.
trust which Repub.icanism continues to
turn to our disadvantage, as we'll as to that
OF the whole land. We should "accept
the situation" and fight it out like men who
understand their fealty to their native coun
try, and are determined to maintain it.
- ------------------
Western Finance.