The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-04-10
The Past.

,.os,,, , thought on the past in ttl'
shirt Of reverence for The gooo !i'at was u
:. =, ,a,,;,a,;on for its grandeur, and OF re
,,,o, Fl, its imrracticabilty and for the waste
e limo and words of which 1t was guilty
II. well TO do SO. We thus indulge sort 0
melancholy pleasure, and we derive mora
beneficial to ourselves. We may throw
laurel upon the tomb Of tho past, and ma!
avoid its great error If we cannot cNact'!
retrieve the good fortanc which 1t thre"
away. III
The ruling passion of the day was i'oi
,;cs The sons of tho rich studied scie"e'
with no view to the pursuit OF an! oecui"
tion devoted to physical development "os,
so;onces were sort Of polite learning, aho
the ambitious student learned enough " lain
wei, Of it's different branches; out' save "
sneakinr acquaintance with the more so'io
Of tbcse, no great familiarity with them was
tolerated. It was about political economy
,ho. rt of roycrnmcnt-thatt they were eSpe
rally well fortified, and to that every enort
every hone. was directed. The student Of
successive generations became the politician
and the representative ofeAch. tie couio
d;ssect the Constitution and tell exactly wha
il permitted and what it prohibited, ano
couId tel, exactly where upon principle VIZ
c;nia should stand. He could maintain hE
ground logically Mt home, and he could stane
amongst the representatives of the nation anf
command respect in bothattitudcS. lice
toll what WI, permitted by the national Con
st;,u,;op and predict all the lwd consequences
Of violating that instrument. Upon the sub
iect of thermal improvements 10y the General
Government he was unc0mpronlslnS ana III
corr,lptiblc. He rcproached northern men
for DRAWN. money out OF the lreaS(ir! LOT
internal improvements, and. str'cl'y co'-
scicntious. he stuck to his principles ana
refused any appropriation to develop the
resources and increase the wealth of his own
State. This inequality of Federal fayors OF
course had the constant effect of cnrlchinS
one section while the other stood still, and
fortified the one and weakened the other
acainst the day of "might" instead of
"rirht," which has at last come upon Us.
The genius of this State was political.
Party excitement was about the only excite
ment we had Even this city, which might
have formed an exception to the general
temper of the State, was perfect boiling
,aldron at election times. Its people were
seldom deeply interested upon any subject
save politics. On an occasion of a public
meeting to consider an enterprise of Il plstc-
tcal character the attendance was small and
the interest of those present very limited.
1t seemed that they came rather to save ap-
pcar,snces than for any other reason. Rich
mond had her single delegate, and he was.
in obedience to public sentiment, always
more of politician than practical man.
People used to say that Richmond had
great influence upon the Legislature. But
what was the value of that influence! Abb
solulcly nothing. Fine parties, fine dinners
were given by the wealthy and refined, who
had nothing to ask and who emily took pride
and pleasure in being hospitable and filling
their SALONS with genial and bright society.
viz VI TIT illNSl N0liiii'pit vi ehS S'AliSiiNh
whose houses were thus opened, and who
contributed his share to give to Richmond
the name for elegant hospitality which she
so Justly bore, has recently been gathered to
his fathers. That man was the late WILLIAM
H. MACrARLASD, one of the most estimable
of the distinguished sons of Virginia, a MN
of talents. large-hcarted liberality, of fine
person and most graceful manners. He did
the honors of this city handsomely and libc-
rally, and was utterly above suspicion of a
sordid motive in his courtc>ics. So 4 was
with his prominent contemporaries, and they
really represented Richmond; and Rich
mond, again, was representative of the
State i'll her devotion to politics and her in.
difference to the matters which so deeply
concerned her future welfare and power.
Great deeds arc achieved by nations in the
line Of the public enthusiasm, whatever il
may be. Virginia has given birth to sever
Presidents of the United States, and she i:
far behind any northern State in practica
development and in public works. Th'
ldllOuS VI GliC 1Iooe 8SSohAtAASAA>A A'~'
mense works, which are the wonder OF TIN
present age for their ponderous and gigantic
features. They were done through religion
superstition, and whole nations worked upol
them. Had half the party zeal and half tn
money expended in party campaigns bcel
devoted to public works and roads, DC, TIN
State of Virginia would now blossom as tn,
rose. The whole country would display tn,
signs of thrift and the very picture Of pros
perity and contentment.
But we may profit by the errors of the
past if we cannot avoid their consequences
We can direct our attention to matters q
practical nature bearing directly upon the
improvement and solid strength of the State
We see how, notwithstanding that our an
cestors devoted their time to the direction o
the Government and to the defence of the M
tion-their State furnishing more than he
share of the statesmen and great generals o
the nation-n Notwithstanding she made ever,
sacrifice for the national defence and genera
welfare, and Notwithstanding that she CAV
to the nation vast and rich domain capabl
Of maintaining several empires-she has becl
placed under the ban by the National Cover,
ment, and has not been permitted to retail
even her own territory; but disrupted an,
partitioned, her own citizens disfranchised
and her recent slaves sought to be put il
control of her public administration, sh
sadly resembles NloBE in her grief. Fe,
are the consultations that can help to reliev
her distress She finds she has glory. elor,