The daily gazette., 1876-01-18
The Her0tt's Ignorance,

FROM the Baltimore oun.
INvIDIoUs DISTINCTION Under the
head of New Elements IN the South"
the New York Herald has the following
novel and marvellous intelligence:
Before the war nothing more strongly
marked the distinction between the
civilizations of North and South than
the methods of public discussion. The
Southerner, and especially the Virginian
who did not go to Cong ress. was unused
to debating with political opponents.
Groups of colonels and majors gathered
on tavern porches, and, being agreed as
to the general subject OF discussion, had
only to wrangle about little details and
TO split constitutional hairs. They read
English books Of the Tory school in pre-
ference to Northern books. They were
isolated. feudalistic, naughty, and
though unusually broad on abstraction,
were usually morrow on practical sub
jects."
The distinction between the methods
of public discussion" in the North and
the South was precisely the opposite OF
what the Herald states. In the North it
has never been the custom for political
speakers to have opponents at pc 'itical
meetings. Every Northern man knows
| that to be the fact. In the South the
opposite has been the custom from time
immemorial: As long ago as the times
of Patrick Henry contests on the hust-
| ings between opposing political asp'rants
| took place. The first offer of John Ran
dolph for public life was maintained in
person at the courthouse OF Charlotte
county, Virginia. in 1893, as q candidate
for Congress, where he encountered
| Patrick Henry, then candidate for the
State Senate, and opposed to those mea-
sures Mr.. Randolph advocated. MIR.
Henry was then in his sixt--seventh
year, and the measure of his .ame was
full. When he left the stand, Mr.. Ran
dolph, then about twenty-si1 years Of
age, a mere boy from college, who had
probably never yet addressed political
assembly, rose in his place and bearded
the gray Douglass without fear, although
he did not carry off the laurels of de-
bate. Henry was elected to the Senate.
though he did not live to take his seat.
and Randolph was returned to Congress
1t may be added that such was Mr.. RaD-
dolph's youthful aspect that when he
made his first appearance at the clerk 8
table of the House of Representatives
to qualify that gentleman could not re-
frain from inauiring his age. "ASk my
constituents, sir" was the reply.
From the earliest times to the present
the peculiar, distinguishing feature of
Southern elections has always been that
opposing candidates, not only for Con-
gress, but for the State Legislature, and
the other representatives of opposing
parties, met each other on the stump
and discussed their differences face to
face before the people. And yet the
New York Herald is so ignorant of what
has been always going on for hundred
years in the Southern States as to make
such as assertion as the above, and to
congratulate itself that 'the lyceum
system of the North is beginning to
, enter Southern civilization.
In this age of railroads and tcle-
graphs one would think that so promi-
nent a newspaper of the North, one
which has exhibited such enterprise
in the exploration of Africa and other
foreign lands, ought to be better In
formed concerning this country. Did
that enterprising journal ever observe
any lack of ready debating powers
: among Southern members of Congress
in ante. bellum days, or single in
stance in which a Southern member
r of Congress edited his audience by
reading a written speech? Yet many
man speaks more discreetly when
his speech is prepared than when he
, speaks extemporaneously. AS to the
picture the Herald presents of tavern
porch discussions in the South, that is
! no more fair repro sentation of South
ern political and social life than froth
and foam are like the depth of the sea,
, Such things, unfortunately, are all
that the superficial traveller sees in his
{ journeying in the'South. Should the
: Southern man, with similar conceit
form his impression of society in the
North from the scenes which greet his
eye in the tavern lobies and bar rooms
and from the wretched vagabondism
, and professional bummerism that force
themselves upon his attention during
business visit or pleasure tour, per
haps the Herald would pity his ignor-
ance, if it could not resist giving him
the benefit of its contempt.