The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-02-05
y,,, ,r,c soufi. learn /:

inch friend of the South, AM
,o,,n u n.,noo, attic paper, the Baltimore Ga
s .oaa ,a,ta ~ ia of.the South in the word
of wisdom sobe, oess' and truth. fray
read, mark, and diges = ,,,un,
THE DUTY OF THE con ihhnS "'"p pr...-
The Hon. r. NJ. T. HI o,e ;n. .. ,I 10,
has Just written an able ant r,h;oh anar,
ter to Representative Lamar, . rSu NJ
southern man should read and S. latter =
merely to the South, however, is ID. ~ M
value, but to men Of every section a, .,a ei n
ton of the Union who desire to see IT, -
tegrity Of the republic maintained foreTe,
each State and Commonwealth an equa.
shgrer In the blessings and benefices the
Union was formed to foster and confer. The
| contrast between the two sections to-day is
| a painful one. The southern States are fully
| fifty years behind those Of the North in inter-
nal Improvements and in material develop.
ment. Territories which were but yesterday
the wilderness and the great American desert
are almost as far advanced as States which q
hundred years ago were preparing TO declare
war against the most powerful N onarchy Ia
the world. The late rebellion has had, to be
sure, good deal to do with this backward
condition of affairs, and, what was worse
than the rebellion, the socaled recOnstruc.
ton era and the barbarous rule imposed
upon the South by the carpet-bag element,
supported and sustained by the bayouets Of
the Federal army. But, powerfully instru-
mental as these causes have been in keep
Ing the southern States backward in the
race of progress and development, there
Il still another cause more potent than
either of these we have named which
has aided in bringing about the de-
porable results we see upon every hand.
| 1t lies in one word-policy. The policies Of
the two sections upon all this class OF subjects
| have essentially differed The South, through
| her representatives in Congress and In the
| Government, has always contended for a
strict construction OF the Constitution. The
| North has always given it the widest and
most liberal Interpretation. It has been the
policy Of the one to take nothing from the
General Government. 1t has been the policy
of the other to take everything she could
get. At the end Of the first hundred years
we find the account between the two sections
standing, as stated in our columns few
days ago, thus For internal improvements
North. $190,000,000; internal improvements
South, Sl9,000,000. In other words, four
or five northern and western cities during
the last five years have obtained for the
erection Of post.etfices alone as many mil
lions of dollars as have been expended 10 4
century in works OF every description in all
the southern States.
To this material, important, and practical
point Mr.. Hunter addresses himself And
when we consider his position and his SER
vices to the State and the country, his great
ability, his devotion to the Democratic party
and all its most cherished ideas and tradi-
tions, every one will concede that his words
are entitled to the most sober conSidera-
tiop. Mr.. Hunters letter is long one,
but the point of 1t is an abandonment
Of this ruinous and suicidal policy. The
old gentleman is for the old flag and
IN appropriation for the two, one and,
as far as possible, inseparable, not from any
selfish and purely sectional motive, but be-
cause of the needs and necessities Of the pre-.
sent and the great and important demands
ard possibilities of the future. The things
the State cannot do in this way he would
have the United States do, provided always
they are public necessity and of public Use.
This does not destroy States rights, aud it
prevents States wrongs. In the opinion Of
Mr. Hunter, the past policy Of the Demo-
cratic party Of the South must be abandoned
if she wishes to maintain her place and rank
in the Union. This is so obvious that we do
not see how any one can dispute or contro-
vert il. The one hundred and ninety
millions of dollars expended in this way
In the West and North have largely
contributed to swell its numerical
majority, and are every day con-
tributing to the same result. Year after
year the interest is compromising, and there
is nothing left to the South but barren,
worthless ideality. Along the line OF the
Pacific railroads new territories are carved
out year by year, aud new States are knock
ing for admission 10 the Union. The south
erin country stands still-the same to-day as
she was twenty years ago. How manyyears
will it be before she is outstripped in the
race, and with territory-not the territory
embraced by the old political lines, but the
natural geographical line across the CONT
nent-how long will it be before she shall
ind herself comparatively without repre-
senta.ion in Congress-! To hold her own,
the South must do is the North aud West are
doing-build railroads, open up the forests
and the waste places to civilization and
settlement. The steam. engine is one OF
the greatest factors in political power to-day,
not only here, but in Europe and even in
distant Asia. Mr.. Hunter sees all this very
clearly, and in advising, through Mr.. Lamar,
the southern representatives in Congress to
support measures for the South like the con-
struction Of the Texas Pacific road he has
shown wisdom and craftsmanship which
they would do we'll TO emulate. No one can
question his devotion to his country or to his
State, his feaity to Democratic principles, or
his great ability and purity of life and charac-
ter. Where he leads it is safe to follow, and
if the southern members in Congress on this
great and vital question turn away from the
path he marks out they will make great and
grave blunder. Let Us have a policy In adj
vance OF, and not behind, The time and the
generation. This is the duty OF the south
ern representatives to the South and to the
whole country.
letter from General Sherman.
he Is NOT NOW, AND NEVER WILL BE, A PREsI-
DENTAL CANDIDATE.
n