The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-02-08

lation wrought by Democratic politicians
| Charity does not command lis to forget his
tory in order to forgive those who throug
Misrepresentation erred. The Northern
1 wing Of Democracy at this time deluded it
! self, as well as its co-conspirators in tn
South, that if there was to be any fighting
| would be in the streets of Northern cities
! presumably with itself, as q sort OF militar.
| fag to its more honorable masters in TIN
South. Think of it. This Northern De
mocracy fighting e? These "Cusses tina
load All don't darst dror Il trigger Yes
| it really imagined itself able. to still thu
waves Of Northern Indignation and to stay
| the march of Northern armies: Il modern
| Canute sitting with its unclean feet in the
coming waves. but unlike him, foolishly
waiting to be engulfed. Since that unfor
ttlnate hour it has fioundcrel about in the
wash, periodically getting it's head above
water sufficiently long to enable it to cry
Scissors Y like the old woman, and then
sinking back into despair.
! Its Southern wing again delnded itself
about this time, with perhaps natural
though we might say, an altogether inhu
man delusion MIR. Alexander H. Stephens
Illuminated it in his speech at Savannah in
1861. These were his words: 'sFhis was the
immediate cause OF the late rupture and the
present revolutions" speaking OF the Status
of the ,pegro race: Jefferson in his forecast
had anticipated this as the 'rock upon which
the old Union wonld split. He was right;
what was conjecture with him was now a
realized fact. But whether he comprehend
ed the great truth upon which that rock
stood and stands, may be doubted; the pre-
vailing ideas entertained by him and most
OF the leading statesmen at the time of the
formation OF the old Constitution were, that
the enslavement Of the African was in viola
ton of the laws of nations; that it was
wrong in principle, socially, morally. and
politically. 1t was an evil they knew not
well how to deal with, but the general opin-
ion Of the men of that day, was that some
how or other in the order of Providence the
LsIltuttUu WOuiu 0c cViueoCOht anu paoS
away lie adds: "These ideas however
were fundamentally wrong" sour new
Government Che Confederacy) is founded
upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foanda-
tons are laid, its corner-stone.rests upon the
great truth that the negro is not equal to the
white man; that slavery, subordinative to
the superior race, is his natural and normal
condition. This, our new Government, is
the first in the history Of the world, based
upon this great physical, philosophical, and
moral TRUTH A most suspicious, most hap
py isolation. We are certainly very glad to
see that will. Virginia's Democracy all this,
to-day, is an exploded notion, and we only
regret that repentance comes SO late. Dur
ing the war the Northern Democracy kept
up a running fire Of decisions; it constantly
deluded itself that the war for the Union
was failure; that the Constitution was 60
ing to pieces, and that they alone could save
it; that at election after election they had
weh tremendous victories-at the polls, and
allkorts and kinds of delusions s'too numer-
on his advertising bills.
You have little conception, il you have
not come in contact with it, what an alto
gether funny thing Northern Democracy
has been and even now is, and at times sink
ing to depths of depravity that excited
amazement rather than laughter. For in
stance: When the spirit of Northern Democ-
racy sided off the stage at Ford's Opera
House, in the person of poor mad Wilkes
Booth, exclaiming ''Sic Semper Tyrannis !"
it really deluded itself that Tyrant had fall
Ell and not the gentlest heart Of our time.
OF the sspost bellum'' decisions of Democ-
racy, possibly the most unfortunate to the
country was that into which the Southern
wing fell and into which the entire South
seemed to follow, that Mr.. johnson, a COM
pete demagogue whatever else his virtues,
had the wish and power to gain for them in
the Councils of the Nation all they had lost
OH the field Of battle. Urged on by the
Northern Democracy, the South placed IT.
self in such an attitude towards the Nation,
that the suspicious Of the people were
aroused as to the sincerity OF the acceptance
of the situation by the South, and the Re-
publican Party, believed itself compelled to
exact terms of settlement Of the then pend
ing questions, more harsh and CALLING Thus
came about Universal Negro Suffrage. The
delusion that Democracy means Reform and
Honest Government is quite innocuous,. and
we can afford to smile at it. On the Sth day
of November. 1876, this singular Democracy
was delivered of most wonderful delusion,
and for the once its delusion came uncom-
fortably near being reality. The Nation
was aroused from its quiet sleep by cannon
frings and bon-tires that sent the noise and
smoke thereof to the vault of heaven, aud in
all the pandemonium could be heard the
shouts of .rilden, Hendricks, and Reform
and Victory - somewhat inarticulate. An
other bloodless victory had been won. De-
mocracy was rampant. but the next day it
came forth detected. Its rejoicings had been
premature. 1t would have carried the coun-
try, but. Oh! you do not know upon
what trihing pretext this Democracy will
below, and shout. and fire cannon, and be-
come devout and thank Providence. With
the poor thirsty traveller In the desert it
shouts "Blessed be Allah ~ even when it
sees a mirage.
And now because the Nation laughs at it,
it gets angry, land busters and threatens, and
talks about saving the Constitution and
about war and fighting. Wildly, with its
hair on end, it shouts ''Pistols and Coffee %
Sir, coffee and pistols. Oh, now don t get in
to passion. Every time you get angry, the
Doctors say, it burns up inst so much of
your vitality. and then tine country knows
you and does not get alarmed in The least and
it knows that you know yourself, and that at
the end you will sneak away and admit of
yourself as the poet 'Lowell" does, there
"Hain't left US foot for swellin to stand on;
We showed too much what Buregard calls aban-
don,
For all our Thermeppiies, ian its marcy,
We hain't he'd no more) had been clean vicy- var
cy,
Are wot Spartans was left when the battle was
done
Woz them that waz too unambitious to rum
10 speak of some of the more local delu-
sions Of this modern Democracy may be Of