The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-04-11
The Solid South.

Mr.. ii. v. REDFIELp, the welt-knoWn
newspaper correspondent, is an impartial
observer and trustworthy reporter OF what
he sees, bat is not posted as to matters that
he has not seen with his own eyes or heard
with his own eals-that Is to say, he is n
man OF comparatively little general informar
tion. Like old SIMON CAMERON, he hash
much use FOR them literary fellows" nc
doesn't trouble himself TO consult authors
ties. and therefore is liable to so astfa!
whenever he undertakes to travel out OF 'he
nath beaten for him by his own oDserVa-
fions. For instance, he declares ina. "h..''
the North can stand "soila oo''.'' ,.s
south cannot, and he gives as n reason LOT '''.'
6;ctnn that eater the next apportionthe"',
which will largely increase the poti'''a'
, ,owcr O, the West and Northwest ''io"S"
;ncrn,se q, population. the solid South VIII
DC relatively so weak as TO be matter Oh S'',''i
concern to anybody but herself" NO" 'his
is not simply crude 'utterance; IL IS oaseo
nnop a Misrepresentation OF facts. In inc
first place. now that slavery Is OUT 0! Tue
,,ov. the West and the South and South
west will iufallibly be found lighting TO-
rethcr. The New England States ma! us
we'll hang UP their fiddle. Ihclr day OF III
tlucuce is over and gone. Secondly, the
system of ictties now successfully drawing
western commerce back to the MISSISSIPPI
river has had a wonderful ehect IN re-
uniting the West and the Southwest.
The votes in Congress Upon the appro-
priations for the Improvement OF inc
Mississippi, show that the eastern states
have cot to take back seat. II there Is
any doubt left upon this subject. the vote
upou the Texas Pacific railroad Will SHOW
how the representatives OF the people OF
the different sections will hereafter divide.
The Northwest. the West, the Southwest,
and the South, will unite in support OF 1t.
Mr.. HAYES is an Ohio man and representa-
tive of western feelings. and is almost uni
verSally supposed to be IL favor OF the
Texas-Pacifc scheme. Indeed, some PEG
nile have been so unkind a. to hint that
he owes his Office 10 the fact that
Mr.. TrLpES was understood to be hos
tile TO tha. scheme At any rate. hardly
a dav passes when Congress is i'll session
that does not afford proof that III the future
the natural alliance between the West and
the South which the institution Of slavery
so long prevented is destined soon to be-
come a fixed fact. The broad, liberal ideas
that characterize the people Of the West
can lind in New England nothing with
which TO sympathize. The Mississippi Is,
as Mr.. CALHOUN said, San inland sea, and
the States upon its including the
Ohio, the Missouri, the northern MiSsls-'
sipp, and of course the whole region be-
low Caro-will just lis certainly act to-
gether as do Maine and Massachusetts. The
inevitable decree has gone forth.
But lastly, the suppostion that the south
ern States will not increase in population as
fast as the eastern and middle Statcs-for
in these calculations the West may for the
present be thrown out as q region whose
alliance the North merely desires, out the
South will gain-we say the suppose
ton that the southern States will not
show in 1880 as great proportionate
increase Of population as the eastern and
middle States is based upon a total misap-
prehension of thefacts of the case. The past
teaches us what to expect in the future. The
increase in the ratio OF representation under
the last superintendent act was such that in
1876 the New England States all together
had only one more representative in Con-
gress than they had in 1866. That fact bodies
an overwhelming defeat to the South
the South, which Gncluding Missouri)
gained over q dozen congressman. This
latter increase was, however, not fairly to
be credited to an increase Of population in
the South. 1t was owing to the cman-
cipaton Of the slaves. But the State Of
Texas has since 1870 gained in population
enough to entitle her now to at least tivemore
representatives in Congress- gain more
by double than all New England can show.
The South is, in a word, the growing re-
gion. Slavery kept it back before the war.
And the injurious reconstruction measures
have kept it back since the war. But her
future is bright. No section Of the Union
will grow more rapidly. She will hold her
own always in the presidential election.
She has now 1876 out Of $50 votes, and her
relative strength will never be less. Let
no northern man fatter himself that the
"solid South twill ever have less influence
than now in the councils OF the nation. So
far from losing strength relatively to, the
New England States, she will constantly
show a relatively greater gain than those
States. So as to New York, New Jersey,
and Pennsylvania. They cannot gain as
fast as the South. They have not the terri
tory AS to the northwestern States, they
will be orr allies. And there are no west
ern States, SO called, which are not southern
in every fibre of their composition. That
is to say, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Iowa-all the States north Of the
Ohio river and of Missouri-are cassed as
northwestern; whilst Kentucky, Tennes-
see, Missouri, Arkansas, &C., are cassed as
western or southwestern, and are Just as
truly southern in sympathy and interest as
may safely be set down as neutral as be.
tween the sections east OF the Rocky
Mountains.
Where, then, are the States whose politi-
cal power is to be so increased by the next
apportionment US to render the "solid
South" ga matter of small concern? "
They are nowhere. They were conjured up
by ignorance. They will never come when
lad fnr UnSf.x AVID Il