Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1878-01-09

peace Dlf DCiclJ lcsI NIOu ito dIlil' 1-ON-
ing thet oT,milics none the less,
they lo1 tie State more, and look up
on i as Ihe "MotAer Of their peace and
joy
Letn5 have this citizen soldiery ev-
III ri. to be seen on fitting days and
in1s, It is not a show ofmilitary pow
liSe LII ca standing army. 1t IS
the ever present AID careful guard OF
the States interests and honor ; it is
the cveraanding sentinel upon its bat
Elements watching, not for pay, but for
love, and proving how the safety and
glory ola good Commonwealth can be
entFlIstedto its own people.
Wfh such an ancestry, such a his
tory. and such a government, what him
ders Virginia The. same g NAL sky
Ut, TIM earae arhars
where the ships Of the world may ride
the same variety and fertility Of soil,
from the sea to the mountains, as when
she won the name of the mother OF
statesmen and States. | know that the
hand of violence rent her in twain. and
that the ravages of four years terrible
war have lett cruel marks. | know
that many of her best and brayest fell,
aud that poverty now abounds where
once, fourished refinement and wealth.
know that in the lairest and most fruit
full regions seasons Of drouth have
parched up the labor of the husband
man or destroying floods have swept it
away. But l believe that there still
exists hat loyalty to honor and that de-
volicn 10 law which enabled her people
to bear these things without shrinking.
l believe that her people are still car
nostand true.
What, then, hinders Virginia? For
years she struggled in the war, aud then
in the tolls of reconstruction. The war
is over. and her relations with the Fed
eral government are again fixed under
the constitution and the laws and none
have been, or will be, Drawer to stand
up to them. What, then, hinders
Virginia
The excitement which aroused and
troubled the people in the late canvass
answers ; for nothing was heard on ev-
cry hustinss aud court house green but
the sole, absorbing question Of the State
debt. What Of it: States have been
in debt before, and have been honest,
aud have survived. Is it a just debt.
and has the State received considera
ton for il? l have never heard it
claimed that It was unjust and without
considcrat; H. Ii was made before the
war, and as low represented by public
Improvements, without which Virginia
wo9l Sc in q slou-h Of despond, with
y--y.-.-'ie igreae.y - cItU, into rivalry
r. s,r0ugUst W ucr slstCT ccUrvs.
she tayc her bonds for it at Il time when
acr word would be taken and Ler credit
.s- IN any market n the worldr And
a,,n .hat word aul cred. means were
.nt in opening p. her vast resources.
Why, then, Should We not pay it?
TIE honor Of 4 state is above price. II
canuet be measured by money The
,hacictcr ola Commonwealth marks her
place among nations, and is the guide
Of The individual growth aud destiny OF
her citizens. The law is schoolmas-
ter. andit Will determine whether the
citizen is to be vicious or yirtuous. \
generation or so Of bad legislation may
change a people from a highmnded and
honorable race into deprayed and dis
honest men. Nothing so soon accom-
plishes this unhappy end as a disregard
ofsolemn compacts. Upon their sane
tity the whole frame work of society
rests. from the sacred bond that ties tic
family to the stroug and subtle cord
which binds in harmony otherwise ian'
ing elements in the unity ofgovernmcnt
his should guide every one who Is
called to take part in the councils Of tho
Stae. Especially is this true in a re-
publican form of government like ours
Without virtue it cannot survive force
must soon take the place ofreason. AnC
the man who thinks he can use sucE
tracks to gain petty end. will find
when too late, that everything is lost
The hope and only hope of a republic is
the recognition ofthe sanctity Of con
tracts and the binding obligation and
supremacy oflaw.
! Our duty, then, as good cltlzehs, Il
! to devise means to pay the debt, not tc
find ways to avoid it. 1t will hardly
pay it 10 criminate some former Legisla
txre by general charges of bribery ant
fraud. If any one has dared to faint the
halls of legislation with these crimes le
him be brought to triaf and punished
with the utmost rigor Of the law. Nor
will it any more pay the debt to weaker
the standing among the people OF on
highest court by reflections upon it
Judgment or integrity, a court OF wblcl
any State might be prcnd-so learned
so able and so pure.
Nor does itpay the debt to plead tn
war, save as touching our ability. Tha
was of our choice, and | hear no on
who engaged in it complain ofits losses
though untold wealth was spent and 50
many lives lost that Virginia is a grea
battlefield and a great cemetery. Ate
four years of bloody fighting the regre
vas TO see the fag furled even in tn
midst of and in view Of more dreadiu
rain. No complaint then Of loss G
t-orortv only honp Of Victory. NJ