The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-07-10
ants of the men who rebelled against the

The men who rode with Stuart and Ashb,
need not retire from the board where bum
| pers are filled to the memory of the mel
who rode with Light Horse Harry and Ma
rion.
The men who marched with Jackson ant
fought with Lee ought not to forget the mer
who wintered at Valley Forge with Wash
ington, who conquered at Kings Mountain
who died at Guildfcrd, and humbled Bur
goyne and CORVALLIS.
The men who drove Milroy from Winches.
ter, who stood yonder at Coss KEYS to &c
fend the homes ard hearths OF this fair Val
ley from the invasion of Fremont, may re-
member the spot, almost in sight of thai
battle field, where assembled the men who
marched to repel Tarleton.
1t may we'll be that an earnest and hearty
reverence for the virtues of our ancestors
manifested by u sincere observance of the
day consecrated to their memory, an honest
study of the principles they taught, sin.
cere desire to profit by. their example and
to follow in their footsteps, an emulation OF
their unsefish spirit of denial, in advancing
the general good, of their manly assertion Of
their own political rights and cheerful con.
cession OF all the rights of others, will
tend to etace the bitterness engendered by
war and fierce party contests, induce full
er and juster understanding of political
rights on one hand and duties on the other,
and lead men in the near future to esteem
their fellow-ctizens of other sections, not
BY the side they embraced in this or that
contest OF the past, but by their present de-
ion to the true spirit OF our institutions :
by their present obedience to law and faith
full performance of all the duties of citizen
ship.
Let us hope and trust that our entire his
tory, even down to the present time, will
soon be studied, not to perpetuate the ee-
ments OF strife involved in the struggles of
the past, and to revive and embitter their
preJudices and katreds, but to understand
the bearing OF their results upon our mate
rial and political progress, and that the
achievements of the leaders and actors of
those struggles will be deposited in com
mon treasure house Of fame, and cherished
as the common inheritance of an entire and
united people.
We are encouraged in this hope by the
history and experience OF our Mother coun-
try.
Theannals ofEngland are full of the strifes
OF York and Lancaster, OF Parliament and
King, OF Hanover and Stuart, but the good
evolved in fixing the rules of succession, in de-
hnlng the limits OF prerogative, in enlarging
the bounds OF freedom remain, and the fierce
passions excited are forgotten. No one now
thinks or cares whether Warwick and John of
Gaunt were OF York or Lancaster. All adj
mire the heroic virtues of Hampden and of
the loyal Lee, and none the less that one
was for Parliament and the other for King
Though the cause of Monmouth was gen
erally disapproved, the heroic peasants who
died for him are proudly cherished in Eng
!lsh history as examples of sturdy English
faith and manhood, while the butchers who
slew them s. in the carnage begun, when the
battle was done," and that servile Judge who
condemned them at the bidding OF merci
less King, are preserved for universal exc
Grafton.
Though the long contests between the
adherents OF the house OF Hanover and those
OF the house Of Stuart, stirred the passions
OF the English people to their lowest depths.
YET the memory of the humble ma iden who
rescued the fugitive pretender from the
blood hounds who hunted him to his death.
Is dearer to the people still loyal to the DIV. |
nasty ne tried to dethrone, than tha of the |
royal dnke VINO trampled beneath his iron |
leet Ihe broken clans OF Lochiel. The ex.
cesses of Parliament were checked at the
restoration, the entertainments of prerop,-
live were ended at the expulsion of fha
otuarts, religious liberty was evolved from
Inc religious contests of ages, and every
Struggle hnaly ended in the interests and
advancement OF freedom. Wet are of
anglo oaxon blood and stock, inherit tbaa
Anglo Saxon Instinct of freedom which can
never be quenched and has never been
brought to despair.
While the theory Of State Equality is not
disputed, while limitations OF Federal power
5 not questioned, though opinions differ as
20 constitutional boundary line, while the
power of the purse abides in representa-
i've assembly, and that assembly elective
y the people, and the right of each citizen
o vote unchallenged, though there may be
naladministration, though there may be
temporary entertainments, though corrupt
'oter and corrupt official may trade in the
lights and substance OF the people, yet so
ong as these bulwarks and weapons re-
main in tie hands of honest ana intelligent
masses, we need not despair Of the Repub-
ic.
The position of the party defeated in civil
trife requires the highest exercise of the
lrtues OF paSience, faith, courage, prudence
nd wisdom. Let us endeavor to bring these
Irtues to bear upon the emergencies which
re now upon us and which will come upon {
$ in the future, and show that our people
re as faithful and true as citizens. as they !
1ere devoted and brave as soldiers. +
Let Solid South conquer fear of Solid
outh by proving that all the ends she aims
'are Country's, Gods and Truths" May ]
me soon bring healing on it's wings and !
oread blessed peace and harmony all over {
lie land, and America, happy, prosperous,
nited and free, go on gathering glory ur- $
n glory, through age on age, the model OF t
zee governments, the envy OF the nations, !
le wonder of the world,