National Republican., 1880-08-14
SECTInNAI.IgNl.

Catching eels with the bare hands is re-
garded as a very slippery and uncertain
business, as most of us know from boyhood
experience, but we arc constrained to say
that we have no recollection of having any
thing quite so slippery, squirming and
uncertain TO handle as the Lynchburg
Vrginidn in its discussion of the question
of sectionalism. The main point at issue
between us is--who is responsible for the
sectionalism of to-day and by what
methods and processes the south has been
made solid" for the democratic party,
while there can be no reasonable doubt
that at least five of the solid democratic
states have large republican maiorities
under free ballot, an honest election and
q fair count. The methods by which these
states have been transformed into solid
democratic commonwealths are recorded on
the page of history, and yet the Virginian
ignores them as steadlastly rs If they had
no existence. With us it is a matter of no
moment whether carpet-baggers, scalawags
or native southrons hold the offices there,
but it is q matter of grave consequence that
ted to exercise all his constitutional and
legal rights without interference or moles-
tation. On this point we disagree if our
interences are correct, for as yet we have to
learn of a single instance in which the
| Virginidn has ever rebuked the atrocious
methods that have been resorted to to crush
out the republican vote of that section. 1t
is of this undeniable fact that we complain.
If it has ever denounced the lawlessness
with which the republican party and its
| principles have been crushed out we have
yet TO learn it. 1t has looked on com
placently, if not smilingly, while the south
has been rife with murder and assassina.
ton for opinion sake. 1t has seen republi-
cans shot down like hunted wild beasts, it
has seen the votes of republicans over
whelmed by ballot-box stufling or by being
counted out falsely and yet it has had no
word Of rebuke for these methods of con-
solidating the south under democratic
regime. And now that the work has been
accomplished in that way it tacitly ap-
proves all that has been done in the way of
wrong, fraud, outrage and murder In that
it becomes unreasoning and uncandid in its
discussion Of the question.
1t essays to make one remark in regard
to our proposition that the rebels were all
democrats when they went into the war
" to destroy the government, and we do not
expect them to change their natures and
instincts politically" which convicts it of
a want of candor 1t says in reply:
Now, THE REPUBLICAN should have known
that its statement was not correct. Generals
: LEE, JOHNSTON, EARLY, HAMPTON and many
of the military leaders were wings. WILLIAM
c. RIvEs, BEN HILL, A. r. BoTELER aud many
other southern statesmen of that day were
wings also. Tens of thousand of the southern
people who went with their section on that
issue had been lifelong wings.
The Yirgiaidn need not to be told that
the whig party had no national existence
when the rebellion eusued. There were
but two parties then-the republican and
the democratic-and not a single republi-
can, either north or south, raised his hand
in rebellion against the union. LEE, JOHN
sToN, EARLY and HAMPToN-were prominent
in democratic rebellion, and the shroud
of dead party will not shield them from
their true political relation and response
bility. These prominent men stepped from
the tomb of the whig party into demo.
cratic rebellion, and surviving that, they
stepped out of ii into the democratic party
where they are now distinguished above
union men because they are democrats
We take no satisfaction in discussing public
questions with an adversary which resorts
to subterfuges and glides like an eel from
one point to another when fairly routed
from its positions,