The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1880-08-26
PRESIDENTIAL TICKET.
Gen. Hampton's Last.

We publish elsewhere letter received from
Gen. Wade Hampton late last evening, in re-
spouse to one addressed to him by the junior
editor of the Varyinian. =
Gen. Hampton rightly surmises that we will
not refuse to do 'Justice to political oppo-
nent," In a long experience in journalism,
we have been governed by the golden rule of
doing unto others as we would have others do
unto us, and at this late day in our life we
would not depart from it for any earthly con-
sideration.
We cannot discover in the sentences which
are furnished by Gen. Hampton, anything to
modify our impression of the sentiment he
enunciated in the Opera House on the Goth of
July The writer of these lines was an atten-
tive listener to the closing part of his speech.
Almost every sentence be uttered was received
with applause by his audience, until he gave
expression to the words and sentiments which
have occasoned the present controversy. A
slight manifestation was made in one part of
the house by not more than two or three of his
hearers, but the general effect was as though
the ardor of his audience had been stunned
and the applause was not renewed until he
was bowling himself from the stand. The word
''vote" was not used, according to our recol
lection and the memorandum we took at the
time 1t was what would the Southern sol
diers who had died and Lee and Jackson "do'
in such an emergency, when the same prlncl
pies they fought for were on trial, as they
were in this contest.
That Gen. Hampton's memory is defective
about the whole matter is evidenced by the
fact that he had accepted the report OF the 'torh
as correct, when the gentleman who made
that report says ii was not published as taker
down and written out by him and furnished tC
the World. If he could be mistaken in this
then he is Just as liable to error in the othel
reference That he is at fault in the matter a
issue, we are as confident as that we have al
existence.
We certainly differ from Gen. Hampton il
his assumption that the issues involved in tht
late war have nothing to do with the Nation
al Democratic party. The theory of State
sovereignty maintained by the Southern De
mocracy, is precisely that which was Joined il
the conflict Of arms, and which it was be
lieved had been finally settled in the result o
that conflict National authority as expressed
in the amendments to the Constitution, is de
fled in his own State, in denying the either
the free exercise of the elective privilege az
guaranteed by the Constitution. 1t was fla
GRAVITY denied in the recent election in Ala
ND JafSa xrl,o 10 1xhnp hf
pledged in the Cincinnati Convention, the 13e
electoral votes from a solid South for Gen
Hancock
We call attention particularly to Gen. Hamp
toms disclaimer of the authorship of the par
agraph which conveyed disrespect to the pr-
gilman and which was furnished by the Wash
ington Post and greedily accepted by the New
York World and Baltimore Gazette, Having
disclaimed its authorship, it follows that for
gerry has been committed, and we leave thu
responsibility for this criminal wrong to bt
located by the parties most interested.
We have fully discussed the general thought
conveyed in Gen. Hampton's speech in anoth
er article, which was in type before his lettel
was received. We have noticed also, lettel
written by him to a prominent Democrat" o
Glenwood, Iowa. With our understanding o
his language uttered in Staunton its connec
ton and the sentiment it conveyed, we can SCI
nothing in the letter published to-day, to re
uuire a modification of anything We have
said
Had not the paragraph applying disrespect
full epithets to the editor of the Vaayl'adI'' ano
purporting to be an extract from letter o
Gen. Hampton, been the text for bitter as
saults upon this paper by the partizan press
the country the spirit of the editorial articles
to-day would have been more moderate but thu
substance would have renamed, for there il
nothing in what we have yet seen to chang
our opinion of the speech delivered in thu
Opera House in Staunton on the Goth of July
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