Year: 1866

1
remember him as one of her greatest bene.
progress and results of the late disastrou.
civil war. elived TO hear of the fallo Rich
mond and the surrender of Lee. With the
calm serenity Of Cato, he argued his righ,
to take his life and having resolved not tc
survive the liberties of his country, he fol.
lowed the example Of the illustrious Ro.
man. Let US cover with the veil of charity
the inirmity Of great intellect, unba.
lanced by public and private grief, and
finally overwhelmed by sense of the Ut
ter ruin of his country.


You have been called together, fellow.
citizens, from every part of this great
Commonwealth for consultation, not On po-
litical subjects, which are transient in their
nature, and with which we have now small
concern, but upon those great and abiding
interests which%Hafin oil times to come,
affect the happiness of our families and
the comfort of our domestic firesides. To
treat with brevity and clearness so great a
variety OF topics in q single address is a
difficult task, and my effort shall be not to
exhaust the subject, which would be inn
possible, but, by suggesting thoughts to
others, to call forth the matured views OF
the many distinguished gentlemen in this
assembly whose experience and wisdom so
eminently fit them for counsellors in this
season of public calamity.


We have assembled, my friends, at q
period of general gleom and dependency.
The public heart is faint, the energies OF
the people are paralyzed. But, instead OF
being discouraged, | find in this deep
despondency my chief consolation l auger
from it, not failure, but success. Our
prospects seem dark, but our affairs are by
no means desperate. If each one Of us
had exerted all his energies; if VIC had
seized on our affairs with resolution, and
made persistent effort to retrieve them
if, instead Of being panic-stricken by a
sudden calamity, and folding our arms in
apathy and Indifference, we had reused
ourselves to the full measure of our ca
pacity; if all had been done which could
be done; even if one individual had eX-
erted all the powers of a sound intellect
and strong will in well-directed efforts to
retrieve his affairs, and signally failed,
too, would give way to dependency. But
/ have witnessed no such general effort, |
have seen no such instance Of signal failure,
and my sincere conviction is that it is not
only unmanly, but unwise to despair.


: l admit that there is no little'cause for
uneasiness, in the general Indebtedness of
the people, and the eagerness with which
creditors are pursuing their unfortunate
debtors. Let us not make ourselves un-
happy because we have no power to re-
lieve the people. We must trust to our
representatives in the General Assembly
to interpose shield for their pro-
lection. They will doubtless do all that
can be done consistent with consti-
tutional duty and public and private
honor for their relief. They will do
their best to make an honorable compro
mise between creditors and debtors; they
will repeal all those statutes which, in the
present calamtous condition of the coun-
try, operate too harshly on that numerous
and unfortunate class of our fellow-citizens /;
especially will they repeal or modify that
statute which gives to courts of equity
general jurisdiction over judgment liens,
and under which, if unaltered, thousands
of our best citizens, with their families, will
be turned out of doors, their cherished
homes exposed to public sale, and the scant
proceeds distributed among greedy crcdi-
tors, without satisfying tithe Of their de-
mands.


Land, labor, and money, or the floating
capital necessary for the successful man
agcmcnt of our agricultural operations,
under the new order of things, are the sub
iects which now demand the most thought
full attention of the farmers of Virginia.
We should bring to their consideration
views large, comprehensive, philosophical,
and practical, or we cannot hope for a
satisfactory solution of the many Difficult
ties that encompass them.


We are not without advisers at home and
abroad who offer us their friendly sugges-
tions, but we should beware of too hastily
following their counsel. Most of them be-
gin their advice by the stereotypcd remark,
"Thc great evil, is you have too much land.
Sell your lands and pay your debts, and
don't be particular about price. Sell
low, and you will insure purchasers"
That the farmers Of Virginia are not
averse to paying their debts, and are quite
willing to sell their lands at fair price, is
manifest from the crowded advertising
columns of the newspapers, and from the
books of the numerous land agents, who
are overwhelmed with applications to sel..
But there are two parties to sale of land,
as of everything else. Sellers are abun.
dant enough, but where are purchasers to
be found! Our own people have not
money to buy, and those from abroad can
not be induced to invest, at fair prices, du-
ring the present unsettled condition of pub
lie affairs. The effect of this advice, if fol-
lowed, would be to settle up our estates
suddenly, to send us into voluntary bank
ruptcy, and to cause us to sell our lands at
a nominal price under the delusive idea
that we are thereby paying our just debts.
| will oppose to this advice the counsel of
him who has been called the "wisest OF
mankind Lord Bacon, in his essay on
expense, thus quantity expresses himself
"In closing up mans estate, he may as
we'll hurt himself by being too sudden as
in letting it run on too long; for hasty SELL
ing is often as disadvantageous as interest.
Besides, he that cleareth at once will re-
lapse; for finding himself ont of straits, he
will revert to his customs; but he that
cleareth by degrees induceth q habit OF
frugality, and gaineth as well upon his
mind as upon his estate"


Other advisers tell us that our lands
must be divided into small farms the halls
of ancient hospitality must be abandoned
the elegance and refinement of manners
that have heretofore distinguished the
families of the country must retire to the
cities and towns, and the race of country
gentlemen become extinct. If such senti-
ments had been uttered by enemies abroad
we might afford to pass them by unnoticed, ,
but when they are sincerely entertained,