The daily dispatch. [volume], March 09, 1865, Image 1

About The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884

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VOLUME XXVIII.
4
gtirfrmenu- gispiclj.
BY J. A. OOWARDIN A CO.
Ty*M» or urssTßtPTiox :
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tion.
THURSDAY MOUNINO MARCH !», ISM.
Without presuming to intrude into the
province of the clergy, we may conceive
it possible that some of them will, to
morrow, give us a text from the book of
Job. It is not the only book in the in
spired record, by any means, that is
suitable to that occasion. It is impossi
ble, indeed, to open a book or a chapter
of the sacred volume that does not teach
a lesson of submission and fortitude, and
'•vindicate the ways of God to man."
A very learned man says : 4< He hath
observed, in the histories of all ages, that
the great events which determine the fate
of great afTairs do happen less frequently,
according to (human) design, than by
(what are called) accident and occasion,
our enterprises here below are derived
from above ; and we are but engines and
actors of pieces that are composed in
]leaven. Homo kittrio, Devs vera peeta
est: 'God is tne sovereign poet'; and
we cannot refuse the part which he ap
points us to bear in thosscene. All our
business is to act it well; cheerfully
complying with Hisorders concerning
us, and submitting ourselves to the
direction of His Providence."
It is a tradition of the Jews that when
Moses was sent by God into Egypt, and
beheld the grievous atlliction of his people
under Pharaoh, he took tho pains to trans
late the book of Job into their language
out of the Syriac, wherein it was first
written, to comfort them in their lament
able condition. "Be ye constant, oh
children of Israel," said Moses, "do not
faint in your minds, but sutler grief, and
bear these evils patiently, as did that
man whose name was Job ; who, though
lie was a righteous and faithful person,
yet suffered the sorest torment by the
malice of the Devil; as you do now most
unjustly from Pharaoh and the Egyp
tians. Do not despair of a better condi
tion ; you shall be delivered as Jobwwats t
and have a reward of your tribulations,
like that which God gave to ni-n." To
which it is added by a Christian writer,
that the early Christian Church was
wont to read the book of Job upon
fasting days and days, of abstinence, an 1
of the days commemorative of our Sa
viour's sufferings, of which they thought
they saw a figure in the sufferings of
Job; as of our Saviour's resurrection
and exaltation, in Job's wonderful re->
covery and advancement to a greater
height of prosperity. The same writer
adds: " Bat the principal benefit which
I hope the alllicted will reap by this
book is, to be persuaded thereby that
all things are ordered and disposed by
Almighty God; without whose com
mand or permission, neither good angels,
nor the Devil, nor men, nor any other
creature, can do anything. And that
as His power is infinite, so is His wisdom
and goodness; which is able to bring
good out of evil. And therefore we
ought not to complain of Him in any
condition, as if He neglected us, or dealt
hardly with us; but rather cheerfully
submit ourselves to His blessed will;
which never doeth anything without rea
son, though we cannot always compre
hend it. To that issue God himself
at last Wings all the disputes between
Job and his friends; representing His
works throughout the world to be so
wonderful and unaccountable that it is
tit for us to acknowledge our ignorance,
but never accuse His providence ; if we
<*nnot see the cause why He sends afflic
tion, or continues it long upon Us; in
stead of murmuring or complaining, in
such a case, this book effectually teaches
■C to resign ourselves absolutely to
Him j silently to adore and reverence
the unsearcUble depth of Mia wise
«ounseU; contentedly to bear what He
inflicts upon us; still to assert His
DAILY
righteousness, in the midst of the calam
ities which befall the good, and in the
most prosperous successes of the wicked;
and steadfastly to believe that all, at
last, shall turn to our advantage, if, like
His servant Job, we persevere in faith
and hope and patience."
The condition of Job in his prosperity
was not unlike that of many large plant
ers and farmers of the South in, better
dayß. He was rich in land and cattle,
and had large numbers of slaves. The'
most unlimited plenty and hospitality
reigned in his dwelling and the dwell
ings of his family. The birthdays of
his children were celebrated with inno
cent feasting aad merriment, as well as
accompanied by prayer and sacrifice. It
was upon such a man as this—devout,
generous, genial, illustrious for virtue as
for wealth—that the Devil was permitted
to turn loose fire, sword, hurricane, di
sease ; to strip him of children, servants,
prosperity and health ; to make him an
object of scorn to his own friends, and
to reduce him so low in the regards of
men that he exclaimed: " They that
are younger than I have me in derision,
whose fathers I would have disdained to
sot with the dogs of my flock." " And
now am I their song, yet, I am their by
word." How many a Southern patriarch,
exiled from his home, and bereft of his
possessions, can look back with Job, and
say: "Oh that I were'as in months past,
as in the days when God preserved me,"
4 * when the Almighty was yet with me,
whey my children were about me, when
I washed my steps with butter, and the
rock poured me out rivers of oil." Yet,
amidst all his reverses and humiliations,
Job did not deny tho Providence of God ;
he bore his disasters with resolution,
with resignation, and even with hearty
thanksgiving.
If such a man could be permitted thus
to suffer,sand could conclude that the
best of men are but vile in the sight of
God, we of-this generation can scarcely
present any superior claims to the indul
gence of Heaven. The purest and noblest
of our people, who have been reduced
from allhrence to poverty, and are
mourning over better days, may well
exclaim : v What, shall we receive good
at the hands of the Lord, and shall we
not suffer evil f* and heed the counsel
of St. Basil: " Remember all the past
happiness thou hast enjoyed, and oppose
better unto worse. No man's life is en
tirely and thoroughly happy. If thou
art grieved at what is present, fetch thy
comfort from what thou hast received
before. Now thou weepest, but formerly
thou didst laugh ; now thou art poor,
but there was a time when thou wantedst
nothing. Then thou drankest of the
pure fountain of life; be content and
drink now more patiently of the troubled
waters. Behold the rivers, their streams
are not clear in all places; and our life,
thou knowest, is like to one of them,
which slides away continually,|and is oft
times full of waves, which come rolling
one upon another : one part of this river
is passed by, and another is running on
its course. This part of it is gushing
out from the fountain, and the next is
ready to follow as soon as it is gone,—
And thus we are all making great haste
to the common sea; Death, I mean,
which swallows up all at last."
The London Timet remarks that
whether Poland was made over to Rus
sia in the last settlement of Europe as a
trust or a gift, it has certainly proved a
fatal possession. Poland, says the
Times, has been ruled by three Russian
Emperors since 1815, and has been a
difficulty to all of them. Alexander
and Nicholas would have left better
names in history had they not been
Kings of Poland. The judgment Eu
rope has passod on them has been mate
rially influenced by the system of. go
vernment they authorized or permitted
in this portion of their dominions. It
identified the Russian power and the
Russian name with the worst kind of
despotism, and made it a kind of terror
to the nations of the, West To repel
any further encroachments, in any di
rection, by such a Government, appeared
worth every sacrifice, and the feeling at
last found expression in the war, from
the effects of which Russia hss not yet
recovered. France, England and Ger
many judged the whole tendency of
Russian policy by what Poland suffered
under it more than by the internal ad
ministration of Russia itself. And what
material advantage hat the GoTcn-ment
RICHMOND, VA., THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 9, 1865.
of the Emperor derived from the posses
sion of Poland to compensate for the
Europe ? It has not added
to the strength of the empire nor its
prosperity. In peace, it was alwsys ne
cessary to keep a large army in Poland.
It has always been garrisoned and occu-*
pied as a hostile territory.
Poor and discontented, the history of
the connection of Poland with Russia is
one unvarying record of calamity to both
nations. Contact, as rulers, with a mqpe
civilized people than themselves seems
only to have developed all that is barba
rous in the Russian qharacter. A people
with any capacity for governing would
have found some better mode of adminis
tration possible than the brute force
which can only destroy what it finds ex
isting—even us own prosperity. If tbe
authority ©f a Government can only be
maintained by exterminating its subjects,
something higher than the obligations
of treaties is violated. The Russians are
now to Poland what the Turks were to
Hungary. Government, in the ordinary
sense of tho word, has ceased to exist ~
Russiahas lost everything that makes
the possession of a territory an advan
tage. The army it is obliged to keep up
must absorb more than the revenue of
the kingdom. Commerce, agriculture,
every kind of enterprise, is perishing.
It would be an incalculable gain to Rus
sia if she abandoned the kingdom of
Poland to itself; to govern it, even by
the sword, against the hostility of the
whole population, is impossible.
If there be a science of government,
adds the Times, the Russians seem to be
most deficient in it. That Government
seems to have no principle or expedient
at command except the savage process
of exterminating all opposed \p it The
operation is not so easy as the extermi
nators imagine. The attempt to Rus
sianize Poland has now been carried on
for thirty years, and has ended, so far,
by leaving Russia with nothing in Poland
but its army. The immediate appeal to
forco, Lays tho Times, indicates a want
ot the high qualities of statesmanship
Governments were made for men; but
the Russian idea is that man was made
for the Government, and that the human
race must be exterminated rather than
its peculiar system should be modified
or abandoned.
The New York Tribune' publishes a
long report, read by 11. W. Beecher to
his congregation, of a meeting between
Hon. E. If. Stanton, United States Secre
tary of War, and General Sherman, on
the one part, "and a number of colored
class leaders, deacons and divines, on
the other." This latter body chose
44 Garrison Frazier, a colored gontleman,"
to make answer to the inquiries of the
white men touching the ideas of war, of
the rebels, and of the United States Go
vernment, prevalent among the colored
population of the South. The report is
manufactured with little ingenuity, the
language put in the mouths of the
African interlocutors being quite equal
in correctness and appropriateness to
any which Mr. Beecher himself could em
ploy. Of course the sentiments "ex
pressed an opposition to slavery and to
tho rebel Government, and warm friend
ship to the United States. Being asked
in what manner they would rather
live,-—whether scattered am9hg the
whites, or in colonies by themselves, —
the reply was that they would prefer to
live by themselves. Being asked what
would be the effect if the rebel leaders
were to arm the slaves, the reply was
that, in their opinion, " they would
fight as long as they were before the
bayonet, and just as soon as they could
get away they would desert," which is
what white men sometimes do. They
were not asked—at least there is no re
cord of it—whether, if offered their
freedom and a home, they would be
faithful. It is not likely that such
shrewd interrogators as Stanton aqd
Sherman could have overlooked such a
question, and perhaps he got an answer
which it is not thought advisable to pub
lish. Being, asked what was the under
standing of the colored, people of the
mode of enlistment in the rebel States
by State agents; under the act of the
Federal Congress, the reply was, " that
colored persons enlisted by State agents
are enlisted as substitutes, and give
credit to the States, and do not swell the
army, because every black man enlisted
Iby a State agent lea?ts a white man at
DISPATCH
home; and, also, that larger bounties
are given or promised by State agents
than are given by the States. The great
object should be to push through this
rebellion the*shortest way, and there
seems to be something wanting in the
enlistment by State agents, for it does not
strengthen the army, but takes one ajray
for every colored man enlisted.
"Eleventh: State what, in your opin
ion, is the best way to enlist colored men
for soldiers.
"Antwer: I think, sir, that all com
pulsory operations should be put a stop
to. The ministers would talk to them,
and the young men would enlist It is
my opinion that it would be far better
for the State agents to stay at home, and
the enlistments to be made for the United
States under the direction of General
Sherman."
General Sherman having retired, the
question was asked: " What is the feel
ing of the colored people in regard to
General Sherman; and how far do they
regard his sentiments and actions as
friendly to their rights and interests, or
otherwise V " '
. "Answer: We looked upon General
Sherman, prior to his arrival, as a man, in
the providence of God, specially set apart
to accomplish this work, and we unani
mously feel inexpressible gratitude to
him, looking upon him as a man that
should be honored for the faithful per
formance of his duty. Some, of va called
upon him immediately upon his arrival,
and it is probajble he would not meet the
Secretary with more courtesy than he
met us. His.conduct and deportment
toward us characterized him as a friend
and a gentleman. 'We have confidence
in General Sherman, .and think that
what concerns us could not be under
better hands. This is our opinion now
from the short acquaintance and interest
we have had. (Mr. Lynch states that,
with his limited acquaintance with Ge
neral Sherman, he is uwvillhig to express
an opinion. All others present declare
their agreement with Mr. Fra_ier about
General Sherman.)"
This is the substance of the long re
port read by Mr. Beecher in support of
the right of the black man to universal
suffrage. lie stated that tho document
W*a a tu<rl><(ltt>h phonogr_j>l«io report of
the questions that were put and the an
swers elicited. But for that statement
there might be some doubt about the
"verbatim" part of the business.
"The negroes may he aa -assrior race up North, j
but not down here by a good deal "
So says the Charleston correspondent'
of the New York 'Tribune. What has
made the difference ? Why is it that
those who have been trained in the
school of freedom are inferior to those
who have been trained in the school of
slavery ?
The leading commercial and manufac-1
turing men in the North must look with j
considerable solicitude at tho anticipated
consummation of abolition triumph- in r
those States whose peculiar products
have made tho United States one of the
first commercial and manufacturing na- I
tions of modern times. The probable I
amount of cotton and rico which will be
raised by free labor is a most interesting
question to solve. At best, it is notcer-1
tain that voluntary negro labor will equal j
the amount produced by slave labor. —
Experiments in other countries are not
encouraging. St. Domingo and Jamaica J
are calculated to beget a certain degree
of despondency. There is a possibility
that the newly-emancipated Africans
may be of opinion that they have worked
enough all their lives, and that the time
has come for rest and recreation. We
do not know that we have any right to
an opinion on the subject, but we have
sometimes suspectivl or imagined-that
there is a lack of energy and enterprise
in the African constitution, taken as a
whole, and that, with occasional excep*
tions, it prefers, a contemplative to an
active life. If it should turn out that,
after becoming free, they will work no
more than is n eoessary to supply the
few wants of man in a fertile country,
it would be a sad trial to the commer
cial and manufacturing interests." The
United Sta tee would, in that event, be no
longer the great cotton and commerce
Republic, and would become a very com
monplaeu, Canadian kind of country.
Its decline in material power and great
ness would be oompensated, however, by
tbe demon* coloration of bating »• I
v •
crificed such paltry coiwideratfons as
national prosperity and individual wealth
at the sacred shrine of Philanthropy.
MEETING OF THE PEOPLE, OP
HENRICO. ■
In Henrico County Court this day, on
the motion of the Commonwealth's At*
torney, John B. Young, Esq., the session
of the court and grand jury was ad
journed for a short time, to give place to
a general meeting of the people, for the
purpose of devising ways and means for
obtaining supplies for the Army of 1
Northern Virginia.
On motion of Mr. Young, John Net
tles, Esq., presiding* justice, was ap
pointed chairman, and Mr. James T.
Redd appointed secretary.
Before entering upon the proposed
the following preamble and
resolutions, offered by Colonel Thomas
11. Ellis, were adopted; without discus-*
sion: _
* Whereas, the Congresfe of the Con
federate States, for reasons declared by
joint resolution, have invited the people
of these States to assemble in public
meetings and manifest anew their spirit
of devotion to the cause of Independence,
we, the people of Henrico county,- do
therefore resolve:
I. " That having taken up arms in
the beginning of this war from a convic
tion of right, and impelled by a seme of
duty and honor, we meet the conse
quences now without despondency or
complaint; that the difficulties and em
barrassments with which we contend, and
the disasters which have befallen uu, do
but inspire us with a firmer determina
tion to devote our efforts and resources
to resist the inhuman warfare still waged
against us ; and that, accepting the du
ties imposed upon US by the. present
season of- trial and adversity, we pledge
ourselves, by every sacrifice of service
and of property, to maintain, as far as
we can, the position of independent sove
reignty which has been assumed by our
State and the Confederacy.
.2. " That recognizing the constancy
and valor of our troops heretofore, we
urge them, by all the privations and suf
ferings they have endured, by the
memory of their comrades who lave
fallen, and by the glories of their un
equal contest, to nerve themselves for
further and even greater ( efforts here
after, so that (citizens and soldiers alike
performing their full duty) the world
may know that we are a people resolved
upon independence, and worthy of its
blessings.
r>. ** i'ha f , considering the cause and
course of this war, we should regard a
reconstruction of the Union upon any
terms as simply shame and dishonor.
4. " mat it is tne duty ol those who
remain at home to aid in supporting the
families of our needy soldiers ; and there
fore we promise such systematic mea
sures, in this regard, as may seem to be
necessary and proper.
5. "That we have unshaken confi
dence in the ability, patriotism and devo
tion of President Davis; and applauding
him for what he has accomplished in
furtherance and support of our country's
cause, we would cheer and sustain him I
in the performance of tho high duties of
his responsible office.
6. ** That tho appointn-ont of Gonaral
Lee as General-in Chief of the Armies of
the Confederate States is received by us
with great satisfaction; we confide in his
ability to use to the utmost polsible ad
vantage the means placed at his disposal;
and we trust that ho may be preserved
from all peril, to glorify with us the only
Giver of all victory.
7. "That with reference to the em
ployment of negroes as soldiers in our
army we defer to the opinion of the
General-in-Chief that it is expedient and |
necessary—and therefore we will not
withhold from him such an element of
strength; it being our purpose to dedi
cate the whole power of the country to
drive back the invader and secure the
triumph of our arms.
8. 4 * That we welcome to our midst
our returned prisoners of war, whose
loyalty and fortitude, evinced under
the most trying circumstances, entitle
them to- our admiration, sympathy and
respect
y. *« That the Congress of the Con
federate States having invited the Pre»i- j
dent to appoint a day of public fasting,
humiliation and prayer, with thanks
giving, and the President having ap
pointed the 10th instant for that purpose,
we accept it as a solemn duty, and will
Kthe day in a becoming spirit
foung then introduced to the
the Rev. Cornelius Walker, I).
> made a forcible and admirable
on the duty and necessity of con-
X supplies of food for the Army
_crn Vii-giiiia, He sppke of the
as an emergency demanding
vigorous and efficient action;
to the rumors which had lately
d of an-intention on £*J_£_f
ernment to evacuate Richmond,
.ressod the opinion that __£".
tiondemmdsmore upon the people tA
home, more upon their coming up to the
necessity of the occasion, *hf» «I»J «•
SSs 7 at the front He depicted the
consequences of evacuation to the people
of the city and-of the surrounding coun
try- consequences from which there
could be no escape exoept by a course of
individual conduct not to be thought of
in connection with duty and principle.
NUMBER 58.
He appealed toffee people cf titfeoonftty
not to let the heave im who are-Venting
for us—onr rights of property, onr per
sonal safety and onr Independence
suffer for what he was persuaded might
Im, and he was sure ought to be, efecer
fully and immediately contribnted-HWid
he urged upon all to make donations,
sale?, cr loans of sabaJatonco or 1.01107;
to give, it may be, out of their poverty,
even as they had been in the habit of
giving out of their abundance. At 4h#
conclusion of his remarks, ha offered th*
following resolutions for adoption:
1. "Resolved, That tbe Justices of
this Court be authorised tc_ appoint n
committee of three for each macUtirial
d ; strict to make effort for the raising of
further supplies to the army.
2. "Resolved, That said committee be
authorized to receive at once or hereafter
contributions m food or money.**
The resolutions were sustained in ap
propriate remarks by Messrs. Robert A.
Mayo, John N. Davis; John B. Young,
Daniel Radcliffe and WiUiamF. G. Ger
nett, and, having been seconded by
Captain Joseph J. English, were unani
mously adopted.
It was announced that the Bureau of
Subsistence had already appointed
Messrs. William F. D. Garnett, John A.
Hutcheson and George a
committee for Henrico county, to call
the attention of every family to the
wants of the army, and to urge them to
contribute, in some way, as large a por
tion of their supplies as can possibly bo
spared. • __
To act in cooperation with that com*
mittee, the Justices of the Court then
appointed the following committees
under the first resolution offered by tha
Rev. Dr. Walker, to wit:
First District: W. C. Knight, R. A.
Mayo, Jackson F. Childrey.
Second District: Miles Eggleston, Joe.
J. English, P. H. Huffman.
Third District: James M. Carter, D.
S. Delaplaine, George W_ Carter.
Fourth District: B. W. Green, Jr.,
William C. Moncure, Henry Austin.
On motion, the meeting then adjourned.
John Nettles, Chairman.
James T. Redd, Secretary.
GOVERNOR VANCE'S ADDRESS
TO THE PEOPLE OF NORTE
CAROLINA.
The following is the patriotio address
of Governor Vance to the people of
North Carolina, which has been men*
tioned by telegraph:
Fellow citizens,—The necessities of
our country, as represented by our Con
federate authorities, impels me again to
appeal to your generosity.
You are aware that, in consequence of
interruption to our railroad communica
tions by rocent movements of the enemy,
the subsistence of General Lee's army
has become greatly jeopardized. For at
lea3t a few months that army* wi|l have
to*rely for subsistence upon North Ca
rolina and Virginia alone. lam informed
by the Commissary Department that tho
usual methods of collecting supplies will
be insufficient for the purpose.
In reference to this point, I need only
cite the authority of General Lee him* •
self, who writes as follows in regard ton
similar appeal to the people of Virpnia:
" I cannot permit myself to doubt tnat
the people will Tespond to it, when they
reflect upon the alternative presented to
[them. They have simply to choose
I whether they will contribute such com*
1 missary and quartermaster stores as they
can possibly spare to support an army
w.iich has already borne and done so
much in their behalf; or, retaining their
stores, maintain the army of the enemy
engaged in their subjugation. I am
aware that a general obligation of tins
nature rests lightly on most men each
being disposed to leave its discharge to
his neighbor—but lam confident that
our citizens will appreciate thetrwsponsi
bility in the case, and wiU not permit
an army, which, by God's blessing and
their patriotic support, has hitherto re
sisted the efforts of the enemy, to sutler
now through their neglect"
It seems, therefore, that our all de
pends upon the voluntary actionof the
people of North Carolina and Virginia;
and trusting that whatever yen BgJMfr
spare will be promptly and patriotically
brought forward for the use of jreaw
country in its hour of J* "ft*
iog plan is submitted, whichls bcJne;
acted upon in tho State wit*
tho best results. It is *™*£*lh~*'
that provisions will hs wceffSf SKnef as
sales, loans or do_ations: ______
1. Let every citizen who can, pledge
himself to furnish the
soldier for six months, without dsstfrnv
ting any psrtioular aoMler m fee re
cipient of the contribution.
2. Let those thus pledging iMMI.hr 11
furnish, say «8 ht y^ n
one hundred and eighty pennon of Sour*
or their equivalent in beef or meal, net
delivered to the nearest luvislssji/
agent
3. Let the donor bind Ms_sshf tods
liver one-half of tha enaoont above
stated, namely: forty pounds cf hscon
and ninety pounds of flour (or »Ueui£
valeot), inxwudiaUly, and the laujfdnflsr
at the end of three months, unleea ••
prefer to adopt tha hatter
vancing tha whole aseount gpdgan *
WW** _» ._____> I llillll-tl
4 Lot the thrift**
■uh-M-rihls-i and luisnpuss; tns vujsjsssj^
I smamm « m m v .