Harper's Weekly. A Journal of Civilization.
IX
455
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1865
SINGLE COPIES TEN CENTS. $4,00 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1865, by Harper & Brothers, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
THE MEETING IN RICHMOND.
We publish on page 580 a sketch, by Mr. J. R. Hamilton, of the mass meeting of the citizens of Richmond, held on August 29, in the beautiful Capitol grounds of that city. The object of the meeting was ostensibly to give a denial to the imputations so frequently made, in the press of the North, that the loyalty of the people of Virginia, in spite of their protestations, is but of a sullen, discontented, and ephemeral nature. Judge William H. Lyons presided at the meeting, which adopted a series of resolutions expressive of the people's unfeigned loyalty and devotion to the Union; and speeches were made by Judge Lyons, R. T. Daniel, late Prosecuting-Attorney for the Commonwealth, W. H. Macfarland, President of the late Farmer's Bank, and the Hon. James Lyons, member of the late Confederate Congress.
The meeting, although large (there may have been some 500 or 600 present, a large number of
THE COURT-ROOM IN WHICH CAPTAIN WIRZ, THE ANDERSONVILLE JAILER, IS BEING TRIED AT WASHINGTON. — [See Page 582]
whom were colored), was not by any means either as numerous or enthusiastic as might have been desired, considering that the occasion was one of the most important that ever convened the citizens of Richmond together; and, looking to the objects proposed, it was a circumstance to be regretted. On the platform, however, were many of the most prominent men of the city and State, and nearly all the leading members of the press, under whose auspices the whole movement may be said to have been inaugurated. At the conclusion of the meeting a committee of three — Messrs. W. H. Macfarland, Robert Ridgway, and Charles Palmer — were appointed to present the resolutions to President Johnson, and to request him to visit the city of Richmond.
The large central building against which the speaker's platform was erected is the celebrated Capitol, containing the Senate Chamber, the House of Representatives, and all the various offices so recently occupied by the Confederate Government. The view presented being from the beautifully wooded grounds of the Governor's mansion, the latter is, of course, not visible. To the right of the picture is seen Crawford's celebrated bronze statue of Washington, with its base surrounded by some of Virginia's great men, also in bronze. The church beyond with the tall steeple is St. Paul's, the Episcopal church which Jefferson Davis usually attended, and where he was seated when he received the telegram from General Lee, announcing that all further resistance was useless. Down in the hollow, to the left of the picture, is seen the upper part of the Custom-house, in which is also at present located the Post-office, the National Bank of Virginia, and the First National Bank of Richmond. Although the Capitol grounds are not spacious, and are not at present in the fine order in which they were formerly kept, few cities in the world possess a spot in their midst more attractive and full of natural beauty.
The meeting at Richmond, while it shows that many prominent citizens of Virginia have sufficient common-sense to see the folly of secession, does not materially alter the situation as presented in the late election. We can not expect that the ideas of Virginians or of the citizens of any other Southern State are to be reversed by their defeat on the battle-field. We have now to oppose in politics the very heresy which we have defeated in a hundred severe battles. We have settled conclusively the question whether the union of States shall be maintained. But there remains much yet to be settled in regard to the prerogatives of the several States as related to the General Government. The English Revolution was not consummated by the victories of Cromwell and the decapitation of Charles the First, but in the peaceful victory of the English people forty years later, when William of Orange succeeded James the Second. Fortunately for us the Slave Power can have no restoration: with the removal of the cause of our troubles our future is ultimately secure.
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"Harper's Weekly. A Journal of Civilization / Volume IX, Issue 455." In the digital collection Harper's Weekly. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/0061498.0009.455. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 27, 2025.
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