The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. II., No. 5, April, 1836Various
General
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. II., No. 5, April, 1836
Various
American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals
In our own review alluded to above, we concluded, in the following
words, a list of arguments adduced, _or supposed to be adduced_, in
proof of Virginia's disloyalty.
"6. Virginia was infected with republicanism. She wished to set up
for herself. Thus intent, she demands of Berkeley a distinct
acknowledgment of her Assembly's supremacy. His reply was 'I am but
the servant of the Assembly.' Berkeley, therefore, was republican,
and his tumultuous election proves nothing but the republicanism of
Virginia." To which our reply was thus.
"6. The reasoning here is reasoning in a circle. Virginia is first
declared republican. From this assumed fact, deductions are made
which prove Berkeley so--and Berkeley's republicanism, thus proved,
is made to establish that of Virginia. But Berkeley's answer (from
which Mr. Bancroft has extracted the words, 'I am but the servant of
the Assembly,') runs thus. 'You desire me to do that concerning your
titles and claims to land in this northern part of America, which I
am in no capacity to do: for I am but the servant of the Assembly:
neither do they arrogate to themselves any power farther than the
miserable distractions in England force them to. For when God shall
be pleased to take away and dissipate the unnatural divisions of
their native country, they will immediately return to their
professed obedience.'--_Smith's New York_. It will be seen that Mr.
Bancroft has been disingenuous in quoting only a _portion_ of this
sentence. _The whole_ proves incontestibly that neither Berkeley nor
the Assembly _arrogated to themselves any power beyond what they
were forced to assume by circumstances_--in a word it proves their
loyalty."
We are now, however, fully persuaded that Mr. Bancroft had not only
no intention of representing Virginia as disloyal--but that his
work, closely examined, will not admit of such interpretation. As an
offset to our argument just quoted, we copy the following (the
passage to which our remarks had reference) from page 245 of Mr.
B.'s only published volume.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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