Staunton Spectator

If a soldier deserts the army he suffers the penalty of death. If desertion on the part of a soldier renders him deserving of death, what penalty should be indicted upon those Senators who are now resigning their seats and deserting their posts of duty, when, by so doing, they are betraying the trusts confided to them, and surrendering the government into the hands of the enemies of Southern institutions. If they remain steadfast at their posts and faithful to their constituents, the enemies of the South can do us no possible injury, as the Senators can control all the appointments of the Executive to suit themselves. Any Senator who, under these circumstances, should voluntarily desert his post of duty should be deemed a traitor to the South.

Actions speak louder than words, and the mere professions of fidelity to the South should be deemed false and hypocritical on the part of those who surrender the power of appointment into the hands of the Black Republican President. They profess to be the friends of the South, par excellence, and whilst expressing their devotion to the South, they surrender the citadel which effectually protects the South, and become thereby the indirect allies of the Black Republicans, for it will serve the purposes of the latter just as well to get the majority in the Senate by the desertion of the Southern Senators as by election on the part of Black Republican Legislatures. It seems that some of the disunion Senators are determined to do for the Republicans that which they could not do themselves, to wit: give them a majority in the Senate that they may have the power to make appointments to suit themselves without regard to the rights or wishes of the South.