The North-Carolina standard., 1843-11-08
From the Raleigh Register.

To the EIttOr OF the Wilmington Chronicle:
In an editorial ARTICLE, which appeared in your
paper sometime since, my name was mentioned in
connection with the History of North Carolina.
Protracted Illness and consequent accumulation OF
duties, have hitherto prevented my giving the due
degree of attention to your enquiries. have at
no time contemplated task of the nature sugges-
ted, and do not concur with you in the opinion,
that am we'll qualified for the performance of it.
l have some fondness for antiquarian research,
however, and the indulgence of this propensity
has probably produced the impression that as
pired to the higher and more arduous Office of
Historian.
cannot justly make pretensions to either very
extensive, or very accurate knowledge of the ear
ly history of this State. There is no one who
can. The researches of Judge MARTIN, Mr.
BANCROFT, the Rev. DIR, HAWKS and J. S. JONES,
in this unexplored field, have not been frutesS,
and yet a very slight examination will satisfy any
one how little is known in comparison with what
may be ascertained You are certainly correct
in supposing, that our early history cannot be
written from any sources of information accessi-
bic on this side the Atlantic. 1t would be very
easy to show this by an analysis of the attempts of
WILLIAMSON and MARTIN. The latter is much
the more systematic and accurate of the two. He
possessed advantages moreover, not to be attained
by any one at the present day, who limits his re-
searches to our own country. and 1t may be long
before we will have another historian, who will
deVote equal ability, learning, patience and persc
verance to the subjcrt All our public records
were, under Resolution of the General Assem-
bly,, subjected to hi< scrutiny more than half
century ago. The Letter Book and documents of
THoMAs POLLOCK, President of the Council in
17l2. the papers of GABRIEL JOHNSON, Cover
nor Of the Province from 1874 TO 1852 and of
MATTHEW Rowan, who, as President of the
Council, entered upon the duties of the Executive
department in the following year together with
many papers obtained during various journeys un-
dertaken for this purpose, underwent his examina-
ton. Ofthese public records, some of the most
interesting are not now to be found. Many of the
private papers arc in his POSSESSION in New Or
leans, "not In condition of being useful to any
but him who collected thcm," and a still greater
number, are probably either lost or widely dis
persed among the drscen lanls of those who origi-
nally placed them in his possession.
The success which crowned the efforts of both
WILLIAMSON and MARTIN, may be inferred, to
some extent, from the following extracts from
BANCRoFF's United States, Vol II, Chap XIII ::
THE accounts in the historians of North Caro-
lima are confused As far as | can learn, no me-
MORALS of the earliest settlers remain have no
document older than 1863 and no exact account
which can trust older than 1862, p 1874, (Note)
MARTIN l. 13s, says George Drummond.-l
HENNfNG Ii, 266, Identifies the man and settles
the question W1LLIAsoM |, 1l9, is even more
inaccurate than MARTIN; he says DRUMMoND
died in the colony. So carelcssfy has the history
of North Carolina been written, thatthe name, the
merits and the end of its first governor are not
known" MARTINS is certainly meagre work.
and yet careful examination has satisfied me-
that he made the most of his opportunities. The
publication by HENNING of the Statutes at large
of Virginia, subsequently, to the composition of
MARTINS History, enabled BANCROFT to ascer-
tain the true name and some incidents in the tragi-
cal history of our first Governor But can he, or
can any one else, pronounce confidently the name.
or declare the merits or end of either of the three
immediate successors of DRUMMoND2 Who is |
able to inform us when where and by whom, N. |
Carolina was first settled, or give connected ac-
count of CULPEPPER's rebellion in 1877, or even
OF CARY's in 1902 From the date of the first |
charter ofCarolina in 1868, until the Colony pass.
ed under the government If the Crown, in 1929, |
our history not merely remains to be written, but
the materials for it are yet to be ascertaincd and
procured. e
To what extent the late Judge MURpHEv pros
ecuted his historical enquiries. | have not the
means of ascertaining very accu rately, am sat,
lshed, however, that he arrived late in life at the
conclusion, that all attempts at history, in the ex-
Istlng state ofour knowledge the subject, would
be idle. In the winter of 1867 he visited Ra-
leigh, and submitted his Memorial, in relation to
his projected work, TO the General Assembly At
he same time, he procured the adoption of a Res
olution, requesting the Governor to make applica-
ion to the British Government for liberty to pro-
cure for the use of the State, from the Office of
he Board of Trade and Plantations in London.
copies of such papers and documents as related to
he Colonial history of North Carolina 1t is a
ortunate circumstance, that this application was
made at . time when we had Minister at the
Court of st. James, so peculiarly qualified and
heartily disposed to promote the object as the dis
President of the Historical Society off
New York On the 25th August, 1927, he trans. I
nitted communication TO Gov. BuRToN, accom-
anied by manuscript index of Colonial papers.
overing about 400 foolscap pages relating to the
eriod between 1929 and 1776 1 can we'll i'm :
gine the transport with which Judge MURPHEv !
you'd have welcomed this.folio, and the intense i
interest with which he would have scanned its no h
es.@ There is too much reason to believe. how
yer, that although itsreached the Executive 0e r
artment in the autumn of 1927, and he lived un- :
February, 1882, no such enjoyment was in t.
ore for him. From 1927, until the session of :.
le last General Assembly, the document excited
uch deeper interest, and was more extensively r
nown abroad than at home. Gov MoREHEAD F
Icceeded last winter attracting the attention of
le Library Committee to it, and the Legislature.
ith commendable unanimity, directed its pubicas
,n, under the supervision of the Public Treasu-
r. This duty has been well and accurately per- y