Semi-weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1852-1853, 1852-05-22
sDeech of the Hon. VIM. b: Shepard

An enorossed bill from the House OF Co'hilo 'I
nronosinS to take a vote of the people upon Tue
nropr;ety of calling Convention TO a'iTIu '1te
Constitution being before the oel"'e' WI" "
Shepard spoke rs follows: .,..;o,
have so often, Mr.. Speaker, during tins session
addressed the Senate, that it is with great reluc
lance | again intrude upon it. teel however Cn''
some reply should be made to the remarks OF tl.e
gentleman from Rutherford who has just taken ms
seat. as we'll as to those which fell from the genCle
man from Buncombe on yesterday. Inc Dill upon
your table proposes to take the voice OF a naJo,iy
of the people, upon the proprety OF cuI'inS
yention to amend the Constitution. Inc
ton itself poiuts out precisely the mode OF calling
Conventions. and amending the instrument lhe
,,on+lonap from Rutherford has made the dlscov-
er,- tbot amendments to the Constitution, made
tbrourb the fundamentally of Convention, were
more suitable to the genius OF our people, ana more
republican, than when made by the act OF the Leg
isature, which act IS afterwards 10 De [at'ueo ~
the neople themselves. 1t seems to me- MIR. Speak
or # either of the two modes of amendment, sane
toned by the Constitution can be called partlcu-
larly republican in its character, the one by bill IS
undoubtedly entitled to this distinguishing tralt
When an amendment Is made by an act OF Ine
Legislature which is afterwards submitted 10 tue
people for their approval vote Is taken upon I.ie
PROPOSED measure alone it must stand upon us
own merits, and not rely upon extraneous circum-
Convention be called, the whole Constitution Will
be laid before that body, and such amendments as
it NAV think proper to make, will be submitted III
gross to the people the consequence Will be- some
few nopular amendments will be Incorporated with
Others of doubtful expedency, and the popular a
mendments made to carry Others which, II LETT 10
themselves would not receive the votes OF MAORI
ty of the people | am not, therefore, SIR at all
surprised that both the gentleman from Rutherford
and Buncombe,are so unwilling to see Free Suffrage
by itself and alone, submitted to the people. Ii
thew could have persuaded the Senate to reject the
Free Suffrage bill, and retain it for agitation as
popular Glamour, to urge the necessity for an I'M
limited Convention, they might have stUod some
chance of succeeding. AS it is now, however, when
the cry for Convention is reduced to its own merits
exclusively, think the prospect of success very
small; because there is not in fact, the slightest
necessity for Convention, nor any reason why the
people should be subjected to its unavoidable ex-
pense and turmoil. There is no amendment of the
Constitution desired by constitutional majority
of the people, which cannot be procured more GER
tainlv at a less risk and trouble, by legislative
actment than by Convention. This feature of
our Constitution so far from deserving the denun-
Citations it has received from some gentlemen, is,
in my Judgment, its wisest, its most conservative
feature 1t is the very feature which gives to the
people themselves, the sole and exclusive right of
deciding what and how many amendments shall
be made to the Constitution. The gentleman from
Rutherford says, were Convention called, it would
be composed of the wisdom, the gravity, and the
experience of the State. l am afraid, Sir, should
he live to see a Convention assembled in North
Carolina, his Utopian visions will be sadly disap-
pointed. 1t will be composed of precisely the
same sort of people as those who compose this
Senate a little wiser perhaps probably not much
older, or more experienced, but they will be men,
governed by like passions and prejudces with our
selves each struggling to obtain some power or
advantage for his own section, and thinking it
meritorious to do so. This natural result of
Convention perfectly we'll known to the trainers
of our Constitution, and, for that reason they made
avote of twothirds of the Legislature necessary to
the call; and that it should never be done upon
light and frivolous reasons mode was pointed out
by which the sense of the people could be taken,
upon all proposed amendments.
A very large majority of the people seem to de-
sire Free Suffrage. This subject has been much
discussed in two Gubernatorial campaigns, and
bill has been passed, submitting that question to
the people; should the change be approved of by
such majority as would justify change of the
organic law, it will be made without disturbing
any other feature of the instrument Should It
hereafter be found that decided majority of the
people are in favor of the mode of eIectine the
Judges by the people, or of altering the basis of
representation established let each of these
questions separately and distinctly be submitted to
the people, that they may be fairly discussed and
fully understood by them and then let the vote be
taken upon each proposition by itself 1 do not
wish Convention, where the friends of these mea-
sures could combine, and force the people to take
them all, in order to get some one measure thew
might desire.
1t is, therefore, Mr.. Speaker perfectly manifest,
that so far as amending the Constitution in anv
manner that may be the wish of constitutional
majority of the people of North Carolina, is the
object there is not the slightest necessity for Con-
vention.
Gentlemen, therefore, who are urging Conven-
ton SO vehemently and who will be satisfied with
nothing but Convention, must have some Interior
object in view. They have even spurned Free
Suffrage, the object of their first love, which if
mistake not was, two years ago, so fondly cherish
ed and petted upon this floor by all those valiant
gentlemen who so CALAMITY defended the rights of
the down-trodden and oppressed West. Why is |
this so, Sir! We hight for some time, look for
solution of this mystery, if the gentleman from
Buneombe had not, in his speech yesterday kindly
furnished us with solution / requested the re-
porters to note thatspeech carefully and to publish
1T verbatim, that the whole people of North Caro-
lima might know the real cause of all this uproar
about Convention. 1t seems, then, that a Con-
vention IS desired by the gentleman from Buncombe
and those who act with him. not because the West
IS oppressed by our present Constitution but soelv
TO change the basis Of representation, that the West
a0hach has 1aoaO the command of the House of Com
MONS may ta6ea0ise get control Of the Senate, and
'"e'e, says the gentleman ertend oar BAIL