Semi-weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1852-1853, 1852-07-31

! What will the people of Arson, Wake, New
Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Wayne,
Greene, Lenoir Granville, BERTHE, Franklin, Nash,
Edgecombe Warren, Caswell, Person, Chatham,
Perquin1ons, Pasquotank, Gates, Chowan, Halifax,
Martin, Beaufort, Hyde, Pitt, Washington, North
ampton, and Johnston say to these things? Are
you fellowcitizens, for open Con vention, to be
called on the Federal basis-a basis on which the
West already has the power by eight or ten major
ity9 Are you for Convention to be assembled
for the purpose and with the view of changing the
present Senatorial basis of pure taxation to mix
ed basis? Are you ready, merely for the sake of
party, to sanction these things? Do you stand
prepared to endorse Mr.. Kerrs "moral power :"
doctrine? We beg leave to repeat what we said in
our last on this question: Mr. Kerr holds that the
majority vote will devolve upon the Assembly a
great moral and political obligation which that
body ought not to diregard. This is question,
ellowcitizens neither of morals nor of politics,
but of CONSTITUTIONAL LAW and what can ''moral
obligations have to do with it? Are we to have
the "higher laaO" thus early in North Carolina =?
Are we to be told when discussing a grave ques-
ton of Constitutional law, that we are morally "
bound to do SO and so, IN opposition to the plain
letter of the Constitution? Feow-citizens, BE-
WARE! Yield this point now-lsten, if you will,
and be deceived and misled by this cant about
moral obligations" and there is no telling what
the next step may be! If this "naoral" poaOer
majority doctrine of Mr.. Kerr change your Con-
stitution in one respect, IT CAN IN ANOTHER! Be-
aOore BeaOare! 1t is the slight trickle of water,
not broader than ones finger, over the levee, which
marks the beginning of the vast sluce that over
whelms and destroys every thing in its course.
BeaCare!
Again: Free Suffrage will ;njure no existing
interest. 1t is not sectional but general question.
1t does not touch, nor can it be made, under any
circumstances, to touch the basis. 1t is question
of Suffrage, and not of political power between
sections or communities. If adopted, the Counties
above-named will have just the same number of
Senators thereafter they have now and the only
difference will be, that all citizens who pay taxes
will vote for Senator'S. Who can object to that /?
Your Senate is based on taxation of all kinds, and
it is therefore but just and right that all persons
taxed should be allowed to vote for Senators. This
is what Gov. Reid proposes, and he is in favor of
carrying out this amendment, according to the
Constitution. He is for the Free Suffrage bill
passed at the last session of the Legislature Ithat
bill should receive a two-thirds vote at the next
session. it will be at put before the people, be
approved by them, and become portion of the
State Constitution but if Gov. Reid should be de-
feated in August and this bill should fail to pass
the next Legislature, aOhat a0iU be the probable
resuh9 Will the fifty thousand non-landholders
of the State acait four gears longer? Felow-citi-
zens, we call upon you reading and rejecting men,
to think seriously of these things and to 6eacare
Every vote for DAVID S. REID will be vote
for Free Suffrage and against Convention; and
every vote for John Kerr will be a vote for Con-
vention and against Free Suffrage Keep that
before the people, and let every body hear it at
the polls, on the day of election.
We challenge the Wing Editors and orators,
who are in the habit of denouncing our statements
locofoco falsehoods, to deny, dispute, or con-
trovert single fact above set forth. We haze
proved every thing zoe haze asserted by Wing o~-
thority; and again point the public to the
Raleigh Register (the Wing organ) of the 2ath
of July, containing PROOF CONCLUSIVE THAT
JOHN KERR is IN FAVOR OF AN OPEN AND UN-
RESTRICTED CONVENTION.