Semi-weekly North-Carolina standard., 1852-12-29


his party friends in their dsorganizng and revolu
the House in thrilling tones to rescind the order
for adjournment and thus prevent the. state of
disorganization which the government was
rapidly rushing. He alluded to period during
the war with Great Britain, when measure was
pending involving the character Of the country,
and when Henry Clay, in doubt as to the result of
the vote, suddenly appeared in the midst of the
members holding his watch in his hand, and ex-
claiming count the minutes which my coun-
try's honor has to live !"-and he called upon
members to bear in mind that similar crisis was
upon us-that the minutes might be counted dur
ing which the State government was to go for
ward in its accustomed path, or go down IN contu-
sion and revolution. At this point, about half
past eleven o'clock, Mr.. Puryear offered Resolu-
ton proposing to send message to the Senate to
rescind the Joint agreement to adjourn at twelve
o'clock and Mr.. Speaker Baxter entertained the
Resolution and put the question on it, in violation,
as he stated of the rules of order. He bore test-
mony, at the same time, to the disposition evinced
on the part of the Democrats to act in spirit of
Justice ON the subject of the Senatorial Districts,
and said he was panied at the conduct of his Wing
friends. The Resolution adopted, the Senate
concurred, the hour for adjournment sine die was
fixed at twelve o'clock on Thursday, the next day
and soon after the two Houses adjourned.
On Thursday the struggle was renewed. The
bill was amended, by which the Wings gained,
and having been read the second time, the revolu-
tionary leaders insisted that the rules should be
suspended So as to give it third reading before
twelve o'clock. They threatened again and again
to dissolve the government if the House should
refuse to yield to their demands and within about
ten minutes of twelve O'clock message re-
ceived from the Senate proposing to rescind the
joint order to adjourn at that hour, and fixing
NJ onday the 9th as the day for adjourning. Here
again Mr.. Speaker Baxter interposed. He enter
tained the message, and put the question on it in
violation of the rules of order. The House con-
cured in the Senates proposition, and the revou-
ton averted.
Mr.. Speaker Baxter then asked to be heard
lie stated that he had witnessed the recent strug-
gle with pain-that he had sympathized with his
Wing friends in their efforts to obtain justice from
their political opponents; but, having seen dis
position on the part of Democratic members to do
Justice, he had taken upon himself the authority
to violate the rules of the House with the view of
preventing dissolution of the government. He
concluded by resigning his place as Speaker, and
by calling Mr. Puryear to the Chair. He did this,
he sad out of respect to his political friends who
had placed him in the Chair, and against whose
course he had just been compelled, by sense Of
dusy, to take such decided action. Mr.. Cherry
here rose and declared that he had been advised
to the course he had pursued by the Speaker,
among others; that the Speaker had urged him to
stand forward as he had done; and MIR. Miller, of
Caldwell, said the same in substance.
On Friday morning Mr.. Baxter was reelected
Speaker, all the Wings and several Democrats vot-
ing for him. The Democrats generally voted for
Mr.. Avery of Burke. On resuming the Chair
Mr.. Baxter delivered an address, in the course of
which he said that several Democrats had urged
him to arrest the movements of those who were
about to produce a revolution, and had declared to
him that they would stand by him at all hazards );
and he complained that some of these Democrats
had voted against him. 1t is doubtless true that
Democrats did urge him to arrest the revolution,
and did promise to stand by him in the course he
pursued but they did not know at that time, that
Mr. Baxter was party to the revolutionary move
ment. They thus urged him, and thus pledged
themselves before Mr. Cherry spoke on Thursday :;
but after what Mr.. Cherry had said, though they
respected Mr.. Baxter for what he did when the
House was about to be adjourned by the violent
and factious conduct of his party, still they could
not support him for reelection Speaker because
in so doing they considered they might be held
responsible as endorsers of his conduct in this mat
ter from first to last. This is the reason why Mr.
Baxter was not unanimously reelected. If he had
resisted in the outset the revolutionary action of
his party, and had proved true at first he did in
the end to law and order, no voice would have
been raised against him but, as it was, he could
not reasonably expect that his political opponents
would vote, party, to reinstate him.
And now, what will the honest, law-abiding
people of North Carolina say to these things? If
that Legislature had adjourned sine die without
laying off the Senatorial Districts, the government
would have been dissolved, for the simple reason
that, according to the Constitution, the Senatorial
Districts cannot be laid off at the second session
after 1851. What then9 Why, Convention
would have been the inevitable result. The Gov