Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1854-07-29
mr.. Graham, the Federalist.

The Hillsborough Recorder says Mr.. Graham :" is
willing" to see Free Suffrage established, provided
the Constitution is amended at the same time as
to protect the landholders against oppressive taxa
ton; and that paper of Wednesday has the assur-
ance to attempt argument in favor of this propo-
sition.
1t is now provided by the Constitution that each
Commoner shall possess in fee one hundred acres of
land, and each Senator theee hundred acres 1t is
not proposed by the advocates of Free Suffrage to
alter that instrument in this respect Is not this, of
ITSELF sufficient guarantee that the andhoders will
not be oppressed, even admitting disposition on
the part of the non-landholders to Cypress them
Is 1T to be reasonably supposed that landhotders,
themselves representatives. soouM cote IN the Legisla
ture to impose uadue and uniust burdens upon the
lands? But suppose they were to do so, would not
all classes at feel it in the enhanced prices of
produce? Would not the landholders increase their
rents? Whoever owns the soil in free country
like this, where restrictions sales and trade are
unknown holds power over all other classes and in
terests.
There in this State about forty thousand free
hold against fifty thousand. Commons voters.
These freehold voters go to the Senatorial
box, and by and of themselves elect fifty Senators
and then they turn to the Commons box and cast
forty thousand votes for the Commons. They, there.
ore substantially control both branches of the As-
sem6Iv; or, if they do not they might, bya comb-
nation, assume all power to themselves. And yet
called upon by these Federalists to protect
the fifty freeholders before extending to all free
white men the right to vote for Senatorsl
But deny that the non-freeholders would, if
they had the power, Cypress the freeholders There
are thousands of persons, owners of millions of dol
lars worth of real estate, who not ftyacre free
embrace in their number merchants lawyers, ply
sicians, mechanics schoolmasters, miners, editors
&C., who dependent for success and prosperity
on the landed interests generally. A simple state
ment of such facts amounts to unanswerable
gument. No, the truth is Mr.. Graham and his mouth
piece, the Recorder, fear tile people-dOu6t their
pacity for gocernment, and aoish to protect the
people against Themselves That is the secret. And
this, too, from man who, though cautious and cold
has been made all that he is by the peope-voted
for by the non-freeholders of Orange-honored by
the Commons voters, as we'll by the freeholders,
with two elections to the Chief Magistracy of the
State and lastly sustained by hundreds of thousands
of nonfreeholders throughout the Republic for the
second Office in the gift of the people! Now he
turns his back upon them-now he declares, when
canvassng for the favors Of privileged class, that
he fears, unless the fifty protected, all
other classes Of citizens aoiH combine to i'ure
and oppress them Away with such Federalism
such distrust of the popular power as this! But it
is worthy, in every respect, of the man who voted
in 1884 against extending to the people the right
to elect their Governor.