Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1854-03-24

Cemu<rxIzf Conventions
At The sisk of being thougft unpaniotic OF some /
,h;nv If the kind ne musa freely confess ourselves
soeticaI in regard 10 the various coIanaereai con
yentioas which have been called and Of which We have
heard 50 much throBgnout the South and Soaan"esa'
of late days, from those sections which may expect
in some way TO turn them 10 their own advantage
4 convention assembled some tine ago al 8enphs'
and for The life Of rs We could not discover and have
not YET discovered particle of good which has re-
suited from ii OF which Is likely TO result from it
True good many resolutions passed expressive
of opinion but not Indicative of aetion-srue aiso
New Orleans and Baltimore aad other places put forth
their claims to the character and position OF the In
posfum at The South, AMI Memphis insisted that she
should be the starting point 70. any railroad intended
TO connect The waters OF the Mississippi With the shores
at the Pacifc and then the convention after much
talking and some drumming for trade ajoaTEe and
The next convention Is 10 Be in Charleston, and 50 TAI
a human foresight can discover IS likely 20 adjourn
with about the same results Charleston and Baitl-
trying stretch their 10 the valley q
lie Mississippi 7nI thus draw Of trade from New
Orleans which i Just the same neither more nor less,
with what the Northern Cities are doing Charles
ton New Orleans and Baltimore are open and aFo*ed
rivals aud competitors and IN ! convention the only
matualitv among them will De a mutual desire TO
oyerreach each other and honey fugge other south
ern towns into allowing themselves 10 become their
tenders Baltimore for instance has for some tine
past been talking Of league Of the cities Of the Chesa
peake-ia plain terms merger OF Norfolk, Ports
mouth and The rest il Baltm3re: Charleston may
talk OF The interest Of Carolina that Is to say OF
~ HzroIina will
knowledge her supremacy, while at the time her
press teens with the evidences of irritation and Ill!
feeling towards work carried by sister town in
face OF al he diseouagernent she should could ofer
the Manchester Road Topteserve North Carolina
from being made merely strip Of land between two
States il has been matter Of more immediate neceS
sty guard against the encr0aehHaents OF her next
door neighbours than her more distant eom-
peritoTs q: the North The feeling OF Stale pride and
individuality in her commercial relations which her
truest sons have s.rigen = awaken, and which her
present progress IS fast buiLng up, is quite likely
to be weakened strengthened BY participation in
conventions BY which We can have nothing TO gam.
aad may possibly not escape loss
Trade 5 selfish, Il neither asks nor grants faEorz
All that We NAV be able to achieve must BE- the re-
wards Of energy and prudence, not the boon Of
cession. And stand not alone in this respect Ii
is the inevitable condition Of success with which al
must comply
The difficulty with all conventions 10 Be composed
OF 50 many discortaut elements having many diff
fereuces of local interest : that the field
Of vague generaites has been gone over- and an y
thing real. tangible and practical Is sought 20 Il
complisbed. the tug Of war commemorative beau
ful harmony OF The generaiities : an ent-every
local nteres, brises up in seIidefence-he pet pro
jects of the bigger places for swallowing the little
places " for the good Of the cause begin to stick
out and-that-s all.
Southern commerce must be built Up elsewhere a
we begin to understand that il be built up i.
North Caroiina-by stimulating production through
;he means Of cheap AMI convenient avenues . mar
ket. and markets by making them the outlet and ihle
Tor prosperous sections of country These and suct
like the means, and not talking conventions
What convention that has assembled with big nam
would have taken any other interest in North Caro-
M vvorks than see how they could be tapped am
: diverted .o Tie oanefs of her Heghbors II Their
have been such. We have not heari Of them
However I'VE will see how the thing operates W
feel certain that he results wili-bear Us out.