Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1854-05-13
For the Standard.
GEN. DocKERY IN COLUMBUS.
WnrrEvILr, N. G., April 8, 1854.

q ,rogress Of Whirpery and Dockery in Columbus.
On the Sd of May, being the day appointed by t'ls
General to address the citizens OF TINS county, :
small audience ct though few, " assembled IN the
Court Room to hear the redontable champion, and
were favored with one of his peculiar displays o.
windy talk and noisy demonstrations.
He commenced his harangue by complaining Of
ulocal politicians" and Mr.. Braggs strikers,
whom he had the pleasure of occasionally meeting
on his eectioneering tour, | imagine; and one
would suppose, from the deep moan which ne SET
up chat ne had received rather rough usage at inc
hands of some of these strikers he was pleaSeu
to term them and that in some of the rubs he had
accidentally been hurt and was still suHerlng anu
expecting to suffer, under the same ana s'h'iai
stings.
He said that he was in favor of Free Suffrage ana
of calling Convention for the purpose OF getting "
that he was for the Conventional mode, because II
was the cheapest and most eXPeoiuOuS' anu tu'' -
aConvention were called, the Old and wise, ana eA
nerienced men of the State would be brought out
and elected to discharge the high and responsible
duty of amending and altering the C"hS'''u r.
That he was opposed to the Legislative mode Oh get
ting Free Suffrage, because it was anti-repuDncan
and because the legislatures were composed OF ira,
ding traficking "politicians," "demag0g"es, ana
"mere bows who were fond of spTeelng, so as to
unfit themselves for business-that they naa no
care nor concern for the welfare OF the state anu
would neglect the interest-of their constituency at
home-that they were not lit to make laws under
the Constitution much less to alter or amend IL anu
that "the Democratic party, as party, was res
ponsibe for the defeat of Free Suffrage at the ls'
session of the Legislature.
He next took up the Land hobby, and said he was
in favor of Distribution and wanted North Carolina
to have her share of the public lands, or their pro-
ceeds-that there We're thousands and minors OF
acres belonging to her; that he wanted them to
checker North Carolina with railroads, &c. tie
then went through the regular routine OF msrePre-
sensations and deceptive illustrations concerning the
squanderng of the public lands, and the railroahs
built in the Western or States by donations OF
public lands made by Congress- usually resorted to
bv Wing leaders. No would imagine from
what the General said, that the alternate section
system of disposing of the public lands, ny which
the general government loses nothing had ever been
adopted And after a very labored effort to defend
and Sustain his untenable positions, with the stale
and shollow arguments usually Sc forth, he conclu-
ded by saying that he had finally convinced himself
that he the old General ought to be elected Govern
CT of North Carolina.
5ut it seems he could not have thirgs entirely his
own way. One of those resoute prosecutors, for
whom he exhibits little Partially, and whom he
calls strikers was again at hand to haraSS and be-
devil him. For, upon the conclusion of the Gene
rails windy talk our young and talented townsman
F. George, ESQ.,, after modest and Pleasing intro
ductory, in which he regretted the inability of Mr.
Bragg to be present and answer for himself, made
most effeclal erpcse of the soPhistry of his ill
lustrious predecessor and the hollow professions of
Whiggery in general. He followed his opponent
through al his tortuous windngs pointed to his
glaring inconsistencies and completely demolish
ed him all the issues made, that the General
would not reply to his arguments. In his reply,
Mr. George examined the reasons assigned by the
General for his being in favor of the Conventional
mode of altering or amending the Constitution and
showed conclusively that the proposition to call
Convention to alter that instrument had already
cost the State much Free Suffrage-that it had
been made in every Legislature in which Free Suf-
frage lad been proposed by Legislative enactment,
and had signally failed aften made, and then
demanded where was the cheapness, the expedition,
or even the hope of obtaining Free Suffrage by Con-
vention !? He further asked the General if he had
not voted for the anti-repubcan mode of altering
Convention of 1885? The General replied he had
not Whereupon Mr.. George put the question to
him. Did he or did he not, vote for the Constitution
as amended by that Convention with this anti-re
publican mode he called it in it? The General adj
mitted that he did. Mr.. George then showed the
of the Conventional modc-that when
we submit to a Convention, should be compelled,
in order to get such amendments desired, to
take others that we were opposed to and did not de-
slre-that we could not get the " Strawberries and
cream, without dose of arsenic with them - but
the General being Of great " firmncss of pur-
pose and strength of intellect" shut his eyes, and in
1880 swallowed poison and all. He then complete
y exposed the game attempted by the wings in Or
der to shirI the responsibility of defeating Free Suf
rage IN the last Legislature and if possible to throw
t on the democrats. He showed that while every
democrat in the House of Commons voted for the
Free Suffrage BILL tacenty,fre sohigs! were against
THAT while every democrat in the Senate, except
speaker Edwards (27) sustained it, twenty-five
Senators voted in favor of every movement
hat tended to defeat the BILL until it came UP its
merits, when six of them voted for the bill, not as
some OF them said, because they in favor of it.
'ut because they knew the Speaker opposed to
t, and wanted to make tie, so to get him (the
9peaker) to kill it-thus showing that, while every
democrat m the Legislature but Edwards, favored
ne bill forty-seven wings opposed it. And yet, in
he face of all these facts the General charged the
democratic party with the defeat of the bill-a
'lece OF obstinate injustice in admirable keeping
With his known character for rmness of purpose"
Notwithstanding the General charged that the |
legislature was composed of mere boIs, trading
oonuclans, and demagngues, the whig party, in the
MIDST of its collected wisdom, called upon this Le-
gslature of boys, politicians and denagogues to re-
trict this Convention of potent, grave, and reve-
end selgnlors and say to them, thus far shalt
hou go, and no farther
He demonstrated clearly that if the lands belong
d to the States in their united federal character
hen the general government as the agent of the |
states had no authority to distribute among Them
or their individual, separate use, fund derived |
rom property held in their united federal character
vithoutea special power for that purpose; which |
power, he clearly showed was found neither in the
ieeds OF cession nor in the Constitution For the
ieed OF cesson from Virginia. under the articles of
expressly declares the proceeds aris-
nS rom the lands to be common fund and that |
lqnd shall be applied to the use and bene-
IL OF lhe Ontca States in their federal character
according to their usual respective proportion in the
general charge and expenditure |
he ionoWeu out his argument at considerable |
engtn, ana with 2 variety of illustrations: so that
whatever else may be thought about the distribution
Of the public lands, but few who heard him could |
1oubt its being unconstitutional ONN !
T. IL 4 - T