Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1856-06-18
com,tuH1cAr1oNs.
For the Standard.

For the Standard.
THE DISCUSSION AT HALIFAX.
MrssKs ED1roRs: According to previous appoint.
,ent the candidates for Governor met in discussion
At Halifax on Saturday the 9TH inst As happened
TO be present propose to detail some of the incl.
dents of the occasion, and TO give you synopsis OF
the points made by each speaker.
stranger to the people of this section. The nigh
position he occupied at the bar, and his great ab-
" "a a public speaker were within the scope OF their
actual knowledge. Although they had never heard
Mr. Gimer, yet he was preceded by the reputation
of an able artful and eloquent stump orator Great
Enthusiastically as it their irst appoint
ment in the East
At an early hour great many citizens from the
surrounding country had collected and the arrival
of the extra trains increased the crowd to large
number. Among the strangers present we noticed
tho Editors of the Wilmington journal and South
ern Sentinel They sat through the whole discus
sion, and took, as we thought, full notes..
The Court room was occupied during the greater
part of the morning by meeting Of the Know No
thing party-a previous meeting of the same party
having been held the same morning, as venerable
gentleman announced, but ohere we suppose is
known only to the initiated. At one o'clock the
after few preliminary remarks, took up the ques'
ton Of
FREE SUFFRAGE.
He gave the history of this proposed amendment
to tho Constitution-avowed himself now, as he had
always been, in favor of it. He exposed the course
of his competitor thereon-showing that Whie ne
pretended to be the better free suffrage man OF the
two, he had uniformly voted against the bill. He
examined Mr.. Gilmer's project of an open Conven-
ton. He would say here, as he had said in other
places. that the idea of Convention is hopeless
and that the agitation of the question, as well as OF
the various amendments which had been proposed
to the Free Suffrage BILL was intended by its oppo-
nents solely to defeat it.
Gov Bragg next referred to the subject Oh
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
On this subject he said that all understood his po-
stion-that his views are to be found in his lnau-
gural Address-to that he referred the people, and
he stood by the principles there announced-he did
not speak with double tongue-he had the same
language for the East that he had for the West
Gov Bragg then proceeded to discuss Mr.. Gii-
mer's project of a
MONSTER STATE BANK,
Such as had been advocated by his competitor
throughout the canyass-to be based partly on
State bonds and Railroad stocks-making large pro-
fits and paying so much into the State Treasury as
to obviate the necessity of taxation he (Gov
Bragg had been asked by his competitor it ne was
in favor of such a bank; but he had called on MIR.
Gmer in vain to specify some precise plan-to give
him definite outline SO that he might be able to
see the monster in all its huge proportions and to
answer Understandings. For his part, he said, he
could not see how the people were to be benefited
by any scheme of the sort-that he thought they
had better pay their taxes to the sheriff than to
bank officers swarmng all over the country.
During this part Of the discussion Mr.. Gilmer
interrupted Gov. Bragg and said, that he had new
er advocated railroad stock as any basis for bank
Gov B. replied that he had SO understood him, and
that he believed Mr.. Gilmer was wholly mistaken.
Mr.. Gmer still insisting that Gov. Bragg had mis-
understood him, Gov. Bragg said he was willing to
West7
The Governor then followed with an
EXPOSURE OF KNOW NoTH1NGsM.
In this part of his speech Gov. Bragg was pecu-
liarly happy. He exposed the whole machinery of
the Order-ts horrd oaths and its total abnegation
of all individual liberty. He showed how danger
GUS such an organization must be to free inst-
tutions, and how we'll calculated to subvert our
whole political system-reading from the Consttu-
ton, rituals, and books Of the order and comment
ing as he read. We were reminded of the eloquent
denunciations of Gov. Wise; and we noticed the
more prominent members of the Order sneaking
out of sight and out of hearing to bear the
castgati6n which was being inflicted on them.
The last topic discussed by Gov. Bragg was the
present state of parties in relation to slavery and
the position of his competitor as to the Kansas-Ne-
braska act. He went into a searching and power
full analysis of the state of parties on this point
proving the total Identification of Northern Know
Nothingsm with black Republicanism. He went on
to show that the contest for the Presidency must
evidently lie between the Democratic nominee and
that of the black Republicans; and he depicted in
eloquent language the suicidal policy of Southern
men throwing away their votes on Fillmore, who
could not possibly be elected; and thus, perhaps,
contributing to the defeat cf that party in whose
success the South could only hope for safety Gov.
Rrapp next defended the NehraSka hill ond co,o
mented on the course of his opponent in denouncing
that misunderstanding that he occupied the same
ground thereon as Sumner Hale and Seward-and,
finally, he closed an exceedingly able and effective
speech, which was listended to with unAagging at
tention throughout, by endorsing the nomination of
Buchanan, and reading from the Democratic plat.
form of 1856
When MIR. Glmer arose to speak there was an ev-
ident anxiety to hear him. The writer, aware of
his high reputation and of the vantage ground of
reply, expected to hear from him able as well as
an artul speech. 1t must be confessed, however,
mentation-he did not throughout the whole of it.
state premise boldly and carry out to its logical
conclusion. On the other hand, many things were
said by him unworthy alike of his talents and fame.
Once for all we quote remark made by Mr.. Gilmer
at the opening of bis Speech to the effect that Gov
Bragg had spoken highly of Buchanan, and had
been in the habit of eulogzing Pierce, and vet he
would not be surprised to hear the Governor saw
that to turn him out was the very best thing that
could have been done for the country" at this
the initiated applauded. Well there is no dspu-
ting as to tastes.
1t will be recolected that Gov. Bragg made no
charge whatever fsectionalisns against Mr. Gilmer
yet the latter consumed considerable of his time IN
defending himself against charges of that sort made
he said, by the organ of the party" at Raleigh
de went on to show that the Western Address had
served its purpose, and might be regarded as among
the things that were He attempted to defend his
course on the Free Suffrage bl-saying that if the
ba should pass in it's present state there wond he
no constitutional protection against the UNEQUAL tax
alton OF lsnd-that his amendment was designed tn