Weekly North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1858, 1857-04-15
The Free Suffrage Acts.

Ihe Free Suffrage ACtSs
We publish below the act passed at the last ses-
sion to amend the Constitution of the State, and also
the supplementary act, passed at the same session.
to take the of the people Of the State relative
to the proposed amendment.
The amendment proposed our readers are
aware, passed the Legislature of 1915, by three
fifs vote, and the last Legislature by two-thrds
4 vote of all the members Of the two Houses. The
next step will be TO submit the proposed amend
1lnent to the freemen of the Stae-that is, to al!
persons qualified to vote for members of the House
&of Commons, for their approval or rejection; and
this will be done the first Thursday in August
next, the day on which the people will elect meIn-
bers of the federal House of Representatives II the
people approve the amendment, "the Governor shall
cause to he endorsed on the said amendment as
rolled by the two houses of the General Assembly,
and shall annex thereto a certificate usder his sig
nature declaring the said amendment has been
ratified by the people Of North Carolina; and the
Secretary Of State shall countersgn the said certi6
cate and thereto the great seal Of the State
s and the said amendment, enrolled with the GER
tifcate aforesaid shall be forever kept among the
archives of the State, in the Office of the Secretary
" aforesaid"
County Courts of the State section I'd of the sup
4plementary act, which requires them, at their first
term after the first day of April, 1857, to appoint
sinspectors for the Free Suffrage box. We take it
for granted that this duty will be performed in all
Il the Counties, and that it is only necessary to call
the attention of the Courts to the law. The Sherffs
will also observe that certain duties enjoncd
them by tae supplementary act; ; and that failure
81 TO perform these duties, according to the require
mens of the act, will subject the officer failing to
4 forfeiture of one thousand dollars.
That the people of the State will ratify this pro-
posed amendment, we have not the slightest doubt.
/ We shall look for majority of from THIE.TY to
FIFTY THOUSAND VOTES in its favor. In or:
der, however, to ensure that immense majority
which is due to the itself, and to the great
party under whose favor and bv whose persistent
and patriotic advocacy it has gone forward towards
bits consummation, it will be necessary that its friends
%in all portions of the State should be the alert,
*and should to it that the character of the
sure is thoroughly understood by every voter.
~ We recollect with pride that it fell lot to
81 write the first Editorial that appeared in favor of
a this measure. Nine years ago unfured the Free
q Suffrage banner, with the of its nobe-heared
q author, DAVID S. REID, inscribed upon it. Tha,
3 banner has never heen lowered. Swayng here and
there flashing in the thickest of the conflict at all
Z. points where victory in doubt, it has been a.
Sonce the cause and the signal of success. The
mighty hand of the people held the flagstaff and the
flag was, therefore, SAFE The great principle which
Hit represented was and then defeated but each
aefeat added to its strength. We never saw the
Pay when we doubted its triumph and had it failed
p 1854 or in 1856, should again have taken it
up and contended for it with the old ardor and en-.
4husiasm OF 1913. We knew 1T wouM triumph.
Truth and justice belong to no particular time, bnt
the whole sweep of years is theirs and if they fall
to day, they will rise Tomorrow. This measure is
THE pEoPLEs-the honor of having originated it be-
longs to the Democratic party.
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, at the session Of the last General A.
eembly. begun and held at Raleigh, the third
Monday of November, in the year of our Lord one
Thousand eight hundred aud fifty four. bill entitled
"a bill to amend the Constitution of the State of
North-Carolina was read three times in each house
of the said General Assembly, and agreed to by
hree-fItths of the whole number of members of each
house respectively: and whereas, the bill agreed
o. hath been duly published six months previous to
ne election of the members of this present General
ssenby, according to the clause of section one of
.uce .four of the amended constitution, and the
iec'ions rec contained in the second section of the
~ oh and it is the intention by this bill to agree
~, "e preamble and first section of the bill afore-
g w. containing the said alteration of the constitu
3 VII VI thls State: and Whereas a large number of
ie people are distranchsed by the freehold quail
eaton now required Of voters for members Of the
enate; therefore,