Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1858-10-23

snd Raleigh was. by all Odds the first man Of his
Na; IN England. bright as that day was. After the
day! ,ment of the colony Of North Carolina, its in.
sstan,s we're remarkable for their love of ndepen-
dsn, character frank and candid quiet and well
GU, and Industrious community is so fully es.
ouTsbed. we can, without any feelings Of uneasiness
hU.nsitiyeness recur to such statements as these
o. the year 1871 the colonial governor Burlington
.n official dispatch to his home government says
~ .rhe peope of North Carolina are neither to be
.,;ned or outwitted. Whenever governor attempts
eg fleet anything by this means, he will lose his
hor and show his ignorance.
hv The inhabitants Of North Carolina are not in.
,,.,rious, but subtle and crafty; always behaved
ea[nlenty to their Governors; some they have i'm
rsoned others they have drove out of the country,
pa at other times set up Governor of their own
h,ce supported by men I'D arms
When the dividing line run between Virginia
ID North Carolina one of the commissioners an.
noined by the former State, William Byrd, in his
History of the Dividing Line" says. 1.-The bor-
aers hid it to heart If their land was taken in Vir.
mia they chose much rather to belong to Carolina
Sbere they pay no tribute to God or to Caesar"
As he may have felt pique against the borderers
and jealousy towards State preferred to his own.
his words ought probably to be accepted with grains
Of allowance We will therefore take only half the
statement to be true, the latter half for those who
are readest to resist the demands of an usurping
fenOer homage
due to the Creator and the Governor of the Universe
We should naturally expect such a people to be
among the first and boldest to resist those aggres.
sons of Great Britain which led to the Revolution
Accordingly in the year 1765, on the passage of the
stamp act Col John Ashe, Speaker of the House of
Commons of North Carolina, informed Gov Tryon
that the law would be resisted to euerv ertent. On
the arrival of the British sloop-of war, Diligence, in
the Cape Fear, he and Col. Waddell, at the head of
q body o: the citizens of the counties of New Han
over and Brunswick, marched down in a body,
frightened the Captain of the ship that he did not
attempt to land the stamp paper, seized her boat,
and carried it. with flag flying, to Wilmington and
the whole town was illuminated that night. On the
next day they marched to the Governors House,
and demanded that Gov. Tryon should desst from
all attempts to execute the Stamp Act and obliged
him to deliver up Houston, the Stamp Master for
North Carolina. Having seized upon him, they car
red him to the public market house and compelled
him TO take oath to attempt to execute his
Office as Stamp Master.
1t nearly ten years after this act, that the
Boston tea party assembled, when a number of the
citizens, disguised as Indians, went on board ship
and threw overheard the tea imported in her. This
latter act done in the night time by in dis
guse. and was directed against defenseless ship
But the North Carolina movement, ten years earlier
in point of time. occurred in open day. and was
made against the Governor himself, ensconced in
his palace. and by men who scorned all Disguise
While both deeds meritorious on account of
their daring and also the motives Of the actors that
at Boston partook of the stealthy manner of the
cautious fox, while the North Carolina act resem-
bled the lofty bearing of the lordly lion whose def
ant roar sends challenge loud to all that oppose his
way And yet the one occurrence has been lauded
unsparingly, while the other is scarcely known out
of the limits of our State. Historians, whose main
object has been elevate other States have ignored
it, because of its brancy. 1t has been suggested,
however. by way of excuse for this, that the tea
movement led Immediately to a collision of arms.
But will any man pretend that blow which merely
irates an adversary and causes him to make an
attack is more meritorious than decided as
to overawe him and compel him 10 retreat?
The same spirit continued to animate our people,
and led to the uprising of the Regulators resist
the oppressive taxation and exactions of the colonial
government. 1t was on the 18th day of May, It'll
that the battle of the Aamance fought, in which
more than three thousand men were engaged. Here
occurred the first collision of arms between Great
Britain and erTebelious colonies, and here shed
the first blood of the American Revolution. Though
superiority of arms and discipline enabled Governor
Iryon to win the victory, yet such was the terror
inspired by the movement, that he required the peo
pie, in all the middle and upper parts of the State
to be drawn out in batalons, and to take oath o
allegiance to the British government, In addition
to this, the prominent men were most suspected
were notified from time to time to appear at eacl
court, and renew the oath to sustain the govern
ment As the contest waxed warmer and warme
between the colonies and the mother country, thu
spirit Of our people continued TO rise And on thu
Goth of May, 1775, the citizens of Meckenburg
more than year in advance of the general Decara
ton, proclaimed Independence, and, at subsequen
meeting, perfected their system Of government
The conduct Of her SONS throughout the who'll
struggle, vindicated the opinion expressed by Lore
Corvallis and Col. Tarlton, that Meck!enburg wa
the most rebeous county in America. Such
18th Mo f,r Ap1r Iocl
son.
As the first blood of the Revolutionary contes
had been shed in State in it the first victor.
was won. in the we'll fought battle Of Moore's Creek
on the 9th of February. 1776 Nor were the exer
tons of our citizens confined to their territory
Gen. Francis Nash and Col. Edward Buncombe CAV
up their lives the soil of Pennsylvania, and a
the battle of Entaw the North Carolina militia main
tanned the fight, in the open field, against greatly
superior force of British regulars, SO long, and 81
obstinatey refused to retire, when ordered by thei
officers, that the commander in-chief declared tina
their conduct would have done honor to PRUSSIA
veterans. And when the gloomy cloud of British
domination was moving steadily on from the north
east like the dark shadow Of an eclipse, it PAUSED
before it reached our western border. The tide o
our enemies success recoed from the base of thos
unknown mountains" and became refuent whel
Ferguson fell. Soon after in the bloody battle q
Guilford. the power of CORVALLIS, the ablest ant
most dangerous of enemies was broken, and h
retired with dropping spirits, to the side to be
come captive.
That North Carolina declined. for nearly two year
alter its formation, to become member Of our pre-
sent Union, is in no respect to her dscredit Hav
Ing profted by her own experience, she was slow t
part with the right of absolute selfgovernment, ant
nnaliy, only adopted the Federal Constitution, afte
Important amendments had been made. And SHOULD
from any cause, fail to afford her that protection
70 which she is entitled. the spirit which animated
ner early colonists, which resisted the Stamp Ac
ana other British aggressons, and rose still highe
ready to indicate the great principles of civil lib
erty That she may be spared the necessity of new
exertions to that end ought to be the wish Of all he
sons The whole human race is largely intereste
IN the result Of our present system. and should
oe successful, there will be presented such an En-
Eula >a>l. 4ioao hncx we