Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1858-03-31

:
Aessrs. Holden Dc Wilson: .tsS ID. ~
GssrsfhEs: Calls having been made for the pub
LEGATION Of the letter Of the Hon. Jno. w. Ellis to Mr.
W. F. Dsncy, take the liberty, in his absence from
the State to forward to you the original letter ior
place in your columns. ~
Very respectfully. ~ as
80. -. - Your ob'tEservt,
p ~ | NswsERN, Nov. Goth, 1857.
- Mr. DEAR SIR: am Just in the receipt OF your
favor of the End inst, advising me that my name Is
spoken Of in connection with the position OF Chief
Executive of North Carolina" and asking my opn'
ions upon several questions of public nature,
which you PROFOUND, with view to their pubica'
toh. 1 will most cheerfully and frankly answer
your inquiries, upon those questions touching the
general politics Of the country, as have no con-
cealments Of any political sentiments which have
at any period Of my life entertained. And l COM
ply with your request cordially, from the fufther
fact that our personal and political relations have
been of the most intimate character from our ear
lest manhood, and am persuaded it will give you
satisfaction to know that those sentiments are iGen
teal with those entertained by US both at the UNI.
versity of the Safe, when we imbbed the great
principles of Democracy from the same high foun-
tains. YoT must excuse me, however, in declining
your request 10 have them published, for reasons,
which trust, will prove entirely satisfactory to
yourself At this time, the publication of such a
letter from Fne, would look though designed to
place my name before the people of the State, as
Candidate for the high Office to which you refer-an
office always to be nerred and never to be sought
know, on the other hand, that the people have
. right to know the opinions Of the public men of
the country upon all questions Of general concern,
and to call for Them whenever there is any sugges-
ton that those opinions different from those for
merly held, or when new questions arise. upon
which their opinions may not have been previously
Rnto vet 7 have heard intImatlOn
that have abandoned any of those principles that
have guided my political course, and OF when
recorded evidence may be found upon the Journals
oil our General Assembly, and the consistent support
have ever given the nominees OF the Democratic
party Hence it is, that conclude, in the absence
Of any such necessity for publishing letter, such
. publication would be looked upon an indicate
suggestion of my own name for the nomination to
which you refer. certainly consider myself COM
plimented, by the mention of my name in connec-
ton with this high Office, and would feel greatly
honored by the nomination at the hands of the De-
mocratic Convention and would hold myself bound
to render such service to the party as they might
call upon to perform, far my ability will ad-
NIT; vet, at the same time, Ely own sense of pro-
prety, and due regard for the harmony of the par
ty, dsinclines me to being looked upon as candi-
date for that honor
In your first quere, you ask whether "in the
event of a continued "sqaandering " Of the public
LANDS, by donations Railroads and other corpora
tions will GU U favor a measure distributing the
lands themselves, portion of them, among all the
States according to federal population
To answer this enquiry fully and satisfactorily,
it will be necessary that should express my views
generally, though briefly, upon the vexed question
Of the public lands.
The question of land distribution has, from time
to tme been presented to the people of this country
under different garbs each successive scheme being
desgnedly made more attractive by its authors that
it might escape the defeat that attended its predeces
sor yet in them ALL may be discovered the self same
princip'e-the naked principle of distributions
principle founded in the old federal idea of an as
sumption of the State debts by the general govern
ment, and consolidation of all sovereign power in
that government thereby reducing the several States
to mere servient dependencies upon it
The first scheme, and perhaps the most practical
of them ALL if not the most seductive introduce
ed into Congress by Mr. Clay, at the first session af
ter the election of Zen. Harrison, and which was
passed into law. This law provided for the distri-
button of the monies in the public treasury, arising
from the sale of the public lands among the States.
At that same session, and Immediately thereafter
the celebrated tariff law of 1912 was enacted;
whereby the agricultural interests we're more heav
lily taxed than at any previous time in the history
OF the country, and yet this vas done under that
clause of the Constitution which empowers Congress
to "lay and collect duties and imposts for re1enue
purposes
AnSSe t"o laws were d part Vi great w uIS
system of that day-the fruits of their victory of
1s40. But they proved destructive of each other.
The people could not appreciate the wisdom of dis
tributing the public monies from the treasury among
the States with one hand, and collecting it in from
the people with the other, paying heavy percen-
tage, both for collecting and distributing to those
persons who performed this service. They we're
wholly unable to distinguish between that money
in the treasury, which arose from sale of the
public landslide property of the general gov
ernment-and that which resulted from tax upon
imports. But they did see and clearly that with
large number of the Northern members of Con-
eress this draining of the treasury by the dstr-
button law, was mere pretext for filling it up again.
br force of high tariff which would furnish pro.
lection to their manufacturing interests. These laws
never received the sanction of the people, they
both condemned in most emphatic manner BY the
election of Mr. Polk, in 1874, over Mr.. Clay, their
author, and most distinguished advocate and cham
pion. This was one of the most famous struggles
OF the Democratic party struggle, Sir in which you
ana labored side by side, and in which your own
noble County achieved honors to be forgotten
struggle that resulted in a signal victory, whose
fruits were manifested in a repeal of the obnoxious
laws referred to, and bringing back of the Gov
eminent to the original position assigned her by the
constitution OF the country, and in which she had
been maintained by the immortal labors of the Re-
publican party under the lead of Mr.. Jefferson,
against the Vaccinations of the Federasts and where
she must ever be preserved, if preserved she will
be, by Democratic principles and Democratic men.
Such is briefly the history and fate of the first
measure Of distribution. The next is known to the
public under the name of Benefits Land Bill, which
was more dangerous than its predecessor, inasmuch
as was less scrupuous and addressed itself to the
most sordd passions, by promising large bountest
individuals, and contemplated nothing less, in fact,
than the cession of great corruption fund, to be
used At discretion by dangerous class of politicians
in the northern and northwestern States of the
Union, that have since made themselves notorious
by organizing the Black Republican party. and ma
South The details Of this bill are too recently known
to the country to need repetition. This measure
was also defeated this time, by vote in Congress.
when the Democratic party had majority; and
again, though some individual members were unfor-
tnnste led asray it was defeated by the opposition
OF the Democratic marty