Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-06-15
For The Standard
THE DISCUSSION IN JACKSON.

The candidates for Congress in this, the first Con-
gressional District of North-C Carolina, met in Jack
son, the county seat of Northampton county, and
opened the campaign on Monday of our June Court
Mr.. Smith, the opposition candidate, led off in a
speech of an hours length. He commenced by sta
ting that he was honored by the Partially of his
friends at Winton, in presenting his name to the
people of this district as candidate to represent
them in the next Congress Of the United States
He next referred to the disadvantages under which
he labored as the candidate of the opposition two
years ago. The first question that engaged his at
tention was that of the public lands. Upon this
subject he made no argument to prove that it was
either right or wrong, simply contenting himself
with few remarks relative to the land bill, vetoed
by President Buchanan during the last Congress-
He spoke very prettily and eloquently about the
pected downfall of Mr.. Buchanan's administration
and the Democratic party. He said that it was 60
ing to decay-fast passing away from the things that
be. He INDUCED himself in this strain for some
time, after which he referred to the expenses of the
present administration in conducting the affairs of
the government contending that they too large
and in order to prove this he read from the report Of
Mr.. Stephens, of Georgia, and other democratic au-
thority. This is the great point he makes in this
canvass and upon it he mainly stakes his election
He labors very hard upon this subject and speaks
loud and long. The opposition candidate Mr.. Smith,
is so hard run for something to 90 on in this CAM
pagn, that he has actually for the first time within
my knowledge that any such thing was ever done in
this district gone so far to lug in State issues and
State Indebtedness to save himself and his party if
possible. Which party, by the by, he did not dig
nifty with any name! DIR. Shaw said that he had
not got used to it yet and consequently he did not
know what to call it. But to return.
Mr.. Smith charged that the democratic party of
North Carolina responsible for the present State
debt contracted account of the Central Railroad
He made very strange argument to prove this.
should have thought that he would have referred to
the journal of the Legislature and read therefrom
the vote of each party the passage of the Central
Railroad bill, to who was and who was not res
ponsibe for this work and the Indebtedness caused
thereby. But not so. Mr. Smith told us that the
sceptre Of power went into the hands of the demo-
cratic party in 1S4s and from this assertion, which
is not true, he jumped to the conclusion that the
democratic party was responsible for the indebted
ness to which have above referred The opposition
candidate closed his speech in beautiful strain of
eloquent oratory in which he invoked his constitu-
ents to send him to the next Congress of the United
States.
At the conclusion of the speech of Mr.. Smith our
able and worthy standard bearer, Dr. H. NJ Shaw,
arose to reply He stated to the immense crowd be-
fore him that he stood before them approved not only
by his own friends, but by Mr. Smith himself, who
had not uttered word against his course in Congress
or elsewhere. He then proceeded to reply to Mr.