Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1860-02-29
For the Standard

%hT For the Standard
:, Mr. HOLDEN: -In the STANDARD of the 18th Of
February IS an article signed "a 6layeowner" writ
ten, as the author AYERS with no design "of inter.
fering in any controversy between " Anti-Advalor.
en- y and 1" A Native" but because he vas unwilling
that the article Of Anti Advaorem should 60 out
as a correct expression Of the sentiments Of the
shareholders of the State" will not say that "A
Slaveowners" object in writing was any other than
the one he expresses, for certainly that ought to
have been sufficient one, if :" Anti Advalorem
gave out the sentiments and opinions attributed to
him. may say, however, hope by way of pleas.
antry, without giving any offence to "A Slaveown.
err" that when gentlemen desire to write articles for
the press it is generally very easy to frame patriotic
excuses for doing So and thereby apologize for their
apparent intrusion. have seen it occasionally in
timated by editors that correspondents were very
much mistaken in supposing that they were unable
to find matter sufficient to FIJI the columns of their
papers, and they more than intimate sometimes that
they consider themselves wise enough to keep the
public rghtsidcup without the interference Of cor
respondents. l am aware of the fact, however
that you are little more liberal towards your friends
than some Of your cotelnporaries and therefore al
low them the privilege Of aiding you occasionaly in
filling up your excellent paper. This privilege YOU
sometimes extend somewhat to the annoyance of
many of your readers as have no doubt, this arti
that your contributors seldom make the space occr
pied by them as interesting 10 the readers of the
Standard as an article from your pen would make
it. In all this sir l mean disrespect to the ar
ticle of "a Slaveowner" for, if am not mistaken
in the style, think know the writer. and am
proud to number him among my personal friends,
and if he will allow me to tax his patience little
farther will say in his language substantially that
have concluded to write this article because am
khok oc kL1o l.
"a Slaveowner" should go out as the correct ex.
preston Of the sentiments of any portion of the
Democratic people Of the State; and this, sir is my
excuse for writing this article.
had hoped when you intimated few DAYS ago
in your paper that you thought the discussion Of
the Gd cat0rem system of taxation in connection
with our State revenue system had gone about far
enough for the present. that there would be an end
of it, and that our party would not be further dis
turbed in relation to it. at least until We had passed
through the exciting canvass before u.s. But sir,
if it is to be kept up, Why then those who are op-
posed to the proposed change claim the right 70 fight
on equal terms with others. If we are to have the
fight of the kilkenny cats rehearsed-why let it
come and the sooner the country knows it the bet
ter. do not propose, however, discussion of that
subject on the present occasion. My only intention
is to notice briefly an error into which "a Slave
owner" fell in the following paragraph: 1--WE,
therefore, agree that Congress can do nothing but
what it is authorized to do by the letter of the con-
stitution, or by necessary implication whilst the
legislature Of State, being the immediate represen-
tative Of the people, do what they are not pro-
hbted to do" What primer of political SCI
ence the gentleman extracted this idea from am
at loss to divine. If the idea contained in the lat
ter part of the paragraph is the correct doctrine of
construction, have most certainly read the wrong
primer. The short space of single newspaper ar
tice will not allow to go fully into the argument
to show the allacy of this idea But it really &C.
ours to me that statement of the proposition
with brief reference to principle is sufficient to
demonstrate that the proposition contains fundamen-
tai errors. Webster, the great and learned Lexico
grapher, says that constitution in the United
States is the instrument by which the legislature is
created and its powers designated. This definition
exactly COMFORTS with my ideas of constitution in
this country. 1t is the revolutionary doctrine inau-
gurated by the war of 1776 which exploded the
European ideas Of government and gave to political
science new idea entirely The members compos-
ing legislature are nothing more than agents of
the people, appointed and constituted such in mode
prescribed by the constitution made by the people,
with whom sovereignty alore abides. The constr
tuition is the instrument that is the power of attor-
ney creating and designating the powers of the leg
islature, or agents, and the voting at the elections
for members in the manner prescribed by the con-
SIituttoH IS Slhpv signing Tue instrument SO as 10
confer the power upon the particular individual;
members. The agent must pursue the power and
cannot exceed it without usurpation which rem
ders the act null and void. The constitution is not
a mere Bill of Rights, but an instrument which
confers positively specific and designated powers
1t is not made up of negatives but confers positive
ly powers. It is the work of the people of the
State with whom sovereignty resides, and intended
for convenience to confer certain powers upon the
agents Of the people assembled in Legislative ca
pacity to enable them to make such rules and regu-
lations for the government of society as the people
in framing the constitution, or adopting it. if you
please, thought necessary and proper. And with
out these powers the legislature would possess no
more authority than the same number Of men as
sembled anywhere else for any purpose they might
think proper, without authority from anybody but
themselves. The error of "a Slaveowner" results
from associatiug the idea of the people of State
with the legislative and other departments of gov
ernment In theory they are essentially different
Again. if the constitution provides that particu-
lar thing shall or may be done in particular man.
ner it can only be done by the legislature in that
manner. This certainly was the doctrine of the
Democratic party in North-C Carolina in 1864 when
Gov. Graham's convention bill was denounced as
revolutionary. should like to pursue the subject,
but cannot now. l hope my ideas are developed.
A SLAVEOWNER TOO.