Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1860-02-29

- For the Standard
Mr.. HOLDEN In the Standard of the 11u
February is an article signed "a Slaveownar y VI
ten, as the author AYERS with no design of in.I
fering in any controversy between AMT. Adr"ier
EN- and "a Native" but because he was ,,ru..Sr
that the article of "Ant-Advalorem shopld an
correct expression of the sentiments 90 V s
shareholders of the State" will not saw tbat ne
Slaveowner's" object in writing was any other FL.
the one he expresses, for certainly that onrbt ~
have been sufficient one, if Anti AdvaIero.%S
gave out the sentiments and opinions attrihmtoJ
him. may say, however, hope by way of nIa.s
antry, without giving any offence to "A Slaveou~N
err" that when gentlemen desire to write article s
the press it is generally very easy to frame nato.
excuses for doing so, and thereby apologize for tT
apparent intrusion. have seen it occasion.lI =;
timated by editors that correspondents were yo.r
much mistaken in supposing that they were rnobi,
to find matter sufficient to fill the columns of tbo
papers, and they more than intimate sometimes tb..
they consider themselves wise enough to Keen "a,
public rght-sideup without the interference Of COW
respondents. l am aware of the fact howoro.
that you little more liberal towards your froDJ
than some of your cotemporaries and Therefore I
low them the privilege Of aiding you occasionally II
filling up your excellent paper This privilege Won
sometimes extend somewhat to the annovo1! ~
many of your readers as, have no doubt fins att;
Gle will prove to your dull readers; for the rposo
that your contributors seldom make the spacp Co.,
pied by them as interesting 10 the readers of H.
Standard as an article from your pen would NAL
it. In all this sir, mean disrespect to thn ar
ticle of g A Slaveowner" for, if am not mistaLon
in the style, l think | know the writer and 0n
proud to number him among my personal fripnJr
and if he will allow me to tax his patience littIoo
farther l will say in his language substantially that
have concluded to write this article because am
unwilling that some of the sentiments EXPRESSED b1
"a Slaveowner" should 90 out as the correct ex
preston of the sentiments of any portion of tbo
Democratic people of the State and this, sir is NV
excuse for writing this article
i had hoped when you intimated few DAYS apo
in your paper that you thought the discussion Of
the adj CatOrem 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 on
posed to the proposed change claim tine right 20 fight
on equal terms with others. If we are to have the
fight of the kilkenny cats ENTHUSIASTICALLY let it
come, and the sooner the country knows it the bet
ter. do not propose however, discussion of that
subject the present occasion. Ny 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, can do what they not pro-
hibited 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
tcle will not allow to go fully into the argument
to show the faacy 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 a 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 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 const
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-
stitution is simply signing the instrument so to
confer the power upon the particular individual
members The agent must pursue the power, and
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 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
eminent 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-Carolina in 1854, when
Gov. Graham's convention bill was denounced as
revolutionary. l should like to pursue the subject
but cannot now. l hope my ideas are developed.
A SLAVEOWNER TOO.