Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1860-03-28

Mr.. EDITOR: The hegastef IN tts ie"u,,e ou..o'a i
the 14th inst, tries to conceal its alarm for its
arty. by INDUCING as usual, in stale joking By
1e way, Mr. Syme, (between you and me this ISL
nv and be little more digni6ed and serious, when
on attempt the discussion of great and important
uestioni The Register is terribly put out at the
ay in which the Democratic party did up their own
BUSINESS Feeling the difficulty OF assailing our
principles as enuncated in our platform 1T attempts
criticise the phraseology Of the resolutions Ne;
ser mind the people of the State VIII understand
them These resolutions were nor Drawn up Dy
Professor of elocution for class in rhetoric but
were intended for Il information OF the great body
OF t,lan. honest voters of North-C Carolina"
The Reqister seems to think, that in the word
premature" as used in the Democratic platform,
it has made wonderful discovery of Inconsistency
in the Democratic party. That by characterizing
the ad calorem taxation clause in the Nothing
Opposition platform as premature" the Democrat
ic Convention meant to say the time will come
when they will be ready to disturb the compromises
of the Constitution" &C., too In the name OF COM
mon sense who but the Register is ever likely to
draw such an absurd conclusion from plain and SIM
pie language? Now what was it that the Democrat
ic Convention pronounced as premature Z? Why,
the Opposition doctrine of uniform al rdtOrem
taxation upon any and ecery kind Of property. For
the Wing platform said nothing about slave proper
ty-and the Democratic platform said nothing about
gister, it is "nigger," niger" Niger" over and
again, played upon harp Of a thousand strings
Now what did the Know-Nohng- Wing resolution
mean? Was it intended to cover by taxation any
and erery kind of property testament as well as
bowie-knife, poor mans coat, as well as rich
mans coach, as it reads on its face? Or is there
cat concealed in that seeming lump of meal? Or is
it Janus faced idol. which they have set up to be
worshipped; one face looking to the East, and the
A. 7 Ill Al 81,
it was the latter and the Register has let out the
secret rather sooner, opine than will be agreeable
to the oligarchs Of Whiggery in the State We thank
you, Mr.: Register, for letting us so soon into the
plan of the Know Nothing Wing campaign. SoMr.
Pool is to advocate ad cdtOrem in the East upon the
ground that every Western mans horses, cattle,
sheep, and hogs-every Western mans pillow and
hoe and axe-and every Western womans wheel
and cards, and ducks and chickens, and knives and
forks, are all to be taxed in order to tighten the
burdens Of taxation on the Eastern people! And
then, when Mr.. Pool goes to the West he is to raise
the cry of "nigger Niger" which the Register has
already set to music for him-he is to appeal to the
Western people to go for ad ealorem on the ground
that it will compel the aristocratic shareholders of
the East to bear the burdens of taxation, and thus
relieve the people of the West of the taxes by which
they are now oppressed. This is the game is il?
Being forewarned l take it !or granted Gov. Ellis
Will Ue iOTcaT;neu regard 10 tNlS W1CeT.
No matter what they meant, whether they meant
to tax every thing that is property, las they say in
their patform,) from silver plate and bank-stock
down tc the farmers drawing knife and the house
wifes bed quilt-or whether it was correctly aimed
at the "nigger," without their having the manness
to say So insist upon it. that the agitation of the
question premature" even if it were not I'M
Just in itself If ntended (as it says to apply to
any and erery kind of property, which any and
Lo<l, 81 L.
the present Indebtedness of the State her
present want of means, is such as to render such
oppressive and nquisitoria taxation necessary. If
the State were overwhelmingly IN debt, her faith
plghted, and her honor involved to such an extent
as to require taxation on any and every thing that
is property, in that event such sweeping taxation
on every thing and every body as recommended in
the Wing Know Nothing platform, might not only
be not premature, but necessary even and in that
case, l believe the proverbal honesty and justice
of the people of North-Carolina, would cause them
to bear the burdens of such taxation, rather than
allow her fair name to be furnished But no such
emergency is now upon US. We can provide for our
present Indebtedness and still greater without
taxing every thing and every body-without send
ing round the tax gaherer annually to take an in
ventory of the contents of every farmers crib and
smokehouse. his pigs and hens, his pots and grid
irons. And therefore it is that such taxation as
Iudt ny tuc Is iiOt OHy Uut
premature its prematurty IS one of the grounds
of its injustice Yet, the Register affects to be SO
stupid as not to be able to see how measure may
be premature and unjust at the same time.
say the Register "affects to he so stupd-for real
! ly, if it is IN earnest | in charity easily &C
court for its sudden conversion from the most VIC
lent opposition to all calorem taxation, to the ram
pant advocacy Of the same.
On the other hand, if the Wing Know Nothing
I .~1,kfor ...ko- 4 l.
advocating taxation on any and every thing and any
and every body, they meant only to get at the mig
gcr;' it their purpose was to make slave property
bear all the burdens Of supporting the State; ther
the very course pursued by the Register in the edi
torlal referred to Of the 14th inst affords the mos
convincing evidence of its being premature"
frankly confess | was surprised at the tone ant
spirit of the Register in the editorial alluded to
Latterly, the Register has affected the most uncom
promising devotion to the rights of the South and
determination to maintain and defend at all hazard
the interests of the slaveowner in his slave proper
ty. The English language could hardly furnish
terms denunciatory enough for it to apply to H
Winter Davis, because of his vote for Penningto,
for Speaker. By the way, that vote of Davis 70
Pennington was bad enough in all conscience, bu
yet Washington Hunts record, whom the piebal,
Convention nominated for President, in companl
with Gov. Graham, has a record blacker even thai
Penningtons. But all of a sudden the Regis
ters excessive regard for the rights Of the slave
holder have vanished like a morning dream. l
can see nothing in ad oalorem but covert b,ov
aimed at the negro. Let any one calmly read tn
Registers article again; and ask himself the ques
tion whether if he had read it in newspaper with
out looking at the caption, be would not have sur
posed it was o strong anti-slavery journal! III
burden Of complaint is that negro property is to-
much protected, too much favored by the presen
law, and that the Democratic party arc inclined t
continue this protection this favor to slave propert,
and that Known Nothing Whiggery is disposed to
it away. This is the very ground on which the Dem
ocratic party is assaed BY black Republicans an
abolitionists at the North The Register takes tn
ground that aid calorem presents The issue betwee
shareholders and the owners of other kind of prone,
ty. 1t seems to regard ad ealorem as aimed at siav
property alone. and to advocate it as SUCH Is thi
not Stewards irrepressible conflict" brought HON
e to our very doorss What will Seward say when b