Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1860-04-25

ousy of the slave owners of the State. = =
Permit me to tell you the danger exists now, |
and that the proposal to reform the constitution lis
in truth proposition to secure 0s against it, recur
rsnee = +* There can be no other perfect
protection but that which Is offered US in reform
of the constitution. !. By article Of the amend
ed constitution to prohibit an inequality Of white
and black poll taxes. O. By the new system Of rep.
resentation the principal slave owning counties will
be transferred from minority to majority"
Under the influence of speeches, addresses and
such appeals as these, the 10000 votes were cast
favoring Reform of the Constitution and being
communicated to the Governor of the State, (Hon.
d. L. Swain.) and through him sent to the General
Assembly, the petition was rejected and conver-
ton bill introduced at the session of 1888 was again
defeated.
This convention bill of 1888 recites in the pream
bic that it has been represented to the General As
sembly that large portion Of the citizens of the
State are DESTROYS of remodelling the Constitution
in nine enumerated particulars. The third is, Ito
fix the basis of representation in the Legislature up
on population and taxation" The seventh is ITO
provide that future General Assemblies shall not
abolish slavery; and that capitation tax shall be
equal upon all classes Of persons" 1t directs the
sherifs of the respective counties to open polls in
their counties, that the people may vote whether
they will have convention, on basis which al
lowed eight members to each congressional district
sheriffs to certify to the Governor the number of
votes given for and against such convention and
imposes upon the Governor the duty of commun
eating to the next General Assembly the result of
| the voting.
That the proposition of the reformers contained in
the particulars referred to above, made to the east
may be more fully understood there will be found
among the Legislative Documents of the session Of
1888. one which contains the proposed amendments
| to the Constitution. upon which basis the reform
movement argued before the people Of this State
in 1888 and in 1884. -
The 18th of the proposed amendments is in these
| words
1.-The General Assembly shall no. pass any law
impairing the right hitherto exercised by masters
over their slaves, as property; no tax shall be i'm
posed upon slaves under the age of twelve. or over
the age Of fifty years; none but a capitaton tax
| shall be imposed on them and taxation per capita
shall be equal upon all classes Of persons; provided,
that no such tax shall be laid on white females,
upon white males under the age of twenty-one and
over the age of forty five years"
| When the convention bill of the session Of 1888
was again rejected. the members of assembly who
had favored its passage again met and again organ
| lied central committee land committees in every
county, to appeal to the people, especially Of the
eastern counties in order to override the decision of
their representatives against the great republican
right of majority to reform their State government.
That committee fellow citizens, consisted of William
II. HAYWOOD Jr., William A. Graham, Z N. Saun-
ders. Weston r. Gales. James Seawell and William
R. ilargrove. Does William A. Graham, so prom
inent member of the late Opposition Convention,
which assembled in Raleigh, on the 22d Of February
last, stand now upon the Opposition platform, OF
does he stand where, a western man. he stood
when ae signed the address of the central commit
tee in 1884? The address is before u.s. and the free
voters Of North Carolna can see for themselves.
This address Snpakino of the 9Th narticular rp.
ferred to above. says:
'The proposition upon the subject of slaves and
slavery it exists in this State requires some ex-
PLANTATION. The opponents of convention had fire.
quently charged the advocates Of reform of our
representation, with design to impose unequal bur
dens upon the MASTER and perhaps interfere other.
wise with his rights The charge mi ht have been
repealed by a bare denial, and the absence of all
proof to sustain it. by the fact that all parts of
your State contain large slave population. But
the representatives Of majority, determined to
move even pretext for hostility against their just
claims, consented to accept this modification, to put
these things beyond the reach of ordinary contin-
gencies."
Remember, this is the address of western reform
to eastern shareholders. Upon the basis of the
convention bill of 1888 as explained by this address,
the reform movement was argued before the people
of the east in 1884 and the General Assembly was
elected which during Its session of that year. passed
IAN act concerning convention to amend the Con.
stitution of the State" under which the convention
of 1885 was called Each and every part of that act
indicates the compromise which made by few
patriotic eastern legislators with their western breh
rem. The eastern members who were parties to the
compromise were, in the Senate, Richard Dobbs
, speight, Of Craven; Otway Burns of Carteret; VIM
B. Lockhart, Of Northampton; James Wyche, o.
Granville; and A 4, Mebane, of Berthe In the Com
mons, WIN. II. Haywood, Jr., of Wake; Elijah S
Bell and James Nancy, of Carterct; Sandy Iarriss
of Granville; Abner Hartley and Fred. P. Latham
, of Craven; Geo. Whitfield. of Lenoir Edward B
Dudley, of Wilmington; Fred. Norcom, of Edenton
e Mat. E. Manly of Ncwbern; and Thomas OuSby, o
Halifax. The bill passed by vote of 81 ayes to 81
noes in the Senate; and &c ayes to g. in thu
House of Commons. From this examination then
of its previous history, and careful reading of thu
act ITSELF it will be seen, that the compromise
tanned in the whole bill may he thus briefly stated
The eastern members named above agreed, if tn,
western members would accept taxation as the basil
of representation in the Senate, and federal
Jers as the basis Of representation in the House
j. Commons. they would put it IN the power of tn,
It majority Of the people living in the west, to call
l. convention under the sanction of law, which conven
ton shall be compelled to provide in the organic Law
n itself mode Of amending the constitution of tn
State in future and Also to adopt the proposed basi
: of representation; provided the western member
j. would consent to the conventions being called OF
the county basis, hen the basis of representation
e both in the House of Commons and the Senate an
e would assent to limitation of the powers of tina
convention, putting it however, in the power of tn
e east to secure that protection to slave propert
which they considered so essential to their safety
e And the representatives of the majority agreed
e, take this as compromise, provided it should b
r. first approved by majority of the voters of tn
whole State; upon the grounds that the people aon
had the right to dispose of the offer, and that th
d first overture from the east for compromise ough
to be submitted to the people themselves to be ar
of swcred by majority under the sanction Of lawfi
authority The majority of the people IN the ives
ratified the act and accepted the proposed compr,
mise on the LIST and "a OF April 1885, by voting fd
=, the whole bill. The convention convened on til
first Thursday in June of that year, and incorpor
le ted into our organic law, by the almost unanmou
to vote of both eastern and western members artic