Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1861-09-04

convention. SIR If the people Of ib q" g. unlimited
70 ai upon their knees and suppcate th oIa1e were
~ oa ~, occasion IN which to assert thew "ghty
ssIa su ho tnei1 hoertcs, pray could not shts
t;ous ,; nv" Toa could have granted more n nave
euse me OF faction and i'll humor It is INV nah &C
Ge emphatic its part of my Inheritance "a.fe to
speak not IN the set phrases of the sch mom God
IN lne natural broad speech of liberty dwel;n, oas
A'y nonest heart and upon any tongue tha.s' IN
sound uods praise. l said then, and bsl;ar e't
now that the Convention bill was passed in w. It
anu Objectionable shape a part of the no IL; IL,
.nac'nery with which to build up one partv At .In
expense and decay of another. Party feelings w as
n u":g n,gn, and men who had grown gray. rich
proa,sai ana powerful-for more than twenty vas"
IN looked with jaundice eyes to the : years
ana tne Gay when the public spoon was to fail ill., ,a'
tneir ups and pass into the hands Of others 0 u
would De SANDER on this body, to saw to th wall,
that it knew no better when it passed snch % Im
and when call to your mind the fact that tba.i,
were more than twenty-five legal gentlemen at the
oar ana one or two learned judges-"old men sa"'
visions, and young men had dreams TO shana saw
prepare Dill, am driven back to my first concl" a
not possess the amount Of legal lore it wac uy a'd
cast off, But Mr. Speaker, sic transit glora ,a'nJ "
thus passes the glory of the world. """''
l now come to the second division of NV arc,
ment IN favor OF the passage of the bill and apaost
the longer existence of the Convention. For wh..
purpose was the Convention called, in the on,r;""
of the people? Consult the voters in all sections Of
this State and they will tell you they voted for
members to the Convention to take the State lv M
ordinance out OF the old United States government
and transfer it to the Southern Confederacy and ="
pass such other organic ordinances as new me-;
ton in a new government might require The Con.
vention having met and accomplished the object nf
Its creation, it. like other created bodies should cease
longer to exist. The Convention unrestricted did
meet and it did, with some little haste pass an mr.
dnance OF secession, as it did an ordinance to trans
ter the State over to the Southern Confederacy. II
did alter the Constitution of the State in regard To
AT raIoreaa taxation on slaves. The two first acts
| were asked for by many of the people in North
Carolina, the third was anticipated by some Others
Having accomplished its full destination it ceases to
be OF use, and should, without murmuring Weld
up Its existence to those WGo made 1.-THE people
Another objection l have to urge against the
further existence of the Convention, is that it did
not stop at the end of its legitimate and constu.
tional rights, but that it did exercise Legislative and
conventional powers, and thereby violated the Con-
s,tnt'on, and at the same time took away the right
of the Legislature.
The 18th section % the Bill of Rights, plainly
declares that the people of this State ought not to
be taxed or made subject to the payment Of any i'm
post or duty without the consent of themselves or
their representatives in General Assembly freely
given. The LIST section of the Constitution declares
that the Legislative authority shall be vested in two
distinct branches, both dependent the people, to
wit: Senate and House of Commons. The 18th
section Of the Constitution declares that all bills
shall he read three times in each House before they
pass into laws and be signed by the Speakers of
both Houses The 18th section of the Declaration
of Rights declares that the people have right to
assemble together to consult for their common good,
to instruct their representatives and to ar ply to the
Legislature for redress Of grievances.
The 4th section of the law of this State governing
the election Of members to Congress- reads as fol.
! lows: 1.-The election shall be held at the same
places as are prescribed for holding elections for
members of the General Assembly, and shall be con-
Quoted in like manner as elections for members of
the General Assembly"
| Now, Mr.. Speaker, with the citations of the de-
claration of rights and the Constitution in regard
to the law making powers in the State, wish to
examine the ordinances passed by the Convention,
and see if any elective legislative powers have rot
been usurped and unconstitutionally used by the
Convention. l respectfully submit to this House if
ordinances 3Oth and 34th, entitled acts to provide
for the public Defense and to provide the ways and
means for the defense of the State not plain and
palpabe violations of the 10th section of the bill Of
rights, and the 18th section of the State Constitu-
ton? Again, the election of 10 members to Con-
gress by the Convention, is violation of the 4th
section of the law of this State directing how
members to Congress shall be elected. The refer.
ences have made will answer the point l am aim
ing at, and that is why the bill should pass and
fer the whole subject matter to the people at the
ballot-box.
But am charged with being ccnsorous towards
the Convention because some of the members Of
that body saw tit to pour out their concentrated
threats upon the Legislature and its acts. Now
sir am actuated by no such motives; reproach is
part of human nature, and if those honorable gen
tlemen thought they doing their duty to theil
country and in the discharge of the high object fol
which they were sent to the Convention, then, say
in the simplicity Of my heart, that neither admire
their taste nor crave their wisdom If standing W
in the land of my BIRTH and where I expect my
mortal body TO return to DUST and pleading for what
conceive to be the fundamental principles of free
government constitutes me what many, whose
opinions | have never stopped to consider, ther
l say l shall look for justification at the bar o.
a higher tribunal than this House. 1t is not thu
members of the Convention that ALI after, it is the
existence and perpetuation Of body with all power
in ITSELF and dangerous to the prosperity of civil ant
religious freedom. Then, say, sir, let this bill
pass, and let the question go home to the people
and permit them to say at the ballot-box, whether
they want the Convention to re,assemble again OF
the 3rd Monday of November, 1861.
Sir, tell you, and say it to members in thi
Hall, that there is discomfort among the sovereign
people in this State arising from fear that thei
!, liberties are on the wane-you have taken par
and you may in times like the present, persuade
yourselves to take the whole-you are standing up
on the crest of volcano that will send forth it
burning lava, and consume the fair fabric Of domcs
tic and public peace unless you heed its mutterng
in time You have started the ball in this and tn
other end of the Capitol, and you have revolvcd
until it has reached every class and condition in tn
l State. 1t has reached the hard hands and stron
arms at the plough, the ak, the spade and the noe
handles; it is in workshops and at the anvblock
it is grasping in the flores Of every free heart il
North Carolina As skillful political physicians
/ you are called upon today, to apply the prope
remedy to remove the cause and relieve the country
Pass the bill and you have taken the first step tt
f prepare the remedy-send it home to the people an
0 you have applied it. Reason and love of State wi
then bring relief-you cannot with impunity chang
the organic laws Of your State that to govern