Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1861-02-28
From the Daily Journal Of yesterday.



one.
Now in regard to the first, We know that Messrs.
Wright and Dawson pledged to 60 for convention,
and know that their leading supporters also thus
pledged. Indeed so far any public manifestation
goes of all shades of opinion agree upon that point
They are all for convention" We believe that the
candidates will redeem their pledges; we take it for
granted that, gentlemen they will do 30. We must
believe that Others pledged will also vote for con-
venton." In all reason, then, the vote Tor conven-
ton ought to be nearly unanimous Why should itno
be so Some people object to Messrs Ashe and Cowan
as pledged secessionsts. Now believe they are Sc
cessonists but because the convention that nomna
ted them exacted any pledges but because with all the
lights before them they no other course open tor
North Carolina to pursue consistently with her honor
and in accordance with her interest But speaking
about being pledged surely any one voting Nc Conven
ton is pledged-pledged to do nothing-to seek no
remedy-to demand no guarantees-to make no COM
plant not to be in the position to take any &C
tion-demand any guarantees or make any complaint.
Surely this is not the that any citizens of New
Hanover are willing to pursue.
We say that with all the lights before them,
Messrs. Asbe and Cowan course that North Car
DINA pursue consistently with her interest and her
honor that of secession from the Union of which
she forms part, aud subsequently entering into
| the Southern Conf6deracy That is what they think
and believe and they say Unless something should
turn up that nobody knows of expects they will there
fore go for secession What may happen nobody knows
or can know. The world may come to end, but it
may not and the probabilities that it will not just
now. Something might happen that would have
IN chanU he of hut
must act, and indeed, can act only upon what We know
and what our reason teaches to believe deem at
least PROBABLE In this sense therefore, Messrs. Ashe
and Cowan pledged to secession because their udg
ment points ont other course for them to pursue
They not secesonists for the love of secession but
they believe that secession is preferable to submission
and they further believe that there before them only
the two alternatives They choose secession rather than
Abolition rule. The Chicago platform, carried out by
Abraham Lincoln, cannot be submitted to with safety
or honor. They tell the voters of New Hanover plainly
that they opposed to submitting. Suppose man
had got dose of poison into his stomach accidentally,
would he talk about deliberating would he call for
stOmach-pump and have it out? Oh, but somebody
might say, Why didn't he deliberate? It might not
have killed him, after ALL Why didn't he watch and
watt until it did kill and then there would have been
no doubt" The overt act would have been ZAP
parent" and 50 would the death OF the patient.
We honestly think there has been watching and wait
ing enough. Others, honestly doubt, think differ
emily The action of North Carolina is looked for
throughout the country with much interest IT, like
Tennessee che refuses to call Convention, the e
feet will be to strengthen Lncolns hands-sten his
knees and straghten his backbone 1t will be to en-
dOrse and invite coercion 1t will be to say that we
submit Internationally to abolition rule Will we so
say and SO act? We trust not
| We have said nothing about the candidates We do
not wish to say anything. Messrs Ashe and Cowan
side, and Messrs. Dawson and Wright the other
too we'll known here to require any newspaper intro
duction. We wish to reason this matter and to act
with respec: to it simply upon principle
a. We understand that appeals are made to for
egnborn citizens addressed to their fears others
intended to alarm their consciences The first we will
not notice, for the simple reason that we do not
think that any free white citizens of North Carolina can
be scared into adopting any particular policy voting
any particular vote We say this without caring where
the men came from whether they were born in Maine
or Texas in Ireland, England or Germany. Common
courage, what the English call pluck is pretty equal
y distributed, and is so common property of every
reSpectaOe WnlIc man tnaC we 90 not thlnk that
possession is any peculiar distinction.
But as to the question of conscience ;-naturazed
citizens sworn to support the Constitution of the
United States So is every legislator and every Con-
gresham and Senator, and nearly every public officer
of native or foreign birth. And know of no Seces-
sonis who would cot support the Constitution in letter
and in spirit. But a great many people will neither
support submit to the Chicago platform, which is
sought to be nterposed between and the Consttu-
ton, or, rather, substituted for that instrument By
becoming citizen of the United States we take it that
man of foreign birth acquires all the rights,
and assumes all the responsibilities of any other
CITIZEN and bis duty is to act, politically, pre-
cisey ss he would have done had be been native of
the community in which he resides. There may be En-
gsh, Irish, German French Portuguese or other men
by birth, now citizens of Wilmington Our notion is
that they should vote precisely they not any
thing but citizens Of Wilmington. Do all that citizen
ship requres-clam all that it gives-nohiug more and
nothing less. If right icr citizen to be seces-
sonst so it is for another If is wrong for one so
is for another irrespective of his birth.
pGrTwo nine-inch Dahlgren Guns PASSED through
this place yesterday for South Carolina There are two
more their way learn. They are to be mount
ed On the Floating Battery intended to attack Fort
Sumter, at least that is the report From the amount
guns, balls, bombs and other military stores received
We should think that South Carolina meant something
and had the material to carry out her intentions OF
course all the talk about the Floating Batteries being
ready weeks ago, must have been erroneous, if these
guns are intended for them, and only now coming
through. The Floating Battery for which these guns
are intended will carry only four cannon.
Mosr Foul MURDER.-A gentlemen writing to us
from Whites Greek, Baden county, on the 25th inst