Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1861-07-03
SPEECH OF ROBERT p. DICK, ESQ.,,
Or GUILFoR

Or GUILFoRD
In Conrention June 5th, 1861, on submitting the
Permanent Constitution Of tile Confederate States
to a cote OF the People.
Mr.. PRESIDENT: | regret exceedingly at THIS late
hour, to tax the kind courtesy of this Convention
l know full we'll that l shall be listened to with
Impotence, by the many delegates who have mani
tested such eagerneSS for final action upon the in
portant measure now before them.
introduced the amendment now under consider
alton in no factous spirit nor with desire to man.
ufacture party captal-but with a sincere and hon
est belief that it contained great principle of civil
liberty-the foundation of our system of govern
ment and intimately interviewer with the hopes
the interests, and destinies of US all.
The wild spirit of revolution has just overthrown
the greatest and best government which ever blessed
and guided the destinieS of man, and amidst its
wreck and ruin, it becomes US carefully to guard
the sacred palladium, and preserve it from the hand
of tyrants abroad, and tyranny at home. Why
should we desire to act with such inconsiderate
haste in the formation Of q new Government? We
have already adopted form Of Provisional Govern
ment sufficient for the necessities of the present
emergency. Have we learned no wisdom yet, from
the experience of the past and the mSfortuneS and
dan -fs of the present, to guide Alright as
entering upon the mighty and untried future? Our
present national calamItieS have arisen from difficult
questions of Constitutional construction, and shall
fond hopes of our forefathers have been wrecked
The Constitution Of the United States was long
universally regarded as masterpiece of political
wisdom, and yet it has proven defective in not az
fording sufficient guarantees for the equal and joint
rights of every section of the nation. 1t was the
production of the wiSest and best men that ever
lived, and it was formed with long, anxious and pa
tent thought and labor, and can we reasonably en-
pect to build up a new and better government in
hour? hope it is heresy for still to believe
that Washington, Madison, and Hamilton, were at
least equally patriotic and wise as the hasty leg
isators of Montgomery. In the formation of our
new Government let us take nothing for granted
but examine with calm deberation the permanent
Constitution of the Confederate States, and see
whether all our just and equal rights and interests
both present and future, fully set forth and Sc
cured. Let us submit this Constitution to the judg
ment of the great tribunal of public opinion so that
our new government may be founded in the affec-
ton and confidence of the people; for then we may
truly hope that they will sustain 1t by their wis
dom, patriotism and valor. If we commit errors
now, they will tend to difficulties in the future
We may not have the power to obtain amendments
for future grievances. Secession never has and
never will be peaceful and safe remedy for nation
al wrongs When the heart-Strings of nation are
broken nations blood must flow
1t is not my purpose on this occasion, to examine
into the merits and defects of this permanent Con-
stitution. They have already been discussed with
great ability by some of the honorable delegates
who have preceded me. l shall confine myself in
this discussion to the particular amendment which
have introduced.
Our government, to be free government, must
be founded upon the will Of the people, who alone
are sovereign. The formation of the fundamental,
organic law of government, is one of the highest
acts of sovereignty, and this power ought always to
be exercised with great care and deliberaton-and
especially in the formation of compact between
different and independent States. In ordinary leg
slaton the people act by their representatives and
any ill-advised and imperfect law can be remedied
by future legislation; and the people can by the
right of frequent election, hold to strict account
their unwise faithless representatives If defects
exist in a State Constitution, these also be
wisely remeded by the will of the people-but in
Constitution binding together separate and ndepen-
dent sovereigntes of varied and diverse interests,
the difficulties Of amendment and reform greatly
increased If we adopt this permanent ConStitu-
tIon and experience shall hereafter show that some
of its provisions inmical to our best interests
we will find the process of obtaining suitable amend
ments extremely slow and uncertain, and they will
surely prove fertile sources of diScord and anmosty
and perchance civil strife and bloodshed Ought
we then to act in this important matter, without
directly consulting the people? If our action is
final and should prove to be injurious to their best
interests they will have just to complain at
the burdens of government which they were not
directly instrumental in forming. But let them be
directly consulted and then they will regard the
government as their own otfspring-will bear with
patience its deects-use every effort to improve its
condition, and advance its prosperity and power.
Constitution is peculiarly the law of the people,
and ought to be adopted without their direct
consent or in cases where their wishes have been
Enthusiastically indicated. This is a great cardinal
principle of civil liberty, and propose to show that
it has never been departed from in past history,
and then will endeavor to show that this perma-
nent Constitution has received the sanction OF
the people, and they have never expressed in any
way their wishes regarding it
listened with great interest to the able and in
| genious argument of the honorable delegate from
Wake (Mr Badger.) Ihave always looked up to hin,
as one of the Gamaliels of the land, but have OBJ
tanned my views Unpopular rights from other sources,
and have never regarded him as an infallible ex'
FOUNDER of the principles of republican liberty
| The presidents which he referred to by no means
sustain his argument. He says the Declaration Of
Independence made on the 4th of July, 1776, was
not submitted to the people. Let US examine the
history Of that great event. and If the wishes o.
the people in relation to it were not clearly and
unmistakably indicated. That declaration of indie
pendence was not the work of an hour Those
were not the days of precipitation and haste Oul
fathers acted with remarkable camness, deiberatior
and wisdom. For more than ten years they remon
strated with the mother country. They used every
means of Cancellation to redress their grievances anC
were constantly preparing themselves for the grea
emergency that was destined to come. The battl,