Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1862-05-21
The STANDARD.
For tbe stssdrd
For she SissoAs@
WHITTIER ARE WE rENDISGs

slider to be OF great interest, II not O. Rh@I HP"I-
lance to the people. These questions Fecur 70 our
mind as they certainly do TO every Of ordinary
observation: Whittier are ge tefidinsz WHAT act
of the government Is next TO follow ia the train OF
constitutional violations and surpstion Of PowerE
Have the States any rights of tber oSDE Have we
republican form OF government, or have We tnlD-
itary consolidated deSpotisrn?
NOW. it does seem TO that the government at
Richmond, withou: regard to any thing besides It's
own supreme power, has in one act after announcer,
been guilty Of a usurpation of power, broken down
all constitutional guarantees. dsregarded the Inde
pendence Of the States and tramped under loot the
rights Of the people
The first act we will notice is a recommendation
by the President Congress requesting Il to pass
law prescribing the rights Of citizens Of the States
TO plant cotton, and which Was ia Our judgment,
clear usurpston Of power. The next Is, that Con
eregs should resOige uscf jnto kind OF papal Dig
nifty and absolye parolel prisoners taken at
Roanoke from the obligations Of their oaths an act
which, If il had passed would have sunk Us III Tie
eyes Of the whole civilized world. Next we see
town after town. city after city closed IN upon Win
martial lag, which is an entire suspension oi Al.
civil law under which q man has the constitutional
right 20 confront his accusers with witnesses, -
and places him under a military despot who Il COW
erned by 10 rule Of action but By his o@n caprice
whatever it may be. Then comes an agent with an
order from this same Richmond government 10 dis
arm the people This order is TO be executed IN
man who is not willing to submit to this outrage,
and TO purchase his loyalty 70 the government by
surrendering up bis rights Though this agent Is
not to stop with this wanton insult Offered 20 the
citizen who is disposed to maintain his rights, but
the Constitution, which guarantees 10 every man
the right to keep and bear arms is TO be trarnpied
under foot aud his house pillaged, or his arms
wrested from his hands. But the Governor Of this
State has issued his proclamation assuring his citi-
zens that they shall have protection against the last
named usurpation-"s step in the right direction,
and one that will be heartily sustained by the pco-
pie After this. another fragrant act Ct uS'Ir-
patton, disregardng alike the rights Of the people
and Of the States-pacing an oyerseer under gov
crnment pay and Instructions upon the various rail-
roads Of the Confederacy. But, as if not gone al
ready sufficiently far its acts Of usurpstion the
President out with another proposition which
has passed Congress, more obnoxious in principle
and dangerous in policy than any which preceded It.
Wemean Conscription-2 bill which would have been
more properly headed An act TO dIsOrganZe the
army and Cypress the people" This act, besides
being at with all ideas of civil and constitution
al liberty, makes unjust determinations between
persons of different ages-disregsrds all the rights
of the States and State authorities and in juds-
ment will greatly tend to diSorganize the army
We say at war with civil and constitutional liberty,
because these do not prefer to make a citizen do
thing which he is willing to do without making
1t makes unjust determinations between persons Of
80 years of age should bc forced into servce,
in exclusion to those SO or Is it disregars States
rights and State authorities because the States all
have laws by which they raise and furnish troops
TO the Confederacy-whieh all repeNlel BY tins
law. Ii will tend to disorganiZe the army. because
according to tho Eraminer. whose pet it Is it vii!
take at least onethrd OF the equipped and trained
soldiers who in the service out Of it. and
leave their places to be supplied by raw dissatisfied
conscriuts.
But we desire to notice further the effect Of this
law upon North Carolina and We suppose il viii
affect other States very much in the same way
North Carolina has some fifty sixty thousand
volunteers now, who have enlisted under State laws
and State authority, (moSt OF them are now in
gsniZed reglments-sOme are not.) At least one
third of this number is 50 and under Is
making probably twenty thousand men. The most
of these men have or will receive FJty d0lkIrs boun-
ty each, from the State, for volunteering over and
above their regular monthly pay. However to be
safe we will put this number down TO IL 0up who
will receive this bounty if the State keeps her prom
Use, which we think she will most certainly d.
The bounty paid this number will amount 10 seeen
hundred and fifty thousand dOtlars, and will sink
our State Treasury just to that amount This def
cheney IN our Treasury will have 10 be supplied By
money raised by tax levied al rQL0real on the
whole property Of the State That of the consc-pts
who are filling the places of the released volunteers
whohaVe received their bounty, will have to pay the
State authority with rdicule and working the great
est injustice to the individual citizen
But before we close this communication we desire
to quote paragraph from DR.. Russelrs History
of Modern Europe" vol. VI, page HIS: but Of
all the enormites of Bonapartes government the
military conscription was the most fagiticus 1t
held the rod of terror the bulk Of the male pop
ulation, from the age of twenty to that of twenty
tive years, rendering young Liable to be called
into the pretended service of their country when
ever war was declared by the government TO be
just and necessary. 1t was proposed by General
Jourdan before the erection of the Co1sua;e-and
being then sanctioned By the Legislature it became
faVorlte part OF the usurper'S system He occa-
slonally extended its provisions and carried it into
effect with mercess rIgor IL was de-
termned by lot whether the conscripts should be in
the class Immediately required or IN the reserve;
but both classes were occasionally called out and
even the supplies of future year were sometimes
called out Substitutes allowed but the char
ges for this exchange of service were generally
sWelied to sum which few were able to pay, with
out serious inconvenience. 1t may be supposed
that many of the new soldiers were tempted to de-
sert OF these, the majority were substitutes on
whose disappearance the conscrpts who had brought
them forward, were obliged to find Others or to
serve In person. Refractory individuals were either
forced into the service by menace of death, or de-
CARED unworthy of the military name, and sent in
lie works"
We will leave it with the reader to make the CON-
parIson between the governments-the one here de-
ScrIoed and our own-and decide between the enor.
mites and usurpatons of the two, and saw which
has gone the farthest-ths OF that. But again: all
this portion OF our population between the ages Of
Is and 30, are placed in a state of suspense not
knowing what moment they may be dragged away
from their homes and their families They have
no encouragement to plant their crops. and to nur
sue their ordinary industry as it may all be in vain
having no will of their control of themselves
1t must be recoected that this immense army is n
be supported, and that from our own resources,
and if many more moves like this is made, we are
gone We will not offer to say what course the
Convention should take in relation to this measure
but will say, surely it will pass by without some
attention being given it by this body which is now
A (NONSrDrDU