Newbern weekly progress. [volume] (Newbern, N.C.) 1858-1863, 1862-10-11
Civil Liberty Hrnaced-Ap Embrys aou,h.
ern Arisiocracy.
from the Richmond waig, Sept sel

FROM Inc RichmoRd Whig, Sept. %
The struggle for civil liberty never ends. In
peace 1t periodically cOIyuses the community
In war the contest continues with redoubled in
teiisty. II the South hal been as watcbrnl of
her liberties Ms all human experience coupselled
he' TO be, this couiiCent never would haze nm
derg"ne SECOND revolution such as tha, which
is nuw drenching II IN blood. Our people psid
Ston S fassd sSsSs ho heasaad asapaion
SO profound was tbrir sleep that one half OF them
were yet unaware of the revolution after il had
already burst over their heads
But ii is n pcculiari'y Of the present times that
msuy Of The Sowhsra men rho tcore among the
foremost IN eyaortiag the people 10 pr,parc far the
cOming esR, and most ,6icsM in "rossiRg them 10
resistance are ao,o thems Tres somROiem in regord
10 the dangers hieh beset tic pubic liberties ct home
They are the io' en,Ost in ndermining the liberty
Of the press, they are jealous for suppressing
babeas corpus, aud extremely lsti,udinous in re.
speci to the execution of MARTIAL law. Before
tho war they were rigid consirdctionists and the
most rehued abstraCtiOnlsts TO be found in the
/ land Now they are The advocates in all cases o.
power, and treat the constitution with apparen,
lisIain.
| Heretofore the golden mazim .tsta prineipiis
has been their favorite rule Of coIlducl. Now !,
they can see no danger IN the beginnings Of evil
and N tue establishment OF preGedonls which
without some such revolution as that which Jef
! iefson and his republican supporters effected in
the period from l79S to 1908 must destroy
tue confederate system " southern policy aud
plant consolidated power on its rulns, is
ssca ROlo WhiSper d hat a schema If consolidation
IS on icdt, and that views precisely such those
"hich Alexander Hamilton succeeded in d'ssem
mating so wholly and rendering 81 popular and
potential in the old Union, are extensively held
In the South; that orr g0ceraot Il is 10 be csstG.
lated 10 tRat Of Great Britain: that an aiiStoerGcy
is ~ be eStabiishea aad csohh nude m tie begll
ning the passport 10 ptaro aHa po,cer.
/ he scheme has seemed 50 stupid aud 80 wild
that We have paid little attention to these sur
n.iees bet ii must be confessed that the conduc,
Of many leading men Of the country, heretofore
spicuous for THEN zeal in nohplding couatitu
tl0ual rights, and now rs conspicuous by theil
sIence on these ubjects, is inexpljrabe ON any
other theory than the truth Of thcse surlnises
Ne can well imagine how necessary 10 thei,
schemes may be the enforcement of martial Law
III unnecessary modes aud improper localities
the inGisrrninac suspension ut haGeas corpus
and the determination OF ths press bat how
. men having the preservation Of the public h6er
ties at heart can become the advocates Of these
aud kindred measures is not easily understood. /
The Southern people have been schou!el {,
= jealousy 'or lheir poltlca rights Tor t"O genera
& tons. What has been popular with them here
: tofoer as mere system Of aesrac: politics vii
now be cherished by them AS a political religion
S They will be stern and unyielding TO the las
h degree in requiring slrlCt conformity TO thei
cherished tenants from all who seek their sui
. frages and there arc statesmen n0c M the Pabli
councils tcho are makiag records that tW h0Gbt
facm irfaiteiyto The ead CG their days.
The whole body Of the Southern people are al
II nistocracy, and No community ~ moro juAlUn
c tpr an abso ute equality Of rights and privilege
= than community Of aristoc,atS. The atteup
:, to degrade such a commnni'y, and to establish
If privileged class over its mead, will be certa
n ruiu to those W ho make il. 1t is scheme whic
* will suddenly and IsnOrniniouslY tail as soon q
discovered, ana which will involve lis FOOLS
projectors in utter rln. 1t could not succee
IN the South, even II The Judiciary were silence
l. by martial law, the press OverIhrown, and ever
N safeguard Of civil liberty broken down. Tn
people, impcll0d by that same spirit in rhic
y they have m1t and oyerthfown the power Of tt
r. public enemy, would turn upon the piemies
re home and aunibilate them with a breath,
II. But while there is no doubt of the ultimate n
so suit, we see, by the experience of tho preset
conflict, what the recovery Of liberties. volu
. tariy surrounded, may cost in The end Bett
" 10 hold the ship Of State firmly on the right TAG
10 .hau allow it to irFt into dangerous waters, al
VI attempt lis rescue amid The penis Of storm al
vi breakers.