Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1862-08-02
Mosns A. Rledsoe, Esq.


dates Esr the Commons, at Auburn, not 10 e'eo,
tioneer, no- % publish any speech or circular unit"
tbo dar Of the election. He has broken that agree
mont He I'D so by handing to James Adams hsq'
L,,niH. If documents to be distributed, IA which
-; co,-csseor is grossly asssiled. In adsIt'on TO
49,, The last State Journal contains report OF his
sncecb at Auburn, the materials for ~hich must
have been furnished by HIMSELF In the course Oh
this speech, as thus reported, he SAID;
.WhV nv fellow citizens exclaimed MT. beuSoe,
.hot vcry day and the very hour on which the
In,,Ie Of the Seven Pines was being touGnt 10 up
toId the votes of Mr.. Holden and otners LOT seccS
r;nn Er Holden was in the courthouse IN tIie Guy
of Raleigh speaking, ,schemng anu p ,Osi to
tho State and Confederate Governments, the enec'
ocbicb in nv opinion was to encourage the eheuiy
y, .roIvze the arm of the government; to hazaru
.Io ran:e of Southern Independence and 10 expose
our soldiers, your so,s, your brothers anu your
friends to defeat and DEATH by the mana Oh
beartlcss and mercilcss enemy.
In the course of the same speech ne also sao'
"If this party give aid and comfort to the enemy
Intentionally, they are traitors D1S t tr,,a ~ tho
I'D his Marty claim to be loyal and as true 10 the
%onCsIcracy as YOU or l. Suppose it be admitted
Lst tbav have no intention of giving such ald ana
cnrt n the enemy and yet they see, that the ell
ft Of their course is to aid and encourage the che
nv. how much better they than traitors! They
think, or affect to think that the IT, y.
Mr. Iiolden's party will have no such effect That
:; = matter about which there is difference OF opn
on. rou can decide the question for yourselves.
Nav Mr.. Bledsoe-or Captain Bledsoe-for you
49,, irbting the enemy by cords at safe distance
,o, have deliberately impeached our fidelity to the
Sutb and that of your fellow-c citizens of Wake who
for nd Con-
.0rratvc ticket for the Legislature. What had We
lone to YOU, to deserve such treatment? We had
rot assailed YOU Your name even had not appear
81 in our paper except as candidate for the Sen
o.o Old personal and political associations had re-
strained our pen, so far as you were concerned
W. were reluctant to assail and expose you. But
,,r ,,ouH have it otherwise With heartlessness
md y shirt of injustice seldom evinced even by
trading politicians like yourself you have trampled
upop every tic of friendship which formerly united
us and charged us with being false to our native
land. IT, in making that charge, you knew you
were uttering a falsehood, we pity you; II you
made it from passion or from ignorance, we pity
go, But Won knew better You knew that that
meeting was composed of persons as true to the
South as any among US. You knew that they had
sons and brothers, and neig hbors, and friends IN
the war. aid that they had freely contributed oil
their means to sustain the war. And yet you ar
cue to prove that they are traitors! Wherefore!
Because they did not recommend you for the Senate
They could not do that, Captain. They wanted a
candidate who could be relied on to represent the
Countv, and not the oficeholders, and so they re-
commended Col. Russ. Besides, Captain, they had
heard that YOU were for martial law and the black
fac and they had seen for themselves that you had
deserted the people, who had made you what you
wore and had cast your fortunes with the Clark and
Mrtin DYNASTY. They had heard also, that you,
shade officer, had violated the spirit of the army
regulations, by purchasing your supplies OF coffee,
smear salt and the like, at low government prices,
while the people were paying full prices for these
articles They felt that shade officers like yourself,
oucbt to OBTAIN their supplies they did, and not
take them from the mouths of our sick and wound
ell soldiers. Did you do that Captain? 1t is said
YOU did And yet yOu claim to be particular
friend to the soldier!
But martial law-you advocated that. You did
it a meeting called by yourself and your own
neighbors voted you down. Without cause, and
for no sufficient reason you wanted to place your
ncighbors, and the people Of the County for ten
miles around Raleigh, under military masters! 1t
is reported that Gov. Clark and Gen. Martin were
in favor of this, and so were you. If y0u had had
your way, free white men would have spoken of
abuses in the government with breath suppressed, and
would have come into town and gone out with pass
e. like our negro Slaves You wanted no more civil
law because under it. the press and the people could
arr i'm officers who had abused their powers. II
You did not want to keep yourself, you evidently
wanted to keep your associates IN the government
abOee the people, The people differed with you
They told you in voice of thunder, that you were
the servants and they the masters; and that they
would have no martial law. They were right, Cap
tain One of your constituents had just been to
Norfolk to visit a sick son, and he-a man OF char
acter and free man-wasrequired to take oil his
hat at the door of the office of the military Governor.
Our people were anxious to avoid this humiliation,
except in the last resort They did not want martial
law unless 1t should appear to DC absolutely neceS
sary you wanted it when there was nd more nc
ceSSty for it here than there on the summit OF
the Pilot mountain.
The black flag-you advocated that You advo-
Gated it when the war commenced and during the
war. A soldier asked you the streets OF Raleigh,
last January if YOU were in favor of the black flag
You told him YOU we're and he then told you that
he had been your friend, but that nc would never
vote for YOU again. You remember it, Captain.
The black flag means indiscrinnate murder on
both Sides We are for civilized, not savage war
fare. If the enemy should hoist the black flag, we
would meet him with the black flag; but not before
The Confederate States are struggling not only tor
existence but for respectable and Christian eXls-
tence among Gations. The black flag, if hoisted by
US except by way of retaliation, would proclaim to
Europe that we were savages from choice, and not
Christians. Would they recognize us? Besides,
Captain, you did not propose to hoist such flag,
butyOu thought Others ough: to do it. You did not
say come boys" but you SAID go boys, lGI
proposed to remain in your shade office, hundreds
Of miles from the field of battle, while your neigh
hors and your neighbours children incurred the fear
full risk of being slaughtered like sheep after they
had been overpowered.
When you were appointed Quartermaster, we re-
mcnbered the remark of Walpole, "every public
man has his price'-but we believed you were proof