Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1863-07-31

III
rnment itself repudiating to some extent its most
,emn obligations, we cannot but suppose that the
confidence of other nations in the good faith and
,redit of this government is small indeed. AS re-
ards their promise to go to the war and spill the
2st drop of their blood in the cause OF their beloved
,outh," l will say nothing. Every body knows
low the Secessonists of North. Carolina have kept
hat promise. Every body knows that the leaders,
nth few honorable exceptions, will neither hight
or negotiate.
What deplorable spectacle does the foregoing
istory present to our view To what desperate
ass have they brought US, and for whatr They
az that they did it because the North would give
- no guarantee in the slavery question. nave
efore stated that not one of the Conventions OF the
sven cotton States ever demanded any guarantee
hateVer. Nay, they even refused to accept OF any
their friends of the border States would procure
hem for them.
The Legislature of North Carolina, at its regular
ession in January 1851, adopted resolutions ap-
Jinting commissioners to the peace Congress at
Washington City, and also to the Convention which
.Isembled at Montgomery, Alabama, in February
SCI, for the purpose of adopting Constitution,
nd establishing provisional government for the
! confederate States of America. On the motion OF
he writer Of this, the resolution appointing COM
lissioners to Montgomery was amended so as to in
Iruct them "to act only as mediGt0rS and use eve
effort possible to restore the Union upon the oa
s,of the CrittendeR propositions as modified By the
legislature Of Virginia" The commissioners I'M
ier these instructions were the Hon. d. L. Swain,
len. NJ. W. Ransom and John L. BridgerS, Esq,
sho, upon their return, submitted report to his
IxcelleucY Gov, Ellis which - lSl lsia hefoIo
.ne Legislature and was printed among the e6sla-
live documents Of that year, where it may De consul
ed In this report they say the: they had the most
ample opportunities of ssceraining public opinion
IN the cotton States, and then add: ave regret to
he constrained to state, the result OF our enquI-
Eies, made under such circumstances, that only
very decided minority Of the community in these
States are disposed at present. to entertain faVora-
Bly, dny proposition of adjustment which looks to-
wards a reconstruction of our national Union. In
this state Of things have not deemed it our duty
to attend any of the secret sessions Of the Congress-
The resolutions of the General Assembly are upon
the table of the Congress, and having submitted
them as a peace offering We would poorly perform
the duties assigned to US by entering into discus
siOns which would serve only to enkiudle strife"
But it will be said that these guarantees could
not have been obtained from the North. This ad-
unit to be true and only produce this piece of his
cory to prove that whatever might have been OBJ
tanned, nothing would have been accepted. But
the Congress Of the United States did pass by the
constitutional majority of twothirds the proposition
reported by Mr.. Corwin, from the committee OF 26,
20 so amend the Constitution to perpetudte slave
~ in the States. What stronger guarantees could
30 given 80 far as the States were concerned it
would be difficult to conceive. What then would
rlave been left to quarrel about? The territories.
During the session of Congress which closed on the
18th OF March, 1861, acts were passed to provide
Temporary governments for the three remaining
sew territories, to wit: Colorado, Nevada and DL.
Gtah These acts contain no trace or indication Of
s,f the Wilmot ProvisO, nor any other prohibition
gainSt the introduction Of slavery, but the 9TH
irr hand, expressly declare among other things,
that mo law shall BE- passed Impairing the rights
Df private property; nor shall any discrimination
be made in taxing different kinds of property, but
tll property subject 10 taxation shall be in proper
zion to the value Of the property taxed"
Now when II is considered that all three of these
territories North Of 50 deg so min, and that in
! he new territory now owned by the United States
.UUh Of that line stsrey actually EXISTS and IS re-
F0gni2el by he territorial lIS0 the question may
Ayel be asked "wh1t vas there worth Gu&-:-li.S
Inuch less fighting aboutY' Here was settlement
|'f the question in the territories made by Rcpub
lean Congress- which gave the South all that
eIp to the time Of tho Charleston Convention,
lihe had ever asked, and far moro than she could
nope to gain, in any event, by secession
indeed, think it must now be apparent that Seccs-
ion, even if it could have been effected peaccably
lYould have been remedy for the grievances of
(which they complained. Nay, so far as any griev-
noes arising from failure to obtain return Of our
fugitive slaves was concerned, think it must now
e apparent that it would have been an aggravatiOn
lstead of a remedy for the evil | think all calm
nd diSpasSionate men every where, now ready
admit that it would have been far better for 10
we accepted the terms offered us and preserved
eaee and the Union than to have plunged this
happy country into the horrors of this deSola-
ng war, which has spread pail over the whole
,nd-has brought mourning into every family-has
endcred hundreds Of thousands Of hearth-Stones
eSolate-has filled the land with the MANNED and
isabled, with widows and orphans and squald
oyerty-has crowded our poor houses and alm-
! ouses-has sported away many hundreds Of thou
Inds Of lives, and many hundreds Of millions OF
-eaSure only to find the institution for which they
rofess to have gone to war, in thousand times
4 roater jeopardy than ever before.
Such being the condition into which they have
,rOuSht the country, the question presents ITSELF
is there any remedy?" \ full, complete and ad-
kquate remedy, there is not; for what can restore
he loved ones loSt-repair at once the deSoahon or
remove Immediately the mourning from our land!
Yet there is a remedy which, with the helping
hand Of time, will accomplish much, very much in
deed, and which with the energy that usually iol-
lows desolatng wars will, perhaps, remove most
of its traces in half century. This remedy Is
peace, SPEEDY PEACEl But they say that we are SO
situated that no proposition for peace can De maze
10y us; that having proclaimed our independence
we must fight until it is voluntarily acknowledged
by the united StateS, or until VIC are IV"P''V
On the meeting Of the British Parha-
,nent, which took place on the 18th Of December
1892 the King in his speech to the two Houses in
mated his intention of going to war with the french
isepublic. On moving the address in answer to the
peech a memorable debate arose. oh Ih'S coca
Ian Cb,s las, Fox delivered one of those powerful
neeches which have made his namo immortal
rbioh have forever stamped him as the aSlest of
.,rtisb debators and the first of British statesmen.
n the course of that speech he said: But we now
-, ~ NEGOTIATE Why? Because we have no
a;nIster at Paris. Why have we no minister there
because France is a Republc And so we are to
nv in the blood and treasure of the people for a
'y,.t;J;oT = The road of COM
ION sense is simple, plain and direct. That of
ride and punctitio is as tangled as 1t is Serpentne
n the impassioned language of Mr.. Fox l would
* are we to pay in blood and treasure of the peo-
lie for punotiliO' Shall we pursue the path of
ride and puncto, which is as tangled as it is SER
entine-or shall we take the simple, plain and d.
Il. l. Load - L.