Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1863-08-26
The Party Movement In the Armv.

The Party Movement In the Army.
|. We publish to-day the proceedings of the so.
called Convention of portion of the o6icers of the
army of this State, recently held at Orange Court
house, Virginia The originators of this movement
and those who participated in it are nearly all
original secessionists-in other words, partizans.-
The President, Col. Bryan Grimes, is type of the
entire body; and his bitter partzan feelings are
well known. As a member of the State Convention
he uniformly acted with the Destuctives. Test.
oath Asa Bggs had no more faithful follower in that
body than Bryan Grimes. Werefer to this to show
that this army movement is purely POLITICAL and But
continuation Of that policy which has from the
first sought to put "hideous mark" on all the
old Union men and consign them and their posteri-
ty to reproach and obloquy.
1t is obvious from the proceedings of this socall.
ed Convention, that the privates of the army had
little or no voice in it Of the fourteen officers all
were officers The committee on resolutions were
all officers. All the speakers who addressed the
so-called Convention were officers and the COM
mittee appointed to prepare address to the people
of the State all officers. There were few SER
geants and privates among the delegates, but they
could have no controlling voice in the meeting -
The portizan officers had eoe'y thing their opn soay.
The fourth resolution charges in substance that
the meetings held in this State are controlled by
those who desire to escape the service. Nothing
could be more unfounded or unjust. These meet
ings are the result to large extent of the action
of the gray-headed men of the country and of such
as are exempt from military duty. We know this
to be the case as general rule, in Wake County.
But one of the most alarming features in the pro-
ceedngs is the following declaration:
eff it should be found that true patriotism in
North. Carolina has so far lost its hold upon the
minds and hearts of her people as to be unable to
check the course of the Standard and other papers
which giving u.:erance to such sentiments then
the public authorities would be recreant to the
of the country if they should fail to take measures
for their suppression"
Here, in the first place, is gross imputation on
the loyalty and patriotism of our people; in the
second place, call for physical force to repress
free thought and suppress the freedom of the press
and in the third place, direct demand made by
men with arms in their hands on "the authori-
ties that is, on President Davs-to violate the
Constitution which he has sworn to support by
forcibly suppressing the press of the country
Such principles and sentiments carry back ire
sstiby to the worst days of the French revolution
when liberty was silent amid the clash of arms,
and when public and private virtue, free thought
and free expression and the right of the people to
decide quietly and soberly as to thsir own desti-
MES, were ridden over and ridden down by militia
ry power or to Mexico, where both the civil law
andthe right to worship God accordiueoto the die
tates of conscience are at the mercy of ambitious
military men. If sucn doctrines are to prevail
then will all our battles have been fought and all our
treasure expended in vain. Civil, liberty will ex-
pire in the blood of our own people, and we shall
have reign of terror such as the world has never
witnessed.
We are satisfied that this political movement has
the implied if not direct sanction of the President
and Secretary of War. 1t furnishes another evidence
of the extent to which public men may be carried
by blind malevolence and unrelenting hate 1t is
idle to say that Gen. Lee would have permitted his
camp to be converted into political arena, for the
expression of the btterest feelings, if he had not
felt that in so doing he yielding to the wishes
of the President and his Cabinet Just look at i
pOntica CohVeHtious, a"u Po'1'eai """aSoee' ""u
political resolutions By army, and that too in the
very face of the enemyl Such proceeding per-
mtted or tolerated by Generalin- Chief of the Brit
ish or French forces, would at once be visited by
the Minister of War with the severest censure.-
Indeed, such proceeding in Europe, where the
art of war is thoroughly understood and where the
line of separation between the military and civil
power is distinctly drawn, would excite universal
surprise and indignation. An army in which po-
litcal meetings are advised or tolerated by the au-
thorities, will soon degenerate into mob.
We hope for the best, but we fear this political
movement will have an injurious effect on our troops.
But pe are not responsible for it. No blame can
justly attach to US.