Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1863-08-26

eo "io oiSPoSeu ~ present, 10 entertain tavOr3.
bly,, any proposition of adjustment which looks to.
wards reconstruction Of our national Union IN
this state Of things We have not deemed it our duty
TO- attend any of the secret sessions of the Congress-
The resolutions of the General Assembly are ,non
the table OF the Congress, and having submitted
them IS peace Offering we would poorly perform
the duties assigned to US by entering into dscus.
sions which would serve only to enkindle strife"
E But twill be said that these guarantees could
not have been obtained from the North. This adj.
NIT to be true, and only produce this piece Of his
tory to prove that whatever might have been o.
tanned, nothing would have. been accepted, But
the Congress of the United States did pass by the
constitutional majority of two thirds the proposition
reported by Mr.. Corwin from tho committee of 26
to so amend the Constitution as to perpetuoe slave
~ in the States. What stronger guarantees coula
be given so far as the States were concerned. r
would be difficult to conceive What then would
have been left to quarrel abouti The territories.
During the session of Congress which closed on the
4th of March, 1861, acts were passed to provide
temporary governments for the three remaining
new territories to wit: Colorado, Nevada, and Da.
cotah These acts contain trace or indication of
the Wilmot Proyiso, nor any other prohibition
against the introduction of slavery but on the 9TH
er hand, expressly declare among other things.
that "no law shall be passed impairipg the rights
of private property; nor shall any discrimination
be made in taxing different kinds of property, but
all property subject to taxation shall be in propor
ton to the value of the property taxed"
Now, when it is considered that all three of these
territories arc North Of SO deg 80 min, and that in
the new territory now owned by the United States
south of that line, slavery actually exists and s re-
eognissd By the territorial law the question may
we'll be asked what was there worth quarreline.
much less fighting about Y Here was a settlement
of the question in the territories made by Repub-
lican Congress, which gave the South all that.
up 20 the time Of the Charleston Convention.
She had ever asked, and far more than she could
hope to gain, in any event by secession
Indeed think it must now be apparent that seces.
sion even if it could have been effected peaceably.
would have been no remedy for the grievances of
which they complained. Nay, so far as any griey.
ances arising from failure to obtain return of our
fugltlVes slaves was concerned, think it must now
be apparent that it would have been an aggravation
instead of remedy for the evil l think all calm
and dspassionate men every where, are now ready
to admit that it would have been far better for us to
have accepted the terms offered us and preserved
peaee and the Union, than to have plunged this
once happy country into the horrors Of this desola-
ting war, which has spread pail over tie whole
| land has brought mourning into every famly-has
rendered hundreds Of thousands of hearth stones
desolate-has filled the land with the manned and
| disabled, with widows and orphans, and squalid
poverty-has crowded our poor. houses and aim
houses-h has sported away many hundreds of thou.
sands Of lives, and many hundred of Millions of
treasure only to find the institution for which they
profess to have gone to war, IN thousand times
| greater jeopardy than ever before.
Such being the condition into which they have
brought the country, the question presents itself
sis there any remedyp A full complete and ad-
equate remedy, there is not; for what can restore
the loved ones ostrepar at once the desolaton, or
Auns l,aknt h.
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 fol-
| lows desolatng wars, will, perhaps remove most
of its traces in a half century. This remedy is
peace, SPEEDY PEACE But they say that we are so
situated that no proposition for peace can be made
by US; that having proclaimed our independence
we must fight until it is voluntarily acknowledged
by the United States, or until we are cou,pletely
suyugated. On the meeting of the British Parlia-
ment, which took place on the 18th of December,
1872, the King in his speech to the two Houses in.
tmated his intention of going to war with the French
Republic. On moving the address in answer to the
speech memorable debate arose. On this occa-
sion Chas JAS Fox delivered one of those POWERFUL
speeches which have made his name immortal
which have forever stamped him as the ablest of
British debators and the first of British statesmen.
In the course of that speech be said But We now
disdain to negotiate. Why! Because we have no
| minister at Paris. Why have we no minister there
Because France is q Republic And so We are to
pay in the blood and treasure of the. people for
| punctiLS0I The road of COM
mon sense is simple, plain and direct That of
pride and punetlo is as tangled as it is serpsntine
In the impassioned language OF Mr.. Fox I would
ask, are We to pay in blood and treasure of the peo
pie for punctilio? Shall We pursue the path of
pride and punctio, which is tangled as it is SER
pentine- or shall We take the simple, plain and di.
rect road of common sense, which may lead to lhs
happiest result Four ffths of the people of that
portion of North Carolina bordering for many miles
on the Yadkin river, and believe of the whole
State, are in favor of the latter course
The one great demand Of the people of this part Of
the State is reace psace upon any terms that ":
not enslave and degrade US. They may, perhaps,
prefer that the independence of the South should
be acknowledged but this they believe cannot now
be obtained nor in viewing the situation of affairs
do they see much hope Of it IN the future. They
naturally ask, if with no means of recruiting to any
extent we cannot hold our own against the armies
which the Yankees now have in the field, how can
we meet them with their SOC, 900 new levies which
will soon be in readiness, while they can keep their
army recruited to great extent, if not up to its
maximum number from adventurers which are con.
SANITY arriving in their ports from every country
in Europes But If Independence cannot be obtain
ed, then they are for any terms that honorable
any terms that do not degrade US They would be
willing to compromise upon the amendment to the
Constitution proposed by Mr.. Corwin from til.
committee of twenty.six, perpetnating slavery
in the States to which have before alluded -
But in what precise way overtures shall be made
or the movement inaugurated, l leave to wisel
men and ADLER statesmen than myself to pro
pose l would, however, suggest to the people
| to elect membres to the next Congress whoiars il
favor OF proposing an armistice Of six months