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

from thousands Of emigrants from Europe, and what
Is infinitely worse, from our slave population.
NO one, it seems to us, who will look disposition
a'ey At the facts will deny that the foregoing IS
true. The O6seruer traces the mischief" Of d.
vision and feeling in this State to the Ellis admin.
istratlon; We ascend to the main stream, and show
mat this mischief" and many, if not all our mis-
fortunes, originated in the policy inaugur&ted at
montgomery, and which has been continued to this
Jay. humble as We are, and feeble sis our judg.
ment IN public affairs, we would venture to suggest
some remedy for this condition of thipgs, and some
plan Tor the futures but we could not hope that any
'a'ng We might say would have any influence with
inc administration at Richmond. ~
Inc Oosegrer reminds US that when this State
'eeeaed Qor they Mould pass Mr.. Craiges secession
oroinance0 from the old government, that act was
mai. So it was TO all human appearances, and
80 We nope it may be- We hope the State acted
nnally," and We still think she acted "wisely."
"hen two evils are before US, and there no escape
true wisdom is shown in choosing the lesser evil.
Our State did thst Her people did not desire to
secede. They were willing to try the administra.
ton OF Abraham Lincoln, and to rely meanwhile on
the great body Of the American people to rescue the
government from sectional conflicts, to restore to it
anatonal administration, and thus perpetuate it il
possible for all time. They felt that, having with
them both branches of the Congress and the Su
preme Court President Lincoln could not seriously
ip)ure their property in slaves nor deprive them Of
their rights in the territories, even If be would
They Intended if he.attempted such thing, to re-
s'st him in the Union, aided as they would have
been by one million Of national men in his own Sec
tion IT. during this trial, he had driven our PEG.
pie with their slaves from the common territories
or attempted in any way by an overt act to impair
our right to our slaves In the States, they would
have succeeded, with the help of their Northern al
lies, not only in checking him, but in Furnishing
him for such administration and corruption in
Office But the precipitate and wicked action of the,
cotton States on the one hand, and the cruel and
wicked policy of President Lincoln on the other,
left us no alternative. We were obliged to fight
our full brother of the South or our half brother of
the North. We chose to do the latter, and we acted
wisely" If we had not done so, we should have
been trampled by both armies--we should have had
civil war among ourselves-the North would have
despised US for our want Of manhood ard the South
would have regarded us as false to our own in
stincts and our own blood We repeat our State was
not free agent-she was obliged to pursue the
course she did. Thoughtful and sagacious men,
while they trod unshrinkingly the path of duty,
saw before them the fires Of civil var, but beyond
theco Hroc oil mo, d.rI nacc ,r,d
ing finally" as they hoped, they put every thing
on the arbtrament of arms The result is partially
before u.s. The abolitionists of the North and the
original secessonists Of the South acting and react
ing on each other, have in all probability "proved
themselves the most skful architects of ruin that
any age has produced" Slavery has suffered more
injury during the last TWO years than would proba-
bly, nave beallen it in the long sweep Of fifty years
under the old government. The peculiar champions
Of the institution have placed it. we fear the high
road to extinctiona And just here we beg leave to
say to the O6scfoe the source Of one Of the most
serious apprehensions. of our people The sudden
emancipation Of our slaves in our midst would be
the greatesthlow which could be inflicted on South
ern society, 1t would ruin this generation beyond
redemption, and its effects would be felt for ages to
come Nor would this ruin be partial. 1t would
include the non STAKEHOLDER as well as the slavehol
der, aud finally the slave himself Subjugation, if
it should be in reserve for US, would be emancipa-
ton. Hence our people, while they are for contin-
ung the struggle, and while they are still anxious
if possible to make good their final" separation,
are nevertheless disposed to pry into the future, TO
see if in the last resort something better than sub
iugation canno: be obtained. Ii the worst should
stare them in the face as it does not now, but as it
may, they would have peace under certain circum-
stances yet if the worst should come and they
could see no honorable mode Of escaping it they
would all die together with their slaves and their
little ones, fighting with desperation which the
world has never witnessed.
The O6server Is disposed to twit US on our decla-
ration in May, 1861, that this State had pledged to
the cause her "lass man and last dollar" Let US
see this pledge has not been redeemed This State
has sent 95 900 men to the field. This comprises
all her fighting population, (of course we did not
mean to include the old men and yearling be u.s.
save those between 40 and 45, now being consc rip
ed, and about 10 900 able bodied original secess is-
ISIS, who refuse to redeem the pledge which they
authorized US to make in May, 1861; So much feI
the "last man." Our debt County and Stats, is
equal in amount to one tenth Of what the whose
State would bring in market in silver and gold The
"last dollar" in specie, or in convertible paper has
long since disappeared. The State could no doubt
borrow Confederate money at premium Of tvs for
one-that is, she could sell one Of her one HIN
dred dollar bonds for two hundred dollarss bu
ten dollars in gold will purchase ape hundre dol
lars in Confederate money; audit follows that sh
could sell her bonds for only ten cents IN thu
dollar in specie. So much for the "last dolsr."-
We regret to have 70 make these statements, but VI
are obliged to do so in self defence.
The Obseroer very ,ngeniously, and very Justly
in one sense, says that negotiations for peao' car
lie Instituted only through the Confederate govern
ment But we must look at things as they arr, ana
not as We would have them If Mr.. Lincoln. should
SO far recognize Mr.. Davis as to open negotiations
with him, he would surrender the whole question
of the war. To treat with the Confederate govern
ment for peace is to recognize that governmena -