The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1863-09-22
WHO CoMPosE SOME OF THE So
CALLED PEACE MEETINGS.

We freely admit that there are good many very
respectable and well meaning men, who, mised by
the universal desire for peace, have united in the
i most Ill timed and unfortunate movement for an
lmpractioable and even treasonable scheme of
! usurping the powers of government which have
been fully and wisely placed in other hands than
: theirs. But at the same time it is manifest that
fsome of the meetings-ealled 'peace" bat really
war meetings for fheir only effect upon the war is
to protract it-are differently constituted, the par
ticipapts being men who have. but little claim 10
be called "The People,, and whose resolutions are
fraught with evil to the cause of the Confedcracy,
danger to the internal peace of the State, and
tainly blight to the high character it has earned in
this upon hundred battle fields
| We have had occasion heretofore to state, upon
good authority that one Of the earliest of these
meetings composed of conscripts between 40 and
| 45, who wished to avoid their duty and of the
friends and relatives of deserters. Also, that the
chairman of the enly such meeting held in the ar
| my had been deserter. There was only one
other name mentioned in the proceedings of that
meeting, leading to the presumption that it was
composed of only two persons.
We have now, from what we are informed is a
| respectable source, some information relative to
another of these meetings, the proceedings Of
which are published in late Standard, where they
occupy nearly a half column in small type. We
are informed that the officers of that meeting and
the committee appointed to draft resolutions are
all deserters or consca7pts lying IN the. acoods to
keep out of the service! Such is our information
as to this meeting.
Having thus shown how three of these peace
meetings were constituted. it is fair to suppose
that others Of them were Of like character Is it
any wonder that such persons those who COM
posed the meeting last alluded to, should have re-
solved that "Gov. Vance is requested not to send
any more troops out of the State until all of the
other States sends their quota a"?-and, as Gov.
Vance can have no means of knowing sol,en all the
other States shall have sent their quota it is plain
they were merely requesting him not to send them
into the army. They might very naturally re-
solve, too they did, that they E'do not intend to
pay tithes to Bradford or any. other person., for
how can Bradford any other person collect tithes
from men who are lying out in the woods? And
again, they resolved, :hat from the scarcity of
men we will hardly make enough for home con
sumption" Most likely, for men who are lying
out in the woods don't make anything, except
what is yulgarly called "a raise" by vRiting the
houses Of defenceless women and children and
rying of-''lifting' as the Scottish phrase is-the
provisions they had made for their own support.
So also is it natural that they SHOULD resolve "That
We disapprove Of the conscrpt law" for they were
conscripts, and, as the poet says,
'No rogue e'er felt the batter draw,
With good opinion of the law"
But why such peoplesas these should dishonor
Mr. Holden and the Standard by complimenting
them in special resolution we cannot so we'll un-
derstand, since Mr. Holden and the Standard have
taken the opposite ground from themselves in all
the important points of their preamble and nine
teen resolutions. s.-FoyeheoWe Observer