Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1864-07-13
For the Standard.
Gov. Vance and the Convention question.

MR.. EDITOR:-UOV. vance Ill Oil SpcSCuSS
cusses the Convention question, and attempts to
show that Convention could do no more to pro-
cure peace than the Legislature could d. and gen.
orally winds up by asking the question, "what
more could Convention do than the Legislature
could dor"
Now, Mr.. Editor, propose to answer the ques-
ton through the columns of the Standard. Arti-
Gle V, of the Confederate Constitution, provides
that the Conventions of three States, by agreeing
upon any proposed amendments to the COnstitu-
ton, may require Congress'to call Convention Of
the Confederate States, and that Congress shalt
comply with the requisition Of such States. The
Confederate government is based upon the sover-
eighty of the States. In general Convention assem-
bled they created it 1t is their common agent
1hey are its creators. 1t is their creature Their
powers over it are SOVEREIGN. In general Conven-
ton assembled, they may at any time require it to
enter into negotiations for peace with the United
States government upon such terms IS they may
think proper and if it will not obey their COM
mands, or if the United States government will not
negotiate with it, then they have right to take
their affairs into their own hands," and to open ne
gotiations themselves with the Northern govern
ment, or with the Northern States. This is right
inherent in the very nature of our government
It is extra constitutional To deny this right is to
say that the States are not sovereign in the very
face of the Constitution ITSELF which declares that
in forming it "each State acted in its sovereign and
independsnt capacity" To deny this right is to say
the creature IS greater than its creators-that the
stream may rise higher than it's source. To say
that Convention of sovereign States may create
for themselves common government, and are COM
petent to change that government at WILL or to dis
solve it, aud yet are not competent to negotiate
with another government, is, in my humble opin-
ion, an absurdity. Then let Convention Of the
peop lie of this State be called and let it propose
some amendments to the Constitution of the Con-
federate States-and .fhere are several that ought
to be made-and inpi the other States to join with
it in calling Convention of all the Confederate
States. The cooperation OF two other States
would be sufficient and it would soon be obtained,
and would be vested with all the powers specified
above.
Gov. Vance in his speeches at Salem and Lex
ineton ridicued the idea of candidates running for
the Legislature on the platform of Brown Stephens,
and Holden. and declared that Gov. Brown utterly
repudiated the idea of State Intervention in obtain
ing peace and in proof Of it. he read extracts from
letter addressed by Gov Brown to him many
months ago. He offered no other evidence, because
be had no other to offer. Why does he not tel
adopted by the Georgia Legislature at its late SEES.
sion Those resolutions were. introduced into the
Legislature by Judge Stephens, the brother of the
Wee President and are known to have had the ap-
nroyal both of Gov. Brown and Vice President
Stenhens The sixth resolution of the series says
"Let our people, acting through their State organ
izations and popular assemblies, and our govern.
ment through appropriate departments use their
earnest efforts to put an end to this unnatural, un
christian and savage work of carnage and havoc.
Surely these resolutions do no not "repudiate" the
l, Rut acme of tho Georgia ststssAs "a hare gone
-, - m the Georaia resolutions go--
On si sss . ai.ss day Of M.fS ss i, bow bow
' mads speech . fast az going Wsssse az
i shot beyond them He not 6nly spoke strongly IN
favor Of early negotiations for peace but intmated
clearly and distinctly that if Independence could
not he obtained by negotiations, then he would en-
ter into common government with the Northern
States again, provided our liberties could thus be
secured. He declared in that speech, "that the
independence of the South was not the most impor.
tant question now presented to us-that it was 4
secondary question-secondary in fact, and secon-
dairy in importance-that the great and paramount
question now was the preservation of Constitutional
liberty on this continent" He also said that as
under our form of government the States were SOW
ereign he could not see why they could not medi
ate between the two governments now warning
against each other and suggested that Convention
of the people of Georgia be called for that purpose
Has Mr.. Holden ever gone any further than this ?
Certainly not yet who has ever denouced Senator
Hill! as . traitorr At the recent meeting of the
second Congress Of the Confederate States, Mr.. HILL
was again elected chairman of the committee on the
Judiciary. Surely the Senate was untrue to the
country if it elected a dsloyal man to such an i'm
portant station But they did not do it. Mr. Hill
is no more traitor than Mr.. Holden or Gov. Vance
is. He is as true and loyal to the South as any
man in it By the way, is Senator Hill one of those
soulless wretches of whom Gov. Vance spoke at
Lexington when he said, that the soulsfof thoes
who would accept peace upon any other terms than
eternal separation and absolute Independence were
small that four thousand of them could dance on
the point of needle and have ample room Let
him answer this in his future speeches.
ai-a ba.---. .,...- PACIFICUS.
1870 ..Urris, tho 1 ankrs poeI, ID deA