Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-07-12
For the Standard.
Gov. Vance and the Convention question.

Mr. EDITOR Gov. Vance IN all his SpescheS dis
cusses the Convention question, and attempts to
show that Convention could do no more to pro-
cure peace than the Legislature could do, and gen.
erally winds up by asking the question, what
more could q Convention do than the Legislature
could do?"
Now, Mr. Editor, propose to answer the ques-
ton through the columns of the Standard. Arti-
Gle V, of the Con federate Constitution, provides
that the Conventions of three States, by agreeing
upon any proposed amendments to the Constitu-
ton, NAV REQUIRE Congress'to call Convention of
the Confederate States, and that Congress shall
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
They are its creators. 1t is their creature. Their
powers over 1t 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 as 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 hands" and to open ne
gotiations themselves with the Northern govern
Inent or with the Northern States This is right
inherent in the very nature Of our government.-
II 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 eaeh State acted in its SoVerei0R and
1nuSDCHuCHL
the creature is greater than its creators-that the
stream may rise higher than its source. To say
that a 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 and yet are not competent to negotiate
with another government, IS, IN M humble opin-
ion an absurdity. Then let q Convention oil the
neon le of this State be called, and let it propose
some amendments to the Constitution of the Con-
lederate States-and there are several that ought
to be made-and invite the other States to JON with
it in calling a 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
ington ridicued the idea of candidates running for
the Legislature the platform OF Brown, Stephens,
and Holden and declared that Gov. Brown utterly
repudatsd the idea Of State Intervention IN obtain
ing peace and in proof of it. he read extracts IRON
a letter addressed by Gov. Brown to him many
months ago. He offered no other evidence because
. he had no other to offer. Why does he not tell
the people something about the peace resolut!cns
adopted by the Georgia Legislature at It's late ses
sion Those resolutions were, introduced into the
Legislature by Judge Stephens, the brother OF the
Vice President and are known to have had the aP-
proyal both of Gov. Brown and Vice President
Stephens The sixth resolution of the series says
"Let our people acting through their State organ
izations and popular assemblies, and our govern
ment through its appropriate departments use their
earnest efforts to put end to this unnatural un.
christian and savage work of carnage and havoc
Surely these resolutions do no not "repudiate" the
idea of State action.
But some of the Georgia statesm en- have gone
much further than the Georgia resolutions 60
On the first day of March last, the Hon. b. d. Hill
made a speech at Lagrange, Ga. going whole bow
shot beyond them He not only spoke strongly in
favor of early negotiations for peace, but lntim2ted
clearly and distinctly that if independence could
not be obtained by negotiations, then he would en-
ter into common government with the Northern
States again. provided our liberties could thus bt
secured He declared in that speech, THAT the
independence of the South was not the most impor
tant question now presented to us-that 1t was {
secondary auestion-secondary in fact, aDd secon
dary in importance-that the great and paramount
Question now was the preservation of Constitutions
liberty on this continent" He also said that a
under our form of government the States were sov
ereign, he could not see why they cJuld not lnedi
ate between the two governments now warrinl
against each other and suggested chat Convention
Of the people of Georgia be called FIR that purpose
Has Mr.. Holden ever gone any further than this
Certainly not yet who has Ienouced Senate
Hill as a traitorP At the recent meeting Of tn
second Congress Of the Confederate States, Mr.. HI!
was again elected chairman OF the committee on tn
Judiciary Surely the Senate was untrue to tn
country if it elected dIsloyal man TO such an in
portant station But they did not do it. Mr.. Hi
is no more traitor than lMr. Holden or Gov Vanc
is He is as true and loyal to the South as an
man in it By the way, is Senator Hill one of thos
soulless wretches of " HON Gov. Vance spoke a
Lexington when he said, that the souls of thos
who wonld accept peoce upon any other terms tina
eternal separation ani absolute independence Wer
so small that four tn ,usand of them could dance o
the point of a needls and have ample roomf Ii
him answer this in mis- future speeches ,o,.,