Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-05-24
Gov. yauce,, speeeh. |, ),

Vance m bis speech on Monday lzsk but ID doing !
so we shall endeayor to be entirely respectful to
that gentleman. ass..ss ~ D. = . i.is ss-
Since the commencement of the publication Of the
Progress In this city our support Of Gov. Vance,s
administration has been frank cordial and unsolieit
ed, and If We have enjoyed any faEor, not common
to other members of the press We are not aware of
it We were one of the frst public men in the
State to take a strong position for peace and as
early as last July Urged negotiations looking to that
end. We never attempted to Justify the policy Of
the 20 called "peace meetings held in many of the
counties, but when those who participated in them
were assAiled as dsloyal we defended them, believ
ing then as we do now, that they were sincerely
devoted to the cause of the South as any one. Gov
Vance differed somewhat, at that time, with the
views of the Progress and Standard, and when he
made bis Wilkesborough: speech he took decided
grounds against c Convention or other active mea-
sures looking 10 speedy peace; and thinking that
his position was different from and would not be
satisfactory to the great Of the Conservatives
of the State that elected him, we frankly gave him
our views both before and after he made his speech
at Wilkesborough. We never dreamed of any op
position TO Gov. Vance until after that speech was
made, aud then We were anxious to have him so
conform his views to those of his political friends
to prevent any such contest But soon Mr. Holden,
urged by friends from different parts of the State,
announced himself q candidate and as his views
and our own harmonized on the great issue before
the country, the war, we felt that as between him
and any other man, we should be bound to vote for
Mr.. Holden. Gov. Vance now asked as if we could
support him against Mr.. Holden, and we frankly
told him we could not but that as we admired
both, We should make no war on either. Nor have
We We hsEe criticised Gov. Vance's public record,
to which neither he nor his friends can object but
in all We have said we have treated him with the
greatest respect, personally. We thought this due
to his own good qualities well as to the exalted
position he occupies.
But all the Destructive papers came at once to
the support of Gov. Vance, as well as their leaders
throughout the State, some of whom have been con-
stantly doing all they could to poison his mind
against US and others who supported and defended
him against then abuse two years ago. Gov. Vance
told US that neither the Confederate or the Observer
reflected his views, and that he must have organ;
and after we had sold one fourth OF our establish
ment to Mr. Richardson, the Governor approached
him on the subject OF buying the balance, az some
of his staff officers did u.s. and promised that N the
event sold we should be retained as foreman and
thus saved from conscriptIon. In compliance with
the request OF Gov. Vance Mr.. Richardson approach
ed US on the subject, when we told him that there
was not money enough in the Confederacy to buy
the Progress for the purpose of turning it against
Mr.. Holden. Here the matter ended and we see
nothing very reprehensible in the course of Gov
Vance, but We only mention these things to show
that he then thought sufficiently respectable to
conduct his organ, in case We could support him
against Mr.. Holden, to be foreman of the office
and secure his favor in saving from the enrolling
officer in case we should agr ee to SELL God knows
have never taken any pleasure in criticlsing
even the Governors political record while person
silly we have not only not aSsailed him, but defend
ed him on all occasions Mr.. Holden has right
to run for Governor, and we in common with other
freemen of the State have the right to vote for him
and we shall. be content whatever the result may
be, that the people have done right
But this bFnRS the nnnrovokad nersnnal
assault of the Governor. In his speech here on
Monday, within few miles of our birth place and
the resting place of the bones of ancestors for
half dozen generations, and in presence of many
who have known US from childhood his Excellency
tried to degrade US by representing as q pedler
OF lemonade in circus We acknowledge our hum
BILE origin and our poverty, and are not ashamed OF
our early struggles against adversely and rude for
tune, but we have never appeared in the character
which he represented and the sneer is only a repe-
tition of the SANDER of John Spelman, a creature
whose brutal attacks upon Gov Vance are remem
bered with loathing and disgust by all persons Of
refined sensibilitieS. But if we had been the lem
onade peder the Governor represents US, and had
spent part of cur younger days in bawling oLt
"'ere's yer lemonade, only Eve cents a glass and
two sticks Of candy thrown in, was given with
all necessary stage effect by the distinguished gen
tlemen, the allusion would have been only the
worse; for it is sneer upon and fling at every aged
man or ragged boy in the country who is peddiing
cakes beer, pies anything of the kind prevent
wife, mother or sister from starving. We think
that we have never spent dollar that we had not
acquired by our own exertions, and had the oy
hood of the Governor been as dark gloomy and ad
verse ours was, we think it very possible he
would never have obtained his present exalted posi-
ton. The first money we ever made was at pIow
ing for gentleman of this county, at ten cents a
day; and the gentleman who thus employed US
heard the Governors speech on Monday, and called
to tell of his supreme disgust for the allusion
us. He says he voted for him before, but would
not now, even were there other candidate in the
field We have number Of relatives in this coun.
ty-people who are accounted respectable and
most of them voted for Gov. Vance two years ago,
but we hardly think their admiration for him will
be enhanced oy his illusions to the poverty and
early struggles of one of their kth and kin. We
have seen no one who justiies the attack the Gov.
ernor made on as, and when the matter is mention.
ed in the presence of his best friends they can only
hang their heads. Some of those who surrounded
him applauded the exhibition, but they were per.
sons who only use him for the place he holds and
the patronage he has to bestow, and who have done
more than every body else to withdraw the affec-
tions of the people from him. These exclusives
know that "cotton is king" because they have the
evidence their larders and store rooms which
we'll filled with the luxurIes Of the European and
Yankee markets We could unfrock many of these
and lay bare some horrible ulcerations but such is
not the legitimate mission Of the press and for
bear, though oar wrongs would at least plead for
such a course.
One other point and we have done. The illusions
made by the Governor to our behavior at the fall OF
Newbern were incorrect We do not know who
misled him, but his statement does US gross inius
tice and when our friends and ourself were defend
ing MIN against the malicious ISLANDERS Of his enc
mics in reference to the same occasion, we little
dreamed he would ever be guilty of the same injus
! tice to US. The Governors bearing on that occa
sion as on all other occasions while he was in the
field, heroic and gallant and it is strange that
! he should now embrace so fondly those who have
trieito blast his reputation by stating otherwise
| When the enemy appeared at Newbern we were
,nA hod nf ur,.h -