The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-10-03
Gen. Dockery Declines to be a Cam
didate for Governor.
Of Richmond County.


We regret to have to inform our readers
that Gen. Dockery declines to be candidate
for Governor. The meeting which recon-
mended Gen. Dockery had good reason to
believe that he would run, but, on reflection,
mainly on account of the shortness of the
time. and the fact that he could not even
make partial canvass of the State, he has
declined. His friends will regret this, but,
under the circumstances they will not COM
plain of him for it.
We point with pride and pleasure to his
patriotic and admirable letter, which we
give below. Gen. Doekery was as much at
tached to the Presidents plan as any one,
and as anxious for its success; yet he does
not close his eyes to the fact that this plan
has not been carried out, nor to the action
of the Congress and the Northern people,
which clearly shows that unless the Howard
amendment be promptly accepted, we may
look for the most stringent, and, it may be,
the most calamitous measures in the future
Who is there that will say that Alfred Dock
cry would advise any thing which would de-
grade or dishonor our people? He has been
in the public service nearly forty years. His
good name-ali that he is, all that he has,
all he can hope for, identifies him insepara-
bly, with our people He would have been
glad if our State had accepted the Presi-
dents plan in good faith, and thereby Sc
cured representation in Congress; but as
this has not been done, and will not be done,
in all probability, be is prepared as man of
sense to accept the next best thing he can
get. He now takes the ground,
First, That it is better to accept the How
ard amendment, and, under it, establish the
white basis with white voters, than to run
the risk of having the next Congress force
negro suffrage upon us.
Second, That it is better to prescribe tenn
porarily few ofice-holders, than to run the
risk of having one-third or one-haif of our
people prescribed both as voters and Office
holders, and our lands and houses confsca-
ted and sold to pay the expenses of the war.
Third, That we can hope for no adequate
protection to our interests, and for no WELL
grounded prosperity, until our members are
admitted to their seats in Congress; and as
an indispensable step to this, those members
elect who can not take the oath, should re-
tire, and let members be elected who can
take it.
Such are the views in this crisis of one of
our purest and most sagacious public men.
He can have no motive to mislead the peo-
pie He is no office-seeker or office-holder
He declines to be candidate for Office He
is simply wellwisher to his country, who
suggests the best means to extrieate the
country from the perils which surround it.
1t is true, Gen. Dockery declines to be
candidate, but the people have right to
vote for him. Their minds have already
been turned to him, and they are anxious to
express their confidence in him at the ballot
box. LET THEM DO IT. Let every Union
man in the State, and every citizen in the
State who desires to see the Union promptly
restored, VOTE FOR ALFRED DOCKERY,
OF RICHMOND COUNTY, FOR GOVERNOR. In
former days, it frequently happened that the
best men were chosen to Office when they were
not candidates. The Office sought the man
not the man the office fit should be SO
now, the strongest proof would be afforded
that the people, disregarding the politicians,
were taking their own affairs into their own
hands.