The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-04-03

If the Senior Editor of this journal
were to regard himself as fortunate
when praised, and Unfortunate when
abused by the secession leaders, like st.
Paul he would be 8" of all men most
miserable" During the rebellion these
leaders denounced us as traitor to
the Confederacy, mohbed us, and put
Wheeler's cavalry after us and now,
when the rebellion has been suppressed,
they call us secessionist and pretend
ed Union man
No citizen of North Carolina labored
as we did, in 1860 and 1861, to prevent
disunion. 1t is true we supported the
Breckenridge Electors, but we did this
as Andrew Johnson did it in Tennessee,
with no other view than to carry with
US as many Democrats as we could for
the Union, in the crisis which we knew
was close at hand. The result was,
some thirty thousand Democrats y this
State united in 1861 with the ma ority
of the old Wing party in forming the
Conservative or Union party. If the
Standard had supported Douglas out
and out, and had made war on these
Breckenridge Democrats, the bulk of
them would have gone for disunion, and
with the detection from the old Wing
ranks to the disunionists, this State
would have gone for the latter in Febru
rya, 1861, and our people would have
been as thoroughly committed to seces-
sion as were South-Carolina and Missis-
sippi. We foresaw, after the bolt in Bal
timore, in which we refused to take part,
that Mr.. Lincoln would be elected, and
we determined to advise the people, as
we did in the most earnest terms, to sub
NIT to his administration. We have the
consolation of remembering that we
endorsed his first inaugural speech, and
begged our people to stand by him in
his efforts to preserve the government.
But, when that fatal gun was fired at
Charleston, when his proclamation came
calling for troops to coerce the cotton
storm of sectionalism rose in this State
to height that swept everything before
it. We went reluctantly and sadly
with our State, but with the fixed de-
to avail ourself of the first
suitable opportunity to strike for peace.
This opportunity was presented in July,
no Of 1n
to call a Convention, and to take steps
that body to arrest the war,
and, if necessary, to reconstruct the
Union of the States. If our advice had
been taken, all our subsequent losses
and sufferings would have been avoided,
and five hundred thousand lives would
have been saved. We were at first
warned by the authorities, and then
fiercely denounced and threatened and,
as a practical caution to us, on the night
of the 9th September, 1868, our Office
was sacked by a company of Georgia
troops fresh from Richmond AS a
specimen of the manner in which free
press was handled in those days, we
give below copy of a letter addressed
to us by Col. Seago, of Atlanta, Ga, a
portion of whose regiment took part in
he mob:
RALEIGH, n. c., Sept. 8, 1868.
Mr.. HoLDEN-SR One of the soldiers
If this regiment brought into camp this
package of paper, and offered it for sale. 1
10 not think the object of the party was to
make money out of the attack on your Office.
Therefore return it to YOU
From what learn. considerable injury has
been done to your office 1 hope this will be
warning to you and all Others not to pur-
ue course calculated to encourage the enc
ny either by words or acts. The motive of
his party was patriotic. They believe youto
'e opposed to our course and that you desire
o betray us into the hands of the enemies
II our peace, our property, and our indepen-
lence. 1 am very respectfully,
E. NJ. SEAGO, 1t. Col. goth Ga. Reg.
CORRESPONDENT of the Sentinel cbor-