The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1866-05-15
HON. BEDFORD BROWN.

LII tue report OF evidence UeIofe Ihe Alecon-
struction Committee at Washington, we find the
following concerning this State:
Hon. Bedford Brown, formerly United States
Senator from North Carolina, was examined in
respect to that State. Although be had served
the people of North Carolina 10 legislative Ca
pacity during the war, he had always been
Union, and non ,secessonist on principle. He
thinks twotkirds or tbree-fourts of the people
of the State are unitedly opposed to. secession
The mass the people at the time of Lees sur
cause they saw that the result was inevitable
Many of them we're for peace and believed there
was no safety out of the Union. They were
gratifed the question had been settled in some
way. OF late they had become very despairing,
perhaps, in part from the loss of slave property,
though chiefly from the long delay in being ad.
nitted to the Union. There is wide feeling
of discomfort even among Union men. The
great mass of the people are exceedingly anxious
to have the relations between the State and the
Federal government restored. Some few per-
sons would, perhaps, be gratifed by foreign
war, but the great mass are perfectly willing to
live under the laws of the United States, pro-
vided they can have political equality with the
other States. The longer this is procrastinated
the worse the feeling of discomfort will become.
Some portions of the people, in the event of a
war with Great Britain or France, would proba-
bly, engage 10 another attempt at secession and
the establishment Of Southern independence;
but great majority would suppress such an at
tempt if there was reasonable expectation that
they could be admitted to equal political rights
in the Union. The best way to remove the
feeling of discomfort among the people would be
to declare the State member of the federal
InJ0n md oIn how nf,fi 20 fha1v
seats, Congress, of course, judging of the mem
bers presenting themselves separately. Dsloy-
al men should be excluded, but men should be
admitted, even if the great majority of their
constituents were actual disloyalists The ques-
ton of admission should depend rather upon
the character and qualifications Of the claimant
than upon those of his constituents. If his dis
trct was manifestly disloyal beyond question, it
would perhaps be justification for his exclu-
sion. The witness thinks ma jority of the peo-
pie would be willing to pay the federal debt, al
though the taxpayers do not regard it as
pleasant subject; very decided and overwhelm-
ing majority would be opposed to tie payment
of the Confederate war debt. He does not know
of any combination, open or secret, to make fur
ther resistance to the government or renew the
war in any shape. lie believes that Northern
men going into North Carolina to invest capital
III lanos, manuIactOrles, &C, WOulo De received
in friendly manner and treated with justice in
the State courts. The freedmen in his part of
the State we're acting very well, and the general
sentiment among the farmers and planters is to
treat them with fairness. There is disinclina-
ton for promiscuous schools for whites and
blacks, but the better class of the people do not
object to schools for blacks separately The
officers Of the Freedmen's Bureau have gener-
ally been liberal toward both the freedmen and
the white people; but he hardly thinks there is
any further necessity for maintaining the Bu-
reau, as black men would stand as good a chance
in the State courts white men, if they were
of good character, and there are no particular
prejudices against them. The poor whites
generally considered as having higher claim
to credibility than the negroes. Universal
negro suffrage would be regarded as very objec-
tonable and wholly inadmssable; but good
many persons would have no objection to seeing
qualified negro suffrage. He does not think it
possible to establish restricted suffrage among
the whites, and thinks none Of them would ever
surrender the right to vote if they could avert