Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1866-07-05
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL.
WILMINGTON, N. c., JUNE 90, 1866.


"AAA ~
called upon to ratify or reject the amendments te
the Constitution, we are ANXIOUS to lay before oul
readers these amendments at an early day. Asye
no official publication has been made, and we are
ignorant of the means adopted by the Convention
to get them before the people
A correspondent of the Petersburg hidec has
given that paper the only concise and intelligent
statement of the amendments that we have SEEM
The Constitution, with its several amendments
passed its third reading On Saturday, previous &c
it's final adjournment on Monday, and the amend
ments are as follows
No member of the General Assembly can be-
elected to any Office during his term
Magistrates are to be elected by the people
once in every six years, by districts Two magls
trates are allowed to every one thousand lnhabl
tants an additional number to shire and 1ncor
porated towns.
Petty misdemeanors may be tried before sin
gle magistrate out of court. Police courts and
courts in Incorporated towns may be established.
Every man elected to the Office of Governor
Lieutenant Governor and to the General Assembly
must take an cath that he is constitutionally quail
flied.
The basis of representation has been changed
to the white basis alone.
The Governor must be thirty years of age, TWEEN
tyyears citizen, five years a resident Immediate
ly before the day of election, and must possess
land in fee to the value of $1,000 The Lieuten-
ant Governor the same These qualifications are
not all changes, nor are the qualifications for Sen
ate and House of Commons, but notifications
simply
10 IF typ
continued resident before the day of election, and
must possess land in fee to the value of $500, or
freehold to tie value of one thousand dollars.
A Commoner must be twenty-one, and possess
real estate to the value of $780,
Finally, all officials must be lUhie men and cltl-
zens.
A person having one-sixteenth of negro blood
or more is q negro, or at least not a white man.
person having less than one-sixteenth negro
blood is a white man in the constitutional sense
Negroes only are excluded on account OF color.
A taxed Indian is eligible to any Office in North
Carolina.
These then are the substance of amendments
which are to be submitted to our people on the
first Thursday in August. Many of them i'm
portant, and the time for their dissemination and
consideration is short. The mail facilities of the
ton provided for their early publication and dis
tribution, some of the more remote sections of the
State will be placed in possession of them if at all,
but few days previous to the election.
The next most important work done was the
passage of the Stay Law, which we have published
in full
The change in the basis of representation upon
safe and satisfactory compromise, should it be
fol l,y,t no TAX of fufure State
canvasses one exciting topic of discussion and
reconcile a conflict of political interests.
Reputation, which, previous to the assembling
of the Convention, began to be threatened as one
of the issues of the ensuing campaign, has been
slenced for which, if the credit be due that body,
we return our thanks. We do not think the peo-
pile of North Carolina will ever sanction such a
dishonorable and disgraceful measure, but the ag-
itaton of the question and the consideration given
to it as one of the issues before the people would
have injured the reputation OF the State.
The intelligent correspondent of the Laoee
above referred to- classes the parties OF the Con-
yention into three divisions the true Southern
men-the true Union men-and the bastard
Union men, and thus closes we'll written review
of the body and its parties
The North Carolina Convention has played its part it
has srutted brief hour the stage and has given way
to other actors It is an old saying however Men die
the body in question ve when those who enacted them
forgotten To certain extent it played the mercess
despot and to great extent it lent its influence to the
support of that political school which fast destroy
ing every vestge of freedom THAT existed among 1t
has set examples in legislation which every good
must regret and which must have demoraizing infu-
ence only future legislators but public sent
ment And yet blinded are men by party rage that
done think that they this day. deserve well of their
State and have set before the of its people Illus
trious instance of disinterested patriotism.
8
Of that body the tone and spirit which pervaded
it. At first it caba of ruthless proscriptonsts,
who celebrated their orgies while the body Of their moth
or, the South, Frustrated from many wounds and
bleeding at pore, and they to be filled with
hatred such of her noble sons as raised their arms to
shiedher from death and from shonor than DEATH
and scarcely deemed them worthy of the humblest place
under old And this too while they themselves
the South to thank God that He in his wis
DOM inspired the Presidential incumbent with justice and
would be oppressed beyond all precedent and the
ministers OF his vegeance would be found among
people.
But thank God Also the South has not lost her man.
hood The true spirit still exist among her sons, that
spirit which has blazened thousand battle fields
The story of southern bravery and southern patriotism
still lives, it lives in her daughters well her
yea in their bosoms it glows with yet greater ardor
What may not expect from these and daughters?
What will their Union produce In the FUTURE in the
past of GO fair women and brave men," who
always destined a free government, when but in
ct with the souess and mercenary Puritan to give their
tone and character to its political institutions The South
is fast recuperatng Those who denouncing her
gallant and eliminating the motives of her trusted
leaders will yet reward in popular contempt
and execraton The South, trust will rule the South
do not those of her who vtuperating
her. And Southern craftsmanship, united with the vast
ocrac principles yet the aggressions of
Puritanism and this noble country from the fate
which, otherwise, seems inevitable
And still cannot close this line of remark without
bearing my testimony to the patriotism Of those