The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-09-11
Letter from Hon. B. F. Moore,
of Raleigh.

of Raleigh.
REPLY TO THE IS DISTINGUISHED
JURIST,'' SUPPOSED TO BE
EX-CHIEF JUSTICE RUFFIN.
Triumphant vindication of the vaIidi-
ty of the late State Convention.
To the People of Wake County, and, |
through Them, to the People of North
Carolina.
A question of unspeakable impor-
tance to the people of North Carolina,
as, indeed, it must be to all the South
ern States, has been recently raised by
an eminent jurist of the State: namely,
whether the Convention, which was
called by President johnson, through
the Provisional Governor of the State,
had any validity at all, and, if it. had,
what was the extent of it's powers.
By this jurist it is warmly maintained
"that the Convention was not cOaastitat-
tioaadl it had no powers; was an un-
authorized body; no more than vol
untary collection of SO many men a
caucus" &c.
If this be true, the blunder of con-
vening the late Convention, as body
possessed of authority, is truly serious,
and will likely prove to be immensely
calamitous.
The powers of the Convention are the
foundations, upon which will rest the
question, whether the present Governor
is constitutional officer; as, also,
whether the late legislative body was
competent to pass laws, and, in like
manner, whether any of the acts per-
formed by the appointees and agents of
any person or body deriving power
(however remotely through this &c eau
cus,'' are entitled to any validity. Nay,
the attack upon the legal status of the
Convention necessarily strikes the Pro-
visional Governor, and, if successful,
dethrones him with all the host of Off
GERS deriving their powers since the sur
render of the Confederate cause. For,
the same eminent jurist says, that if
there had been no provision in the Con-
stitution directing in what manner Con-
ventions might be called, still d" the
Convention was not a Legitimate Con-
vention-the Convention was called,
without the consent of the people of
North Carolina, by the President of the
United States, and under his orders an
act of clear and despotic usurpation,
which could not give the body any au
thority to bind the State or its inhabi-
tauts If it be said, that the President
or his satrap, his Governor of a prov
ince, did not call, or rather constitute
the Convention, but the delegates were
: elected by the people, and thereby the
! body was duly constituted, I deny it
directly and positively. The delegates
were not the choice of the people, for,
in the proclamation for calling it, the
qualifications of the persons who mi ght
= = be eligible, and those of the persons
, who might vote for them, were strictly
n prescribed in manner variant from our
G Fundamental law, and excluding from
e each class large portion-some would
!, r. say the best portion-of our qualified
E citizens In many cases our people
!, were not represented, but were, in fact,
!; misrepresented. The acts of such a
/ body cannot be said to be those of the
people of the State. They are not en-
: titled to obedience, and cannot, or at
e least ought not to be, judicially recog-
! nized."
E Thus it appears to he the decided
opinion of this jurist that the body, had
e it been called by a Legislature, was not
legitimate, because portion of the vo-
+ tiers, qualified under the Constitution of
the State, were not allowed to vote for
! members of the Convention. Now, al
j though, when the late Legislature was
e called into existence by the Convention,
: some of the disqualifcations were re-
e moved, yet others of these were retain
!. ed, and several persons, perhaps one ir
r hundred, but not more, were not al
e lowed to vote. Whether those, thus
1 +o uoto Gov bo
a OF for the General Assembly, were the
best portion or the worst portion of
qualified voters, can have no weight in
y considering the question, and was likely
introduced as fact, to multiply the ALA
d IaaOTnaia.
But, the argument, which renders
void Convention because certain per-
e sons are not allowed to vote, will for
: General Assembly; and, in like manner,
any election for Governor, if the persons
e thus excluded have the same constitu-
e tional right to vote in each election
Now, it has happened since the Conven-
e tion sat, that Judges, appointed by the
e Convention and the General Assembly,
y !. have sentenced men to be hung, some
{ of whom have been executed, and 9th
= ers have been pardoned by the Govern
or. Many have been tried for minor of
i fences and been imprisoned and severe
ly punished, yet, of all the Judges ap-
pointed by such authority, no one of
: them has questioned his right to seat,
i or his proper power to administer the
J, law No lawyer has raised the point
:; for his client. The Sheriffs, deriving
/ their authority through elections direc-
e ted by the Convention, have been gath
, ering taxes from the citizens, and no
r Hampden has yet been found to set the
E patriotic example of peaceful resistance,
even. The Justices of the Peace, too;
equally illegal officers, have been impo-
sing heavy burthens on an impoverished
people, without word of dissent as to
> their authority. They have, moreover,
been engaged constantly in uniting
respectable persons in the holy bonds OF