The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-08-01


on the same footing with Others in our Courts
of justice, is void. This, we say, is the logi
cal result from Judge Rufins position. In
his Judgment the State has taken no step in
the work of restoration. What, then, would
he havea He repudiates the Presidents
work, as that of a despot and usurper would
he look to the majority in Congress for
Legitimate authority in this business9 We
presume not. His view is that the rebel
State government is still in existence-that
Vance is the rightful Goyernor-that the
Legislature which aided the rebellion is still
the Legislature OF the State-that Clingman
and Bragg are our Senators, and that we are
entitled thus to return to the Union, with
our primary allegiance due to our State, and
bound only to support,'' as we may under
stand or construe it, the Constitution of the
United States And this argument leading
to such results, is eagerly caught up by the
secession press of the State, and published as
embodying the true doctrine and the Sentinel
the organ of Gov. Worth, commends this
argument of the Chief Justice 10 the atten-
ton of its readers, and says, after reading the
argument, that the people should carefully
consider" whether their ratification Of the
new Constitution can give it force or
validity
We will state, by the way, that Judge
Manly, who has just been appointed dele
gate to the Philadelphia Convention, holds
pretty much the same views with Judge Ruff
fin. If Judge Manly should be admitted to
that Convention, the members of that body
will associate with themselves a delegate
from North Carolina, who, at least, seriously
doubts the validity of the acts of the Con-
vention called by the President to take the
necessary steps to restore the State to the
Union. Indeed, Judge Ruf1in, from his adj
vanced age, his great learning, and his for
mer prominence among the politicians who
are now controlling this State, is regarded
on all hands as their leader and it is fair
to presume that all the delegates appointed
by these politicians and who may 60 to
Philadelphia, agree substantially with Judge
Rufin in his views The only real friends
of the President in this State or of the new
| Constitution, which is intended to complete
his work of restoration, are those loyal Union
men to whom he originally con6ded this
work, and few original secessionists who
have seen and regret their error, and who
have submitted in good faith to the national
authority.
If the acts of the Convention are not bind
ing, then slavery has not been abolished by
the new Constitution. The basis of repre-
sentation has not been changed, and three
| fifths of the former slaves are counted as an
element of power in the House of Commons.
what Judge Ruffin and his friends desire.
| They forced thousands of the free white men
of this State to die in the hope of saving
their slaves, and they beggared and ruined
their families; and now, when the war is
over and they have lost their negroes, they
still want to count them in the basis of rep
resentation, and to have three negroes WELD
as much power in the Commons as five
white men. Fellow-citizens, if yon want to
defeat this scheme of the oligarchs, go to the
polls and vote for the new Constitution, for
that instrument provides for white basis
for the House of Commons. If the acts of
the Convention are not binding, then the
rebel debt has not been repudiated and if
the Worth and Ruffin faction can succeed in
calling another Convention and in electing
such delegation as they want, they will fas-
ten that debt on our people, and make them
pay it. And this is no doubt one of the
main secrets of Judge Ruffin's course in this
matter. He holds large amount of new
rebel State bonds, and he wants new dea
of the cards with the hope of saving this
debt. One of the reasons why he thinks the
President "despot" and 'usurper" is, be-
cause he directed that this debt should not
he paid, and declared it treason to attempt
to pay it.
Judge Ruffin was regarded IN 1860 as
| Union man. But, being in the war, he staked
everything on the result. He opposed all
efforts to negotiate for peace on the basis Of
the restoration of the Union, and insisted on
fighting to the end. He might have saved
much of his property besides thousands OF
precious lives, if he had listened to the wise
counsels of such citizens as B. F. Moore
Robert P. Dick, Edwin G.. Reade,. Alfred
Dockery, Thomas Settle, George w. Logan,
Tod R. Caldwell, D. F. CALDWELL John Pool
Lewis Thompson and Others who might be
named; but he staked all and lost, and that
too as a rebel, for he freely admitted he was
rebel, and, as such, he respectfully and
humbly petitioned the President for par
don. The pardon was granted. The Presi-
dent believed he had repented of his SIN, and
so believing he could not refuse to pardon
this venerable man, who had so long and SO
ably and usefully served his fellow-citizens,
in various positions, previously to the rebel
lion. He had lost heavily by the war. His
family, with his approval and consent, as
stated by the newspapers at the time, had
given their trinkets and jewels, and what
little gold they had saved, to the Confede-
rate cause, so-calle6 a short time before Mr.
Davis fed from Richmond and he had lost
at one blow, all his slaves, and the accnmu-
lations of a long and Industrious life, in the