The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-07-02
rcu OFW. A. SMITH, ESQ.,,
80 nbnstou. at Public Meeting in SnaitAJfeld,
W 'o' June Gath, 'S67.

fEone of Johnston County have been true
ou ud Ioval to the United States government, du,
anu gnu. The struggle through which we have all
rns If they stood firm then, under the
p'rssts of a fierce and tyranical despotism, am
snrtSin they will be found doubly true to-day;
ca that they feel as do, whom they have so Of
snu h,,nored with their suffrages, that the Repub.
Tan marty is the only true and loyal party to the
iTnion in the whole country. 1t i, the only one
,,hich we can join with safety. Why? Because
The old Democratic party hreathed the breath of
NJ NJ into secession. 1t caused your woes and
.oublrs It cOnScripted your sons, forced on
,be war, and is now lryins to heap infamy on you
and your children because OF your loyalty to the
1@i;nd States government. 1t fostcred an aris-
tocrisy in your midst, aud made you hewers of
,y,on and drawers OF water They held Office SO
,on~ that they Imagine the offices are theirs by
inheritance. By tleir policy they would crush
ont every hope of the Union man. and hand him
down to posterity us u degraded wretch. Shall
we ion such party? No-never! Then where
shall we go' 1t is necessary for our safety and
that OF our country that organize. Thcn We
will be able to stand in selEdetence against the
troitors-our prosecutors. They say mean
,chite people, that any man who joins with US be-
longs to the "nigger party They wish to treat
Ms with contempt socially, Boosting that they are
the elite having the education and property
They say they were true to the Contederacy and
beinr whipped will now be the truer to the L.
: government, which they attempted TO destroy,
than We the loyal people of this country, who
have retraced oar steps and done all we could to
rsstore the country and undo that which was ac-
compiished III an hour OF excitement; who came
opt openly and boldly for reconstruction long be-
forr the termination of the war.
We believed we were wrong in that war. But
we had affection tor our OWE kith and kin being
3estroyea i'll battle and love tor own State
So long as the rebellion continued, we saw no
hone but felt that destruction raining upon
our heads. Therefore we did all we could to ar
rest the course OF that war; by voting for pncQn-
ditional peace, whenever an opportunity presen-
trd Now the havoc is ended; terms of recon-
10 " l1 raatU
making powers against which We fought. Snail
we accept? Or will we permit the colorcd man
TO remain au apple OF dscord between the North
and South Let Us not fear the oaium of our
wou!d-be masters, cast upon us by their sian der
Gus tongues, but march up and fulfil the require
ments OF the reconstruction act. Let us make
this State government truly Republican, accQr-
DING TO the Declaration of Independence. What
is the platform of our party9 "The Constitu-
ton of our country; the liberty of its citizens;
nolitical and civil equality TO all" Are not these
sound plauks. They watchwords to be ham
dcd down to our .child"en's children.
Some pretended Union men during the war,
are now trying to slip CT the platform, and go
back to the teSh-potS of Egypt Their excuse is
that Gov Holden leads the Republican party OF
North Carolina. They say that he was once
Democrat and advocated secession Yes, my
friends but if he had refused TO have acted as he
did, in the commencement o. the waf, the halter
would have been tustened around his neck and
himself swung into eternity, for being traitor
the COntedcracY. He rode tue storm, trying
to direct its course or to qucll It's wrath. For
attempting to do ee, his office was mobbed his
life sought constantly by the satrap5 OF Jefferson
Davis. Do these tice-iike hypocrites, who now
bark at his heels, consider that then they thought
him no secessionist Yes, they called him
traitor to their beloved Contederacy, and that is
why they hate him now
Ii he Committed wrong in advocating seees-
sion in certain contingency, he never thought
that contingency had arrived, when secession
fired into Fort Sumter. No, sir, lie Was then
fighting against secession. Bat admitting for
arguments sake that he all his accusers
would make US believe him. is he rebel now -
No his acts, his very soul gushes for the Union
he receives the jeeTs and taunts of traitors,
when he might join them, and I've bright jewel in
their crown. They know that he is their supe-
riOr III Intellect and craftsmanship; but he is not
the man 10 join the trlducers of his country. II
he has snned, his sins are forgiven, and like
IKE prodiga he has returned to the defence OF the
old mansion Who has done mere for the tlefen
ders OF their country than he has
But, fellow-citizens, how much can his accu-
sers say? Can they say that they hilmbled them
selves to the government, and will 10 better tor
the future? Are they willing to accept the terms
of the surrender, which was unconditional? No
srs. Are they willing to return to their ale
glance to the government? No sirs. They wish
to dictate their own terms. Have they repented
OF their sins and acknowledged their wrong IL
bringing SO much woe upon the country? No
sirs. They yet boast that they were right-and,
therefore, have nothing to feel sorry for but only
wish that they had the power to have crushed the
Union forever; and they would crush it now, and
all those who were for the Union theu and now,
would stand poor chance in:this country il they
had the power. Can you tlust such men. Would
Congress have done right to have trusted such
men to rule over Union mens Could Congress
trust men who once swore to protect and defend
the Union, and thef broke their oath voluntari-
ly, to hold the offices of the country, without re-
pentance? They have shown no Signs of repen-
lance. They are in the country boasting of their
treason and looking up 1t as the stepping ston e
to office and preferment, and trying by unfair and
foul means to destroy such men as Holden, be-
cause they refuse to bow to Baal, and still uc-
knowledge themselves the vassals ofthese odious
seccssionists and unrcpentant traitors to their
country.
But Gov. Holden asks for no Office, neither do
his friends wish to hoist themselves into Office if
they can not take the required oath; but wish to
see the traitors to the government hurled from
office, and men who can take the required oath
put in their stead. l Am diSfranchised. | can
neither hold Office vote on account eff aiding
and Pbettng the rebellion, and justly so too; yet
L have Joined the party that caused the disability
to be put up on me. Did join it spaniel like,
and crouch to the rod that smote me? No, but
because believed the Republican party nearer
right than the Democratic party, and that it is Il
better friend to the people a whole than any
other party. In fact fellow citizens, there are
only two parties in the United States. That is
the Republican or Union party and the Demo
cratic party. There is small faction in this
State that denonnates itself Conservative, but
and will before long come out in their true col
orS. Also q few extreme men at the North who
are for the cOnfiscaton of the lands OF the South,
but like the conservative faction of this State,
they have but little influence the great mass of
Republicans of the North, and will finally give
up that point and consolidate themselves with
the great Republican party.
see here to-day many c0lored people who are
anxious Tor information upon political subjects.
That is right. You have been ignorant hereto
tore of political parties. / can tell you now. that
there are a. many tricks in political parties and
partizans as in any other trade, and you should
watch them ALL You should learn which is
right; therefore, it is proper yon should attend
Whenever there is speaking. Don't refuse to &c
because you know the speakers to be secession
1St formerly, or copperhead democrats now
Hear all sides of the question and make up your
minds who to vote for. You are free men. and
CONGRESS has given you the right of suffrage,
use 1t cautiously and honestly for the benefit of
Tue Whole Union and not for or against any race
Or color
Some people have told you that your old mas.
YER lands would be divided oHt to you. be-
rc't II originated in the South during the war,
Ior the purpose of treating the blood of the igno
rant men OF the South against the NORTH
G tr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, offered bill. in
congress to that effect but it got but little en-
enlargement and was laid upon the table for fU
ture debate. This has caused great many of
sou 10 think and talk of nothing else. That ap-
pears to be the wish OF "a great many of your
aace gu want land without buying it, and you
l ~