The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-09-10


5ederate enemies, that whilst as my friends
knew, and felt, / kept all the while burning in
my heart the vestal fire of love for Liberty and
coercion, was obliged to take certain position
against the National government. No man
dared stay here and call himself Union man.
We changed our name. We called ourselves Con-
servatives, but IN our heart of hearts we held on
to the old principles, and we verified in it the
the words of the old adage,
"A man convinced against his will,
Is of the same opinion STILL"
They did this for the purpose of protecting
themselves, and for the purpose of keeping to-
gether, and being ready at the proper time
which proper time occurred in JULY. 1SG3Nto
take ground for negotiation and peace on the
basis ofthe Union. Mr. L. Pennington, thenEdi-
ccr 1t u the k;alelgh Ggss is entitled to the
for the restoration of the Union, in his newspa-
per- in July, 1868.
We maintained our integrity as far as we could.
We held together. We nursed this feeling and
in July, 1868, we thought the time for an open
demonstration had come
Mr. Pennington struck the first blow and at once
followed him. In less than eight weeks after nv
Office was mobbed and sacked by special com
pany OF Confederate soldiers from the City of
Richmond.
We were denounced as traitors to the Confed-
eracy, but the denunciation was falsehood, be-
cause we had never been true to it, and we never
intended to be.
Gov. Ii. here spoke at some length, to show
the historical fact that the Union men of North
Carolina in 1860, agreed to maintain their views
and to avail themselves of the first occasion to
take the State out ofthe Confederacy and restore
her to the Union.
He gave facts, names and dates to sustain his
views. He argued that he and others had re-
manned true through all prosecutions and perils
to the cause of the Union, while such as Cows
Vance and Graham had abandoned the Union
during the rebellion, and allied themselves
thoroughly and finally with the Davis govern
ment.
He declared himself Union man as long as he
dared to say so; then Conservative-then an I'M
conditional Unionist at the close ofthe rebellion:
and now a radical Republican. Whatever others
might do, he was with the Congress and the Ma
ton. He was radical, because he wanted to
tear up the last vestge of the roots of secession
and slavery, and plant in stead the tree of Liberty
and Union: (Applause(
He called on the people generally to unite on
the reconstruction measures, and take the State
back to the Union. He did not regard the silly
talk of the day about yankees and niggers."
He felt honored, when his name was associated
with those of the brave soldiers who had saved
the Republic. We were now all one nation.
Applause There were no longer Yankees or
Southrons in a sectional sense. Sectionalsm
had been destroyed forever by the thunders
of federal cannon; and the nation the ma
ton the Union, now and forever, had been
written by the lightnings OF five hundred battles
on all the arches of the Sky. Great applause.]
He wished to injure no one He would trample
y
good aud the glory of North Carolina. He was
radical because he loved the State and her people,
and felt that the State could be restored and built
up in no other way than by radical Republican
measures. Those who could not conscientiousiy
endorse these measures should get out ofthe way
of those who could, and if they did not, they
would be brushed aside and the great work of re-
construction done without regard to them [Ap-
plause.] That work should be done, and that
speedily. Those who had ruined this people
should no longer rule them. ]Applause
Gov. 81. said he cherished malice towards none.
He had no resentments to crafty. He was gov
erned solely by a desire to advance the public
good. He cared less probably than most public
men for clamor and denunciation. He was glad
fear his enemies (AppIause.) He did not care
for the mean and the vicious who were DISABLING
him. Such as assumed to put on airs in relation
to him-they had not done SO in his pres.
united with yankees and colored
people in the great work of reconstruction,
lie could afford to look down upon with
contempt. Their assaults passed him as the idle
reLe ntant traitors and their mniOns he regarded
compliment. 1t was badge of honor. 1t
was proof that he was true to the Republican
cause, and that his efforts were being felt in the
work of reconstruction.
With reference to the remarks of Gen. Dock
cry, and his exclusion from the right to vote, he
would say that under the letter of the law of
Congress, Gen. Dockery was banned. Now, see
what he did.
He voted himself that the change should be
made, which would prevent him sa i. from o v9tingi
restore the Union. l did the same thing, and
still these people reiterate the charge that Gen.
Dockery and myself ere not your frlends: Judge
you think not, saw SO too. (Cries of you
are, :" "you are.") will go further. and say that
in March we had one of the noblest Conventions
ever assembled in the American Union II was
the first occasion in the history of this people,
when upon the same floor, under the banner of
the Nation, p detected by the agis of the Union,
the black man enfranchised and the white man
already enfranchised stood up side by side to de-
liberate for the good of their common country.
take he action of Congress cheerfully and
promptly and without conditions. What am sir
what are you, what is any individual in the coun-
try compared to the restoration of the Nation
and the establishment upon q secure sis OF
peace and prosperity for the people cf North
CprOlinae
He also alluded to the speech delivered by Gen.
Dockery in 1862 IN presence OF Gen. Howard, to
show that the General was the friend of the col
ored man; and pointing to Gen. Dockery as a
noble old Roman, he told the colored people he
was one of the few survivors of that Industrious
body of men who voted in the Convention of
1885 against taking from the free negroes the
right of suffrage. (Applause-)
/ admit may have made mistakes, as public
man but the people Of Wake County have known
me for thirty years, and / say without fear
that can go before the people Of Wake County
at any time and be sustained, for though may
err, have never deceived them and believe
they regard me as an honest man.
Now, sir, the colored man knows that he has
got his acknowledgements through the Republican
party and that he gets absolute civil and political
equality. and in regard to all points of spiritual
and educational matters the same facilities and
advantages that white men have; and sir, if that
is the case, there can be ne doubt that the sixty
Thousand colored men of this State will with per-
haps rare exception, cast their lot with the Re
publican party Out of the eighty thousand white
votes OF this State we may safely put thirty or
forty thousand as the number of loyal votes, and
with these and the sixty thousand colored votes
we shall have such triumph for the Republican
party as will show the enemies of the country
hall restore this State to its former proud
and honorable position in the American Union, and
thus sir in spite of all their Efforts to the contrary,
place North Carolina on the high road to state
of prosperity and glory she has never hitherto
enjoyed cloud and continued applause)
NIGHT SESSION.
Pursuant to adjournment, the Convention
met this evening at $50 P. NJ, at which
l1~1 fl,o