Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-10-02

oned at the discretion of the Court, and shall for.
felt any office OF position that her ne may then hold
Peace or other peace officer shall cause all often
ders against this act to be Immediately arrested
and held to bail to appear before the next sue
ceeding Superior Court Of the county to answer
such charge
Sec. %. All laws and clauses of laws coming in
conflict with the provisions Of this act are hereby
Sec. "a. This act shall be in force from and af-
ter its ra ifcation.
Ratified ta the 18th day of August, 1868.
(Slgned) Jos. W. HOLDEN,
Speaker House of Representatives.
(Slgned) TOD r. CALDWELL,
President of Senate.
STATE OF Nor III CAROLINA,
OFFICE SECRETARY OF STATE,
Raleigh, August 2Gth, 1868.
l, Henry j. Menninger, Secretary of State, here
by certify that the foregoing true copy of the
original act on file in this office:
Csigned) HENRY J. MENNINGER,
Secretary of State
A. w. FISHER,
Adiutant General
Then this Governor appoints and COM
missions all the officers. This is unusual
and extraordinary in organizing the MILL
tia, and contrary to the uniform practice IN
this State. But this is the leading means
of centralizing the power of the two forces
provided for.
This Governor may receive and organ
ize, arm and equip, six regiments of infan-
try, three battalions of cavalry, and one
battery of artillery. The usual number OF
a regiment is thousand men, but no num-
Der is designated in this act. Under this
provision the Governor may organize ten
thousand men, and arm and equip them.
These troops are not to be taken from the
people promiscuously, but they must be
such as this Governor will accept. These
troops may come from any State, and this
Governor may appoint the officers from
any State, and they are to be organized,
as nearly as may be, according to the army
regulations of the United States. Tt will
thus be seen that this army will be Rad
ical army, out and out, under the COM
mand and direction of this Radical Gov
ernOr.
Five Justices of the Peace may call upon
this Governor to order his Colonel in any
county to detail, organize, and equi p and
arm a detailed militia force, to keep the
peace and enforce the law, not exceeding
fifty in county for each member from
such county to the House of Representa-
tives, but this Governor may increase the
number to be thus detailed, organized,
armed and equipped as much as he pleases.
Now these Justices of the Peace are all
Radicals, and all the Colonels are Radi-
Yates are Radicals, and the whole power
of this army is in the hands of this Radi-
cal Governor, by and through this means.
And the whole treasury of the State is at
the command of this Governor, to these
ends. This detailed militia must be electors
in this State, and so must its officers lit
may be any number the Governor may
fix, and it must be used only for the pur
pose of executing the La1cS and to suppress
resistance to the same. The 22d Sec. of
this act provides what shall be the pur-
pose of the detailed militia but no sec
ton defines the purposes of the rolunteer
unay! The purpose of this army is left to
the discretion of this Governor.
It will thus be seen that the object of
this act, so general and covert in its terms, |
is not to organize the militia, but to organ
ze tremendous military Radicdl pOlCer, !
and that all necessary means to this end
are provided
Now wherefore this strange and extraor-
binary piece of legislation ? What cause
has given rise to it, or what necessity is
there for it There is no state of war
here; there is no war threatened on the
part of the white people of the State; the
people never were in greater state of sub
ordination to law, and they could not be
driven into a conflict with the Federal
Indeed, if it could be pre-
tended that there was cause for ap-
prehension of resistance to lawful authori !
ty, by regular war or irregular conflict, |
then there is not the slightest necessity for
this war measure, for the United States |
troops are stationed in the State, and
thousands more could be transported here |
fore the necessity for these strange and |
unheard of military organizations, to be
gotten up in such a peculiar, one-sided, po- |
litical party aCGy, at such an enormous
expense as must be incurred to organize, |
arm and equip these armies Can any
one conjecture, much less see, a necessity |
for such armies and expenses?
The leaders Of this party are desperate |
men, innovatOrs, such men as spring up in |
the wake of civil wars; these men see that |
power is about to pass into other hands, |
and they have made desperate resolve to |
prevent this, if possible. Every conceiva- |
BILE means to this end has been used since
the close of the late war, and one of the |
principal means employed was the unlaw-
full and forcible enfranchisement of the |
negro race in the south. Notwithstanding
all these efforts, it is not improbable to |
them that Seymour and Blair may be cleo
ted at the approaching Presidential cleo
ton. They intend to prevent this if pos
BILE, at the ballot box; but if they can't do
it, then they have resolved to resist their
Inauguration by force ofarms and open war
npon the Constitution of the country This
purpose has been openly avowed by some
of the more indiscreet of the Radicals. s.
the opinion is wide spread at the north that
there is such a settled purpose.
This Act of the Legislature, providing
for this large military force, is in the inter
ests of this covert Radical movement
the land. Its history and aims
prove this At first, the Radical Legisla-
ture received the proposition with manifest
distaste; it was debated warmly, in caucus
and out of caucus, and finally, as was sup
posed and hoped, it was defeated in the
Senate by the adoption of a substitute,
which was little more than an affirmation
of the law as it existed without this Act
but Mr.. John Pool, Mr.. Joseph c. Abbott,
two members of Congress from this State
and the latter carpet Dagger, few days
before the close of the late session of the
returned from Washington,
having conferred fully with the Radicals
there, and Mr.. Pool prepared the bill
which passed the Legislature. After he
prepared the bill it was brought before the
Radical caucus and there Hebafed The