Wilmington journal., 1868-04-03
ICoMMUNICATED.l
To Hon. Thos. Settle, Late Capt. G. $. "A.
Ynr, holnnn TO the best blood of the


State. Like your brother officer, COL
Rodman, you were born an aristocrat. You
are no common man, sprung from obscure
parentage High station and wealth and
the Settle family are no strangers to each
other Your father, whose honored name
you bear, adorned for years the Judiciary
of our State. Time and again you have
been honored by the confidence of the
people. No matter how many may be
wrecked around you. your bark always
comes safely to shore. You are an edu-
Gated gentleman. In English history you
are doubtless proficient It may be as
serted, from the events Of your life, that
you have profted by the experience of the
past, that to a gentleman of your turn of
mind, the life of at least one English char
acter has been a study. It is unnecessary
to say that refer to that eminent divine,
the VICAR of BRAY. With equal confidence
may it be asserted that your theological
studies were mainly directed to the tenets
of that sect who "held the best livings in
England" Comparatively a young man,
for fifteen years you have been more or
less prominent before the people. You
were by birth and education Whig. You
went to the University of the State. Your
county of Rockingham was largely Demo
cratic You overcame your early prejudi-
ces as your naturally fine mind was en-
larged and developed by the iberalizing
course of studies at Chapel Hill. This was
truly fortunate. The whole State was by
this time thoroughly Democratic. 1t op-
portunely qualified you for the position of
Private Secretary to your brother-in-lav,
that true man, Gov. DAVID S. REID. For
a time Democracy was jubilant, and so was
Thomas Settle, Jr. The future lay fair
and beautiful before you; the sunshine
lasted enough to make you Solicitor
for your District. But fair weather
could not last always. Portentous signs
of terrible storm overcast the whole
political horizon. You attempted to SO
trim YOUR sails as to break its force
You followed the guidance of your family
connection, Hon. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS,
still, however, claiming to be Democrat.
If DOUGLAS won, you we're all right. If the
Democrats won, you were still Democrat.
If the Opposition won, hadayou not aided
them in breaking down the Democratic
party? Verify, you took up a fine position.
Neither Democrats, Douglas or the Oppo-
sition won. The winning party was not
vet here You wished to be Solicitor again.
The Legislature met and the Democrats
were in power. You sought the nomination.
In the caucus of the party, held in the
Commons Hall in the winter of 1860, you
made speech, recanting your errors and
apologizing for your wanderings. l was
present at that caucus. have in my minds
eye now, your tall, graceful figure and
commanding form, as you renewed your
fealty to the Democratic party.
we'll remember the classic and elegant
manner in which you referred to your error
It was forcible, too. You said you were like
the poor girl, who, when rebuked severely
by her stern mother for an indiscretion"
(so-called, presume, in these days. which
resulted in an unauthorized grand child for
the old lady, and all you had to say was,
that ''if you had had baby it was mighty
little one" and you hoped to be excused.
You were excused and nominated, and
received the vote of every De mocrat in the
Legislature, except that of the gallant and
chivalrous FLEMING, of Rowan, who
openly declared that no caucus could COM
pei him to vote for you under such circum
stances.
Poor FLEMING The gentlest, the purest,
the bravest, the most incorruptible of men,
the most ingle-minded of patriots and the
truest of friends Fitted by every quality
of lead and heart to adorn the highest
position in the gift of a people, it fell to
your lot, my gallant comrade, to lay down
your noble life for the land you loved so
we'll
You and myself, Capt. Settle, survive
The ways of Prov idence are, indeed, past
finding out ! Here, again, was your good
fortune apparent The Legislature did
not meet until December, 1860, and then
you had ample time to run off with Doug
las and return again before the election of
Solicitor came off. The storm whose NUT
terings had been heard burst upon the
country. The President of the United
States called for seventy-fve thousand
troops to suppress what he termed an elm
surrection." Your response to this call
was prompt and vigorous. You raised a
company and took up arms as an insur
gent. You defed the President and the
Flag of the United States. You bore Cap
tain's commission in the opposing army
You were elected, if 7 mistake not, in the
Spring of 1862 Colonel, and declined on
the ground that you could not command
men who were soldiers by compulsion.
You must have free troop. You there
fore resigned and came home. Again for
tune favored you you swan with the cur
rent of popular feeling against the United
States government. Just as that feeling
received it's first shock, the Confederate
States Government made men soldiers by
com pulsion, and afforded to your tender