The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1868-02-05

W
Z would not heed the wailihss dtV epsessed
people. - The broad seal ii the ooo56<ksuld
b pass away, and no man be able to veH5whab
! he owned And tho expense 81 o. military
5 establishment would be placed upon tho
: bur,lenedl people. IL gentlemen Of the oppo-
sition will iarmonize, that living. breathing
d party. which saved the country once, will
y save these States from ruin. Still he be;
i heved that the Southern Statesswould yet
8 be the most radical of all in the Union Let
gentlemen mark what he said, and xbate the
opposition that jjutted from every point. II
they did not take the reconstruction acts
willingly, take them they shall. lJsftai
Mr.. Graham 9of Orange, said that the
Z members Of the Conservative party, as we'll
as other members of this Convention, had
sworn to support the Constitution Of the
United States. Yet the Conservatives were
continually twitted about their oaths. When
they took that oath, who had told them that
the Howard amendment was part Of the
Constitution That amendment had yet to-
be ratified by tilroeSfourths ofthe States of
the Union. II that was not So they were
very anxious to get North Carolina to ratify
it. What is the use of all this labor, If the
amendment was already part of the Consti-
tutiOn2 And what member of the C0nven-
| tion thought that, when he swoYe to support
| the Constitution, he swore 10 support
the Howard amendment Thank God it
never would be part of the Constitution.
| Gentlemen might console themselves with
h the thought that they were in power He
denied the claim that they represented q
majority of the people. Thirty-two thou
sand votes had been polled against the Con-
% vention, and forty y-cight thousand had not
voted at all, who thought the same way.
This left bare majority Of eleven thousand,
when it was known that many Conserva-
tives had voted for Convention. He was
obliged to the gentleman for his kind invi-
tation, aud was gfad to know the lamp still
| held out to burn. If he needed his Invita-
tions, he might accept them. But he would
deem it no honor to any friend of his, to-
place his name on list to 60 to Congress
for removal of disability. The President
still had the pardoning power, and tins Con-
vention would at least consult its sclf-re-
spect, if it should wait until Congress might
ask it for list. Instead of the lowering
clouds, which the gentleman from Washing
tow saw, he beheld bright sky. He did
!, not believe the magnanimous feelings of the
/ Northern people would permit the members
of its own race, to be trodden under foot by
tDc <tlIlCdu 1utN WOulQ HO6 IcQulIt IL u
the descendants of those men. who stood by
them in the dark days of the old revolution.
They do sympathise with u.s. and no gene
rous soldier of the Northern army had any
less respect for a man who fought against
him, in cause which he believed to he
right But those questions belonged to the
past We must now face the realities of the
present. 1t was said that the people Of the
State had contemptuously spurned the mag
unanimous Howard amendment. That they
must do so and so, in order to get back to
the Union. When did they get out9 True
an ordinance of secession, so called, had been
passed, but there were members on this
floor, who had voted in the Convention of
1865 that that ordinance was null and void
4 and had no valid effect When did the
State then cease TO he member of the
Union? Was it during the darkest hour of
the war, when Congress declared that the
United States were not fighting for subjuga-
tiOn 2 Was it since the war, when the
Chief Justice came and held his court in
this State? When and how did the State
ever cease to be member of the Union
Il When the surrender took place, the only
right the government had was to compel
the people to obey the laws, and the State
was placed in exactly the same relations as
she was before the war. If the people had
been told that their public men might have
expected this disfranehisement and degrada-
tion, secession might have been prevented.
His position was that under the Constitution,
they might hang Or take property If they
pleased, but could pass no es post Jacto. laws.
That was the only punishment. And
during the rebellion, as it was called, the
States were told that if they would return,
| <box, bar aro told
that magnanimOus offers of mercy have been
rejected. He could not view them in that
light They told us if we rejected their Of
ters, they would give us negro suffrage. He
was of opinion, that there were some men,
bers on this floor, who were glad that offer
was rejected, and that the lamp did hold
out to burn little longer. The negroes,
and he did not use that term disrespectful-
ly, did not think that offer magnanimous.
But the resolution was under consideration,
and he could not see the propriety OF its
adoption. He said nothing now about its
/. constitutionalisy. But the Convention
seemed to, be in great harry, and he
thought it would consult selfrespect to wait
until Congress sent for 0 list Of persons.
Therefore, he moved that 1t lay on the table.
i . Withdrawn by request, when 5w.
Il Mr.. Hayes. of Robeson, introduced an
ordinance to encourage the establishment OF
manufactures, which being referred, the
Convention went into fa-t,
~ COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE %
On the report Of the comnittee on the E&-
ecutive edepaItment-contaiain eighteen see-
r tions of the proposed Constitutiou.
I MI. Jones, Of Washington, was called to
the Chair.
The 1st section wasread, when Dir. Dur
hams amendment to strike out the offices Of
!. 1t. Governor, SnpeEiRtendents & Public
Works and Of Public Instruction, was an
nounced to be pending.
Mr.. Nicholson said, on behalf Of the COM
j, mittee, he would state that none Of the Off
ces proposed were new ID fact, though
!, they might be in name, with the single ex-
ception of It. Governor. That officer
!. would be little cost to the State, save when
he might be called 10 act rs Governor,
Heretofore, there had been numerous Super
intendents Of Public Works, but this sec
ton proposes to condensc and place the
|, duties in the hands Of ore man. .He thought
. the mind of the Convention was made up,
,'f and desired vote upon the question
II Mr.. Heaton said the Office Of Il. Governor
wns one OF the most important, and ire
quently found to be Of great utility IN other
"A States upon the death or inability Of the
Governor to act The successor of the Gov
9 crror should always,be. an officer elected by
the people, and as the Speaker Of the Senate
II was ISoy Ia c6eiisio the snccessofCf the Gov
Z ja g~,,, ,f osplv n nvestir,n whether IT