Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-10-30
From the SalsU Jury Old North State.
The State,

The interest which the Conservative
people of North Carolina should feel in
the result of the approaching election is
only second to that which they should feel
in the result in the United States. We
have uniformly held for months past that
we have no hope of modification Of our
present obnoxious State Constitution but
through convention of the people of the
State called in pursuance Of it's provisions
Such having been our honest conviction,
we would have been unjust to Ourse}f and
unfaithful to our readers not to have SO
declared. Such is our conviction still, and
such being our conviction we cannot but
feel the deepest interest in the success Of
our ticket in North Carolina.
We need not enumerate here ali tho va
rious obnoxious features in our State Con-
stitution-they are known to our readers
as we'll as to ourselves. The principle of
impartial suffrage between the races can
not be changed. But still such modifca-
tions will be possible as to place the tax
ing power in the hands, to some extent,
of those who have the taxes to pay. This
may be done by providing that no able
bodied man of either race shall exercise
the elective franchise who fails to pay his
State and county taxes. At present every
man in the State IS permitted to vote and
to hold office, whether he pays one cent Of
tax Or not. Under the present arrange
ment it is probable that there will be forty
thousand votes polled by persons who pay
no taxes at ALL Make the change which
we suggest, and these men will either pay
seventy thousand dollars into the State and
county treasures, as they should do, Or
they will be excluded from the ballot-box,
as they ought to be. Another feature that
every Conservative man in the State, of
whatever party, would like to see changed
is that giving the election of Judges TO the
people. We could mention many other
features in which change would be equally
beneficial.
Radicalism North is a very different
thing to what it is South. 1t is from rad
ical rule in North Carolina that we have
most to fear. Every one knows into what
sort OF hands the State government has
fallen-what sort of Governor, what sort
of Judges, in many instances, and what
sort of Magistrates We have to administer
our laws. Where IS the remedy It has
been answered, Gin the success Of the
Democratic party in the coming Presiden-
tial election" We have never been able to
see it there, and we have constantly SO said
as our readers we'll know We see it in
the ability CT the Conservatives Of North
Carolina, Of all parties, to obtain control
vention of the people of the State. The
Sovereignty of the people of the State,
within the limits of their reserved powers,
cannot be denied. If the people of the
State can meet in Convention they will
have full power and authority over the
whole matter. They can make whatever
changes in the Cow, rment and Constitu-
ton they may desire, provided such
changes dc not conflict with the Constitu-
ton of the United States. Here then, Con
sentative people of North Carolina, lies
your remedy. In this way you may get
rid of some of the worst features of the
Constitution and of the present corrupt
officials, and in no other.
We then appeal to the Conservative men
of Western North Carolina to REGISTER
and VOTE. If we can carry the State on
the Sd of November, the charm of Radical
ism will be broken in North Carolina, and
we shall soon be rid of such creatures as
Tourgee and Abbott, Dewese and Heaton,
Menninger and Ashley, to say nothing Of
such natives as Henderson, D. A. Jenkins
and Company. The government willagain
soon fall into the hands of its permanent
aud virtuous citizens. Rally, then, Rally
and strike blow for the redemption OF
your State on the 3D. of November.