The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1868-03-11
For the Standard
Republican Mass Meeting in StanIy.
Chapel Hill, March 4, 1868.

IL was my good fortune to be at Abe
marie, Stanly County, this week, and to hear
two speeches from that sterling patriot and
able man of the people, Col. W. +. Hender-
son. of Davidson County On Tuesday af-
ternoon, it being Superior Court week, Col.
Henderson addressed very large portion of
the intelligent people of Stanly County,
upon the state OF the country. He held up
to public gaze, the hlundcrs of President
johnson in concentrating in himself every
Department OF the government immedi-
ately after the surrender of General johnson,
resembling the Sherman johnson treaty, re-
tusng to call together Congress upon the
suppression OF the greatest rebellion the
world ever saw, and establishing without
authority of law-and overriding the Con-
stitution in so doing-territoria govern
ments in all the rebel States, and putting
IN motion, BY his despotic machinery, gov
ernments which no monarch in Europe dare
attempt, beside the Autocrat of Russia.
The Colonel gave lucid exposition of
the various acts passed by Congress. and
showed conclusivcly that the South had
been greatly the loser by refusing to adopt
the Howard Amendment: that this refusal
had necessarily given birth to the Recon-
structlon Acts, and that now no alternative
was LETT US but to accept in good faith,
these acts, and to rebuild the shattered for
tunes our State upon the principles OF Re-
publicanlsm. He conclusively demonstrated
that lasting prosperity would attend our
efforts, If the people would rush to the
breach and construct our State government
upon the only feasible plan, that of the civil
and political equality of ali the people of
the State. He showed that LOYALTY was the
.ulsd-slllupon which oqr framework was to
be reared; that persons whose veins coursed
rapidly with deadly antagonism to the old
flag had been wisely excluded for the pres.
ent from participating in constructing our
government, and We had nothing to fear
from winning malcontents whose chief aim
was to obstruct liberty and equality.
The Colonel was listened to with marked
attention for two hours, when he was replied
to by Gen. Dargan, of Arson. who uniting
great humor with genuine wit, failed to
erase the deep-seated and powerful effort of
Col. Henderson, from the minds of the peo
pie.
The people had not before mad the pleas
ure of hearing republican principles so
clearly stated and so forcihly enforced as was
done by Col. H. So on the day following
he was again urged to address the people,
which invitation he accepted, and for two
hours he kept his audience spell bound, in
unfolding to them the principles and policy
of the Republican Party. So powerful
and telling was this last effort that the
Conservatives despairing of destroying tile
battlements of Republicanism called to the
rescue the Hon. Mr. Ashe, who, with
all his great ability and tact as politician
atailed To remove from the minds of the
masses, the justice and liherality of the Re-
. construction Acts of Congress. Col. Hen
derson. although personally unknown to
most of the people of this County, has, by
his statesman-like views and his powers as q
debater, endeared himself to the Republi.
cans here, and they are proud that SO much
loyalty, with distinguished ability, can be