The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1868-02-19


if not all. the early Constitutions te
steady advance of Republican sentiment ha
wiped the blot from every Constitution &.
the land, save the Constitution OF our own
State, and those of New Hampshire, South
Carolina and Delaware.
The gentleman from Orange would demand
extra qualifications for Senator; the old
idea which our worthy fathers borrowed
from the aristocmtic institutions of the
en.etiser eeuntrv. The House of Lords rep
resented the iAristncracy Of Engand-the
better blootl of the reslm-and 81 our Sem
ates 1t was thought, must represent the
weaith,,th first families OF the new States;
not we, OF the cotton shirts and copperas
heeches,n but tho gentlemen of the silk
stockings Hence the aristocratic and cS-
tremeiy conservative elements which every
where grew up with Senates, until the peo-
pie began to talk of the House, in contradis-
tinction from the Senate, as the popular
branch OF the government. For one he
would have no unpopular branch in our new
government, but would make Senate and
House both popular branches. He had lit
tie sympathy with the notion that we need
q Senate chiefly To bold in check the House.
That is an idea horn of the distrust of the
people-it is the old fallacy that the people
are incapable of self-govcrnment. Formerly
IN North-Carolina to vote for Senator it
required the ownership of fifty acres of land,
but the amendment of 81 wiped all that
out, and now the venerable and respected
gentleman from Caswell fearful of" innova-
tion," would have us, like the crab, crawl
backwards, not tothe 50acres ofland indeed,
some worthless swamp Pncasin, hut to $3.50
worth of property--it may be three likely
young Jackasses of about that value. Here
to-day is man pehniless, and he cannot
vote, Tomorrow. by some good fortune,
he Incomes the proud owner of three likely
JackaSses and can vote for Senator. Now,
Mr.. T. would submit it TO the gentleman
from Caswell, whether it is the man, Or the
Jackasses. that does the voting The gen
tleman would not have the Convention forget
that it was building for future generations,
neither lie unminiful Of the glorious inspi-
rations OF the times in which they are work
in-. Our fathers wrought according to the
light OF their day. and have entered upon
the reward OF their honest toll Another
future OPENS before us. Not property, not q
few families, however old. or however re-
spectacle. are to rule the North Carolina Of
the hercafter-but the free aud mighty peo-
ple-the hardy fishermen of the Sounds and
the Coast, the unpurchesat,ie ploughers OF
her fields and her valiies the stout hcwers Of
her forests, the delivers in her mines. the hus-
bandman who feeds his hocks upon the
green slopes Of her mountains; these are TO
be her voters and her Legislators. The
people are to govern; not money, not lands.
not families, not jackasses.
That strange man Swedenborg. in one of
his wonderful books, tells us that during one
OF his visits to the Spirit-word he there met
spirits who had been in that state % years,
and yet didn't know that they were dead -
And so we have men in North Carolina, who
don't seem to know that they. politically.
and many of their old fayoritc notions. are
dead. and that this Convention is called for
their burial. Mr. F. said he had occasion
the other day to call attention to those Con-
servatiTes of the Plains, the Pawnee Braves,
who attempted to stop the progress Of that
srandest Innovation of the age, the Paci-
fc Rail Road. He wished TO remind gentle
lnen that the road was now several hundred
miles in advance of the point where the at
tempt was made To stopIt and at its termi-
nus for the winter. civilized town had al
ready sprang intn existence of more than
500 inhabitants. the City of Cheyenne
He thought gentlemen might gather les
son from this fact.
Mr.. IIodnett said: He had taFen the oc
casion in the earlier part of the session tn
present his views TO the House. Afterward
he had determined to say nothing. He
should not have said word, had he not
been personally alluded tn by the gentleman
who had Just taken his seat. He had taken
conservative ground Before he came there
he was announced as a candidate for the
suffrage Of the people upon an Independent
basis. 1t was not the business of the chill
dren OF one wise period. to overturn the
maxims and customs of their ancestors. He
was for giving the people everything but the
right to vote for Senators Was not that
generous. Was it not kind2 Was 1t not
liberal 2 The Republican party was COM
posed OF gentlemen who represented mum.
Der, and not property. What was the conse
quence2 1t was this: that his constituency
do not consist Of the land owners of the
State. And yet they (the Convention) were
there doing nothing but running the State
into extravagances. They had been there
nearly five weeks, and what had they done I?
Not even the work of one day. He would
suggest something to the gentlemen from
the Western part of North Carolina. The
gentlemen from the Eastern part of the State
have TO bear all the expense and the western
| part of North-Caroina will have to foot the
| bill The gentlemen from the eastern part
will tax them so as they will not be able to
| bearit.
| Mr. Hood said: An insinuation had been
! thrown out, at least, that the mass of the
| people paid no tax He did not believe
such TO be fact. The poor people of North
| Carolina, for the last four or FIVE years, had
! paid all the taxes. As an illustration. siIp-
pose there was land owner in the city OF
! Wilmington orNewbern, who owned a piece
| OF land. He puts miserable apology for a
| house on it. For that house he charges 4
family $3.50 year. In two years the whole
value OF that property would he paid for
| The owner would, therefore, make on that
property in one year, so per cent. Who
then, paid the tax-the man who owned the
property, or the man who rented it? Ger
tainly the man who rented it. Those who
titled the soil, paid the tax of this State A
man was compelled to pay "a if he listed
at a certain time, and So if he did not
Then they sail the people paid no tax. The
idea was preposterous. The thing could moi
be so.
Mr.. Graham, of Orange, said he desired
to be correctly understood he did not ia
vor property qualification for voters, bu
simply taxation as basis for the Senate
| Thus the counties that paid most take
would be able to restrain any wild system o
taxation upon property. No member herr