Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-10-29

lSouthern people, when by the very 1alth
tfulpess of their adherence to their owr
section and the manliness and honesty o
their surrender when resistance was NJ
Longer proper, they had demonstrated
their claim to respect and confidence. L
came, too, when many who had lived II
aff1uence were suffering for bread. II
opened wide door to position and power
It offered premium to perfidy. Can We
not look back now with pride to the &C
ton of our people under all of these lnfu
ences. How insignificant were the excep
tons and how despicable the characters o.
those who succumbed to the pressure
Thousands of our citizens were thrown out
of Office with dependent families and
stranger "loyalists we're imported OF
''picked up" to fill their places. Offices
were created without number, but South-
ern men could not be prevailed upon to
accept the glittering bait.
| During the existence of the Provisional
Government, which preceded and formed
the permanent government, hardly North
Carolinian held Office, in fact could not.
To be North Carolinian in North Carroll
ma was disability. And to-day most OF
cur places of honor and trust, through the
operation of oaths, are in the hands of
strangers without interest, and with ques-
tiona BILE citizenship in the State. We are
governed in a great measure by strangers,
under laws enacted and executed by stran-
gers. Strangers without means have quad
rupled our taxes, and more than doubled
our public debt. Strangers sit in judg-
ment upon our people, and have in charge
the education Of our children. eve doubt, -
says the Examiner, "whether there is a sim
liar example in history of so absolute q
deprivation of tue privilege of self-govern-
ment-where the very humblest officials
were thrust from their offices and foreign
ers even introduced to act as triers of war
SCISSORS, as overseers of the poor, as inspec-
tors, as agents to sell land This is tyran-
ny in it's most refined and exhaustive
shape. Other subjugated countries have
changed their monarchs-seen a stranger
mount their throne-but even the Romans
did not, when they seized province, Of
fer the inhabitants an oath which nobody
could take: they took what they wanted
and there was All end of it. The main
strean, of society they did not NEEDLE with.
1t never occurred to them that the empire
was strengthened by Introducing the de-
tails of tyranny in the provinces. 4"
We cannot tell how long this system will
continue. We are not advised, except
through the opinions of the North express
ed through the ballot-box, how long the
representatives. of North Carolina must rep
resent the opinions of New Eugland to he
eligible to Federal office. We do not know
how long the Southern States are to re-
main Interiors in this government Of equals.
These oaths may remain and the intelli-
gence and social and moral worth OF these
States excluded from participation in the
affairs of the government, for they have
been fully tested TO show that they viii
not perjure themselves, even at the bidding
of Government for pelf, OF power The
few men whom they have purchased to de-
sert their fellows, have generally sold their
manhood at less sacrifice than this. Con-
gressional clemel cy has been evoked to az
pease the scruples of their consciences We
think we are Or ought to be as much emit
tied to our opinions as the inhabitants of
Maine, and that we should be as unrestrc-
ted in the selection of our representatives
as are the people of Massachusetts. If We
are indeed citizens of the United States we
are or ought to he entitled to all the rights,
privileges and immnnities possessed and
enjoyed by the citizens OF any Of
the States. And until this is the case it is
useless to talk of liberty, of republican
government. of g. Union OF equal States
Of union of hearts and hands.