Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-12-17

Ia
credit for doing right, he certainly SHOULD
be held up to public condemnation TO
doing wrong. We hope that IN recon
structing ourselves in accordance with tn
wishes and behests of the Radical party
the Southern people will not let all the
nobler impulses of their hearts become
cauterized or shut their eyes to the dan
gers attending the utter contempt IN which
State lines and State authority are now
held by the President and Congress.
Gov. Holden Il Constitutional Lawyer
Quite change seems to have come over
the spirit of our Governors dream since
he penned and avowed the editorial in the
Raleigh Standard of 30th October. Then
he spoke thus: ga good deal has been
said about the Governor proposing to send
negroes and low whites as troops to Or
ange and Chatham. The Governor sen:
white troops to .alamance and Jones and
not colored trd .ps. Did he get credit
for it from those who assail him lie
does not wish to send troops of any kind
if he can avoid it. Gentlemen in Wake
county who make this ground of com
plant should bear i'll mind that the De-
tailed Militia Law, inasmuch as the au-
thorities of Wake have called in due form
for the Detailed Militia, prOrides that The
Gouernor caa if lie thinks proper, call fo1
atq Of them 6et,Oeen lie ages Of IF and AZ
to 90 to Chatham or Orange as militia. DC
they want to go? No. They would rather
see the few poor white men who have been
enrolled and the colored men go. But
they may say they would not serve. Sup.
pose the Governor should test them, how
would they feel if held up as resisting the
law of the country %
On the 10th of November, in his message,
to the Legislature, he spoke thus:
"Under the present militia law the Executive
ia comparatively powerless to enforce the laws.
These laws should be amended so as to give the
Executive the authority TO enbody promptly such
a militia force as Will enable him to repress vio-
lence in certain localities and maintain the peace.
ssI trust the General Assembly will at once SO
amend the militia law as to authorize the Gov
ernor to call out for active service as many cub
etantial white citizens as may be necessary III an
emergency to enforce the law and to pat down
visable to employ cOlored militia only in certain
localities for this purpose. But as the law
now is, any one who may be ordered to perform
service in the Detailed Militia may pay two dol
lars for exemption therefrom and evade service,
thus imposing the burden on volunteers, or on
such as cannot pay the amount.
The only hypothesis upon which We can
account for this great change in the Gov
ernor's opinions is that in preparing his
Message he found it expedient to read the
Constitution and the Statutes, and then
learned what really was the law he had
sworn to obey. We earnestly hope that
he may persist in his constitutional re-
searches, us We feel assured he can do so
with considerable advantage to himself as
we'll as to the people. The Constitution,
as bad as it is, is better than the arbitrary
will of any man, and we therefore sim
ceroly trust the Governor will continue his
studies.
When he shall have exhausted the
militia question We commend to his es-
pecial attention the necessity Of amending
either the Constitution or his inBurree-
tionary proclamation. The Constitution,
Art. ", See. 7. says Treason against
the State shall consist only in levying war
against it OF adhering 10 its enemies,
giving them aid and comfort" Cove lor
HOLDEN, in his proclamation, says : " If
there be those who counsel resistance to
established authority such persons are
traitors, and should be punished accord
ipgly." Upon so important matter there
should not be such fatal variance between
the Constitution and the proclamation Of
it's chief Executive officer.
We also commend to the careful consid-
Grafton of His EXcellency that part OF the
Constitution, if any such cd11 be found,
touching the power of the Governor to de-
clare a county to be in a state of insurrec-
ton and thereby to suspend all cicHlatr. :"
1.-The Constitution co1fers this power on
the Governor in the last resort and the
Courts would sustain him. said his Ex-
cellency on the Both October. In this
connection We call his attention to Article
l, Section 8 of tho Constitution, which
says sail power of suspending laws or the
execution of laws by any authority with
out the consent of the representatives of
the people, is injurious to their rights and
ought not to be exercised" Here, again,
is fatal variance between the Constitu-
ton and the declaration of the chief exc
cutive officer.
These things ought not so to be. we
see no remedy, however, unless We can re-
construct either the Governor or the Con-
stitution. LET us have peace
Senate Committees
The revision of the Senatorial Commit