Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-09-30

ored citizen by the law of the land, or &c
Interfere with the operation of the Recon
struction Acts of Congress. These ques-
tons are not now in dispute. and every
political party III the State is fully and
publicly committed against their ever be-
ing again brought forward There is
enough Of its own proper work for tho fu-
turc, without borrowing from the past.
This work of the future may be conve-
nientIy divided into two classes-that
which can be accomplished by simple Leg
islative enactment, and that which can be
done only by a body clothed with higher
powers, to wit: q Convention. A single
Legislature can accomplish much, but it
cannot do everything that needs to be
done, at least in a speedy and economical
method. All the oppressive laws which
have no higher sanction thana mere Legis-
.ative enactment, such, for instance, as the
infamous Shof,ner War Bill, and the bill
authorizing the Governor to employ and
pay spies without limit, and many others
of oppressive character can, and, we pre-
sumo, will at once be formally repealed by
the next General Assembly. We presume,
also, that articles of impeachment will at
once be preferred by the House Of Repre-
sentatives against Governor Holden and
Chief Justice Pearson. This course is
due alike to these officers and to
The people. Whether it will be
expedient to pursue like course towards
Judges Jones, Watts and others. may admit
of some doubt in view of the speedy an
ticipated change in the whole judicial
system. In reference to Judge Tourgee
it is, in our opinion, due TO justice and
due to the long-suffering people Of the
circuit over which he has SO shamefully
tyrannized, that he be driven by impeach-
ment in disgrace from the Bench he has
dlshonored, forever incapacitated from
holding office in North Carolina. 1t is not
necessary for example sake, however, to
incur the expense of impeaching all the
men now in office who have been guilty of
malfeasance Most of them can be gotten
rid of in more expeditions and more
economical way.
But the purpose of the people, as de-
cIared in the late election, was net so much
to remove certain corrupt officers as it was
to abolish the offices and aEnul the law
creating them. Their purpose was to
strike at the root of tbs eyil-at the system
itself, fully as much as at those who were
administering it,
= Indeed, the very things the people most
desire to lie done can be done only after
the Constitution has been altered, for the
reason that the Constitution, which is the
supreme, paramount law of the State, itself
contains the obnoxious features. The
whole judicial system must be remodeled
and brought back as near as possible to
that which gave rs learned and upright
Judges. With new, or rather with re-
stored judicial system, we can at once
place upon the Bench men who will do
justice to the citizen and honor to the
State. The power to abolish the present
system and the Offices created by it, and to
inaugurate in its stead d new one with
new offices, to be flied by men of our own
selection, is undcubted. The power thus
to retire to private life every man now
upon either Superior or Supreme Court
Bench is beyond question. The people
demand that this be done. They demand
also that the new Office of uperintendent Of
Public Instruction be abolished that the
wretch, Ashley, be gotten rid Of ; that the
Old office of Superintendent of Common
Schools DO restored, and that the whole
common school system BIO remodeled and
at once put into active operation, so that
our children may not grow up in igno-
rance We can find plenty of real North
CaroliniGEs to carry out this great work.
The Office OF Superintendent of Pablo
Works is "a useless nuisance, The people
demand that it be abolished, and they be
no longer taxed to support its incumbent.
Let the Code Commission be also abolish
ed at cnce. Let the Code of Civil Pro-
cednre be also abolished, and let US return
to the Common Law, to which we owe
those glorious, inestimable rights and
privileges -trial by jury and the writ Of
habeas corpus-to which alone we owe it
that Holden is not this day absolute mon
arch il North Carolina
The people demand, also, that the
| Board of Education and the Board of
Trustees of the University be forthwith
abolished, and that the present incompe-
tent and obnoxious Faculty be dismissed,
and good and true men put in their PLACES
| The people demand that all of these
things be done. This is their will, oflci-
ally declared in the late election. The adj
vantage OF a demoncratic form Of govern
ment-thRt in which the people govern
themselves, regardless of individuals OF
dynasties Sis that we can change, without
bloodshed, not only our rulers, but the
government itself and its organic law,
whenever it is our pleasure so to do.
That the changes just enumerated should
be made, the people of North Caroline
have very recently peremptorily ordered
To make them the organic law of the
iandj the Constitution of the State mus