Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-09-15

Greeley n SatIrist.
The New York Tribune speaks OF the
recent Convention movement in this State
az as blind reaching out for relief, where
the Democracy, discouraged at the apathy
of the people and the gradual acceptance
of prosperous peace, further complicated
the party by an attempt to forcibly re
model the State Constitution" &c.
In three particulars, at least, in this
brief statement, the Agricolan Philosopher
is as much mistaken as in any three pos
tu1ates, within the same short compass, IN
''What know about Farming"
The Democratic Conservative party o.!
the State sought to exercise no force in
the matter Of amending the Constitution,
but submitted the whole Question fairly
and squarely to the people, with whom it
properly rested. The ''forcib!e" manipu
lation of Constitutions is left for these,
who, like the Tribuas, assisted to thrust
organic law down the tbroats of an unre-
sisting people on the point of the bayone',
to legalize elections held by military IN
spectors and TO conut votes out on the
drum head
The "apatby Of the Democracy" is
Pigment of Greeley's own Imagination.
as he will find, to his sorrow. in the Pres
idential cam paign of next year. IF there
be any one fact morally certain, which
has not actually transpired, it is that North
Carolina, in the political contests of next
year, will vote against the Radical Revo-
Iutionary party. The vote on the Conven-
lion question itself establishes the fact
that the Democratic Conservative parry IS
~ @sEt--'tE.- Onger Lue state than IL was
last year; for the reason that, while thou
sands of approved and tried Democrats
voted against Convention from conscien-
tious or polite and prudential motives,
the vote in favor of it was still within
fraction of Attorney General Ships sue
cessful vote last Summer.
But the cream of the ITi6uneS joke is
the alliterative aliusion to prosperous
peace" 1t may be go for the bond hold
Tariff protected monopoIis's.-it may be
go for plethoric Revenue officials, and fer
General Grant himself, with his marvellous
capacity for taking Iargess, we i'm
agine few Of the tax ground masses, at the
South especially, eeo the ''pros-
perity" which glittors in Greeley's
so-called Reconstruction peace" Take
our own people Of North Carolina
for example, and their case is
not as bad, altogether, as that Of some CT
our still more unfortunate neighbors. Il
is like laughing at a funeral to talk to
them, Tor to the people of South Carolina,
Texas or L'ouisiana.) OF prosperous
peace" In the matter Of Federal taxation
the State swarms with assessors and col
lectOrs, eating out the substance of the
In the language of a con-
temporary heretofore quoted. eve can
not buy box Of luoifer matches without
breaking a stamp on it. We cannot buy
a quarter of a pound of smoking tobacco,
without tearing through a lot of stamps.
We cannot buy a book to read, without
paying double the old prices for it. We
cannot bay a shirt without paying 50 per
cent. advance on the prices before
the war. We cannot draw o
bond, or deed. or check, or
write a will, without plastering it all
over with stamps." And these are !but
notes scompaied to the beams of comfy,
State and municipal taxation, levied to
cover the robberies Of carpet bag and
Radical svinders, the fruits OF Recon
struction, Radical rule and prosperous
peace" Mr.. Greeley.
And what prosperous peace" that is,
to be sure, which, six years after a pro-
claimed assertion OF hostilities, holds
of the best men in The country
under the ban of prescription, sends
armed battalions through the country to
citizens and brow-beat voters,
the President Of the so-cailed |
Republic TO suspend martial law at will.
arrests men without warrant, and holds
them without bail
Il is difficult to say whether Greeley }
exces most rs Agriculturist, Philosopher CT
Sattrisj !