Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-06-28
From the Daily N. c. stand''ic': /.
& re- RALEIGH, N. c.,
IS MONDAY, August "a, 190@' ) y
ADD r Il s 5.
WILMINGTON, N. a.:

tn tho neople of the State the fodoWliS
address on the condition OF Our p'ipL'
affairs. and to ask for it a calm ana nnpie-
iudieed consideration o,,r
election bv y0G. as members OF the LG9iS-
~Ia4nre. we have been in session Tor d SNORT
+;r,oa md have done such things as seemed
ms TO be necessary to organize the ne"
azStafe government, and set it TO work and
without doing much that IS 1ndlspehSlole
TO he done soon, we nave adjotrhea' III
ortiertIiat we NAV return TO you for colL-
dence and advice, that.we may proceed
cautiously and wisely. We are your liep-
resentatives-vou elected us. 1ou are
our friends, and we are yours; and under
ordinary circumstances, We should expect
vour confidence and assistance. D(tt the
embarrassments now around us are extra
ordinary and peculiar, and give us eXtraoI-
binary claims upon you for assistance anu
support.
WAR THREATENED.
For. we tell YOU in the utmost fraukncss
and with deep feeling, that !he greatest
possible danger overhangs the Government,
and we believe that another wal Is GER
family in the near future, unless the people
arouse themselves to avert 1t. when, III
the early history of the country, we had a
Revolution, and at the end OF It, had 10
form new Governments, the matter vas
fOIIn6
the people united and DESTROYS OF forming
GOOD governments. But how is it now
we have had a war and new Government
is to be formed. Ii we were united and
anxious to form the best Government we
could. il would be difficult enough TO do Il.
But. instead OF being united, we are bitterly
divided and a very large portion OF the
people, many Of whom have been, aud
some of whom now are, in high positions
H. hot 2ta St.4tn f~1ly
as at present organized, IS Illegal tlnd void,
and must be ovcrthroWn by force OF arms
Immediately after the election this r. all
DUPLICITY AND BAD FAITH.
The persons and the party, who illus
declare, went into the late election Us
candidates for the Offices Of the Gov
eminent as if everything was valid And
so everything would have been Valid
if thew had been elected. But, failing
in the election, they forthwith dcci:le
that the offices which they sought, and th"
Government itself are null and void, AMI
mast and shall be destroyed, and some OF
them, who were elected 10 the Legislature
and other offices in the State, and took al
oath to support the Constitution, now say
that the Constitution which they oWo!o to
support is no Constitution ut al! that Tie
LEGISLATURE of which they are members,
and in which they are receiving Their pay,
is no Legislature ut all. That you Lave no
Governor, no Judges 10 Shelil!s, or other
officers, and that everything which has
been done, or is now doing Is illegal and
void; that your property and lives are
without protection, and that anarchy pre-
vaiIs. It is so extraordinary that such d
state of things should exist, that we woulo
expect YOU to be slow TO believe 1t, and
therefore we proceed to lay before you the
proofs.
TIE PRESIDENTS POLICY REJECTED.
After the war ended, three years ago
the President Of the United States suggest
ed that if the people Of the state Wollo
meet in CO9vention and frame Il constittt
ton, the State might be admitted bach
into the Union. Thepcople accordingly cali
ed n Convention, which framed II Cnnstltu
ton, and that Constitution was sIlbmutc,
to the people to be ratified. but just before
the election the same class Of persons Wh'
now say that the present Constitution l.
void, said then that that Constitution wa:
void, and they induced the people "t Tn
State to reject it.. That Constitution Wa
the old Constitution under which We Ina,
ALWAYS lived, with some aLcrat ions. Not
WitIlSbanding there were no radical change
in it, vet its rejection by the people va
demanded and accomplished.
THE HOWARD AMENDMENT EEJECT2H-
Congress then said that, if the Stat
would adopt the " Howard Amendment,
which left the question OF suffrage Will
the State, to regulate rs it thought proper
il might be restored to the Union. Btl
the State, under tie lead OF the same elias
fmen, who now declare the Govelnmen
void, refused to adopt the Howard Amend
ment.
THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS IENDEEEI
NECESSARY.
rnon;e will not form Il government an,
come back to the Union, we will authorize
the col0red citizens to vote, who Hevc
voted before and under that Law
another convention was held, anOthel
constitution formed, submitted Il
the people and ratified by more
than 90, 900 majority and under that Con
stitution, the present State Government j
organized, and we have been admitte,
back to the Union, and now ought TO be
at peace and trying to retrieve our Tor
tunes.
Still. DISTURBING TIE PUBLIC PEACE
But now we find these same men say
inc This Constitution and Government
shall not stand.'' They defeated the Con
stitution three years ago by voting it down:
they defeated the Howard Amendment by
voting il down. They failed to vote down
the present Constitution, and now they say
they will tear it down by force. Why
would they do this? Because, they say,
this is a white mans government and col
ored men are permitted to vote.
CoLORED SUFFRAGE A MERE PRETENT.
But then we call your attention to the
fact that they rejected the Constitution
three wears AGO. which had no cOlOred vote
in it. They rejected the Howard Amend
ment which had no cOiorGd vote in it, and
SO they would reject this if it had no col
ored vote in It. The secret is, they hate
the government, and many OF them love
strife, confusion and war. We proceed to
offer the proofs that those persons who now
assume the name of Democrats, but who
are in reality, as q general thing, the same
old secession and war party, mean TO break
up the government by force OF arms, and
that war must follow the attempt.
THE PROOFS.
l. The first proof we offer is the deCIar
alton of the President, Andrew Johnson.
In a proclamation, which he issued on the
18th July, 1868, he speaks of the present
Governor Of this State, as the man 9 who
writes himself Governor" thereby mean
ing to say that he is not the rightful Gov
ernOr. And in a recent message to Con-
gress he says, g 1t clearly follows that all
the State governments organized in those
States under the acts of Congress for that
purpose and under military control, are il
legitimate and Of no validity whatever. =
Thus it appears that the President OF the
United States clearly and distinctly declares
that the present State government Is nun
and void.
III. Again, the Democratic National
Convention, which nominated Seymour
lo4,r ~