Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-10-23
TEE CONVENTION Question:
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AssE DErsoCKATIC LEGIsZ ! a.
'sEJ+ E~ go e PERPETUAL SAC.
Nsl'zIf.S
The pree ent Legislature is large '
Composed of young men who give great
promise Of much prominence in tie
r"tit7cri iutnie iii North Carolina,
unless they siiall be sacrificed. Il
tbt re ary danger Of such fate? We
think there IS great danger indeed,
vc hiv= 10 hesitation Ia saying that :,
Judging the future by the past, no
greater injury can be done to 2 young
man ot good parts and bright political.
| promise than to send him to the Leg
isiaturc, and we beg the careful atten-
ton Ct every Democrat III the Legisla-
ture to our reasons for 50 thinking and
saying.
! There nave been IN The Senate since
oilr party came into power in 1870,
/ siXty-sCven Democratic Senators. OF
these sixfy-seven Democratic Senators
o4.y s.S re-appear i'll the present
Senate. In the House of Representa-
! tivos, IN the same length of time, there
have been about one hundred and fifty
Democratic members. OF these one
hundred and fifty Democratic men,
bers, only seventeen re-appear in the
present House. Why is this ? What
has caused this sweeping population
OF men whom the people once honored
and Il, ted > Are they dead F.? No.
:T,- 1t i...-.l the habit OF North Caro-
liI.! cDhalI1uei cies to be tickle and
ci,arg, ,tbI, III i:,e selection Of mem
y rs II the General Assembly So
I"r from tlis being the case glance
IT ire y GO, pf WLeeler's History of
the State will show that their habit has
been Just the other way; that North
Carolina constituencies are habitually !
10th to change their public servants.
Is the fault then with these public |
servants themselves that they have |
thus summarily been consigned to |
private life ? We think an examina-
ton of the record of the two last Leg
islatures Will show that the fault is not !
properly chargeable to any failure OF
duty on the Sart Of the Democratic |
members Of those two bodies. II tie !
official journals Of those two bodies bc |
examined it viii be seen that they |
made constant, earnest, honest efforts |
for the ralief OF the people; and that |
while much indeed has been done, much |
more has remained undone for the |
reason TIA the Constitution prevented. |
Whatever mere statutory e1actmonts
could accomplish has been done, bUt |
the great burdens under which the
people groan cannot be lifted by any
mere statutory enactmcnt--they can
be removed only by amending the
Constitution.
Bat the people Go nut ZEE tins and
they have shown their disp!easure and
their disappointment by sending back
to the Senate only six cut Of sixty
seven Senators, and to the House only |
sixteen ont Of about che hundred and
fifty members. In other words, the
Democratic party have expected more
from their Legislatures than IL was |
possible for them to accomplish, and |
this IS the reason why the present Gen /
eral Assembly is SO largely compo ed |
Of new men.
This being SO it well becomes these |
new Leg gislators, especially the young |
men, to examine the situation well,
and see what reason they have to hope |
TO escape thefute Of their predecessors.
Has the presen5 Legislature any more |
power than its predecessors had p
What can its members DO for the re-
lief of the people that has not already
been attempted, and without success,
for the reason that the Candy Const.-
tuition stands liz the way of all reform
aud relief? We beg the members OF
the present Legislature to study well
the journals of the two Legislatures
that preceded it and see what was then
attempted anG SEQ whether the same
causes that then produced failure do
not now exist?
Does not the fact stare one in the
face then, that nine men out of ten who
go to the General Assembly to legis-
late under the Candy Constitution, go
directly to their political graves
And is it right to send men to the
Legislature merely to be sacrificed ?
Whether right wrong, this is precisely
what those who oppose the calling of
Convention ask the members of the
Legislature to d..
We commend to the serious consid-
Grafton of the Democratic members Of
the present General Assembly the fate
Of the Democratic members of the two
l. 1.slutiIres that have preceded it.
| gETnSE ElANFSsS LETTER AND