Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-10-30


':l''Il"s, Witnesses OF scarce y less Da
btlty and c:nciiv, were close enoug
1t !,and to serve his purpose. In col
Junction with the Freedman's Burea
; !'c exercised authority, which, in it
> fleets upon the peoples mind, can b
- described only by the term ''terroi
8.n."
P III this condition of affairs, at th
e command of this military dictator,
; Crvcntion was called. BY the term
- ;.'' tr,'"r n"ar!y every rrumlncn
i1.." IL whom the people had conf
u-''''''', WAS ineligible thereto. Man,
lei" citizens We're dIsfranciii,,.ti Il
"I1'" very Iuule 1"Gro tweiIty-on.
y'#rs O.d, who had resided one yea
IL The state, WAS entitled to vote ant
eligible Is II delegate. it was eyilen
the az, i.;l4 been demonstrated since
HAT the whole purpos Of re ''recuii
~+In 't.Dn acts" was to r-nabijita;a the
~o''''' on the basis OF absolute negr:
~1s.s: e.:ts;cy.
thc / Of delegates which assem-
led 't i,Hjclgh, under the auspices OF
;}-n. Calby, cannot be contemplated
even now without emotion. Not the
name al single white man IS to be found
there who had the confidence Of the
| people, and but one prominent North
Carollnlan had seat in the body.
The negro, the carpet-bagger and the
renegade, but generally obscure ma
tlves, filled the place which had been
! honored by men distinguished by
! their wisdom, and 1everenced for their
virtues.
This Convention seemed to be abso-
| lutely under the control of such men
! as HeatOn, TOurgee, Abbott and Latin.
not from their numbers, nor yet from
their ability, but by the negroes in
I the Convention they were regarded IS
/ oraclcs, and by the mass Of the white
members were supposed to be the
i,romuigators of Canby's orders, and
were, therefore, followed implicitly
These men We're born and reared in
the Northern States; they came here
! among horde of adveuturers after
The " .l-ti.ey knew nothing of the
s..'.t.!:F.-;I "uI wants of our people, and
i-~>tstr well disposed they might
aye iveu, were wholly incapable OF
framing I. t,s"damental law for north
C.--oi'.L.. jj,l;ss'focls rush in where
,,.5@"t~ fear 70 tread" and the men !
tr>- 4r-rl,si, although of limited
hu",.j. rsh and capacity, detroyed,
WI. d. ruthless hand, that ed5Gce
Wni"h had been constructed Ly the
patriots Of 117G, modified and strength
Cued by our wisest men i'll 1875, not
stone Cf which was misplaced by Ruff
iiD, Badger. Edwards and their COM
peers in 1861, and which commanded
the admiration and reverence of Moore,
Manly, Eaton, Boyden and their asso-
ciates AT still later day.
Those lcOnOclasts, with one fell
sweep, annulled the property qualifica-
tioa for office which had been required
for nearly a hundred years.
They overturned our whole Judi
CARY system, under which, for nearly
4 century. our laws had been admins
tered purely, without sale, denial or
delay"
They rendered obligatory the enact
Lnent of = lode, which is not under
stood by It's compilcrs, and is unintel-
Esibio alike to the Judges who ex-
pound, and the lawyers who practice
unlcr It,
They changed The governmcnt of
our University which, under its pre-
yioU5 manage mcut, had become the
pliGe Of the State.
They multiplied useless Offices, and
there Iy uljtctcd us to heavy eXpen-
diCnrcs.
TLcy c"do"vorcd, By anticipation,
10 fasten ire -uovabIy upon us heavy
indebtedness which was even then
fra;.duiently contemplated.
Eut why continue the list? No i'm
partial man can contemplate their
work without feeling that their pur-
pose Nas to break down, pccuniarily
ard politically, the white men of the
:,t;.tt, and to provide for the absolute
supremacy therein Of the negroes and
their associates.
Bat sicllencd as orr people were
with military rule, and auxiOus as they
y, -. 10 make sacrifices for the sake of
hri@C restored to their civil rights,
tbcv c,uld lot be induced to give the
sanction Of their votes to an instru-
mcnt framed UnGcr such auspices, re-
voLtiag a. whole to their sense of
justice, end evidently intended for
their subsection They remained, i'll
= great measure passive, but the Con-
st.t,;tion passed through the farce Of
the election ordeal, by the force and
votes, and what las been the result ?
orr State, nearly destroyed-the grass
almost growing iii her once houored
halls.
TIE State burdened with a heavy
fraudulent dcbt-her resources appa-
rentIy exhausted, her credit ruined,
and her people Durdened hy oppres-
sive taxation.
The administration Of the laws in
many instances 4 by-word and re-
prOach, the cost of litigation greatly
Increased, and the ''Code itself unin-
tajiigible even to the most learned"
And finally, no adequate protection
for property from excessive taxation
whereby the holder may be secured
in the fruits Of his toll and industry.
II the narrative I have given is true,
and hundred thousand witnesses in
North Carolina sustain it, then I sub
nit that each of the foregoing prop
ositions is proved to a demonstration.
That the Constitution needs amend
ment is conceded, but the question
is, how should this be effected, by
Convention, or by the legislative
mode.
Ii the Constitution required amend
ment in some unimpOrtant, not vital
particular, we might prefer the Legis-
lative mode, and possess our souls IN
patience throughout the whole tedious
..gY.,se TT + requires remodellng
from ''Uurret to foundation stone, and
the Legislature is not the body to do
the work. Oppressed as the members
Of such an assembly are with the de-
tails Of public and private bills, and
the distractions arising from the I'M
portunities of constituents seeking to
push through pet schemes, they can
not be supposed to be able to give that
consideration to the framing of the
organic law, which its great Importance
demands. Another reason OF, it ap-
pears to me, much weight against this
mode, is the fear Of the action OF the
Supreme Court, which is likely to
modify any amendment that may be
thus proposed. This seems to have
governed somewhat the extent and
scope of the amendments now pend
ing, and was confesedly considered IN
the structure of the election law, winch
oxempts some of the members OF that
body from its operations, for no rea-
son that could be discu vered, except