Wilmington journal., 1875-09-17
THE CONVENEION.

fcSterdny and the day before tho
Constitutional Convention seems to
| have gone to work ill earnest. Com
mittens have been appointed, and a
very large number of ordinances have
| been introduced and referred. Many
of these are of the gravest import snce
and their incorporation iuto the new
Constitution viii work Immeasurab,e ,e
benefits to the people of the State.
| The Government Of North Carolina,
after the war, was under tho control,
and its fundamental laws were written
by the very worst element of our pop
| ulation which the revolution through
which We had passed had stirred up
from the bottom. or had left floating
on the surface. Expensive, uncon-
genial aud illy-ndnpted to our wants
or our sympAthies, it has for eight
long years weighed us down and par
a!yzed our industries and curbedi our
enterprise.
From the nature of the amendments
first proposed it would seem that the
gxDeusivoness of our State Govern
n@nt was the first evil to. which the
work of reform would be dire sted,
But we take it that these hundreds of
amendments represent only the univcr-
sal feeling prevalent throughout the
State that the present Constitution
needs rewriting. When the commit
tees to which they will be referred, di
gast the various amendments, and
make :Lrm conform to the wants of
onr citizens, we are prepared 10 think
the Con vention will give us a Consti
tuition which will prove acceptable to
the people
We may be permitted to ex-
press the hopa that our friends
who live III white counties
and who are exempt from most of the
evils which sfict us, will not forget
their suffetin brethren who live in
the large negro counties. We thiuk
we can say without fear of successful
contradiction that there is no govern
bad, as that which now oppresses the
taxpayers of New Hanover. A few
days ago, we saw our County Commis-
sioners appropriate fourteen hundred
dollars to pay worthless employe
for work lily done. not worth one half
the money, and tho only member of
the Beard who protested against the
outrage was forced to resign from self
respect, and the recipient of this Off
cial bounty is honored with seat Ill
the Convention. Lately we saw a
magistrate, an ignorant negro, who
has power over the lib critics and pro-
perty Of the citizens of this county,
take from the jail, prisoner charged
with murder, and followed by An e1-
cited mob, was compelled to lay his
bare hands upon the body of his sup
posed victim 20 prove his guilt by the
blood gushing from the wounds. Ev-
cry day we see our citizens pilfered,
and that too uud,r the operations of
law, of their hard earnings, mere
ly to swell the cost and fees
of these legal highwaymen.
These are pot overdrawn pictures
but the naked truth. And we present
them, not to bring up unpleasant mat
ters, but as forceable appeals in our
behalf. Even now, our citizens with
0nt regard to party, are threatening,
even if not already preparing. to take
legal steps to secure relief, even under
the existing laws. Our grievances
plead " trumpet tongued" in our be-
half, and we trust our more fortunate
friends will not overlook us in the
many reforms which the Convention
will be called upon to consider.