Wilmington journal., 1875-07-16
VOL. 81.

der the conflicting provisions; and we
have seen the Supreme Court in sew
eral instances, compelled, virtually,
to make sections of the Constitution,
IN order to reconcile irreconcilable
| provisions. Whatever may be the
character and learning of the Judiciary,
1t is dangerous in the extreme, that the
most valuable rights of the citizen
| should depend upon an organic law so
uncertain and conflicting III its terms
as that five men must have the power
| by construction SO to change and
amend it. This objection alone is
sufficient to warrant this prompt action
| OF the people. The Reports of the Su-
/ preme Court are accessible to all, and
! fully sustain what We have said OH the
| subject
| The present Constitution has com
| pletely overturned and abolished our
old system OF jurisprudence, and in
trOduced new one III no sense adapt
ed TO the waits, habits, tastes, COLI
VenIence or economy Of our people,
and 1t may be said Of it most truly,
that 1T IS loose, uncertain, insecure ana
illegal, giving rise to interminanle
litigation and endless ''judiclal" legs-
latlon. Fully oue-third of The cases
that go before the Supreme Court, we
are told, so there upon questions of
practice and construction, growing out
OF the Code" and which brings JUS
tlce and satisfaction 20 nobody. This
is not only the case in North Carolina,
but 1T Is the experience OF New York
and Rhode Island where it prevails.
1t may be further said that it is cor
rupting i'll its tendencies to the Bench,
the bar and officers of the Court. The
election of judges 10y the people OF the
respective Districts affords the amplest
opportunity for corrupting Judges
They should be appointed by the Leg
IslntUre for term of years, and not
be eligible to reappointmenU at the ex-.
pirution of the first term. Again the
Judges should be made to rotate
exchange Districts.
The township system in each county
is likewise exceedingly cumbersome
and expensive, and quite as complica-
ted. It gives great confusion and lIti
cation wherever the attempt is made
to carry out its provisions, which is
never done, and could not be done
without additional hardships to our
people-it is not needed here, however
well it may adapted to a deuseIy pop
ulated and wealthy country like New
England. Here in the east our people
must submit to ignorant negro hIagis-
trates, who cannot write d warrant,
negro school Committeeman who can
neither read nor write, negro Consta-
bies and clerks. A change in the
Constitution is necessary to afford
the needed relief in this important
particular.
Many other deficiencies and absurdi
ties we propose to notice hereafter.
There are altogether too many officers
! We need less of these and better ones.
/ The remedy for all which is III and
I turough Convention of truc-hearted
/ Nortl Carolinian5. Our Constitution
would not be what it now IS if our
people had framed it. But more than
one-third OF the white voters of North
Carolina were disfranchiscd when the
/ Constitution was adopted, and only
! five Democrats were members of the
! Convention. 1t is the handiwork, in a
great measure, of ignorant, unprinci-
pied adventurers, who had not the in
/ clinatiOn to consult the wants, tastes
! and necessities of the people, nor the
capacity to put together disjOinted
! parts taken from other Constitutions.
1t Is a shame of every North CarOlin-
ian that adventurers, who have since
left the State with ill-gotten riches,
/ feeling no interest in us, have made
the Constitution under which the State
has been ruined, and such an absurdi-
ty as it is.