Wilmington journal., 1876-06-30
WHO SHALL BE MASTERS, TA II
PEOPLE OR THE EOEEICE-HOLD

| conventions of the people OF NORTH
Carolina to amend the Constitution
and fer other purposes; it provides,
also, a mode of making amend nentF
by means of Legislative enactment.
Ths amendments proposed by the
! Convention last year change these
methodsvery materially and very great
ly for the better. Under the Constit ntion
| as it now stands, the Legislature (two-
| thirds of all the members concurring)
| can cali a Convention without any re-
strictions whatever and such a Con
.vention will be absolutely sovereign
and clothed with full authority to do
all things that to- it may seem best (
Tie amendments require not only
that the call of tie Convention shall
have the concurrence of two-tmrds OF
the members of the Legislature. but
that, IN addition, it shall first receive
the concurrence of a majority OF the
people at the polls. So that If the
amendments shall be ratified, before
auy Constitutional Convention could
meet, the call for it would have first
to be sanctioned by two thirds OF oil
the members of the two Houses of the
General Assembly and afterwards be
sanctioned by the vote of a majority
of the people. -a.t. . ~
It is easy to see that under such a
law no convention would ever be held
in North Carolina; and this being 50,
all men who have honest fears about
trusting conventions with power ought
to see plainly that it is time for them
to speak out in favor of the ratification
of the amendments. Indeed the very
reasons that induced good citizens, and
there were many of them who did 50,
to oppose the call of the Constitutional
Convention last year naturally compel
them to favor now the ratification ofthe
amendments; in a word the amend
ments meet ,squarely the demand of
the anti convention men of last year by
making it part of the Constitution
that no convention shall under any
circumstances be called without first
obtaining the consent of the people at
the baflot-box upon the direct ques-
tion of fconvention orno convention. Ac-
cordingly, wefnd that Judge Fowle. who
was one of the bitterest opposers of the
convention movement is most warmly
advocating the ratification of the
amendments proposed by that conven-
tIon. ....-..
But that is not the only change i'll
the thirteenth article that is proposed
by the amendments. The mode of
changing the Constitution by Legisla-
tive enactment is also very materially
changed and very greatly for the bet
ter, inasmuch as it is made very much
simpler and places the entire. con-
troi IN the hands of the people just
where it onght to be.
10 make any change by Legislative
enactment in the Constitution as 1t now
stands, one Legislature must, by the
vote of three~fifths of all the members,
pass bill cont aiming the proposed
amendments. Tt must then be pubs
lished to the people six mouths before
the election of members for the next
LegI'lature. The new Legislature
must then pass the bill by a two thirds
vote of all the members, and after all
this, the bill must then be submitted to
the people for ratification. This is q
long tedious process and was made SO
aesignediy. If, however, the amend
ments shall be ratified the difficulty
will no longer exist.
The following is the amendment
proposed to this part of the Constitu-
tion: s-
Sec. 2. No part of the Constitution
| Of this State shall be altered unless a
| bill to alter the same shall haye been
agreed to by three-ffths of each House
of the General Assembly. And the
amendment or amendments SO agreed
| to shall be submitted at the next
general election to the qualified voters
of the whole State. in such manner as
may be prescribed by law. And in the
event of their adoption by a majority
of the votes cast, such amendment or
| amendments shall become part of
the Constitution OF this State.
Every man can see for himself the
plain effecto the changes in this article
of the Constitution proposed to be
made by the amendments now pending.
1t can be summed up in single word
almost, that is to say, they restore full
power to the people. With the consent
OF the people everything can be done,
and without their consent nothing can
be done. The ratification of the amend
ments will be substantially q new dec
isiratiOn of independence on the part
of the people of North OarOlina, no less
less important and no less sweeping
than that made in Mecklenburg in
1775 and that made in Philadelphia in
1776.
If the convention had done nothing
but propose these amendments to this
article, the great work of liberating
the people from the slavery of the
Candy Constitution would have been
accomplished, for if these amend
ments shall be ratified, the people can
in less than twelve months redress anv
grievance growing cut of the Con.titu-
tion, can cure all constitutional ills
that may affect them. But nothing,
not word nor a letter, can be changed
without their consent and co operation.
Is there any danger in this? Is there
any danger in ccnfding to the people
of North Carolina the power to make
and to unmake their own government?
We tkink.not. Nor can we ever think
There is any danger in it, SO long as We
earnestly and honestly believe in the
right of the people to fashion and shape
their own governments to suit them
selves. The people and not the Office |
holders ought of right to be masters