Wilmington journal., 1876-07-28
What a WHOPPa;H!

that commands our special woEder. 1t
is entitled a "Protest of the Republi-
can Delegates to the Constitutional
Convention against the action of the
Revolutionary Majority of that Body"
and IS published in the Newbe-n
Times.
Sixteen times did those delegates
protest. They protested in the first
place because the Convention WAS
called; they protested because the
Convention went to work after it was
called; they protested because the
Democrats having majority did not
turn out the kobeson county delegates
and thereby give the Radicals a ma
iority, although Judge Settle hal
sworn them in; they protested because
the Democrats agreed among them
selves what amendments ought to be
proposed and passed such as they
agreed on; and lastly, having protested
against whatthe Convention did do, they
protested against what it did not
do, and this in the most strenuous
manner. They were hard to please.
those protesting Republican delegates!
Bnt tits not heir protest against
what the Convention did do, that we
propose to consider this morning. for
il was to have been expected they
would protest against any and every
amenament to the Constitution taxi
ing power from The officoholders aud
restoring it to the people. A party
that could nominate Settle with his
Habe0s Corpus record for Governor,
a party th t could first formally en-
dorse Holden after the Kirk war and
his impeachment and ejectment from
office therefor, and then appoint him
a. one of its Executive Committee, q
party that could nominate for Con
gress McLindsey. the man whom John
Pool advised Holden TO employ as
one who would lose" prisoners like
Governor Graham, if they became
troublesome, such party as this could
oppose the anne dments adopted by the
Convt ntion. But that fifty Republican
delegates, white, black and yellow
should boldly protest in plain print
against the Convention for abolishing
the office of Lieutenant Governor
| when the Convention did no such
thing, was perhaps not confidently to
have been expected-by those at least
who did not bear in mind that the i'm
mortal TouRGEE was one of the pros
testers But so they did, and here
it IS plain enough, so that every man
may read for himself. The thing is
scarcely credible yet it is true for all
that, as any man may see who will take
| the trouble to read the following ex-
tract which we take from the protest
as published in the Newbern Times,
paper that is certainly good Radical
authority
I6. We protest against the abolition Of
the office CT Leutenant-GovernOr and
giving his functions to a president of the
|
organized as to defeat the popular will and
| choose IA man to perform guhernatorial
| functions hostile to the wish of the people.
| The expense of the office is utterly nslg-
nificant Three or four hundred dollars
| a year is all the saving which could be at
fected by the aLge, less than two mills to
| the voter, less than one-fifth of a cent for
each million dollars of property assessed
| for taxation in the State. To save this
pitiful beggarly sum, it is pretended that
| the office is to he abolished.
The first name appended to this
protest is that of O. H. Dockery, the
Radical candidate for Elector for the
State at large. Lower down appear
the names of I. j. Young, Radical
candidate for Congress in the Raleigh
District, j. w. Albertson, Radical can
dldate for Secretary of State, W. T.
Faircloth, Radical aspirant for a seat
on the Supreme Court bench, A. W.
ToURGEE THE IMMORTAL, ". Fl.
Wheeler. Radical candidate for Treas
urer, and r. P. Buxton, Radical
Judge. The names of Rufus ,Barrin-
ger, G. 2. French and Sheriff Man
ming are also there.
Is it possible that these men rate
the intelligence of the people of North
Carolins so low as to think they can be
imposed upon in this way? The
amendments show for themselves
that they do not propose to abolish
the Office of Lieutenant Governor.
But this is not the only reckless dis
regard of truth. Mr.. Dockery and
his forty nine co-protesters declare
that the salary of the Lieutenant.
Governor is only three or four hund
red dollars a year, which would be
all the saving if the Office was abol-
less than o,aeJffth of q cent for each
million Of dollars cfproperty assessed
for taration IN the State" That is to
say there are as many millions of
property assessed for taxation as there
are voters in the State! That is,to say
there are 100000, 100000 worth of
property assessed for taxation in North
Carolina! That is the way the sum
works out as any school boy knows.
If one-ffth of cent of saving repre-
sents $1,00O,O0 of taxable property,
$4OO of saving certainly represents
5000, 600, 100000 of assessed property!
Now it so happens that according to
the Federal Census returns of 1870
5000, 600, 600, 900 is more than dozen
times greater than the assessed value
of all the real and personal property
in the entire United States IL poor
old North Carolina the Auditors Re
port shows only pitiful $143, 723,8 1913 |