The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1889-01-10

During the past month the follow
ing sniveling appeal from w. w
Holden, the scalawag who misgov-
erned North Carolina for while
during the reconstruction period,
has been published in many of the
State papers. Il is addressed to the
General Assembly:
"On the I'D day. of March, 1871,
the Senate of North Carolina, sit
ting as court of Impeachment, pro-
nounced Judgment against me in
six out Of eight articles of impeach-
ment filed against me by the House
of Representatives. | was held by
this judgment as guilty of "high
crime and misdemeanors." | deny
this in the most solemn manner. |
do not ask you to repeal or rescind
this sentence or Judgment, for it is
being executed, and it might not be
repealed or rescinded save by the
same court that passed it, but l ask
you most earnestly to resolve or de-
clare that in your opinion, / was
actuated by good motives in what [
did, and that [ had for my object
the best and highest interests of the
State.
81 am not a party man. Both
parties have disowned me. Iappeal
to you solely on the ground of JUS
tice. | have never been an enemy
to the State. On the contrary, 1
have loved her we'll, and am her
loyal son, though prescribed and ban
ned.
''The press of the State will please
copy the above card as an act of
kindness to former member of the
craft, and send me a copy of the pa
per.
w. w. HOLDEN"
The press Of the State does not
recommend the appeal" to the ia
vorable consideration of the legisla-
ture. On the contrary it is nearly
unanimous in the opinion that Hol-
den was not 'actuated by good mo-
tives" in what he did, and that he
did not have for his object "the best
and highest interests of the State"
We make a few extracts:
From the Wilmington Rerie,c:
"What did he %" may ask some
of our younger readers. Why, he,
the Governor, the sworn servant
and creature of the people, declared
martial law in the State of North
Carolina during time of profound
peace; he appointed a cut-throat
scoundrel by the name of Kirk, with
a band of outlawed hirelings from
Tennessee, to the command of
what he called State troops; he ar
rested good men, true men, without
a shadow Of authority from the
courts, and threw them into loath>
some jails and confined them in
cells with filthy negroes. He, with
Kirk, and one Burger, Kirk S
second in command, so terrorized
the State that there was not one
State Judge to be found within its
limits who dared to issue writ of
habeas corpus. Even Chief Justice
Pearson, when applied to, stated that
he could do nothing-that the judi-
ciary was exhausted" Those
were the days when such men as
Albion W. Tourgee and s'Greasy
Sam" Watts sat on the bench and
dispensed injustice to the people of
North Carolina But there was
one man, thank God, in North Cars
DINA who wore the judicial ermine,
who would not bow the knee to Hol-
den's behests, and that was George
W. Brooks, of Elizabeth City, ma,
tive and to the manner born, Judge
of the United States District Court,
who granted the writ, and with one
stroke of his pen Holden's gigantic
fabric of treason and outrage fell to
the ground
From the Concord Standard !:
The time is far distant when the
people of North Carolina will be
willing to admit that w. W. Hol.
ded was actuated by good motives in
the course he pursued towards them
in the dark days of the reconstruc~
ton. Not until history has ceased
to record the outrages perpetrated by
Geo. w. Kirk and his fiendish ruff.
fans, commissioned by Holden.
Not until North Carolinians have
forgotten that W. W.sHolden, ci-
tizen of North Carolina, who had
it in his power to endear himself to
his people by making their return
to their former allegiance pleasant
task, flung from him, thegolden ops
portunity, and boosted that he would
make treason .pdious." We have
5 not forgotten that it was he who laid
rude and unholy hands upon the
the ark of our liberties when he sus-
pended the writ of habeas corpus,
and kept our best citizens in prison
in defiance of our Chief Justice.
From the Mt. Airy Ne,os: Will
the legislature of North Carolina
"resolve" such man as Holden
back as citizen? AS we'll incor-
porate preamble and resolution
eulogizing Benedict Arnold. AS
4 =.