The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1897-01-07
FAYETTEVILLE Observer. !


Col. Wharton ] Green has had copy
righted very handsome llthograph Of
the letter which ex-President Das !
wrote to the invitation committee {
the centennial celebration of the adof
ton of the Federal Constitutions which
took place in this city on the 2Ist of
November, 1889. As most Of our
readers know, Fayetteville was, hun
dred and odd years ago, one of the al
terna,e capitals of North Carolina, and
it was during the session of the Legis-
lature held in the old State House,
which stood where the present Town
Hall is, that the "accession" Of North
Carolina to the new Union was &C
complished.
Some persons Especially at the
North) wondered at the time what ia
vorable connection the ex-President of
the Confederacy could have with a
celebration of the adoption of the Con-
stitution, the Constitution which es-
tablished that "more perfect union"
which the States of the former Confed
Grafton had entered into shortly after
they achieved their independence.
That was because those critics were ig-
norant, and ignorant of the most vital
facts of our Constitutional history.
There is no document which SO
clearly and completely demonstrates
the Constitutional regularity Of the
action of the seeding States-in con-
trast, it may be added, with the vio-
lence done the Constitution by Mr..
Lincoln's government-as this letter
written by the ex-President ofthe Con-
federacy. Nor is there, SO far as We
know, any tribute to the unique career
OF our beloved mother State which has
proceeded from source SO exalted
and so disinterested and which is SO
just and full.
For these reasons the document
which Col. Green and his associates of
the committee have had so beautifully
engraved, is probably the most highly
to be priced by North Carolinians of
any single record in their history 1t
was recognition of this fact that led
these gentlemen to put it in a form
convenient for preservation. The lith-
ograph is 15x19 inches, and the script
OF the letter is snrmouuted by hand
some likeness cf Mr.. Davis, by rep
resentation of the splendid monument
which is to be erected to his memory
in Richmond, and by a reproduction
in colors of the three flags OF the Con-
federacy. 1t is upon bristol board,
and is intended 10 be framed. Capt.
Neill w. Ray, one of the committee,
has large supply of these Autographs,
which are to be sold at IS cents each,
and the proceeds of which, after pay
ing the cost of the engraving, arc 10
be devoted to the jefferson Davis
Monument Fund.-
Here is the text of the letter, which
was the last paper of public nature
which emanated from Mr.. Davis and
which was written from his sick bed
Just FIVE weeks before his death:
BEAUvo1R, MISS, Oct. 3Oth, 1889.
Messrs. Wharton J. Green, Jas. c.
MacRae, C. ". Broadfoot, NeiU ".
Ray, W. C. McDufie, COMMITTEES:
GENTLEMEN:-You letter inviting
me to attend North Cardinals Centen.
nial, to be held at Fayetteville ON the
3lst of November next, was duly re.
ceived; but this acknowledgement has
been delayed under the hope that al
improvement in my health would en-.
able me to be present as invited. AS
the time approaches | find that cherish
ed hope unrealized, and that | must
regretfully confess my inability to joiu
you in the commemorative celebration
1t has been my sincere wish to meet
the people Of the "Old North State
on the occasion which will naturally
cause them, with just pride, to trace
the historic river OF their years to its
source in the colony Of Albemarle.
All along that river stand mOnu
ments of fidelity to the inalienabl'
rights of the people-even when an i'll
FAINT successfully resisting executive
usurpation, and, in defence of the priv
ileges guaranteed by charter, boldly
defyipg Kings, Lords and Commons
Always self-reliant yet not vainly self
asserting, she provided for her defence
while giving material aid to her neigh
bors, as she regarded all the British
colonies Of America.
Thus she sent troops, armed ant
equipped for service, into both Virgins
and South Carolina, and also dispatche'
ship from the port OF Wilmington
with food for the sufferers in Boston
after the closing of that port by Grea
Britain. In her declaration that tn
cause of Boston was the cause Q
all, there was not only the assertio
of community of rights and a purpos
to defend them, but self-abnegatiou {
the commercial advantages whic
would probably accrue from the closu
of rival port.
Without diminution of regard for tn
great and good men of the other colo
nies, have been led to specia! vene'
. alton for the men of North Carolina, a
the first to distinctly declare for Stat
independence. and from first to last t
uphold the right of a people to COVER
themselves.
do not propose to discuss the vexe
: question Of the Mecklen burg resolution
of May, 1775, which from the similari,
5 of expression to the great Declaratio
of Independence Of July, l776, hav
:. created much contention, because Il
= claim of North Carolina rests on
broader foundation than the resolves
the meeting at Mecklenburg. which d
serve to be preserved as the outbur
; of brave, liberty-loving people.