The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-08-28

tors. and when the day was waning, auo
t1,a crowd tired of standing, anu hoaI.E
with shouting. Vance was Called out his
ronrhful face. his ruddy couuteildhce, nts
dim eye. aud his faLnIiiaf sreeunS
NJ once attracted the crowd. ana a. t.ts
Ts+anad 10 his clear statement OF eAIS.-
49, conditions. his apt illustrations. ms
an7l,sinc stories and his nnpassl0heu
anpealS. or held up TO their gaze utIh
hnttnres of horrors to follow secession
ppn5 disrnian all became subject 10 MS
,aa o,,eriSu: their WEAKNESS ana IRaase-
- were foryotten. and when he closed
tho streets of the town anu Inc nm
around long reverberated win 'neiI ~
thusiastic shouts. 1hat night ,he
tnrNharrelS. and lighted torches IN the
hands of excited citizens ana VISITORS, ~
recession. Illuminated the streets. ana
Iba u~oDular speaker Of the aftefHoou ""r
again in requiSition: ana at ulhelent
street corners he was forced 70 speah.c
amin and again. to admIrlnS hearers u
roth sexes and all ages. !telerrIhS -
+hp remarkable impression he mace as d
~nouular speaker that day ana night. MI.
Ridgpr. in reply TO Il conplalnt from Il
friend to his own great speech, Salu.
.put Won ought 10 have heard young
Venice. He Is the greatest Stump-Speak-
~ that ever was: the greatest tnat ever
was" REPEATING with emphasis. ne oller
occasion was III December. 1850. when
he stopped in this city during the recess
OF Congress for the Christmas hollda!S.
South Carolina had then called Il conveI-
tion for the purpose of seeding from
me Union. Two of her congressman
Royce and keitt had stopped III Ralelsh
at the same time. Our Legislature was
in session. and at the instance OF rev
Of its ultra Democratic members anu
their sympathizers. they made secession
| speeches. in front Of the Marlborough
/ HonSe to people called together TO hear
them. The prevailing sentiment IN Ral-
eigh was then intensely Unlon II the
i~ndicnation of many was aroused 10 4
hiyh pitch. Threats of violence were
| being muttered from citizen TO cltlZeh.
and there was danger Of 4 riot and OF
insult. or worse. to the indlScreet vlSl-
tors. Sion II. Rogers, our gallant Con-
This and at once had the courthouse
lighted and the bell runG: and a meeting
TO listen to Union speeches announced.
| He cot Vance to go with him. and the
latter. fully approaching the condition.
made to the excited crowd which follow
cd him and Rogers from the street, a
speech semi-jOcOse and semi-seriOus in
| which he excused his South Carolina
friends on the ground that they We're
crazy fanatics. upon whom the lndlgna-
ton Of sane people was wasted. He soon
cot his hearers in a %ood humOr, and
with .'Hurrah for Vance" they dis
persed to their homes. Vance, doubt
less. reported to the secession orators the
argument Will which he defended tnelr
folly.
IN common with the other Union men
Of the State. while c~ontending that the
election Of Lincoln in 1860 was no cause
for secession. Vance had committed him
self to oppose the coercion Of Il seeded
State, if any OF them shout exercise,
what he considered the revolutionary
right of secession. The people were with
him, and in February, 1861, voted by a
large majority against holding a conyen-
ton to consider the question of secession.
But when, in April. the clash Of arms
came. and President Lincoln called for
troops, from this State in part to restore
the authority Of the United States in
South Carolina and other seeded States.
Z convention was at once called on the
historic Goth of May, and an ordinance
Of secession adopted. Eance raised the
second company organized in his dis
trict. the Rough and Ready Guards" of
sturdy mountaineers. and brought them
10 Raleigh as their captain early in May.
The omnan became part of the Fourth
Regiment OF \. G. Troops. afterwards
designated as the Fourteenth. under COM
mand of Col. w. u. pcnder. a splendid
soldier and q superior d~isciplinarian.
They We're sent down to our eastern
coast: and there Capt. Vance proved his