The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-11-08

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| his brother-m-law. Governor Ried.
The speaker then followed with q
| wealth Of incident and reason the
| course of the politics of the time
which marked the decay of the Wing
! party and caused Judge Settle i'm
early life consistently To become "a
democrat The slavery question was
| at white heat: ii was the dav of at
| IL mpted compromise with the storm
APP reaching. Although the
compromises were accepted by both
parties, the cause of il was too deep
seated To be reached by that peaceful
lremedy 1t remained one Of those UNI
settled questions which have no pity
for the repose Of nations"
Following Judge Settle in the
troubled times preceding the war,
Judge Bynum pointed out strongly and
eloquently the earnest consistency
with which he opposed the idea of Sc
cession. even after many other States
had gone from the Union.
Like MOrehead, Graham. Badger,
I;uffin, Gilmer. and others in this
State. and stephens. Johnson, and
Hill, of Georgia, Mr.. settle believed
that secession at that time was prcma-
ture that our troubles might be and
ought To be settled within the Union
better than out of it, AS Union
II
ddate in Rocknghma against the
Convention. and, after 4 splendid cam
paign was elected over his opponent,
Mr. A. NJ. Scales. WHO. like Tombs ana
| Davis. favored secession. But the
| people by It narrow majority of 65l
| CHE exact vote being 1862 to 41,323)
decided against the convention. and
! the delegates elected were not called
upon To assemble. Thus the people of
North Carolina refused even to con-
| slider the question of Withdrawing
from the Union. although seven of her
| sister States had already decided to
! leave it,
In 1861. on the 18th of April, Mr..
| Settle. who was then solicitor of the
Fourth Judicial District, asked the use
| OF the court house of Judge Howard,
presiding for a political discussion,
afterwards making a ringing speech
against secession against Gen. James
Madison Leach. This was at Danbury,
in Stokes county, and Judge Howard
| relates that a day or so after, While on
his way to Rockingham with the So
| licitor they We're met near Madison by
men who informed them of the action
at Sumpter and Lincoln'S call for
! troops.
THAT settles it," exclaimed the So
! licitor, and, arriving at the town he at
| once mounted the steps of the court
house and eloquently addressed the
crowd. stating that the duty of the
people was now TO the South.
| a day or so later Judge Howard, at
| buckingham. saw two military COM
panies one of which was commanded
| by Mr.. Settle and the other by A. M.
! Scales.
The speaker sympathetically de-
tailed the Pre- 2ress of the reconstruc-
ton legislation and the part taken in
the crisis by Mir. Settle, who was
actuated by the idea that, stern as
| were the conditions imposed the inter-
| ests of the State would be better
served by yielding to the inevitable.
He quoted Il description of Mr.. Settle
in the convention written by Il north
ern man: "A man about six feet in
height: one hu2lrel cnd ninety
pounds in weight; erect, broad-shoul-
| dered. with full face. firm mouth,
bronZed and rosy cheeks. large brown
eyes, dark. brown hair and whiskers.
Speaking with force and unmis-
| takably emphasis gestulating with a
! full sweep from the shoulder"
In speaking of the final triumph
| after repeated defeats of the 14th
amendment Judge Bynum said:
stevens and Sumner had at least
| triumphed. Johnson and the South,
/ too sure of success and too chtry,
| pc haps. of compromisa and eonces-
sion, were defeated. bat only for {,
generation
| With reference to the famous
| Vance-Settle campaign. Judge Bynum
said:
! Except the time he served in the
| var and in the convention and leSisla
| ture of 1S65-1S6G. Mr.. Settle was So
| licitor of his district continuously from
| 1861 to 1868. In April. 1868. he was
! elected Associate Justice of this Court
and served till his appointment us
Minister to Peru, in February. 1871,
| when he was succeeded by Nathaniel
! Boyden. The climate of Peru seve rely
threatened his health. Besides his
! heart was with his family and his
| friends in North Carolina and he was
not satisfied to remain away. In the
! Spring of 1872 he resigned and came
! home. The same year he was chosen
| President of the National Republican
| Convention at Philadelphia which
nominated General Grant for his sec
end term-the only Southern Republi-
can ever honoreG with the Presidency
| of National Convention of his party.
| Judge Settle was nominated for gov
eTnor on the 18th of July, 1876 Cow
crnor Vance had alreary been nomi-
mated as the Democratic candidate.
A joint discussion was ar
I
! in North Carolina. They We're con-
Quoted with splendid dignity, each
candidate treating the other with fine
| courtesy throughout the discussions.
! 1t was return to the spirit of older
| times when such men as Graham and
| Hoke, Gilmer and Bragg, Badger and
! Miller led the opposing hosts in the
| field of political contest. In all that
makes political speaking instructive,
impressive and convincing these dis
| cussions were in no respect less mas
! terful than the debates between Lin
| coin and Douglas. in 1885,
In concluding his address the
| speaker said:
| Judge Settle was a personal friend
/ of General rant They had met in
| Raleigh the last of November 1865,
! when General Grant was travelling
| through the South to ascertain the
| condition of the Southern people and
| their feeling toward the Union. At
| ter Judge Settles defeat for governor,
! President Grant on January 80, 1877,
! rendered him the appointment of Uni
! ted States Judge for the District of
Florida, which he accepted and filled
with great distinction until his tragic
/ death i'm the Judges room of the gov
eminent building in the city of
! Greensboro. December /. 1888.