The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-03-05

not recall just now either the author
Or the precise language, but believe
il wa q Greek Of more than two thou
SAND wears ago. Love your own ldnd
and PEOPLE. Sir Walter Scott wrote III
one Of his very interesting. foiGctl
POEMS in spirit and resonant power:
us there q man with soul 50 dead,
VINO to himself hath never aid
This is ny own, my native land
North Carolina has done 50 much,
has @uTcre 50 much, has struggled
50 much in the past that her people
ala enc now. n she may we'll be
proud Of her faithful, heroic and pa
trietjc people, the equal of any on this
globe Of ours. Write it in lndeil1ble
ink, have it craven deep in brass, have
III incorporated in faithful history ,h3t
= people who do not take pride in the
glorious record of past generations,
ana co not chez ish with feryid, pa
tGiotic emotion, the grand and noble
deeds and high fame of the nation
bullders-the men who shed renoWn
ANA gave q name to the young. aspiring
-cruGgling state, are q people in dacav
are unworthy descendants. \ people
who are not jealous Of the fame OF
their foremost men. and who DO not
appreciate the fOrtitude, the courage,
the high patriotism of the men who
tdIFl all dIlu pore I'll v lIDCi ~ iIii
right and home-'tal men sun
crowned" with a burning love for the
right, the pure, the ue-m Wilo
were moved upon by the noblcst inn
pulses and animated by h more chiv-
alrous sense of duty-men who
wrought with tears and suf-
fcged for highest conviction
uud principle and honor
q people who forgot those aims AID
sacrifices and deeds, and are absorbod
in matcrialism, live only to get and %
hold. arc not worthy Of such lives and
looks to an old man, native here and
10 the manner born" A people must
indeed be sunk deep in decay who
seek to open the mighty portals of
tthe future with the key of iron only.
and who forget the great good Of the
past. The men and women Of the
past must live in the memory of the
present and of future genera
tons if North Carolina shall
honor and the badge of frecmcn- Our
great Americans may for the time
sink below the horizon, and the tWl-
light Of noble men be apparently Lutl
POI US; but
rear not but that their light once
more shall burn,
once more thine immemorial CLEAN
return"
Shall it be said that in all North
Carolina there was not enough of true
manlincss and true pride and genuine
gratitude left to honor and appreciate
our foremost men in the past-civic
and military-Nance, Ransom, Petit
grew. Pender and other men who
brought renown to North Carolina
Let them be hOnOred and remembered
by the true people of our grand old
State-"Heaven's blessings attend
hcr'-because Of their fidelity, great
- l,,al .,- r,i o. n n1rntin11 in fantnI
field in civic arena, in stormy halls
OF debate or elsewhere. Let no such
reprOach be possible-let no such
stigma be stamped upon the good name
OF North Carolina. | have done moth
ing myself worthy of remembrance
fer my native North Carolina, but |
surely revere and honor the memo
ries Of our greatest men as | cheish
admiration and gratitude for the great
army Of brave, faithful men who
went out to suffer, fight for
and if need be die for their
poople and their liberties. For full
forty-fve years | have defended my
people from the 'slings and arrows
Of nemies and detractors. That
much have sedulously essayed to do
with slcepless vigilance. | am checred
sometimes with letters of kindly APP
probation from men OF advanced
years. Only q few days s a vener-
able citizen of Saxon, n. G., wrote me
most kindly in this wise: Your article
in Sundays NcMs and Observer of
January 2Ith. interested me so much
that | want to write to you and tell
YOU that / love you for the good you
have done. Your writings always do
me good" These generous words found
me sick. but | enjoyed them all the
more. May | never do any harm.
The courts have lost caste very great
lY within a few years. What is to
pay? IS it the judges who are unequal
u their duties? Is it the deprecated
jury system? Is it the growing senti-
mcnt against capital punishment? Is it
the facts that lawyer demand %
challenges for the criminal tried while
giving but four to the State? Some
thing is wrong, incapable, rotten. Is
it the one-man p~ardoning power?
Murders are rapidly on the increase.
The number of murders for 1906. were
something over 10000, | believe, an
increase over 1000 for 1905. think
the hangings were only q little more
than 100 for 1906. | have not the eX-
act figures at hand. Drink is. the
cause of about four-fifths of the crimes
known to the courts. Although not d
lawyer, years agO | Ventured to dis
cus= the system of trial by jury. Iuries
were all right in the past, for years
after being adopted in England. but
before the eighteenth century closed
they were fatlnS into d1Srepute
greatly. Edward GibbOn was a great
man. He was the greatest of all mod
ern historians. His style was stately,
grand. arresting, and yet he had a
rather poor opinion of English iuries,
and that too more than one hundred
and twenty-five years ago. He put
but little value on trials by jury. and
Clearly held them in contempt. Here
is what he wrote in one Of HE letters
first published only some twenty years
ago. Then they were published for
the first time in two volumeS of let
tcrs, which together with his seven
"Memoirs" of himself ana from his
own pen, was given to the enlightened
kingdom of letters or perhaps better,
the Republic II Letters. lie wrote
as follows:
"Ou of twelve jurymcn. / upposc
six to be incapable of understanding
the question. three afraid of giving Of
Tense, and two more who Will not take
the trouble of thinking. Remains one
who has sense, courage and applica-
ton
Remember this is the opinion of !;
most able, vastly learned Englishman
Who lived in close cOmpanionShio Vic
the greatest men of his day. He wrote