Year: 1866

lment and reduce all our affairs to complete
chaos, by throwing out nearly every public
officer, even to Justices of the Peace and
Constables; and it would be hardly posi-
ole to find enough of new men qualified to
I'LL these various offices and re-organize
our State Government. And besides this,
all experience proves that men rising
to power on the ruin Of their fellows, and
expecting success only by the suppression
Of the popular Will, are generally the worst
of all the enemies Of their own people !;
and the great mass Of the people of this
commonwealth wOuld, in the opinion of
the committee, greatly prefer to commit
themselves, their honor and their interests
to Congress as now composed. rather than
to those whose only hope of ruling lies
In the disfranchisment and oppression of
more loyal and better men. The impolicy
OF imposing this general disability upon
those who, in any way, took part i'll the late
conflict, is shown also by the indubitable
fact that most Of them are now conserva-
tive, as loyal and as well affected towards
the General Government rs any class Of
citizens. Those who personally participa-
ted Ill the great trial Of arms are, perhaps,
more thoroughly convinced than any others
OF the finality Of the decision and the utter
folly OF any future appeal to the arbitra-
ment Of war and hence have, with few
exceptions, readily acquisced in the settle
ment which has been made of the questions
in dispute. Many of those who would be
disabled from holding Office are among the
most prominent and excellent citizens of
the State, who always opposed secession
and their services and cooperation would
be greatly needed in the important work of
restoring her prosperity.


But if this and other degrading disabli-
ties must be imposed upon SO many Of her
Icitizcns, how can North Carolina herself,
while she retains any sense of honor OF
Iself-respect, assist in imposing it .
How can those now controlling the deSti-
MES Of tho Union ask or expect her to do
SO, and thus set the seal to her own, dis
grace? How can they expect, or even de
sire, that her representatives., either now
or hereafter, shall assist in the work Of hCI
own degradation


What her people have done, they have
done in obedience to her own behests.-
Must she now punish them for obeying her
own commands? If penalties have been
incurred and punisbments must be infict-
ed, is it magnanimous, is it reasonable,
nay, is it honorable, to require us to become
our own executioners? Must We or State
be regarded as unfit for fraternal association
with our fellow citizens of other States, I'M
til after we shall have sacrificed our man
hood and tarnishcd our honor ? Surely
not. North Carolina feels that she is still
one of the daughters of the great American
family. Wayward and wilful, perhaps, she
has been; but honor and virtue still are hers.
If her errors have been great her sutferings
have been greater Like q stricken moth
er, she now stands leaning in silent grief
over the bloody graves of her slain children.
The mementoes of former glory lie in ruins
around her. The ajesty of SORROW sits
entArOned on her brow Proud of her sons,
who have died fOr her, she cherishes in heI
heart Of hearts the living children who
We're ready to die for her, and she loves
them with a mothers warm affection. Can
She be expected to repudiate them No
it would be the act of an unnatural mother.
She can never consent to it,-Nece1!


It is said, however, that Congress can
easily remove the disabilities which this
section of the Amendment imposes but is
it likely that Congress will do so +? If they
are to be readily removed, why impose
them at all ? And it should not be forgot
ten that Congress could, through this dis
pensing power, manage to fill the State oS-
fees, of every grade, almost entirely ac-
lcOrding to its own choice and discretion,
by relieving from disabilities only such as
might serve It's purposes and thus the
freedom of elections would be virtually de-
stroyed, and the State Governments might
become the willing and subservient tools
of grasping ambition and usurping tyranny


All that need be said of tho fourth
section of the proposed Amendment, is
that it is useless. The Federal debt is al
ready sufficiently secured by the honest in
tention of the people to pay it. And a
noticeable fact is, with what cheerfulness
the people of this Commonwealth taxed
wi and 6aOrncCn6 an
impoverished by the War-pay their Inter
nal Revenue taxes. By seeking to bind the
people Of the whole country further to the
payment of the public debt, 10y means OF
Il constitutional provision, the Government
betrays a lack of confidence. not perhaps
more in the people of the South than in
those of the Morrill, The Confederate debt
is equally certain to remain unpaid. In
deed most of it can never fall due by the
terms on which it was contracted, and the
Iimpoverishment of the whole South and
the acts of reputation which lave already
been passed will, doubtless secure the
non payment of the remainder.


The refuse o pay for our slaves emanci
lpated is, doubtless, a great injustice, eSpe.
lcially to those citizens who did not favor
secession ; but the committee entertain the
opinion that the people have never hoped
seriously for it's reparation.


In the final section power is given to
Congress "to enforce by appropriate legis-
''lation all the provisions of this article. .
How wide door is hereby opened for the
interference of Congress with subjects hith-
erto regarded as beyond its range, it is i'm
possible adequately to conceive until expe-
rience shall have tested the matter. AS
the committee have already argued, and
Submitted, one of the most serious evils to
be apprehended from this Amendment con
ssts in the vast addition it makes, in sc
many ways, to the powers of the General
Government. No enlightened patriot who
has studied carefully our system of govern
ment, and has realized how much of its ex,
cellence lies in the due division of its pow,
ers between the Federal and State authori
ties, can have failed to witness, with the
profoundest alarm, the tendency to cen
tralization and consolidation, which has
lin late years been developed. The
exercise of the mighty energies and the as
sumption of new and unusual prerogatives
irequired to prosecute successfully the re-
cent war in the nature of things, gave tc
the General Government an overshadowine
influence and prestige beyond what it had
ever before possessed. And this result was
increased by the overwhelming defeat Of