Year: 1876

ed amendments effect both these
methods verf materially and very
great y for the better.


stands, the Legislature (two-thirds
of all the members concnrriDg) can
call Convention witiltiut any rest'ic~
tions whatever and such a Convent or
will be absolutely sovereign and
clothed with full authority to- do all
things that to il may seem best. The
amendments require not o,ly that the
call of the Convention shall have th,
concurrence of two thirds of the mem
bers of the Legislature. but that, in |
addition, it shall also receive the con |
currence of maiOrity Of the people at |
the polls. So that if the amendments
shall be ratified, before any Constitu
tional Convention can meet, the call
for it will have first to be sanctioned
by two-thirds of all the members of the
two Houses of the General Assembly
and afterwards be sanctioned by the
vote of majority of the people.


It is manifest that under such q
law. no Convention will ever be held
in North Carolina; and this being so,
all mon who have honest fears about
trusting conventions With power, ,onght
to see plainly that it is time for them
to speak out in favor of the ratification
of the amendments. Indeed the very
reasons that induced good citizeus, and
there were many of them who did so,
to oppose the call of the Constitutional
Convention last year naturally compel
them to favor now the ratification of
the amendments; in a word the am4snd-
ments meet squarely the demand of
the anti-c> 1vention men of last year,
by making it part of the Constitution
that no convention shall under any
circumstances be called without first
obtaining the consent Of the people at
the ballot box upon the direct question
of convention or no convention. Ac-
cordingly, we find that Judge Fowle,
who was one of the Interest opposers
of the convention movement is most
warmly advocating the ratification of
the amendments proposed by that con-
vention.


2. The other mode. of altering the
Constitution, that by Legislative en-
actment. is also very materially
changed and very greatly for the bete
ter, inasmuch as it is made very much
simpler and places the entire control
in the hands of the people just where
it ought to be.


To make any change by Legislative
enactment in the Constitution as itnow
stands, one Legislature must, by the
vote of three-fifths of all the members,
pass bill containing the proposed
amendment. It must then be pub
lished to the people six months before
the election of members for the next
Legislature. The new Legislature
must then pass the bill by a two thirds
vote of all the members, and after all
this, the bill must then be submitted
to the people for ratification. This is
" lnn1. tedious process and was made
so designedIy. 1t, however, the
amendments shall be ratified the diff
GUILTY will 10 longer exist.


The following is the amendment
proposed to this part of the Constitu-
ton:


SEC. 2. No part of the Constitution
of this State shall be altered unless a
bill to alter the same shall have been
agreed to by three-f -ffths of each house
of the General Assembly. And the
amendment or amendments so agreed
to shall be submitted at the next
general election to the qualified voters
of the whole State in such manner as
may be prescribed by law. And in the
event of their adoption by majority
of the votes cast, such amendment or
amendments shall become a part of
the Constitution of this State.


! Every man can see for himself the
plain effect of the changes in this ar
ticle of the Constitution proposed to
be made hy tho amendments now pend
ing. It can be summed up in single
word almost, that is to cay, they re-
store full power to the people. With
the consent of the people everything
can be done, and without their con-
sent nothing can be done. The rAtifi-
cation of the amendments will be sub
stantially a new declaration of indie
pendence on the part of the people of
North Carolina, no less important and
no less sweeping than that made in
Mecklenburg in 1775 and that made in
Philadelphia in 1776.


If the Convention had done nothing
but propose the amendments to this
article, the great work of hberating
the people from the slavery of the
| Candy Constitution would have been
accomplished, for if these amend
ments shall be ratified, the people can
in less than twelve months redress any
! grievance growing out of that Constitu
ton, can cure all constitutional ills
that may effect them. But nothing,
not word, nor letter, can be changed
without their consent and co.opera-
tion.


Is there any-danger in this Is there
any danger in confiding to the people
of North Carolina the power to make
and to unmake their own government?
We think not. Nor can we ever think
there is any danger in it, so long as we
earnestly and honestly believe in the
right of the people to fashion and shape
their own governments to srit them
selves. The people and not the Office
holders ought OF right to be masters
here; but masters they will not be
until the amendments shall be ratified.