The Greensborough patriot [May 10, 1861]

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VOL. XXIII. GKEENSBOROUGH, K C, MAY 10, 1861. NO. 1,139.
<K[je (Sreensharongir patriot
PUBLISHED SEMI-WEEKLY, BY
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The issue was mada, but evaded under the I course taken by these States, they are much I then existing causes, they would have felt
administration of Mr. Buchanan. Its solu- more closely united with us, by the ties of j that the blame might be imputable to them-tion
by Mr. Lincoln has been a matter of kindred, affection, and a peculiar interest, I selves. Coming as it now must, from the
anxious contemplation to the people of the
couatry since his accession to power. What-ever
may be the trie construction of the
which is denounced and warred upon at the
North, without reference to any locality in
our own section, than to any of the Northern
Constitttion, or the President's idea of his States. And withal, we cannot exclude from
duty to enforce the laws, a wise statesman-ship
cannot close its eyes to facts. It is im-possible
to treat so extensive a revolution
like a petty rebellion ; for if suppressed^ by
force, it would be at the expense of desola-tion
and ruin to the country. He should
oar contemplation the idea that when they
shall be subdued upon tho issues involved in
the contest, our turn will come next; our
only exemptions being, that like the
victims of the cyclops, we shall be last
to be devoured. I do not mean that Mr.
have dealt with it, as did Wellington and Seward, Mr. Chase or even Mr. Lincoln
Peel with the question of C*tholic emancipa-j himself, entertain any present design of ex-
Speech of tbe Hon. Wm. A. Graham.
On the occasion of the meeting of the of-ficers
of the Millitia of tho county, and a
larger assembly of the citizens of Orange in
the Court House in Hillsborough on Satur-day
last, the lion. Wm. A. Graham, who,
bad been absent from home during the two
preceding weeks, in compliance with the
general desire addressed the people on tbe
present critical and exciting state of the
country. Wo are able to present but a mea-gre
outline of his remarks, which occupied
about an hour in the delivery.
Mr. Graham said : We are in tho midst
of great evennts. For months past our po-litical
ekics have been dark and lowering.
The country has stood in anxious suspense
on tho perilous edge of civil war. And in
despite of the counsels and exertions of na-tional,
patriotic and conservative men, at
tho head of whom it is not invidious to place
the name of the gallant and veteran states-men,
John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, and,
as I believe, in despite of the wishes and sen-timents
of a majority of American people
North and South, if tho voice of the people
could have been allowed to be heard, civil
war is actually npon us. In regard to tho
earlier causes leading and tending to this dire
event and their traffic ency i'i producing such a
result, some of us have entertained diverse
opinions, It is well known that 1 among
others, have insisted, that the election of
Mr, Lincoln and his being invested with the
power of President of the United States ob-noxious
as were his own avowals of sentiment
in relation io slavery in the South, and still
more obnoxious as was the spirit of hostili-ty
to us, which animated the mass of his
party follower^ was not a sufficient cause
tor a disemberment of this Government and
the destruction of tho Union, that the re-straining
provision of the Constitution, the
counteracting influences oi the Legislative
and Judical deparments of the Government,
both of which, for the present at least, were
known to bo in opposition to the objectiona-ble
creed of himself and his party, and the
well established fact, that his election was
effectual by divisions among his opposers,
and not by a majority of the people, afforded
a sufficient security against usurpations or
the abuses of his power to our injury, should
he bo so inclined ; and that, though not in-sensible
to tho recreancy of many of the
Northern States to their obligations under
the Constiution in relation to slavery, and to
the gross and persistent vituperation ofmany
of their presses and political actors towards
the people and institutions of the South, we
yot cherished an ardent attachment to the
Union, and a feeling of veneration for the
Constitution of our fathers, and hoped by a
■ eW understanding of its provieions, and by
amendments putting its intorpretatiena be-yond
all douet, that the Government ander
which the coaatry had prospered almost be-yond
examplo, and had acquired a name
which was a passport and a protection to the
endsoi the earth, might still be preserved to
ourselves and to our posterity. We there-fore
disapproved the ceunsels which sought
the overthrow of the Government, upon the
announcement of the resell of the late Presi-dential
olection, and i» this disapproval were
sustained, it is no exageration to say, by a
large majority of the people of North Caro-lina.
The seven States, however, stretching
from our southern frontier to be confines of
Mexico, one by one in rapid succession de-clared
themselves separated from the Gov-ernment
of the United States, and formed a
new confederation. They found in the elec-tion
which had taken piaco sufficient cause
or occasion, in their estimation, for this hith-erto
untried course of proceeding, and levied
armies to defend it by force. The authori-ties
of the United Statas denied the right of
secession claimed by these States, and the
danger became greal of a collision of arms.
tion, or Clay with the crisis of 1833—yielded
to the necessities by which he was sur-rounded,
and adjusted by arrangement what
he found it impossible to control by force, or
if possible, only at a sacrifice to the nation
itself never to be repaired. Had Mr. Lin-coln
risen to the bight of the great occasion,
promptly withdrawn his troops from forti-fications
which he coald notdefend; conven-ed
Congress in extra session; recommended
the pecaliar the passage of a law, or amend-ments
of the Constitution, aeknownedging
the independence of the eeceded States, and
granting the guaraateee proposed by Crit-tenden,
or same eqaivaleat proposition, to
the other sieew-heldiag States which yet re-tained
their connexion with the Union, (a
course of measures which would have strip-ped
the Northern States of no rights, nor
subjected them to no humiliation,) be might
yet have maintained a Union of twenty-sev-en
contented Statea, with tweaty-eevtn mil-lions
of inhabitants, and with all the resour-ces
of a great empire. And after an experi-ment
of a few years, there might, and in my
opinion probably would have bean, a re-an-nexation
of the seeeded States themselves.
But instead of this bold and magnanimous
policy, his action has beea vaseillating. His
inaugural address is equivocal. Interpreted
by some, on itsfiast appearance, as portending
force, assurances are thrown out that his in-tentions
are only peaceful. And when the
public mind in all the eight slave-holding
States that had not seceded, was settling
down in the conviction that the forts were to
bo avacuated and repose was to be allowed,
so favorable to conciliation and harmony, a
Proclamation suddenly bursts upon tho coun-try
announcing a determination on coertion,
and calling for a militia force so great as to
endanger the safety of more than the seceded
States. A part of this militia is required of
North Carolina,and other slaveholding States.
It was not enough for the President that the
conservative people of these States had been
willing to acquiesce in his election, and upon
a peaceful course of action towards the se-ceded
States "and proper guarantees of their
own rights in view of the loss of their strength
In tho votes of Congress, by reason of tie
withdrawal of their confederates, and for a
more faithful observance of the constitution
in regard to their own rights ia view of the
loss ot their strength in the votes of Congress,
by reason of the withdrawal of thei:* confed-erates,
and for a more faithful observance of
the constitution iu regard to their interests,
he should exercise for the public benefit tho
functions of the office, and distribute its pat-roaage
among his followors. He requires
more than this. Careless of any terms of
conciliation, or adjustment of differences with
the border States, he resolves, but not till af-ter
his own adherents have been demoralized
by bis hesitation and professions of peace, on
the application of foroe to maintain the au-thority
of tho Government in the States which
have withdrawn, and requires us to co-oper-ate
aa instruments in their subjugatien.
This presents to us a question far different
from that of an election made according to
the provisions of the Constitution. Tbe sober
sense of the people of North Carolina had met
this question, and for themselves had settled
it. Ardent in their attachment to the Con-stitution,
the sober sense of the people of
North Carolina had met this question, and
for theeiselves had settled it. Ardent in their
attachment to the Constitution and the Union,
they had condemed separate State secession
as rash and precipitate, and wanting in res-pect
to the sectional differences, they wero un-willing
to part with the Government, and
give success to tho movement for its over-throw,
which appeared on the part of some at
least, to be but the revelation of a long cher-ished
design. But the President gives to the
question new alternatives. These are, on the
one hand, to join with him in a war of con-quest,
for it is nothing less, against our breth-ren
of the seceding States, or, on the other,
resistance to and throwing off the obligations
f the Federal Constitutisn. Of the two, we
do not hesitate to accept latter. Blood is
thicker than water. However widely we
tinguishing slavery in the Soath. Their
sweeping generalities that the Government
could not endure with a country half slave
and half free, and that there was a necessary
conflict whether freemen should cultivate the
fields of the South, or slaves till those of the
North, was the rhetoric of the hustings on
which they were canvassing for free-soil
votes. But this rhetoric had its effect in in-fluencing,
if not forming public opinion a-mong
the masses, and as often happen, those
who blow up a flame are unable to blow it
out. I regard a war of the Govornment of
the United States upon the seceded States,
therefore, with the design of compelling their
submission to the laws, and return to the
Union as in its consequonce, a war upon tho
institutions of the Southern States in gener-al.
The courso of the President has compell-ed
Virginia to sever her connexion with the
Union, contrary to what had seemed to be
the wishes of her people, and leaves North
Carolina no other alternative but to take the
same step. Indeed from the action of Vir-ginia
and that of the other States on our lim-its,
this severance is now but a matter of form.
Tennessee being the only coterminous State
which has not declared her separation. We
must therefore acquisce in a necessity which
our best efforts could not avert, a dissolution
of the Government of the United States.—
The announcement of this fact inspires in
me no feeling but a painful sadness. I be-lieve
so great a catastrophe to tho whole
country and to the world, could have "been,
and ought to have been prevented, and that
even now, if the people of the two sections,
whose armies aro being marshalled in hostile
ajray, could be allowed to commune togeth-er,
and compare opinions in calm delibera-tion,
if they could not agree on terms of re-union,
could at least devise measures for a
separation in peace. But let us yield to no
feeling of despondency, but gird our loins for
the duties imposed on us by the present and
awaiting us in tho future North Carolina
with only less than a million of inhabitants,
with her vast resources for war or for peace,
can roadily maintain her position as a sepa-rate
power of the earth, or as a member of
any new political organization into which
she may enter. What condition in this re-spect
she may resolve to occupy must be left
to the future to determine. Her first oare
at present must be addressed to the impen-ding
war, in which, if it must come, she can
bear no neutral part, but must ally herself
with her sister States of the South, at least
until the recognition of her and their com-mon
independence. Until that is achieved
let us postpone any differences which may
separate us as to tho responsibilities and cau-ses
of the present condition of affairs, and
the new agencies for the taking care of our
national interests which wo may find it ex-pedient
to adopt. In expressing theso sen-timents,
I have changed no opinisns, and en-tertain
no regrets as to the recent action of
the people of the State. I concurred in the
decision which they made, and in my]opinion
wisely made againt the call of a Convention.
And whatever opinion may be held in rela-tion
to ite wisdom, it was eminently a decis-ion
of the paople themselves. The Legisla-ture,
the public presses and public men of all
parties which but rare exception*1 were for a
Convention, with no very clearly defined
idea^ot what it was to do except on the part of
those who favored immediate secession tor
then existing causes. The people regarded
the proposod Conventfon as a measure to ef-fect
revolution, and not having exhausted
the means of reconciliation and peace, which
in the sincerity of their love for the Consti-tution
and the Union, they desired to see at-tempted,
they rejected the measure at tho
polls. But it would be altogether a false in-terpretation
of that decision to say that in it
it there were any sanction or encourage-ment
to the use of coercive measures against
the States which hed withdrawn. On the
contrary, such a courso was universally con-demned
and pronounced to be just caaee for
resistance by tbe opponents of Convention.—
Had tbe dissolution of tbe Government re-high
handed action of tho Ptesident, ,they
feel acquitted from its destruction, and will
meet the issue with no doubting hearts.—
The decision and the delay tborefore have
placed the Government of the United States
in the wrong and relieved us from any in-testine
divisions.
Mr. Graham made other remarks, on di-recting
our whole energies to the public de-enoe,
and on demonstrating to the world
that if we had not been swift to enter the
quarrel, we should so bear it, that the oppos-er
may beware of us.
The Convention Act.
An act to authorize and require the Governor of
North Carolina to call a Convention of the
people of this State.
SECTION 1. Be it enactod by the General
Assembly of the State of North-Carolina, and
it is hereby enacted by the authority of the
same, (two thirds of all the members of each
House concurring.) That upon tbe passage
of this act, his Excellency, the Governor, be
and he is hereby authorized and required to
issue his Proclamation, ordering an election
to be held in each and every county in tho
Sfate, on Monday, the 13th day of May, A.
D., 1861, upon tbe Federal basis, for dele-gates
to a Convention of the people of this
State, to convene at the seat of Government,
in Raleigh, on Monday, the twentieth (20th)
day of May, in the year of Lord, ono thous-and
eight hundred and sixty-one.
SEC. 2. That the said election for Dele-gates
shall be held and conducted in the
same manner, and at the samo places as el-ections
for members of the General Assem-bly
are now held in this State, and the vote
shall be counted and the scrolls compared
and certificates issued to tho Delegates elect
in the manner proscribed by law in tho case
of an election for members of the House of
Commons.
SRC. 3. That in case any vacancy shall
occur by the death, resignation, or removal
from the State, or by the refusal to serve of
any person elected a delegate to said Con-vention,
the presiding officer of tho Conven-tion
shall issue his writ, directed to the Sher-iff
of tho county in which such vacancy may
have occuned, after giving such notice as
may be ordered by the Convention, to open
a poll and hold an election to fill such vacan-cy,
in the same manner and under the same
rules and regulations as aro hereinbefore
proscribed for the original delegates.
SEC. 4. That the said Convention shall
consist of one hundred and twenty delegates
and each country in tho State shall be enti-tled
to elect the samo number of delegates te
tho said Convention as it now has of mem-bers
of the House of Commons under the
last apportionment.
SEC. 5. That the members of said Conven-tion
shall be entitled to the same mileage and
per diem pay received by tho members of tho
tienoral Assembly, to bo paid out of the trea-sury
in the same manner as the said mem-bers
are now paid; and said Convention
shall, by vote, fix the pay of all their officers
and of any delegates or representatives whom
they may appoint to any Convention or Con-gress,
and shall provide for all other expen-ses
incurred by said Convention, to be paid
out of any moneys in the treasury in the
manner they may direot.
SEC 6. That this act shall be in force
from and after its ratification.
Read throe times and ratified in Gene-ral
Assembly this 1st day of May,
A. D. 1861.
W. T. DORTH, S. H. C.
H. T CLARK, S. S.
From Europe.
The steamship Adriatic arrived at St. Johns
(N. F.) on Monday afternoon. She loft Gal-way
on the 23d instant. The Liverpool cot-ton
market is reported as quite active, and
some factors quote a still further advance.—
Breadstuff's continued dull, and provisions
steady. The most important political news
by this arrival is from Poland. The Russion
army, in anticipation ef coming trouble, was
being concentrated at Warsaw. The debate
in the Italian Parliament relative to the re-organization
of the Southern army—a meas-ure
insisted upon by Garibaldi—had been
brought to a close by the adoption of a mo-tion
altogether indefinite in its character.—
At Marseilles humorous failures among the
most prominent merchants had taken place
in consequence of the failure of the Turkish
Government to meet its obligations, and
through the refusal of the Bank ofFrance to
have differed from, and freely criticised the suited from a Convention then called and for I grant further extensions.
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