Newspapers / The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, … / Jan. 6, 1864, edition 1 / Page 1
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... i ! i, : -, HE linrti-Ciirnlitiii Ifonkrii iflLUAM W. HOLDEN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. "BA LEIGIIrRIDA X , jlAKUABY 1, lggj. "tehms of the standard. jhe terms of the Standard hencetorth will be foor dol ,,rs for the Weekly six months, and sir dullari for the -troi-Weekly six months, invariably in advance. Owinfj to the condition or the currency and the uncertainty of the irnes, subscriptions for a longer period thsn six roontbi not be received We publish to clay a ery able letter from John J. Gilmer, Esq , of Virginia, to the members if Congress from that Slate, in relation to the pro section to place those who have hired substitutes n service. Mr. GUaier writes like an old style, oneil Virginia statesman. Such men are as valuablo $ they are rare. Imagine the scorn with which John p,rlor, of Caroline, and William Wirt, and Thorn- Kitchie would have turned from these modern .opositions to break the deliberately pledged faith ,f the government This whole matter of substitutes may be put in i nutshell." The government enacted a law allow ng persons who owed to it military service to put jersons in their places as substitutes. Persons ivailed themselves of this law, whereupon the gov irnment discharged them from service. This was i contract But the government now turns round md forces these persons into service, and thus creaks the contract We opposed the enactment )f the law, because we thought it wrong in princi ple. It wat wrong. It put the money of one man in one scale, and the blood of the moneyless man In tl.e other; but it was passed, and the govern ment thus pledged its word to those who availed themselves of its provisions. It was wrong to pass the law, and it is wrong to break it We know that thousands who obtained substitutes Sought to have gone in themselves, and those of I hem who aided in bringing on the war ought to :o in now, of their own accord ; but this does not astify the violation of a solemn engj gement. 1 1 is i mistake to suppose that the soldiers are in favor of this breach of faith. The honor of thecountjy is as dear-to them as it is to others, and that honor is dearer even than success. A country without honor is no country at all. North-Carolina is an honest, faith keeping State. There is no feeling among our people, even the poore-t of them, which can be gratified by trampling on the vested rights of the rich. The poor know that if the rich are not protected in their solemn contracts there is nothing that will protect them, but that all classes are in danger of being d.-prived of their rights. Besides, many of those who have procured substi tutes are poor men, who sold their last acre of land or expended their last dollar for that purpose. When a solemn contract is broken by the govern ment, on whatever pretext, the safety of all classes. as well as the repose cf society, is in dancer. CoVy ficUnce is what all new governments need, and without it success is hardly, possible. " Character is as essential to nations as it is to individual.--." We stated in the Standard of the 23d December, on the authority of a correspondent, that " some oi the soldiers had recently driven from thirty to forty head of cattle to Jefferson, Ashe County, sold them, and pocketed the money." We asked if this could be possible, Capt. Harrell, of the 5C;h, who com manded the soldiers referred to, has called on us and informed us that the cattle were seized and sold under orders from pen. Hoke, and the proceeds applied to the subsistence of the troops. Our cor respondent informed us that he " heard- the Quar termaster of the regiment disown all complicity in the transaction," and his inference, therefore, was that the proceeds were not used in the public ser vice. Capt. Harrell, however, states that the mon ey was used to subsist his' company, and we very cheerfully give him the benefit of this statement He acted under orders. ; Exchange or Pwsoners. Some five hundred Confederates, recently exchanged for an equivalent of federals, arrived at Richmond a day or two since, and went into quarters at Camp Lee. Gen. B. P. Butler, having been appointed special agent for the exchange of prisoners at City Point, our govern ment has refused to recognize him in that capacity i account of his being under the ban of outlawry j the proclamation of President Davis, for his con duct at New Orleans. The Richmond Whig, " in f w of so desirable an end as the liberation of so '-xany of onr noble boys, now the tenants of federal prisons," expresses the hope that "the President raay not find it incompatible with the dignity and duty of the government to waive the outlawry and recognize the Beast" We have received a number of letters from sol diers making inquiries in relation to the exchange of prisoners. Some pf them state that Gen. Winder has informed them by letter " that all prisoners that. were paroled and brought out to City Point op to the 28th July laRt, were exchanged," but does not stale whether there has been any exchange since. The inference is that prisoners paroled since that period havenpt been exchanged, though we are not able to answer the'qiqestion so as to place it beyond doult We trust sormj pf the Richmond paperfl will explain the matter, as a considerable number of parokd soldiers feel an interest in knowing. Distilline the Tithes. hue many of our people are without bread we learn that :u i order has been issued from Richmond to d .still 80 ..000 hratau of the tithe grain in North the officers famihes and the best whiskey for the ueded for the hospttals and for medicinal or other government purposes, let it be made in Florida or wuhern Georgia, where ther; is an abundance of Mm not here, where starvation stares us tn the ate. . " Our formation comes from a high source, and we glau lt, m,w (hat Gov. Van Mdd efend the rights of the people of the ' ,ue'w to protest against this outrammmi r.. ceumt;. V m. 1... t. . . ... ? "77t" r aicdhoi. w7 - .e. m n.out wn,ker he Dresent r "ve wunout bread, and it ,KcnP ally desires the indenendeu.-e '"'iCnCTaCV It Flinnl A,-. . t,l.- iL ., trjfcal (ho j- . -""" ' wutr mine mail -the od ous ftha law. Such a law MselwithH eth renP,e to vMh their last 'Th raf-Progrei. ne armycan :A ofn,er ChUna Mn d without hrei 3ntb n key consumftd the hospitals goes ck com 6 f th8 fficers and "ttendants, and he idta'T get.lu.'t Prccious 'ittIe of he article. tVis f d'8,ll!inS grain into whiskey at a tini ' trult r pl,rPlse is nofc to be endure 1 "st ,i 'nCe wiU not only "protest" 'N UV6'? JEe f t,ie Prec'0"8 grain, but that ho at he isPSt, Prevent t. Let him remember. Iftt (I'e pto-l(iGiOVCrnor f 80TereiS State and 0se govern C 10 kim for protection against ssi tk . ll "uicers who are diacosed tOOD- out their substance. Vol. XXIX. No. 52. Dlrcusftion in the Senate on Principals and Substitute Startling Declarations by Sena'.or Brown, of Mississippi. On Monday last the Senate, took up the House bill to put the principals of substitutes in the army, j llr. Orr, of South-Carolina, opposed the bill, and in the course of his remarks said : The Secretary of War said there was no con tract between the ' government and the principals. tie (Mr. urr) insisted tnat there was a contract But if there was none, put it upon the ground of good faith; The country makes a call for soldiers. A comes forward and offers himself. The govern ment says to him, if he will furnish a suitable sub stitute he shall be discharged. He furnishes B, who is accepted and mustered in, and A is discharged Was it contended that, consistently with good faith, the government could afterwards take A and put him into the army T Senators had said there could be no contract between, the government and princi pal; that it was a nudum pactum, there being no consideration. - A consideration was not necessary to a contract He directed the grave attention of Senators to this question of good faith. They bad conscribed citizens to the age of thirty-five. .They had said to thqm, if it suited their pleasure and convenience, they might furnish substitutes. Some of the conscribed searched out substitutes, paid ihein their money, and, having put them into the army and complied with all tbe prescribed condi tions, secured their discharges. Now, it was said, there was no violation of good faith in putting in these principals. But there were other difficulties in the way of this bill. If it was passed and became a law, how was it to be executed ? He could say, from information that he had, that it could never be executed, except by the means reccommended the other day by the. Senator from Mississippi, (Mr. Brown), in his revo lutionary speech. Already it had been decided by the Supreme Court of North Carolina that even when a substitute became liable, by the extension of the conscript age, the principal was not liable. Oth er decisions on the same subject had been given in South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. It was proper he should here say, that if the North Caroli na State court had had the general order of the War Department before them their decision might have been different But still that court had decided that when the substitute was accepted and the principal discharged, the latter could not be taken again. If, after this decision, this bill is passed, tbe principals, when conscribed, will sue out their writs of habeat corpus, and will be forthwith released, and the gov ernment must either acquiesce or trample the civil tribunals under foot and put the whole country un der military rule, as reccommended by the gentle man from .Mississippi, (Mr. Brown). He was not prepared for such a condition of things as this. He did not believe there was any necessity for it" Mr. Johnson, of Georgia, said it struck him there was no necessity for the passage of the bill under , consideration, lbe bill reported by the Military committee covered the whole ground. It extended the conscript age to fifty-five, and all the substitutes in the army, he thought, would be found to be under that age. Should the committee bill be adopted, any legislation on this subject will be found unnecessary. He would, therefore, suggest the propriety of laying aside this bill until the bill of the committee snail- nave been acted upon. He moved its further consideration be postponed till Wednesday. The bill and amendments were ordered to be printed. i.Uie course oi tne debate jar. .Brown, oj. JUit titsippi, said: This law should not be allowed to drop through from respect of mere technicalities, such as decision of State courts. It was agreed upon all sides, with rare exceptions, that' legislation on this subject should be retraced. The legislation of the Houso on this subject met his views, but if it did not he would agree with it If we could not get what we wanted we should azree with the House in whet they wanted. Their opinions were as much entitled to respect as ours. The bill stjikes at the root of the evil. The Senate should pass it promptly, and if there was danger of the law not being executed there was a remedy, and let the senate use it bus pend the habeat corput.. The country should not be lost because of the opinion of every petty judge, authorized to issue a habeas corput, giving different decisions in Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, nnd Mis swisippi. To get uniformity, Congress should pass a law declaring this law to be for the regulation and discipline of the army, and by that means, as to this measure, suspend the writ of habeat eorput. Congress, there was no doubt could suspend the habeat eorput as to particular measures, having aa thority to pass it generally. It would be bad to have it said, after we were in our graves, that our liberty had been lost whilst we were struggling over petty constitutional questions. Mr. Brown doe3 not wish to be troubled with "ptlty constitutional questioas." . He desires to suspend all law and all constitutions, and establish military law in their stead. In the language cf Mr. Secretary Memminger, endorsed by President Davis, he regards " the public safety as the supremo law." He therefore sneers, at constitutions, and laws, and the decisions of " petty Judges." Mr. Brown should have lived in France in tbe days of Danton and Itobespiere. We now tell Mr. Brown, and those who think with him, once for all, that if the desperate, revolu tionary measures which he advocates shall be at tempted to be carried out if the civil law is to be trampled under foot by the suspension of the writ of habeat eorput, and every able-bodied man placed in the army from sixteen to fifty-fivo if no man is to have a hearing before a State Judge as to the right of the enrolling officers to seize him, and if the rights of the States are to be thus ignored and wept away by the mere creature' of the States, the common government, the people of Korth Carolina will Vike their own affairt into their own handt, and will proeted, in Convention ansembled, to vindicate their libertiet and privilege. They will not submit to a military despotism. They will not submit to the destruction of their personal and civil rights in this, or in any other war. We say what we know to be so. A vast majority of our peoplo arc alrady exejted and restless on account of the threatened encroachments on their liberties by the Congress at Richmond ; and we most re specUully and earnestly warn the members of that i.xidy not to kindle a flame which no efforts can ex Vinguish. Pass these measures suspend tha habeat torput in order to silence our Courts and force our whole population into the array break faith with il,o principals of substitutes repudiate the curreu of the country levy a tax in specie to pay the interest on the funded debt continue in full opera tion the tithing and impressment laws at tbe same time, do these things, Mr. Brown, and the people of North Carolina will rise in their majesty and as sert their sovereignty. There is no power to pre vent them from doing this, and woe to the official character who shall attempt to turn the arms of Confederate soldiers against the people of this State! North-Carolina wilt not be the slareof either . the Congress at Richmond or Washington. She is : tnis oay, as she has been from the first toe key-! Stone of the'Contederate arch. If that stone should j fall tbe arch will tumble. Ifii posgresa .be warned in time. . RALEIGH, N. C, WEDGES Congressional. i; We give below in a condensed form from the Progress, the proceedings of Congress of the 29th and 30th December. - . - ' In the Senate, on the 28th, Mr. Scmmes, from the committee on finance, reported a bill to fond Confed erate notes. This bill provides among other jtings that after a certain date " ho treasury notes out standing at the time of the passage of this act shall he receivable in payment of public duet." It will be seen that the Generals of the Tennessee army are dictating measures to Congress ! In the course of tbe debate on the subject Mr. Foot" said : "Again,. if the letter of our worthy officers has not been misunderstood, he had another exceed ingly grave objection to it It seems to suggest the propriety of extending the" operation of the con script law to all persons between the ages of sixteen and sixty. Now, he suspected not these officers of any evil intent He was sure they were aa itrue friends of the rights of the States of this Confed eracy, and of tho people thereof, as thje naYefhfcsKJi stalwart aetenuera ot those rights in tne Beta. Bat still his undoubung conviction was, that a measure ;f this kind, without some modification ot the ex isting conscript system, which he had not yet heard mentioned, would have the inevitable effect of ut terly destroying State rights and State sovereignty, and of establishing a huge and overwhelming Mili tary Despotism, beneath which all the muniments of civil freedom will be crushed into utter extinc tion. He did not think that these excellent officers had any such scheme in contemplation ; but he would now tell them, and tell the country, that there are persons of some consequence, in the array and elsewhere, who are openly advocating the con centration of all military power in the hands of the President; and really, if you extend the conscript law in the manner now recommended, the President, as the cotntnander-in-chief, would have more power given to him than any monarch now living. ' What ever others may think, be was well and painfully satisfied, from past experience, that he was not at all likely to wield it either wisely or with due re gard to the reserved rights of the btates and peo ple. He had no right to cede away the liberties of his constituents. lie still had an old-fashioned affection for liberty, and whatever part others might act he should ever be found on the side of those priceless rights for which this war had been com menced, and for the vindication of which, thus far, this war had been carried on. He knew that in another wing of this capital, a distinguished gentle man from the State of Mississippi is reported in the morning papers, to have declared that he was for greatly amplifying the powers of our present Exec utive chief, with a view to enabling him to prosecute the war with more vigour. He must say that he bad read the speech to which he bad referred with a shudder of alarm which he had seldom heretofore experienced. He chanced to know that there were men not far from where he now stood (God forbid that they should 'be found in this Hall) who were the open advocates ot a Military Despotism. Kumor says that this portentous symptom is not altogether confined to this vicinage, but that one or two servitors of pampered power arc to be tound even in the ranks of our army. Now, let him say, once for all, that he should not willingly surrender up an atom of the present con trolling power over the reserved militia force of the (states to the President and add to his present dan gerous capacity for mischief, especially as he was mire that he would nevee willingly surrender power of any kind once Tested An hiru, and would be but too apt to seize all "convenient oppnrtufiities of tending it The Piesidunt will have to show him self a little more free from his strange and unrea sonable partialities and prejudices a little more regardful of well known public sentiment before he could yield him any increase of his military capaci ty, lie had but little relish lor tbe notion ot cs tablishing a dictatorship." North-Carolina has long been celebrated for her devotion to liberty, but it seems she had no mem btr of the House who possessed the nerve to rise in his place and sustain Gen. Foote. Whither are we drifting T It will be seen that the Senate has passed the Ilouse bill to placo the principals of substitutes in service. Richmond, Dec 29 Tn Senate a bill passed to repeal the law allowing Surgeons in hospitals to grant furloughs and discharges. At an eavly hour went into executive session, af ter which adjourned. The pending bill to put those into the army who have furnished substitutes was not taken up. In the House a communication, addressed to Con- gse33 and signed by a large number of commanding ctlicers, oi tao army ot lennessee. was presented and read, urging prompt enactment of measures to avert disorders omnipotent for our destruction and which msy become incurable in thirty days. In this communication they givo the opinion that it is essential to retain, during the war, tile troops now in the sorvice and to place in the service, - immedi ately, for the same time, all white males between 18 and 50 able to perform any kind oi military duty. and authorize the President, at bis discretion, to place in the service for the same term, ail between lo and 18, and 50 and 60 ; to prohibit substitutes to prohibit exemptions except for civil officers ; to prohibit details, except for short times to carry on works essential to the army ; to prohibit discharges. except in cases of permanent disability from any duty ; to prohibit furloughs, except under rules of . universal application, based on tbe length of service and meritorious conduct; to prohibit as lar as pos sible all able-bodied officers and soldiers from being assigned to post, hospital or other interior duty, and to place all able-bodied negroes in the service as cooks, laborers, tc They also suggest dissatisfac tion on account of short rations and depreciated currency. Reconscribing the army may be obviated bv bounties to old troops, increase of par. com mutation to enlisted men for rations not issued, and allowing rations to officers. This document is signed bv Generals Hardee. Cheatham. Stevenson. Breck- enridge, Brown, Pettus, EeyriSlds and Jackson, and with some s'-igut re-servatioiw ana aissants, py wen' eral's Cleburne. Hindman, Lewis, Lowry, Ander son. Maoieault Vaughn, Quarles, Finiey, Bates, Stewart Strahl. Clayton, and bv several- Colonel: commanding brieades. The readine of this docu ment produce' 6ome discussion. Mr. Foote declared that the adoption of the measures recommended would be a step towards establishing a military des notUm. with the urcsent administration at its head. tn which he was seriously opposed. If a dictator hnpjimo necessarv he favored placing that power in the hands of General Lee, a inau influenced by no- narrow views r prejudices, but a patriot ot eniargea and liberal idias and a mind oi the oracr oi uasu ington. , ' miliar wu referred to the Military commit tee. A motion to reconsider tho bill which passed tbe House on Wednesday last to prohibit the circu l.tim of Yankee currency was voted down 48 to 5. Airondanee in both Houses still thin. House vllnnrnnl uri t TlC. lit E OUOrum. rsr.. 80. The Senate passed the bill to put into service those who have furnished snb ; ctitntfis bv a vote of 17 to a. Senators Orr and H. V. Johnston, of Ga.. votine no. A slieht verbal .noniiivi&nt u Tniitu in rh hill but not affectin KUIBUUWVHf -' . . -fi itm nm'viRiona as oassed bv the House: also the bill ' to repeal tho law authorizing the destruction of property under military necessity. The President signed the bills to pay tax on sweet potatoes and to authorize quartermasters to take salted pork instead of bacon for tax in kind on slaughtered bogs. The President sent to the House the correspondence and - orders between tbe dapartments and Generals John ton and Pembertop. Ordered to be printed. DAY, JANUARY 6, 18 The House passed a bill to punish any one in citing, aiding, and harboring deserters, or purchas ing soldiers arms, equipments or clothing, by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars and impris onment not more than two years; also a bill to grant a copy-right to Gen. Hardee for his infantry tactics yeas 41,-naya 17. " desolations were adopted instructing tne military committee to report ab.il! to repeal exemptions now allowed bylaw between eighteen and forty-five, ex cept for disability, for State or Confederate officers, ministers of the Gospel, government employees in ordnance departments, and to regulate details. The Chairman stated that the committee hid a 1 ready nearly matured a bill of a sweeping charao ter, and would soon report resolutions were adopted instructing the military committee to inquire into the expediency of provid ing some relief for some classes of persons who have furnished substitutes if they be required to go into tne army. SECOND DISPATCH. J Richmond, Dec. 80 The speciaLcommitt.ee of fi nance -appointed by the House at the commence- mnt of the session have not yet reported. Leave was granted them early after they were appointed to hold their deliberations during the sessions of the House, and they have not been in their seats in the House for many days. They are constantly engaged in the committee room trying to agree" up on a plan to remedy our financial embarrassments. It is not known what progress they are making. Federal Atrocities. The federals, under Gen. Wild, recently made a raid with white and negro troops through the Counties of Camden and Pas quotank, in this State. They burnt and destroyed much property, and carried away a number of ne groes. It seems that this man Wild caused a Con federate soldier to be hanged on the ground that he was a guerrilla ; and one of his negro soldiers hav ing ben eaptured by our forces, be took two ladies and held them as hostages for the safety of the ne gro. These ladies, it is stated, were imprisoned in Norfolk jail, badly treated, and guarded by negroes. A General who would thus war upon women is a demon in human form. Is there no retaliation by which such monsters can be compelled to act with some regard for the usages of civilized warfare J Hion Prices for Negiioes. At a recent sale of slaves in Franklin County, in this State, by Dr. G. M. Cooley, administrator, the following prices were obtained on a credit of nine months: Charlotte, aged 44 years, $1,375; Henry, aged 40 years, $3,000; Helen, aged 1G years, $3,700; Fanny, aged 14 years, $3,700; Gordon, aged 9 years, $3,000; Elijah, aged 28 years, $5,457T DanieL aged 24 years, $0,000; Warren, aged 24 years, $0,450; Dick, aged 20 years, $6,450-aggregate $29,132 for nine, or an average of $4,348 each. The letter of Rev. James Sinclair, of Robeson County, containing an account of his recent uncon stitutional arrest by order of Gen. Whiting, and de fending himself against unfounded and injurious charges, has been received, and shall appear in our next Wo ha rumors that thfe enomv are reinforcinff - Vat Nswbern, Washington, and Norfolk with cav- airy and mounted infantry. Let our authorities be vigilant. A raid towards the interior may be contemplated. For the Standard. Dangers to Iforth-Cnroli na. We are now reaping the bitter fruits of " Piactablt St eetwit" in f ircinj; from their once hsppv and psaceful hemes into the army, all from e'shteen U ibriy.fire veari of ge, to be driven to the slaughter like oxen to the sham bles. And to fill np the thinned ranks, tba present Con gress now has before it tbe monstrous proposition to con script ail from ixtttn to jifly-fixit Tears of age and make them subject to military law, which the Richmond Exam itur boldly denounces as nothing lets than an attempt to make Mr. Davis Dictator. Let us examine and see whit kind of a body it is that is imposing such burthens on the people of Xorth-Carolina. We have a Congress, the legislation of which is con tro'lcd by members from Kentucky, .Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and other planes, wh- impose odious and oppressive laws upon us which can no more ba en forced on ihe peop'e of the States which they prof as to represent, than upon the people of New York, or New Eng land. The chief canse of tbe revolutionary war which sundered the c-mnection of the colonies from the mother country was. that tbe English Parliament imposed oppres sive laws on the colonies winch did not affect the people of England themselves. No conscript law cm be enforced upon the people of Keutccky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkan sas, Louisiana, nor on a large portion of Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, or Texas. No tux law, nor tilhing, or impress ment law can be enforced on them, while those irrespon sible members may force lrom their homes every person in North-Carolina able to bear arms, regardless of ge or condition, and place them iu tbe annr, as is iww ureed bv them in Congress, and leave lh helpless wimen and chil dren to starve. They may not ns under a military des potism, and place over ns a Dictator, and impose taxesand burthens on us which are insupportable, nnd there is no redress, unless North-Carolina will protect her children. Is it not an outrage on everv principle of free .govern ment, for men of desperate fortunes, professing to repre sent other States on whose soil .they dare not set their foot, to make and enforce odious and oppressive laws on our people! Are we prepared to submit to thisf If not, then let every man arouse himself before it is too late, and denounce these sttempts to betray our liberties and place us under a military despotism. Let every -man that can speak-or write, denounce these outrages on civil liberty nntil their denunciations are heard and heeded in Con gress. But if Congress, in a spirit of desperation, should act the tyrant and impose inch crushing burthens on the people of North-Carolina, as are insupportable, then they should demand of the Governor that he forth with conveue the Legislature in order to call a State Con vention of the sovereiga-geopleto take into consideration what is best to be done toreUare our people from the grievous burthens imposed upon tbem. If the independence of the Confederacy cannot be achiev ed by tbe strength of our population up to forty-fire years of age. it ife clear to any reflecting mind that it will not be done by placing in tbe army the few left, upon whose labor all are 'dependent for food Without food our present army must disband, and without food our helpless women and children must perish. Let the people speak out; write to their representatives in Congress ; yea, bold meetings, and remonstrate against thou iniqu-tous sch-imes to en slave and starve us If yon d-i not, silonce will be con strued into submission and approval of the chains that Congress are forging for us. We have too long implicitly trusted to such architects of ruin aa Wigfall ACo.,who are now for placing every man in the army, and all under tbe control of a Dictator. Trust tbem no longer. . Remember tbeir fair promise. The dwellers in the garden of Eden, when they listened to the tenipticg promises of Satan, were not worse deceived and ruined than were the peoplo of the fair, happy and blooming South when tbey listened to the fair proia.ses cf these arch-deceivers, Tancey, Wigfall k Co. . A heretofore contented, prosperous and happy people were told -by them that we must withdraw all connection from oor Northern taskmasters who were making us nay onr dollar and fifty cents for shoes, ten cents per yard for J SQirting, two dol lara per sacK lor sa.t, ten cents per pouua . for sugar, tbe same tor coffee &c., ha. And these same, reckless men who are now for putting U into tbe army, (except themselves, and a few favorites,) then told us that stettsitm would bt ftactaUi, and tktre would b nvwar. . That we were to have a nation of onr own, free froin ex tortioners; a perfect paradise with the tree of life tU Cotton plant in oar midst, before which all nations were to bow down and worship, and from which rivers of fru trad were to flow to the ends of tbe earth, on the bosom of which the rich merchandise from every elime was to b; freighted and poo red down in our lap free of taxation. How have tbey deceived nil The blood Oi hundred of thousands of our poor children, smoking from tbe . mao . battle fields, and tba criea of starving women and J AV . tell the tale. Will onr peop'a be longer dVeeired t false prophets and arch-deceivers? St will tde. r ' inand the peace and staunch these rivers of Wftoc" fvw" -. Your excellent paper last summer nobly r" ;: i lA'' -pie to the danger to their rights, and I pjr t ; ,ne J60.' able paperi as the Richmond JEauninsr frog ret i following your noble xantpla r,. iegn usurpations aud tyranny which now taj. - Jf00 c,!jiDd civil liberty. , - .. ,Mk to overthrow Whole Number 1504. Abcje or tdb Habeas Corpus. The admirable spirit striking facts, and clear and forcible style, of tne communication which we publish in another column, on abuses of "the great writ of right" will strike all who may read it The author has had peculiar opportunities of informing himself, both up on army matters and legal proceedings, and the re salt is that he makes suggestions which may, if properly observed, defeat all cases of fraud while it will leave tbe rights of honest applicants unimpair ed. We ask public attention to the article. Fav etteville Observer. ' . - . We copy tho article alluded to above. There Is no doubt that the Habeas Corpus writ has been used, recently, "for base purposes ; and lawyers, who ought to have been in the army fighting for. their country, have been too ready for a large fee, to get men released from military service. Charlotte Democrat. This is a grave charge against members of the bar. If it be true that any of taem " have been too ready for a large fee, to get men released from military-service," they have acted very improperly. But we do -not believe it For every man improperly released by the aid of lawyers, ten have been un. justly and illegally forced into service. The writ of habeat eorput is the great bulwark of personal lib erty. A government which fears the operation of this writ or interposes its power in any way to pre vent its operation, is despotic in its purposes, if not in its character, and does not deserve the respect or the confidence of freemen. That the writ has been abused we do not doubt every good thing is liable to be abused; but this does not justify covert attacks on the writ itself. The Fayetteville Obter ver was at one time a fearless and outspoken cham pion of this writ, and of every other meansby which tyranny could be checked and the Constitutional rights of the citizen maintained ; but since it has joined the Destructives it seldom if ever raises its voice in favor of personal liberty or against the strides of military power. The communication in the Standard to day, over the signature of "Justice," is from one of the most intelligent and influential men in Western Carolina. He speaks the sentiments of nine-tenths of the peo plo of his section. Extract from a letter to the Editor of the Stand ard, dated Robeson County, Dec. 19, 1863. "The dressing you gave the Richmond Enquirer for its insul's lo North-Carolina your vindication of the Stale against unjust attacks from whatever quarter and the manner in which you have main tained the freedom of the press, and insisted that tbe civil law should always prevail over the milita ry, have commanded my warm approval. That old and respected paper, the Fayetteville Observer, ! am sorry to see has gone over to the Destructives. The originals now claim it even those who were talking in 1861 about tearing down the Observer pmce. lt has got into bad company, and with such association it will elect any candidate it mar en deavor to defeat Please publish the act of the last Legislature, exempting militia and home guard officers, magistrates and others from con- . scription. . - Our correspondent will find the act referred to in r j - - , ror lue nsHOia. Tho Path of Duty-The Path of Safety. Ma. Editor: Tbe suggestions and terms of peace, made by Mr. Lincoln in.his late me?sige to tbe federal Congress, to say the least of them, are remarkable. Occupying the position he does as administrator of the laws under the sanctity of an oath, it is extremely questionable whether he has ihe right to prescribe an oath different from his own, to those straggling foe the rights guaranteed to tbam by that instrument,' which he has sworn to support. I speak nut of his motives nor misinterpret hi meaning, but if he expects the South to assume the whole responsibility of this war, and repent in sackcloth and ashes for an imputed sin, that ditv is far distant. . Ours is a commou calamity. Every muscle, tendon and fibre of tbe body politic has been shaken and sundered By it. It must be treated as such. But few of us now plead innocence of any participation either by word or deed in this war, in fact all have more or less.incited the combat ants. Then let us bring all lbe good and the evil together to the altar of the Constitution, and there consult. When that auspicious moment arrives it will be an eair task to t heal the breach between .us, and then either as a seoerate ur uuiicu cfpic, nu nil. jm ifii uu ' Ay n:JUIVill. It is true we have laid parricidal hands npon the Con stitution, but not until it was violated by those who now attempt to dictate to us terms of peace. We admit that we were grieved when we abandoned the citadel of liberty to those who have since, with a high hand and out stretch ed arm, usurped its authority, but to admit that we had no eanu fur onr conduct would be false. Nor can we ever take any oath not sanctioned by tbe authority of the Con stitution. There is no man such a stranger to tbe truth but be is aware that the right to carry slaves into tbe territories, was the apple of discord in this straggle. That the Con stitution guarantees this right, and that it is sustained bv the Supreme Court there are none so blind as to deny, and if the opposite party will but admit it, we may determine its justice by the effect it produces upon those who are in terested in the issue Notwithstanding the territories are common property, yet if times hare so altered since the days of rur forefathers that we are debarred from carrying our slaves thither, let us lay down a different policy in the future for ourselves and posterity. If to exclude African slavery from the territories will secure oor peace, happi ness and prosperity as a alion, let it be excluded. What ever measure is most conducive to tbe happiness of tbe greatest number of those who may be interested, is tbe correct policy ; and there is no better plan than to submit sucn measures hi me action oi me people at tne Danoi oox. Much has been said of tbe personal liberty laws of some of the Northern States. Upon tbe principle of States' rights they had perfect freedom to enact any law for the good of the people, in accordance with the restrictions of the Constitution of the United States, and which did not interfere with the liberty of the citizens of a sister State Tbeir enactments, however, were not much worse thw those.oi the Cotton States, both sides occupying opposite extrftaes, and tbe difference being that one said yon shall not carry the negro where the laws prohibit slavery, and the other, that he shall go where the Constitution tolerates, and is wanted. The people are the best judges of tbeir own interests in all these matters, however, and it is for them alone to decide We are told in doleful strains by tbe President in iia late messaire. that Ecrland and France have mocked af. onr calamity. 1 had thought that the day for such absurdities as King Cotton, representation trora Missouri nd Kent tucky, foreign intervention and peaceable sef-sston, 'jsd passed, and that now in th-i eleventh hour w would hear no more oi teem, x e?, ang-.ana ana rra-jce have bees j hollow-hearted, cold bioixied and hypoc'.cal ia theif la difference to our woes, and their coo act admits, of no. doubt of the motive that prompts th ,a politic! aga-an. dixemeut. Can any man suupose fo' moment ibst i Trance or any other nation would have o'ered the iastvlt she baa but for the unfortunate war no',- raging Whatever mav be the views of others, I ferv .ntiy ujssire, to that day when the power of Kngland France, in tJ Western ConU nent shall be broken. . v- c fJDd n lbe blow Iy MC' -dtoai of e hundred battle fields snfhce to apneas' the w ram of hrethrea of a kindred race. Let us invoke the a. , r Rc., froth and Justice; let pi i consult upor tbe fcj. pce, ,nd aa.de FHm!0!?!! P-t ' swwy our strifcj fritn tbe battlefield to th. cop .t .- ...... . rr.. y aioaoui;-Happiness. 4. I. u. Swr.ar PtMfAToi9.-TWe are glad to soe that a lii D" Congress Allowing farmers, tn set r?'D8r xirtax.inkind, topsy money intead,of sweet Pt ysw the amount per bushel to be fixed by the ,!T .(ffw&ssat eoormiiwioners. This is done in eonse 4Mae ot the difficulty of saving potatoes. , . .'(armers are also allowed, by roacial adjust paa- BKV pa nioea in aa pwa. inateaa ot uacen. Char. Bern. ' '' - . -.. ., Dividends. The Bank of Cbattotte has declared a'regular semiannual dividend of 5 percent, and aa extra dividend of 10 per cent, -" ; . - The Charlotte and S. C. : Railroad Company baa declared a semi-annual di idend of 12 per cent 7: The Dank of Washington, at Greensboro, has, die elated a dividend of 5 jar ccal--Ctar. Den -' - Tho Yankee Congress and it Hrasnrea Relating . ': , j to the War and Peace. . Next in interest to the war news to the Yankee Congress at Washington. Such to the interest to know the sentiment hd temper of that body in regard to the prosecution of the war, that we em hnM nnifo Ana hnari the different war measure and propositions that have bron brought forward in VJn body, with tne vote on tne same, anese canno wo other than interesting, from the fact that they aro the best medium we bave through which to ascer tain what the feeling of the people ot tne ixonu, really is in relation to the war. . The following resolutions were introduced.by a member from Indiana: " Whereas, The proclamations of the President -of January, 1863, and December 8, 1863, in relation to emancipation, impose conditions of pardon and -amnesty to persons who have participated in the existing rebellion, as well as conditions precedent to the re-establishment and re organization ol State, : Governments in the States to which said proclama- ; tiona apply, which, in .the judgment of a largo number of faithful citizens, has a tendency to give the rebellion the advantage of a chaftged issue, and to re invigorate the otherwise declining insurrection in the South and to prolong tbe war; and " Wdekias, This IIou.se cannot but regard with anxiety the unprecedented and extraordinary claims and assumption of high prerogative by tbe Presi dent in said proclamation, especially in view of tho fact that the President, in his inuagural address ot the 4th of March, 1861, declared: 4I have no' pur pose, directly or indirectly, to interfere, with tho institution in the States where it ex'iBts; I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so;' therefore, " Resolved, As the judgment of this House, that the -maintenance inviolate of the constitutional power of Congress and the right of the States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions, according to its own judgment -exclusively, is essential to the balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric of the Federal Union depends; and we de nounce, as among the gtavest of crimes, the inva sion -or occupation by armed force of any State, under tbe pretext or for the purpose of coercing the people thereof, to modify or abrogate any of their laws or domestic institutions that are consistent with the Constitution of the United Slates ; and we affirm the principle declared in this resolution to be a law al.ke to the President and tbe people of the United States." Mr. Ginnell moved to lay it on the table, which was agreed to ayes 90, nays 66. Mr. Smith, of Kentucky, submitted a series of resolutions, of which the following is the first, vis: " Retohed, That as our country and the very ex istence of the best government ever instituted by mun is imperilled by tbe most causeless and wicked rebellion that the world has seen, and believing, as we do, that the only hope of saving the country and preserving this government is by the power of the sword, we are for the most vigorous prosecution of the war until the Constitution and laws shall be en forced and obeyed in all parts of the United States, and to that end we oppose any armistice, dr inter- " vention, or mediation, or proposition for peace, from any qutrter, so long as there shall be found a rebel ' in arms against the government ; and we ignore all party names, lines and issues, and recognize but two parties in this war patriots and traitors." Mr. Cravens moved to lay the resolutions on the table, which was disagreed to 60 against 100. The above resolution was then agreed to by a vote of 93 ayes to 64 noes. The vote was next taken on Mr. Smith's resolu tion, which was as follows : "Resolved, That we hold it to be the duty of N Congress to pass all necessary bills to supply men and money, and the duty of the people to render every aid in their power tdthe constituted author ities of the government in crushing out the rebel lion." This resolution was agreed to by 152 ayes only one vote against it In the debate on an appropriation asked for by the War Department, Mr. Harding, of Kentucky, offered a proviso that no part of the money thus appropriated should be used for the raising, arming and equipping of negro soldiers. Tbe amendment was rejected ayes 41, noes 105. Mr. Yeaman, of Kentucky, has introduced a series of resolutions to the effect that "the citizens of any Otttioiu.rttbrtiTi ; -nrj -,iryt!inel resume men -civil government 'The HodSe reTorrea""Oio 'resolov' tions, with any action, to the "Committee on the Rebellious States." Mr. Ashley, of Ohio, has introduced a bill to provide that provisional governments may be es tablished by the people where tbe military power -has subdued the rebellious men in the seceded States. The present Congress expires on the" 17th of Feb uarh. Propositions have been made to assemble the new Congress as soon as the old one expires but no final action has been bid. From the way in which they have commenced we think tbe present body will do enough for the present Progress. As. EiAxrLK for Military Mes. Gen Jackson, like all great military commanders, was especially remarkable for his attention to details. Nothing was too small to escape his eagle eyo. Upon a march he was always to be found with his wagon train. On one occasion, when one of his wagons was stuck in the mud, and the wagoners were standing around and cursing the mules, without doing any thing to remedy tho difficulty, he suddenly rode up, allighted from his old sorrel, took a rail from the fence, and went to work himself an example which instantly recalled the men to a sense of their duty, and the wagon was soon put on ferra firma. lie then superintended the filling up cf the hole in which it had sunk, so as to secure the uninterrupted transit of the rest of the train. This was Gen. Jack son's style of doing business. lie knew how much, the great operations of war depend upon what apt pear to be tbe most trifling details, fie never lost a thousand dollars' worth of public property while he was in the army. Those who imagino that all a commanding General has to do is to fight battles, make an egregious mistake. Some of our military popinjays seem to think that the eclat of the battle-field and fuss and fuathere make up the sum. of military-glory, if they would emulate tho fame of. 'Jackson they tnrtst adopt his habits of patient, praov : tical labor, and his thorough and absorbing attention to details. Rich. Dispatch, ; '- An Axt to Exempt certain Officers and Eat .toyees of the State from. Conscription. Section 1. Be it enacted by the General .Astern- . tly of the State of Worth Carolina, and it is by eacted by the authority ef the tame, That, ia oliedience to an act of the Congress of the ConfedV urate States, passed and approved, May 1st, 186 in relation to exempting certain" persons necessary as the State officers in addition to tbe State officera exempted by tho act of Congress, passed October 11th. 1802: tho Governor, of the State having dairaed and obtained the exemption of the follow ing officers necessary to airy on the operation of the State government, via i AIT Justices of tha Peace, whose appoiotments were made previonato, Way 11 lb, 1803; County .Trustees, County Soik tors, Kegtsters, 'fa Collectors; one Deputy Sheriff in each County where there is no Tax Collector 1 Coronors; Constables, who entered into bond pre vious to the 11th of Mav, 1883, or their successor -in office ; one Deputy Clerk lor each Court rwjai. ring it ; one County Commissioner -for each Court- ' t for distributee money and provisions amongst soldiers' families agent appointed under an act off fj the Assembly fbr any duty ; commwsiooed offiwBrtVK of Ihe militia of tli' otate, ana eeraiBHni vi : ccrsof the Home Guard; Mayors and police of Raleigh, Wilmington, Salisbury, Charlotte, Fay- -etteviile, and Goldsboro'; Counsellors cf State; Board Internal Improvements and Liuvary Board and employee of tbe Sutegovernmeot in th dtf- ferent Departments. ' ' ' ; . ' m Sec. ii further enacted, That the Gene . Tal Assembly doth claim and exempt all the d.flr-;; ent classes ofotJiccrs named in aeotion Tlrst or th bill, in obedrencrt to the act of Congress, approved shall be in force from aa.aaeyite-faUfkatton. Head three time anl ratiued in uenerai bsem- 'i I
The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 6, 1864, edition 1
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