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' r.- t. A1 i x i i , ir '-"ft n ; i v s t it ! J r. Hi .' - H y .ir I ..,lll UMP, THE .CQNSiTIrUTION AND. THE LAWS THE GUARDIANS OF OUR LIBERTY. I I - I'V'' Vol. XLII. -HILLSBOROUGH, N. C, JANUARY 15, 18G2. - No. 2126. If ; Mi it . r; in, us. pj.iij i:j si ' i . n v in v in LMJ lk IL PL s ' I ' ll - . i JU . iii w in ii ii imi m wiiii nnaim t-mjiiii iiin . THE HILLSBOROUGH RECORDER ; '" n hj.iUhkd wri:iu "f ' BV DENNIS HEARTT. 4 Term!. Two Dollar year, if paid in adance; Two Do!lur and Ffly Cents, if nut paid within thaee i Bjonthn or Three Dollari, If delayed uutil after the' . i ipiratioo of the jtar. ' : ' t- I No piper will be dincontinucd until all arrearage! .are paid, uuloae at tbe option of the publisher. No paper wilt be tent to a new aubtcriber out of the Siate unlet payment ii made in id ance.or aome per son in the State shall become responsible. , ; ldTtrtislng Batrs for lhc Ercordcr. AJrtiMinania oat excfeding jiurteen lines, one dollar for the first, and ti-nty.6e cents lor each sub sequent inaertion ; longer ones In proportion. Court adieitisemeuts twenty Ave pr cent, higher. A deduc tion of one-third will be msdo to sdertiaers by the yesr. - , -, . , . JOHN W. GRAHAM, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, CXfficsena door north of Mr. Ly neb's Jewelry Stoie HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. June J7. 49-ly GEOUGE M. DUSKIN, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, OfCrs one door Kit of Mj. StrowJ'a Hotel. July :6. 01 Ittorney and Couimlov at Jair. Will prscticeia Orsnge and tlw sdjoiningCounties. 17 Particular attention paid to the collection of elaim. March6,I50- 35 12m March It. 47 To the Ladies of Orange County. I AM rt iui4 bt the Governor of your 8ta'. to cat upon vmi to furmah fr the eoMiers in the army wooWf) - and blanket for their comfort en I protec tion d unrig th sppfttichirig wiolt-r. Kach J uiur will '!se ecriiupry her gift by her name. Shall this call uptti your pain.rfi.ni he made without a proper re pn on yasir parti I cannot Miee that it will; I fb'refore rail upon you to come forward with yourgifU, and ly thein U.iuiitifully upon the altar of yoor coun try. !.niuie ik esnple of year matbers ot the revo lution, snd sUow not l lie soldiers who hue Ukeu Hp srm in d ft nre of y oar li!ertie, your hvea, snd wht is atill dearer, yoor hoti .t.t-) go unpruvided far; auffrr not your defender to tie ipoJ unpntertel to the winter' (hilling b!ntl. Com, then, lo I brie relief; u"Ub lliea With tlo invery srtrf-Us t relieve su!Tc(iig hu nn;iy, and therebv merit the lauJiU not only of the prrwrnt, but of luture generation. I atu your fcumbl rvaiit( 11. M. JUNE?, Sherifl'. tT'The fo!wirn tentlrmrn will p'ee recei and forwtrd to me srtl.-h int the sol.lier: V. W. Altuun. N. P. H1!. Ar1ian Mangum, M. A- Aagier, Jhn W. Carr, and Al'ia Durham. Augmt Sil. 00 "QinmviioN NOTICE. fpilE un.!er.iend, appointed Receiver undrr the A Hoii.trui Act, fir th eouniir of Oratiae, ',U, CumWrhnJ sndllaiuett, hereby give. ''S to sU per.n hwing anv Und, lcnen-n' or heredna- tnenie.tMasot cbstieis. ngwe or creau. w eny imer. ...v ... - - - " r 1 ,.f iK i:dni,j.Uttri sn.l u'i!n-se. and. above a . to be rsieMte.of AiurtK. .jm-J ly lo iiifjMi wed me asms, sod to render so amount iheieol, sod s-i far ractirable, li put lbs same in my ptetaion, uuJcr the penally rf the law f ir inw-"mpiianre. I slo notify rh and every ritiren of the Confede. rate.rulf speedily t give intnrmalwn lo me of any end atl land. Wurmen' and hereditament, govde and chattel, right and credits within the ad countie. I Will attend the J,fT. rent eoanties in s few days fot the purpots of re reiving, of which time due notice will be tuen. a .. , e G. II. WILDE It, Hecfivcr. October U. . tl-6w .nPatcirtt'tatov Minus"' 1 Crril I apratcm-al Soprrior to Injlha; la Ue 'I1IIIJ U1.INU wheac.ied shut perfectly tight.snd A keeps out all wet, duat.ltucrts, &e.,snd entirely et clu le the light, and tnakee a beautiful appearance on the ootlle. It hs every advantage over the ether kind and riwts hat trifle more. This Ulind will recommend itwlf. Any oner an judge of its superiority over the ttJ style at Aral eight. No prti that has seen this Ulind will ever order nv other kind. The uh.criUer will he hppy toahow a model to any pertoo wihing to ohttin IJIm.l, and ieceie Ihrir or- Kinaton,N,C. May!. ' STATE ARMS. ALL ptnon in Orange county who have In their potsesaion Armi belonging to the 8lsle, are re 3tietsd to deliver them l me at this place, without elsy. By order of the AtlioUnt Genersl. H. M. JONES, Shcrift June II. .8- . BLAKS 'fori Stic-at thii Office. '" 8PEECH OF THE HON. WILLIAM A. GRAHAM, OF ORANGE, . -. , In the Convention of North Carolina, Dec. 7th, 18C1 on the Ordinance concerning the Teat Oath and 8editiqp. Mr. President When the original ordi nance pertaining to this subject came up for consideration several dajs since, I took occa sion t express my decided aversion to tet oaths as antiquated instruments of oppres sion and despotism, unsuited to an enlighten ed age, and wholly at war with all our ideas of free republican government. I was then of oninion that an indefinite nostnonemenr was the proper disposition to make of the entire topic. At the suggestion of others, it was referred to a committee, of which, under your appointment, I had the honor to be a member. When that committee assembled, and the honorable Chairman, Mr. Bigs, produced and read from an old act of 1777, as contained in Iredell's Revisal, the two first sections of the ordinance reported by him, without much1 reflection I gave that part of the ordinance my concurrence, and consented that it might be reported to the Convention. But, in committee, as in this House, everywhere and under all circum stances, I have been unalterably opposed to test oath, and especially to that most ob jectionable torm of such an oath contained in the report of the committee, and proposed to be enacted Into a law uf the State. And upon a little more consideration, I am satis fied that no enactment by this Convention is required in regard to sedition; I therefore, now submit the motion, that in the outset I deemed appropriate, that the further consid eration of the subject be indefinitely post poned. I esteem it proper in this connec tion further to stste, that the eloquent, argu mentative report ot the Chairman of the co n miitee, so full of fiery 7.e4 and patriotism, was never heard of by me, until it was read bv the Chairman at your desk. If it was 'ever read to the cojaimttee, t. was on some ever rrsu ii iuc voiuni'iic, n vu sumc occasion other than the two meetings I was summoned to it tend, and I received no inti mation that such such a paper might be expected, ion, not in the way of comprint, j t in v self of anv net'iect ol dutv This I mention but to acquit in failing to present a counier-report ugainst a document, which, with all respect I must say, inculcates doctrines most intolerant and tyrannical. Mr. President, the original proposition was liable to objections cnouzh. I endea-1 nrii in tiiiint nut these in the former discus sion. It allowed a single magistrate upon complaint made, to bring before himelf anv citizen accused of disUvalty. and then t'o .l-t-rmin,. in the first nl'ace. what constitut-! ed disloyalty second, whether the person charged ed'was guilty and thirdly, t.1 impose m a sentence to take a.i oa'tlt of alleji- tu the State, or be rxpeile I frqtti the on him anre C Oi4ir, Ml UK Cjjllt lliil Vltl. llvoltirii- to oar contention, of counti v. justice and freedom as was this concentrate 1 of power in the hands of a m igistnte, it vet a . 1 retained somethiiiif of the in inly spirit of the common law, and of the elementary princi- pie of hbertf embodied in our biil of rtg'its. P' There wi to be a responsible prosecutor ii-neJ a id arused were to b' al- ' , .C' oWf (I tne persons arraig t ru.tomirv pnr.lege of dsfen-c, right of coarse, to confront their protected against being compelled to give ;it:. - nfe against themselves. Bat the s j3- stitute of the commiitea propo.es what?! Why, to institute a proceeding in til' na-1 ture of a rriminat proutit attnst ev- ..i'rrStln! f i tir a-iin! evert mh-hWiiit of the State, from the bear Ilcss youth of sixteen Tears, five fears in advance J... .tl!. e. . . of his admission the aed patriarch of one hundred and six- teen tottering on his staff, with one foot in the crave, by which they are each and all to be attainted of treason, and banished from I..!. km.i n.l rmintrv! lie. if rmcioUslv to tuc rights oi a cuurii, in men iiwiii.w . , n j i permitted to remain, to be deprived of their j richts as freemen, and reduced tn a degra.tcJ' caste-unlcss end until they shall purge 1 themselve of this foul crime, by taking the j oath of allesiance. military fealty, and ab juration,-compounded and prescribed in the ordinance before us. This is the obvious ef fect of the provisions relating to a tet oath, when analyzed and brought to a plain inter pretation. Your magistrates are to be sent out Into alt the land, Iroin the shores of the ocean to the summits of the Smoky Moun tains, and they are to beset every man anJ boy above the prescribed age, with a test oath in the left hand, ind a sentence of ban ishment or degradation in the right. In this dilemma, there is to be no means of escape, nor anymore freedom of action than when the highway man with his pistol at your breast, offers the alternatives, "your money or your life." Observe, sir, there is to be iro inquiry as to truilt. as unon accusation and arraign ment, but the party is to be placed by law i ; Kate of ronWmiialiou-li.jatt i. t-J Wet pft. .di.V,"- vrhi V Wi assumed,' until he shall exonerate himself by taking 'the' oath; and upon his refusal so to do, his guilt being pot beyond question, the penalty annexed is what r Not a disquali fication for holding office not a forfeiture of a part or the whole uf his goods and lands, but a forfeiture of his birth-right as a citizen of North Carolina. ' Mr. President, if this Convention, Jike a French national Assembly, were to declare itself in permanent session, and arrogate all the powers of government, it would give no greater shock to public sentiment, and make no more dangerous stride towards despotism, than would be effected by the passage of this ordinance. It is true, there have been con fided to us extensive" powers, but they are 'delegated powers, and' must be exercised not whimsically and tyrannically, but in confor mity with those elementary principles of freedo-n and justice," on which are founded our American system of Constituxional gov ernment.' If these are violated j usurpa tion on our part, or an abuse of power equal to usurpation, and lor want of other remedy, it may expect to provoke tha old and pri mary one of resistance on the part of the peo ple. When elected to these seats in the month of May last, we were not understood to be placed above, ovv out of reach of the well known responsibilities of the represen tative to the constituent body. Our coun trymen supposed that, they retained the right to j a 1 j e of and canvass our whole proceed ings as freely as they were accustomed to do as to those of other representatives; and that if d-isQtisfied with what we had done, a suf ficient majority, by ome process or other, might set it aside, and afford redress. They further supposed, that, althoujh we had pow-. er to disfranchise incn,and change the qual-j ifications for the right of suffrage, yet t!iat no new test ot citizenship would be applied to those born upon the soil of parents who : had achieved the independence uf the coun try, and established the free institutions, J whose essential features no one desires to change. What, then', wi'! be their surprise, p -- .. pass, and they are toTTthat no man can ever not to sar indr?naii:;. a tins Ordinance snail j vote again nay, that no man will 'be allow. ed to remain in the Mate, but every one will be exiled who d-es nt take an oath that the Convention ha ordained! Sir, every North ed to remain in the State, but everv one will Carolinian rrjotyes in the idea, that, like M. Paul, he was free-born. And, although this freedom was'purehased at a great price, no less than the blood of his lathers shed in ev i ........ . i : ery battle hcl.I t American iniiepndence, faint the shores f the Hodsoo to the ever-j tales of Florid 1, it cane to him as an in- heriiance, the mre va!u-d, because of its as- f soctation wub his ancestral pride and glory, I His right to dwell in and breathe the pure air of the land of his birth his right to partici- pate in the election of rulers, and. tl it suit his inclination ami the will of a majority, t i be'himsclf invited with a purtiou of the power nf the republic, he will smff.'r neither --, . - to b taken awtv nor tr.il !d wf.h. He did . ., - . . . .1. . ii. not acq-nre tne.u 0 uo o.t;.i, am oj win N,,,rfl nJ "V'1 ,'''r ! 1 1 ,11:u a ,a c." l Weir cmtmu-1 e:.j-iin.Mit. u is 0112 01 thoe blu:i !er c ten.-d by li!l.'yrand worse tn.in a rrim for statesmen by their of their cw.inu-l e:;j vm ?nt. It U tui3 of ! measures to enc acn upon ana o.iena so sa ere I a feeling a the ;-r:d" of nativity tin the j c!f-respect and in'i'ia l oi a h;;:i-pirited, j ftve-Wn Atnetujn. sir, the people when , , . , , ,, -,, . ; : presenteu with 1 o , win tarn u.i.in tin cuuuu.auo i'i' "-y these our Ca?a:, tt lvaieish, fed, that they have grown so great; AVe ih ught they vvcrc our servant "w u-y uilhuic out masters? V e had a Iree c!cti n accord ' 102 t the tl g to the tisasel aid rontitu?init id our ' fatucrs when w c chose them as our represen- tatives; by what legn.e.nain, by what mu '.t i(i. il.t thrtf dir ire that e uliill ni-ver J vote again, no nor nnab.t ur present homes, jbat shall be driven Mt as figitiycs a.-d va--; ;abonds, unless wc tike an ouh that they , have dictated ? If U be n answer to tell . i them, a they are fid in substance in the. ,"--.' -v t , - .rm . , . i i r report of the committee, and the speech of he Chairman, Mr. Big;, in support of ihe ordinance, that the eath is but an cide9ce of patriotism, and no one but a traitor need have any hesitation its taking it. The prompt response would be, We care but little (or the thing proposed to be sworn to; the objection is to beinz compellcl to swear at atl, as a condition to the enjsynicnf of our inborn rights of property and citizenship. We ren der to the govcrntnf it our loyalty and duty, as we cherish and mpport our wives and children, and perform othc obligations as members of society: but we will take no oaths upon compufsioti, to bind us to those duties, and least of alt,an oath that is accom panied with the polite attermtive of exile or degradation. Nor will they be any better satisfied with that other idea contained In the report, and which si ms to be the favorite explanation of th ordinance, that it is a mere measure of detective kalice, not intended to do any harm to patriotic men, but to dtscov. that it is ; legitimate, and proper to hunt through the consciences of all good men by an oath of discovery, in order to ferret out the bad. By parity of reasoning, if a trea sonable correspondence were suspected in any county 0 neighborhood, "every man should be required to open his desk, and submit his private cogesrndence and papers to the inspection of aistrate. This cer tainly would be no more harsh than to ask a discovery of his conscience. : Or.to illustrate it more strikingly, it is in principle, the same as in case a theft had been committed, in or der to be sure of visiting punishment on the real offender, you should require every in habitant of the vicinage to receive forty stripes save one. Your people will say to you, point out the guilty or suspected per sons, take the warrant of the law in your hands, summon us of the posse comitatui if jfcessary, and we. are ready to render our duty any where; but our homes and con sciences are not to be made hunting grounds for traitors and felons, and if we could sub mit to make them such, we should not feel ourselves much elevated above either. But, Sir, the jealous and sagacious spirit of liberty which pervades our people, will discover in this process of a test oath some thing more thin an usurpation or abuse of power on our part, and an instrument of ty ranny, oppression and degradation upon the citizen. They will perceive at a glance, that no more effectual contrivance could be devised to enable a faction in the possession of temporary power, to convert the govern ment into an oligarchy, expel their opponents front the State, and riot upon the substance they had left. Such a faction need only to enact a test oath, tor patriotic objects of co irse, but to take care to infuse in o it such ingredients as they knew would be offensive 1 and inadmissible by us opponents, and de clare that every jnan who refused it, should be banished from the State, or lose his rights as a citizen with forfeiture of all his posses sions. Carry it out with the high hand of force, and it makes no difference whether a majority or minority, whether one in fifty will take the oaiir; ilie few who do will have the whole government in their hands, and the spoils of the exiles besides. Our theory has been, that a majority within the limita tion nf our written Constitutions, can mould the government at will can make revolu tions aid unmake them; but this is an in ventinn by which that theory is subverted, and those who have power may keep it till the end of time, whenever they are about to lose favor with the constituent body, they Ime but to prescribe a new oath, and that, no man shall vote who refuses it, and they wr.l never luil in an election. Since tli commencement of the present revolution and j doubtful, its hpirit could not be mistaken, the adoption of the new Constitution f the j If the Igis'utai'C might add one new Viis Confederate States, there ha been much qualification thev. ininht add tnanv: m-iit;- t-peculati.ni as to the facility with which it may be abr ;ited by any State, who may be- come dissatisfied with its operation or ad- innn-irduitii. it mere ue mat virtue in test; ticrgee, or even a previous service in t c ti oaths which this ordinance supposes, it may ,u own bodies, a r.eces-ary quaiifka! ion ; be perpetuated indefinitely. If there be a, and thus convert the roverntnen'. inr an majority .-favorable to it in the Legislature, as there will be of course in the ouiet, cd at all, it was boundless and ui conttoiia -whenever tlk'y suspect opposition or luke- (ble as the wind ; and dissipated at once all waniiP.ess, luey may enact an alii to suit the ca.et an J baiiinh th'iae relume it be fore tl.c int election. I speak a if there werc no constitutional impediments to auch a course, as tliis ordinance considers that j ii!e; weapons l ie wore odious, binn-, i'i there are time, or proposes to override them, ( barbed and poisoned, neither stretch m.r if they exist. j courage was requisite to wield thi't.i. h.. M Mr. IVesident, the very mention of a test: we rely on public virtue to keep us from th 0:1 t!i carries us back to the bigot monarchs use and extension of this system f ttsr and the butcher priests of the days of the In no aze, nor cline, nor nitioti, Ind ever Tu lors and Stuaris, and beyond these, to .the virtue wholly swayed human boso ns and In piisitioii itself. It is a device id power in : lions ; tuati was universally liaiiif 'jc Church and in State, lo perpetuate itself by 'transported with passion, blinded with fu'ly, force, against free discussion and inquiry, 'corrupted with vice; and yet ni r' vtiti and in defi mce of hat in more liberal time ; power, tn idJoned with faction, ;.:ii ft.ed we rait public sentiment. In direct contra . with the lust of domination ; let its n t itat vention f that most essential principle of . ter ourselves we were exempt from ih.'t oio crimtnal jaiiic, that man shall be com-! won lot and although the wis ep.iit.tti ,e!ie l to give evidence against himself, it jef the bill of rights, by tlic act M establish requires 1 its, victim the confession of a religious freedom, might for a time etur-.-creed, and his failute or refusal it takes as us trout a religious test, a political one w.i. conclusive evidence of his guilt, and indicts certainly a possible, perhaps a probable, and upoii him torturous penalties or forfeitures, not very remote event. Sir, I am ;?.!. ,rd such as, if they ill not cure him of his her (with a 'strange delusion it the vrr;f in,- tu e y, may deter others in like cases offending, t question dm not appoint a poltticti te;. 1 Whether the creed be religious or political, ; fear other instances might be recounjed. or the remedy be the thumbscrevy, the iron; Such are the iUi.hni.ng3. The km of ail boot, the break-wheel or the rack, or vvheth- er it be banishment, deprivation of privilege degradation, or forfeiture of estate, there is no difference in the odiousncss tf the princi ple. Forsaking every vestige of Christian charity and toleration, it assumes to control by force that conscience, winch the God who gave it designed to be free, and avow its purpose to drive men to perjury or self-ac cusatioii. I have somewhere seen or read of a picture of i trembling prisoner of the In nuisition. who when called to take the reli gious test of that inexorable tribunal, replies: of North Carolina, vr both of these togeth I cannot; 111 be damned, if I do." To;cr. Letiisread.it: , v: which the stern Inouisitor replies! You'll be damned," if you Uott't." It wijt rcjuire no stretch of imagination to picture your jus tice, under this ordinance, with his prisoner before him, refusing the oath, with " I II be perjured, forsworn, it I lke it;" and the e qually'.atern reply, " You'll be banished, if you don't take it." , ,; . The history of our mother country affords us some instruction on the subject of teats, and the persecutions that attended them, re ligious and political. In the Catholic as cendency,. Protestants were the victims; in the Protestant reigns, Catholics suffered in turn ; and it is a reproach 10 that enlightened and Christian nation, that down withio our own memories no man could hold even a military office until he took a test oath a gainst Catholicism, and received the sacra ments according to the rites ofthe Church of England, a. This last vestige of intolerance and bigotry in that country was swept away under the enlightened counsels of Earl Grav, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Pee'l, not more than thirty years ago. But in the worst and most intolerant times, neither in England nor in any -civilized na tion of which I have recollection, was there ever such an experiment made as is piopbel to be made here, of prescribing a, test, reli gious or political, and running a muck with it against the whole people, to see it per chance, some victim may not be found for banishment or degradation. f In ithis country we have known but Utile of test oaths, except as we have read uf ihem under more arbitrary governments , The Legislature of Virginia, more than fifty year's ago, in a laudable desire to suppress the practice of duelling, directed an oath to bt: taken by certain public functionaries, and among others the advocates in her courts of I justice, that they would not engage in any duel. Mr. , Uenjanun uatkms Leigh, since known to the country as one of her most dis tinguished lawyers and statesmen, was thru at the bar, and the Court of Appeals having decided that the oath must be taken, Mr. Leigh requested time to consider the ques tion of the power of the Legislatura i im- !ose such an r.at?i And KlJUubsetientUy te i submitted aft argument which Mii:;eit the Court that the power did not exist, and ihey unhesitatingly reversed the former de cision, which Chief Justice Roane pronounc ed to be an "oil hand and erroneous" our; an example of candor and firmness t'tnind which I beg to commend to ail who may have inclined in favor of (his ordinate, in his argument, Mr. Leigh so vividly depicis the mischievous nature of test oath as we. "barbed and poisoned weapons " of dmioirc power, thai I wiii detain the Coinei.tiwu bv reading & lew sentences hum it: I a a' a - If the tcofds of the Constitution we re j ply disabilities w'uho jt end ; di.vj'.nlif v whole districts or classes of men by pet jal or local deiicriptiou ; make an aca i -i i.ral I oligarchy. If tht treuiendou t-nwrr it- j our lond notions ot a written cnnt,: iiti-u, 1 . . . late the inory ol .uicricaa iiuhltc. iiv.e , lest laws, particularly, 'were the lirst ia- pou voun; oppression would learn o ha't- these thinzs is death." . Sir, this ordinance goes beyond the ap. prehensions of Mr. Leigh, aud docs apply a religious test to a considerable portion of our population, as a condition of their be ing allowed to remain citizens. It wonld be a very creat mistake to suppose, that the oath which it prescribes, was an oath "to support the Constitution of the Confederate States," the only oath to that government required by its Constitution j or that it was the common oath f allegiance to the State L,A. U..dii solemnly swear, for affirm, as Jhe cue fiixbc, that i jll bear faithful 4fe
The Durham Recorder (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 15, 1862, edition 1
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