Weekly standard. [volume], January 08, 1862, Image 2

About Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865

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J- ;- . ' . . . .. .. . . . . : . - . ., v -
THE NOKTli .? CAROLINA STANDARD : WEDKESDAY; JAN.; 8r 1 1862.
'I i. ...J . -
SPEECH
or
ON:ftiW,UM A. GiUliAM,
' V '""i . A. XnpfA . Pare. '.. ' ' I W '
t 1831, 6t Urdixmce concci aiRg iui iMtis
4IiL-'PREa"r5 ..- .t" '.a-;
.Whftu Uie oi ig'mal orumnco pertaining to this
rltnlifect etine op lor cuiismeri unu several ils.ys since,
: wholly at war Tmh .ill our ideas of free repal'licart
'"'goremincnt. I was then nf opinion tnat an imien
' nite postpnawiient was the projier disposi;ii to
"make of the entire topic. At the suggesumT of
othcra, 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. Biggs; produced and
- read frnm an old act of 1777, as contained in Ire
' f dell's Uevisal, the two first sections of the ordinance
''reported by him,- without much reflection I gave
that part of the ordinance my concurrence, and
; consented that it might be reported to the Cop en
tion. But, in committee, as Cn this House, every
Where and under all circumstances, I have been un
f alterably opposed to a test oath, and especially to
' that most objectionable form of such an oath con
, tained in the report Of the committee, and proposed
X. 'Xo be enacted into a !a of the State. And upon a
litUenore consideration, I am satisfied that no eo
actment by this Convention is required ia regard '.o
Sedition; I therefore, now submit the motion, that
in the outset 1 deemed appropriate, that the further
consideration of the subject be indetinitp' post
t poned. I esteem it proper in this connrction fur
;, ther to state," that the eloquent, arguu-cntatire rc
,j port of the Chairman of the committee, so full of
..1 fiery teal and patriotism, was never heard of by me,
" , until it as read by the Chairman at your desk. If
it was ever read to the committee, it was on some
. ocasin other than the two meetings I was sum-
. meaed to attend, and I received no intimation that
ch a paper might be expected. This I mention,
dot in the way of complaint, but to acquit myself of
- ny neglect of duty in failing to present a counter-
- report against a document, which, with all respect
' I must say, inculcates doctrines most intolerant and
tyrannical
' ' Mr. President, the original proposition was liable
to objections enough. 1 endeavored to point ojt
these in the former discussion. It allowed a siuglc
magistrate upon complaint made, to bring before
himself any citizen accused of disloyalty, :nd then
to determine, in the first place, what constituted
' ' disloyalty second, whether the person charged was
. guilty and thirdly, to impose on him a sentence to
take an oath of allegiance to the Stale, or be ex
pelled from the countrj'. Revolting to our conccp-
tior.sifjusticcaudlrceJomaswasthiscon-"entration
of power in the hands of a magistrate, it yet re
tained something of the manly spirit of the common
law, and ol the elementary principles , of liberty cm
. bodied in our bill of rights. There was to be a r)
, sponsible prosecutor persons arraigned and ac
cused were to be allowed the customary privilege "
defence, with the right of course, to confront their
accuser's witnesses, and, above all, to be protected
' against being compelled to give evidence against
themselves. But the substitute of the committee
- proposes what? Why, sir, to institute a proceeding
in the natureof a criminal prosecution against every
free citizen ; yea, sir, ag.imst every male inhabitant
. of the State, from the beardless youth of sixteen
years, five years in advance of his admission to the
rights of a citizen, to the aged patriarch of one hun
dred and sixteen, tottering on his stall, with one
, foot in the grave, by which they are each and all
to be attainted of treason, and banished from their
homes and country: or, if graciously permitted to
: remain, to be deprived of their rights as freemen,
and reduced to a degraded caste unless and until
i- they shall purge themselves of this foul crime, by"
. taking the oath, of allegiartce, military fealty, and ab
juration, compounded and prescribed in the ordi-
. dinance before us. This is the obvious effect of the
provisions relating to a test oath, when analyzed
' and brought to a plain interpretation. Your mag
istrates arc to be sent out into all the land, from
- the shores ol the ocean to the summits of the Smoky
Mountains, and they are to beset every man and
boy above the prescribed age, with a test oath in
.,' the left hand, and a sentence of banishment or de
gradation in the right In this dilemma, there is to
be no means of escape, nor any more freedom of ac-'
tion than when the highwayman with his pistol at
, ' your breast, offers the alternatives, "your money
or your life." Observe, sir, there is to be no in
. quiry as to guilt, as upon accusation and arraign
, mcnt, but the parly is to be placed by law in a state
of condemnation his guilt is to be assumed, until
he shall exonerate himself by taking the oath ; and
" upon his refusal so to do, bis guilt being put be--:
yond question, the penalty annexed is what?
; Not a disqualification for holding office not a for
1 feiture of a part or the whole of his goods and lands,
' but a forfeiture of his birth right as a citizen of
North Carolina.
. --' Mr. President, if this Convention like a French
national Assembly, were to declare itself in perma
. nent session, and arrogate all the powers of govern
ment, it would give no greater shock to public scn-
timent, and make no more dangerous stride towards
despotism, than would be effected by the passage of
this ordinance. It is true, there have been confided
to us extensive powers, but they are delegated pow
ers, and must be exercised not whimsically and
t. tyrannically, but in conformity with those elemcnta
.. - ry principles of freedom and justice, on which are
. founded our American system of Constitutional gov
ernment. If these are violated, it is usurpation on
our part an abuse of power equal to usurpation, and
,.ibr want of other remedy, it may expect to provoke
that old and primary one of resistance on the part of
the people. . When elected to these seats in the
month of May last, we wore not understood to be
- placed above, or out of the reach of the well known
responsibilities of the representative to the constit--v
nent body; Our countrymen supposed that they
.'.retained the right to judge of and canvass our whole
proceedings as freely as they were accustomed to do
as to those of other representatives; and that if dissat-
isfied with what we had done, a sufficient majority,
by some process or other, mieht set it aside, and
afford redressTey further supposed, that, al-.
Ili&'fgh'wchad power to disfranchise men, and
S;dB'ge the qualifications for theright. of suffrage, yet
4 ttK.occii8iuit 10 express my aecwetr oiersion w x.wa-ine pnw-i alternatives ot sile or degradation,
teift oaths, as antiquated instruments of oppression j Nor will lh';y be any better satisfied with that oth
nd despotistn, unsuiled to an wlichtencd age, ai.d er idc;i contained in the n-jort anil whirh nemnx i
f.j .'-rnnw io new test or citizenship would be applied to
-'ill t '"Wi born upon the soil of parents who bad achiev--a
the independence of the country, and established
jaJ-ffcerree institutions, whose essential features no
:'-.jIJsslres to change. What, then, will be their
r f 'se, not to say indignation, if this ordinance
' ..- -Wll a J .
1 r- wim tuai. hu man can ever
;:4etojga:n nay, that no man will be allowed to re.
dMUS in the State, but every one will be exiled who
tf9ei4iot take an oath that tho Convention has or
tjflmaod? Sir, every North-Carolinian rejoices in the
videfcthat, like St Paul, he Was frpp.hnvn AtA al
3 ; Vi?8 this freedom' was purchased at a great
"i yPfcto 00 Iess tnan tho blood of his fathers shed
rXy battle .field of American independence,
t! -l2?'a")e.s'10res Hudson to the everglades of
Dvvlloriaa, it came to him as an inhm-rit.anp i.
i ''.??? 30Wt because of its association with his ancestral
-t 'JWSand glory; his right to dwell in and hrpathn
r. ,W Dure air of the land of his birth; his ri-ht to
"aBM10 elect'on of ml", and, if ?t suit
' 5c"nation an the will of a majority, to be him
'T. pfffovested with a portion of the powers of the re
: pnWie, he will suffer neither to be taken away nor
trifled with, lie did not acquire them by an oath,
Md ho will spurn any oath offered to him as a con
dition of their continued enjoyment It is one of
those blunders characterized byTalleyrand as worse
"than a crime, for statesmen by their measures to
"encroach upon and offend so sacred a feelin" as the
pride of nativity the self-respect and manhood of a
high-spirited, free-born American. Sir, the people
T wheft presented with this oath, will turn upon this
- .Convention, and inquire npon what food have these
:mr Casars, at Raleigh, fed, that they have grown
so great I U e thought they were eur servant"
bow have they become our masters? We had a
rZ Constitu-
Vesentatives
Zi IV Z e cnose tnem as our ren.
oy what Jegerdcmain, by what audaci-
neyxyote a:ain.
but shall lio
V -i,. ." I.r r ncwarc tuai, wo Siia 1
answer to tell them, as they aro told in substance
i tins report of the oewmittfj, and the speech r
the Chairman, Mr. Bipgs, irtf support of the., ordi
nance, that the oath is but an evidence tf patriotism,
and no one but a traitor' iSeed.&ave iwy hesitation
in taking it. The prompt rponse would b !fe
c ire but little for die thing pttposcd te-Jbo swovn to ;
the o!jection is to being compelled td swear at all,
as a condition to the enjoyment of our inborn rights
of property and citizeushin. We rer. ier to the gov
ernment owe loyalty and duty, as wo cherish and
support our wives and children, aid perforin other
obligations as r. embers of society ; but we will Uke
nt 'oaths upon" 'compulsion, to hind us to those du
ties ana least i.f all, an onto that is accompanied
be the vorite.explanatir a of the ordinance, that ft
is a tn- re measure of detective police, not intended,
to do ny harm to patr.otic men, but to discover and
expei disloyal ones. ; This assumes that It is legitt
mnte and proper to hunt through the consciences of
air good men by an cth cf discovery, in order to
ferret out the bad.' ,liy parity of reasoning, .if a
treasonable correspondence were suspected in, any
county or neighborhood, every man should be re
quired to onru his desk, and submit his private cor
respondenr and papers to the inspection of a magis
trate.. 1'ais certainly would be no more harsh than
to ask discovery of his conscier.ee. Or to illus
trate. V. more strikingly, it is in principle, the same
s ir. case a theft had been committed, in order to
bo sure of visiting punishment on the real offender,
you should require every inhabitant of the vicinage
to receive forty stripes save one. Your people will
say to you, point out the gjilty or suspected per
sons, take the warrant ot the law in your hands,
summon us of the pom eomitntirt if necessary, and
we are ready to render oar duty any where; but our
homes and consciences are not to be made hunting
grounds for traitors or felons, and if we could submit
to make them snchi,' we should not feel ourselves
much elevated above either.
But, Sir, the je&lous and sagacious spirit of liberty
which pervades our people, will discover in this
process of a test oath something more than an usur
pation or i,btise of power on our part, and an instru
ment of tyranny, oppression and degradation upon
the citizen. They will perceive at a glance, that no
more e'uectual contrivance could be devised to en
able a faction in the possession of temporary power,
to convert the government into an oligarchy, expel
tb'jir opponents from the State, and riot upon the
t.ubstance they had left . Such a faction need only
to enact a test oath, for patriotic objects of course,
but to take care to infuse into it such ingredients
as they knew would be offensive and iuadmissablc
by its opponents, and declare that every man who
le fused it, should be banished from the Suite, or
lose his rights as a citizen with forfeiture of all his
possessions. Carry it out with the high hand of
f rcc, and it makes no difference w hether a majority
or minority, whether one in fifty will take the oath ;
the few who do will have the whole government in
their bands, and the spoils of the exiles besides.
Oiir theory has been, that a majority within the
limitations of our written Constitutions, can mould
the government at will-cn make revolutions and
unmake them ; but this is an invention 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
have but to prescribe a new oath, and that no man
shall vote w ho refuses it, and they will never fail
in an election. Since the commencement of the
present revolution and the adoption of the new Con
stitution of the Confederate States, there has been
much speculation as to the facility with which it
may be abrogated by any State, who may become
dis a:ified with its operation or administration. If
there be that virtue in test oaths which this ordi
nance supposes, it may be perpetuated indefinitely
If there' be a majority favorable to it in the Legisla
ture, as there will be ol course in the outset, when
ever they suspect opposition or lukew.irmness, they
may enact an oath to suit the case, and banish those
who refuse it before the next election. I speak as
if there were no constitutional impediments to such
a course, as this ordinance considers that there are
none, or proposes to override them, if they exit.
Mr. President the very mention of a test oath
carries' us back to the bigot tnonarchs and the butch
er priests of the days of the Tudors and Stuarts,
and beyond these, to the Inquisition itself. It is a
device of power in Church and in State, to perpet
uate itself by force, against free discussion and in
quiry, and in defiance of what in more liberal limes
we call public sentiment In direct contravention
of thaUmost essential principle of criminal justice,
that no man shall be compelled to give evidence
against himself, it requires of its victim the confes
sion cf a creed, and his failure or refusal it takes as
conclusive evidence of his guilt and inflicts upon
him tortuous penalties or forfeitures, such as, if
they will not cure him of his heresy, may deter
others in like cases offending. Whether the creed
be religious or political, or the remedy be the thumb
screw, the iron boot, the break-wheel or the rack, or
wiiether it be banishment, deprivation of privilege,
degradation, or forfeiture of estate, there is no dif
ference in the callousness of the principle. ' For
saking every vestige of Christian charity and tolera
tion, it assmn-s to control by force that con
science, which the God who gave it designed to be
free, and avows its purpose to drive men to perjury
or self-accusation. ' I have somewhere seen or read
.of a picture of a trembling prisoner of the Inquisi
tion, wno wnen caneu to taKe me religious test of
that inexorable tribunal, replies: "I cannot; I'll
be damned, if I do." To which the stern Inquisitor
replies: "You'll be damned, if you don't" It will
require no stretch of imagination to picture your
justice, under this ordinance, with his prisoner be
fore him, refusing the oath, with " I'll be perjured
forever, il I take it ;" and the equally stern 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 tesfc, and the
persecutions that attended them, religious and po
litical. In the Catholic ascendency, Protestants
were the victims ; in the Protestant reigns, Catholics
suffered in turn ; and it is a rcpraeh to that en
lightened and Christian nation, that even down
within our own memories, no man could hold even
a military office until he took a test oath against
Catholicism, and received the sacraments according
to the rites of the Church of England. This last
vestige of intolerance and bigotry in that country
was swept away under the enlightened counsels of
Karl Gray, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert
Peel, not more than thirty years ago.
But in the worst and most intolerant time, neither
in England nor in any civilized nation of which I
have recollection, was there ever such an experi
ment made as is proposed to be made here, of pre
scribing a test, religious or political, and running a
muck with it against the whole people, to see if
perchance, some victim may not be found for ban
ishment or degradation. ; . -
In this country we havo known but little of test
oaths, except as we have read of them under more
arbitrary governments. The Legislature of Vir
ginia, more than fifty years ago, in a laudable desire
to , suppress the practice of duelling, directed an
oath to be taken by certain public functionaries,
and among others the advocates in her courts of
justice, that they would not engage in any duel
Mr. Benjamin W'atkins Leigh, since known to the
country as one of her most distinguished lawyers
and statesmen,' was then at the bar, and the court
haying decided that the oath must be taken, Mr.
Leigh requtsted time to consider the question of the
power of the Legislature to impose such an oath.
And at a subsequent day he submitted an argument
which satisfied the court that the power did not
exist, and they unhesitatingly reversed the former
decision, which Chief Justice Roane pronounced to
be an Mofi band and erroneous" one; an example
of candor and fairness of mind which I beg to com
mend to all who may have inclined in favor of this
ordinance. In his argument, Mr. Leigh so vividly
depicts the mischievous nature of test oaths as the
"barbed and poisoned weapons," of despotic power,
thai I will detain the Convention by reading a few
sentences from it: - . . . -
, "If the worit of the Constitution weredoubtful,
its spirit cpuld not be mistaken. Jf,thc Legislature
might add one hew disqualification, they might
add many; multiply disabilities without end ; dis
qualify whole districts or classes of men by per
sonal or local description ; make an academical de
gree, or even a Drevious service in nne nf its norn
bodies, a necessary qualification ; and thus convert
the government into an oligarchy. If this tremen
dous power existed at all, it was boundless and un
controljable as the winds; and' dissipated at once
all our fond notions of a written constitution, late
the glory of American politics. These test laws,
particularly, were the first weapons young ; oppres
fon would,; learn torbandl; weapons the,? more
idiw since, (hough 'barbed and poisowad, neither
strength nor eourage waa requisite to Wield them.
JShould we rely on public virtue to keen us from
plbe-jaso nd extension ofthis'systenijrf tests? In
no age, nor clime, nor ' nation, had ever virtue
wholly swayed human bosoms and actions; man
was universally liable to be transported with pas
sion, blinded with" folly, corrupted with vice ; and
yet more with power, maddened with faction, and
tired with thj lust of domination ; let us not Hatter'
ourselves vm were exempt from the common lot;
and although the wise exposition of the bill of
-rightSf by the act- to-establish "religious freedomH
mignt tor a time secure us from a reltgwu test, a
political one was certainly a possible, perhaps a
' probable, , and not very remote event Sir, I am
possessed with a strange delusion if the very law in
q i nt ion does not appoint a political test I fear
other instances might be recounted. Such are the
beginnings. , The end of all these things is death."
, Sir, this ordinance goes beyond the apprehensions
of Mr. Leigh,', and does apply , a religious test, to a
'Considerable portion of our population, as a condi
tion of their being allowed to remain citizens. It
would be a very great mistake to suppose, that the
oath which it prescribes, was an oath " to support
the Constitution of th j Confederate States," the on
ly oath to that government required by .its Consti
tion ; or that it was the common oath of allegiance
to the State of North Carolina, or both of these to
gether. Let us read it : '
" I, A. B., do solemnly swear, (or affirm, as the
case may be,) that I will bear faithful and.true alle
giance to the State of North Carolina, and Will to
the utmost of my power, support maintain and de
fend the independent government of the Confederate
States of America, against the government of the
United States, or of any other power, that by-open
force or otherwise, shall attempt to subvert the
same. I do hereby renounce my allegiance to the
government of the United States, and will support
and defend the Constitution of the Confederate
States of America, and the Constitution of this State,
not inconsistent with the Constitution of the Con
federate States so help me God."
Now, Sir, the requirement of this affirmation to
be taken by the denomination called Quakers, is as
effectual an act of banishment of that sect, as if it
had been plainly denounced in the ordinance. And
the same may be 6aid, I presume, in relation to
Menonists and Dunkers, though I have less knowl
edge of them. There were some of the last named
class in the county of Lincoln during my boyhood ;
whether they remain, and keep op their peculiar
t.nets I aui not informed. But the Quakers are a
well known sect, numbering not less than ten thou
sand persons in the State and it is equally well
known that they will not engage in war, and are
conscientiously scrupulous against f earing arms.
Our laws, from the Revolution downward to this
day, have lespeeted their scruples, and extended to
them the chai ky and toleration due to tho sincerity
and humility of their profession. This ordinance
wholly disregards their peculiar belief, and converts
every man of them into a warrior or an exile. True,
they arc allowed to affirm, but tho affirmation is
equivalent to the oath of the feudal vassal to his
lord, to " defend him with life and limb and terrene
power.'' It is, that they "will to the vtmmt of
their power, support maintain and defend the in
dependent government of the Confederate States of
America, against the United States, or any other
power, that by open, force or otheiwiee may at
tempt to subvert the same," &c. If this does not
include military defence, it is difficult to find lan
guage that would. It is so well known that the
ordinary, oath to the State implies defence with
arms, that tho Quakers have ever refused to affirm
in its terms, but have had a special allirination pro
vided for them, as may be seen in the present Re
vised Code, and in all former editions of our laws.
This ordinance, therefore, .is nothing less than a de
cree of banishment to them. Sir, this humble de
nomination, who in the meekness and chirity which
sj distinguished their Divine Master, yield prece
dence "to none, were the first white men who
made permanent settlements within our borders.
Scourged and buffjted by Puritanism in New Eng
land, and Prelacy in Virginia, they found nortstor
religious freedom, until they had put the great Dis
mal Swamp between themselves and the nearest of
their persecutors. In the dark forests of its South
ern border, they obtained a toleration from the sav
age red man which had been denied them by their
Anglo-American brethren. There they opened the
wilderness, reared their modes dwellings, and filled
the land with the monuments of civilization. There,
and upon the upper waters of the Cape Fear, which
tbey subsequently colonized, their posterity has re
mained to this day a quiet, moral, industrious,
thrifty people, differing from us in opinion on the
subject of slavery, but attempting no subversion of
the institution producing abundantly by their la
bor, paying punctually and certainly their dues to
the government, and supporting their own poor.
Sir, upon the expulsion from among us of such a
people, the civilized world would cry, shame I But
it may be said that this was not intended. If so,
it but demonstrates that it is dangerous for freemen
to take hold .of the weapons of despotism and bran
dish them about, lest they do mischief more than
was designed. But there is certainly no exception of
Quakers in the ordinance, though Uiey are excepted
and specially provided for in the act of Assembly,
1777, from which its main features are copied,
none in those amendments which the Chairman sig
nified his intention to move, and the report of the
committee declares " there can be no neutrals in
me struggle in which we are engaged. It may
not be a religious test to others, but Sir, it is a dis
turbance of, and interference with the religious sen
timent and domestic repose of the country, not to be
justified, unless called for by some most" urgent ne
cessity. The veteran of the Court-house, who sees
every breach of the peace and misdemeanor, and
calculates on proving his attendance as a part of his
income, may regard oaths as unmeaning ceremo
nies ; but your quiet and retired citizen, who, ex
cept when called to the public duty of a juror, or
who has seldom been sworn at all, looks upon them
in the language of your public statute, as "being
most solemn appeals to Almighty God, as tho om
niscient witness of truth and the just and omnipo
tent avenger of falsehood," and takes them not with
out a feeling of awe. Beyond his daily prayer
" That he who stills the raven's clamonun nest,
And decks the lilly fair, ii) timvery pride; .
Would in the way His wisdom sees-tbe best,
For him, and lor his little ones provide; "
Beyond this, his morning and evening implora
tion, repeated perhaps with unwonted-ierror and
emphasis, in these times of difficulty and scarcity,
he takes not his Maker's name. . lie is accustomed
to vex His ear with no blasphemous, unnecessary,
unhallowed appeals. When you invade the retire
ment of such a man by domiciliary visitation, ir.d
demand from him his oath, with a threat of banish
ment brandished over his head, he will fed as would
the pagan whose household Gods had been rudely
Jostled from their seats.' He, as well as you, Mr.
President, has read those thrilling words in which
Chatham has engraven on ojir memories the do
mestic rights of our fathers beyond the seas, that
"every Englishman's house is his castle, though so
rude and humble that the rains and the winds of
heaven may beat upon, and may enter it, yet the
king cannot enter it" He, will reflect that until
now his house has been equally sacred from the in
trusion of government, and his conscien.ee unruffled
by impertinent interrogation ; and he will instinc
tively inquire, if these are the first fruits of the new
order of .things, what may not be expected in the
sequel? And in spite of all the apologies and dis
claimers that your magistrates may be instructed to
make, he can sensibly arrive at no other conclusion,
than that be was suspected of disloyalty, and that
the visit was designed to drive him to perjury, or
exile; or else that it was a senseless proceeding,
which ought to bring the government that made it
into contempt
But, Mr. president, the enormity of the propo
sition remains y et to be told. It violates every safe
guard of personal freedom embodied in the bill of
rights, most of which have been .consecrated in the
history of English liberty from, the time of Magna
Charta itselC The Northern . government became
a despotism . by usurpation. Pass this ordinance
upon the old plea of tyrants, the necessity of the
times, and the Southern one, within the borders of
North-Carolina, will have become a despotism by
legislation. . Whereas, our people are resolved to
Jae independent and free, not only, in the end but in
the means. They are resolved, not only to be free
men at the termination of the contest, out will not
surrender their liberties during its-progress. 1 Nor
will they be satisfied with the flimsy pretexts and
excuses for the sacrifice of a sacred principle, that
it can do harm except to:iraifors.5
that even traitors snalf npl be tonderanea eajflepl $5 '"
accoraance witn inose great pnncipw in, tiu
justice, which are 'f universal: application. For
they know full well that .it, tt;qpmtefrerBX
friendless or odious men that despotism, whether of
a single tyrant or of a mob, first lays, its hands ;
and that vigilance is more necessary to the preser-;
nation of liberty in times of public peril and revo-
lutipn, than in peace. Now, Sir, you can hardly men-,
tion a guarantee of individual right contained .that
Hmrnortnl ffoMnratinn nrriivt tn the constitution.
which is not outraged by the proposed proceeding
..TV . r 1 . . '
'hr relation to r Test barn."" Let hie particuli
iculartze a
few of the more prominent among them : - x
1. Contrary to the very words of that declara
tion, it "disseizes every freeman" and every boy too '
above the age oi sixteen, of bis privileges as a citizen,'
and converts him into an- alien, and exiles hitn un-1
til he -shall re-establish his right to citizenship by'
taking the oath of allegiance, defense, ''d of abju
ration of the government of the United States, alj
ready recited ; a high-handed outrage iu subversion '
of "the law of the land," the only process by which;
so dreadful a sentence could be inflicted aud it is,
well known that "by law of the land" here,' is
meant a regular trial before Judge and jury, accord- (
ing to the course and usage of the common law.
2. It convicts a freeman of a crime, the high -crime
of disloyalty to the government, by an act of
attainder passed by this Convention, and subjects
him to the punishment of being banished, unless he
shall acquit himself by an oath the declaration
guaranteeing that no such conviction shall be bad
' but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and
lawful men in open court, as heretofore used."
8. Without any evidence of an offense having
b.cen committed, and without any offense being de
scribed in a warrant and supported "by evidence, it
considers a free citizen as condemned, and exiles him. -from
his sacred home, unless he will disclose the se
crets of bis heart, and they are found lobe patriotic,
by a Justice of the Peace. u . v .
. 4. In a highly criminal proceeding, it compels a
man to give evidence against himself. This hideous
feature is a little disguised, but it is unquestionably
there. If he will swear the oath he goes free, but
if he will not, his refusal is plenary evidence of his
guilt, and ho sutlers the dread penalty. This refu
sal he is forced to give if his conscience will not al
low bim to take the oath. Wherein does this differ
from that old device of bigotry and cruelty of put
ting him on the wheel and cracking his hones until
he shall declare that he is not guilty of heresy or
treason? In nothing that 1 can perceive, except
that in the one case he suffers in the flesh, and in
the other it is expulsion from wife and children, and
. friends, and country.
Mr. President, when my friend, Charles S. More
head, of Kentucky, as noble anil gallant a gentleman
as any that I have ever known, was seized on his
native soil and hurried off to a prison in a far dis
tant State, upon an alleged order from the Secretaiy
of State at Washington, I thought, not that "ten
thousand swords would have leaped from their
scabbards." but that the Mississippi valley would
have. risen as one man, and cried "to the rescue."
American constitutional freedom had been struck
down in the person of one of the noblest of her sons;
and I supposed that without regard to past differ
ences of opinion as to whether the Union should be
maintained, all men would have been satisfied by
that act of tyranny, that the free Constitution of
our fathers was extinct; that abitrary power reign
ed in its stead ; and that safety was only to be found
in the overthrow of that power. But that proceed
ing, violent and revolting as it was, may be favorably
distinguished from this. Morohead was not requir
ed to give evidence against himself. The govern
ment which arrested him, professed to have had
sufficient proof of his guilt, and did not call upon
him under penalty of exile, forfeiture or torture, to
furnish any evidence either positive or negative to
affect the case. Sir, I think it now appears that
the oath in question requires some emendation.
The citizen ought to be excused from swearing to
support the Constitution of North Carolina, as here
tofore existing, since the whole proceeding violates
so many of its fundamental principles, as in fact to
abrogate it He might with more propriety be call
ed on to take an oath of abjuration, declaring
that he had no faith in the bill of rights, as a means
of securing freedom, and renouncing his adherence
to it at least in all cases where disloyalty was im
puted. That would be far more appropriate than
that other oath of abjuration, "renouncing 'hereby'
all allegiance to the United States;" implying in
the clearest manner that until the oith is taken, al
legiance is still due to the United States a folly
that will excite a laugh wherever it is not taken as
an insult The citizen will say, I protest that I
thought all this was settled in May last by the Con
vention. I have not considered myself as owing any
allegiance to the United States, since that time, and
I have none that I can " hereby " renounce. With
nearly as much reason might he be required to re
nounce all allegiance to Victoria Regina, successor
of the Georges second and third, of whom our fath
ers were born subjects, and to abjure the heresy of
transubstantiation, the invocation of saints, and
Popery in general, as the Englishmen who took
office were required to do prior to Catholic emanci
pation. And the power being established, as it is
assumed by this ordinance, it would be the easiest
thing in the world to superadd a mild adjuration, to
abide by the creed as established by the Convention,
Synod, Conference or Association, as one or another
denomination might happen to predominate with
the ruling powers.
And here let me correct a very important error
of fact which appears in the committee's report It
isjthere stated that our volunteers who have entered
thf military service have taken an oath, and it is
arued, that therefore all other citizens should cn
tef into the like solemn obligation. The conclusion
wuld not follow, if the oath were the same. Sol
diers received into the service and pay of the State
or nation, like public servants in civil office, have
always been required to take an oath of allegiance,
bul citizens in general never were. In fact, howev
er, no volunteer has taken the absurd oath here
proposed to be thrust upon the citizen. They have
no been required to abjure allegiance " to the gov
ernment of the United States." They are bound to
tafaj an oath of allegiance to the State. And under
an kct of Assembly in May last, the Governor pre
scrfjed an oath, by which they undertook " to obey
his orders, and the orders of the officers set over i
them." But by ordinance of this Convention they '
were relieved from an oath of this nature, which no
man could be expected to keep without some in
fringement and which had been disused ill the army
of the United States, prior to the Mexican war, and
since ; and they were simply made liable to the pen
alties of the articles of war, for disobedience of or
ders, from the time of signing the agreement of en
listment No volunteer of North-Carolina, there
fore, can be lawfully required to take any oath, but
the oath of allegiance to the State, anterior to his
being mustered into the service of the Confederate
States. This, let us remember, is a government
with Legislative, Executive, and Judicial functiona
ries, in full operation, and can prescribe and admin
ister such, oaths, as to it may seem meet, to soldiers ;
and if It wishes to try so hazardous an experiment,
to citizens also. Our interference, then, to bind the
consciences of our citizens to that government, after '
having granted it power of life and death over their
conduct, is quite a work, of supererogation, if not of
servility. In its Constitution, Art 6, sea 4, it has
plainly enumerated the persons in the State and
Confederacy, whom it requires to take the oath to
' support it . If it desires to enlarge the catalogue,
by polling every citizen, to search his heart, and
see if it cannot find somebody to punish as a traitor,
let it try the virtue of an act of Congress, and the
machinery of its own officers. That would give the
regulation generality, and relieve it of one of its
. features of batefulness, that of being leveled at the
people of a particular State, and this by the offi
cials of the State authority In a matter commit
ted by the people to other hands. ,; For, I suppose,
no one imagines that there is any danger of rebel
lion against the State government as such. The
whole solicitude which prompts this roost extraor
dinary measure, springs from an apprehension of in
fidelity on .the part' of the people, or a portion of
them, to the Confederate' government and it im
plies that that government is too weak in its func
tionaries, or too timid to provide and apply the need
ful remedies. We, therefore, must rush . in to the
help of the nation. If Congress' were consult
ed, I doubt not they would render thanks for the
good and patriotic intention, but if they spoke can
didly, Would declare that they considered the reme
dy ten Gmes as bad as the disease. No, Sir the
Congren would as. soon think of repealing the Coo
MiM&tfO. Mtfd'tsvlutc roto a state of chaos, as to
9004 or oocceireait ; iney uaow, tnat u serious dis
iffeMon:OTes oot exist (as every One know it does
eminent may readily be brought into contempt and4 sent the sad spectacle of a s,,It,'i8Ie9.nd
collision with the people, and that if it did, this is
not the mode in which to deal with it ..JUord Ma
cauley relates of Charles II, that he hever learned
how to treat an insurrection,, which common sense
Reaches should be, by taking hold of the ring-leaders
ana maxing examples oi weinj out mat on tne
l : Ze u l.
i uaujwning ; ui jiuyu wvmyue, up weu,.ineu
uu esccmeu tue unoopuy jiioursrciius m an Bees
and sexes ; and while his servile and tyrannical chief
justice, Jeffries, went the circuits perverting the
law for the condemnation of all accused, the merry
monarch diverted himself among his mistresses and.
courtiers by speaking of them al Jeffries' campaign.
Sir, the progress of your justices under this ordi
nance, abjuring men and boys,; without regard to
the aged, the decrepid, the bait, maimed or blind,
under terror ef exile or degradation from the proud
privileges of citizenship, will be looked upon by
those who have the instincts, not to say knowledge
of freemen, as no less of campaigns ; and with no
View to favor the public enemy, but to assert their
self respect and dignity, they -will strive to hurl
from, power the authority under which they are
made. , What, Sir, is such a proceeding but the es
tablishment of martial law throughout the length
and hreadlh of the State, by which the peaceful cit
izen is invaded in his home and his conscience; and
placed upon the footing of the inhabitant of a be
gfeged5ly"5rionress; w nr i.iniiiwiv . ,
dued rebellious province ? jV Roman pro-consul, a
British colonial Governor, or a successful General in
the armies of Abraham Lincoln, with an overwhelm
ing force and but feeble 'resistance, may ' adopt
measures of such dictatorial severity and rigor.
,We are informed that Governor Tryoo, after over-
powering me iieguiaiors at Aiamance, marched a
military force into many ol
the upper counties of
the then province, and exa
Jed from the inhabitants
an oath of allegiance to the
Ling at the point of the
bayonet. . Gen. Dix, also.
pon his recent conquest
of the two counties on the
stern shore of V irginia,
condescended to advertise their helpless citizens.
that if they would take the bath of allegiance to the
United States, they should Receive every protection,
and their. property should npt be confiscated. This
was a sufficient bint what ronsequences would fol
low" if they did not But, Iho before ever heard of
a government professing tof be free, undertaking to
drive from its borders or disfranchise its whole pop
ulation, if they, would pot, . man by man, submit to
the ordeal of a compulsory I test oath?' Nay, what
arbitrary despotism in is .domestic rule, ever em
barked in any such cnterprize of Quixotic absurd
ity ? Was it attempted in France under the first
Napoleon, or under the third ? Even in the wildest
excesses of her revolutionary phrenzy, there seems
to have been sufficient common sense left to the
ruling authorities to enable them to recollect, that
' human law is the rule of civil conduct", not of
faith, and that only bigotry and fanaticism will at
tempt to regulate conscience and opinion in govern-'
nient or in religion, . Charles V., Emperor of Ger
many and of Spain1, after waging for years the most
bloody and relentless wars, to put down Luther and
the Reformation, becoming sated with carnage, and
disgusted with the pageantry of monarchy, yielded
up the reins of power to his son, and retired to a mo
nastery. There, he amused his leisure in scientific
studies, and in experiments upon instruments for
measuring time. But by no diligence or skill was
he ever able to make two clocks run alike. This,
says his biographer. Dr. Robertson, saddened his
soul with remorseful, reflection upon his previous
life, in which he had caused rivers of blood to flow,
in vain and wicked efforts to compel men to think
alike. This simple anecdote, which is but an illus
tration, of all human experience, proves the futility
and impossibility of controlling thought and opin
ion ; and that those governments onlyarelwjse
that leave the mind and conscience free, and are
content with conformity to their behests, in action.
Of the one hundred and twenty thousand voters in
the State, how many in the,eighty-five years of its
independence have taken an oath to the State, or to
the United States, during cur connection with that
government ? Those who have filled office, and ex
ercised a portion of the sovereign power as magis
trates or constables, or in higher stations, have
been obliged, and properly too, to swear fidelity to
the State and general governments ; but as to the
great mass of the people, if they have not literally
kept the Scriptural injunction to "swear not at all,"
it has not been by reason of any oath of fealty im
posed by public authority. And the inquiry will
naturally be made, where is tho necessity for this
novel and most extraordinary proceeding? The
Legislature has been twice convened in extra ses
sion since the breaking out of the present war, and
has considered and adopted all such measures as
they deemed necessary to the public safety or de
fence. But no member of cither House, in anxious
contemplation of the crisis, seems to have thought
of attest oath, forced upon all the people, under ter
ror of exile or loss of privilege, as among these
measures. Cnssar Augustus sent out a decree that
all the world should be taxed. The North-Carolina
Convention is asked to send out a decree that all the
world shall be sworn. There is virtue in taxation.
Money is the sinew of war but What nation was
ever defended by oaths, oattfijinposed on its own
people without distinction, "eipcunyjirTien the al
ternative was banishment of d&ntfatio&f'' .'-S 1 1
If- T :j . . . f i - - - . 'i
r. rreMiueiiL, to say Ol 1 1 1 1 II mwn VtA 0 IhS Tf 1:
su.-uiu auu vaiieuiaieu to urQarn OH (OUT icfrs-
lation, and that it is unnecessary and .trill be wjI
ly ineffectual, if necessarv. iwasihfaiFa"a foJed
oath is well understood to be no cam Tit the sielof
. L . . it. I l , . X.
man or ii re matter, is out to cnaracierize its ifore
obvious features. I am fully persuaded that abaad.
if not at home, it will be regarded as the offsdins
T. fill . .... M
oi rear, n win oearguea,anuthehypothcsisca
be resisted, that a proceeding so universal un
suaL, so searching, so destructive of personal frcfloni
and dangerous to public liberty, would not beriort
ed to except in a State where Dublic
suppressed by the high hand of force, and a stftseof
danger had driven the government to despeti'.ioi.
in mat aspect no measure could give greafcr e4-
wuLgcmvut w iue enemy, ana no libel couftf mere
neepiy wound me sensibilities of the people' of
oiaus, or ao .tnem more uross injustice. Tbov h
doubly sure by a forced oath. It is not eoduHi" that
ope nnA . - . f. . 1 .
uu,vw uic, portions 01 tnem irom every cnjrty in
the State, are in the field, exposing their lives to the
arms of the enemy, and to the pestilencebf camp
and garrison, and that almost every famil has its
representative there ; that they have submitted
cheerfully to the burdens, of taxation, and tit priva
tions incident to a destruction of comntrce, and
have even and above this voluntarily and feeerfulJy
contributed of their labor, their substani Ind the
very comforts of their homes, to give ail o your
soldiers and vigor to their efforts ; that tbU is not
a cloud of disloyalty to be seen in all the f fizon as
big as a man's band ; but that the wtofupeople, it
may be With trifling exceptions, ar pfessing for
ward with a noble unanimity to thetsfjiblishment
of our national independence. ' All tfe will not suf
fice. Every man must bo purged asW fire.., And
all for what? . The report of the conhittee informs
us. It is " to rid the country of trJors at heart,"
who are supposed to be few in numl-, and will be
discovered when tested by this oa . Such doe
trine, Mr. President, is the very bi try of despot
ism. . Who constituted us the searc rs of hearts?
What government ever undertook t leal with any
thing as crimes, except the overt ac of its people,
but the most unmitigated tyrannie There are
doubtless republicans in principle siding under
every monarchy in Europe, and the may be jnon
archits in the States of America, bufo long as they
deneait themselves as peaceable citiis, do not levy
war against the State or the Confeddte States, nor
adhere to our enemies giving them aland comfort,
""v Ht wiwjuui motesiaiion, an pre under 'the if.
protection or toe constitution andho laws. If
there be, as the committee presumearaitors among i
us, they are not of my acquaintie, nor, so far i
as I am aware, of my section. BuVherever they i
are, treason is an offense well knoWto, and defin- I
ed by law, and like other crimes, is be dealt with t
according to law. - Ad it is quite aWkable, that S
while the committee inveigh with vejinence aeaiost
! the despotism now r,:.. , .
r men in MarylaBthrvTi, y,tJheLinlnIPft. '
ward .
CarofiM-Ksir Ifi.."1 to
'reedom in TV
nuiesced in. it is of HtrT'.fas,lrc Prevails .T
issue of the present great cw2fnt wbat nav l
IHt h, .
wmTmre;
for our aabjugation. I protest agaLtV
abuse, amounting-in effect to a , ' " M
-as . dangerous device by which?!'? f fl
anyHweryerMhe government L u 4
of mat civil liberty which is JdVK BaH
been the inheritance of our ancesS H
ureu years., i protest aeaintf ; " go mm.
tile weapo of defence, calculated Zl M
the enemy, weaken ourselves, and toL " enco?ra
lation it ridicule and di4i?TorfcSi:j
abroad, and degrade our citizens
III
.n their own (J
vince of the Comrress of tiZTZSZ "? lhe P
iceui as an
01DC10UH in(...J.li- .-.""US1
a Weapon the people we represenL w
lcr.ty,patience,per;everence.Rer?ri: ."
ry in this contest deserve all praise wV "
nnuoox. f t.,k . praise. Whereas, tk.
r. .T - " "'ajure and iu n., '
tne statute book, n the nrem 7 rr ,
more tn the future,
musi oe construed to nmi , : ..
spesd disaffection.
l'"iuuii 01 Wldfr
m-ntoct n...:-... n .. 9
imitation
" uespoilsm. onUti-k,..i..
uKxrei no oiner state ol the South lini in., .
.such.. V t , .n" nraeveraT of
not only k rifk l...t ... ! lnm disafftcuoirt
. ILIUII1:- llr
But the committee plant 711 "lar
an act of the
all the material paits of mis' Z,"
Ae,....i.i.. ""'IB
from that act
l'reeH.1..ni. .. :'"."v "re c"P'cd
law are said to be Uni ' i V P'IP of the
knor how to fill op the blanks -,
gs, if one does not
pre-
We shut ruir ,,. .. .?
cumstances and
which distinct, f'. Z"' "V"5 .0I historical
aiif.....j: . ,J. "wr-
facts
me inquire of the Committee wh " , v. - Wt Ut
a high judicial station, S;rhr8tr,an
not contravene the Bill of Rights nu rT d0CS
in the particulars I bnJLlZtf$$g
whether a sim.lar act, passed in 1777 kA
end Assembly, did not equally con av?ne i
h- m ?l l ibe Ueneral Ambiy do s 0; ! '
conflict with the Constitution, which is to g.ve wa
lie is (Obliged to. answer, the act of As& ?i
course But it was not so understood 177
n.eo.ftn,on seams to have prevailed then and 'r
years afterward, that the General Assemb V 1
om,rp.rt as the British PJ
i m the courts of justice decided an act of l e
Legislature to be unconstitutional, M produced
great shock in the minds of hiWil. i,..,.! .. ...
, ;.,;: :?7u, T imies from
Let
Tins ait of 1777, which undertook to batish frej
men wh were inhabitants of the Si,t , .1... ...i ..."
tion of the Constitution; or to deprive them of ih
..si mej-reiuseu to take an oath ol
allegiame, was dear.' uneonstiinti..n,.i ... .
the po nts already fpec.hcd, but in assuming to takJ
away he right ol juffrage in the face of the provil
sion ol the Constitution declarins that aU f.-,L.,1
I
i jriaoui age, wno nave been inhabitants a cer
tain tifne, and paid public taxes, shall exercise it
But, waiving the Constitutional question, the sit'
uation of our ancestors in 177-'7, differed essen-
v:auy 1.0m oursai mis time, m many particulars to
their disadvantage j and in the poverty of their re
sources, and rewards of their experiment, it should
not sdrprize us that they laid hold of a test oath as
a weapon with wh(ch bigotry and arbitrary power'
had sought to fortify themselves in Europe, hpin
they could render it useful in the defence of Irett
dom here. They may possibly have thought that
as allejiauce under monarchy is considered due to
the person of the sovereign, it might still linitcrin
the breasts of some, and that this violent remedy
sTiouTabe resorttd to for its expulsion.' iiui !
fare weare calleii on to follow this as a precedent, it
should be shown from subsequent history that it
was of some avail in the contest It was provided
111 the act that the name of every person taking
should be subscribed in a book, to -be deposited i
the liffice of the Clerk of the County Court. Vi'h
naseverscensucna oook r ine honorable gent eu
from Mecklenburg Mr. Oshnrno ivhn V.c i,,cti . ,.L--
his seaf, has made considerable researches i;. f-'e
public-papers of his county, which 4t one of H5- ,ori
cal renown ; has be ever found suckbook i Tave
you, Sir, or any other gentleman here I K.Orje of two
conclusions is certain. Either that ; tjere': ' tu
general attempt to exact such an Oath, m-V'b i- the
more probable ; or, that if exacted, ' ft. pa the
least effect. For when the British icsaiW.''16
in 1780 'SI, the Tories rose in thoseseqtionV wicre
thev were known to be in. thflmnturl. tl.e rar.
and in no ither. The act was, therefor; "t 5 1.
Leake, h-itumfulnm, aroducitig no effeaeil.s r'kl
suit: Vl'tlli Ka r , I S
"T 'mi - there pvas-a tot
Ti.r1 1" mem.-oiu thinss had liasse
away, and all th,1gs had becoms new." Thefc wa
no gcreral gove...H?nt , w1j;cB t0 e f
el defence and "Tbesutes - rlUnL
IJ?, e'nr. Wlati9t.nd i.
norm-uaionu- --. Hjreniri USt forille,l
with no laws 7 Wtdminiter: Ihern, except
what they enacted and $Intea ,he pressure of 1
inuerSv..v.j, ---oie-Teliahee in genersl
tretaofccdition, an every ' ,fcf
- . ... .- "aiv iir tire liliciiu- I.
Sin 8;.aiie c..jnln rW80n th 1
vOmmaOTliW1ilrr?aiilMml ofih. A II
f.W ?uch weight is due to a precedent,
why not re-ehact the whole' 'statute, that part which!
relates to treason as well -a. misprision of treason
arid test oaths ? That is the only part of the statute "1
maiwe nave ncara or being put into execution. I
The Tory Colonel Brvan, was tried for treason, and I
couvicieu, 1 presume, under this statute. But
11 .... . .
ne nau a iriai oy due course of law. He was not
called on to furnish evidence against himself by a
tietoath, and he was defended by Davie, who had
slaughtered a large part of his regiment in battle,
bat who, after ifie example of John Adams, in de
fending the Briqkh soldiers who fired on the multi-tudc-in
the strejsts of Boston, was equally firm in
asserU-iK all . b.s rights . of defence, as a criminal.
lisprision of troa-
rceraent of a test
M? The Revo
. ts undtrr-wboliy
' r fathers did in
i - -c-W- the State
,. en-arfi.iiWi. . , i,il, me sa.i.
laws, the same officers in all its iartments and
ramifications, there has been no cha that would
cause a ripple on the surface of tl.- tera. The
ship of State has sailed on in her .rJr 1
justice, without reefing a sail or chariging a spar.
In national affairs the difference fs still more re
markable. Instead of no general government and
a dependence on the discordant iiwiBiatinn f hr.
teen States, we find a Constitution of national gor-
t;' wmieu almost nteraHy from the Constitu
tion of the United States, in full and vigorous opf
ation, with a President, Congress and Judiciary, rf
feuding our cause with an army; in effectiveness.!
no in nurooers, such as the populous North r.e.
louiro on tne nine or the Danube, or tho su
iwmoi juuv wun treason denned in the C01
tution for the security of the citiien as well as
y to the government with the possible powe:
beumun ana test taws for its defence, 11k
the State governments, hnt likn ih ?overnmi
absUiaine from the use of thm. as the cjstoli r;
attbernalia of desnotisin. To think of brimrinir
State test oath into play as a means of defence ih V
cu a posture or our attafrs, upon a precedent of
an unconstitutional act Of Assembly in 1777, is, to
uy mind, as if one should propose, in the midst of
rifled cannon and all the advancements and improve-
;nt in modern wariare, to return to the bow; and
isoned arrow of tl.e savage, because the Abori-
ea naa useu tnem in the earliest wars of this
Notb. OB.Ionkinr into 4lbt aHraf nntVft f!nm
1. p. 121
II VIII OO 86CD. XDlLL laa.KAn'a