- Title
- Papers of John Willis Ellis [1860-1861, v.2]
-
-
- Date
- 1964
-
-
- Creator
- ["Ellis, John Willis, 1820-1861."]
-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
-
Papers of John Willis Ellis [1860-1861, v.2]
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N. C. Department of Archives and History
to contract, but bore he would not — no, not one inch. From that
day to this, those shrewd mountaineers have somewhat distrusted
platforms and politicians upon this subject. And now, in order to
reassure them, to satisfy them fully and entirely that they are in
earnest, and mean to carry out, without fail and without doubt,
their promises to construct Railroads, our opponents have se¬
lected a gentleman to execute these works whose whole life has
been at war with them, and whose whole political course has
been one of unmitigated and unbending opposition to them.
But, despair not, ye long-suffering men beyond the mountains!
This paradox is explained upon the principle that the Opposition
party of North-Carolina, like dreams, “go by contraries.”
In the fourth resolution of the series adopted by this Conven¬
tion, they magnanimously admit that the adopted citizen is
entitled to protection, like the native; and they take the poor
foreigner into their especial care and keeping, and, strangely
enough, select as his guardian and protector a third degree
Know Nothing. Verily, gentlemen, this is, as the lawyers would
say, “Quasi agnum committere lupo, ad devorandum.”
Really, Mr. President, the Opposition seems to be more opposed
to the political acts of their own candidate than to those of the
Democrats. It is certain that upon two of the four planks in
their platform referred to, the Democrats have always stood;
and it is equally certain, that upon neither one of them has their
own candidate ever stood. No, not for one solitary moment of
his whole life up to the time of the meeting of their convention.
Again : in their most important resolution our opponents term
themselves, with a self satisfied air of superior excellence, the
“Conservative” party; and in the self same moment lay hands
upon the very pillars of our Constitution, and would shake that
venerated fabric to its basis. They charge the Democrats with
having, to use their own language, “annulled long established
compromises between the conflicting interests of different sec¬
tions, broken down the great landmarks of policy erected by our
fathers,” &c. And, in the face of this broad charge, without a
blush and without shame, they themselves propose to ‘annul’ a
most solemn compromise here at home, and to ‘break down’ the
“landmarks of policy erected by our fathers,” “to reconcile con¬
flicting interests of different sections,” and to bring peace and
contentment to our people. They propose to abrogate a solemn
covenant between the East and the West, made and entered into
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