Lives of Distinguished North Carolinians, with Illustrations and Speeches

by Unknown

He was, too, in favor of having our State bonds, and the interest on the same, payable in North Carolina, and not in New York, and thus keeping the money of our people at home. He said the national debt of England, being due to her own people, strengthened her, while ours acted as a continual drain to pay interest in New York.

After speaking one and a half hours, Mr. Gilmer said he desired, before he closed, to say something on Federal politics, and the principles of the American party, of which he was a candidate.

He said when Mr. Fillmore left the Presidency all was quiet. He had approved of the Compromise measures; and when Boston had rebelled against the fugitive-slave law, he declared he would enforce the law or burn the city, and it was enforced. We had extremists at both ends of the Union. Formerly, the Nashville Convention said the Union should be dissolved unless the Missouri Compromise line should be adopted. Now, the black Republicans said it should be dissolved unless it was restored.

Mr. Fillmore, in his message, said the existing laws were a finality on the subject of slavery—both the great parties said so in 1852, and agreed to abide by it. Did they do it? No; hence the troubles we now have. He had no doubt but that Mr. Pierce had acted honestly, but he had appointed freesoilers from the North and fire-eaters from the South, in order to reconcile all; but this had not been the result, and the country could only be saved by the honest men of both parties. He, therefore, advocated the principles of the American party—that Americans should rule America—that the influence of foreigners was great—that it gave the North a preponderating increase of population—that it ought to be checked, and that foreigners ought to remain here twenty-one years before voting, and that Catholics who owed allegiance to the Pope ought not to be allowed to hold office; that no one could insist that this was persecution; that the charge that it was was false and unfounded, and it was known to be so.

He then asked who was the founder of the American party. Said it was George Washington, and read from several of his letters to show it. He also read from a speech of Mr. Buchanan as to foreign influence, etc., and, after justifying the course of his party as to the Catholics, he closed, having spoken two hours and ten minutes.

Governor Bragg arose, and said: Two years ago this summer he closed the canvass with his then competitor. It had pleased a majority of the people of the State to elect him Governor. He had acted as such since the first of January, 1855. He had endeavored to discharge all his duties faithfully. The people, however, would be the judges of that. He would say, however, that he was not aware of any charges against him for not doing so; and if there was no just ground for complaint, then he submitted to all fair-minded men whether he had not now some right to ask at their hands a liberal and generous support in the present contest.

He said he concurred with Mr. Gilmer as to the beauty and fertility of their country, and as to what he had said in relation to its improvement, and hoped to see the day when its now comparatively hidden and locked up resources would be laid open and developed.

He said that he was surprised to hear his competitor to-day enter into the discussion of some matters which he had not supposed would be brought into this canvass, and he was still more surprised to see the manner in which he had treated them. His competitor complained that the Standard had assailed him for his vote some years ago as to the distribution of the school fund. This was a mistake. The Standard had never, to his knowledge referred to it at all. It may have been done in some other paper, but his competitor would find, as he had done in a former contest, that it was useless to notice attacks of that kind. If he did, he would have his hands full. But, from the course of his competitor, he rather thought he was availing himself of this matter to get votes in this section. He had made an elaborate argument to show the gross injustice of the present mode of distributing the school-fund, and had undertaken to show that the Democratic party was responsible for it; that the original pledge for distributing the fund had been violated; that the West had not been true to her own interests, or she would have defeated Governor Reid; and he had made a strong appeal to the people here as a Western man.

Now, said Mr. Bragg, I claim not your support either as an Eastern man or a Western man, but as one who intends to discard all sectional questions, looking to the interests and wishes of the whole State. But Mr. Gilmer is in error as to one thing—the fund chiefly for common schools was not raised by Mr. Yancey's bill, but came from the General Government as part of the surplus revenue under General Jackson's administration. Nor did the Democrats of 1842 introduce the present mode of distribution by a repeal of any other law, but it was done before that time—it was not a party vote, but it was one about which there was difference of opinion and contest without the slightest regard to party. Time and again the matter was brought before the Legislature, but for several years past the question had ceased to be raised. It was considered as settled. In the last contest it was so considered between him and his competitor, and he regretted that Mr. Gilmer had deemed it proper to reopen it. It would do no good; it would again lead to sectional strife; it would retard the public improvements of the State, and nothing practical would come of it, because experience had shown that it could not be changed. It would even injure the common schools which were now doing well and improving under the efficient management of our State Superintendent. Governor Bragg said that he had no wish to conceal his own opinions on this subject. He was against disturbing the matter. He would say so in the West; he would say so in the East. And now, said he, turning to Mr. Gilmer, I want my competitor to state his position. He has said a great deal about the matter, but has not told you what he will recommend in case he should be elected.

(At first Mr. Gilmer declined to answer, but before the discussion closed he said that the opinions advanced by him were his private opinions; but if elected Governor he would not recommend any change, but would acquiesce in the present law, whatever his own opinions might be.)