Lives of Distinguished North Carolinians, with Illustrations and Speeches
History
Lives of Distinguished North Carolinians, with Illustrations and Speeches
North Carolina -- Biography
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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