| From the Raleigh State Journal |
| |
| February 5, 1862 |
| |
| Proceedings of the North Carolina Convention -- Second
Session |
| ***** |
| Thirteenth Day, Monday, Feb. 3, 1862 |
| ***** |
| Piedmont Railroad |
| The ordinance to charter this road was now
taken up, the question being the amendment of Mr. Brown to locate the
Southern terminus at the Company Shops. |
| Mr. Gorrell addressed the Convention in
favor of the ordinance, and against the amendment of Mr. Brown. He
urged the military necessity of the work and contended that the
location should be left to those who took the stock. He also contended
that instead of injury it would benefit the North Carolina road. |
| Mr. Badger occupied similar ground, and
said he would vote against any attempt to locate the road by the
Convention. |
| Mr. Mebane protested against the
inauguration of a new system of granting charters for railroads
without termini. He urged the location of the road by the charter; and
contended that if the road was to be built, it should be at as little
sacrifice of existing interests as possible. |
| Mr. Gilmer replied by saying that, by the
terms of the charter it was proposed to run the road from Danville to
the North Carolina road. |
| Judge Howard proceeded to address the
Convention, in opposition to the passage of the ordinance. In
reference to the cry of military necessity, he alluded to the
declaration of Mr. Gilmer, that if the road were run to Burkeville,
fourteen miles below Danville, the Danville Company would not permit
the connection, no matter what the military necessity might be. No one
doubted, said Judge H., that if the road was built it would go from
Greensboro' to Danville, and that might account for the
disinterestedness of those who did not want the road located. He was
utterly opposed to the connection at all; but if it was determined
that it should be made, then it should be at the points settled by the
policy of the Legislature -- from the Company Shops to Barksdale. He
replied to Mr. Badgers expressions of contempt for local interests.
For himself, Judge H., he had no sympathy with those who thought more
of the Confederacy than they did of their own State. In North Carolina
there was too little of the feeling of State pride. He was for
maintaining the individuality of the State, for if her sons did not
take care of her, no one else would. |
| Gov. Reid replied to Judge Howard. It had
just been discovered that it was a monstrous affair to have a railroad
running out of North Carolina, while the delegate from Wilson (Judge
Howard) lived on a railroad that runs out of the State to Richmond, to
Norfolk, and on the other side to South Carolina. Why did not the
delegate go and stop that road up? What would he say if he, Gov. Reid,
were to propose to tear up that road and stop the outlets, and thus
prevent his constituents from carrying off their products to
market? Yet the opposition of the gentleman was simply tp prevent the
people of his (Gov. Reid's) section of country from getting their
produce to market. Gov. Reid said that, if the road should take the
route from Greensboro' to Danville, it would be because it was the
best route, and that was a good reason enough; but the charter did not
designate the route, but left it to be decided by those interested, or
by the military necessity. |
| Mr. Kittrell, in reply to Judge Howard,
said that if a "military necessity" was made a pretext for
building this Danville connection, it originated with the President of
the Confederate States. |
| Mr. Brown stated that the charter granted
by the Legislature for a road from the Company Shops, by way of Milton
and Yanceyville, to Barksdale, was as short as that proposed from
Greensboro' to Danville, and he had reason to believe that the
Danville Company would go heartily into the connection at Barkesdale.
He asked Gov. Reid if he would vote for the charter, if the Southern
terminus should be located at the Shops. |
| Gov. Reid said he would. |
| The vote was taken upon Mr. Kittrell's
amendment to the amendment, locating the terminus at Lexington, and
resulted almost unanimously in the negative. |
| The question now was on inserting the
Shops as the terminus. |
| Mr. Rayner addressed the Convention in
opposition to the charter. He would vote for the amendment, and would
then vote against the ordinance, because he thought the road should
not be built at all. He said it was a sorry sight to witness the
scenes then passing in that Assembly. On the east and on the west
danger was threatening the very existence of the State, and here they
were quarreling about petty local interests and sectional questions.
If the people could come into their midst and witness these things,
they would improvise some second Cromwell "to kick us out of
doors." Gentlemen were trifling with the intelligence of the
people, and were abusing the powers conferred upon them in this wanton
waste of time. And it was a trifling with the intelligence of the
Convention when they were told this was a military necessity. It was a
stab at the State's best interests to attempt the construction of this
road. He appealed to the delegates from the west to remember those of
the east who had stood by the works of internal improvement, when it
cost something to be an internal improvement man. But if it was
determined to build the road, then he called upon them to bring a
connection as far east as possible, and not altogether alienate the
people of the coast. |
| Mr. Gorrell said that the charter granted
by way of Milton and Yanceyville terminated at the North Carolina
line, and that there was no charter for a road to connect with the
Danville road. |
| Mr. Brown said the Danville Company had
power to construct stems of their road to connect with the North
Carolina line. |
| Mr. Badger moved to adjourn. Rejected. |
| Judge Osborne, in reply to Mr. Rayner,
said that if ever there was a time at which these subjects should be
discussed, the present was that time, in view of the dangers
threatening our troops in Virginia, and the Convention would deserve
the denunciations of the people if they neglected their means of
safety. He then drew attention to the possibility of our connection
with Virginia being cut off on the east and the west, and to the
absolute necessity of another means of communication being afforded,
particularly when the work was likely to receive the aid of the
Confederate Government. |
| The Convention adjourned. |