1873.
Previous to the introduction of Whitney's cotton gins there had been much attention bestowed by the people of the State upon the cultivation of flax. This crop was never reared for exportation, but for family use at home. Few of the ancient spinning-wheels can now be found, but they were once abundant and the manufacture of home made linen was common in North Carolina. This was even more the case than is now the preparation of woolen fabrics upon the handlooms of the families.
2. So soon as the lint cotton was cheaply separated from its seed, the great question of its universal use was solved. It could be so easily produced that no woolen or linen fabrics could hope to compete with it in the markets of the world. The good women of the State soon learned the economy of buying the cotton warp of the cloth wove at the farmhouses, but it was long before even this common domestic necessity was prepared for use in the South.
3. The cotton yarns were, until about 1840, almost all spun in New England and bought by the merchants in the large cities when laying in their semi-annual supplies of goods for the retail trade. The purchase of slaves and the cultivation of cotton so completely absorbed the energies of our people that no one invested capital in anything else, except, perhaps, some who preferred real estate for such a purpose.
4. But even before the civil war and the liberation of the slaves there were wise men who urged the propriety and profit of cotton mills in the South. Since the war there has been an immense development of this industry, and now the sound of the loom and spindle may be beard throughout the State. Hundreds of persons are employed in a single one of the cotton mills. In this way not only the wealth but the population of the section is increased by bringing in new settlers. The railways find added employment, and in some cases private residences are seen that are rural paradises in the beauty and comfort of their appointments. There is, in some of the western counties, large capital invested in mills for the manufacture of woolen yarns and cloth, from which satisfactory profits are realized. Another one of the important industries of the State is the manufacture of paper. The daily and weekly newspapers of North Carolina are now largely supplied with printing papers by the mills of the State. The first paper mill in North Carolina was erected near Hillsboro, in 1778; the second one was built at Salem, in 1789, by Gotleib Shober.
5. North Carolina has ever been slow to change in the habits of her people. The ways of their forefathers always seem best to most of them until abundant example has shown the wisdom of an innovation. Steam, however, is usurping a place in every species of labor and motion. The great seines of Albemarle Sound, the printing press, the cotton gin and nearly everything else is now obedient to the tireless energies of this great motor.
6. When North Carolina shall have developed her system of transportation so that the coal and iron mines shall be more largely worked, and when, as now in Vermont, not only cotton but woolen factories shall be found in every section where such staples are produced; then, and not until then, will the civilization of the State be complete. They who merely produce raw material will ever be "hewers of wood and drawers of water" to others who prepare such things for market.
7. Second alone in importance to the State at large, after the cotton factories, are those devoted to the handling and preparation of tobacco for the market. The western powers of Europe had, for many years, realized immense revenues by means of their imports and monopolies of the Virginia weed, before the government of the United States ever realized a dollar from all the vast production of this crop in the different States. So, too, in North Carolina, enterprise and capital had remained almost completely blind to the possibilities of the situation.
8. Though great quantities of tobacco had been grown in many of the counties, and the soil and climate were suited to the production of the finest and costliest grades, yet the farmers were content to raise such as commanded but humble prices, and but a small proportion of this was prepared for use in the vicinity of its production. In a few villages and on some of the farms were to be found small factories, which, with the rudest appliances, converted into plugs of chewing tobacco such portions of the crop of the neighborhood as could be probably sold from itinerant wagons.
9. These vehicles were sent to the eastern counties and even to portions of South Carolina and Georgia, to supply the farms and country stores. This traffic continued until the strong arm of the Federal government, by means of "Internal Revenue Laws," was interposed between the peddlers and their ancient profits. The bulk of the crop was sent, before this, to be manufactured at Richmond, Lynchburg and Danville, in Virginia. The fine brands of plug and all smoking tobacco used in North Carolina were received from these cities.
10. If he who adds to the number of grass blades is a public benefactor, then the creators of new industries and towns may well claim consideration along with the warrior and statesman. In many towns and vast productions are modern States enabled to sustain the great and costly appliances of our new civilization. With the railroad and factory come population and those advantages that can never be enjoyed by the people who lack numbers and wealth.
1. What was a principle crop in North Carolina before the cotton gin was invented? What is said of the cultivation of flax?
2. Why did the production of cotton so rapidly take the place of flax?
3. How did the people invest nearly all their means?
4. What can you tell of the various cotton factories?
5. Why have not our people entered more largely into this class of industry?
6. What better future prosperity is yet to be attained by the State?
7. What other great industry is now considered?
8. What had been the production in North Carolina?
9. What is said of the tobacco peddlers?
10. What sentiment animates the people of North Carolina?
1876.
In this state of advancement as to her material interests, North Carolina again became excited in 1876 over the choice of new men for Chief-Magistrates, both of the Republic and of the State.
2. After eight years of service as President of the United States, General Grant was retired to private life, and Governor Brogden, who had succeeded Governor Caldwell upon the death of the latter in 1874, was also near the end of his service as Governor of North Carolina. No Gubernatorial election was ever more exciting to the State. It resulted in the choice of ex- Governor Z. B. Vance over Judge Thomas Settle of the Supreme Court.
1877.
3. In the complications which resulted in the seating of Governor Hayes as President of the United States, there was such a change effected that the Federal army was no longer employed to uphold the reconstructed officials in Louisiana and South Carolina, and the people of those States, at last, were left to the management of their own affairs. With this consummation, so long and devoutly wished, came that peace and contentment to all sections which had been unknown since 1861.
4. The enormous increase in the amount and quality of cotton grown in North Carolina since the late war has been dependent upon the use of various fertilizers and other appliances of a better cultivation of the soil. The old habit of educated men, in committing their plantations and slaves to the management of overseers, has been almost wholly abandoned. Many individuals of the largest culture are now devoting their time and skill to the discovery of improved methods in agriculture, and North Carolina is reaping a golden harvest thereby.
1878.
5. No employment, except agriculture, exceeds in importance that of the merchant. North Carolina is shut off from foreign commerce by the sand barriers on the coast, Only at Beaufort, on Old Topsail Inlet, can be found such an entrance to internal waters as promises safety to the mariner who would approach with his deep-laden vessel. But, while this has precluded the possibility of great commercial activity in North Carolina, there has not been a lack of men, at any period of our history, to illustrate the dignity and importance of legitimate traffic. Cornelius Harnett and Joseph Hewes were as conspicuous for financial success as they were for patriotism during the Revolution.
6. With the return of peace to the belligerent States, North Carolina was commercially prostrate. The merchants and the banks were almost all ruined in the general impoverishment of their debtors. The supply of cotton which remained on hand at the cessation of hostilities was about all that had been left, in the general wreck, upon which trade could be again commenced with parties at a distance.
7. Raleigh had never been recognized as a trade centre. A few stores on Fayetteville street, between the State House and where the Federal building now stands, were the representatives of their class in the city. Cotton was very little grown in that region of the State, and no market for its sale had even existed nearer than Norfolk and Petersburg.
8. But this state of things was not to continue. Numbers of young men, combining great energy and judgment with small capital, came to the city and began the work of expanding its trade and resources. It has not, like Durham, risen up in a few years from almost nothing, but so great a change has been wrought, that the story of its growth is one of the most striking incidents in the State's history. The extension of the railway lines has opened up new custom in many counties that had never previously dealt with merchants of the place.
9. The development of commerce and manufacture is the great hope of the "Old North State." The enterprise and capital of this and other communities are seeking opportunities of investment, and the day is fast coming when North Carolina will rival Pennsylvania in the variety and excellence of her manufactures. The "Cotton Exchange" of Raleigh is aiding very largely in building up the business of the city to vast proportions. The quantity of cotton sold in Raleigh has been rapidly increasing annually since the war, and the receipts for the year 1880 amounted to over seventy-six thousand bales. In 1869 the entire product of the State was only one hundred and forty-five thousand bales.
10. In the towns and cities of North Carolina may be found a considerable number of Israelites engaged in the various branches of trade; and this class of our citizens has added no little to the general growth and material prosperity of the State. They have synagogues at Wilmington, Charlotte, Raleigh, Goldsboro and New Bern.
11. About the year 1878 the example of the Federal government and that of certain Northern States induced the State Commissioner of Agriculture to establish a fish hatchery at a mouth of Salmon Creek in Bertie county. This establishment has hatched and liberated a very large number of shad and other varieties of fish, and valuable returns are seen in some of the rivers that have been in this manner replenished with this savory and abundant source of food. It has been satisfactorily demonstrated by Seth Green, of New York, and other naturalists, that fish which are spawned in fresh water and reared at sea almost invariably seek the place of their birth in the spring, when they reach maturity.
12. In addition to this artificial increase of the supply of fish, there have been large additions made to the means of their capture. The use of steam in the handling of the long seines and the great weirs known as "Dutch Nets," have opened the way to an indefinite increase of the amount taken, while the use of ice and rapid transportation make it possible to deliver the fish fresh in the markets of the Northern and Western cities.
13. This trade is also supplemented in the same region by such attention to the growth and sale of vegetables. All the requirements as to position, soil and climate are abundantly filled by the counties with alluvial soils along the seacoast. Heavy crops of Irish potatoes and garden peas are reared on the same land which, later in the year, supplies a second crop of cotton and corn.
14. In the same eastern counties the products of the farms have been increased by a large and rapidly extending area devoted to the production of peanuts and highland rice. With the exception of a limited supply of the former article, grown above Wilmington, there was seen in other communities only a few small patches for the use of the family, but with no design of sale or shipment. In many eastern counties the fields of peanuts are, of late year, almost as numerous as those of cotton. The same history belongs to the highland rice. This great staple of human diet is rapidly becoming a favorite crop, and mills for its preparation are fast making their appearance in different localities.
15. Nowhere else in the State has there been so great an increase in trade as in the city of Wilmington. Many ships from foreign ports began to visit Cape Fear River, and, from different cities in other States, regular lines of steam packets were established, which greatly facilitated the means of communication.
16. Repeated appropriations, but never in sufficient amount, were made from time to time by the United States Congress for the improvement of Cape Fear and other watercourses in North Carolina. The closing of New Inlet is believed to be entirely efficacious in the effort to deepen the approach by way of the river's mouth. A stone barrier of great length and stability shuts off the flow of water, except past Fort Caswell, and the happiest results are already realized.
17. In the city of New Bern another shipping point of importance had been largely developed in the years since the close of the war. There, too, is the terminus of prosperous freight lines, employing many large steam vessels, that yet ply regularly between Neuse River and cities beyond the borders of the State. A great trade in lumber and garden produce is improved by cotton and other factories, that add largely to the population and means of the city.
1. How was the State excited in 1876?
2. What was the result of this election?
3. What is said of the events of the past few years?
4. How have the agricultural pursuits of the State been benefited?
5. What are the most important employments in a State? What are some of North Carolina's commercial advantages?
6. What was the financial condition of the people at the close of the war?
7. What is said of Raleigh as a trade centre?
8. In what way did trade matters begin to improve at the capital?
9. What else is said of North Carolina's commercial prospects? What advantage has Raleigh derived from the Cotton Exchange?
10. What is said of the Israelites?
11. What new enterprise was inaugurated in 1878? What have been the results of the hatchery? What fact has been proven concerning fish?
12. What is said of the improvement in the means of catching fish?
13. What other species of trade is found in the eastern counties?
14. What is said of the production of peanuts?
15. Can you tell something of the growth and trade of Wilmington?
16. How has the navigation of the Cape Fear River been improved?
17. What other seaport city is now mentioned? What is said of its commercial interests?
1879.
The Raleigh & Gaston Railroad originally connected the two places that gave name to the route. It was necessary in reaching Raleigh from the Albemarle region to go to Weldon, and then, by the Petersburg Railroad, the junction in Greenville county, Virginia, gave access by a short line to Gaston. It was not until about 1853 that the Raleigh & Gaston route was extended directly down the Roanoke River to Weldon. This was a great facility to both trade and travel on this important line, yet twenty years elapsed in the progress of internal communication before this short link could be added.
2. A great trunk line, extending east and west through the whole length of the State, has long been a favorite scheme of many statesmen in the effort to build up a seaport at Beaufort. But in the progress of the late war it became all-important to the Confederate government to tap the North Carolina Road at Greensboro, in order that troops and military freights might be speedily conveyed to Petersburg and Richmond by way of Danville.
3. The completion of the lines leading from Charlotte to Wilmington, from Charlotte to Statesville, from Raleigh to Hamlet, the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley from Fayetteville to Greensboro; and the Western North Carolina Road from Salisbury to Asheville, and the Paint Rock branch, have enormously increased the facilities for travel in the State. In addition to these lines, new routes from Jamesville to Washington, from Rocky Mount to Tarboro, from Norfolk to Elizabeth City and Edenton, from Durham to Chapel Hill, from Henderson to Oxford, from Goldsboro to Smithfield, have also been recently added to the railway system.
4. The road from Winston to Greensboro has resulted in the creation of a city alongside of ancient Salem which is, in every respect the compeer of Durham in the swiftness of its growth and the amount of its trade and manufactures. Winston, Durham and Reidsville have arisen almost like magic, and are expanding into such importance that Charlotte, Salisbury and Greensboro have all felt the consequences of their growth in trade and population.
5. The city of Charlotte has greatly prospered and has become important for its large trade and railway interests. Perhaps, nowhere else in the State have the citizens of a city shown greater enterprise. Its merchants, lawyers and editors have all won the respect and admiration of other communities, and have raised their city to such prosperity that it is now rapidly becoming a rival of Wilmington and Raleigh, and taking place in the front rank among North Carolina's emporiums.
6. One of the most remarkable scenes ever witnessed in North Carolina was the famous centennial anniversary of the signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration. It filled Charlotte with thousands of visitors, among whom were the Governors of several States and many other distinguished American citizens. Ex-Governor W. A. Graham, Judge John Kerr, Governor Brogden and others delivered orations, and the citizen-soldiers of the State were gathered to do honor to an event "that had made Charlotte forever sacred to history and song." This occurrence was, of course, on May 20th, 1875, and just one hundred years later than the concourse ordered by Colonel Thomas Polk.
7. Fayetteville, Asheville and Statesville have also afforded remarkable instances of thrift and expansion in the busy latter years of our State's history. Now, besides being a favorite resort as a watering place, supplements its summer festivities with large numbers of visitors avoiding the rigors of winter months elsewhere. It is becoming a railway centre and is fast developing a large and lucrative trade.
8. The tendency toward the erection of manufactories and the recent influx of foreign immigrants are happy auguries for the continued prosperity and growth of towns in the State. The wondrous diversity of products of the soil, the extent of the forests and the richness of the mines, all combine to demonstrate the ease with which the success of other American states can be rivalled in our own.
9. Already the mountains have been pierced by the railway from Salisbury. Other lines from Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee are being constructed, so that every portion even of the mountainous region will soon be within easy reach of the markets of the world. The Cranberry iron ores, the matchless Mica quarries and the Corundum deposits are all being made available to commerce, and will realize valuable returns for the capital employed upon them.
10. Not the least remarkable among the new industries of the western counties is the collection and shipment of Ginseng and other valuable medicinal roots and herbs. A firm in Statesville have been, for years past, employing large capital in this business, which seems capable of indefinite extension. The preparation of dried fruits is another lucrative addition to the resources of the same region.
11. Years ago, attention was called to the fact that at certain elevations in the mountains there was no frost to be seen at any period of the year; and this immunity has been turned to valuable account by the fruit growers, and now great orchards are found in many parts of the westerns counties, and shipments of very fine apples show the cultivation given to them.
12. North Carolina is not only the original habitation of the Scuppernong grape, but also of the luscious Catawba. This latter fine fruit, which has proven so valuable to the nurseries of Cincinnati, is at home in this latitude.
13. Yadkin county was, before 1860, famous for the production of a stronger beverage, derived from rye and corn. Since the war many distilleries have been carried on in the State, in spite of the government regulations that carry so many men as culprits to the Federal prisons. The offenders, known as "Moonshiners," are those who make and sell whisky without paying the United States for a license in the trade. These transgressors of the law have for years been hunted like Italian bandits or ferocious wild beasts, and not unfrequently blood has been shed in defence of the hidden distilleries and quite as often in attacking them and their owners.
14. In February of this year the Secretary of State, Joseph A. Engelhard, died, after a brief illness. In the death of Major Engelhard, the State sustained a great loss. As a soldier he was faithful, capable and brave. At once made a conspicuous leader in the fierce struggles that followed the war by his control of a prominent journal, he proved ever courageous, far-seeing and of rare judgment. And to him, for the happy termination of those terrible struggles, the State owes a deep debt of gratitude that now, unhappily, she can repay only in honorable remembrance.
1. What is the subject of this lesson? What is said of the extension of the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad? Go to the map and point out this road.
2. What favorite trunk-line has long been desired? What road was specially important to the Confederate government? Point out this road on the map.
3. What roads are mentioned as having been recently completed? Point out these on the map.
4. What towns are now mentioned, and what is said of their growth? Locate them on the map.
5. What is said of the prosperity of the city of Charlotte?
6. What is said of the centennial celebration at Charlotte? When did it occur?
7. What mention is made of Fayetteville, Asheville and Statesville? Find these towns on the map.
8. What have been the causes of the rapid growth of the towns in the state?
9. What further prosperity is noticed?
10. What other industry is described? Can you tell anything of this valuable production? (Teacher will explain).
11. What is said of the western fruit growers?
12. What excellent varieties of grape are natives of North Carolina? What is said of the Catawba grape?
13. What mention is made of the manufacture of stronger liquors?
14. What State officer died at this period? What is said of Major Engelhard?
1880.
It would seem natural that the connection of Sir Walter Raleigh with the history of North Carolina should have added to the literary tendencies of a people blessed with such a godfather. He was so full of genius and devotion to letters that a special impetus ought thereby to have been given to the cultivation of a similar spirit among those who were to inhabit the land of his love. But, though Hariot, Lawson, and quaint Dr. Brickell were moved by such a spirit, the muses have not made the Old North State very remarkable in this respect.
2. North Carolina has always been, since its settlement, the home of some highly cultivated people, but all the while the mass of the population has possessed but little knowledge of books. This fact has been a great discouragement to the production of authors. Professions are not eagerly sought when not encouraged by the sympathy and support of the public.
3. In the period just preceding the revolt from British rule, Edward Moseley and Samuel Swann had been succeeded by men who possessed better literary opportunities and were more devoted to general culture than had been these two able and accomplished lawyers. Moseley, with every requirement, could never bring to any of his many controversies with Governor Pollok and others such flowers of rhetoric as Judge Maurice Moore lavished upon his famous "Atticus Letter."
4. That production was just such an attack upon Governor Tryon, for his conduct toward the Regulators, as, a few years later, immortalized the English writer who is to this day only known by his signature, "Junius." When Judge Moore and his compeer, Cornelius Harnett, were growing old, William Hooper, Archibald Maclaine and the first James Iredell were young lawyers, who travelled to all the Superior Courts in the State and mingled belles-lettres largely with their inspections of Coke and the new lectures of Dr. Blackstone.
5. No man or woman then in North Carolina wrote books, as a profession, but the copious correspondence of that day, which yet survives, and upon which fifty cents were paid as postage for each letter, proves that, what was called "polite literature" engaged much of their attention. They made fine speeches, and Judge Iredell wrote a law book and frequent dissertation for the newspapers; but, beyond this and an occasional pamphlet, no literary tasks were undertaken.
6. Dr. Hugh Williamson was a man of similar habits. He was not only a skillful physician, but served with credit as a college professor and a member of the Convention at Philadelphia which formed the Federal Constitution, and he was also a member of the United States Congress. After ceasing to be a citizen of this State, he undertook to write its history, but achieved very moderate success as an author.
7. In the lapse of years, this task was again undertaken by judge Francois Xavier Martin. He came from France when a boy, and practiced law for seventeen years at New Bern. His compilation of the statutes and history of North Carolina were invaluable labors, and will ever render him memorable in our annals. His dry statement of facts was generally correct, and he fell into very few errors, considering that he was the first to attempt anything like a full record of the State's history; and this was accomplished in his new home in Louisiana.
8. Joseph Seawell Jones was a remarkable man in many respects. He was brilliant in social life, and became well known to the literary and fashionable circles of New York and Washington. His love for North Carolina was intense, and the "Defence of the Revolutionary History of the State of North Carolina" that he wrote exhibits both talent and research. His infirmities of temper impaired his judgment, but his memory should ever be cherished in his native State for the services he rendered. After the gay scenes of his early manhood he spent many years on a Mississippi plantation. His last book was entitled "My Log Cabin in the Prairie."
9. Early in the present century the literary aspects of the State were brightened by men who had attended as students on Dr. Joseph, Caldwell's ministrations at Chapel Hill. His tendencies were all so practical that scientific and mechanical development was more encouraged than lighter subjects, but Hardy B. Croom, Joseph A. Hill, Judge A. D. Murphey and Rev. Drs. William Hooper and Francis L. Hawks were early distinguished for the elegance of their literary acquirements.
10. Judge William Gaston left just enough literary memorials to cause us to regret that he did not attempt more things of the kind. His ode to Carolina, and certain orations, will never be forgotten. Judge Robert Strange was also possessed of similar gifts. Philo Henderson, Walker Anderson and Abraham F. Morehead were largely gifted in poetic power. Each of them, at rare intervals, indulged in compositions that show what might have been accomplished had they been authors by profession and not mere literary amateurs. The State, while possessing a number of excellent musicians, has not produced many musical compositions of special merit; but the two songs, the "Old North State," by Hon. William Gaston, and "Ho! for Carolina," by Rev. William B. Harrell, will ever remain favorites with our people.
11. Colonel John H. Wheeler and Rev. Dr. Calvin H. Wiley have both executed tasks that will render their names household words for ages to come. The historical contributions of the former are of the greatest possible value and are highly prized in every portion of the State. Rev. Drs. Hubbard, Foote, Hawks and Caruthers, and ex-Governors Graham and Swain have each been large contributors to the same cause. Rev. Dr. Charles F. Deems, Theo. H. Hill and the lamented Edwin W. Fuller added much to the fame of our writers. Professors Richard Sterling, William Bingham and Brantley York have contributed excellent educational textbooks, which do great credit to the talented authors. The recent "History of Rowan County," by Rev. Jethro Rumple, is both pleasing and valuable as a tribute to our local traditions.
12. In addition to the authors mentioned, there have been members of the Bar of North Carolina who have produced legal works of very great importance and value, not only to our own practitioners, but also to lawyers of other States. The most prominent writers of this class of literature were James Iredell, Edward Cantwell, Benjamin Swam, William Eaton, Jr., B. F. Moore, S. P. Olds, William H. Battle and Quentin Busbee, of former years; followed, in later times, by William H. Bailey and Fabius H. Busbee. These law books have been chiefly digests, revisals and manuals of practice.
13. Gifted women have not been wanting amid these literary people. Mrs. Cornelia Phillips Spencer, Mrs. Cicero W. Harris, Mrs. Mary Mason and Mrs. Mary Bayard Clarke have made valuable contributions to the literature of their era. In the case of Miss Frances Fisher, under the assumed name of "Christian Reid," a most signal success is to be chronicled. She has given to the press many excellent stories and established a national fame as a novelist.
14. North Carolina has produced many able newspaper editors. Joseph Gales and his two sons, Edward J. Hale, ex-Governor W. W. Holden, Joseph A. Engelhard, William J. Yates, P. M. Hale, William L. Saunders, S. A. Ashe, T. B. Kingsbury, R. B. Creecy, Dossey Battle, C. W. Harris and other gifted men have wielded a wide influence on the people of this State.
Of what does this lesson treat?
1. Who is the first literary man known to North Carolina? What is said of him? What others are mentioned in this connection?
2. What has been the general condition of literary matters in the State? Why have so few professional authors been seen?
3. What is said of Samuel Swan and Edward Moseley? Who was author of the "Atticus Letter? "
4. What mention is made of the "Atticus Letter? " Who were the literary men of that period?
5. What is said of the correspondence of that day? What was the extent of Judge Iredell's literary efforts?
6. What is said of the attainments of Dr. Hugh Williamson?
7. What other historians are mentioned, and what is said of them?
8. Tell something of the labors of Joseph Seawell Jones.
9. What produced an improvement in literary affairs early in the present century?
10. What is said of the ode to Carolina and its author? What writers of similar gifts are named? What is said of musical compositions?
11. What is said of the literary efforts of Colonel Wheeler and Dr Wiley? What other historical writers are mentioned who have contributed to the State valuable series of school books?
12. What members of the Bar have produced legal works of great value?
13. Can you tell something of the gifted women of the State?
14. What prominent editors has the State furnished?
As was intended by the men who framed the Constitution of North Carolina at Halifax in 1776, the University of the State has long held the leadership of such institutions in the Commonwealth. The unfortunate and inexcusable interference of politicians with its management during the years of reconstruction only resulted in its temporary eclipse. The public refused it patronage when the new managers had installed a strange faculty in the seats of Governor Swain and his long honored coadjutors; but since the restoration of the ancient order of things, prosperity has returned both to the University and the beautiful village in which it is situated.
2. Many useful reforms have been accomplished in its curriculum and management. Perhaps never before was seen each devotion to study and compliance with the rules on the part of the students. The President, Dr. Kemp P. Battle, had been much identified with the institution, before assuming charge of its fortunes. His learning, combined with public experience, made him a wise ruler of the literary community over which he was called to preside; and the excellence of the new faculty is becoming every day more evident in the scholarship and bearing of the young men who are sent out from its halls.
3. Wake Forest College is the oldest of the sectarian colleges of the State, and has long vindicated its usefulness among the Baptist churches. Its first intended end was the education of young men for the ministry, but this has been largely augmented by the successes of its graduates in every other branch of human usefulness in our midst. The councils of the State, and the learned professions, have been greatly illustrated by men who laid the foundations of their success by diligent application to their duties while attending as students at Wake Forest.
4. In the recent death of Rev. Dr. W. M. Wingate, the institution lost a president who had given long and signal service; but, in his successor, Rev. Dr. T. H. Pritchard, perhaps even higher executive qualities are seen. Wake Forest catalogue has latterly contained about two hundred names of students, and, through the munificence of certain friends, the college has received handsome additions to the buildings and appliances.
5. Davidson College has also immensely developed in the last few years. Not only in increased patronage, but in the grade of scholarship a great advance has been achieved, so that few institutions in America afford higher and more thorough instruction than is now enjoyed by the young men who avail themselves of the advantages here offered.
6. The same things may be said of Trinity College, under the direction of Rev. Dr. B. Craven. The pulpits of the Methodist churches in North Carolina have long borne evidence of the literary and moral excellence imparted to the graduates, and in many respects the whole State has been benefited and elevated by contact with such men.
7. The female seminaries at Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, Murfreesboro, Thomasville, Wilson, Kittrell, Oxford and Louisburg have also prospered in this era of general advancement among the North Carolina schools. Large numbers of young ladies from other States are sent to them for education, and, in the noble emulation thus evolved, admirable instruction is obtained.
8. Among preparatory schools, that of Major Robert Bingham, at Mebaneville, in Alamance county, is, by common consent, supreme in North Carolina, and perhaps in the South, not only in number of students, but in the excellence of tuition, discipline and drill. On the catalogue of this institution will be found the names of young men from almost every State in the Union, and even some foreign countries are represented.
9. Other similar institutions have long flourished at Raleigh, Oxford, Greensboro, Kinston, LaGrange, Oak Ridge and elsewhere, and all of them are having a large influence for good upon the young men of the State. The Normal Schools at Chapel Hill and other towns have been largely attended by teachers, and great interest is also manifested in the graded schools. At no previous period has so much attention been bestowed upon matters of this kind by the people of North Carolina.
10. One of the most prominent of the graded schools in the State was organized at Raleigh in 1876, through the efforts of Capt. John E. Dugger, and named the "Centennial Graded School." The great success of this institution has led the citizens of other towns in the State to establish schools of like character. There are now to be found flourishing graded schools at Salisbury, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Wilson, Greensboro, Charlotte, Wilmington, New Bern, Rocky Mount and Franklinton. Several towns also contain excellent schools of this description for the colored people, and their effectiveness is rapidly becoming apparent.
11. Soon after the conclusion of the late war—in the month of December, 1865—a colored school for both sexes was founded through the exertions of the Rev. H. M. Tupper, at the State capital, and called the "Raleigh Institute." On account of large donations from Elijah Shaw, of Massachusetts, and Jacob Estey, of Vermont, it was, in 1875, changed in name; the male school then became "Shaw University," and the female department was called "Estey Seminary." Spacious and well-built edifices were reared on different portions of the grounds, and hundreds of colored pupils have been in attendance since its foundation.
12. In a different section of the city exists another seminary of similar character for the colored people, founded in 1867, by the Rev. Dr. James Brinton Smith. This is called "St. Augustine Normal School and Collegiate Institute." It has been for some years under the charge of Rev, John E, C. Smedes, and is under Episcopal patronage. Though not so largely attended as Shaw University, it is still of great benefit to the race it was intended to educate, and in this way is also a blessing to the community at large. Another excellent school for the colored people is located in Fayetteville, and others are to be found in various sections of the State.
13. Ever since the close of the late war, the colored people of North Carolina have shown a remarkable unanimity in their efforts to procure education for themselves and their children. In this desire they have been nobly aided by the white men and women, and their progress has been rapid. It is the belief of all that only in enlightened public sentiment can safety be found for our peace and liberties; and thus the State is doing all that can be effected for the culture and mental improvement of all classes of its population.
1. What is this lesson about? What was the intent of the Halifax Constitution concerning the University? What is said of this institution during the years of reconstruction? When was it re- established?
2. How has the University been benefited by its new management?
3. What is said of the success of Wake Forest College?
4. Tell something of its management.
5. Give an account of the progress of Davidson College.
6. What is said of Trinity College and its work?
7. What female seminaries are now mentioned? What has been the result of their labors?
8. What have been the peculiar successes of the Bingham School?
9. Where are other fine schools for boys to be found? What other schools are mentioned?
10. What is said of the graded schools?
11. Give an account of the Raleigh institute for colored people? By what name is this institution now known?
12. What is said of the St. Augustine Normal School? Where are other excellent schools for the colored people to be found?
13. What is said of the efforts of the colored people to secure education? How have they been aided in their efforts?
In the financial prostration consequent upon the late war, a large debt was due from North Carolina to creditors who held the bonds of the State. That portion of these bonds which had been issued before the war was considered an honorable burden, that should be discharged by such payment as might be fixed by agreement between the State and the bondholders.
2. In this way a compromise was effected, and new bonds have been issued, which embrace a large portion of what was honestly due from the State to her creditors. For those which were made in defiance of the terms of the Constitution, and appropriated almost entirely by dishonest officials, no provision has been made, and doubtless, will never be.
3. When, in 1876, the great quadrennial contest for the Presidency of the Union again recurred; it was rightly considered one of the most momentous crises that had yet occurred in American history. The great issue was as to the continuance of State governments. The recent habits of General Grant in his dealing with Southern Commonwealths had virtually ignored their separate existence. In the strange and unprecedented action of Congress that resulted in the seating of Governor Hayes as President, the Federal troops were withdrawn, and the people of the States left to administer their own affairs, and State governments were recognized.
4. Ex-Governor Vance was this year elected over Judge Thomas Settle to the Chief-Magistracy, as has already been stated. General M. W. Ransom and ex-Judge A. S. Merrimon were sent to the United States Senate, in the place of John Pool and General J. C. Abbott. Through the efforts of our Congressmen, many needed appropriations by Congress have been secured to North Carolina, and their result is specially noticeable in the great improvement of the ship channels of the Cape Fear and other rivers.
5. Upon the election of Governor Vance to the United States Senate, February 8th, 1879, he was succeeded by Lieutenant- Governor T. J. Jarvis. The latter had served as a captain in the Eighth North Carolina Regiment in the late war, and subsequently, as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Chief- Justice Pearson died in 1878, on his way to attend the session of the Supreme Court at Raleigh. W. N. H. Smith was appointed by Governor Vance as Chief-Justice in the place of Judge Pearson. At the next election by the people, Judge Smith, with John H. Dillard and Thomas S. Ashe as Associate Justices, was elected without opposition. Judge Dillard having resigned in 1881, Judge Thomas Ruffin was appointed his successor.
6. The public charities of the State have been enlarged and elevated in their ministrations. The recent adoption of the Orphan Asylum at Oxford as a recipient of the State's bounty, the erection of a colored Deaf and Dumb Asylum, the erection of an hospital for the insane of the colored race, and the great building at Morganton for additional accommodation to white lunatics, are only a portion of the recent humanities inaugurated by the General Assembly.
7. Perhaps in no other respect is so much physical improvement possible as in the development of the mining interests of the State. Capital from abroad is flowing in, and from many counties fresh discoveries of mineral deposits are leading to the establishment of companies and firms for the purpose of working such mines. No other State of the Union presents such a variety of these rich and beautiful gifts of nature. The recent discovery, in the western part of the State, of a new gem, called the "Hiddenite," is attracting general attention and increasing the influx of visitors to the romantic scenery of the mountains.
8. For years past, it has been evident to intelligent observers that no bar exists to illimitable progression, both to North Carolina and the great American Republic, except in the senseless and cruel sectional hostilities. If the people, North and South, could only be induced to surrender their mutual distrust and aversion, thereby would disappear the last danger left to the American people.
1881.
9. God has blessed them year by year with over flowing barns. They are already one of the most numerous and wealthy of all nations; and yet, with so many blessings, sectional hatred had become the ruling emotion in countless breasts. Amid such a state of affairs, General James A. Garfield became President of the United States. On the 2d day of July he was shot down in Washington by an assassin. The news of this crime, when flashed over the electric wires, carried sorrow to the whole civilized world—and of all the cities of the Union, Raleigh was the first to express, by public meeting, the indignation of her people at the deed. In the weeks of the President's subsequent agony, as he lay battling with death, the hearts of the American people were strangely drawn together in the presence of this common national calamity.
10. When, on September 19th, it was announced that the long and painful struggle was ended, and the smitten statesman was at last eased of his agony by death, such grief was seen in all America as had never before been witnessed. In the presence of such a death all cries of dissension ceased to be heard, and every party and race united in the general mourning.
11. The people of North Carolina, with one accord, desire that such a spirit may continue to animate the American people. As they were the first of all the States to urge the independence of America, so may they ever be found sustaining the Constitution and the Union that guarantee its perpetuity.
1. What is said of the State at this period? What portion of this debt was considered an honorable burden?
2. How was a compromise effected in 1879? How does the State consider the unconstitutional debts?
3. What is said of the Presidential contest of 1876? What was the great issue? How had General Grant acted towards the Southern Commonwealth? What followed the seating of Governor Hayes as President?
4. What changes had been made in 1876 in North Carolina public officers? What appropriations from Congress has North Carolina received through efforts of her Senators?
5. Who succeeded Governor Vance? Who became Supreme Court Judges?
6. What mention is made of the public charities?
7. What tends greatly to the physical improvement of the State? What is said of North Carolina's mineral wealth?
8. What has retarded the State's progress?
9. What was the condition of this sectional feeling during the late Presidential campaign? What calamity befell the country on July 2d, 1881? How did the news of this event affect the whole world?
10. When did President Garfield die? What are the concluding reflections upon this great national calamity?
11. What is the sincere desire of every true North Carolina patriot?
The Constitution of North Carolina is an important instrument to the people of the State. It contains all the fundamental principles of our State government, and ought to be carefully read and studied by every citizen of North Carolina.
In order that the boys and girls who study this history may more thoroughly understand the meaning and provisions of the State Constitution, a series of "Questions" has been prepared with great care by a distinguished citizen of the Commonwealth who is well acquainted with the subject.
The pupils will become better informed on this subject if only short lessons are given to them for preparation. About one page of the text will be sufficient for a lesson if properly studied, and by this means a much greater amount of information will be retained than if larger space is rapidly passed over.
WE, the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of nations, for the preservation of the American Union, and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our posterity, do, for the more certain security thereof, and for the better government of this State, ordain and establish this Constitution:
That the great, general and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, and that the relations of this State to the Union and government of the United States, and those of the people of this State to the rest of the American people may be defined and affirmed, we do declare:
SEC. 2. That all political power is vested in, and derived from, the people; all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.
SEC. 3. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, and of altering and abolishing their Constitution and form of government whenever it may be necessary for their safety and happiness; but every such right should be exercised in pursuance of law and consistently with the Constitution of the United States.
SEC. 4. That this State shall ever remain a member of the American Union; that the people thereof are part of the American nation; that there is no right on the part of the State to secede, and that all attempts from whatever source or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, ought to be resisted with the whole power of the state.
SEC. 5. That every citizen of the State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and government of the United States, and that no law or ordinance of the State in contravention or subversion thereof can have any binding force.
SEC. 6. The State shall never assume or pay, or authorize the collection of, any debt or obligation, express or implied, incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; nor shall the General Assembly assume or pay, or authorize the collection of any tax to pay either directly or indirectly, expressed or implied, any debt or bond incurred, or issued, by authority of the Convention of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, nor any debt or bond incurred, or issued, by the Legislature of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, either at its special session of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, or at its regular sessions of the years one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight and one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine and one thousand eight hundred and seventy, except the bonds issued to fund the interest on the old debt of the State, unless the proposing to pay the same shall have first been submitted to the people, and by them ratified by the vote of a majority of all the qualified voters of the State, at a regular election held for that purpose.
SEC. 7. No man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community but in consideration of public services.
SEC. 8. The legislative, executive and supreme judicial powers of the government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other.
SEC. 9. All power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised.
SEC. 10. All elections ought to be free.
SEC. 11. In all criminal prosecutions every man has the right to be informed of the accusation against him and to confront the accusers and witnesses with other testimony, and to have counsel for his defence, and not be compelled to give evidence against himself, or to pay costs, jail fees or necessary witness fees of the defence, unless found guilty.
SEC. 12. No person shall be put to answer any criminal charge, except as hereinafter allowed but by indictment, presentment or impeachment.
SEC. 13. No person shall be convicted of any crime but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and lawful men in open court. The Legislature may, however, provide other means of trial for petty misdemeanors, with the right of appeal.
SEC. 14. Excessive bail should not be required, nor excessives fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted.
SEC. 15. General warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of the act committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be granted.
SEC. 16. There shall be no imprisonment for debt in this State, except in cases of fraud.
SEC. 17. No person ought to be taken, imprisoned or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, liberty or property but by the law of the land.
SEC. 18. Every person restrained of his liberty is entitled to a remedy to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove the same, if unlawful; and such remedy ought not to be denied or delayed.
SEC. 19. In all controversies at law respecting property, the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of the best securities of the rights of the people, and ought to remain sacred and inviolable.
SEC. 20. The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and therefore ought never to be restrained, but every individual shall be held responsible for the abuse of the same.
SEc. 21. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.
SEC. 22. As political rights and privileges are not dependent upon, or modified by property, therefore no property qualification ought to affect the right to vote or hold office.
SEC. 23. The people of the State ought not to be taxed, or made subject to the payment of any impost or duty, without the consent of themselves, or their representatives in General Assembly, freely given.
SEC. 24. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up, and the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein contained shall justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or prevent the Legislature from enacting penal statutes against said practice.
SEC. 25. The people have a right to assemble together to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the Legislature for redress of grievance. But secret political societies are dangerous to the liberties of a free people, and should not be tolerated.
SEC. 26. All men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and no human authority should, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience.
SEC. 27. The people have the right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.
SEC. 28. For redress of grievances, and for amending and strengthening the laws, elections should be often held.
SEC. 29. A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty.
SEC. 30. No hereditary emoluments, privileges or honors ought to be granted or conferred in this State.
SEC. 31. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free State, and ought not to be allowed.
SEC. 32. Retrospective laws, punishing acts committed before the existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are oppressive unjust and incompatible with liberty, wherefore no ex post facto law ought to be made. No law taxing retrospectively sales, purchases, or other acts previously done, ought to be passed.
SEC. 33. Slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than for crime whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and are hereby, forever prohibited within the State.
SEC. 34. The limits and boundaries of the State shall be and remain as they now are.
SEC. 35. All courts shall be open; and every person for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay.
SEC. 36. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war but in a manner prescribed by law.
SEC. 37. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people; and all powers not herein delegated remain with the people.
SEC. 2. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet biennially on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January next after their election; and when assembled shall be denominated the General Assembly. Neither House shall proceed upon public business unless a majority of all the members are actually present.
SEC. 3. The Senate shall be composed of fifty Senators, biennially chosen by ballot.
SEC. 4. The Senate Districts shall be so altered by the General Assembly, at the first session after the return of every enumeration by order of Congress, that each Senate District shall contain, as near as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens and Indians not taxed, and shall remain unaltered until the return of another enumeration, and shall at all times consist of contiguous, territory; and no county shall be divided in the formation of a Senate District, unless such county shall be equitably entitled to two or more Senators.
SEC. 5. The House of Representatives shall be composed of one hundred and twenty Representatives, biennially chosen by ballot, to be elected by the counties respectively, according to their population, and each county shall have at least one Representative in the House of Representatives, although it may not contain the requisite ratio of representation; this apportionment shall be made by the General Assembly at the respective times and periods when the districts for the Senate are herein before directed to be laid off.
SEC. 6. In making the apportionment in the House of Representatives, the ratio of representation shall be ascertained by dividing the amount of the population of the State, exclusive of that comprehended within those counties which do not severally contain the one hundred and twentieth part of the population of the State, by the number of Representatives, less the number assigned to such counties; and in ascertaining the number of the population of the State, aliens and Indians not taxed shall not be included. To each county containing the said ratio, and not twice the said ratio, there shall be assigned one Representative; to each county containing twice but not three times the said ratio, there shall be assigned two Representatives, and so on progressively, and then the remaining Representatives shall be assigned severally to, the counties having the largest fractions.
SEC. 7. Each member of the Senate shall not be less than twenty- five years of age, shall have resided in the State as a citizen two years, and shall have usually resided in the district for which he is chosen one year immediately preceding his election.
SEC. 8. Each member of the House of Representatives shall be a qualified elector of the State, and shall have resided in the county for which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election.
SEC. 9. In the election of all officers, whose appointment shall be conferred upon the General Assembly by the Constitution, the vote shall be viva voce.
SEC. 10. The General Assembly shall have power to pass general laws regulating divorce and alimony, but shall not have power to grant a divorce or secure alimony in any individual case.
SEC. 11. The General Assembly shall not have power to pass any private law to alter the name of any person or to legitimate any person not born in lawful wedlock, or to restore to the rights of citizenship any person convicted of an infamous crime, but shall have power to pass general laws regulating the same.
SEC. 12. The General Assembly shall not pass any private law, unless it shall be made to appear thirty days' notice of application to pass such a law shall have been given, under such directions and in such manner as shall be provided by law.
SEC. 13. If vacancies shall occur in the General Assembly by death, resignation or otherwise, writs of election shall be issued by the Governor under such regulations as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 14. No law shall be passed to raise money on the credit of the State, or to pledge the faith of the State, directly or indirectly, for the payment of any debt, or to impose any tax upon the people of the State, or to allow the counties, cities or towns to do so, unless the bill for the purpose shall have been read three several times in each House of the General Assembly, and passed three several readings, which readings shall have been on three different days, and agreed to by each House respectively, and unless the yeas and nays on the second and third reading of the bill shall have been entered on the journal.
SEC. 15. The General Assembly shall regulate entails in such manner as to prevent perpetuities.
SEC. 16. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, which shall be printed and made public immediately after the adjournment of the General Assembly.
SEC. 17. Any member of either House may dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which he may think injurious to the public, or any individual, and have the reason of his dissent entered on the journal.
SEC. 18. The House of Representatives shall choose their ownSpeaker and other officers.
SEC. 19. The Lieutenant-Governor shall preside in the Senate, but shall have no vote unless it may be equally divided.
SEC. 20. The Senate shall choose its other officers, and also a Speaker (pro tempore) in the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, or when he shall exercise the office of Governor.
SEC. 21. The style of the acts shall be: "The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact"
SEC. 22. Each House shall be judge of the qualifications and elections of its own members, shall sit upon its own adjournments from day to day, prepare bills to be passed into laws; and the two Houses may also jointly adjourn to any feature day, or other place.
SEC. 23. All bills and resolutions of a legislative nature shall be read three times in each House before they pass into laws; and shall be signed by the presiding officers of both Houses.
SEC. 24. Each member of the General Assembly, before taking his seat, shall take an oath or affirmation, that he will support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of North Carolina and will faithfully discharge his duty as a member of the Senate or House of Representatives.
SEC. 25. The terms of office for Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall commence at the time of their election.
SEC. 26. Upon motion made and seconded in either House, by one- fifth, of the members present, the yeas and nays upon any question shall be taken and entered upon the journals.
SEC. 27. The election for members of the General Assembly shall be held for the respective districts and counties, at the places where they are now held, or may be directed hereafter to be held, in such manner as may be prescribed by law, on the first Thursday in August in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and every two years thereafter. But the General Assembly may change the time of holding the elections.
SEC. 28. The members of the General Assembly for the term for which they have been elected, shall receive as a compensation for their services the sum of four dollars per day for each day of their session, for a period not exceeding sixty days; and should they remain longer in session, they shall serve without compensation. They shall also be entitled to receive ten cents per mile, both while coming to the seat of government and while returning home, the said distance to be computed by the nearest line or mute of public travel. The compensation of the presiding officers of the two Houses shall be six dollars per day and mileage. Should an extra session of the General Assembly be called, the members and presiding officers shall receive a like rate of compensation for a period not exceeding twenty days.