The North Carolinian

Fayetteville, Feb. 25th, 1849.

Mr. Editor: I have seen a great deal in the papers lately, in favor of the Plank Road; and though you yourself may be an advocate of it, I hope you are not on that account unwilling to hear something on the opposite side.

It may be that we take a deep interest in this road; but we don't take much stock! and the secret of the matter is, that we will not have the road on any terms; and I think we had as well stop talking about it at once, lest we make ourselves, if possible, more ridiculous than we are now.

If we had held our tongues, we might have lived on in ease and obscurity; and at least escaped making ourselves a laughing stock. But no! we must needs be talking of internal improvement; charging our State with narrow minded policy, and boasting what we could do if she would only give us a start. Little did we suspect she would so soon put us to the test.

But unfortunately she has taken in earnest, what it now appears was mere bravado; and we are now caught in our own trap; the words of our own mouths condemn us.

Our State has given us the charter and the $120,000, and is now looking to us to complete the subscription of stock and build the road.

Here we are, then, fairly committed before the State for $80,000! dollars; pledged to undertake the management of $200,000! (not to mention the trouble of constructing the road itself) when in fact we had not, as I believe, any serious idea, either of doing the work ourselves, or having it done for us, if we could avoid it. And here we stand, utterly confounded at our success; unable to go ahead, and yet ashamed to go back. Truly our position is painfully distressing. And after all, I think our punishment is greater than we deserve. I admit that we have of late made considerable parade of words, and complained too much: But then the State might have known it was just a way we had; at all events, the management of this immense sum of money, and the road into the bargain, is surely too severe a penalty for merely gasconading a little and slandering one's State. Be this as it may, we are not compelled to have this road. I, for one, am opposed to it. My principles are conservative; and without a full and clear demonstration of advantage to myself I will not aid or countenance any alteration of the old order of things.

I need not tell you that this road, or anything that involves the expenditure of money, is prima facie at variance with all our principles of thought and deed; but postponing details, I will content myself at present with three general propositions,—That we do not desire the road; that we have a natural distaste for heavy business transactions; and that we should be driven to our wits' end by the inundation of trade which it would inevitably bring upon us.

We are a quiet, plodding race, minding our own business, when we have any to mind; firmly set against risks, and contenting ourselves with the drippings of trade, rather than hazard a dollar in an uncertain effort to turn the main current in our own direction. In fact, we should feel rather nervous if we saw it coming of itself. We have never injured our neighbors by enticing away their trade, nor excited their envy or jealousy by any exhibition of splendor in our town arrangements. Indeed so remarkable are we in this respect, that we have seen Wilmington and Raleigh going up, year after year, without a single effort of rivalry or any overt act of selfishness whatever. We are essentially a philosophical people; having but little faith in the theory of internal improvements, and preferring smoke to steam. In short we are wedded to our tranquillity, and we will not be divorced.

With these facts in view, does it not seem plain that we are constitutionally unfit to assume so heavy a responsibility as this road would impose upon us? In truth we are sorely puzzled what to do with this money. It surprises us just as King Stork did the Frogs:

We would fain retreat from the public attention we have attracted, and retire to our old stand, which, if it was obscure, was at least safe. And sir, you'll see, we will do it; it is mortifying in the extreme, but there is no help for it. We are not made for great things, and we had better back out at once, than make any farther display of our incapacity. I always said we would not succeed in any of our schemes; I said so of the Rail Road, and it failed. I said so of the canal. I said so of this Plank Road, and, though the chief reason I assigned for the prediction, viz: that the State would never take the stock, has proved a mistake, yet as to the main result, you will see that I was right. Here's our great Hotel, too, I said it would be a failure, from the start. And how has it turned out? Why after narrowly escaping the fate of the ancient Babel, it is at last finished; and none of us are willing or able to take charge of it. Thus it stands, towering above all around, like a Giraffe in a flock of goats; and likely to remain a silent but expressive monument of our weakness. You see then, that it is a fixed and undeniable truth, that we are constitutionally averse to progress, and bent on remaining as we are; and that so far from intending to build this road ourselves, we would shrink from it, if it were given to us without expense, and free of toll!

I hope, however, that the lesson we have received will make us more careful in future. Or, there is no telling but the State may take all the stock and build the road in spite of us; and then, sir, Ichabod! Ichabod! farewell to our long days and nights of ease. No more shutting up at meal times; no rest for clerks; no long pipes after dinner; no time for social conversation at the street-corners; no pleasant lounging about the market; but all hurry, bustle and turmoil. Ah, sir, I tremble at the thought. May our good genius preserve us from such a revolution.

Yours truly,

SAWNY McSHURE.