Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1840-06-18
NaisceERaaseous.
From the Charleston Mercury.
.fR. PRISTON'S MARTYRDOM,

|
this. gei.t elnan--wc have neither made nor
! soush &c cc..si"ns 10 speak oI lIlS acts or the
! hulliliatin- position he has been content 10 oc.
'cupy, Tor yeilrs viii. regard 10 the Stale which
! he msrtpr, seiitS. We have been cOntpiit III
| general to forget hnl-as hc has iors often linn.
, self; but heing still in scme sur public man,
/ we arc compelled occasionally 10 recognize not
| only his exi- -tcuce. but This Senatorial charac-
ter, for he occasionally speak Of South Caro-
lima a. if he had some conntxion with 1t and
some righ! 10 link his egotsm with its dignity
and interests, and we are sometimes reminded
By his votes or his Indifference, that one Of the
! seats of our State is the Senate chamber Is
flied either by an opponent or negative Ii
is in Such cases, or when going abroad to the
assemblies of oilr political enemies, he profess
es to throw Into their scales some weight by the
pledges oi' Il 5. Carolina Senator, that we dire
reluctantly compelled to chronicle his acts and
sayings, Us part and parcel Of the mass OF hos
,ility against which we have tn contend, That
such only was The light in which we regarded
him we had supposed long known and quietly
dises,ed IN his own mind Since ehowcrer, our
brIe! commentary OH his failure 10 vote on llIc
! Bermuda kesoln'ohs, we are somewhat sIir-
prsed to see that his friends in Washington
have set ur the cry of persecution in his favor
that he is IN ,he'way Of hcing led 10 The stake
MIR. Calhoun being The relentless Judge. aud
the Mrrcury apnoinled 10 amply ihc torch 10
the faogots. Whether the Wings have appre-
Lend"d ar. Calhoun tor!urins A;es in imitation
of Young Nero. that they should have hrongh.
such a charge against him, we know not;
but we utterly deny the accnsai"n against onr-
selves. IF we have ever afflicted Mr. Preston
with the touc!, Of fire. il was rather with that
general purpose for which Sampson applied it
| TO his uxes-t was 10 SINCE the eneinys fields
and not his own flesh.
Determined to hunt down Mr.. Preston"
that is The accusation. Well, he is the ,lcnSest
winded cllase-consdering that the whole State
has been against him now for near three years
i'm truth more like wild goose chase than
any thing we lave ever heard Of i'll the an
nails of field sport. In December. 1877, the
Legislature of South Carolina aImos, urani-
mously declared in favor Of n complete and
final separation Of the Federal Government
| from al Iauls-an ordinary man would have
given up under such full cry-Nlr. Preston
seems rather t. have triUmphcd iu the noloriety
nf SUCH unequal sport At al cx'rp session. a
| few months after III" chase was renewed in III"
same wav, and set we heard from the prosccnt-
cI Sar;tor neither the inra S,ngaha riSccrum
nora a"v oti..r Indication that lie WIS hard run,
and " hilr tie 0dGra cGnEr ris was pouring OF
hi. rr'I, Tia. he was ,li,,'it &c drop ..;o his
tracks .'hc :oliowin" Deccmhrr the Hun's.
! mrii again ma,ie tn, hil.. and won'is of Carnli-
liza ring vii! ih, uDcd burst Of their horns.
! still; ;ae cnmr coli G nGi he reached. ls rot
this strange, Th" Fact is. that the hunting is
all humbnc-.The Sclainr after the first
bound he made ont Of our territories. has not
run step. but has heen ranging undistnrbed
and as quiet as calf in. the rcb pastures Of
Kentncky, where he had taken refuge. "Hunl
down Mr.. Preslon!" Why he has seen the
forces of South Carolina advancing in the OPP
posile hutc and with that self comp!acency
which is the greatest qualify Of soine men. has
set down the whole TO his owm accouht-he
and the State. fnrsoo;h. ar" atadds!
We did think TO lave left. him however. with
such notice as his sleiier 10 the people of Charles
ton has Siready called forth, but as lie has fled
TO sanctuary AID claimed thR pity Of the world
OH ihc ground of persecution. We do pro-
pose to convince him that we have used great
forbearance in criticsing his conduct, and that
If we had wished to say all that could be said
his failing 10 sustain the Stale on the great oc-
casion allndcd to. might have assumed far more
strongly 'tiie aspect Of premcdae defeclion.-
! We make no question now abont tie dignity
or snfTcrency Of his excuse for being absent OIL
that occasion; we have said what we intended
IN say about that, The real question is whetl-
er Mr. Preston had any Just cause Of complaint
at tie construction which the pubic meetlns
| in this city put upnn his absence. lIe c"ntinu
ued perfectly indifferent to the notices of the
press a. hume. and it cannot be torg0tt'n that
gentleman Of his parry wi.o while i'll this city
made an ESSAY 10 soften the aspect OF Northern
Federalism on the Burpuda vote. and who af-
terwhrds Wrote lis from Washington to set lis
right ms to the whereabouts OF Alessers. Web
stcr, Talmadge and SOutard, put Mr.. Pres
toms absence expressly OF the ground that the
resolutions were not thnught much of there
| evan Mr.. Preston. ''drS brarcs ic Plus Grarc."
as he seemed 10 consider him on the slave qies-
ton, did not trouble himself to vote OH them
We are moi Informed whether this chivalro,,s
contempt of the resolutions arnsc from The fact
that they were only a solemn declaration of ma.
tionul law against the practical ercroachuents
Of fore IN power, or that they only embraced
prnci pies necessary TO secure the maratime
rights of the SIavel:rdna States. or that il was
onlu Mr.. Calhoun who had moved lhelu; Ger.
tain it is, however ihii Mr.. Preston's absence
was brought before tile people of Charleston
by one who seemed TO speak from authority AS
attributable to his indifference about the qucs
ton. This was before the meeting. To what
could they attribute this Indifference OF siu-
gle Senator! There could be no doubt of
the feeling that kept away his Northern allies
was he treated harshy who, acing MS ,Iey nc
ted was was supposed t" be moved by the same
motives! He had seen himself poinicd out
Iie made no explanalinn-or if the Washington
letter was ntr' ded for explanation. il gave Il
construction to his conduct tc different from
Ihat of the meeting. Bur has Mr.. Preston
heretofore so uniformly actednp to the charac-
ter OF South Carolina Senator. that whatever
he does now: he mnst be held above suspicion
OF the .lonrd that lie cannot do wropg He
plants hinsei' ierr iii his letter, we will cx-
annie with whu' right.
On the 9th of December, 1881. Mr.. Cal.
hour introduced series of ResnIulions on The
sub ect of Slavery. placing tie d, fence of onr
1 ..L LIZ <.... 49,