The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-12-05
The Sumter Banner:
PgBLlSllED VERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, BY
WILL lAM J. FRANCIS.
GOVERNORS NHEssAGg,.
80 ENECUTlVE DEPARTMENT,
Columbia, Nov 9th, 1Si9.
To the Honorable the Speaker and

1neW0eTS ~ He IIOuSe y Representatives.:
GENTLEMEN-iou are assembled under
circumstances, in many respects, peculiarly
favorable to consdcrate and sound lcgislaton
The year which is closing has been disin-
guIshed in very remarkable degree for the
general health OF our citizens. From the
pcstilcnce which has consigned to the tomb
SO many thousands of the people of other
parts OF our common country, South Carolina
has been entirely exempt. Even to those
sections OF the State in which malarial discas-
eS IN summer not unircqucntly occur, Provi-
dence has extended the arm of mercy. For
this signal blessing, so widely diflused, may
we hope, that deep and abiding impression
of gratitude to the Gver Of all good has al
ready been made on the public mind
While the earth has yielded an abundant
increase, our commerce is rapidly expanding:
manufactures and the mechanic arts have
been multiplied and extended; the boundary
OF science and learning has been enlarged
the credit Of the State is mistaken, and the
spirit OF the people, long depressed from vari-
GUS causes, is again buoyant, and would
quickly be excited to IFS utmost energy, fcv-
cry cause OF discomfort from external sources
were permanently removed.
FEDERAL RELATIONS
l herewith tranmit certain resolutions of
tiie States OF Virginia, North Carolina, Flor
ida and Missouri, on the restrictions Of slave
ry in the territories of the United States.
The opinion Of South Carolina on the grave
matter at issue has been so repeatedly cy
pressed, that, at its last session. the Lcrisla
turc unanimously declared, that the time for
discussion by the slavcholdinm States had
passed, and that tho General Assembly, ron
resentlng the feelings Of the State, was pre-
pared TO cooperate with her sister States,
in resisting the application of tho principles
OF the Wilmot Proviso to the territory acuuir
ed from Mexico, at any and every hazard
At Convention also Of Delegates OF tho
Committee of Safety, held at this place. in
May, 1t was among other things resolved that,
in the event of the passage of The Winot
ProvIso, or any equivalent measure, the Gov
ernor be requested to convene the Legislature
If not in session, so consider the mode and
measure of redress"
Concuriug in the belief Of the utter futility
OF further argument, shall not attempt TO
demonstrate the false position occupied hv
our antagonists, and the danger TO The Union
ana themselves, by their inyloriOlIslv persist
ing in main'ainingit It. The enactment of any
OF the contemplated measures of hostility
would probably, if not certainly, result in Sc
vering the political tics that now unite us
but which, in such an event, would no longer
serve the elevated purposes for which they
were designed.
Already 1t is known, that the Leg islatures
of Virginia, Mississippi and South Carolina
the former by authority Of law, and The latter
In obedience to the wish Of their constituents
Will convene, as soon rs it shall be officially
announced, that sinister councils had prevail
ed in the Legislation of Congress 10 what
specific mode OF action, the agricultural
States u'ill resort to arrest tho career of Fed.
eral mlsrulc, time alone Will dcvclopc TO
provide that it shall he such as the OUTRAGED
rights ot !rccmen and severe gn communities
demand, the honor Of those Commonwealth
lslrrevocably is pledged. Nor mar conjecture
be lndulgcd concerning the course Of conform
inous States, having with them a commnni-
ty OF interests, olaifections and OF fears. The
same feeling, only to n greater extent, that
would arouse the slumbering energies OF the
whole Union, to crush foreign intcrnctdlnr
with the internal regulations of the Ma ION,
would call forth unanmity in the South To
rcpel wanton attack on their domestic
peace and security. Our associates need
not be reminded, then, that the success OF an
attempt, from whatever quarter, to disiran-
chsc any portion Of the citizens OF this great
partnership OF cc-e9ual sovcrcgntics, and ar.
bitrarily to control the authorities created hv
them, may properly be classcd among the
political impossbltles of the day.
III the StutGs were, in all respects, in
dependent powers the aggressions of the
North, continued and multiplied in despite
of iraternal appeals 10 their justice, mag.
nanimily and enlightened patriotism,
would long since have made them practi-
cally acquainted with war and its attend
ant horrors. Why is il that the strongest
legal safeguards against cncroachmcn,s
on the rights Of foreign nations, have been
so carefully provided by the Federal Gov.
ernmcnt, with the assent Of every party in
power-whist TO overthrow the constitu.
tlonal barriers, erected by a common an.
cestry,"t "to establish Justice, insure domcs.
tic tranquility, and insure the blessings Of
liberty TO ourselves and our posterily,"
the moral ir rfuence Of that government,
under the stress Of sectional and geo.
graphical combinations, is increasingly
and insultingiy exericd? The true an-
.swer eXbibjsn melancholy view Of human
patlre, and enfnrccs the necessity for pro.
viding other restraints than those Of pnrch
ment bonds TO confnc the central power
and its lawIess abettors within their pre-
scribed limits.
In this harrassing controversy, reliance
on the jugdment and patriotism Of the re-
fecting portion Of our Northern brethren,
it is unnecessary TO disguise, is rapidly
disappearing. The question SO long
moo,ed is Of fearful impor, TO both sections.
Consolidation is more to be dreaded than
separation. Many Of the acts Of the State
assemblies, and the attempted and con
icmplaicd legislation Of Congress against