The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-11-16

appointed Secretary. The chairman expiiuned
the object OF the meeting in a powerful and soul
stirring address, which was replete with patriotic
fervor and just indignation against the insufier-
able aggressions of Congress upon the rights OF
the South. =.
On motion of the Hon. james ID. Wilson, a
committee of twenty-one gentlemen We're APP
pointed to submit to the meeting constitution
for the organization Of a Southern Rights Assoc
citation. During the absence Of the committee,
the following gentlemen being called out, ad-
dressed the meeting, viz: J.. A. Dargan, Il. p
Lide, E. A, Law, w. II. Evans and Il. b. Haynes
worth 0AttRaf IA '8ts
Col. Wilson, on behalf Of the committee Of
twenty-one, submitted the following preamble
and constitution, which he advocated in a brief.
but forcible and appropriate speech, and which
were unanimously adopted; = 4 saga
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. VA
DARLINGTON DISTRICT. g. i.te
We, the undersigned citizens of Darlington
District are profoundly impressed with the i'm
portance of the present crisis in the political af-
fairs of the country, resulting from the recent
legislation of Congress upon. the subject of
slavery and the Territories. So we'll under
stood are these measures that a more special al
lnsion to them is unnecessary. We believe the
danger we have long foreseen, and whose insidi-
GUS and steady approach we have marked, has
| now become portentously imminent Step by
step the willy foe has wound his coils around us
until, as he supposes, we are bound hand and
foot, and ready for the great and browning sacri-
fee, ofhonor, equality, prosperity liberty, exist
4 ance. The aggressions Of the Northern States
upon the dearest and most cherished rights of
the South, have left us no alternative but resis-
lance. The Federal Constitution is dead let
4 ter our rights under it a mockery. The Fed
| eral Union, formed for mutual protection, and to
insure domestic tranquility, has been perverted
and instead of accomplishing those high and en-
allied ends, has been made the instrument of out
RACES AMI injuries which we could not, in reason,
dread from any foreign enemy, A government,
proclaimed upon the face of its Constitution TO-
| be federatiye in its character and proved to be
such by the concurrent and undisputed history
of its origin, has practically declared itself omni-
potent, without any limitation in fact, but the
will of numerical majority. This govern
nent thus prostituted from its original pur-
poses, with all the powers that have been con-
ceded to it by the compact of the sovereign
States that formed it, and with those that have
been usurped, has been seized upon by a major,
ity, entirely sectional, selfish, reckless, and inn
placably hostile to the most sensitive and vital
interests Of the Southern States The vast
power this great consolidated empire, with its
corrupting influences, and all its physical and
moral agencies, is to be welded for our political
subjugation and overthrow. And the financial
means of accomplishing these ends are to be
drawn from the victim. rEl ,,allaH5 s5a gg.
| The issue now presented is resistance, or
unconditional submission, followed by ruin so
complete, a desolaIion so appalling, as to beggar
| all attempts at description. We are now in the
condition of unhappy Ireland. Like that beau
| h,k ,tol
Of a great empire; and like her, we are trodden
under foot and mockcd by a nominal and inef-
| fectunl representation. If we do not, by patri-
otto effort, throw off our thraldom, we will, ere
| long, be in the condition Of the British and
French West Indies, while the fate Of San
Domingo in the not distant perspective, looms
up, a warning and gloomy beacon. Or, if the
fate of the latter country should not be realized,
then, as an alternative, we must have war of
| races, in which the weaker will be extermnated,
leaving the scarcely more unhappy victors in
possession of blood-stained soil, and an inn
poverished and exhausted country. This is the
fate to which the fratricidal policy OF the North
4 would consign us. Yet these people call them
selves our brethren! ,.s..t ~. .l I'm ~
We are truly reioiced that the issue is at
length made up. No truly Southern heart can
now mistake the path, of duty. We will no
longer suffer an idolatrous regard for a once
venerated Union, to thwart us in the discharge
Of those sacred obligations of love and duty,
which every patriot son of the South owes to
the noble and beautiful land of his nativity. q
The danger is great and already at our doors
But we confidently believe that there is safety for
the South. and that the remedy Ia in our own
hands, She has only to will her deliverance,
and her deverance is accomplished. " We have
means of protection and selfprescrvation, which
L.. II L..
and timely applied. We believe that the danger,
though great, may be repelled; and ii repelIed,
that the South is yet destined to accomplish a
highly prosperous and glorious career. This
destiny she will not be worthy to ENJOY, if she
refuses or fails to ward off the danger which
threatens her. ' ,aa.N~aaE ws.@ &4s .5a3 II
Believing 1t to be the duty of every citizen of
the South to do his duty in the coming contest,
and believing that one great element Of success
is unity Of purpose and Of action, we, the under
signed, with the view of being the better able
to act In concert with our fellow-citizens and to
put ourselves more readily In communication
with similarly organized bodies, do hereby
agree to form ourselves into an Association, to
be called the Darlington Southern Rights Assoc
citation. ..aE '.1~ ' "'.' F5'".i.@8h
of a President and three Vice Presidents, a
The President, in addition to the usual duties
of the chair, shall have power to call the Asso-
citation together at such times as he may deem
expedient. o,a.. s'.. W .ten.3". nsstr
In the absence of the President one of the
Vice Presidents shall preside. @ af. e'.-..
The Recording Secretary shall keep journal
of the proceedings and list of members. -l
~ The Corresponding Secretaries shall perform
the duties usually devolving upon such officers.
Every citizen of the District may become a
member of this Association by attaching his
name to the Constitution. "a #r' ja1a=Q .
Fl A majority Of the members present shall con-
stithtc a quorum for the transaction of business.
Officers shall be elected annually, and hold
Office until another election shall have been held.
The meetings of the Association shall be held
on the first Monday of every third month, be-
ginning with the first Monday in November next.
Resolved, That Committees of Vigilance and
Safety, consisting of five persons in each Beat
Company in the District be appointed, whose