The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-12-25

one, do not yet perceive that you have shown
how il is that the cotton grower pays the revenue
Go with me, if you please, little farther. Sup
pose my friend who sits before me and who raises
500 bales Of cotton, shall ship that cotton, and
himself dispose of it in Liverpool for twenty-five
thousand dollars. Suppose he invests the money
in merchandise and lands in New Orleans. The
Government charges him duty of IS per cent,
for the privilege OF landing his goods. Now an
swer me this question, would II have been any
worse for my friend to have been charged 35 per
cent. on the value OF his cotton as he went out,
with the privilege Of bringing back his goods free
Of duty, than il would be to let him take his cot
ton free of charge and tax him IS per cent. duty
on the return cargo' For myself, cannot see
that it would make the least difference whether he
paid as he went out, or as he came in. But am
told the planter does not bring back the proceeds
of his cotton. He sells it, and the importing mer-
chant brings back the proceeds and pays the duty.
Lett be borne in mind that every man who ham
dies the cotton, from the moment it leaves the
planter until it comes back in the form of merchan-
die, handles it on speculation; and should like
to know which one Of these spectators il is that
loses the IS per cent. which the Government col
lects. The treasury receives the money; some
body pays it; and in my judgment, that somebody
is the planter. The slaye-holding States furnish
two-thirds of our entire exports, and if am right
in this theory, they pay twothrds of the revenue,
and consequently will pay two-thirds, or nearly
seven millions of the ten millions. of dollars given
to Texas for the territory of which she has been
so unjustly despoiled.
beg pardon for this DEPRESSION, and shall re-
turn at once to the subject before us.
What compensation has been offered the South
for her interest in all the vast territories derived
from Mexico, for this spoliation Of Texas, and the
emancipation act in the District Of Columbia? We
are told that the North gave us the Fugitive slave
law. This, fellow citizens, was our right under
the Constitution. 1t could not be refused. No
mn ufhn nd IN Cnnattntlnn
could refuse to vote for efficient law for the sur
render of fugitive slaves, unless he was willing to
commit wilPut and deliberate perjury. do not
thank the North for passing the Fugitive slave
law. l will not thank any man or any power for
dealing out to noe my constitutional rights. If the
North will erecute the law in good faith, | shall
think better of them as brethren and friends than
| now do. Time will determine whether they will
do this.
These acts have passed. They are now on the
statute books, and the question arlses-shall we
tanely submit to their operation, and if we resist,
in what manner, and TO what extent shall we car
ry that resistance?
am not appalled, by the cry ofdisunion, so Of
ten and so foolishly raised, whenever resistance
is spoken of. There are things more terrible to
me than the phantom of disunion, and one Of
these is tame submission to outrageous wrong
| II 1t has really come to this, that the Southern
States dare not assert and maintain their equal po
| ston in the Union, for fear of dissolvlng the
Union, then am free to say that the Union ought
| to be dissolved. If the noble edihce, erected by
our fathers, has become so ricketty, worm-eaten,
and decayed, that it is in danger of falling every
time the Southern States assemble to ask for JUS
tice, then the sooner it is pulled down the better
! am not so welded to the name Of Unian "a to re-
main in it until it shall fall and crush me:
| | have great confidence that the Government
may be brought back to its original purity.
have great confidence that the Government will
again be administered in subordination to. the
Constitution; that we shall be restored to our
equal position in the Confederacy, and that our
rights will again be respected as they were from
1883 to 1919. This being done, shall be salts
| fied-nothing short Of this will satisfy me. l can
never consent to take a subordinate position. By
no act or word Of mine shall the South ever be re-
duced to state of dependence on the North.
will cling to the Union, and utter its praises with
my last breath, but it must be Union of equals;
it must be Union In which my State and my sec
ton is equal in rights to any other section State
| will not consent that the South shall become the
Ireland of this country. Better, far that we DIS
solve our political connexion with the North than
live connected with her as her slaves or vassals.
The fathers Of the Republic counselled us to live
together in peace and concord, but these venerable
sages and patriots never counseled US to surrender
our equal position In the Union. BY their lives,
they gave us lessons in the horn-book OF freedom.
If Washington could speak to us to-day from the
He resisted less fragrant acts Of usurpation and
tyranny, and took up arms against his King.
| The fatterers of royalty called this treason If
we resist the greater outrages, can we hope to es-
cape the name of trator'
Let me say to you, in all sincerity, fellew-citi-
zens, that am no disunionst. If know my
own heart, | am more concerned about the means
of preserving the Union than am about the means
Of destroying it. The danger is not that we shall
dissolve the Union, by bold and manly vindica-
ton of our rights but rather that we shall, in
abandoning rights, abandon the Union also.
So help me God, telieve the submissionists are
the very worst enemies OF the Union. There is
certainly some point beyond which the most alb
iect will refuse to submit. If we yield now, how
long do you suppose it will be before we shall be
called upon to submit again And does not every
human experience admonsh us that the more We
YIELD the greater will become the eXacton Of the
aggrssors To the man who thinks and says
that we have been wronged, and yet submits in
sullen silence, | can only say, you reason badly
for the Union: But to the man who rejoices in
the late action Of Congress, who fires cannon,
beats drums, and unfurls banners with motions OF
| ioy written on them-to such a man en- say,
with heart filled with sorrow, however well
meant these acts may be, they invite aggression
on rights, and will lead to certain and inevita-
BILE disunion.
The best friend OF the Union is he who stands
| boldly up and demands equal justice for every
State and for all sections. If have demanded
more than this, convince me- and | will withdraw
the demand But shall stand unawed by fear
and unmoved by fattery in demanding for Missis-
sippi the same justice that is meted out to the
greatest and proudest State in the confederacy.
If the Union cannot yield to this demand | am
against the Union. If the Constitution does not
secure it, l am against the Constitution. l am
for equal and exact justice, and against anything
and everything which denies it.
This Justice was denied US in the &" adjustment
bills' which passed Congress. But we are not to
infer that the fault was either in the Union or in
the Constitution. The Union is strength, and if
not wickedy diverted from its purposes, will Sc
cure us that justice and that domestic tranquility
which is birthright. The Constitution is our
shield and buckler, and needs only to be fairly
administered to dispense equal and exact justice to
all parts Of this grand Confederacy.
Has the South had justice in California; Have
her rights been respected in any part Of the terri
tories Has she been fairly dealt with in the
matter of the Texas boundary Was good faith
observed in the passage of the ant-slavery bill
1