The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-04-22

no means to bring the offenders to Justice
There is no officer in the State, high or low,
who would in any way countenance an infrac-
ton Of the laws.
No alarm need be felt on the subject of the
rumor, which will, am convinced, turn out to
be untounded, or greatly exaggerated.
am, sir, very truly, your ob't. serv't.,
E. 6. SQUiER.
Special Correspondence Of the Nsv York Herald.
CHARLESTON, 8. c., April ~, 1851.
| South Carolina P0luics--Ihe Question of Sc
csssion-The Policy Of Going IL Alone--Ap-
| proach 10 the Crisis Of the Game Effect of
Recent Euents in the North upon Southern
Opinion-The Danger Of Sswardism to The
Safety of the Union
anu now here, and find that the first great
movement in favor Of secession will be made in
this city. understand general meeting Of all
the State Rights Associations takes place here
early in May. Here il the first step. Judge
Buffers only objection to accession now is that
the federal government will not 20 to war. If
they would, the South would come to the rescue
If the government does not, South Carolina may
be started into submission. That il what he
| fears You may, however, very safely put on
the steam Secession is pretty hot yet in South
Carolina, and she is bound to do something.
| Will South Carolina secede? Will she, against
the decisive action of Georgia, the resolutions
of Virginia, and the acquiescence Of all the other
Southern States in the late compromise mea-
suses; will she, single-handed and alone with
draw, or deliberately attempt to withdraw, from
the Union; and set up, or attempt to set up,
foreign government to the rest of the confed
racy, almost within the heart of the United
States At this jnncture, this is the single alb
sorbing issue pending in South Carolina, and by
all means, and for all purposes, in every view,
the most important to the Union, and to every
State Of the Union, and of paramount moment
to the best interests of mankind the wide world
over. Reduced to its ultimate consequences,
this single issue pending in a single State of Sc
cession, or submission, involves the breaking up
of our whole federal system, and the dissertation
| of every thing sacred in governm ent, religion,
and society," to a system of civil war, military
despots, military elections, and such history
| of military butcheries as are but family Illus
traed in the dissolution Of the States of Greece,
or in the breaking up of the empire of Rome.
In truth, it is easy to imagine that in the disso.
luton Of this Union, state of war and anarchy
would almost inevitably follow, more nesry ap-
preaching the horrible atrocities of the French
revolution Have we not among us in the North,
| (thank God there are none in the South, watch
ing their opportunity, the Jewelers. the agrarians,
the sociastics Fourierites, red republicans, MS
good as the best Partisan From these splutter-
lag destructives, and from the Abolitonsts and
free negroes, where would be the peace, or the
hope Of peace, if once the strong, conservative,
law enforcing, and peace preserving bonds of
this Union are broken? There would be no
peace, no law, no order. The South would, of
necessity, combine into Southern confederacy:
the North would necessarily lose all its present
commercial advantages with the Southern States
and it is nextto impossible to conceive how the
boundaries could be settled between the sections,
or the rights of both maintained, without con-
tinuous state of war, until we shall have FIVE
or six confederacies, each under military Pre-
sident, till busted by the bayonet under some
other military leader aspiring to Presidential
honors.
Disunion looks to these things the secession
of a single State will be disunion and vet the
question, the single solitary absorbing question
now pending in the State of South Carolina, is
the question of secession. Will she secede 3
To secede is to go out; and to go out, now, is
to 90 it alone" Will she 90 out, and 90 it
alone! If so, why so ! and if not so, why nil
these threats and warnings these civil and mill
tary organizations, these frequent speeches to
the people! and why the election of this State
convention, which is to decide the question, and
4
which is ten to one for secession!
These are important heterogeneous, and for
the benefit of the Northern readers of the Herald
we propose to give you from the spot, and from
the best information on hand, n series of letters
on the general question, and upon the numerous
and interesting incidental issues involved in the
general controversy. In doing this, we propose
to show that there is still danger to the Union !;
that there is apparently n remarkable and alarm
ing unanimity Of the people of South Carolina
in favor of secession that they have very plau-
sibe reasons for acting upon it--reasons Of de-
fence. of interest," Of State pride, and sectional
safety. M
We expect, further to be able to prove, that
to William II. Seward, Thurlow Weed and
Horace Greeley & Co., of New York, and to
their detestable, disorganzing, and ruinous prin-
cples, if South Carolina does aecede, we shall,
for that result, be most largely indebted In
the eyes Of the world, that fattering testimonial
Of the ability and stability Of republican confed-
eracies, will be set down to TIE Abolitonsts of
all the varous stripes, and TO the arch agitators
Of New York, who have led them on If South
Carolina secedes, she will justly herself on the
ground that if abolitionism is a higher law" in
the North than the Constitution, self. preserva
tion or at least, defence, even If she il TO be de.
stroyed, becomes Of necessity higher law in
the South. While in the Union, she abides by
the Constitution; hut fit is superseded by Sew
ards higher law" she secedes, come what may
And the question she is soon in form to deter
mine, is not secession or absolute submission I;
not resolutions of Defiance and independence, or
resolutions as meek and milky ne the Virginia
resolutions. No; she is TO decide whether she
will secede now, or wait till further aggressions
Of Stewards higher law" shall compel other
Southern States to range themselves by her