The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent. (Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., Miss.) 1848-18??, 1851-03-21
From the sChGrlston Mercury.
TO my Fellow Citizens ofS Carolina.

i take The liberty of addressing you, through
the newspapers, on a subject of different char.
ac'erfr m what has rtoemploy edme; andI do
So tile more readilyas my life guarantees my
sincerity, and. on your part, personal gnod will
1t is the first time that have ever, felt it my
duty To express publiclv an opinion on any mat
ter of State policy. Once, indeed, during the
extreme excitement which prevailed in Charles
ton, on the subject of nnllifyng law of Cons
gress, met with the Clergy of the city apart,
at the instance Of some venerable citizens, TO
consider whether there was anything which we
might possibly do, in our sacred character, to
promote peace. Ent il resulted in nothing We
found nothing in our power, hnt ourpFayers for
the people Ministers of religion have little to
do, at any time, with matters of the State. more
than to pray for Gods guidance and blessing
on the people, Nevertheless, ministers are men
--are citizens: and it may be expedieht, once in
lifetime ofthree-scoTe years and more, for
minister to appear in his character as citizen.
aud not as minister. Suffer me, then, for this
one time, TO assert my citizenship and commune
with you, freely, on the state of public affair.
am citizen; son. of a Citizen; born on the soil
Of South Carolina not long after it had been won.
in part BIZ the sword OF my father. s
After an absence or about FIVE months On my
sacred duties, in Tennessee Mississippi, Louisi.
ana Alabama and Georgia, caiinot express
hew painfully it has shocked me 10 be told, on
my return home, that the State measures now
on fnot look solely to secession from the United
States, by this State alone; that the Convention
shurtly to be held is in order TO this; and thai the
only question to be opened there, is one of time:
whether 10 secede at once, or await the issue Of
the Southern Congress. and then secede.
xt-.o f.t.s. IL
must be 10 secede from the other Santhem
States noIess than the Northern Ii must be a
putting Of tile other Southern States in fault--a
sort oi branding them as deficient in knowledge
or conraaa or patriafisna- ali these together.
They are involved in all respects, as We are.
touching the injustice Of the late acts OF Con-
gress. We may not hold ourselves wiser nor
better than they are, but equals only; and they
are many, while we are. comparatively. few.
And what, in such circumstances, wall be the
| probable judgment of mankind, respecting our
| action. should we secede?
/ IfI may place anv reliance on what has come
under nv observation. during my long journey
through FIVE of the principal Southern States, il
! il not probable that a Southern Congress, repre-
lssenting the Southern people. lcan be had at all
nor, il it could be had, that il would do much il
| anything. more than the Georgia Convention did
Asao aosecession, Ihave no doubtthat three.fourihs
of the people would oppose it at the present time.
| The reason OF this opposition. have understood
to be, that they do not consider the acts OF Con.
gress to be violation of the Constitution, and
in their npinon. nothing less should Justly seces.
sim. understand it To be the opinion of our
people Of Carolina, that Congress has violated
| The Constitution. Al most. then, It is a maoled
point, andnot settled fact; we entertaining one
view el it, while the majority Of the wise and
viriuous of other States. greatly outnumberna
ns, hold the opposite. Do owe owe them nothing!
Is it not even due to our own self.respect to re-
view the matler7 Surely, we should know iha
We are right. beyond dispute, before we shoult
proceed 10 final act Of the most fearful import
And ought we not TO consider consequences
Patriotism demands not of us to ran ma1Iy on d
orr country ruius and secession By our STATE
alone, must prove ruinous What though NJ
hostile army might invade eur soil, the Unites
States must and will oppose u.s. Charleston
will be shut our from the rest of The world, be-
commerce perish, her merchants lsave her il
despair, while from her suburbs our Rice ant
j Cotton shall 3e carfied TO Savannah and "A
j gusts fer market. Even now the r::vsaFy o