The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-02-13

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thoriesss
FiAhi Do they bslisys thst wben tho thirteen
colonies separated from The mother country and
declared themselves ~ longer members Of the
samiy, the people would have been rebels and
traitors, had England permitted them 10 retire
psaceAbly. and thai il took seven years Of bloody
war to wash out their sins ana convert them into
heroes aud patriots' This, il comprehend il, is
the mild, merciful. phslanthropic doctrine Of .
gentleman, who is hailed. a, least north of Mason
and Dixon's line. as the great expounder of the
Constitu ton.
Sixth: would ask item which they consider
the sggressor in an ARRAY he who commits the
6rst assault or he Who after doing his bes, to de-
fsnd hin self, peacefully rstirss from the conflict
Leaving these questions 10 be answered or not,
just the friends of the Unlon--par srcelisnce--
please. shall proceed with few more, to which |
would respectfully call their attention.
Has the Southern section Of the Union ever, on
any OCCASION refused to recognize in its fullest ex-
tent. the entire and complete equality Of the other
State or sections of the Union, in all those rights
guaranteed to them by the CONSTITUTIONS
Has it ever attempted, by legislation or in any
other mode, to exclude any other State or section
from an equal share Of the common territory of
the Union, under any pretence whatever,
Has il evsr, on any occasion, interfered either
directly or indirectly with any social. civil, or do
mestc institution Of any other State or section,
under pretence Of its being violation Of a fanati
cal dogma paramount to the Constitution, and
whose practical application would be entirely de-
structivs to their property, well place their
lives in imminent peril.
Has it ever instituted societies whose sole OBJ
ject was to rob any other State or section of
the Union of its most valuable property; to en-
courage and pay fanatical incendiaries to sneak
into their domestic folds in the Disguise of teach
ers and preachers Of the gospel, to scatter fire.
brands among the in1ammable materials they
might find in their fields or at their fresides? Or
has it ever sought, in any way, to destroy the
value of any species Of property peculiar TO any
State or section, by declaring its possession vio-
iation Of the law of God and the rights Of naurei
Has it ever encouraged, stimulated and paid
the authors and vendors Of almanacs, tracts, pic
lures, and all those powerful means of influencing
the popular feelings, written, compiled, or fabri-
Gated for the sole purpose Of nstilling the most
bitter nveterate prejudices and antpathies against
any other State or section Of the Union' Or has
it ever established newspapers and periodicals,
and subsidzed i,inerant lecturers for the express
purpose Of outraging the feelings, blackening the
character, and expeling from the pale of human
ity an entire section Of the Onion, comprising
nearly one half its members, Or has it ever be-
come the tool, or the accomplish of England in a
pretended crusade of philanthropy, whose secret
object is to SOW the seeds Of prejudices, heart
burnings, antipathies, and dissentions among the
members of the Union, thus preparing the way
for its dissolution?
Has the Southern section Of the Union, or any
member Of it, ever threatened or dreamed Of
dissolution of the Union, Of resistance, retaa-
ton, or secession, except when driven to il by a
systematic course Of policy on the part Of the
North, which justified any measures afording a
rational prospect Of redress for the past, and Sc
curi,y for the future'
A reference to the past history Of the country
will show that these questions must all be an
swered in the negative. There is not single in
stance record Of any attempt on the part Of the
Southern section Of the Union, to interfere with
the rights, the property, or the institutions of any
other State section. In all past sectional con-
aicts the South has uniformly stood on the de-
fensive. Let me briefly inquire whether this is
not most emphatically the case just now.
Where was the slavery agitation, that is, the
against the property and safety Of the South,
commencsdi Was it jim the North or the South
Has not the former, for almost twenty years past,
been openly assailing or secretly undermining the
entire peace of society in the latter and preparing
the way for its ultimate downfall, by adopting a
dogma which at once sweeps away the provisions
Of that Constitution which are its only securities :
Was it the South that sprung the Wilmot Proviso
in Congress, and thus laid the train for all
the heart-burnings and dissentions that have fol-
lowed in its train' Was David Wilmot, the Guy
Fawkes Of the gunpowder-plot, Southern mem
ber' Is the higher-Iaw prophet, or are Mr.. Hale,
Mr.. Chase, Mr.. Giddings, Preston King, or any
of the apostles Of abolition, who are perpetually
harping on slavery, and blowing the Goals of sec
tiona divsions--are they from the South or the
North Has the South attempted to nulify any
measure Of the compromise, or done any thing
but protest against its principles and provisions;
and is not the entire North arrayed in opposition
to one of them which simply carries out consti-
tutional guaranteed Do we hear of any mobs of
negroes white men in the South, arrayed against
any obnoxious law favorable TO the North, and
defyng the civil authorities whose duty it is to
carry it into execution' Or is there any one Of
the Southern States now standing in the attitude
Of Vermont, in direct opposition to law ex-
prsssly intended to carry out provision of the
Constitution,
"Aye, but" says the porty, church-going,
aw-deriding, Union-loving patriot aforesaid
"Aye, but the South threatens resistance, retalia
ton, secession, and all that sort Of wickedness,
which my paper says is downright treason to the
Union, and can stand that. DOM care much
about the Constitution, because that is gross Vi
olation Of the law Of God and tho rights Of NATURE
but the Union--the glorious Union--l'Il do any
thing to preserve that; that 10 say, if it is not
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