The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-10-17

first and last by, believe, all the slaveholiiDg
States and some others and il wonld be un-
profitable To discuss 1t here where we all agree.
| The right of the citizen To resist Injustice and
oppression at the hands of the government is
universally conceded, and with that concession,
it is of no consequence by what term the right
is designated Call il rebellion, revelation, in.
slrrecion-what you will, il is the same in its
results-and sece ssion but expresses the same
dea-emancipatio from oppression. Both par
ties agree also, that the injuries have suffered
and the dangers with which we are threatened
by the obvious tendency of the course of the
federal government, and the agowed purpose of
the dominant party in Congress, demands of us,
as means of seli-preservation, prompt, decided,
and Incorporating resistance. They differ
only as to the cessity of waiting for the co.
operation of the other slave States. The party
which is designated by the term secesslonists,
maintaining, that having the night to seeede, the
government of the United States will not dare,
in the face of the world, to oppose us, If we think
proper to exercise it; and in any event, South
Carolina will be able to sustain herself against
all the power she can bring to bear upon us.
These positions present the alternative of a
peaceful, bloodiess separation. one OF force.
Let us suppose fret, that the United States bid
US 90 in peace and freed from the trammels OF
the federal compa (, we take our station among
the other nations of the earth. Can we sustain
ourselves, surrounded as we shall be, by all the
other States united as one body, and under the
control Of majority, who, with civilized por-
tons Of all Europe, are combined against us on
the very point on which we differ with the
United States Does history furnish no exam
pies OF the utter impotency of small and feeble
States to resist the encroachments Of their more
powerful neighbors! Is there warning voice
| in the suffering cries of Poland and Hungary
still ringing in our ears We nevertheless, take
our position. confident in our strength and re-
sources Our own government must be re-mod-
eled to suit this new state Of things and with
out descending to minute, we must have all the
paraphernalia of n sovereign, independent gov
eminent. Ministers, or other agents, to repre-
sent us abroad II navy to protect our commerce,
| it we should have any; an army to protect us
against the petty insults and Law less violence of
our neighbors, and both might be necessary TO
secure us against the crusades of the fanatics of
every portion of the globe, made with view to
liberate our slaves, ] will not suppose our i'm
mediate neighbors capable of it, but it is not
without the range Of possibilities to conjecture.
that individuals might be found who are INCLINED
to strengthen their plantation forces by OCCASION
al drafts from our sable population
| There is no data from which to estimate the
necessary expenses of this new order of things
but to put 1t down at five times the amount of
| our present expenditures would, in my judg-
ment, fall greatly short OF our actual wants
| Will our people, they, bear this in the form
| of direct tax! Who of us has not heard the
buzz Of discomfort run throughout the State, on
! account Of this addition of tax of few cents
on each hundred acres of land, or slave Can
impost duties be relied on to supply any def
cheney! The most sanguine cannot hope that
the United States will allow us to import for
| them; and unless we become nation of swim
oilers and smugglers, our Imports must be linn
tied to our own necessities; and if the duties on
them is limited to what would be bearable, the
amount must fall greatly below the demands
upon our treasury. Men have. and may again
offer up their lives on the altar of patriotism,
but they cannot subsist that alone. Want
alone, will drive thou sands and tens of thous-
ands of the most worthy of our citizens to seek
Il refuge in the neighboring States from these
burthens. We say, let them go--they are un,
worthy Of the blessings of freedom Will that
help us? Will not that impose still greater
burthens on those Of us who remain, and drive
off another colony, and then another! Let us
] look at all the consequences before we take
another step in the progress of reform.
Even this state Of things, gloomy and for
bidding as verify believe them TO be, are merely
suppostions. BY the same rule under which
we claim the right to socede, because the Uni ed
States have violated the stipulations and condi-
ton of the Constitution, the other States, col
ectively or individually, have the aame right to
determine whe' her we have not violated them
on our part; and if we differ as in the construc.
| ton of treaty between Independent nations
the party really injured, would, in the absence
| of any common and impartial umpire having the
! power of giving redress be justified in making
| war upon the aggressor. No one will question
that the United States will claim the right, and
there Is no one so visionary as TO suppose that
| she will consent TO separate from US in peace
! The example alone would be ruinous-each
State, in its turn, might take occasion to QUAR-.
rel with and separate from her. and thus break
up her foundations. The revenue she levies
upon us, is necessary TO pamper the more IA
yoIed portions of the North. How are we TO
meet this state of things! Are we prepared
and ready, and have we the means of success
fully opposing the force she can bring to bear
on us pray you to believe that am not ad
dressing myself to your fears, but to your good
sense and sound Impartial Judgment. | know
that am addressing people as patriotic, and
as any the light Of heaven over shone upon ::
| and also know that there are many who hear
me now, and thousands within the borders of
the State, who would offer their lives willing
sacrifice in defence Of their rights, if it would
avail anything. Would this be prudent and
wise in n contest so hopel ss and unequal The
war of the revolution, that OF 1912, and the
more recent war of Mexico, attest the power of
the federal government in arms and resources
Our numerical force as compared with hers
would be overated az one TO fifty. She has an
army and navy-we have none She has a
treasury, into which money Dws through hun
dred channels Comparatively We haze none
She has credit at home and abroad-our means
of borrowing will depend on our prospect of
success in the most unequaled contest that the
world has ever witnessed. Individual distress
will follow in the train.
The millions nvetsed in railroads, v i'll be lost, |
and the wok consigned to decay. Bank and
commercial capital will fly our borders and seek |
profitable investments elsewhere-our produc |
tions left to rot on our hands. Debtors utterly |
ruined and creditors unpaid. This view sup
poses conflict of arms, and il would be sore
consolation to strike heavy blow, II il should |
be returned even with interest But the limited |