The southern press., 1851-08-02
srEGCn 0v
Hon. y. ". RICKENN,
ruercd at EdgedeAi G. H., Jul
Comcixsios.

Hen. y. ". rtCKEHS,
: Delivered at EdgsdeM G. H., july 7, 1881.
II [Concissie~.l
/. Fellow citizens! We now come to iuvesti
gate our present position a. State, and 70 state
fairly what may be our particular duty in thu
! emergency. A.
was opposed to the call Of the convention
, under existing circumst stances, and particularly
opposed to the meeting Of the convention be-
ing so long after the election. ! thought j
, would give pretext for divisions amongst oui
own people. thought it dangerous to repose
the sovereign power of the State, even extend
ing to life aud property in its results, in sc
small body of men as constitute that conven-
ton, for 80 long time in advance The great
strength Of a convention consists in coming
fresh from the people, and the people them
selves deciding all great questions in advance
thought there was danger of confusion, and
feared final imbeclity. ! therefore would have
preferred the election of the convention to take
place in October next, instead OF February last
But now that we are in convention-l am for
going through. | am against standing still
or taking any step backwards True, the Issues
may somewhat change by next spring when the
convention meets. New questions may arise
that may vary the prospects of affairs. Allow
me to say, with Difference TO others, that the
great danger now is, not rashness, but division
and imbecility The danger is that we will sink
under the pressure brought to bear on us.
fear, that il we pass this crisis without doing
something, the country will sink The spirit OF
our people will die away. III We permit this ac-
cumulation of all pow er in the federal hands
under the dictation of Northern fanaticism,
Northern prejudice and Northern interests, we
will be worn out and prostrated, and finally
quail before despotism.
Our yeung men will snk-They will begin
to worship Northern power. and become indf-
ferent to their own country. They will bow
down before magnificent government, where
liberty will be absorbed in the extended rays of
patr0nage---- t.is
"They will crook the pregnant hinges Of the knee
Where thrift may follow fawning." Va
Our very women will contemn and despise US
as degenerate race, and they will look 70 others
for protection The first evidence of the cor.
ruption and decay Of a people, is that the women
begin to idolize foreigners. II the men become
cowardy and luxurious, the women begin to
look to othe for that maniness which they so
much admire. Such was the case in Mexico, and
such will be the case in every country where the
men want spirit to defend their rights. know
that the great chartered rights and independence
Of my State are in danger-I feel that we are
degraded people if we do not rise desire CO.
operation with our sister States of the South
will wait to the very last, while there is hope
II will yield every emotion of pride and every
thing, but sacrifice of principle, to procure CO.
opera,ion.-But it may bcome our sacred duty TO
nct alone, and # so, must ,oaM The pank alone
like men, although that plank may lead over q
gulf Of frghtful dangers. If it be right to
secede--it is a perfect right and belongs as
much to one State as to all. 1t is right Incl
dent to sovereignty. And the denial Of that
right by the constituted authorities would make
it an imperious duty to exercise it. If TIL be
the issue, the sooner we test the question of the
unlimited powers of the federal government the
better But the gentleman (Capt. Brooks,) has
quoted from speech of mine delivered in Spart-
anburg last August, urging cooperation and
joint action with the South. do 10 now But
he must recolect, that speech was delivered un-
der totally different circumstances from the pres
ent. 1t was delivered before the second meet
ing of the Nashville convention, when we were
actually in consultation with our Southern breth-
rem. 1t was delivered before the election and
meeting of the Georgia State convention-be-
fore the extra session of the Mississippi egsla.
ture--and before our own legislature had met
or done any thing. | feared that we might be-
come isolated at that time But all these things
have taken place, and we exhausted cvery thing
in trying to produce o-operation--and we are
now free to take our own course, exercising our
best judgment for the welfare of ALL
The gentleman will see in that very speech
ask if others should give way, and we should
fail in co-operation-what then will South
Carolina do? | said then "she dare not sub
NIT finally" Let others do as they will, she
was bound, mot by any committa, for State
is not committed to herself-and only CON-
mitted when acting with others) to 60 through
used this language-"what others may do we
cannot say, but / trust | may be excused for
saying zoe cannot--we dare not submit finally.
If we do, the mighty spirits that sleep under the
plains of the Cowpens and Eutaws would turn
in their graves with scorn and Indignation for
their degenerate sons" The very speech from
which the gentleman quoted contains this lang
uage.
| was for concert and co operation, but ! never
dreamed that we were to fold our arms and wait
forever. was for waiting and doing all that
reasonable men could do to produce concert
and unanimity in the States, but | never con-
ceved the idea, that in no emergency, should
we be forced to act alone.
In the first Nashville convention, took the |
ground that decided and concerted action of the |
leading Southern States would preserve our
rights and the Union too. The States, if they
had then united firmly and tcmperately, could |
have made an authoritative declaration of their |
rights under the Constitution, and it would have |
been equivalent to bill of rights in all time to |
come. If Virginia had taken the lead in this |
matter, our rights would have been preserved, |
and the Union too. | said then, that without
this, the States would be driven 10 separate
action, and this would bring on a convulson,
and in all human probability dsunion. saw
it then and ! see is now. Virginia and Geor-
gia permitted the occasion to pass, by which they
might have saved the Constitution ard avoided |
a convulson Those two States acting together
then, could have controlled the South and die
tated terms. They have passed it by. and we
now must make our own liberties. We were |
the first State to put forth written constitu-
tion and form n government independent of
Great Britain, even before the joint declaration
of Independence, and we also ns State won
glorions victory before that declaration And,
it we are true to ourselves, we can stand alone
DO, otx