The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-10-16
cur,osItios OF secession Literature.

Aulle Ddtcn OF lnlS description Oh CORE
spondence has accumulated upon our hands
within the last day or two, and we propose to
give up brief space to a few gleanings, just
to afford fair sample of the material which
figures largely in the columns of divers of our
! South Carolina contemporaries.
| Begin we with Mr. j. G.. w. DUNCAN, of
| Barnwell, who writes
! 81 distinctly take the ground that apart from
and independently of the measures of the mis-.
called Compromise, the wrongs which South Caro-
lima in common with the other States of the South
has suffered at the hands of the Federal Govern
nent and the North amply sufficient to justify
her withdrawal from the present Union"
Therefore, quoth Mr.. DUNCAN, secede at
once, and help will come; for, paradoxical as it
may seem, it is nevertheless true, that all the
secessionst leaders have coaxed themselves
into belief that the cooperation which is with
held now, when other States reason calmly,
will be rendered enthusiastically when South
Carolina has really seeded. A non Seg,dttr in
logic, and pregnant with danger as an expert
ment.
But Mr.. DUNCAN is not alone. Mr.. JNo.
McQuEEN, of the Marlboro district, South Ca
rolina, says:
GAS for myself, am, and have long been. salts
fed that in the Union may expect nothing but
disgrace and ruin; out of it we may, and think
will, maintain nobler destiny With these con-
victions hope the convention provided for by the
Legislature will, before it finally dissolves, with
draw that portion of the sovereignty of the State
forever from an arrogant Federal agency, in
which all State sovereignty is about to be swal-
lowed up, and every thing dear to us tramped I'M
der foot''
Pity on the man who sees in the present posi-
ton of Charleston nothing but disgrace and
ruin" accruing from the Union, and who fan
cies that out of chaos can come ga nobler des-
tiny"
While this distorted view is cherished by
men who are in all other respects highly esti-
mable-who are good friends, and enterpris-
ing, intelligent, and honest dealers-it is not
surprising that others are prepared to take up
the subject where they leave it, and to carry it
TO its legitimate consequences. If the evil be
so monstrous, the ultima ratio suggests itself at
once; and here is an instance Of it from the pen
Of Mr.. RICHARD DE TREvILLE, writing from
Beaufort, South Carolina:
eve may be subdued and dragged back in
chains conquered people-or, on the other
hand, may be able to sustain the conflict for
seven years. as in the Revolution and in the end
prove too much for foes; but in either event the
| Confederacy will be destroyed If any remnant of
the Federal Government can be found then, 1t will
be in the form of despotsm against which the
most timid State will revolt. / say again, then,
that the Federal Government has not the right, nor
will che dare interfere with the action Of this
State"
nice commentary this on the ''nobler des-
tiny" doctrine! Quiet people are accustomed
to act on the proverb, Look before you leap"
and ordinary minds are very apt to speak of
such a precaution as prudent; but Mr.. DE
TREvILLE and his colleagues despise all pru
dental considerations, and are prepared to en-
counter all the horrors of civil-ay, of ser
vlle--war, rather than go on as now, prosper
ously and well, under the flag of the Union.
Mr.. d. WALLACE, like Mr.. DE TREvLLE,
is willing to put the case in its worst aspect
Still he goes for secession, and for South Caro-
lima taking the initiatory step:
'Let the action of the State be even regarded as
forlorn hope. The object to be gained is worth
any ga rifce. There must be beginning in every
struggle for the rights of man, and people who
will not bear the cannot wear the crown
Instead of stopping to count the cost, VIC should
look to the end to be gained. The moment re-
treat is sounded, our ruin is sealed
What is this but pure, unmitigated folly
downright rashness, devoid alike of rhyme and
| reason
he hot coll al f,rtb lot
writing was the anniversary meeting of the St.
Bartholomew's Southern Rights Association,
just held at Walterboro', South Carolina; and
the Charleston Mercury brings long list of
sentiments" volunteered at the meeting,
| from which we select the following:
''By the Hon. Simon Verder: Immediate State
secession--the only sovereign remedy for the cure
Of the disease of the body polite, whether it re-
| quircs fighting or not, is my motto, II must be
done at all hazards for the salvation of the State
sovereignty, will be dragged into vassnlage
or consolidation
| "By DR.. Lining: Sccession--a right reserved by
the States at the formation of the Federal Govern
ment-South Carolina will maintain the right or
! perish in the attempt
"By Josiah Il. Perry, esq., The contemplated
fifth secession of South Carolina-may it prove as
| glorious in lis consequences lite predecessors.
| "By James Saunders, senior, esq., would ra-
ther dig grave for my own son, with my own
hands, and hide him from the face of mankind,
than see him a submssionist"
One of two things can hardly fail to strike
the reader who weighs the meaning of these
words either these letter-writers and toast
makers are arrant bnggarts, putting forth
mighty phrases, and then retiring home TO sup
per as though they had done valiantly, or they
are men who are sincerely committing them
selves to an enterprise that can bring only ruin
to themselves and families. In either case
they are as culpable, morally and legally, as
the most fanatcal Of the abolitonists.
We can make room for but one other extract
this time from Alabama literature. In the town
Of Eutaw, in that State, there is a paper pub
lished called the Democrat, and its editor thus
discoursetb in reference to the possible contin-