The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-02-25
South Carolina,

We take the anenxed article from the Charles
ton Mercury 1t gives some valuable intelli-
gcnce to the Inteligcnser.
Look out for another "hebdomadal leader
from that quarter soon.
THE FUTURE.-Under this head the National
lntelligencer has devoted its two last hebdoma-
dial leaders to the affairs of South Carolina. Tie
lntelligencer is daily paper but it only has poll
teal inspirations on Saturday, and then they come
like anorth-easter, long and heavy II opens its
second article by n brief summary of the first.
showing how easy it is to put all the sense of
one of its numbering sermons within very
small compass. Here i; is:
"The second net of the drama Of the revolu.
ton, proposed to be played out within the State
of South Carolina, has opened The first act
has ended: the members TO compose the State
convention, which is to expel the government of
the United States from the confines of that State,
are chosen. In what mood they have been
chosen, and what ia consequently expected of
them by those who have controlled the election,
VIC endeavored to show, in our number of Sat
urday last, upon evidence impartialIy selected
from leading papers of the State.
Secession and withdrawal of the State Of
South Carolina alone from the Union, seems
now to be the settled purpose of those who are
able to command majority of votes in the con-
venton, as they had done of the votes in the leg
islature which authorized it,"
II the lntelligcncer never deviates father
from the truth than in the statements above, it
will observe to rank high among chronicles of
the tunes. We have not yet got quite all the
returns of the election for the convention, but
the result can be stated with sufficient certainty.
The convention consists of l 81 members-equa
to both houses of the legislature Of these we
think We are quite safe in saying l27 are, in the
words of the Intelligencer, distinctly and unal.
terably for SECESSION and withdrawal of the
State Of South Carolina alone from the Union p
or, if the lntelligencer is modest and would
prefer their description by another hand they
are mon who, as an old friend from the country
'aid to us yesterday, shave made up their minds
that the federal government is cursed bad bar
gain, which it is high time to get rid Of" These
men go fer secession by the State alone, because
there can be no other secession than by the
States ms individual sovereignties and because
the withdrawal from the Union will thus in every
stage of the act be under the sanction of the
supreme authority, and give to secession the
same basis and support of the sovereign will ey-
pressed in the same form "a the act by which
South Carolina entered the Union.
A minority Of the convention consisting of.
We think, less thnn forty are opposed TO the
speedy action Of the State by herself But let
not the intelligencer imagine there are forty sub
mssionists Ia the convention. We are certain
there are not ten members who will not unhes-
tatingly affirm both Of the following PROPOSE
tons: l. That the State, as one Of confederacy
of sovcreigns has the ccnr right to secedc and,
3 that the action and position of the federal
government afford ample Justification for the ex
ercse Of that right They think it polite to put
olfdecisive action till the other States, or some
of them, get ready to join u.s. We do not agree
with them but feel no inclination to treat their
opinions with disrespec', and still less to class
them with the few who worship power ut it's
great and corrupt centre, and believe that the
government can do no wrong, because it has
forty millions year to squander on its favorites
The minority in the convention rs n body, will
not be opposed to the majority, but only little
in the rear of it, and when the decision IL made
they W II, with few exceptions, take their place
with the foremost in its defence. The act of
secession will be emphatcally the act Of the
whole State, and her people will unite in def.nd-
ing IL "to the last extremity"
The Intelligencer devotes the most of its nr.i
Gle TO n review Of the consequences of secession
to the State, such as it imagiucs they will be-
We also shall have occasion to examine and
weigh these consequences, and we mny also no.
tice point which the In'elligsncer nadver-
tent'y omts TO mention Mt all, to wit, the conse-
qucnces of secession upon the federal govern
mept. These latter may come into disfgure, and
confound all its calculations Of the former.