Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1851-03-20
OUR TRUE POSITION.


aof political preeipice; and that another
! step will plunge her into a gulph ofruin. Ma
4 nv of her inside advisers also chime in with
Hthis prediction and lift up their hands in holy
ahorror, at the cnormity of our proposed ae'
4 lion. One would suppose, from their gloomy
aaugurics, that we lived under reign of Ter,
8 ror, more revolving than the world had ever
sknown, or else, in period Of semi-civiliza,
aion. where the strength of numbers over
: powered the force of Justice and over-shad-
aowcd the beauty otsTruth. a terrific pic
aurc of disaster, of poverty and of disgrace
sis held up by many assthe familiar and fully
arccognizcd consequence of resistance 10 op-
: apression Even few of the generous ad-
avocates of genuine Freedom, have been led
q trcmble before the dark coloring of these
acvil prophecies. and, like timid mariners when
ascowling clouds portend astorm, are eagerly
gcryng aloud 10 their public sentinels,
"Watchmen, tell us of the night,
n w hat us SlBllS ol prolillse aFe
8 As reply to this anxious enquiry, we can
not perhaps express our sense Of "the hope
that is within us" more APPLY, than by adopt
sing the concluding lines of the stanza we
ahave just quoted in part--~
"Marincr, Ger yon dizzy height
I See that brightly beaming starr
aIt is the star of South Carolina's destiny
swatch it with unerring devotion-as long as
Fit sparkles on high, with its present briliian-
cy, hope for the best and believe that it 'oill
come; but when you perceive that its lustre
! is dimnaed and that it is sinking into the low,
murky atmosphere, nowfar beneath it, then
i. flee to the mountains" or hide in the depths
| of some vast wilderness, if you would not
witness the extinction of the only well.
grounded hope Of Southern Equality and
1 Independence.
These arc no high-Gown expressions, adj
dressed only to the CARVE design them as
3:ppeals to the hearts and understandings of
our citizens. They shadow forth truth,
! (which each one of us should be proud to-
arcaIizc-a truth, which our real friends at the)
South will gladly admit, and which our enc
mics, everywhere, cannot gainsay. And it Isl
| this That South Carolina is of all the sis
stelhood, the most Jealous and disintercsted
defender of our Government as it should be|
the most fearless and:uncompromising enc
nv of our Government: as it now is. And
we conscienciously believe, that upon the
sunshrinking maintenance of this position on
! her part, hangs not onIy. her honor, but The
veal of her people and;the prosperity of the
whole slave-holdng country.
Let us, for n moment, ,.review the general
/ grounds, upon which We have assumed this
position, and which Indicate the paramount
Importance of maintating ito tie last.
Il WQhold 10 be- s., which does not
sdmit Of denial, thathS Pseudo philanthropy
of the North, wilh all the influences ii ca"
bring 10 bear, is determined upon the dcstruc-
J Alion Of the institution of slavery. This is
their manifest policy, which, in the pride and
1insolence of their growing power, they do
! not pretend to disguise. We further believe
Sthat it can be said with perfect truth, that
the politicians of the North, as body, have
given irrcfragible proof Of their dispositions
TO pandcr to the wishes of this fanatical fac-
alion. For it is undisputed by Southern men,.
! that the latc Compromise measures were stu
adiously represented 10 that faction IS an-
swcring their designs, to all intens and pnr-
poses, if not, by special enactment, legSla-
sling their will. The gildcd pill, which was
administered to the South in the shape Of the
sFugilive Slave Bill, is already producing the
] anausca of disgust; for it is almost dcmon-
sstratcd, that this bill is futile and nugatory
sIt is, in n word, evident that the AbolIlionlsts
shavc gained by this system of measures al
amost all that their hearts. can desire, while
aScuthern shareholders have lost every point
{ in dispute.
s We maintain, moreover, that this invctc-
rate enmity to Southern Slavery is not 4 feel
Aisg of sudden and mushroom growth-but
Zone which dates back many years, and which
shas become ramifed through every grade OF
INorthern society, high and low, law-abiding
aand law-contcmning, until it has become in
sscparable from their social and political char
sactcr. LISA feeling that owes its existencr
{ as much to the rapacity of Capitalists and the
ajcalousy of white laborers, as to the frenzy
of fanatics. This cnmity was progressing
{ Yrapidly 10 the completion Of its nefarlous de-
asigns upon our institution of slavery once
abcfore, although by a different course from
athat now pursued. This progress WAS check
Bed by the action of South Carolina in 1882.
aBut the feeling of hostility only increased IN
arancor with this defeat, while it gathered uT
9 Traditional cunning for a renewed attack.
aSeeng that the abolition party proper Qor III
I aone sense they are all so) was gaining strength
with wonderful rapidity, our cool-hcadcd OPP
aponents determined at once TO conduct the
sgame without seeming to participate IN the
astrife. And even now, with the fact OF col
9I 9I.;., ,,,o,.o1 I,, oyor, nrominpOt measure