The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-05-03

war in any form can b nads on Sou>A Caro-
lins without lighting, he IL not worth reasoning
with. Where there Is will, there il way. Il
war a. in other things. We will 6ght-hgh
long; and. il necessary, trust, we will 6gh
evsrlastingly. ia defence Of the sovereignty q
our State, and Of our dearest rights, liberties
and institutions. What can Tho Northern poo.
pie gain 10 such contest, but inevitable defeat
and disaster! Give them all they can possibly
expect to accomplish. Suppose that they are
not embroiIed with other nations, for lawlessiy
q commerce as much theirs a. ours
and that We are ut last vanquished and subdued
will that preserve the Union! They may
have a province held in subsection by military
force, but can they make US, against our will, a
State Of the Unien! Can they force US to elect
senator's or representatives to Congress! ny
our accession, the Union il dissolved, and will
stand dissolved by our mere non-actlon. But
II this policy Of coercion il pursued, Will dls-
union be- limited to South Carolina alone! Does
any man believe that the general government
can carry on a war agninst Southern State, for
exercising her right OF seeding from the Union,
in defence Of her liberties and institutions, and
that no other Southern States will join her in
the contest! The right Of secession is the right
OF all. Surrender it, and the States are no longer
sovereignties They are not parties to the con
stitutional compact; but mere provinces Of one
vast consolidated empire, under the absolute
sway Of the free States in the North, through
the majority in Congress-. G
The Southern States will have no defence,
either in the Uuion, or out the Union, to stay
the strong hand Of usurpation and abolition,
growing stronger every day /; and il they suffer
South Carolina to be subjugated by the sword,
her doom must soon be theirs, with the in
creased ferocity they will have inspired In our
successful foes do not consider it to be q
matter of doubt, that if the free States use the
government to make war on South
Carolina, and she fights as becomes her ancient
Southern confederacy is Us sure to
come az the succeeding year. The Northern
people, us we'll as the general government,
know that this will be the result, as well US we
do and therefore have no expectation that
any bin will ever pass Congress TO coerce South
Carolina from going out Of the Union No such
hill. am satisfied, could have passed the last
Senate of the United States. Win Rhode Island,
the last State to enter the Union, or Delaware,
consent to be dsrobed Of their sovereignty |!
What are they in the Union without it, butaris-
tocratic fungusses on the body polite, to be cut
off in the Senate by the equalizing sword OF
Democracy. Could the Northwestern Demo-
Gratis. who so lately maintained that the right to
self government was 80 sacred in people that
the emicrants in California had a right to set up
\ government for themselves throughout that
whole magnificent region, although owning not
a foot of the soil, deny to the people OF South
Carolina the right they thus accorded to the
people Of California, and force on them gov
eminent they have repudiateds Could the
Northeastern Democrats, resting on the limita-
tations of the Constitution, as their great leader
(Mr. Woodbury. has so long and 80 faithfully
lone, find any warrant in the Constitution to
,oerce a State! How many senators from the
South are prepared to try the strength OF the
general government in coereing Southern
State to remain in the Union? There may be
two, and YOU will find it difficult to name them
NV friends, am satisfied that If South Carolina
thinks proper to go out of the Union, she will
90 without single hostile gun being fired, or
single tombstone being erected to tell tale Of
On expressing such conviction to
a distinguished officer Of our State, Immediately
on nv return from Washington, he exclaimed
" No fighting, well, that is the worst news have
heard for long time How in the name of
heaven, are we to get the Southern confed-
eracy!' answered. v just government and
a SUPERIOR liberty No. You will have no fight
ing, and rejoice that the responsibility il with
US, whether we sball have It or not We will
have no fighting, not because you are loved, nor
from any principle which Restraints from shedding
your blood. You are hated, no doubt, quite
enough to bring on You any calamity, which un-
power avarice, or fanatcism can in
flirt. But there is policy in avarice. There is
policy in fanaticism; and all these perceive that
TO attempt to coerce South Carolina in any way,
is to secure their own defeat, and our speedy de-
liverence from their de grading thraldom. They
acquesce only in the necessity Of things.
That this is the policy determined now in
Congress, may perhaps be strongly inferred from
two facis-the army bill, proposing consider
able increase Of the army, and the fertilization
bill, both failed in the House of Representatives
at the close of the last session by large MAORI
ties. The election in South Carolina to her con-
vention, had then distinctly indicated her future
course
Put have heard it said, the general govern
ment will not blockade us entirely. They will
only have floating custom house in their ships
of war of our coast, or exact the duties under
the cannon of the forts in our harbor | wish
to meet all objections.
BY this scheme of interfering with our COM
nerce, it is not, in the first place, easy to per
ceve, how duties can be collected on whole
cargo in the hold of ship To collect the du-
ties, the ship must be unloaded-the goods be
seen, to be appraised; or seized it falsely in
voiced, or not entered at all, to eva1e the duties.
All of our custom house laws to prevent snug
Cling and the evasion of duties, are based on
the impossibi'ity of collecting duties on goods
in bulk in the hold of ship. Fit is the estab-
lished law, that papers without the inspection
of goods, or a captains statement of what his
ship contains, are to be- the only proof Of impor-
tatons into Charleston, and the only criterion
Of the duties to be collected, the collection of
duties will soon become n farce. Charleston
will practically be a free port. Even ten per
cent. duties will ha dly be levied on onr imports.
But the true answer to this mode of interfering
with our commerce is. that it will be war In
seeding from the Union, South Carolina will
exercise right, which she, at least deems I'M
questionable. When she has dissolved her
Union with her States, sheputs an end to her
co-partnership with them--she puts an end to
their common agent, the general government, 80
far as she is concerned. So long as the Union