The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1851-05-10


must be raised annually. by taxation upon
imports on the Atlantic, to he expended on
the Pacific border. The commerce Of Ore
gon and California must be carried on with
the East; and lines of Government steam
ships, under apretext Gf a pretcxt be want
ing, where protligacy and public robbery are
esteemed public virtues,) of carrying the
mails, will be built ut no distant date, and
this mainly, too, at the expense of the South,
to ply over the bosom Of the Pacific to fos-
ter the commerce Of these foster children of
abolition brood, and to create muni6cent
government bounties for Northern men and
Northern enterprise. We are just now verg-
ing upon the most stupendous scheme of
taxation known among the nations of the
earth. The career of other nations exhibits
instances OF exorbitant taxation to Support
armies and to raise the material of war
The taxation upon which we are verging
seeks. by system of government plumber
unequalled i'll its imposture, TO transfer the
property of one section of the Union, to an
other section, and to distribute it among the
people Of the favored section in The form of
government bounties. "Give me the right
to labor" said Proudhon, in the French
chamber Of Deputies, "and will take care
of the property" Give the Northern Par
lament the unlimited power of taxation, rs
it now has under the Constitution, by the
strange fatality Of its trainers, and it is IN
easy task to transfer the property of the
South to the North-a system of spoation
which has been steadily in progress ever since
the Union was formed. According to the
plainest principle of justice and common
sense, the South, being deprived of all par
ticipation in the benefits of the public do
main, should be exempted from the payment
of all taxes to be expended there. But this
immunity is not only denied, but the wants
of the new Pacific States demand increased
levies Of taxes upon the South, that their
prosperity may be guaranteed and fostered.
Can despotism be more despotic, injustice
more unjust, tyranny more remorseless, than
this? Can any doom be more terrible, more
relentless, than that to which the South is
thus consigned2 If the South submits to
these manifold acts of tyranny and oppres-
sion, can her degradation be deeper, her in
fanny blacker, or her ruin more disastrous
and complete? To be thus sentenced to a
living death; to feel slow decay sinking
deeper and deeper into the public heart, and
the death worm, with its stealthy march,
feeding upon the vitals of the State ere life
be extinct, is refinement of cruelty and ty-
ranny unknown among the nations. Were
an attempt made, like that upon Poland or
Hungary, to devastate and lay waste our
country with fire and sword, we should have
the privilege of meeting the invader in the
battles shock, and if borne down by the
weight of numbers, we could fall gloriously
with untarnished honor, under the folds of q
flag whose escutcheon never yet paled in front
of an enemy. But to quail cravenlv to the
oppressor, and qnietly fold our arms to re.
ceive the chains Of bondage, without a man
ly struggle to avert our fate, to vindcate on,
national equality and honor, and preserve
our liberty, will cover us with mountain Of
deserved infamy, disgrace and ruin
Such. then, is the condition to which We
are reduced. Our sovereignty and indepen.
dence derided and denied, our cqual dcs-
troyed, our Constitution overhrown, our ma
tionai crtensio', prohibited, every principle
of national faith and justice violated, our ma.
tional subjugation and death decreed, and
the sword Of the Union held over us if VIC
dare to assert our rights. And this is called
Liberty" Equality" Freedom and Iu.
dependence" "Glorious Union"
This great issue which is now pending be-
tween North and South may be resolved in
to single postulate of political philosophy.
The Union which our fathers formed involves
the proposition, that different tribes and ma
tions of men who are progressing to differ
ent and incompatible forms of civilization,
may be united under the same form of free
government. The history of the world,
through every generation of man, from the
beginning until now, proues upon every page
| Of tt that this cannot be DONE A union of
different forms of civilization, under the same
form of government, though free at first,
will degenerate into despotism and diff
ferent states and tribes of men, progressing
under different forms of civilization, cannot
be held together in the same union and un-
der the same form of government, except by
force. The history of the empires of Greece
and Rome. and of the empire of Great Bri~
tain in modern times, proves the truth Of
this proposition beyond doubt or controver-
sy. The Union our fathers formed includes
in it's limits two distinct forms of civilization,
10 wit: the slave States of the South, and
the free States of the North. Here is the
fatal apple of discord which has distracted
the councils of the Government, and dis
turbed the harmony of the Union from the
beginning until now. From these PROPOSE
tions the following postulate is clearly de-
ducible: That aohen different States pro-
gressing tn different forms Of civilization
are united tn political union under the same
government, if 1t be a Representative Gov
ernnsent, the political opinions and 1,rinci-
pies, and the etorma Of civilization wh;ch pre-