The southern press., 1851-10-01
From the Daily Georgian
Letter from Hon. Wilson Lumpkln.
ATHENS, Ga, August 18th, l85

81 ATHENS, GA, August 25th, 1851.
GEETLEMEN:-l have the honor to aeknoWl-
edge the receipt Of your kind and fattering in
vitation, to participate with you, and your fel
Elow-citizens of the adjoining counties, in an en-.
tertanment, to be given by the Southern rights
party Of Summeryille, on the first Tuesday in
September next. And you request fur her. that
should, on that occasion, address the people on
the public affairs Of the country; and that ii can
not attend, that would write at length on pub
lie affairs / very much regret that cannot 1T
| tend, as greatly prefer speaking to writing on
such subjects, for various reasons which might
be given. But upon all su' jects of interest to
the public, neither think, speak nor write any
thing, that am disposed to withhold from the
good people OF Georgia, to whose kindness and
Jnfdence | shall ever rem lin debtor. My
life has been spent in Georgia, and in her soil
will be my bnrying place, if die at home.
If we wish to preserve the Union, our first
business should be, to elect Mcdonald, and ca
pable, honest Southern rights men to Congress.
We have nothing to gain by begging or further
Submission TO aggressions from our Northern
confederates. We may expect, as soon, to shun
the bite of an angry dog, by running from him.
Resistance is our best security for peace and
quiet We are pledged to acqriesce in the past,
no man who dare tell yol, that we have no cause
to complain for the past treatment we have re-
ceived from the North II he tells you we have
received nh that is 'iust. fair and equal" you
will know that he is either knave, or fool.
The Free-soilers and Abolitionists have taken
from US the whole of n immense and valuable
Mexican territory, which cost the South blood
and treasure. The compromisers and submis-
sionists will tell you, that You were not de-
prived Of your territory by the Wilmot Prouiso.
To which you may reply that you were cheated
out of your territory by the Executive prouiso--
and the trickery and Juggling of Congress--in
which we may well blush to say, many of our
Southern men acted their full part We, the
unofficial people, reimbursed for these
wrongs, by now and then making one of our
aspirants to Office great man. We get our
pay for the robberies committed on our rights
in offices bestowed on our trusted servants, who
have bartered away our rights.
To preserve the union of the s ates, we must
have equality Without justice and equality
there il no union. An those who contend that
the Union is stronger than our rights, are the
worst enemies of our glorious confederacy Of
States Don't trust such de:nagognes; they
only want office-they arc concealed behind Mr..
Toombs' masked battery, and are ready to sell
your liberty for mess OF pottage. You will
do well to scrutinize closely the characters and
qualifications of all candidates presented for
your suffrage Mcdonald has filled many i'm
portant trusts, and think Ire has done so hon
estlv, with ability, and to the interest of the
State His opponent, Mr.. CoLb has served
eight years in Congress, and has once filled the
Speakers chair. | have not been able 10 find
what he has DONE in defence of the assaled
= - Al 49, that pta
Of Georgia, or the nation. Some of his sup.
porters claim for him the merit of quitting
Congress and conserving to be our governor,
to prevent us from the folly Of dissolving the
Union.
think myself, that Mr. Cobb,s political course
and policy, is the direct road to the destruction
of the Union. Ibalieve submission to gross ag-
gressions aud wrongs on The part Of the slave
States, will stimulate the people Of the hireiing
States 10 greater and more insuferabe outrages
on our rights, until further endurance will be-
come intolerable. Moreover it, as is said, Mr.
Cobb denies to a State the right Of peaeeably
leaving The Union, when oppression can no Ion.
ger be borne, and believing State making the
attempt To secede may be forpibly euerced back
into the Union, why, then, liberty and sef.goy.
eminent is at an end. Government no longer
emanates from the people. Each State of the
Union entered the confederacy Of choice, and IL
they NAV not withdraw at pleasure, then mnori-
ties in our Union are hereafter the slaves Of the
majority, and the political rights Of man are nj
an end. There Is no good government, which
is not sustained by the consent Of the governed.
was born and bred In the old republican faith
Of Jefferson and Madison Democrat by ma.
49,. and from principle, and therefore the idea oi
1o,.,,,,.,, =, f"'ca sounds hlrshly on my old
republican ear. ....-
Gentlemen, the people of Cherokee Ga, have
my warmest sympa,hies. ] feel that am idcn
tilted with them by indissolnhle ties. And now
that am forever done with Office, ard cannot be
Justly suspected Of selfish motives. allow me TO
ask that you search the past records Of the State
where YOU WIN hnd my official Identification
with your section Of the State, for quarter Of a
century past. Examine what ] have done 10
rid yoir section Of the State from an Indian p 'p
nlation the part acted in the survey, distribu.
ton, Element. nd organic alton of the country
&c, ard you will perceive that II have jnst cause
10 participate with you in everyth NJ that adds
10 your prosperity, honor, and renown. have
heretofore gloried in the fact, that Cherokee
Georgia was the model section of the State in
political crthodoxy--in republican symplthy-
and have believed il was the last pl CO in our glo-
r;ous pnion where liberty and equal rights would
be abandoned. God created the mountains and
valleys Of Cherokee "a a refuge for liberty and
independence in the day of trial. We are all
liable 10 err, and be misled for time but the
great amount of common good sense, aud hon.
est purpose, added to the intelligence Of yonr
section, will always shield your section of the
country from being long kept under the con.
troll of office-seekers. Men who bctray the
confidence You have repnsed in them, will very
soon lie found ont, and called 10 that accounta
blity which will cause them 10 hide from your
presence.
Men of the South can no longer obtain ma.
tional offices without Northern support. You
should, therefore. Re watchful and Jealous Of
those who aspire 10 high places, when they mp. |
pear before you as the apooeists, or advocates
Of that section Of country which has boon tramp.
ling on Southern rights, for 10 these many
years. Although IL is n christian duty to love
our enemies, Il Is altogether right 10 love our
friends better. And that Slate or nation which
attemps to overcome the wrongs of other
States or nations. nppn the christian precept OF
Jo;n, ,,ood II avil mill soon find A. nj the Drp