The Yazoo Democrat., 1852-03-10


OF civil war in Mississippi, ora selection Of the
leaders to command the army Of the South p.
de next attempts to prop up his unsustained
assertion BY the introduction Of what be terms
Col, Pickens' celebrated Edgefeld speech" in,
which ne Is represented to have said IN reference
to Gen. Quitfnan and myself:
W" If they carry Mississippi as feel assured
they will, we will greet whatever propositions.
they may have TO make, with a cordial and hear.
ty welcome, because we know they could make.
none but what were compatible with the vfndi-.
cation of our rights and honor"
Upon this the gentleman says what sort Of
propositions Col. Pickens expected to come from.
these gentlemen, / leave Others to decide"
In the speech which made at Fayette.,t the.
pamphlet edition of which he SAYS was widely
circulated, and from which he pretended to quote
Immediately between two of. his extracts he must
have seen that which made ita fraud in him to-
affect to believe that any proposition against thu.
Union of our forefathers would have been made
by me, and thereupon to announce that. as com.
mander in chief of the army and navy of Mis-
sissippi, he had no such proposition. to make
There distinctly stated as a reason why Miseis-
sippi should meet South Carolina in friendly
council, that thus the latter State might be pre
vented from seeding. and Sc the first wish Of
both might be obtained, the adoption of meas
ures by the Southern States which would finally
secure the rights Of the Southern and perpetuate
the Union of the States" The speech which
made at Fayette, was published in pamphlet
form but the proof sheet was not read by my
SELF and there are some errors In II. ] nave said
however, that he pretended to quote from that
speech, and said so because his extracts are so
garbled as to conceal the opinions expressed ita-
icised by himself, and grossly misquoteI TO sus-
tain his assertion that it was revolutionaryand
warlike in its character: for instance-his last
extract reads thus
''To the ladies he returned his thanks &c
The resolutions against power and Oppres-
sion bad generally been found on the side of lil
eriy and Justice. Thus it had been i'm the revo-
luton which gave the land to freedom and free
dom to mankind; thus il was in the last strug-
gle of unhappy Poland when the courage Of the
women sustained the failing hopes of the patri-
OF and their vessels furnished the succOr to sug-
tain the soldiery who fought the last battle be-
fore Poland's freedom Perished forever"
The pamphlet copy Of my speech reads thus
"To the ladies', he returned his thanks for their
! numerous attendance; and expressed the gratif-
cation he felt IN this manifestation of their in
! tereSt IN the great questions that aQitated the
public mind. This interest became them. for
who was more deeply Interested in the peace and
prosperity of the country than they and their
contenace gave assurance, not only Of success,
but of the justice and nobility of the cause. It
was in their generous natures to be elevated above
sordid temptations-they were removed from
| the petty striies and petty rivalnes, which too
often dragged mans nature down, aud sunk the
/ patriot to the partizan. In revolutions against
power and oppression the women had generally
! been found on the side of liberty and i1stice -
huS ! had bnpu M he
| this land to freedom, and freedom to mankind:
thus 1t was In the last struggle Of unhappy Pc-
land, when the courage of the women sIstaineI
the failing hopes of the patriot and their Jewels
| furnished the means to sustain the sOldiery who
fought the last battle before POlands freedom
pershed forever. The present occasion callel
Tor less sacrifice than thsOe, but yet required
enough to arouse their lofty nature to its lOfiest
efforts"
Will any one wonder, knowing the man as
did, and as he must appear to Others BY this act.
that should have discredited his statements. and
called for specific proof?
He says he has several hundred toasts. but will
only set forth few. This being in reply to my
demand for proof of my selection as military
leader of the South, in an anticipated civil war
or of my nomination as the head Of proposed
Southern Confedency, he has, Of course, selected
in relation to those points. He says:
{" And now for the tohen, the tohere. and the Jv
1chOm of the toasts," &c. 81 select priocipally
from those drunk in Charleston Bludfon Bull
swamp and Columbia. Behold!"
With this startling announcement he presents
fourteen toasts, with but three Of which / am
indirectly or directly connected; and Of those,
but one bears upon the points on which de-
manded proof. ! was promised the where, the
when, and the by whom, according to my de-
mand for specific proof; they have not been Civ
EN-; the demand stands unanswered. And 7
have no means of using the information as I
originally suggested; or Of learning how far
these are literal copies The doubt of their ex~
istence has not therefore, been removed But
take the case as it is presented and the only toast
bearing upon the issue, is the following:
SOUTH CAROLINA. separate action, If COOP
Grafton cannot be obtained. QHitHua1 or Daris
The trst President offhe S0uikera CoRfederacur
Does this prove any organization for the es-
tablishment Of a Southern -confederacy7 Is #
not manifest that even he who gave the toast
had no confidence in the cooperation of the
Southern States, and had no cointelligence with,
those whose names he used Else be wouldnot
have thus eontigently attached them to the sentf.
ment, "SOUrH CARoLINA-Separate aeti0n, if
cooperation cannot Be obtained.
The two other toasts are:
nrv