Southern reveille. (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1851-185?, 1852-05-12
COUNTY, MISS, WEDNESDAY, MAY u, 1852.


D nation resisted the tariff Of 1912, were the,
all seceaers, traitors, and disunionists
used the term as it had been used from time
: immemorial-as expressive Of my strong dis
appreciation Of the compromise bills, and o
my determination to induce my constituents
i if possible, to withhold from them the meec
Of their appreciation, and to refuse, as far a
practicable, to allow them 70 become prece.
dents in the future legislation Of the country.
My constituents have neUer sanctioned the
compromise. They have never said 10 net
their appreciation; and, in my judgment,
they never viii.
used, in my speech at home, after my re-
turn from Congress, the Cromwellian express
sion which ever since has 50 much annoyed
the peculiar guardians Of the Union: Pray
to God, but keep your powder dry" And it
was as if | had said, +" Hope for the best, but
be prepared for the worst" The true mean
ing Of this expression will be understood
when | state, that on that occasion, as now, /
said appearances, in my judgment. are delu-
sive. We have suffered much at the hands
Of the North, and we have not seen the end.
We ar. destined 10 suffer much more Some
gentlemen say we have a final, and lasting,
and eternal settlement Of the slavery question.
Ihope ii mag Be 50. But am incredulous /;
would not cease to watch on such an assur-
ance; would hope for the best, but be pre-
pared for the worst. II would pray to God,
but keep my powder dry"
The gentleman takes up the message and
general policy Of Governor Quitman, and at
tempts to hold the Democracy Of Mississippi
responsible for all he ever said and did.
will make this bargain with my colleague: If
he will undertake to be responsible for an that
Governor Foote has said and written, / will
respond for the writings and sayings Of Gov
ernor Quitman. Secession, disuaiou, revolu-
ton. Southern rights, and similar terms, are
as common along the path that General Foote
made in the Congressional record as mile-posts
on turnpike; and yet the gentleman passes
over all these, and attacks Quitman's message
| leave others to decide whose "platter il
clean on the outside" and whose is "flled
with rottenness and dead mems bones" If
my colleagues platter is clean without or
within, it has. to my mind, marvellous
strange way Of showingit.
The gentleman says that on the day the
message Of Governor Quitman appeared +" the
Union Democrats then at the seat Of govern
ment denounced it as reasonable to the nation,
and they so denounce it now"
The day that Governor Quitman's message
was delivered, there was assembled at the seat
Of Government (Jackson) a convention. Il
was not Democratic convention; it was not
Union Democratic Convention it was a
convention in which the Democrats stood to
the Wings as about one to FIVE. This con-
yention denounced the Governors message,
it is true. But Eever heard before that the
voice Of denunciation was that Of the Union
Democrats. | heard it at the time as the
voice Of the Union party, and then, as now, I
recognized it as the growl Of whiggery.
But how came there to be a convention at
the seat Of government! Was il called to
deliberate on the Governors message? Not
at all. This could not be; for the conven-
ton was composed Of persons (ehiehy Whigs)
from all parts Of the State, and It had actually
assembled and was in session at the very mo-
ment when the Governors message was de-
livered. For what purpose did it assemble ?
Not, certainly to consider message yet not
made public, and the contents Of which were
as little known 10 the members Of that body
before they assembled as to the people of
China. / judge Of the purpose Of its as
sembIage BY what it did. Il formed, created,
and brought into being the Union party.
Mark you, it was not the Union Democratic
party. There was no Democratic about it.
lt was the Union Party,' and It was formed
outside Of above, and beyond the Democratic
party. It was an attempt to form a third
party. It failed; and then the ringleaders
threw an anchor to the windward. Then it
was that finding the national Wings and
national Democrats were laughing at them,
my colleague and his Union friends hung out
the democratic banner AT first. il was
all Union; and when they found the Union
would not save them, they called themselves
Union Democrats.
One Of my colleagues Mr. NABERsl the
other day asked, in the course Of his speech,
" What it was that constituted party! Was
itnumbera or principles" ?" He said it was
numbers and as there were numbers in Mis-
sissippi who avowed themselves secessionists,
he concluded there wasa secession party there
My colleagues premises are badly laid, and
his conclusions 40 not follow bis premises.