Burlington tri-weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1852-1855, 1855-02-03
The Southern Convention.

The third session OF the great Southern
Convention has adjourned. 1t met at New
Orleans with wonderful flourish of trum-
pets, and the few scattered m mbers kept up
the trumpeting individually throughout the
whole session. 1t could not boast of gen.
cral representation, as it wa composed of
stragglers from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi. and Alabama. Albert Pike the
Arkansas dreamer, monopol:zed the greater
share of attention, and did the most talking.
Missouri was not represented, last years ex-
perience having taught her that the enter
prise has too much theoretical sand, and too
little practical granite in it's foundation.
1t is an arena for the display of evolutionary
gladiatorials, by aspiring Southern spouters
who are fonder of talking than acting, rather
tn n an assembage of wise and truly patri-
otto statesmen gathered to consider compre-
hensive means for the developm ut AMI ad-
vancement of southern interests.
Zone chief characteristic of this convention
was its glaring inconsistency. 1t twisted
political economy into every possible shape,
giving it dec;d dly Southern leaning in the
end. 1t went to the end of Free Trade teth
er, by resolving that duty on Iron should be
abolished, and the next day offered its devo-
tions at the shrine of Protection by declaring
for the imposition of sp c fc duties GA sugar.
The Free Trade lozenge was for the chops,
while the recommendation Of specific sugar
duties, was ntorceau for the especial ru-
mination of the cane growers. Verify, South
0rn interests, institutions, and destinies are
too vast and important to be directed by a
would establish Protean policy hexbly
susceptible of as many variations as there
are Southern States. The cotton men spurn
protection as they would balcfui poison,
while the sugar raisers want just enough of
1t to add G mt or two per pound to the
price of their staple. We think that strin-
gent protection is the only safe thresh- hold
through which the South can walk ultimately
to the pinnacle of Free Trade power, and
that discriminating duties on imports not for
revenue purposes alone, but rs an incentive
to the encouragement Of diversified manu-
factures, would do her more good than a
thousand commercial conventions or ten
thousand local statesmen.
At the New Orleans Convention the sub
ject Of education was brought up for the
purpose Of reprobating the practice of send
ing Southern students to be educated at
Northern colleges. This is the old Song
the new eruption OF chronic disease. What
utter folly there is in wasting words about it,
without attempting remedy. Why moi
build up good universities in the South,
rather than declaim against the influence OF
those at tile North. No donbt each of the
conyentionists, who spoke SO furously at
at New Orleans on the prolific theme OF
Yale College abolitionism, and Cambridge
fanaticism, will 60 home and send his son If
he has one, off to Harvard or New Haven,
utterly oblivious of the fact that those places
are hotbeds CT hatred to Southern inst;tu-
tons.
On the whole after viewing the action OF
the three sessions of the Southern CONNER
cial convention, we conclude that, though
there arc diseases in the southern BODY poll.
tic, empires OF Arkansas, Texas, and Mis-
sissippi, are not the ones to cure thcm.-[St.
Louis News.