Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1856-12-18
GENERAL WALKER AvD A SOUTHERN g

GENERAL WALKER ASD A SOUTHERN CoxI
FEDERAcT.-In the best informed cirole{
there is now no doubt as TO what GeneraI
Walkers meaning was when he wrote thoz{
secret instructions to his intended ambassa{
dor to the Court Of London. His hope md
expectation were literally to form "a South
ern COnfederacy." to counter-balance that 4
the North. e., the United States-in par1
by weakening them; and a Confederac3
which should include not only Cuba, but oui
own Southern States. and exclude ''the Y AN
KEGS" Walker had just seen Mr. Souls and
re-establshed slavery in Nicaragua when I'd
wrote, fully expecting to see Fremont elect
ed, and then be able to get either the whole
OF the best part of the South TO quit the Union|
unite themselves to him, sweep il Mexicc|
and Central America, seize Cuba, revive the
slave trade, and so form a Union Of thcir)
own. That was his idea; and he supposed
MS agent, then in New York, would UNDER
stand him. But either he did not take. or|
believed it to be more for the interest Of Cuba
to be united with the whole Of the United
States than with such an amslgamatioa Of
various elements, and therefore published the
correspondence.
Since the ascertained election Of Mr. Buch-
anan every particle OF this feeling has disap-
peared from the journals Of our own South
ern States, even the most ultra, unless some
of those OF South Carolina should be thought
an exception. The message of the Governor
of that State, and the action Of its House Of
Representatives in regard TO the revival Of
the slave trade, has, indeed startled every
haI H. "a.
editor of the Charleston Courier, and a repre-
sentative of very large and Influential class
Of citizens Throughout the whole South aud
Southwest. opposed by all means in his pow
er the ac,ion of the House, SO that it must
not be supposed that this action IS really en-
dorsed by the whole State, much less by the
South generally. Five years ago not a soul
in the South had conceived the idea ol such
a re-estabishment
We have carefully examined the message
Of the Governor on this subject, and are per
fectly surprised that he did not perceive bow
completely, in his jealous argument for the
re-opening of the slave trade, he has damag-
ed the cause Of the South. What a dozen
of its bitterest enemies could not have done.
his message, if adopted as a fair exponent Of
southern views would effectuslly accomplish
His argument is briefly this: If the slave
trade is wrong, slavery must be wrong.
and since the slave States are made equal
with the free States in the Constitution, this
ban put upon the slave trade is unjust, un-
constitutional, and ought to be swept out
Of il.
But how is it that these advocates OF the
slave trade do not see that this argument
might be turned on them with the most dan
gerous and damaging effect? Thus, the right
of doing away with the slave trade is cx-
pressly granted by the constitution, and was
discussed and adopted most deliberately as an
essential part of the whole compact on which
the Union was formed. II, therefore, 1t were
true that the slave trade and slavery must
stand or fall together, and are on the same
moral and constitutional level il would fol-
low that slavery was intentionally pat under
ban in the constitution. 1t might even be IL
ferred, ifthat supposition were true, that Con-
gress had a right to legislAte on slavery
throughout the Union. The failacy of all
this lies in putting the slave trade on the
same level with slavery, in the direct face
alike of Scripture, of common sense, of the
constitution, and OF all legislative action. But
il is strange how the two extremes meet
Gerrit Smith and the Governor of South Car
olinc. Both are disunionists, and both are
equally acting in opposition 10 the whole
moral sense of the country and 10 the spirit
and tenor of the constitution.
But it is not so much with regard 10 the
morals Of the question that we have anything
to say. We wish to speak of il simply as a
question of political economy. Gov. Smith
argues for it on the ground of the necessitv Of
introducing cheap labor, which he says is all
South Carolina and the whole South now
want. But who does not perceive that cheap
labor, as it is called, is often the dearest OF
all labor, so far as the prosperity Of STATE
is concerned? We showed but a short time
since that the civilization OF any State viii
depend upon that of the humblest iortion Of
society rather than that of the highest To
elevate those TO the greatest possible degree
is the great end and aim OF all wise govern
ment The whole democratic theory is hased
on this principle. II is the education and IN
telligence of the laboring portion Of the Top
ulation Of the North that produces its univer-
sal prosperity. and it is the introduction oi
coolies and all kinds Of cheap labor that il
the chief source of ruin TO the British West
Indies and every nation that has tired it.
The slaves in the Southern States, by a
hundred years Of contact with the whites
have received a vast amount Of civilization
But introduce lower grade AID il would
throw back this elevating process indefinitely
Setting aside, therefore, all scruples Of NOR
ais or religion, we simply contend that the
same far-seeing policy which induced the U.
States to provide that no State should be ad.
mitted that did not have a republican form o'
government, led them also to provide against
the importation OF this ''cheap labor."-Phil
Ledger.