Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-04-30
THE KANSAS MEETING.

owing to the non-attendance of gentlemen from
the country. We are surprised to see so little
interest manifested in the Kansas cause, but II VIC
mistake not, Col BAKER has awakened to new
life the slumbering zeal Of all who heard him.
Those who neglected the opportunity, have lost
chance of hearing one of the most eloquent ora-
tors who has ever visited our town.
Ills fame had already preceded him; we had
been told of his eloquence; We knew the impor-
tance of the cause which he came to advocate !;
bat it was only after hearing him illustrate the
Past and Present of Kansas, trace consecutively
the series of aggressions, that had brought about
the present crisis, and invoke in thrilling words
the aid fthe South to prevent the hordes Of Abo'
lionists from tearing the last, sole refuge of our
institutions and civilization, from the bosom Of
Missouri, that we realized fully, the necessity for
immediate and prompt assistance.
Clearly did he show in what manner the South
had been ousted from one new territory after ano-
ther, plundered at one time under the fiction of
compromise, deceived with the hollow promises Of
peace, and buled at another time out of rights
which she had sworn to defend. Grandly did he
unrol the pages of history and show whose blood
had purchased Texas whose valor had swept the
plains of Mexico and whose ill-starred policy had
lost them the fruits their chivalrous spirit had
won Buena Vista, bathed in Southern blood, still
clistens before us! Yet has the South no monu-
ment to attest the victory or mark the triumphs
Of her sons. That magnificent country, rich in
minerals and land, which sleeps in the arms Of
the Pacific, and which both from its adaptation to
Slave-labor and because it was purchased by
Southern blood, belongs to US, was unceremonl'
ousy taken from us by the violation Of a solemn
compromise. Empty fame, was all that the valor
of the South achieved. And after We have acted
with so little policy and hrmness as to have lost
nearly all the West, we are called upon to decide
whether Kansas too shall go in the same way ?
1t is the last territory left by the greedy maw Of
the North Let this eye of the Southwest be put
out and the destiny of the South is wrapped in
impenetrable gloom.
By securing it permanently to the South, we
will be able to present an unbroken front to the
foe, but let it be aboltionized and Missouri will
lower her proud crest, and Atchison, stringfellow
Russell and other brave defenders Of the South,
will be sacrificed through our supineness and in
difference. Kentucky will follow in the wake Of
Missouri and Virginia, noble old Virginia, will
next bow her head to the stroke.
HOPELESS is the cause of the South if this last
appeal does not resuscitate her zeal. Let Kansas
20, Missouri, Kentucky and the old Dominion fol-
low, and the slave owners Of the South will then
awaken.-when it is too late, when their prince
" fortunes are deprecated to fourth Of their
present value and the very source Of their wealth
is tottering to its ruin. Those who now feel so
indifferent, will then wonder at their want Of fore
sight. but the march of Abolitionism will be more
steady and irresistible and the spirit of the South
will crouch lower and lower. Fear is the last
argument to appeal to-, but there are times when
it proves more potent than the soundcst logic
And the South may we'll tremblc. Twelve months
of inaction, and her fate is sealed. This beauti-
full heritage Of ours, the cherished institutions Of
orr forefathers, the hest civilization under the
sun-will become but n tralitionary tale-a le-
gend of romance.
What other can or should be our destiny if we
desert those who are perilling their lives and
spending their fortunes in cause common to us
all 4! Should We not expect, from our knowledge
of human nature, that those who are now our
staunchest friends, repulscd by our ingratitude
and defeated from the want of aid and sympathy
on the part Of the South, will give up oil for lost,
and in the hopelessness Of despair, affiliate with
our assailants and reap upon us the vengeance so
justly due:
This is one of the times when peaccis more dan.
gerous than agitation or war. You may hide
from danger to-day, but it will rise more immi-
nent to- morrow. Like the victim Of consumption,
case may be mistaken for health, and the hectic
glow of prosperity which now mantles over the
South, may be mistaken for the evidence of per-
manency and stability. The insdous disease can
be cured most easily by immediate applications,
before it has knawed in two, the chords Of life
But the South suffers herself to be lued into re-
pose by the first CLEAN of peace. She permits the
disease to gather strength and prey upon her vi
tails.
If anything can arouse her from this fatal Sc
curty it is the burning words Of Col. Baker. 4
native of South Carolina and the adopted son of
Alabama, wherever he goeshe will be recommend
ed by the politeness and modesty of his manners,
and the noble bearing Of gentleman. He goes
from this place to Unionville. We wish him sue
cess in the great cause in which he is enlisted.