Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-11-07
Rock ISLAND, Co., ILLINOIS. |
October, 9th, 1857,

TO the President Of the Cleveland Disunion Con-
pention.
Sir Circumstances useless to mention but be-
yond my control, prevent my attending the Con-
vention at Cleveland as l was anxious to do, you
will therefore excuse my presumption for address
ing this letter to the Convention through it's Pres
ident.
The important subject to be discussed under
the 'Call" for the Convention may be properly d.
vided into two very important questions. First,
the constitutional right of one or more of the
States to secede peacably from the Union and
second, the propriety, duty and necessity of such
secession in order to effect the abolition Of
African Slavery, or, at least. to throw off the
criminal responsibility of aiding and supporting
this peculiar institution" of Despotism.
Upon the right of secession, most assuredly, de-
ponds the duty of adopting it as a remedy for the
evil in question. 1t must, then, be Of the utmostim-
portance foy the Convention to establish beyond
cavil the constitutional right of secession, upon
which the remedy to be applied is necessarily
based.
In a few letters, published in the Liberator, l
have endeavored to show, what to me seems to be
u truth as self evident as the Declaration of
independence itself, namely, the constitutional
right of one or more of the States to secede peac-
ably from the Union. All the words quoted and
commented on, such as State, Nation, Common
wealth, Kingdom. Republic, Sovereignty, Allegiance
and Supreme, in thoir common ano general &C
ceptation, clearly and unquestionably establish
the position laid down, while, on the other hand
they all have to be perverted from their common
ly accepted meaning to sustain the popular theor,
.that the United States is a nation" and that, 81
would be a solecism to contend that any part of
nation might dissolve its connection with th,
other parts" To these add the words "Congres
and Union" which are universally applicable to
combination of States or Nations, and not to a
individual State or Nation.
With all these facts, and the irrefutable theor.
Of one system Of government, as laid down by tn
Republican party Of 1898, at their service is
possible that the Convention will risk the advo
cacy of dissolvipg the Union upon the false theor
of General Jackson's Proclamation that: 'Secess
ion, like any other evolutionary act, may b
morally justified by the extremity of oppression
but to call il a constitutional rights confoundin
the meaning of terms. and can only be don
through gross error, or to deceive those who ar
willing to assert a right, but would pause bsfor
they made a revolution or incurred the penealtie
consequent on a failure" instead of planting itse
upon the sovereignty of the States. and the De-
~laration Of Independencef
i trust that the Convention will not gran. WIFI
its enemies claim, namely that it's proposed rem'
7dy is revolutionary but that it will assert with th
venerable patriot Samuel Adams: THAT Stat
eossreignty is the palladium of the private an
personal rights Of the citizen"-ths basis of j!
proposed remedy.
Let me thea suggest for the calm and deliberat
consideration Of the Convention the propriety, III
duty, nay the necessity. OF adopting. as the basi
of its political action. the Virgins and Kentuck
Resolutions of 1898 aud 1899. These resolution
are not only tensble. but they are absolutel
'irrefutabls-ths only theory of our system Of CO.
ernment upon which . dissolution Of the Unio
can be constitutionslly supported and triamphaa
" maintained against the fanatics" who to su