The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1858-04-15
- - From The Richmond Enquirer
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTHERN AND
SOUTH WESTERN STATES.

| in Knoxville, the Undersigned wore appointed n
committee to address you. in anticipation of the
| convention which IS to be held in Montgomery.
in the State Of Alabama, OIL the 10th day of MAY
next
The object of the address, ns we understand it.
is to remind you of the approaching session Of
| the convention, and t,i urge YOU to appoint dele
gates to It; and we proceed now to perform that
duty.
The motive which promoted the organization
OF southern commercial convention. was the
desire to ascertain the OF the decline of tho
foreign commerce of the southern states, and to
devise some plan Tor it's revival and restoration
The people of the southern states saw and felt
the anomalous fact, that the country which pro-
duces tIree.hfths in value Of the nation, had not
only lost ITS commercial supremacy. but had be-
come commercially, a dependent upon and vet
tributary to that portion Of the country which,
produced much the smallest portion of those cx.
ports This was not only mn unnatural, but an
exhausting and depressing process, retar,ng
necessarily. tho growth and prosperity of the
south, and 1t was natural To desire, it was ne
cessary to provide, Il remedy for it. This desire
and necessity suggested the idea Of assembling
once III every year, the people Of the South b7
deputies, IN convention, for the purpose of
gathering infOrnatlOn, from the most reliable,
witnesses, as t' the causes of the evil with the
hope of obtaining from the wiscst and most de-
voted sons Of the south, the suggestion Of II plnn
y
We regret to say that, thus fur, our hopes have
not been realized, while the predictions of our oppn.
ncns have been 10 some extent verified although
much good has been accomplished. Our disap-
pointrnent has not been, however, the fault Ell
tirely Of the convention; for although wo have
been too much divided among ourselves az to tho
remedies proper to be adopted, and thereby have
impaired out efficiency, still much good has been
dUne and much more would have been accom- :
plishc'l, il we could have carried suggestions
into execution, without dependence upon the will
Of Congress and the state legislatures Tho chief
benefit, therefore, which has resulted from the
sessions of the convention, has been the increased
knowledge of, and sympathy for each other, will,
better understanding Of our wants, resulting
from these annual assemblies. Southern men
have been made more extensively acquainted
with each other, and through that acu,:,int ance
have learned the cheering and delightful fact,
however wo may differ about men, about party
politics. or particular remedies among ourselves,
there is in the South but one heart, one u,ill
and one will for trniucers and as<niIunts; and
that when the time for blow ut them shall ar
rive, if unhnppily il ever SHALL all tIla energy
patriotism aud courage Of united nation will hc
felt in that blow, by those who shall ur,hapuy
provoke it-that, however we may differ among
ourselves rs TO the means of attack or the mode
of defence, there is no difference of opinion as to
the great conclusion that the South must he de-
Tended and all her rigllrs protcctcd-cost what it
muy.
This were cause and compensation enough for
any trouble and expense i'll holding our assem-
b'cs. But rapidly occurring events furnish nd
ditiOna and conclusive incentives to the coniin-
auce OF the work which We have cummencctl-
the commercial Independence of tho South-by
bringing more closely and distinctly to our view
the probability that We shall ut distant day be
compelled To assert our political Independence,
which cannot be sustained without commercial
Experimentation the means of regulating
and controlling our own commerce; for without
that power, no nation can he free. If the South
is wise. then, and would 10 pr"vi'lcnt, she will
lose no time, i'll providing the best means. and all
the means within her power to restore her own
commerce 10 her own ports and people. For,
whether she is to be permitted to remain in the
Union enjoying in honorable peace all her const-
tutional rights, or is to he compelled by continued
and progressive assaults upon her rights her in.
tercsis, and her fcelings-tle most unprecedented
and fagitions which cupi,lity and ambition ever
prOmpted-io assert her right to withdraw from
an association which no longer recognizes the
original compact the rule Of it's government, :,
or longer to yield submission to an oppressive and
Iniqntous majority, it is Of The highest iinpor-
tance To her, if not Of absolute necessity, that
she should seriously aud earnestly a,Ircs herself
to the restoration Of her foreign commerce, and
to the encouragement within her limits, by her
own means, of the manufacture of those articles
which are necessary to her comfort.
The candid lover Of the Union of the States
must be satisfied as it seems to tho undersigned,
thst if not already abroEated in spirit, by the de-
liberats violations of the compact, to the injury,
and for the injury of the South, by many of tho
Northern and Eastern Stutes, there is not only
little ground to hope for the preservation Of il,
upon the basis and under the guarantees of the
constitution Of 1887, but there is the most immi-
nent danger of its entire destruction before many
ot,. h.,, Hal A,,
years, not only the most offensive dcnuncinrions
have been poured %; upon tho South, but the
most wanton aggression upon her constitutional
rights, have been committed-commencing with
that most absurd and unfoundcd claim, of n right
TO convert the Halls of the National Council into
an arena upon which to discuss the tenure by
which we hold our slaves under tho prctence Of
Petitioning for redress of grievances
Not only las our right to reclaim our slaves
when they escape into a Northern Statc) been
denied, but the law passed by congress, for our
projections, has been resisted by people who claim
still to be in the Union. AND recently the Stntc
of Massachusetts has perpctrated nn act such as
was never committed before by any constitution
al Governmemt-to wit: the removal Of a judge
.(Loring) without impeachment for any crime
simply because he has honestly and faithfully ell.
forced that law.
If the southern states were TO- pass lnws, pro-
hibitipg any citizen Of Massachusetts from recov-
ering any debt or other property within their
limits or without such law should remove from
office every Judge who should rrpder judgment
in suit in favor of citizen of Massachusetts,
Massachusetts could not complain, but the Union,
with Massachusetts, be Dissolved. Is lnot dissolved
already, If the southern states chose so to regard
i'll But this is not all; though this is enough 10
expose the hedangeE; andthe true question is shall
the South wait until the danger over,akes her.
unpreparhd then to meet it fully mud ward off Its
evils: Again:s',
You are painfully sensible of the protractcd
and excited struggle which has for several years,
beenin progress in relation to the settlemeit ind
government Of the territory Of Kansas. Finally,
the struggle seemed to have been Terminated, by
tho adoption of constitution for the territory,
TO constitute it state as soon as admitted into
the Union With the details Of tliut controversy
we do not propose to deal. We shall speak only
of results When that constitute wus adopted,
'it was transmitted 70 the President, ard with a
noble patriotism, coming ho does from the
North, and with q faithful adherence TO the con
Situtional opinions of the eS,ates Rights party. he
submitted tito congress, with tho recommends.
:ttofl that it should be received by it, and the
State OF Kansas left TO correct the erro,s IL any
we're committed, or. redress the wrongs if aiiy