The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1859-07-27

tons to be offered would not necessarily Ok
restricted to those of pecuniary character
We have retaliatory statutes which discrlml-
| nate against her mercantile marine; these
, could be abrogated. The trade of her colo
MES is relied on to sustain her naval power
For one, would be willing TO make her trade
with all the ports OF the United States as free
as the winds and the waves which bear IT,
But if all peaceful means should prove una
vailing, then, when ever her island is about 70
become, in the hand Of an enemy, dangerous
to the United States, or whenever Just cause
for Uar shall be given by Spain, say we
should take possession Of Cuba, using for that
purpose force so large as to admit OF slrnul-
taneous debarkation at every important port,
that resistance should be crushed by single
blow, and the iendish threat to renew in Cuba
the scenes of San Domingo be put to rest be-
fore its execution could be attempted.
That Great Britain having by an Ill Judged
4 emancipation of her slaves, ruined her West
India colonies, has sought to involve other
sIaye-holding countries in the same fate, the
| acts of her statesmen sufficiently demonstrate.
That her movements in relation to Cuba and
other portions of tropical America have been
prompted by hostility to the United States
does not admit of doubt That wiser coun-
sells and better feelings have recently prevailed
there is reason to believe What result will
follow the recent change of Ministry remains
to be seen.
In the meantime the greatest evil which
could have been inflicted upon us has been
wrought, the perversion of the Northern mind
and to no small extent the alienation of the
Northern people from the fraternity due to
the South
To this there are many exceptions, and |
believe they are daily becoming more numer-
GUS. 1t would be impolitic, ungenerous and
unjust, to include all our Northern brethren
in a common censure, or withhold the tribute
due to the gallant minority who, foot to foot
and eye to eye, have against overwhelming
nnmhers. defended and upheld our character,
our conduct and our rights. said eaAs char
acter, for the vocabulary of billingsgate has
been enlarged to furnish epithets Of abuse of
4 the South, and the Council House of the ma
ton has been used as rostrum from which to
scatter them.
Land of the South, the home and birth place
/ of Washington, and Jefferson, and Henry, and
Madison, and jackson, and Clay, and Calhoun,
can pigmies look down upon your colossal
sons? When witlings defame you should it
excite more than the smile of derision Or the
feeling of contempt p Faithful in sunshine
and in storm, through good and through evil
report, your sons have sat at the temple build
ed by their fathers; and if it shall ever be pos.
sessed by an unclean presence, from which
they cannot expurgate it, then it will deyolve
upon them to construct another which shall
/ not shame the example they emulate.
Our countrymen have two paths before
them, either of which the majority of the
| States and of the people, are free to choose.
! The one leads by the way Of usurpation and
tortuous construction, through discord and
civil strife, to the destruction Of this best hope
of republican government The other through
peace and prosperity, by the perpetuity of the
/ institutions we inherited, mounts TO an emf
nence which looks down on a continent Of
equal, sovereign, confederated States Weare
near, believe, tothe point at which that Sc
| lection is to be made. Our fathers feared the
CONFUSION which the election of a President
would produce. The next generation regard
ed the apprehension as unfounded; to us, its
realization may be appointed, because to US it
has been reserved to witness the organization
of party seeking the possession Of the Gov
| ernment not for the common good, not for
their own particular benefit, but as the means
of executing hostile purpose towards por-
| ton Of the States.
! The success of such party would indeed
produce an 'irrepressible conflict" To you
| would be presented the question will you al
low the constitutional Union TO be changed
into the despotism OF a majority, will you be-
come the subjects of a hostile Government, or
will you, outside of the Union. assert the
equality, the liberty and sovereignty to which
you were born? For myself say, as l said
on former occasion, IN the contingency Of
| the election Of a President on the platform of
Mr. Stewards Rochester speech. let the Union
be dissolved Let the great, but not the
greatest Of evils come. For as did the great
and good Calhoun, from whom is drawn that
expression of value IloYe and generate the
union Of these States-butI loye liberty and
Mississippi more. -.
| In this we but assert what we would expect
| the North to declare and maintain if the case
were reversed. But could the converse ofthe
proposition exist Is there one of you who
would support Southern candidate for the
| Presidency, who avowed his purpose if elected
to use the power Of his office to crush or to
assail domestic institution of the Northern
States pause not for an answer: the pa
triotixm you have exhibited on erery trying
occasion renders reply Unnecessary. The
question was but another form Of stating an
unquestionable fact. Weclaim nothing which
can be rightfully Withheld, and are willing to
grant as much as we would demand
Considering the next Presidential election
because Of the circumstances, and the distinct
ness of the issues, as the line of breakers,
which, if passed, would place us out of all
immediate and prospective danger how very
small become all questions of personal pref.
erence And this reminds me that the de-
claration made by me last fall, and which was
substantially the same as that made on this
occasion, has been misrepresented as an an
nouncement on my part, and with your APP
probation, of desire to dissolve the Union if
Northern man should be next chosen for the
Presidency When have we ever drawn such
narrow sectionality? Whose votes elected
Pierce Who came in mass to the more du-
bious contest of Buchanan? 1t is not for
office we strive, but for principle and the ends
| Of justice Let our standard bearer he he
vile can carry it to victory; above all, let him
be one who will conceal no part of its inserip-
ton, but will throw its folds most freely tothe\
wind when the storm blows hardest
| Future peace is our object, and this is only
TO be gained by the unequivocal decision Of
issues fairly and distinctly joined.
| We have nothing to retract, no new posi-
/ ton to assume. Your attitude is the same as
| that taken in the central meeting and subse-
quent joint-party convention of 1849. You
| then asserted that the constitional recognition
and guaranty to slave property placed it be-
yond the power of Congress- and that the
| power to legslate for the Territories was to
protect the citizen and his property, not TO
declare what should be property you then,
| as did the Legislature of the succeeding year,
! declared your devoted and cherished attach
ment to the Union, with the reservation that
| it should not be changed into an engine of OPP
preston ~
/ Misrepresentation has busily pursued you
but sooner or LATER more speedily or slower,
| have an abiding faith that truth will yet be
yindicated in whole, as it has already been in
part.
Sincerely do pray, that your sentiment Of
nationality may never have occasion to be less,
that the national pride in being the citizen Of a
| great country, whose flag is known and re-
spected on every sea and on every land, may
| increase with increasing years and grow with
| growing strength.
trust that a sanguine temperament does
not mislead me to the belief that the mists of
sectional prejudice are steadily though slowly
| floating away, and that = sad experience will
! not prove to have been delusive, the hope
which now shows to me the breaking of
brighter dawn, which promises to our country
happier day that this But it is the first
ray in the east which bids us be up and doing,
and the fate Of the sluggard will be ours if the
| promise of success does not wake us to addi-
tional preparation, energy and effort.
My friends, | have detained you long much
longer than was intended, but permit me to
add few words in relation to the nominations
which have been made. That they are all ca
pable and well deserving even their opponents
must admit. That which endears them to us
must be the only objection which any fair OPP
ponent can make to either Of them, their
unwavering and efficient advocacy of Demo-
cratic principles. The controversy for the
nominations was of that painful character,
| where defeat must create regret but victory
could bring no triumph All which can be said
in favor Of the successful candidates, may be
equally said Of the defeated To me they are
friends whose services are gratefully remem-
bered, all, all dear to me for many and signal
acts of kindness, which it can never be in my
power to repay, or sufficiently to acknowledge.
OF these, among the defeated, who were most
ardently supported by their advocates, ven
ture to say they have already endorsed the
nominations and shoulder To shoulder with