The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1859-07-20
Unpublished Letter Of Gu auitman

| The following letter has beS placed at our
disposal by DIR. W. E. Otis, u Waco, Texas,
a former citizen of this State. Ii is written
lin the frank and bold style 10 peculiarly
CHARACTERISTIC of its author. Gen 0uitman
had no concealment of his hinions. The
belief which he honestly enfet lined. he had
no thought of Disgusting, or bsFying in his
bosom, If occasion offered kaisB uttemnee
This letter was written inzaediately after
the passage of the GomprotaisS aess Of 1880
when Southern men, who, sensitiye to
wrongs committed against Their own sec
! tion, were alive to the enormIfy 81 that hatch
of iniquitous measures QIiioinia, with its
vast extent of territory and is fich mines.
had been dedicated to amt ten
millions of dollars, collected mo from the
South, by the operations d d Tariff sys-
tenn, had haen. offered q ;.aezs ;.sss-e
ment for her to part with territory which was
to be used to swell the oyergzOwn power of
the North; and Congress had invaded the
neutral ground of the District of Columbia,
and placed slavery under the ban of the fede-
raj government, by forbiddhg the transfer by
sale, of that species Of property within its
limits =
Alive to these wanton outages upon the
Southern States, and imbuel with a feeling
of just Indignation towards the power that
had inflicted them, Gen. Qditman gave free
utterance on all occasions to the promptings
of his heart. Deriving hope fpm his own
ardent impulses, he declared his belief that
the South would resent the wrongs which she
had suffered. But he was sadly mistaken
She was not prepared to sever the ties which
were formed amid the troubles of British
oppression and the severe trials of the Revo-
luton. He had forgotten that it took many
long years of harsh treatment and grievous
injustice to arouse the colonists to that pitch
of Indignation which prompted them to dis
solve the relations that bound them to the
mother country. A people will suffer much
before they will consent to change in the
government under which they have long lived;
and this people had been taught to entertain
for the Union of the States reverence which
amounted almost to idolatry Gen Quitman,
however, lived long enough to realize the fact
that a true sentiment of independence and of
love Of State equality, had grown upon the
Southern mind and he lived to feel that the
men of the South who had attested their de-
votion to her welfare, by faithful service, had
gained q place in her confidence, while her
betrayers, having enjoyed their brief hour of
triumph, were doomed to suffer in retirement
the penalty of their offence.
Long may the brave, high-souled, unselish
patriot, JOHN ANTHONY QUITMAN, live in
the grateful memory Of Mississippians and
may they never cease to emulate the virtues
which illustrated his life:
JACKSON, Sept. 19, 1850.
DEAR SIR: With my earliest leisure, |
proceed to answer your esteemed letter of the
26th ult.
I entirely concur with you in the belief that
we have nothing to hope for, but everything
to dread from the Federal Government. To
the State Sovereignties must we now look for
protection. We have been unceremoniously
excluded from all participation in the common
territory of the States, and we will be taxed
hea. ily To pay for the punheE nf shave ter
ritory to be converted to free soil. / have no
doubt but the people of Texas Will take the enor-
nous bribe offered to them br one-third of
their State. 1t can scarcely be expected that |
poor Texas, groaning under her debt will |
have the stern virtue not to yield to the inhu- |
ance of such an immense sum of money. |
The question now submitted to us is, whether |
we will submit to the gross wrongs which |
have been perpetrated. l hope not. Will |
Tennessee, will South Carolina, will Missis- |
sippi, whose blood has been SO profusely shed |
to acquire these territories, consent to be |
cheated out of every acre of it I, for one |
say, rather let us fall as freemen, than live |
degraded and abused.
The North has now possession of all the |
departments of Government A majority |
hostile to slavery is now in power. The vast |
interests involved IN this institution are now
ut the mercy of its enemies. Nothing to
restrain them but paper constitution which |
already they have in numerous instances
tampled upon. What under such circum-
stances is to become Of us The answer of |
every man who has the courage to look the |
question boldly and honestly in the face must
be either slavery will be abolished or we
must secede. The wolf and the lamb can no
more live together in the same fold, than can
slavery exist when controlled and under the
power of the abolitionists.
During the last session of the Legislature,
made every effort to have Our militia laws
revised, without success The Legislature
seemed disinclined to a change. Never since
| have been a citizen of the State, which is
or 29 years, have our miltia laws been SO
defective. We must rely upon the martial
'pirit of our young men to organize volunteer
Your friend, &C.,
j. A. oUITMAN.
Dr.. W. E. OT1s.