The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1859-09-07

II
the discussion of the sectional issues which
have sprung out of the Northern inti-slayery
sentiment. He remarked upon the growth d
! the Abolition organization He had watched
the stone as it was loosed from its f,stenings
on the mountain side, until it had attained its
momentum and went laundering on its course
carrying everything before it to the plains be-
low. 1t was just SO with this great move
ment. The abolitionists of the North told MS
N times gone by that it was not their object
| TO interfere with the South but now they
claim that slavery must be abolished from
Mason and Dixon's line to the Gulf of Mex
leo. Seward. the leader of his party. goes fol
the prohibition of slavery in the territories
and its overthrow in the District of Columbia
One branch of this great questions the doc
trine Of squatter sovereignty, by which men
who claim to be Democrats seek to exclude
| us from all participation in the territories
warping the doctrine of non-intervention
| from its true meaning and purpose, and max
ing it accomplish that which the party was
intended to war against. Properly to under
stand any word or sentence it is necessary to
be acquainted with the circumstances under
which it was spoken. The doctrine of non
Intervention was adopted by the democracy
| m opposition to the Wilmot Proyiso, which
proposed TO exclude us by law from all the
territories. Our opponents now say that dis
tinguished Southern men had admitted that it
meant the denial Of the right of Congress to
intervene m the territories on the subject OF
| slavery for any purpose.
Even if distinguished Senators had yielded
the right of protection of slave property,
ieIics he denied, was this to debar US of the
right of inquiring into the constitutionality Of
| the question He said no. The constitution
gave Congress the right and made it the duty
of Congress to protect the citizens of all the
States in their lives, liberty, and property OF
every description He did not admit that the
mere say-so of any man could change the
| purposes for which the Constitution was
formed, of establishing justice, insuring do
mestie tranquility. providing for the common
defence and promoting the general welfare
What had been made the duty of Congress
by the constitution remained the duty Of Con-
gress in spite of compromises or admissions
He would take more broad and eompre-
hensiye view of this question of protection of
property in slaves. There was time in the
history of this eonfederacy when shareholders
were protected by the federal government in
their property IN slaves on the high seas, in
the free States, and IN the territories. Now
the shareholders are not protected in their
rights in the free States or on the seas. You
have been deprived of your rights in the free
States by the action of feesoil legislatures and
mobs until it has come to this that it is more
expensive to obtain fugitive from Boston
than to purchase one in Richmond. He held
that owing to the increasing power of the
feesoilers in the. North, in brief space Of
time the Congress of the United States would
afford us no protection to property out of the
slayeholding States; that the abolitionists held
to the higher law doctrine on this subject.
The speaker then read an extract from the
Rochester speech of Mr.. Seward, as follows:
1T is an irrepressible conflict between oppo-
sing and enduring forces; and it means that
the United States must and will, sooner or
later, become either entirely slaveholding ma
K1a,, f.ao labor mol Esifhar
the cotton and rice fields of South Carolina,
and the sugar plantations of Louisiana, will
ultimately be titled by free labor, and Charles
ton and New Orleans become marts for legiti-
mate merchandise alone, or else the rye fields
and wheat fields of Massachusetts, and New
York must again be surrendered by their farm-
ers to slave culture and to the production of
slaves, and Boston and New York become
once more markets for trade in the bodies and
souls of men. ts5
Here you have the views of the ayowed
and acknowledged head of the great Black
Republican party, which if carried into effect
will destroy our system of labor and set up in
its stead the Yankee hireling system.
He said that our own government is
the best system of government on the face of
the earth, and the only one under which the
white people are equals. Under all the gov
ernments of Europe. they make mental ser
wants of their own kindred and color-in the
free States of our own country the same is
done, and the boot blacks and the chamber
maids are often more intelligent and have more
of natures potent nobility than those whom
they serve. Upon sustaining our own system
of labor depends the prosperity and existence
of the Southern States IF abolished our con-
dition would be as bad and even worse than
that of Jamaica. A few years. ago the
society of this island was organized just as
ours-the white race were the owners of the
soil and the African slave TILED it. The Brit
ish Parliament abolished slavery in the island
and Jamaica was ruined. Our destiny under
Black Republican rule would be even worse
than Jamaica's. The British government
paid 500, 1000, 600 for the liberated slaves and
supported standing army to keep them IN
order. The Black Republican government
would neither pay for the slaves or send a
soldier to keep them in subjection, and in case
Of conflict between the two races. would
take sides with the Africans against their for
mer masters. We must oppose that rule or
perish. The South must speedily unite in
the defence of her institutions, for if she de-
lays few months longer even the South uni
ted may not have the power to defend her
self.
Il was the duty of the South to thoroughly
unite and manfully contend for her rights under
the constitution. Seward had said that the great
barrier of Black Republicanism was the Dem
ocratic party; to dismiss that party from the
Federal Offices was their chief aim. The
Democratic party, then, was the only one ca
pablo of maintaining the rights of the South,
and to keep up the organization was sacred
duty deyolving upon us all. He was opposed
TO any more compromises for the sake Of the
Union, when such compromises were secured
as they always are, at the expense Of princi-
pie; we had already conceded too much, and
to concede was only to invite aggression He
was not IN favor of dissolving the Union With
out sufficient cause but in the event Of the
election Of Black Republican to the Presi-
dency, the South ought to withdraw from the
Union. Some would favor waiting for an
overt act. but he considered the election an
| overt act itself He favored the thorough
reorganization of the militia of Mississippi
and thought that the Volunteer Companies
ought to be supplied with arms, and our State
Arsenel well stocked with arms and amunl-
ton. The time might soon be upon us when
they would be needed The day might not
be far distant when the ballot-box would be
exchanged for the cartouche- box, and the chiy-
alric young men of our own country, should
be drilled for her defence, though separation
Of the Union would not necessarily involve
bloodshed
He dwelt on the fact that Seward is, and
has for sometime been, on the other side of
the great waters exciting. the people of Great
Britain. Should we remain quiet when the
the aid Of this great power IS being brought
/ into reauisition to overawe us