, 1859-05-21

and dogs? Shall one principle Of good gov
ernment he established where the Church
rules? By alI means, let Holm send out his
,llundcr-bolts
THE SOUTHERN CONVENTION.
The "Southcrn Commercial Convention ut
Vicksburg, was in some respects the most re-
markable Of the entire series Of meetings Of
TINT character yet held. Heretofore strong
conservative element las had tile control Of
these annual convocations, and while the fire.
caters were permitted the utmost latitude Of
expression in drbate, when it came to voting
they have uniformly been outuumbcrcd. At
1icksburg, the fire-eaters were in the ma-
iority. Treason and disunion carried tic
day, 10th Oil the platform and in tl'c
f:al showing Of hands. 1t was said, in a'i-
raucc, that the delegates to this Convention
.rcrr TO he appointed by the Governors Of the
respective States. We doubt if this werr
done; or if it were, tue delegates titus APP
pointed must haze failed to attend. for with
one or two exceptions the men who figured in
the Convention are wholly unknown to E1nle.
In point Of talent the Convention was Il failure
The speakers were :hc merest ranters. and i'll
their statements Of Northern sentiment and
aims manifested either most marvellous IT,
norancc or IN ingenuity in the perycrslon ot
truth fur III advance Of their capacity in any
other respect Several Of the Southern State
were wholly uurcprcsen1cd- evidence Of
waning L,naticism that We are pleased to notc
Only Sonth Carolina, Georgia. Alabama, Loul-
siana Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Florlda
and Tennessee; were represented, and these,
we are constrained IL believe mainly by self
constituted delegates. Composed Of sllc1, ma
tcrial-tlc rif1.ran the social scum, the politi
cal lazzaroni Of which southern society is 50
wonderfully prolc-it is supcrtlous to state
that tue Convention WINS lawless, violcnt and
revolutionary in tile extreme. Even Que ofthc
Tirksbur= papers, whose editor professed TO
believe that the hopes Of tic South were in
.cparably connected with the action Of tile as
senblaye. WAS furced to admit this much.
The platform adopted may lie briefly sum.
med up in three propositions: The abroEation
Of all laws prohibiting the African Slarc Trade;
the annexation Of Cuh;l, Central America and
Mexico and the secession ofthe Slave States in
the eyrut of,Ee election Of a Republican Presi-
dent in 1850. Other resolutions were adopted
pertaining tr direct trade with Europe, the
Southern Pacific Railroad, aud the deepening
Of the mouth Of tic Mississippi; but these
were foreign to the real objects Of tic Cunycn-
ton and were only introduced to keep up its
sham commercial character. The discussions
developed It variety Of plans for the revival OF
the Slave Trads, cacll supported ly !: distinct
party. Some boldly advocated defiance Of the
Law declaring it to l'r piracy-a mode that has
been III successful operation for some time past
-Anotlae. party thought it could be best at
taincd by the repeal Of the prohibitory
Laws. \ third party. encouraged by the Drcd
Sc 1T decision, proposed making application to
the Supreme Court to cut the Gordan knot hy
declaration that tic laws against the trade
are unconstitutional while fourth party
were in favor Of adopting the apprentice sys-
ten, holding that if they could once get The
negroes as apprentices for 4 term Of years
there would he no difficulty in making them
slaves for life by State laws
But whatever diversity Of sentiment there
may have been III to the mode best calculated
to secure the rc-orcning Of the African Slnve
Trade there was entire unauinty on the part
Of the majority as to the desirablcness Of the
end ITSELF The continued asccndcncy Of the
Slave Power in the federal government hinges
upon the sncce*s Of the measure, and they
know it. The redundant population Of the
free States, added to the English, Scotch, Ger
man and Scandinavian immigration, is quite
sufficient to render hopeless any future effort
to compete for the possession Of tile new Ter
ritories, unless the South be permitted todraw
upon Africa for annual supplies Of the raw ma.
teril. These facts. added to growing dis
trust Of the ability Of Democratic leaders in
the free States to l.o!i their followers much
longer true to the cxactions Of the Slave Oil
garchy, served to unite the Convention almost
as one man in layor Of getting rid, in some
way or other: Of the laws prohibiting the Slave
Trade, and for I'LL indefinite extension Of onr
dominion southwark.
The Convention also had the sagacty to
perceive that only By tho election Of a Repub-
lican President in 1860 could their schemes
be defeated; and hence, in that eycnt they
proposed the secession Of the slayeholding
States A Democratic triumph in 1850 would
be a virtual triumph Of their policy. Seccs,
sion is therefore made contingent tpon this
result. Democratic white men at tile North,
will therefore understand the Importance 0,
continuing 10 ro;e the Democratic ticket
In no other way-1 there is any sincerity il
the threats Of their Southern allies-can the
blessings Of the African Slave Trade. and a.
m indefinite creation Of new Slave States. bx
secured And II considerations Of this char.
Aeter will not suffice, then they are told tia.
to further enjoy the benefits OF pro-slayer,
rulc, they vii! hare TO remove South, for tlu
South will certainly secede from the Unio1
unless she can have her own way about thi
Slave Trade and the acquisition Of additiona
Slave States. It is well enough for Northez1
Democrats to know the alternative. Nov le
us See whether they will bare their backs t
the lash. and do the bidding Of those who con
trol the Democratic pRrty.
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