The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1859-08-10
from Tee lz0tSt08 feeTe.
The African Slave Trade and the Sec.
rotary Of the Interior.

The Secretary Of the Interior, the Hon. ia
cob Thompson, accompanied the President il
arecent visit to Chapel Hill, n. G.. In aspect
delivered at Raleigh, the Secretary, among
many other fine things, made use Of the fol
lowing language;
"The era for practical questions seems b
have passed. This may be characterized a:
the era Of exciting speculative politics. : A
leading politician of the North, WHO'S regarded
great pr1phet of great Northern party, an.
nounces the political dogma, that thera is an
irrepaable conflict between the institutions o.
the North and South that the Union cannot
endure with the continued existence ofboth
that the Constitution as adopted by our faith
ers, is insufficient to secure the rights, hap
piness and prosperity ofaH. There is also
anothv speculative qstesso1a arising in an OPP
posite direction. "a aag Oara State another
clas8efEest.4AAesifzzuaer have starte&u move
ment which demand the re-opemng Or the For
eien Slave Trade. : In the advocacy ofthis
new theory, some abe men have enlisted, and
God Iorbid that moment, fraught with such
unnumbered curses, upon the South should
ever succeed =,
Now with all due Difference to the powers
that be. particularly to the Secretary ofthe In
terror we should like to know, what have those
gentlemen Of the South done, and especially
those of Mississippi, who adyoeate-and that
too. with force Of argument which. cannot be
shaken: the repeal of the laws prohibiting the
traficin African Slaves 10 merit the Secretary's
easstie sheer eouched in the epithet, restless
rstov1aers p, And we should like to be informed
by that chain Of reasoning, by what authority
a shadow Of right, by what logical deductions
reasoning prioTi or postaiori, the Hon.
Secretary 50 unceremoniously places the adj
yocafes Of the African Slave Trade upon an
eauaIiEy with Northern fanatics.s w. Il. Sew
ard and his followers advocate doctrine sub
versive Of the principles upon which ouH gov
erument i based. A doctrine which puts a
premium mon public wrong. violates the
Constitution. and which in its road to victory
would place the knife to the throat and the
torchtothe home of the Southern Slave owner.
-Sssrsan. and q party, in the blindness of whose
zeal the sacred vested rights Of fifteen sover-
eien States would be trampled in the dust A
msa Who if he could not wade through
stsuelter to a throne,r would wade through
The Elood Of his ceuntrymen in order to the
success Of I phrensied policy. Again, weask,
what have the mere adrocatss Of the repeal Of
ohnax;ons laws-Iaws that are witherngin-
suit Is eyert Southern man, as vel as an OBJ
stuict;ou and hindrance to the South, done
to subject them to the degradation OF being
placed On footing with such men as the
agrest prophet Of a great Northern Party w
II 1eWard.
Thesespenine of the African Slave Trade,
would not even in the estimation Of its oppos-
ers, inilict injury on any man or sets of men
On fhe CONTRARY. 1t would effect 3 double bless
ine-upon the heafhen, by bringing the poor
beniEhtI esarvants Of servants rom the
dark plsces,f of Africa; from the habitations
Of crus.tfs Of the loathsome savage, ITO the
cheefihz sdnlight of civilization and christiani-
ty; upoh he white man, BY giving labprers to
his bad prairies, and wealth and prosperity
70 his country. We are abundantly prepared
to establish these positions, were we now dis
posed = 50. But our present object IS to
shsa De 6bsarlity and fallaeg of&the Secre-
tarJis eombaris0n On the one hand, we have
aseld moderised YantiaIs infused with all
the zeaI of The ancient crusaders, led BY even
. greater. hecafse m5Ye malign and atrocious
knalie tan Peter. the Kermit, whose ayow-
ed fitt the destruction of the Constitution
alriEhh Of six millions Of bis scountrymen and
who must. per orce, In the attainment OF his
ends izs the lives and destroy the prosperi-
tYofhs fellow citizens. On the other, there
4mmrar Of the best and most distinguished
men & he South, Jefferson Davis, Gov. Wise,
Coz N6Rie, Hon, ". H. Vance, and mighty
ho4 e IS cod and true nenasever cherished
an unshsfen fidelity to the Unlon as well as
to & South, the head and 'front.' Of whose OF
hlinE s the code and reasonable DISCUSSION
-of ozflzin policy : heagitation OF squestion
Which nefher N the abstract nor concrete can
barn z17 man. and yet, between parties 50
dizluizr betHeen whom there exists SO pro
ioa1d 81 abyss, the Secretary Of the Interior
choezsz % discover likeness and similarity
This tnIY is Stranger than fiction. The ques-
ton q fe-opening the African Slave Trade IS
nol peculatise theory Of restless REFORM
policy advocated BY sach men As
these Mentioned above, deserve even az the
necEetafy's hands, aaIose anal sis, aitss sweep
ms de1nnciation The Secretary has eondes-
csnded % ten as, that in the advocacy OF tins
new lhsory sons abIs men have enlisted.
But Ne 41 tell the Hon. gentleman that not
anlz th1se, whom Ne IS pleased TO term the
abe mt1s Of the South are.in favor Of the
made bat tEo-t thirds of those who make the
N1le Nen,s the people are for Il. The work
iagsN1n Of the land, the non-slave owners and
ne smzlIslaye owners, the bone and sineT
O 4le sol Who WELD the lever Of powerful
majority ne struagly N fSar Of the reopen
mg and legalzing the African Slave Trade
ne eeast4Ey Of the Interior should be more
alsetee5 The shaking Of MS official robes a
graf epuler movement IN his own State,
vi e1l[ .istnzb their gacefnlness and maxi
zen n,'<ss comelgs And # be wishes to con
vince e people Of any political heresy, b
muss ese other WEAPONS than the auth0ritiys
spss asz,t place and power If The reopen
iag 2. 9. Aifican Slave trSde OF the agitation
8 q lna1 94stion g hanght via unnumberes
eaIses nm the south We should like Il
Know y WAT way " don't heiieYe an
sucn dic.s.osial assumption of Acts, and con
cinslons without ~ argument, The way to con
8. -; 2an. g srzoI. g enF peopis q her
~ ll.sle Of the Fstlo juzi6cia would 5,