The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1860-05-22
N8n-xnterveniion, squatter sorcr-
cIgnfy, dsc.

.iey. is now ahsolete. Il never did have sensible
meaning when used TO denote thsseation Of Govern
1nent 10 property For Government to ignore its OBJ.
legation to protect all property within its known and
Acknowledged boundary and jurisdiction, would be to
abandon every thing to state of anarchy and cont-
sion Suppose the spoiler to enter the sacred do.
main Of the family, and the ruler Of that house were to
fold his arms and say am committed to the doctrine
ofnou.intervention things must take therown course
have thrown of all responsibility and will have notli-
ing to do with the matter. Would not such man re.
.ceiys as he would justly deserve the e1ecration o.
every body. Even the spoiler himself would look
upon him With contempt. And so ought, and so will
that government and that party who propose TO ad-
minister the Government upon such principle be
held in the most profound disgust and contempt by all
gls whsa Blsss sssa .i.loa. asSeeassR
given o il Vas simply q nsthing--a blank; but
wsen an occasion arises demanding that the term
ahall havo definite meaning attached to it we find
srEPREs a. DouGLAs and his army ofspoiers, in or.
der to commend themselves to the a.perEadng aool-
ion sentiment of the non-slaveholdng States forced
to the construction that the general Government was
70 have nothing TO do with property in slaves,-ths
agent the ereature-the mere appointee OF the Gov
eminent was to have supreme control OF that class OF
property, and might exclude abolish or destroy it at
the will Of nero numerical majority Of sqnatters in
Territory.
This construction, when announced through the
public journals ofshe country fell upon the ears of the
Southern people ike a thunder clap, and filed the
s4,ole public mind with alarm: for few men. if any
in tho South had e7e dreamed that they were support
ing and upholding government that was SO pulsan-
NOUS and contemplate as to voluntarily surrender its
own dignity by ignoring its duty and responsibility TO
protect and defend the property rights OF its own
citizens within its acknowledged jurisdiction The
construction The South put upon the term was the
literal construction viz:-that the general Govern
rnent was not to inerpose its power to establish or
.probis" the inroduconof slavery into the Terrific
res as an institution hut none supposed that If c
zen ofany the States of the Union went into any Of
the Territories with his slave property that the gene
raj Government was to refuse to afford the same pro-
lection TO that property that it afforded to all other
kindso property if assalcd or in any way threaten
ed.
For the Government to do 80, it must ignore its
own responsibilities, or openly assume the ground
that slaves are nc PROPERTY and therefore not entitled
to governmental iss.ection. Mr. DOUGLAS, in his
Harper article, afirms that slavery only exists by
authority of statutory law, which is as false as Saten
himself The institution has existed in South Carolina
for about two hundred years. and the record shows
no law establishing it. There are laws regulating
it. as there arc laws regulating other property but
mono establishing it The word slavery does not even
appear in the State Constitution
The fact is the contrary of Mr.. DOUGLAS afhrma.
tion is exactly true. It exists now in every State in
the Union, except wnere has been positively pro-
liibited by the force and power Of statutory law.
And f.the free States will repeal all their prolib.
tory laws, tho institution Of slavery vii! as naturally
grow up in all those States it is for men aud wo
mon to marry, have homes and raise up children.
Mr.. SEWARD made three afirnations in the United
States Senate viz:-ls that the Union was stronger
than slavery; 3D. that they intended to transfer the
slave controversy from the North to the Sou h; and
Sd that the South must be free or the North must be
slave Now, let the South yield her construction pat
,pon the term nonintervenon and she assents to the
: trutb of Mr.. SEwARo's second affirmation and will
thereby have confirmed the belief the truth Of his
first affirmation when the former condition to his
third must necessarily follow an easy and an inev
table result
But let the eight seeding States stand firm and
united upon the principle of protection as embodied in
the majority report to the Charleston Convention and
they viii have maintained the only ground upon which
they can regain in the Union with honor or safety,
and sill have confined for the present at least. this
controversy to the free States where, let party tr
umphs be as they may, harm can result to the So
cal organism Of society But let the South accept OF
Ibis controversy, generously rendered her by the
North, and she viii have admitted among er people,
an element of deeenson ana dscord that will stir 30
cety to its very aepths for .s.rkes at the very root
and foundation Of social organism OF society and
Of our humane; and venera.ed system of civilization,
%, It must be- beremeTnbersd that this can ot be done
without conflict and conflict Of the most distract
ine and volelt character and the Southern man who
lsods his iunscD 70 such ends must see tot that be
swen prepared to shoulder the responsibility. That
s.iathe imperative das the soFerhEnens 70 protect
tho properly Of fs own citizens is sefevidentpropo
si,ion which noi,e deny Why then is it. that the