New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-11-19
RRRTT,s REASONING.

Dir. Rhett leads the secession hosts in South
Carolina. He made q speech in Charleston the
other night, in which he laid down the South
Carolina programme. This is, to rope in all the
Slave States, and sweep across the country to
the Pacific. Mr.. Rbett is magnificent, but he Is
too fast. The North. West, however they might
feel about the secession Of the Gulf States, will,
we presume, be very firm on the point of retain
ing the Mississippi River; in fact, no bargain
can be made with them to surrender 1t. SO
much at east is settled. No Southern republic
could be allowed to take or possess the mouth OF
the Mississippi. That, at any rate, could only be
got by hard knocks. We may as well, therefore,
settle down in the conclusion that our fllibuster
ing friends will have in any event, to stop ut
the Mississippi River. AS to our territories be-
yond, they must continue in possession OF the ex-
listing Federal Government. Mr. Rhett may as
well, therefore haul in his horns little, and be
content with the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico
for his seaboard. Of course, after he gets things
agoing to his satisfaction in the Cotton States
I'VE reckon Louisiana Sugar State), he may
essay conquest of our Western Territories, as
indeed he may Of the Free States generally if he
90 inclines, and they might have to go as spOils
and trophies of war. But we cannot now see
how he is in any other way, to get the West
ern country he so ambitiously aspires to the pos
session Of.
But Mr.. Rhett is not merely great in geo.
graphical delineatons He expounds the polit-
cal philosophy of the existing crisis. And he as.
serts that our difficulties arise from the prepos
ferrous notion instiled into Northern mind that
mgorities should govern. Why, he alleges, moth.
ing Can DO more absurd than this. He protests
that submission to majorites is abject pusillanm-
iiy. There is no reason, he AYERS, why two men
should vote down one, or 1000 vote down 1000.
MinOrities have the same rights as majorities,
and the minority is just as much entitled to have
Its own way in government as the majority. Such
is the substance of Mr. Rhetts political philosophy
as expounded in his late speech at Charleston.
We cannot be expected to refute such logic.
Holding, with our benighted felow-ctizens gen.
orally that we can have no better rule of action
in political affairs than to submit peaceably to the
voice OF the majority legitimately expressed in
authoritative modes, we cannot follow Mr.. Rhett
INTO discussions that admit of disputing the wis.
dom Of the rule. We state Mr.. Rhett's position
and give him the benefit of it. We suspect he
viii not hold to his philosophy of government any
longer than to get rid of the majority against
him within the existing Union. As soon as he
gets his Southern Conlederacy going we imagine
he will promptly get round TO the solid ground
OF the majority principle. If he sticks to his
theory that the majority should give way to the
minority, in bis new Coniederacy, We think he
will have good time in getting it governed un.
der the voting process. May we all live long
enough to see him try his proposed experiment.