Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1860-12-28
From the Phila. Bulletin.
Hon. ]. P. King.


The most sensible Southern utterance Yet
made touching the crisis, is 10 a communication
70 the Georgia ConStautionafist, written, it is
understood, by the Hon. j. P. King We have
been waiting for the pressure to bring out some
patriotic citizen of eminent talents, who should
cxplain to the South the rutioa0ie of secession.
So far il has been the blind madness of the
ilpFcops after his eye was bored out. We say
adyiselY, bt,ad madness. There has not been a
wise, business-like, comprehensive suggestion
from solitary secessionist. 1t is the wisdom
Of tue bull who rushes at red cloth, or the
Turk who shoots every man or woman who wears
green.
At last however, man has spoken. He is
Southern enough to see more grievances than
really exist; but bis clear commou sense and
knoHledge Of human nature and history, have
not iorsaken him.
He shows that secession is evil and only evil;
that the planters have already lost millions in
me depreciation of their property; that the
equality in the Territories is mainly an abstrac
siDn: that the election of Mr. Lincoln does BOT
really touch one Of their interests. As TO The
Personal Liberty laws; lie says that secession is
4 Japanese remedy for it, by ripping open their
/ Own bowels.
He shows most powerfully that whatever their
| grievances, they are worse out of the Union
/ taan in it. The Union itself was a gathering
/ together of sjealous, faithless and sectional"
bodies, which gave up the most of .the. mischief
they we're doing each other, by bSh6haing uni-
ted. The judges 10 rhe free-Statesa aH9s always
enforced the Fugitive Slave Law, and the very
thing the abolitionlsts want to do is to dissolve
4 Ec IInfou IT, IL A "a kk.. -,
up their bulwark without a single equiys-
| lieut.
/ 4 most powerful part of this admirable arti-
Gle Is the answer to the inquiry as to the reason
that the border slave States do not wish 10 dis
solve the Union. Mr.. King says it is because
they understand the matter better than the
cotton States. They know waat border strug-
giles are, aud they know the North. 1t il deeply
significant that Virginia il not quarreling with
tfaesasy yivsnia nor Kentucky win Indiana, nor
Tennessee with illinois. The effect OF dis
solution of The Union iUoutd be to render staues
UalueteSS IN the border States Theg aDouId
become free States an self deteacs, and thus the
dissolution of the Union would break up slavery
or drive it into the States where white me0 can
not labor.
Mr.. King then shows that Mr.. Lincoln has
no power to take away their rights, and that
the excitement among the slaves is caused by
the speeches of their own "imprudent declailn-
srs." He closes with Dir. Cobb's address, which
he styles, "Conjectures without reason, asser-
tions without proof, conclusions without premi-
ses. No revolutionary harange Of Desmoulins,
Daptom or Couthop was ever better calculated
to stir up an excited population to anarchy and
blood.n
Mr.. King reminds US of the best days of the
Republic Once more, we hear one of chose
voices which have SO often delighted US 10 the
South. The race Of eloquent, clear headed,
warm-hesrted, sjlver-tongued, comprehensive
SouIheruers has not died out. The North was
beginning to feel, under this Wigfall and lser-
son, Keitt aud Rhett dispensation, as if the
South would be no great loss; but Mr. King re-
wives US. As long as there is such man in
Georgia, we cannot afford to lose it.