The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-07-24

threatening appearances vi uc Pohuoaa uoiH
Ever since the meeting Of the Charleston Con-
ventioD the disunion party In the South has
been preparing for the dissolution Of the con
federacy- an event which, at first regarded
with the utmost alarm by the great majority Of
the people North and South has come latterly
to be looked upon az foregone conclusion
one which might be temporarily arrested, but
which can, by no means. be entirely averted.
II is time. now, that our people should look
at this matter as 1t stands We feel bound
therefore, to lay before the country this morn
ing the evidence that the South has already
made arrangements To secede pesceably from
the Union in the event of the election of Lin
coin, who seems morally certain to obtain
majority Of votes In the electoral college. We
commend, then, to the careful attention of our
readers the elaborate manifesto of the Hon
Lawrence NJ Keitt, and the brief, but no lees
important, letter Of the Hon. William L. Yam
cey which will be found In our impression OF
to-day. We are aware that both these gentle
men are ranked as "6re-eaters' at the North,
but we know. also, that they represent
the general feeling In the cotton States. and
that the cry Of secession. which was raised four
years ago, comes up now with redoubled vigor,
and that some Of the most prominent Union men
in 1856 are now foremost In the ranks Of the
seceders.
If we examine Mr.. Keitt's argument critically.
we shall find that his premises are plainly stat
ed, and his conclusions worked out clearly and
logically He employs no bombsstic phrases
by way Of illustration; bis style Is calm and
temperate and be writes like a man who ex-
presses the deliberate convictions of q power
rlI party, rather than one who gives vent to
his own crude and ill-digested fsncies. In his
letter the position Of the republican party Is
fairly stated. He accepts for the party creed
Mr.. Summers view: first, that slavery Is bar
barous, and the South necessarily In a savage
state; second, that the South, being inferior in
every way, Is to be held tributary to the North,
which section Ia hereafter TO be the sole foun-
tain Of political power. What follower Of Lin
coins banner can deny that these are the issues
Of bis party, as presented by Seward, Sumner,
Helper and other leaders and teachers of the
republican masses. Mr.. Keitt proceeds to
prove that the impending crisis is upon us
that the "lrrepressible conflict is "a living and
terrible reality" He asks, pertinently, what
would have become Of the government had the.
black republicans held tho executive power
when the John Brown affair took place at Har
per's Ferry. His sympathizers would have sided
With him as matter OF course, and the land
would have been deluged with ftaternal blood.
The motto Of the South Is Equality in the
Union, or Independence out Of it, II the
party which John Brown represented succeed
in the next election, loyalty to the Union will
be treason to the South"
Mr.. Keit, calls for union Of all parties In
the South for Breckenridge and Lane, but he
has evidently very little hope Of their election.
He is prepared for the inevitable result He
advises secession, aud points the way towards
such contamination, and closes with q de-
scripuon Of the rottenness Of our political sys-
TEN, in which though overdrawn, there is too
much that lie undeniably tr,.e.
The letter Of Mr.. Yanccy advances the same
conclusions az that Of Mr.. K,it; aud since the
l0th.of June the League Of United Southern
ere" has not been idle. Already the cotton
States are prepared for revelation. The piece
Is loaded. The torch IL lighted. The can.
noneer stands By bis gun waiting foe the fatal
sigual.
Ii Is not alone the evidence OF Messrs. Keitt
and Yancey which We have upon this subject.
The influential Southern presses declare that
the issue Is between the North and the South,
as represented by Lincoln and Brcckinridge;
that The South will be defeated, and that the
State Legislatures must be prepared for the
worst In the Gulf States the feeling 10 favor
of secession seems quite unanimous, the border
States are undecided, and there Is dark cloud
which means mischief hanging over Virginia
The great landed proprietors Of the South be-
lieve that In the event Of Lncoln's election.
there would be no adequate security for their
property, and they are, therefore, preparing 70