Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1860-12-28
Southern wrongs.

| We are tired of this everlasting cant sbouA
Southern wrongs-the staple cry Of Southern
| demasogues, re-echoed By Northern dough-
faces. The changes have been rang on them
SO often, that vast number of otherwise sem
sible people have come to accept them IN
self evident propositions. We freely adm.s
that the South has causes of complaint; but
does it necessarily follow that the North has
none? so far from it, if the balance was
struck. IT would be found largely On the sida
Of the North. The facts Of history prove
this, and every impartial, unprejudced and
discriminating man knows it. The advantage
the South has of us is that she is continually
reiterating hers and keeping them before tie
people" while the North patiently submitE
and says but little One would think from
the amount of Southern Indignation which
has been and is now being expen ded, that no
people were ever SO oppressed and bowed
down, and yet every grievance which is now
trumped up as a pretext for dissolvingR tha
Union is either fanciful or is in the main "a
abstraction, SO far as its practical operation In
concerned.
But three Northern States have been guilty
of legislation actually violating the provisions
of the Fugitive Slave Law. Several o,bess
have passed acts of an "unfriendly" character,
most of which were prompted by attempts at
kidnapping free men, (which were not Of unfrc-
Q1ent occurrence,) and are as necessary as any
protective legislation, though more or less
Objectionable in form and spirit. None Of
the border Free States, however, have any
acts upon their statute books interfering with
the efficient execution of the Fugitive Slave
Law, and as a. fugitive from the Cotton States
would have TO pass through at least two tiers
Of Slave Stat9s, and one Of Free, before reach,
ing any personal Liberty State, it will be
seen that the highly inflated argument draws
from that source for dissolving Fthc Union
dSindes into in6nitessimal proportions.
The Fugitive Slave Law, as shown by M
Douglas in his speech in the Senate the othtr
day, has been in the general faithfully execut-
ed in the West, and when we say the same Of
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. which is true.
this grievance colapses with respect to all the
border States. Whichever interference with
United States officers has /; ken place, it haa
been by mobs for whose conduct the great.
body of the people were not responsible; and
even these were prompted in measure by .
retaliatory spirit for outrageous cases Of kid
mapping by Southern men.
Ard nows gentlemen of the South have we
of the North no case to present as an offset -
the terrible wrongs Which You imagine your
selves to have so long patiently borne, and
which you are now lashing yourselves into .
fury about?
Was the repeal of the Missouri Comprcm-
ise in palpable violation 81 the plighted faith
of the South, aud, as every ,welinformed mAR
knows, for the purpose of introducing. Slavery
into Kansas, no grievance to the Northg-
You are continually accusing US of Eeepipg
up the Slavery agitation when you yourselves.
re-opbened it by that act and have kept it up
by Sustaining the policy of an Administration
which attempted to force Slavery upon the un-
willing people of that Territory. +.
Do your sweeping denunciations Of North.
ern men both in and ont Of Congress, habitp-.
ally indulged in for years, constitute no griev-
ance? .,-,s
Does the tarring and feathering, riding on o
rail, whipping banging, end drowning OF
Northern citizens on suspicion Of being ineea-
diaries, or for expressing their honest opinions
constitute no grievance? For every slave Fes-
cued in the North, ten Northern freemen have
been served in this way. Were dissolution
of the Union to take place, and. we TO become
two srperate nations, war-an1 it would in
all Puman probability be e war Of extcrmlpA-
ton, wiping out Slavery in blood17gorA
sooner or later, inevitably follow from thm
very source. u, T.t.
Do the persistent and Wholesale niisrcPrt
aentatious of Northern sentiment, bJ nines.
tenths of your newspapers and politieians' Corr
slitute no cause OF griey ance2
You accuse us OF hating yoa. and urge this,
as a plea for dissolution. You are doing, snEa
have been for years. all you can t6 make tba,
CHARGE true, but we don't ip;eGP 10 grSufy
v1u. We are ulagnanmous and loalsg gsuAeF-.
ing. and think we deserve credit for preserv-
ing our temper and never threatening to break
up the family. under so many aggravatioussr.
We are capsbie Of standing great dealrsofs
if necessary, with the same result. !. t,s,
This does not complete our list, but wS
don't want to make the account too onesded.
Strike the balance, and see who is the debtovS
Our Institution is Freedom, yours is SiaverE
We challenge the facts of history and gc6sts
phv to show that we have encroacbed upon
yours as much as you have upon ours. WIqE
but one-third the white population OF tne
Union, you occupy the largest portion OF ~
territory, have held the largest sur~bes ot iE
Offices of honor and ernoulhert, and nave en-
loved the largest share of 1T Patronage. We
have submitted to-and, by the mercy M
Providence, survived-your pro-slavery PreM-
dents and Cabinets, without mcneee %
Thought of dissolvirg the eonseerioh; honor,
good faith, and even-handed justice alike de-
mand that you now try our Freednm repro
sentative. You will find him Infinitely moro
your true friend than the palterinE. double
dealing. trucking, t;tseserving Executives
who have dishonored your canse for the lAst
two terms. He is an able, honest, and con-
scientious man, THE Fight never suffers ron
such men.
We are not disposed to let the case 60 10
the Jury of the American people without both
sides being heard. We are PERFECTLY willing
to have YOU Iybint out the mote ii OUT, eye, Tor
we expect to improve BY being Eenihdcd Of
our short couingsY but we decidedlT object to
YOU losing site of the fact that there Is very
large beam in yours Cincinnati Gazette.
Amending The ConstiSAtions
The President in his Message reeommenaS
an Amendment of the Constitution Ihe
modes of doing this, as described by tie Con-
ITSELF are two;
LIST. Congress by two-third vote, may
propose an Amendment. It must then be rAA
i6edF by three-fourths of the STATES. either
through their Legislatures or State Conven-
tions, as Congress may prescribe.
I'd. Two-thirds of the Legis'htvras ~ tAe
States may rcdhire Congress to call Nation