, 1860-12-15


Under the above caption the New Or |
leans Picayune calls attention 10 the fact |
that tho interests Of the slavclolding States |
arc not homoscneous-that already in the
progress Of the movement for Southern
confederacy, the germs Of future contro-
versy, growing out Of conflicting interests,
arc p;ain1y to be scen-and that, should
secession ensue, "a new line Of sectional
ism" which shall divide the slave States
themselves, would be rs strongly marked
upon the map Of tho Southern Republic, as
that which now separates the slave States
from the free The view taken By the
Picoyuno is undoubtedly correct. THERE'S
nothing more certain, whatever else may or
may not be The result Of division upon the
line Of Mason and Dixon, than that it will
transfer tho irrcprcssiDlc conflict" south Of
that line. 1t cannot he otherwise. The
border siatcs grow slave labor for market
the gulf States furnish the market Here
is q conflict Of Interest that has no middle
ground Of adjustment In the gulf States
the belief Is now universal that
slavery is morally right-a great civ.
ilizing and Christianizing institution.
Both interest md duty therefore combine
in demanding The rcopening Of the African
slave trade- The interests Of the border
States arc adverse to this mode Of spread
ing the gospel among the heather, and their
sense Of duty in the mattcr harmonizes
well with their interests. One policy or
the other must prevail, and the struggle
over it will bc fierce and uncnding. So well
is this understood, that the Gull or Cotton
States propose to obyiatc tho difficulty by
framing the fundamental law Of the new
Confedcracy without the Intervention Of
the border slave States. This is one reason
why separate action is SO strongly urged
By the cotton Suites, and why convention
OF the slayeholding 6tatcs is so persistent
" opposed. But the effect, after all,
would only be to change the point over
which the conflict would be waged-in the
one case, as to the incorporation Of the
provision into the fundamental law; in the
other, aS 10 lIs 3cpcsA.
Then again, in tho event Of secession,
the border slave States would become man
u:acturing States. Senator Hunter, Of Vir-
einia, pictures in glowing colors the dcsti~
nv Of the border slave States, and pa1ticn-
larly that Of nis own State, by reason Of
this fact. Virgin!a, he says, would soon
become the New England Ut the new Con-
fcderacy. Of course the new New Eng
land would demand tariff tor the pro-
tcction Of her new industrial interest.
But South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi
and Alabama would resist a protective
tariff Just as rcsniutcly when demanded BY
the border slave States rs they now do
when demanded by the free States Their
interests are the same in this regard
whether they remain in the present Union
or withdraw from It. Secession would
only transfer the tariff cc=1ict, not settle
it.
But If the border slave States become
manufacturing States, it viii be but shor'
time before they will appreciate the fac1
that slavery is great dctrimcnt to thei'
n,orresa, The leaders in the secession
movement have the sagacity to foresee thit
resnlt, and they propose providing against
it, by prohibiting the introduction Of slaves
from the border States into tho cotton
growing States But this viii ouly crssts