Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-12-17
Tn. peel.ion of south Carolina.


The Decision of South Carolina.z
To-daya convention of delegates elected
by tie people of South Carolina, meets in
the Capitol of that State, to announce the
decision Of the people of that State on their
Union. p The events precedent are generally
known 10 The American people; and the ac-
ton which South Carolina proposes is also
generally known Her leading citizens took
. decided stand In advance of the late nation
al election. s5The selections concluded on the
9th inst, for members 10 this Convention re-
suited 7aa general approval Of that stand,
and it now only remains for the Convention
to announce Che decision. 1t will be done in
q brief space of time--in a very few days.
One star viii be stricken from the American
flag! The foundation of new government
will be laid within the consecrate limits of
the old colonies, which, by Union, ravished
independence from the royal hand of Eng
land in I776-S3t It may, as we hope it will,
be a conditional withdrawal. We hope there
will he some avenue left open through which
the better feelings may find access back to
the bright constellation which illumines the
world-to the preeminent brotherhood of the
American social and political system. This
hope is founded on the fact that assurances
have been given to the presiding Magistrate
of the nation, that no obstruction to the au-
thority of the-U Union shall be made before
the 4th of March next. The intermediate
time viii be occupied in preparing for the
contingencies that may be presented then.
In the calendar of Time, two months and
half is almost nothing, but in q national en-
Urgency it may prove to be a great deal.
But to be SO, it must be improved, diligently,
unremittingly. Within that time every mo-
tive of interest and every spring of affection
should be touched and thoroughly tried to
restore that which has been displaced. Every
patriot in every part of the Union will be
called upon to do his share in the great
work of reconciliation. No mere abstrac-
tion can be allowed to prevail; no question
of present or. temporary expediency can be
permitted +, to control; but all men who adj
here to the Union as the eonsummation of
human experiment, and the perfection, thus
far, of human effort to construct, equally
and wisely, the governmental fabric, must
come together and work together more in
the spirit of forming a new government,
than in carrying out peculiar opinions of ex-
pedieney In containing one already existing.
Though the Union still exists and will exist,
wher South Carolina is gone, yet will not
be as il was, il will not be the Union for
which our fathers fought and pledged their
lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor;
and must, in the nature of things, be recon- |
structed to certain extent. go.
But whether the action of South Carolina |
be absolute and irretrievable, or conditional |
and retraeeable, her action tomorrow, or |
next day. or when it is declared, will throw |
upon all the other States of the Union an |
unexampled and stupendous responsibility. |
1t is true she once before passed an ordinance |
of secession; but that was under far differ |
ent circumstances, and under far different |
auspices. Then is not now. Then the re-
sponsibiIity fell upon the General Govern
ment, which not only had g. strength in its
chief Executive 1t has never known since,
but had the confidence. respect and support
of all the other States. Now, the administra- |
tion-we will not say weak, imbeeile, self
contradictory, selfstultifying, however ap-
propriate the qualifcation-refers the mat |
ter to a distracted Congress representing |
distracted and infamed people. 1t is thus
these momentous differences are to be finally |
adjudged and decided by the States and the
of he Gfata II iStr al Thof
South Carolina has been alike the object of /
ridicule and of abuse. She has been called |
a close corporation, an aristocracy, an oil
garchy,a miserable abortion of Liberty among
her sisters; she has been tainted with being /
mad; she has been told to go, that the rest
could get along without her quite as well or
better than with her; and other goads have
been applied to make her wrathfnl and des-
perate. Whilst there has been some cause for |
this, we incline to think the smoke has been |
out of proportion tothe fire. She has her infu-
entail hot-spurs and her restless aspirants, her |
institutions and her metaphysi-
cal dialecticians, her notions of sovereignty, |
her erroneous interpretations of the Federal
bond, and, it may be added, her whipping |
post. But the State of South Carolina is
people; and though their ancestors fed from
st. Bartholomew, and many a craven son
played the interested spy and tory in the
Revolution of '76-some Of whom now, we 4
see, in their grandchildren; are playing the
partof fre-eafers--her patriots-Marion, Mid
dleton, Rutlege, Pinkney Butler. and others
then aud since have given her title to speak /
In the name of liberty and independence.
And SO they VIII speak in the end. if they
are forced to the fiaaI alternative. We
,laim to know personally something OF the
heart of that people, and We know that every
aunt and threat is that much towards des-
sroying the unity of this government. On
her own soil aud before her own people, we
should denounce her errors and seek TO paint |
or her study and contemplation the horrors
which she may be creating not only for her
self, but for others who are guiltless of
wrong towards her; bat.at this distance we
must regard her as child ofthe Revolution, |
srring as she. ENTHUSIASTICALLY is, yet one of
the family Of the "original Thirteen and
entitled TO respect, consideration, affection.
We cannot tolerate the idea, as yet, of Civ
ing up any part Of our glorious and magnif-
cent country. We abhor the means and in
huenses which haze brought South Carolina
to be, present attitude, but she is part oil
the great body of the Union, and to break
of from it would be like breaking the indi-
vidual body. - - -.
We must, therefore, all the States and all
the people of the Union, lay aside the feel
ings. the piques and the prejudices which
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