The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1860-08-22
D0litifaL a.
THE DIsUNIoN PURPOSES Confessed
BY THE LEADING ,BRECKfNRI9GE
ORGAN OF TIE UNITED STATES.


BY THE LEADING .BRECKINRI9GE
ORGAN OF TEE UNITED STATES.
The 1rrepressihle 6onAiot Begun at the
It is not without the greatest apprehensions
for the future that We regard the present
threatening position of the political horizon.
Ever since the meeting of the Charleston Con-
yention ths Disunion party IN the South has
been preparing for the dissolntion of the Con-
federacy-an event which, at first regarded
with the utmost alarm by tbs great majority
Of the people North and soudthShas come lat
tefly to be looked upon as fesegona con-
clusion-one which might be temporarily ar
rested, but which can, by no means, be en-
tirely averted.
It is time, now, that our people should look
at this matter as it stands. We feel bound,
therefore, to lay before the country this morn
ing the evidence that the South has already
made arrangements to secede peaceably from
the Union in the event of the election of Lip
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 M. Keitt, and the brief, but no less
important letter of Hon. William. L. Yapcey,
which will be found in our impression of to-
day. We are aware that both these gentle
men are ranked as "fire- 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 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 cFiti-
cally, we shall find that his conclusions work..
ed out clearly and logically. He employs no
bombastic phrases by way of Illustration; his
style is calm and temperate, and ne writes like
man who expresses the deliberate convictions
of a powerful party, rather than one who gives
vent to his own crude and ill-digested fancies.
In his letter the position of the Republican
party is fairly stated. He accepts for the par
ty creed Mr.. Spmmers's view; first, that sla-
very is barbaEQus, and the SOUTH necessarily
in a savage state second, that the South, be-
being inferior in every way, is to be held tribu-
tary to the North, which section is heretofore
to be the sole fountain of political power
What follower of Lincoln's banner can deny
that these are the issues of his party, as pre-
sented by Seward, Summers, Helper and 9th.
er leaders and teachers of the Republican
masses? Mr.. Keitt proceeds to prove that the
s.impending crisis" is upon us-that the "irre-
ality." He asks, pertinently, what would have
become of the government had the Black Re-
publicans held the execrtiye power when the
John brown affair took place at Harper's Fer.
ryl His sympathisers would have sided with
him as matter of course, and the land would
have been ieluged with fraternal blood. The
motto of the South is, Equality in the Union,
or Independence out Of it" IF the party
which John Brown represented succeeded in
the next election, "loyalty to the Union will
be treason to the South"
Mr. Keitt calls for union of all parties in
the South for BFeckinridge and Lane; but he
has evidently very little hope of their election.
He is prepared for the inevitable result. He
such a consummation, and closes with a de-
scriptiop of the rottenuess of our political
system, in which, though overdrawn, their is
too much that is undeniably true.
The letter of Mr.. Yancey advances the same
conclusion as that of Mr. Keitt; and since the
10th of June the "League of United South
erners" has not been idle. Already the cotton
States are prepared for revolution. The piece
is loaded. The torch is lighted. The cannon
eer stands by his gun waiting for the fatal
signal.
I4 is not alone the evidence of Messrs.
Keitt and Yancey which we have upon this
subject. The influential Southern presses de-
clare that the issue is between the North and
the South, as represented by Lincoln and
| Breckenridge; that the South will be defeated,
and that the State Legislatures must be pre-
pared for the worst. In the Gulf States the
feeling in favor of secession seems quite unani-
nous, the border States are undecided, and
| there is dark cloud which means mischief
hanging over Virginia. The great landed
proprietors of the South believe that, in the
event of Lincoln's election, there would be o
adequate security for their property and they
are, therefore, preparing to reassume the pow
| ers delegated to the general government
We cannot resist the conviction that they are
terribly in earnest.
4 That the South can 4 secede, If united in the
movement there is no reason to doubt. The
vote of that SECTION viii be given to Breckin-
ridge and Lane. The Southern Senators and
members of the House would go to Richmond
instead of Washington. Congress being open
ed in regular form, Mr.. Breckinridge would
be declared President Of the United Southern
Republic, and the government may be organ
lied in a week after the result of the Noyem-
ber election is made known. There is really
nothing to prevent such action on the part of
the South, and there is every reason to dread
| that it may take place
In view of this state of things, we deem it
! to be our duty to warn parties interested OF
the danger which threatens them. So far as
we can see, the Breekinridge movement of the
North will avail nothing. Lincoln will be the
Northern President and Breckinridge the
Southern. The confusion into which our
commercial and monetary affairs viii be thrown
cannot be described. Trade will receive a
blow compared to which the storm of 1856
was a mere furry; stocks viii go down to with
| in a fraction of nothing; all kinds Of property
Kill Aepreciate in. salae, and the fortunes ac-
teuamruIated cum by years Of toll viii be swept away
| in q moment. We advise our, readers to pre-
| pare for the coming crisis. Between this time
aud November something may be saved from
the wreck Merchants who have dealings
with Southern traders wiA do we'll to close up
such affairs as soon as possible Holders sof
Southern State, railway or city stocks, or So
curities of the general, government, should
realize upon them at once. Bankers at home
and abroad should prepare themselves for the