Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1860-09-22

sort Of Obligation to hold our ground
longer as allies. When the army which
we came to aid has ceased to deliver its
fire against the common enemy, and Is
6erceIy engaged in an internecine war,
surely we need no longer keep our places
in it's lines. There is another party in
the field led 10y able end experienced
statesmen, with whom you and | have
been long associated, and that party alone
can save us at the present conjecture by
drawing to its standard the friends OF
the Union from every part Of this great
confederacy.
At all events the friends Of the Con
stitutioD, whatever may be their prefer
ences for individuals, should merge per
sonal predictions in their regard for he
country. There should be no strife BE-
tween the friends of Mr.. Douglas, Mr..
Breckenridge or Mr.. Bell but coming
up as one phalanx in serried lines, they
should put out their full strength in a
united effort to defeat the Black Repub>
~licans.
An earnest survey of the state OF the
country has satisfied me that a great re-
action is gong on in the sentiments OF
the Northern people; they are o will
ing to put the Union Of these great kin
dered States in jeopardy by giving pow
er into the hands of a merely sectional
larty, and they will not do it | am
confident that | do not m~isconstrue the
signs of the times. The extraordinary
activity displayed by the friends Of Mr..
Lincoln in indicating him from the &C.
cusation Of entertaining extreme aboli-
ton sentiments plainly shows their esti-
mate of patriotic instincts of the Ameri-
can people, aud manifests a very proper
apprehension of the destructive power
of a ref1ux tide.
Mr.. Stewards speech created some.
thing Of II panic in the ranks Of his par
ty. 1t is now s~tudiously insisted that
Mr.. Lincoln does not hold those ultra
opinions. Nothing is said now of the
''ir1epressible conflict" between the North
and the South-an idea which, it is un-
derstood, originated with Mr.. Lincoln,
who. l believe, asserted in his canvass
with Mr.. Douglas for the Senate, that
our government embraced two conflicting
systems of civilization +; that one or the
other must give way, and that this whole
soil Of republic mus, be surrendered to
slavery or freedom. Well may his
friends shrink from inscribing that sen
timent upon his banners ; tho patriotic
people of the North and South will alike
denounce it, for they prefer to leave the
States which compose the Union to full
unmoIes:ed enjoy meht Of their own in
stitutions, under the protecting aegis Of
the constitution. Even now it is clear
that the conservative men Of the country
are coming to the rescue, and sectional
ism will be rebuked, and the movement
in behalf Of the Unipn will now acquire
a resist!ess momentum.
The grea, States Of New York, will,
hope. lead the way In this patriotic
course-a State great in all the elements
CT material wealth aud moral powell
Her great city is emphaticaIIy the en-
posium Of the whole country, for New
York is not a Northern city-it is u ma
tional city. In this great State a nat. u
al spirit should prevail, and the friends
of the Union should be sustained. The
conflict now going on must he a decisive
one, and If s%ectionalism can be defeated
in this great battle, it will he oyerwhelm-
ed. You. sir are a Northern man 4 am
a Southern man but We both love our
country. You have been upon your soil,
have seen our Institutions, and you know
how warmly you were welcomed in our
midst, for you were regarded as an emf
nent and patriotic statesman. In my
present visit to the North l have seen
much to crafty me l rejoice in witness
ing the Astounding prosperity which
everywhere meets my glance ; but, above
all, do rejoice in observing the growth
of a powerful national sentiment that will
yet be strong enough to saye the reput-
lie, and to keep the government in its
true orbit, respecting both the rights Of
the States and the Union of the States,
Very truly, your friend and
obedient servant,
HENRY W. H1LtARD.