Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-12-01
To His ExcenencY,I. G. Harris.

AASAA ~ LILY Us oilS VI people,
and would be glad if you will give them place in
your paper. Respectfully, w, HEYwoOD.
To His Excenency, L. G.. Harris.
The election Of President of the United States
by the Northern section on the slaUery issue alone
imperils the peace property and equality of The
Southern States. The Northern States, having no
connection with the institution of slavery in the
Southern States any more than they have with that
of Brazil, except to perform their Constitutional
cOmpacts in respect to it, have unjustly assumed to
make up al issue on its existence and continuance
and on this issue have succeeded by force of a ma
.jority in their own section. without an electoral
vote IN slave State, in the election of Chief Mag
strate, pledged to a system of policy hostile and
ruinous to the rights and interests Of the Southern
States
The importance of this event arrests the attention
of every citizen in the South. ....
The anti-slavery policy Of the dominant party, our
northern enemies, longer friends, carried out by
continued effort and agitation to its great central idea
the utter determination Of slavery in the South,
will involve the South in a general and common
ruin. Its property and various pursuits will be de-
stroyed; its political equality be made TO succumb
to Northern domination; and its social condition be
degraded and rendered insecure. In a word the
South will have lost its honor, prestige and materi
al interests and become the Hayti OF the American
Union. ..r-.....r
Being loyal to the Constitution and the Union, and
confident in its powers Of sefprOtecton in the last
resort the South has relied for some two years,
compromise, remonstranee and the balOt-box, to
check and arrest the antisayery power Of the North
But concession for peace and harmony has been fol-
lowed by renewed and continued agitation and ag
gression. Appeals to the Constitution, the bond of
our Union have been met by denial and evasion;
its expositions in our favor by the Supreme Judi
cature have been denounced as partial and corrupt
and nuifcd by liberty bills so called, in mos: of
the Northern States. es
Our citizens who have gone to the North to recov-
er their fugitive slaves, have been abused imprlson-
ed or murdered and the slaves protected in defiance
of the Constitution and the laws.
The public domain of vast extent and wealth, in
which the South has an equal and common right,
has been usurped by the North and dedicated to the
exclusive use Of the free States To this domain a
Homestead law is to be applied, to encourage its
speedy settlement by this Northern hive to excite
Northern prejudice against the South by panderng
to its agrarian feeling and TO take away the land
revenue, thereby making it necessary to raise and
increase the tariff, tax specially oppressive to the
South. Need l say that to these injuries done and
impending there is not State in the South that
can or viii submit rs.
Next as to the remedy. The most obvious RENE
dy is severance Of the Union and the formation If
a Southern Confederaey. The Union. eycent in |
form, is virtually dissolved already Its terms and
conditions as declared in the Constitution. are No
longer respected and complied with fraternaI fool
ing no longer exists between the two sections but
discord and strife reign supreme in this wild cru
sade against the peace rights, and interests Of the
Southern States. .s-, .
The cotton States, having the greatest interest in
the Institution of slavery and which, indeed, would
become Of little value without it, arc taking initia
tory steps to secede from the Union. The interior
slave States are not prepared however, at present
to cooperate in a movement so ultra and extreme
without one more effort for conciiation aud harmO
ny but failing in that, if unhappily, such should
be the case, they VIII no longer hesitate to make
common cause with the cotton States to preserve
the honor, rights and independence of the South
In this grave quarrel which now involves the |
Union in peril and the solution and end of which
so much of good evil depends it is material that
the South be clearly N The right On this its power
and fortune in or out of the Union mainly depend
Then, let one more effort be made to settle and ad-
inst this sectional feud, comprehensive and per-
basis Possibly it may succeed, and the |
Union be, happily, preserved.
In this view let the South unite in the demand of
an amendment of the Constitution which shall con-
tain full and perfect guarantee of all its rights in
respect to slavery and the public Territories, pre-
sent and future.
First as TO slavery The institution of slavery,
as It exists in the slave States, to be recognized
legal and valid Fugitive slaves to be delivered up
on demand of a State Executive, on failure there
the State be liable to indemnify the owner and give
remedy by suit in the Supreme Court Prohibit the
abolition Of slavery in the District of Columbia or
in the arsenas other places in the slave States,
and any law restricting the interstate slave trade
or the removal OF slaves from State to another,
Protect the owner against forfeiture in his transit
OF temporary residence with his slaves in any other
State and finally, make such other provision as
may be necessary to effect the object proposed As
to the public Territories, present and future, let