Daily national Democrat., 1860-11-27
Secession, as ii now Appears.

making Union speeches. South Carolina has
laid her declaration of independence before
the President Of the United States, and, if
she stands by that declaration, has already
seeded The few other States, of seeding
procliyities, have not gone SO far, but have
called conventions of their people, in order
10 discuss the question Of secession. You
will find men in these conventions, who, like
Henry 5. Foote in the last Southern CONNER.
cial Convention, will arise and denounce dis
union as well as the advocates of treason to
the Ccnfederacy. The South is not yet ripe
for disunion, and 1t is in vain to attempt to
urge her up to that point The owners of
prop rerty desire peace. Those who do not
own property, land they are over two thirds
Of the white populaton) care nothing about
the matter one way or the other. There is
not more excitement, at this time, on the
subject of secession, than there was in 1850
and 81, when certain Southern leaders pro-
posed breaking up of the Confederacy, be-
cause the Compromise measures were passed
and California admitted into the Union
We are fully prepared to believe that the
rational, thinking and controlling sentiment
of the South will be found against secession.
And why? Because we are satisfied that
the intelligent Southern mind must see that,
if slavery cannot be maintained within the
Union, it can never be, outside of it. We
think no true friend of the South or of
Southern institutions would ever advocate a
dissolution of the Union. The only security
for slave property exists in the guarantees of
the Federal Constitution and the laws enac-
ted under 1.-THE fugitive slave law, (Which
Lincoln has pledged himself to carry out)-I
and the like. Break up the Union-draw
line between the slave and the free States,
and there would, of course be no fugitive
slave law, and no constitutional guarantee
for the protection of slave property. Slaves
in the States bordering on the northern line, |
would continually flee across for their free
dom. They would never be rendered back
This continual insecurity would soon make
property in slaves on the frontier valueess
Men of means would refuse to invest in that
kind OF property, and the soil would be titled
by white laborers hired for the purpose
while in other branches of business, white
men would be employed, for the like reason.
Thus, would the States bordering on the free
line gradually become ree-soilized, and the
line of Northern freedom inevitably eat into
Southern soil, from day to day and year to
year, and 1t would not be long before such
States as Missouri and Kentucky and even
Virginia would be insisting upon Meir right
of secession from the Southern Coniederacy, |
and proclaiming their intention to Join the
Northern Union. AS long as the fugitive
slave law exists upon the statute book and is
carried out, and as long as the general guar
antees of the Constitution are fulfilled in
good faith, (are fulfilled in fact in as faithful
n manner as they now are,) there is no dan
ger to slave property in the South. But, the
moment you take from that property the
protection which the common bond of the
Union givesit it is jeopardized, and becomes
less and less valuable. Every intelligent
Southern man sees this truth, and every one
who is true friend of his own section will
accordingly deprecate disunion.
Not alone would a Southern Confederacy |
have this dreaded Northern line of freedom |
continually eating into their territory, and a
steady gravitation of their frontier States
towards the free soil confederacy, but they
would be occupying position in which they
would have to stand up against the public
opinion of nearly the whole civilized world.
Whatever our own opinions here, in Amer
Ca, may be, respecting the right of man
% hold his fellow man in bondage, it is an
ndisputable fact, that the leading civilized
powers of the earth and the sentiment of the
masses of the people, are against slavery
Right or wrong they are against it, and they
would ask no better an employment than
hat of extinguishing the nation which made
t the corner stone of its social and political |
government. 1t becomes intelligent men to
ook these facts in the face. Southern men |
ind it difficult to see how any body can
hnk slavery is wrong, but three.fourths of
he people of the great leading powers of the
,arth do nevertheless say it is wrong, and
hat is the fact which must be met ASouth-
I'm Confederacy would have, we say, to con-
end against sentiment like this, and it |
would be no small affair.
AS for eonquests for the extension of the
area of slavery, it would be the policy of
Southern Confederacy to acquire as much
new territory adapted to slavery as possible
But, attempted acquisitions of this character,
by one wing of divided Confederacy would
be met by an alliance of the endangered
with the strongest powers of the
Old World to resist the effort, and new terri
tory might be acquired or it might not
The results would depend upon the fortune
of war.
Believing, as we do, in the constitutional
rights of the South, we are opposed, and be
lieye every true friend Of the South should
be opposed to a dissolution of the Union If
the rights of slave property cannot be pro-
teeted inside the Union, they can be protec
ted nowhere. A secession of the Southern
States, in our humble opinion, would cause
the extingushment of slavery sooner than
any event which could possibly happen
There will always be in the North if it is
given a fair opportunity to display it, con
servatiye sentiment, and this sentiment will
never permit the constitutional rights of the