Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-02-01
LETTER or MANOR GENEE u TvOaI
no 4 MF - 5sEEcs or <'e' NGRESS.
Troy, December 10, 1860,

i part, on the state Of the country, as
follows:
South Carolina is again in one Of her
poliuco-spasm0dlc conpulsioIs,and, as
on a former occasion, Is prepared to
leave the Union. Her Representatives
. in Congress say. that she has already lett
the Union, and this, too, without any
wrong or injustice having been done her
people by the Government OF the United
States. Her present course is not unlike
that of 1892 and 1888, when she resolved,
..n account ;ofrthe tariff. to nulify the
laws 6f Congress: and, if resisted. to- sep
,rate herself from the L Union In this
,h%was tpiIed by the energetic measures
of the distinguished patriot, Andrew
Jackeon. tiien President Although
prrrente.l 5e the time from cxecutin 9
her ilitentrons, her leading spirits have
pevereeeased to proclaim Secession, and
1cterm:na tiouto leave the Union when
ever an, opportunity occurred to carry
out tie scheme enoendcred of FORMING :;
grand slave Con! ederacy, to be routiS vseG
Of the seeding States, the Island Of
F,,has the Ste les Of Mexico and Centrst
Americs, and to, reopen the sla.re trade
All hich have been referred to in the
recent speeches of Kcitt, Rhctt, Judge
Magrath and others.
ln 1850, 81, '5o 80, '53 ard 81, efforts
wore made rrcr aSatory to the formation
NJ this slave uenfedcracy, and General
Quitman aud Captain William Walker
were to assist in its accomplishment
The first was to reyolutionize Cuba, and
ne latter to conquer four or five Of the
States of Central America. From want
sef means and capacity to direct such en-
tc,prise, they both. failed; consequently
the scheme was postponed until more
favorable opportunity might occur for
It's execution. No opportunity, how
ever, occurred which would justify the
attempt units the raid of john Brown at
lIarrer's Ferry, which furnished the
requisite means to prepare the minds of
the people to carry into eject their long
mcditatcd designs The Disunionists in
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and
Mississippi did not fail to avail them
selves Of an occurrence 50 favorable to
their purposes. Every effort was made
to excite the people Of the South, with
the mos, urgent appeals for immediate
Secession from the Union. The univer-
sal condemnation. North and South, Of
Brown and his nefarious conduct, and
the expressed determination to maintain
the South in all their just and constitu-
iional rights, stayed the Secession move
iaent. @ zs Il t
Thus stood the. question .until the
meeting of the Democratic Convention
at Charleston, in 1860. Apprehensive
that Senator Douglas, who was presented
l,s thc. Northern Dem ocracy, would be
Sie nominee of the Convention for Pres
idegt, the leading spirits of disunion
brokesiI up, and divided the. members
undihe Democratic Party into two fac
tions, each OF which named its candidate
for President The Secessionists, with
Il majority of the Southern members,
Itomiuatcd Vice President Breckinridge,
;3nd the members of the North, with a
few from the South, nominated Senator
douglas. At the same time the Seces-
pionists openly and publicly ayowcd their
preference for Lincoln for President
over Senator Douglas, although the lat
ter had, eyond any other Senator, de-
Tended on all occasions the rights and
interests of the South, and even to the
extent OF their peculiar views. on the
subject of slayery. Under these circum-
stauces, with the Democratic Party, no
intelligent person could doubt that the
Republican candidate would be elected
That such was the design and inten-
ticn OF the disunionists when they broke
up and divided the Convention, could
NOT be questioned by any one acquainted
with their long meditated designs; and
for no other purpose than to be used as
means to excite the people ofthe South,
With the expectation OF concentrating
them in favor Of their grand slave con-
fedcracy:. As they preferred Mr.. Lin
coin to Senator Douglas, who had al
WAYS Leen the advocate of Southern
views ca the subject Of Slavery, what OBJ
jett could they have had in favoring his
lection but to use it as the only and
',Isst Opportunity Of accomplishing the
design, previously engendered, of sepa-
rating the cotton States from the Free
States. Their object was attained
abraham Linceln was elected to be
President by eighteen out Of thirty three
States. Nc State in the Union received
the announcement with more JOY and
satisfaction than South Carolina, and
Lecarse it would, as proclaimed by her
leaders, insure the long wished for OBJ
.iect--a separation Of the State from the
Union.
For the same reason, in the city Of
Charleston, meetings were held to cele-
lfrate the event, when the citizens mani
tested their feelings in loud, long and
continuous cheers The State, in its
legislative capacity, denounced and pro-
iounced Mr. Lincoln ) election as a suf-
ficient cause for the State to secedc from
the Union. A greater outrage on the
Constitution could not have been com
mitted, nor greater insult offered to a
free people. Treason and rebellion were
rife against the Union, for no other rea
son, as manifested, than that eighteen out
Of thirty three States exercised their
riehtful and constitutional prerogative
Of voting for whom the people deemed
most worthy and best fitted to fill the
office Of President. Itwas not, however,
the true cause, but means used under
false colors TO execute scheme long be-
fore concoeted, and with which was con-
nscted. perhaps, one of. the most promi-
nent among the reasons which first die
,ated Secession-the reopening of the
slave trade, in order TO obtain slave Ia
hor at greatly reduced prices. Towhich
may now be added the great and growing
rover of the Free over the Slave States,
.bywhieh South Carolina might lose her
controlling influence in the councils OF