Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1861-02-13
An Able and Interesting Letter.

An Able and Interesting Letter,
We have been kindly permitted to publish N.
following letter. addressed BY leading and inauen-
tial citizen of Pennsylvania to gentleman in this
state This letter no doubt correctly represents IL.
public mind Of Pennsylvania in the present crisis
It proceeds from the pen Of one Of those gallant
fifteen hundred thousand men in the non.slavebold
ing States who are standing by the Constitutions,
rights Of the South. Read it, and then hand II n
your neighbors. 1t will be found much more into,
esting and useful than any thing which we cou1d
pen for our readers:
NY DEAR FRIEND: For several years l have had
in view trip through the Southern States, intend.
ing on my way to call and partake of your often If
fered hospitality I have now to grieve that the M
portunity is past and not likely soon to return r.
all appearances, the gates on Southern routes Arc
closed against me, unless go as "a foreigner" With
passport in my pocket and with the not over.
agreeable conviction that will be watched at every
corner as suspected abotionist. l presume
must give up the hope Of seeing the sunny South
for some years to come. If ever our political din
cuties should be healed, it will be long time before
the mob will forget the harangues ofthe demagopnes
and cease to regard Northern men as incendar;es'
and learn to greet them again as countrymen and
friends This is sad and notifying reflection
How easily may the seeds of evil be sown Alas,
how long will it take to root them out. Susnic;on
and hate noxous weeds of wild and rapid growth
while love and affection are tender and domestic
plants requiring the hand Of care and time.
1t is equally sad and bewildering to contemplate
the present position of our country Where do we
in the North stand9 Our friends and brethren in
the South are leaving U.S. and denouncing us as enc.
mics. In moment of anger, and under the impulse
Of
that bind us together as one of the greatest and
certainly the happiest and most prosperous nation
on the face Of the earth. Offended pride, without
any suffering, and the hope of avoiding distant and
future evils, which might never be realized, have
caused them to cut loose from the great anchor of
our mutual SAFETY, to drift for themselves on an un
explored ocean, God only knows where
On the other hand. while our brothers and sisters
and the long-tred friends of years are leaving us,
strangers to us from Canada are daily counting our
alliance. They say to US, "let the South 20; if
you do, we will Immediately fill up the gap in YOUR
family, and make you stronger than ever While
you have any alliance with slave States we can form
no part Of the Union but cut loose from them, and
we will Immediately join you" These are our daily
assurances from the North. Foreigners say to us,
are will be your brethren. The members of our own
family declare will be to you strangers and Aliens
What is in the future? Is this dream, or is it
some horrid reality?, What would be the result of
such strange alliances and feuds Would it be
peace, or would it be eternal war? If the expert
cnce of the world is worth anything, it would be
war, until one both of the great powers thus Gre
ated would be exhausted Ifthis should be so, would
we rise up from the struggle again free people, or
the subjects of a military despot? History gives us
no example of brethren rising up from the deadly
strife Of civil war as friends. free and happy
people. 1t teaches u.s. on the contrary that no en-
nifty is so bitter as that of brethren who have been
engaged in civil feud.
Do you ever ask yourself what is the necessity
for our separation? Has passion smothered this in
quiry? Certainly, neither the North nor the South
can possibly gain anything by it. Yet without any
substantial benefit to be derived, many of your
Southern leaders wantonly instruct your people
that we hate them-that we are all abotionists,
and that every man North of Mason and Dixon's
ne holds himself ready to run off with your slaves
on every favorable opportunity. 1t is not two
weeks since, read in a religious journal of the
South, a long and infamnatory article headed, "AN
APPEAL TO THE SOUTH" 1t denounced the citizens
of the free States Unfortunately ranting aboli
onists and brazeny declared that all our Churches
refused fellowship with shareholders. and that the
doors of our courts were barred against their claims
Surely there must be vast amount of credulity in
the South. or such Infamous wholesale falsehoods
would not he published to the people. Can you
wonder at the progress of revolution, when such
poison is administered to the multitude by those
on whom they rely for instruction ? You ask for
change of public sentiment in the North. What is
the use of change Of public sentiment when the
truth is concealed and falsehood spread broadcast?
There is no change Of public sentiment required so
far as regards slavery in the States. It is all right on
that subject and as ultra you could wish it to be.
The rawlings Of few mad abolitionists scattered
here and there is taken in the South, however, as
public sentiment in the North, when in TRUTH they
are as obnoxious to MS as to you. Thus it is, the
North is slandercd by designing enemies in the
South. and the South is slandered in the North and
hatred is the result of too much credulity What
are some of your complaints in the South?
1st. You complain Of the election of Mr.. Lincoln.
regret that election much you can possibly
debut cannot look upon it as any cause for Sc
cession. fought against it with all the argument
and persuasion l could command But he was
elected and deem it the duty of every good citizen
to submit Revolution can only be justified, when
evils too great to bear crowd upon U.S. If the cleo
ton of President is for revolution to the de-
feated party, we have no government If our
government must quietly submit to secession when
ever anything disagreeable occurs to a particular
section, then our Union is but rope of sand, and
not worth preserving can then see no difference
between situation and that of the despised peo
pie Of Mexico. who really have no government, and
have no knowledge of what individual security and
protection is. All that the defeated party need do,
is to have some of its Chiefs put forth "pro-
nunciamento," and We are in the midst of revolu-
ton and civil war. The doctrine is fearful one.
With it we can no longer be the formidable nation
abroad, or the united and happy people at home
that we have beehive will be almost necessarily
involved in deadly feuds and be regarded every
where as a weak and distracted set Of petty sepa-
rate republics.
I'd. You complain that the election Of Mr.. Lin
coin contains an expression of settled hostility to-
wards your institutions.
On this point am satisfied the plain truth does
not reach your people. They are told that all Re-
publicans ere abolitonists, and thus great enmity
is excited in the South towards them and their can
didate In such crisis as this, at least where the
existence of the government depends on the know