Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-11-05
The Southern COmemrcIaI Conven-
fiOm.


In these exciting times of war, it may
have escaped the attention of some of our
readers that some of the Southerners have
been engaging in an amusement which
they have annually resorted to for num-
Der of years. They have been holding a
commercial convention. The proceedings
of similar conventions, designed to secure
tile commercial independence of the South.
have long been the laughing stock of
the North, and OF the more intelligent
Southeruers. This year the body assem-
bled at Macon, Ga.
OF course very stringent resolutions
were introduced, the substance of which is
as follows:
l. To place discounting duty of twelve
per cent. on all foreign goods imported in
to the Confederate States through or on
account of Northern parties for a period of
ten years.
2. To place direct ''income tax upon
all Northern exchange or bills payable
there, for similar period.
3. Recommending our banks and mGr-
chants to make all our cotton produce
bills accepted payable in Europe, at least
to the extent of our force in impOrtatiOns.
The reception with which they met is
thus described by the correspondent of the
Memphis Appeal:
"The friends of direct trade taking the
position that because of the artificial
means employed in the late Union to divert
our trade North, it became absolutely
necessary for the Soute to aid Southern
| trade by legislative enactment to break
/ h.
merce, SO long and so unjnstly imposed by
the American government.
These resolutions were postponed in the
business committee and passed over from
time to time, until it was too late to de-
bate them. They were, however, called
| for by the Convention In the Inst hour of
its session, and would have passed, but
for the argument put forward by General
| Green, as chairman of the committee, fol-
lowed by parliamentary movement which
cut off the debate, and laid them on the
table.
The position taken by General DuT
Green was that these resolutions were so
fatal to Northern commerce with the South,
so destructive of all hope of New York
ever again participating in the importa-
ton Of our goods, in our wealth, through
the discount of our cotton bills and the
conLrO! OF oureGcnangeI tnat 70 pass them
would be to prolong the war. That the
direct trade resolutions, in fact, would
make any adjustment with the North
impossible and prevent any reconstruction
of the commercial and financial connec-
tions between the North and South. These
views, suddenly put forward, had great
weight with the convention. All debate
being cut of by nature of the motion
with which General Duff Green closed
the argument, the direct trade resolutions
were tabled.
In order to allow the utmost harmony
to prevail, it was agreed to suppress the
exciting debate which flowed from this un-
expected position of Gen Green
THE "direct trade party may well have
been astOnished by this assault, which Duff
Green made upon their position, and by the
support which majority of the conven-
ton gave him. We do not understand
Gen. Green's speech ms necessarily imply
ing desire to establish a political union
with the North, though some of our, CO.
give It that Interpretation, but