Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-01-09

that the munitions OF war belong
ing to the United States in the Arsenal are
worth half million of dollars.
Comment is needless. After this informa-
ton, I hive only to add, that whilst it is my
duty to defend Fort Sumter, as portion of
the public property of the United States.
against hostile attacks from whatever quar-
ter they may come, by such means as may
possess for this purpose, / do not perceive
how such defence can be construed into a
menace against the city of Charleston.
With great personal regard, remain yours
very respectfully, JAMES BUCHANAN.
To Honorable Robert W. Barnwell, James
FL. Adams, James L. Orr.
WASHINGTON, d. c., January L, 1861.
SI:-We have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 30th De-
cember, in reply to note addressed by Us
to you OF the 18th of the same month, as
Commissioners from South Carolina
In reference to the declaration with which
your reply commences. that your position
as President of the United States was clear
ly defined in the Message to Congress on the
Sd Instant" that you possess "no power to
change the relations heretofore existing" be-
tween South Carolina and the States, ''mnch
less to acknowledge the independence of that
State" and that consequently you could meet
US only as private gentlemen of the highest
character, with an entire willingness to COM
municate to Congress any proposition We
might have to make" we deem it only neces-
sary to say that the State of South Carolina
having, in the exercise of that great light of
selfgovernment which underlies all our po-
litical organic atoms, declared herself SOW
ereign and independent, we, as her repre-
sentatives felt no special solicitude as to the
character in which you might recognize US.
Satisfied that the State had simply exer-
cised her unquestionable right. we were pre-
pared, in order to reach substantial good, to
waive the formal considerations which your
constitutional scruples might have prevented
you from extending. We came here. there
fore, expecting to be received as you did re-
ceive us, and perfectly content with that en-
tire willingness, of which you assured us, to
submit any proposition to Congress, which
we might have to make upon the subject OF
the Independence of the State. That willing
ness was ample recognition of the condition
of public affairs which rendered our presence
accessory. In this position, however, it is
our duty, both to the State which we repre-
sent and to ourselves, to correct several i'm
pOrtant misconce ptions of our letters into
which you have fallen.
You say sit was my earnest desire that
such disposition should be made of the
whole subject by Congress, who alone pos
sess the power, to prevent the Inauguration
of civil war between the parties in regard
to the possession of the Federal forts in the
harbor of Charleston, and 1 therefore, deeply
regret that, in your opinion, 'the events OF
the last twenty-four hours render this impos-
sible.'r We expressed no such opinion, and
the language which you quote as ours is al
tered in its sense by the omission of most
important part of the sentence. What we
did say was: "But the events OF the last
twenty-four hours render such an assurance
impossible" Place that assurance" as con-
tanned in our letter in the sentence, and we
are prepared to repeat it.
Again, protesting to quote our language,
you say: ''Thus, the authorities of South
Carolina, without waiting or asking for any
explanation, and, doubtless, as you have eX-
pressed it, that the officer had acted not only
without, but against my ORDERS" &c. We
expressed no such opinion in reference to the
belief of the people of South Carolina.
The language which you have quoted was
applied solely and entirely to our assurances
obtained mere, and based, as you well know,
upon your own declaration, a declaration
which, at that time. it was impossible for the
authorities of South Carolina to have known.
Bnt, without following this letter into all its
details, we propose only to meet the chief
points of the argument
Some weeks ago, the State of South Caro-
lima declared her intention, in the existing
condition of public affairs, to secede from
the United States. She called Convention
of her people to put her declaration in force.
The Convention met and passed the Ordi-
nance of Secession. All this you anticipa-
ted, and your course of action was thorough
ly considered. In your annual Message you
declared you had no right, and would not at
tempt to coerce a seeding State, but that
you were bound by constitutional oath, aud
would defend the property of the United
States within the borders of South Carolina,
if any attempt was made TO take it by force.
Seeing very early that this question of prop
erty was difficult and delicate one, you mani
tested a desire to settle it without collision.
You did not reinforce the garrison in the
harbor of Charleston. You removed dis
tinguished and veteran officer from the com
mand of Fort Moultrie because he attempt
ed to increase his supply of ammunition.
You refused to send additional troops to the
same garrison, when applied for by the Off
Ger appointed to succeed him. You accept
ed the resignation OF the oldest and most emil
nent member of your Cabinet, rather than
allow the garrison to be strengthened. You
compelled an officer stationed at Fort Sum-
ter to return Immediately to the Arsenal
forty muskets, which he had taken to arm
his men. You expressed, not to one, but to
many of the most distinguished of our pub
lie characters, whose testimony will be
placed upon the record, whenever it is nee
essary, your anxiety for a peaceful termina-
ton of this controversy, and your willing
ness not to disturb the military status of the
forts, if Commissioners should be sent to the
Government, whose communications you
promised to submit to Congress. You re-
ceived and acted on assurances from the
highest official authorities of South Corolina
that no attempt would be made to disturb
your possession of the forts and property of
the United States if you would not disturb
their existing condition until the Commits
sioners had been sent, and the attempt to
negotiate had failed. You took from the
members of the House of Representatives
written memorandum that no such attempt
should be made, provided that no reinforce
ments shall be sent into those forts and their
relative military status shall remain as at
present" And although you attach no force
to the acceptance of such a paper-although
you considered it as nothing more in effect
than the promise of highly honorable gen.
tlemen, "as an obligation on one side without
a corresponding obligation on the other, it
mast be remembered (if we are rightly in
formed) shat you were pledged, if you ever
did send relnforcements, to return it to
those from whom you had received it before
you executed your TeSOlutlOn.
You sent orders to your officers command
ing them strictly to follow line of conduct
in conformity with such an understanding.
Besides all this, you had received formal and
official notice from the Governor of South
Carolina that we had been appointed Com
missioners. and were on our way to Wash
ington. You knew the implied condition
under which we came; our arrival was motif
fed to you, and an hour appointed for an in
terview. We arrived in Washington on
Wednesday, at O'Clock, and you appointed
an interview with US at one the next day.
Early on that day Thursday the news was
received here of the movement of Major An
derson. That news was communicated to
you Immediately, and you postponed our
meeting until halfpast 2 O'Clock on Friday,
in order that you might consult your Cabi-
net. On Friday we saw you, and we called
upon you then to redeem your pledge. You
could not deny it. With the facts we have
stated, and in the face of the browning and
conclusive fact that yonr Secretary at War
had resigned his seat in the Cabinet, upon