Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-03-14
Letter from Leslie Combs.

[i'rum The Missouri Forest City courier,, Feb 14l
s8 Through the politeness of Dr. j.. s. Law
ering, we have been furnished by Howard
T. Combs with the following letter from
Hon. Leslie Combs, of Kentucky for pub
lication. Howard T.. Combs is a resident Of
our county, and son of Leslie Combs
The letter was not intended for publication,
being private but Leslie Combs, nor no
other true lover of his country has any right
to private opinions in these timeu When
treason is rife throughout the land, cndanger-
ing the existence of our country-rnen'
opinions are public property, and especially
those of such great and good men a. Leslie
Combs.-compeer Of CLAY, Webster, and 9th
er patriots and statesmen of gone by age.
Read his letter, lKentuckims-rea i'll
everybody IT'S thousands of Kentucky's
noble sons speaking, through him, to some
of her truant children in Missouri to do
their duty and not to disgrace their native
State" by pinning their faith to a harlot's
sleeve. He asks you MOTTO be seduced from
your love of country and all you hold dear
by the wanton jade South Carolina 1t is
the admonition OF a father to son, and he,
honorcd and beloved by every son of Ken
spirits--too free to become abject menials
whilns and prejudiccs of any section-asksi
thatyo Kentuckians, in Missouri the home
ofyOur adoption support and maintain that
noble birthrieht whicl, your siros boqueathed
to you in your own nasive land-liberty and
Independence. He asks you to stick to the
union of States--support the Constitution,
and preserve the institutions of your coun-
try, so that you may hand them to your pos
terity as you received them from leslie
Combs and your ancestors---pure and unfair
nished .,ni UFnl ylHpI I.
Would to God our land was filed with
Leslie Combs and men of Kindred thought !!
| Read the letter and you will rejoice that
our country yet has patriots who prize and
appreciate the blessings of our institutions:
IrHinu LEXINGTON, KY, Feb 5, 1861.
| 10 Hopdrd T. Combs, Esq -hi li''' "..'
My DEAR Son: / have received your let
ter desiring to know my opinion as to the
i result of the movements by the Palmetto
Shake State and her Cotton State cooper
ators to dissolve our glorious Union, and
thus inevitably plunge us, first into civil war,
next into anarchy, and lastly into the dark
ness of ,despotism ell. w -'o'' i
y ANSWER. l think they will fail and thus
win the scorn of the world, without the
i slightest sympathy from any quarter.
have long been aware Of the contemplated
treason Of Yancey Rhett & Co., and de-
nounced them and their Kentucky co-opera-
tors, John c. Breckenridge, James B. Clay
! e. Co., last summer to large multltudes
7 throughout the State, in my canvass for the
$ Appellate Clerkship-and thereby fore
: Swallowed and in some degree checkmated
the present dangerous crisis in our nationa
!. affairs Mr.. Clay, the Immortal Harry
:, Of the West" as he was sometimes called
I gave me notice of the coming danger nort
: than quarter ola century ago. Soutl
: Carolina a-the leading tory Staten our Rev
: olutionary War-was ripe for dissolution il
! 1928, but Gen. jackson senergy, and Mr.
: Clay's humane wisdom, postponed the storm
..I-now bursting over our heads. SO, afte
! the adoption OF the compromise measure
Of 1850, sustained by Clay and Webster, o
+ the Wing party, and Cass and Douglas q
y the Democratic party, South Carolina trie
to fire the vSouthern heart" and, in Mr.
y Yancey's significant language ''precipitate
= 1.-THE Gulf States into revolution. You wi
!, |reinurk that he does not say ihdstes,, whic
y lmeans TO expedite or move them more raf
idhj, into a revolution, for then they migf
~ pause and stop and turn hack, when reaso
!, took the place of passion but to '.prectp
- tate them, make them at once leap oyt
"a p the perpendicular cliff of rebellion into tt
~ burning gulf of revolutions from which ]
10 hoped they could never leap up again to ii
,el broad level plain Of liberty and equality
y the Union With this view, and for tn
4 purpose, they are now pressing matters
r the South to the shedding of blood, suppo
!. ing that in this way they can even draw Q
y old Kentucky---the birthplace of soldiers az
a patsiots- -sfrom her firm attachment to Il
,s,E Union, which was formed by Washingtt
" and his associates, and drag her at the Il
y. Of insolent South Carolina. ri Let who W
~ y giveway, rely uponit that your native Ke
hu lucky will stand firm-and We regret TO 8
~ that her childreniin MissounIseem dispos,
ur toyield TO Northern fhnaticism and TO Sout
y; ern treason The first has eommenced,r al
4 thelatter seems disposed to close up the VI
err procedure of dissolution When the tin
&c shall come that political abolition agitate
7 and Southern perse disunionists shall ali
|, share the execfationsof all law-abiding ci
IN gems and lovers oftheir country, the cou
m, try win bS safed You and Twill live to s
'nd that happy day-4the Devil will soon olai
ltty his children Il am much arati6ed to- |
tly lieye that Mr.. Seward and Mr. Dixon
IN disposed TO co operate awithno oCnttcnds