The Oxford intelligencer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1860-18??, 1861-04-03
Ratification of the Permanent Coustitu-
ton.

ItT7A -. ss-.' ~
TINS Mississippi Convection, on Friday, the
29th of March, by a vote Of seventy.eight u
seven, finally ratified and adopted the psrmaneat
Constitutions Of the Confederate States, as framed
by the Provisional Congress at Montgomery.
This action of the Convention is what We anti
cpated ard desired, and we ere sure that 1t is APP
proved by the great body Of our people. The
Constitution has also been ratified by the Con-
vention Of Texas, by vote nearly approaching
to unanfmity. 1t had previously been ratified
by the Conventions of Alabama, Georgia, and
Louisiana, so that it is no longer probIematical
whether the new Government contemplated by
it will go into operation. The Convention Of
South Carolina re-assembled on the goth of
March, and we consider it not improbable that
that State has already proclaimed her adhesion
to the new Constitution. The Florida Conven-
ton will not meet again until the 18th of April,
but, inasmuch as the Provisional Congress has
adjourned over to the second Monday of May,
the Convention will have ample time to place
Florida in line with her sister States of the Con-
federacy before the meeting Of the Congress.
great deal has been said about the alleged
duty of the State Conventions to submit the
permanent Constitution to the people Of their
respective States for ratification. Generally, in
the Confederate States, the advocates of this
policy have discussed it as a simple question of
expedency; and, now that tho question is set
tied against them by paramount authority, they
will cheerfully acquiesce in that settlement
Those, however, who have been most clanorous
and persistent in their demands that the people
should pass upon the Constitution, are ''outs-
ders," who have impertinently sought to inter
NEEDLE with what in no wise concerned them
selves. Those Journals, in the border slave
States, whose sympathy with Black Republican
ism is most clearly manifested by their devotion
to unconditional "Union," have been particular
" rabid in their denuncaton of the course psr-
sued by the Conventions of the seeded States.
To be sure, what those Conventions did was no
business of theirs but they had certain objects
in view, and, to secure those objects, they were
willing to resort to any means that promised
success. Their own people were to be pcrsua-
died. If possible, by studied and systematic
misrepresentation of the facts, that the people
of the Confederacy were groanng under an in
tolcrablc load Of grievances, brought upon them
by secession; and the secession movement itself
further, if there was any efficacy in outright,
downright, shameless falschood. Again those
Judas lscarots and Benedict Arnolds of the
press in the border slave States, who have sold,
or are ready to sell themselves to Lincoln, and
who by defending such creatures as Andy John
son and Emerson Etheridge, have proved their
readiness to descend to 'the lowest deep" of in
fanny and mcanness-those men, judging of 9TH
ers by their own base standard, have deluded
themselves into the belief that the Confederate
States are ''lousy" with an equally despicable
class of traitors, who are now strong enough,
if the ballot-box were but open to them, to put
down secession, and reconstruct the old Union
Now we shall not deny that we have any such
traitors in our midst, for we are satisfied that
there are such, just as there were Tories in Rev.
dictionary days; but We arc confident that the
Tories of 1861 arc far less numerous than those
of 1875. There are not enough of them to keep
each other in countcnance; and they arc so full
ly conscious of their utter impotency that they
prefer to be silent and inactive.
Scarcely vote was pollcd in this State for
the Breckenridge electoral ticket, in November
last that was not cast by a Secessiorist; and no
sooner was it known that Abraham Lincoln had
] al tod 10 no
crs of Mr.. Bell, by scores, by hundreds and by
thousands, began to fraternize with the seces-
sionists. When the election afterwards took
place for delegates to the Convention, the full
strength of the secession party was not disclosed;
because large numbers of that party, knowing
that there was no organized opposition to the
movement and that there was not the smallest
danger of its defeat, did not trouble themselves
to go to the polls. A few thousand votes were
cast for cooperation" candidates at that cleo
ton, but the men who cast those votes are now,
almost to man. opposed to anything that savors
Of Reconstruction. These facts are well known
to every intelligent citizen among us. The del
egates who composed our Convention were thor
Oughly acquainted with the popular sentiment
in their respective counties; and, inasmuch as
they are known to be gentlemen of character
and reputation, it is, at least as probable that
the actual public opinion of Mississippi has been
truly reflected in their action, as that the med
dlesome busy-bodies and inscriptions mischief
makers of other and distant States deserve to
be believed when they declare that the Conven-
ton misrepresented the wishes of our people
We know that knaves will continue to invent
and circulate falsehoods, and that fools will con-
tinue to believe them; but since we do not con-
slider it desirable that the knaves and fools in
the non-seceded slave States should ever become
citizens of the Confederate States, neither do we
regard it as a misfortune that such papers as the
Memphis Bulletin should denounce the action Of
our Convention. nor that the habtual readers of
those papers should be simple enough to believe
what they read in their columns. We are not
unmindful of the old adage which suggests that
1T is better to humor a fool than to be troubled
with his folly" and upon which, mainly, was
based the argument of those among us who de-
sired that the Constitution should be referred to
the people; but we are not disposed to admit
that the nrinciple of the adape is of universal