The national Republican., 1861-02-27
"A GREAT SPEECH"

Interest OF the revo'utonist5 are publishing
speech, mado to the Virginia Convention on
Tuesday, by Hon. John S. Preston, COM
missioner from South Carolina. The speaker
is brother Of the former Senator from that
State, and resembles him, but only in his weak
points of turgidty, and lack of close logic.
The stress of this "great speech" of Mr..
Preston, is, that the social systems Of free and
slave States are so radically diverse, that polti
cal association between them is unnatural and
unsafe. To say nothing of the strangeness Of
the fact, that this should now for the first time
be discovered, after nearly a century Of Union
between the free and slave States of America,
voluntarily entered into, and which three gen.
erations Of men have deluded themselves into
esteeming the greatest Of their blessings, it is
not little remarkable that Mr.. Preston should
have presented to Virginians precisely the view
most strongly calculated to deter them from
entering into the new connection proposed to
them.
1t is the judgment of the people of Virginia
of oil parties, that if that State joins the South
ern Confederacy, Of which it would be the
frontier, its existing tendency to become free
State, by the transfer Of its negroes to localities
where they could be held more safely, would be
so stimulated as to make the final result near
one, instead Of remote one. And thus, by
the very act of joining the Southern Confed.
eracy, Virginia would directly become inca.
pscitated to remain in it, upon this new and
brilliant theory of Mr.. Preston, that free and
slave States cannot remain politically united.
The same cause which has compelled South
Carolina to cut off New York and Pennsylvania,
would in ten years, perhaps, compel her to cut
off Virginia. Political associations, one would
think, are hardly worth entering into, which
are certain to be so shortlved.
To avoid all risk Of misn:erpreting Mr..
Preston, we cut the following from the report
of his speech, as given by the admiring and
sympathizing editors Of the Richmond Dis.
patch:
"He had endeavored to confne himself to
subjects in connection with his own State, and
would now proceed to give what the people Of
South Carolina deemed the fundamental causes
why there could never be q reconstruction Of
the Federal Union. He then alluded to the
principles of irreconcilable diversity between
the two fundamental systems of slaveholding
and non.slavehoding communities, and showed
that this revolution and separation was not
mere accident, nor casual result of n tempo
rary cause not mere evanescent bubble Of
popular error or irritation-not an act Of per-
sonal or individual ambition. The two sections
of people could not dwell together; there was
no community of feeling. African slavery can.
not exist at the North the South cannot exist
without it.
He then gave forcble view of the basis of
social and political organism at the North, and
contrastcd it with that of the South, sustaining
his position throughout by mastery and unan.
swerable argument. He then spoke of the pro.
fame sentiment that controlled the Church at
the North, which had arrayed itself in forms as
bloody as any that had been exhibited since
Christ came upon earth. There was not, he
said, Christian mana slaveholder-in this
assembly, but would admit that from the point
of the sword of the Church is at this moment
dropping the last blood Of sympathy that bound
them together.
Acting upon these views, his people believe
that the political Union was unnatural and
monstrous, and that from it could spring moth.
ing but the brood Of evils which always soon
converted a popular Government into y Govern.
ment Of force
L. W. Spratt, of South Carolina, in recent
letter, which has attracted great attention from
the thoroughness and sagacity with which, from
the peculiar stand point of the writer, it dis
cusses the great questions ofthe day, maintains
that even now Virginia is not, in truth, a slave
State, but only partially SO, and constantly be.
coming less SO. Upon this point Mr.. Spratt
says:
at is to be apprehended that this contest
between Democracy and slavery is not yet over.
1t is certain that both forms of society exist
within the limits of the Southern States both
are distinctly developed within the limits of
Virginia and there, whether we perceive the
fact or not, the WIZ already RACES. In that
State there are about 100000 slaves to about
100000 whites and 9s atleast as many slares
as masters are necessary to the constitution Of
STARE society, about 100000 of the white popu.
lstion are in legitimate relation to the slaves,
and the rest are in excess. Like on excess of
alkali or acid in chemical experiments, they
are un6Xed in the social compound. Without
legitimate connection with the slave, they are
in competition with him. They constitute not
part Of slave society, but Democratic so.
ciety. In so far as there is this connection the
State is slave in so far as there ia not, it is
Democratic; and as States speak only from
their social condition, as interests, not intellect
determine their political action, it is thus that
Virginia has been undecided THAT she does
not truly know whether she is of the North or
South in this great movement. Her people are
individually noble, brave, and patriotic, and
they will strike for the South in resistance to
physical aggression but her political action is
at present, paralyzed by this unnatural contest ;
and as causes Of dsintegration may continue
must continue, if the slave trade be not re-
opened, as there will still be market at the
South for her slaves-as there will still be
pauper labor from abroad to supply their places
and more abundant from industrial dissolutions
at the North, and the one race must increase as
the other Ia diminished-it Ia to be fan red that