Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1861-07-25


sand of population-they united in this
declaration of the delegates from all the
States or Colonies, and for the maintenance
of it they pledged their lives, their fortunes
and their sacred honor Massachusetts side
by side With Georgia, John Hancock at
their head, and, strange to say, to day the
people of Massachusetts and the Northern
States are reversing the position of our
fathers, and are demanding to rule, to gov
ern, to coerce, to subjugate us against our
consent. We wish no quarrel with them.
After the establishment of this great prin.
ciple, after the acknowledgment Of it BY
Great Britain, in the treaty of l78S, when
each separate State was recognized asinde-
pendent, we were not recognized by Great
Britain as nationality, but in the indie.
'pendence, of each Colony or State was re-
eognized by itself-Massachusetts and r.
Island, and Connecticut and Virginia, each
one by itself; each one was separate, SOW
ereign and independent. They made a COM
mon cause to achieve individual and sepa.
rate sovereign existence.
After the Revolutionary war they enter.
ed into constitutional compact-that con-
stitution that we have ever -adored--that
constitution to the maintenance of which L
have devoted so much of my life.
We entered into that constitution with
this people Almost from the beginning
large party in the North we're against it !;
and, as Southern man, in passing, l
may be excused for claiming as / do, that
the Constitution of the United States was
mainly the work of Southern hands. It is
true the delegates, from the Northern States
Joined US in the Convention of 1877 that
made it; but the first programme, the out
line of the constitution as we now have it,
was proposed by the distinguished member
from Carolina, Mr.. Pinckney. Another
programme, which was said to be the basis
of the constitution, was introduced by Mr..
Randolph, of Virginia The Northern men,
with few exceptions, did not favor that
form of government. The Constitution,
therefore, reserving sovereignty to the peo-
pie, constituting a limited government, with
an executive bound by law, with alegisla.
ture bound by law, with State sovereignty
maintained to its fullest extent, with a ju-
dietary bound by fundamental law, with
every officer, from the highest to the lowest,
bound by law-this great bulwark Of con.
stitutional liberty was the work mainly of
Southern hands. Madison is styled the
father Of it. Not single pillariu the tenn
pie, not single arch in this grand build.
ing was laid, or reared, or constructed by
Northern hands. They had able members
in the Convention. I ddssaet nothing from
their merits. They show forth as great
lights in the revolutionary war. I name
but -two-Franklin and Hamilton; men of
trancendent talents, men of genius, but
neither of them contributed anything to the
formation of the Constitution. Mr. Hamil-
ton was for different model of govern
ment; he was against the form adopted, and
actually quit the Convention before it was
made. Itis true, that afterwards, when the
Constitution was agreed upon, and submit
ted to the people, he lent all the power
of his girautic intellect, and all the ferVor
Of, his pure and lofty patriotism to the es'
tablist ment of the Government, but he diff
fered in theory from the work that was
done, and afterwards attempted to incorpo-
rate, by construcAaA, many of his original
ideas. But what I claim before you as a
Southern orator is, and | am proud of it,
that the Constitution that made the old U.
States what they we're, under which they
prospered as no other nation ever has pros
pered, and under which they run the rapid
and high career in national glory-this
Constitution was the work of Southern
hands mainly. And during the time of our
political existence the administration of the
Government was mostly under Southern
hands and Southern policy. But, after it
was adopted, reserving State rights, reserv-
| ing State sovereignty, reserving popular SOW
ereignty, upon the idea that all power po-
litical resides with the people, emanates
from the people; that the high and the low,
the rich and the poor, every man, whatever
be his statusin society; every citizen stands
upon an equality in the law. It was this
grand principle, Of which we boasted.-
These are the grand ideas of American Con-
stitutional Liberty, of which we are proud
these are the principles taught by our faith.
ers to their sons, and they were the work
mainly of Southern hands.
But soon after this Constitution was form
ed, large party in the North commenced,
as have said, by construction, to torture
and twist the Constitution from its proper
and legitimate meaning, to gain power in
directly. I have not time to go through
the history of the country. 1t is enough
to say it ripened within the last few years,
and came to maturity under the organiza'
ton of that party now in power-that party
which now has the destiny of the U. States
in its hand-known as the Republican par
ty. Seven States of the North finally ut
terly repudiated the most important feature
in it-a feature without which, I am told
in the language of Judge Stury, the Consti'
tuition never would have been made.
mean that obligation the Northern States
entered into to return fugitive slaves from
our country. Seven States arrayed them
selves-perhaps more-seven at least, ar.
rayed themselvs in open, palpable violation
of this known portion of the compact We
appealed to them--we believed it was best