The Oxford intelligencer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1860-18??, 1861-02-27

different upon the question of slavery, from that
which our fathers established. If this point can be
made out secession becomes not only right, but
boundcn duty. Morally, it is only the abrogaton Of
the forms of contract when its essential conditions
have been abolished Politically, it is a measure in
dispensable the safety il the very existence
of the South 1t is needless say that in this ISSUE
the personal character of Mr. Lincoln is at all in
voved There are no objections to him as a man, or
as citizen of the North He is probably, eattled,
in the private relations of life, to all the colnmenda-
ticns which his friends have bestowed upon him.
We, at least would be the last 70 detrct from his
personal WORTH The issue has respect, not to the
man, but to the principles upon which he is pledged
70 administer the Government and which, we are sig
niiicantly Informed, are to be impressed upon l. ~
all time to come His election seals the triumph Of
those principles and .ha. tlumph seals the subscion
of the Constitution, in relation to matter of para
mount interest to the South.
This we shall proceed to show, by showing, first,
the Constitutional attitude of the Governnen; towards
slavery, and then the attitude which, after the inau
guration of Mr. Lincoln it Is to assume and maintain
for ever,
l. What, now is its Constitutional attudeG We
affirm it to be ONE OF ABSOLUTE isnlFFKRgscE OR
NEUTRALITY with respect to all questions connected
with the moral and political aspects of the subject
In the eve of the Constitution slaveholding and
slaveholdng stand upon footing of perfect equality.
The slaveholding State and the saveholdng citizen
are the same to it as the non-slavehoding. 1t pro-
tects both ii espouses the pecuiaritics of neither
1t does not allow the North 10 say to the South,
Your Institutions are inferior TO ours and should be
changed !" neither does it allow the South TO say to
the NORTH "You must accommodate yourselves to
U.S." 1t says to both, ENJOY your own opinions upon
your SOIL that you do not interfere with the
rights of each other TO me there is no difference
betwixt you" Formed by parties whose dvisive prin
ciple this very subject of slavery it stands to
reason, that the Constitution, without seEcondemna
ton the part of one or the oter could not have
been made the patron of either From the very ma
ture of the case its position must he of complete
impartialty This is what tie South means by equal
ity in the Union, that the General Government shall
make difference bewixt its institutions and those
of the North that 81 sayeholding shall be good to it
as non-slavehoding. In other words, the Govern
ment is the organ of neither party but the common
agent Of both: and as their common agent, has no
right to pronounce an opinion to the merits of
their respective peculiaities This, we contend, is
the attitude Fixed by tie Constitution. The Govern
ment is neither pro- snti-slavery. Ii is simply
neutral Had i. assumed any other attitude upon
this subject il never would have been accepted by the
slaveholding States. When Mr.. Pncllney could rise
up in the Convention and declare, that 'if slavery be
wrong, it is justified by tie example of all the
world !" when he could boldly appeal to the unani-
nous testimony Of ancient and modern times-to
Greece and Rome to France, Holland AMI England,
in yndication of its righteousness it isno to be pre-
sumed that he ever would have joined Ia the consi'c
ton of a Government which authorized to pro-
nounce aud treat II as an evil 1t is not to be pre-
sumed that the slavch0lding States unless they Sc
riously aimed at the ultimate extinction Of slavery,
would have entered into an alliance Which was con-
fessedly to be turned against them. That they did
not aim at the extinction of slavery is clear from the
pertinacity with which some Of them ching to the
continuance of the African saye-trade until foreign
supplies should be no longer demanded. When
Georgia aud South Carolina made it a sine gad non
for entering the Union, that this traffic should be
kept open for season, to say that these States med
itated the abolition of slavery Is grossly paradoxical
II Is remarkable too that the time fixed for the pro-
hibtion of this traffic, was a time within which the
Representatives of those States were persuaded that
the States themselves il the question were left to
them, would prohibit it, These States conceded to
the Government the right to do, their agent, only
what they themselves would do, sovereign comnu-
,,;,;., .,a sa,,a n
ton, therefore, of an attitude tie part of the
Constitution hostile to slavery be deduced from
the clause touching the African slave-trade. On the
contrary, the presumption is that as the trade was
kept open for awhile-kept open in fact, long as
the African supply was needed-the slaveholding
States never meant to abolish the institution, and
never could have consented to set the face Of the
Government against it. No doubt, the fathers Of the
Republic were, many of them, not all, opposed To
slavery. But they had to frame Government which
should represent not their personal and private opn
ions hut the interests of sovereign States They had
adjust to the institutions of South Carolina and
Georgia, as well as those of New England. And
they had the grace given them to impress upon it the
only attitude which could conciliate and harmonic
all parties-the attitude of perfect Indifference.
This, at the same time, is the attitude of justice
We of the South have the right to opinions
as the people of the North. They appear true tc
us as theirs appear to them. We are as honest ant
sincere in forming and maintaining them. We unite
to form govenpcnt. Upon what principle shall j
be fornedg l. it to be asked of to renounce doc
trines which we believe have come down to from
the earliest ages and have the sanction of the oracle
Of Godg Must we give up what Conscientious!
believe to be the truths The thing is absurd. Til
Government, in justice, only say to both parties
'I will protect you both, will be the advocate o
neither
In order to exempt slavery from thc operation 0
this plain principle of justice, ii has been contende'
that the right of property in slaves is The creature o
positive statute, and, consequently, Of force onl
within the limits of the jurisdiction Of the Law; tha
it is right not recognized by the Constitution of tn
United States, and therefore, not to be proteeie
where Congress is the local Legislature. These tS
propositions contain everything that has any show O
reason for the extraordinary revolution which the ri
cent election has consunmated IN the Government
q the United states.
{ They are both gratuitous:
I a. In the first place, slavery has never, in an