Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1861-03-08
ADDRESS
HON. JOHN S. PRESTON,
Co""ttssioner from South Cdroi;ra 10 Me V;y

g,nia Contention, FED. 9, 1851.
mR PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN or TIE Con-
fENTI"N: have the honor to present to you
my credentials as Commissioner from the Gov
ernment Of South Carolina to the Convention
OF the people Of Virginia. On these oreien-
t'"ls being duly received by you, am ins.ruc.
ted by my Government 10 lay before you the
causes which induced the state Of South Caro-.
it"n to withdraw from the United States, and
resume the powers heretofore delegated by her
to the Federal Government Of the United States
of America.
In performing this duty. eesirs to announce
'oyou that it is no rurr of my purpose, nor is
it the wish Of my Government, chat should
make an argument before you in proof Of the
right Of secession. Ny Government has as
suned TINT right in her sovereign capacity.
and my ministry here is to recite the causes
which she has deemed sufficient to enforce up.
on her the necessity Of exercising that right.
will therefore proceed to state the more
prominent aud immediate causes which have
induced South Carolina to abrogate her con-
rent to the Constitution of the United States
AS preliminary to this statement ! would
say that, as early as the yeur 1920 the mani
fest tendency of the General Government was
to restrict the territorial expansion of the
slavehoiding States. That 10 very evident in
all the contests OF that period and had they
been successful to the extent that some hoped,
even then, the line that cut off the purchases
from France might have been projected East
ward to the bottom of the Chesapeak. and sent
Virginia and hnlf of Tennessee and all Of Ken
tucky, Virginia proper, after she had given to
non slavery her orthwesern empire, to the
non slavery section. That might be the line.
The policy. however. has been pushed so far
as to deprive this Southern section Of that line
Of at least seven-tenths of the acquisitions of
the Government. Besides this, l would state,
ms preliminary. that large portion of the
revenue Of the Government of the I'm tied
States has always been drawn from duties on
imports. Now. the products that have been
necessary to purchase these imports, were at
one time almost exclusively, and have always
mainly been, the result of slave labor. and
therefore the burden Of the revenue duties up.
on imports purchased by these exports must
fail upon the producer. who happens also to be
the consumer of the imports.
In addition to this, it may be stated at . very
early period of the existen ce of this Govern
ment the Northern people. from Q variety Of
causes entered upon the industries Of manu-
fscture and Of commerce. but of agriculture
scarcely to the extent of self support. This
may have arisen from q variety Of causes
among them, perhaps, an uucongeninl climate,
barren soil, but sea coast adapted to COM
Inerce. besides an Inherent tendency upon the
part OF the people Of these ATTITUDES to the
arts of manucrnft and traffic. And while,
therefore. it was important that al the sources
OF the revenue should be kept up to meet the
increasing expenses of the Government. it also
manlfestly became of great Importance that
theee articles of manufacture in which they
have been engaged should be subject to the
purchase of their confederatea They there.
force. invented system Of duties partial and
discriminating. by which the whole burden of
the revenue fell upon thoae who produced the
articles of export which purchased the articles
Ut import; and which articles Of import were
consumed mainly, or TO q great extent by those
who produced the exports. The State Of South
Carolina being at the time one of the largest
exporters and consumers of imports, was SO
oppressed by the operations Of this System up.
on her. that she was driven to the necessity Of
interpreting her sovereign reservation to arrest
IT, SO far as she was concerned. This inter-
postion. together with the rapid spread Of the
principle OF free trade all over the world, did
arrest the iniquity in the shape in which it ~ss
then presented. It could no longer DO the
avowed policy Of the Government to. tag one
section for the purpose Of building up another.
But SO successful had been the system: to such
an extent had it already, in . few years, been
pushed so vast had been its Accommodations Of
capital; so vastly had been diffused through
out its rami6cations a. seemingly 70 inter
weave the industries of the sections almost in
to the life Of each other. As mechanics msnu-
faclurers shippers. merchants, bankers and in
all the intermediary pursuits. the Eorthrn peo.
pie seemed to have become almost necessary to
the msintsinance Of tho industry Of the Souib.
IN these relations they had crept into every
crevice of an ,afiuepL and loose economy, and
made themselses 90 convenient to Il, tbet We
hega6 to think them sitaito It; and they grow,
80 great snd waved 80 strong, 40 they fed and
fattened-onthis sweating giant of the South,
snDtb IVA Sue iubVtcncd uoturat 70 GuQO0n ana
bloated power, they began to claim thst the
laboring monster was crested for their tribn-
tsry. They: have drawn from us subsidies
Which nighthave g!uttsd the aysries OF Ro-
'hsn Prooenaui, which, To- ODE quarter efs:ssn-
tury have buisded up powerful cities. svissIisg
in wealth the richest martI OF Lie Old Wosid.
and buTdening every ses vits their eonassss.
and which have covered their prsnits soii With
and smiling gsrdsas. 'Aad.yet sfssngs
anomo'cas as It may appear. Il" = nsssrtbsltas
literally true. that while they vsre thasi esth1
etiogaN their wealth snd .povsr ffor this
source, step BY step, lasss eala iatets wiGFth
aggrsgssioa there WIS going upa dstsnninsd
purpose % destroy sAns ioafSss a 'thstr bosis boi
ast.ns srasdses; ! gp,e.end 10. IS .xpisia i;
Irslstsit ri ri hi,sSry Thu. ssas,snea, bfisss
me . tls PsSxipxts esrss which il l. ~ ID.