The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1861-01-17

nation of the eldest and most eminent
member of your Cabinet, rather than al
low the garrison to be strengthened. You
compelled an officer stationed at Fort
Sumter to return Immediately to the Ar
senal forty muskets, which he had taken
to arm his men. You expressed, not to
one, but to many of the most distinguish
ed of our public characters, whose testl-
mony will be placed upon the record,
whenever it is necessary, your anxiety for
peaceful termination of this controversy,
and your willingness not to disturb the
military status Of the forts, if Commission
ers should be sent to the Government,
whose communications you promised to
submit to Congress. You received and
acted on assurance from the highest official
authorities of South Carolina that no at
tempt would be made to disturb your pos
session Of the forts and property of the
Uuited States if You would not disturb
their existing condition until the Commis-
sioners had been sent, and the attempt to
negotiate had failed. You took from the
members of the House of Representatives
written memorandum that no such at
tempt should be made, "provided that no
rcinforccments should be sent into those
forts and their respective military status
shall remain as at present. And although
YOU attach no force to the acceptance OF
such paper-although You considered
it as nothing more in effect than the
promise of highly honorable gentlemen"
as an obligation on one side without
corresponding obligation on the other, it
must be remembered Gf we are rightly
informed) that you were pledged, if You
ever did send 'reinforcemcnts, to return
il to those from whom you had received it
before YOU executed your resolution.
You sent orders to your officers COM
mand;ng them, strictly to follow line Of
conduct in conformity with such an ua-
derstanling. Besides ali this, you had re-
ceivcd formal and official notice from the
Governor of South Carolina that we had
been appointed Commissioners, aud were
OIL our way to Washington. You knew
the implied condition under which we
came our arrival was notified to you,
and an hour appointed for an interview.
We arrived in Washington on Nctlnes-
day, at o'clock, and You appointed an
interview with lis at one the next day.
Early on that day Crhurs'lay) the news
was received here of the movement OF
Major Anderson That news WAS commit
nicated to YOU Immediately, and YOU post
poned our meeting until halt-past 2'o'clock
on Friday, in order that YOU might con-
suit Your Cabinet. On Friday we saw
you, and we called upon YOU then to re-
deem your pledge You could not deny
it. With the facts we have stated, and in
the face of The crownng and conclusive
fact that your Secretary at War had re-
signed his seat in the Cabinet, upon the
publicly avowcd ground that the action OF
Major Anderson had violated the pledged
faith Of the government, and that III eSs
the pledge was instantly redeemed he was
(iShouoyed denial was impossible.
You do not deny it now, but YOU sec
to escape from its grounds: lst, That we
terminated al negotiation by demanding,
as a preliminary, the withdrawal Of the
United States troops from the hybor OF
Charleston; aud I'd, That the authorities
of South Carolina, inrtcad Of asking cx
planation,s and giving you the opportunity
to vindicate yourself, took the possession
of other property Of the United States.
We will examine both.
In the first place, We deny positively
that we have ever, in any Way, made any
such demand. Our letter is in your pos
session; it will stand by this OH record.
In it we inform You Of the objects Of orr
mission We say that it would have been
our duty to have assured You Of our readi-
ness to commence negotiations, with the
most earnest desire to settle all questions
between us amicably and to our mutual
advantage, but that events had rendered
that assurance impossible. We stated the
events, and we said that, until some salts
factory explanation of these events was
given us, we could not proceed, and then,
having made this request for explanation,
we added, "And, in conclusion, we would
urge upon You the immediate withdrawal
Of the troops from the harbor of Charles
ton. Under present circumstances, they
are standing menace which renders ne
gotiation impossible" &c. Under pre-
sent circumstances " What circrmstar-
COS? Why, clearly the occupation of
Fort Sumter and the dismanting Of Fort
NToultrie by AIajor Anderson, in the face
OF your pledges, and without explanation
or practical disavowa And there is
nothing in the letter which would or