Newbern weekly progress., 1861-08-20
independence of Missouri declared
Provisional Declaration from Gov.
Jackson.

/ the United States, and on an equal footing with
/ the original States in all respects whatever"
| The freedom, independence and sovereignty
of Missouri, and her equality with the other
States Of the Union, were thus guaranteed, not
only by the Constitution, but by the law OF
| nations requiring the sacred observance OF
treaties.
In repeated instances, the Government ana
people of the States remaining in that
! Union have grossly violated, in their conduct
towards the people and State Of Missouri. both
| the Constitution of the United States and that
of Missouri, as well as the general great and
essential principles of liberty and free govern
ment Their President Abraham Lincoln, in
avowed defiance of law and the Constitution
| OF the United States, and under the tyrant's
| plea OF necessity, has assumed to regulate com
merce with foreign nations and among the Sev
eral States, stopping by violence our trade
with our Southern ncghbors, and deprving
our citizens of the right secured to them by
| special solemn compact with the United States
to the free navigation of the Mississippi river
He has usurped powers granted exclusively to
Congress, IN declaring war against the Coned-
crate States to carry on this unholy attempt
to reduce free people into slavish subjection
to him, he has, in like violation of the Consti-
tuition, raised and supported armies, and pro
| vided and maintained Il navy. Regardless OF
the right reserved to the States respectively OF
training the militia and appointing its officers
| he has enlisted and armed contrary to law, un-
der the name of Home Guards whole Reg-
ments of men, foreigners and others in our
State to defy the constitutional authorities
| and plunder and murder our citizens By
armed force and actual Lloodshed, he has even
attempted to deprive the people of their right
! to keep and bear arms in conformity to State
| laws, and to form Il well regulated militia nee
eSsary to the security of free State. With
! h 5 sanctioa his soldiers have been quartered
in houses without the consent of the owners
thereof, and without any authority of law
! The right of the people to be secure in their
| persons, houses, papers and effects against un-
reasonable searches and seizures, has been ha-
btuully and grossly violated by his officers
! acting under his orders. Ue has utterly ignor-
! cd the binding force of our constitutional State
! laws, and carried his insolence to such an eN
tent as to introdrce, from other States free ne
groes into our midst, and place then i'll posi-
| tlonS OF authority white citizens. He
| has encouraged the stealing of our slave prop
erty. In these and other proceedings the Gov
ernment and people of the Northern States
have Enthusiastically shown their intention to
overturn the social institutions of Missouri and
reduce her white citizens to an equality with
the blacks. In the exc :ution his despo'
ic wishes, his agents. without even rebuke
from bin, have exhibited brutality scarcely
credible ot a nation pTctCnd!2s to ciysliZ,t.on.
Even women, and children of tender age, have
ia len victims to the unbridIrd license of hi
unteelinS Soldiery. He has avowedly under
taken to make the civil power subordinate to
the military and with the despicable and COW
ardly design of thus protecting himself and his
accomplicts, by binding the conSccnces of the
unhappy vic, inns of his tyranny, he has eXac-
ted from peaceful citizens guilty of no cr1ncE
an oath to support his detestablc government.
10 crush out even peaceful and lawful OpIfiSi-
ton TO it. he has forcibly and unconsututioSally
suspended the privilege of the writ of kuJeax
co1pgS, and abridged the freedom ofspesch and
OF the press, by subjecting innocent cI:iZcns to
punishment for mere opinion sake, and by
preventing the publication of newspapers lnde-
pendent enough to expose his treason to libcr-
ty.
These manifold and inhumao wrongs were
long submitted to IN patience, and almost in
humility, by the people of Missouri, and their
authorities. Even when the conduct of the
Lincoln government had eliminated III an open
war upon US, those authorities offered to It's
military commmander in Missouri to refer t.
the people OF the State for decision the qucs-
ton of our separation from Government and
nation thus openly hostile to US Those au-
thorities relied on the principles ConSecrated in
the Declaration Of Independence of therU nited
States that, to secure the rights of the citizen
Governments instituted among men, de
riving their just powers from the consent OF
the governed that whenever any form of Gov
ernment becomes destructive Of these ends, it
is the right of the people to alter or abolish It,
and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation OH such principles, and organizing
its powers in such form. to them shall seem
most likely to effect their safety and happi-
| ness" Missouri having an admitted equality
! with the original States which had made this
declaration, it was hoped that the rights there
in asserted would not be denied to her people
Her authorities also relied on the clause in the
very Constitution with which she was admit
ted into the Union asserting as one of the gen
eral, great and essential principles of liberty
and free government, that the people of this
State have the Inherent, sole and exclusive
right Of requesting the internal Government
and police thereof, and of altering and abolish
ing their constitution and form of Government
whenever 1t may be necessary to their safety
and happiness" But this military commander
haughtily refused the consent of bis Govern
ment to the exercise by us of these rights,
which our ancestors in the last century endu-
red an eight years war to vindicate He but
expressed, however, the deliberate purpose Of
his masters at Washington ano the people O.
yer which they rule for his predecessor at St.
Louis had, a few weeks BEFORE formally pro-
claimed to our people that our equality with
other States would be ignored that we should
be held in subjection to the North, eventhough
Tue independence OF our southern sister States
might be acknowledged that, to use his own
words, 'whatever may be the termination of
the unfortunate condition of things in respect
| to the so-called Cotton States, Missouri must
! share the destiny of the Union that the free
will of her people should not decide her future
but that the whole power Of the Government
OF the United States if necessary, will be ex-
erted to maintain Missouri in her present posi-
ton in the Union, in subsection to the tyranny
of the North.
The acts of President Lincoln have been in
dorsed by the Congress and people of the
Northern States. and the war thus commenced
by him has been made the act of the govern
ment and nation over which he rules They
have not only adopted this war, but they have
gone to the extreme of melting portions of our
people to revolt against the State authorities ;
by Intimidation they have obtained control Of
the remnant left ola convention deriving its
powers from those authorities, and using it as
q tool, they have through it set up an insur-
rectionary government III open rebellion against