The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-09-13

they took an equal part, has been decided
against them, how can VIC hope to CON
duct with them, on amicablc terms, the
great and often pcrplexed relations o
independent States
But Secession net only makes this
wholesale havoc of the Constitution and
the Union, it repeats the Declaration of
independence. | need not say that all
the States Of this Union were, four-ffths
OF century ago, colonial dependencies
OF the great powers Of Europe. 1t is
not yet eighty years since England ac-
knowlcdged the independence of the old
thirteen States. 1t is less than sixty
years since France ccdcd to us Louisi-
ana and all the mighty region between
the Mississippi and the Pacific 1t is
forty years only since Spain coded to us
the Florldas and fourteen years only
since Mexico-at this moment involved
IN war with the great powers of Europe,
and in imminent danger of losing her
independence, in deed if not in word
acknowledged our claim in Texas. If
we recognize secession, we admit the
right not on y of the en- ire Southern
Confcdcracy, so-ca!led, but of each and
every member of it, to resume at plea
sure its allegiance 70 the anceut Gov
eminent, and thus plant an European
colonial jurisdiction all along our South.
ern frontier So completely has the
frenzy Of the hour oxtinguishcd every
spark Of pa riotisn in the bosom Of their
leaders that some Of them have declared
their preference Of foreign sceptre over
the gentle and benelicent sway of the
Constitution of the United States. -
But whe her this madness extends to
the many, or, as we many charitably
hope, Is confined to the few, the rrcolo-
ni2ation Of the States Of the Sou h by
heir former European mas ers is an
event, if secession should prosper, high.
ly probable, in fact all but certain, in
reference 20 some of them: and in refer
cncc to none Of them greatly otherwise.
Break up the Union let the two
great sections Of the country hams,ring
| each other with the two-edged sword of
border war, and what sufficient protec-
ton would Texas aud Florida have
against Spain, or Louisiana arains
France, or any Of them. agains Eng
land There is not one Of them, if left
to themselves aud involved in a war
with foreign power, whose lndepen-
dcncc would be wor h in a years pur-
chase. Nothing has so much amazed
me IN all these dlsastcrous compiled ions
as the fact that men of capacity and
political expelI :nce at the South, and
who aspire to tie name of patriots and
statesmen, should not perceive that in
Indicating Their position as integral
members Of a strong Government, and
especially one that Yields respectable
naval force, they place themselves no.
only at the mercy Of the grca, martin
powers of Europe, but at the mercy of
any Government able to send half a
| dozen lron-c!ad steamers to sea. Break
down he Union as a great military and
naval power, and what protection is left
for their alluvial shores. Arc not the
arms which are long enough to reach
from London, Paris, and Madrid, to
Calcutta and the Philippine Islands, and
Tahi'i, and New Zealana, long enough
to stretch to Charleston, and Pensacola,
and Galveston, and New Orleans ?
But we have not yet got to the bot
tom Of the cup Of humiia ion which
secession places TO our bps. Most great
commercial and naval Sta es think tina
in addition to the fortresses which guard
their home ports, it is necessary to pos
sess some distant harbor of refuge, and
certain remo'cr stations, to protect the
pathway of their foreign trade. England
would as soon allow Plymouth or Ports
mouth to be wrested from her by a for
eign power as she would Gibralter, or
Malta, or Alden, or Singapore, or Hong
Kong, or Vancouver Island. Now the
Seeding States not only claim the right
to withdraw from the Uunion which
they have no more right 10 do than Scot
land or Ireland has to withdraw from
the union with England -bu5 they
claim the righ to carry wi h them the
whole line of fortresscs which guard our
Sou hcrn coast, the Florida channel, the
Gulf Of Mexico and the mouth of the
Mississippi; fortresses required for the
safety of cur commerce, built on lands
purchased and paid for by the General
Government, and On islands and sites of
which the jurisdiction has been ceded to
the United States. Nay, they claim the
right to open and shut at pleasure the
outlet of the Ohio, the Mississippi and
the Missouri-the most magnificent sys-
,cm of in,ernal naviga ion on he face of
the globe. Acknowledge secession, aud
not drove Of mules could be sent down
from Kentucky, nor hogshcad of tobac-
co from St. Louis, nor bale of furs
from the Upper Missouri, nor a barrel
of pork from Cincinnati, nor keg of
nails from Pit,sgurgh, nor a pig of lead
from Galcna or Dubuque, nor sack of
wheat from Davenport, but by the
gracious leave of this alien power.
Finally, fcllow-citizcns, there is a
drop of still greater bit crncss in the
chalice. The triumph of Secession
involves consequences more painful than
any sacrifice Of our own material or
political interests. Not only are a
majority Of inhabitants Of the Border
Slave States firmly attached to the
Union, but the mountain ridge that
traverses the South, from Maryland
almost TO the Gulf, is inhabited by an