Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-12-10
Tie Victory of South Carolina in 1925,

shows what he intends, as appears from a
! very simple statement. - - 80
On the 24th of November 1862, the South
carolina Convention passed the Notification
! ordinance, making it the duty of the Legis-
iatufe TO arrest the operation OF the tariff of
% III south Carolina after the lst of Febru-
airy, 1888. The Convention also issued an
| address to the other sovereign States, stating
that, IN Its desire to preserve the Union,
| South Carolina whould make certain conces
slons-Whlch were in substance, that it would
allow congress to pass a revenue but not a
| protective tariff. This address was sent to
the PRESIDENT and to the Governors Judge
! Williams. quotes the replies of seventeen of
the tWenty-three States, which, with the ex-
i5ceptlon OF that of Virginia, vehementlv. de-
nounce the South Carolina doctrine. The
other six are Rhode Island, Vermont, Nilsson
II, Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisiana OF
their action he has no record at hand .-
The act of Notification reached President
jackson early in December. He acknow-
| lodged Its receipt on the 10th, in the famous
| proclamation written by Edward Livingston.
But IN his annual message Of the 4th, after
the threats of South Carolina had been OPEN
! ~ made, he recommended that the tariff be
| reduced to the revenue standard On the 18th
OF February, 1888, Mr.. zClay's Compromise
|
raise no more. revenue than was necessary for
the economical support of'the government
Mr.. Calhoun, incarnate nuliihcation, imme-
dlately approved it. Mr.. Robbins, the sehol-
! arly Senator from Rhode Island, said, "IVe
| offer her South Carolina this bill, not to re
nounce this power of nullfcationl, but to
| refrain from its exercise at present -. If
| this precedent is to govern, where is the Sc
curity for the stability of the Union | can not
see" Mr.. Choate, of Massachusetts, said,
You suppress notification by Just
| promptly granting all it demands"
Meanwhile troops were raising in South
Carolina; and Congress passed the Force
Bill" while it was fastening to yield the
point in dispute. After that was yielded, on
| the 18th of March, the South Carolina Con
Vention met again. 1t congratulated itself
upon its attitude Of resistance to the Govern
ment by which it had procured modifca-
ton of the tariff of 1882 even before it took
effect. The Convention therefore repealed
the Notification Act, which had achieved its
purpose. But it declared the 'Force Bill"
null and void within the State; and that act
OF notification was never repealed, revoked
or modified. .....-.
Thus, according to Judge Williams, who
supports his point by ample historical cita-
tions, the tariff of 1882 was modified by Con-
gress under a threat from South Carolina
That the Government was authorized to com
pei the execution of the laws is of no impor-
lance, in view of the fact that the attitude
OF resistance had been assumed and the day
named for revolt to begin Under such cir.
cuinstances to change law is to surrender
the dignity, the honor, and the power of the
Government. If the present Administration
had abandoned Sumter before the 18th of
April, 1861, it would have done exactly what
the Administration of 1882, did. Both said to
Soath Carolina, " Iou will fire at your peril"
But the one fastened to do what Carolina
wanted before she had chance to fire; the
other calmly did its own duty;eand has turned
the traitOrous fire Of South Carnlina against
her own heart. There has been a great deal
Of signing for General Jackson since this war
began. General Jackson was a resoute sol
der, but this war demanded wise man.
PnbIic opinion in EngIand--iiow the HestiI-
ity Of the Arist0craey has been Restrained.
From recent speech of Rev. Henry Ward
Bcecher
With this state of facts, you will ask, how
is it, then, that this English people have been
restrained? How is it that they have not
gone into overt beligerency? The nobility,
as d class, are against us-at least, the gov
eminent is divided, one part being against
us; the Plutocracy is against US and | think
| may say that while the brains that repre- |
sent progress in Great Britain are in our IA
vOr, yet the conservative intelligence in
Great Britain is against US. All that there |
is upon the surface of society, representing
its dgnities and its power and its intelli- |
gence is anti-American; and the question |
that propose to you is: How, with the pa
pers, and the magazines and the universities |
how with their titled estates and their Gov |
eminent and all their powers against Us, how |
is it that they have been restrained as they |
have been? 1t is the influence of the un- |
wealthy, and to very great extent, the IN
voting Englishman, that Restraints them and |
that was what | could not understand | |
learned i'll England what surprised me-that |
the men that couldn't vote when everywhere |
united and determined, had the power of con- |
trolling the men that did vote. That is not |
anomaly. 1t would be in our Institutions |
but it is not in their English institutions and |
among other reasons because in a nation |
where one class has permanent privilege, and |
the underlying class none at all, the instinct |
of self-preservation teaches the upper class |
not to goad this underlying class to madness |
They stand on their patience, and there is al
ways that dragon of revolution coiled up that |
they dare not arouse; and therefore it is when
the underlying class is determined upon any
point they always carry it. Men whose for
tunes are made-that class of men, as a
general thing are against US men
that have very little in the present that they
care for, that are struggling for better fu-
ture for themselves and for their children,
that class is on our side. But they are a
class that have not much voice and very lit
tie expression, and therefore they are but
little heard from Their report is not waited
across the sea, but their influence is felt on
the other side of the And it seems to
me peculiarly beautiful and fitting that we,
who are the representatives Of the common
people, should find our allies have been the
common people of Great Britain. Cheers
The result has been that the Government has
more and more modified it policy, until now
it has come to that condition in which | be-
lieve we all feel satisfied in the main Eng
land has determined that ships of war shall
not be built in her yards nor sent out foom
her ports to harry our commerce on the seas.
The action of Lord John Russell in this has
met with few dissentient voices, yet it has
met with the assent of the great mass of the
British public, and the Government rein
forced, and will undoubtedly stand upon that
pillar. There is a growing and enlightened
sympathy throughout the realm; there is
more publishing, there are more men lectur-
ing, more meetings being held, nov than ev
er before. When men say that they doubt
the English feeling, | refer to this fact, that I
that the English Parliament, which is known
to be adverse to the North, dare not vote
against it. | advert to this fact that not I