Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1865-01-31

upon the sovereignty Of the people In 1861 it be-
came necessary to ell Convention Of The people
Of the State; and although 81 legislative power is
expressly vested by the Stat Constitution in the
two Houses of the General Assembly, yet the Con-
ventlon continued to legslate during the whole
period of its existence, and isright to do so could
not be questioned. Not only did it egslate, but
ut one time it actually prororged the Legislature
itself. extending the time Of It's meeting to day
far beyond that which it had 6xcd for ITSELF At
another time talked seriously of dssolving the
existing Legislature and calling another thus claim
ing the right to dissolve the existing State govern
ment and create new one lis right to do all this
was never questioned-in fact could not be ques-
/ toned. Where did the Convention get the power
| to do all Of these things-fron the Constitution
No; it was an extra constitutional power. 1t was
a power inherent in the sovereignty Of the PEG
| pie then and there assembled in Convention. The
| Confederate government being based upon the SOW.
ereignty Of the States, the States in general Con-
VentiOn assembled have all and more than all, the
! power that government which the people in
! Convention have over the State government as the
people limited TO some extent by the Conieder-
/ ate Constitution. I might sustain my position by
! numerous citations from the Fathers, but will not
/ do II, lest should render myself obnoxious to the
I charge of having made elaborate argument to
/ sustain simple, if not sclfeyiaent proposition.
/ Having thus shown the right of the sovereign
y States to control direct or dissolve their common
agency, the Confederate government, and to nego
tate for themselves q peace with the government
I of the Uaited States, cohesive as clearly as
any one can show the right OF the great omnipo-
tent God of the Universe to direct control dis
! so We his CREATION now come to the most pain
ful part Of my task, that Of showing from the con-
dtiop Of the ceuRtry, the ahsnIfste necessity Oh
their exercising their sovereign powers in order 10
avert impending and utter ruin
In doing this, hope may be permitted to con-
traSt The present condition Of the country with what
4 hut five short Then q
! united, contented and happy peope-all our pros
/ poets were bright and promising beyond the power
Of human calculation. We we're in the C. joyment
OF larger proportion of civil and religious liberty
| tn any Other people upon whom the sun OF HeaV-
| en- had ever ShOne All the material interests of
the country were advancing with such rapdity that
their movements almost visible to the human
eve. We were rapidly becoming the first manufac-
| turing, commercial and maritime power in the world.
la a few years ut most il We had remained
together, we wOuLl have surpassed in power and
spendor all the nations of ancient or modern times.
In the midst Of all these high, exciting, gratif-
ing prospects which seemed 10 be spread out before
Us in cnHIesS ProfuS!On, for the enjoyment of our
sevcs and our pOSterity, our hopes were suddenly
blasted by the grim visaged monster" secession.
large number Of eminent men in the South had
imGlbed the plausible but false theory Of Mr. Jelfer
son, and had deduced therefsom, as they believed,
tie pernicious doctrine of secession This party.
had been gradually accommodating strength almost
from the foundation Of the government, until the
year 1882. when it made an open effort in the
STATE OF SOuth,CarUlina to resist the DAVIS OF the
United States its ultimate object being disruption
Of the government The pretext sought. on that
occasion to justify their act the tariff law OF
1929 although The Safe, Of South Carolina herself
had been from the Foundation Of the government
nearly up to that period, as ardent an advocate Of
high tariff any State in New England. That
question was compromised--SouthCa Carolina obtain
all l. Al
tariff with incidental protection became the settled
policy Of the government and Cxcapt for short
period under the tariff Of 1912, never departed
from. Bht this compromise gave no real salts
faction to the leaders of that movement. But
lew DAYS after the passage of the compromise
bill OF No Clay. the newspaper organ Of the
SrceSs!OnIsts at Washington declared That the
Smith could never be IN ted on The tariT question,
:,ld That the .slav4r.s .vsson ,~as The only one
that couA unite them" About the same time,
Mr. Calhoun said :he same thing in a speech II
Abbevc, South Carolina, and this declaratio
was echoed " his partizans every where
throughout the ,South. Immediately alter this
commenced that violent agitation OF the slavery
question, which had nearly eliminated upon the
admission OF California in 1850. BY the efforts
'of the great statesmen If the last age the mat
ter MAS then compromised. The whole country
SH'lIctl W bS SdllNilcu Will tue SCItlcluSHl JlG
there was number of restless spirits among the
secess,onists of tn, South, who would he salts
fed with nothing less than the dissolution of the
Union. They Immediately commenced agita-
, ting The question again with the view of fur
mishin@ themselves with pretext for exercising
the sacred right of secession which they pro-
frSscd 10 have 1educed from the system Of Mr..
Jefferson. They began by demanding 4 recog.
milton Of the doctrine OF mon intervention y
by Congress in relation to thA subject of slave.
ry in the territories. This they finally obtained
at The CINCINNATI Convention, in 1856.
No sooner had they obtained this, than they
went to the opposite extreme, and demanded,
tas an mltndtum, the ':interrention" of Congress
tor the protection of slavery in The territories
! ami upon this ut,hiatum, succeeded in breaking
r mp the Charleston Convention. Several years
: previous to this, however, they had succeeded
with aid OF a few Northern allies in repeating
l the Missouri Compromise. This act together
with subSequentati empt TO force the LecOmpton
Constitution upon the people of Kansas in oppo
siton to the known and expressed wish of three.
/, furrths of them, mad bult up great party at
t .the North in opposition to the extension oil
r slavery. By breaking up the Charleston Con.
a vention, and dividing tie Democratic party, the
!; secessionists purpoSely aided with malice afore
thought, to elect Mr.. Lincoln hefcandidafe oil
this party to the Presidency of the United
v States in 1860; an event over which there was
E as much rejoicing IN S1uth-Carolna as tn ere
: fwas n Massachusetts. In tie mean time there
y bad been much unjustifable legislation on the
part of a few of the Northern States, which
am as ready to condemn as any other man, but
there had been no act Of the national govern
: ,ment IN She slightest degree infringing our
| RIGHTS Tine nf tho Snnran,p (lourI
| had all been in our favor. The slavery ques.
aion had been settled in the territories, bl the
acts of Congress establishing governments lol
the territories of Colorado Nevada and Daco
fah. We also had a majority in both House: