Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-10-06


What higher proof Of loyalty could be given
than this ? but, fellow.citizth,, was tho
South ever disloyal to the Constitution of the
United Statcs2 I deny that she ever was,
and challenge her most bitter enemy to nd
duce one single instance in which she has
been. Ifroint he adopt lion 81 That Constitution,
4"p to the time when she framed nnc far lor
own governance, no one can lny to her charge
single violation of any clause of that ihstru-
nent. Did she ever propose to change it ?
l,ld she ever cvadc any of its provisions? Did
she ever dcnounce it as a "lcngue with hell
and covenant with the dcvil?' Nay more,
when she framed Constitution for herself
did she not adopt the old and honorcd one al.
most word for word Had the North been
but half rs loyal as tho South has ever been,
no war would have dcsolatcd our country, and
the Union would be, what it's founders intend
ed-onc of equal and sovereign States, bound
together by the strong tics of patcrnal aflcc-
ton, instead of what it now is, consolidated
desrotism of the stronger States, ruling with
rod Of iron, tho weaker ones. The South
is, and ever has been loyal in the proper sense
of the word. am aware that the North has
given now meaning to this word when an.
piled to the South. For the South to bo oyal
in the eyes OF the North, she must admit her
self to be inferior in all points; she must de-
clare that she has sinned, and like rcpcntant
child, she must humbly sue for forgiveness.
She must pronounce State Rights and State
Sovereignty fallacics, and she must forget the
teachings Of PATRlcK HENRY, of JEFFERSON
and of MADISON. You, men of Pickcns
must forget the illustrious son you gave to our
State, and you must brand CALHOUN as
traitor. The names Of MCDUrFIE CnEv Es,
liAiNE, llAAilffoN, HARPER, must no longer
be held in reverence in their own State, MS those
OF great statesmen and pure patriots, but the
men who bore them, like their immortal co,nna-
riot aroto be called traitors, and thcirdoctrines
s"a.'i"na ~; Wv will net he lqvnl until vou i'm
port along with everything else, your politics,
yonr morality and your religion fromthe North.
know not, felow-ctizcns, how it may be with
others, but for myself l prefer still to cling
to the political faith taught by her great .Apos-
ties Of Liberty. rcpudiate as hcrctical and
damnable that morality which incnlcatcs
"highcr law" than the Bible teaches. And
as to religion, I confess that after tho way
they call hcrcsy, so worship the "God of
my fathers" We obey the laws of the land !;
We pay the taxes levied on us; we support
the Constitution and we acknowledge the
supremacy Of the National Government The
North has no right to demand or to expect of
MS more than this. She has no right to ask
that we should give up the divine right
which even slaves cnjoy-of freedom of opin-
ion that we should deny the principles VIC
hold sacred that VIC should abasc ourselves
in the dust to propitiatc her good will, or that
we should kiss the rod that smitcs us.
''Shall frccborn men, in humble awe
Submit 10 sorvilc shame,
Who from consent and custom draw
The snme right to be ruled by law,
Which Kings pretend to reign"
Shall we, who were frecborn men, be so base
as to declare that our country has met the fate
it deserved? Shall We submit to the shame
which would cling to us forever, if we admit
that we have been guilty of treason? Shall
we cover ourselves with eternal infamy by
branding as truitors tho mon who died for us
and to whose memory you are now paying
honor Never Never! Never Let any
fate, however hard, bc our lot, rather than that
suoh dishonor nhould be ours When the
gallant warrior-king of old, saw in tho dcfca.
of his brave army, the ruin Of all his hopes,
proud, though conquered, ho could still cx.
claim, all is lost save honor" Let us amid
the failure of our hopes, the wreck of our for.
tunes, strive to save, like him, what is far moro
precious than all clso, our honor.
| have given you the record of the South
have shown how well she has kept her faith
untarnishcd, how closely she has observed her
obligations. Let me turn now to tho record
of the North. Bear in mind, that in giving
this, shall simply state facts, leaving yo,, to
draw your own infercnccs. propose to say
what the North has done do not intend to
discuss tho morality, the honesty, or the JUS
ticc of her actions. When the tyrant disputed
the assertions of tho philosopher and cndcnv-
ored to draw him into an argument, the reply
OF the latter was: {" J. do not choose to argue
with tho commander of thirty Lcgions. -
Without being n philosopher, | can recognize
the force of this answer. and w,;vc orou-
mcnt, MS totally inappropriate in discussion