The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1868-08-25
MISCELLAN Y.

NUMBER ONE.

NUMBER ONE.
eral interest in relation to the condition
of affairs in the Southern states for Il
short period previous to the Secession
acts OF these states, and the commence
ment of insurrcctional hostilities to the
General Government, by the lombard
ment of Fort ~umpter, in the Spring of
eighteen hundred and sixty-one In
doing this, I shall state facts, not gen
orally known TO the people of the
North, either al the time they transpir-
cd or subsequently. | shall also con-
fine myself mostly to the state of affairs
ON the secession movement in the wear
/ lSj7, at or near the time of the success
/ sion of James buchanan to the pre-i-
dcncy Of the United States.
1t has been sometimes asserted that
! the immediate case Of the secession out
/ break was the election 'ot Abraham
/ Lincoln TO the Chief Mueislracy hy the
radical Republican party, and thus be-
/ licVcd by no inconsidcrable portion of
/ the citizens Of or country both North
and South, bat this is not strictly the
fact. The election OF Mr. Lincoln was
the occasion and not cauec. 1t was al
event in the political economy of the
real leaders Of the southern people,
which called for action on their part.-
Rebellion existing without its overt
acts and ns much provided for in detail
with one or two exceptions. in lNj7 n
in 1850.
The limits of the conledcracy was at
that time we'll settled upon, it, rcsour.
COS for the support of government. cy.
cn places for the education of thoiI
youth, a. well IL the internal economy
of the state, including arrangement,
for Imports and exports Of articles q
commerce and general regulations fol
trade, were all thOuroughlv considers,
and adopted, i'm fact every thinD deem,
ed necessary to an entire lndcnonJrmt
poitical and civil organization and nv
ist,nce was carefully decided unon nm,
bccame PRINCIPLES OF oction i'm thni, IN.
tercoursc with the United states in.
deed the United States were in n cnr
tain sense, taken posse.sion of throngl
Mr. Buchanan's administrator o3r
controlled for the benefit of the con fed
eracy, and it was only this favorable on
portunity to further benefit the nev
State, that an open rupture wos mo-
made in 1857. The election of Mr. Lin
coin putting an end to this use of IN,
general government furnished the oc
casion to the confederates. there bein,
nothing more TO be gained by DELAY fo
formal declaration of an indcpendcn
action, relation and existence in asnec
to the United States ana other govern
ments, they boldly declaring in the Ian
guage of ancient Adneas that they wer,
alike prepared for peace or war.
A few facts will show our statement
to be true. In the month of Sentemhe
1857, il was openly affirmed i'm n lenoth,
article published in De Rois Revie,y
written by Edmond Ruffin of VIRGINIA
That the proper and perfectlv safe nn,
S peaceable course to bring about the So
= cesson and subsequent confederate,
; of all the slave-holding states (eXcent
ing Delaware perhans) will be for Nir
. ginia, and all the other the NortherI
tier of the Slavcholding States viii
North Carolina and Tennessee. moi +
move at first, or as early as tho mor
Southern States-if five or six onIv
the move Southern States adioi9in
eacn other, acting in concert shall dc
clare their independence of. and sacos
sion from the present Federal Govern
i, ment, the movement will be perfectl
safe by the peaceably disnosed linz .
border states, intervening between IN