The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1869-10-28
j. L. ALCORN'S
Sece ssion Rec ord !!

What is the record Of j. L. Aleorn, WHIT
of the Union. and b put forward as the e.
pecial champion of the DISTINGUISHES
THE tale is plain one, and shall be related
unvarnished as il Is told in the journals
the Mississippi State Convention of 1861
which passed the ordinance of secession
First, let us premise by stating what tn
record will presently show, that he wa
elected delegate from Coahoma- to the con
vention not as Unionist, but as cooper
ationist, that is to say, he was pledged Z
carry Mississippi out of the Union. In tn
event a certain number of the Southern
States wonId go with her. His ULionisu
amounted to that and nothing more.
Thus elected, he took his seat in the Con
yention. and the first we hear of him ate
his defeat for the Presidency of the body i
explained in the following extract from thu
proceedings:
Mr.. Lamar offered the following resolu'
ton which was adopted:
Resolved, That a committee OF Is be ap
pointed to prepare and report as speedily a
possible, an ordinance providing for the
withdrawal of the State of Mississippi from
the present Federal Union with view Il
the establishment OF new Confederaey Il
be composed of the seeding States.
The President appointed the following
gentlemen as said Committee
l. Q. c. Lamar, of Lafayette, G. r. Clay
ton, of Lowndes, w. z. Harris, of Kinds
S. j. Gholson, Of Monroe. j. L. AIcOr1l
(Whig) of COahoma, and 10 others.
The next we hear of Mr.. Alcorn is report
ed in the following proceedings:
NJ Of OFF ri III
lowing resolutions:
Resolved, That the Committee on COnsti-
tutional Amendments be Instructed TO re-
port as soon as possible after its appoint
nlent an amendment TO the Constitution Of
this State authorizing il TO BORON money fOi
the purpose df military defense and to ptedgc
The faith Of the State for the repayment Of The
loan.
A discussion ensued wherein,
Mr.. Alcorn said he lcas prepared to go toith
him loho goes JGrtheSt 10 realize money for the
defense or The State. The Constitution point
ed out the mode in which it should BE-
amended. submitted to and voted on by the
people. He held, however. that this Con-
UentlOn has pEenGTy pOlcer-thdt its ordinances
toere ADORE The Constitution, that we must
stand above il, or if we undertake 10 be
governed by il, then We must stand by 1t IN
all its details. HIS HAD NO HEsITANCY TO
VOTE UPON AN ORDINANCE To PLACE THE
ETAIE ON WAX FOOIlNOs
The object of the motion was to obtain
means to resist the authority of the Union
aud Mr.. Alcorn The had not then become
General) ''was willing to go with him who
goes farthest'' to put the State on war
footing" in order to make successful fight
against the flag. The State had not then
voted itself out of the Union, and Mr.. AL
corn had not the plea that he was governed
in his action by the will of the majority.
He was for taking time by the forelock.
On the memorable 9th of January, the
committee of fifteen, of which MIR Alcorn
was member, through their Chairman, re-
ported the Ordinance of Secession.
Pending the consideration of this Ordi-
nance, Mr.. Ierger, of Washington county,
Offere the following as a substitute
An ordinance providing for the final set
Element and adjustment of all difficulties
between the free and slave States of the
United States by securing further ConStitu-
tional guarantees toithin the present Union.
The preamble to this ordinance recited
the ''unfriendly and unconstitutional leg
''islation of majority in the Northern
Estates, evincing a fixed and determined
hostility to the Southern States-and
cited among other acts of this sectional
majority, the election of Mr.. Lincoln, who
was alleged to have been committed to the
dogma of the "irrepressible conflict be-
tween the sections-and moreover that it
was the opinion of the Convention that a
further continuance of the State of Missis-
sippi in the Union, was incompatible with
the interests of the State unless additional
guarantees should be given by amendments
to the Constitution of the United States, y
&C. And it concluded with proposition
for the holding of Convention of all the
Southern States lat Lexington, KY, on the
10th of February next" for common con-
sultation with view to the adjustment OF
the difficulties, &c.
Be it known that this was the EXTREMIST
Union ground taken in the Convention. Ii
was the only mode suggested of settling
the trouble and averting disunion. The
vote on the substitute stood as follows:
YEAs-Messrs. Brooke Blair, &c, 6c-2O
NAYs-Mr. President Messrs. Acorn &c.
&c.-7S.
Mr.. Alcorn was not even willing to have q
conference of the Southern States to consul
in reference to plan of adjustment. Wher
he declared that he was for putting the
state on a war footing" and ''would go as
far as the farthest" he meant business, anC
hence he voted against the proposition O
Mr.. Yerger.
We extract further from the journal (ir
secret SESSION. as follows:
Mr.. Acorn submitted the following:
Sec. =. Be it ordained that this Ordinance
shall not go into effect until at least th'
states of Alabama. Georgia Florida anC
Louisiana shall, through their respective
conventions. resolve to secede from the Fed
eral Union. and resume their sovereignty
and Independence.
This proposition set forth Mr.. Acorn
Disunion idea. II claimed for the State
the sovereign power to secede at their op
ton, and did not want Mississippi 10 with
draw except in company with four othe
States. He did not want TO stay in else h,
would not have voted against the PROPOSE
ton of Mr.. 1erger. The object he sough
was practically attained. The four State
named went ort about the same time will
Mississippi, and several others followed il
| due season.
We will resume our extracts.
| The eventful hour had come.
| The Ordinance Of Secession was then read
The yeas and nays were called for; and tn
question of the President, shall the ordi
nance now pass, was responded to as fol
| lows:
YEAs-Mr. President, Messrs. ALCORN
Anderson, Aldridge, Barksdale, (of YaIo
busha-) Baldwin. &c. &c.-S3.
NAYs-Messrs. Blair, Bonds, Billiard
Cummings, Farrar, Hurst. Marshall, Myer!
Parker, Reynolds, Saunders, Thornton, Win
/ chester. HerU0r and XoupO-l5
The first section of the foregoing ordi
nance for which Mr.. AlcorR voted as above
is in the words following, to-wit:
That all the laws and ordinances by whic
the State of Mississippi became memer {
the federal Union of the Unit, States {
America, be and the same are hereby re
L ..ral..d and thai all nhli1r.finEs ~. tl,a M,