The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1883-09-26

J. 4lr- curtis has done his work we'll
. have read some Of the criticisms upo
y that work, to which am going 10 repI
:. after read the book. But / am fir
i going 70 dispose of Mr.. Davis"
THE sUP1ENE IMPUDEScE oP tn
sEcEssIoNIs3s
d The judge again picked up the fapc
O and read al0ad the following par;
I graph:
K IL will be remembered that the so-
c ernment Of South Carolina. resfin
0 under the assurance that both the Fec
= eral and State governments would no
attempt 10 make change - as to di.
turb the existing condition of affair,
allowed the unoecupied forts to remaii
as they were and forebore to seize For
B Sumter when it was without a garrison
: she demonstrated when the garrison o
, Fort Aoultrie, after having dismantle,
] II, spiked the guns and burned the car
riages, was removed under cover o
4 night to Fort Sumter. Could there hay,
/ Deen more hostile demonstration thar
this! The order resulting in this chang,
= on the status Is one of the claims Judg,
biack makes for service rendered to tn,
Union 50 it may deserve To be fol
loved to its consequences and viewed
IN connection with centemporaneou,
sseft<
i II occurred when South Carolina
hopeful of peaceful solution of al
pending issues, had sent three of hel
most distinguished SONS as commission
ers to visit and confer with the Presi
dent. Other proof cannot be needful
that south Carolina had no design TO
attack Fort Moultrie or take other ag
gressIye action. Mr.. Buchanan, will
the keen perception Of patriot desir-
ing to avoid civil war, saw the danger
which this movement portended, and.
, with the sensibility of man of honor,
shrank from the imputation of bad
faith. Therefore he wrote to the com
missioners of South Carolina on the 3Cjtb
OF December, 1860; "When | learned
that Maj. Anderson had left Fort Moul-
trie and proceeded to Fort Sumter, nv
hrst promptings were to command him
to return to his former position and
there to await contingencies presented
IN his instructions" The President
then proceeded 10 notice the rapidly
occurring events which followed this
act, Tor which it is now known he was
not responsible; To- enforce the pro-
7 priety OF retaining fort built to pro
tect the harbOr and city of Charleston
after 1t had ceased to be regarded there
as means of defense, but was consid.
cred menace, and only maintained to
/ destroy, Judge Black asserts that the
Tort belonged to the United States.
was bought and paid for bv them, they
had full and undisputad proprietary
\ right 20 it, which was not impaired in
the slightert degree by South Garolina's
act of secession
I'm this Mr.. Davis touches upon
matter about which / propose to have
considerable to say. If there was anv-
thing at that time thaCillustrated the
supreme lmpudence of the Secessionists.
II was their demand that Mai. Ander-
son should not be permitted to leave
Fort Moultrie. He acquits the Presi.
dent of the responsibility of granting
permission to Maj. Anderson to occupv
sumter in case his judgment so dictated,
ana lays the charge at my door father
the responsibility, If responsibility is
necessary, as cheerfully now as did in
the heat of that controversy. If it was
an insult to the people of South Caro-
llna Tor the executive to strengthen the
hands of that little band of Federal
s1ldlers in Charleston harbor, | cannot
see 1t so. Whether the President in
tended that the orders to Mai. Ander-
son should be so framed as to give him
the right to move into Sumter. | cannot
say. But when | wrote the order. susb
Was my intention, and / have no ex-
cuscs to offer for that act. If Il pro-
vokeo war, as Mr.. Davis declares it did
It was because those who were then will
fully menacing the Federal government
made It a pretext for the crime of re-
volt. In the mighty events then chas-
ing each other in rapid succession. /
played no part which has the more cor
dlaI approval OF my conscience to-day
than III framing that order that carried
MAJ. Anderson from Fort MouItrie to
Fort Sumter. What Mr.. Davis saws
about the commissioners from South
carolina proceeding upon some sort of
assurance from the executive. is ridicu-
lous. The President had no right to
treat with these people as the commits
sloners OF a State, and he declined to
do so. They were simply three respec-
table gentlemen whom the President
treated civilly, and they assumed an
Importance never justified by the faets.'
THE BACKING AND FILLING OF ANTE
WAR POLITICIANS.
Here the great jurist sat back in his
chair, and, for minute, turned his to-
bacco-box rapidly, without saving a
word. He then leaned forward again,
and, with great emphasis, said:
How much trash is often accepted AS
history. see that Davis proves that
Douglas was in favor of surrenderine
the forts of the South to the Secession
lists. The speech from which he quotes
was delivered in the Senate by Douglas
alter the Lincoln administration came
In. l never saw it before, but read il
now as part of the record of that time.
when many of our best men were afraid
to make war, and did not know how to
make peace. | do not view these things
with pleasure, but the truth should be
written. Davis also quotes Gen. Scott
as being in favor of giving up the forts
In Charleston harbor | have no doubt
but that Scott occasionally so expressed
hlm self, for he got on all sides of almost
every question then arising.
The authorities Mr. Davis quotes do
not convince me that was wrong in
urging the President to promptly rein
force the Southern defences. They sim
ply show how much backing and filling
there was by public men in those trou-
bled times.
HOW THE ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL
LAWS WAS PREVENTED.
He quotes Mai. Anderson to sustain
his case, and then contrasts his peaceful
attitude and my beligerent course. as he
terms it. In shis part of his assault
md a significant sentence, the purpOrt
OF which is that l should have anticipa-
ted that the advice / gave would result
in conflict of arms. and he saws nav
advice to the President about the en-
/ ployment of an army and navy to en-
force the authority of the United States
was given under the poor pretext that it
was to aid the officers of the United
States in the execution of the laws.
knowing that no cases existed or could
7 arise under existing circumstances. there
being no United States officers in South
Carolina by whom civil process could
be Issued This sentence betrays the
policy of the Southern leaders. They
did not intend that there should be any
Federal officers in South Carolina to sus-
tain the execution of the laws. They
had taken good care that they, bv pre-
concerted arrangement, should resign
on the lst of December, and that no
Others should be commissioned. True.
there was no one authorized to issue or
execute civil processes The President
had already declared his right to enforce
the laws through the Federal agents. bv
the use Of the military arm if necessary.
Il was.a part of their plan to prevent
the government from having represen-
tatIve there to sustain in the enforce
ment of the laws. To meet this emer-
gency the President appointed a resolute
man as Collector of Customs at Charles
ton, Intending to send him to South
Carolina to collect the revenue. and Ia
the last extremity sustain him in doing
So He was nominated to the Senate
and the Ab0litionizis united with f1,s
Secessionists and rejected him. This
act was notice to fheexecutirs that both
parties were agreed in the determine =
ton 70 keep South Carolina frse fra1.
Federal officers Wzo could he susfasns5
IN maintaining the dignity 81 -. -