The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1883-08-22
HOE. JEFFERSON BlTIy REPLI
JUDGE BLACKS PRETENDED
SECESSION SECRETS"
The FIRST Shot at Fort Sumter Who
is Responsible for it.

i
i The following Is published in the Phil
' adelphia Times of the sth inst:
To the Editor Of the Times: Various
( circumstances which would be unecessar,
!. to relate here have delayed this motto,
of the public ntterances of Judge Jere
: miah s. Black. Under the ad captandun
$ title of Secession Secrets" he opens hi
! unwarranted attack upon myself thus
Mr.. Davis nov charges him A1F. Buc
hananl with timidity because he did moi
eyacuate the forts and let secession have
everything its own way. That is ridicu
; lous. Mr. Davis also makes sinner ol
: his judgment when he expresses the
: opinion that if Sumter had been given
up no other State than South Carolina
! would have gone out. In truth and IN
) fact Mr. Davis and all other Secessionists
desired that evacuation for the sole pur.
pose of making their predetermined de
parture easy and safe. Such a conspic
, uous act of concession would have been
an acknowledgement of their right to
secede, and they would have tumbled
out as fast as they could formulate THEN
ordinances. IF Nj. Davis will tax his
memory a little he will recolIect easily
enough that his object in trying to infu-
ence Mr. Buchanan in this direction was
to remove an obstacle from the path on
which he and his constituents had made
up their mind to travel. South Caro-
lima tried to bully the President.
Others, including Mr.. Davis, tried to
coax him. 1t is no evidence of timidity
that he resisted them both"
Judge Black herein assumes to de-
Z scribe my conduct and to assign to it a
motive which / pronounce utterly false
inexcusably false, because if he had de-
sired to know the truth he could have
learned it by conference with either of
his associates in Mr.. Buchanan's Cabinet
with whom | held about that time fre-
quent and unreseryed conversations,
Believing, as | had reason to do, that
he. like myself, desired q. peaceful solu-
ton of the issues which then threatened
our constitutional Union, or he might
have found what were my motives by
reference 10 the speeches / had made
during the many years | had served IN
the two houses of Congress, or by an
appeal to any other source purer than
| his own imagination. 1t may be we'll
that my opinions were not of sufficient
| importance to him 10 induce search
through the speeches of my many years
of service; but while his mind was so
actively engaged in the affairs of Charles
ton and my proposal in regard to it, it
might be supposed that he would look
at the published report OF my remarks
| in the United States Senate of January
10, 1861.
The pending motion being to print
the special message of the President of
January 9, 1861. | said:
'.Had the garrison at Charleston, rep
resenting the claim Of the Government
to hold the property in a fort there, been
called away thirty days, nay, ten days
ago, peace would have spread its pin
ions over this land, and calm negotia-
ton would have been the order of the
day. Why was it not recalled? No
reason vet has been offered, save that
the Government is bound to preserve its
property. And yet look from North to
South, from East to West, wherever we
have constructed forts to defend States
against foreign foe, and everywhere
you find them without garrison, ex-
cept at few points where troops are
kept for special purposes, not to coerce
or threaten State, but stationed IN sea
coast Notifications, there merely for the
purpose of discipline and instruction as
artillerists. You will find all the other
forts in the hands of fortkeepers and
ordinance sergeants, and before moral
and patriotic people standing safely
! here as property of the country"
There, in the presence of Senators who
] had the fullest opportunity to know my
5 wishes and opinions, the position was
distinctly stated which Judge Black
) now treats as something new and makes
the basis of slanderous misrepresenta.
] ton.
With like reeklessness of assertion he
t denies that Mr.. Buchanan ever enter
tained an idea of public property at Fort
I Sumter other than that of the fort with
e its contents, and yet in the very begin
: ming of the correspondence in the first
t letter, of Gov. Pickens to the President
: the Governor wrote: SIN relation tc
r the public property of the United State:
\ within Fort Sumter, the Hon. l. w
4 Havne, who will hand you this commu
nication, is authorized to give you the
|, pledge of the State that the valuation
e of such property will be accounted for,
etc, etc.
II pass by Judge Blacks denunciatiol
d of South Carolina as mot IL fit party tt
II be trusted with the protection OF eithe
e real or personal property OF the Unltet
y States" She needs no defense agains
! the loose and vulgar assertions which
70 characterize this revelation of so-calleC
}. secession secrets, merely noticing tn
'e cunning excuse which is offered for tn
?. denunciation, j. e., that South Carolini
IL had previously seized everything il
It and about Charleston except one fort
It will be remembered that the Govern
le ment of South Carolina resting unde
the assurance that both Federal ant
he State Government would not attemp
u to make a change so as to disturb tn
Id existing condition of affairs allowed tn
ID unoceupied forts to remain as they were
ID and forbore to seize Fort Sumter whe
it was without a garrison. She remor
ne strated when the garrison of Fort Mou
!; trie, after having dismantled It, spike
k. the guns, and burned the carriages, wa
removed under cover of night to Fol
Or Sumter. Could there have been MOI
l hostile demonstration than this? Was
or honest to concealthe fact that therefor
te followed the seizure of the nnoccuple
Ak forts2 The order resulting in this chang
- OF StaIuS Is One Vi the StElliaS 0uus
EN- Black makes for service rendered to Il
We Union. Soft may deserve to be foliowe
= to It's consequences and viewed IN col
ia nection with contemporaneous events
J. Itoceurred when South Carolina, hop
III full of a peaceful solution OF all pendiT
at issues. had sent three of her most dlsti
nd guished sons as commissioners to vls
IT. and confer with the President 9th
f..1k kl,of 4
olina had no design to attack Fort Mot
trie or take other aggressive action.
Mr.. Buchanan with the keen perez
II, ton of patriot desiring to avoid cls
war. say the danger which this moy
ment portended and with the sensibili
=, of n man of honor shrank from the imp
~ tation Of bad faith. Therefore he wro
to the commissioners of South Caroli
= On the 30th Of December, 1860: aWh
- - I learned that Mai. Anderson had Il
- Fort Monltrie and proceeded to ke
Ins ~ Sumter, my first pFomptings were
-. - command him to return to his form
~ - position and there to await contingenci
- ~ presented in his instructions. ]
- - President then proceeded to notice &
- y ranidlv-occurring events which follow
= = this act. for which It is now known
N was not responsible To enforce
e propriety Of retaining fort built
:, g 1s,rotect the harbor and city of Charl
.ne ton after it had ceased to be regard
Ape there as means Of defence. but =
9I q considered 4 menace only maintained
xse .'s destroy. Judge Black asserts that
'u.- tort ssbeloneed to the United States y
peA bought and paid for By them they b
: fnll and undisturbed property right
<ls = + which was not impaired II the Sig
y 81 decree by South Carolina's act
! 3 sseess;on. If this vas intended Is
klkt ss,sssz = fI,e fls,i1.l Of South Carolina