Year: 1860

called, the Hon. Pierre Soule, rose,
and was received with enthusiastic
cheers and applause. After silence
had been restored, the gentlemen pro.
ceeded as follows:


Mr.. President, | am appalled,, tru.
ly appalled,, by the expectations which
the welcome, which has just been ex-
tended to me seems TO signify. am
tho last man in this Convention from
whom anything deserving these man,
itestations could be expected, and it
is at once with deep feeling of graf
itnde for what kindness there was III
them, and of great difiidence that at
tempt to address you ON this most
solemn, most momentous occasion. -
BE not afraid, however, that | shall
trespa8s long upon your kindness and
your attention, But a few remarks
from me will lay the foundation fol
the vote which ! shall cast for the no,
bic State, which have the honor in
part to represent in this body. have
not been at all discouraged by the
emotion which has been attempted ia
be created in this body by those who
have seeded from us. We from tho
turthest South were prepared. We
had heard around us the rumors which
were to be initiatory Of the acts which
you hayo witnessed on this day, and
we knew that this conspiracy which
had been brOoding for months past
would break out on this occasion, and
for the purposes which are obvious to
every member. Sr5, there are in po.
liticRl life men who were once honor
cd by popular favor and consider that
the favor las become to them an in.
alienable property, and who cling to
it as something that can no longer be
wrested from their hands; political
fossils 50 much incrusted IN office that
there 10 hardly any power that can ex.
tract them. [Applauae,] They saw
thai the popular voice was clearly
manfesting to this glorious nation
who was to be her next ruler. More
than eight or ten mouths before this
Convention assembled the name of
that future ruler Of these States had
been thrown into the canvass, and
was before the people. Instead Of
bringing a candidate to oppose him,
instead Of creating before the people
issues upon which the choice of the
nation could be enlightened, instead
OF principles discussed, wha! have we
scent An unrelenting war against
the individual presumed to be the ia.
vorito Of the nation Applause "a
war waged By an army ofunprincipled
and unscrupulous politicians, leagued
with power which could not be ex.
erted on their side without disgracng
itself, and disgracing the nation.
| Renewed applausel


When this Convention assembled
at Charleston the idea had not yet
struck their minds that q movement OF
the nature Of the one which has been
effected could be based upon the doc.
trines Of the distinguished great lead
er from Alabama, Mr.. Yancey, who
has fathered the secession. 1t was
presumed by the political intriguos
outside OF the Convention, who were
naneuvering the measure through by
which the destruction Of the Demo.
cratic party was to be affected; it was
presumed by them that it would be in
their power, after raising the storm, to
master and guide; but it viii be found
before forty eight hours have elapsed
that in that storm they are bound
eventually to sink and disappear
Loud applause.] For it is idle for
Southern men to disguise the true oh.
ject Of that movement. Secession
from the Democratic party can be
nothing less than disruption Of that
party at the very moment when the
hopes Of the whole nation are hanging
upon its continuity in power. ZAP.
plause. Secession is word intended
to conceal another word of more sig.
nifcancy. Ii secession was to find
an echo among the people of this great
Confederacy, then no longer could
this Republic boast that the structure
which our fathers erected with SO
much sacrifice and so much toll was a
noble experiment. Secession must
beget disuniun. Upon what pretense
must secession have been predictedl
l will not do those distinguished gen.
tlemen who stepped out OF this room
this morning the injustice to suppose
that they truly parted from you be-
cause ofyOur having decided the ques-
tion of internal organization in a man
ner that did not agree with their
views. They may give this as a pre-
tense; they may use it as a cloak to
cover their desertior from the party,
but the truth cannot be disguised
Whether deluded or not, they are
tools in the hands of intriguers, and
their course must necessarily tend to