Year: 1861

movement professed to take its origin and
motive in q desire to protect tho institution
of slavery from tho apprehondod hostility
of the Federal Government in the hands
of the Republican party. We havo re.
peatedly shown that this apprehension"
was purely Fictitious, because Of the pre-
dominance in Congress of majority OPP
posed to the present Administration. But
ignoring this fact, more than ono of the
sovereign Conventions" which passed an
ordinance of secession proceeded to justify
its decision by declaratory preamble,
basing the propriety of its act on india-
pensablc considerations of public safety.
Thus the Alabama Convention held the
following language;


"Whercas the election of Abraham Lin.
coin and Hannibal Hamlin to the Office of
President and Vice President CT the Uni
ted States of America, by a sectional party
avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions
and peace and security of the people of the
State of Alabama, &c. Therefore


"Be it declared and ordained by the
people of the State of Alabama in Con-
vention assembled, That the State of Ala
bama now withdraws from the Union
known as tho United States of America.
&c.


Tho Convention of Texas adopted
similar preamble, reciting among other
grounds of secession the following:


"Whereas, the action of the Northern
States of the Union is violative of the
compact between the States and the guar
antees of the Constitution and whereas
the recent developments in Federal affairs
make it evident that the power of the Fed
eral Government is sought to be made a
weapon with which to strike down the in
tercsts and prosperity of the people of
Texas and her sister Slaveholding States,
instead of permitting it to be, as was in
tended, our shield against outrage aud ag-
gression: Therefore


owe, the people of the State of Texas,
by delegates in Convention assembled, do
declare and ordain," &c.


The attentive observer of current events
cannot have failed to remark the signal
Justification which such sinister misgivings
have received, even during the state Of
hostilities superinduced by the secession
movement. Before the outbreak Of the
war the fugitive slave law was efficiently
enforced by the civil authorities of the
present Administration, and since the com.
mencemcnt of military movements the
commanders of the Federal forces seem to
have We'd with each other in repelling all
suspicious of an unfriendly purpose to-
wards the peculiar domestic institutions Of
the Southern States.


Hardly had the troops of New York and
Massachusetts, landed on tho soil of Mary
land before they were called to "take
position" upon this delicate subject; and
every reader remembers how prompt Ma
jor General Butler was to offer his COM
mand for the suppression of slave insur-
rection, the rumor of which reached An.
napolis soon after his arrival at that place
and his proceedings under this head having
been called in question by Governor An
drew, of Massachusetts, he defended biz
determination as follows;


'I appreciate fully your excelloncy's
suggestion rs to tho Inherent weakness OF
the rebels, arising from tho prepon derance
of their servile population. The question,
then, is, in what manner shall we take
advantage of that weakness By allow.
ing and of course arming that population
to rise upon the defenceless women and
children of the country, carrying rapine
arson and murder-all the horrors of SaI
Domingo million times magnifed-
among those whom VIC hope to re.unite tc
us as brethren many of whom are already
SO and all who arc worth preserving vii
be, when this horrible madness shall havt
passed away or be threshed out of them
Would your Exoellency advise tho troops
under my command to make war in person
upon the defenceless women and children
of any part of the Union, accompanied with
brutalities too horrible to be named You
will say, God forbid ? If we may not Dc
so in person, shall We arm others SO to DE-
over whom we can have no restraint, ex
ercise no control, and who, when onc'
they have tasted blood, may turn the very
arms We have put in their hands agains
ourselves, as part of the expressing whit'
race I Tho reading of history, SO familiar
to your Excellency will tell you the bit
, terest cause of complaint which our fathers
had against Great Britain in the war o
Revolution was the arming by the British
Ministry of the red man with the toma
hawk and scalping knife against tho wo-
men and children of the colonies, SO tha
the phrase, MAY we not use all the mean
which God and nature have put in ou
power to subjugate the colonies! has pass
ed into a legend Of infamy against tn