Newspapers / The Weekly Raleigh Register … / Oct. 17, 1860, edition 1 / Page 1
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.. ... - .- - . : t r-, j ; '''!' ," ' ' ; ( ' j - . ; -. r ,!''.'':- ''. '. ' 'V';..' ..."'v' ' ? ft r.;- '?'-" : v'- '' v '' - . -. -;' . ., -.'.':; . ..- , ! ,trMrJ- -m a t- i- - y 1 ' 1 . f if i ' - " " .. , .d. - ' . ' ' ' ' ' 'T1 ' i " -i .. TTZ ' ''- 1.-1.. p t.j ' - . ' ' ' "' ' "' '"".'!" ''tf ' I.... ,; -A.:."rt t: M- issSJi . :- VOL. LIX. . " - - " ' J- : RALEIGH WEDNESDAY MORNING OCTOBER 17 1860 lU- -- Cfee : galrigj! Register. PCBLISHXD BT- " , . gVXE. HALL, Editors aa4 Proprietor. Tkkms: One Cop j one yew, !$2 Six Copies one yer, ; JO Ten Conies one Tear. f ; v t- No pepcr will be tent nnleM the money u paid In advance, and an paper are itm- ued at the expiration or me um u.r wmv. are naid. unlets the subscription i renewed by advance payment. . .j SATURDAY MOR5INO.OCTOBKR W, I860. THEY ARB OF. Both the Editors of the Register have eat out to-Salisbury to attend the Great Union Mass Meeting which met on Thursday. They took care, however, before cutting out them selves, to cut out aomething for the Register, which will be more acceptable to i readers than anj thing that either of them could con tribute. To-day's Register contains the speech of the Hon. Jere. Clemens, delivered at Honteville, Ala,, on the. 8th of Septem ber. They beg their friends to read the ceech. They cannot torn a little tune to ar better icoount than in doing so. OLD BUCK A CONTRIBUTOR TO BON NER'S LEDGER. 01 4 Back is about to become a contributor to Bonner's Ledger. . If Old Buck will only contribute,, hiatoryjof his own life and' limes, it will be the tensaiioftut article that ever astonished th3 readers oi that sensation pa per, the New York Ledger. In a fortnight after it appeared, it would be dramatised and pat on the stage, night after night, to over flowing houses. . Such cunning, sueh tricke ry, such corruption, such utter want t of all nerve, physical, moral, or political, could not fail to satisfy the most morbid taste , of the greatest lover of sensation. ; THE STATE FAIR. ( . We understand that a much larger num ber of articles have been received for exhi bition next week than were ever before en tered so early, l The Fair next week will doubtless surpass any exhibition of the kind ever held in the State. The Committee of Reception hare made ample arrangements for the accommodation of all who may come. Cnox ILua ilxrnsQ. The friends, of. Bell tndErerUia Edgeoqmbe,W"ilonandNs4iiCoun- j ties will hold a Union Mass Meeting,' at Rocky Mount, vn Friday; the 26th of October. Hon Geo. . Badger, Hon. WmTA. Graham, Hon. B. F. Moore, Henry K. 2iash Esq., Hon. B. Vance, Hon. John Pool, Jas. W. H in ton, jq.. C. C. Clark, Esq., and other distinguished speakers, are expected to attend. A Public Dinner will be given on the occasion The Ladies, Wends oi the Union, and the public ranr.ar.cordiallTinTitod to attend. ' XriSA FACT, That John C. Breckinridge voted for Stephen A. Douglas in the Cincinnati Convention, in op position to James Bachanan. Breckinridge was a delegate to that Convention, from the State of Kentucky, and on the 17th ball 4 the entire Ktn- tucky delegation voted for Stephen A. Douglas, he receiving upon that ballot 121 votes.' STATE XLICTIOSS. , Three great States, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indi ana, all held their elections on last Tuesday. Each chose Representatives in the next Congress, while Pennsylvania and Indiana elected their Governors and Legislatures also, and the latter a fall ticket of State Oficers. In Jiana those her Governor ' for a term of four years Pennsylvania for three; while in Ohio a Jedge of her Supreme Court, At torney-GeneraL aad a member of the Board of Public Works were elected. The Legislatures cHoten in Pennsylvania and Indiana will each have to elect a United States Senator. , ' We append the returns from these election;, from which it win be seen that the Black Kepub- 1 leans have carried all three of the States named. ' . t This doubtleas ensures ad three' of them for Lin coln, and bow the only hope of defeating him rests upon J?ew Yorkv i . PxxwTXTXjna. ; PHiLaDaxraia, Oct. 10, A. M. Returns in. dictate that the Republican . party have carried the Bute by Iron ten to fifteen thousand major ty. - i '"'.' The only Important Congressional change is the election of Lehman (Douglas Dem.) in place of Florence (Administration Dem.) SXOOXS DISPATCH. t . ; ' PhilaDXXFHia, Oct, 10, P. JL The Evening Bulletin (Rep.) aavs the Ee publicans claim a me 'jority of 20,000 to'23,000 in the State, and 18 to 20 out of 25 Congreumeaf as well as a majority in both branches of the - Legislature. It gives the following as the members of Congress elected RtpubUcvu .Morrif, Verree, A.elley, Iavis, Hickman, Killicger, Campbell, S wanton, Bowe, Hale, Junkin, (uncertain,) Macpherson, Blair, Covode, Morehead, McKnight, Stuart, Patton, (uncertain,) and Babott. Deniocrais. Lehman, Cooper, Anoony, Stephens, Peples, Johnson, Le saar, (uncertain.) McKanley is elected for the short term in the Eighth District. Welch, Chair man of the Democratic State Executive Commit tee, has called a meeting at Beading for the 12th, to consider business of great importance. Ohio. . 1 ; . Clkvxlahd, Oct. 10. Scattering returns show increased Republican gains, and thesoccess of their ticket in the State. . ' I f S. S. Cox (Douglas Dem.) is elected to Congress in the 12th District over Horton, (Kep.) , 1 BXOOBD dispatch. I Clivelaxd, Oct. 10. The Republican State ticket is successful by nearly 20,000 majority. Democratic Congressmen have been elected from the fst, 3d and 12th districts, aad probably from the 9th, which is a Democratic gain. . - IlTDXAXa. j . ' IvniAVAroLiBvOct. 10. Returns from about twenty counties show large Republican ' gains. Tneir State ticket is undoubtedly elected by from 5,000 to 10,000 majority. Eight Bejiublican Cen gressmeo are-elected, .which is a gain of one. The Legislature is probably Republican. , .v Coyxaxoa MoaxHXAP.al Jhe request of the zU aad Everett Cla of Beaufort, delivered eM sbie address la that town on the 3rd lost. SPiKCH OF . i UOX, JEBE. CLENKAS. )-": 5 LI should feel rebuked by the preseoce of this dience, if I had at any time entertained the purpose to make a partizan ' speech to-niht. Every hue and shale of Southern political opinion ited here, and la each division, or sec don, I recognize friends who have been very dear to me in the past, and who, I trust, will continue to be so to the end of my existence. To such an assemblage I choose rather to make a speech fur the country, than for a party. Seeking no office, and desirinr none, I rosy afford to say, what the political aspirant would shrink from avowing, i that I have lived long enough, and nave seen en ough of the tendency of all parties tn grow cor rupt as they grow old, to wear my party harness somewhat loosely. I have seen enough of the un substaatiar nature of the promises made in party platform to be thoroughly disgusted with them, and enough of party leaders to trust none of them, Upon the faith if such promisw, unless backed bj a record which gives unmistakable evidence of Sincere devotion to liberty, and the country. It U not as a partizan that I wish to address you, but as an advocate for the continued Union of these States. 'I wish to recall some portion of that brotherly reeard which existed when "Massa chusetts and South Carolina stood hand In hand around the Administration of Washington, and felt his own great arm lean upon them tor sup port" I am here as an earnest pleader : lor ue preservation of that Temple whose foundation' stone wa laid at Lexington, and which has con tinued to rrow in war. nd in neace in storm and in calm, un SI it has beo me the wonder of the world. Wicked and sacrilegious hands are now busily at work to demolish that sacred edi flee, and no effort has been left untried to involve you in the deep damnation of the guilty work. Men rifted with extraordinary eloquence, and skilled to make the worst appear the better reason, have bean performing missionary labors througn out North Alabama, and with such apparent sue. cess that I have repeatedly heard, of late, the ex tilling declaration, that Union speeches had lost their charms for the people, and could no longer be relied upon as barriers to stay the tnrrent of j Secession. Fellow-citixens, I do not believe them, Deluded for a time you may be, for that is insep arable from the frailty of our nature. But that you can deliberateydesire,orintetd, to tear down the Government of Wismngton, and bury your own hones, and the hones of vourchilden beneath its ruins, is as much impossible as for darkness to spread its gloomy pall over the land, when the sun Is ndinr unclouded in tne neavens. i ao not believe that you have lost that love of the Union which you sucked in wiih your Jlotner miix. I do not believe that voa have lost that love of peace, oflaw and order, of 'domestic tranquility, of life and liberty, which the Union Insures, and which your common sense tolls ypu can be insured by no other conditio of society, or torm of civil Government I do not believe that you are p re- oared to exchange blessings such as Providence never bestowed upon a people before, for the des titution, and mi-ery, and wickedness of civil dis sension. I do not believe toaiyou nave iorgouen the teachings of Geo rce Washington, and Andrew Jackson, or that these are names you have ceased to reverence. .Let me recall those teachings, ijel 'us refresh our minds, and purify our hearts, by reading from their last legacies to the land wbicn one of them braved the scaffold to redeem from bondage, and the other staked life, and honor, to preserve unconquerad and unsullied. On the lTth of September, 1796, . Gen. Wash ington announced his purpose to retire from pub lic life, and accompanied that announcement with an address to his countrymen, every word of which is worthy to be printed, like the three great poems of Arabia, upon platee-of gold, and hung up in all the ten. pies and public edifices of the Re public. Allow me to read to you that part of it which l most appropriate to me present occasion: "The unity oftovernmenl which constitutes vou one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so lor it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence ; the support of your tranquil! ty at home; your peace abroad : of your safety ; of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly pnxe. But as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and xrom cuserent quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employ ed, to weaken in your minds toe conviction of this truth ; as this is the point In your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and ac tively (though often covertly and insidiously) di rected: it is of infinite moment, that you shouid properly estimate the immense value of your na tional Union to your collective and individual happiness ; that you should cherish a cordial, ha bitual and immoveable attachment to it; accus toming yourselves to think and to speak of it as a palladium ot your political safety and prosperity; watching lor tu preservation witn jealous anxiety; disoountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned ; ana indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now nnK together the various parts. ' ror this you Bars every inducement or sympa thy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of Amer ica, which belongs to you in your national ca pacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriot ism, more than an appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference ' I . . M ? L 1 1 79 aT . 'S"n na poyucai principle. a ubi, iu BuuiuimmaMiiMj, fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess, are the work of joint councils, and joint effects of common dangers, suffering, and success. But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves jo your sensibility, are greatly outweigneo ny wose wnicn sppiy more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding mo tives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole. '!TheiVorA,inan unrestrained intercourse with the SouiX, protected by the equal laws of a com mon government, finds in the productions of the; latter, great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise, and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the same agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated and while it contributes in different ways to nourish and increase the gen eral mass of the national navigation, it looks for. ward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is equally adapted. The East, in like intercourse with the West, already 'finds in the progressive improvemeut of interior communica tions by Land aod water, will more and more find a valuable vent fdr the commodities which it brings from abroad,' or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort and what, is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of Indispensable outlets for its own productfons, ta the weight, influence end the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenor by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural con nection with any foreign power, must be intrin sically precarious, i ,r. a . - While then every part or our country tap feels an immediate and particular interes-j" """k greater strength, united mass of means and efigj, ater greater resource, prpn-Tess fmnnont ,xi fromexteinaLy- foreign nations; and what is of SZ&rJ,! bemaelves, which so freonimtrw Z V 11 em-eives, wnicn so frequently afflict neighbor. j isg counties, not tried together by the same gov- ernment, which their own rivalships alone would ) be sufficient to produce: but which opposite for ! eJgn alliances, attachments and Intrigues,: would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewLe, they tkry establishments, which under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regard ea as patticuiany hostile torepuo- lican liberty. In this sense it it, that your union ought to be considered as a main pro of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to en- found who are ready to foment these fatal divis dear to you the reservation of the other. - j ions, and to inflame the natural jealouses of differ ; "These considerations speak a persuasive lan- ent sections of the country. The history of the guage to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance or the union as a primary object of patriotic desire. ' Is there a doubt whe ther a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve It To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a : proper organi sation of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a bappy issue of the experiment.' With such powerfu' and obvious motives to union, af fecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patri otim of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its tnds Vln c-jntm plating the causes which may disturb cir union, it occurs as a matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties, by geographical discrimi nations Northern and Southerns Atlantic and Western ;' whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations ; they tend k render alien to each other those whoought to be bound together by fraternal affection.4 The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head. They have seen in the negotiation by tne executive, and in the unani moot ratification by the Senate of the treaty with Spain, and in the univeral satisfaction at that event throughout the United States, a decisive proof ho unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a poll in the Genera) government,' and in the At'antio States, unfriendly to their interest in regard to the .Mississippi. They hive been wit nesses to the lormauon of two treaties, taut wila Great Britain, and that withSpain,jwhich6ecureto them every thing they could desire, in; respect to our foreign relations, toward confirming 'their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the union by which they were procured 7 Wil they hence forth be deaf to those advisers, if sach there are, who would se.er them from thir brethren .and connect them with aliens? uTo the efficacy and permanency of yourjunion, a government for the whole iajindispensable. , No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate sunstitute; they must inevitably ex perience the infractions ' which alliances in all times have experierced. Sensible ot this momen tous truth, you have improved upon your first es say, by the adoption of a constitution of govern ment better calculated than your former for an intimate union, and for the efficacious man age- meet of your common concern. Ihis govern ment, the offspring of your own choice, uninflu enced and unawed : adopted upon our full inves tigation and mature deliberation ; completely free in its principles ; in the distribution of its powers uniting security with energy, and containing within itself provision for its own amendment, bas just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. - The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.- isut the constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and au thentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obliga tory upon all. The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government, pre-supposes the duty of every individual to obey establiflhedjjoverament." j Forty years afterwards, actuated by an earnest desire to promote the happiness of the' people he bad severed so well, and whose affections in return had been so lavishly bestowed upon him. the He ro of the second war of Independence, at the close of his own public labors, left to us the rich legacy of his parting advice. Referring to the happy and prosperous condition of the country, he said : Ihese cheering and grateml prospects, aod these multiplied favors, we owe, nnder Providence, to the adoption of the federal constitution. It is no looker a question whether this great country can remain happily united, and flourish under our present form of government. Experience, the unerring test of all human undertakings, has shown the wisdom and foresight of those who framed it ; and has proved, that in the union of these Slates there is a sure foundation for the brightest hopes of freedom, and for the happiness of the people. At every hazard, and by every sacrifice, this Union must be preserved. . . " The necessity of watching with .jealous anx iety for the preservation of the Union, was earn estly pressed upon his leiiow-ciuzens by tne rath er of his country, in his farewell address. He has there told us, that "while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who, in any quarter, may endeavor to weaken its bonds ;" and he has cautioned us in the strongest terms against the formation of parties.on geograph ical discriminations, as one of the means to which designing men would be likely to resort . " The lessons contained in this invaluable lega cy of Washington to his countrymen, should be cherished in the heart of every citizen to the la test generation ; and, perhaps, at no period of time could they be more usefully remembered than nt the present moment 'For when we look upon the scenes that are passing around us, and dwell upon the pages of his parting address, his paternal counsels would seem to be not merely the offspring of wisdom and foresight, but Jhe voice of prophe cy foretelling events and warning us of the evil to come. Forty years have passed since this im perishable document was given to his countrymen: The federal constitution was then regarded by him as an experiment, and he so speaks of it in his ad drees ; but an experiment open the success of which the best hopes of his country depended, and we all know that be was prepared, to lay dowa his life, if necessary, to secure to it a full and fair tri al. The trial has been made. It has succeeded beyond the proudest hopes of those who framed it, Every quarter of this widely extended nation has felt its blessings, and shared in the general pros perity produced by its adoption, ilut amid tus general prosperity and splendid success, the din gers of which he warned us are becoming ewry day more evident, and the signs of evil are Effi ciently apparent to awaken the deepest anxiy in the bosom of the patriot. We behold systematic efforts publicly made to sow the seeds of dsoord between different parts of the United Stati, and to place party divisions directly upon geographi cal distinctions; to excite the South aganst the North, and the North against the SoutX and to force into the controversy the most decate and excited topics upon which it is impossole that a large portion ot the Unioa can- everpeak with out strong emotions. ' Appeals, loo, e constantly made to senai interests, in ordc to influence the eU;on f the chief magistrate if it were iped that he should favor a particular quarter A the country, instead nf fnisufo- th int?-. nr his station with impartial justidto all ; and the possible dissolution of the Uni, has at length become an ordinary and famWar subject' of dis cussion. Has the warning v of Washington been forgotten,? or have desigu already been form ed to sever the Union ? L3 it not be supposed that I impute toall WthohoTavr tak , P"1 ln "ese tmwlse and unprofitable dis- ctwions, a want of patriotism or of public virtue. The honorable feeling of State pride and local at- tachments," find a place in the bosoms of .the most . enlightened and pure. But while such men are conscious of their own integrity and honesty of purpose, they ought never to forget that the citi- and that, however mistaken they may be in their yjews, the great body of them are equally honest ana upright with themselves. Mutual suspicions and reproaches may in time create mutual hosiu ity, and artful and designing men will always be I world is full of such examples, and especially the , history of republics, x What have you to gain by division and dissen- Uon 7 " Deluden ot yourselves witn the belief that a breacn once made may be aiterwaras repaired. If the union is once severed, the line of separation will grow wider and wider," and the controversies which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation, will then be tried in fields of battle, and be determined by the sword. Neither should you deoeive yourselves with the hope, that the first line of separation would be the permanent one, and that nothing but harmony and concord would be found in the new associations formed upon the dissolution of this Union. Looal inter ests would still be found there, and unchastened ambition. And if the recollection of common dangers, in which the people of these United States stood side by side against the common foe; the memory of victories won by 'their united valor; the prosperity and happiness they have enjoyed under the present constitution; the proud name they bear as citizens of this great republic ; if these recollections and proofs of common interest are not strong enough to bind us together as one people, what tie will hold this Union dissevered ? The first line of separation would not last for a sin gle generation ; new fragments would be torn off; new leaders would spring up, and this great and glorious republic would soon be broken into a multitude of petty States ; armed for - mutual ag gressions ; loaded with taxes to pay armies and leaders ; seeking aid against each other f om for eign powers ; insulted and trampled upon by the nations of Europe, until harrassed with conflicts, and humbled and debased in spirit, they would be ready to submit to the absolute dominion of any military adventurer, and to surrender their liber ty for the sake of repose. It is impossible to look on the consequences that would inevitably follow the destruction of this government, and not feel indignant when we hear cold calculations about the value of the Union, and have so constantly before us a line of conduct so well calculated to weaken its ties. " There it too much at stake to allow pride or passion to influence your decision. Never for a moment believe that the great body of the citizens of any State or States can deliberately do wrong. lhey may, under the influence of temporary ex citement or misguided opinions, commit mistakes, they may be misled for the time by the sugges tions of self-interest ; but in a community so en lightened and patriotic as the people of the United States, argument will soon make them sensible of their errors : and when convinced they will be ready to repair them. I: they have no higher or better motives to govern them, they will at least perceive that their own interest requites them to be just to others as they hope to receive justice at their hands." These are waters from a fountain which weknow to be undefined. These are the warnings ol Sages who had nothing m"re to ask of their country men, before whom the grave was opening whose thoughts were fixed on another world, and only came back to this to warn us against the horrors of anarchy and the dangers of unchastened ambi tion. The evils which they foresaw are upon us. The dangers which they feared now stare us in the face. For ten " years we have heard the mutterings of the thunder, and it will be our own fault if the tempest finds us unprepared to meet it To be deceived as to the true nature of the contest in which we are engaged argues an amount of judicial blindness, such as nevar afflicts a people whose destruction has not been decreed by an onended Uod. ao permit party attain ments and prejudices to control your conduct at such a time is a crime against patriotism, which is almost certain to be followed by blood and tears, and to end in chains and slavery. , ! j ' This is no ordinary election. Something more is to be decided than the temporary ascendancy of this or that party in the Government Your property, your happiness, your lives and liberties, and the lives and liberties of your, cnuuren are at stake. lour honor is . uvoivea. Your loyalty and patriotism are on (rial, and it becomes you to pause, to examint, to re flect, before taking steps which you will find it difficult to retrace, and which you may have deep reason to repent I have no motive to deceive you, for your fate, whatever it may be.' must be mine; but nevertheless i would nothaveyou accept any statement or opinion of mine wi trout exam ination. I may assist you somewhat tj recalling facts you have overlooked or forgotten, ana sug gesting the proper deductions from them. Be yond that I have no wish to influence your opin tons. ' . ' i Almost from the time of the adoption of the Constitution there have been occasional manifes tations of discontent, and exhibitions cf a restless and refractory spirit under its whuesome re straints. Perhaps at no period has there been en tire and perfect acquiescence ; nor is thi to be won dered at, when we remember that the.'e was a re bellion in Heaven, and that Lucifer sod his an gels madly cast from them its blessings under the nromptings of that bad ambition wnicn naa "rather reign in hell than serve in Hven," The first civil disturbance lrf our iistory. was the "Whisky Insurrection," in 1794' The sedi tion laws of the elder Adams next supplied a pre text for threats of violence. The embargo and non-intsreoarse laws of Mr. Jeffersm, were en countered by like opposition. : In 1S32 the Nul lificatioa Ordinance of South Carolina was passed. and in i860 we had the Iwj Nashville Conven tions. iTbe first bf these conventions met during the peidency of the Compromise Measures, and the remit of its deliberations was the adoption ot n reso ution demanding the extension of the Mis souri one to the Pacific, declaring that these were the only terms upon which the boutn could hon orably consent to remain in the Union. In com-; pany with the great body of Southern Senators and -Representatives, I voted to extend the line as the directed, but it is due to truth to say, that it wss from no desire to comDlv'with the wishes of a body whose assemblage I had strongly condemn ed. I gave that vote because I was satisfied it was a fair and equitable settlement, and ' was -s regarded by the peoDle whose representative I was. i It was your will, and not that of the Nash ville Convention, which I obeyed. " Four years afterwards, the same men who had demanded a division of the national territory by the line of Z630f, discovered that the original act was un constitutional, and a "brand of degradation" on the South. ' What am 1 to think of the political sag acity of a party who, according to their own con fessions, were so widely mistaken? What esti mate am I to put upon their loyalty to the gov ernment which they were ready to destroy be cause it refused to make them ' infamous ? If it was a mark of inferiority in ' 1854, it was equally a mark of inferior in 1850. I know very well that the Convention: declared that this . was an "extreme concession,'' and I certainly, agree with them that it was an extreme concession, if it' was both unconstitutional and a "brand1 of deg radation." I did not believe it to be either; the one or the other. ( The Supreme Court have since decided the legal question. I submit to their de cision. It was the proper tribunal, and no good citizen will question the full extent of their au thority. ' But no human tribunal has a right to declare that a measure of - peace, proposed by Henry Clay, approved by James Monroe, and- sanctioned and sustained by the general voice of the people for a period of thirty years, - was ! dis- Sacefal in itself, or Implied shame : or dishonor those Who were willing to make it perpetual, i f The proposition to extend the lineto the Pciflc j was made in various forms and voted down in: all. Finally the Compromise of 1850 was sub- stituted for that of 1820. ; The first Nashville Convention provided for its own re-assembling, its .President, W., Lt. JShar key, was satisfied with ;the action, of Congress,: and declined to take part "in the second meeting.. bo oid others of the more conservative members. The Convention met. nevertheless, in the month: of November, and published an address to the people of the Southern States, advising all parties at the South to refuse to go mto, or countenance, any National Convention, t It was here for the first! time that the warnings of .Washington were openly derided.and a body of men, el aiming to beAmerican patriots, seriously proposed the formation of parties upon geographical lines. : Let it be remembered that this proposition, emanated from the Weaker section From' those who could have had no hopes of obtaining, in this way, redress for the grievances oi wnicn mey compiainea. ana. wno must nave looked to ultimate disunion rs the inevitable con sequence of their acts. To divide parties by Ma son t uixon s line, would be, simply, to give up the absolute and uncontrolled direction of the government to the Northern States. If this ex tradrdinary surrender was proposed from 'ah un bounded trust in their wisdom and patriotism, it was inexcusaole folly. If it grew out of a hope that the powers s abandoned would be exercised in sue h a man ner as to render a separation of the Con. lederacy desirable, it was treason. There was no want of intelligence m that body, and they" must be taken to have intended the reasonable and pro bable consequences or their acts. y The .Northern States have a clear majority in both branches of Congress. .To array that majority against us, by the formation of sectional parties, is' to exclude our citizens pot merely from the offices that is a small matter but from any healthful influence in shaping the policy of. the government. It is easy to foresee that such a state of things could not long endure without producing ! discontents and jealousies, and finally open rebellion. Therecom- Oation ot tne JN ash vine Convention was therefore a direct proposition in favor of disunion and the means pointed out were exactly those best calcu- lated to enect the object in view. It was under stood at the time by the Southern Rights partv of Alabama, and in Jjebuary, 185l,theymetiOTUon vention at ..Montgomery, and resolved, other things, that, ''the question of the of Alabama from this government is reduced to that of time only." There was no questson as to the right of. Seces sion ; and none as to the magnitude of the griev ances which called for its exercise. Those griev ances were alleged to be a wilful disregard of the objects for which the government, of the United States was formed "commencing with the law admitting Missouri into tho Union, and closing with the late system of measures miscalled the Compromise." f r - . i It is not my fault if history assigns to these gentlemen a singular instability of opinion in re lerencetotne oppressions! ot which they: com plain, and on account of which thev have at va rious times proposed to raise the standard ' of re volt against the best government the world . has ever known. In 1852 they met ih Convention at Baltimore, and not only endorsed the system of measures lhey had pronounced intolerably oppres sive a little more than a vear before, but made it a part of their National Platform," and haVe re tamed it there to the present hour. The same measures which were intolerable oppressions in 1850, became national blesM'ngj in 1852, and the democracy coolly appropriated all the credit of their passage. But I am departing somewhat from the chrono logical order of events. ' My purpose is to place before you a connected chain of facts which clear-, ly prove that the Southern! Kights leaders have for ten years persistently l and assiduously labor ed to destroy the government. There is no escape rrom tnis conclusion except upon a plea of luna cy. If they had the least conception of the ne cesary consequences of their acts, they were, and are, disunionists. First the non extension 1 of the Missouri line was held to be sufficient cause for disunion. Then came the recommendation to break up all national parties. After that we had resolutions declaring that 'be Compromise of 1850 ought to be resisted to the extremity of revolution It would seem that-men who were, not' deter mined to destroy every -hope of a"peaceful ; settle ment, might have paused pere ; but they went further. At a public; meeting at Enon in the county of Macon, on the 31st of May, 1851, these resolutions were adopted: : I. That, the right of secession results from the sovereignty of the States, and is clear and indis putable. . ' ' ! . . ! " ' ' 2. Should South Carolina as one of the Snv- ereignties farming the Union choose to withdraw trom the general government her delegated pow ers ; and should the general government, an that account, or for any other reason affecting the com mon interest of , the Southern States, attempt the use of force against South! Carolina, we, as citi zens bf Alabama, will use all lawful exertions to bring to the aid of South Carolina, all the resour ces of Alabama. : - - I . '. r 3. Should the State of Alabama, regardless of her own honor and rights, refuse in such an emergency to co-operate with South Carolina, (the fear of which we do not for a moment entertain) then, in that event, we should ' feel at liberty to transfer ! our citizenship and i in, consequence, our allegiance to the State of South Carolina. ;-. ' j It was thought possible that the State of Ala bama might refuse to commit treason on her own account, and it was therefore deemed advisable to provide a mode by which : she might be dragged into it through the action of another State. Surely those who. claimed to be State Bights men par excellence could never have contemplated placing Alabama m the position here ; assigned her, unless they bad previously? made up their minds that Secession, was right in itself,; and was alike demanded by our honor, and our. interests. liven in that view tne last resolution leaves us no alternative but to regard them as predetermined rebels, not only ,to the authority of the general Government, but of their own State also. ; : ; . . ... i fi , ' I do not agree- with these gentlemen in any one of the positions assumed in their resolutions.' I do not agree that it was creditable to make the commission of treason by Alabama, dependent upon the treason of South Carolina-; ; If j we had wrongs .to complain or, tne manly course would have been to proclaim those wrongs; and announce our purpose to redress them. Submission to tyran ny is none the less degrading because boutn uar OUna submits to it also. Chains dp not 1 become respectable because they are. worn by fellow-captives; nor is that man fit for freedom who waits for another to strike the blow, which is to relieve him from bondage rlf there w as any cause to justify rebellion, you were as competent to judge or mat cause as tne citizens ox oiaer oiaies; ana as it was your property, your happiness, and your lives which were to be put at hazard, : I cannot help thinking you ought to have been ! allowed tome voice in the decision; of the matter. : . ? " The threatened transfer of allegiance to the State of South Carolina .is ciyeflyto be regretted so far as they failed to carry it out in . practice In that case,. we should haye been well rid of a number of turbulent and restless spirits. ; But it was in bad taste nevertheless, and shows a poor appreciation of the duties and obligations Of citi zenship, and a still lower regard for- the popular judgment, integrity, and i patriotism. ; A repub lican government n-is no loundation save the in terests and wishes of the majority of the people, and these who deny this, may be good monarch ists, but they are poor Republicans. We can af ford to spare all such citizens as those who claim the protection ot our laws, but at the : same time deny to the majority the right to decide questions of peace or war, of loyalty; or treason, of life or death, for themselves. No amount of wealth and intelligence they may add to the general stock, will be a sufficient compensation for the moral in- ury they inflict upon the community for tne oaa blood and the turbulent discontents - their doo trlnes cannot fail to. produce ' Differing; with them thus widely as to the pro posed mode of redress, and equally widely as to the nature of their grievances, there is yel anoth er irreconcilable antagonism of opinion which remainslo be mentioned. " I deny in toto the right of Secession. I deny-that j any one State has the right to put i n jeopardy the freedom aad happiness of all the rest 1 affirm that the con stitution is a perpetual compact irk its nature, and its express terms, that it was so understood by its framers, that it contains no such absurdity as a provision for its own destruction, and that its authority can only be abrogated or destroyed by a resort to the natural right of revolution a right to be enforeed by the armed hand, and the armed hand alone. There can be no such thing as stealing out of the Union: or begging out of tne Union. We must go out of it, if we go at all, at the cost of civil war. ,i The Chief Magistrate, ar-d every officer under his-control, is sworn to execute the laws, He, and they, would be perjured, if they permit ted you peaceably to withdraw . : ' I have heretofore argued this question in the Senate of the United States, and do not mean to go over what was then s&id. A -few authorities are all to wich I shall call your attention When the Constitution was adooted, and sub mitted to the States for ratification, the idea of reserving a right to secede v as started in New York, and Gen. Hamilton wrote to Mr. Madison to obtain his opinion His reply was ; "Yours of yesterdav has this instant come , to hand, and I have but a few m, nates to answer it. Iam sorry that your situation obliges you to lis ten to propositions of . the : nature you describe, m y opinion is mat a reservation oi a ngm to . . - . I . . . f . V . i withdraw if amendments be not decided on under the form Of . the Constitution within a certain time, is a conditional ratification- tuat it .does not make New "York a member of the Union; and, consequently, that she cm Id not be received on that plan. - Compacts must be- reciprocal.' This principle would not in such a case be preserved. The Constitution requires an adoption in toto and forever. ' 1 - ; ; "It has been so adopted by the - other States. An adoption for a limited time would be as defec tive as an adoption. of some of the article only., ln sbortany condition whatever must vitiate the rat ification ,'&c. ' subsequently the following proceedings were the following proceedings York Convention. had in the New "Mr. Lansing proposed a draft of a conditional ratification; which was carried Mr.. Jones moved to strike out the words "on condition" carried. The ratification stood absolute without arty on dition. J ! "Mr. Lansing then moved to adopt a resolution that there should be reserved to the State of New York, a right to withdraw from the Union after a certain number of years, unless the amend ments proposed should be ratified. This motion was rejected.i So the State of New Yorkexpress ly refused, to reserve the ngi-t to withdraw. See JUliets Uebate& Vol. 2, page 385. , In 1798 Mr. Jefferson wrote to John Taylor jpf Caroline a j , ; "IBut if m a'temporary superiority of the one party the other is V resort to a scission of the Union, no federal Go. ernment can ever exist If, to rid ourselves of the present rulef Masachusetts and Connecticut, we break the Union, will the evil stop there? , Are we not men still to the South of that, and with all the passions of men ? Immediately we shall see a Pennsylvania and Virginia- party arise in the residuary confederacy and the public mind will be distracted by . the party spirit. , If we reduce our Union to Virginia and North Carolina, immediately the conflict will be estab lished between the representatives of these two States, and they will end by breaking into their simple units." ' . In, JuneL851 Wm. R. King said : t-I have ever been a State Bights man of the Jefferson school, and can fearlessly appeal to 'nay whole public lite in proot of the assertion, iam not, however, prepared to admit, that the States possess either the Constitutional, or the reserved right to Secede from the Union." f - X rom this extract we may judge now appropri ate was the invocation of .Mr. x ancey to the spir it of Col. King, at the late Breckinridge ratifies tion meeting in this place. He strikes directly at the base of Mr. x ancey 's political creed. He denies the right of secession and destroys the fou.n dation upon which the whole Southern Bights structure is erected. I have so recently read tbe opinions bf Gen Jackson in your neanng tnat i pass them over for the present. Indeed It is hardly worth while to adduce authority aga nst the right of Secession, since, when conceded, it amounts to . nothing more than a right or se.f destruction. It is - at best the poor right of self murder attended by all the consequences of that unpardonable sin grief, and shame and wretchedness to those who are most dear to us, and who are best entitled to our protecting 'care. If Secession could be peaceably effected if the Northern; and the Southern States could be by common consent divided into two separate Con federacies if not one drop of blood was shed, nor one blade of grass destroyed in making the change, ?. u .till 1 r I , f . it wouiu euu vriufi uunumoereu eviis in jib train There would be a standing army to be maintain ed of no less than 50,000 men, at a cost of $50 000,000, per annum. A navy must be buiit up. and the money for that purpose dragged from the pockets of the people. There : would be a long line ot frontier extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Western limit of Missouri and from the Northern boundary of that State to the Bio Grande, which h would be necessary to stud with military posts, and every . mile of which ' would require to be scoured , by armed patrols for the double purpose of enforcing the revenue laws, and preventing the escape of fugitive ' slaves. Every harbor along the vast extent ot sea coast from Delaware Bay, to the mouth of the Bio Grande, woujd require an appropriation of mil lions for its fortification. The people would be ground down by taxes, and demoralised by the constant presence " of . troops among them - who acknowledged no restraints but those of military law. .'Incessant quarrels would grow up between you and your nortnern. neighbors,' ana bloody wars would desolate nrour frontiers, if they did not spread destruction throughout every portion of your territory. ' .: - -, - But, fellow Citizens, it Is idle to talk of a sepa ration or tnis fjonieueracy; either peaceably or forcibly. It is bound together by links too strong for human hands to break, X ou may create dis turbances you may. cut each other's throats its smiling fields may be laid waste, and its flourish ing towns given up to the flames, but the Uaion, in some form, will endure forever. You may con vert it into a grand consolidated despotism, but you cannot dissever its parts. I do not believe that, in the event ot a civil war,, the Aorta can conquer the South, or the South can conquer the North. What l fear is, that some military leader will conquer boththat wearied and impoverished by exactions, and sickened by carnage,: the people wili gladly welcome any change which promises exemptions from such evils, and give up the little liberty that is lets mem m tne nope ot repose. In any event you will still form a part of the same government you will stilt belong to the same country.- In that respect your destiny is fixed. The dream of a Southern Confederacy is the wild'' est vision that ever troubled the brain of a moon struck enthusiast. a dream interrupted by bloody conflicts with your neighbors; and a vile depend ence on foreign power.' . -. -, ;,r-. r A separation into two confederacies is an im possibility as long as the Mississippi . flows, from the North to ,the South, and a civil conflict once begun can ha ve bat one termination, In the lan guage of Gen. Jackson, "the victory of the injured would not secure to them the blessings of liberty; it would -avenge their wrongs, but ; they would themselves share in the common ruin.", .,, Believing this to be the condition to which yon must be reduced by internecine war; I implore you to piose, and consider well before yon allow yourselves to be plunged into It It is easy enough Fta talk of l&vincr down bur lives' unos tiis r.tfl" field, for a punctilio, and allow -ne to add In no -1 , spirit of .vain boasting, Ibat 1 know of nothing " which would be easier than to carry such a re&o-' lution into effect, if we had ourselves alone to con-, ' sider if there were no considerations appealing ' to our judgments, or affections, but such as relate"' f it our personal safety. 'But you and I are pot In' that condition.- There are others for whose well ' being we are bound to provide. IC fraternal strife ' dbes come I shall endeavor to meet my share, of '' . -its dangers and responsibilities' as firmly as the ' most fkry spirit among you. twill agreelomnko , every plain a battle field, and every, phutatlun lence a breast work, and wnen all else has failed,, I; will as cheerfully lay ddwu my life upon the ' list spot which is sacred to freedom. But I have no love for such scenes, and no deire to become ' an actor in them,! I hold it to be the duty of a ';' good citizen to look well at all ' the consequences, before plunging into revolution, either under the ' influence of bis own passions, yr at the dictation of '. ambitious leaders. Conceding hW full 'right to stake his own life upon the desperate game, it is still certain that he has no- right to trifle with' the , ', lives and happiness of others. Ve have a ready ' refuge from, tyranny,' but in the meantime what'' is to become of that portion of our race to whom we are indebted for so majny joys, and Ut whom . we are bound. by so many! ties ? - What is to be- . ' dome of the wile who sheds a halo.' around vour fireside,' of these gentle and Under tirls who are ' scattered like lovely flowers through this assembly or of the little ones you have left at horn in the . sweet enjoyment of secure and. peaceful, sleep ? " They are debarred by nature, and the customs f , society, from taking part in the fierce con flirts ,' " Where life is lost or freedom "o,"-... ..... . and when we have gone down to blood v, though - it may be honored graves, they will remain to be ' come the victims, or the slaves of our murderers Am i wrong, then in asking you to be certain that some intolerable grievance exists, for which, - there is no other hm irabie redress,; before be- coming a "party to disunion ? ' Lay youc band : upon your hearts and tell me, if you can, what that grievance is- What wrong are ' yon suffer-!, ing? What oppression weighs upon you? ThH. sun which will rise to-morrow from behind yon der mountains, in its long journey will shine upon ' so land so happy, and so blessed as ours. 4 It will i travel on from Continent to Continent, tometiuies - in joy. and sometimes in sorrow looking' down ;' upon the chained captive in one place upon the . lordly proprietor in another upon the widow's L anguish in another, and the lover's raptures in another : but nowhere else will its beams be glad-' dened by the presence of universal peace, of uni versal plentv : and ef universal freedom: '. Why then should you wish to destroy the Government under which, and by which: all this bas been se- . cured ? What desire can yoirbave to substitute -for that splendid and glorious picture, a landscape'' . whose waters are tears, whose vegetation has been bW ted by fire, and whose inhabitants have been . thinned Out by the sword? " ; i ') - -. let me not be temporarily misunderstood. J , shall take care that no one has an excuse tor per manent misunderstanding,' by printing wbat- I have this night uttered.--I intend to allow no chances-for newspaper, or other misrepresents- tions. Still I do not wish to be misunderstood . for an hour, and therefore I repeat that I concede . the right of revolution, in it fullest, and its broad. . est sensa ; and in si proper caoe, and for j out prov- ocation, I shall be the last man amoi.g you . ta counsel its abandonment - I' only insist that it ' shall becxercised intelligently, for good caase, and ' after mature reflection. . :. .i . . '. . ' ' Fellow-citizens, I have purposely avoided, as much as possible, anv reference to individual opin ions, because although they am, to, some extent, indications of the public sentimentof a party, they are7 the weakest, and most unreliable of those ifitlf- - cations, and I preferred to give you the resolutions ,. of Conventions, and Public Meetings, which muat ; be presumed to express the deliberate convictions of those who compose them. In puriuanceof the same plan I propose to call your attention to the resolutions of our State Legislature. ' i ' ' x rom 185 r to 1854 there was a respite from the slavery agitation. In 1852 both the great parties ' of the country endorsed theCompromise Measures, and incorporated them in their National Plat forms. Harmony was restored in the country. and the old feelings of brother y regard between the .North and tho south, begun once more to put - - forth its leaves. In . 1854 the Missouri Comnro- - mise was repealed, and the Kansas troubles begun. The Northern demagogue was furnished' with an excuse for stirring up the prejudices, andinfUnv , ing the bad passions of bis section, and the South ; ern extremistssoon found a new pretext for dissolv ing the Union. The result of the strife in Kan sas ' as the adoption of a Constitution, which those , who ought to cave been best informed upon the subject, assured us was the offspring of frtud, and brib ery, and violence. . Our Legislature tovk different view of the msfter,. and passed resolu tion to dissolve the Union if Kansas wss not ad mitted as a State with the LecompUin Constitu tion. v Mr. Buchanan, although he bad instructed his Governor to submit the Constitution, to a vote .1 ll 1 - A.'. A A ? . ' oi me peopm, iraDsmutea it to vongrosi Witn a recommendation that it be accepted. At this point the warfare between Buchanan' and Douglas be gan. .With that I have, perhaps, no business to interfere. I have my opinions of the justice of the quarrel, and those opinions do not favor the Pres ident. Still it was a family quarrel, and can be best settled in the family circle. "There I leave it. My business is with the Alabama Legislature After declaring their purpose to 'resent the non- admission of Kansas by disunion, lhey discovered tney naa maae a mistake, and - that. Mr. Xnglish, a Representative from, the State of- Indiana, un derstood better what their honor, and their inter ests required than they did, and sccordintrlv thev accepted his bill as a better bill for the South. uere was another evidence of the extreme eager ness of the Southern Bights party to find ceases for a dismemberment of the confederacy j and here was another public acknowledgement that the as signed cause was hot sufficient to justify a resort to the extreme measure proposed, since there was a remedy within the Government and that reme dy, according to their own confession, a better measure for the South than the one they had de manded. ??'" t' .-:...: r . itThe Legislature of 1859 "went still further They not only resol ved upon disunion In a certain contingency, but provided the means to enforce it. Upon a recent occasion 1 expressed to you my Views of those resolutions,' and promised at a future time to make some comments npon the "Military ism." That CU1 is too long to read t you. but I find in one of the public prints an abstract of iu provisions which is sufficient for my purpose. ' " The first section' provides for the enrollment of a volunteer corps oi 8000 men, sod. proportions the number among the several counties. . The fourth section directs the Governor to "im mediately supply all the companies organized un- der this act with arms enu aoooutrenienU." . -i . The sixth section requires the men to assemble at least twelve times a year for drill and exercise. The nth becuon invests the Treasurer of the Com pany with the powers of constable, sod author- izes him to seize and sell the property ef the members to satisfy the sentence of a Court Martial. The Vth -section levies a poll tax of twentv-flve cents pn each white male, between the ages of 18 ' and 45, and a further tax of A per cent unon the State tax of each tax payer, including widows and . Orphans, for the purpose of creating a military fund, except such persons as eava performed mil itary duty in the Volunteer Corps or the militia. . ! The 30th section provides for the payment of a bounty of seven dollars o each cavalry or artilWv soldier, and of five dollan to each infantry soldier. ; The 15th Section provides that the Volun tear Corp84shaU be subject only to. the order, direc tion, or control of the Governor." ', ,., ; The 17th See, veiu. the Governor, Adjutant General, and Quarter Master 'General with ex traordinary powers, aod requires them to adopt a State flag, and prescribe a eniforra for the Volun- -tser Carps.'.. ,,,."V ' 4-,'. : ..,y. ". u .V- .' r"' 1 - cHTDratx o Touvm rAfit.' - .' "'' .':' -,'.'- " !! :-. i - -, i :i;'-! v' ',- ! . e i ) ' ' ' - f : .;! " -it I 'l ,i , t s i r :r. J I, A . . I I .v'.-.ii 'it I .: i ', I L 1 ill .' ! ' '''!..!) ! 1 i V
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 17, 1860, edition 1
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