C£53.3 18510

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

ADDRESS

PEOPLE OE BARNWELL DISTRICT,

ON

SEPARATE STATE SECESSION.

BY
W. A. OWENS

CHARLESTON:
STEAM POWER-PRESS QF WALKER & JAMES.
1851.

ADDRESS.

To the People of Barnwell District :
¦-^
Fellow-Citizens : — I propose to place before you clearly and une
quivocally my views, and the reasons therefor, in regard to the momen
tous questions now agitating the public mind, and more particularly
upon the question of the course of action to be pursued on the part of
South-Carolina, in which views I have the concurrence of my colleagues,
Mr. Patterson and Dr. Lawton. I am induced to do this from several
considerations, among the more prominent of which is, that a subject
involving such vast interest, and upon which the destiny of our State,
the happiness of her people, and, perhaps, the cause of human freedom
itself are suspended, should be presented in all its aspects before those
who are called upon to decide authoritatively in regard to it, and whose
fate is coupled with that decision. In addition to this, I have reason to
believe that my views are misunderstood and have been misrepresent
ed, whether wilfully or otherwise, it is now unnecessary to inquire. It
is sufficient for me to know that such is the fact, and I now come be
fore you, as one honored with your confidence, to state my position, in
order that you may see whether there is any probability that your con
fidence will be abused. I am but an humble citizen, having no more
interest in the great question of Southern Rights than a large majority
of my fellow-citizens ; at the same time, feeling that we, and all we
have, are the common property of South-Carohna, and that while the
weakest may be called upon to strike, the humblest has a right to be
heard. If it shall be my misfortune to differ with my constituents on a
question of such magnitude, I shall have the consolation of knowing
that my adverse opinions can work no injury to them. If, on the other
hand, they should concur in the correctness of the views which I am
about to present, as I believe they will, I shall greatly rejoice that my
feelings and judgment have corresponded in faithfully carrying out the
trusts which their kindness has devolved upon me.
I have regretted exceedingly to observe that an impatience has mani-

fested itself, to a considerable extent, on the part of some, to any dif
ference of opinion in regard to the remedy we should pursue in defence
oi our rights. It will be lamentable indeed if this spirit should increase.
For if hot blood is engendered among' ourselves, we have little hope of
procuring co-operation elsewhere ; and if denunciation, insult and os
tracism, are to be the reward of the minority, be it on which side it may,
it matters little to them who rules. For myself, I disclaim all right to
question any man's motives. We are all Carolinians, sons of a common
mother, bound to her by a common affection, and each one, I hope, de
termined to share a common fate ; and it ill becomes any one to de
nounce another and carp about his motives, and throw out insinuations
unfavourable to his patriotism, because he differs with you' as to the
mgde of redress. Any man who holds opinions formed and matured
on this great question, and has not the firmness to express them, or who
from any motive expresses opinions he does not really entertain,, is un
worthy of the confidence or countenance of the community. ' I desire,
therefore, to proceed in a spirit of candor and fairness, to present the
matter fully and calmly, and ask that all I say may be scanned narrow
ly and carefully. And if I should fail " to reach the height of this great
argument," as doubtless I shall, I hope I shall realize the fact, that no
want of patriotism, or honesty of purpose, has defaced' my effort.
It will be necessary to a correct understanding by those to whom
means of information have not heretofore been accessible, that I should
give a synopsis of the whole question, as certain important references
would not be understood without it. And without further preliminary,
I shall proceed to the history of the question of infamous notoriety, and
familiarly known as the Wilmot Proviso. During the progress of our
recent war with Mexico, Mr. Polk, then President of the United States,
asked from Congress an appropriation of three millions of dollars, with
which he hoped, in a manner not then disclosed, to conclude a satisfac
tory and honorable peace with Mexico. When the resolution making
the appropriation came up for consideration in Congress, Mr. David
Wilmot, a memb^. of the House of Kepresentatives, from Pennsylvania,
(who, it seems, suspected that the acquisition of Mexican Territory. was
at the bottom of the movement,) arose in his place,; and moved as a
proviso to the resolutions, that in any territory acquired by means of
the appropriation thereby made, slavery or involuntary servitude should
never exist, except for crimes, of which the party should be first con- ~
victed. This movement, as was :expected, aroused from the Southern
members and the Southern States the deepest indignation. The hne
was drawn, and a fierce battle, never exceeded in legislative annals

then commenced, and will continue until, perhaps, it is settled in ano
ther manner, by the bloody arbitrament of the sword. The South felt,-
and truly felt, this to be a most unparalleled outrage. ¦ Her sons and
her treasure had been cheerfully contributed in defence of our common
flag. The former had been slain, and the latter freely expended to pre
vent our national honor from being tarnished, and here was a deliberate
attempt to wrest from her all the fruits of victories obtained mainly by her
own prowess. A majority of the Southern States immediately determined
that they would never submit to the consummation of such a purpose.
The proviso passed the House of Representatives, but was defeated in
the Senate, and the appropriation asked for by Mr. Polk, was granted
unaccor^panied by any conditions.
The war progressed to a conclusion. A treaty of peace was formed
between our government and Mexico, by which the latter ceded to us a
vast territory, known as Cahfornia, Utah and New Mexico, in conside
ration of which, our government was to pay that of Mexico fifteen mil
lions of dollars. As soon as this territory was acquired, the principle
of the Wilmot Proviso was again put in agitation. The doctrine ra
pidly spread at the North, and seemed to be fixed in the opinions of
a majority in Coiigress. Gold in immense quantities was discovered in
California, and thousands were flocking there from all nations. The
immediate necessity for a territorial government to protect the rights of
the United States, and those of legitimate residents, was pressing and
apparent. But this unhallowed principle of Northern fanaticism para
lyzed every effort to that end. It obtruded itself at every turn, until
the hearts of good men became sick at the prospects it foreboded. But
something must be done. In this emergency, while ingenuity and pa
triotism were taxed to their utmost to devise some method to lay the fell
spirit, without becoming its prey, a Special Committee was raised in
the Senate of the United States, to whom these exciting questions were
referred. The Hon. John M. Clayton, then a Senator from the State of
Delaware, and more recently Secretary of State under General Tay
lor, was its chairman, and Carolina's ever lamented statesman, John C.
Calhoun, a member. After much labor and many efforts a plan was
evolved, which it was hoped would terminate the dangerous controversy,
with justice to all concerned. It met the full approbation and received
the -hearty support of Mr., Calhoun. It was a provision for territorial
governments for the territories acquired from Mexico, without any spe
cifications on the subject of slavery — without the slightest reference to
the institution in any manner, leaving to the people of the territories to
decide it for themselves, when the time arrived to form constitutions

6
preparatory to their admission as States into the Union. These bills
passed the Senate; a feeling of joy pervaded the whole country, and it
was hoped that soon the sounds of discord would cease. But the hope
was delusive, the respite was short. These bills came before the Houses
Wilmot and his hordes ros« in their strength, and for a time they were
foiled. The demon had fallen before the arm of the Senate ; but suc
cour came at last, and he was raised on high and planted firmly in his
place by the sons of the South. If desolation should sweep over our
country in the onward march of this question — if the South should h&
down-trodden and disgraced yet more — she will be like the eagle, whose
dying agonies were increased on discovering the shaft which pierced its
vitals, had been directed by a feather from its own wing. She will turn
to Toombs, and Stephens, and their confreres, and say to them, " to
your hands do I owe my misfortunes." The Bill known as the Clayton
Compromise, upon which the sages and patriots of the Senate had uni
ted, was defeated through the instrumentality of these gentlemen, and
history will blush when she records the fact and the motive. jGeneral
Taylor was the prominent whig candidate for the Presidency, and Gen.
dais was'tKe democratic candidate.^ Gen. Taylor was a large slave- ,
holder, and living; in t£e very heart of the slaveholding country. Gen.
Cass oemg a Northern man, his sentiments were known to be tnose or
oppositioirto"'SlS?erylnr'the aBstract^ Sth held that Congress
' had no nght to interfere in the matter. Gen. Taylor was no statesman,
knew«B©thing t)f j6tife,¥nS'i?\TOuTd' nofc(olEo put Km forward at the
S^rgr';a;mi£EL^.'''TgelK?OT^^^open ; agitation must continue to ensure the triumph of the whig party.
Gen. Taylor must be run at the South as a moderate whig, and an un-
comproming slaveholder, vvith two himdred slaves or thereabouts, while
at the North he must run as a high tariff' whig of the deepest dye, and
secretly in favor of the Wilmot Proviso. And, whether or not he was
in favor of the Proviso, he had pledged himself to interfere with none
of their free-soil measures by vetoing them, if they could get them
through Congress, (which was equivalent to being in favor of them,) for
unless Congress would sanction them he could be of no service, and Taylor
in the Presidency, the whig party would be rampant, high tariff's for Mas
sachusetts, and offices for Georgia could be got, and a small shoe for every
one who had huzzaed for old Zach. To bring about this end, and defeat
ttae^^telfttMioK by appeals to Southern fears, were the objectfi of Messrs.
Stephens and Toombs, in defeating the Clayton Compromise, which would
have settled the question, and have given peace to the country. And what
was their excuse, what reason did they assign for thus prostitutig t he

rights of the South, and sealing up all hope of her enjoying the fruits of
her blood and treasure ? The pretence was, that the Mexican laws,
which had excluded slavery from the territories when we obtained them,
were still in force, and as the Clayton Compromise Bill did not repeal
them, they would exclude all slaveholders from participating therein.
Masterly acumen ! Deep-seated patriotism ! And yet these very men,
these self-same sons of Georgia, with their actions and the reasons there
for standing out palpably on the record, in scarce one year, " a little
year before those shoes were cold," in which they had borne to the
grave the last Southern hope, voted for bills providing territorial go
vernments for New Mexico and Utah, without a single provision in re
gard to the Mexican laws excluding slavery. The hollow device had
attained its purpose — Taylor had been elected, and the whig party was
triumphant. They knew well that what they contended for in regard
to the Mexican laws was absurd. Daniel Webster had tried to main
tain a similar proposition, but he fell as he did in '32, before the mighty
battle axe of Calhoun, who proved to all not oblivious to reason, that
the Constitution of the United States extends over any and all territory
acquired by the Government, and abrogated all laws contravening the
rights of any of the citizens of the Union. The Constitution recognizes
and guarantees slavery, and if, as Mr. Calhoun contended, it extended
over the territories, and became there, as in the States, the supreme
law, to the extent of its provisions, it followed, of course, that all Mexi
can laws, antagonistic to its principles, were immediately swept away.
But Stephens and Toombs were wise above that which is written ; they
recognized a "higher law," and that higher law was to put Taylor into
the Presidential Chair, in order that they might receive the benefit of
the " seven principles of their partjf^" as Randolph of Roanoke termed
them, " the five loaves and two small fishes." Thus fell the South at
the hands of her sons, and the melancholy fact intrudes itself at every
step, and forces us to admit, that throughout this whole controj
t^e seA^ST^J^rof

her own children. Had the South Been umteTaTany time, we could
haveoroined- 6w-right9;"bwt-t;hy!TEigK^'the joint^erationTorf^StiicJsm
and treachery,' we ha^'r been-desgoileX "^ -•^-»--.
"TEeTailufe'onEeTJl^tOT Compromise left the agitating questions
still open, the feeling of the South became more and more aroused —
Congress adjourned in the summer of 1848, and no provision for the
government of the territories were made. The Presidential election
came on, and it was hoped that the result of the election would settle"
the question ; Gen. Taylor was a Southern slaveholder, and by a great

8
many it ^yas thought - this was a sufficient guarantee for his pohtical
principles on the slavery question, although he had pledged himself not'
to use the veto power, and without which he could be of no manner of
service to us, for the North had the ascendancy in Congress, and could
pass what laws they pleased. Gen. Cass came out with what was called
the non-intervention doctrine, that is, that Congress had no power un
der the Constitution to legislate upon the subject of slavery at all, and
that it belonged to the people of the territories to decide for themselves
the character of- their institutions. This, when rightly interpreted, is
good States Right doctrine ; but, interpreted as he has since done, both
by his speeches and votes in the Senate, it is ridiculous and insulting.
When a people have gone through a territorial pupilage — have been
recognized as citizens of the United States under the laws, and have
attained to sufficient numbers to be admitted as a State, they have the
right, clear and unquestionable, to pass authoritatively upon the charac
ter of their institutions-^but to say that an indiscriminate horde .of cit
izens, foreigners, half breeds, and escaped convicts, have a right to
constitute themselves citizens en masse, on their mere motion, and to
erect themselves into a State, and exclude one half of- the Union from
the enjoyment of the fruits of their own valor, is an insult to the un-
de.rstanding ; yet such has been the practical results of Gen. Cass's non
intervention doctrine, illustrated and enforced by the action of its
author. But more of this hereafter.
Gen. Taylor went into office the 4th March, 1849. During the summer
of that year the State of Mississippi recommended to her Southern sis
ter States, who felt themselves aggrieved by the proposed action in re
gard to the territorial questions, to meet in Convention at Nashville, in
June, 1850, to take common coun^ together for the redress of their
grievances. In the meantime. Gen. Taylor had appointed Gen. Riley
Civil and Military Governor of California, and also sent out Thomas But
ler King, of Georgia, to San Francisco, as it has been alleged, and gene
rally believed, to give shape and consistency to the movements then on
foot in California for the formation of a State Government. Gen. Riley
called a Convention of the people of California, for the purpose of their
forming a Constitution, and applying for admission as a State into the
Union ; the Convention met, formed a Constitution, taking into their
limits as a State, the whole of that vast territory, comprising eight hun
dred miles of the coast of the Pacific Ocean,. and large eaough for at
least six States of the size of South-Carolina, from which they excluded
slavery. The Legislature was called together, and elected two Senators
and two Representatives to Congress, and they forwarded their Cousti

9
tution to Gen. Taylor, by whom it was laid before Congress, with a re-
commencfktion that she be admitted as a State into the Union. What
secret springs'were at work, by which the action of the Convention of
California was controlled, has been a matter of controversy. It is be
lieved by a great many who have had access to means of information,
that Thos. Butler King was sent out by Gen. Taylor for the purpose of
inducing the people to form a State Government, and thus avoid the
Spnsequences of the Wilmot Proviso, which yet hung as a portentous
cloud over the country. There is but little doubt in my "mind that this
was the object of Mr. King's mission. He was the first missionary to
preach Gen. Cass's non-intervention doctrine ; he had reason to rejoice
in his success. But be this as it may, what we contend for is, that this
Convention was composed of persons who were neither a people, nor
were they citizens, in the sense of the. Constitution ; they had no more
right to form a government for California, than the people of South-
Carolina who had never left their homes. They were mere sojourners,
adventurers from all parts of the .world, many of them escaped convicts
from New South Wales and Australia — they came to hunt gold and to
plunder. The citizens of the United States who went there for legiti
mate purposes, felt strongly the want of a government, for murder and
robbery were stalking abroad, and Congress having refused to provide
them a government, they had no recourse left but to adopt one for
themselves ; and knowing the strong anti-slavery feeling in Congress, in
their extremity they excluded slavery from the country, as the means
most likely to ensure their admission. It is necessary that I should here
recur to the action taken by the various Southern States, in regard to
their proposed exclusion from the territory acquired from Mexico ; ^Yit-; ,.
ginia, I beheve, was the first State wIio_ led off in the_exE3:^agB-.o^ ^igr
''''letenaigStioyirsrtb submit to the aBplication of the principles of the
WnmotProviso,;.,jkJmk-«XC^^
was hopeful to the cause of the South ; she was followed by Georgia,

Alatama^l Mississippi andpio.n3a"ii^^^^
hati'Off.""So'u't!i-Carolina. by common^^consent, '®aa^i£di|aose^,tokg '
STrffiTquestion, and wasanxio^t^tto'sSSrotherStatesh^^
Jj^^32^^^I^££^iSSlt£^-EQ.th«6t-.Stat5r^|^^
jgen, it was yielded to be the banner^ate^ofjhejouth. At the ses-
lion "(rf'ouTl^'islatiireir^ the Committee on Federal Relations, of
- which I had the honor of being a member, reported to the House the
following Preamble and Resolutions, which were unanimously adopted,
viz : —
The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives

10
upon Federal Relations, beg leave to report the following resolution, as
expressing the undivided opinion of this Legislature, upon the Wilmot
Proviso, and all si^iilar violations of the great principles of equality
which South-Carolina has so long and so ardently maintained, should
govern the action, and the laws of Oongi-ess, upon all matters affecting
the rights and interest of any member of this Union.
Eesolved, That the time for discussion by the slaveholding States, as
to their exclusion from the territory recently acquired from Mexico,, has
passed, and this General Assembly, representing the feeUngs of the
State of South-Carolina, is prepared to co-operate with her sister States,
in resisting the application of the principles of the Wilmot Proviso, to
such territory, at any and every hazard.
This was all that was said or done by our Legislature at its session of
1848. As I have before stated, during the summer of 1849, Missis
sippi had recommended a Southern Convention ; her Legislature bad
also met, and placed at the disposal of the Governor of the State one
hundredthousand dollars, to be used by him as emergencies might de
mand. No other State had responded to the call of Mississippi, when our
Legislature met in November, '49. The recommendation of Mississippi,
as to a Soj^thern Convention, was brought informally before the Legis- ,
lature ; a legislative caucus was had, and in that caucus it was deter
mined to respond to the suggestions made as to a Convention, to be
holden at. N^-vUie, by sending delegates to represent us there. The
number to be se^Was double the number of our Senators and Repre
sentatives in Congress, four from the State at large, and two from each
Congressional District in the^ State, making eighteen in all. In this
caucus Judge Cheves, Col. Elmore, Gov. Hammond, and Hon. R. W.
Barnwell, were chosen to represent the State at large, and each Congres
sional District was requested to meet in Congressional Convention on
the first of May following, and to select two persons to represent their
respective Districts, which was done. At the same session of the Le
gislature, the Committee on Federal Relations reported the following
Preamble and Resolution, which were adopted by both branches of the
Legislature : —
Ttfi-Gommittefi -are ,of. the .opinion,»e»pressed by this Legislatuj:e at
its fast 8ess,ion,,.±hat the-'peiicfd' of deeisivft-raetioii -has.-a};ri£ed,.-.an!i, that
the authorities of South-Carolina should be prepared promp t ly to take
sucE'^W'^as the' Other States of thv SmQ^han'recomn^^
own positio'n demaMffrtte C8!nmif!ee7'tliereSi^TeKnr^^^
fi^ the fo]l5 wing Resoltition' :--- ¦.^-»-----«-— ¦'-- "" ' • - - — ^
Resolved, That in'thee'Vehfof the passage by^Congress of the Wil
mot Proviso, or any kindred measure, that his Excellency the Governor
be requested forthwith to convene the Legislature, in order to take such
steps as the rights, interests and honor of this State, and of the whole
South, shall denjand.

11
Congi-ess was then in session, and was in the midst of unparalleled
excitement in the vain efforts to elect a Speaker. Neither the whigs
nor democrats proper had a clear majority, the free-soilers held the ba
lance of power, and two or three weeks were consumed in trying to or
ganize the House. More than sixty ballotings were had before a
Speaker could be elected ; and, at last, Mr. Cobb, of Georgia, was elect
ed contrary to the Constitution. While this election was going on, the
slavery question, which was the apple of discord, came up in discussion
several times, and with great feehng. In that discussion, our immediate
and distinguished representative, the Hon. Win. F. Colcock, participated
to some extent, and, in the course of his remarks, used the following
language, in reply to Mr. Baker, of Illinois : —
" I desire to regard it (i. e. the slavery question,) in all its solemnity
and importance, and with a fuU view of all the consequences that sur
round it. In this spirit, I declare that I beheve the South is prepared
to teach the North that she is in earnest ; and I here pledge myself, that
if any iill should be passed at this Congress, abolishing slavery in the
District of Columbia, or incorporating the Wilmot Proviso in any
form, I will introduce a resolution in this House, declaring in terms,
that this Union ought to he dissolved."
As soon as the intelligence that these remarks had been made in
Congress reached Columbia, the following resolution was introduced
and adopted by both Houses :
" Hesolved, That we cordially approve of the course of those South
ern members in Congress, etc., and that we fully respond to the senti
ment of our Delegation, as expressed by one of them, that if slavery be
abolished in the District of Columbia by Congress, or the Wilmot Pro
viso be adopted, the Union would be dissolved."
This was the finale of all that has been said by the Legislature of
South-Carolina up to the last session. As before stated, early in the
session of the Congress preceding the present. Gen. Taylor transmitted
to Congress the Constitution of California, having previously recom
mended her admission as a State, in the event of her applying. This,
of course, brought up again the whole question. A war of giants com
menced. Messrs. Calhoun, Butler, Clay, Webster, Berrien, Cass, and
a host of others,, engaged in the conflict. Never, perhaps, was wit
nessed on the arena of legislation, a more powerful struggle. It seemed
as if the whole country, by common consent, suspended all ordinary
operations to witness this battle ; hopes and fears would rise and fall al
ternately, and this mighty Republic bowed in " deferential homage" to
the intellectual throes of her great sons. In that struggle perished Ca-
rohna's long loved son, ever foremost in the ranks of danger, ever ready
at the call of honor, and the voice of his beloved South ; his clarion

12
notes were heard high above the tempest, leading on her cohorts ; his
dying struggle was expended by waving on high the Mgia of liberty
and constitutional right. He fell in the breaches made in the Cpnstitu-
tion, and the requiem that was sung over its destruction, was heard at
his grave.
In endeavoring to adjust the question, it was found " hedged' in" by
difficulties on every side. The North demanded the admission of Cali
fornia as a State, unconditionally. The South insisted, or at- least a
majority of the Southern members, that California was not a State
within the purview of the Constitution; that to admit her would be a
violation of the spirit of the Constitution, and a gross and unholy
fraud upon the rights of the South; and justice required that she
should be remanded to her territorial condition, leaving,to slaveholders
the right to go there with their property, if they chose, and to the peo^
pie of the territory, at the proper time, the ultimate decision as to the.
existence or non-existence of slavery.
Early in the session, Mr. Clay, the great compromiser, whom we fear
and believe has long since compromised his' patriotism and last vestige
.of Southern feeling, introduced in the Senate a series of resolutions,
covering the whole ground, for the purpose of healing, as he terms it,
the five bleeding -n'ounds of the country. They were for the admission
of California as a State, with the boundaries she had prescribed for her
self; to provide territorial governments for New Mexico and Utah; to
adjust the boundary question between Texas and New Mexico, by pay
ing Texas a large equivalent ; and to abolish the slave trade in the Dis
trict of Columbia. These several measures were discussed for some
time, without any probability of an agreement. It is proper that I
should here remark, that the people inhabiting the territory of Utah
had also formed a Constitution and applied for admission as a State into
the Union. There were no restrictions on the subject of slavery in her
Constitution. Pending this discussion. Gen. Foote, a Senator from Mississippi, had
introduced a resolution to refer the whole question to a Committee of
Thirteen, to be elected by the Senate, and after much debate, the ques
tions were so referred ; of which Committee, Mr. Clay was Chairman.
A considerable time elapsed, and the Committee reported a bill, known
as the Omnibus Bill, the leading features of which were similar in char--
acter to the proposition contained in Mr. Clay's resolutions, before re
ferred to. While the bill was under discussion, the time for the meet
ing of the Nashville Convention, aixivecl. Tn that Convention, the fol
lowing States were reiJresented. ,; . Yiirginia, North-'Cafoli'na7S6Tlth.Caro-

13
lina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas ;
but none _of__the ^tates, except Mississippi and South-Carohna and
Geoi^a^Fad^jB_StatS7ifl-aiiy~BE^ noticed the recommendations, as
te[_t^e holding of Jhe Convention. The delegates from the other States
werejeaLby..the .people, .{>f .their own moti^tf Yirgimia, instead of send-
^-S iM'^lSi.!j*i-95, by the rule,af». representation she was entitled,. sent
but two or three_; North-^Carolina, the same ; Florida, nope ; .Louisiana,
noiie..;."Kenttfctf,none-.-'"%his-,--of~4t.»elf, was calculated to dampen
somewhat the movement.
TffieT!on^^aa metJn_June, 1850. Judge Sharkey, of Mississippi,
was elected President. He had, early in the contest, tak§n' high ground,
and gave tone to the sentiment of Mississippi on the subject, and was
recognized generally as one of the leading champions of Southern
B'Jglits. Oajfljfi,iatffid!Jcti,on of^the^Compromise Bill in the Senate, he
gavejn_ his j,dhesion, adopted " the best we can get" principles. When
it was founds ho weve*)4.hat, the Compromise was generally unacceptable,
he rel;urned_to,hjs.JiSt love, Jeft^Focte- and Clay, and cani4.back to his
former_£Osition. His dereliction was forgiven, and he was elected Pre-
sident^iU;^,gJSasJiy.ille Convention. The Convention sat several days.
It fi:amed and put forth an Address to the Southern States, and adopted
resolutions indicative of its views of the questions pending in Congress.
It declared that for the sake of peace and harmony, and as an extreme
concession, the South would be willing to divide California by the paral
lel of 36" 30' of north latitude, known as the Missouri Compromise
Une, which had been made the basis of settlement of the slavery ques
tion, on the admission of' Missouri into the Union in 1820. The Mis
souri question is perfectly famiUar to most of those who will read these
pages. To such as it may not be, I will state, that when Missouri
applied for admission into the Union in 1820, her apphcation was at
first refused, because she was a slaveholding State.. After a violent
struggle she was admitted, with an understanding that slavery was
never to exist in any territory north of 36° 30', and with the beUef on
the part of the South, that no objection would ever be made to its ex
istence south of that line. Upon this basis, the Nashville Convention
was willing to settle the question. It adjourned to meet in six weeks
after the adjournment of Congress. Shortiy after, the Omnibus Bill
was defeated in the Senate, and every thing was at sea again. It
seemed as if every effort was a Sysiphean, stone, which was only raised
to fall at the feet of its author. Wearied out, the North and the South
had both attaiined a point beyond which neither could go. The mea
sures were then left for Congress to act upon separately. Mr. Douglas,

14
of Illinois, Chairman of the Committee on Territories, had reported
bills for the admission of California, and providing territorial govern
ments for New Mexico and Utah. Mr. Pearce, of Maryland, introduced
a bill to settle the question of boundary between Texas and New
Mexico. Mr. Mason, of Yirginia, introduced a bill to facihtate the ex
tradition of fugitive slaves, and some other Senator introduced a bill to
abolish the slave trade in the District of Columbia. It was attempted
to graft on the bill for the admission of Cahfornia the hne laid down by
the Nashville Convention. The attempt failed, and the whole action of
that Convention disregarded. These several measures were finally
passed by Congress, and became the law of the land.
1. The bill admitting California was with her present limits, and
with a Constitution inhibiting to the existence of slavery within the
limits of the State. Thus, by one " fell swoop," the whole South was
deprived of this magnificent country, richer in mineral resources than
any known part of the world ; and this was brought about by the ac
tion, directly or indirectly, of a Southern slaveholding President, who,
though possessed of a courage that never quailed in the face of an
enemy, gave way and bowed before the influence of the accursed spirit
of fanaticism.
2. The bills providing territorial governments for New Mexico and
Utah, were in the usual form for such governments, except such por
tions as related to the question of slavery. In regard to this institu
tion, it was provided, " That the territorial governments should pass no
law in respect of African slavery, but that the people of eaqh territory
should have the right to decide upon the existence or non-existence of
slavery, in said territories, at the time they should form State Constitu
tions, preparatory to their admission into the Union." I consider this
as equivalent to an inhibition of slavery ; for, if these territorial govern
ments have no right to pass laws in regard to the subject of slavery, to
make no provision for their alienation one to another, nolaw to protect
a master in the enjoyment of his rights as a slaveholder, no slaveholder
will go where his property will be holden by such an uncertain tenure.
And, although there are now a few slaves in Utah, there is very little
probabihty of either of these territories ever becoming slaveholding
States. ' And I doubt very much if either of them will ever attain to a
point of civilization or numbers, to entitle them to admission, in any
manner. Utah is peopled by the poor, deluded Mormons, tod New
Mexico is said to be, in a great measure, an arid desert. But this does
not affect the question. If it was a sand-hill, we fought for it, and it
was ours as much as the North's, and Congress had no right to pass

15
laws that would, in any manner, affect our rights, if any of us choose to
go there.
3. The third measure was that adjusting the question of boundary
between New Mexico and Texas. Texas claimed the Rid Grand'ras her '
bouiiiSafy," and" New Mexico contended that the River Neuces was the
correct boundary, difficulties were brewing between them in regard to
this question, certain governmental officials were interfering against the
rights of Texas, and there seemed every probability that hostilities
would ensue. President Fillmore had ordered United States troops to
take possession of the disputed territory. Gov. Bell, of Texas, had called
the Legislature of that State together, and there seemed to be every
probability of bloodshed. Mr. Pearce's bill settled the question. Texas
was to yield to New Mexico the disputed territory, and Congress to pay
Texas ten millions of dollars. Th]^ was the South again despoiled.
If this. territory did hot belong to Texas, then we should not have paid
her for it. If it was not her's, then is all the innocent blood shed in
"tEe'Mexican war, crying at the doors of our government for vengeance.
If this territory belonged to Mexico, and not to Texas, then did we
commence an unjust and tyrannical war ; for General Taylor took pos
session of this territory and planted himself opposite Matamoras. And
for doing this, the Mexican forces crossed the Rio Grande, and the bat
tles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma were fought, and the war
began. With what consistency could Congress at one time declare that
Mexico had invaded our territory and shed the blood of our citizens on
our own soil, and as soon as peace was declared, assert that the same
territory was not ours, was not Texan territory, but was Mexico's, and
that we acquired it from Mexico in the treaty of peacfe. Impartial
history must judge of this matter.
But if the territory did belong to Texas, as I doubt not it did, then
Ija^a ^Southern State, for whose annexation South-Carolina and the
whole South toiled for years; a slaveholding State,, &rjvh.Qse. sake
rivere..,gf,_Americajx,J>].QQd. has bee'i shed, and millions squandered; a
State that has caused all our present commotion ;.a.jState. who could
nof be bullied into subjection, suffered herself to be bribed, and that
with the"inoney"takeri fi^om the pocket of her Southern sisters, and sur-
reiicle.rs Jo the purposes of free-soil, the very ground Upx>ri' which the
first American Blood was shed in her defence — surrenders to New Mex
ico, from which slavery had been indirectly excluded, the very territory
for which, on her account, we eiigaged in the war. Of all the parcels
"o? the' Cprnpromise, I look iipdh this as the most atrocioiis ; and if a
' Southern Confederacy is'ever'fdrmed, I Eope in God Texas'^will not' be

16
allowgdjto-.«atgr it. She has covered herself with infamy, such as time
can never efface'; aiid were it in my power, this moment would I cut
loose every cord that binds her to this Union, and place her once more
under Mexican rule.
4. The fourth measure adopted by Congress, was in regard to the
rendition of fugitive slaves, to provide means for «the more effectually
carrying into effect the clause of the Constitution, which stipulates, that
all slaves who shall escape from service into a free State, shall not there
by become free, but shall be delivered up upon the application of the
person to whom such slave belongs. The old act of 1793, upon this
subjept, had become nugatory, through the prejudices of the people in
the non-slaveholding States and the acts of their Legislatures. This
bill has many wholesome provisions on this subject, and would, doubt
less, do much good, if it could be enforced. But it has not as yet
served its purpose, and I fear never will. The feeling of anti-slavery is
so strong in the North, that already has the sanctuary of justice be^n
invaded and violated by a ruthless mob, in rescuing a fugitive slave.
Many of the States have expressed, by their action, a willingnesfe to
carry out in good faith their obligations in this respect ; but whethei'
they will do so, remains yet to be seen.
5. The last measure of the so-called- Compromise, was- the abolition
of the slave trade in the District of Columbia. The penalty affixed for
bringing a slave within the.linjits of the Dish-ict, for the purposes of
sale, is, that he shall be set free. Th's measure was first brought for
ward by Mr. Clay, andreeeived the warm sTjpporEaOhe Hon. Wm.'R.
King, a Senator of Alabama,, and now President of the United States
Senate ; although, I believe, he did not vote for the bill as passed.
Thus terminated t1iersla\'ery 'questi'6n,'so' far as the •action'" of Congress
was concerned. There was yet another tribunal to whotn it. had to be
sutaittfed'," and the judgment of all has not' yet been pronounced.
It will be remembered that the Nashville Cohventioa' had' adjourned
to meet in six weeks after the adjournment of Congress. The action of
that Convention had been passed by unnoticed by Congress. Not the
slightest respect had been paid to its recommendations, and it was now,
to meet to see what was to be done in this emergency, South-Caro
lina stood where she did at the close of the session of her Legislature
in 1849. The position of Georgia now became one of great interest to
the South, and the whole Union. Upon her action, in a great mea
sure, the cause of Southern Rights depended. On the 8th Feb., 1850,
the Legislature of that State passed an act, directing the Governor to
call a convention of the people of that State, on the happening of cer-

17
tain contingencies. Among others, was the passage by Congress of a
law, " Admitting into the United States, as a State of this Confederacy,
the sparsely peopled territory of California and New Mexico." After
the adjournment of Congress, on the 23d Sept., 1850, Gov. Towns, of
that State, issued his proclamation, calling a convention of the people
as in his judgment the contingency, upon the happening of which he
was directed to call a convention, had occurred. While this election of
delegates was pending, the Nashville Convention again met. Its Pre
sident, Judge Sharkey, was among the missing. He had left the cause
of Southern rights, and was traversing the State of Mississippi with
Foote, endeavoring to subdue the spirit of her people. He became one
of the champions of the Compromise,.and instead of endeavoring to
lead his people up to the line laid down by the Convention over which
he had presided, his efforts were to lead them as far away as possible. |
Whether he has succeeded, remains yet to be seen. At the second |
meeting of the Convention, Virginia had one delegate, North-Carolina, I
I believe, one. No States were fully represented, but Georgia and
Sguth^arolina. AlPtlieT!onvetrtirm--iiTd;''^*as~''to recommend a South
ern Congress, in which the mode and measure of redress could be de-
vised. Yet the second meeting of the Convention was not unattended
with interest, in other respects. It called forth that celebrated speech
from the Hon. Langdon Cheves, in behalf of Southern rights, which
would have rendered his name immortal, had he been before unknown
to fame ; an effort that has elicited the unbounded admiration of his
native State, and which will be held as a rich legacy by posterity. Im
mediately. after the adjournment of this Convention, Governor Quil'nian,'
of Mississippi, called the Legislature of that State together ; and:pn;Tts
assembli-ngj all it'^id was to call a Convention of the people of that
State, to meet on the first of Novembei' next. In the meantime, the
election for delegates to the Georgia Convention camgon.. Messrs.
Toombs, Stephens and Cobb, came home, and took the stump in de
fence of the Compromise measures. They raised the cry of Union, and
denounced the Southern rights party as traitors and disorganizers.
The State of South-Carolina came in for her full measure of abuse.
The Southern rights party was defeated, utterly routed and overthrown.
Oiit of two hundred and-silcty delegates elected, only twenty-tlyee were
on the resistance side. 'This election came off the day on which our
Legislature assembled. When we met, the whole matter was before us.
Among our number were those who had been delegates to the Nash
ville Convention. The action of that Convention was submitted to our
consideration. We had before us the action of the Legislature of Mis-
2

18
sissippi, calling a convention of the people of that State. The Legisla
tures of Yirginia, of North-Carolina, and of Florida, were soon to meet.
The question was, what ought South-Carolina to do in this conjuncture
of affairs ? The Nashville Convention had recommended a Southern
Congress. Mississippi led off in obedience to that recommendation, by
caUing a convention of her people. In what manner should we re
spond? We followed her recommendation as to the Nashville Conven
tion ; should we follow the recommendations of that Convention, *and
pursue the course of action indicated by Mississippi ? We had pledged
ourselves to cooperate with our Southern sister States in a redress of our
grievances, at any and every hazard. There was a line of pohcy mark
ed out by one of them. Should we follow it, and thus increase the
probability that those other Southern States, whose Legislatures were
soon to meet, would be influenced by our united examples, and pursue
them ; or should we merely make provision, by an act of the Legisla
ture, for being represented in the Southern Congress, by the election of
members by the Legislature and people? In other words, should we
merely repeat what we had done the session before, or should we do
nothing ? These were the alternatives presented. My judgment led
me to the approval of the former course. I was in favor of a conven
tion of the people of the State, to meet simultaneously with that of
Mississippi, or soon after; foi- our convention to elect delegates to the
Southern Congress, clothed with all the power it could invest them
with ; power to bind and to loose. I felt that the Nashville Conven
tion was competent to do, and, perhaps, had done all- that a Southern
Congress could do, made of delegates chosen in the same way. I also
thought that the Legislature was restricted in its operations ; that the
question ought to be submitted to the people, who were most inter
ested ; to the people, in their sovereign capacity, who would have full
power to adopt whate\-er course their wisdom might suggest ; who
could examine into the matter in all its:^length and breadth; and who
could speak to Congress, to the North, and the other Southern States,
as a sovereign, with a right to be heard as such. Accordingly, early in
the session, I introduced a bill in the House of Representatives, to call
a convention of the people of this State, which I advocated for the rea
sons, and tho^e alone, herein indicated. Resolutions had been intro
duced, affirming the right of secession, andThat that right wouli^je^ex-
eroised by South-Carolina, alone, at sorae_ future time, if slig=cunliob-
tain'rro* cooperation. I stated iji ray remarks, emphatically, that I
would vote for no-Jesolution, .comimjtting South-Carolina to solirary
secession ; but, if separate _sgfieasioa^ was, a fo"egone conclusion, I pre-

19
ferred it then, to waiting until everv other State should become tran-
<l"ij aad apathetic, 'artrOTrindications iSaiiy^of them seemedlnclTned to
become ;"~Bur"tIiat' I thougSt~i£~rmpolitic a'nd liirwisirto"'commit the
StaEe~lo"~any prescribed course of action. At the same time, a bill to
provide for the election of deputies to a Southern Congress, was before
the House for consideration. The bill for the call of a convention
passed the Senate, but was defeated in the House. The bill to elect
deputies to a Southern Congress, was hkewise defeated in the House,
without being sent to the Senate. Afterwards, they were tacked to
gether, and passed both Houses, and became a law. By this bill, an
election for delegates to a State Convention, was to take place on the
second Monday in Feb^'uary, which ha.s been done. Four deputies, on
the part of the State at large, to the proposed Southern Congress, were
elected immediately, on the passage of the bill, by the Legislature, and
each Congressional district is to elect two on the second Monday in Oc
tober next. By this act, the Governor of the State is authorized to call
the Convention together, if the Southern Congfess should meet and
adjourn before the next Legislature meets. If the Southern Congress
does not meet before our Legislature does, then the Legislature is to fix
the time for the meeting of the Convention ; and, as there is no proba
bility that the Southern Congress will meet this year, the Legislature
will have to fix the time for the meeting of the Convention. The Legis
lature alhO appropriated three hundred thousand dollars for the pur
chase of arms, established a board of ordnance to superintend the pur
chasing of them, and placed fifty thousand dollars at the disposal of the
Governor to be used by him in case of actual hostilities. Thus, fellow-
citizens, I have given you, imperfectly I know, a history of this whole
question down to the present time. The Convention has been elected.
The destiny of the State is in their hands. In view of the existing
state of affairs, what ought that Convention to do when it meets ?
This is a question of the last importance to you, and which I shall now
proceed to examine.
When our Convention meets, if it appears that any of our Southern
sister States are ready and willing to join us in the act of secession,
then, in'iny judgment, the course of action to be pursued willbe plain.
It will be to secede from tiiis Union, and form a Southern Confederacy,
with' the State or States seceding with us. But, suppose when our
Convention meets, it is ¦ manifest that no other Southern State is pre
pared, or intends to secede, what then should be done ? This is the'
perplexing question. It seems to be taken for granted, that there is no
middle ground for the Convention to occupy. No one has, to my

20
knowledge, suggested any other remedy than that of secession. Then,
it appears that the question, and only question is, if all the other slave-
holding States, fourteen in number, twelve of whom are as much inter
ested as we are, have as much at stake, and whose destinies are coupled
with ours, shall have submitted, have acquiesced in the late action of
Congress, and declared an indisposition to dissolve the Union, unitedly,
ought we to cut loose all connection with them. South as well as North,
slaveholding as well as non-slaveholding, and secede alone and form a
separate and independent government. This is a grave and solemn
matter, one that addresses itself to the head and heart of every son of
Carolina. It is a momentous issue, involving, perhaps, every interest
dear to us in life. It appeals to the rich and the poor, indiscriminately,
and demands their judgment and their feelings in its solution. I shall
discuss it with a sense of the deepest responsibility, duly impressed with
my position as a citizen of the State, and perfectly alive to her interest
and her honor. That we have been wronged, and foully wronged, no
one can or will question ; and that we should obtain redress for those
wrongs, if redress be attainable, is equally clear. How shall we obtain
such redress ? how shall we recover our rights ? how shall we retrieve
the dishonor that has been heaped upon the slaveholding States ? Can
we best do so, by remaining with those whom God and destiny have
united with us ; or, can we better do it, by sundering every tie that
binds us to those who share with us all our wrongs. Let us examine
the matter clearly, probe it to the bottom, bring to light every view
connected with it, and then pass solemn judgment. Be it remembered
throughout this examination, that there is in this confederacy fifteen
slaveholding States ; that South-Carolina is among the very smallest
of them ; that the wrongs and insults that have been received by her,
was/only as one of that fifteen ; that she has never been singled out
and specially dishonored or oppressed. I say, let these facts be borne
in mind. They are important, for it has been too much the custom
among us, in my judgment, to isolate ourselves, in feeling and senti
ment, from the other States of the South. There is a seeming convic
tion that we have been more aggrieved, more dishonored, and, there
fore, should not be satisfied with what ought to satisfy other States. I
state not this with any feeling of reproach. It is a fact, that is every
day apparent in arguments on this question. I will consider all the
arguments I have heard used, why we should secede. separately, and
then present those which are adverse to such a course. If this is the
proper remedy, it will suffer nothing by the closest scrutiny ; and if it
is not, then it ought not to be adopted. The first ground assumed is,

21
that the course of things in Congress, for the last few years, tends
strongly towards a consolidation of the government ; that this republic
of independent sovereignties will, unless the course of corruption is ar
rested, become a strong, despotic, democratic empire. There is, doubt
less, much truth in this, and every expedient practicable ought to be
resorted to, to prevent such a consummation. But, is it possible for
two hundred and eighty thousand white inhabitants of the Confederacy
to control and give direction to the policy of twenty-two miUions ? that
is, can one-fortieth of the inhabitants of this Union force upon the
others their views of the principles of the Constitution ? It matters not
that in reply it may be said, that the interest of the whole South, of
one-half of this Union, is coincident with that of- South-Carolina.
This fact will avail us nothing, unless we can induce them to view mat
ters in the same light, and through the same medium that we do; for,
as long as they contribute to the existence of a government whose
power and influence seeks the direction so objectionable, their identity
of interest will serve us little purpose. Is it, therefore, the part of
good policy to continue our connection with them, and by continually
sounding the alarm, bring them up to the position we occupy, when we
can fix our own terms, or seUle our own destiny in a manner to sub
serve our interests ; or should we dissolve all connection, cut loose from
all sympathy and intercourse, and leave them to their fate. I think
not. For, whether we are in the Union, or out of the Union, the fate
of the slaveholding States must be ours for evil, while we might by in
discreet action increase the evils to which we are subjected.
It is urged, secondly, that .unless South-Cai=olina secedes, .uncondi
tional submission,, on the part of the whole South, will be the conse
quence, as to.the.past aggressions of Congress. Tarn free to admit,
that there is very littie probability that the Southern Congress will
ever meet, and much less probability that any State who would be
therein represented, will be prepared, except South-Carolina, to exercise
the high sovereign right of secession. This being the case, it is con
tended that by our seceding alone, an issue, plain, practical, and of the
proper kind, would be presented to the other States ; and that from a
community of interest and a sense of common wrong, common danger
and common safety, they' would be forced, or at least some of them
would be, to follow our example and secede also ; and thus, in a short
time, we should have what is so much desired by us all, a Southern
Confederacy. This is the great and urgent reason used for separate
State action. This argument must be examined in two aspects ; and
its solution is, in a great -measure, connected with the view which will

22
be taken, as to our right to secede, by the Federal Government. That
Congress would acknowledge that a State has a right, as incident to its
sovereignty, to secede from the Union, no one dreams of. Yet it may
be possible that such a proceeding might be tolerated from prudential
motives, while the right would never be acknowledged^^'
We will first consider the peaceable side of the miestion, and see
how it will work. 8ug£^e_,the , S.oa-trtanTrT;ongre6s.,.fai}s_to_meet,_ or
having met, fails to do any thing, in our judgment, commensw-atgwith
the'evils we have experiei)ce3, and.thait everyothCT Southern. State, has-.
given clear indications of their intention to acquiesce in the past action
o£-_XlQngtess_; out-. Convention meets and declares that thencejSi'tb-
South-Carolina is no longer a member ,g£ the Federal' Union, and that
shejtakes her station among the sovereign and independent nations of
the earth, organizes a new government, or rcrmodels her present State
- governihent, so as to meet the~exigencies .of her new situation ; the-
Federal Government stands by, looks on, and does nothing — what will be-
the feeling throughout the Union ? Are not the Northern States fully
alive to tTie consequences of disunion ? Are they not sagacious enough
to see that the moment the Southern States draw off from them, their
prosperity is gone. This appeal to their cupidity would strike home ;
and immediately the issue was presented, that aggression must cease, or
other States would follow the example of South -Carolina, every kind
of machinery would be put in motion, to arrest the tide of fanaticism ;
and, as certain as fate, it would be rolled back. The voice of Hale, of
Garrison, of Seward, would be hushed ; and the hoarse am/is that are
now imprecating the vengeance of God, would be drowned in the
stronger appeals of interest. This would not be aH, As soon as we-
left the Union, the power and patronage of the whole government
would be brought to bear upon all the States contiguous to us, to pre
vent them from joining us ; large appropriations for their cities, high.
offices and preferment to their leading men, and the strongest assur
ance that aggression was at an end. Does any one doubt but that this-
will be immediately done ? To do so, is to doubt, nay, to deny what we
have complained of for thirty years — that the North was supported on
the labor of the South.
And what would be the consequence ? Is it not plain ? A million'
annually to cities contiguous to us to improve their harbours, to build
custom houses, with mail stefimers running to and fro to all parts of
the world. Dock yards and navy yards established to give employment
to hundreds of their citizens. Foreign embassies and secretaryships to-
their ruling men; and a Union President from among them, who will

23
lavish upon them for a time all the favors and benefits the Republic can
bestow. The foul spirit of abolition held in check, perhaps destroyed by
the strong arm of interest, and tiie sound of the glorious Union rising
from every hill side ; Washington's Farewell Address posted at every
tavern door and cross-road throughout the South ; how many, think you,
would join us, would secede ? I appeal to the candor of my fellow-citi
zens to say if they believe that a solitary State would do so — the hope
would be vain. Another view has been frequently insisted on with
great pertinacity, as constituting a reason why, if we were to secede,
other States would join us, and that is the state of prosperity to which
we would soon attain. That we ai'e now kept down by the operation
of the tariff laws, by means of which -large amounts annually are ex
tracted from our pockets to support the government ; that we would
have free trade, and soon our cities would become metropolis^ and our
towns cities, and- the whole State become a garden, luxuriant with
fruits. This is certainly a very captivating view of the question, and it
would constitute a very strong argument in favor of secession, if it be
true. Let us examine it. I suppose it wift scarcely be questioned by
any one, that an independent and separate government would certainly
involve an increased expenditure, over and above the amount now re
quired to support our present one. What amount would it take ? We
would be compelled to have a post office system, we niust have some
sort of a navy to protect our coasts and our commerce, we would have
to have a few Foreign Consuls to protect the rights, or rather to look
after the rights of our citizens, and many other incidents necessary to a
separate government. What it would all cost, we can only conjecture.
Texas, with not a fifth of-our population, incurred debts to the amount of
ten millions in a short time, and she never had more than a thousand
soldiers in the field, and that for only a few months, and on her own
soil. Let us endeavor to approximate. We may safely put it down at
two or three millions annually. Some, who are much wiser than I am,
have said four or five, but let us adopt the former figures. How is the
money to be raised ? By taxing the people. They complain now when
the taxes do not amount to even half a million ; what would they say if
they were raised six times as high ? They would not stand it. Then
we could not have free trade, for the only way to do so is to tax the
people directly to support the government. We would be compelled
to levy a duty on imported goods. . But it is contended that our duties
would be on northern goods as well as foreign, and that taxing north
ern goods, which pay no duty now, would enable us to lay a very fight
duty on all, or at least European goods, i We might tax northern goods

24
somewhat higher, by way of reprisal for the wrongs the North has in
flicted on us. In addition to this, a large quantity, perhaps much the
greater quantity of European goods that are sold in the Charleston
market, pay duty at, and are purchased by us in New-York; and these
goods, if we are out of the Union, would come to Charleston, and the
duty would be collected there, and thus we should have an abundance
of means to carry on our government, by a very small tariff', and per
haps be able to relieve the people from any direct taxation whatever.
Let us examine and see how far this is true. If we secede alone, we
are, of course, cut off from all our trade in goods and merchandize
.with North-Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. This
is plain. The government at Washington may notointerfere with us
in the act of secession, but most assuredly it would not suff'er itself to
become bankrupt, by permitting all the sources of its income to be
swallowed up through the medium of our free ports, or partially free.
If European goods were allowed to pass from South-Carolina to all the
Southern States, how would the government support itself? It is absurd
to suppose any such thing would be allowed. Custom Houses and Uni
ted States troops to prevent smuggling, and to collect duties, would be
sta'tioned at Augusta, Savannah, and all round our border. No Euro
pean goods would be allowed to pass from out of South-Carolina to
any of the other States, without paying the same duty that is now
paid. If this be so, as it certainly will be, then no foreign goods would
pass from South-Carohna to the other States. No merchant would buy
goods that was subject to the tariff duties of South-Carolina, and also of
the United States, when he could get them at New- York, or in Savan
nah, by paying the duty only once. It would make ilo difference how
small our tariff was ; all trade between us and the other States, so far as
it was done with goods from a foreign State, would be efi'ectually cut
off. 'Tis idle to talk about the expense and trouble to the United States
Government, in keeping up custom stations around our border ; it would
be forced in the necessity of the case to do it, and would not hesitate
at any expense. Let us see what would be the effect of a tax on
northern goods. Suppose it was thirty or twenty per cent., how many
northern ships, or southern ships, laden with northern goods, would
come to Charleston ? Not one. This is easily seen. To the am9unt
of the tax levied by South-Carolina, would goods be cheaper in Savan
nah and Augusta than in Charleston ? Let me explain. If northern
goods are taxed twenty per cent, at Charleston, they will, of course, be
twenty per cent, cheaper in Savannah and .Augusta, where no tax is
paid; and every merchant in South-Carohna, and certainly every plan-

25
ter out of Charleston, who wanted to buy northern homespuns and
calicoes, would go to Savannah or Augusta, where they could buy cheap
est ; and our Rail-Road, instead o&4;arrying goods up, would carry
them down. It wont do to talk'outpatriotism — it will not survive a
perpetual drain of the purse. What would be the consequence? Is it
not apparent, that the only revenue we could derive by a tax on im
ports, would be on the foreign goods consumed in South-Carolina? The
-amount of duties collected at our custom house now, does not exceed
half a million annually ; would it be more, if we were out of the Union ?
It is very uncertain. It is, therefore^ perfectiy plain, that instead of our
prospering by free trade, we would have to keep up a tariff as high as
the present, and, perhaps, impose additional direct taxes, to keep up our
government. If it is replied that we could establish custom houses,
and keep up an army also, to prevent northei'n goods from coming in
free of duty from North-Carolina and Georgia, I will only add, that
this would only serve to keep northern goods from coming here alto
gether, unless they were smuggled in ; or if a few did come, it would
take all the money realized fi-om the imports to defray the expenses of
the army and offices of customs. There would be an additional conse
quence, not to be overlooked ; indeed, it is one of paramount impor
tance. If the merchants of other States, who trade in and through
Charleston, are prevented in the manner I have indicated, from receiv
ing their goods in that direction, and have to bring ttiem by the way of
Savannah, as a matter of course their produce will go the way their
goods come. They will have but one set of factors, and all that tide of-
wealth that is pouring down our Rail-Road to Charleston, would be di
verted to Savannah, and Savannah would become a great exporting and
importing city at the expense of the city of ChSrleston. Our Rail-Road,
which is but now emerging from the'burdens and difficulties under which
it has groaned, would not be more than able to pay its expenses ; nay,
it could not do even so much, and its debts amounting to two millions
in Europe, for which South-Carolina is guarant^e(,^would have to be
paid by taxes on the people. Charleston would loose the half miUion
she has subscribed to the Chattanooga Rail-Road, and tiius by one move
would our present high hopes, in a commercial point of view, be dashed
to the ground. Let it not be supposed, for one moment, that I would
urge the consideration of dollars and cents, if they stood in the way of
our rights. I would scorn such a course, as, unworthy a true C/ftfoli-
nian; but wheh'.separate State action is urged, and the^sijpposed pros
perity we would realize by f^separation from the Union is brought for
ward as a reason for that coursg,_and.^._.a^ strong argument why .Jit^r_

26
Statesw2H]4jimw»r^*-*»"ieg^ to prove
thejirobahilities of such prosperity, are untenable and without foun
dation. This I have attempted to do ; how far I have succeeded, oTKers
musFJudgeTIBirrr-flTiiiFrHve^^ tp proW^that 1yf~"being
outjoirffie^^n alone, jhe^wmh tion
"so much improved, as to furnish^,reasonJ,hereby to other States to fol
low heF"eiiD3ple.rjGrantadjthat her condition would not be much worse,
commeroiallj, thAnJlU§.no,vv— ^thatjt wobJ^^ as good — then
surejy her prosperity would be no argument with other States, and they
never would join her if this was the iiiibving consideration". "
I wiff'ii'ow ciTnte'tnplate the qiiesl'ion' through -theTnediura in opposi
tion to peaceable secession. What are tiie prospects if the Federal
Government should refuse to recognize our right to secede, and should
endeavor by coercion to keep us in the Union ? Let us consider the
kind of coercion that will probably be used. No one believes that Pre
sident Fillmore would order federal troops to , invade South-Carolina ;
no one believes that the citizens of otheB States will volunteer to come
here to aSttempt to subdue us. If such was to be the case, they would
not advance very far in the State, or remain very long, except in their
graves; for Soulh-CaroHna is competent to defeat any federal troops
that will desecrate her soil. This, then, will not be the mode, if coer
cion is attempted ; all that vpill be done, will be in the collection of du
ties iinder the cannon's mouth, at Fort Moultrie, or on board ships of
war outside of our harbor. Where are our means of resistance ? We
hear talk of tens of thousands of volunteers from other States ; what
good would volunteers do us? They would consume our food, and do
¦ us more injury than benefit. What could volunteers do against ships of
-Tvar? No! we will want, no volunteers; we have more soldiers of
our own than we will have any use for, and unless our volunteers will
build vessels to fight with, and come in them, they can do us no service.
The question comes up, what will other States do if the Federal Governr-
ment should refuse to recognize _pu,r riglai....t.Q, secede. It is urged by
those who are in favor of separate State action, that beyond all doubt
other States would then interfere and come to our assistance. I doubt
not but that some of them will interfere to get us back into the Union,
but I do not believe that one of them, at this time, would come to our
assistance. What assistance could they render us ? Thera is only one
way in which they could effectually assist us, and that vpould be to se
cede also, and unite their destiny with ours. That they will see in our
condition an example of what will be tl4|rs, unless they come to the
rescue. That the doctrine of State sovereignty will be then put in is-

27
sue, and unless they uphold it, their own doom is sealed. This is our
conclusion, and it ma;y be true ; but will it be theirs, that fs the impor
tant question ? We differ with them now wide as the heavens, as to
the course of policy the South ought to pursue. They may, and in my
opinion will, differ equally with us, as to the result of our sovereignty
being denied. Look closely into the question, see what the South has
already submitted to ; Congress, we contend, has denied the equality of
the Southern States with those of the North. Is not that a practical
denial of their sovereignty ? Because we are slaveholders, our rights
have been denied uS. What is that but a practical repudiation of
sovereignty ? Yet the South submits. If the other Southern States have
then submitted .quietly to what we deem such an outrage — to be practi
cally degraded^to have their rights wrested from them, and yet have
acquiesced, because they love the Union so much ; will any of them
leave it to uphold, to support, the abstract doctrine of State sovereign
ty, when that issue has been forced on them by us, who tell them that
they are cowards and poltroons, and that we will force them, by our ac
tion, -to go against their inclinations — to do what they have said they
would not do, and make them the- ministers of our will, despite their
, feelings to the contrary. I fear me we shall be sadly disappointed, but
we are not left to conjecture on this point; we have experience from the
issues of another period full of instruction. In the days of nullification,.
the same arguments were used and insisted on. It was said, let South-
Carolina move, let her nuUify the tariff, and if the Federal Government
uses, or attempts to use force, other States will fly to the, rescue. They
have an identity of interest, and will make common cause with her.
South-Carohna nullified the tariff, and what did the other States do ?'
'nieiiM;gjresentali£fiS™lfl£^^ thg.F.orce-Bil-1'
2assedL__JButjiid™tb*5«--«©'iB«'^'*«^^ S^J'..fXS^ '*¦" -
jr'"'.-?!;.'!^-r^ii-Y''"'''"'"'''"t- ''"^"*' ^^'f'i^lt)glI4;!l wa,)-.„Na.tc,hez^bristlint)- wjt.h
cannon jntg our harbour, and she.,sload-there with her guns pointing
upon our city^^and^enfgteei4h«4a«&,weh^^ single
State'cameTo our assistance,.^ .They .deserte^ _lis_withoutji_s^^^ ex
ception, and every thing that was, done was by Virginia, who. .sent Ben
jamin "Vgatkinsieigino try and produce.'Treconciliation — and thus it
will be, again. The other States are not ready for secession now, and we
cannot force them to see matters in the light we view them, and by se
ceding when it is against their unanimous judgment, and known by us
to, be so, it is virtually condemning their patriotism and their courage ;
at least, they will feel it is so; and pride of opinion, and wounded self
respect, will keep them aloof, were they -otherwise disposed to secede.

28
What State will secede in case of difficulties between ourselves and the
Federal Government ? 'Will Virginia ? What are her feelings now on
the subject! , Her Governor, who twelve months ago- was in. the van
guard of Southern.resistance, and vowed Yirginia would never submit
to the Wilmot Proviso, now recommends acquiescence iirtTi'e"CsinpTD-
i^isfi.msaajr^ adniittmg;_theyax have them,
but yet there is no sufficient cause for resistance.!. He.t.,^^I!llF'fi^''itas
met]_^J!ag]£ur^5£Usi.nce-©wi"s--dTd7 and it was -av-en, aft.oiSL.laaik^'^ov.
^vlSli—^ot a word of jgm^laiBLdMiLuJt^^^^
.the. Nashville Convention, of the Legislature of Mississippi, andjLoU*'
o-wn7~Was b6ft>T5""it'7"'pSrfeetly satisfied, it adjourned without action.
Even -whtle'r'wfi'te'flie 'Coriventiofl of Virginia is in session, for the pur
pose of amending 'the Constitution, yet not a syllable has escaped it on
this question. Will North-Carylina secede; — I am doubtful if a majo
rity of her delegation in Congress were jigt^,g£cy£itly„in favor of the ad
mission of .Cajifprnia— one, of her Representativesji^tedJojut^jird both
of her Senators' skulked the vote, and were not present. Her Legisla-
ture has met and adjourned since ours ; and,.,Q2j;j,„^j^who defeated
Gov. Manly, because he was^stronger on__the Southern rights question
than Manly, also recommends acquiescence, ill w*Gich' Wiioramendation
the Legislature cheerfully concurred, i^l^^eorgia secede ? Never ! If
she had no ot,hei-__^rea,sr)T), the- Jriare ff>fft-Jtot:&^t?;)-([]a,]V2]Si^I^^ *"lliy°''
of it, wouldbe sufficient to deter her. She has at this^mo^^ent alarger
Union partxjvyi.,thin.lier,IimitSj^ thancan^''s!arted Out of
two hundred and sixty d.elfigatesjtoJiejU^^eSwnJ*' only twerity-ffiifee
.were for resistance ; and even these twenty-three were not half as strong
in their proposed plan of resistance, as men who, on this side of the
river, are called downright submissionists. Sefl^ssion was not considered.
Non-intercourse was the question, and nine-tenths of Sewgia wereop-
posed to even so mild a measure as that. I Js«liejffi,,,S£orgia would be
delighted to see us out of the Union — she would rejoice to see Savan
nah built UJ5 at the_expsDse-of -Ch.arleston, which would be the result,
in,..the^manner, I. have before indicated. She, .of all the other States,
would be most.b6ii6fitted4iy"tmi»-l««»iBg4liAjMJlfedfiJas^ and although
we have a great many warm friends there, the great body of the people
have been for years opposed to us. Will Alabama secede ? Her Go
vernor thinks not much harm has been done — not enough, he says, to
induce him to call together the Legislature of that State. What will
Florida do ? She, I believe, has been afraid to open her mouth on either
side, perhaps, wanting to keep in with both parties ; she has taken no
interest in the matter whatever, and her Legislature has met and ad-

29
journed since ours, and all it did was to turn out of the United States Se
nate the only one of her members who had ever stood up for Southern
rights. ^i^l] Mississippi secede ? She is the only_State to whom. we.can look
with any prospect of assistance ; but, alas ! that prospect has ot^h
d.ari...,j:ie spirit thatonce rosein such might there,'T^fear is rapidly
suisiding^ Her 6oivernpr,_the gallantjj,uitman, who fought andTBred'
for the teriitories from whi^gh_we h~ave been driven, and who wm" ready
to fight for her rights and thos£orth'e~SoStB"th'ereTh, is in the hands o1^
the_ federal, harpies, to be tried for violatiTrg-the laws of the United
States,, in raising forces "to jnvade the Island-wf 'Cuba.' These are all
the States to whom we can look for co-operatioii, With what prospect
of success you can determine. In addition to what I have stated, in re
gard to the feeling in the States that surround us, I would remark, that
the leading^members in Congress from North-Carohna, Georgia, Ala^
bama2J^,loxida_and Mississi£pi'~have receuUy, within the last six weeks,
signed a. wi-it.te,np.l.edge, whei'cBy" they have bound themselves to vote
for no man fbr- any office, "not even for the Legislature, who is not in
favor j)fJh.eJl!areLprcaJiise measures of the last Congi^ess. Where, I
would ask, is there the slightest probability that any State will co-ope
rate with us ?
It may be said that the rulers, in those States, will not be able to
keep down the people, and that they will rise in their might and come
to our assistance. What are the facts ? A large majority of those
States think we have very little to complain of. They have been taught
to think this. They are told that the South has achieved a great victo
ry ; and, in proofut, they are pointed to the fact that the very measures
of which we complain, were introduced and carried through Congress
by Southern men, and by Southern slaveholders. They are pointed to the
fact, that the Wilmot Proviso could never have passed ; that the ad
mission of California was brought about by the influence and power of
Gen. Taylor, a Southern slaveholder, who owed his election to the fact
of his being a slaveholder. They are told that but eighteen out of the
thirty Southern Senators could be found to vote against the admission
of Cahfornia. They are told that the abolition of the slave trade in the
District of Columbia, was brought forward by Henry Clay, of Kentucky,
and advocated by Wm. R. King, of Alabama, a Senator from the mid
dle of the slave country ; and that the Texas Spoliation Bill was brought
forward by a slaveholding Senator, carried through by the votes of slave
holders, and accepted by a slaveholding State ; and, in short, that of every
measure of which we complain, one-third of the Southern Senators

30
either voted for them, or were out of the way when the vote was taken.
Unfortunately, this is too true, and we need not wonder at its affecting
the feeling and sentiment in other States ; for if the Southern meiii-
bers had been united, we could have got all we wanted. They
were united in opposition to the Wilmot Proviso, and it never could
have passed. They divided on the other questions, and we lost every
thing. ,Do we not, I wquld.ask, ojge.jiULmisfojJumes.as.miJijh.to.SMi.-
ern defection as_to .Northern. fa,n.aJisisinJ And yet we chug to the delu-
gion, that if we secede, the very authors of our wrong will join us.
This, to my mind, is a faith that would remove mountains. I think I
may safely conclude, then, that separate State action cannot be advo
cated on the ground that it will be the means of bringing about co-ope
ration. I have heard it said, that we have nothing to do with the ac
tion of other States ; that South-Carolina is a sovereign, and must judge
for herself, and act for herself. If it is desired that we secede alone, and
remain alone after secession, it may do very well ; but, if we desire a
Southern Confederacy, we have a great deal to do with the action of
the other States, and, ought to be influenced by it. All the positions I
have taken, are intended to rebut the idea that by our State's seceding,
she will draw other States with her. I have endeavored to show, that if
secession be peaceable, or if coercion be used, in neither event will other
States join us. If it be held, however, that it would be better for South-
Carohna to be out of the Union alone, than remain where she- is ; if it
be thought that we have been specially and more particularly aggrieved
than any other State, or enough so to require us Ui lea;ve the Union
alone ; that our honor demands it, and that it would be a remedy for
existing evils and past aggressions — why, then, no consequences should
deter us. I would have us to take no counsel from our fears. I make
no such appeal ; whether we are blockaded or invaded, makes no dif
ference, provided, in view of our position, and our relation to other
States, we ought to secede. All that I contend for is, that under exist
ing circumstances, we will have no co-operation, I believe if we will
wait, and remain in the Union for a few years, we will find in that time
the other States ready ; but if we secede now, and thereby drive back
the feeling of disunion that is every day increa,sing, and cut off all sym
pathy and correspondence, as we would do, we ivill never have a South
ern Confeder'icy. But it is said we have waited twenty years, and our
patience is exhausted. This is certainly remarkable, for the grievances
of which we complain have not been committed more than six months.
If it be meant that South-Carolina has become ready to dissolve the
Union, from a feeling existing for twenty years, I am willing to grant it ;

31
but, be it remembered, that the feeling in the other States, and devo
tion to the Union, was, until within twelve months, similar toourfeehngs
and devotion previous to 1832 ; and it is more than we ought to expect,
that other States, divided and distracted by two great parties, should
be up to the point of resistance with us who have had no such parties ;
that under such disadvantages, they should be as well prepared in
^elve months, as we have become in near twenty years. Should
we leave them now, when we have every reason to hope that the
very next aggression on the part of Congress, which is not very far off,
will bring them into line with us ? Nearly all of the Southern States by
whom we are surrounded, have pledged themselves, in the most solemn
manner, to resist to a disruption of every tie that binds them to the
confederacy, any other conceivable aggression by Congress on the ques
tion of slavery ; we all believe that further aggressions will soon be
made, unless the serpent of fanaticism is arrested by our opening its
eyes to the consequences, in our seceding ; and we need wait but a short
time, before the ultimatum of the other States will be invaded, and then
they will go with us ; and if they do not, we will then go alone, let the
consequences be what they may ; for we shall then have reason to be
lieve that no oppression will drive them out of the Union ; and, as soon
as we discover that, I think we will but contribute to our own dishonor
and danger to remain any longer with them. I beheve that we should
secede separately, if Congress were to abolish slavery in the District of
Columbia, or to prevent what is called the internal slave trade between
the States, or to refuse admission into the Union of any State, because
it was slaveholding, or were to abolish slavery on any of the public
grounds of the Union, within the limits of the slaveholding States, or
were to interfere in any manner with slavery in the States. For any of
these usurpations, we should draw off, immediately, and let consequences
take care of themselves ; and, in my judgment, nothing short of these
will induce any of the other slaveholding States to secede. It is con
tended by some that if we secede, England will see that we suffer
CO harm. Why would she interfere? To get our three hundred thou--
sand bales of cotton. This she would get any how. Will it be to get
rid of the tariff, which now keeps out her goods ? We should have to
tax them just as high. Would it be because she thinks we have been
wronged ? Her leading men and leading journals have rejoiced more
than the North, at the recent acts of Congress. Would it be because
she is in favor of slavery ? She has abolished it wherever she has had
the power, and spends millions annually to put it down. And, it might
be added, that a war with the United States would cost her more than
the whole crop of South-Carohna is worth for ten years.

32
I therefore assert, and think it can be proved, that so far as the past
aggressions of Congress are concerned, separate State action is not
only not the proper remedy, hut that it is no remedy at all. What do
we complain of? Let us take the matter of the admission of Cahfornia,
which is the great bone of contention. The first objection is, that the '
South has been insulted and treated as unequals in the confederacy.
While I grant this freely, yet the other States, who are equally interest
ed with us, or, at least, a great many of them, deny it. But let it be
considered not an open question, such as I hold it to be, in what man-,
ner would we get satisfaction by being out of the Union by ourselves. If
we were only leaving the North, no one would hesitate ; but when we
secede, we leave all the States, half of whom are as much interested,
and have as much at stake as we have. ..Can any wrong or damage
come to us, that will not come as potently to them ? None. Then while
we are altogether unwilling to submit to the vile domination of the
North, it is not, in my judgment, dishonorable for one of the smallest
States to defer her action to the ju%ment of her sisters, more particu
larly when they have assured her in the most solemn manner that they
have made the last concession they ever will make, and if the slightest
aggressive act should be further perpetrated, they are with her ; when, at
the same time, she believes that that aggressive act will soon be executed,
would it not be better for South-Carolina to wait even five years, and be
able to form a Southern Confederacy, than to rush out of the Union now
alone. Suppose agitation were now to cease forever ; would any one then
be willing to see South-Carolina out of the Union alone ? But as it
will not cease, she will be under no necessity of being out of the Union
alone, unless all the other States belie their most solemn asseveration ;
and, if they do, we will be as well prepared to bMMte them as now, and
with much more reason. -C^-^ L.-i~~
The second objection made to the admission of California, is that the
exclusion of slavery therein is but carrying out the principle of north
ern policy, as announced by Mr. Rathbun, of New- York, who, a few
years ago, asserted on the floor of Congress, that " the North would
surround us by a cordon of free States, that would cause the shackles of
slaves to drop from their limbs ;" that this policy will be to limit the
existence of slavery to its present localities, with the hope that having
no outlet, the increase will be so great after a time, .that we shall be
forced, in the necessity of the ease, to abolish it. If this he a good ob
jection to the admission of California, and constitutes a valid reason why
the South should resist, as I believe it to be, it tells with powerful force
against the isolation of South-Carohna ; for if we secede, the slaves we

33
now possess must ever be restricted to the hmits of our own State.
When wo come out of the Union, we will be a foreign State to the
other States of the Union, and bear the same relation to them, as Cuba
or Brazil does now. And', according to the Act of Congress of 1808,
no person can carry slaves from any foreign State to any of the United
States, with intent to hold or to sell them, without being* subject to a
fine of eight hundred dollars for each slave so carried, and a liability to
ten years imprisonment — one half the amount of the fine to the in
former— -a pretty large bribe to seek out stray South-Carolinians. We
would be fixed to the soil, and no matter how desirous we might be of
moving, or how our slaves might increase — ^if we were slaveholders, we
would be unable to leave the State — so it will be seen that the circum
scribing of slavery in the admission of California, constitutes but a weak
argument for South-Carolina to withdraw alone. If any" one is incredu-
^-lous as to the existence of this Act, if he will examine the laws of the
United States, vol. viii, page 262, he will find it. A Cuban, or Bra
zilian, can no more bring a slave to the United States, than can an
American from the coast of "Africa ; and we would be in the same con
dition, cut off' from our Southern sisters, with no mail facihties, by which
we could communicate with them, and the civilized world on every
other side bitterly opposed to our institutions. Well might one pause
before he venture on the act of solitary secession, with but little hope
of co-operation. Lastly, it is said that South-Carolina is committed ;" is
pledged to secede ; and that we must do it, though desolation should
rear its horrid crest.
This I deny. No such pledge can be produced. No resolutions de
claring' South-Carohna would secede, have ever met my eye, except,
perhaps, the one that was adopted at the meeting of thB Southern
R,ights Association, of this District, on the first Monday in January
last. I have given, in the first part of this Address, all the resolutions
ever adopted by the Legislature ; they are short and mild, and look
only to co-operation. The last resolution says, that if slavery is abo
lished in the District of Columbia, or the Wilmot Proviso was adopted,
the Union would be dissolved. This was but repeating the language of
the resolution Mr. Colcock pledged himself to off'er. Has slavery been
abolished in the District of Columbia? No ! Has the WHmot Pro
viso been adopted? If it has, Mr. Colcock did not redeem his pledge.
But the Wilmot Proviso was not adopted, never could have passed ;
and if it had, the Union would have been dissolved before now, as cer
tain as fate. It vrill be said that it was substantially adopted by the
exclusion of slavery by the people of California. This was the Execu'
3^

34
tive Proviso, as Mr. Calhoun called it; and, although it may ha.ve.tlie
same efffect, yet it is yery different in the minds of the Southarn people
from the Wilmot Proviso. That was a measure endeavored to be forced
ddwn the throats of the Southern people by the free-soilers. The Execu
tive Prov"iso was the act of a Southern slaveholder — carried through by
the votes of slaveholders, and slaveholding members of Congress, from
every slaveholding State but South-Carolina, have pledged themselves
tq proscribe every man who does not sustain it. But the calling of the .
Convention, and arming the State, it is said, concludes the question,
and there must be no carping now, but we must 'proceed to the con
summation of the act of secession, looking no longer to expediency, or
the propriety of the act. The people will be surprised to learn.rthat
the act of a limited .agent, which was not, by many who sustained it,
intended to settle any particular course of policy, should be held to"
commit them indissolubly to a course, on which they have nqt, been ^
fully consulted, and which is opposed to their best interest.
At the time this Convention was called, we knew not how any State
would act, but Georgia. We had pledged ourselves to cooperate with
our Southern sister States. Mississippi had called a Convention, and
had put one hundred thousand dollars at the disposal of her Governor,
and we had every reason to believe she would secede with -us. W^as it
our duty, then, to follow her example ? In my judgment, it was. The
Legislatures of Virginia, North-Carohila and.Florida, were soon to meet.
Ought we, then, to have done nothing, (for merely directing delegates
to be Pent to a Southern Gongi-ess, would have been only re-enacting
what we had done the year before, as to the Nashville Convention,) or
ought we to have come up to tlie mark, and to let Virginia, North-
Carolina and Florida, see where we were ; that we were ready to go out
if any of them were ; that we intended to secede, if only accompanied
by Mississippi ; and thereby induce, perhaps, one of them to join us. I
say, was not this our duty ? Should we have done nothing and said
nothing, and thus to let the blame of the failure of the whole matter
fall upon us. And because the Legislature was not willing .to do this,
and wa| anxious to take high ground to assure the other States, it is
said, if they every one recede, we must go alone ; must be ruined, if
need be, when our action was predicated on that of States who have
disappointed us, or may disappoint us. This, to my mind, is simply
absurd. How stand our leading statesmen on the question of separate State
action ? What says the noble Cheves, who has won undying laurels
in the cause of Southern rights, and who was unanimously thanked and

35
honored by" our Legislature for his speech at the Nashville Convention,
and who was, for the same effort, unanimously voted by the BaruweU
District Southern Rights Association — " Th^ enliglitehed statesman —
the true-hearted patriot— the noble veteranqf ^the. S*SutS??» S^hlTSoel*-
he say in that celebrated spe^h,. after ^numerating our wron^ with
" thoughts that breathe and i^ids thaPburjT'f .^^s^S:**)?^^!!!^
Ihe remedy ? I answer, secessiofi9-unitea secesUon of the slaveholding
States, or a large number of them. Nothing else will he wise, no
thing else will be pra&t.icaMe," And'jet n»embers of. that Association
who voted for this r^olutidn,\we characteri^d as sOT^is^^sra^iand^
made remarks unfavordblfe to the patriotism owthose whqj^l Southern
wrongs as much as Judge Cheves, and who go much farther than he
does, and are willing-to secede with even one State,
What says our Senator Butler, who has fought this question from the
first time it appeared in Congress, and whose heart beats as true to
Carolina, as the childito its mother. He is opposed to separate State
action. What says Governor Hammond, who has rendered his name
illustrious in the defence- of slavery. He is also opposed. What says
Mr. Barnwell, who was thought; .worthy to succeed Carolina's "own
son," and who met the question in the Senate and did battle there.
His^^udgment is utterly against separate State action. ;What say our
noble Judiciary, who have ever stood foremost in defence of the Con
stitution and the rights of the citizen ; what say a large majority of
Carohna's distinguished sons, who are vitally interested in this matter ?
They say that separate. State action is unwise, impolitic, and may
prove ruinous. If it be submission toroccupy a humble place in such
ranks, I say, be it so. '
Fellow-citizens, I have discharged what I believe to be my duty, in
weakness, but faithfully. I have placed the whole matter before you,
as far as my abiUties would allow me. The destinies of South-Caro
lina are yet, to some extent, in your keeping. You have a right, and it
is your duty, to see her safe through the billows ; and if we are to
secedlfcaloiie, let us wait a while longer, until our ships can ride in the
sea ; build'a wall of fire around our hkrbor, and maintain our indepen
dence, or sink in the struggle. . If we must secede, let us act like men,
and be ready for it ; let us, under cover of our own Palmetto, ride on
the ocean ; and when the enemy comes, make Charleston harbor as
famous as Salamis or Trafalgar, and hand down to posterity some name
as glorious as that of Themistocles or Nelson.
Respectfully, your Representative and fellow-citizen,
W. A. OWENS,