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ARGUMENT

FOR

SEPARATE STATE ACTION.

"BARNWELL."

J. M VAvZ^son

CHARLESTON, S. C:
STEAM FOWER-PRESS OF WALKER & JAMES.
1851.

TO THE PEOPLE OF BARNWELL DISTRICT,
The following excellent articles (written by J. M. Hutsoh, Esq., who has been
prevailed on to allow them to be published in pamphlet form,) are respecvftdly dedi
cated. You have already responded at the Ballot Box, and we know that you will
respond when somfthing more than voting will be required. Of you, a tale of
submission shall never be told !
MANY FRIENDS.
'Sid February, 1850.

SEPARATE STATE ACTION.

THE STATE CONVENTION.
NO. I.
" Know ye not
Who would be free themselves must strike tiie blow."
The time for the election of members to the State Convention is fast
approaching, and it becomes a matter of the greatest importance, that
the people should come to some definite conclusion as to the measures
to be adopted by that body. It is true that the period for the meeting
of the Convention has not yet been fixed, and it is, therefore, impossible
in advance to determine in what precise mode the State should act, but
it is still within our power to decide what shall be our own course upon
the happening or non-happening of certain events which are hoped for
by some, and despaired of by others.
If the Southern Congress shall have assembled prior to the meeting
of the Convention, and their action shall have been such as fully and
beyond doubt to vindicate our right and honor, and restore us to the
position of perfect equality from which we have been degraded, the duty
of the Convention will be plain. All will agree that we should abide
so satisfactory a result. But if, on the other hand, after all reasonable
opportunities shall have been afforded, the other Southern States shall
neglect, or refuse to go into Congress with us, or having done so, that
Congress should recommend measures in our judgment not sufficiently
vindicating our rights and honor, or should counsel submission to past
aggression, and should content itself vnth laying down a platform, as
the Georgia Convention has done, if such should be the state of fact on
the meeting of the South-Carolina Convention, the question before that
body will be one of the gravest possible nature. All hope of Southern
Union having failed, the alternative presented to the people of South-
Carolina, will be submission on the one hand — secession on the other.
This issue we must at last meet, for it is evident from all past experi
ence that the Southern Congress will never assemble.
Mindful of her past pledges — of the recent action of her Legislature —
of the duty which she owes to herself to preserve her just equality-^of
the obligation resting upon her to protect the rights and interests of her
citizens, an obligation shared with none of het sisters, and in no degree
discharged by their refusal to act with her ; I trust the State. a£~South-
Carolina will riCTer_hesitatej^Jihat-6be--will-i'emH™^

^to the Federal Government, and take her place among the nations of
the earth as a soVereifH; free^nAindef^Bd^nSTTTliii-pSicy^t^TOpose
to enforce by a few practical. ^oasiijgrations.
¦Uponjhe^_sg£gs_sionjof_a single_St^ie,,.in..iheLfirst instance,^ rests the
brightest 'hop'e_of^qutJbimIITffiiA£. This-is^a-paraSftx only- in appear-''
anceT'T!K-'secession_, of South-Carolina will present a cTeal', disfinct,
ajji.d. tangible Issue, which it will be impossible for the most judifferent.
to disregard, or the inosr thoughtless to" rriistaKe. In the event of a
conflict, no member of the Federal Union can be iieutral. The bellig
erent parties will be South-Carolina on the one side, the United States
of America on the other. AboUtionjPYeesoiJisiHj,jOonsg^^
contend against si avery,_ eguffi^TAad . SStaTsavereignty . So long as
they remairi members of the Confederacy, Georgia aifid Mississippi, as
well as Massachusetts and" Ifew- York, will be 3rr.ayedagainst_us. It
will ihake~Kttte-diff©F«nee-that"Soa*h«HiiHen-'Wflrnot mv^S 6m soil —
Southern treasure will be employed against us. The coffers of the Fed
eral Government, from which troOps, and seamen, and fleets, and armies,
must be maintained, will be filled by duties collected from the South, as
well as from the North.
,Ja.^!llffl??..aUJLffiiaJaEl2tJiBd-i§fegi^5£ P'^°®liL£Ii,"^ sides, will be the
only mode bywhich ourSouthern brel'hren coulaescape from this war
againstuSj contenQing_^|;._ibgiL. ''.JS^'® ^ ¦*^''^ ^ ^^^ o^"^- '^^^ right
of se^iiirorrEas ever been a Souuiern~3octrtE5==!^trat^en proclaimed '
and upheld at the South for more than half a century, and is at this day
acknowledged by a vast majority of our people. And can it be, that in
this position they would hesitate ? "Would they be so insensible to the
dictates of justice, so blind to all the consequences to themselves in the
future, as to wage a war against the ' operation of a right, which they
admit belongs to us, which they claim for themselves, and to the use of
which they even now seem to fear they will be driven. Mutatis mu
tandis, the words of Governor Troup used upon a memorable occasion
in the history of his own Slate, are as applicable to South-Carolina as
to G-eorgia. " But other rights and interests than those of Georgia are
concerned. The doctrines assumed in justification of the menace, in
volved the rights of all the States. It asserts the broad powers of the
Executive, the General Governinent, in any controversy between a State
and the United States, to decide the right and wrong of that controversy
promptly, absolutely and finally, without appeal, and enforces such decis
ion by the sword. A power most awful, trem^endous and unnatural, and
not'given by the Constitution even to Congress." To this same right of
secession the Georgia submi^sionists will be driven to protect the plat
form which their Convention has laid down. ^Yj^hwhat consistency
then can Southern States remain in^_a Union whiciTreslsls" anlissertion
ofT.heir-riyhtS,''Ur aftei' siicE~resistance~"cIaim"lo exercise it for them-
selves-T--Win"1hef5orseT!FarirTo"'doinp^w'Eicti " tenddirectl^ andjnevitabl^^to jjibvert the sovereignty of^he
States; £o^fet^£theTlg(le5Cchaiactg£,o^ on
itg raiffl' a cgjig(2Mat9d.,..g.o.vernment, witnoul°a"ConsMutf6nal check" or
limitation, and which must necessarily terminate in the loss of liberty
itself."

L .5 ' ,
jj^- f /(. ( I ¦ . ¦ ''¦J
It will be needless to urge that our right of secession will-be denied,
except for sufficient cause, for the right of secession admits of no quali
fication. To be of any prwcitiwihk value, it must be exercisable at the
discretion of the people who possess it. Otherwise it would be in the
power of a stranger to forbid ite use in every necessary case, and render
it utterly worthless. It is, to use the language of the celebrated Ran
dolph, " a right to recall the authority delegated for good and sufficient
cause; and the right to judge of the sufficiency of such cause, and to
secede from the confederacy when she (the State) shall find the benefit
of Union exceeded by its evils." This discretion is what Georgia has
exercised in her assertion of the right and her declaration, that the time
for its enforcement has not yet come, and if the period shall ever arrive
when that State will place herself on the side of our people, she will
then be following the dictates of her judgment, in the same manner and
to the same extent as South-Carolina now proposes to do.
Thus far I have argued that,the State Governments, (as such,) of the
^'iHililSjE9^"^^oi of ^^ Confederacy, would be impelled, by considera
tions ofpoircy and far-seeitig sagacity, at once to place themselves- in
hne with'-'us; ' But there is another view which, to "my mind, is still
iiTore conclusive. The sympathies of the whole people will be with us.
Our cause is theii- cause, our wrongs, their wrongs. Whatever invades
our rights and honor, or saps the life-blood of our prosperity, equally
injures and degrades them, and renders them enfeebled and weak.
This they all know, and feel, and understand. No arts of demagogues,
no ad captandum appeals to State pride or State jealousy, can blind
their eyes, or obscure their clear perception of these truths. True it is,
that there are differences as to the means by which the common object
is to be attained ; they may regard us as precipitate ; they may consider
our measures hasty, and ill-timed and eitreme ; but they will always be
alive to the fact, that our ends are the same. But before any distinct
and tan^ble issue with the common enemy is made, many repellant
causes mutually act and re-act upon us. That V7e^^5:;a,]2gen grossly
wronged and^ outraged, is admitted on^aU^ancTs ; and the wlids "dis-
' cussion 1sriherefore,''among_^£ursj|ves^ ,a.§.,tp the mode' and m"eas]j%^of
redress; -^The heat of 3'ebate, and the pride of opiriiott of 'ffliher party,
¦\vin'in "their nature produce temporary alienation and. irritation, and
thus it is that so long as war and conflict are at a distance, dissention
and difference will grow in our midst, and the prospect of union be
come more and more remote. But let a new element be introduced —
let the Federal Government invade the rights, and honor, and integi-ity
of one of our common sisterhood by force and with bloodshed, and all
will be changed. The controversy among ourselves will be lost sight
of, and forgotten in the absorbing interest of a contest, in which the
rights, and honor, nay, even the very existence of the whole South
would be involved. The sympathies of all Southern men of every name
and pohtical faith would be wholly ours, and we would emerge victori
ous from the conflict. This syrapathy would be developed in various
ways. . Not 0EJ^;ggjild,^^^n4-aj^}i^kB&,fi|«'feaUgaB4s. ^S^^'^^JSr
ljagteers"^cP^to^2WJsa£'i8^^^
and die for '6ur comtaoaiiause— not only ypuld the patriots of the

South pour forth their treasures, andjhs.,jel&vated-selfesacrificing spirit
"orTKerevoltrtteTrlSe-Txhftite^^ sionrSfTEe peoplTwiTTbe stirred to their loj^^d^P^^the^m^ses
.wUlii^jUffljms£iia.iafl^ir:^ guidance of demagogues, and office-seekers,, >nd, pohtical hucksters;r^
fcut, risin£*SK^'' m^tV'ffief wilf shake 'themselves 1
sh^B£s,j2L^iaj%v^ajlfljBdLijQns%Ji...ta« jaejited infamy the traitors wno
hayg_§o Jong .sought, to , lead them to their own utfdmng. * ^11 rdeii wul
be forced by the exigen^mTFelTmes* to think, aind-tKnking they will
act, and in a brief space will make themselves so felt, through the or
ganism of their gavernments, that Georgia and Alabama, and Missis
sippi and Louisiana, and Arkansas and Texas, with South-Carolina, will
be found ranged under one banner — an embattled host against which
the Federal tyrant will be powerless and weak.
The dangers of protracted delay and inaction, I will consider in my
next.

NO. II.
In my last, I argued that the secession of_thg.St.ate. of South-Carolina
alone," would be Ihe mogt'effeetuafTn'eans.aLfirgcurii^^
.-ofthe Sotithi.;,JtTslJQavL.my_pu^^
inaction, will be attended with-dang^r. and will surelv diminish- batL-
the^^McgrttfffliffiaTe"uiuonani.0JgULJ^^
To all who have studied*tHe"1Bmory gf Northern aggression anHTaboli-
tion agitation this must be apparent. To go no further back than the
the firsFreception of abolitioll ^^titions, in Congress, who does not re
member the storm that was then raised throughout the South ? Does
any one forget the .excitement produced by the repeal of the 21st rule
ofthe House of Representatives ? Who that remembers the indigna
tion of the South at these periods, can believe that if the measures of
the last congress had been perpetrated then, the Union could have been
preserved a month ? Would not the whole slaveholding country have
risen as one man and rent it asunder ? And why not now ? Are our
rights less — is our danger more remote — is the security of our institu
tions greater ? No. Our rights are the same — our dangers are more
imminent — the strength of our institutions has been essentially impair
ed. To B^hat, then, is ta,!)? attributed our comparative Jgtljargy — that
disposition, to postpone the yindjs^i6iLjif3MT-3E^ES^::2^ ^" some
parts of the g^ou^is so alarmingly prevalent ? The answerjsTiumiha-
ting, but true.*"'%g"haV6 become ass«stom^5iid^ia_a JaeasuxStJecon-
ciled tp SJgng. The aggressions of the North have been regulated
with a smWroSitence to our forbearance, and as soon as we have begun
to look upon the measures which have been in operation for a few years
as the settled state of thjngs, fresh inroads have been made, of a more
aggravated character, again to excite our indignation for a time, and
again in time to be submitted to. If we now „4elay our^esist^jgce to
thaaT-ecfiftt-Xneasures .of Congress for a few years, we^ will, when, they

slidltave_ela£sedjook UM^
¦tod comjpoTure witlTwhicirwe now regardthg^^^eal of the 21st rule
aftdTEel^cSption-xif'abciliiEJOT^geti^m acquiescence,
we win ha^e~saffctioried usurp'a^n,'^n3tEe moral force of our future
resistance will have been sensibly weakened- Thus it will be that con
tinued submission to injustice will not only remove to a greater dis
tance all hope of aid and co-operation, but will have a direct tendency
to degrade and demoralize ourselves.
By delay, piir enemies will be enabled notonljrtoiucrgagsjt!^ own
pQjEfiiyjMiLta^ap 6ui'"strengt^g;|^2l™nTsETEeemciencyof our meai5
^f resistance. The free States ^re da|^3'^°''e''^^'^S '^"""iTOmber an^
strragl5^;yrtth.j:Qpm' and space for almost indefinite multiplieatfoia'—
theirrapaciljdbas^mQnopolised all the tenitpi'y of jrtiejGrpyerjy;^5iJ,, and
the m^a of slavery has been circumscribed and limited. iThe
-border States are fast going over to the enemy, and are anxiously
waiting for the period to arrive when they can safely dispense with the
whole system, which their position and the inroads of their Northern
neighbors have made to Ihem, profitless and precarious. J^eaBwbilaiiiieL-
fipancial policy of the Government will be directedagainst- us. -Aiready
^, are iridfcatioiis of this design to 'bT~s§§ii T^nTJbngr^ss^,JEeati&?lj in the
"p"fesent'statV^-^ubfe^SlSjg^at"tiirlSoiIffi tp'agitate in anygreil "dfe-
gj;ee the subject p£.slavery — ouf^^enemies having desppile3jig.of our
gkaFf in the'cbiiimon patrimony an3'i31gra3fi(rurfrom^urjy^^
in the Union, are how about tS efflploy againsriisTnow instrum^Tnrf
"WfiBflsratid oppr'^WQ»„,.A- high, pr^jijTOtive "tariff -i» to-fee-levredpand
tEe double purpose to J)e acc^iplJshsCjof draining the South ^_jaei_
resouTMSj and enri3ai^TK'"TSfiorth at her~expense. Wiffiouf "Soubt
also a potentT^easonTor OiisT5aeasi!r§Ts^ou^ hope, that by the
introduction of this new element of controversy, the attention of our
people will be diverted from that subject which now so greatly agitates
and excites them. Time is all that is necessary to enable these com
bined powers of avarice and abolition to consummate their fell designs
in the utter ruin of the South.
Another ground of apprehension from delay is to be found in the fact
tliat a gi;gg2finlaal.election is near at hand. For that contest political
leaders are already in^gparatiSn. (^Sosiderations connected with this
subject, have already caused many to prove traitors to our cause. As
the period for the active business of the campaign approaches, it will
absorb more and more 411 other questions, until at length in the all en-
gressing excitement of; the strife, everything else will be forgotten.
Everythicg will be sacrificed to the integrity of ^arty— tjuces will be
paTched up, sectional brbils quieted, personal feuds" composed. The en-
Jlieraiid^thqtloughts of all will be directed to the gran^ j:es^|_^n3.,
a.y5ic'e"of South-CaW}iila"^U be unheeded and uhh'eajd. But let our
issue wTtlri*6*G^elid-^toVm'rmeht1&8'tfflce"i^^ the very neces
sities of Presidential aspirants will add to our strength. The struggles
and dissentions of our enemies among themselves will leave them pow
erless against a resolute and earnest people.
But there are higher considerations than those of mere poUcy and
expediency which require decisive action at our hands. To preserve

her consistency, and vindicate her honor, and fulfil her pledge, South-
CaroHna is called upon to resist this aggression, even though it should
be single and alone. Where in the whole history of her legislation can
anything be found, which would justify the idea, that such enormities
as have been perpetrated against us, would or could be _at last endured
by South-Carolina, under any, circumstances however trying or perilous?
When has she ever weighed expediency against principle or danger
against honor ? Have short sighted views of interest and safety ever
prevailed with her when the alternative presented was action or infa
my ? And if the hopes of Southerii Union should fail (as fail I think
they must, unless South-Carolina lead the van) the only hope for sal
vation from the worst fat^ that ever befel a people is in ourselves alone.
I will not- enlarge on this point. Servile war, the conflict of diverse
races, living together on the same soil, the utter destruction of society,
are consequences which will too surely follow from the accomplishment
of the schemes of oUr enemies, to need any argument or proof. _ And
how often has not South-Carolina pledged herself to resist anticipated
measures far less injurious to her interests and insulting to her hon&r,
"at every hazard and to the last extremity?" Are these unmeaning
words ? Will their import be satisfied by resistence with the aid Of
other' States, but not otherwise ? This is stopping very far short of the
" last extremity." And will it do to talk of the dangers and difficulties
of separate secession, when we have pledged ourselves to resist at "every
hazard ?" If this is the ground upon which South Carolina is to be
excused for inaction in the present crisis, then will she have justified the
charge of her enemies that she is prone to gasconade and boasting.
fA.% the last session of the legislature, an appropriation of |350,000
/ was rnade for the purchase of arms and ordnance, and a loan of $1 25,000
was granted to the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company, free of interest
, for five years, upon the condition that their vessels should be so con-
\itracted as to admit of being converted into war steamers. A Board of
OrSWiance was also established, with authority to engage a fit and com
petent ordnance officer, with a salary of two thousand dollars. Now,
for what purpose were these appropriations made, to what did they
look, and by what reason is this extraordinary expenditure of public
money justified ? They were made in the 'expectation of a conflict of
arms, they looked for the sepairate action of South-Carolina, and they
were justified by the necessities of the case. Did it enter into the mind
of a single member of the legislature that coercion would be attempted
against the United South ? It was only in the event of the separate
secession of South Carolina, that violence was apprehended and prepa
rations deemed necessa,ry. Say the military Committee in their repOrt
recommending the appropriations referred to.
" If the State of South-Carol jn a should, at kiiy time, find it necessary
alone and unaided, to exercise the indisputable right of secesgiph, your
Committee conceive themselves warranted in the behef, that the Federal
power of coercion so recently and insultingly menaced against the State
of Texas, would be resorted tp, to preserve the Union, unless restrained
by the demonstration of power to vindicate that right."

To meet the expenditures voted for this purpose, the taxes have been
increased 50 per c6nt., which increase will produce $150,000, leaving
$200,000 to be drawn from the permanent resources of the State. Will
any,,jnemlter of the legislature who voted for theseji££roprktions~an3°"
this.iax biir,*~upOn the ground taken ifftlXe" report of theMiliEy Cotn-
mittee, go home Stid tell, his constituents' that tEe''eveh'S""upi5n^*vhi€h
alone they arejustifiedt never will and 'ilever 'should occur? The pa
triotism ofthe peopl* is eqi]ial to any trial; the v will cheerfully submit
even to oppressive taxation, to sustain tjieir rigiiteous cause J but they
wi!i_agWedly visit with stern rebuke, those who thus lavishly expend
^eir treasure,"' ahjf. then tell them it is for nought. The in|'erence froin
these ac|s^plain, that the, legislature!^ pledged the Slate to secession in
the last resort. - ,_, ,..„-..--¦•, - • • 
In my nfext, I will consider some objections commonly urged against
the policy I have advocated, and conclude.

NO. III.

In my last I contended that continued delay and inaction would not
only diminish the chances of ultimate union and co-operation, but
would serve to degrade the tone of our people, and lessen the moral
force of any future resistance to which we might be driven by the fur
ther attacks of our enemies. I also maintained that the past course of"
the State, and more particularly, the recent action of the Legislature,
had been such, ss to require, at our hands, the most efficient and
decisive action, after all our appeals to our Southern sisters had been
exhausted. Itisjaawj^^jgurpose tocMigy,g£,Miefe
COTjmpn^objgqtipns urged againsT'tESrStim^Jseparatelfipp^^ioiii^oF'^^^
Sfete-iSf. Sputh-Carolina. " " '"'
^ie first objection iit^d is, that this, iaeasjme.i&J3ijgonsistent with the
oBligations assumed by the Stafl^w^n,^iajiaii.^d witntlie'Mre^Sflllih-
ern-^taU^'fT'tbe-Na^jgi; OoJ^^on^
deny. -E
CaroliriaTcM

^..^ ,  - - ThjsJXfli^Jx.and' positively
wmch it is incumbent upon the^^ate oi o'outh-

been done, or will be done.

ao,"Tn vievLPllthe, action of ' the ^IS^iffle,,, _
The^onlj^ practicaligaaaWfiJ^CQaiHifie^'
by thffT5o^'was_th§'aisernblin^^ a:GongressoFtfe».aggiiiie.TOd.§tates
to be-bgrffat somT!aEra-OTd|-'|PI^(ja9l.desira
ajregtlBg^ farther aggessiofl'" and re§tpriflg.,^e,sfiBg^yjaMlJ%lllAJi£-
iJ;ie^BM^TrpoSrH^^n3'rrSot, then to provide for the safety and in-
depCTdente""BrigrSoii'tVinlhe'Tasrrego^^ TKe legislature tSTm
good laith provided tor the appointment ot aelSgates to this Congress,
and a time and place has been suggested for its meeting. The State
Convention will not assemble until after the Southern Congress shall have
met, or until after all hope of its meeting at all shall have passed away.
The object of the Convention is expressed to be, " in the first place, to
take into consideration the proceedings and recommendations of a Con
gress of the slaveholding States, if the same shall meet and be held ;

10
and for the further purpose of taking into consideration the general
welfare of this State, in view of her relations to the laws and govern
ment of the United States, and thereupon to take care that the com
monwealth of South-CaroUna shall suffer no detriment." Now, while
it is apparent that the Convention is, in any event, and under any ciir-
cumstances, to, take action for the State, it is likevrise manifest that such
separate and independent action on her part is to be postponed until
after the Congress shall have failed to convene, or having convened,
should not have provided an adequate remedy. The proposld^.agtion
of Jhe SMe will not, therefore, in^any wise, stand, in the iy,ay of the
^ faithful, performance of her obligation.
But again, it is said that the separate action of South-Carolina will
)) excite the jealousy of the other States, and defeat Southern Union. This
objection has, I think, been ,very -fully met in my first article. I_ there
showed that the brightest hope of ultimate Southern Union, was in the
"separate action of South-CaroUna. But, waiving all the considerSSons
there presented, another, and a conclusive answer is at hand. It is not
proposed that South-Carolina shall act alone, until reasonable time to
other States to act with us, shall have been given. When our efforts
towards the accomphshment of this end shall have been exhausted, our
only hope of redemption will be in ourselves. Southern Union will
already have failed.
But while it seems to be admjtted^-t^at^ha-^afltiiaLjeonflict of arms
upon oui:'"s'oif"'«v6iild"prOb^lyi)rinj;jt£^ou£j^
sisferS';ittreOTitOTasa"'ffia^jfllaix3L^ffi!i^]^^^
. We' are told that the Federal GovernmenTwiiraTm'rffiB foU of such a
course, and will content itself with blockading the port of Charleston,
and shutting us out from the commerce of the world. Assuming that
those who urge this view are possessed of the secret intentions of the
powers at Washington, and that such would be their system of opera
tions, it is perfectly manifest that this notion cannot be entertained by
any one who has devoted the slightest attention to the subject.
For one power to blockade the port of another, is an act of war. On
that point there is no difference of opinion among writers on interna
tional law. If^th§je&rja,..,it.be the objest^of-thajFedgraliloverjiment
tQ,ax.Qii.the issue of war with us, TnTfae-fear tjiat-inthat state fif thm^
Qur Southern brethi;en_would "conae to .our. aid,. they, must resort to sorne
_otIierpfim°. It would be impossible that hostilities should £e"confined "^
to the'Sct'Sf blockade" aloneT"" Not to enumerate all the probable modes~
in which lihey would Ee carried on, it wiU be enough to sajr that it
would be'in the^oweiv. of..Sjauth:.Caioljj)ii to, issue letters of'^marque
and reprisjj, and to fit out privateers, which would prey, with most de
structive -effeetjU-pon- -the rich jepmmerce'of the IS'brfh. T^^pigyent
thjg .entirely ,5.pjild|._^be impossible, mS[ even to restrain, in any degree,
tvqjjM requirej^strict and close blpsfede of our whole coast, and a large
augmentation of cohvoymg Forces upon the high seas. "In this conl^r''
which' would inevitably takfe place, blood would assuredly be spilt, and
the sympathy of oiir neighbors, identified with lis iii interest an^ in feeT-
ing, ^0Tjl4; be enlig.tsAIS.^I.our i'avor,-'whethCT we died in our defence on
the sea or on the land. ""  ""-'—"'*

11
The idea that our trade would flow out of the State, through the
ports of Wilmington and Savannah, will not bear examination. As I
have already remarked, there would be only two parties to the war, the
United States [including North-Carolina and Georgia] on the one side —
South-Caroliaa on the other. Says Chancellor Kent, (1 Com., p. 66,)
" One of the immediate and important consequences of the declaration
of war, is the absolute interruption and interdiction of all commercial
correspondence, intercourse and dealing, between the subjects of the two
countries. The idea that any commercial intercourse or pacific dealing,
can lawfully subsist between the people of the powers at war, except
under the clear and express sanction of the Government, and without
a special license, is utterly inconsistent with the new class of duties
growing out of a state of war." * * * * " Trading supposes the ex
istence of civil contracts and relations, and a reference to Courts of Jus
tice ; and it is, therefore, necessarily contradictory to a state of war."
So long, therefore, as Georgia and North-Carolina remain in the Union,
any trading with us would be an act of treason — giving " aid and com
fort to the enemy." The people of these States would be forced to the
choice of holding us as allies or enemies.
But other rights and interests, than those of the parties to the war,
are involved. In order that a blockade should be legally binding upon
neutral powers, many conditions must be observed. Among them there
must be a casus belli, a just and reasonable cause pf war — and a war
too to be vigorously and earnestly prosecuted. Now, although gene
rally speaking, it is " not for a common friend to judge between beUige-
rent parties, or to determine the question of right between them," yet,
of necessity, in all cases where the right and interests of neutrals are
involved, they are entitled to judge of the grounds upon which one
power wages war against another. If. the sovereignty of the several
States of the Confederacy be admitted.T]^S*1t'1§"lttMS^Cthat^^ se-™
c^St?5«rof-8emtlFCai^iMwoOT andr that 'a1)T&e6TtdB'rTKrde
f6f"t'E^t cause, would hot "Be bTn"aing~upott4he'-e©BMn«i:cial..i(atipBLS,£>£
the'wofte?^" And ¦ who' eSfi ; doubt that whateter" preteBM^BS might be
sefuployOTir enemies, a candid examination of the terms of the Federal
compaife't'WuIS'IS^lo^tEdacEhovvIe^Slenf^^o^ to
withdraw Jrpm the Confeder^j;.,, ..It would, therefore, be in the power
oT'an'y*^naOfcidn7 whose^eliare was injuriously affected, to refuse to re
cognize the blockade.
That , it would be for the interest of the European States, and more
especially of Great Britain, seems not to admit of a doubt. Commerce
is the life-blood of the English people — the true source of their pros
perity and power. To open new markets for their trade, and to pre- '
serve the old, has ever been a prominent object of their foreign policy.
Need a stronger illustration of this be given than the war which the
British Government recently maintained against the Emperor of China ?
But in the case we are now considering, motives of pecuUar potency
would operate upon the minds of the English statesmen. If Great Bri
tain should recognize the blockade of Charleston, she would acknow
ledge a right on the part of the Federal Government to interdict the
trade of foreign nations with all the Southern States, whenever they

12
should see fit to secede. And who can calculate the consequences
which would flow from her inability to obtain the cOtton of the slave-
holding South. Not only would this most important material of her
commerce be cut ofi", and the resources of her* Government be severely
crippled, but her manufactories would be closed, and millions of her
people reduced to pauperism and starvation. This would be more than
her energies could bear, and her laboring classes, driven to despair by
want, wOuld speedily involve her iii revolution. All the dictates of in
terest, every motive of self-protection, would impel her in the first case
in which the question was made, to sustain the right of the States to se
cede at pleasure.
By the operation of our revenue laws. Northern manufacturers have
almost a monopoly of the markets of the South. British goods, when
they reach our shores, have now to contend with high discriminating
duties. Access to the Southern consumer, upon equal terms with their
American rivals, would be a prize, at Which the English manufacturer
and merchant would strive with eagerness. By sustaining a single
State in her effort at independence, and thus forming a nucleus, arOuiid
which other States would afterwards' be gathered, an important step
would be taken towards the accomplishment of this end. A Southern
Confederacy once formed, or even a single State sustaining herself
alone, would open an inlet to British commodities, upon equal terins
with all the world, and would secure advantages, the ultimate fruits of
which can now be hardly foreseen. Under circumstances like these,
with ruin on the one side, and immense prospective advantages on the
other, can it be believed that the English statesman would hesitate in
his policy ? "Would he not refuse to recognize a just cause of war, in
the attempt of a sovereign people to regulate their internal affairs accor
ding to their will ? But again, it is said that the Federal Government
will not blockade our ports, but will bollect the duties in a floating cus
tom house without the harbor. Waiving all other objections, a very
brief examination pf this scheme will show that it is utterly, impractica
ble. Could this floating tax-gatherer maintain its statipn on a stormy
and dangerous coast, at all seasons and in all weather ? In periods of
storm and tempest how could her own safety be secured, but by driviiig
before the blast ? And does any one imagine that even upon a calm
and tranquil sfea, the business of a custom house could be thus trans
acted ? Would foreign nations submit tamely to so unusual an inter
ference with their cotninerce ? will they suffer their vessels, trading to an
unblockaded port, (such is the supposition) to be thus detained and
searched, with danger to ship, crew and cargo, upon the high seas ?
The idea is too , preposterous to be entertained, and I dismiss it in a
word. The next objection .which is urged is. that South CaroUna, even if
unmolested, cannot sustain herself alone."" tB^ is a"pi'aeiS'eat' considera
tion,,, JDSiQyrSSGffiB*'S£Hl3"^j'®l()'t^^ of
govftfflingni^nJJa,.fnaj,n|ain th^^^^ with other States is necessary
tg.her pohtical existence and prpsperTtyT^s' to' reduce Stdte sovereignty
toasharlow. But 'I tate, issue on tte point"' lTns''a"ir"a3&'iE!eaiact,
flTarffle'Souffi^ys far more than one half of the revenue into the trea-

13
sury of the Federal Gpvernment. South-Oarohna pays her proportion
among the Southern States. The two sections of the Union are bene
fitted by the expenditures in the inverse ratio of their contributions. If
the tribute paid annually by us to our Northern enemies, was at once
transferred to our own use, who can doubt that the means of our Go
vernment would be adequate to the accorrjplishment of much more than
is done for us under the present syste^i, by the Government at Wash
ington. We are essentially an agricultural people ; our market is at
our door ; our staples ai-e sold upon the soil that produces them. Our
ca,rrying trade is done by others ; we will require no navy to protect
our commerce ; but, if in the progress of our prosperity, Wfiu^fcould
become a great_percantile,^a§,well;^ agricultural community, the emo-
rument*i8f tfa3e 'wnrbUfigTjvith it tEe" means'^of'pTOtectteiit^-A.'wen
^egiilated' ffliliti^' "system woitefhrnish alTtEeTflllttaif defence' we would
need. No savage tribes infest our borders ; our only neighbors, if not
our allies, would be our friends. Our trade with all the world would
be free — ^burdened only with such duties as purposes of revenue would
render necessary, and would be regulated by ourselves with a strict re
ference to our wants. Foreign, would take the place of Northern goods,
and after the payment of a moderate duty, could be procured by us at
cheaper rates than they now command — thus, at the same time, se
curing an increase of revenue, and supplying at a smaller expense the
wants of the citizen. Unless all facts and figures are at fault, our pro
gress would be onward and upward, and our Southern brethren, who,
in an infatuated and blind devotion to an oppressive Union, now stand
aloof, would see in our prosperity, the evidence of the wisdom of our
course ; and the work of Southern Emancipation would then be at last
accomplished. I have thus briefly and imperfectly, considered a few of the promi- ,
nent views which are sometimes urged against the separate secession of
the State of South-Carolina. A few general observations and I have
done. If there is any force in the objections which I have been con
sidering, they will apply with still greater power to any future time,
when the aggressions of the foe shall have been accumulated. In any
future contest, there is no hope that our relative strength will be grea
ter. Our adversaries are daily increasing their means of coercion, and
all their energies are meanwhile directed to our destruction. Unless,
then, we are ready for the yoke — unless we are prepared to wear the
chain of the oppressor, however heavy and galling it may be, we must
strike promptly, strike bravely, strike now.
If we would be taught by the lessons of history, we would learn that
greater union than we now enjoy, ought not to be expected. All re
volutions have been begun by a few, who thus gave direction and ob
ject to the many. Thus it was in France in 1793, in 1830, in 1848.
In that memorable struggle which brought Charles of England to the
block, the Council of the Parhament were wavering until a few brave
spirits led the way. When William of Orange landed at Torbaj, the
enemies of James were divided and distracted, — in a few short weeks
the House of Stuart had ceased te reign. From the carnage of Lex
ington, dates the dawn of American freedom. If we will be mindful

14
of the glories of the past ; if we will be true to our own destinies and
to the cause of freedom and of man ; if we will be faithful to posterity,
we will not take counsel of our fears. " The price of hberty is eternal
vigilance," and sometimes it is blood. If King's Mountain, and Cow-
pens, and Eutaw, could be forgotten ; if history would cease to tell of
Sumter and of Marion, of Pinckney and of Rutledge, of Laurens and
of Hayne ; if true freedom had Jt^ other resting place save the conse
crated soil of the South, that last refuge of constitutional and regulated
liberty, then we might hesitate and falter. Here on the soil of our own
Carolina we will not be wanting to our trust. We will hold fast, while
we have life, to our heritage of freedom, won by a glorious ancestry,
and if need be, we will die in its defence. Then our children, though
they may mourn our fate, will bless our names, and future ages will do
justice to our memoiy.

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