EXECUTIVE DOCUMENTS. No. 3 O () RRE S P O ND EN C TC RELATING TO THK POST OFFICE. CHARLESTON: STEAM-POWER PRESSES OF EVANS 4 COGSWELL, •S Broad an J 103 East Bay Streets.- 1861. EXECUTIVE DOCUMENTS. ISTo. 3. OORRESPON"DENOE RELATING TO THE POST OFFICE. CHARLESTON: STEAM-POWER PRESSES OF EVANS i COGSWELL, 3 Broad ind 103 East Bay Streets. 1861. Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2010 with funding from Duke University Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/correspondencereOOsout ft SH correspo:n^den^ce. No. 1. [letter of the president, through HON. J. HOLT, POST MAS- TER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE GOVERNOR.] Post Office Department, January Uth, 1801. Sir : Relialilo information has been received b}* this Depart- ment, tliat, acting under the powers, chiimed to have been con- ferred upon you by a Convention of the State of South Caro- lina, you have recently' imposed upon the Post Office at Charleston restrictions which are in derogation of the laws of the United States and of the rights of its citizens. It is alleged that Major Anderson and his command, now in the occupation of JFort Sumter, in consequence of the interposition of your Excellency, arc not permitted freely, and at their discretion, to visit the Post Office for the purpose of receiving and transmit- ting their correspondence, but are absolutely prevented from doing so ; and that the lettei's and papers which, of late, have occasionally reached them through the mails, have been ob- tained by their friends, and have been delivered by the Post Master under an order granted by yourself, not in acknowledg- ment of a right, but as a special favor. This proceeding on your pai't, so unexpected and so un})ar- alleled, involves a violation of public hnv too manifest to be discussed, and too aggravated to be endured. The Government of the United States, at vast expense, sup- ports the postal service in the State of South Carolina, for the convenience of its people, and it cannot submit that its own officers, and those obeying its authority, shall be deprived of the use of the mails, thus maintained from its own Trcasurv Its reljitions with the State of South Carolina are those of amity and good will, and it is the earnest desire of the Presi- dent that they may continue to be so, and that all causes of irritation may be avoided. He, therefore, directs me to express the hope that you will re-consider the resolution under w^hich you have acted, and that in the sjjirit by which he himself is animated, and which seeks a peaceful solution of the diflS^culty so unhappily subsisting, you will promptly remove all existing restraints upon the Post Office at Charleston, and upon the intercourse of Major Anderson and his command with it. Should you, however, decline doing so, it is my duty to inform you that this office will be regarded as having, under the pres- sure of the local Government, lost its integrity, and being no longer entitled to the confidence or support of the Government of the United States, will, at once, be discontinued, and the postal service supplying it suspended. The question will be reserved for future consideration, how much further than this fidelity to the administration of this Department, will require this suspension to be extended. A free interchange of commu- nication between Major Anderson and his command, and this Government and their friends, the President feels it to be his duty to claim, and this it is his fixed purpose to enforce. He would greatly prefer that this communication should be effected through the instrumentalities of the mails, and the question is now submitted to your Excellency to determine whether this preference shall prevail. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, J. HOLT, Post Master General. Mis Excellency, Francis "W. Pickens, Governor of South Carolina. No. 2. [letter of the governor in reply, through the HON. A. G. magrath, secretary of the state department.] State of South Carolina, Executive Office, State Department. Charleston, 16 January, 1861. Sir : Your note of the 14th January has been received by the Governor of this State, and he has directed me to communicate to you his reply. The Convention of the Peoph^ of the State of South Carolina, among other Ordinances, adopted one " to make provisional Postal Arrangements in South Carolina." A copy of that Ordinance you will find in the proceedings of that Convention, which accompany this letter. The terms of that Ordinance will be sufficient to show you, that the " reliable information " Avhich has been received by the Post Office Department at \Yashington, and by wliich yoM have been notified that " restrictions have been recently im- posed upon the Post Office at Charleston" is, to say the least of it, somewhat inaccurate. The Governor does not consider it necessary critically to consider the terms in which you refer to the power under which his supposed interference was exercised. Nor does he deem it proper to explain the nature of the authorit}' which "the laws of the United States" have in this State; nor to determine what are the rights of citizens of the United States within the limits of South Carolina; farther than by saying, that the Ordinance in relation to Postal Ai-rangements pro- vides for one of these questions ; and the Ordinance of Citi- zenship, a cop3' of which you Avill also receive, regulates the other. Future arrangements by treaty stipulation, or other- wise, may and probably will provide for citizens of the United States, such privileges within the limits of South Carolina, as are not inconsistent with its safety. And this explanation of the existing relations of the State of South Carolina to the Government of the United States, in connection with its Postal Arrangements, the Governor pre- sumes will be satisfactory to you. 6 But your letter also expresses the complaint, that " Major Anderson and his command, now in the occupation of Fort Sumter, are not permitted freely and at their discretion to visit the Post Office, for the purpose of receiving and transmitting their correspondence ; but are absolutely prevented from doing •so." The question of affording to Major Anderson and his com- mand all the benefit of the Post Office Department at Charles- ton, has been fully considered; and is involved in the provisions of the Ordinance of the Convention. This, of course, deter- mines for the G-overnor his duties in all cases which arise under that Ordinance. 'Nov has the privilege of Major Anderson, or his garrison, been interrupted, except at periods when the con- duct of the Government of the United States at Washington, justified the conclusion that it was about to attempt certain acts of coercion in relation to this State; concerning which, whenever attempted, the purpose of this State was fullj^ under- stood by the Government of the United States at Washington. At the earliest moment, however, when it was proper, because safe, to restore to Major Anderson and his command the privi- lege of receiving or sending mail matter through the Post Office in Charleston, it was, and has been done so, by the order of the Governor. But while such occasional suspension of the privilege claimed for Major Anderson and his garrison was produced by the acts of the Government of the United States; causing that suspension to be adopted as a proper act of de- fence, and measure of precaution in behalf of the State ; the restoration of the privilege to Major Anderson was agreeable to the Governor; because it was in accordance with the wish of the Convention, and because it was not the wish of the Governor to create for Major Anderson, or his command, any circumstance of annoyance or inconvenience ; but not because the Governor anticipated "any fixed j)iirpoBe of the President to enforce" it ; and certainly not because at the time when the privilege was suspended, the Governor could well understand how the President of the United States was " under a duty to claim" it. The actual enjoyment by Major Anderson and his command of the privilege of receiving and sending mail matter through the Post Office at Charleston seems, in your letter, to be fur- ther connected with the privilege, "freely and at their discre- tion," to visit the Post Office, for the purpose of receiving and transmitting their correspondence. If the Governor is to con- sider that, in your letter, jow include, in the privilege of receiv- ing and forwarding matter by the mail, the privilege, moreover, for Major Anderson and his garrison of i^ersonall}' going to and returning from the Post Office, hoAvever full the assurance ma}' be to you, that without this, all mail matter for Major Anderson is furnished ; then and in that view of your letter, the Governor desires me to say, that under existing circum- stances, it cannot with propriety be granted. And first, as to the assurance, that all niail matter received at the Post Office, at Charleston, is forwarded to Major Andci'- son, the Governor deems it only necessary to say, that in the Post Office at Charleston, there is in and over the transaction of its business, neither espionage nor tampering with letters, public or private. And it is understood that you have already received from the Post Master at this place such explanations of all circumstances connected with the delivery of mail mat- ter to Major Anderson and his garrison, as ought to be entirely satisfactory. The certainty, then, Avhich you already have received, that Major Anderson and his command do receive all matter sent to them or by tiiem, through the mail at this place; a matter con- cerning which the Governor, in now making this explanation, gives the best evidence of a desire not to add to the causes of irritation existing between the State of South Carolina and the Government of the United States; reduces all the causes of complaint in your letter to the particular matter, of the privi- lege for Major Anderson and his garrison " freely and at their discretion," to visit the Post Office. And this the Governor directs me to repeat, that under existing circumstances, you should not ask it. It has been plainl}- and distinctly communicated to tlie Presi- dent of the United States, that the continued occupation of Fort Sumter by the troops of the United States, could not be regarded as consistent with the dignity or safety of the State of South Carolina. A continuance in that occupation on the part of the President of the United States, may, with the greatest proprietj'", be characterized, in your own language, used, however, in another application, as a proceeding " unex- pected and unparalleled;" which "involves a violation of jjublie law too manifest to be discussed, and too aggravated to be endured." With this fixed conviction of the manner in which that occu- pation is, and must be regarded, the forbearance of the Gover- nor has been exercised, in delaying measures which involve the waste of life: with the earnest hope that the President of the United States would, upon a re-consideration of the whole question, reach a conclusion consistent with those principles of Civil Liberty, which were intended to be promoted by the Con- federation of the United States. But if 3'our letter is rightly understood, the President must now be understood as claiming a right for the enjoyment of certain privileges in and over the soil of South Carolina; and demanding a quasi transit for the officers and troops of the United States ; for a purpose not necessarily, nor iiuder the cir- cumstances of the case, even properly accomjjlished by that transit. And when so demanded, in connection with a purpose for which it is not necessary ; and when that purpose is in fact accomplished without it; the demand must be regarded as really not connected with such purpose, and must therefore be considered irrespective of it. You cannot be unaware of the fact, that however much the temper of the people of South Carolina may be controlled under the peculiar circumstances which now surround them ; you have no right to ask that they should be still further sub- jected to constant causes of irritation. ISTor does the Governor desire to enquire upon what ground you demand as a right, with the '' fixed purpose" of the President " to enforce" it, that which will expose Major Anderson and the garrison at Fort Sumter to an unpleasant meeting with those who, a few weeks since, regarded them as friends ; but now are forced to consider them as the instruments, unwilling though it may be, of at- tempted oppression and wrong. It was to save the officei'S of the United States from the unpleasant position in which they must feel they are now placed, and to sjDare the people of the State unnecessary excitement, that the Governor suspended communication between Fort Sumter and the City, except under his orders ; and that Major Anderson and his garrison now receive all matter coming to them through the mail with- out displeasure or disquietude. Of all this the Governor under- stands you have received full information. For what purpose, then, you should claim a transit for Major Anderson and his garrison through the State, the Governor does not undertake to determine. But the circumstances now stated are sufficient, in the opinion of the Governor, to sustain him in saying, that it is what you should not ask. Your application involves the assertion of a right to regulate the conduct of the authorities of this State ; and conti'ol their discretion in regard to matters, which concern the dignity of the State and affect the peace of its citizens. This cannot be ex- pected, nor can it be conceded. With as much reason could it be required that a transit should be furnished for the troops of the United States through the limits of the State, to execute a hostile purpose upon the people of Georgia or Florida. The soil of the State was free from the conti'ol of the Government while it was one of the United States ; and that exemption has scarcely been lost, because it has dissolved its connection with those States. The Governor desires me to say, that in j'our expression of the s])irit with Avhich the President is animated, and which " seeks a peaceful solution of the difficulties so unhappily sub- sisting," he heartily concurs ; and on his part, no eff'ort consist- ent with the dut}' he owes the State, will be spai^ed to avoid unnecessary collision, or remove the causes of irritation which now exist. And when he declines to give to Major Anderson and his garrison the permission which you require, he does so because the purpose for which you a.sk it is accomplished, and in a better way, without it; in a manner, too, which the Gov- ernor has been informed, is perfectly agreeable to Major Ander- son and his garrison ; which removes all causes of irritation ; and which, consistently with all of these, maintains the dignity of the State, and secures peace to its citizens by preventing any premature collision. In all of these respects, it should rather be regarded by the President of the United States with approbation, and command his concurrence ; than be converted into a subject of complaint. The Governor desires me, in conclusion, to say, that he docs not consider it necessary to make any further reference to the threats which are expressed and imjilied in j'our letter, than that they are not involved, and therelbre do not affect him, in the discussion or determination of any portion of the subject 2 10 matter of your letter. To them, therefore, no reply is neces- sary. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, (Signed) A. G. MAGRATH. Hon. J. Holt, Post Master General, Washington, D. C. No. 3. [letter of HON. A. IIUOER TO HON. J. HOLT.] Post OrriCE, Charleston, Jajiuary 12th, 1861. Hon. J. Holt : Sir: Your own of the 10th is just received. When commu- nication between the city and Fort Sumter was first interrupt- ed. Governor's words to me in person, " under intense excite- ment and in order to avoid collision between unauthorized parties," distinction was made, by order of Governor Pickens in two instances, between official and private letters for Major Anderson. Subsequently, this decision seems to have been re-considered, and I now send all mail matter for Major Ander- son and for his command, under sealed cover from this office j and continue to do so to this day, as opportunity occurs; and I do so without "surveillance of the Post Office or other author- ity at Charleston." I can only say, that if such letters have been sent to this office, they were dropped in without my knowledge. Had they been delivered to me, I would have for- warded them as all other matter is forwarded. Your obedient servant, ALFRED HUGBR, P. M. 11 No. 4. [letter op HON. W. W. HARLLEE to major ROBERT ANDERSON.] State of South Carolina, Post Office and Customs Bureau, Charleston, January 13?A, 1861. To Major Eobert Anderson, Commanding Fort Sumter : Sir : I am instinietcd by his Excellency, Govci'nor Pickens, to propose that, for the present, you establish communication with Fort Johnson, under command of Captain Johnson, every day or every other (.\a.y, for the purpose of receiving and for- warding the mails for 3'our command. By sending your boat to Fort Johnson at twelve o'clock, m., you will receive your mails under sealed cover from Mr. Ilugcr, the Post Master here, from Captain Johnson, and can have delivered to Captain J. the mail matter you wish forwarded. This suggestion is made with the view of avoiding any collision which, in the present excited state of feeling, might occur, by 3'our boat coming to the city. If the arrangement meets your approbation, you will please signify it by replying, and the proper orders wall be given for executing it. I send herewith a letter left by R. N. Gourdin for jon prior to his leaving for Washington last night. I have the honor to be. Very respectfully, W. W. UAELLEE. No. 5. [letter of major ROBERT ANDERSON TO HON. W. W. HARLLEE.] Fort Sumter, January loth, 18(51. Hon. TV. W. IIarllee, Post Office and Customs Bureau. Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receijit of your note of this date, and to state in reply, that the arrangement suggested meets my appi'oval, and that as soon as informed that the proper instructions have been given, I will have my mail matter delivered as suggested. I am, Sir, Very respectfully, yours, ROBBIIT ANDERSON, f Major U S. Army. 12 No. 6. [letter of HON. \¥. W. HARLLEE TO MAJOR ROBERT ANDERSON.] State of South Carolina, Post Office and Customs Bureau. Charleston, January 14, 1861. Major EoBERT Anderson, Commanding at Fort Sumter. Sir : By direction of the Governor, I enclose copy of an order to Captain Joseph Johnson, commanding at Fort John- son, in respect to the mail matter to and from your command. The order will be taken to Captain Johnson by tbe Boat which takes this to you, and you can proceed to act under it. The mails to-day are sent j^ou from the Post Office. The enclosed communication was received to-day by his Excellency, which he instructs me to forward you. I have the honor to be. Very, respectfully, &c., W. W. HARLLEE. No. 7. [letter of HON. W. W. HARLLEE TO HON. A. HUGER.] State of South Carolina, Post Office and Customs Bureau. Charleston, January 15, 18G1. A. Huger, Esq., Post Master, Charleston, S. C. Sir : Arrangements have been made to send the mails for the command of Major Anderson, daily, to Fort Johnson, and to receive his mails there for forwarding. You will, therefore, please deliver to Quarter Master Gen- eral Hatch, or his order, the mails, under sealed cover, for the command at Fort Sumter, dail}'-, until otherwise advised. I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, W. W. HAELLEE. / ^/l (f7y :,^rV7U- /> ■P /- 3 V- v5 / ^