■» .■?■ <^c b ' • ^0 9 .-^^^ "oK • / 1 v^.!^'- " %,^* ' "^ N O 4°^ 5^^ V f • • ■ ^ aO '^I '3^ 5 CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO A SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY. Thornbueg Plantation, ] Northampton Co., N. C. j" To the Editor of the Standard: } Sir: In one of your receiit issues you call upon the citizens of our State to give you their views on the present aspect of affairs in the nation, and of the course for the South to pur- sue, that you may be supported (in case of approval) in laying before 3^our readers the sentiments you have heretofore ex- pressed. This call 1 deem it highly proper to be made, not only by yourself, (your very responsible situation as Editor of a paper, which is the principal source of information on public matters to so large a portion of our people, makes it import- ant you should be well informed,) but also the Executive and other officers should in so momentous a time as the present, when a complete change in the relations of our country is im- minent, know well what support they can rely on in case ur- gent necessity demands unusual and decided action by our State. He who noAv denies that " there is danger to the State " — that a dissolution of the Confederacy established by our fath- ers is threatening and imminently so, is blind to what is pass- ing around him, is regardless of the continuous progress and increasing aggressions of the abolitionists and their affiliators, the black Eepnblicans, and closes his reason to the teaching of history — that of the Puritans in particular — who have al- ways been exhibited as tanatics and despotically aggressive from the time of John Knox and Oliver Cromwell to those of Gerritt Smith and Wendall Phillips. In this state of trouble and danger, it is eminently proper for us to consider what we, the citizens of the State shall do, first for our self preservation, next, for the preservation of law and good order among ourselves, and (if consistent with these) our present Union. No Southern man, nor any man well informed as to the true situation of the South and of the negro character, will deny, that to preserve our property, even more, our very lives and the lives and honor of our wives and families, the four millions of negroes among us, must be kept in their pre- sent state of subjection. That this will soon become impossi- ble, under the continuous, persevering and energetic aggres- sions of the North, is obvious to all, who, like mj^self, have watched the progress of events for the last twenty-five years. What in 1830 and '35 was the denunciation of Arthur Tap- pan and his satellites, in 1859 becomes the raid of John Brown, encouraged and supported by thousands of men, public and private, and aided by money enough to arm and equip thou- sands of insurrectionary negroes ! What, at the former pe- riod, were the muttered vaporings of a few fanatics and the revilings of a few obscure prints, is now disseminated broad- cast through the land by the press, by the pulpit— j^roj^wtZor/ and by orators and lecturers, and is even forced upon us, by vile, false and incendiary documents. " An irrepressible con- flict" is loudly proclaimed by the great leader of the North, who declares that " they can and will " exterminate slavery from the land ; they "will follow it in Yirginia, in the Caro- linas, aye even into Texas." And to effect this, calls to his aid a '' liigher law " than the Constitution he has solemnly sicorn to support ; (and this is the man that the North expects quietly and suT^missively to be installed in authority over us, and in whose hands the whole power of the Executive, the army, navy and treasury, is to be placed ! Yerily, we shall deserve all that has been threatened against us, if we do.) Again : what but a few yeai's back was an attempt at vari- ous conciliations, is at this moment an attempt at one of the grossest and most gratuitous insults ever put by one nation u])()n another! The John Brown raid was bad enough, but the encouragement of efforts to produce insurrection and treason among us, ten times more numerous and a liundred times more horrible, is far leyoiid the John Brown raid, in atrocity ; what then can we think of those who have been banded togetlier for months, with unanimity unparalleled in our political history, for the purpose of electing as the gov- erning officer over Southern men that man whose homos and households and whose property he had been encouraging others to destroy ! The animus wdiich governed sixty-eight Representatives of the ^orth, to encourage the attempts re- commended in Helper's book to create insurrection and trea- son among us, and the unanimous support of these men by the black Republican party, must be looked on by candid minds as out-weighing far all the good effect of all the Union meetings at the North, %maccompaiiied as they have been by any rebuke to these men, Kew^ Jersey alone standing out in view as having done so. Such being the state of things in our country, it is time to ponder them well ; it is time to look out for our self-preserva- tion. Now the question comes up, shall we be any better off in a Southern Confederacy than in one with such discordant elements in it as the present one with the North, and espe- cially with that puritan people of New England ? I am not so presumptuous, Mr, Editor, as to suppose that T can lift the veil of the future, and disclose wdiat will and what will not be the state of things in so deplorable an event as the breaking up of this great confederacy. I content myself with laying before my fellow-citizens of the State the views and considerations which have presented themselves to my mind, in a loner and anxious examination of the subject. I propose to offer these considerations very concisely in the following order : 1st, the relations that would exist to the civilized world, in case of the formation of a Southern Confederacy by the fifteen slave States ; next to the North, or to a Northern Confederacy ; and, lastly, those that would exist among the States and people of the Southern Confederacy themselves. Premising Ihat no statesman, or even reader of modern history, wdll deny that the material interests of nations is the guide of their policy in this the 19th century, that Cabinets are governed in treaties, alliances, reciprocities, itc, by tlie expected advantages to their nations, let us note hovv' 'we shall stand towards the i-est of the world in this regard. A Southern Confederacy would present to Europe a nation that produces all those great staples, Cotton, Sugar, Tobacco, Naval Stores, &c., tfec , which are not only in great demand, but of absolute necessity to the maintenance of inillions of her inhabitants, either for consumption, manufacture, or revenue. The destruction or even the material diminution of these pro- ducts of tlie Souths would be attended by a total change in the course of trade, manufacture and commerce of the civi- lized world. Its destruGtion would be followed immediately by bankruptcies and ruin of thousands in England, France and Germany, such as were not witnessed even during the wars of Napoleon. It would throw out of employment and upon the public for support, the inillions — live in Great Bri- tain alone— who now support themselves by the manufacture, &G,^ o\' 0117' products alo7ie. This is no exaggeration. Lord Stanly, the son of the present Premier of Englaiid, and him- self one of the first statesmen of his country, declared in a speech to his constituents, only a few 3"ears since, on occasion of the difficulties between the United States and Great Bri- tain, that "a war with the United States was next to an im- possibility ;" that the mutual interests of the two countries were too closely connected ; that the deprivation of the sup- plies of Cotton^ would, in six months, produce almost univer- sal bankruptcy, and in twelve months an insurrection of the working classes ! Now just one reflection here. Is it likely that England, which only a few years ago sent her men-of- war (and in a time of profound peace) to Italy, Xo force a con- tinuance of the supplies of sulphur, and did force it, is Eng- land likely to stand aloof, when she sees an infinitely more important supply cut off, and by an attack — supposing such a thing possible, which I do not — of the North, her rivals up- on the people, who, and who only^ can offer her these sup- plies? Further: the southern part of the United States man- ufactures but a very inconsiderable portion of her consump- tion, either of her own products or those of other countries, while lier demand for the manufactures and goods of every kind exported from Europe, but now supplied, to a very great extent, by nortKern manufactories, is enormously large and constantly increasing — while the fact that the profitable em- ployment of her labor in agriculture, and the indisposition of her capitalists towards manufacturing, gives promise that she is not likely for many years to interrupt these supplies from Europe, by high tariffs or by engaging in rival manufactories. Thus, a confederacy of the slave States would offer to the friendship and alliances of Europe the " material interests" of a doubly profitable trade — that of a supply oi raw products, and a cZ^m(2?i<^ for manufactures and other goods. Wh.at other nation on the face of the globe can offer such a temptation to England, France and Germany? It would be almost enough to turn the philanthropic dealers in the Coolie trade back to the original African slave trade, and convert the armed cruis- ers off the African coast into Baltimore clippers, to bring us more slaves, that thereby their profits might be increased. It would make them urge on the acquisition of Cuba, and the annexation of Nicaragua, Musquito, Eaitan Islands and all ! "What a contrast to this would be the position of the northern States ? Kival, always, in manufactures, in trade and in com- merce, bordering countries with border disputes on the St. John's in Maine, on the St. Lawrence in New York, and on St. Juan in Oregon — nothing but Old King Cotton has here-' tofore kept the peace ! — 7i(? had but to rise from his snowy throne at the South, shake his white locks,^ raise his omnipo- tent finger and bid them be still, and they have been still! This is but a metaphor, Mr. Editor, but every statesman in the land must admit its truthfulness. While these strong inducements to the friendly considera- tion of the great nations of Europe are offered by a purely Southern Confederacy, it would afibrd but few or no causes for distrust or jealousy on their part. We are far removed from the scene of their struggles; we have no disposition to interfere with them ; our commerce is but small, and we should require but few ships of war to protect it ; our coast presents its own defence ; we have no rich and large cities 8 on the sea to tempt cupidity ; we are engaged in no enter- prise calculated to bring us into collision with foreign nations; we are not airgressive: we need offend none, unless it be our Northern Puritanic philanthropists, who sa}^ we "sin in slavery," and to prove it, invoke "an anti-slavery Bible and an anti-slavery God," and would call in "a higher law" to punish us ! A few words now as to the ability of a Southern confederacy to maintain a high position among the nations of the earth. [ shall not in this consideration, enter into an examination of the causes that give power and authority among nations; it would require too much time and space ; suffice it to say, that one of the chief of these causes is the ability of a State to maintain a large and prosperous trade with the chief and rival States of the world, and of this we have ample. I will now ffive a few statements to show the ability of the South to take care of herself, and to support a powerful State in an efficient and dignified manner. Fu'st, as to revenue, the sta- tistics of the United States show the fact that of the whole exports of the products of the country (except specie) amounting to 2T8 millions annually, the slaveholding States alone exported 220 milhons, while the non-slaveholding States exported less thon 6 millions, the balance being so mixed it could not well be ascertained to which section the values be- longed. ^N'ow, this export of the products of the soil, to the extent of 220 to 240 milHons by the South, gives a basis to an import of full 200 millions, (and leaves a handsome surplus) on which a reduced tariff of 20 per cent, would afford a revenue of 40 millions of dollars without any direct tax, which would be more than ample for all our wants. Indeed, we could readily reduce the tariff' to 10 per cent, average, and still have ample means to support a government quite as well as the present one, under its system of wasteful extrava- p^ance and constant frauds. We should be relieved from the enormous cost of fortifying New York, Boston, the Lakes, ^c. We should have no Mormon war, requiring transpor- tation of troops and supplies, and almost fabulous prices, and o-ivino- birth, to a legion of contractors, able and willing to 9 prey on the government to an unlimited extent. Our coasts need but few and small size cruizers. Our commerce not being, or likely to be, very extended for many years, would require but few ships-of-war to protect it in foreign ports. Our army need be but a nucleus to form on, in case of neces- sity. Having, then, an abundant supply of funds to carry on the government, the South has ever shown herself to possess the first statesmen of the country, and no where can a more enlightened, intelligent and patriotic series of names be found than those offered by the South from George Wash- ington to those now representing her in the councils of the na- tion in Washington City. We can fearfessly yield our interests and those of the government into the hands of those states- men, vrith whom it will be intrusted on the formation of a Southern confederacy. I will now consider some of the more prominint points of the position that would be presented to the !North by a confederacy of the Southern States, in case such were to occur. Massachusetts, Yermont, Wisconsin and several of the other IN^orthern States having already repu- diated the contract between us, i. e., the constitution, by passing laws contrary to the provision of that contract, in those particulars that do not 2)le(ise tkeiii, and thereby "void- ing the whole contract," let us suppose that the fifteen South- ern States were to "accept the annulment," and call a convention among themselves "to form a more perfect Union" under a new confederation. Let us suppose further that in the interval between the election of a black Kepublican Pres- ident and the time of his inauguration in March, a period of four months^ this convention had met, organized, agreed upon a contract or constitution which had been accepted by the States in their Legislative assemblies ; had elected and inaugurated a President ; had called home her sons from the army and navy, and put the country on her defence, a de- fence not only of political rights — not only of property, nor even of life ! but of that which is far more dear, of the de- fence of their wives and families from the horrors of another St. Domingo war ! and think you, Mr. Editoi', would not the l^orth pause before attempting to " whip in " such a people 10 armed for defence of such a cause? and would they not, even if all of them were inspired with the deadl^^ hatred of a Phillips or a Garrison, ponder well before attacking ns, and that without a motive, and against their own obvious inter- ests? For the purpose of argument, however, let us consider this question of an attack of the lN"orth upon the South, either for the purpose of '' whipping" us back into forced Union, or of conquest. The States of Virginia, Marjdand, Kentucky, Tennessee and North-Carolina possess a militia of over 500,000 able bodied men, badly armed, it is true, but quite as well as were their fathers of the revolution. Of this body 200,000 could alwa3"s be kept ready for action, mean- while living in their own country and among friends at little expense, Now, to attack an enemy's country, an army must be well armed and thoroughly equipped, provisioned, &c. This, by the estimate of our engineer corps, cannot be done under a cost of ijl, 000 per head, so that to form and bring into the fi.eld, ready for attack, in any enemy's country, an army of 100,(^-00 men, which would be the least number any military man would think of beginning an attack with, would cost not less ^than 100 millions of dollars. Where is this sum to come fromf Recollect, Mr. Editor, there w^ill then be no ''United States" in whose name loans can be raised, and the l)ankers of England, France and Germany will hardly be willing to loan money to their rivals to crush their friends, wdiose products are so necessary to them, while -the South can offer any securitj^ ijipon the pledge of her pro- ilucts. It VMS upon the 2^l<^dge of Southern tohacco and rice thai this govermnent made its first loan in Europe^ through Silas Dean^ from Bcaumarchais^ the French hanker. In vshort, if the North were united in an attempt to force the South back into a Fnion, it would soon be driven off in dis- grace by the power wliich the South possesses of raising, not only her own forces in defence^ but by the control she has of the material interest of the civilized world as against a mad attack of this kind upon her. Bat, Mr. Editor, there will be no attack upon us, as I think you will a^re.Cj on a ca^lni consideration of the two parties, 11 after a separation. Bear in mind that tlie horder country in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ilh'nois and Indiana, are friendly, and oft times connected by marriage, property, &c., with their Southern neighbors ; it is only the more northern counties of those States that supply the John Brown raid, the slave stealers, &c. This gives us great assurance of ex- emption from smaller raids upon the border, and these could be completely prevented by a cordon of border police, armed and mounted— read v to act at a moment's warnino- — and keeping close watch on all suspicious persons crossing the border. This could be effected for one quarter part of the amount of the present losses by slave stealers, and would only be necessary till the relation between the two countries could be decided. And now let us consider what this relation is likely to be. It must either be civil war^ carried on with all the horrors that ever attended such contests, or it will be a friendly alliance of contiguous and homogeneous people, whose interests, education and general character are in ac- cordance. In short, if it assumes a peaceful nature, it will resemble much the alliance that now exists between Eno-land and Scotland, who, while they have many differing laws and customs, and differ in many characteristics, are yet con- tent, and were, for many years, content to remain peacefully side by side ; or that between Canada and the United States, with conterminous boitndaries, free navigation of boundary rivers, like the St. John, and the St Lawrence, and recipro- city treaties, like that negotiated a few years since, admittino- the products of either country without duty. In brief, there is no reason why the two confederacies should not exist, side by side, with friendly relations, free from all commercial re- strictions, permitting a close and friendly intercourse of citi- zens of each country, and intimate business transactions, just us at present, except that the JSTorthern people will have no voice in the making of our laws, and we shall be rid of the aggressiveness of Puritanical fanaticism, which, in its blind pursuit of its own vain imaginings, would destroy a Paradise — would substitute for the mild precepts of our Holy Religion a "higher law," an "anti-slavery bible, and an anti-slavery 12 Q-od" — would hurl the blessed Saviour of mankind from his throne in Heaven, and place Jolm Brown, the cheat, the horse thief, and midnight murderer, in his stead ! ]S"ow, Mr. Editor, can there be an}^ doubt as to which course would be adopted by the Northern States upon a withdrawal of the South from the present confederacy? Doubtless, if only two or three of the Southern States were to withdraw, the North might attempt to coerce them ; but would the other Southern States permit this ? To do so would be to surrender the liberties of the whole South ! This, however, is not the question now under consideration, — it is whether a great civil war would be undertaken against us in case of the withdrawal of the slave States from a nationalitij with the North? Bear in mind that it is not the horder people we have to fear ; they are generally friendly and know enough of the negroes not to desire more of them as public nuisances among themselves. Then it would only be by the imited action of the North that any great or important aggressive action could be taken, re- sulting in a miUtary attack upon us. Now, would the North- west, the North, and the New England States be likely to be united among themselves f Are their interests so mutual and dependent reciprocally, as to unite them in any great enter- prise, much less one involving the expenditure of millions and the sacrifice of thousands of lives, — the disrupture of all busi- ness, the destruction of all prosperity, and the utter ruin of numbers of their best people ? With whom is the great North- west most closely connected ? Certainly with the South, through the great channel of the Mississippi, which it would be as much an object of the South to keep open and free, to retain the business of the Northwest, (for we are not likely to drive off our best friends to propagate an abstraction of our own,) as it would tor the Northwest itself! With whom does New York and Pennsylvania carry on the most profitable trade ? Certainly not with New England ; in fact, it has been declared by some of the members from New York City, that "New York could not afford to break with the South ;" and her orators have declared they had best break with New Enojland ! 13 Again : when the North should meet in council, on so mo- mentous an occasion as the disruption of our present Confed- eracy, and to consider what was best to be done for their own safety and prosperit^^ it would be her statesmen who would then be called from their present exile ; her Everetts, her "Winthrops, her Appletons, her Dickinsons, and her Seymours, would then lead the deliberations of her councils and the ac- tion of her assemblies. The Wilsons, Sumners, Hickmans, and Chaffees would descend to the obscurity whence their vile demagoguical pandering to an ignorant fanaticism, only has raised them. There would be no question of "squatter sove- reignty," no "fugitive slave law," no "territorial rights" for these persons to make a noise about, but these would be changed for the solemn consideration of the future of their counti-y. And when the question comes up before such an assembly of conservative statesmen, whether they should com- mence a civil war, of which none of the most sanguine could foresee the end, the wisest foretell the result; or whether Ihey should offer an alliance of comity and free trade to a sister Republic, from whom so much was to be gained by trade and commerce, or so much to be lost by a distracting and desola- ting war — can there be a doubt as to the way they would decide ? None ! My own opinion is — and I have been closely intimate in Massachusetts for twenty-five years — that in less than two years after the formation of a Southern Confederacy, Massachusetts herself would agree not only to return all fugi- tive slaves that may escape hereafter to her territory, but to restore all now on her soil, in order to obtain a treaty from the South, by which her manufactures would be received by us on the same terms the)" now are. In fact a Southern Con- federacy^ would hold the prosperity, for ^-ears at least, of all New England in the hollow of her hand. For the prosperity of New England being dependent exclusively upon manufac- tures and commerce, without the market of the South foj* the former and the protection of the navigation laws for the latter, these, nearly her sole employment, must perish. No, Mr. Editor, when the North find, too late, that they have driven their brethren of the South into a new Confede- u racy, for their self-preservation, reflection will then come, and their object will be, most assuredly, not to begin a destructive .and useless war against them, but to recover by negotiation and treaty the advantage of their former trade and relations, and in bidding for this, I venture to predict that Massachu- setts will out do all her competitors ! Many other reasons could be adduced to prove the utter improbability, almost impossibility, of a civil war being a se- quence to the formation of a Southern Confederac}^, but really it would seem like silly surplusage to argue the matter further. The nineteenth century is not an era, in which a disastrous and desperate crusade for the propagation of a fanatical creed is likely to be undertaken by civilized nations, and there as- suredly is no other cause for a murderous onslaught upon an unoifending and homogenous people, than that we can't be made "by moral suasion" to believe that "slavery is a sin against the laws of God and man," for we lind it clearly or- dered in the former, and it has been acknowledged by the latter in all civilized and uncivilized nations, and in all periods of history till the supposed interests of England excluded it a few 3^ears ago, at least so far as the Mack man is concerned. Cobbett, Coleman, Lester and others, tell us that as yet, the white laborer of England has not been freed, but is in a far worse state than slavery. Havino^ thus shown that a confederacy of the fifteen slave States would present to the civilized world a nation whose friendship and alliance is every way desirable, and whose wealth and power must soon make it rank with the first of the earth — whose revenues would at once, and without any bur- then upon the people, enable it to support a dignified and liberal government ; and further, that so far from an attack upon us by the North, our trade and alliance would be equally sought for there, it only remains to consider the relation that would exist among the States and peoples of the new confed- eracy. And here we are at once met by a fact of no small impor- tance in this consideration : it is, that we are, in many re- spects, a different people from those of New England, and 15 more homogenous. This difference first arose from the dif- ferent "stock" from wliich we sprung. This is too well known to every one familiar with the earl}^ history of his own coun- try, for me to do more than refer to it at present. It is suffi- cient to say there has been, at different periods, antagonism between the two ever since the. times of Queen Mary, of Scot- land, and Charles the 1st, of England, and our owm. This difference of origin has not been obliterated ; indeed, the difference of early education, of domestic institutions, of general religious training and of occupation, (we being chiefly engaged in agriculture and they in trade and manufactures,) has continued the marked difference between the men of the Southern and those of the Northern and New England States especially. This difference between the people of the two sections has caused an increased friendliness and confidence among those of similar characteristics — as far as the natxire of each disposes them to frankness and confidence — and the Southern people, let their political differences be what they may, have unbounded confidence in each other, that when the time of real trial comes, all Southern men will be found bound together, and ready to defend their rights to the last. The only difference is as to whether that time is'close atliand or in tlie uncertain future. The confidence thus existing throughout the slave States is the last thing xiecessary to make perfect and impregnable the tie that ?^c^(?binds them together, and which is the strongest of all ties, that of a common clanger and a common interest. I shall not enlarge upon this topic; it is too well known among ourselves. I will only say that but for the control which the slave States of the Union have had over certain of the necessary material interests of the civ- ilized nations of the globe, we should — if not long since — soon find it impossible to retain our property, and these Sontliern States would present the picture of another St. Domingo or Jamaica. 'Tis true that enlightened statesmen of the day begin to discover that the interests of a large number of peo- ple require that they be supplied with Cotton, Sugar, &c., tfec, and that no wdiere can these be had on so favorable terms I as from us. This has given us our present position, which is 16 one of great power and influence; but viho can tell how long we shall retain this? Who can tell what changes in the econ- om}^ and trade of mankind a few short years may not produce ? It has required but iifty years to make the Cotton crop the most important exchange crop in the world, and its control the object of might}'- nations to struggle for! What may not the next fifty years produce? With the loss of this power and influence, what would be our situation in such a Union as the present ? With an over- whelming numerical majority at the JN^orth, and four-fifths of this majority composed of such materials as the present black Republican party, what safety would there be for us? When you reflect that even now, with all our advantages, this peo- ple, so dependent upon us and this very slave labor for all their prosperity, almost for the bread they eat and the clothes they wear, would destroy this labor and create a servile war to carry out their abstract creed ! When, further, the fact is known that this unscrupulous party which has already repu- diated the Constitution in so many States, which has produc- ed a " Ileiss " Legislature in Mass., and an anti-Supreme Court Judge in Wisconsin, is constantly urged on by the un- tiring, never-ending, reckless band of fanatics, (who are by no means among the low, but who count their Phillips's, Quin- cys, Emmersons and Sillimans, men of fortune and position,) it cannot be doubted by him who "judges of the future by the past," who reasons from the lights of history and experi- ence, that the rights and privileges of the South would be totally disregarded soon after changes in the aflfairsofthe world liad lost, to it the prestige and power it now enjoys. Considerations like these, which might he greatly increased^ but that they do not properly belong to the immediate ques- tion before us, have presented themselves to most reflecting minds at the South, and serve strongly to unite us by the closest bonds, so that in case of the formation of a Southern Confederacy, we should again witness the same self-sacrifice, forbearance, and sense of justice which influenced and gov- erned the action of our forefathers of the revolution, while IT there would be still less of the discordant elements of a varied nationality to adjust in the new government. I might extend the consideration of this part of the ques- tion much further, but as it is well known to most of us, and as there is no one point which is likely, even in a remote de- gree, to raise any antogonism between different States of the South, as their interests are the same, their occupations alike, and their general characteristics more homogeneous than that of any civilized nation of so large a population. I do not deem it necessary further to refute the slanders that some have uttered, viz : that in case of the attempt at the forma- tion of a new Confederacy, the South would be betrayed by the ambition of a few aspiring men — her own sons — into an- archy and confusion. But I earnestly entreat from my fel- low-citizens a solemn consideration of the great question now before us. The future of this great country depends upon a decision that may very shortly be upon us, whether we will or no. Let all private and party considerations be laid aside ; this matter is of far more importance, and should overrule them all. Before quitting the subject, let me endeavor to put the true state of things at the North, in one particular, before my fel- low-citizens. It is, that the political leaders are no Jono-or leading the people in abolitionism and aggression, but it is the people who are now urging on their Kepresentatives, they themselves being constantly excited by the harangues, &c.. of the fanatical orators, writers, and lecturere, such as Phil- lips, Cheever, Curtis, etc. It is this which makes the matter so dangerous and almost hopeless of a happy termination. The conviction of this truly unfortunate state of tilings was forced on me during a recent stay of several weeks in New England, shortly before and after the time when John Brown was hung ; and no man of common sense who would use his eyes and ears, and was a witness of what occurred there, could be made to believe that the great mass of the people did not more or less sympathize with John Brown, and not a few even of those high in position, to the extent of his canoniza- tion ; and this notwithstanding all the efforts of all the conser* 2 IS vatism of the country to spread the true cliaracter of the man before the pubhc ! Yes, the leaders have raised the storm, and instead of being able to direct it, are themselves obliged to follow its every impulse. The shrewdest of them begin to realize that they have gone too far for their own purposes, and w^ould fain moderate their language and aggressions. Seward would give his ears to recall his Rochester speech, but it is too late. And such is the Puritan character, such is its stubborn fanaticism when aroused, tha^ if the present lead- ers are not sufficiently bold they will be turned out and oth- ers more extreme in their principles put in ; it will again be the Long or Rump parliament replacing the short parliament, as in the days of Charles the First, of England. Truly does " history repeat itself," and it behooves us, if wc would not witness a repetition of that portion of it which de- scribes the unbridled license of triumphant fanaticism, to be more watchful than were the Royalists of the times of the English revolution. Of one thing, at least, we may be sure, fanaticism is never conciliated by concession^ and no conces- sion can be greater or exhibit more weakness than to admit the right oi any of its leaders to be installed into the Execu- tive power over ns. To place in the hands of a man who has openly and boldly proclaimed to the Northern people, " slave- ry can be limited ^ ^ -^ ^'- it can and must be abolish- ed, and you and I must do it," (see Seward's Ohio speech,) the power of the army and navy, and of the treasury^ would be a folly that would deserve, and doubtless bring the heaviest punishment. Our only excuse for permitting the inaugura- tion of such a man, could be, that we believed he was lying to deceive his Northern allies, and lor our 'benefit^ for it is too late now to alledge as some of his friends do, that he did not mean what he said! He has repeated the substance of the principle too often since, and in too many places and at long intervals, for that excuse to hold. It is either his intention to limit and abolish slavery as soon as it is in his power to do so, or he lies^ and certainly is not to be trusted b}^ the South. In the gloom of mind which the consideration of the state of the country inevitably brings, there is a gleam which comes 19 to cheer us with the hope of better things ; there is still a point in the dark view that the mind of the Southern patriot rests on with satisfaction and trust, which under the Providence of God will yer burn and glow till it has dispersed the lurid clouds that now^Ull the heavens with their frightful forms and sink his soul in solemn sadness — for there can be no sadder page in the history of man, than to see a people run mad by rioting in their own prosperity, destroying with their own hands the noblest work of human government, and that too for a mere abstraction, which has no practical application to them. The pages of history may be sought in vain for a parallel case. This light comes from the Korth — it emanates from that small but noble band of patriots who for long and weary years have fought the battle' of life for their country and the Constitution, who have stood up year after year against over- whelming numbers — against almost universal opposition— against slander, taunt and vituperation — against the denun- ciations of the slanderous Phillips and the foul-mouthed Sumner, who have never sank under the assaults of their host of enemies, or despaired nnder defeat, nor bowed the knee to that well worshipped Idol of New England, " public opin- ion." This glorious band is still in the field, and instead of sinking, is redoubling its efi'orts in behalf of the Con- stitution and the country; its numbers are at length increas- ing ; upon its success, under Providence, the continuation of our Union depends — for we at the South have done all that in us lay — we can do no more — in the emphatic language of the Rev. Dr. Wheaton, " the battle is to be fought at the North." Should our friends succeed in the engagement now near at hand, and the black Republican party be beaten, it may give time for the New England mind to be disabused of the errors that twenty-five years of false education have grafted on it. It may give time for their wise men to teach wisdom instead of fanaticism to the people, and for their true minis- ters of Christ's Gospel to turn them from their " anti-slavery Bible and anti-slavery God " to the true teachings of his 20 Holy Word. Unless this is done we shall have only an ar- mistice instead of peace. Meantime let ns of the South maintain onr full, just and equal rights, keeping ourselves guarded and prepared, ever ready to extend the hand of fellowship and alliance, but never to permit any man, who teaches or wlio^ias taught a higher law to himself than the constitution, or who proclaims a determination to interfere either with our property or our rights, to be inaugurated into the possession of the power to enforce this determination. Wlien that time comes let us receive back the broken tion- tract, the constitution already vitiated by so many of the Northern States. Tours most respectfully, " H. K. B. Of Northampton. {Extract from Seward) s Ohio speech :) "The party of freedom seeks complete and universal eman- cipation. -^S- vc- * ^ -vr ^- -:f ^J V* " Slavery is the sin of not some of the States only, but of them all ; of not one nation only, but of all nations. It per- verted and corrupted the moral sense of mankind deeply and universally, and this corruption became a universal habit. Habits of thought become fixed principles. 'No American State has yet delivered itself entirely from these habits. We, in New York, are guilty of slavery still by withholding the right of suffrage from the race we have emancipated. You, in Ohio, are guilty in the same way by a system of black laws still more aristocratic and odious. It is written in the Consti- tution of the United States that five slaves shall count equal to three freemen as a basis of representation ; and it is writ- ten, also, in violation of Divine law, that we shall surrender the fugitive slave who takes refuge at our fireside from his relentless pursuer. You blush not at these things because they have become as familiar as household words ; and your pretended free-soil allies claim peculiar merit for maintaining these miscalled guarantees of slavery which they find in the national compact. Does not all this prove that the whig par- ty have kept up with the spirit of the age ? that it is as true and faithful to human freedom as the inert conscience of the 21 American people will permit it to be ? "What, then, (you say,) can notliing be done for freedom because the public con- science remains inert? Yes, much can be done; everything can be done. Slavery can be limited to its present bounds. It can be ameliorated. It can be and must be abolished, and you and I can and must do it. The task is simple and easy, as its consummation will be beneficent and its rewards glori- ous. It requires only to follow this simple rule of action ; to do everywhere and on every occasion what we can, and not to neglect or refuse to do what we can at any time, because at that pi'ecise time and on that particular occasion we can- not do more. " Circumstances determine possibilities. *'^ * * "But we must begin deeper and lower than the composi- tion and combination of factions or parties, wherein the strength and security of slavery lie. You answer that it lies in the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions and laws of slaveholding States. 'Not at all. It is in the er- roneous sentiment of the American people. Constitutions and laws can no more rise above the virtue of the people than the lhT:ipid stream can ch'mb above it3 native spring. Inculcate the love of freedom and the equal rights of man under the paternal roof; see to it that they are taught in the schools and in the churches ; reform your own code; extend a cordial welcome to the fugitive who laj^s his weary limbs at your door, and defend him as you would j^-our paternal gods ; cor- rect your own error that slavery has any constitutional guar- antee which may not be released, and ought not to be relin- quished. •5(- ^ -X- « -K- ■^ -Jf -it " Whenever the public mind shall will the abolition of slave- ry, the way will be open for it. "I know that you will tell me this is all two slow. Well, then, go faster, if you can, and I will go with you." {Extract from Mr. SewarWs letter to the Colored Citizens of Alhmiy^ January 10th, 1843 .•) "Gentlemen, if prejudice, interest, and passion did some- times counsel me that what seemed to be the rights of the African race might be overlooked without compromise of principle and even with personal advantage, yet I never have been able to find a better definition of equality than that 22 which is contained in the Declaration of Independence, or of justice, than the form which our religion adopts. If, as the former asserts, all men are born free and equal, institutions which deny them equal political rights and advantages are unjust ; and it I would do unto others as I would desire them to do uj'to me, I should not deny them any right on account of the hue they were, or of the land in which they or their ancestors were born. Only time can del ermine between those who have upheld and those who have opposed the mea- sures to which you have adverted. But I feel encouraged to wait that decision ; since, in a moment when, if ever, re- proaches for injustice should come, the exile does not reproach me, the prisoner does liOt exult in my departure, and the dis- franchised and the slave greet mo with their salutations. And if every other hope of my heart shall fail, the remembrance that I have received the thanks of those who have just cause to U2jhf'aid the memory of our forefathers and to complain of our cotemporaries will satisfy me that I have not lived alto- gether in vain. " May that God whose impartial love knows no difference among those to whom He has imparted a portion of His own spirit, and upon whom he has impressed His own" image, re- ward you for your kindness to me now and in times past, and sanction and bless your generous and noble efforts to regain all the rights of which you have been deprived." THE NOKTH AND THE SOUTH. Letters to the North- Carolina Standard a,nd Nevj York Journal of Commerce^ with extracts from newsjyajpers . By Thornbukg Plantation, near Halifax, ) K C, Jan., 1857. ( To the Editors of the Haleigh Standard: Messrs. Editors : — My position and that of all my family, as quiet unpretending planters, and never engaging in active politics, being known in this State for many years, I trust I may, without arrogance, ask of you a fair consideration of the opinions, &c., expressed in the within letter to a northern newspaper. 23 My opportunities for becoming acquainted with the opin- ions both of pohticians and private individuals at the north, and especially in the leading State of Massachusetts ; and also of the principles and views, for the future^ of the so-called Republican party, are such as southern men rarely have offered them. For eighten years I have mixed freely with all classes there; I have numerous relations and connexions in Connecticut and Massachusetts; for eighteen years I have discussed the question of slavery with all ranks and parties, and been a watchful observer of the progress of "abolition- ism," with its more modest, but near kinsmen, " free soil," "anti-slavery in the District of Columbia," "anti-domestic slave trade," and now "black Republican" parties, all nearly allied, and all gradually assimilating in purpose^ if not in open principle. But little more than twenty years since, when living in New York, I saw Arthur Tappan and his small clique of ten or a dozen unknown persons, looked down upon and despised by men, some of whom do not now hesitate to trample the constitution under their feet and proclaim a "higlierlaw" in support of the very same principles then declared by that very small band of fanatics. But they were armed \s\\\\ fanatical resolution, and the "one idea" was nursed by Tappan, with his then large fortune and energetic, though ill regulated mind, till it acquired numbers, and was found to be an admirable subject of appeal by the poHtical demacrocrue. And now we see these abstractions — and all the more powei'ful on men's minds, because they are abstrac- tions — made the prime, indeed, almost the sole political prin- ciple of the dominant party at the north, and which, unless checked at the norths will unquestionably destroy this con- federacy, and thus destroy the only refuge of struggling civil- ized liberty on the continent of Europe, and fasten the chains of despotism there more securely and for an indefinite period. Now the question is, how is this check to be effected ? How is this blow, now so threatening to the Union, to be weak- ened ? Bear with me, and excuse my presumption, in my anxiety for a continuance of the blessings a merciful God has ^iven us — and of which I felt so severely the deprivation, 24 while in the despotic countries of Europe — while I give you my suggestions, founded on a knowledge of the New England people and their opinions on the slavery question, which last are based chiefly on a gross falsification of facts and a sickly sentimental literature. In this it is quite useless to address oneself to the mere politician or the fanatic; I shall not do so. One of the best means to effect a change in the northern mind is to give them correct information upon this great question. Let the true situation of the southern slave be made known, when it will be found, that instead of the greatly abused and wretched creature he has been heretofore repre- sented to them, he is the best fed, clothed and housed, and the happiest day laborer in the world. Let the negro him- •s^lf, his psychological and pathological nature be shown, and he will b€ discovered to have been pronounced, by the first scientific men — Agassiz and others — inferior to .he white man ; thus indicating by the Creator himself the position he has occupied since the days of the patriarch Abraham ! and which he is destined to fulfil to the end of time, despite the combination of English and American abolitionists. Again, could the magnitude of the interest which tlieKorth has in preserving and even in augmenting the prosperity of the South, as the great customer of its manufactures, the fixiighter of its vessels, the provider of its European exchanges, with a long catalogue of other benefits that serve so materi- ally to make up the prosperity of the jSTorth — conld all this be laid before the men of ]^ew England, who certain]}^ are not lightly alive to their material interests, the demagogues of the day would soon find their vituperation and false statements of "Southern aggression," "Kansas suffering," &c., fall upon heedless ears, and their trade would be gone. There are even men who believe that slave labor operates to the disadvantage of the South in keeping back its advance in prosperity, and thus with the Senator from Maine, would forbid any more slave States to the Union because they think they know better what is for our good than we do ourselves ! Whether this be so or not, it is for tis to decide, and the people of a territory before whom the question may be brought. This opinion. 25 however, can readily be shown to be erroneous. Slave labor is not only the best for us, but it is the only labor that can he controlled \vl this country or suitable to the climate, (and we should be guilty of a great folly in suffering ourselves to be wheedled or threatened out of it.) In the thickly populated and oppressed countries of Europe where labor goes Ijegging to keep off starvation, it becomes the worst kind of slave labor. In the ivQ^ States it is labor that controls capital, it is the mechanical power governing the directing power, it is the army commanding the general, it is the tail directing the head, and when these forces become antagonistic, convulsions occur ; hence the frequent insubordination and " strikes " of the oper- atives at the Xorth, and in the future these must become truly formidable ; while with us our labor, though probably not quite so cheap as the transitory labor picked up as it passes and thrown aside when it is useless, from sickness or old age, is iv^^ from all such objections, and is vQvy profitable yR\\Qw properly directed, as if is now beginning to be, (see the reports in the American Farmer and elsewhere of the great improvements and profits in Maryland, Virginia and ISTorth- Carolina.) I speak very decidudly on this point from practical experi- ence ; being educated at the North and passing so many years there I became fully imbued with the idea common to that country, as to the advantage of free labor, and both my brother and myself tried it thoroughl}^, about fifteen years ago. We imported two vessel loads, one from Boston and one from IN'ew York. Having invested a large amount in the experi- ment, and fully believing in its being successful, it was a long time before we could be induced to change our opinion and give it up, but after trying every expedient, we were at last compelled to do so, and at a heavy loss ; since then I have traveled in many parts of Europe, and understand something of what '' free labor" is there ; and in cdl particulars, even of personal liherty and religious teaching, excepting in France, and every where, in food, clothing and housing, our negroes are far better off throughout the whole South ; in truth white labor is of the most compulsury nature through all Europe, 26 and in England and Italy, especially in tlie former, is of the lowest and most debased character, without virtue, without dignity or pretension, without hope, which, to call it "slave- ry," (as known wilh us,) would be to do it honor. If any of your readers think this exaggeration, let them consult the re- ports of the commissioners sent to the agricultural and manu- facturing districts by the English Parliament, the writings of Cobbett, the late reports to the Morning Chronicle, or even " Colman's Agricultural Tour," — Colman, the agent of the Xew England Agricultural Society. Let this then be shown to the North, not merely by Congressional speeches, (which are read by few,) but by systematic and persevering effort, and they will not be so anxious to force their system upon us; the oft-repeated declaration by superficial observers, that "the South is witliering under the curse of slavery," is simply ridiculous, and is derived chiefly from such writers as 01m- stead, whose crudities are compiled chiefly from conversa- tions with ignorant overseers, " d'ackers," or negroes and negro dealers on a "railroad " journey. Look at the im- mense increase of her productions — her 180 millions of dol- lars of cotton, siirpliis^ her sugar, her tobacco, hemp, rice, wheat, flour, corn, coal, naval stores, lumber, etc., forming in fact almost the entire export of the United States, and pro- viding European exchange for our Northern banks! We have preferred agriculture to manufactures and commerce. It has been our mission — and in which we delight — to redeem the wilderness, to drain the swamp, to clear the cane brake, and to change them from being blots upon the surface to smiling corn fields and productive sugar and cotton planta- tions, supporting the very people as well as oui'selves, who would madly, by their measures, destroy their own prosperity, so dependant upon this very slave labor. But, in truth, the masses at tlie North "know not wdiat they do," and the dem- agogues care not! And how much of this improvement have we not effected, even during the short period of twenty- five years? Let the millions of acres redeemed at the South and South-west show! Let the exports of our country show! Let the statistics of the government show ! Finalh^, let the profits on our productions, which the Kew England manufiic- tnrers make, sliow ! (See the late report of the Boston Board of Trade.) Is it because we cannot point to large cities or over-grown factories that we are not prosperous? Heaven forbid! We like them not; we like not large cities! Wo prefer that our I^orthern brethren— brethren as long as they will "dwell together in unity" with us— should keep their factories and their attendant population, their large cities and ther mobs, "baggage smashers," " bowery boys," etc. We prefer the quiet, independent life of the planter and former, and surrounded by our "servants and bondsmen," looking up to us with affectionate dependance, like the Patriarchs of old, to till the earth and provide food and raiment for man. Why can't they "let us alone?" We can dwell together in unity, both of interest and feeling, if they will cease these denunciations and false statements about us ! Let them stop trying to force upon us, against our wish, their " abstractions and isms," their "moral and religious laws," their "anti- slavery Bible" and "anti-slavery G-^d," their "higher law," their "political economy." We are quite able to judge for ourselves ; if we prefer to choose our religion and morality from the laws of God as given from Mount Sinai and from the teachings of our blessed Saviour and his chosen Apostles, to that which Burlingame and Seward would force upon us, and "sin in slavery," we must look to that God for a judg- ment hereafter. Again, the ITorth must be disabused of the charge of "Southern aggression" and "Southern slave aristocracy." This has been ably done before Congress, it can be done again before the people of the North. All our aggression consists in demanding that we be "let alone" with "equal rights." The North will never bear with aggression, and had this charge been trice, the whole North would have risen up ogainst us as one man and righted themselves, as they have full poli- tical power to do ; but no ! the reading and reflecting men at the North know it is not true, and the honest ones among them dare to say so. (Witness the speeches made in both WhisT and Democratic conventions last summer in Boston and elsewhere.) ^ 28 As to the charge, that there exists a " slave aristocracy " among us, inimical to the institutions formed by our fore- fathers of the revolution, so cunningly brought forward by the able Senator from New York, to prejudice the northern mind against us, and thus aid in his elevation, it is answer enough to point to the names of the illustrious " slave aristo- crats," Washington, Pinckney, Lowndes, Madison, Caswell, Johnstone, and a host of others the brightest and purest among them ; the charge is simply ridiculous, and is only brought up by the cunning cant of the demagogue. In short, if we are to remain united, some measures must be taken to inform the masses at the north of the true state of things with us; the falsehoods so universally and so perseveringly propa- gated by the abolitionists, among the youth of the north of both sexes, for the past twenty-five years, is now effecting its deadly purpose ; the horrors and the absurdities in general belief among large classes there, almost exceeds credibility ; these must be set right, and in doing this, we shall be warmly aided by our friends there, and we have not a few, who are now kept down by the torrent of popular prejudice, bnt whose patriotism will induce them gladly to give testimony and aid in keeping up our glorious Union. Finally, Messrs. Editors, there is one thing more important in my view than aught else ; there is one point more essential to the preservation of our confederacy than all I have enu- merated ; a failure in which, must sooner or later cause not only a disruption of the Union, but inevitably be attended with a bloody conflict, a conflict, both parties of which will be at their last extremity before it is ended ; for, if ever the two sections of this country engage in a trial of battle, neither France in its bloodiest days, nor England in its convulsions, nor yet Rome in its decline, can show a parallel ! If there is any one conviction in my mind on this subject derived from a knowledge of the people of IS'ew England, stronger than another, it is, that the South should never yield one atom of her lull, just, and equal rights under the Constitution; no more compromises — no more adjustments — they are but the resorts of weak minds, or the last refuge of a strong one, and 29 even then, can o\Ci.^ jpostpone the evil. We have lost our po- litical power — we must depend upon our constitutional rights. To yield one point to force, is, with States, to yield every thino;. We shall weaken ourselves with our northern friends by yielding, for if they see us weak in defending our rights they will not come forward to aid ns, for they know we are strong in nothing else. (I mean ])oltticaUy we are far strong- er than the north in defending ourselves against a foreign enemy.) ]^o ! our qvl\j permayiient safety is to place ourselves iirmly on our equal rights, and say to the Kepublican party, " destroy the Constitution ! break that compact which now makes us one people, (and which alas! is almost the sole re- maining link between us,) even in its slightest obligation, and we become a separate nation." We may meanly purchase present immunity from attacks by yielding to present de- mands, but what is to become of our children ? for when were the fanatic followers of an abstract principle ever known to pause in their career of conquest ? Look at France in the pursuit of Liberty sacrificing to a public courtezan as its goddess, or to the Puritans of England raising Cromwell to a pinnacle of power far beyond that possessed by him whom they Mieaded. Can we expect their descendants will pause under the leadership of a Sumner, a Wilson, a Seward or a Gid- dings? And let us not be deceived by the ai}j)arent change of views and moderation of their leaders in Congress. In the present state of the New England mind, they are not sup- ported hy their oiun constituents in this course. " Man is apt to indulge in the illusions of hope," says the illustrious Pa- trick Henry. Let us not be "transformed into brutes," but follow the example of the Orator and our Forefathers, and " resist the evil," as they then did. Most respectfully yours, rata; and that these mort- gages ^\ow\^ first he 'paid., and this jpro rata was so nicely ad- justed by \\\Q'^Q philanthropists ! to the aggregate amount of their mortgages, that of the £20,000,000 appropriated for tills payment, about £18,400,000 only were paid, of wTilch over £i6,000,000 "never left the Ishmd of Great Britain,"" but went to pay these j/J^^76^?^^^'r<9J?^J. *•'••'•' ^ & - 1 • <^ y co" « o ^^/^^'X ,oo^»>^^"°o /\.^;% oi 4°-^ <>t. aO • ' * ° A°^ • I ■» I, ' • '^K ♦ «^ »^ , ^ -o* *^ k f « iPvs t H !i°^ • •• %•' 'bV