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Show 30 DESPOTJSl\1 Carolinians. It is now some twenty years since, that South Carolina considered herself aggrieved, by what she esteemed the usurP.ations of the federal government. She accused Congress of levymg taxes, whtch the constitution did not authorize. No matter whcth. er the charge were true or fals?; those '~ho made i~, doubtless were sincere. And d1d they qmetly submit to this aggression, rather than endanger the Union by their resistance 1 Not they. 'l'hough denounced at the north as rebels and traitors, though coldly looked upon even by those states which shared the grievance, and which had promised to assist in the redress; though unaided and alone, and harassed too by a large party at home, who threatened, in the event of hostilities, to take sides with the general governmcnt,-the South Carolinian leaders magnanimously dared to "calculate the value of the Union;" and they concluded, like brave men as they were, that rather than give place to what they esteemed oppression, rather than be ruled in a manner which no constitution authorized, rather than submit to an usurped authority, it were better to break the Union, and risk a war. The bold are always less in danger than the timid. The strength and resources of South Carolina compared with those of the remaining states, were but as dust in the balance; yet rather than provoke violent resistance, by an exercise of doubtful authority, Congress yielded; the tari!f was modified, and the principle of pure and unlimited protection was totally abandoned. If South Carolin~ calculated the value of the Union, when it was only a question of tariflS and of taxes, shall we hesitate to calculate its value, when the dearest rights of manhood are in danger 1 when we are commanded to submit in silence, and not duro to criticise the despotism that controls us? Let them break the Union, if they choose; it is a matter wherein they arc free to act. But before they break it, they will do well to revise their calcnlatJO!IS IN AMERICA. 31 of its value. What the southern States would be, if they stood alone; what elements they have within themselves of civilization, gre~tne'is, safety, strength, and power; what sort of a natwn they would form if isolated, and cut off from intercourse with their nor'tl-1- ern neighbors, is at:t inquiry which will find its proper place hereafter. llut there arc some more obvions considerations, which our southern friends will do well deliberately to weigh, before they judge fit to dissolve the confederacy, and to break up those constitutional. guarantees by which they are now protected. As sister states, talk as they may of the mischievous intermeddlings of the north, they enjoy J?HVJieges an~ an nnpun.tty, they never could expect from a formgn, an oficnded and a hostile nation. 1'hose unhappy fugitives who had once reached the borders of States then truly free, could never be reclaimed; as between independent nations, the tortures and the death wantonly inflicted upon northern citizens would no longer be regarded with a careless unconcern; and how many forays from the frontiers, how many crusades of liberty would there not be undertake_ n, by men a.nxious to redeem from slavery, if not their own relatives, those at least whom they regard as brothers? 'l1ht~se collisions sooner or later w~mld inevitably bring on war; and'the broad bannc{· ol emancipation, with fifty thousand men to back it once displayed, and gayly lbunting on the southcn~ breeze, farewell, and forever, to the despotisms of the south! But here we are met again. If you have no regard for yourselves, say our southern fnends, fool-hardy and fanatical, if you do not tlcml.Jle at that ::mmhilatwn With which we threaten you,-pray, at leas~, have some consideration for liS. Remember the dehcaey of our situation. Do yon Wish t~ mvolve us m all the horrors of a servile insurrectiOn 1 Why scatter "seed that will presently gcrmmate, and sooner or later will ripen into a harvest of desolation and blood 1" |
