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Amos Kendall On

Amos Kendall On image
Parent Issue
Day
19
Month
October
Year
1860
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The venerable Amos Kendall, the right hand man of "Old Hickory" has written a letter to Col. Orr, of South Carolina, upon political topics, and we give below what he says about the disunionists and 'their insane threata. Mr. Kenpall has been through the Bank and Nullifieation, wars on an "inside ticket" and speaks from the card, His words aro worthy oí attention: Lot us briefly consider the practical workings of the remedy for souihero wrongs whioh you suggest, iu case a black republican is clected to the Presideucy. You ask, " Is it wise if we do not intend to submit to such consequenceg, to allow a black republican President to be inau gurated ?" &c, ; and you say " If thé South ghould think upon thig subject as I do, no black republican President should ever exeoute any law withiu her borders, unless at the point of the bayonet, and over the dead bodieg of her slain son.;' I know there are mea in tho South who wouid sacrifice their lives and endanger tho commuuities in which they ÜTe upon a point of honor, and that auch men fire up with unwonted fierceness if reminded of the probable oonsequenoes of their own rashness. But the time has coinc when consequences should be looked in the faco, not for purposos of deüance, but that we raaj congider whetbcr the polio}' which wouid lead to them is required by southern interests or honor. How do you propose to prevent tho inauguration of a black republican President, should euch a one be unfortunately elected ? Will you come to this ei y with an armed force, and attompt to prevent an inauguration by violenco ? In that event force wouid be met by force, and there wouid be instant civil war, in which the country and the world wouid declare the South to be the aggressor. He ivould be iuaugurated here or elsewhere in spite of you. Well, suppose you thon attempt to secede froni the Union, and rosist the execution of thu laws? Every lawyer in tho South knows that every citizen of every State, ia as much bound by the laws of the United States, eonstitutionally enacted, as by tho laws of his own State, and that it is as impossible for the State to relieve its citizon from allegiance to the Uniced States as it is for tho latter to relieve them from allegiance to their own State. And it is the sworn duty of the President to take care that tho laws of the United States shall be faithfully executed upon every citizen of every State ; and as long as we have a faithfnl President they will be so executeü, 11 tne courts, tha marshals, the army and uavy, reinaiu faithful to their respective trusts. I know that mueh has been said in the South about reserved rights and nullification, seeessieu, and not coercing a sovereign State, &c, when in fact the convention reprcsentiug the people of the several Status, whieh adopted tho Constitution, made no suah reservations, but bound their constituents, one and all, to allegiance to the constitution of the United látalos, as firraly as similar conventions büuad them to the State constitutious. Aud although the general govcrnment cannot teehnioally coerce a Stato, it can reghtfully ooerca all the citizens of a State into obedienco to its constitutional laws. The pretended reserved rights of nullification and secession, therefore, are in elfect nothing more nor less than an outspokeu right ot rebellion whcn wrong and opjression become intolerable. But when tbe crisis comes, there are two parties wlio must necessajily decide, eaeh for ltself, whether circumstancas justify the act - the seceders and tho governmant of the United States. And doyou concieve that the mere elejtion of a President entertainiug obnoxious opinions, or even entertainiug hostile designs against the institutions of the South, checked as he must necessarily be, by a Senate and Judiciary, if not a Ilouae of Representativos without one overt act, can justify any portiou of the South, even to their own consciences, in act of rebellion. There ia one notable feature in the attitude of the South. The cry of dis unión comes, not from those who suffer most from northern outrage, but from those who suffer least, lt comes from South Carolina, and Georg a and Ala Dama, and Mississippi, whose slave property is rendered oomparutively secure by the intsrvoution of other slaveholding states betwaen thein and the free states; and not from Delavvare, and Maryland, and Virginia,and Kentuoky, and Tennessee, and Missouri, wbich loso a hundred slaves by abolition thieves where tho first named States lose one. Why aro not the Siates that suffer most loudest in their cry for disunion ? It is becauso their position enables them to see more distinctly than you do, at a distance, tha fáíaJ and instant eft'aots of sach a step. As imperfect as the protection which the oonstitution and laws givo to their property undoubted]y is, ff is better than none, Thev do notthinkit wi.se to place themaelves in a position to havo the John Brovvns of the North let loóse upon them, wth no other restraints than the laws of war between independent nations oonstrued by reckless fanática. They prefer tofight the abolitionigts, if fight we must, with . in the Union, where thoir adversarios are somewhat restrained by eonstitutional and legal obligations. No, sir, Delaware, Maryland,aod Virginia, do not intend to becöme the theater of desolating wars between the North and the South ; Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri do not intend that their peaoeful channels of commerco shull becomo rivers ot blood to gratify the ambitiou of South Carolina and Alabama, who at a remoto distance frorn present danger ory out disunion. i have said that the South bas all ; along had a peaceful remedy, and has it stil!. The Union sentiment is over whelming in all the middle and western States, constituting two-thirds of thelïepublic. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois are as Titilo iticlined to beoome frontier States aa Maryland Virginia, and Kentucky. Had the present admioistration cut looso froin the disuniomsts, instead of virtually minintering to their designs, and planted itself firmly on ths Union ground, the so cession at Charleston and Baltimoro wonld nevor have occurred, the " Constitutional Union party' would have been an impossibility, the democracy would have recovered its ascsndancv n the North, and a united party, ernsracing two-thirdá of the North and of tho South, would now have been nrircbng to certain viotory nejt Novwnbr. "What ought to havo been the preventive must now be the retnedy. - Should Lincoln in November next, se cure a mnjority of the electors. palriotic men, North aad South, without waiting for h:s inauguration, irrespective of party lines, and throwing aide all mi nor considerationa, must band togetherfor the triple purpose of preventing any attempt to break up th U nion,checking the republican party while in the ascondant, and expelling them from power at the nest election. Let the toast of Gen. Jackson, " The Federal Uuion - It must be preserved," become the motto oí the party, while strict construction of tho cor.stitution and a jealous regard for the rtghtfl of the Statea shall be its distingnishing principie, and unwavoring practice. Let the constitutional principie b adopted of no legislation by Congress over the Territoi'iea, or throw aside altogether the mischievous issues in relation to them, of no practical utili ty, gatten up by demagogues and disunionists as means of accomplishing theirown aelfiah onds. Let them inflexibly refuso to support, for any Federal or State "ffice, any man who talks of disunion on the on hand, or " irrspressible conflict between freedom and slavery" on thu other. Throw aside all party leaders except sueh as " keep step to the rriusic ol tho Union," and are prepared to battle for S:ate rights ander its banner Be this your platform ; Iet the South rally upon it as one mal, and I would pledge all but my f ife that at least onehalf of the North will join you in dn.ing from power the reckless assailants ofyour rights and institutions But whetber thu unlted South come to the rescue or not, I foresee that in the natura) progresa of ovents, the central States, from the A tl mtic t-. the far West will band toguther en this ground, leav ing the aboütionists of Nw England and the disunionuts of the South to the harmless pastime of bblching fire and fury at each other at a safe distance, protected by the patriotism and gocil sonse of nine tenths of their oountry men against tho evita they would bring on themselves. Can you doubt the success of such a re-union ? Not an advocate ot disun ion, nader any probable cireumstances, can bu found ainong the oandidafes for the Presidency and Vice Preidency. The supporters of Bell to a rnan,"the supporters of Doúglas to a man, and more than three-fourths of the supporters of Breckinndge are staunch friends of the Union, and staunch adversarles to northern interferoncs with southern institutions. When conyinced of the folly and madness of their warfare on each other, as they will bo after the election, if not before, they ban together in coinmon cause, and that cause the preservation of our glorious Union and its invaluable oonstitution, with their attendant blessings, will they not be irresistib'e ? How much more bopeful and ing is a prospect nke this than the conteroplatioa of standing arrnies, grinding taxes, ruinod agricultura, prostrate commerce, blondy battles, ravaged countries and sacked eities This continunt, like the eastern world, is destined to have its " northern hive." Shnll ita swarmg berepressed by tbe strong hands of th States unitod, or are thoy, by a dissolution of the Union, to be let loose upon our South, like the Goths and Vandais upon southern Europo ? True, their blood rivght in that event, fertilizo your desolüted tields, but your inatitu tions, like those of the Roman Empire, would sink to ri&e no moro. These are the thoughts of an o!d man whoso only politica! aspirations are that when he dies he rnay leave this country united, happy and" free. With sincere regard.

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus