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BY W. S. JONES.
TERMS.
THE WEEKLY
CHRONICLE A SENTINEL
IS PUBLISHED EV Rf WEDNESDAY,
AT
TWO DOLLARS PEK AM >l,
ALWAYS IV IBVAMK.
K ITE* TO ( LI BS.
SIX COMES full TEX DOLLARS. The pa
per will be writ to Club* of SIX PERSONS, one
year, for TEN DOLLARS.
AI, WAVS IN ADVANCE.
Ha tea for Weekly Advertisement*.
Ordinary Advertisements, published once a
week, in Daily, or Weekly, sere* and a half cents
Spkcial Noticks, Uh anU per line for the first
insertion, and eight &hU per line for each subge-
DisettrsD Adybbtissmskts, Un cent, per line
f or each Insertion.
Makuiaoks, Deaths and Fcseeal Notices .fifty
tint each. Obituaries, Un cent* per line.
EX ROTORS’ SALE.
W"?;;- a ,v : V ‘f; vJS4Sj
5§ r £S!Su*Q sc iS r WuedfUaeSm
■ i ‘
A iJhj. *
r Xegrom • nan 45yer oW. engineer : n.ai> i yean old,
*."/*] ci|h r.t* , Vi;tf. )•:*•% fl * i*rpw.l.:r ; nan VI years
tH-iiUrrandfratrirr ; in.it 21 ywn, (food field Immi’; man V,
16 glare wan 21
viz : Ik*> .0 year*, l>oy ?y yearn, boy 16 yea t, irirl 13
y.'art.a.<l -.v in j i t ; man u> yearn. anl*-ner. ami wif.* 50
unui-r tI.V t*r..v!-.Vj*. t ii. ‘ •,ill’ sd Wflnam Wrijrht! I
a
IV • i—. .u - . I.• ,-r • t**, . sos tl.- |
I*^l
7 -\77 1* ’ £ >*i A li.i
FOR SALE!
K.m-l.i { didVr.si , ,i t.Unwins: I.ANIJB for^KiJe:^ln
I Hits am-•.(:■ I, - 11 .• Land*, and any one
w 0.M./ ; ■ I. ..til .. u. or address me. at Cool
hj i. U ... . o t '.-nits', (ia. N. .1. lIKOWN.
Lit ml or Sale.
I OFFi: II for t. . I ‘eOO aerej of LAND, In Jefferson county,
: i;.,. ky ('■•111
flirt ar.i’ Dcwhan't - -k. On tiie place there in a tood new
fr. 11,11 (1 Jiw.m.A w.tii. t ‘ht rtmiiirt,and other out all
new i.-i u.('.'.| r ; •;. rt :i;W. ot of Mills, with three
run of Atones. Oln uoukc :ml a m w Screw, put up last fall,and
> Mill- all rmiiitug l.y wuter power, on a never-falling
atri-im will, a plenty of tinil-ertorun themw. The phuecan
i...t lie. fell, lifer health. The,-.• cm alw. Le hail, ol* the place.
Nil.. .. IJo-s. fatti. and Sheep. Com, Fodder and
rantati.i:. T. ... . Any i -r,on that wlalies to purchase such
. . . (t,y I ’lie.
K. <l
< . reencslK)i*o’
FEMALE COLLEGE.
riIHK Ttusjecs of fii'r (>M and well known InrtlluMon, hav
I in;; N. ured the .*• rvi.. ..I the K. v. K. A. Houston, to Uil
thevii.aiicw ...•e.tsioi.'dhv *1 reflation of their late Fresh
deal,tin ltev. Homer llendee, and ttt*odftted with him a
eon-. ..I aide and experienced T. -ichor* In all the Department*
tJ
ueVVrV'n will o,'ami lUrVhV Hi st ‘* MONDA Y in FE
■
SPRING BANK
so:ra:oox-..
riAIIK Filth Toon < f Hus S h- -I for Y.mn ‘ Ladies, eoni
I m. 0.ch.,0 l.eih-t ..f Fehru.iry next. The liiiderNijrned
- Vis ho h s/M.t^jndHetf/nl
UiHhUVii.cn!’ ’ ll, ‘ <irill V.uVHoWAlti).'^
X. :i( lv 01...-I r,. i. ittUlSd-lAwlt
NOTICE.
riAIIHFF tnoiitlrt afterdate. I will apply to the following
I ti.in.i and ILidLn for the renew:.! ..t the hereinafter named
Bnuk Notes, the halve*of which are lo.st hymall:
The rl iht half and note ror*2o iui of Marine Hank at Savannah,
No. u , dated Nov. 1 signed W. |\ Hunter, Cai-shier.
r The left half of note for *2 to. same Wank, No. IHM, dated
Aug. I, ls.u, ‘gned i- lias. F. Mill*, I’rest. The lett half of
. ut.• for vo tx>. i.f the Dank Central Railroad 3i Banking Cos.,
Savannah, < o nnmher or letter found, dated Dee. 1, 1855. 3gncd
li. K. < uvler, I‘iv t, Th. Sell halves of two ln notes of Bank
Middle li 1., i Mae letter B,dated April i.
The Other No. 4..0*.‘, B, dated Uet. 1. ISV, tw.th signed Isaac
S’ “tt, Brest. The left halt note of for iof Bank of Savannah,
No. to 01-.- to • out. A. tinted MaM. I, I&V,, but verydiwi,
Wm. U. MI RPHEY.
Moinve iv)., Ca„ Dc IStk). _ i-.n.A
CIHPETK IMI (UHTtLNS
AT
Lower Frices than Ever Ottered !
J. G. Bailie & Bro.,
ARE NOW OI'KEKINC; Til hi 111 SUFKKV. STOCK OF
% ELY FT, mi SSKI>, TH HE E-PLY
VXD IXWIUIX ( VHl'tTs:
I t.ODD VM) r ilil.K OIL i ‘LOTIIt* ;
O\M \*k WO LAt K ( l RT VIX-n;
WINDOW - liCOHYK L- \MIH\MIs; i
lT\ XO VXD TABLE < O\FH*;
KH'O V VXD ( VXIXIX M Vli’lXtiS;
W ALL IV\EMS WO KOliOKIl^;
IHMIR .Xl V riji. Ac.,
At a very u all advavc> on e •: f Importation. Thoaude
s l^rv l ;:^c av T^sii^ s^on u lic i i
lhe.-y. Oi.
J \s. a. 11 AI LIE vV BROTIIEK,
Importers Jobbers and Dealers,
janlT dtsfcwly so Broad St.. Augusta, Ca.
DEVEREUX & KLAPP,
XANdZAPO BTERS.
’ ; M IN TOSH-STREET, AUGUSTA, GKO.
IMI*OR I IX(i M.-ek direct, we areenalded to otfer to
ta I a.i. . .. .. : I rally, ai. .t' rtfuent of WIN KS,
Being mu.; uie . and ‘"‘f :i build ujj we
NQTICK
Old Bwek's Last Jlessage to lie.
GASS’S ’ ‘ 6
\ •>; 1 !
porn?toSnv ih!*M ver tin!*AU* tliu^S^ V wortTed J
*
Stvk-the fa v wd.i t.-tier-u gh. * an**-wiv |
Fruit t ullurt farmer W anted j
fJNHK pAesswstherequisite know! j
now.-. hw.i-toM.. earto D. Ktnxosn, Km., August*.
It a . c. I XV u.Ou.uoa. mu vs. L. L. Midway S. C.
I>. H. J ACQI ES.
|jj ‘ A ‘ v ’ -•’ :
oIPEIUOK ttHKi, (OLIMBL4 HUXIV •
W>■ t : ikl. N>
•.f rv D. !
Leltner. that e> \.wd i>f mortgage, dated thirt'eth day of
S
Mi dpn. conveyed tothe id Henry D. Uitcer, a tract of
K.eer, oooUdaiug h‘ ndxrd acre*, more or le.-s. with ail the j
ft vture.s, steamer g.j s ers, and other machines attached,
or t or place, and used tbew for j
the sum df vtghi thousied six hundred and thirty-one 96-100
• C a-:es yrSnm. N.
Bo^ an;! HA vrt MM. \ h *
lUurv p. L-J: • VVt hi'mortgage, and tlm Kuuhy of redemp
tion of the : < harU *V . Bo?s, Theodore Nl> *>*. and
M. Mi ;*on.; (t\ i. :s forever lurwd ; at.-: that sen-ice of
‘ : Cterk .
Cl PERIOR 1 Ol It I OK C'OLI >iBI V COl XTY I .
it W ui Jvnwk ’ tiHl to UieCVurt.t r the petition of Henry j
ii r?. .t by a deed of • ttmidafi I tot
th.rtieth <Uv f Jar.* 1 . In ‘, ftur -V i- fl’.oooon? V
Bovs ~:ut Samuel G \l. \c iu. coawvi to Jac.es F. H*mi
ton. (which vd itulv t*>> siVrred to Henrr I>. Letonr, vour pe
tlttoner.)tract of Uaxltn the couatv of Columbia. Mtvw
Mn‘
mote c* less wUb a!lth< flxtarev tfumn CMines. ami j
other toftehtoerv attached..riot* attached to said prrnL-w or
place, and nan! t*.* -v for mining purpose*. for the purpose of |
securing the pap.. , • afa promise rv note made br the slid
Charw"V.H . r K. ss. and San uelG-'Mniiean.tc •
the ,and K. ’ ... du on the fifWnih dav of Mav. ,
the sum -• tv tln-vsand nine hundred and seventy- {
•even dollars and >;rty s, w u cents. which note is now due and i
unpaid.
ft i* ordered. That said Charles V. Boss. Theodore N. Boas, •
and Samuel . Maifr-c, do par into this Court, by the first day i
of the nest Term.u.-. nrt • C interest and a** due on #aw !
note, or show cause. If any they have b> the cootrery. or that In j
default them-?. f*>r*o*ur*be graMedto the sa d’ Henry D.
Leitncr. traciferee of add tuortfiae. and the Lguilv ©f re- |
\
Bamtt£ G. MhUnn, be Kryrer laired ; and that ferric? of this
Kule t<* par ft < led on said C harles \ . Bose, Theodore N. B<ss.
and Sauveel Ki M* lican. by pu:>;:cat; -• tn tueChronicle & Sea* ‘■
tine.l once * month for four jtocua before the next Term of this :
C iFtrae extract from the M Urates Oct >N*r lT\h. l sn. j
Oct. 2* 1860. _bJEo. tS . GRAY. (Herk. 1
. UK RTOFOKIK\VKV, RICHMONDCOI YTY.
{ _l>K UMBER IKKH, Ism*.
UDonthe petition of At ram M. Perryman, one of the Erect.
ton of Elisha femuuc. deceased, eettlnx torth that Jeremiah
lyTmujA U* co-execute. retnovedhiniaelf from this coun
ty atd state, and then*!'} impeded the artmintoration thereof;
■uadfurt her that he Las funds in hie hands as such executor, be
lomriux the legatee*. which he n*<ecw and refuses to pay
J2FSdL b ail Os Which it is feared that said estate and lega
suffer ‘o aad daaoace by the aad
außODda iTTit. tJ .V-vh.'i Penynu. ud prmtfn* tnt
i£SK&: .?•*. t
on the second Mon-sv : I*nur> nein. then nd there to
show cau.H> why ue should not b reawved fr* m the Exeiutor
ship ot uideulae or ~11. iee lell with tls, lm dhreU
And 11 > further oolcred, Th semce be perfected by onb
ltcstion in one oftlie sircter of this * *“ for
Ihrve weeks previous to the next Term *>nhte<. ourt.
, A true eilhbt from !h- ilmulenof iheOoort of Otdin.ry of
Riehujoiid county. December Term,
K , yosTKK jjlojhJET. Je., Df*"W.
Peoeaber 4,16 M.
Cferoniclt & Sentinel.
0
Cos rre poll deuce and other Paper* Uc
luifug to Port Suuiter.
[COVTIK C KD.f
No. 12.
[LETTEH or SENATORS OF SECEDIXG STATES TO BOX
I. W. HATJSE. j
Waebikgtox. January 23.15§1.
I I/on. /mac W. Uaynt:
j
we bare now to inform yoa that, after communi
j cation with the Preident, we have received a
j letter signed by the Secretary of War, and ad
| dressed to Messrs. Fitzpatrick, Mallory and Sii
| dell, on the subject of your proposition, which
letter we now enclose to you. Although its terms
* are not as satisfactory as’ we could have desired,
| in relation to the ulterior purposes ot the Execu
j tire, we have no hesitation in expressing our en-
I tire confidence that no reinforcements will be sent
to Fort Sumter, nor will the public peace be dis
| turbed within the period requisite for lull coyi
| tnunicatiou between youiseJt and your t*ovt-rn
i ment; and we trust, therefore, that you will feel
justified in applying for further .instructions be-
I fore delivering to the President any message with
■ which you may have been charged.
| We take this occasion to renew the expression
of an earnest hope that South Carolina will not
( deem it compatible with her safety, dignity or
j honor to refrain from initiating any hostilities
] against any power whatsoever, or from taking any
j steps tending to produce collision, until our States,
opportunity of joining their counsels with hers.
We are, with*great respect,
Your obedient servant,
| Loris T. Wigfall. A. Iverson.
| 1). L. Yc lee. John Hemphill.
| J. P. Benjamin. John Slidell.
C. C. Clay, Jr.
P. 8. Some of the signatures to the former |
letter addressed to you are not affixed to the fore
going communication, in consequence of the de- j
parture of several Senators, now ou their way to
there respective States.
No. 13.
| LETTER OF HON. I. W. HAYNE TO SENATORS OF SECE
DING STATES, j
Washington, January l\. 1801.
To the Hon. Louis T. Wiofall , I>. L. Yulee , J. P.
Benjamin , A. Person, John Hemphill, John Sli
dell arid C. C. Clay. Jr.
Gentlemen : I have received your letter of the
2Jid inst., enclosing u communication dated the 22d
inst., addressed to Messrs. Fitzpatrick, Mallory
and Slidell, from the Secretary of War ad interim.
This communication from the Secretary is far
from being satisfactory to me. But, inasmuch as
you state that “we (you) have no hesitation iu ex
pressing an entire confidence that no reinforce
ments will be sent to F’oit Sumter, nor will the
public peace be disturbed within the period re
quisite lor full communication between yourself
(myself) and your ,myj government,” in ‘compli
ance with our previous understanding, I withhold |
the communication with which I aru at present
charged, and refer the whole matter to the author
ities of South Carolina, and will await their reply. 1
Mr. Gourdiu, of South Carolina, now in this I
city, will leave here by this evening’s train, and I
will lay before the Governor of South Carolina
and his Council, the whole correspondence be
tween yourselv es and myself, and between yovi
ami the Government of the United States; with a
communication from me, asking further instruc
tions.
I cannot, in closing, but express my deep re
gret that the President should deem it necessary
to keep a garrison of troops at Fort Sumter for
the protection of the “ property ” of the U. States.
South Carolina scorns the idea of appropriating
to herself the property of another, whether of a
government or an individual, without accounting,
to the last dollar, for everything which, for the
protection of her citizens, and in vindication of
her own honor and dignity, she may deem it ne
cessary to take into her own possession. As
property , Fort Sumter is in far greater jeopardy
occupied by a garrison ol United States troops,
than it would be if delivered over to the State au
thorities, with the pledge that, in regard to that
and all other property claimed by the United
States within the jurisdiction ol South Carolina,
they would fully account upon a lair adjustment!
Upon the other point of the preservation /f the
peace, and the avoidance ol bloodshedis, / sup
posed that the occupation of a fort in the midst of
u harbor, witli guns bearing upon every position
of it, by a Government no longer acknowledged,
can be other than the occasion of constant lrrita
t so. excitement and iudigna.iou V It creates a
condition of things which'l fear is but little cal
culated to advance the observance of the “high
Christiuu and moral duty to keep the peace, and
to avoid ull causes of mutual irritation,” recom
mended by the Secretary of Y\ ar in his communi
cation.
lu my judgment, to continue to hold Fort Sum
ter by the United States troops, is the worst pos
sible means of protecting it ns property ; and the
w orst possible means for eflertiug a peaceful so
lution of present difficulties.
I beg leave, in conclusion, to say that it is in de
ference to the unanimous opinion expressed by
the Senators present in Washington, “represent
ing .States which have already seceded from the
United States, or will have doue so before the Ist
ol February next,” that I comply with vour sug
gestions, from such a quarter will be considered
with profound respect by the authorities of South
Carolina, and will have great weight iu determin
ing their action.
With high consideration, I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully,
Y our obedient servant,
Isaac W. Hayne,
Envoy from the Governor and Council of South
Carolina.
| ROM THE HON. A. G. MAGRATH TO HON. I.
W. HAYNE.]
State of South Carolina, j
Executive Office, State Department, a
Charleston, Jan. 26, 1861. (
Sir: \ our dispatch has been received, cover
ing, with other papers, the reply of the President
through Mr. Holt, Secretary of War, ad interim,
dated the 22d of January, 1861, to the letter of Mr!
Fitzpatrick, Mr. Mallory and Mr. Slidell, enclosing
to him u correspondenee between certain Senators
of the United States and Col. Isaac W. Hayne;
the letter of certain Senators to you, dated the
23d January, 1861 ; and your reply to those Sena
tors, dated the 24th January, 1861.
In the letter of the Senators addressed to you,
and dated the 15th January, 1661, after stating
that the possession of Fort Sumter by troops of I
the United States, coupled with the circumstances 1
under which it was taken, is the chief, if not the j
only source of difficulty, between the Government
of South Carolina and that of the United States;
they add that they, “too, think ii a just cause of
irritation and apprehension on the part of vour i
(this) State.” They then further state that‘they
had assurances, notwithstanding other circum
stances wqich seemed inconsistent, therewith, that i
Fort Sumter “was not taken, and is now held with !
any hostile or unfriendly purpose towards your
(this) State, but merely as property of the United i
States ; which the President deems it has duty to \
protect and preserve.” Under the influences of
that feeling of a common destiny which now ani !
mates the seceding States, ami impressed with j
the earnest desire which seems to have been cher I
ished in these States, to accomplish that separa- *
tion from the United States, which they regarded 1
as essential to their welfare, without the ills which !
civil war produces, these Senators proposed that i
time should be given tor calm and deliberatecoun- ‘
sel with the States, which are equally involved j
with South Carolina, in the future issue of their i
present conduct. To secure the time necessary ;
tor the counsel which should be had, they pro- [
posed that this State “should suffer Major Ander- !
son to obtain necessary supplies of food, fuel or |
water, and enjoy free communication by post or !
special messenger with the President, upon the !
understanding that the President will not send
him reinforcements during the same period.”
No such communication was anticipated by the ■
Governor, in the instructions with which you'were j
furnished. But the discretion which you exercis- •
ed in delaying the delivery of the letter to the !
President of the United States, with which you!
were charged, under the circumstances which
then existed, commends itself to the approval of j
the Governor. Such a course ou your putt was duo :
from this State to the representatives of those ;
States, the people of which, in the language of
their Senators, “feel a common destiny with your
four.) people, and expect to form with them anew
Confederacy and Provisional Government;” and j
who “must and will share your < our fortunes: !
suffering with you (. us“l the evils of war, if it cannot !
be avoided, anil enjoying the blessings of peace, 1
if it can be preserved.”
The reply of the President to the proposition
thus made, referring to the statement of the in
tentions with which Fort Sumter is held, us de
rived from his “public messages,” concedes that
his purpose as stated, that is. to hold Fort Sumter
“merely as property of the United States.” which
he “deems it his duty to protect and i reserve,” is
correct. He declares it to be his stde object to
act strictly on the defensive, and to “authorize uo
movement against the people of South Carolina,
uuless clearly justified by a hostile movement on
their part.” The President, then, ter proof of his
desire to prevent the effusion of blood, alludes to
his forbearance to resort to “the use of force un
der the strong provocation of an attack on an un
armed vessel oearmg the flag of the States.”
Referring next to the anxious desire of the Sen
atorsof the seceding States, that this State “should
as far as she can, consistently with her honor,
avoid initiating hostilities between her and the
United States, or any other Power:” the Presi
dent declares “that to initiate such hostilities
against Fort Sumter, would, beyond question, be
\an act of war against the United Stat es.” And in
j reply to the proposition that “no reinforcements
will be sent to Fort Sumter,” which is stated iu
; his letter to be your proposition, he declares, “it
j is impossible for me - him ) to give you , the Sena
i tors any such assurance.” He states that he “has
| no authority to enter into such an arrangement
or understanding,” and that it would be “a mani
! test violation of his duty to place himself under
j engagements, that he would not perform this duty
either for an indefinite or a limited period.” It is
\ also added by him that “at the present moment it
i is not deemed necessary to reinforce Major Ander*-
i son, because he makes no such request, and feels
quite secure in his position.” But should his
! sateiv require it, every effort will be made to sop
j plv reinforcements.
The letter from the Seuators to you, and your
reply to the letter, present a marked and airreea
i ble contrast to the letter of the President of the
l nited The Governor appreciates the
tet hns: which the letter of the I,'resident must
havt exciUni in the Senators to whom it was ad
dressed, their forbearance in the expression of
their opinion fully as to its character, and their
i generosity m still continuing to entertain the hope
that collision may be avoided, until the States
they represent may share th*’ dangers that menace
this State. The Governor concurs also in the jus
j tice aud force of your reply to those Senators.—
The reasons which you have set forth in your re- 1
j ply to the letter or the Senators to vou conclu- ;
sivelv establish the propriety of that demand
which the letter from the Governor is iutended to
make upon the President; whether the possession
I of Fort Sumter be considered merely in regard to ;
its preservation as a piece of property claimed by
the United States, or the continuance of its reten
tion be referred to a conclusion derived from the
! “obligations” which “high Christian and moral 1
duty* would make Inoperative, if they were ap
j pealed to. as they should be, in this case, as t’ue
! sole and proper guides for those whose conduct
j involves the gravest responsibilities.
The acquiescence of the President of the United
States in the “arrangements or understanding”
i by which he wouhi be prevented from sending !
I reinforcements to Fort Sumter was intended, and I
i so declared by the Senators of the seceding State*
! lobe binding upon him. m case of the acquiescence
! of this State in certain measures which thev pro- j
posed this State should adopt. With concession
from the State ot South Carolina thev eventual!?
expected a concession from the President of the
United States. And they proposed that in the
interval which was, necessary to eifable you to
receive a reply from the Governor, the President
should not send reinforcements to Fort Sumter;
and that certain facilit es now enjoyed by Major
i Anderson and his garrison at Fort Sumter should
ihe continued. The reply of the President, there.
; f ire, contains his refusal, not only of the general
proposition to abstain from doing until the loth
day of February, the day named by the Senators
in their letter, that which, whenever he attempts,
he knows will be regarded by the State of South
Carolina as an act of war, but be refuses also to
abstain from attempting this act even during the
period necessary to enable yoa to communicate
to the Governor the propositions of these Sena
tors.
All that the State of South Carolina was desir
ed, in the letter of these .senators, to do in rela
tion to Maj. Anderson and his garrison, it had
done; not in its acknowledgment of any right on
the part of the United States, but in the discharge
of the suggestions of courtesy, and with a desire
; not to visit upon Maj. Anderson and his garrison
I the consequences of the irritation which the con
duct of his Government was so well calculated to
j produce. Nor would the acquiescence of the Go
vernment of the United States, in the forbearance
I required from it, have done more than to have
I secured the status, in which all matters within the
! harbor of Charleston were at this Dme, by put
ting upon the States an obligation not to attack
1 Fort Sumter, and upon the Government of the
j United States an obligation not to reinforce it
with fresh troops. With the supplies Maj. Ander
j son and his garrison were receiving, with the fa
; cilities which he and his garrison enjoyed in re
j gard to the mails, no pretext for interference w'ith
I the harbor of Charleston could be found, except
| in connection with the right claimed to embrace
; the troops at Fort Sumter, u right which, claimed
: by the President as involved in a duty, would
| lur tbtG involve a necessity that lie should deter
| mine when his duty was to be di>chai*red by his
j exercise of this right.
| It is true that the President, in bis letter, inti
• mates that uo reinforcements will be sent, because
| Major Anderson has made no such request, and
! feels quite secure in his position. It is not, how
j ever, to be forgotten, that, upon a recent occasion,
! when it is understood that Major Anderson did
j not call for reinforcements, and may be presumed
I to have felt then as secure in his position as he I
| does now*, reinforcements were sent to him ; nor |
was it the fault of the Government ot the United I
j States that they did not reach him.
The proposition thus made to the President ot
the l nited States, was the act of Southern Sena
tors, unsolicited and unexpected. It was the
evidence of a generous impulse, w’hich, having
animated them in the continuance of their con
nection with the United States, as long as that
connection could be maintained with regard to the
rights of the States they represented, was exhibi
ted, even in the moment of thier final separation,
in an anxious desire to avoid collision and strife
with those, whom they could not recognize longer
as their brethren in that political Union which
had been terminated. The moderation of the
terms in which they asked the acquiescence of the
President of the United States will be long re
membered. Their request was simply that he would
abstain from those acts, which were unnecessary
for the purposes he professed, and were surely
calculated to develope the ills lie declared himself
anxious to avert.
At ibis period, and under such circumstances, it
is not only important, butindispensibly necessary,
that the Governor should correctly understand the
position which the Government of the United
States intends to occupy tow ards the State. And
the correspondence, which has produced the letter
of the President, serves to dispell much of what
ever doubt may have hitherto existed. If the
President of the United States desired only to pro
tect Fort Sumter as property, what higher assu
rance ot its safety could he have found than in the
pledge of the State of South Carolina that it
should not be attacked? If it was not to be de
fended as property, but as a military post of the
United States, then, indeed, it would be “a mani
fest violation of his duty” to agree not to rein
force it. The assertion, therefore, that it is only
held as property is inconsistent with those re
quirements of duty which the President alleges to
be obligatory upon him, but which are obligatory
upon him only in relation to a military post. The
Governor is, therefore, forced to conclude that,
stripped of all disguise, the real purpose of the
President of the United States is to keep and de
fend Fort Sumter, within the iirnits of South
Carolina, as a military post of the United States.
This conclusion of the real purpose which con
trols the Government of the United States in re
lation to this State is not the less a result of the
position which the President of the United States
has assumed in relation to the proposition which
the Senators of the seceding States have gener
ously made, than of the action of the President of
the United States in regard to other States which
haye seceded. And it is considered bv the Gov
ernor to be his duty—one which the State of
South Carolina will so acknowledge—to regard all
hostile attempts made by the Government of the
United States upon any State which has seceded,
as attempts made directly upon this State. There
is no doubt, that ut this moment, hostile pur
poses, by the Government of the United States,
are in operation, which affect Florida or Georgia.
It does not admit of a doubt, that an armed vessel
of the United States is now transport ing, with the
purpose of lauding, troops of the United States
upon the soil of one or more of the States which
have seceded, Nvith hostile intentions towards such
State. Another expedition, the existence of which
is ascertained, but the precise nature of which is
more concealed, has been undertaken for a like
purpose. And that which gives to these hostile
attempts a complexion the least inviting is, that
they are secretly undertaken, and their execution
covertly attempted, amid professions of an earn
est desire to avoid collision, to save the waste of
lite, and to fulfill the highest obligations of mo
rality. \\ bile the Commissioner deputed by the
State of Virginia is honestly urging upon the au
thorities of this and other States to avoid all oc
casion of collision with the Government of the U.
States ; and, while from the same State another
Commissioner is attempting to recommend the
same counsels to the President of the United
States, a hostile expedition is on its way to at
tempt the coercion of a State, when the Govern
ment of the United States seems to listen to the
suggestions of peace from the ancient Common
wealth.
The Governor regards it as a happy circum
stance that in deferring to the wishes of the Sena*
tors who have interposed in the mission with
which you were charged, their good intent has
been rewarded, in leading to that declaration
from the President, which in every seceding State
will be regarded as equivalent to his declaration
of war against them; and thus save them from the
consequonce of a generous, but misplaced confi
dence.
Nor is it proper that it should be understood,
that what the President is pleased to consider a
proof of his forbearance, should seem to have the
acquiescence of the Governor in the correctness
ot that construction of his conduct, under the cir
cumstances of a catres, wholly unjustifiable, and t
more than aggravating. It is not for the Presi- *
dent of the United States to seem to consider the
re} ulseofa vessel sent here with reinforcements,
as the attack of the State of Stath Carolina upon
an nnarmed vessel. If it had not, the armament
of u vessel intended for war, the less excusable
was the attempt to introduce, under the shield
ol a peaceful trader, armed men for the purpose
of executing the orders of the President. It was
not only a host le demonstration, but, while I
hostile, it. was attempted to be made successful j
under a disguise, which, if it had secured the
result which was desired, would have left nothing
but the mere success to compensate for the sacri
fice of the proprieties with which it had beeu pur
chased.
The opinion of the Governor, as to the proprie
ty of the demand which is contained in the teller,
with the delivery of which you are charged, has
not only been continued by the circumstances
which your mission has developed; but is now in
creased into a conviction of its necessity. The
safety of the State requires that the position of
the President should be distinctly understood.
The safety of all the seceding States requires it,
as much as the safety of South Carolina’ If it be
so, that Fort Sumter is held but as property, then
ai property, the lights, whatever they, may be,
of the United States, can be ascertained; and for
the satisfaction of those rights, the pledge of the
State of South Carolina you are authorized to
give. If Fort Sumter is not held as property, it
is held as a military post ; and such a post, with
in the limits of this State, will not be tolerated.
The letter of the President may be received as j
the reply to the question you were instructed to !
ask, as to his assertion of the right to send rein- j
forcements to Fort Sumter. You were instructed i
to say to him, if he asserted that right, that the 1
State of South Carolina regarded ‘such a right, !
when asserted, or with an attempt at its exercise, i
as a declaration of war. If the President intends j
it shall not be so understood, it is proper to avoid !
any misconception hereafter, that he should be in- j
formed of the manner in which the Governor xvill j
feel bound to regard it.
If the President, when you have stated the rea- i
sons which prompt the Governor in making the!
denmud for the delivery of Fort Sumter, shall !
refuse to deliver the fort, upon the pledge you
have beeu authorized to make, you will comrauni- !
cate that refusal, without delay, to the Governor.
If the President shall not be prepared to give you j
an immediate answer, you will communicate to ;
him that his answer may be transmitted, within j
a reasonable time, to the Governor at this place. !
The Governor does not consider it necessary that
you should remain in Washington any longer than j
is necessary to execute this, the closing duty of j
your mission, iu the manner now indicated to you i
As soon as the Governor shall receive from you j
information that you have closed your mission,
and the replv, whatever it may be, of the Presi
dent, ne will consider the conduct which will be i
necessary on his part.
To the Senators, who have so generously inter- j
posed in this matter, the Governor desires’you to !
express the satisfaction he has experienced with i
the interest they have exhibited, and the concur- I
rence they have manifested, in the earnest desire i
which has governed him in his attempt to secure j
for the State of South Carolina its just rights, ]
without the waste of life or loss of blood. If other i
counsels shall prevail with the Government at
Washington, the Governor feels that whatever
i unhappy result may follow, his efforts and the
efforts of those Senators will have been earnestly
! made to avert them. A copy of this note to you,
the Governor desires you to address to those Sen
ators.
It will no be necessary for the Governor to
make auy further communication to you than this
note. To this he desires me to add the expression
of histhanks for the manner in which you have exe
cuted the duty with which you were charged.
Yerv respectfullv, vours, Ac.. Ac.
* A. G. MAG RATH.
iTo the flor, J. W. Hay... SpwJ Pi oy from
Illinois Legislature. —The Illinois Senate
Committee ou Federal Relations on Friday, report
ed that, with the earnest desire for the return of
harmony among all our sister States, and out of
respect to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the
Governor be requested to appoint live Commis
sioners to attend the Couveutiou at Washington
on the 4th inst. The second resolution says that
the appointment of a Commissioner by the State ;
of Illinois, in response to the invitation of the
State of Virginia, is not an expression of opion
ion on the part of this State that any amendment
to the Federal Constitution is required to secure
the people of the slaveholding States adequate
guarantees for security of their rights, uor an ap
proval of the basis of the settlement of our diffi
culties. proposed by the State of Virginia, hut is ;
au expression of our willingness to unite with the
State of Virginia in an earnest effort to adjust the
present unhappy controversy in spirit in which
tire Constitution was originally formed, and con
i sistect with its principles.
1 he ttiird resotves that the appropriate and cou- j
sututiouai -ietLod of considering and acting upon !
the grievances complained of by our sister States,
would be by the call of a Convention for the i
amendmont of the Constitution in the manner
contemplated by the >th article of that instrument.
The resolutions were adopted bv a vote of 1C to
i 10—a strict party vote.
HJThe republican central committee of~Xew York
adopted resolutions, on Thursday lat. earnestiv
requesting the republican members of Congres's
“in no manner, come what may, to further com
promise with the slave power.”
Lieutenant Jewett, of the navy, has arrived in
Washington from Pensacola Me states that he
was arrested by the authorities of Florida, who
held him in custody until he gave his parole of
honor that he would never take up arms against
the iStuie of Florida. The facts in the case have
j been communicated to the >'avy Department.
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 13. 1861.
Milledgeville, Ga. i
Feb. 4, 1861. 1
Editor of Chronicle d‘ Sentinel . —ln my letter
published iu your issue of Feb. 2nd, I make use
. *f the following language :
“Mr. Toombs’ report from the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, setting forth the causes which
led to the secession of Georgia, I am unable to
I obtain. The Secretary makes this statement.
; The original, as handed in yesterday, was not
! draughted to suit the Committee in every particu
lar. Mr. Toombs was so anxious to have it pub
lishea correctly, that he has taken the manuscript,
made several alterations, and handed it over to
the printer for publication, with the express in
junction not to allow the press to have it until he
j has revised the proof. The proof will be sent to
him at Montgomery.
! I have been informed that one or two repre
sentatives ot the press obtained what they thought
to be copies of that document, and have sent it to
; their papers.
In this they made a mistake.
Therefore, I advise you not to copy the “bogus
report, but let your readers wait until the docu
! ment is issued, properly revised, corrected and
I certified, which will be done iu a short time. ’
The Constitutionalist cf 5d inst., contains an
article headed “Bogus Report,” evidently written
by the commercial Editor, who was acting as cor
respondent from this point during the convention,
in which he censures me severely for my use ot
i the term “bogus,” Ac., and winds up by adrnin
| isteiing a gentle rebuke.
j iu the first place, was I correct in my represen
j tation as to my conversation with the Secretary?
j In answ’er I send a full extract from a certificate
! which 1 have now.in my possession from the ac
! commodating Assistant Secretary of the Conven-
I tion. I think it unnecessary to it in full :
‘The statement of your correspondent ‘Taw ,’ iu
I his letter published iu your issue of the 2d inst.,
j iu relation to the report of Mr. Toombs from the
| Committee on Foreign Affairs, ‘setting forth the
| causes which led to the secession of Georgia,’ Ac.,
; as follows :
“The Secretary makes this statement. The
original, as bauded in yesterday, was not draugh
ted ‘to suit the Committee,’ or rather Mr. Toombs,
in every particular. Mr. Toombs was so t nxious
\/o have it published correctly, that he has taken
the manuscript, made several alterations, and
handed it over to the printer for publication, with
the express injunction not to allow the press to
have it until he lias revised the proof. The proof
will be sent to him at Montgomery,’ is substantial
ly true.
1 will say, moreover, that I was surprised to
see that the newspapers had obtained what pur
ported to be a correct report after the injunctions
laid upon me by Mr. Toombs. A proof of the
Report has beeu transmitted to Mr. Toombs at
Montgomery.
“The loregoing statement is made at the earnest
request of your correspondent ‘Taw,’ as an act of
justice to him, and for the farther reason that lie
applied to me, personally, for a copy of the Re
port, which 1 refused to let him have for the fore
going reasons.”
This certificate is signed by the Assistant Sec
retary of the Convention.
Having beeu denied the use of the document
1 presumed that no other representative of the
Press had been allowed to copy the correct origi
nal. 1 was told that two Reporters had sent to
their papers what they thought correct copies ol
it. 1 thought it to be my duty to your readers to
warn them of what 1 thought was a “bogus re
port.” 1 ask them—l ask you—it I did not do
my duty uuder the circumstances? I may have
made a mistake. But w’e will see.
Was the report “bogus?”
We call to the stand the “Southern Federal
Union,” one of the official printers of the Conven
tion. In its issue of Feb. bth, in speaking of the
Address, it uses the following language :
“The Address, as published, is not full—it was
given to the Reporters of the Press as an abstract
and Mr. Toombs now has the proof-sheets in his
hands. It should have been stated by those pa
pers which published it that it was only an abstract
of the Report.”
The “Southern Federal Union” does not charac
terize the Report of the Constitutionalist as “bo
gus,” but says that it is only “an abstract.” It
was issued to the world as complete.
We call up the “Southern Recorder,” the other
official printer of the Convention. In its issue of
the same date it publishes the Report and accom
panies it with the following remarks :
“We learn from the Secretary that Mr. Toombs
was opposed to its publication until he could have
an opportunity of revising the proof sheets. We
find it, however, ip the Constitutionalist, from
which we copy it.” Iu other words, “If the Con
stitutionalist had not published, we (the /Recorder,)
in deference to the wishes of Mr. Toombs, would
not have done so.” According to the Southern
Federal Union, it is only “an abstract,” and those
papers which published it should have so stated
to their readers. According to the Southern Re
corder, it ought not to have been printed. These
are the opinions of the official printers of the Con
vention Takeu in connection with the certificate
of the Assistant Secretary, I ask you and your
readers whether I ought to have published the
report, even if Z could have obtained It ?
The Constitutionalist also says, “We were able
to obtain the report, and we did obtain it, and any
industrious and watchful reporter could have done
the same thing.”
“We have no desire further to rebuke the cor
respondent above referred to,” Ac.
Upon lhe testimony of the Assistant Secretary
and the Southern Federal Union, and the Southern
Recorder', official printers of the Convention, there
may have been reporters, so industrious and so
watchful, that they may have obtained that which
ought not to have been sent.
“We have no desire further to rebuke the cor
respondent abeve referred to, but simply to leave
him to the tender mercies ol the Assistant Secre
tary and official printers of the Convention.”
In your issue of the 3d inst. you say : “So that
the bogus address seems to be genuine after all.”
I wish to correct this mistake. The Southern
Federal Union, one of the official printers, says
that it is only “an abstract,” and that the proof
sheets of the genuine document are in the hands
of Mr. Toombs. So much for the status of the
“Report.”
Do not misunderstand me. I do not wish for a
moment to insinuate that the energetic, watchful,
industrious, faithful and dignified Reporter for the
Constitutionalist has intentionally sent a docu
ment which ought not to have been sent; indeed,
if Mr. Toombs had given me permission to have
done so, I would, with the greatest pleasure, have
sent the Report to your readers. But this I will
say, that there has been certainly some misunder
standing in relation to the matter.
Will the Constitutionalist , as an act of justice,
copy this, my reply to the article headed “Bogus
Reports,” which appeared in its issue of the 3d
instant? “Taw.”
Views of iUaj. Chase, Commandant at
Pensacola.
Maj. Wm. H. Chase, the commander of the
troops-at Pensacola, Fla., passed through Colum
bus yesterday. He is on his route for Tallahassee,
doubtless to have a conference with Gov. Perry.
In brief, unsatisfactory conversation with him,
we learned that it is the policy of our men to
avoid a conflict with the Federal troops until after
the 4th of March. The reasons for which* course
were that so strongly a fortified place as Pickens
ought not to be stormed, but captured by bom
bardment or siege ; aud time was necessary to
complete preparations for a successtul attack.—
That a victory would doubtless follow a desperate
charge upon the Fort with the loss of seventy-five
out of one hundred men, but it was a question of
doubtful expediency, not to say a display of bad
generalship, to win a battle at so costly a sacrifice.
That one hundred and ten men were in the Fort,
sufficient to manage the guns. The howitzers on
the angles were capable of beiug tired at the rate
of ten shots to the minute, which would do terri
ble slaughter. That the Fort could be taken in
the right way and the right time. That a demand
would be made by the Commissioners sent to
Washington by the Southern Congress, and on
failure of its acceptance preparations for an attack
would begin. The arrival of the Brooklyu with
its few men was not a matter of much consequence.
Maj. Chase’s opinion was that Lieut. Slemmer, in
command of the Federal troops, would defend the
Fort. During Maj. Chase’s absence, Col. Tennent
Lomax, than whom, thereis not a braver man and
more skillful soldier in our army, has command at
Pensacola. It would not be amiss to say, that
Maj. Chase reports the volunteers to be a brave,
gallant soldiery, who are willing at any moment
to sacrifice their lives for theii* country and its
homes and fire-sides.— Columbus Times, sth.
The Toronto, Canada, Leader repeats its asser
tion that England will recognize the Southern
Confederacy when formed, and iu feply to a con
tradiction of that statement by the New York
Times, and to the intimation of the Times that the
sympathy and support of Canada would be with
the North, says :
“The Times makes us a present of the informa
tion that Canada would take up the cause of the
Northern States, and §how r herself ready to assist
in redressing their grievances, if England should
recognize the Southern Confederacy; an assertion
of the value of which every one in this quarter is
well capable of judging, and it is not necessary to
offer any comments. The pretence that the recog
nition of the Southern Confederacy would amount
to foreign interference is a feeble and clumsy at
tempt to trade on one ot the weakness of the
American character* But it will deceive nobody.
The truth is, that it is the non-intervention prin
ciple that requires foreign powers to recognize
the government de facto of any State or Confede
racy. While the revolution is going on in the
L uited States, neither England nor any other
power has the right nor the desire to interfere.
Perhaps there is no people possessing a consti
tutional government, who do not deplore the
event; and in England it has been universally re
gretted. But foreign States could not prevent
this revolution; and when the fact is accomplished
they have no right to refuse to recognize it. To
do so wouid be to interfere for the pumose of de
; nying to a people the right of governing them
selves in the way that they think proper. The
Southern States’may possibly be losers by the
‘ movement they have entered—for our part we
think they will—but that is their own Jaftair; and
like every other people, they must be the best
judges of the sort of government that is suited to
their genius aud their situation.”
Oi r Shells. —The Petersburg Express describes
the shelis lately sent through that citv, tn route
for this State. The cavity in these bombs is six
inches and three-quarters in diameter, leaving a
shell of 1 thickness. The explosive force must
be tremendous. The shell is perforated by an
inch and half hole, which, when the shell is pre
pared tor action, is closed with an iron plug,
through which is a small fuse hole, and the plug
is strapped down by a band of iron, which is se
cured to the ball by being clasped to two small
apertures, one on each side of the ball, near the
plug. The shell is then placed into the mortar,
plug downwards, aud when the mortar is fired the
fuse is ignited, and the shell speeds on its way.
The length of the tase being regulated bv the dis
tance to which the shell is to be thrown, thus
tends to prevent the premature explosion of the
bail, leaving it to do its work when its journey is
ended. —Charleston Mercury, 7th.
The Dreaded Attack ox Washington* —The
Alexandria Gazette contains the following among
its dispatches from Washington :
It is now ascertained, from reliable sources in
Richmond that the coursej pursued bv General
Scott in ordering troops to this city, and in his
proposed concentration here of all available force,
is owing to the information he has received from
the right quarter ; that if, in the approaching elec
tion for members of the Virginia State Conven
tion, a majority is chosen in favor of secession,
that Convention, when assembled on the 13th
proximo, by virtue of the powers vested in itself,
will supersede Gov. Letcher, the sitting Legisla
ture, and order the armed volunteer companies to
seize and hold possession of the National Capital
—hence the organization of the Minute Men and
the arming of the separate counties.”
It is said th&i Col. Hayne will wait the answer
of the President to the last call from South Caro
lina before returning home, and that Gov. Pickens
will notify the government of its purpose to take
Fort Sumter before striking a blow. This may
put ofl'the attack for many days. The cool seces
sionists at Washington are said to be urging their
I frienas in the seceding States to be guided t>y the
! convention to assemble at Montgomery.
tetter from Fensaeola.
A correspondent oljhe Bolumbus Sun, writing
from Fort Barancas, under date of the 2S‘tb. Jan.,
says :
There are concentrated at this point, at the
various Stations, something over litteen hun
dred men, all ready and-anxious to make an im
mediate attack upon Fort Pickens, and chate at
the delay imposed upon them by their superior
officers. In this connection, I may say that ac
tive preparations are being carried on to fortify
j the forts and to prepare the light infantry com
panies and sharp shooters for an assault. On
the other side, we can see, with a field glass, that
; the men in Pickens are mounting their heavy
guns and mortars, and are placing the fortress in
| a position of defence. The men from Mississippi
aud Alabama are anxious to make an attack at
I once, but are restrained by Colonel Chase, the
I Commander-in-chief of the forces. I am informed
by Dr. Semple, the Surgeon of the Bines, that at a
council of war, Col. Lomax and Maj. Marks were
. the onlvones who voted for an immediate attack;
‘ the others counselled delay. The latter, spoken
of above, is the commander of Fort Barancas. and
I is a nightoued gentleman ami an efficient artillery
■ officer. He is very much respected and loved by
I those under his command.
The Pensacola trodps are stationed at the Navy
Yard, and the Barracks and
Naval Hospital. Adjoining them are the Alabam
ians, with the exception of the “True Blues,” (all
houorarv members of the Columbus Guards,) who
are stationed at the Baraucas, as l have previ
ously stated. They are entitled to the honor of
its capture, although the companies, jealous of
their growing reputation, have made erroneous
statements in regard to the matter. They are
mote badly situated than any company here, hav
ing to live in their tents in the ditch ot the castle,
with very poor accommodations lor personal com
fort. Through all the past storms they have re
mained healthy, and have borne their hardships
without a murmur. It was late in the evening
when I arrived at their quarters, and at once
sought Capt. Andrews, to present my letters ot
introduction. 1 found him sitting by the camp
fire, cenversing with his men, who love him as
dearly as if he were a brother. He is my beau
ideal of a volunteer captain— Wive, generous and
frank, yet, at the same time. fvN>rfrpt
while on duty. He is decidedly the pet of the
“Blues.”
With a few items of immediate interest, I will
close my letter. Warlike preparations are con
stantly going on. At the barracks Col. Forney
has a daily drill, and at the fort the men are kept
busily at work. At the Barrancas the guns have
been unspiked and are now being mounted. Lieut.
Ball, who lately resigned from West Point, is con
structing sand batteries upon the shore to bear
upon the salieut angles of Fort Pickens. At the
latter place, us we can see by a glass, some large
sea howitzers have been mounted upon the ram
parts, also two heavy mortars. At Mcßae the
boys are busy making gun carriages.
On Saturday, Col. Chase was thrown from his
carriage while riding in Warrington, aud con
siderably injured. He is now recovered. Private
Steelswortli, of the Blues, was shot through the
hand by the accidental discharge of a pistol.—
Several minor accidents have happened, but as a
general thing the doctors have little to do.
Seizure of a United States Revenue Cutter
at New Orleans. — Orders for the Arrest of the
Captain —The New Orleans Delta of the 30th in
stant gives marked prominence to the following
important despatch from Governor Moore, of
Alabama, addressed to the Governor of Louisiana
or the Mayor of New Orleans. The latter official
finding himself unable to communicate with Capt.
Brushwood immediately thought it best to give
publicity to the despatch, in order that its object
might thus be attained. The following is the
despatch :
Montgomery, Jan. 29,1862.
To the (lovernor of Louisiana or Mayor of Xew
Orleans :
The following despatch was received here to
day, and has been held for a few hours :
“Washington, January 29.
“Wm. Hemphill Jones; New Orleans :
“Tell Lieut. Caldwell to arrest Capt. Brushwood
assume command of the cutter, (the McClelland,)
and obey the order I gave through you. If Cap
tain Brushwod, after arrest, undertakes to inter
fere with the command of the cutter, Lieut. Cal
dwell is to consider him a mutineer, and treat him
accordingly. If any one attempts to haul down
the American Hag, shoot him ou the spot.
(Signed,) “John A. I)ix, Sec. Treasury.”
A. B. Moore, (Governor of Alabama.)
We lind the following in reference to the cutter
referred to in the same issue of the Delta :
We learn that Mr. Buchanan’s Secretary of the
Ti*easuey recently sent Mr. W. H. Jones on a pri
vate mission to this State, without communicat
ting that fact or the object of the mission to the
collector of the Port. It appears that Mr. Jones
brought peremptory ordeis to Captain Brush
wood', of the revenue cutter McClelland, to take
that vessel immediately to New York. Capt.
Brushwood declined to obey the orders and
brought his vessel up the river to this port. She
now lies in our waters. The invariable custom
has been to give such orders through the Collec
tor ot the Port; but us the custom was, in this in- 1
stance, departed from, Mr. Hatch was totally ig
norant of the object of Mr. Jones’ mission.
Fort Sumter. —Much excitement was caused on
Tuesday, in very credulous circles, by a report
that Fort Sumter had been reinforced. We do no.t
believe it, but our readers can decide for them
selves.
We have had conversation with a citizen who
left Fort Sumter on Sunday, and had been engaged
there tand at Fort Moultrie) since November as a
workman.
He reports forty-four laborers and ninety-six
soldiers, (officers included,) remaining in the Fort,
with a large supply of provisions. Os these he
spicilies, according to Ins knowlidge N fifty-eight
barrels of pork and beef, five hogsheads ol mo
lasses, two casks of vinegar, with large supplies
of Hour and potatoes. The supply of fuel, which
was good, had been lately increased by a drifting
raft which was secured.
As to the arms, our informant reports five Co
lumbiads, 10 indies, in the yard, mounted on
granite, two ranging towards the city, one towards
Sullivan’s Island, and one towards Fort Johnson.
There are also four Columbiads, eight inches,
bearing on Fort Morris, three of the same calibre
on Cumming’s Point, aud four that can be brought
to bear on Mount Pleasant or Sullivan’s Island at
choice. No reinforcements in men have been re
ceived.— Charleston Courier, Wi.
The South Carolina authorities give notice of
the refusal of any further permits to visit the forti
fications in the harbor.
The Secession Question to he Tested in Court.
—The St. Louis Democrat has beeu furnished with
an extract from an answer about to be filed in
the Circuit Court of that county at the suit of a
well-known New Orleans bank agaiust a promi
nent city banker of St. Louis, to recover a large
sum :
The defendants state in their answer that the
plaintiffs are an association oi persons, citizens of
the State of Louisiana, domiciled and doing busi
ness therein, and acknowledging allegiance there
to, and have abjured all allegiance to the United
States of America; that said State of Louisiana
has seceded from aud revolted against the United
States of AmeVica, and is at war with the same;
that the plaiutiffa, aud all other persons who are
citizens of said State and domiciled therein and
acknowledging allegiance thereto, are alien ene
mies of the United States of America aud of the
State of Missouri, and have no right to maintain
any suit in the courts of the State of Missouri.
This defence, if persisted in to the last resort,
would carry the question of the right of a State to
secede to the Supreme Court of the United States
for settlement. Its prosecution opens the door to
a variety of legal questions, and will be watched
with interest.
Predicting the State of the Weather.— The
raetlior of recording and predicting the weather,
pursued each day at the Smithsonian Institute,
is peculiarly simple. They have a map of the
United States hung upon a‘board, with pins stuck
through at the points where the observers of the
Institute arc stationed. Daily reports are re
ceived by telegraph from many of these points*
Each morning an assistant hangs a corn on the
pins to indicate the state of the weather—black
if raining, green if snowing, brown if cloudy, and
white if fair. All storms “travel East, and thus
they are enabled to predict, with great certainty,
the condition of the weather twelve, hours in ad
vance.
A Strange Story. —Capture by Zndians —Mr.
and Mrs. Kimball, formerly residents of Syracuse
N. Y., passed through Cleveland, Ohio, on Janu
ary 26, and they had a strange story to tell of
their experiences since they left their home in
1648 to go to California, by the overlaud route. —
I While crossing tin Plains ou the 17th ol July, the
j party in which they were was attacked by the Jn
! dians. The men fought so bravely that out of the
I party, which numbered sixtv-three, but thirteen
! were left, counting women and children. Mr.
Kimball’s father, an old mao, was one of the sur
vivors, but was killed in trying to run the gaunt
let. Mr. Kimball himself passed the ordeal suc
cessfully, aDd was told that he might save the life
of whichever one of the female survivors he chose
if he repeated the feat. He did so, and rescued
his wife from death, while he was obliged to see
his two sisters killed bv slow torture. Mr. and
Mrs. K followed the Indians from place to place,
without an opportunity to escape, till 1859, when
their partv met a United States surveying com
pany. Kimball told his story to the whites, and
one of them, an old resident m the country, offer
ed his aid in effecting their escape. -The offer
was glad!v accepted, and the attempt, after many
months of intense suffering, was successful.
Direct Taxation.— Messrs. Editors Southern
Recorder. —Some of our ultra secession friends
propose to establish a system of free trade and di
rect taxation for the Southern Confederacy.
What benefit could we derive from it ? ’ I know j
ot none. It is said that we would thereby punish
the Yankees. How 1 What interest have they in ;
that question *? The Union being dissolved, the !
Northern States and peop'e are to us foreigners
and aliens, just as much as are the nations and
people of the Old orld.
If we collect revenue by duties on imports, they
will have then to pay on bringing goods into our
market, just as much as the English, French or j
any other people. If our ports are thrown open, j
free of duty, the Yankees will be just as much |
benefited by it as any body else. In any event, j
they lose by secession, all the advantages they had j
over foreign nations in our trade, and will in fu- j
ture, stand on the same footing with them.
On the other hand, what whould we lose by this ]
free trade and direct taxation ? We would render j
our people restive snd dissatisfied with their j
new Government, by the oppression of heavy tax- |
es, taken directly out of their pockets; we would ‘
utterly destroy all our Southern Manufacturing
interests and become wholly dependent upon for
eign nations for all such supplies. Would this be
w^e y Moderation.
Important News from the Federll Home
Squadron. —We have late and impvrtant news
from the Home Squadron. .On the 19th of Janu
ary, the Commander-in-Chief of the fleet received
orders through CoL Pickensjfrom Washington, to
send immediately to Florida, the United States
steam frigate Powhatan, the Sabine, and the sail
ing corvette St. Louis.
A critical examination of the condition of the
Squadron, demonstrated the fact that every ship
was short of provisions ; and that it would be
madness to send them ou probably a hostile mis
sion, in such a state. The impression prevailed
extensively, therefore, that the vessels would go
♦o Havana or elsewhere, for provisions, and then
obev the instructions of Mr. Toucey.
Serious disaffection existed among some of the
officers of the Powhatan, when her destination be
came known to them. The Purser, the third Lieu
tenant and ihe fcrsf Lieutenant immediately ten
dered their resignation ; but the CaptaiD, while
conditionally accepting them, refused to allow
their return'to the steamers. The most intense
excitement existed in tjie entire squadron ; and
it w as found necessary to issue an order prohibit
ing all officers, sailors* aad marines, from convey
ing political news, or naval movements, in their
letters, as they would be op ned and read.
j of the Chronicle tfc Sentinel.
SOUTHERN CONGRESS.
first day.
Montgomery, Ala., Feb. 4,1861.— The Conven
tion met to-day at 12% o’clock, in the Senate
j Chamber of the Capitol.
Mr. W. P. Chilton, one of the deputies from
Alabama, called the Convention to order, and
i moved that the Hon. R. W. Barnwell, of South
Carolina, be elected as temporary Chairman. The
motion was agreed to.
Mr. Barnwell took the chair, and said that he
thanked the Convention for the confidence re
posed, and honor conferred, in calling him to the
position of Chairman. He then called upon Rev.
Dr. Basil Manley to offer a prayer. The Rev.
Doctor then addressed the Throne of Grace as
follows ;
“Oh, thou God of the Universe, Thou madest
all things—Thou madest man upon the earth—
Thou hast endowed him with reason and ciipaci
ty for government. We thank Thee, that Thou
hast made us, # at this late period ot the world, and
in this lair portion of the earth ; aud hast estab
lished a free government aud a pure form of re
ligion amongst us. We thank Thee for all the
hallowed memories connected with our past his
torv. Thou hast been the God of our fathers, oh,
be Thou our God. Let it please Thee to vouch
safe Thy sacred presence to this assembly. Ob !
our Father, we appeal to thee, the seal-cher of
hearts, for the purity aud sincerity of our mo
tives. If we are in violation of auy compacts, still
obligatory on us, with those States from which
we have separated, in order to set up anew gov
ernment—if we are acting in rebeiiou to and in
contravention of piety towards God and good
faith to our fellow man, we cannot hope for Thy
presence and blessiug. But oh, Thou heart
searching God, we trust that Thou seest we are
pursuing those rights which were guaranteed to
to us by the solemn covenants of our fathers, and
which were cemented by their blood.
And now’ we humbly recognize Thy hand in the
Providence which has brought us together. We
pray Thee to give the spirit of wisdom to Thy
servants, with ull necessary grace, that they may
act with deliberation and purpose, and that they
will wisely adopt such measures, in this trying
condition of our affairs, as sbull redound to Thy
glory and the good of our country. So direct
them that they may merge the lust for spoil and
the desire for office into the patriotic desire for the
welfare of this great people. Oh, God, assist
them to preserve our republican form of Govern
ment, and the purity of the forms of religion,
without interference with the strongest form of
civil government. May God, in tender mercy,
bestow upon the deputies here assembled, health
and strength of body, together with calmness and
soundness of miud—may they aim directly at the
glory of God and the welfare of the whole people
—and when the hour of trial, which may super
vene, shall come, enable them to stand firm in the
exercise of truth, with great prudence and a just
regard for the sovereign rights of their constitu
ents. Oh, God, grant that the Union of these
States, and all that may come into this Union,
may endure as long as the sun and moon shall
last, and until the Son of Man shall come a second
time to judge the world iu righteousness. Pre
side over this body in its organization, and in the
distribution of its offices. Let truth, and justice,
aud equal rights be secured to. our Government.
And now, our Father in Heaven, we acknowledge
Thee as our God—do Thou control us--and let
the blessings of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
rest upon this assembly, now and forever—Amen.
[Some of the words of the aged and pious Divine
were scarcely audible to the ’Reporter. Some
slight inaccuracies in the language may, in con
sequence, ha~e occurred.]
The chairman then stated that the first business
of the Convention was to provide for its perma
nent organization?
Mr. Rliett.—Would it not be proper now for the
deputies to present their credentials, so that the
Convention might ascertain who are members.
Mr. Meinmiuger.—lt would be well for the
chairman to appoint a temporary Secretary, and
I make the motion to that effect.
Mr. Shorter.—-I move that A. R. Lamar, Esq.,
ot Ga., be appointed temporary Secretary, which
motion was adopted.
Mr. Memminger.—l move that the deputies
from the several States, in alphabetical order,
present their credentials to the Secretary, and
also sign their names to the roll of the Conven
tion. Adopted.
The deputies then proceeded to comply with
the resolution, as follows :
Alabama —lt. W. Walker, R. H. Smith, C. J.
Mcßae, J. G. Shorter, W. P. Chilton, S. F. Hale,
D. P. Lewis, T. Fearn, J. L. M. Curry.
Florida. —James B. O ven, J. Patten Anderson.
Jackson Morton was not present.
Georgia. —Robert Toombs, Howell Cobb, F. S.
Bartow, M. J. Crawford, E. A. Nisbet, B. H. Hill,
A. It. Wright, T. It. R. Cobb, A. H. Kenan, Alex
ander H. Stephens.
Louisiana —.l. Perkins, Jr., A. Doclouet, C. M.
Conrad, Duncan F. Kenner, G. E. Sparrow, Henry
Marshall.
Mississippi. —W.|P. Harris, N. S. Wilson, Wal
ter Brooke, A. M. Clayton, W. S. Barry, James T.
Harrison, J. A. P. Campbell.
South Carolina.— lt. B. Rhett, R. W. Barnwell,
James Chesnut, Jr., C. G. Memminger, W. P.
Miles, L. M. Keitt, T. J. Withers, W. W. Boyce.
The chairman stated that the deputies had
handed in their credentials and had signed the
roll, and stated that the Convention was ready for
further business.
Mr. Rhett.—l think our proper course is to
elect a President of the Convention. On the part
‘of the deputies from South Carolina, I present the
name of a gentleman for that office who has beeu
illustrious on the arena of the general government
—whose fame is co-extensive with the length and
breadth of this whole country—l nominate the
Hon. HoweH Cobb, of Ga., for President of this
Convention. [Applause.] lam sure that his
election will be unanimous, I therefore propose
that he be declared President by acclamation.
The motion prevailed, and considerable ap
plause followed the announcement.
Mr. Rhett.—l move that a committee of three
be appointed to inform Mr. Cobb of his election
and conduct him to the chair.
The motion prevailed, and the Chairman ap
pointed Messrs. Rhett, Walker and Anderson that
Committee.
Mr. Cobb on taking the Chair, addressed the
Convention as follows:
Accept, gentlemen of the Convention, my sin
cere thanks for the honor which you have con
ferred on me. I shall endeavor, by a faithful and
impartial discharge of the duties of the Chair, to
merit, in some degree at least, the confidence which
you have reposed in me.
The occasion which assembles us together is one
of no ordinary character. We meet as the repre
sentatives of sovereign independent States, who
by their solemn judgment have dissolved all the
political associations which connected them with
the government of the United States. Os the
causes which have led to this decision it is unnec
essary now to speak : it is enough to announce
that by the judgment of our constituents they
have been ample and sufficient. It is now a fixed
irrevocable fact—the separation is perfect, com
plete and perpetual. The great duty is now im
posed upon us to provide for these States a gov
ernment for their future security and protection.
We can, and should, extend to our sister States—
our latesister States—who are identified with us
in interest, feeling and institutions, a cordial invi
tation to unite with us in a common destiny, desi
rous, at the same time, of maintaining with the
rest of our late confederates, as with the world,
the most peaceful and friendly relations, both
political and commercial.
Our responsibilities gentleman, are great, and I
doubt not we shall prove equal to the occasion.—
Let ms assume all the responsibilities which may
be necessary for the successful discharge of the
great interest committed to our trust, placing |be-
Fore our countrymen and the world our acts and
their results, as the justification of the course
which we may pursue and adopt. With a con
sciousness of the justice of our cause, and with a
confidence in the guidance and blessings of a kind
Providence we will this day inaugurate for the
South anew era of peace, security and prosper
ity. [Applause.]
Mr. Chilton—l move that the Convention now
proceed to the election of a Secretary. [The mo
tion was carried.] If it be agreeable to the Coa
ventien, I will nominate Johnson J. Hooper, Esq.,
of Alabama, for that office. He is a gentleman
too well and favorably known to render it neces
sary for me to say any thing about his ability and
qualifications for the proper discharge of the du
ties of that office.
Mr. Toombs—l move that the nomination of J.
J. Hooper, for Secretary, be made by acclama
tion. The motion was agreed to.
Mr. Withers—l move that the President be au
thorised to appoint a door-keeper and other ne
cessary officers. Adopted.
On motion of Mr. Stephens, the President was
requested to appoint a committee of five to report
rules for the government of the Convention.
The Convention then adjourned until 12 o’clock
to-morrow.
Montgomery, Ala., Jan. 4th, 1861.
To the Editor of the Chronicle d’ Sentinel:
I enclosed to you, an hour ago, the proceedings
of the Convention to-day, and only regret that I
had not time to scatter a little of the red fire and
blue blazes and a moiety of the pea-rain and sheet
iron thunder which contribute so much to the in
terest of newspaper epistles now-a-days. But, I
was in a hurry—a regular hades hurry—to get
placed on paper the actings, sayings and doings
of the Southern Codgress. Some of my friends
will persist upon calling this a Conventicn, while
I as pertinaciously insist on Congress. They
coaxed me to use the word “ deputies’’ instead of
“ delegates,” and I yielded out of sheer regard for ;
the custom of the olden time.
The assembled deputies of the seceded States,
tfow at Montgomery, has created and will create
a profound sensation throughout the boundaries
of the old thirty-three. Here are assembled men
ot talent, experience, statesmanship—men of ac
tion, nerve and undoubted loyalty to their south
ern homes—men who have counted the cost of
their present action, and will promptly pay it to
the last shilling, if they are ever compelled to coin
into ducats their warm heart’s blood. The coun
tenances of the deputies indicate “ onward,” and
their actions will be directed in no other w r ay.
I have fears that much of the important busi
ness of the Convention will be transacted in secret j
session—if so, your correspondent will place him- j
self on a war footing, (“ the pen is mightier than j
the sword,”> and send a paragraph broadside into |
the man or deputy who proposes a measure which i
will so injuriously affect my profession, and so j
paralyze the interest of your readers in the delib- j
erations of the Convention.
It may be un-Congressional or un-Conventional j
to refer to such a matter, but the recent rains
have caused a very exalted condition of the waters j
in the rivers in this section. lam informed that j
for several miles on the Georgia State Railroad, I
the track has been so much injured that travel i
; has been suspended. It may be possible that !
i some of the many high and long bridges on that
| road have been washed away. In other portions
of Georgia, great destruction is reputed. At j
i Rome, Ga., the water is said to be in many of the
: houses and stores. The Alabama River at this !
; point is verv high. One broad sheet of water
covers the bend of the river, and the watermen
1 inform me that the flood has not abated its “up
ward tendency.”
j Mr. Charles Conrad, a deputy from Louisiana,
: reached here to-day and is quite unwell. The
rest of the delegations are well, and send “compli
ment® to enquiring friends,” in all portions of the
seceded States, and ‘The rest of mankind.”
SBC9ND DAY.
! Montgomery, Ala., Feb. 5, 1861.—The'Con
gress met to-day at noon. Prayer was offered by
l Rev. 31 r. Mitchell, of St. John’s Church.
I “Oh Lord, our Heavenly Father—the high and
mighty Ruler of the universe—who dost from thy
; throne behold all the dwellers upon the earth—
most heartily do we breech Thee to look with
favor upon these representatives of sovereign,
independent States, in Thy presence assembled.
Save them from all error, ignorance and pride.
Endue them with wisdom, moderation and justice.
Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory,
but may all things be done in Thy tear, ana with
a view to Th glory. And do Thou be pleased so
to order all the deliberations of this body, that
they shall conduce to the safety, honor, and wel
| fare of the people ; and that all the principles of
I government they may adopt shall be settled upon
the best and surest foundations of justice and
right, and that they may advance the peace aud
happiness, the prosperity and security, and the
piety aud religion of the whole people, so that
God, in all things, may be honored and glorified.
These supplications we present, not in our own
name or lor our own righteousness, but in the
name and for the sake of Christ our Lord. Amen.”
The proceedings of yesterday were read and
i confirmed.
t Mr. Shorter—Additional Secretaries are neces
sary, and l move that, dispensing with all form
ality, the Secretary be authorized to appoiut an
Assistant Secretary and a Journalizing Clerk.—
Adopted.
Mr. Stephens—The Committee on Rules have
authorized me to submit a report, which for the
convenience of members, has been printed aud
laid upon their desks. These rules have beeu se
lected by the Committee from the Rules of the
House of Representatives as well as those of the
Senate of the United States,aud with some from J ef
ferson’s manual, and some few original ones, which
the Committee regarded necessary for this body.
The Secretary will please read them from the
printed copy.*
The President—lt will be understood that each
rule is adopted when after the reading.of it no
objection is made to it.
The Clerk read the rules, aud no objection was
made until he had finished reading them*
Mr. Memminger—l presume that, iu the 20th
rule, the words “no resolution or measure” refer
only to written mutter.
Air. Stephens—Thaj, is the intention of the rule.
Mr. Memminger—l move that the rules be
printed iu pamphlet form, for the use of the mem
bers.
Mr. Walker—l beg leave, before that motion
is put, to call attention to the 2d rule, which reads
as follows :
“Any member or members from a majority of
the States now represented, or hereafter to be
represented, by duly accredited delegates from
States seceding from the late United States of
America, shall constitute a quorum to transact
business.”
From this it will be seen that four delegates
may constitute a quorum, as there might be but.
one delegate in attendance from a majority of the
States.
Mr. Stephens—These rules are made ou the
principle that we are a Congress of sovereign in
dependent States, and must vote, therefore, as
States, and not individually as members. The
difficulty referred to cannot be avoided at this
time.
Mr. Wilson—With the explanation of the gen
tleman from Geornia, [Mr. Stephens,] I beg leave
to call attention to the 24th rule, which provides
that “a majority of the members present” may
second the call for the previous question. I
would prefer that the vote be taken by States ou
this as well as on all other questions.
Mr. Stephens—lt is immaterial which plan is
adopted iu this case. I think the rule will work
better as it is.
Mr. Conrad—Under the instructions the
ties from Louisiana have received, we feel com
pelled to vote, on all questions, as a unit. Aud as
the call for the previous question may have an
important bearing on the discussion of a subject,
and on the result to be attained, we feel compell
ed to ask that the second to the call for the pre
vious question shall be determined by States and
not by the votes of individual members.
Mr. Stephens—l am willing that the rule shall
be as the gentleman desires.
The President—The rules having been adopted,
the question is now on the motion of the member
from South Carolina, (Mr. Memminger,) to print
these rules iu pamphlet form. The motion was
agreed to.
Mr. Curry.—l submit the following resolution:
Resolved , That Messrs. Snorter and Reed he ap
pointed printers to this Congress, while it holds
its sessions in Montgomery, and that they shall
do the work in the same style and for the same
compensation they received for the printing for
the Alabama State Convention.
1 would remark that these gentlemen are the
printers for the State of Alabama.
The resolution was taken up and agreed to.
Mr. Nisbet.—l submit the following resolution:|
Resolved, That the Reverend clergy of this city,
be, and they are hereby invited to open the ses
sions of this Couventic n with prayer, and that a
committee of three be selected from the Alabama
Convention to extend to them this invitation, and
to arrange with them for the performance of the
service.
The resolution was agreed to.
The President.—l would suggest that it would
be w r ell to move to fix upon the hour for the regu
lar meetings of this body.
Mr. Stephens—l move that the hour of 12 o’clock
be fixed upon as the time for meeting.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. Chesnut—l move that the States be called
in alphabetical order, to allow the deputies to
present resolutions for the consideration of this
body.
The President—That will he in accordance with
the rules as adopted, and will be done.
When the Secretary called the State of South
Carolina, Air. Alemminger presented the following
resolutions:
1. Resolved, That this Convention deem it ex
pedient forthwith to form a Comederncy of the
States w’hich have seceded from the * Federal
Union, and that a Committee be. appointed to re
port a plau for a Provisional Government, upon
the basis of the* Constitution of the United States.
2. Resolved, That a committee of tbirteerynem
bers, be appointed as follows, viz : The Chairman
by the Convention, and the members from each
State, to be nominated by the deputies of that
State.
3. Resolved, That all propositions in reference
to a provisional government, be referred to this
Committee.
Air. Memminger—l am not disposed to press
the consideration o f these resolutions at the pre
sent time, if any gentleman desires their post
ponement. It will require some days to mature a
plan of government, and, therefore, I have
brought those resolutions forward at this early
period.
• Air. Stephens—J move to strike out of the re
solutions the word Convention, wherever it oc
curs, and substitute the word Congress.
Mr. Memminger—l have no objection to the
change proposed.
Air. Bartow—l offer the following resolution as
a substitute for those presented by the gentleman
from South Carolina, (Air. Memminger):
Whereas, The States of South Carolina, Geor
gia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana*,
have dissevered the political ties which bound
them to a compact known as the United States of
America, and, through duly authorized delegates,
are now assembled in* Congress, to provide meas
ures for the welfare of those States, and to estab
lish an enduring Government w’hereby their rights
may be maintained—and whereas, it is important
that a Provisional Government shall be formed,
before a permanent one can be constructed, there
fore—
Resolved, That the President appoint a commit
tee ot one from each State, to report a plau for a
provisional government, as’soon as possible.
Mr. Barry—l rise to offer a substitute for the
substitute of the gentleman from Gergia, (Air.
Bartow.) •
Air. Perkins—Before this substitute is read, I
move that the galleries be cleared, in order that
we may discuss the various plans proposed, in se
cret session.
The Congress went into secret session at quar
ter before 1 o’clock.
I enclose to you the regular proceedings of the
Congress to-day, up to the time it went into se
cret session, fam not expected to report any of
the savings and doings in the secret session, but
J can tell you this much, that iu my opinion the
Congress was engaged in discussing the best plan
for a provisional government. It would be a sur
prising thing to know that there was unity of
opinion among the deputies on such a subject.
No such unity of opinion exists yet, but after ex
changing views and examining the matter fully,
general unanimity may be obtained.
The indications are that the session of this
Congress will be continued much longer than was
generally believed a few weeks ago.
third day.
Montgomery, Ala., Jan. 8. —Congress assembled
this morning at 12 o’clock M., and was opened by
Prayer by the Rev. Mr. %'ichenor of the Baptist
Church of this city.
Our Father who art in Heaven, we rejoice for
all thy mercies towards us. We bless thee that it
is our privilege, guilty though we are, to come to
thy Throne of Grace, and ask thy forgiveness for
our transgressions and for all grace and strength
needful for us in the discharge of the duties thou
hast devolved upon us. We would look up to thee
this morning, realizing that thou art the giver of
every good and perfect gift. We implore thy
blessings upon us during the hours of this day.
We beseech thee that thou wouldest grant unto
the representatives of these sovereign States, here
assembled, all that wisdom, prudence and firm
ness which are necessary for them to discharge
the arduous and .responsible duties with which
they are entrusted. Ai?d do thou grant thy bles
sing upon the people of these sovereign States.
We thank thee for that measure es peace, pros
perity and security, which they have enjoyed in
days past. We pray thee to continue unto them
thy blessings. Spread the'shield of thy protec
tion over them —guard them by thine own right
hand —and enable them to do those thing which
are pleasing in thy sight. And ob, we beseech
thee, our Heavenly Father, if consistent with thy
will, to let peace be within our borders ; but, if
thou hastjinjhy Providence, determined otherwise
—if it be needful that we should lay the foundation
of this Confederacy in tears and cement it with
blood—ob, our God, we beseech thee that thou
wouldst stand by thy servants--that thouwouldst
| give success to our uriniaft in the day of battle, and
that the conflict, if it must come, may be short
and effectual for the preservation of the rights of
this people. And now we look to thee, our
Heavenly Father, and again beseech thy blessing,
during the hours of this day. Hear us in these,
our petitions, and forgive us our sins, and save us
through Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
f have sent you the prayer offered by the Rev.
Mr. Tichenor, because it was a solemn and im
pressive invocation.
Mr. Morton, a deputy from Florida, made his
first appearance in the Convention to-day. He
was detained by high waters. He is a venerable
old gentleman, and has not lost that Senatorial
I air that he exhibited for many winters at Wash
! mgton.
j To-day the commissioners from North Carolina,
! Messrs I). L. Swain, M. W. Ransom and John L.
! Bridgers presented their credentials from their
! state, and were invited to take seats in the Con
( vention. They appear to be commissioners ap
■ pointed for the purpose of re-constructing the
j Union, but they are in the wrong place, and will
j effect nothing on such a mission.
Judge Robertson, a commissioner from Virginia
| is here, and I understand, is also endeavoring to
! arrange adjustment plans.
The committee appointed in the secret session
j yesterday, to report a plan for a provisional
■ government for the seceded States, gave notice to
: day through their chairman, (Mr. Memminger,)
| that they would not be able to report until to
i morrow.
! The session was very short to-day—not exceed
; ing an hour, and Congress adjourned until eleven
o’clock.
In the city I notice quite a number of men in
military dress. Some belong to Companies that
: have been at Pensacola, and others to Companies
J on their way to Pensacola to relieve some who
! are there now.
There is not an unusual crowd here, although
! the Legislature is in session as well as the Con
j gress.
Montgomery, Feb. 7, 1860.
Editor Chronicle <l* Sentinel: If you or your
readers can eliminate much interest from the pro
ceedings of the Southern Congress, so far, you
are more fortunate in your ability in such matters
than your correspondent.
The interesting portions of the proceedings are
all transacted in secret session.
It i3 generally conceded that the business now
before the Congress is the consideration of the
best plan for a Provisional Government for the
seceded States. The Committee were ready to
report this morning, but the secret session inter
vened, and we were unable to hear any of the de
bates or any portion of the report read.
From what I learn from outsiders, (who were
insiders,) there is every prospect of great unanim
ity on the plan of government that will be adopt
ed. There is no jarring—no rivalries—but all
VOL. LXXV. —'NEW SERIES VOL. XXV. NO?*
j seem disposed to do the best thing for the honor,
i safety, and prosperity of the seceded States.
It is reported, on good authority, that this Con
gress will take into their own hands the coutrol
ot Fort Sumter, Fort Pickens, aud other intract
able forts, and if those forts are not promptly
given up after demand, the dogs of war will be
slipped loose.
Below I hand you the proceedings of the Con
gress to-day.
fourth day.
Montgomery, Ala., Feb. 7, 1861.—The Congress
met this forenoon at 11 o’clock. Prayer was of
fered by the Rev. G. AY. li. Petrie, of the Presby
terian Church.
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, with pro
found reverence do we bow before Thv Diviue
Majesty, acknowledging Thy claims upon our
w orship, and beseeching Thee to receive our sup
plications, through the grace that is in Christ
Jesus, our Lord/ Wilt thou be pleased, in Thine
infinite goodness, to bless and prosper these Thy
servants, the representatives of sovereign States
here assembled with sacred trusts, that they may
be adequate to the important duties they are
called upon to discharge. Bless them this day in
their deliberations, and be pleased to grant that
they may adopt those measures which may be
promotive of the safety, honor and welfare of the
people, and which may conduce to the honor and
glory of God.
Avert from us all impending evils, and overrule
all things so that, our people may realize then
highest hopes and have their most ardent desires
fulfilled. Merciful God, we beseech Thee to hear
us in these, our supplications, and accept us in
the name of the blessed Redeemer, unto whom,
with ‘lhee and the Holy Spirit be equal aud ever
lasting praises. Amen.
The Journal of yesterday was read and con
firmed.
Air. Withers—Mr. President, is there any busi
ness before the house?
The President—None.
Mr. Withers—l have been informed that it is
probable that the Committee which is now in ses
sion will be ready to report to-day at 12 o’clock.
I make the motion, therefore, that we take a recess
till that hour.
The motion was agreed to.
At the hour of twelve Congress again met, and
was called to order by the President.
The President—l beg leave to lav before the
body a communication from -tlte -Legislature of
Alabama, which 1 ask. the Secretary to read.
The Secretary read as follows :
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, )
Montgomery, Ala., Feb. 6, 1861. \
To the Hon. Howell Cobb,
President of the Congress:
Sir : The undersigned have been appointed a
committee, on the part of the House of Represen
tatives of the St at e of Alabama, to communicate
to the Congress of seceding States, now in session
iu this city the enclosed act of the Stat e of Ala
bama placing at the disposal of the Southern
’Congress, or the Provisional Government formed,
by way of loan, the sum of live hundred thousand
dollars, for placing the seceding States in a better
condition of defence against any attack that may
be made upon them by the Federal Government
of the United States.
We have also been directed by the same body
to tender to the members of the Congress seats on
the floor of the House of Representatives.
We are, very respectfully,
vour obedicuL servants,
S. F. Rick, j
F. S. Lyon, v Committee.
David Hubbard, )
The anuexed is a copy of the act referred to iu
the above communication :
AN ACT to appropriate five hundred thousand
dollars to the cause of Southern independence.
Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and Uou.se
of Representatives of tiie State of Alabama, in
general assembly convened. That Ihe sum of live
hundred thousand dollars be, and the same is
hereby appropriated aud placed at the disposal of
the Southern Congress now in session, or of the
Provisional government of the confederacy of
seceding States, which the said Congress may
establish, by way of a loan to said Provisional
Government or Confederacy; and thuj the Gover
nor be, and is hereby empowered and required
to pay out the sum of $500,000, iu such amounts
and at such times as the said Congress or Provi
sional Government may direct, taking duly ac
credited receipts for the amounts so paid out.—
Provided, that it shall be left to the Governor to
pay the said amounts in coin or in any currency
of the State of Alabama, or in bonds of the State,
or in the Treasury notes of this State authorized
to be issued under the authority of any law of
this State.
A. B. Aleek, Speaker H. R.
John D. Rather, Pres, of Senate.
Approved 6th February, 1861.
A. B. Moore.
Air. Hill —I move that the communication be re
ferred to a Committee of three. Adopted.
Mr. Withers—l offer the following resolution :
Resolved, That the Governor aud the members
of each House of the Legislature be invited to oc
cupy seats in this Congress during open sessions.
Adopted.
Mr. Alemminger—There being no other business
before the house, 1 move that the Congress pro
ceed to sit with closed doors.
Congress went into secret session at 12% o’clock.
r For the Chronicle dc Sentinel.]
In forming anew government, the first and
most important thing to be secured is the projec
tion of slavery. It is of more importance than the
form of government itself. For, the worst govern
ment known to civilization, that will secure this
institution, would be better than the best, emanci
pating our slaves, either by lawj or violence.
The country would not be habitable by the white
race if the slaves were freed by law, much less
by force. The mind of the reader no doubt readily
assents to the proposition, and t hink it a question
not to be argued—very well, stick to that, for I
shall draw conclusions that might, otherwise, seem
startling to you.
Its security requires defence against domestic
and foreign foes—yes domestic foes, for in the
formation of the ConstitutionJJof the U. S., there
was less danger from domestic foes than will he
in the Southern Confederacy, supposing it formed
of all, or nearly all, the slave States. For, as I
showed in my last, it will not be many years be
fore the great border States will be ready for
emancipation, and will effect it under State organi
zation. Let it be remembered that all this ultra
pro-slavery feeling will, in a few years, give way
to the excitement of some other interest, and it
guarantees are to be had they must, be had now,
while the public sentiment is ripe for it. Not many
years ago, a Georgia Convention abolished, with
ease, representation by the Federal basis in the
State ; and which would have been triumphantly
ratified by the people if there had not been many
other unpopular questions submiited with it at the
same time. And I believe nearly all the slave
States have abolished it. So it will be perceived,
except in time of excitement like the present, the
institution is in danger of domestic foes. As the
country becomes populated, the slaves will be
crowded into the richest rice, sugar aud cotton
lands. It is so already, but in less degree than it
will be. The mountain regions, with their heavy
white population, have now but few, and so it
will be before many years, with the healthy and
exhausted portions of the cotton States. The dis
proportion between slave and non-slave-holders
under the present order of things, will continue
t increase till soon it w ill be as twenty to one and
over. Now the great matter is, how shall this all
important and minority interest be protected ? 1
can think of but two ways. The first is that one
slave of a debtor shall be exempt lrom levy and
sale for debts, and that no one be entitled to vote
who shall not be the owner of slaves. By the
operation of the exemption law it would not be
many years before nearly every voter would own
a slave, at least t very industrious and prudent one.
And rather than this all important interest should
be at the mercy of a majority that might think it
self having no interest in the institution, it would
be better to open the African slave trade, until a
negro would be imported and given to every
nigerlcss voter.
The other, and perhaps most practicable plan,
wouid be to have one body of the legislative de
partment of the Government to represent the
slave interest. The tboory’ of having two depart
ments is to protect different interests. Thejbrit
ish Government, from which we borrowed'the
idea, was avowedly for that purpose, aftd so Was
the Government of the United States. Our States
copied, merely to be copying, without the same
reason; for the Senators and Representatives of
a county represent but one interest. BuYhere is
an interest greater than all others—than even the
Government itself—which is in danger of having
no protection. This is but adopting, in a practi
cable way, that conservative idea of a dual of
executive of Air. Calhoun’s, which, though much
ridiculed at the time, would have added to the se
curity of slavery ten-fold more than all that has
been done by his followers.
If this protection cannot be had otherwise, it
would be better to have even another department,
based purely on slave representation, than it
should go unprotected among the perils that await
it in the future, when this excitement in its be
half—and which may now, and now only, be used
for its security—shall have passed away.
Quite as important will be its protection against
irs foreign foes, for all the world is its enemy.
We have thrown off the protection of the Federal
Government —always faithful to us, whatever may
be said of the States, without yet having added
any new protection. For merely declaring our
selves out of the Union, and even making it good
by independence, leaves us as much exposed to the
power of our enemy as ever. Indeed, it mis re
duced the security of the institution to protection
by the sword only. Then has not the slave-holder
cause of complaint, and great complaint, if this,
his only protection, is not made as potent as pos
sible? He has a right to demand that ours be
come, emphatically, a military government, as
strong as our means can make k. Secession has
converted our powerful political into a military
enemy, that will continue to strengthen, dispro
portionately, by foreign emigration, and to whose
hostile inroads, for all time to come, we will be
exposed on thousands of miles of frontier. Let no
one mistake that I am arguing the propriety of
secession—the day for that is past. Asa slave
holder, I am only endeavoring to obtain that se
curity which, under a change of government, I
have a right to ask. And he that is unwilling to
give it, I hope will stop bis prating on the subject,
and admit that he is no friend to the institution.
The country is now in a temper to provide secu
rity against foreign and domestic foes ; and let no
one pretend to be a friend to the institution who
is unwilling to use an opportunity that will never
return. Georgia.
Corn ! Plant Corn !— ls the cry throughout
ths South. The press generally have taken it up,
and are earnestly urging upon the farmers to
plant plenty of corn tins year. The advice is
most sensible, and should be heeded. The reas
ons for planting large grain crops this year are
many, and cannot fail io commend themselves to
the attention of every prudent and well-informed
citizen. In the event of war w ith the ruins of the
old Federal government, our Southern ports may
be blockaced for a time and the shipment of cot
ton thus prevented, which will make that staple
almost valueless. Even if this should not be so,
and aside from all other considerations, our South
ern people should raise more hogs and cattle; and
that they’ cannot do unless they make plenty of
corn. We need Bread and Meat in tune of peace,
but we would consume double the quantity of
both in time oi war. Asa cotemporary truthful
ly remarks, “that man will be the best friend of
his country who this year plants plenty of corn.”
Farmers, remember this, and let us have plenty of
it. You will not suffer by it.— San/ten vale (j tt r .
gian.
Microscopic Meanness.— The Tu. caioosa (Ala.)
Observer says that the soldiers who have gone to
Mobile for the purpose of defending that port, and
have many of them letYcorafortable homes for that
purpose, were compelled to submit to a “shave”
of five per cent, on the money of the interior
banks when offered at their stores in payment for
the necessary comforts w'bich they purchased in
that city. Such petty swindlers ought to be
known and remembered by every planter or other
person who is in the habit, or may hereafter be,
of trading in that city from the different portions
of the State.
Malicious. —The fraternal advice of the Provi
dence Journal to Kansas is : “Now, young sister
State, don’t you go and secede before we have
had a ehance to spend a few millions on you.”
For the Chronicle and: Sentinel.
Tlie ordinances of the Convention, recently as
sembled in MiUedgeville.havc been published “by
authority.”
I The first “dissolved the Union between the
| State of Georgia and other States united with her,
under a compact of government entitled the Con*
| stitution of the United States.” All the
j are, in suk-tainv and effect, laws, and are
‘edtoopeiate as, Mich. They are not
c \ <• g.a, nor a.i
iiileniied i- form par! thereof. but
1 a s’- . Sna efT.hcM tiding what
• i I! v - •’ (• • • ■ i■:l ! ■
’ 1 ’
adej.e and cell'r.c .•* f. :ce the law
‘ ‘ed Stal'-s in tin* Male ol’ G x-Ot ilia,
,ll 'n e\c. (liit-as, and declare who shall he
-'°> v tlie jiu'stion arises, whence slid
vention derive its legislative power, and w
its authority to enact laws?
It is conceded that all sovereignty in aflairs ®
human government is derived from the peop®
lhe Convention is composed of delegates
by the people, and represents the sovereignty®
the people. It possesses all the power which tfl
people possess, but no more. The people canixH
confer upon their delegates to the Couventioiß
powers which they themselves do not possess.!
Have the people legislative power, and can .they’
legislate in any other way than that prescribed
bv the Constitution of the State of Georgia?
There can be but. one answer to this question—
the people, independent of the Constitution of
their State, have no such power, nor can they,
while that Constitution is in force, exercise legis
lative power in any other way than that therein
prescribed. They have uot, by their delegates in
Convention assembled, abrogated their State Con
stitution, uor changed it, nor altered it in any par*
ticuhir whatever. Wo may, therefore, still regat and
it as our organic law. It is the supreme law of
the land, binding, until abrogated 01 changed,
upon the people themselves, as well as all public
functionaries. The representatives of the people,
whether in the Convention or the Legislature,
must conform to it; and if they do not, their acts
w hich contravene it will be void.
The people of Georgia, when they ordained a
fundamental law for the government of the body
politic, usually called the State, decreed that,
“The legislative power shall be vested in two
separate and distinct branches, io wit—a Senate
and House of Representatives, to be styled the
General Assembly.”
iMiTbejr thus divested themselves of the right and
power to make laws, and vtsted that power in a
body to be chosen hi a specified manner. They
have parted with the authority to make laws, ex
cept by their Senators and Representatives in
Gener. i Assembly. They cannot resume that au
thority, while the grant is in three by which they
conveyed it away. This must be so, if there is
any binding efficacy in constitutions. Constitu
itons are intended to limit and restrain the peo
ple, as well as their public functionaries, arid the
safety of the people themselves consists in a due
observance of all constitutional restraints. It was
that truth, which gave rise to the Convention in
Georgia, which is now in recess. •
If it were practicable for the peoffft> of the State
to assemble in mass in one place, instead of meet
ing by delegates and representatives, they would
not have the power to make laws, until they abol
ished, or changed their constitution, which vests
that power elsew here. While the constitution is
in force, the legislative power cannot be rightfully
exercised by any body of men, except the one
vested with it by that, instrument. The grant is
exclusive, and must be so front its nature, and
the character of the power granted. If then the
legislative power is vested in the General Assem
bly. composed of the Simile and House of Repre
sentatives—and if that power cannot be exercised
by the people themselves nor delegated by them
to a convention, without n change of the constitu
tion—and if no change in that instrument has
been made, where was the authority of the Con
vention recently assembled in Milledgeville, to
enact laws ? Changiug the name, and calling
them ordinances, does not change the question.
The want of authority is still the same. far as
the acts of the Convention are concerned in enact
ing, or adopting laws, they are without authority
and void—otherwise we have an anomaly in gov
ernment—two distinct legislative bodies in exist
ence at the same time, one under and the other
above the Constitution.
The Legislature is unquestionably one legisla
tive body, made so by the Constitution. The Con
vention assumes to be the other. Being separate,
distinct, and independent of each other, can both be
supreme? Supreme they must be, if they are the
law making power. The very idea of law pre
supposes supreme power. Law is defined to be “a
rule of civil conduct, prescribed by the Supreme
power in a State, commanding what is right, and
prohibiting what is wrong.”
“ It is requisite to the very existence of law,
that it be made by the Supreme power.”
With us, that power is granted, in the Conven
tion, to the Seriate and House of Representatives
in general assembly met It was a sovereign act
of the people which placed it there—and where
they have put it, and say it shall reside, there it
is, and now here else—and wherever it is, it is su
preme.
If the ordinances of the Convention have the
force of laws, as well as the acts of the Legislature,
then both possess the supreme power of making
laws. Which shall we obey, when they come in
conflict? Can one be more supreme than the
other? If so, which? If of equal force and val
idity, how eau obedience be rendered to two con
flicting laws? If one is entitled to precedence
over the other, which more clearly entitled than
the one made in comformity to the Constitution ?
Again, the Constitution prescribes that “every
bill shall be read three times, and on three sepa
rate days in each branch of the general assembly,
before it snail pass, unless in ease of actual in
vasion or insurrection,” and “the governor shall
have the revision of all bills passed by Doth Houses
before the same shall become laws.” Have these
provisions been complied With in the laws enact
ed by the Convention ? If not, are they of any
force ? If they are, is the Constitution in force ?
Again, the Convention authorized the Governor
to make advances of money to the Commissioners
appointed to other States, and to the delegates lo
the Convention at Montgomery. The Commis
sioners and Delegates ought to be paid, that is
not denied —but by what authority diu the Con
vention direct them to be paid? The Governor
can get money to pay them only from the Trea
sury, and he has no right to touch a dollar in the
Treasury until appropriated by law. The Con
stitution expressly provides that “all bills appro
priating money, shall originate in the House of
Representatives.” So careful were the framers
of the Constitution to guard the Treasury of the
State, that they required all bills appropriating
money, to come from the immediate representa
tives of the people. How then could the Conven
tion, by mere resolution, authorize the Governor
to draw money from the Treasury? The Conven
tion did this, doubtless without due reflection.—
Had they reflected a moment, they # would have
seen that they lump no authority to order u dollar
from the Treasurrof Georgia. Rut if they should
insist upon the exercise of that power, it is a
claim which cannot be yielded. The Treasury
must be vigilantly guarded, and not a cent should
be drawn therefrom, but by authority of law, and
in the manner prescribed by the Constitution.
The Convention is full of men distinguished for
intellectual ability’and high legal attainments—
but they have mistaken their powers. When
they passed the Ordinance of Secession, they had
performed their mission. They should have ad
journed sine die , and the Governor should then
have convened the Legislature to enact such laws,
as the change of circumstances render necessary.
V INDEX.
Tile New Government.
We copy elsewhere, from the correspondence
of the Charleston Courier , some suggestions with
regard to the constitution and policy ot the new
government to be erected over the southern sece
ding States. Anything on that subject is nterest
ing at this particular juncture of Mtr ass airs.
The leading objection to the plan of the writer
is, that it removes the government too fur from
the people. Any steps in that direction should he
cautiously taken, and none taken at all that muke
the government independent of the governed.—
We are as much opposed to radical democracy as
the next one. but we are equally opposed to any
system that destroys the responsibility of the rep
resentative to the only legitimate constituency in
free government—the People.
The prolongation of the Presidential term is a
good suggestion, though it should be extended
still further—to at least eight years ; while the
intermixture of the Legislative and Executive de
partments is wholly inadmissible.
However the President may be elected -and we
are inclined to a change in thisjrespect —the dele
gates to Congress, the lawmaking power, should
come directly from the people, though sem-ian-ual
elections are far too frequent.
In our judgment the great defect in the old
Federal Constitution is the brief tenure of office,
and consequently the frequent changes to which
the government has been subjected. Here is
the root of all our present calamities. From it
has sprung every species of trouble that has beset
us as a nation. The tendency to internal corrup
tion lias been the great defect in our system, to
cure which should he the leading idea of the states
men of the south in the formation of our new
government. Office must be brought back to
what it wasin tie early history of the Union,
and confined to be so long as the government
was in the hands of those who framed it. It was
then an institution, or rather a feature of govern
ment designed solely for the good of the people—
an agency through which their affairs should be
ably and faithfully administered. For the past
thirty or forty years this idea has been utterly
obsolete, except in a theoretical sense. It lias
been for that period looked upon as a reward for
service performed, and of late, wholly to the party
which onjoys for the time being the power to
dispense it. Men talk of their “claim*’ to office,
implying that it is a matter of right lor them to
manage the affairs of others. Under the opera
tion of this system our popular elections have be
come a mere pugilistic encounter with office as
the prize to be won by the party whiclT shall most
successfully belabor and defame the other, Tdie
contest over, the spoils are portioned out among
the victors with as much exactness as they are at
a horse race or a cock pit.
How long can any people remain tree, pnder
such a debasing system as this V How can any
government endure with such a cancer continual
ly preying upon its vitals. Lot “the broken and
dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union,”
answer the question ! Here we have the phi
losophy of the times and its practical consumma
tion.
Let us go back to the pure and patriotic days of
our Fathers, and from them gather wisdom to
avoid the rocks and quicksands that have proved
our ruin in the past, and we fear, are still lying
thick ahead without any particular anxiety on our
part to see and avoid them.— Savannah ‘jfrpuhli
mn.
The Louisiana Declaration. —The New Orleans
Delta learns that the event, of Louisiana’s Declara
tion of Independence is to be illustrated in a large
painting by Mr. K. W. Perry, Jr., of that city,
who is now engaged in Ham study of the great
work in contemplation. WTerry has undressed
a note to the members of the Convention, and
many of the spectators of the “signing oi the Or
dinance,” to furnish him with their photographs
and short sittings for a work which i.*> designed
not only to commemorate the event, but to make
faithful portraits of those present on that impor
tant occasion.
We suggest (says the Columbus Sun) that the
Georgia Convention, when it reassembles, take
measures to commemorate the same event in the
history of thef ‘Empire State,” and let it hereafter
adorn the State House. Would not seceding
States do well to act likewise ?
“Old Aue is e.*uu u> he spiriting up for his
Washington visit. lie has been glowing his whis
kers , curling hi* huiruud w axing Ins moustache
to such an extent daily, that he is now described
as looking very handsome. His whiskers are
considered as particularly becoming; “filling his
§ aunt cheeks, and hiding ‘*his long, lank jaw
ones,” so that the improvement is “remarkable.