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SOUTHERN TRIBUNE. EDITED AND PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY W 111 . U . HARRISON. ExlracOifrom (<ov. Towns' Leltur. The following questions were asked Gov. Towns, by a number of gentlemen of Cherokee, viz : Ist. Does the Act of the last Legisla. ture, authorizing a call of a Convention, admit of a reasonable doubt as to your duty upon the admission of California alone I 2d. Did not Congress in the admission of California, virtually enact the VVilmol Proviso—or can Congress constitutionally do that indirectly which it cannot do di rectly 1 To these inquiries Gov. Towns replies at length, and answers the first, in part, as follows : “In my answer, I will reverse the order in which they are stated ; premising, how e'er, that no doubt did exist in my own mind, that by the act of the Legislature, it was made my imperative duty to call a Convention of the people, in the event of the admission into the Union of California with her present Constitution. 1 have be fore remarked, that it would be my duly to advert to some unwelcome facts illus trative of the character of the people of the slave and non slaveholding States, before I entered into a reply to your last question, and which, in my judgment have a most important and intimate con nection with the subject under con id eration. In the ordinary transactions of human affairs, as well as the investigations which are of daily occurrence, involving private rights, experience has shown, tha t there are of.eti apparently remote and dis connected circumstances, without the aid of which, neither the truth could be attain ed, nor justice awarded; and so, in the present most unhappy difficulty between the two sections of the Union, it becomes necessary to examine into the relative con duct of the two sections towards each other, as sections of the same confederacy; as also, what acts of oppression or injus tice have been perpetrated by the people or their Representatives in Congress by the one against the other. This will tea" dily occur to ycu as obviously proper, from the consideration that the very superstruc ture of this Federative Government ours, this glorious Union, of which you may have heard something of late, from strange lips, rests solely upon public con fidence, and the affection of the people.— Divest it of these pillars of strength, and the G vernment, with the Union, is like the edifice built upon sand. You may prop it up, by your enlisted soldiery, and the shifting evolutions of your sliding poli ticians, for a season, but the great and im mutable principles of justice aud equality, ate too deeply implanted in every true Southern bosom, whether native or ad pi ed, for the terror of the one, or the de ■vices of the other, or the combined power of both, to stand long befoie the withering indignation of an outraged people. If this be true, let us see whether the Fede ral Government is, at this day, adminis tered upon the principles < f equality and justice which entitles it to the confidence and affection of the people, aud ifit is not, I would feign call upon all, of every sec ticn of this Union, and especially in the South, to rally upon these great and fun damental principles of Government, e juality between all the parts, without which there can be no good Government, in order to preserve aud save ‘the Union;’ that glorious Union of our fathers, which rested upon equality of privileges, equality * ... ■ i , ""l'u u-jjf lmuli£uti,_ And any true Georgian, that they who dally in this conflict, and fold their arms, or shut their eyes, when the very pillars of the Government are undermining, are them selves, the worst enemies to the Union. The Union ts not a senseless word, for party hacks, or heartless politicians to sport with. As applied to our Govern ment, it means that vital element, which diffuses itself throughout the Coustitution in the form of equality and justice. Tha l instrument embraces the great principles of individual rights in the associated form of Government. Its beauty, its perfection and its strength, consist mainly in the fact, lh-.t the citizen is deprived, or rather res trained in the exercise of such of his na tural rights only, as bis own safety and welfare demand, and no more. * * * The office of President of the United States, iu the hands of a bad and wicked roan, is but another name for despotism ; »nd the Congress of tire United Stales, when under Providence, it is composed of unprincipled and corrupt-politicians, is the inoat unwieldy, dangerous and crushing despotism. The only guard against these dire calamities is supposed to rest in a written Constitution, defining the power, and sustained by the virtue, and wisdom of the people themselves, and in the sup position that they will hurl from power corrupt or incompetent official agents. — But, as I think l shall be able to show, this is not so in one section of the Union, and we are not likely, in my judgment, to see the time, when any improvement, in this respect, may be reasonably anticipa ted, then we come to the question L desire to propound to you, and to the people of Georgia : Who is the Union party of this State ? Is it composed of you and me and such as would restore the Govern ment to its original puri'y—those who de sire to arrest the lawless eucroachments of infuriated fanaticism, which have urged on irresponsible majorities in both Houses of Congress to the bold and undisguised assumption of power, by which our feel ings and equal rights have been violated 1 Or is it composed of those, who shout for the “Union,” now and forever, right or wrong, though it should appear that Con gress has wilfully and corruptly passed laws depriving them of their equal lights in the Territory acquired from Mexico 1 For myself I feel, and I doubt not you all agree with me, that 1 am prepared to make many sacrifices for the Union. Ev erything I can surrender but my honor, and my l ights, undeniable and clear, un der, under trio Constitution, I am prepared to yield. But if the dreadful alternative is forced upon me to surrender these ines timable privileges, without which 1 would feel far more degraded than l would to he a Russian serf, or a Mexican peon, I must confess my tongue will not permit me to falsify the feelings of my heart, and 1 am forced to admit, as an honest man, that the Government must protect my rights as guarantied to me by the Constitution, or it forfeits my allegiance—and that l will look to other safeguards for my protection. What say you gentlemen 1 Do you, in your heart covet an unjust, iniquitous and oppressive Union ? Do you so love your Northern brethren for their many virtues and acts of disinterested patriotism, ilia, you are prepared to forego the t ights se. cured to you by your revolutionary fathers, in older to preserve a Union, not of your fathers, but the Union of irresponsible, corrupt and unfeeling major Con gross V' * * Gov. Towns next proceeds to rehearse certain acts and designs of the North in relation to slavery, and contrasts the vast difference that is known to exist between the treatment of the citizens of the North amongst us, and those of the f?outh at the North—and cites the fact of Northern men being employed as teachers in our schools and colleges, and churches, and as editors, &c., whilst no such equality exists at the No lb, either in feeling or practice. In relation to rights of property, in the for mer case, by the laws of Georgia, the Noithern man with his property, of what ever description, coming among us, is equally protected with the native citizen whereas the slave of the Georgian in the North, is wrested from him by stealth en force. In reviewing the actions of the people of the non-slaveholding States. Gov. Towns remarks ; “Truth and candor compel me to admit, in view of the past, from the best con-ide ration I have been able to bestow upon the motivesaud objects of this great North ern mind in relation to slavery, that 1 con sider the concessions made by Congress to this sentiment, by the passage, at the present session, of the series of measures called the Compromise bills, have effectu TmTale'accompiishmeut oi' t'ho^fcAm, u ( !i slavery iu every slave State in this Union, —and that too, in less than a fourth of a century from this day, unless restrained by the united action of the South.” * * Gov. Towns then discusses the admis. sion of California at length, and denounces it as a flagrant wrong upon the slavehold ing States ; and censures the sentiments of Mr. Clay who said that “if a people form a Constitution, Ido not care what sort of people they are—of what color they arc— what right they have to the soil, how they came there, whether for temporary or per manent purposes, and if Congress chooses, vpon the presentation of the Constitution famed hy such people, to admit them— Congress has the power to do so.” After examining this question at length with great ability the Governor c loses bis etter with the following appropriate re marks : * * 1 believe that Congress i by the admission of California into the Union, teith the If i/mot Proviso contained in her Constitusion, under the circumstances, has, for every practical purpose, and in truth, principle, and reason, made the act of the people off alifornia in adopting their Con sittution, the act of Congress, and for xchieh Congress is alone answerable to the country for all the consequences that may groic out of it. I regard this art, as more atrocious, insulting and dangerous than a direct appli cation of the Proviso to a Territorial Gov ernment ; because in the case of a Territory the art done would be avowed, open, direct and undisguised, while in the case of Cali fornia it is equally the act rs Congress and equally unjust and unconstitutional, and yet so disguised as designedly to deceive and mislead the people. Haring given you wy opinion that the character of the act admit ting California, is nothing more nor Uss than the Wilmot Proviso, in its most odious form, 1 have in conclusion to add, that 1 entertain the same opinions now / expressed to the people of (he State in a letter address ed to Col. Joseph Day, and others, on the ISfh August, 1549. 1 beg leave to refer to the question and the answer thereto : "In the event of the passage by Congress of the Wtlmot Proviso, or its interference with the subject of slavery in the District of Columbia, what course ought to be adapted by the South V’ My answer is—first to look io ourselves rather than our oppressors—to tube counsel together without distin tion of party, and upon one a 7 tar offer up ah recollections of minor and past differences, and resolve that f neither remonstrance,reason, nor argument will arrest, the brutal fanaticism that is swee ping over the land, threatening a disruption of our social and political union, that we as J.aac-holders, regarding the passage of the Wilmot Proviso as the prelude, to thea boli tion rs slavery in the District of Columbia, as well as evidence of a settled, policy on the part of the fee States to continue to disre "‘gard the Constitutional provision for protec tion in reference to fugitive slaves, ice hence forward look alone, to the justice of our cause, to the pi ot.ect ion of that Providcace, who is able to divert our footsteps in the midst of the greatest peril, to our men union ofall the means,physical a ltd moral to es tablish for oursclres, our wives and children. freedom, equality and liberty,or perish in the attempt- Let. then the icatchword be— the Consti utons as it is—the Union as it was— down with all odious and unconstitutional discriminations bituecn the citizens, or the property ofthe citizens of the different Sta tes, by ihe Federal Govevrnmcnt, or that every patriot son of the South, haring first cx 'hausted all pacific and, honorable means to redress his wrongs toil/ rally to his post, and resolve to die or maintain his rights. These arc my honest feelings and tile result of my deliberate judgment as to the course the Slave Stales s/ton'd pursue in the last resort." These opinions were known to the people of this State when elected hy them to the office of Governor. No man can therefore say in fairness, that they have been deceived or misled hy me. And it remains for such of the Democratic par ty as then endorsed these sentiments hy their votes to reconcile their consistency with their present opposition to them. Now as then, I would feign implore the whole ; people of the State to a calm and impartial in. | vestigation of the subject. Now as then, 1 would commend moderation, firmness, decision. Now | as then, would 1 warn and caution them against j such, if there be any, as would seek to make party capital out of our divisions as to the pro i per le nc-dy for existing evils, as their worst ene mies. Now as then, would 1 have the people to confer and counsel together, as brothers of the | same household, with an eye single to their duty to themselves, and their country ; and above all would 1 invoke fraternal feelings among our selves—remembering that it is hut the lot of nan to err and that wo should learn to lie indu&ent to each oilier for any difference of opini>n a rnong ourselves. Entertaining the opnions j I do of the character of the aggressions of the f Smith, and foreseein", as l think I do, tiiedanger with winch we are encompassed jon every side, 1 have spoken freely and uine scrvedly. It may be that my opinions as u| our j duty, may differ from a majority of ihe. p. epic. ! ve *> however well I may regard un self fortified by facts and reason, I never have seen the mo ment, 1 was not prepared to defer my judgment to that of the people. One fact is too striking t <> escape notice; entire harmony and unanimity do not prevail; extremes must yield something —moderate hut firm and decided men must form the nucleus around which all can stand, and by which we can present to our oppressors the force of union at home. Let the South stand to gether, avoiding all political alliances with the North, until they learn to regard our rights and re spect our feelings, and the cloud that now lowers over our heads may he dispersed, leaving a bright sky. Let us exhaust every means that the uni ted wisdom of the South ran devise, to save onr honor, property and the Union, before a resort is had to extreme measures; but let us not he un mindful, at the same time, that our good inten tions and ardent desire to preserve the Union, may fail, and that as a wise people we should prepare in time to set our household in order, and ifafter all, the cup of bitterness is still press ed to our lips, let us draw the sword, and with uniicd hearts, stif* together, strike boldly, resolved to die, or preserve our liberty and equality. NO. 11. Sejaration—ils Evils lo tl»e North .-its iilcssiugs to the South. Hr. Editor : — I closed my first article wih the assertion that the South had, be sides their rights under the constitution, niich to gain in a pecuniary point of view frirn separation with the North. I pro ofed now to make that assertion good to ue letter. The South is eminently an ag ricultural region, the North commercial snd manufacturing. The productions of (griculture—the first fruits of the soil, Constitutes the basis on which rests all cum in ercial and manufacturing prosperity.— Indeed, there could be no manufactures [without the raw material, for the very term manufacturing implies the conversion of something ftom a crude or natural state into some other, whereby it will be better adapted to the uses and wants of civilized society. This raw material, at least such as enters mostly into the consumption of the world is ever the produce of the soil resulting from human labor, skillfully ap plied. Neither can commerce flourish to any considerable extent without bo'h the raw and manufactured articles—consisting as it does in a mere exchange of commo dities, without these there would be but little to exchange. We might perhaps, with the view of satisfying the ever varia ble cravings of the human appetite, ex change a cargo of Corn with lieland for a cargo of Potatoes, or a cargo of Rice with Newfoundland for a cargo of Fish, but would never think of exchanging the raw material of Cotton with Franee for the raw material of Silk, or with Uu»ia for the same of Hemp, because, without the abilty to manufacture, to covert to something useful, the one would be as worthless as the other. Hence it is clear that manufacturing, or the ability to manu facture, depends solely upon the produce of the soil, generally the result of agricul tural labor, to operate upon, and that com metre depends upon them both. In civil ized countries great prosperity to all these interests rest upon a due proportion exist ing between them all. That is whenever there is an active demand for the consump tion of the manufactured articles, the pro ducing commercial and manufacturing in lerests are prosperous. 1 lie South, 1 have said, is eminently agi icultural. She raises n>t only the great staples of Cot-on, Rice, Tobacco and Su gar in abundance, hui enough u so of the ordinary bread stuffs foi dome-ticconsump tion. The Ninth from the unfavorable < haracter of hei climate, being cold, in hospitable and unproductive, raises none of the latterto sustain herdense population, ltistrueshe expo;ts provisions, but 1 doubt if tiie Rice of the South, the Coin, Wheat and Fork of the West were excluded, whether she would have any thing of this kind to spare for this purpose. Conse quently her dependence upon other sec tions fir every other agrieulttural produc tion is clear and unques ionabie. Admit |ing however, that l am in error in regard to her capacity for the production of arti cles of human food, the South at least is not at all dependent upon her for this, as Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, leaving out the mountain re gion of the Carolinas and Georgia, will be fedy able to §upp!y ail our wants and feed Eirope besides. Sugar, Rice and Tobacco may be coti sicered as luxuries demanded by the civ dilation or effeminacy of the age, hut cot | tin is not. This latter with the ordinary 1 bnadstulfs, are the absolute necessaries of I lifj (clothing being as necessary as food,) ! aril neither can be dispensed with. The j first from its cheapness and greater adap | lion to various fabrics, lias become and i must ever continue to be, the chief article : for clothing the world; and fortunately for the Somii, I‘iovidence has ordered that it can only be raised in its greatest perfec i lion within a belt of 8 degrees in width, | extending ft nil 29 deg. to d7 deg., North latitude and from the Atlantic to the Rio (■ ihnde river or its neighborhood.— So great and universal has become the consumption of this article alone, so ne cessary to occupation and comfort of the laboring millions of Europe and England, thai two years ago the London Times ad milted, that if the supply was cut off'even fora single year, a revolution would he the consequence, probably one overturning theirtime honored institutions. Thesame may be said of the North, for the same state of things there exists, though per haps not lo same aggravated exient. The South has nothing of tiiis kind to fear; the absence then of a positive evil resulting to the North from a separation may he se down as a gain lo the former to some ex tent. Os this article of Cotton alone t ho North now consumes ,700 000 bales, worth say, 815,000,000. Alter its manufacturing, it is supposed that it has been increased in value ten fold, or that Northern labor and Northern machinery has added $135,000,- 000 to the value of its first cost —hence it is readily seen how great an item in their prosperity this single product of our fa vored clime must be. Upon this then, and the other great staples of rice, tobac co and sugar, rests mainly the shipping, commercial and manufacturing interests of the whole North. If it were all cut off, as it would by the abolition of slavery, the North would be ruined beyond redemption in less than five years. This however, will not be the case, as the South will never give up her peculiar institution without annihilation, a thing impossible for Northern power or valor to accomplish; consequently total and entire ruin cannot fall upon that mis guided end treacherous people at once from this cause—secessiou by the South. They must however, suffer seriously, if not be ruined in the end. In the first place, instead of robbing the South atinu ally, as they now do, of about $30,000,000, under color of law, by the actual and in cidental protection afforded by the present mis-named Free trade Taiiff, they would be obliged to disgorge much of their ill gotten wealth to support their new and Pharisaical Government. This article of Cotton alone would, in all probability, be subject to a heavy impost duty, which would necessarily increase its price, and render them less able to compete with the pauper labor of Europe in its manufacture, against which thoy tovc cried out so voci ferously for “protection” for the histthiity years. Then again, the South, at present their chief customer, would be lost, as we would then throw aside our swaddling clothes, and rely upon ourselves for the various manufactures of this a' tide and alj others which they now furnish, and for which our own section is so admirably a dapted from its cheap and abundant water power, cheap material, cheap labor, icc. In the event, however, that we continued exclusively agricultural, England Europe, our greatest and best customers, could and would furnish us with all we wanted at a cheaper rate,and most ieadily in exchange fui the rew material. All these evils would come upon the North necessarily, from separation, under a system of entire Free-trade on our part- Should vve, however,be disposeed to place restrictions upon her trade, we could plant our foot up< n her neck,as sbe alwaysdone upon ours, and crush her most effectually in ten years. A distinguished Statesman, one not apt to over-estimate the evil, a few years ago stated that within the last thirty years, 200,000,000 of dollars bad been drawn from the people of South Carolina alone, under the operation of the Tariff of Protec tion, all of which wenteillier into the pock ets of die protected interests or the coffers of the Government; and most, if not all, was disbursed by this same Government North of Mason & Dixon’s line. Tit’s was equivalent (for the North, under the unjust and unequal operation of the Tariff’ laws, have always been comparatively ex empt from taxation,) to giving that section •100,000,000 of the bard earnings of die industry of South Carolina. If we adopt this estimate as collect, and average the test of the slaveholding States proper there by, we will have for the fourteen, (exclusive of Delaware,) the enormous sum of 5,- G 00,000,000 as tribute paid for inestimable blessings of this glorious Union. Let us, however, be certain and take only the half, and we slid have the incredible sum of 2,- 800,000,000. No wonder, sir, the North is rich posperous and happy, and Southern citizens emiiagating to the far West. No wonder, sir, that die Granite hills of New England bloom as a garden, while the rich and fertile plains of the sunny South are stricken in some places, as it were, with barrenness in comparison. And yet, sir, after all this mbbe.ry—this legalized plunder of thirty years’ cuntinunnce, diev turn tound and insultingly taunt us with our povcity, as resulting from our peculiar iustituttion. Verily has the South paid too dear for her whistle ! These thousands of Millions cannot lie recall ed by secesion, but they may be saved in future. Raising, as we do in abundanee, all the great staples of Cotton, Rice, Tobacco and Sugar, with provisions without limit, and all the Tro pical fruits if wo wish ; while our hills and val leys teem with the useful and precious metals w hat is to prevent us from becoming the mos ( rich and magnificent Government on the face of the earth! Nothing. With a Government purely Republican, founded on the experience "f the past, with proper chocks and balances, and Free Trade with all the world, what could prevent our rapid strides to glory and greatness us a nation? Nothing litcra'ly nothing. This we cannot now do, because forsooth in an evij hour we entered into a confederacy with men claiming to he our brethren, in the hope that we would thereby “secure the blessings of lib erty to mirselvi« and posterity "tl rough all time to come, but instead thereof we find oppression as our portion, and our brethren, so-called our oppressors. With secession will come not only wealth and greatness to the South, but com parative exemption from taxation in a few years, for then we could dispense with iarge standing Armies and extensive Navies; our great staples of Rice, Cotton, Tobacco and Sugar standing in iieti thereof as pacificators, and commanding for us the respect and homage of the world. Let this but once take place, and the North, now hold and insolent from our submission to wrong and injustice, will be humbled and subdued, and will soon, Lazarus like, beg for the crumbs that fJI from the table of our prosperity. None of tiiese advantages we now have, norcan we have so long as vve continue members of this pervert ed Union. The Northern people will have enough, I opine, before many jears, to protect themselves irotn that horde of Communists and Agrarians they are now nursingin their bosoms, and which will ere long, vulture like, prey upon their very vitals, without attempting to subject us. Let every one, then, attend lo the affairs ofliis own immediate household in this particular. We are safe, they are not. The blood-hounds that have been set upon the South will be dri ven back and turn and rend the huntsmen.— Mark it! In conclusion, 1 think, Mr. Editor, thatacalm and dispassionate review of this whole subject, in all iis bearings, must convince every one that “It is time for the North, not the South, to cal culate the value ofthis Union.” For the South, it has but little value (value being estimated by the benefits conferred) if indeed, it ever had.— Instead of being as was intended, a shield for our protection, it has almost ever been a name, a thing whereby wrong, and injustice have been perpetrated upon the South. Such being the case, why should we cling to it like dolts and madmen if reparation he denied us? Echo an swers why. Rather, Sir, let us grasp the reali to-’ofii liboriy pure and umleliled, and cling to it as an inheritence, which if true to ourselces, fudetli not away. L. From the Augusta Republic. Diversity of Pursuits. One of the greatest impediments in the way of Southern prosperity and indepen dence, is a want of a sufficient diversity of pursuits among her people. It is tiue that the South is s'ill in her infancy—that her resources are as yet undeveloped, and her capabilities unknown, hut when we consi der her many advantages over any other section of the country, it is certainly as tonishing that she does not now hold the ascendancy and entire supremacy in this important respect. In cotton manufac tures especially an important item—she ought not to have a competitor, much less a rival. Here we have the raw material upon the spot —the manufactory lean he placed by the side of the cotton field, the cost of transportation being reduced to absolutely nothing. Labor, to be employ, ed in the mills,can be obtained here cheap er than at the North and equally as effi cient. Fuel is not so expensive, and all needful supplies of food can be produced and furnished to the operatives for less. — Water power is abundant. In those sec tions where it does not exist, steam power can supply its place with no increase of expense. Here are all the great elements of success. The South should be the manufacturing portion of the world as well as the producing portion. She has the great lever of the commercial world in her cotton—let her control also the manufac turing portion in al! the products of indus try, and especially in cotton goods. She has the materials, ample and never failing, to make her independent, not of the North only, but of the Universe. She is the sec. tion marked out by nature for the prose cution of such enterprises in every branch of industry. Her manifest destiny leads her to the adoption of measures tending to the accomplishment of this great object she cannot fail in time to accomplish it. Every indication of this nature in the South should bo welcomed every enter prise of the kind cherished, and if possible brought to a happy and successful con summation. A large portion of the cot ton grown in the Southern States should be manufactured at home. This is our doctrine, and vve believe the day will come, attd perhaps speedily, when the idea will not be looked upon as chimerical nr vain. The day will come, when not one stream will exist throughout the extensive region of the South, which fails to be sub servient to the purposes of Southern in dustry. Then the greatness, the indepen dence the substantial and abiding glory of the South will be will be placed upon a firm and solid basis. Tlmao who now furnish us with manufactured products, will then act as our brekersand agents. Those who now are growing rich at our expense, will lie glad to act as our humble instruments- God speed the day! But this cannot be accomplished hycot ton manufactures alone. All species «f in dustry, which has been called “hundred handed, ’* must be encouraged. We ° ro now dependent upon foreign sections almost every thing. Let us look at 1 matter one moment in this light. Wc suppose a meeting goutl. of Augusta or any tober city w tn°