Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

POLITICMI.. • Mr. MrDnllie’i Speech, Delivered in Athens, Geo., August 7 th, 1533, v at the •PiiTrJie Dinner firm to him by the friends of State Rights, ass'-mhled there from all ports of the State , in attmdunce on ■■■th*'College C&mmeneinu nt : Tite fcjMowmg Toast having Wen gi»«n—> k The H"on. Cr.o»:« MeDirr.'it, our dis tinguished guest —His unbending integrity, hi» ceaseless vigilance over Southern inter ests, hfs untiring opposition to uurqud laws and.uheonstiftitionai inraMires, and liis tri umphant Vindication of State Rights, entitle litjn to tliC reSpeCt and gratitude of the South, and a heart-warm welcome to his native State.”^;- Aflcr the cheering had subsided, Mr. Mc- Duffie, rose and addressed the company as follow a: 1 am utterly incapable, fellow citizens, of giving utterance to the deep and overwhelm ing sensibility with which I am affected by the very kind and flattering sentiment just announced, and the still more flattering indi cations of hearty approbation, with which it h»ns been received by this cnlighted and patri otic assemblage of freemen. A variety of circumstances concur, to give an iritense interest to the present occasion ; aiid if 1 should be so fortunate as to be an hujnble. instrument in bringing about a cor dial tuiion ofsentiment and of action, between my native and my adopted state, in a crisis which so eminently demands it, 1 shall re cur to this, in future, as to one of the happiest incidents of my life. Indeed, when I look hack to the eventful occurrences of the two last years, and behold South Carolina, with a heroic devotion to the rights and liberties of the whole South, throw ing herself, almost as a forlorn hope, into the breach which a gigantic despotism bail made in the sacred barriers of the constitution and of justice—waging the unequal contest with out the co-operation or countenance of a sin gle State, even in the South, and under the unkind and unnatural denunciations of so ne of their legislative and ex eutive authorities,- when I reflect, that in the most gloomy period of the struggle, the first cheering voice of .encouragement from without her own limits, whicii animated South Carolina to persevere in her glorious struggle for every thing dear to fr .'omen, proco (led from tins very place, ad in part, from tins vi ry ass tnbly ; and when j lie oal assembl' and around inc, so large a portion of .tiie intelligence and chivalry of Gcorgi i, breathin': ttie s une sentiments, an.l actuate.! by the an no principles, lor which South C.rolina w.ts pr pan and to make the last sacrifice of heroic patriotism, I cannot hut ex claim, with a proud satisfaction, “ this is my own, my native land.” 7'nougli, in the too partial estimate which you seem td have formed of my efforts to vindicate the rights," and maintain the liber ties, of the South, you are pleased to ascribe to u;y phtlic labors a Vutuc, which I regret (hat they do not possess, yet 1 will not he guilty of the affectation ot disclaiming the in tegrity df purpose, for which you give me credit, as a public man. It is, indeed, a source of the highest consolation to me, that 1 can '— n !—•■)«? affirm,before my friends and tny enemies, in tnc face of the world, and in the carry on, for the last six vears, against a sys tem df Isjmdatton essentially unjust, oppres sive,and despotic,! have been actuated by no single purpose of selfish ambition : but have st all times been pr paied to sacrifice at the •brine of duty and bf patriotism, every allure ment of ambition, and every hope of political preferment. So essentially do 1 believe the prosperity, the liberty, and indeed the very existence of the Southern States, to be involv ed in the great principles for which we have been contending, that I believe those princi ples cannot be too often impressed upon the people t of the Southern States,nor can they be too often reminded of the peculiar relation in w hich they stand to the dominant Slates of the confederacy. It would be a fatal error, fellow cjuzcnp, to suppose, that the recent adjustment of the tariff has removed all the causes of apprehensions for our rights and liberties. On the contrary, when we look, at the entire’ proceedings of Congress, during its last session, in relation to that measure, and attentively consider the principles officially avowed irt Ihc progress of those proceedings, it is but fuo apparent, that the Southern States never have had greater occasion, than at this moment, fqr maintaining their sovereign rights in their undihiinishcd vigor, and watching the movements of the Federal Gov eminent, and of the majority which controls with uPutapn'K vigliancct What, then, let us inquire, is the true state of the contro versy, between the Sovereignty of the States, and the pretended sovereignty and assumed omnipotence of Congress I On the one hand it is contended, that the States entered into the Federal compact as sovereign communities J that each State still retained its sovereignty, notwithstanding the power* granted to tire Federal Government; and that when the members of this govern ment usurp powers not granted, each Slate has an inherent right, absolutely inseparable from its sovereignty, to interpose and arrest, within its own limits, the progress of the usur pation, and thus preserve the compact from violation. These simple propositions, self evident to every mind capable of comprehend ing the import of the terms used to express them, constitute the doctrines of State Sov ereignty and Nullification—the fundamental securities of freedom in a federative system of government, without which, it would he the very worst of all forma of despotism and op pression. On the other hand, our adversa ries contend that the functionaries us the Federal Government are the exclusive and final judges of tho extent of the powers con ferred upon them by that very Constitution, which the Sovereign Slates of the confederacy established for the special purpose of imposing limitations upon those powers, winch amounts to nothing less than that a majority of Con gress, and of the other departments of the Federal Government, have a Charter from Heaven, paramount to that by which they were created, authorizing them to do what they plrase, and enjoining upon the States, passive obedience to eve ry act of usurpaticn and tyranny, w Inch an ambitious or an in i' r sled majority may choose to |ierpt irate. ruiseo tr.ni reduces the Federal Consti. j tutio.i to a mere dead letter, uttcrlv deprived 1 of all power to restrain the usurfunion of th> , rivcrnmcut. In plain word», it makes the ! ad'.tsl Cov. rnn,. nt paramount to the Vir GEORGIA TIMES AND STATE RIGHTS’ ADVOCATE. t io.i Slates which created it, and the acts of Congress paramount to the Constitution, from which alone they can derive any rightful au thority. These consequences cannot l>e avoided, if the whole civil and military power of the Federal Government, may be rightfully exerted to enforce any act of Congress, I whether constitutional or not; and if the i States who are the Sovereign parties to the I compact of the Union, have no rightful power ! to interpose and enforce its limitations. That I the States do possess this power, is not only I demonstrable, hui self-evident, if it be true | that tr.cy are Sovereign. 1 ask nothing more • from any intelligent adversary, than that he will admit that the States are Sovereign, and that they adopted the Federal Constitution, as States, and in their highest sovereign ca pacity. For I hold it to be impossible for any man who admits this, and who realizes the import of the term sovereignty, to deny that it is the right, and indeed the duly of the States to interpose, through the regular or gans of that sovereignty, to rescue tlieirci’.i zens from the operation us an unconstitution al and oppressive act of Congress. To deny this right is to annihilate the Sovereignty ot the States .- for there can lie no greater politi cal solecism, than to admit that the Federal Government is bound by the limitations of the Constitution,and may yet transcend them with impunity, and that the States w ho formed that Constitution, have sovereign powers and sove reign rights, without sovereign means of pre serving them from encroach men t and viola tion. This right of State interposition, is an original, underived, inherent attribute of sov ereignty, and nothing can he more absurd than to derive it from the Federal Constitu tion, unless it be to deny its existence alto gether. That man is as utterly ignorant of the import of the terms lie uses, as he is of our scheme of government, who supposes that any sovereign power can he derived from a con stitutional compact. It is a pre-existing sov ereign power that forms constitutions ami gov ernments,and those constitutions are nothing more than organic laws, prescribed by that sovereign power, for regulating and control ling those governments. The terms consti tutional and unconstitutional, in the Federal sense, are as utterly inapplicable to this right ofStato interposition, as they are to the right of a State to protect the property and lives of its citizens, by exercising the high sever eign power of inflicting capital punishment on the perpetrators of robbery and murder.— So obviously inseparable are Slate Sovereign ly and the right of State Interposition, that that the more intelligent advocates of a su preme consolidated government, boldly ami consistently deny that the St me re sovere gn. As 1 regard this as tho real question at issue —as the hinge upon which the whole con troversy turns —l will take leave to present some views and illustrations, calculated to give a distinct idea of what constitutes Sov ereignty, and to shew by arguments, entirely free from all metaphysical refinement, that the States arc not only sovereign, but are the only sovereign powers known to our political system. If a murder should be committed in Geor gia, for example, no one would dream of call ing in question the exclusive right of the state authorities, to inflict capital punish ment on the offender, though lie should be the citizen of another state ; nor would tin government of the United .States, or ofanv —....a,..... v unj uiuic ngm to interpose their authority, than the government of Tur key. Ail this, every body will admit; and yet, I should be glad to know by what name we shallcall an undcrivcd and uncontrollable right to inflict the highest punishment upon the highest crime that can be committed a gainst the safety of the State, if it be not Sovereignty. To what government is it that a citizen of Georgia looks up to protect him in the enjoyment of life, properly, and charac ter, against ali those crimes and frauds which it is the end of civil government to repress and punish ? Is there a single one of till those rights which constitute civil liberty, which the Federal Government has any sem blance of power to pr< tcct against the assaults to which it is exposed ? A murder, or a robbery, committed on tnc citizens of anvone State, is not even an offence against the gov ernment of the United States; and yet we hear men gravely maintaining that that gov ernment is sovereign, and that our paramount allegiance is due to it; as if protection and allegiance were not co extensive and recipro cal. There is, indeed, scarcely a crime that can assail the peace and good order of socie ty, that may not be perpetrated in any part of the United States, with perfect impunity, so far as the Federal Government is concerned ; nor would a crime committed in any one state, be any offence at all against the other States of the Union. Where, then, does the sover eignty of the United States reside? Not, surely, in the government, either of the Union or of the States. Sovereignty can only reside in the people ; and what can lie more abso lutely preposterous than to affirm that the peo ple o( the U. S. possess Sovereign power in Georgia? What a wretched pageant must that Sovereign be, within every foot of whose dominions, except a small district and a few forts, all manner of crimes may be perpetra ted, and yet he cannot raise a finger to pre vent or punish them ? There is in fact no crime'that could be committed within the limits of the United St„tes, that would be an offense against the people of the United State s, in the aggregate. On the contrary, what outrage can be perpetrated within the limits of Gerogia,which she has not the right- J ful pow er to punish, at her discretion, w ith out responsibility to anv power on earth?— The sovereignty of the States, therefore, is not so much a matter of speculative theory, as of historical fact. They possets all those attributes, and cxrrrir,- . • - ; • -« an original and inherent right, whicii cousti’- tutes sovereignty. When, thercfoic, the sovereign will of Georgia is declared, what human being w ithin In r limits can rightfully taisc his arm to resist it / The very highest functionary of the Federal Government, would be just as subject to punishment, for resisting the sovereign will of Georgia, within her territorial jurisdiction, as the humblest citi zen. I w ill state a case, suggested by the history of her relations w ith the Federal Government, calculated to exhibit, in a strong practical (foiiit of view, the absurdity of denying the Sovereignty of the Slates, and ofclaiming that attribute for the Federal Government. It will be remembered, that some few years ago, President Adams, claiming to act under an obligation higher than human, declared, that il the State of Georgia should pertinaciously continue to excret e legislative authority" over her own territory, he wouid put down so dangerous a pretension, by the military am. of the Federal Government. Now, supposo an army of Federal mercenaries had been marched into Georgia, to settle the delicate question of jurisdiction by the very discrimin ating arbitrament of tho sivord, and that, to give dignity to the proceeding, the President had marched at the head of the army asCorn inander-tn-Chief, with his Cabinet Ministers and the Federal Judges as his Staff, and the members of Congress as Ins body guard.— Suppose, moriAer, that Governor Troup had had the treasonous audacity not to quail be fore the storin, and that the "Hancock Troop” ! had actually presented themselves, in military array, in the august presence of these potent judges °f constitutional and international law. L,«'t us further suppose, that the President, • with the advice of his staff, had wantonly di j reeled liis body guard to lire upon the palri j otic militia of Hancock, and that, in obedience 110 this order, a number of the citizens of j Georgia had been killed. What, then, would j have been the legal predicament of these {functionaries of a government, claiming to be Sovereign, even within the limits of Geor gia ? I put it to every .jurist in this State, and in the United States, to sav, whether every one of theui would not "lave been guilty ol murder by the laws of Georgia, and whether the authorities of that Stale, would not have had an undoubted constitutional and lawful right, to arrest, arraign, try, eondeinn.aml in form ot law—[here some gentleman exclaim ed, “ hung the President?” atid .Mr.- Mcl). continued,] mmg tile w hole Federal Govern ment, Executive, Judicial, and legislative, without the possibility of any lawful interpo sition to save them ; thus e xhibiting the sin gular spectacle of an overwhelming and oin. nipoti ut Sovereignty, lawfully annihilated by one of its subject provinces! But the sta .dmg answei to all these argu ments is, that the will of the majority must pievail, even if it be in violation of the Con stitulion, ami that it is the duty of the States to submit to the usurpation, precisely in tile same manner as if it wore a constitutional ex ercise of power. Now, follow- citizens, let us inquire for a moment, what is the true character of that majority, to which is ascribed this high pre rogative of “violating the Constitution by virtue of a “divine right,” heretofore, claimed only by absolute tyrants, and lo which the Sovereign States, which formed that Consti tution, are thus bound to yield that “passive obedience, ’ appropriate only to slaves. In all that great class of measures, out of which lias grown the existing conflict between the manufacturing and the planting States of the Union, this sacred majority, whose sovereign will, the Southern States are called upon to how down and worship, have an interest dia metrically opposed to that of the Southern peo ple. Every import duty which is imposed upon those articles which the manufacturing States produce, anil tlve planting States im port in exchange for their agricultural staples, is a bounty to tho industry of the former, ami a burthen on the industry of the lattei*. This is strictly true, even when the duties are im posed exclusively with a vievv to revenue; and as two thirds of the federal revenue is raised by duties on this very class of articles, it is obviously tho interest of the dominant majority, to oppress the planting minority, not only by imposing excessive >*"ties, but oy inventing every possible expedient for squandering the public revenue. It is, then, this very majority, principally compos- dos a people remarkable for their devotion tevgain, and who have a direct pecuniary interest in the oppression of the planting States, that we aro told by Southern statesmen, have the su premo and uncontrollable right, under the Federal Constitution, of doing »1,a«.,r they may deem to be constitutional, though in fact it be unjust, unconstitutional, and oppressive! Yes, gentlemen,! have heard a representative in Congress, from the Southern States, de clare, that he bidiwvccf the Tariff of jS-'iU, to be unjust, unconstitutional, and oppressive, to tho people of the South, and yet, that he would vote for an act to enforce it upon South Carolina, at the point of tho bayonet; thus, though sworn “to support the Constitution of the United States,’" becoming an avowed ac complice in its violation, and committing the citizens of a sister Stale to the tender mer cies of a military invasion, for no o’.lycr of fence, than yielding obedience to the sove reign power to which t!iey owed allegiance, when that pow er was interposed, by his own admission, to rescue those citizens from the oppressive operation of an unjust and uncon stitutional act of Congress ! To such mon- strous and revolting consequences, disguise it as wc may, arc vve necessarily led by the doctrine which denies the right of State inter position, and affirms that the will of the ma jority is supreme in all cases. A more impo tent contrivance, a more delusive mockery, cannot be conceived, than a written Federal Constitution, if the functionaries of the gov ernment, created by that constitution, have the exclusive right of lixingthc liinit3 of their own power. All will agree, in terms, that the Federal Government, is a govcrnurcii.t of specified powers, and limited authority; and yet I defy any man to draw’ a practical dis crimination between “a government without limitation of powers,” and- a government which is the exclusive and final judge of the extent of its own authority. It is admitted bv almost every Southern politician, that the' Federal Government is the mere creature of the Sovereign Stales of the confederacy, and [ yet many of them reason about it, as if it were a consolidated government, and draw nil their analogies from governments of that kind. Even in such governments, extending over a j small territory, and embracing a population j of homogeneous inteicsts, it has been the g" * e ject of lawgivers, in all ages, so to organ.ze and distribute political power, as that no one class, or combination of classes, i constituting a majority of the State, should have the power of oppressing the minority. And to this end, all free governments have been so constituted, that each of the great ri. val interests of the State, should he able to protect itselfagainst the injustice and oppres sion of the rest, by some reserved power, similar to Nullification. But a governmerit, embracing w ithin its scope the territories and people of twenty.four distinct Sovereign States, of various climates, productions, mill pursuits, ami Imvirig interests directly op posed to each other, almost to the whole ex tent of their annual income, which are liable to be vitally affected by the legislation of lha* government, would Ik- the most intolerable of all tyrannies, if tin separate sovereignties i had not the righU'i! power of protecting the | *epara*< mti rc*G ol the confederacy. Th.it they have that power, I have briefly attempt ed to shew from the very nature and origin of our federal system, and shall now proceed to confirm my reasoning, bv authorities which ail profess to reverence, however in differently the practice of some may con form to their professions. The celebrated resolutions adopted by the Legislature of Virginia in 1798, and the still more celebrated report subsequently drawn up by Mr. .Madison, in support of these reso lutions, have been almost umveisaily receiv ed, particularly in the Southern States, as the political creed of the republican party. Even now, the most bitter reviler of the doctrine of StHic Interposition, as maintained by South Carolina, will tell you, with a grave counte nance and a clear conscience, that lie fully recognizes the doctrines of these resolutions and of that report. If you will take up these documents, and ask him if he believes with Mr. Madison,and the Virginia Legislature, that, “in casccfa deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of powers not granted,[by the Federal Constitution,] it is the right amt duty of the States whonre parties to the com pact, for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining their respcc live limits, the authorities, rights, and liberties apper taining thereto,” he will say—“to be sure, 1 believe all this ; but the right of Mate ln ter|K»sition is a mischievous and dangerous heresy, which l utterly abhor.” If, appealing to the still higher authority of Mr. Jcflr r.-on, you ask him if he believes, in the very words of that great apostle of liberty, that incases of the assumption, by the Federal Govern ment, “of powers not plainly and intention ally granted by the Constitution, the Mates have the right to judge,as well of the infrac tion, as of the inode and measure of redress,” and that the “nullification, by those sover eignties, of the unauthorized act, is the right ful remedy,” be will still say, “I grant you ail thi3 ; but nullification is nonsense.” Now, 1 can understand the advocates ofa consolidated government, the federalists of the school of’9B, when they denounce Nulli fication. But how a man can stand up and say, “I am a republican of the school of Jef ferson, l believe in the doctrines of the Vir ginia and Kentucky Resolutions, and am in favor of State Rights and a strict construc tion of the Constitution,” and stiil deny the right ofa State, in a case of acknowledged u surpation, to judge of the mode and measure of redress, to interpose for arresting the pro gress of the cv il, or in plainer language, to nullify the unauthorized act, is, I confess, quite beyond my comprehension. \\ hat mis erable drivelling is it, to say, “[ ain in favor ofa strict constrncticn of the Conslitutioiyand yet deny the existence of the only power that can enforce its limitations? Is it not obvious to every one,that the Constitution,without an or ganized power of living energy, to preserve it from violation, is mere paper, or, at most, parchment ; and does any man suppose, that lie can arrest the torrent of usurpation, by holding up that instrument to our oppressors, and prating about a strict construction of it ? He had as well attempt to tie down a giant with a cobweb. I am aware that Mr. Madison in the dc creptitude of his faculties, has given a ver sion to liis Report, and the Virginia Resolu tions, which converts the whole proceeding into a solemn farce. It seems that the whole argument of that labored report was designed lo prove nothing more than that a State had a right to change its representatives, to pe tition Congress, to remonstrate, and to pro test against its proceedings—only however in cases of oppression, where the Constitution had been clearly violated ! Let us see how this document will read, when corrected by the recent commentary of it« <•( a oerinerate, palpable, and danger ous exercise of powers not granted, it is the right of the States, who are parties to the com pact, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, by rcfusiugto re-elect their repre sentatives, by petitioning Congress for relief, by remonstrating, and even by protesting!! From such solemn and pompous premises, was there ever a more “latne and impotent conclusion”? Who would ever have imagined that a volume of reasoning was necessary to prove that a Sovereign State had a right to pray and protest against an act of the Federal Gov ernment; and who, moreover, would have imagined that this right was limited to cases of dangerous and palpable violations of the constitution, when every school boy knows that the humblest citizen has the most tin limited and unqualified right to petition and protest, with, or without cause, and wheth er the constitution has been violated or not ? I know of nothing that can be compared with the ridiculous incongruity of this solemn and empty bravado, except, perhaps, a simi lar denunciation pronounced some years ago in the Legislature of South Caroliua, by a gentleman who is now, as might he expected, a loyal member of the Union partv. It was immediately after the passage of the Tariff of IS'2B, when, carried away by the contagion ot the general indignation which pervaded the whole South, the orator rose and said: Mr. Speaker, whatever others may do, I never willsubmitto Ibis most unrighteous art of intolerable oppression. lam in favor of re sistance, bold and manly resistance at all hazards. I would use every weapon, and exhaust every means of uncompromising warfare, ami finally, in the last extremity ot desperate valor, when all other resources failed, 1 would protest !” It is just as ab sorb to suppose, u lien the Virginia Legisla. tur ■ spoke of the ‘right of the States to ar rest the progress of the evil, and maintain | their liberties within their respective limits,’ j in extreme cases of unconstitutional oppres sion, that they did not mean Nullification, in some form, as that Mr. Jefferson did not mean the same thing, when he said, “Ntillifi ! cation is the rightful remedy,” If Mr. Madison really meant, when lie wrote his report, what he now affirms, lie cer tainly made a different r impression upon the Virginia Legislature, and upon the whole country. They doubtless thought he meant something ; but it seems that all his pro found argument to establish the federal ori gin of the government, and the sovereign rights of the States, was an empty flourish and literally meant nothing. And I think South Carolina might well say to him. as Lord Chatham said to a member of the British Parliament, on a similar occasion,“Sir, wiicn you mean nothing, you would do me a favor if you would say nothing ;” for it is certain that the Virginia Resolutions, and Mr. Madi.l ami’s argument, have contributed very large-j ly to lead South ( arolina into error, if Nulli. I fie it ion be n riebiical lien *v. I have thus briefly presented iny reasons for believing, that the assumed omnipotence of the Federal Government, is utterly incom patible with the liberty of the country, and especially with the rights and liberties of the Southern States ; and that the right of Slate interposition, is an inseparable incident o! State Sovereignty, and the only practicable means of enforcing the linn ations of the Con stitution, and preventing the Federal Gov ernment from becoming “ a government without limitation of powers.” —If it should be asked, why keep up the discussion ol these principles now, when the adjustment of the tariff has removed all grounds of com plaint and apprehension, I answer, by asking, why diil Congress pass a bill, clothing the President with dictatorial powers, and cre ating a military despotism, when it was ap parent to every one, that South Carolina would acquiesce in the arrangement of the tariff,and that no pretext existed for creating such ex traordinary powers? Why was the statute book tarnished by this bloody record of vin dictive despotism ? Why was she olive branch of peace accompanied by the sword of a military executioner? The answer is but too obvious. It was designed to establish a precedent, fatal to the Sovereignty of the States, and to the rights and liberties of the South. It was was designed to forge a thunderbolt, to be laid up ready for future use, whenever the mock Jupiter who has been raised up, on the ruins of the Constitution, may think proper to hurl it. Availing themselves of an extraor dinary conjuncture, and of the reckless and vindictive passions of a popular arid super annuated President, the friends of an unlimi ted, consolidated government, the old federal ists and the new, boldly resolved to have their principles embodied in the Statute book, even if they should be inscribed in Idood. Improving upon the example of that infatua ted ministry, who when they repealed the du ty on tea, retained the preamble of the act imposing it, declaring the unlimited power of Parliament to tax the Colonies, our “very worthy and approved good masters,” have subverted the whole constitutional frame of our government, so far as an act of Congress could effect it. By this bill of bloody usurpa tion, the sovereignties of the States are ut terly blotted out—like so many brilliant stars struck from the firmament of freedom, leaving one dark and gloomy night of cheer less and hopeless despotism. Do not flatter yourselves, fellow citizens, as some have done, that this ae.t is intended or destined to be a mere dead letter, because the adjustment of the tariff has removed every occasion for calling it into action. The tariff is but one of the forms in which the property of the South is liable to he assailed ; and he must be blind to the most palpable indications, who docs not perceive the threatening signs of an approaching crisis, much more fearful than that which has passed, in which this dead enactment w ill rise up in bloody resur rection, reanimated by the fiendish spirit of a blind and heaitless fanaticism, carrying ter ror and death, and worse than death, into onr domestic sanctuaries, and our household al tars. While this act remains upon the stat ute book, there can be no security for the rights and liberties of the Southern States. It is a formal declaration, that tlie States shall lie henceforth shorn of their sovereign ty ,& reduced to the condition of vassal provin ces, while the limitations of the power Fed eral Government, are to be prescribed, not as heretofore claimed, by the Supreme Court, hut marked out by the sword of a military dic tator. What, then, is the duly of every citi zen of the Southern States, who feels the* sa cred obligation of transmitting unimpaired to i.io wtittitrciij me precious inncmanee of free dom, which his ancestors purchased with their blood? If these were the last words 1 had to utter, I would say to my fellow citizens of the South, “he prepared to defend vour liberties in every form, and at every hazard, and as soldiers of constitutional liberty, sleep on your arms." Melancholy experience has taught us, the impotence of all parchment se curities for our rights, and w o have found that that is true, new and here, which has been true in all ages and countries, that no people can long preserve their liberties, who have not the spirit, and who are not prepared, to defend them in every form in which they may he assailed. It is high time that the Southern States should awaken from their slumber of false se curity, and,offering up every selfish feeling, and distracting jealousy, on the altar of patri otism, prepare fora united struggle for con stitutional liberty. Already have our adver saries drawn their lines around the citadel, and commenced their approaches according to the most approved system of attack ; and God only knows how iong it may ho before they will open their trenches, and commence their cannonade. I ndcr these circumstances, 1 do sincerely believe, that a speedy union of the planting States, in precautionary mea sures :or the protection of their peculiar rights, is the only means of saving our pos terity from the most awful and afflicting des tiny. But, gentlemen, I have a'rcady exhausted myself, and l am sure I must have exhausted vour patience- I will, therefore, bring mv remarks to a conclusion, by offering von a sentiment which conics from the bottom of my heart : Georgia amd Sooth Carolina—lnsepar ably united in their interests ; may they be as inseparably united in their councils and •heir destinies. Whom God hath joined to gether, let no man put asunder. FOR I'M;*. bale from Fiiro|»<*. -Vfw York-, Ang. 21. I he Canada, from Kondon, and Portsmouth, vehicli last place she left on the Ist, brings London papers to the diet July. St. l l*«s had fallen into the hands of the Pedroites, vvlium troops were advancing steadily towards Lisbon. Between them, however, and that capitol, is the broad i'ayus; which opposite and tor some miles above Lisbon, is between two and throe miles wide, and below the citv still wider. Napier, however, with his fleet, is oft the harbor, and it would well suit his dashing character, whenotcr the army reaches tile b.inks ol the I agio, to run up past the torts, as he might, w ith a leading wind do, without imminent danger—and anchor above • lie city, and tlnis laeilitate the passing of the troops- Report, of the capture of Lisbon prevailed in l-ondonon the HI .it,(says n lam. don paper.) it 1m mg asserted that his Majas. «> hip, the Stag. Imd arrived oil Plymouth, "itli that intelligence, rinse, though strong ly maintained, we believe,are not any credence. \V e have also reason i„\" lieve that our Government has not any despatches. recc, *«l Marshal Bourmont had made an attack on Oporto, and had been repulsed. P In Loudon, the question on ti,„ r , Church Bill was settled, and the bill Wa V I! a third time on Tuesday evening, lhe July, by a vote of 135 to 34, and then oaJS —the i)uke ot Wellington voting lor it [/is tiller. 9 38 a In the House of LsOrrfs, July 129th V Grey moved that the report of the Ch,»e Temporalities.(lreland) Bill be recoct lhe Lari of W inchclsta resisted the mmu and divided the House on it; the numbers were ayes (57 ; nocsiW; majority 30. -pi. report was then presented, and the ’ JCVcr < j clauses w ere n ad. The Duke of \Ycll„, ston suggested an amendment that the Commj. sioncrs be required to take oath that tl,ev were of the Protestant religion, .whicn u/, acquiesced in. The setting apart of twenty livings for lb. Junior Fellows of Dublin L’niversitv was argued. F.arl Grey replied that he disposed to admit lhe principle of the sum,,., lion, and thought that, if ten livings wtre°i,n set apart, the arrangement might be of benebeial tendency. The report waseventu ally agreed to, and the bill is to he read i third time this day. I rom Paris the dates arc of the j„j r The fast of the “ three days,” which wW/ eu up to mourning, had passed off v m well" I iie rumor, however, ol a dissolution of i| lc Chamber,and u change of ministry, acquired consistency. .Mr. Dupin, it was affirmed,had had an interview with the King, and was ccr lairilv to lake office. Mr. Thiers will, it said, be the only Onocfthe present ministers who will remain. Marshal Gerard is named as probably the new President of the Coun- CIJ. Letters 0 r the “Ist July had been received troin Oporto. The Pedroites had strength ened their fortifications, and the Miguelitte hesitated about attacking. Provisions were cheap. Subst quentlv to this, a London Pe. per, 2d Edition, at -1 o’clock 31st,says—. Ma rshal Bourmont attacked Oporto, and tvas bea ten off'. The result was decidedly favorable to the constitutional cause- On this news the Portuguese bonds rose rapidly. Madrid, July 19—The accounts received here in relation to the state of affairs in Por tugal, and the little doubt now entertained of the success of Don Pedro, have produced a considerable sensation in the public of this city, and it is understood, not a little alarm in the Cabinet. Indeed the tone of the Gov. eminent.in relating the recent occurrences in the Algarves, is evidently changed r the dc teat of the Miguclite squadron is officially mid unequivocally announced, and the ad herents ot the ex-Dniperorare no longer sty led rebels. There appears to exist a disposition ■ o adopot anew line of policy toward Portu. gal; and one more advantage gained by the liberal party of that country wilt effect in this one w hat the diplomatic skill of the late Am bassador Extraordinary was unable to a ohieve. That there is sucti a disposition, and that If. C. M. is willing to avail himself of some pretext to back out, and abandon Don Miguei, tiny he inferred from the fact, that some bickerings have already taken place be tween the Government and that of Lisbon.— L. seems that a seditious correspondence was lately detected. Tlte Viceroy of Egypt is said to be about sending an agent to London to continue ne gotiations aln adv commenced relative to the promised o->«..pk tion of the canal for connect ing the Nile with the Red Sea at Suez. He is also represented as contemplating various other works, indicative of his conviction that he had concluded a lasting peace with the Porte. Capt. NArieu. — The Journal du ifarve takes the ? .lowing notice of Capt. Napier, who was so mere sful in capturing .Miguel’s fleet : “ The English Capt. Napier, who has just obtained such a signal and decisive victory fl yer Don Miguel’s fleet, resided several years in this country, lie was one of the first to associate in one of the enterprises of iron steamboats to navigate the Seine. Capt. Na pier and family resided at St. Andresses, and almost every person in Havre nave had occa s on to ascertain In familiar intercourse with him, the extent arid variety of his practical knowledge. He is the officer who made bis appearance in our Roads a few years since in command of the British frigate Galatea, to which he had fitted wheels, resembling these ol stcaui-boats, which were v,o;ked by hand and piopcllcd his vessel several knots an hour in smooth w ater.” Don Pedro—A letter from Oporto, « ni ton by a gentleman who has frequent oppor tunities of seeing this person, and witnessing the inode in which he passes his time, gives us the following account: —“ Don Pedro is cer tainly an extraordinary, though I cannot call him a great inan. Flo rises early in the morning, sometimes at 5 o’clock, and before he receives his officers, frequently amuses himself for an hour in composing music, or making notes upon the plans of operations which have been submitted to him, or which he has received from different quarters. Sonic of these observations arc shrewd, but. generally speaking, he is not to be considered a clever man. After breakfast, which is speedily despatched, lie receives those who are presented to him by his ministers, il | l< then riucs out with Sir John Milley Dd)' e J or another officer of service ; but Sir Milk) is his favorite. He confers with hisrnini 9ttrs on his return, and requires from tii« in a " af ' count of all that has occurred during d |C preceding day. In council lie is sometime* frivolous, ami at other times self-willed. Tins lias boen carried sometimes to such an extent, that there have been two or three instances in which the ministers, in order not to run' their cause, have had secret consultations, and come to resolutions of which he knew nothing until they had been carried into effect. Some of the most important arrangements connected with the expedition of the Algarves were made in this way. Pedro is very accessible, and n pi r?on unacquainted with his cm* character would leave him after a first inter view, under the impassion that he was an *■ ble man ; but this is removed as acquaintan ce increases. He* is fiugal in his expenm lure, and moderate in his style of living deed, ho lias been sometimes. he-srd to **.'* that he could support him*' It comfortably** l the ilarv ol a roiiimi - toner's clerk. [/ Vior! Jourmil.