Newspaper Page Text
The Weekly Constitutionalist.
BY JAMES GARDNER
[COMMUNICATED,]
EXIORTION AND SPECULATION-
Me. Editor: With your permission, I propose
a present to the public a few short articles upon
subjects of extortion, speculation, legislative
aterterence with price*, seizures, Ac. What,
sea, is extortion ? There has been much vague
reclamation against tt by public speakers, und
tsuch incoherent denunciation ot it poured for*
ct the press and in private circles, but I have
sever seen the first attempt n» a philosophic 1
uaaljs sos the subject. The veriest tyro in lac*
;aage knows the etymology ot the word to be,
-cm ex, and torqueo, to twist out of, and perceives
it once the operation to be a somewhat violent
ne in whatever connection the term may be
but when, at a time like this, it comes to
te applied to the operations of trade, meu, feel*
>a* the smart of high prices, proceed to use harsh
*oithets without stopping to inquire whether the
-iOlence implied ia the ter:: proceeds from hu*
i»n volition, or from causes over which ‘redes**
lea have no control. 1 will essay a definition of
. 'ie word as applied n> trade. When you take
.dv&nuge of any pressing necessity oi your
roghbor, a necessity either existing indepen
dently of any agency of yettrs, or originated or
..ggravated by your own act, to exact ot him u
t.gher price tor the needed article than what is
•jstomary in the community, you are guilty of
•xtortion. 1 will adopt the illustration id a friend
■enerabie for years, learning, aud wisdom, tor
i; ae more appropriate could not, perhaps, be se
eded. If, iu travelling with my wife, my horse
ues lnght, runs away, is badly crippled, myself
-nd wife art* thrown from the buggy, and my
wife is so budiy injured as to need the services of
„ physician some miles distant, and you take ad*
-antage ot my condition to charge me more for
’he hire of your horse, than horses customarily
.ring in the community for a like service, you
-re practicing extortion. If you charge the cuss
«mary price, you are no extortioner.
Again, it in a time of great scarcity of the ne
essaries of life, you being a capitalist, and very
•hrewd in business operations, and perceiving
2 advance the approach of the dearth, buy up
-3 largely as possible of said necessaries, and j
:old tnem back for higher prices, thereby aggra- |
ntillg the existing scarcity, and contributing to |
•.headvance in prices, you ure an extortioner. It, !
Lowever, you continue to buy and collect toge
ther said articles, throwing them upon the mar* ;
cet as you purchase, at the customary rates, !
hen you are no extortioner, though these rates j
?e very high. Indeed, you are a public benefac- i
‘.or, if you sell again at profits that are reason*
üble; taking into view all the circumstances
•hat, for the time, affect the operations ot uade. I
i shall not attempt to define the precise per 1
eutuua of net protit that is allowable in a maims
Tcturer or tradesman. It might be dangerous
(•o attempt to travel a road in which our wise Je*»
fislttors, Confederate and State, seem to Hanna
Oae body of these sages has fixed seventy
tre per cent as an equitable profit to the manu
facturer, while the other allows him only one*
’bird of that rate. Without attempting to set
tle, in tins place, the question between tb*sf ge» -
•'• ' ’ ’ •' i- • ** •• * high prit(
- Jwrming in every department of trade and bu
:in«» are, in the main, the legitimate results of
vj?es beyond the control of manufacturers and
and not to be remedied by bungling
'•forts to fix them by law.
■ At the tune cf a late report of the Secretary of
I he Treasury, (I have not seen the last report,)
H -ere were in circulation nearly #300,000.000 o:
I notes. Every one who has studied the
I operations ol trade knows that, as you multiply
■ which passes ss mouey, its value diminishes. j
I “ TOU were 10 make bank mils or treasury notes
I abundant as tire leaves of the forest, they would
oeabout as valuable. In a country where back
I Cute, issued upon u specie basis, constitute the
currency, the amount of this currency which may ': t
j oe safely put iu circulation is fixed.’ If you in
:reas-i that amount, depreciation results'. As to j
‘be ar-u u'.t of currency, adjusted to a specie oasis, j
v-ich would be necessary to mec* the wants of
I •be Confederate States, lam not able to give an j
I “xact s'atement. A friend conversant with cum
I F erci d operations suggests that #75,000,000 would ‘
I ; eam ply sufficient, and he gives this opinion as j
hie result ot investigation. Assuming his esti-
I -jate to be correct, aoiPoa will ut once perceive
-it, at the time the Secretary’s report was made, i
■je bad near four times as much currency in cir* l
■ station d 8 tll(f of the country demanded
H.' consequently, one dollar of'Contc-derate
■ treasury notes was worth, at that time, about as
■ such as twenty«tive cents of a currency with a
■ specie basis, and, since that time, the same
■ iicaot currency has been p airing forth upon us
V I Q a continuous stream, and the work o? dapre- j
■ i&tion has been progressing.
■ Ido not pretend to suv thate esumute of mv
| I r.end, as above stated, is accurate. I have not I
means at hand, or the necessary familiar j
■ acquaintance with commercial operations, to j
Il»Gk Ut an estimate upon which I could reiv I
ki ar< d would fee! myself and the
‘.'s debtor ct the political philosopher who
H. 11 S lve us me estimate. The elements of the
■ stoblem are not obvious, and the question would
H2ur p 8 be belter B€llsed *>. v the well ascertain
■ -a i facts ot actual experiment, than by the deduc
■ T .“° f ' heor J> Os one thing, however, I am
H - , that we barean amount of curreocv
■he anl aUOn l a3tl - T abo ' , e what IS necessary for
■ purposes of trade, and that the high prices
l r h!v p e r h va " ,nf?lirelar * e| y owiD f5“* thued
■ e „ b t eaastonlsaed - a “ id alt tba ‘ has been
1 state S ° f6W l Dd Sli ® bt ‘eferences to
I IPwhW f as tbe cau = e - our excellent
■ •saenaw’ ’? b "l ate m essage, uses no uncertain !
■fflefSmn , e . n v he B , peaks of “ tbe great a « K- i
ts».-* 10a m,beTolum e of the currency with
co ? corE,: “ Et of extrarigant prices !
■Ediar es ofcoosumption.” You, too, Mr.
h2TE i-eoently spoken out open the sub- '
■E V.'--0"^ 0 "' 0 ' two othe '' Georgia edis i
■c.rtiid 0 a , ,ial ? e: ? a:B ’ lhere ' has been a won-
K. Y® egr ? s 01 silence maintained. I suopose '
BwiTfehta** 0 ,he 6trcn S ries,re ooixer- !
■Jt if -h .*l“ tam U,e credit °f lhe cnrreccv, !
Bttte«int,ae I J no T wnte be ,rue - wbT shoul 'l « i
I w hlde tbe ,ru,b awav from view *
l In 2. Eot be ooderstood as"b'nmmg the Gov-
K» o, n° P,1 '’ ? tb * P°‘ ic . v of issuing Tress- j
vc were » perhaps, shut up to that
'J e . were epgfgeh in a contest which can !
K. J"" d 118 parallel in the annals of the world, i
. ? Bbut 00l from the commerce of the j
possessing a lew staple products i
Kc , h^ a,d bave commanded ah that we desired 1
merc ! been t,pea 10 ns - In tbiestate
1 U may bave been wise for the Govern- I
Kv 8° u Ppn credit and for the people to be. i
Cl¥a l. tors ' f w °nld co% therefore, be
a as denouncing the policy adopted, but
P e rmitted to reason upon the state of
V *«.t. it has been ihe almost uni-
°? ! ° rmontb s past, to denounce man.
eite:t Pr ° du^ er ? aDd tradesmen, and to a
an a ln ,be J u< ignnent cf the writer, un-
th. DC * d Tenlure t° write down the
l K 0 f -lfiU? KSies ’ wbo have not been in the
I ■rth„„ r l?£Yn ß »». these things, may have
I item rKo. €d !? t 0 channel- It
y&* tbou g t '* penned. Re*
i ’ n CooT ersanf with such lbemet»,
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING FEB. 4. ISG3
will find little that is new in these article*.
Another cause for high prices is to be found in
another law of trade, viz.: that prices aie
ways regulated by the ratio of supply to demand.
It the supply of any commodity be equal to the
demand, a living price, both for producer and
c iisumer, is the result. It the supply exceeds
ihe ucniand, th-.- price goes down, and if tue sup
ply is le.-s ihan the demand, the p; ice rises. It is
by no nicaDT unci mmon to hear producers blamed
and even abused fora rise in prices, wuich is the
legitimate and natural result of the opeiauon ot
this law. One would with as much reason be
blamed because water fi ws down stream, for the
law of trade, in qutstii-u, w n • less a law of nas
lure than the law of gtaviittiii.n. Meu cannot,
uy an arbitrary exertiou of then v% ill, cause prices
to go up or do vn. They may, j trbaps, in very
rare instances, und at widely separated peri >d*,
by creating temporary monopolies or by forming
combinations, somewhat retard the oprta ion ol
the law oi supply and demand in working i ui its
legiumaie resui s, but these results, in the end,
will come. You may us well attempt to stop the
revolution of the earth upon its axis. Indeed,
according to the Diviue Record, this lust result
has, iu one memorable instance, been achieved,
tor Jothuu commariued the sun t<- . ’.and still, and
tt obeyed.
I am not aware that history give* u« any ac
count of so signal a sutpens’ou of the law of
trade which we are couioueriug. And, further,
it will he found that any law oi nature, either in
the physical or moral world, is beneficent m its
opt ration. It will by no means be dirtictrt to
show that this is the case with th.* .aw we are
discussing. Wiiea any commodity is really
scaice, it is a public benefit for the price to go
Up. l! tin* price did not rise, in such a case, men
would conftaue to buy as much and use as much,
and waste as much, as wueu lin price was low,
and the supply would soon be exhausted, it,
however, the price advances, as the article be
comes more . caroe, the consumer begins t<» Ue)
the smart, und buys as little, and economies us
much as possible, und the supply guts milch fur
ther und is dis'.nbuted among a much larger
number of persons. It is not pretended that ihe
producer consults the public good in such a case.
It has been so ordered, however, by un Ail-wise
ITovidence, that, iu this case, us m many others,
by looking at what he conceives to be his own
interest, he confers a benefit upon the public at
large. Nor is this the only good resulting from a
use in price when a commodity becomes scarce.
The use m price, itself, stimulates production.
A, li, and C, ate tempted, by the advance in
price, to embark iu he busunss of producing—
i the supply is increased, and, with an increase of
I supply, the price falls, and toe puoiic ure again
I benetitted.
, ho we have shown, not only ihat the price of a
: commodity is regulated bv the ratio of the sup
; ply to the demand, but that u is a benefit to
i the public for u to be sb regu.ated, even
■! in those cases when it goss up. Now let us ap
| ply this reasoning to me present conditiim 01 u»«
! country. We Qiuintamed, in ihe outset of this
(tiscussiou, that we hare, at present, a largely in
flated currency, ihe result of Ijis is seen in the
; advance iu toe price ot labor, c.muuodititK and
all kinusol property both ieai aui personal. We
; have also shown th.-t prices ai * *egula>ed by the
ratio of supply to demand, and mat when any
commodity is really scarce, ihe price does, and
ought to advance. Ot the scarcity of very many
articles in the Confederate States at this time,
do one dan have any d«;ubu sugar, coffee, non,
salt, leather, etc., may be named as iu anoer. j
are in opetaiion and heve ion the
prices up to an extaoidinarfy high pitch. Men
shut tlitir eyes to th j causes which Have brought
about thl* *4ate things, and cry -#ut extort.on!
and heap abuse upon tnose who are engaged in
au huucst and lauuaoie * ffort t > increase produc*
lion, and supply as far possibie ihe warns of
the community.
Anotner popular cry is speculation! .specula
tion!! AM tradesmen are lndiscmriiuateiv de
nounced wuuher engaged in horn-.-t, legitimate
j traffi jor not. All the aniclcs wh en iney buy
are, from causes already consider, d, bought ;’,t
high prices; they must needs ’-• il again at
high prices, even if they realize only the same
rates • i profit which they made iu j.rosperons
times. Now tlie true question to Uc considered
*is, art: there men benefiting i r injuring ihe pub
i iicV There caa b** no reasonable coubt 01 ihe
j truth ot ihe former, even if they are real.zing
proliis larger than the ordinary rates. There is
much greater n*k in trading now than .n ord -
nary times, ami it is a wel; : i principle
that men must be paid for taking risks No one
I 13 wilitug to encounter them ro.- ih- oidinuiy
! profits of trade. The man who moves a com
| modify from a community when n ». abundant
j to one when it is less so, deserves, uud ought to
j have, compensation lor the labor and capi at in
volved, and if unusual nsks have been tncutin*
tered, then unusual compensation ought to be
allowed him. it you allow him no compensation,
then V(»u force him to quit his business and Com
pel the producer to turn tradesman. The* farter
must have ih# profit of the labor and eapnal eins
ployed in his capacity of producer, as well as
that which is due him traUcsniau, and ihe
| public is no gainei by the charge. The history
| ui Eoglw-u iegisUiion furnishes an llinsiranon of
| the lolly of such a policy. The legislating of that
I country, in former years, atiempted io compel ihe
. producers of com o become let i.lets, by annex
mg penalties to the buying of trds urr.cie Jm .he
purpose ot selliog it again. The result was, they
made the legitimate profits of producer? and
tradesmen, and corn was not at all cheapened by
the j o icy.
It has been sagely suggested that tbe evils of
speculation, as it is termed, might b*s remedied
by communities combining together, advancing
money and sending one of their number to poims
where any needed commodities might be abundy
ant, to purchase for the whole. To is suggestion
ignores certain very plain facts. It is well known
that there i*», in every community, a considerable
number of persons who have never any mnney to
I advance. They live to-day by tbe proceeds’ of
I yesterday’s labor. All that ciass would ba un
l represented in thu money saving mission, and
they would either have to do without the coma
znodity altogether, or the company ot purchAers
would bave to buy au excess of what they wish
ed for their own consumption, and become shop
keepers themselves, which they would hardly
be willing to do without receiving some compen**
sat;on lor their labor and capital, putting them*
selves, m ibis way, among that hateful class of
persons whom they have been in the habit of
denouncing as speculators. If the agent sent
should restrict himself in his purchases, to sim
ply procuring enough to meet the wants of him*
seifaud principals, it may and will be doubted
whether they would be gainers by the >V erat * oQ .
A proiessional trader or merchant makes but a
poor use ot his ad',antage3 if be does not acquire
skill in judging of commodities, in leading men
and in estimating, with precision, all the elements
that enter into a succts-!ul bargain. In most
cases, by availing himself of Lis superior ski 1
and knowledge of business, he would be ab’e to
return with his purchased commodities and sell
them out at the same price paid, through their I
agent, by tbe contributors to the fund, and reap
a handsome profit by the investment. The t;uih
is, tradesmen, when they pursue a legitimate
business, are public benetactors; and those who
attempt to put them down, either bv foolish legis
lation or silly denunciation, are but erecting
monuments of their own folly.
But lest I wea rs your patience and that of your
readers, I will bring this article to a close, prom
ising to continue tbe discussion proposed in a
future number. Investigator.
ADDRESS OF GEN- MARSHALL TO THE .
PEOPLE OF KENTUCKY
Tuis eloquent speiker and gjlant soldier, who
i ■ bas suffered the contiscutiou of Uie property, ;
; | voluntary ex e, the disruption of family ties, the
j in prisoameni of his sots any the spoliation o:
’ ■ his home, in vindication ot the South, her honor
• and her tiistituliouo, has issued uu appeal to the
‘ j people ot Kentucky, which is well calculated to
i arouse them to a sense ot their duly. It coutaius ,
| I stubborn tacts, and is anh.l a poneiiul and pat. j
, J nolle address. It is a soul iusiitriuf. paper—one ■
, j which calls upon Kentucky's kuito io arouse and S
1 j throw off ute chums which am now clauklug
| about their necss ere they are irretrievably bound I
iu ihe totters of despotism. He points out the
way in which they tan be rescued from chains |
and sluvery. He culls upon the people of Kt-n»
ucky to arm and drive ihe hirelings of the Abus
liiion despotism from their state, and make
common cause with her sister States—Slates
whico u:e identified with her horn the nature of
their luiiiiuttous as well as from cherished usso •
ciations ot the past.
f I We look lor some beneficial iflect from Gen. !
M.’s addiess on the people of Kentucky. They '
J will awake to the dangers <vhi<L arc imminent, j
, They have been amen to des fi, and their outs |
i raged feelings will no finger lowiate submission
■ to a government whose at-o ijt 10 desolate our i
i laud and exieriuioate om people. Our space will \
i noi permit the publication ol me euuic address. '
, V> t* lay a le.v extracts o *ioic oik readers; j
, You are about to euit: upon a new yhx&e o ;
, ihe unholy war in which, ior e ghtyen numihe,
| the Uor.ed ri.arcs have been engaged against the
I Confederate .states ot Auieiica. To puisue the
i war through this met stage, you will incur sacri**
- hues and endure sufferings to which nothiug you
have yet seen or lei-, will bear comparison. You
• have been robbed of your coosuttauoual riglits bv
. the action oi ihe Federal power, assisted by uuk
» principled men in Kentucky; now, you are 10 be
, robbed of your property, and required to descend
i to ihe same social level with your siaves. You
i have, heretotofe, borne patiently the yoke imposed
t ouyou by h.*rd task-masters, Loth at home aud
. from abroad; now they promise to plunge you
. into an abyss ot ignominy from which there will
i be no emerging.
Fellow •Kentuckians, lam your triend. I have
f no aspiration so high as that ol assisting you out
i ot the labyrinth of difficulties into which you haye
been deceived by those in w hom yon have trusted.
I refused to submit to a depnvuitou of const uu.
tional t ights, to the enjoyment ot which 1 was
burn, i became an exile Irom Kentucky, only
because the people of Kentucky Would not resist
the sacrilegious hand ia d upou th; very altar oi
t their most inestimable ug;i>. J have resisted as
i best 1 could, ihe conriM. !i ion oi my property
the spoliation or my hum —the breaking up of
f my family—the diapers 0., .f i:.s ciembers-»iiie
i iuipnsouinent oi my us— ..re calamities to
i whfth I have been suojeci- d. The compensating
J consideration has been only a .sen jo of freedom
! aud tbe consciousness that l i» tvo never basefr
j sold :uy birthright for a uh-m ot* pottage, or beat
the knee to illicit power.
*
i You are not aware • : ih - • /iT; x j •
i you .’Wuuot be. You are ut conscioi , :i tue
I cmitortable homes in whtcy you dwell, uni sur
| rounded by the luxury to which you have become
j accustomed, that all the nobler attributes of your
i nature have perished in a political sense. The
I minions ot a despot dress ia purple uud tine
i nnen—luxury may be found in the viles. courts
ot the world. Tranquility is one of the cone:-
! tuns of d spotism, as stuinecs broods over the
liead Sea. Rouse yourselves, :n nos Kentucky !
• Awake nom dreaming lo re-asgert vour
right-. The people or the Northern Common
s J wealths .ve, as mere wits ol the prectiC'
ut th-; Federal power txet-ted in your w d-t, u
tered -heir protest, and Governor Seymour, il
: 1 New Y'ork, Das lorbido. u those uriestb among
his fellow cit zeus in ■ State of New York,
• which are duly piv.cuc.-i iu Kentucky without
i i explananou i >y< u or to the friends ol the per
nous arreeied. New Jr: t.y :.od other States will
• follow tne example ol Ne.v York. You taun o, i
; j without a revoiiuion at home, Ur your masters j
ij are j olitieions hied at home, who use-his very ’
j power of arrest, imprisonment and contiscatit n j
to uisiauchise you—t > rob you or jour properly {
| —to deprive you of your constitutional liberties— i
j to enslave yon and to govern you regardless ot
1 j your wishes aud your feelings.
| * ... , .' # i
The foreigner who knows nothing of our iuau- j
| tutions has the plea of necessity. He is in a !
sirauge c -uniry und wants oread, lie lights lor
| money. Tue i-matic irom New England has been
j reared a Didst the bowlings of Abolitionism, and
he fights under the hallucination that he is assist
! lug to enlarge the area of freedom. T he Northern
i artisan may light ia the interest of free labor ;
| the dreaming visionary may fight for the myth of
| “the Union as it was, aud the Constitution us it
j is,” and the Northern capitalist may shed blood
; io prevent the rise of a rival system of manufac
tures in ihe border slave States. These ail have
ex3us«-.s, but the Kentuckian who eats from the j
same mess pan with them, who sleeps under lhe
same tent, warms at the same camp fire, draws
his pay from the same treasury, is clad in the
same uniform, and uses his bayonet to carry out
Abraham Lincoln’s accursed policy against the *
slaveholding ritates, has no excuse. He stabs his J
own mother. He carries desolation to the hearth*
stones ol his own kindred, from no motives that
can he imagined but tbe love of gold or office, or
because he has beeu betrayed mto a position he
d*d never intend to occupy, yet from which he
has n >t the manliness to withdraw, k
I have seen the traces of this war over one part
of Kentucky. I have witnessed the protection
given by Federal arms to your people along the i
eastern border of the State, and I have wished I
you could all look upon it, to the end that you 1
might then answer why you areengaged with the 1
North in this wicked cmsadeagainst the liberties I
and independence of the Southern people, hat !
I have no space or tine to paint the desolation of
that protection—no inclination to call to my own
memory the images of binning dwellings, of ;
ravaged fields, of the groans ofo:d menshPt down
in their own doors, or the frantic shrieks of Ken*
tucky's fair daughters living from the touch of j
pollution and dishonor. I have seen it, and I
have stood in mute wonder that God witnessed it f
in silence, or saw your support of such a cause i
without the visitation of ills just aud divine re
tribution.
But, now again the scene changes, and a new
act of the terrible drama opens* It remains to be ;
seen if your part will be played falsely to the close, '
reckless of fame and interest and honor !
Regardless utterly of every consideration for the
constitution of the United States and for the rights j
of the States, Mr. Lincoln has attempted at once J
centralization and the effectuation ot social and
indus rial revolution, by pronouncing the emanci* j
pat.on of the slaves with* the States named in
this proclamation. He has goDe farther by declar
ing his intention to accept them armed as soldiers
in the United States army, and through the force
of his and their allied arms to maintain their right
to the freedom he bestows
This is attempted to be justified on the plea of
military necessity. Humanity and civilization,
speaking from the other side the broad Atl&n*
tic, bare entered a protest against it and thebor-
rors to which it must give rise, but still tbe Pre* -
sident, like the btagie irtent upon his prey, j
rushes boldly und wildly upon bis course atutd
ihe cheers and vivas ot Abolitionists who crowd !
• this Atnerimn theatre tor the spectacle of servile |
msuirection, as the Romans were wont to throng
tbe Uolliseutn to w itness wild beasts tear chriss
turns to pieces. We ask you, Kentuckians, il
among the soldiery which enforces that procla
; mattoa and inarches side by side with the enfran*
i citised slave, now dressed in the uniform of the
, army, >our faces will be seen?
• Will you desecrate your time-honored Hug by
; uniurlii.g i»8 broad stripes over such associations?
Wili you lend passive acquiescence to such a state
of tnings? Do not deceive yourselves with the
idea that_ your slaves will be paid for and colo«
j nized. \ ears will not be sufficient in this geus
. erution to remove the natural increase of the
blacks, while continued association upon the
j same level will ultimately destroy the desire to
have such removal effected at heavy pecuniary
sacrifice. One year will not move' over your
heads without servile insurrection in Kentucky, |
unless you rise to the occasion promptly and I
throw off a connection stud dependence which !
have become as unnatural and unseemly as they !
are disreputable.
Ten thousand ot vour fellow-citizens will ru-h
j to your aid, end whenever you declare agains* jd
: usui per who has trodden your dearest rights und I
i privileges under foot—liiey stand ready to die Or
' to perish tn the effort. If you feel anx -:y and
doubt *.-.s to your übility, then f advise you to nm
! gamzj at home, and act boldly und frankly. You
! have the constitutional right to such organiza*.
; tioii, if you retain any light at all; and it is then
j you have the right to seek safety under a govern
-1 utent which will save your rights, under your
j aid, u.- own independence. Awak»! arise! Or be
! forever fallen. _ if. Marshall.
NORTHERN NEWS
Til 1 . . •VEMRNT IN’ ILLINOIS—STARTLING SPREAD OT
nit .rrirnoN to lixcoln’s GOVERNMKNT.
The dis-a’fjctmu in the Northwest most
startling in us rapid progress. The splash ot the
proclamation m ;.» * public nrind bus extended
its waves so fur nut there a hardly a foot ot
placid surface on which h.e Gorilla mar sail his
crazy wreck in safety. A i;w days since the lar- |
gest Democratic meeting W*iu in Illinois ior two i
ycuis assembled m the Capitol of the State. The
Hall of Representatives was crowded to suffoca
tion, and the most enthusiastic applause greeted
every expression of the fcneuker which denounc
ed the President’s proclamation, and a war cam
t ied on h r the purpose of freeing the .tslaves of
the South.
Messrs. Richardson, M ■ rick, Mai shall and
Gaudy maid speeches, ia winch ;!ne administra
tion, the emancipation proclauitioand a fur*
ther prosecution of the war, wet v denounced iu
uumeaSttred terms. •
The Committee on Uspoiutiojih subnutied the i
following, which was unenituou.-ly adop vd amid '
great applause:
iUsj.vtJ, That the emuacipuliou prociauiatton [
of the President of tbe lTn:u*d States :s as un- I
warranted in military as m civil law—a gigantic j
usurpation, at once converting the war, prole* - ■
ediy commenced by the Actministmtion fur ike !
vindication of the authority of the Constitution, ’
in*) aci .del'* the suddeu, unconstitutional, j
I and violeir i* : on ;h-> r - aiiii.onj >i r
* negro slaves— a resiti? which wr,u*d not only ba i
total revulsion of the r • derat Uni-m, but a n*vo* '
lotion in the social orga* .zsation •>* the Soutaeru !
States, the immediate aiw resiote, the \m-rr it .
•and far re ;';i*mg consequent" l -: *•• v/hich, b:h i
rices, a. mot ue contemplated without the mos*
d:srnu'< i i j bod mgs of horror aud dismay.
The pr :jiuiftaUon invites a servile insurrection
u.> au •; rim.-nt .n thi.* emancipation crusade asd '
.Mean -of warfa’ e, the hnmiuity and «iiaboh-.*:i •:
which ir • thout exam pi . . .
and w.ii w deuouuce, and winch the ci.ihzn! ’
•V-• ;i deUvULC", as . a iucff.ibie dtsgiae; to 1
the Ann . can name. *■
n
u convspondf'it, as was exhibited •»: this meeting, !
has not been excetded mucu the wtu began. ' |
la iiuuv.Rgtoa county, Indian.; u js..g » D m<j- •
ciuit -in ,v-i'us Jifld, wok:. ,M d setiert ot |
• • folio wit g ;
' (?*rd he r< toratton ■ i
| peace t* ‘ .*; • o\)\, t.pun honorable udjustroent j
jo. in*. • ivoi .’Sd i, tins calamitous civn I
* Wi.% a- -.^r ■ :i.i not io u!i other Considerations ;
j t’» roasidenng the terms oi such settle
j mtui .ve Will look only to tbe welfare, peace and
i safety »! the white race, without retereuce to the
I tff. ct Ihat >.;••.!einent may have upon tbe couth
-1 Lion of the African.
! Htsoloitl. That when we survey our present uu
j h ippv difficulties an a country, as well as their
origin and surroundings, the 'responsibilities of
the r authors and the consi qaetices to future
generations, the solemn and imposing proportions
, ot the subject inspire wif£ a contempt for every
j thing ol a deceitful or tune serving character, aud
impel us to speak frankly and Bake this solemn
j declaration : ihat, bad it not been tor 'be fanatic
cism and peculation of New England, our gene*
I ration would not have witnessed the ghastly
j spectre of disunion ; and were it not for the tame
! cause, still potent for evil, those difficulties could
j readily be adjusted.
Therefore, we declare, that when we have ex„
I huusted every reasonable eflbrt for the restoration
, of the Union as it was, should New England stand
! on the breach, we, as Western men, will consult
| Western interests and Western pride, which alike
j forbid that the great Mississippi Valley should
| evt-r be divided, and thereby rendered a tributary
' to u ruinous system of Yankee intolerance, cn*
I pidity, and clu.sß legis'ation. No! never will we
for one moment consent to surrender the fellow
| ship of any of her gallant sons, or the rich com
merce of her broad acres. No! The great Mi -
\ sissippi Vatley, “now and forever one and insep
arable.” Then will we say to New England, with
f all her cupidity, with all her meanness, fanati
cism, follies, and moral turpitude, we bid you
good-bye. remembering you only for the wrongs
you have done.
1. That next to the liberties of the people and
the independence of the States, we most earnest
ly desire the perpetuation of the Union of the
States, but we solemnly proclaim the conviction
that this Union can only be preserved by the
maintenance of the principles upon which it was
founded—the voluntary consent of its members
3nd a scrupulous observance of the rights of each
otli r under the Constitution—and that “war is
disunion.”
2. That in the President’s la»e message we see
nothing to cheer the heart of the patriot, or that
promises peace to the country, and we do now de
dure that we have no confidence in the patriotism
of the President or his advisers, and that we un
qualifiedly condemn bis policy of emancipation
of the negro, or the colonization of them among
us, with or without compensation.
TUB QP.EAT POLITICAL REACTION.
In refeience to the table of majorities of the j
elections of 1502, published in the New York Tris
bune, the Cincinnati Courier says;
The popular reaction only began in October,
after Lincoln’s Abolition proclamation wus issued,
which was September 22d. The Tribune, in or»
der to make out a table for its side, includes
Maine and which voted in September,
and Connecticut, which voted in April, nearly a
year ago.
Every one knows that Connecticut would give
now from five to eight thousand Democratic ma*
joritv, end that Vermont and Maine, instead of
giving CO,OOO abolition majority, would not, if
VOL. 10—-No
i they had voted after the proclamation, have given
jh .lt the majority; and Iliiast tin is put down at
i s'*ven thoii9and abolition majority, when there is
! ni t a man who doubted if there had been no in -
i terlercnce of the military in the election that
Slate would have given 100,0(1 > majnritv against
the administration. The abolition ticket got but
80,000 voters out of the 70,000 there are in the
State- The mistake in Missouri alone would
give, by ihe Tribune’s table, if corrected, the
Democrats a large majority. Delaware is pit;
down at 111 for the Administration. On the popu
lar vote ot the loyal States there was, last fall, ;
handsome majority against the adtninistoraiion.
| in electoral to es, had there been a new Presi
dent chosen, ill* Tribune's own 'able tnuke the
account Slued thus ;
Democratic .124
Abolition jl
Democratic majority . 93
THE TUSCARORA AND ALABAMA AT MA
m DKIRA.
j The Tuscarora has been entertaining ihe Engs
j I ish lesidenta at Funchal. The Huby, a British
1 steamer suspected of having Southern consigns
j ments on board, had put in with damaged boilers,
and on Thursday, the ISth tilt., her commander •
invited a few of the reudeuts to take a short
trip in her, in order to test her abilities with on
boiler only. The Tuscarora, which had oeru
keeping a sharp looksom upon her, fhought that
she was going to make a run for it, and when the
Ktiby weighed anchor and started on her trip, the
Tuscarora followed her as closely as she was able
The Englishman, however, bent the Yankee hols
low, steamed pleasantly round the island, ana
auction'd in ibe bay again.
The neat day the Huby slipped her cables, and
got away to sea at a splenpul speed, this time un
tuuiested by the Federal commander, who was
probably quile satisfied with his defeat of the dav
before. Two more English steamers were in the
bay, and to these the Tuscarora now directed
her attentions. She kepi within hailing distance
of them the whole ot the alternoon, and had got
everything leadv t# slip away at u moment's no
tice. It was known on 9ho're that the English,
j men intended nuking n start if everything
i were favorable. The night was intensely dark,
but tolerably fine, and at about 11 o'clock th •
I threo veaseis were sesn nestling close to each
Other With their lights tip but as still and as
j quiet us was possible to be on board ship.
At li'j o'clock a slight commotion was ob
served tu one if the English steamers, and in
anotoer nt, in-i.t the cables were slipped and all
three were ofF. The Englishmen went away in
con nary directions, ihe Tuscarora following" one
of iheSi; add m ibis manner they steamed out of
the bay, the dash of the Yankee’s gun command
ing the iugir.ve to heave to, being the lastthai
‘ unis seen of them. The Tuscarora has not yet rus
j turned to Funchal, but it is supposed that both
I ilits English steamers have got clear away,
j IU« ALABAMA avr roe. thk east indies.
The last rumor in reference to this ves-el appears
in the Lire l 01 '.Journal of Commerce, winch de
clares th t ;; is , nbleii to state, on the best au-t
ibortty, th.- 1 ijui 00 Semmes intends to sail im
i mediate 1; indies, arid that IP's COII
- template ■ 'in of ground on the par'.
f by the T.itritei , and is only carrying out Capt.
j Se.o i.ics’ ortgiaiaal ptcgramiac. Whether this
I), .ue 0- no!, the project e. r ■ Ily seems reason
! ab’i nd it is in he leal".d tli . 'his detestable
j era!: - ties. ice-! to continue hei • ..reer o. press
j peti: , forwi have nothing to id-- East Indian
i wale. .us .: seems we have act ... ate, that can
-
OUic AiiilY LET TEA FROM VICKSBURG
I From M .1 ■
j Vicksnuao, J ti. 25, 1 So"
J Si:; ii * rriv.l tit file Federal Ji «• here, a
I sir.’ WAicii huN be* :i Kept on their movement
j Ihe ti et is uuchoicc oil id i-ight of tl.e city, ana
j ihe tr ops are encamped on ;.i • «.;• po> i - >h.»r.
j Their movements can hr noticed at any v.um :u a
I clear day, but on Saturday morning tbe» ' was
| uotor.unutely a very heavy log impended over
the bolloai land occupied by ihe Yaukt es. I:
was, however, discovered that they west* engaged
in removing ihe logs and Timber cut ot the ca
nai, probably with a v.t w of running their barge
ihrough.
Un rnday a body of Yankee Cavalry peue'.rac
some twenty live miles below Vicksburg, on the
Louisiana side, and attack.d a camp ot <fce Tex
as cavalry, under Major Harrison. Although the
gallant Texas boys were taken by surprise, aud
were all on foot, they rallied around their leader
and repulsed the Yankees in line style, nmrtalfr*
wounding the Colonel in command.
It had been suspected for several days thut the
Yankees would attempt to carry their light artiU
lery across the peninsuiaand plant a battery below
town, for the purpos • of cutting off our steamboat
communication with Port Hudson. Up to Friday
night the boats from below still came up without
being molested, aud on Saturday morning no
thing could be obsei ved indicating a batterv. In
the afternoon, as the magnificent steamer Vicks
burg was coming up, she was lired into by the
Yankees some six miles below tbe city. Biie was
struck three times ia her upper works, but no
damage was done toiler piopelling machinery,
and she escaped without any material damage.
The lady passengers were of course very badly
scared.
It is also reported here that the Yankees have
captured the Vicksburg md DeSoto feiry boat,
which they found at liodntv, some thirty miles
below here, where she bad been taken for repairs,
if this should be true, it would prove a serious
loss—pot for the value of the boat, but for the
great inconvenience of doing without it. Hut we
hope to get gome o? tne Yankee boats to make up
for it.
There is nothing known of the plans of the ene*
ray further than ihat they are engaged on woik*
iug ut lhe canal, which, of course, gives us to
understand that they intend to open a communis
cation with the river above and below, and that
they will dispose of their troops in such a mauner
that the city may bo attacked in the rear, above, '
befow, and in lront by the fleet, all ut the same
time. All their plans seem to be apparently very
plausible, but, unfortunately for them, our de
fences here are «o arranged as to coram.-tud their
approach, ome from v.hatevtr direction tbev
may; and our natural defences are such that a
email number of brave troops can.defend the
place against 100,000 Yankees.
One of the s’eamers Ivin* at the whaif got up
steam on Saturday mgnt to'run by the Yankee
batteries below, and successfully accomplished
the teat without beiug discovered. The Yankee
fleet above lias either cut loose or lost a great
number of coal barges, which are floating down
!by the city. Bouie suspicion is had that these
• barges will be caught up below for the purpose
;of their troops. No effort has vet been
j made to stop these barges before the citv.
This morning everything has been quiet iu the
ankee camps. Tueir tents are spread out to an
immense extent on the opposite side of the river,
and are located under the protection of the gun
boats. No effort hig yet been made to run by the
10 wo with their iron clads. There appears to be
no apprehension on the part of our Generals about
the euemy crossing the river below, as our pre
parations in that quarter are ample. From the
quality of our troops, we need not fear the result
of the coming attack ; and nothing lg more cer«
tain than a disastrous repulse to tbe enemy.
Obsbbyaxda.