TURBULENCE IN THE SOUTH. 135 minister to Spain, was understood to be the acting president of the Order-brought the organization into a weak condition. Out of it sprung the "Knights of the Golden Circle," whose leader was a ci-devant minister, professor, editor, politician, named Geo. W. L." Southernize" its institutions, to drive all Bickley-a "smart" but unprincipled person, well fitted by temperament and ambition for the direction of perfidious projects. through George Bickley, to the other degrees. He swears in this degree to obtain all the neophytes he can to support his colleagues, the Knights of the Columbian Star, in all efforts for office, to conquer Mexico and The Secrets of the Order. The design of conquering Mexico, and there to create a powerful Slave empire which should eventually absorb Nicaragua, was the ostensible features of the organization; but, beneath that were other designs as rank with treason and wickedness as the brain of its audacious and unprincipled leader could conceive. A revelation made by a member of the Order, through the columns of the Louisville Journal, placed the public in possession of as much of the secrets of the organization as members of the lower degree were allowed to know. The substance of that statement, the truth of which is now verified by the acts of the order in Kentucky was as follows: Every applicant for admission is first sworn to secrecy, under the penalty of death, and then the design of the Order is revealed. If he assents to its propriety, and is an American born and a slaveowner, or can produce proof that he is imbued with Southern sentiments, and is a Protestant, he is admitted as a soldier of the Order, and informed of its signs, passwords and organization. On the recommendation of the chiefs of the Order he is admitted to the second degree; informed that the stores and ammunition for the army are collected at Monterey, and acquainted with the names of the officers to whom he is to look for pay. He is also supposed to be on active service, and the President has, we perceive, sunmoned all Kentuckian members to attend a rendezvous, where they will be drilled and organized by regular instructors, and whence they are, for the present, to control the Kentucky elections in favor of Southern men. If influential enough, he is next admitted to the third degree, the council of the Order, which, under the presidency of Mr. George Bickley, the future monarch, regulates the affairs of the Order without communication, except free Negroes into Mexico, there to be enslaved, and to reduce the peon population of Mexico to Slavery, dividing them as chattels among members of the Order, and to recognize for the present monarchical institutions, as tending to strong government. Moreover, after the conquest of Mexico, he is to contend for the exclusion of every Roman Catholic from office and from the priesthood, and to support a system of passports, enforced by the He again swears to a penalty of death. scheme of government which, from its utter want of resemblance to any American idea we give entire:— "13th. The successor to George Bickley must be over thirty years of age, of Southern birth, liberally educated, Knight of the Columbian Star, sound of body and mind, and married, and Protestant. He shall swear to carry out this policy, and to extend Slavery over the whole of Central America, if in his power. He shall try to acquire Cuba and control the Gulf of Mexico. No one else will I sustain. But for such a one, who must be proposed by the Cabinet ministers and elected by all Knights of the Star, or a majority of them, I will sustain here, there, or elsewhere. When the Knights cross the Rio Grande I will do all I can to send in recruits for the army, and if I should ever cease to be an active worker for character of the organization, and I promise never to confer this degree in any other way than in the way I have here received it, and I will forward to George Bickley, or to the Governor-General of this State, the name and fees of every candidate whom I shall initiate as Governor. In witness, I do voluntarily, here and in these presence, sign my name and address." the Star, I will keep secret what I know of the real the owners of slaves. Any scheme which did not promise these would not for a day survive in the Slave States. Hence, all filibuster leaders gave the promise to their men of land and slaves. Like the horde of adventurers who followed the fortunes of Pizarro and Cortez-the unpropertied whites of the Slave States were eager for any enterprise which gave promise of dominion over soil and men. This organization grew into large proportions in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana, during the years 1859-1860. When it became evident that a great political crisis was at hand, its leaders made the conquest of Mexico the ultimate object of the order and the dissolution of the Union its immediate object. Its lodges became headquarters for conspirators against the Constitution, while their last manifestation was to enter the field as an organized military body, thoroughly equipped and already disciplined for the field. Kentucky, in particular, was made to feel the weight of their influence, though they had, eventually, to retire before the loyal spirit of the large mass of property holders and intelligent residents of the State. Along with the "Minute Men," and "Vigilance Associations," the "Knights" must retire to obscurity when the constituted authorities are able to punish all offenders; but, until such time, the lawless and irresponsible horde, who are ever ready for excitement, must, to a greater or less extent, afflict Southern society with their dreadful visitations. The declaration closed with the following announcement :- "While, as yet, no particular mode of relief is before us on which to express an opinion, we are constrained, before separating to our several homes, to declare to our brethren and fellow-citizens, before mankind and before our God, that we hold ourselves subject to the call of proper authority in defense of the sovereignty and independence of the State of Alabama, and of her right, as a sovereignty, to withdraw from this Union, and to make any arrangement which her people, in constitutional assemblies, may deem best, for securing their rights. And in this declaration we heartily, deliberately, unanimously, and solemnly UNITE.” The Presbyterian Synod (Old School) of South Carolina, led the opinion of that State. Resolutions were introduced (Nov. 29th) looking to repudiation of the General (Church) Assembly, and the formation of a Southern Assembly. The preamble set forth that the election of Abraham Lincoln had evidenced a spirit of hostility to "our believe this sentiment is openly or covertly social institutions; and we have reason to entertained, in a greater or less degree, by all Ecclesiastical bodies at the North; and Whereas, the act of 1813 (which makes it the duty of all members of the Presbyterian Church to use all efforts for the Abolition of Slavery) still remains upon the statute book of the Old School Presbyterian General Assembly, and they have refused to repeal it," they, therefore, demand a separation, and the organization of a Southern Assembly. These resolutions were disposed of by a reference to a committee of nine, which reported, Dec. 3d. The final clause of the Report, as adopted unanimously, read :"The Synod has no hesitation, therefore, in expressing the belief that the people of South Carolina are now solemnly called on to imitate their Revolutionary forefathers, and stand up for their rights. We have an humble and abiding confidence, * * * The Old School Pre-byterians. The Churches of the South were not, as a general thing, behind the most revolutionary in sentiment. The long-standing discordance between themselves and their brother Churches of the North, of a like denomina-* tion, had made them ripe for revolt. Old School Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and Episcopalians entered, at an early moment, into the secession movement, by official action, and contributed greatly to spread the sentiment for disunion and separate State and people to put their trust in God, and go forward action. The Baptists. that that God, whose truth we represent in this conflict, will be with us, and exhorting our Churches in the solemn path of duty which his Providence opens before them, we, Ministers and Elders of the In November the Alabama State Convention of Baptists Presbyterian Church in South Carolina Synod asunanimously passed a de-sembled, would give them our benediction, and the claration, setting forth that the Union had assurance that we shall fervently and unceasingly "failed, in important particulars, to an- implore for them the care and protection of Almighty swer the purposes for which it was created." | God." EXAMINATION OF THE CHARGES PREFERRED BY THE SECESSION LEADERS AGAINST THE NORTH, THE DOMINANT PARTY AND THE PRESIDENT-ELECT. Specification of Charges. A FULL understanding | the Free States was of the revolution cannot For the Democratic and Union be had if we should fail tickets in the same States . to advert to the features of the dominant 1,810,430 party, which gave so great offense to the South, and to the views of Mr. Lincoln, to which all extreme Southern men referred with deprecation. In the speeches and documents thus far quoted in these pages, the points at issue are referred to in generalities. Thus, in the Mobile Declaration of Causes (pages 38, 39.)—in the South Carolina Declaration (page 96 et seriatim,)—in the speeches of Messrs. Iverson, Clingman, &c., express and unqualified charges are made of an inimical spirit on the part of the North; of the revolutionary character and designs of the dominant party; of the unconstitutional nature of the Personal Liberty laws of Northern States; of the nonexecution of the Fugitive Slave law; of the hostility of the President-elect to Slavery, &c.; but, in all instances, these assumptions are so general as to demand their more particular examination, in order to see with what justice the charges preferred are made. Only through a special exposé can we get at the facts in the case, and reduce mere statements or impressions to the test of justification or rejection. 1st. Inimical feelings of the North. It is a sufficient reply to charges of this nature to point to the large vote polled in the Free States for Southern men in the last election. Thus, the vote cast for the Lincoln ticket in 1,706,339 104,091 Minority of the Opposition.. making, really, but one hundred and four thousand popular majority in the entire North against tickets upon which were Southern candidates. Unite this minority opposition to its immense majority in the Slave States, and it will be found that, in the thirty-three States which voted for President, in 1860, the Republican party was greatly in the minority, [See page 32.] if all the opposition were united against it. But, of the Republican party, it is repeating an acknowledged fact to say that nine-tenths of its supporters entertained only feelings of kindness toward the South as a section of the Union, and toward its people. Their opposition was designed to be only the legitimate and constitutional exercise of opinion and suffrage. The material relations of the South to the North forbade that there should be any personal or sectional estrangement. An inimical "North" had no exist ence. 2d. The revolutionary designs of the dominant party. The " platforms" of the various parties are regarded as the constitution, or declaration of principles, of that party. The Republican platform stipulates: First, That the necessity of the Republican party demands its peaceful and constitutional triumph. Second, That the principle that all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights is essential to the preservation of Republican institutions; and that the Federal Constitution, the Rights of the States, and the Union of the States must be preserved. Third, expresses "abhorence to all schemes for disunion, come from whatever source they may." Fourth, The maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States and "especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions, according to its own judgment exclusively," and denounces the lawless invasion, by armed force, of the soil of any State or Territory no matter under what pretext. Its seventh and eighth sections were: "7. That the new dogma, that the Constitution, of its own force, carries Slavery into any or all of the Territories of the United States, is a dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of that instrument itself, with contempora neous exposition, and with legislative and judicial precedent; is revolutionary in its tendency, and subversive to the peace and harmony of the country. "8. That the normal condition of all the Territory of the United States, is that of freedom; that as our Republican fathers, when they had abolished Slavery in all our national Territory, ordained that no person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property, withont due process of law,' it becomes our duty, by legislation, whenever such legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it; and we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to Slavery in any Territory of the United States." The other sections refer to matters not pertinent to the question at issue between the Slave and Free States. It is evident from this that only in the last sections quoted (7th and 8th) are to be found subjects of complaint. The other sections are such as all Democrats and Union men could subscribe to and endorse. The reader must be his own judge as to how far the question involved, and the declarations made in the 7th and 8th articles, are causes for disunion. 3d. The Unconstitutional Personal Liberty laws. It is now known that there were no Personal Liberty laws, in 1860, of an unconstitutional character, in any Northern State. The law of Massachusetts, a few years since, was pronounced unconstitutional by her own legislators, and was so modified as not to be open to the charge. If any such Liberty bills were in contravention of the Constitu tion, a summary way was open for getting rid of them by citing the State before the United States Supreme Court. The composition of that Court, for the last forty years, has been such that the South, at least, had nothing to apprehend in its decisions on the Constitutional right of property in slaves. A good authority before us says:-"The Personal Liberty laws merely protect the inhabitants of the Free States from kidnappers, and secure to those who are charged with owing service or labor a fair and impartial trial, such as the Constitution of the United States guarantees to every person. If a Southern slaveholder seizes his slave in Massachusetts, and proves his claim to him, the Personal Liberty law offers not the slightest obstacle to his rendition. But it very justly, and that the claim shall be clearly established berighteously, and constitutionally provides, fore the person seized shall be carried off. It secures to the person charged with owing service or labor the same legal assistance and the same opportunities of defense that are granted to a person charged with murder or any other crime. It is sometimes maintained that the fugitive slave is in the same category with the fugitive from justice, and should be delivered up as summarily. But the cases are not parallel. The fugitive from justice, charged with murder, for instance, is not delivered up, like the slave, into private hands, but into the custody of the law, to be legally tried. But the surrender of the alleged fugitive slave involves no trial after delivery. He is consigned at once to Slavery. He is put, without further process, into private hands-into the hands of a person who has a strong pecuniary interest in suppressing his rights, if he have any. His only chance, therefore, of establishing his freedom, if wrongfully accused of owing service or labor, is a trial in the place of his residence, where he is known and can command witnesses, and to secure that to him is the sole object of the Personal Liberty law." 4th. The Non-Execution of the Fugitive Slave law. It is asserted, with strict justice, that those States which have raised this objection most frequently and imperatively are those which have never been the losers of a slave through the inefficiency of that act. Mr. VIEWS OF THE PERSONAL LIBERTY LAWS. 139 Everett says: "The manifesto of South Carolina, which led the way in this inauspicious movement, sets forth nothing but the passage of State laws to obstruct the surrender of fugitive slaves. The document does not state that she ever lost a slave in consequence of these laws-it is not probable she ever did-preceding ten years. Since the installation of Presiand yet she makes the existence of these laws, dent Lincoln not a case has arisen in which the fugiwhich are wholly inoperative, so far as she is tive has not been returned, and that, too, without concerned, and which, probably, never caused any opposition from the people. Indeed, the fidelity to the entire South the loss of a dozen fugitives, with which it was understood to be the policy of the the ground for breaking up the Union, and plunging the country into a civil war." Judge Holt, of Kentucky, in his letter to the people of his State, adverting to this · theme, said: "The census returns show that during the year 1860 the Fugitive Slave law was executed more faithfully and successfully than it had been during the The same statement was made by Mr. Douglas, in his speech of December 11th, 1860. Mr. Pugh, Democratic Senator from Ohio, and a warm friend of the Slave States, stated that he did not believe all the Slave States together, had lost one hundred thousand dollars by their fugitives. Mr. Douglas confirmed it by saying, among other things: "I think, therefore, there is little ground of complaint, so far as the section of the country in which I live is concerned, and yet I know that the Southern people are induced to believe that if a slave gets into the North he is gone for ever. They are to think so because the cases of actual returns are never published, and only the exceptional cases of of the Union. present Administration to enforce the provisions of this law has caused a perfect panic among the runaway slaves in the free States, and they have been escaping in multitudes to Canada, unpursued and unreclaimed by their masters. Is there found in this reason for a dissolution of the Union?" We have, however, from the few Southern lips which have had the candor to express an honest and fearless sentiment in the case, the confession that, after all, it is not that the Liberty laws are offensive-not that the Fugitive law is not thoroughly enforced, that the revolution was instated. Mr. Iverson, in his speeches in the United States Senate [see pp. 65 -75] declared plainly that it was not for these causes that the States were moving for Secession; but for the single, simple reason, that the South was in the minority, and no longer, in the Union, could dictate the laws controlling slaves. Then we have, as confirmatory of the propriety of the Personal Liberty enactments, the views expressed by Mr. Rhett and others, in the South Carolina Convention, of the unconstitutional nature of the Fugitive Slave act.* Hence, according to the theory *That these gentlemen did not utter mere personal opinions, but rather a general conviction, in pronouncing the fugitive act wholly unconstitutional, we have the statements of the Charleston Mercury. As early as June, 1856, it said: "Of the action of Massachusetts in the abrogation of the Fugitive Slave law, we have no complaint to make. It was from the first a miserable illusion; and worse, in fact, for it was an infringement upon one of the most cherished principles of the Constitution, which provides that fugitives from labor, upon demand, shall be delivered up, but gives to Congress no power to act in the affair. The tenth amendment to the Constitution provides that the powers not delegated to the United States, are reserved to the States or to the people. The clause above confers no power, but is the naked declaration of a right; and the power not being con |