THE MINORITY REPORTS. 213 The minority report of Messrs. Washburn and Tappan was a long, interesting and able argument on the resolutions agreed upon in the Committee. It protested against the several resolves looking to concessions to the slave power, believing that the disease of disunion had become chronic and would not be cured by concessions. We can give only the closing paragraphs of the Report as embodying its conclusions: The Minority Reports. "Having thus expressed our views on all the propositions of the Committee that contemplate any action, we feel compelled to say, that in our judgment they are one and all powerless for permanent good. The present dissatisfaction and discontent does not arise from the fact that the North has passed personal Liberty bills, or that the Fugitive Slave law is not faithfully executed, neither does it arise from an apprehension that the North proposes to interfere with Slavery in the States where it exists. "The treasonable purposes of South Carolina are not of recent origin. In the recent Convention of that State leading members made use of the following language, in the debate on the passage of the Ordinance of Secession. Mr. Parker" Mr. President, it appears to me, with great deference to the opinions that have been expressed, that the public mind is fully made up to the gr at occasion that now awaits us. It is no spasmodic effort that has come suddenly upon us, but it has been gradually culminating for a long series of years, until at last it has come to that point when we may say the matter is entirely right." Mr. Inglis Mr. President, if there is any gentleman present who wishes to debate this matter, of course this bely will hear him; but as to delay for the purpose of discussion, I, for one, am opposed to it. As my friend (Mr Park r) has said, most of us here had this matter under consideration for the last twenty years, and I presume we had, by this time, arrived at a decision upon the subject." Mr. Keitt- Sir, we are performing a great act, which involves not only the stirring present, but embraces the whole great future for ages to come. I have been engaged in this great movement ever since I entered political life I am content with what has been done to-day, and content with what will take place to-morrow. We have carried the body of this Union to its last resting place, and now we wil drop the flag over its grave. After that is done, I am ready to adjourn, and leave the remaining ceremonies for tomorrow." Mr. Rhett "The Secession of South Carolina is not an event of a day. It is not anything produced by Mr. Lincoln's election, or by non-execution of the Fugitive Slave law. It has been a matter which has been gathering head for thirty years. The election of Lincoln and Hamlin was the last straw on the back of the camel. But it was not the only one. The back was nearly broken before. The point upon which I now differ from my friend, is this: He says he thought it expedient, for us to put this great question before the world upon this simple matter of wrongs on the question of Slavery, and that question turned upon the Fugitive Slave law. Now, in regard The Minority Re ports. to the Fugitive Slive law, I myself doubt its unconstitutionality, and I doubted it on the floor of the Senate when I was a member of that body. The States acting in their sovereign capacity should be responsible for the rendition of fugitive slaves. This was our best security." "Such sentiments, expressing the opinions of leading representative men in the South Carolina movement, ought to satisfy, it seems to us, any reasonable that the proposed measures of the majority of the Committee will be powerless for good. man, "South Carolina is our 'sick man,' that is laboring under the influence of the most distressing of maladies. A morbid disease which has been preying upon that State for a long series of years has at last assumed the character of acute mania, and has extended to other members of the Confederacy, and to think of restoring the patient to health by the nostrums proposed, is, in our judgment, perfectly idle. "Bnt we hear it said something must be done or the Union will be dissolved.' We do not care to go into a nice calculation of the benefits and disadvantages to the several States arising from the Union, with a view of striking a balance between them. Should we do so, we are convinced that that balance would largely favor the Southern section of the Confederacy. "The North has never felt inclined to calculate the value of the Union. It may not be improper to inquire in this connection whether the State of South Carolina and the other ultra Secession States have been so oppressed by our Government as to render their continuance in the Union intolerable to their citizens. "It is not pretended that they ever lose fugitive slaves, or that any escaping from those States have not been delivered up when demanded; nor is it pretended that the Personal Liberty bills of any State have practically affected any of their citizens. Neither do they complain that they cannot now go with their slaves into any Territory of the United States. The Supreme Court has decided that they have that right. Is it, then, complained that their citizens, under the operation of the Federal laws, are compelled to contribute an undue proportion of the means to maintain the Government? If so, and the complaint is well founded, it is deserving of notice. "But it is not true in point of fact. We could easily demonstrate, by official figures, that the Government of the United States annually expends, for the exclusive use and benefit of South Carolina, a much larger sum than that State contributes for the support of the Government. This same rule will hold true in regard to most of the States that are The Minority Reports. now so anxious to dissolve their connection with the Union. “Florida, which contains less than one five-hundredth part of the white popula tion of the Union, and a State which has cost us directly and indirectly not less than $40,000,000, and upon which the General Government annually ex pends sums of money for her benefit, more than four times in excess of her contributions to the support of the Government, has raised her arm against the power which has so liberally sustained her. "But we will not pursue this subject further. The Union of these States is a necessity, and will be preserved long after the misguided men who seek its overthrow are dead and forgotten, or if not forgot ten, only remembered as the attempted destroyers of the fairest fabric erected for the preservation of human liberty that the world ever saw. "It is not to be preserved by compromises or sac The Minority Re. ports. the way of compromise." The minority report, signed by the representatives of the Pacific coast, Messrs. Burch and Stout, declared the requisite vote for constitutional amendments by this Congress cannot be had; and since there is such a contrariety of views and opinions among members of the same party, as leave no hope from their action which would meet all demands, they were willing to refer the matters of difference between the North and South to the source of Federal power and the delegates elected with a view direct to their settlement. They concurred in many of the measures recommended by the majority, and reported a resolution additional to theirs. This resolution received 14 votes, while 15 voted against it in the Committee. rifices of principles. South Carolina, it is believed, It proposed to call a National Constitutional Convention. Thus ended the action of this important Committee. Its results, or want of results, is fast learning the value of the Union, and the experience she is now acquiring will be of immeasureable value to her and her sister States, when she shall return to her allegiance. If other States insist upon the purchase of that knowledge in the school of ex-proclaimed to the people that the differperience at the price paid by South Carolina, while we may deprecate their folly, we cannot doubt its lasting value to them. "Regarding the present discontent and hostility in the South as wholly without just cause, we submit the following resolution, which is the same as that recently offered in the United States Senate by Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire: 64 Resolved, That the provisions of the Constitution are ample for the preservation of the Union, and the protection of all the material interests of the country; that it needs to be obeyed rather than amended, and our extrication from present difficulties is to be looked for in efforts to preserve and protect the public property and enforce the laws, rather than in new guarantees for particular interests, or compromises, or concessions to unreasonable demands. ences between the two sections were too radical for the cure of compromise. The public in the North, thereafter, looked to the Executive for the preservation of the country-the means to be left to circumstances. In the South, the leaders of the movement for disunion hastened the action of States looking to the formation of a new government, that should be prepared to cope with any obstacles which the Federal Executive might oppose to the abrogation of its authority by the States. Prior to this, however, the affair of the Stat of the West, [see Chap. XII.], had aroused the loyal spirit of the North, while it reassured the revolutionists of the imminence of their danger and added to their zeal for the forma tion of their consolidated administration. Divided, they were powerless to meet the strong arm of the General Government: combined, they would offer such a front of defense and defiance as might induce the North to terms of peaceful separation. The speech of Mr. Yancey, before the Alabama Convention [see page 205,] in justification of the Convention's refusal to submit the Ordinance of Secession to a vote of the people-proves that the leaders considered the danger as overriding even the claims of the people. Sailing of the As stated, the Steamer Star of the West, loaded secretly in New York during the first week of January, by orders from the War Department, with provisions and munitions for Fort Sumter. She dropped down the Bay Saturday evening, January 5th. During the night two hundred choice troops were put on board from a steam-tug, dispatched from Governor's Island, and the vessel put to sea, steering directly for Charleston. This departure was made known immediately to the Charleston authorities by a reporter of a leading New York morning paper, who had succeeded in becoming acquainted with the facts-thus giving the South Carolina authorities ample opportunity for their “defensive" preparations. A strong battery had been thrown up on Morris' island, at the entrance of the harbor. A small steamer was sent outside to reconnoitre, and give alarm of the transport's approach. The buoys, lights, and ranges had previously been removed, when it was known that the Brooklyn, then lying at Norfolk, was ready to sail for the harbor at any moment. She was now expected to cooperate with the Star of the West-to engage the battery and Fort Moultrie, while the steamer should run direct for Sumter. The Steamer Fired we steered to the S. W. for distance about five-eighths of a mile. We had the American flag flying at our flagstaff at the time, and, soon after the first shot, hoisted a large American ensign at the fore. We continued on under the fire of the battery for over ten minutes; several of the shots going clean over us. One passed just clear of the pilot-house. Another passed between The transport arrived off the mouth of the smoke-stack and walking-beam of the Charleston harbor at 1.30 a. m., on the 9th. engine. Another struck the ship just abaft The captain, in his report to the owners of the fore-rigging and stove in the planking, the vessel, said: "I could find no guiding-and another came within an ace of carrying marks for the bar, as the lights were all out. We proceeded with great caution, running very slow and sounding until about 4 a. m., being then in about four and a half fathoms of water, when we discovered a light through the haze, which at that time crossed the horizon. Concluding that the light was on Fort Sumter, after getting the bearings of it, away the rudder. At the same time there was a movement of two steamers from near Fort Moultrie-one of them towing a schooner-(I presume an armed schooner), with the intention of cutting us off. Our position now became rather critical, as we had to approach Fort Moultrie to within three-fourths of a mile, before we could keep away for Fort of South Carolina. "SIR: Two of your batteries Anderson's Letter. Sumter. A steamer approaching us with an | Lieut. Hall, borne in under cover of the white armed schooner in tow, and the battery on flag: the island firing at us all the time, and, hav-"To his Excellency the Governor ing no cannon to defend ourselves from the attack of the vessels, we concluded that, to avoid certain capture or destruction, we would endeavor to get to sea. Consequently, we wore round and steamed down the channel, the battery firing upon us until their shot fell short. As it was now strong ebb tide, and the water having fallen some three feet, we proceeded with caution, and crossed the bar safely at 8.50 a. m." The vessel steamed away for New York, arriving there on the morning of the 12th, not having seen the Brooklyn. It was a sadly mismanaged affair throughout. A large, heavy-draught, side-wheel steamer, with walking-beam, engine and wheels, all so open that one well-directed ball or shell would have disabled the craft and left her an easy capture to a small body of men, was not the proper transport to have chosen for the perilous service. A propeller could have loaded with more secresy and have proceded with more safety. She could have run the Morris' battery (as the big steamer actually did), and, by her light draught, could have given Fort Moultrie a wide berth, by steering quite direct for Sumter. This would have rendered the expedition a success. Or, if the Star of the West had been prepared with small boats, she could have run out to sea after the repulse, to return on the night of the 9th, and, under cover of the darkness, have thrown in the men and preserved stores. Or, again, if the Brooklyn and Harriet Lane had been on the spot to engage Moultrie, the landing at Sumter might have been effected. As it was, the adventure reminded of the celebrated expedition told in verse, where twice five hundred men marched up a hill and then-marched down again. Anderson knew nothing of the character of the Star of the West, though he surmised her mission. He had opened his ports, lit the matches, run out three heavy guns, and was on the point of opening fire on Moultrie when the steamer put about and headed for the sea. He immediately addressed Governor Pickens the following note, by the hand of fired this morning upon an unarmed vessel bearing the flag of my Government. As I have not been notified that war has been declared by South Carolina against the Government of the United States, I cannot but think that this hostile act was committed without your sanction or authority. Under that hope, and that alone, did I refrain from opening fire upon your batteries. I have the honor, therefore, to respectfully ask whether the above-mentioned act-one I believe without a parallel in the history of our country or any other civilized Governmentwas committed in obedience to your instructions, and to notify you if it be not disclaimed, that I must regard it as an act of war; and that I shall not, after a reasonable time for the return of my messenger, permit any vessel to pass within range of the guns of my fort. In order to save, as far as in my power, the shedding of blood, I beg that you will give due notification of this, my decision, to all concerned. Hoping, however, that your answer may be such as will justify a further continuance of forbearance on my part, I have the honor to be, very respectfully, "Your obedient servant, STATE OF CHARLESTON, EXECUTIVE OFFICE, HEADQUARTERS, CHARLESTON, Jan. 9, 1861. "SIR: Your letter has been Governor Pickens' Reply. received. In it you make cer- to the Government of the United States that the po litical connection heretofore existing between the State of South Carolina and the States which were known as the United States had ceased, and that the State of South Carolina had resumed all the powers it had delegated to the United States under the compact known as the Constitution of the United States. The right which the State of South Carolina possessed to change the political relations which she had held with the other States under the Constitu Governor Pickens' Reply. tion of the United States has been solemnly asserted by the people of this State in Convention, and now does not admit of discussion. In anticipation of the Ordinance of Secession, of which the President of the United States had official notification, it was understood by him that sending any reenforcements of troops of the United States in the harbor of Charleston would be regarded by the constituted authorities of the State of South Carolina as an act of hostility, and at the same time it was understood by him that any change in the occupation of the forts in the harbor of Charleston would in like manner be regarded as an act of hostility. Either or both of these events occurring during the period in which the State of South Carolina constituted a part of the United States, was then distinctly notified to the President of the United States as an act or acts of hostility, because either or both would be regarded and could only be intended to dispute the right of the State of South Carolina to that political independence which she has always asserted and will always maintain. "Whatever would have been, during the continnance of this State while a member of the United States, an act of hostility, became much more so when the State of South Carolina had dissolved all connection with the Government of the United States. After the Secession of South Carolina, Fort Sumter continued in the possession of the troops of the United States. How that fort is at this time in possession of the troops of the United States, it is not now necessary to discuss. It will suffice to say that the occupancy of that fort has been regarded by the State of South Carolina as the first act of positive hostility committed by the troops of the United States within the limits of this State, and was in this light regarded as so unequivocal, that it occasioned the termination of the negotiation, then pending at Washington, between the Commissioners of the State of South Carolina and the President of the United States. The attempt to reenforce the troops now in Fort Sumter, or to retake and resume possession of the forts within the waters of this State which you abandoned, after spiking the guns placed there, and doing otherwise much damage, cannot be regarded by the authorities of the State as indicative of any other purpose than the coercion of the State by the armed forces of your Government. To repel such an attempt, is too plainly a duty to allow it to be discussed; and while defending its waters, the authorities of the State have been careful so to conduct the affairs of the State that no act, however necessary for its defense, should lead to a useless waste of life. Special agents, therefore, have been off the Governor Pickens' Reply. bar to warn all approaching vessels, if armed or unarmed, and having troops to reenforce the fort on board, not to enter the port of Charleston; and special orders have been given to the commanders of all the forts and batteries not to fire at such vessels until a shot fired across their bows would warn them of the prohibition of the State. "Under these circumstances, the Star of the West, it is understood, this morning attempted to enter this harbor with troops on board, and having been notified that she could not enter, was fired into. The act is perfectly justified by me. In regard to your threat in regard to vessels in the harbor, it is only necessary to say that you must judge of your responsibility. Your position in this harbor has been tolerated by the authorities of the State, and while the act of which you complain is in perfect consistency with the rights and duties of the States, it is not perceived how far the conduct which you propose to adopt can find a parallel in the history of any country, or be reconciled with any other purpose of your Government than that of imposing upon this State the condition of a conquered province. "F. W. PICKENS.” The Legislature being in session this correspondence was immediately laid before it, when, after its reading, the following resolutions were immediately adopted :— "Resolved, That this General Assembly looks upon any attempt to reenforce the troops now in possession of Fort Sumter as an act of open and undisguised hostility on the part of the Government of the United States. "Resolved further, That this General Assembly learns with pride and pleasure of the successful resistance this day by the troops of this State acting under orders of the Governor, to an attempt to reenforce Fort Sumter. "Resolved further, That this General Assembly entirely approves and indorses the communication of the Governor this day made to Major Anderson. "Resolved further, That this General Assembly pledges itself to an earnest, vigorous and unhesitat ing support of the Governor in every means adopted by him in defense of the honor and safety of the State." |