the cheers of the people, and a military parade. There is great rejoicing. The bells are now ringing merrily, and the people are out in the streets by hundreds, testifying their joy at the triumph of secession. Many impromptu speeches are being made, and the greatest excitement everywhere exists."

"NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 21. "A general demonstration of joy on the secession of South Carolina occurred here to-day. One hundred guns were fired, and the Pelican flag unfurled. Impromptu secession speeches were made by leading citizens, and the Marseilles Hymn and Polkas were the only airs played. A bust of Calhoun was exhibited, decorated with a cockade."

"MACON, Dec. 21.

In

Congress was in session when Mr. Garnett, of Virginia, announced the act of secession. The announcement scarcely attracted attention. The Pacific Railway bill was under consideration at the moment. view of the contingencies likely to arise, Mr. G. declared that his State could not be held responsible for the payment of her share of the bonds necessary to build the road. “Why, sir," he said, "while your bill is under con

"We are jubilant over the secession of South Carolina. There is a grand procession of Minutemen, and bonfires, bells ringing, cannon firing, and Main street illuminated. Speeches have been made by J. R. Branham, R. A. Smith, C. Anderson, P. Tracy, and others." "One hundred guns were to-day fired in honor of sideration, one of the sovereign States of this Confederacy has, by the glorious act of her people, withdrawn, in vindication of her “Fifteen guns were fired to-day. The Palmetto rights, from the Union, as the telegraph an

"WILMINGTON, Dec. 21.

the secession of South Carolina."

"PORTSMOUTH, Dec. 21.

flag was displayed at Norfolk."

"BALTIMORE, Dec. 21. "Fifteen guns were fired to-day. The Palmetto flag was displayed at Norfolk."

64 BALTIMORE, Dec. 21. "South Carolina secession produced not the slightest sensation here, one way or the other. People seemed relieved and cheerful, and the streets were gayly crowded, and business was better. The prevailing sentiment seems to be that if the North now does right, and makes honorable, manly concessions, indicating an absolute determination to cultivate friendly feelings, and will repeal the obnoxious laws, the other Southern States will cheer

fully meet them."

nounced at half-past one to-day." This was followed by the clapping of hands from a few Southern members, but no further notice was taken of it, and the bill was put upon its passage. The two remaining Representatives from South Carolina, Messrs. Boyce and Ashmore, arose from their seats, shook hands with their friends, and retired from the Hall—thus leaving the State without a member in the National Congress.

The news (it was telegraphed from Springfield) was received calmly by Mr. Lincoln. An editorial article which appeared in the Springfield (Ill.) Journal, understood to speak for Mr. Lincoln, said: "If South Carolina does not obstruct the col

lection of the revenues, at Mr. Lincoln's Views.
her ports nor violate another
Federal law, there will be no trouble and she
the law then comes the tug of war. The Presi-
will not be out of the Union. If she violates
dent of the United States, in such an emer-
gency, has a plain duty to perform. Mr.
Buchanan may shirk it, or the emergency may
not exist during his administration. If not,
then the Union will last through his term of
office. If the overt act, on the part of South
Carolina, takes place on or after the 1st day

of March, 1861, then the duty of executing | next steps which South Carolina might take the laws will devolve upon Mr. Lincoln."

Fort Moultrie.

them has been built. The one completed is formed of solid masonry. In constructing the other, however, a framework of plank has been substituted. Against the inside of this wooden outwork loose bricks have been placed. Both bastionettes are armed with a small carronade, and a howitzer point

"Fort Moultrie is an enclosed water battery, having a front on the South, or water side, of about 300 feet, and a depth of about 240 feet. It is built with salient and re-entering angles on all sides, and is admirably adapted for defense, either from the attack of a storming party, or by regular ap-ed laterally so as to command the whole intervening proaches. moat by a cross-fire.

"In the hurried execution of these extensive improvements, a large force-about 170 men-are constantly engaged. Additions are daily made to this number, and the work of putting the post in the best possible condition for defense, is carried on with almost incredible vigor.

The Garrison.

"A few days ago Colonel Gardner, who for years had held the Commandant's position, and whose courtesy and bearing had won the friendship of all who knew him was relieved in the command by Major Robert Anderson of Kentucky. Major Anderson received his first commssion as Brevet 2d Lieutenant, 2d Artillery, July 1st, 1825, was acting Inspector-General in the Black Hawk War, and re

his successful conduct in the Florida war.
On Sep-
tember 8th, 1847, he was made Brevet-Major, for his
gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of
Molino del Rey.

The other officers are: Captain Abner Doubleday, Captain T. Seymour, Lieutenant T. Talbot, Lieutenant J. C. Davis, Lieutenant N. J. Hall-all of the First Regiment Artillery.

"The outer and inner walls are of brick, capped with stone, and filled in with earth, making a solid wall 15 or 16 feet in thickness. The work now in progress consists in cleaning the sand from the walls of the fort; ditching it around the entire circumference, and erecting a glacis; closing up the postern gates in the east and west walls, and, instead, cutting sally-ports, which lead into strong outworks on the south-east and south-west angles, in which 12pounder howitzer guns will be placed, enabling the garrison to sweep the ditch on three sides with grape and canister. The north-west angle of the fort has also been strengthened by a bastionette, to sustain the weight of a heavy gun which will command the main street of the island. The main entrance has also been better secured, and a trap-ceived the rank of Brevet Captain, August, 1838, for door, two feet square, cut in the door for ingress and egress. At this time, the hight of the wall from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the parapet is 20 feet. The ditch is from 12 to 15 feet wide at the base, and 15 feet deep. The nature of the soil would not seem to admit of this depth being increased, quicksand having been reached in many places. The work on the south side is nearly finished. The counterscarp is substantially built with plank, and spread with turf. The glacis is also finished. It is composed of sand, and covered with layers of loam and turf, all of which is kept firmly in place by the addition of sections of plank nailed to uprights sunk in the sand, and crossing each other at right angles, making squares of ten feet each. The purpose of the glacis, which is an inclined plane, is to expose an attacking party to the fire of the guns, which are so placed as to sweep it from the crest of the counterscarp to the edge of the beach. On the north side all the wooden guncases have been placed close together on the ramparts, apparently for the purpose of securing it against an escalade, but possibly as a screen for a battery of heavy guns. A good many men are engaged in clearing the ramparts of turf and earth, for the purpose of putting down a very ugly-looking arrangement, which consists of strips of planks 4 inches wide, 1 inches thick, and 6 or 8 feet long, sharpened at the point, and nailed down, so as to project about 3 feet horizontally from the top of the walls.

"A noticeable fact in the bastionettes to which we have above alluded, is the haste in which one of

"Captain J. G. Foster and Lieutenant G. W. Snyder, of the Engineer Corps.

Staff.

Assistant-Surgeon S. W. Crawford, of the Medical

"The force under these gentlemen consists of two companies of Artillery. The companies, however, are not full, the two comprising, as we are informed, only about seventy men, including the band. A short time ago two additional companies were expected, but they have not come; and it is now positively stated that there will be for the present, at least, no reinforcement of the garrison.

While the working men are doing wonders on the outside, the soldiers within are by no means idle. Field pieces have been placed in position upon the green within the fort, and none of the expedients of military engineering have been neglected to make the position as strong as possible. It is said that the greatest vigilance is observed in every regulation at this time, and that the guns are regularly shotted every night. It is very certain that ingress is no longer an easy matter for an outsider, and the visitor who hopes to get in must make up his mind to ap proach with all the caution, ceremony and circumlo

#

THE ACTION OF THE SOUTHERN

STATES.

103

Fort Sumter, the largest of our fortresses, is a work of solid masonry, octagonal in form, pierced on the north, east and west sides with a double row of port-holes for the heaviest

Fort Sumter.

guns, and on the south or land

cution with which the allies are advancing upon the | in advance, in that arsenal, the quotas of mus-
capital of the Celestial Empire.
kets to be assigned to several Southern States?
It will be found only one of many acts evi-
dencing direct complicity with the revolution-
ists on the part of Mr. Floyd, from an early
stage of the conspiracy, that 70,000 stand of
arms were placed in that arsenal and turned
over for safe keeping to the revolutionists them-
selves. Whatever justification the secession
leaders may urge for their refusal to obey the
laws, it will be found impossible to justify
the duplicity and treason practiced by cabi-
net officers who used their high positions and
sworn authority to betray their confiding
constituents. If Mr. Floyd, or Mr. Cobb, or
Mr. Thompson, even thought secession, they
had no right, as honorable and just men, to
remain a single day in the cabinet. That
they did remain, to scheme and plot against
the government which was paying them their
salaries, which they had sworn solemnly to
uphold and defend, from which they had re-
ceived all their honors and political position,
cannot fail to attach a stigma to their names
which no historian may efface, let the result
of the Revolution be what it may. Benedict
Arnold's treason was not more odious to man-

side, in addition to openings for guns, loop-holes for musketry, stands in the middle of the harbor, on the edge of the ship channel, and is said to be bomb-proof. It is at present without any regular garrison. There is a large force of workmen - some one hundred and fifty in allbusily employed in mounting the guns and otherwise putting this great strategic point in order. The armament of Fort Sumter consists of 140 guns, many of them being the formidable ten-inch" Columbiads," which throw either shot or shell, and which have a fearful range. Only a few of these are yet in position, and the work of mounting pieces of this calibre in the casemates is necessarily a slow one. There is also a large amount of artillery stores, consisting of about 40,000 pounds of powder, and a proportionate quantity of shot and shell. The workmen engaged here sleep in the fort every night, owing to the want of any regular communication with the city. The wharf or landing is on the south side, and is of course exposed to a cross fire from all the openings on that side.

The fortress most closely commanding the city and its roadstead is Castle Pinckney, which is located on the southern extremity of a narrow slip of marsh land, which extends in a northerly direction to Hog Island Channel. To the harbor side the so-called castle presents a circular front. It has never been

Castle Pinckney.

considered of much consequence
as a fortress, although its proximity to the city
would give it importance, if properly armed and gar-
risoned. From hasty observation, we find that there
are about fifteen guns mounted on the parapet; the
majority of them are eighteen and twenty-four
pounders. Some Columbiads" are, however, within
the walls. There are also supplies of powder, shot,

and shell. At present there is no garrison at the
post; the only residents are one or two watchmen,
who have charge of the harbor light. Some thirty
or forty day laborers are employed repairing the
cisterns, and putting the place generally in order."
The arsenal in Charleston was already lost
to the Government by direct orders of Secre-
tary Floyd-having been, early in December,
turned over to the Governor's care under plea
of keeping it safe from mob seizure. Why
were not the arms transported, in October, to
Fort Moultrie? Why had the Secretary placed,

kind because of its failure-its success would have equally rendered his name a synonym of moral turpitude.

son's Complicity.

Secretary Thompson paid Secretary Thomp- a hurried visit to North Carolina (December 18th), to induce the State Legislature to act on the question of a cooperation of States in the Secession movement. The Secretary was understood to be entirely committed to the plans of the Seceders in disrupting the Union; but, like most of the Conservatives in the Gulf States, preferred that there should be cooperation among the States, thus to render the safety of the act more assured, and the formation of a Slave Confederacy more expeditious. The Secretary acted as the Commissioner of Mississippi to North Carolina. The Crisis Committee of Thirty-three, on Monday, (December 17th,) received from Mr. Rust, of Arkansas, a proposition which he assumed was the ultimatum of the South. It was, in substance, the extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific,

The Crisis Committee.
Second week.

with recognition and protection of Slavery | ultimatum proposition; but no definite action South of it. Consultations were constantly was taken. The Republicans expressed their being held by the different Congressional del- opposition to an actual protection to the inegations, to consider the several schemes pro- stitution South of the line named. It would posed and the action proper and necessary for involve the recognition of the right of Slatheir representative on the Committee. This very to Congressional protection—a right they representative, therefore, became the exponent were, under any circumstances, unwilling to of the ideas and feelings of his State. concede.

Tuesday, Mr. Winter Davis' proposition was adopted unanimously. It was as follows: "Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives, That several States be respectfully requested to cause their statutes to be revised, with a view to ascertain if any of them are in conflict with, or tend to embarrass or hinder the execution of the laws of the United States, made in pursuance of the 2d section of the IVth article of the Constitution of the United States for the delivery up of persons held to labor by the laws of any State and escaping therefrom; and the Senate and House of Representatives

Thursday's proceedings were devoted to the further discussion of the Rust proposition. Mr. Adams of Massachusett's in a very able and elaborate speech, took the position that the Republican party could not consent to any proposition looking to a protection of Slavery in Territories, or to amendments to the Constitution, looking to a recognition of Slavery by that instrument.

The proceedings of Friday were confined to the Rust propositions. It was decided, earnestly request that all enactments having such finally, to adjourn the vote, on their acceptance or rejection, to Thursday, December 29th. After adjournment the Republican Members of the Committee remained in close conference for some time.

tendency be forthwith repealed, as required by a just sense of constitutional obligations, and by a due regard for the peace of the Republic. And the President of the United States is requested to communi

cate these resolutions to the Governors of the several States, with the request that they will lay the same before the Legislatures thereof respectively."

The Senate Committee of Thirteen.

could be made, as the Republicans had done nothing unconstitutionally, not having been in power to do so. Mr. Lincoln, having been elected according to the Constitution of the United States, he ought to have the same chance as others had before him to develop his policy, which would be perfectly consistent with their constitutional rights. The assumption that the Republicans, nothing having been brought against them of any practical character, were going to do some wrong, was an insult, and came with bad grace from a party that had so much mischief to the country."

The Senate Committee of Thirteen also held a session on Friday. Mr. Wade of This resolution, apparently, gave the Ohio repeated the substance of his previous assurance that the Republicans were solicit-declarations. He stated that " no compromise ous in regard to Constitutional obligations. The discussion which grew out of its introduction elicited the confession from Southern members that the Republicans had been misrepresented on the question of the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, while the several "Liberty Bills" of Northern States, which underwent a searching analysis, were shown to be in strict concordance with the Constitution, and comparatively harmless in their reputed opposition to an enforcement of the Fugitive Law. The day's work was, therefore, highly satisfactory, as it won from the Southerners themselves, acknowledgments of their hitherto misapprehensions and This brought out Mr. Douglas, who, in a misinterpretations of the Anti-Slavery oppo- spirit of great candor and earnestness, desition of the North. A sub-committee, con-clared that "he was ready now to unite in sisting of Messrs. Davis, Dunn, Millson, Bris- recommending such amendments to the Contow and Kellogg, was appointed, to consider stitution as will take the Slavery question out the amendments proposed by Southern mem- of Congress. In view of the dangers which bers to the Fugitive Slave Law. threaten the Republic with disunion, revolution, and civil war, he was prepared to act upon the matters in controversy, without any

Wednesday's session of the Committee was directed to the consideration of Mr. Rust's