, .
.1 : i- -
BY S. B. ROW.
CLEARFIELD, PA., WEDNESBAY, JANUARY 9, 1861.
VOL. 7.-M.- 19.
... IT DOESN'T MAZE IT SO.
Suppose, for instance, you suppose ,
I ihat black is white that fast is slow ,
That every wind is inild that blows, ; . , ..
It really doesn't make it so. . . . ,
- Suppose, again, that you suppose
You'll meet good things where'er, you go-
That every sweet comes from the rose, . . . . - , 5 ..
It really doesn't make it so.
" Suppose, once more, that you suppose
- A 11 blisses from one fountain flow . ,
-That all the belles are blessed with beaux, t
' It really doesn't make it so. . r . .
r
Suppose, in short, that you suppose . '.
Vour bright-eyed lore can't cay you "No" .
That she despises all yourfoes,,, , -f .
It really doesn't make it so- ... .
OUTRAGE IN HOBTH CAK0LI1TA.
The Philadelphia Daily fates, of Dec." 81st,
contains the following account of a gross out-
rage perpetrated against an old man and bis
wife at a place called Warrenton,' in North
Carolina, about 25 miles above the immagin
ary line which divides that State from the
hot-bed of treason ; '
"Three or four years since, a respectable
and aged German citizen, named Christian
King, resided at Roxborough and kept a jew
elry store at Manayunk.' He emigrated to
Warrenton, N. C, with bis family, and rented
a store in the Post Office building. lie and
his small family, consisting of his wife and a
daughter, occupied a portion of the house.
Investing all the capital he had he started a
watch and jewelry store, and by correct busi
ness habits succeeded most admirably in his
new location. He remained unmolested, and
won many friends. Mr. King was an Old
Line Whig, aud in the earlier part of bis resi
dence at Warrenton, this was not looked upon
as objectionable. In the recent campaign
politics ran high, and Mr. King, on being ask
ed how ho intended to vote, said be guessed
he would not take any part in the campaign,
as the Whig party had no candidate. They
said that if he did not vote for Breckiuridge
and Lane he was an Abolitionist. He repelled
the accusation, and said that he never was an
Abolitionists.
Like other men doing a pretty heavy busi
ness, he had a lawyer, to whom he communi
cate i the circumstances of the interview.
The lawyer told him to go and vote for Brcck
inridge, or the people would get down on him,
and perhaps kill him. lie thought over the
matter seriously, and finally came to the con
elusion that there was more truth than poetry
In the assertion madeby his legal adviser.
About five o'clock on election afternoon he
voted lor Breckinridge and Lane. . After de
jiositing his ballot, he was immediately sur
rounded hy a squad of men, who shook hands
with him, and said he was a better man than
they took him to be. . lie shortly proceeded
home and attended to Ins business. Frdra
certain indications, he concluded that there
were going to bo hot times in the not very
distant future, and he made arrangements to
sell out bis store and leave the place, on or a
tiout he first of March. The half-breed hye
na of Warrenton commenced forming them
selves into soldier companies, and a commit
ee waited upon him to enroll his name. He
refused, and pleaded age as an excuse he
being nearly sixty-five years old. This the
committee would not receive as an excuse,
4ut he still resisted, as he was a man of peace.
From this time his doom was sealed. About
ten days since, he was again waited on by a
committee, who told him that if he did not
leave the place by nine o'clock tho next morn
ing, they would "shave his head and give him
and his wife a coat of tar." They then went
away. Ho regarded the threat as idle, and
Justified himself in the right to stay, because
lie had doie nothing wrong. : He was bowev
.r, mistaken. Instead of 'mving men to deal
with, be had a mob of half breeds, who were
regarded with a feeling of terror even by the
respectable residents ot Warrentou, who were
'notiva to ttie manner horn." The mob, of
course, ruled. At nine o'clock next morning,
about thirty of the half-breeds proceeded to
Ihe store, walked in without resistance, took
Mr. King, and with a pair of shears clipped
the hair from one side cf his head. During
this tonsorial operation, he was held firmly by
as many of the crowd as was necessary. A
couple more of the gang of marauders, with a
portable pitch or tar pot, stepped up and com
pletely bedaubed him over his head. His
clothes were stripped from a part of his person,
and a quantity of tar put on his back and un
der his arms. The fiends not being satisfied
with this act of cruelty to a man who bad nev
er done any harm, now laid violent hands on
his wife, a woman well on to fifty-five years of
age. Her hair was sot shaved but it was com
pletely saturated with the tar. The clothing
around the tipper part of her body was torn
off aud tar applied to her skin. The mairand
his wife were left In this condition, and the
gang having performed the wonderful feat took
their departure, saying that if they (the man
snd wire,) did not leave by nine-o'clock the
next morning, they should be killed.
"Mr. King now began to think the mob
ere in earnest, and sending for his lawyer,
made hasty preparations to depart. Some of
the respectable citizens of Warrenton facilita
ted Mr. King and wife,prcserving es much pre
caution as they could for their own personal
eiiaie. The watches and best of the jewel
ry were boxed and conveyed to the railroad
depot and placed in safe keeping. Mr. K., who
as thus obliged to flee with his wife, grant
i a power of attorney tp hjs lawyer to settle
MP his business. Before nine o'clock the next
juorning fie and his wife were under coyer of
tme citizens at the -depot, and when the cars
about ready to start they entered ono of
jjem. In a moment a grand rqsh wag made by
ne rabble of half-breeds, and both Mr. and Mrs.
A1Dg were ' again tarred. In thia condition
e7 took their departure from the rabble of
arrenton. On the passage in the cars they
ere avoided by the passengers as if they were
criminals. : Many were inclined to look upon
"wm as D0Dse thieves oriabolitionisti.4 It
th ?0t Uatil they reache( steamboat that
on adcaD PPortunity to rcmoye tho coating
' " Some of the officers on the boat, in as
ei'cate a manner as was possible, provided
ino rfWitb a "e-f00111? n(l tbe tar was re
' mi a mucn as warm grease would permit.
l , du& time the unhappy and badly-treated
now i arriTe(i ln Philadelphia, and they may
Roxh residence, situated at
curing ineir. sojourn in north
tS'' their only daughter was married; to
fcii. ;ern eDtlnn, who resides about forty
lijV ?? Warrenton: It is quite proltahio
daughter knows nothing of the treat-
ment her aged parents received, and perhaps
will not know unless by special messenger, as
11 is understood that even letters from the North
are intercepted in some quarters in the South.
"Considerable ot the property of Mr. King,
his Jiousbold goods, : books and' papers of ac
counts, are all left behind, at the tender mer-
cies of a gang of outlaws who will find at
last that might is not always right.
-"The above is a simple narration of the
leading facts of the great outrage. There
may, have been many other instances. It is
not unlikely that some folks have been butch-
erea in coia Diooa-ot which we may never
hear. It is more than likely that the banditti
at Warrenton, and other places, hold secret
meetings, and decide the course they should
pursue in regard to the treatment to be impos
ed on any one whom they choose to victimize."
THE CHARLESTON FORTS.;
The South Carolina traitors having boasted
that they would seize Fort Sumter on the 27th
Dec, Major Anderson, the commanding officer
at r ort jHoimrie, on the night previous aban-
aonea the latter, having first spiked the can
nons and burned the gun carriages, and took
possession of Sumter. He assumed the re
sponsibility of doing so under his general or
der to protect the public property placed in
nis cniirge, ana because he believed that he
and his handful of men were occupying a per
ilous position. When this became known, in
tense excitement prevailed in Charleston, and
tne secessionists at once seized upon the de
serted fort and Castle Pinckney, and run up
tue rauueito nag wnere so lately tho stars and
stripes had floated. These occurrences crea
ted much stir in official circles at Washington,
ana tne conduct ot Maj. Anderson was the sub'
ject or several protracted Cabinet meetings,
the South Carolina Commissioners demanding
the withdrawal of the forces by the Govern
ment. Finally, on the evening of the 29th,
me uaomei ueciuea against this demand,
jiessrs. inompson, Thomas and Floyd favor
ing it, and Messrs. Holt, Black, Staunton and
Toucey opposing it. Soon after this decision,
nr. r Joyd, Secretary of War, tendered his
resignation, giving as a reason that the action
ot tho Cabinet was a breach of faith toward
South Carolina, which seems to imply that
mere was some sort of a secret arrangement
oetween tne rresidcnt and the revolutionists.
Major Anderson, in passing from Fort Moul
trie to Fort Sumter, has disconcerted the plans
of the Secessionists no little, and his conduct
cannot fail to be approved by every friend of
tne union. Uen. Scott, it is stated, has writ
l.i a a? - . . ...
icu a icuer 10 mm, saying ne oenavea like a
brave man and patriot, and that he would stand
by him to the last. Fort Sumter is the most
important post' as it commands the harbor.
ana is consiaerea impregnable. The arma
ment consists of 140 .guns, many of them be
ing the formidable ten-inch "Columbiads,"
which throw either shot or shell, and which
have a fearful range. There is also a laree a
mount of artillery stores, consisting of about
40,000 ponnds of powder, and a proportionate
quantity of shot and shell. It has two furna
ces for heating balls, is bomb-proof, and snp
plied with six months' provisions. It is built
on an artificial island, at the entrance of
Charleston Harbor, 3 miles from the city, its
foundations being of stone, firmly anchored,
an above tne water-line being of brick, with
concrete filling of the most substantial charac
ter. A small force of well-drilled men can
hold it against almost any force.
EXCITEMENT AT PITTSBURGH.
The people of Pittsburgh and vicinity were
thrown into a state of intense excitement on
the 24th ult., in consequence of it becoming
known that the munitions of war in the Arse
nal near that city were about to be transferred,
under an urgent order from the Secretary of
War, to Southern military posts. As Major
Symington, of Maryland, who is in command
of the Arsenal, refused to give the press any
information on the subject, and as the forts to
which the cannons and other munitions were
ordered, are in an unfinished condition,, the
suspicion became general that the removal was
part of a scheme to strip Northern arsenals
for the benefit of the Secessionists. Acting
upon this idea, a meeting, composed of ;men
ot all parties, convened at the Mayor's office
on Christmas day, to take tho matter into con
sideration. Oren. Wm. Robison was called to
the chair; Hon. Wm. F.Johnston, Hon. Chaa.
Shaler, Col. Edward Simpson and K. H. Pat
terson were chosen Vice President. linn.
Wm. Wilkins, Ex-Gov. Johnston, flen. Rnbi.
son, Hon. Thomas Williams and Judge Shaler
were appointed a committee to telegraph to
the President and ask him to have the order
of removal countermanded. This request was
not, however, complied with.
A committee, appointed for the purpose, as
certained that the order from the Secretary ot
iv ar airectea tne shipment, on Wednesday.
Dec. 26tb, of the following euns :
To Ship Island, near the Balize. mouth of
the Mississippi :
21 ten-inch Columbiads, 128 pounders,
21 eight-inch 64 "
; 4 iron guns, 32
To Newport, near Galveston Island, Texas :
2d ten-inch Columbiads, 128 pounders,
48 eight-inch Q4 ..
iron guns, . 82
in all one hundred and twenty-four guns, one
broadside of which would throw fi.ee tons of ball.
. At the request of the people, the Mayor
called another meeting on the 26th, which
was addressed by lion. J. K. Moorhead, who
counseled peace and advised the citizens not
to interfere with the removal of the guns.
Resolutions were then adopted, declaring that,
although the rulers of the country are disarm
ing the friends and arming the enemies of the
Union, they believed its friends strong enough
without arms to sustain tho Constitution and
the Laws and to follow and retake the guns if
traitorously employed against them; depreca
ting any interference with the shipment of the
guns under government orders; expressing
the determination of the people of the North
to observe their part of the national compact ;
deploring the existence of a state of things
that has shaken confidence in the Administra
tion at Washington ; and calling on the Presi
dent, as a Pennsylvania, to see that tho Re
public receives no detriment while "it con
tinues in his hands. ' - ? ' '
" The guns were shipped, according to orders,
without any interference on part of the people.
' The amount of grain said to be in storo iu
Qswego and Buffalo, at the present time is
said to be 8,343,000 bushels. '
JUS ABMIWQ THE LOYAL STATES. :
me events of the past few weeks are impres-
sing the people of the North with the convic-
tion that our imbecile President is permitting
uis oecretary or v ar to disarm the loyal States,
in order tbaUhey may be able to make no ef-
fectual resistance to the consummation of the
schemes for the erection of a Southern Slave-
""'"'"ft vuuicueiucjr. xuis conviction resoiv-
ea itself into practical form at Pittsbnreb.
When it became known that the Secretary of
War had ordered the commanding officer of
the Allegheny Arsenal to send 78 heavy guns
to Galveston Harbor, and 46 more to Ship Is
land, near Balize, the people of Pittsburgh in
stinctively suspected treason, and resolved
that they should not be removed till the Ad
ministration, by strengthening Fort Moultrie,
hart given an earnest of honest intentions.
That they were justified in their suspicions,
the coutse of the Administration, which scorns
to conceal, but rather parades its sympathy
with the Secessionists, gives ample proof. But
we are prepared to demonstrate that what the
people only suspect is an established fact.
By reference to the report of the Chief En
gineer of the United States Army, in Vol. II
of the President's Messaeo and Documents.
1859-60, "Ship Island, coast of Mississippi,"
page bol ; and "Fortifications for the defense
of the entrance of Galveston Harbor and Bay,
lexas," page 6od, it will be seen that work on
the foundation of the fort at Ship Island bad
just commenced, and at Galveston Harbor noth
tne at all had been done. This was a year ago,
and these documents afford the latest publish
ed data on the subject. No matter how rap
idly the work at Ship Island may have been
prosecuted since that date, by the officer in
charge, it is not possible that much more can
have been done, up to the present time, than
lay the foundation. And from the way in
which the work in the Engineer Department
is conducted in ordinary times of peace, two
at least, and more probably four years must
elapse before the work will be ready to have a
single gun put in position, or before suitable
shelter will have been provided for any mate:
riai oi war wnatever. As lor Galveston, or
any work or works in that vicinitv. if a year
ago work was only "about to be commenced,'
knowing the locality, and the difficulties to bo
overcome, we venture to say that with ordina
ry progress the work would not be ready for a
single gun in live years; and. mdeine from
this report, we may assume that the sand has
barely been removed for the foundation. All
the other works on the Gulf have their arma
ments.except FortLivingston,in Baratana Bay,
wnicn is notnnisned nor ready for its armament.
It is stated by the United States authorities
at Pittsburg that carriages for these guns are
being made at Watervliet in the State of New
York. This is not true. No carriages of that
aescription are now being made at that arse
nal, nor have any orders been issued to the
commanding officer there to issue carriages of
that sort from those in store. It is evident,
therefore, that the reported destiaation of the
guns at Pittsburgh is only a blind the real
object being to place them within easy reach
of the Secessionists. For some time, the great
lamentation at the south has been at the lack
of heavy artillery. This movement on the part
of Secretary r Ioyd was to supply that want,
and 100 carriages, probably for these gnns,
have been ordered of a house in New York
city, by Southern State authorities, with di
rections to ship them this week. If the Pitts
burgh guns should not be sent, we presume
that the order for the carriages will be counter
manded, as the guns cannot be manufactured
at the South. Taking these facts in connec
tion w ith the recent heavy shipments of mus
kets fiom Watervliet, Allegheny, ard Spring-
field,to the Cotton States.whileJhe great State
of N.York, for 25 years past, has not been a-
ble to obtain her quota of arms from theGener-
al Government, we cannot come to any other
conclusion than that the War Department,witb
the knowledge aud connivance of the Presi
dent, is deliberately playing Into the bands of
those at the South who are now either in open
rebellion against the Government, or ostenta
tiously plotting its immediate overthrow.
It is high time that the country was arous
ed to a thorough understanding of the position
oi our ruiers at Washington. Durinsr the past
year 200,000 muskets have been taken from
the Springfield Armory alone by the Secreta
ry of War, and distributed throughout the
South, not to mention the drain from other
points. Although the U. S. Arsenal at Charles
ton, with 73,000 stand of arms, has been near
ly two months in possession of the Secession
ists, within the past ten days 5,000 more muskets
have been sent there from Watervliet to the trai
tors in armed rebellion against the Govern
ment. Like quantities have been sent within
the same period to Alabama and Georgia. And
so we find under the management of Mr.Floyd,
a steady drain of arms and material of war
constantly going on fiom the North to the
South for the use of the proposed Southern
Confederacy. If this material was needed for
legitimate purposes, there is no earthly reason
for the transfer, as we are in a state of pro
found peace with other nations ; and the send
ing of stores to forts in the condition of those
at Galveston Harbor and Ship Island is alto
ge.her contrary to tho custom of the War De
partment. The truth is, that without the aid
and comfort which, in pursuance of their trai
torous schemes, the Administration have giv
en to the Revolutionists, the country would
never have been brought to the brink of civil
war. Acu lork 1 ribune.
HARD TIMES IS THE SOUTH. All the DeWS
from the South proves conclusively that the
Southern people are beginning to feel the fol
ly or the Secessionists at their own homes.
While attacking the Northern people, they
find themselves, in many sections, without
corn or bacon. Their orders sent to Western
ports for hay and grain are all tefused unless
accompanied by the bard cash. John Forsyth,
in the Mobile Jiezuter, presents n pitiable pic
ture as to the condition of the people of the
interior of Alabama. Meanwhile, breadstufis
have fallen heavily, in the North-western
States, notwithstanding the supply is unusual
ly plentiful ; so that, while "Cotton is King,"
starvation may lead to revolution, even among
those who predict a revolution in the rree
States. Wash. Cor. Phil. Press.
The press is as free in Brazil as in N.York ;
and the law requires the printer to be paid, j
both for his paper and advertisements, in ad
vance. A very good regulation, that.
r An explosion lately occurred in a coal mine
in England, by which 170 persons were killed, j
A STREET SWEEPER'S HISTORY
Ihe late Mr. Simeor. of TTarhnnrn
Birmingham, was on one oorin n r.v,rf
I when he was nhlirrod in nnn .
neavy shower of rain, to take shelter under an
archway. The rain continued for a long time
with unabated fury, and be was consequently
obliged to remain in his place of shelter al-
i tuuugn Beginning to sutler from his Drolone-
d exposure to the d art)!! and rvl rl n t m n a r. h .c
Under these circumstances, he was agreeably
surprised, when the door of a hanrisnmo hnn
opposite was opened, and a footman in livery,
with an umbrella, approached with his mas
ter's compliments, and said that he had obser
ver me gentleman standing so long under the
nrcuway mat lie leared he m erht take cold.
and would therefore be glad if he would come
unu iaKe shelter in his house an invitation
which Mr. Simcox gladly accepted.
lie was ushered into a hamlmmplv fnmih.
ed dining-room, where the master of the house
was sitting, and received from him a kindly
welcome. Scarcely, however, had Mr. Sim
cox set his eyes on his host, when he was
struck wiih a vague remembrance of having
been mm oeiore, but where, or in what circum
stances, ne round himself nnablo to call to
mind. The eentleman soon enao-pd in an
interesting conversation, which was carried
on with increasing mutual respect and confi
dence; while all the time this remembrance
kept constantly recurring to Mr. Simcox, whose
inquiring glance at last betrayed to his host
what was passing in his mind.
44 1 ou seem sir," said he, "to look at me as
though you had seen me before."
Mr. Simcox acknowledged that his host was
right in bis conjectures, but confessed bis en
tire inability to recall the occasion.
" i ou are right," replied the old gentleman,
ana ii you will pledge me your word as a
man of honor not to disclose to any one that
which lam now going to tell you, until you
have seen the notice of my death in the Lon
don papers, I have no objection to remind
you where and how you have seen me. In
St. James Park, near Spring Garden, you
may pass, every aay, a man who sweeps a
crossing there, and whose begging is attended
by a strange peculiarity, that whatever le the
amount ot the alms bestowed on him, he will
retain only a half-penny, and will scrupulously
return to the donor all the rust. Such an un
usual proceeding naturally excites the curios
ity of those who hear it ; and any one who
has himself made the experiment, when he
happens to be walking by with a friend, is al
most sure to say to him : "Do yon see that
old fellow there ? He is the strangest beggar
you ever saw In your life. If you give him
six-pence, he will be sure to give you five-
pence half-penny back again." Of course his
friend makes the experiment, which turns out
as predicted ; and as crowds of people are
continually passing, there are numbers of per
sons every day who make the same trial ; and
thus the old man gets a half-penny from the
curiosity of the passers-by, in addition to what
be obtains from their compassion
"I, sir," continued the old gentleman, "am
that beggar. Many years ago I first fait upon
this expedient for the relief of my then press
ing necessities ; for I was at that time utterly
destitute, but finding the scheme successful
beyond my expectations, I was induced to car
ry it on until I bad at last, with the aid of
profitable investments, realized a handsome
fortune, enabling me to live in the comfort in
which you find me this day. And now, sir,
such is the force of habit, that although I am
no longer under an necessity of continuing
the plan, I find myself unable to give it up;
and, accordingly, every morning 1 leave my
home, apparently for business purposes, and
go to a room where I put on my old beggar's
clothes, and continue sweeping my crossing in
the Park till a certain hour in the afternoon.
when I go back to my room, resume my usual
dress, and return home in time for dinner, as
yon see me this day."
Mr. Simcox scrupulously fulGlIed his pledee.
out having seen In the London papers the an
nouncement of the beggar's death, he then
commnnicated this strange story to a friend.
London paper.
Painting a White Girl to make her a Slave.
The Natchez, Mississippi, Free Trader, of
Dec. 12th, relates the following stoiy :
One day last week, a gentleman of this city
hailed an up country boat, the Cora Anderson,
as she was passing Greenville, Miss., whither
he had gone on business, to-return home.
Shortly after being under way, our Natchez
friend observed a pensive looking little girl,
aged about nine or ten years, whose black hair
and yellowish brown skin would indicate that
she was a mulattress. There was something
about her that interested him and he inquired
of the captain concerning her. Ho was inform
ed that she was a slave belonging to a man on
board, whom the captain pointed out, who said
he was taking her to New Orleans to sell her,
he having bought her lor $160 in North West
ern Missouri, on the borders, uurisatchez
friend eyed the little girl and the border man
so closely as to attract the attention ot the
latter, with whom he was soon engaged in
conversation concerning the child, interrogat
ing him in such manner as to elicit answers
agreeing with previous statements, and evi
dently alarming him. This was suspicious.
The little girl waa taken aside and examined.
She said she was an orphan, and had been ta
ken from an asylum in New York by this man ;
that her -hair was light and her complexion
brunette ; that this man told her he was going
to the South with her, where, as his adopted
child, she would have a good home ; that black
hair was preferred in the South, and prettier
than hers, and that he had taken ber to a
barber, and had ber hair dyed black. He also
told ber that if she would allow him to put
some yellow dye on her skin tnat tier com
plexion would beceme much whiter in a few
days, and that be had put the stain on. On
bearing these statements, the girl was taken
charge of by the captain, and potash, soap
and water being applied, the dyes were taken
off, and the light hair and light complexion
brought to light. The pretended master was
seized by the excited passengers; who were
about ta deal summarily, but it was finally ar
ranged to look him up in a state room until
the boat should land. In the meantime the
boat bad passed St. Joseph, and when a few
miles below that town rounded to take on
wood. At this point, bow, or in what manner,
is not known, the border ruffian escaped from
the boat, leaving bis baggago behind. The
girl was taken by tho captain of the boat to
New Orleans and placed in one of the orphan
asylums in that-city. '
GOVERNOR PACKER'S MESSAGE.
The Pennsylvania Legislature met on Tues
day January 1st. In the Senate,Robert M. Pal
mer, of Schuylkill county, was elected Speak
er, and Russell Errett, of Pittsburgh, Chief
Clerk. In the House, E. W. Davis, of Venan
go county, was elected Speaker, and E. II.
Ranch, of Carbon county, Chief Clerk. W.
A. Nichols, of McKean, was elected one of
the Transcribing Clerks in the House. On
Wednesday, Gov. Packer sent in bis message.
The financial condition of the State is repre
sented to be in a good condition the actual
indebtedness having been reduced during the
past three years $2,236,882 15. After calling
attention to the various subjects requiring
the consideration of the Legislature, he goes
on to speak of the condition of the country
as follows : .
The extraordinary and alarming condition ot
our national affairs demands yonr immediate
attention. On the 20th of December last, the
convention of South Carolina, organized un
der the authority of the Legislature of that
State, by a unanimous vote, declared "that
the Union now subsisting between South Car
olina and the other States, under the name of
the United States of America, is hereby dis
solved ;" and the action already taken in sever
al other southern States indicates, most clear
ly, their intention to follow this example.
On behalf of the advocates of secession, it is
claimed, that this Union is merely a compact
between the several States composing it, and
that any one of the States, which may leel ag
grieved, may, at its pleasure, declare that it
will no longer be a party to the compact..
This doctrine is clearly erroneous. .The con
stitution ot the United States is something
more than a mere compact, or agreement, be
tween the several States. As applied to na
tions, a compact is but a troaty, which may be
abrogated at the will of either party ; respon
sible to the other party for its bad faith in re
fusing to keep its engagements, but entirely
irresponsible to any superior tribunal. A gov
ernment, on the other hand, whether created
by consent, or by conquest, when clothed with j
legislative, judicial and executive powers, is
necessarily iu its nature' sovereign ; and from
this sovereignty flows its right to enforce its
laws ana aecrees by civil process, ana, in an
emergency, by its military ana naval power.
The government owes protection to the peo
ple, and they, in turn, owe it their allegiance.
Its laws cannot be violated by its citizens,
without accountability to the tribunals created
to enforce its decrees and to punssh offenders
Organized resistance to it, is rebellion. If
successful, it may be purged of crime by revo
lution. If unsuccessful, the persons engaged
in the rebellion, may be executed as traitors
The government of the United States, within
the limits assigned to it, is as potential in sov
ereignty , as any other government in the civ
Uized world. 1 he Constitution,and laws made
in pursuance thereof, are expressly declared
to be the supreme law of the land. Under the
Constitution, the general government has the
power to raise and support armies, to create
and maintain a navy, and to provide for cal
ling forth the militia to execute its laws, sup
press insurrection and repel invasion. Appro
priate statutes have been enacted by Con
gress, to aid in the execution of these impor
tant governmental powers.
Ihe creation of the Federal Government,
with the powers enumerated in the Constitu
tion, was the act of the people of the United
States, and it is perfectly immaterial that the
people of the several States acted separately
within the territorial limits of each State. The
form of their action is of no conseouenco. in
view of the fact that they created a Federal
Government, to which they surrendered cer
tain powers of sovereignty, and declared those
powers, thus surrendered, to be supreme. with
out reserving to the States, or to the people,
the right of secession, nullification or other
resistance. It is, therefore, clear that there
is no constitutional right of secession. Seces
sion is only another form of nullification. Ei
ther, when attempted to be carried out by
force, is rebellion, and should be treated as
such, by those whose sworn duty it is to main
tain the supremacy of the Constitution and
the laws of the United States.
It is certainly true, that in cases of great ex
tremity, when the oppression of government
has become so intolerable that civil war is
preferable to longer submission, there remains
the revolutionary right of resistance ; but
where the authority of the government is lim
ited by a written Constitution, and each de
partment is kept in check by the other depart
ment, it will rarely, if ever, happen that the
citizens may not be adequately protected,
without resorting to the sacred and inalienable
right to resist and destroy a government which
has been perverted to a tyranny.
But, while denying- the right of a State to
absolve its citizens from the allegiance which
they owe to the Federal Government, it is nev
ertheless highly proper that we should care
fully and candidly examine the reasons which
are advanced by those who have advanced a
determination to destroy the Union of these
American States, and if it shall appear that
any of the causes of complaint are well found
ed, they should be unhesitatingly removed,
and, as far as possible, reparation made for
the past, and security given for the future;
for it is not to be tolerated, that a government
created by the people, and maintained for
their benefit, should do injustice to any por
tion of its citizens.
After asserting ber right to withdraw from
the Union, South Carolina, through her con
vention, among other reasons, declares that
she is justified in exercising, at thia time,
that right, because several of the States have
for years not only refused to fulfil their
constitutional obligations but have enacted
laws either nullifying the Constitution, or ren
dering useless the acts of Congress relative to
the surrender of fugitive slaves that they
have permitted the open establishment of so
cieties to disturb the peace of other States ;
that the people of the non-slaveholding States
have aided in tne escape of slaves from their
masters, and have excited to servile insurrec
tion those that remain and have announoed
their determination to exclude the South from
the oommon territory of the Union. As the
Ropresentativesjof the people of Pennsylvania,
it oecomes your solemn duty to examine these
serious charges, made by the authority of a
sovereign State. . . -
JDennsylvania is Included in the list of States
that are charged with having refused compli
ance with that mandate of the Constitution of
the United States, which declares' "that no
person beld to service or labor in one State,
under the Jaws thereof, escaping into another,
shall, in consequence of any law or regulation
therein, be discharged from such service or
labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of
the party to whom such service or labor may
be due." So far from admitting the truth of
this charge, I unhesitatingly aver, that' upon a
careful examination, it will be fonnd that the
legislative and judicial action of Pennsylva
nia, whether as a colony, as a member of the
old confederation, or tinder tbe existing Con
stitution of the United States, has been al
most invariably influenced by a proper' appre
ciation of her own obligations, and by. a high
regard for the rights, the feelings and'tbe in
terests of her sister States.
As early as 1705, tho provincial authorities
of Pennsylvania, after reciting in the pream
ble, that "the importation of Indian slaves
from Carolina, or other places, hath been' ob
served to give tbe Indians of this province
some umbrage for snspicion and dissatisfac
tion," passed Bn act against the importation
of, Indian slaves from any other province," or
colony, in America, but at the same time de
clared, "that no such Indian slave, ai desert
ing bis roaster's service elsewhere, shall, fly
into this province, shall be understood1 or
construed to be comprehended within this acU"
Ana wnen, in 1780, more than eight years be
fore the Constitution of the Uniled States
went into operation, Pennsylvania passod'her
law for the gradual abolition of slavery, trflnd
ful of the rights of her confederates, she de
clared that "this act, or anything in it contain
ea, snail not give any relief or shelter to any
absconding or runaway negro or mulatto Slave,
or servant, who has absented himself, or shall
absent himself, from his or her owner, irtaster
or mistress, residing in any other State' or
country, but such owner, master or mistress,'
shall have like right and aid to demands-claim
and take away bis slave, or servant, aS' bo
might have had in case this act had not' been
made." A provision much more unequivocal
in its phraseology, and direct in its commands,
than those fonnd, on the same subject, in 'the
Constitution of the Uuion. The act, by1 its
terms, was made inapplicable to domestic
slaves attending upon delegates in Confrress
Irom the other American States, and1 tlibse
held by persons while passing through" this
State, or sojourning therein for a peribd1 riot
longer than six months.
'In 1788 it was made 3 high penal' offence
for any person, by force, violence of fraud,
to take out of this State, any negro or mulatto,
as a slave, for a term of years. Soon' after
the passage of this act, the Supreme Conttof
Pennsylvania decided that it did not apply to
the forcible removal of a slave, by the" owner
or his agent, but that its object was to'p'nhlari
the forcible or fraudulent -abduction froni'tbe
State of free negroes, with the intent.io'n' of
keeping or selling them as slaves. Thfts; at
that early day, giving judicial sanction lb 't he
doctrine, that a master bad the right to' take
his slaves wherever he could find them.' J -, '
The first act of Congress providing fbrtnV
rendition of fugitives from justico or Iab6r,'
was passed in 1703, and originated from' the
refusal of the Governor of Virginia to surren
der and deliver up, on the requisition of tbe'
Governor of Pennsylvania, three persohSVho
had been indicted in Pennsylvania lor kidnap-
ping a negro, and carrying him into Virginia.
And when it was found that this Congression
al statnte did not afford a simple, speedy' and
efficient remedy for the recovery of fugitives
from labor, the Legislature of Pennsylvania,
at the request of tbe adjoining State of Slary
land, in 1826, passed her act "to give effect to
the provisions of the Constitution ot the U
nited States relative to fugitives from" labor,
for the protection of free people of colorj and
to prevent kidnapping." This excellent and
well considered law met all the existing-emergencies.
It required the judges, justices'o!
tbe peace and aldermen, of the State, tipon
the oath of the claimant, to issue their yvar
rent for tbe arrest of any fugitive frorn" labor
escaping into this State ; directing; however,
that such warrants should be made returnable,
by whomsoever issued, before a judge of tbe
proper county. It required sheriffs and con
stables to execute such warrants. It author
ized tbe commitment of the fugitive' to the
county j;iil, and otherwise made provisi6hs to
secure its effective execution, and at' the same
time to prevent its abuse.
This law continued quietly in operation un
til the decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States, made in 1842, in the' case of
Prfgg vs. Tho Commonwealth of'Penhsylva
nia. The history of this case may bebriefly
stated: Edward Prigg was indicted' iri the
court of oyer and terminer of York- county,
for kidnapping a colored person, narried Mar
garet Morgan. ' Upon the trial if appeared
that she was held as a slave in the State of
Maryland, and that she escaped into the State
of Pennsylvania in the year 1832 that in
1837, Edwaid Prigg was appointed, by tho
owner of tbe slave, to seize and arrest her as a
fugitive from labor. In pursuance of this au
thority, and under a warrant issued by a jus
tice of the peace, Prigg caused the negro wo
man to be arrested, and without having ob
tained any warrant of removal, he delivered
her to ber owner in the State of Maryland.
These facts were found by a special verdict,
and by the agreement of counsel, a judgment
was entered against Prigg. From' tbis judg
ment a writ of error was taken to tUe 'Supreme
Court of the State, where a pro' fdifiHH' judg
ment of afb'imance was again, by agreement,
entered, and the case removed to the Supremo
Court of the United States.
It will be observed that the Qticsl ion, wheth
er Edward Prigg was really guilty" of the crime
of kidnapping, under tbe Pennsylvania statute
of 1826, was never actually passed npon, eith
er by the court or jury, in tbe county of York,
or by tbe Supreme Court oi tbe State The
jury merely found the facts, and the action of
both coutts was but a matter of form.
In the argument and determination of the
case, in tbe Supreme Court of the U. States,
it appears to have been taken lor granted
that our act of 1826 made it a criminal offence
for a master to take his slave our of thia State,
without a warrant of removal V and, upon this
Construction, the act was deolart-d unconstitu
tional and void. This, I submit, was a clear
misapprehension of the purport and meaning
of our legislation. Tbe first section of the
Act of 1826, under which the indictment a
gainst Prigg was framed, was almost literally
copied from tbe seventh section of tbe act of
188, to which a construction had already beea
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