The New York Herald Newspaper, August 26, 1848, Page 1

NO. 5197. THE DECLARATION op THE CALHOUN SECTION OF THE DEMOCRACY, RELATIVE TO THE RESIDENTIAL SLACTION. SPEECH OF JGHN ¢. CALHOUN, Kt, bits [From the Charloston Mereury, Aug. 21] THE PRESIDANCY—-OUR POSITION. _ After the meeung of the democratic convention in Baltimore, and the nomination of Gen, Cass as their candidate tor the Piesidency, the democracy of Charleston, on the 6th day of June last, held meeting, and determined to await the develope- ment of events, beiore they committed themselves to the support of any particular candidate in the Presidentizl election. We agreed with the con- clusion of this meeting, and expressed our deter- mination to abide by it. It will be recollected that, as a part of the proceedings of that meeting, a mo- tion was made to nominate Gen. ‘Taylor for the Presidency, whiclr motion was almost unanimous- ly rejected. or , i | The first source of information which was looked to to guide our future judgment, was obviously the whig national convention. Gen. Taylor had again and again avowed his determination to be a can- didate, independent of ull parties, and a candidate, whether nominated by the whig convention or not. df any other man should receive the nomination of that party, and Gen lor continued to be a can- dida! ¢ against the regular nominces of both parties, those who should support him, whether whig or demecrat, would not necessarily abandon their princijles. As Geu. Taylor had avowed no prin. | ciples, excepting op} ion to the veto power, the support of him, wrong 8 on this point, wou! argue only a dissatistaction with the party nomi- nations ‘It remained to be n, then, by the results of the Philadelphia Convention, whether whigs and democrats would be able to occupy such a position in supporting Gen. Taylor. ive first development conflicting with this posi- tion was the submis-ion, by General ‘Taylor him- | seli, through the Louisiana delegation, of all his preter sions to the Presidency to the discretion and cetermination of the whig convention. His friends, who had tirst brought him torward as an | independent candidate, denied the authority of the Louisiana delegation thus to dispose of him. | They wrote to him from Maiyland, where they had gone so far as to establish a paper deyoted to his rupport and nominn n electoral ticket, to know the truth. He reptied that the Louisiana delegation did uct by his authority, but requested that his letter siould net be made public; where- upon tie iadependsat Taylor party of Marylaad disbanded ond discontinued their press. Ih the meantime, Messrs. Peyton and Bullit, ina card published in the New Orleans papers, affirm, by, authoiity of Gen. ‘Taylor, that the declarations of the Louisiana delegation met with his entire ap- proval, Finally came tus own long-delayed answer to the whig nomination, in which he cordially and | unqualifiedly accepts | their candi- date, without a word intimating a desire or inten- tion ot representing anybody else. Here, then, was a radical change of positions nexions 1h regard to the Presidential elec- There was no longeran indepeadent can- There were but two candidates—the one set up by the whizs, the other by the democrats ; and these candidates, of course, in spits of them- selves, must represent the principles of their res- | pective parties. Undertheir names, as candidates | an the Presidential election, Congress would be elected; and its political character would be deter- muned by the prevailing party in that contest. The 3 the other must bring into the ation of the Union the prinetples of the tri- nt partly. Now-itewas in contemplation of gust such changes and developments as these, that | we understood the meeting in Charleston of the 6th June to refuse to make any nomination for the | Presidency, and we have tanly and faithfully car- | ied out that policy. ¢ 2 But there was yet ancther point on which it was deemed of the highest import that we should be | fully informed, betore we committed ourselves on | the Presidential election. The Wilmot proviso agitation was at its height in Congtess, and it was | known that a very tew weeks would give some | decisive indication ef the disposition of parties on | this vital issue. It was considered the dictate of | common prudence to wait for these indications, | and allow ourselves to see, by their course in Con- ress, Whether General Taylors friends were wil- ing to afford any countenavce to those who were inclined to support their candidate, simply on the ground of his being « Southern inan, and therefore Tepresenting the South oa this question. We felt, as others have felt, a natural prejudice in favor of | 4Gencra! Taylor, as a Southern man and a slave- holder, anu we Were prepared to give at least their | full weight to all pledges and alt provfs that tended in any way to ideutify lim with the cause of the South. We had, deed, hoped that the representatives | of the whole Somh, whigs and democrats, would stand together; and ia that event we doubted not + they would command such success as would make it of little consequence, in regard tothe slave ques- tuon, which of the two candidates for the Presi- dency should jrevail. Shouid the representatives of the South, however, stand together, and yet fail to settle the question, then we should have been prepared to sustain a policy of ranning a candidate for the Presidency true to our rights under the constitution, independent of both the great partes of the Union. ‘The great test of paities on this question was the bill introduced into the Senate for the establish- ment of territorial governments in Oregon, Cali- fornia, and New Mexico. It was introduced un- der the sanction of the great body of Southern stateemen in Congress. It was regarded by nearly sall.as the only possible settlement of the question, under the present organization of parties. Tis suc- cess was believed to depend upon the earnest and mnanimous support of Southern men. In this exi- ney, when the representatives of the South had er cause and her fate in their hands, four South- ern “enators, for reasons futile and incomprehen- sible, broke up the chain, and destroyed the power of this union, by going over to the enemy. We cannot but regard this desertion as decisive of the fate of the measure. It showed the North that the South was divided, and it gave precedent and argument for desertion with all Southern men in the House of Representatives, who had any secret inclinations to sacrifice the cause of their country to the expediency of party. Accordingly,ywhen the bill came ‘betore the House, while the Southern democrats were unanimous in its support, as had been the Southern democrats in the Senate, the Scuthern whigs were divided, as the Southern whigs had been in the Senate. Nay, eventhe dis- grace!cl office was assigned to a Southern whig to make that motion wich denied to the bill the de- cent end respectful consideration of the House. If we turn from the South to the North, little fa- vorab'e as isthe view to any reliance on the sup- port of either party, that little is certamly not on the side of the whigs, From first to last: they ad- hered, with a solitary exception in the Senate, to the exireme ground of the abolitionists. The would have no settlement of the question whic! did not secure to the North the possession of all theee territories, and that by the direct asse! of the right of Congress to legislate on the questio of slavery. A portion of the Northern democratic party, in both houses, not only supported the com- promise bill, but showed a strong anxiety, in vari- ‘ous wrys, to settle the question of slavery on terms not dishonorable to the South. True it 1s, that even this portion of the Northern democrats, dis- couraged by the imperfect support which the South had given to the only measure that Reins a settlement of the question, and borne back by the ever-swelling tide of tree soil agitation, yielded their position, and, with a few. honorable exce; long, jomed with the whigs in fastening the Wil- Mot previso upon the Oregon b f this proves, as we acknowledge it does, that no reliance can be placed upon the democratic party for the settle- ment of the question, the unanimous opposition to the South of the Northern whigs, upon every vote, from the very first, is surely decisive that we cannot trust them. We see nothing, then, in the recent develope- ments on the slavery qieetion to justify any South em dem¢crat in abucdoning his party, ‘and fra- ternizing with the whics in the Presidential elec- tion. Every candid men must adm that all who contribute to th ction of the whig candi date, and thus help to raise that party to power, must at Jeast incidentally support and sanction its principles. Direowy, aud by his own exoress declarations, there a singie principle in- volved in the 80); General Taylor. Cer- tainly, in regard ¢ » will pretend ‘to dee DY WMat.a)Lomudune prec ber wad de, Lo defalbe st extent, rer : the qvenecs of its in troduction v of ts on ment. WV to his ¢ it power, Os the qu ke, | with us on the bank, wi . SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, provement, aad the tarnfil, he has explicitly de- clured that the Presidental veto ought not to be interposed. On the Wilmot proviso, when dis- tinetly questioned, he hag ns distinetly refused to give un answer; and on the strength of his “ Sig- nal” |etter, his friends throughout the free States claim thethe has commitied himself, either in fa- vor of thut proviso, or not to arrest it by a veto, Laying wide this question, and where are the grounds on which we can support General Taylor? ‘The democratic party and their candidate were y us on the tariff, with us on the wpnexation of Texas. On these issues, where were, and where willbe, the whigs and their candidate? df, then, General Taylor a_whig, and the no- | mince of the whips for the Presidency; it the wk, bari, on all pastisenes, have been agatst us, an on the slavery question, as a party, in the free States, are worse than the democrats, und even in the South have divided against us, disastrously de- feating the late compromise in Congress; and if their candidate has refused to pledge himself to stond between his party and the. safety ot the South;—what justification ean we find for ing the old democratic standard, and enlisting in the ranks of a leader whose sole claim to the sym- pathy and supportot Southern democrats—the po- sition of an independent candidate, uncontamina- ted by the touch of party convenuons—he has him- self nnequivocslly and anxiously renounced? That there are grave objections to Gen. Cass we do notdeny. At the proper time we set forth and mmsisted upen these aaPeraeh as conclusive reasons why the people of South Carolina should retuse to take any decided part in the rresidential erection, We had desired, un- less the developments of the times shoula make ita plam duty tor us to adopt a candidate of our ‘own, that, unembarrassed and undistract- ed by popular agitation, the Legislature of South Jarolinu might be lett free to decide upon the vote of the State, influenced ouly by a seuse of what was due to her principles and her honor, It is the position whieh, from the first, we insisted on as the true one for the State, and which the closing events of the late session of Congress have most unpressively shown to be the only one consistent with her prineiples, and with the exertion of any influence favorable to the adjustment of questions identified with her own and the common safety of the South. We bear no part—we should be deeply mortified if we thought we had afforded any one witha pretext to charge us with bearing any part--of the responsibility of the movements which have imduced perhaps a majority of our friends to yield this ‘position of neutrality, The necessity has been forced upon them by the nomination a General Taylor in their midst, and the orgamzation of a party to advance his elec- tion. Jn regard to such a movement we cannot per- mit our positron to be questionable; and as the pro- per answer to tt, and becausea position of neutrality in such circumstances would be a position of imbe- city, when forced to a choice between the nomines of the whig party and the nominces of the democra- tre parry, we declare our preference for the latter; ana we cannot doubt, that, for the same reasons, the Logislature of South Carolina will cast the vote of the State for Cass and Butler. ‘THE PUBLIC MEETING. In pursuance of public netice, the citizens of Charles- ton, without distinction of party, assembled at the Theatre. on Saturday evening at eight o'clock. On motion by Col. James Srimons, the following gentlemen were appointed officers of the meeting:— Nathaniel Heyward, Esq.. President. Hon. T. L. Hutchinson, Vice President. Edward Barnwell, William H. ‘Trescot, and Thomas M_Hanckel, Eeqre , Secretaries, Hon. Jehn C, Calhoun, Hon, A. P. Butler, and Hon. Armistead Burt. who, at the solicitation of many citi- zens had consented to address the meeting, were in- treduced. and were received with the most enthusias- tic cheering. © B. Nonrnror, Erq, stated that the Hon. A.P Butler would address the meeting. Mr BUrzex commenced his remarks by contrasting his present position with that occupied by him at Washington for the last ten days of the session of Yongrese. There he occupied the position that every representative of the South did who fearlessly and honestly attempted todo his duty—the object of odium and dislike to these who were animated by the reck- less spirit of sectional ambition; here, he was sustain- ed and cheered by the approving plaudits ot a gene- rous constituency. He alluded to the proceedings of the ression, many of which were important in their character, and some of its measures of momen- tous consequence, not only as affecting the honor and interesis of the South, but as dangerous to the hwrmony nay, to the very existence, of the Union. The Mexican war, in which the skill and courage of the American arms had been so sigaally displayed, had unfortunately brought in its train questions fraught with perplexity and danger, among which was the iesue made between the North and the South upon the subject of slavery. That institution was never assailed while the Union consisted of the thirteen original States. ‘The compromises of the constitution were faithfully observed, alike by the North and South ; but, with the acquisition of new territories, new ques- tions were mtroduced, destructive of the harmony of the confencracy j and, a8 our territories have in- creased, there difficulties and dangers have increased with them. The territories of New Mexico and Cali- fornia had been acquired by the common blood and treasure ef the North, East, West and South. under the requisitions of 2 common government. The West has been enriched by the warin furnishing anim- menee market for their products, The Northand the East have derived great benefits in furnishing muni- tions of wat, and the employment of their ships as transports. What has been left for the South? We are told there are your conquests, the glory in their acquisition you have richly shared and the laurels hs have won are freely mingled with the cypress ; ut you shall not enter upon the territory you have so dearly purchased, and you and your institutions are forever prohibited therein. If our forefathers could have anticipated that euch a restriction would hat been imposed upon their des mon property of the Union, ever have consented to it? equals when they entered into the confederacy, and they never would have joined it had they anticipated the attempts made to degrade them whenever the North acquired the power of doing so. When the Union was formed, the South was the stronger por- tion of it; but its compacts were held inviolable ; and he had challenged on the floor of Congresa the production of a single instance where a Southern State had viol the compact of union. He adduced several instances in which New York, Pennsylania, and other Northern States, had proved faithless to their constitutional obligations. A rapid sketch was given of the proceedings in Con- grers in connection with the two propositions for com- romise. with which our readers are familiar. They Had been both voted down by the North. It was palpa- bly the determination of that section not only toex- clude the South from all the territories of the Union, but to make these territories hereafter the instruments of further oppression. When settled and formed into Stater, with the present anti-slavery States, they would have a sufficient power to amend the constitution. and deprive us of the letter of its protection, as they had long since of its spirit. The South had failed to ar- rest this invasion upon its rights; but the spirit of de- termination and unanimity with which it was resisted was most gratifying. He would never forget the last night of the seesion, when the Southern men present- ed a united and determined front. Party bonds were repudiated, and party ties were broker je would say that the South need place norelian either party. If they put themselves in the keeping of party—if they trusted to the honor or good faith of the North—they would be deceived, and they would find themeel graded and enslaved—the me: the confederacy. The time had passed when any hope of justice could reasonably be entertained from that quarter; and if the South thinks the institution of slavery worth preserving, they must prepare to do it in some other way than by party. He was no advo- cate of ditunion. The man did not live who could Jook disunion in the face without an awfulshuddering at its possible conrequences. Butif the Union is to be made a bond to fetter one portion of the confederacy for the agerandizement of the other, he would not wor- ship it aan idol. upon whore altar was to.be sacrificed the prosperity, the equality. and the honor of the South, ‘The spirits of Laurens, of Gadsden, of Rutledge and of Pinckoey, would spurs from their companionship that Southerner who would be fo recreant to his duty as to conrent to wear the badye of degradation and inferl- ority, The North, it was evident, had determined upon their policy of arresting any further accession of po- litical power to the slave States. and nothing could counteract this policy but the determined and united action of the entire South If the Southern States were united, they could dictate their own terms.— ‘They would not obtain their Hants by President making. Gen, Cass, if elected, would not veto the Wil- mot proviso, and he was equally sure that Gen. Tay- lor weuld not veto it. Ail hopes of that kind wore utterly fallacions, President Polk: bad administered the internal affairs of the government in ® manner which a d the highest approbation. and he most willingly accorded him his thanks; but even he would have been consumed with the fires of indignation if he had vetoed the Oregon bill containing the Wilmot roviro. It would have been absolutely dangerous for the street some ot those who had Ato place him in power, had he done so. The pressure upon any President would be too strong for resistance, Of General Taylor, a8 afgentieman and ® folic, he hind the highest opinion, He believed if he Dad been Ieit to the original simplicity and purity of Lie character he would bave been willing to havo en- trusied Lim with the government, in the hope that he would bave effected ite reform; and no goverument on the estih needed it more, But the great danger wae by politicians, he would ebay Teohcste of party end not the honest promptings own bear! He bad plecod himself under the Wdrn olen ofe party, and Chat party would \ winetration, He sys, and no tbat if elected, be wil pic's candidate, but since the cphin, 1 44 well Known heghow oleae by a parts, Gon, Casa is aman of 2 wae that, beret as La the of bi ds tiew mat Uhilmde desert- | j green and raid if they had preserved their honor, they varicus expedients, of considerable literary attain- ments. not unacquainied with the workings of the government, or the movements of political parties — So far as he is the exponent of a party, said Mr. But- ler, he is the exponent of the yarty with whieh I co-operate. and | cannot ce-operate with any other — He held thet the State wae bound to cast her vote for one or other of the candidates For thirty years the State had never cast her vote against democratic principles, and bad never voted for a whig; but when she bud made her decision he would bow with the most implicit deference, He would ay for himself that he would not change his party relations and sympathies; but he would cheerfully acquiesce in the decision of the State, But there should be no excitement, no ex- acerbation ‘There never was an occasion in which ex- citement upon euch a subject was more to be depreca- ted He alluded to the manner in which candidates were selected by preceedings in caucus, where trickery and management. not merit, secured the nomination. If the selection of a candidate had becn left to the peo- ple, the choice would not have fallen on General Tay- lor and General Cass, ‘There was, therefore, no ne- cessity or propriety In getting up auy excitement. and if a heated political canvass was to ensue, for himself he would take no part in such ® scramble. Mr Burr exprersed his thanks for the kindness of his reception. He alluded to the recent action of Con- ad Jost a portion of their rights, Within another twelve months their rights. their equality as members of the confederacy, would be lost, unless they came to the rereue—unlesy the South, by united and energetic action. demands that equality which was guaranticd to them in the constitution, we would be degradingly expelled from New Mexico and California, and con- fined to prescribed limits, that our institutions might perish, and we perish with them The conduct of the Northern Sena‘ors and Representatives had been most imperious and exacting Thero were a few honorable exceptions—Douglas, Bright, Hannegan, Sturgeon, Cameron, and Dickinson—who struggled against the current for a while, but were evontual- ly compelled to yield. He detailed the proceed- ings of the Senate on the Oregon bill, where the determination of the North to aseert their supremacy, and to degrade the South, was so strongly manifested. So impatient were they for their victim that they would not even respect the Sabbath ; and upon God’s holy day, while the bells of the churches were summon- ing the citizens of Washington to worship, the decree of ostracism and proscription was registered. The North was not prompted in this erusade by fanaticism, as was aupposed by many. It was a struggle for politi- cal power and superiority. Slavery was termed a Southern institution; but if there was any institution mere than another entitled tothe name of American, it wns the institution of slavery, At the breaking out of the Revolution, it existed in all the colonies, and at the adoption of theConstitution {in all the States, with the exceptionjef Massachusetts, ‘They bad seen fit to ubolish it in the States where slave-labor was unprofita- te, and have since indulged in a series of unwarranta- ble aggressions upon Southern States, that but forthe bonds of this Union, would not bave been endured for amoment. It is supposed upon a moderate calcu- lation, that there are st this time in the Northern States and in Canada upwards of thirty thousand ran- away slaves, and this was property which, by justice and cemity, the Northern States were bound to assist in reclaiming. The remedy for these abuses was not tobe ‘ound in the ascendancy of parties; but it de- pended on their own stout hearts and strong arms. Mr. Carnoun enid that bis colleagues had so fully detailed the proceedings in Congress, upon the quos- tions involving the rights of the South, that he would confine himrelf to whut he conceived to be the more immediate object of the meeting—the question of the Presidency. His attention hud been early and earn- estly directed to this matter. and the conclusion he had arrived at was, that the proper policy of the State was to stand aloof from the contest; and in this senti- ment he had the concurrence of all his colleagues of the South Carolina delegation in Congres , with perha} but one exception. ‘There were several reason for this determination—among them may be mentioned that neither of the candidates comes up to our equirements of principles or policy; and by entering into an active and heated political contest, each party abusing the candidates of their opponents and praising their own as exemplars of perfecsion, the State would be degrad- ed to the level which they occupied. He had never doubted but that when the time came the State would cast her vote; but lot us cast it without heat, without excitement, and in the direction which the safety and dignity of the State requires that it should be cust. As to the respective candidates, many gave the pre- ference to Gen. Taylor, because he was a planter and a Southern man; others again preferred Gen. Cass, be- caurr he was a member of the party with which they usuelly act. ‘These preferences were natural and ai- lowable, if the division to which they led were con- ducted without asperity or bitterness ; but they would be most mischievous if their effect was to divide us at this crisie, when harmony and union among ourselves were more than ever desirable. last in this place. a great change has taken place in the position of parties at the North, The abolition party, which was then a mere handful, bas now grown to be a mighty party; a party above and be- yond the Presidency—a party that has cast aside both the candidates of the old parties and nominated as the representative of their free soil principles, Mr. Van Buren, who was formerly the President of the United States. Such a man would never have consented to be placed in that position unless he was convinced | there was a firm foundation for the movement, and great question of sectional supremacy. He reterred to the action of the Senate on the Oregon bill; and lamentable as was the defeat of the South on that question, it was still more lamentable that it was ac- complished by the votes of two Southern Senators. He would name them. They should be known and de- served to be held in reprobaoion by every Southern man. They were Col. Benton, of Missouri, and Gen. Houston, of Texas the bill would have been defeated. With these ex: eeptions, the Southern men had stood side by side and shoulder to shoulder. And in this a most gratify- ing contrast was presented, with the condition of things existing at the commencement of the session. | At that time, not a corporal’s guard could be got together to act barmoniously. He had never wit- neared so much distraction, But at the close of an arduous session, and after one of thi lest debates which he had ever witnessed, and in which the South was completely victorious, the entire South, with the exeeptions shove named, stood shoulder | tna¢ he who invents efalsshood toinjure his neighbor | to shoulder, manfully battling for their rights. The action of the North in inserting the Wilmot proviso into the Oregon Dill, was @ mere wanton assertion of power. I climate and soil of Oregon unfitted it for a slave population; but the North determined upon the aseer- tion of the right to exclude slavery from the Terri- tories of the Union, without conditions or restric- tior It was the first time it was so applied, and the determination is manifest so to apply hereafter in all cases—even in Cuba, should that island ever be annexed to our Union. In the old Confederation the ordinance for the government of the Northwestern Territory was proposed for three years, and was only adopted then when the restitution of fugitive slaves to their owners was coupled with it as a condition. The Missouri compromise was proposed by the North, who urged it on Congress, and sacrificed every north- erp man who voted against it. But @ great a has been effected in the North since that period. As they have grown in power they have increased in their determination to arrest the further progress of the slave States, by excluding them unconditionally hereafter from all the Territories of the Union. With such a struggle at hand, how important is it that the South should be prepared to meet it witha united front. Diversitics of opinion are entertained upon the subject of the Presidency. Gen. Taylor is preferred by some—Gen. Cass by others. All are equally sincere, and.all, in bis opinion, were equally republicans, He did not ask that they should throw away their vote, or arrest the canvass. Things had gone too farforthat. But he implored them, as Care- linians, to conduct the canvass with moderation, and with kindly feelings toward eachother. Do not permit the discussion go to divide or estrange you from each other as that you cannot be reconciled immediately after ite termination. The time ix coming when your united energies will be demanded for the struggle. At the next session of Congress the con- test will be renewed for California, New Mexico, and the territory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande—for the North claims all that. If worsted in that struggle, as there fs great probability we will be ‘we have nothing to hope or expect from the Federal government He had watched this question of ebolition for years,and from the beginning had pre- dicted the result. There are in the tic, a8 in the human system, diseasos which, if not promptly arrested, become incurable, and eventu- ally fatal ; and it was his opinion from the firet that abolition, if strong and decided measures were not taken to check it, would run its course,andin its pro- gress Cad 4 the Union and the institutions of the country. In his opinion, whichover party at the North was defeated in the Presidential election, would go over to the barnburners. With :uch an addition to their forces, the party will be most powerful. For defence against its policy and purposes, we must rely upon ourselves alone. Hence the necessity of union, of harmony Do not permit any mere temporary question to estrange or divide you, Re member that the Carolinian whe is farthest from you in opinion, i# nearer to you than any Northern man of either party. If the South is united, there ia yet hope of saving the Union, We can rally a great Sothern republican party. based on principles above the mere making of Presidents; and with such a party, we can command our terms ‘and control the North, So jong a8 the South permits any candidate who claims her support to tamper with the aboltionists for their votes, her influence will be lost, and herrights ditrogerded. By rallying a great Southern party, that Will support no man not pledged to the maintenance of the rights of the South and the guarantees of the constitution, a party will be formed in the North who will co-operate with us, But if this fails to arrest the spirit of aparesion Fo manifest, and the alterna- tive is forced Upon Us of resistance or submission, who can doubt the result? Though the Union is dear to ‘ur, ovr honor and our liberty are dearer, And we wonld te abundantly able to maintain ourselves, The North is rich and powerful, but eve has many elements of divirton and weakness Fourierites . the vote yourrelf- aform men— the strife of labor with capital a apinit of enerchy and mirrvle, already developed, whioh, sooner or later, will end in her o®erthrow. The South, on the copimry bas © hemegenecue population. and's com. nen bond ef weien which wenld render ax en@united, Wherever Southors men Since | addressed you | w that the North had determined to rally on this | was universally admitted that the | ody poli- | Had they stood true to the South, | | Buffalo | with many other evidences of unkindliness towards | them on my part ; all of which is without the slightest exactions, and at last have boldly avowed their _ | country, give the lie direot to the statements in ques- ¢d upon the battle field, from the closing event of our revelutionary war down to the entrance of our army into the city of Mexico, they have shown themselves in generalebip and soldiership, at least equal to those of any other rection of the Union Our custom how would afford us a revenue ump’e for every purpose, al mort ag great in amount as that now collected by the Federal Government. south pow exports to the Northern States more than alljthe exporte of the North to foreign countries, and it isa well established princi- pe that the imports of a community are based upon its exports, and that they nearly equal each other. In whatever aspect then we consider it, we will be as well prepared for the struggle as the North, He did not court it, but he would not shun it; and old as he war, ho was willing to go through his share of the con- test. When the loud and long protracted cheering which greeted the cloee of Mr. Calhoun’s spoech had some- what moderated, on motion of W. B. Pringle, Esq., the meeting adjourned. [From another paper.] Iranc E. Holmes is announced as a candidate for re-election in the Charleston District. He is said to be the only member in the present delegation favorable to General Taylor's election. And James Smith Rhett is already in the fleld in opposition to him. ‘The Letter of Charles Francis Adama, Accept= ing the Free poll Nominath To the Committee of the National Free Soil Con- vention, held at Buffalo, N. ¥ | Quiney, August 22, 1848, Gentlemen,—I have just received your official letter, apprising me of the great honor done me by the con- Yention which you represent, in nominating me as its candidate for the office of Vice President of the United Stutes, and also soliciting my acceptance of the nomi- nation. In reply, permit me to say that it had been my hope and my expectation to be able to uct in the present canyass as one of the humblest, but not of the lea-t carnest and devoted, servants of the great cause in which we are engaged; but since it has pleased my fellow Iaborers, and erpecially the noble representa- lives of the great State cf Obio. to whom in your letter you particularly allude, to call upon me, most unex- pectedly to myself. to stand in the front ranks of the Contest; sinee it is their will, unequivocally expressed, that I should bo their candidate for the secovd office in the Union, Iam not the man to refure to acknow- ledge the obligation, or to shrink by a moment’s hesi- tation from the post, not less of duty than of honor, to which they assign me. I accept most cheerfully of the nomination, ‘The fathers of the republic, nurtured in the creat rchool of liberty opened by the reformation, aimed to | illustrate by # practical example in America the ex- cellence of their cherished theory ef government. To the gencral success of their experiment, commenced in 1776, and carried forward in 1759, lapse of more tban half a century bas borno witness, But unfortunately, the same period has also developed the existence of am adverse influence, incautiously ad- mitted at the outset, which has thus far done much to quaiify the beneficial results which have been attained from it, ‘That which at first seemed only a deflection from the pathof justice in favor of vested rights and a privi- leged class, has by degrees, shown itself to beso wide a divergency, that the only choice now left to the peo- ple of the United States is either to turn back, or else, by going further forward, voluntarily to abandon the principles with which their fathers started The alter- | Dative is clearly presented of the extension of slavery | over the whole breadth of the North American conti- nent, or the maintenance of the fundamental doc- | trines of the Declaration of Independence. The two | things cannot co-exist in the United States. Regret it a» we may, we can neither evade nor refuse the issue made up for us. Not to accept it is equivalent, in my mind, to desertitig a great moral, social and political truch. at a moment when every known rule of human duty would seem to demand the complete establish- ment of it over the minds of a free people. With these feelings I bave read, again and again, the platform of principles laid down by the Buffal- Convention, ‘I hail it as the signal of return to tho path of the revolutionary patriots, as the era of ade vance inthe theory of free democracy. ‘There are now but two living antagonist principles | in the politics of the United States—the one which | shelters iteelf under the cover of human force, and the other which draws its vitality from human reason and human sympathy. ‘Toall those who have confidence in the eapacity of man for celf government. it must be | a rource of great satisfaction to believe that the pe- riod when th the United States, is rapidly approaching At the same time, it would be unjust to accompany such a victory with any feelings of acrimony or ill will | towards the individual members of the losing side. The slaveholding section of the Union merits our sympathy, even while its aggressive policy meets with the firmest resistance. For the time may yet come when thore who now regard the declarations of the latform as a vindictive assault upon their dearest Interests, will construe them rather to be the preservation of their highest moral and political rights. Ours is not @ contest with geographically defined sec- | tions of country, nor with organized communities of men, It is a struggle to sustain principles of inesti- | wable value in every lond—of wherever society is established. Success with us is the synonyme only of that exton- sion of the greatest blessings which good government can most certainly be expected to confer upon the human race. As such we hail its approach not so much for the good it may do to us, as to all these who may now regard it as portending nothing but injury to themselves. I am, gentiemen, respect, goneral application with rentiments ef the highest Your obedient servant, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. More Letters from Gencral Tayior on Polls | tical Matters. Baton Rover, La., Aug. 5, 1848. My Dear Sir—You" esteemed letter of the 27th ult., enclosing a slip cut from the Memphis Appeal, was this moment received, containing siz‘#ments said te have beeh le by me disres] ctful of the voluntzers ; among others, that | had said they were not worth their rations, and that this can be proved, together foundation. There is but little doubt in my mind, | or fellow-citizen, as well as he who lends himself to, and aids, im giving circulation to the same, knowing it to be false, wonld not hesitate one moment to swear to it onthe Holy Bible. My numerous oficial reports to the War Department, in relation to the gallant and patriotic volunteers, which have been so extensively published in most of the leading public journals of the tion ; and which the gentlemen of the dppeal might have known had they looked an inch beyond their | nores, or wished to have made themselves acquainted | with all the facts inthe caze, before they published so gross a slander in Fegard to one who had never injured them, and whose only crime was, that his name, with- out bis ageney in the matter, had been brought before the country by a portion of his fellow-citizens for the first office In the gift of a great and free people. As to the romantic story about the wounded soldier at Buena Vista (in connexion with a Mexican lady) which ended so tragically, and who is said to have heen shot by my order, it is without the slightest foun- dation ; nothing of the kind, or even approaching it, took place; nor do I believe ever heard of e: cept at Memphis and vicinity, before it was published in the Jppeal; it is on a par with the story that I had spoken disreepectfully of, and otherwise outraged, the volunteers ; anda more base and heartless calumy was never propagated, Not a drop of American blood was shed by my order while in Mexico, nor that of a Mexican, except in the heat of battle. The whole matter contained in eaid elip is too silly | to be credited, nor would I have noticed it had I not deemed it proper to reply to your friendly communi- cation. Imust, from my position, expect to be assailed by many unscrupulous editors of newspapers, as well as hired demagogues, without regard to truth, decency, or anything e T have, therefore, made ap my mind not to suffer such things to annoy me, let them ema- nate from what quarter they may; but to “ pursue the even tenor of my way,’ without turning to the right or to the left to notice them. With considerations of high respect and esteem, Your friend and obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR. Baton Rovar, La., March 7, 1848. Sim :—I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your friendly communication of the 25th ult. and to inform you in reply, that the letter therein referred towas,as it purports to be, written by me to Hon. Joreph R. Ingersoll. I deem it proper to si 1 bong th that letter are such a ave fre tly made to other persons, and that I have had no desire to conceal from any portion of the people of the country any of the views therein expressed. For many years ve sincerely deprecated, I believe has every true patriot in the republic, the excesses in the administration of our national affairs, into which party strife bas thrown our people—and when, therefore, | was solicited by gentlemen from various quarters of the Union to consent to the use of my name in connection with the Presidency, | con- sented with the express condition that | should not be tied down to the political tenets of any one party. ‘To this position T believe | have consistently adkered, and for no consideration can I be induced to abandon it atements made in I beg leave to ray, in conclusion, that while i me sincere gratification to learn that many of low. citizens approve of the course which I have adopt- ¢ last of these principles will triumph in | Affairs in Canada Monrnxa, (Canapa,) August 20, 1848, {I hope that you will deem a few facts, as re- gards the condition of Canada, not uninteresti is. In the remarks which I purpose making, I will en- deavor to treat as dispassionately as possible up- on the different subjects, leaving it rather to the unprejudiced mind of the American reader to draw his own inference ; and Lam the more induced to this course m consequence of the false, and, therefore, foolish statements of certain self-styled | “Irish patriots,” who have, of late, undertaken to | enlighten the peaple of New York as to the condi- | tion of Canada at present, and representing it a being ripe for revolt, and anxious to sever the | on nection with Great Britain. I-may say, en pa: that J am a warm admirer of the institutions of the United States, as applied to those States, and there- tore am not prejudiced in favor of monarchy. In the first place, we are told that the people of | Lower Cunada,are especially discontented th Bri- | Ush rute, and that they would haal with joy any de- | monstration from the United States which promis- ed them deliverance from their tyrants. I take it for granted that this must refer wholly to the French Canadian population, as that of Mnglish des proverbially loyal The great mass of French Ca | nadizns are the most illiterate, ignorant, bigotted set on the face of God’s earth. They do notpretendto think for themselyes,leaving all that to their priests | and some few leaders. Letustherefore examine the condition of these priests and leaders, and we shall be able to judge of the truth of the assertion that Lower Canada wishes to separate from Great Bri- tain, The motto of the French Canadian 1s, our religion, our language, our laws, and our institu- tions,” and in these few. words is contained the whole secret of his dislike to all who speak the English language. He does not pant | for liberty, unless that liberty brings with it the exclusion of all languages but that of | France; he desires no laws but those of the ancient régime; he will have no religion tolerated but that of his forefathers. Under the treaty by which | Canada was ceded to Britain, all these things | were secured to the Canadian; the laws which | govern Canada West prevail not in Canada Hast ; the French language is spoken in the courts, in Parliament, in the acts; nothing is legal for Cana- | da Exst which is not published in French as well | as English; the Cathohe religion is supported by the British Roxerament the government officers observe, as holydays, the festivals ot the Catholic church; and more than all this, the French Cana- dian leaders are now tke leaders of the govern- ment. What, then, have they to gain by a union with the United States? Would it spread their language? Would their religion be better pro- tected ?. Would the old French laws be respected ina higher degree? Let Louisianaanswer. Iti then clear, beyond a doubt, that if the priests and leaders of Lower Canada are discontented with British rule, they will scarcely seek to better them. selves by a union with the United States, where their individuality would at once be swamped. They desire a Vrench nationality—would they gain it by joining your Union? Add to this the | fact that they are ‘a quiet, timid people, and you at once comprehend their position. Let us now turn to Canada West. have a people composed, for the most part, of the descendants of the tories who left the United States during the revolutionary war; of half-pay oflicers and discharged soldiers, and of the Eng- | lish, Irich, and Scotch, who have emigrated here | becauge of their preference for this form of govern- | ment. Some years ago, previous to 1840, Canada | West or Upper Canada, was governed by an oligarchy, who poisoned the ear of the governor Ilere you | ssant, | | that the command has been proffered to him. THE NEW YORK HERALD. TWO CENTS. made by our cotemporaries, and to whiel we how propese to address ours: Ives. We only wish that our cotemporories had adduced some proot of the truth of their charges ‘The fact is that not only has Mr. Hincks most scrupulously abstained from attending any repeal demonstration in this cily or elsewhere, but he has repeatedly declared that he considered rt bighly inexpedient for Cana- dion politicians to meddle with questions in which this pievince bas no direet interest, and which cannot be influenced in any way by our proceed- ings. When Mr. Hinelks declined to join in this repeal question, the parties concerned in it prox Jeesed to be loyal to their sovereign, and to seek merely by loyal and constitunonal means to ob- tain a domestic parliament Such agitation, | whether expedient or not, was not criminal, and we willingly aflorded the’ use of our columnt fo convey information as to the proceediogs ofthe patties coneerned in it, with whom we agreed, and continué to agree, on questions of Cana- | dian pohey But within the last few montis all must admit that the agitation has been of an entirely different chararter, and that mony | of the most zealous advocates of repeal have | abandonéd the | ranks since the avowed object of the movement party been declared to be the establichment of a republic—an ubject which, af sue- sessful, could be obtained only by wading through rivers of blood. We have, itis trae, continued to give as mere news, extracts from the insh papers which are the recognized organs of the revolution- | ary party; but it willbe found that similar extracts have been copied in English papers of the most undoubted loyalty. When doing so, we never ima- gined that any set of men in thes province or in the United States would entertain the msane project of disturbing the peace of this country. We fiad it difficult even yet to ve that any parties seri- ously entertain such a project, although it eannot be demed that the parties themselves are loud in proclaiming their own guilt, Having expressed euselves very fully already on the subject, it is only necessary now for us ‘to protest against any imputations against. us of having encouraged or countenanced, even in the shghtest degree, disaf- fecuion of auy kind. There is not even the slight- est shadow of pretext for the disturb of the | pence, whose wickedness 18 only equailed by their | felly. [From the came paper.] We are happy to learn that Her Excellency the Countess of I:jgin and Kincardine has returned to Monklands in much improved health. We take this opportunity of saying that there not the slightest’ foundation for the silly rumors cir- culated by some of our contemporaries. regard- ing the probable retirement of His Excellency the Governor General from the government of this country. The Sierra Madre Kxpedition, [From the St. Louis Republican, Aug 18.] As this movement has assumed some impor- and the people (and probably even the hington € ea) are beginning to understand that it is not entirely a humbug, we think it bat night to letkthem know what is going on in this cily inrelation to it, It may be proper to premise that St. Louis has been the principal theatre of the events connected with the part which the peo- ple of the United States are expected to take in it. We understand that during the last few days se- veral interviews have taken place at the Planter’s Tlouse, between an envoy, or agent of the States ot Northern Mexico which are expected to sanc- tion the declaration of independance, and unite in | forming the new republic of Sierra Madre, and Gen. Sieids. Whether the command ot the ex- pidition was tendered to Gen, Shields, or whether 1¢ has accepted it, we are not prepared to assert positively. We have, however, reason to believe In fact, we know that his services have been confi- and ruled in opposition to the wishes of the majority of the people. ‘This led toa rebellion in | 1837, and I wall not pretend: to deny but what it | might have been successful but for cir Many of the most loyal men Cana | tains were at that ume soured against Britis | rule, becnuse of the oppression of the oligarchy, | and they would gladly have resorted to any means | by which to rid themselves of the vampires who | were eucking their heart’s blood. Now, however, | every thing 1s changed, and, perhaps, in order to | understand the nature of this change, it is neces- sary to enter somewhat into detail. The British constitution is composed of written and unwritten laws. ‘The unwritten law consists of usage, and itis this feature which renders it so difficult tor | a foreigner properly to understand it. Well, by this usage, the Queen of England 1s compeiled to | form her ministry from the majority of the people as represented in Parliament; and that ministry 18 responsible for every act of administration, and can only remain in office so long as they can com- and a majority of supporters in Patliament.— his usage has been extended to Canada; and it | has aleo been expressiy avowed (and this avowal ; aiso forms a portion of the law of usuage) that the | | governor will not interfere, in any way, with the | Canadian Parliament, in the passage of any laws, | which do not affect the parent government. The gualitication of a voter is very small, "Te peuple elect a Parliament similar to the Honse of Representatives, and the governor selects his heads of department from the party which pos- sesses the majority in that Parliament. ‘These heads of departments must then go back to their constituents and be re-elected. Upon every mea- sure the goyernor must consult them, and if they disapprove it, he must either sign. ‘Then, if the jee: cannot succeed in | getting a ministry who can command the support | of Parliament, ye is obliged to succumb. In ad- | dition to this, the Candians are scarcely taxed at all. England pays all the military expenses, and all imperial resirictions have been removed. The reform, or liberal, party ig also in power. | What, then, have the Canadiansto be discontent- ed about? How could they better their condition by a union with the United States?) Would they have more hberty—would they be more lightly taxed—would they enjoy greater religious freedom than they do now, for every religious denomina- tion is on an equality? There are no advantages | which we can see—none, at all events, which would in any way, repay forthe bloodshed and | loss of property which would ievitably follow an | insurrection; for England will never permit Cana- | da to be torn from her. Depend upon it, when Canada wishes to cut herself asunder from her | parent, their parting will be peaceable—but at pre- | sent, no such desire exists, and any attempt | to invade her would be crushed by the people themeelves. aan have no desire to be_governed by such men as Mr. O’Connor, or even Mr. Moo- ney, “the historian.” Affairs in Canada—More of the Agitation. | From the Montreal Pilot, Auguet 22.) | We should not have deemed in necessary to no- | tice the Hereld’s disclaimer that he has any sym- | pathy with the red republicans of New York and | Jontreal, were it not that he appears to have mis- understood our former remarks. He says, after detending his late article, “if such conduct lays us Mie to the charge of disaffection.” We beg to disclaim having made any such charge against our contemporary ; on the contrary, we said, “ We are well conyinced that the Herald has no desire to ive any encouragement to the foreigners who fave threatened this country with invasion.” We doubted, for many reasons, the expediency of e tation on the subyect of the navigation laws. e have full confidence in the intentions of Her Ma- jesty’s linperial Government; and as_ specific pledges have been given by the Prime Minister, and as we know that the noble earl at the hed | of the Colonial Department takes a deep interest | in the success of the measure, we cannot doubt that at a very early period we shall obtain all that we desire. There is no doubt either that His Excellency the Governor General will continue to end his powerful influence to obtain a reform of such deep importance to Canada, whose in- terests His Excellency so well understands, and has so much at heart. The Provincial Ad- | ministration and the Legislature will all concur | in taking any step that may seem to be neces- sary. Under such circumstances, agitation would be practically useless, and, as we have already steted, might be misunderstoed by people ata distance, Who are too ready to exaggerate on the subject of our discontents. While, however, » stated our views as to the propriety of agitat- ing on the subject of the repeal of the navigation laws, we bad no idea of imputing to the Herald any intention of countenan ing or encouraging the American pirates who have adopted the em- ed in relation to this subject, yet I hope that some of them, in #0 doing, wi induced by their friendly feelings toward me not Yo violate, in the slightest de- gree, their due conse of their politioal obligations, 1 am rir, very respectfully, your obedient serv't , %. TAYLOR inrine 4 in! Commenck OF Sarem.—Tho Salem .Ide€rtiser pub- lishes a tabular statement of the number of vessels owned at that port, with their class «ad tonuage From thie table we learn thet the number of ships owned there ie 20; the number of barks, 23; tho nomber of briga, 46; the number of schooners, 43; the number of sloope, 3 avd the number ot yateha, 10, Whole number, 150 “The above number includes only thore verrela which hail from Salem. There area mbir of others parily owned there, which are omit- mod Salem vessels blem of a bleody hand. Having offered this explanation to our cotempo- rery, we proceed to notive some remarks which have from time to time ap eared in the Gazette and Courier, directed agomet this journal, and also wpainst its former proprictor, the Inspector General. It has been seid that we have indircetly lent our countenance to the disaffected by quoting extracts from seditious journals, and the Gugetre has more than insinuated that our journal being controlled by a member of the administration, thet gentleman hes been coerced by threats into crmpelling us to change our course. Repeated erttions have been made by the Courter that th Inspector General has wbandoned a party wh he formerly encournged, and by whose support he has obtained political power, Such are the charges es. | give way or they re- | dently counted upon by many who have embarked n, or are disposed to aid, the movement. We also know that Dr, , the envoy above alluded to, left this city, yesterday, for New Or- leans, thus abandoning the alternative of teader- | ing the command to another ‘* distinguished vo- lunteer brigadier general” of the late Mexican | war, to whom it was intended to profler it, in the event of Gen. Shield’s declination. Ail the indi- cations are that the General hasaccepted the com- nd of the ** buffalo hunt,” and will place him- selt at the head of the ‘ousel owls.” At least such is the impression of those who take an in- terest, and are involved in the success, of the en- terprite. For our own part, we doubt the probability of the general ever accepting the command of such an expedition, although he muy have given assu- rances to that eflect... A in the United States Senate, tor six years, isa much more comfortable position, Of the probable chances of attaining | this elevation, we presume, the general will satis- | fy himselt before he volunteers his services either for Ireland or the Sierra Madre. We know that great calculations have been made upon the assistance of Col, Kinney, not more from his wealth and energy of character than from the fact that he beeame the purchaser of a large number of horses, mules, wagons, &e. sold by ine United States government, whea thi amy deft Mexico, Much of this property, it 18 said, he still retains, after having realized a hendsome profit upon the sale of a [arte of it. It is also further gntimated that he holds several pieces of ordnance, with arms and alumunition, | which were sold by the United States government in Mexico, which will be placed at the disposal of the new republic. .., (From the Galveston News.] The citizens of Tampico, we learn, are unani- mously in favor of the new republic of Sierra Mudie. ‘They have organized im a sort of military force—completely armed and equipped—for the defence of the city. They keep up a constant guard, and do not permit the Mexican soldiers, of whom there are about one hundred in the neigh- borhood, to appear in the streets after a certain hour. Capt. Wells informs us that it was under- stood at ‘Tampico that an ofler had been made to Colonel De Russy to return to that place with one thousand Americans to aid in etablishin and de- fending the new republic, and it was believed he would accept. A bounty of one hundred thousand dollars was to be paid them, besides their usual monthly pay as soldiers. The people of Tampico are represented as looking for their arrival with confidence. The force there already organized | and equipped amounts to six companies—four of infantry and two of dragoons. Two of the infantry companies are composed of Americans and fo- reigners, one of Spaniards, and one of Mexicans. {From the New Orleans Bulletin.) Arms, ammunition and military stores have al- reedy been and now are shipping from New Or- jeans. — The object for which these shipments are made, is of course not subject to proof, but com- mon report and belief assign them for the use of the intended “ foray,” and as they are to ye land- ed on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, we pre- sume there is no law which caa prevent the trang- nussion of such articles from one State to another, vor, asthe Delta wisely observes, can Ameri citizens be prevented from emigrating to Mexico. ut we should suppose that when 3, 4 or 5000 men, armed, drilled, and organized as a regular military force, with all the meuns and appliances for a hog- tile demonstration, are assembled on the banks of a border stream, and it is universally believed it is with a view to cross that stream into the territory of a friendly nation—does any one imaginaour government would not have aright, or that it was not their duty, to stop that kind of emigration ? Hanvarp Commencement.-The performances of the Srosuaisy tase at Cambridge, yesterday, are spoken of as being very acceptable to the crowded wuditory to whom they were addressed. The clase pumbered fifty-nine, The following were among the honorary degrees conferred :— Masters of “irts— Bernard Rolker, Eeq., Instraoter of German #t Cambridge; Edwin Perry bach nt Raq, Lorton; Lorengo Sabine, Keq , Kastport, Me; Ret Charles Ldward Levrett, of M'Phersonviile, §, tye of Laws—-Henry Hallam, Exq Joel Varker, Royal Professor in the Law Sehool at Cembiidge; Hon, Theron Metealf, Judge of the Sujreme Court of Massachusetts ; Hon. Reuben Hyde Waiworth, Chenceilor of New York; Louis Agw keq.. Professor of Zoology and Geology in the La ve Scientific School Cambridge, Doctors of Divi- ty—Kev. Joeeph Allen, Northboro’; Rev Edward Brooks Hall, Providence; Rey. Wiiliam Buell Sprague, Albeny, New York, Rev, George O'Kill Stuart, Kings- tom, U. ¢ e number of etudents entered the Freshen Cinss, alrendy exceeds eighty ‘The public services of the Phi Beta Kappa Soolety took place to-day, commencing at twelve O'plock. ‘The oration was ‘delivered by Rey Horace Bush nett, D D. of Hartford, Conn , and the poem by Epes Sar- gent, of this city,— Boston Transcript, Amz, Shek New Yorx Heraty.—The foreign corrospon- detice of thir paper ta exceedingly valuable. Tie enerpy, the gnter end the byewm wnieh provalt in the Herald, UL prniag, Bennett from the mock «f @ ccemp a8 he i dever read hiv aemisably erreug ndependent tone Upon mile cine, “Vivela Hevela!? Que aties nas bee worly ealied (0 Bennet! t r which baw been wimed at his be York papers.—-Riehwond wey