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~ YsT ~ t - -- -b i i'n 4 -- VOLUME jnI. .SUlYTERVILLE, S. C. JULY11, 1849. .UMJC7 The Sumter Banner: U1BLISHED WERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, BY WILMiAM J. FRANCIS. .T ERtM S: Tio Dollars in advance, Two Dollars and Pifty-cents at the ex>iration of six months, or Three Dollars at -A.e end of the year. No pioer discontinued until all arrearages are paid, unless at the option of the Pruptiltor O7Advertisenteitts inserted at 75 ets. per t.quare, (14 lines or l",s) for the first and half tint sut for each subsequent insertion GJiThe number of insertions to be marked Iu all Advertisements or they will be publish led until ordered to be discontinued, and charged accordingly. DTOne Dollar per square for a single in eertion. Quarterly and Monthly Advertisp thents will be charged the same as a single hsertion, and seni-monthly the same as new ones. All Obituary Notices exceeding six lines, .antd Communications recommendi ng Cand lates for public offices or trust-or puffing Lxhihitions, will be charged as Advertise bients. IITAll letters by mail must be paid to in enre punctual attendance. Political. Gens. Foote's Letter. VASm1INrT0N, JUNE 28, 1849. Hon. Henry A. Wise, Acconac coun ty, Va: My DEAR SIR. I wish I could say that I feel none of that solicitude ex pressed in youriletter to our mutual friend Dr. G''"(which has been just shown to me) in regard to the existing condition of our public concerns, and the consequences likely to arise from ,certain movements of one or two of our leading politicians, to which you have in ted my atttation. Never in my life, I assure you, have I felt more sore ly oppressed with doubt and desponden. cy, or considered the Union itself in more danger, than I do at this moment. Last year, it seemed to be admitted by ull discerning men that our political sky was not a little gloomy and menan cing, but, r.ow, the very blackness of ,darkness appears to have spread like a funcral pall over the whole firmament. Had we been able to cffect last winter some fair and fraternal compromise of the question of slavery in -tle territo ties, as at one tfaie was confidently ex pcetedl, there would have been but little in the vista of the future to sadden the hIeart or alarm the fears of the patriot; but the muachinatious of wicked and Vrverse men have triumphed over the straight-foward honesty and manly en crgy of others; and lo! hope has been transformed into dismay, and confusion has taken the place of order; just, too, as the s_'ason of danger and difficulty s3emed drawing to a close! For one, I shall ever look upon the defeat of the Walker amendment of our last ses sion as the most nafortunate event of our history; and I shall be indeed greably disappointed if those who have beei heard fiercely to exult over the succcs of tliei- wicked dexterity, are sot fated hereafter to lament the suc cess of their eforts inl sackeltoh and ashes. I confoss myself wholly unable to di vine how anly man, wishing well to the aministration of Gen. Taylor, and real ly desirous that the ship o'f State, while under his guidance, should be favored with calm weather and tranquil seas, conl wish, notwithstanding, to keep this alarming territorial question open for futuro agitation and excitement; nor .do I find it a whit less ditlicult to un derstand how a leading Democratic Senator from one of the slave States of the confederacy, coul reconcile it to his sense of duty to so critical, with the worst and bitterest foes of our domestic southern institutions, in preventing the settlement of a question so full of per plexity and peril, not to the South on ly, but to the Union also. And yet here is the vote in the Senate, on the 1st day of March last, upon thme pr-opos ed anlinmenit of Mr. Walker, after- it had been agreed to in committee of the whole, anid reported-for final action: AFIRMATIVE VoTE.-IMessrs. At chison, Bell, Berrien, Butler Calhoun, .of Mississipni, Davis, Dickinson, D.,dge ,of Iowa, Downs, Fitzpatrick, Foote, Jn mter, Johnson, of Maryland, Johnson, of Georgia, Kcing, Mangum, Mason, Pearce, R~usk; Sturgeon, Turney, Un der wood, Walker, Westcott, and Yuleo. INEGAT[VE VoTE-Messrs. Alen, .Atherton, Baldwin, Blenton, Corwin, Davis of Massachusetts, Dixance, Up hanm, and WValcs. That, after making up his mind to jo~in in defeating the only plan of com promise wvhich seemed practicable, Mr. Jhentoni should follow up his treachery to the South and the Union with fur thmer movemnents in the same direction, was to be expcted from the man anid his position; but that even he should p< have presumed to turn, without provo- ir cation, upon those who had been strug- ot gling ardently for two sessions to save ei the Union from destruction, and the o1 South from degradation and ruin, and C accuse them of being traitors aud dis- a1 unionists, was surely not to be anticipa- tc ted. And yet this is precisely what w has occured; and, though the intelligent ai freemen of Missouri appear to take a Y correct view of his conduct, still the ;Y fact cannot be concealed, that his de- c fection has already imparted much con- ri fidence to our enemies in the North; ci whilst our friends in that quarter of the a1 Union have been proportionately dis- k couraged and paralyzed. It now ap- ai pears manifest that the Wilnot M Proviso will pass both houses of Conl- is gress; and if he who saved his country's ui honor upon the field of B1euna Vista iii shall be found unwilling to rescue it el again in the dread hour which is fast al approaching, God only knows what hor- ot rid scenes we are to witness. Of one at consolation, though, the generous sons c( of the South can never be defrauded: of no instance has yet been recorded on tli the page of authentic histury, in which ar the faithless soldier, who abandoned st his colors, and stole over to the enemy, in amidst the heat and confusion ofbattle, cV ever afterward found himself rewarded mi according to his hopes by those whose li, triumph lie had thus become auxiliary. On reading the speech which Mr. Benton delivered at Jefferson city a few weeks since, a copy of which was sent to you a day or two ago from this place, you will not fail to be struck a< with the fact that, whilst lie has taken tu it upon himself, at the safe distance of pr a thousand miles or so from the objecrs Pm if his assailment "Address of the South- fi arn Delegates in Congress to their Con- le stituents," of having been found aiding su, and abetting in a rank disunion plot, yC lie has done you and your patriotic er county of Accomac the honor of array ing you in the very front rank of trea- an son and rebellion. il I cannot doubt that you will agree cr with me in considering this Jast haran- ac ge of Mr. Benton as One of the most hi remarkable productions of this remark- of able age. It would appene to have ki met with unusual favor in certain vi- A cinages, and to have called for ith lusty w commendation from one or two editers, in who have not been heretofore classed to as his admirers. Indeed, he is said to st have been actually nominated for the b; Presidency itself in several rather ob- di scure Abolition neighborhoods. And n yet, for the li''e of nc, I cannot see 01 nothing either in the speech or speaker tc which should provoke such adini- ft lation. It is evidently a long medi- a1 tated, laboriously prepared, atnd dili- tli gently memorized discourse, upon eer- hi tain national topics of most sui passing ti interest; and yet do I feel that I can eb- I serve of it justly, and without the smal- u lest exaggeration, that its feeble and w confused reasonings, its tawdry grand- w iloquence in some places its coarse si scurrility in others-its awkward and li clowish attempts at a sort of Ciceroni fi facetitousness-its unmnanne rly dogma- tI tismn-its nauseating~ ej'totismi-andl that S infernal spirit of malignity 'which it ei breathes throughout, and which iwould oi have been far betr suited to animate a the outcries of some "gobfila diined," di or devil broke loose from hell, than to w give grace and dignity to aught of hu- S man mould and temperament-would hi be sufficient to extinguish the glory and~ a, blast the faune of the most distingish- hi ed orator that either ancient or modern ui times have afforded. I will not weary S you by dilating further upon a themew which could not but prove unsavory. TI You have heard this "mani of head and1( St intellect" attemplt to grapple with great tI questions of State, when lie evidently fc seemed to suppose that a fit of genuine ii rhetorical imnspiration had come upon p~ him; and you will have no dilliculty in si appreciating the encomiums which have el been so lavishly bestowed upon the an- tI gust deliverer of Calhounias. sl It is amusing enough to observe with ic what pertinacity Mr. Bentoni keeps up r his pursuit of the favorite statesmen of F South Carolina. The issues which he a makes in his Jefferson City speech arc p all made with Mr. Calhoun. His de- b nunciations are all for him, lIe redi- iil cules him-he mnaligns himu-without s< stint or remorse, lie mentions no oth- ci er signer of the Southern Address by V name at all. lHe glances, to be sure, a~ furtively, and alnost as if by pure acci- it dont, once or twice at those who united tk wvith the dlrauightsmann of the address, p in thme act of subscribing it; but affects ei to recognize every mnother's son of them w as mere "followers" of a sor t of idolized ol >fitical leader. His reason tor adopt g this particular course is obvious en igh; he imagined that there yet lurk i in the public mind a remnant of that ice prevalent prejudice against Mr. alhon as the expounder of nulification id dupposed that if he could manage connect our movement last winter ith the noted measures of State resist ice adopted by South Carolina a few ars since, his triumph in the contest heh he has sought would be quite an Lsy one. ]Bosides, he had but little ght to expect that Mr. Calhoun would ane into arena at all with such an itagonist as himself, as he is well iown very seldom indeed to notice iy thing which chances to full from :r. Benton in the Senate, and to cher Li for him only a sentiment of immens -able contempt. By cautiously avoid g any special allusion to other sign s of the address, lie expected to be ic to assail them thus inti ectly, with it affording them a pretext for retali ing his hostility. I regret to feel mpelled to disappoint this anticipation impunity. Representing, asI have e honor to do, a valiant, a i atriotic, d Union-loving constituency-a con Atuency who, upon all questions which volvo the honor of the nation, or their -n domestic security, are united to a an-a constituency firm, discreet, en ;htened; who "-- - -Their dutirs know, Put know their rights, and kiuwauag, dture umnint ain; Prevenit the longj nim1ed blow, And crush the tyrut. when Ilse/ rend the chain;" ting by the authority of such a consti ence, in a high place, 1 dare not ove recreant before their enemies, or tiently permit my standing and good ith as a trusted functionar y to be cal liin question by any inflafed and pre mptuous lemigogue that has ever .t crushed the republic with his pres ee. I respect Mr. Calhoun very highly, A believe that few better, purer, aiil are patriotic men have ever lived on rth; but whilst I am not ashamed to knowledge my high reverence for 3 mind and character, I am not afraid being regarded by any man who tows me as his obsequious follower. few days will determine, whether lie *o has been set forth as our leader, ay not, in spite of his known aversion controversial strite, and the feebl6 ate of his physical health, prompted r the peculiar perils of the hour, a ,ep and swelling sense of long accu ulating wrongs, and this last vandalie itrage upon his feelings and charac r. snatch the sword of vengeance om the scabbard where it reposes; i ad wield it with a giant's strength for C destruction of such monsters ag tve seldom appeared in the world since e old days of Mythical renown. erJ-rupit Acheronta Ierculeus labor: itil lie shall consider his assailants orthy of death at his own hands, it Dul ill-become one wholly uncoinis Lned fIr the purpose to presume to .t lance in his defence. I shall con ie myself to points 'which involve alike e honor of all who subscribed the authiern Address. W~hat are the cir imstances connected with the origin 'this much censured document? They -e easily stated, and as easily coinpre md6 be bor-ne in mind that lien the metig ' ~gi of thel outhern members of Congress n Ild in the Capitol last winter varicud riession~s of a most serious character id from time to time beCen committed wou the peculiar instittutioiis of the 1)uth; a graphic delineatioin of which htiehi will be foumnd in the address itself. hese aggressionis must have been most rius and alarming as all will adiit at the outrages perpetirated withini a wV years past hare ben grosser andtl ore vital than any hieretofojre emn ainied of; amid since Mr. Bentomn him If, who iiow has the elroter'y to dec are, in his J elTerson City speech, at lie "'has seen no dlanger- to the ave property of aiiy State in this tUn n from the action of Congress;'" thein noteen years ago, ini his speech oin oote's resolutions, averred, with every pcarance of deliberation, that the ussage of a general emancipation law .' Coiigress was not only "hr no imeans p1robable,"' but, ''on the. contrar y ab lutely cei tain, in the eveiit of theinue ~ss of certain measures then on foot.'' hien we held our meeting in the Sen e) Chamber, a resolution had bee troduced into the Ihouse of Represen tiyes, the object of which was to re mal all acts oir par-ts of acts which - giiise the existence of slavetv, oi hiieh authorise the selling ordipsn Celumbia; andi alnost eniough votes had been cast in support of this I-esolu. tion to carry it triumphantly through. At this period, also, a resolution had rassed the. House, by a vote of 107 to 80, instructing the Committee on Ter ritories forthwith to report bills provi ding for the exclusion of slavery from California and New Mexico. This had been followed up by a bill providing for the taking of the votes of their inhabi tants of the District of Columbia, inclu sive of slaves anld free negroes, upon the question whether slavery should not be abolished twi-rein. A resolution had passed the House, by a vote of 98 to 88, directing the Connittee on the District of Colimbia to report a bill, so soon as practicable, prohibiting the slave trade in said District. Upon all these several questions much exciting debate had occurred, and the language of re proach and'menace had been freely and fiercely employedi by certain abolition members. Various new recruits, also had, in the progress of these transac tions, been seen to take their stand amid the ranks of our enemies. Mr. Benton affects to think that there .was nothing in the least degree alarming in this state of things; though, I repeat, he had expressed his fears of the pas sage of a general emancipation law by Congress as early as 1810; yea, had asserted that the passage of such alaw was "alhay's most absolutely certain in the event of the success of measures thenon foot." We of the meeting did not agree with Mr. Benton. We saw dangers. in the most appalling form, about us and around us, and that there was absolute necessity for looking at once to our own safety and that of our constituents. We believed the Union itself* to be in inninent peril, and we resolved to dl: all in our power to pre serve it from destruction. The meet ing which has been soimuch denounced was accordingly convoked. No secre cy whatever was observed or enjoined: on the contrary, the utmost publicity was sought to be given to the whole af fair. Mr. Denton asserts, in his Jefferson City speech, that our meeting was got ten up by Mr. Calhoun. A statement more groundless could not have been hazarded. So far as I know or believe, Mr. Calhoun had no participancy what ever in getting up this particular meet in nor do I believe that hie knew it was to be assembled until most of those whose presence was desired had been already summoned. I gave an account of this meeting, as to its origin and ob jects on the 22d day of February last, which no one understood at the time to call in question, and which I do not believe that even the redoubtable Sena tor from Missouri will ever be rash en ough to denyi in my hearing. In re ply to Mr. Dayton, of New Jersey, who had evidently received some mis. representations in regard to its charac ter, thins did I express myself: "Mr. Pr esident. The honorable Sen ator from New Jersey permitted sever al allusions to drop from his lips which have indcluced ine to suppose that lie de signed to reflect soniewhat upon the pruceedlings of' a body which lately as semibled in this city, called the South era Conventmna. .Now, Mr. Presidenrt though I can declare, without affecta tion, that I regard myself as among the humiblest of those who participa;ted in the deliberations9 of that A ugust assemn -- t, as I hadn a very particular con necton ' and have been made, f romn aciet usacs more thme subhject of coarse denune rufliamily ridhicule than any other mem ber of' it, I beg leave to avow my whole resp~onsibility in this affair, and to in cur all the diseredit to which the putb lic may judge me entitled by reason of my acts. I avow, then, sir', (as I find I amt charged in various newspapers with doing,) that I did, in conjunction with a worthy friend of' minec, (also a meamber of' this body,) enter the han~ll of Repret'(sntatives, ini order to summonm the S';ihiern imembaers oif that body to meet in this ebiamber, ait night, for that was thme time when such a meeting coiuldl lie possibly hell,) for' the purpose of' ta kimg into gr'ave consideration the vari 4)us a ggr'essions upon our1 righite which hail biehe m erptrated, or which were in a courtse of bintg perpietrated, by wicked and userupuhuims maca; and for thme counmteractionm of' whieb it was obvious that thme imost prompt and vigoirous mecas ures wvere necessar'y. Yes, sir, 1 (lid perifo rm this suibrdiaite miniisterial part olf smumaninhg the Southeirunmem lhers of' the l ionso of Riepriesenitatives. I smmomoned Whigs anid I summonedl D.em'cr'ats. I mysel sumoe diect 0y1o indirctlyv, the representatives of ion. Moreover,. I talked fr.eely-,th those whose pre'enco I requested, in explanatioti of the objects of th'eedntem plated meeting. I could confidently appeal to them, and each., of them, whether in all I said, 'I hinted at- disun-: ion. Well, sir, that convention asseii bled. Much debate occurr6d,.andl much division sprang up, chiefly on mi nor points-uch as the time macst pitp er for decided action against our adverr saries, and the mode in which such ac tion should take place. I maintain (and defy contridiction) that there was not a aingle sentiment uttered in that body that. fairly and dispassionately considerred, if made known to the world, could bring'the least discredit upon the assembly in which it was an nounced. "An address was sent forth to the people of the South, every statement-of which is true beyond contradiction every of which is of irresistible cogency --cverv sentence and line of which is. marked with high toned patriotism and' devout regard fbr the Union. This address. sir, was subscribed by a large number of the Southern members . of Congress present. It was not sub scribed, for different rensons, by others, whose refusal to subscribe it is, I hope, capable of satisfoctory explanation to their respective constituents. I feel bound to go further, and say, that there are among those who thought it not po litic, under all the circumstlances of the case, to subscribe the address, (as pre liminary to its publication,) some of the most worthy men and unquestioned pa triots to be found in the republic. And now, sir, the address has gone forth-it has performed its high office. The South is roused up to a circumspect and scrutinising survey-of all the dangers which threaten her present peace and future safety. Our 6nemies stand par alyzed by the moral energy so sudden ly and so imposingly displayed by Southern Senators and Representatives, and the contemporaneous legislative resolves of nearly all the Southern States of the conCederacy. Atklast there is some prospects cf pacification, of compromise, of the final .settlejment of the most distracting a:d dangerous que stion which has been agitated in'our times. Darkness is fleeing away, and light is beginning to beam upon us. Who shall dare to denounce those who mot in that convention as traitors to the Constitution and the Union? Who shall presume to arraign now the sound intentions of that noble body of South crn gentlemen and patriots ? Who among all those that so fraternally .co opperated for the defence and vindica tion of southern. rights and southern honor, will ever cease to be proud that he was one of that glorious Southern Convention, the members of which dar ed, in sj:ite of maledietions, misrepre sentations, and ridicule, to perform a high and sacred duty to their consti.u ents and country, by which those con stituents mid that country have been, in all propability rescued from dangers which could not have been -effectually warded off save by the means so provi dentially adopted, and so fearlessly put in exercise ?" Mr. Benton complains that lie was not invited to at tend the meeting c f the Southern Members of Congress. I should have thought that a man of his sagacity would have been able to, account for this failure to secure his valuable presence, withont feeling himself com polled to impute unworthy designs to those who got up the meceting. I nill e'ao ~ him thiou' lion this point, I~e wsntinvt ' resent, because hewa osio othe f a tll de fensive measures agis b Free Soil hostility; because it wvas as well known then, as it. is nowv, thimt lie w as a F'ree'Soil man in opinion andl feel ingr; bieause he was known to be in sc eret corresponidence with thme enemies of thme So~uth, and hiad already enteredl into a compact with certain Abolition and Free Soil. Managers, to sacrifice Southern honor and S-mthern p.rosper ityv upon thme alter of his own political adlvaneenent. It was known to some of us at that period, as well -as it now is from his owi: confession at Jefferson city that his "personal sentiments were against slavery." We had perfectly ascertained, anid I had charged the fact upon01 him in public dlebate, not when he was absent, but when prc sent: in sight, and not ten feet distant-that lie had openly avowed the Wilmot Proviso faith. Ihis fornmual dleclaration at Jefferson city, that "it is absurd to dleny' the power to Congress to legislate as it pleases upon the subject of slavery in Territores," was not at all necessary' to assure us th at such was his opinion; and, there foreiwe did-not erceive'an advantage . which could TOMciefyot Is, prenCe or coinsels. Indehd Ah& iaoi s 'iat he wvould not haVeatfendec4 the meeting had-lid been' iufm~ned;~ Therefdre4 no consequeice,"goodd or 1ad, cotild haveprioceded frm our. not:inviting -him.' It is most'evident, noir at lcaest ifit was not so befor]his late speech that we could *not have at all peerfite by his suggestig;' foI does he not; even in that same speedi', use this anz guaget "I have seen noid1nger to :tbti slave property of anytgte in'this ad tion by the action of Congess, and can. not contribute to alai'bi the country by engaging in discussions which asert of imply danger?". Those are his vety words; and, 'if since rely spoken, hi presence among us would-haye been-r little beheficial as are his- piesriteFet Soil speeches in Missouri. But is he sincere in thus 'declating? I cantiot believe that he is not, and most approved speech ofhis political life. Ilude to the one he delvered -i1 the Senate of the United States dottig the winter of 1830-nineteen years 6go. upon Foote's irsolutions. *Then-,therd was not a single membei'cf either house of Congress who was ciA open and avow ed Abolitidnist. IThe Free Soil qncs tion, in its present terribld form. hai not been evil heard of. % Wilmot him. self was a boy; Halo, Seward, and Tack were, I should suppose, scarcely grown up to manhood. John Quincy Adams had not concluded to - figure in the House of Representatives. Gidtings had not yet become a, name of fearful augury. Full six years after the de livery of this speech, Martin Van Buren, in his inaugural speech as President, volntarily pledged himself to veto any bill providing for the abolition of slavory in the District of Columbia, if such a monstrmi horrendom of congressional legislation should ever dare to show its, accursed visage 'at the White House,.. Then Mr. Benton-, who now Wses no. "(langer whatever to the slave property of any State in.thUnion from the-ac. tion' of Congres'ijwhilstuldkingg speechlon the subject of the publie6ands, s went out of his 'way to express hiinsel as follows:, "The'annihillation of the-States,n der a doctrine which would draw all their conflicts into the'federal judiciarye. and make its decisions binding on th States, and subject to the penalities of' treason all who resisted the' execution of those decrees, would produce that consequence; it would annihilate the Statesi It would reduce them to the abject-condition of pr6vin'ces of the, fed" eral empire. It would enable the 8' minant party in Congress at any mo-. ment to execute the most frightful de signs. Let us suppose a case-one by no means improbable; on the cointrary, absolutely certain, in the.cvcnt of cer ta'n measures now oi foot: The late Mr. King, of New York, when a mem ber of the American' Senate, declared upon this floor that slavery in these United States, in point of law and right. did not e.\ist, and could not exist, un der the nature of our free form of go.v. ment; and that the Supreme Court.. f_ the United States would thus declaito it. T.his dedaration was mnde about Iten years~ago, in the crisis and highest paroxysm of the aMissouri agitation. Since then wve, have seen this declara.' tion repeated and enforced in every variety of form and shafe, by an organ ised party in all the nor.-slaveholding States. Since then we have seen the principles of the same declaraticn devel oped in legislative proceedings ' in 'the' shape of committee reports and publioc debate in the hlallsof'Ccll . .Since~ Two have had the D andI a etition-presept4f~ chair-of the. 6 eny . Mr. John WV. Tavl~ which the total distfuotieno States that would hot-abandon. elavey was expressly represented as a subhe~ . act. With these facts before us, - myriads of others, which are seen by aUg tho probability of a federmal legislatevo ' act against slavery rises in the eyeM tof' the success of certain designs rldy on foot. So much .fcr, what-may liappenb 'Theu, in 1880, Mr. Benton, the' present deliverer of Calhounias, said i the same speech: " "A geographical party, and chiefly a political caste, are incessantly at weN on the subject. !fheir operations per ations pervade the States, intrude into, this chamber, display themselves in in numerable forms, and the thickening of the signs announces the forthconting of some extraordinary movement." < A gain, lie said in the sanme debate: "I foretee that this subject is to act