Secession Movement at the South.
Addresses Before the New England Society-Judge Douglas' Plan — The Minute Girls of South Carolina--Excitement in Pittsburg, &c.New England Societies.
The New England Society, of New York, composed of natives and descendants of New England, celebrated the 240th anniversary of the landing of the "Pilgrim Fathers" on Saturday night, by a dinner. A portion of the able-cloth used was brought over on the "Mayflower." Among the speakers were James W. Soutler, President of the Old Dominion Society, (on whose introduction nine cheers were given for "Old Virginia,") Hansinal Hamlin, Judge Pierpont, and Wm. H. Seward. The speech of Mr. Seward was a complete evasion of the questions of the day, the closing paragraph being, perhaps, as clear as any. This is it: ‘ We have a great many statesmen who demand at once to know what the North proposes to do — what the government proposes to do — whether we propose to coerce our Southern brethren back into their allegiance. They ask us, as of course they may rightfully ask, what will be the value of fraternity which is compelled! All I have to say on that subject is, that so long ago as the time of Sir Thomas More, he discovered, and set down the discovery in his writing, that there were a great many schoolmasters, and that while there were a very few who knew how to instruct children, there were a great many who knew how to whip them. [Laughter] I propose to have no question on that subject, but to hear complaints, to redress them if they ought to be redressed, and if we have the power to redress them, and I expect them to be withdrawn if they are unreasonable, because I know that the necessities which made this Union exist for these States are stronger to-day than they were when the Union was made, and that those necessities are enduring, while the passions of men are short lived and ephemeral. I believe that secession was stronger on the night of the 6th of November inst.--when a President and a Vice President who were unacceptable to the slave States were elected — than it is now. That is now some fifty days since, and I believe that every day's sun which has set since that time has set on mollified passions and prejudices, and that if you will only give it time, sixty days more suns will give you a much brighter and more cheerful atmosphere. [Loud and long continued applause.] ’ Judge Pierpont made a speech in which the "Pilgrim Fathers" did not get more than their share of glorification, and their sons got the following: ‘ The sons of sires who endured such evils and such sufferings, as cannot be described, to give us this heritage which we enjoy, should, if they honor their memories, try in some degree to practice their virtues. Let us see whether they are practicing the virtues of those great and honored men. Let us be a little honest with each other to-night. In attempting to avoid their faults we have ceased to practice some of their virtues. Have we not? They were austere men, were sometimes harsh men. On some occasions they were and at times they were called fanatical, but they had at all times a high sense of justice and a reverence for law, and what is more, they had an unwavering trust and faith in God. Does the faith of the fathers remain stern and firm in New England? No. Human intellect is now exalted above all faith, and the land has been run into many an error which has caused much mischief to the country. Of these errors we are to-day reaping the fruits. Do you not all know that abiding faith which once existed in New England has departed? This comes from intense love of money. The descendants of the Pilgrims now come here to this city of the Dutch — for what! To make money. Allusion has been made to some difficulties that exist at present. Well, who is responsible for them? It is not for us here to say. But in my judgment they are not very trifling matters. They are things which deserve some serious thought and consideration on our part. They are to be looked at in a serious light, and not to be trifled with We are mistaken when we suppose that our brethren at the South do not think that we are not influenced by principle. They think their lives and their all are at stake.--However mistaken and misguided they may be, they are sincere about it. They think there is something in it for which they are to fight, to bleed, and, if need be, to die. Have we not some duties in regard to the matter? Is there not some fault on our part as well as on theirs? Let us see whether we cannot contrive some mode by which these difficulties may be removed. Whenever the time shall come that the North is to be called upon to say whether the government of the United States shall be sustained in the proper exercise of its functions, you will find every Northern man declare himself ready to sustain the government which their fathers established. [Applause.] In this nation the time will probably come when we shall be called upon to discover in what bosoms are lion hearts that put their trust in God and keep their powder dry. [Applause.] ’ The New England Society, of Charleston, S. C., celebrated their anniversary at the Mills House Saturday night. Among the toasts were the following: ‘ South Carolina.--As she was, with both elbows resting upon the Constitution. South Carolina as she is, braving the battle and the breeze. Cherished under her wing, we will perish in her defence. ’ The City of Charleston.--The casket of our hearts, the home of our love the citadel of our hopes. Her future is in the womb of time. The Governor of the State of South Carolina.--gathered into power in the midst of a revolution, for past life is an earnest of his ability to sustain himself in any and every contingency. Get Representatives in both Branches of the Legislature of our State.--Their unanimity of sentiment in moments of peril and danger will be a bright page in the history of our State.Judge Douglas' Plan.
During Saturday's session of the Senate Committee, Judge Douglas submitted the following:- First. Leave the people of the organized Territories free to decidethe question of slavery themselves, subject only to the limitations of the Constitution — the Courts to decide upon the validity of the Territorial laws, without any interference byCongress.
- Second. An equitable partition of all territory we now own or mayacquire between the sections, as provided in the Missouri Compromise, and now proposed by Senator Crittenden.
- Third The status of slavery and personal freedom in the Territories shall remain as it was when acquired; neither Congress nor Territorial Legislatures having power to change it; the Courts to determine all questions involving the title of slave propertyand personal freedom, as was provided in the Clayton compromise bill and supported by Mr. Calhoun in 1848.
A Dispatch to Georgia.
Senator Toombs telegraphed to Georgia, Sunday evening, as follows: ‘ "I came here to secure your constitutional rights, and to demonstrate to you that you can get no guarantee for those rights from your Northern confederates. The whole subject was referred to a Committee of Thirteen in the Senate. I was appointed on the Committee, and accepted the trust. I submitted propositions, which, so far from receiving decided support from a single member of the Republican party of the Committee, were all treated with derision or contempt. A vote was then taken in the Committee on amendments to the Constitution, proposed by Hon. J. J. Crittenden, and each and all of them were voted against unanimously by the Black Republican members of the Committee. In addition to these facts, a majority of the Black Republican members of the Committee declared distinctly that they had no guarantees to offer, which was silently acquiesced in by the other member. The Black Republican members of this Committee of Thirteen are representative men of the party and section, and to the extent of my information, truly represent them. ’ The Committee of Thirty-three on Friday adjourned for a week without coming to any vote, after solemnly pledging themselves to vote on all the propositions then before them on that day. It is controlled by the Black Republicans, your enemies, who only seek to amuse you with delusive hope until your election, that you may defeat the friends of secession. If you are deceived by them, it shall not be my fault. I have put the test fairly and frankly. It is decisive against you now. I tell you upon the faith of a true man, that all further looking to the North for security for your constitutional rights in the Union ought to be instantly abandoned. It is fraught with nothing but ruin to yourselves and your posterity. Secession by the 4th day of March next should be thundered from the ballot-box by the unanimous voice of Georgia, on the 2d day of January next. Such a voice will be your best guarantee for liberty, security, tranquility and glory. R. Toombs.The Minute Girls of South Carolina.
There was a large gathering in front of the Congaree House, Columbia, S. C., one night last week, attended by a band of music. Several wild but eloquent speeches were made. The grand incident of the evening, and a happy finale to an exciting day, occurred after the speaking was over. It appears that the Limestone Female School has just closed for the year, and nearly all the young ladies came down in yesterday's train, a distance of over a hundred miles, to see what was going on here, and, as a speaker said, to cheer the sterner sex on to duty. The band, accompanied by a large crowd, serenaded them at the Assembly House, and the young ladies appeared on the balconies with the letters M. G. on the front of their jockeys, and cockades on the side, and gave the assembled crowd a most vigorous reception.--The compliment of the serenade was acknowledged by the Rev. Dr. Curtis, on behalf of the young ladies, in a speech that was well calculated to make warriors out of all who heard him — not even excepting the girls. Other gentlemen followed in short speeches, and the fun was kept up until nearly midnight, the crowd leaving with three cheers and a tiger for the "Minute Girls of Carolina."Proclamation of the Governor of South
Carolina.
Gov. Pickens, of South Carolina, has issued the following proclamation:
Executive Department. Charleston, S. C.,Dec. 24, 1860
By his Excellency Francis W. Pickens, Governor and Commander-in Chief in and over the State of South Carolina:
Whereas the good people of this State, in Convention assembled, by an Ordinance, unanimously adopted and ratified, on the twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty, repealed an Ordinance of the people of this State, adopted on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, and have thereby dissolved the Union between the State of South Carolina and other States, under the name of the United States of America: ‘
I, therefore, as Governor and Commander-in-Chief, in and over the State of South Carolina, by virtue of authority in me vested, do hereby proclaim to the world that this State is, as she has a right to be, a separate, sovereign, free, and independent State; and, as such, has a right to levy war, conclude peace, negotiate treaties, leagues, or covenants, and to do all acts whatsoever that rightfully appertain to a free and independent State. ’
Given under my hand and the Seal of the State at Charleston, this twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty, and in the eighty-fifth year of the Sovereignty and Independence of South Carolina.
Southern families going home.
Quite a bevy of Southern ladies appeared at Brady's gallery, in Washington, Saturday, for the purpose of exchanging daguerreotypes before going to their respective homes. The beautiful Mrs. R. W. Johnson, of Arkansas, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, were there, among others. Nothing is so painful in the present emergency as the breaking up of society here. Senator Trumbull is having his residence put in order for the reception of his expected guest, the President elect, who is expected here in February. Mrs. Lincoln will be accompanied by her sister, Mrs. Edwards, from whose roof, by the way, she eloped with "Old Abe," then a briefless attorney.--Cor. Philadelphia Press.Spending Christmas.
The Savannah Republican of Monday says: ‘ Quite a sensation was produced Saturday afternoon by a procession of over two hundred negroes, laborers on the western end of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, who arrived by the train and took a steamer for Wilmington, North Carolina, in the neighborhood of which they will spend their Christmas holiday of three weeks with their owners and families. It was a happy crowd, and with coon dogs, banjoes, persimmon cakes, frying-pans, &c., &c., presented quite an interesting spectacle. How many, who have no good homes to go to, no happy Christmas to spend, ignorantly deplore their fate! ’Affairs at New Orleans.
New Orleans, Dec. 23.
--Another Pelican flag, which consists of a red star upon a white field, with the ancient Louisiana emblem of a Pelican feeding her young, was displayed yesterday at the office of the Daily Delta.
The Hon. Pierre Soule, the great Douglas leader in this State, is out with a letter, in which he announces himself as opposed to submission to Abolition rule, but advocates Southern co-operation.
A very large meeting of those favorable to co-operation was held last night Hon. Jacob Barber, Judge Durant, and others addressed the assemblage with effect.
Resignations.
We understand that our Deputy U. S. Marshal, Capt. Charles Blaine, has sent on his resignation to the U. S. Marshal of Western Virginia. He says he will not serve under Lincoln. We should not be surprised to hear at any time of the resignation of the U. S. Marshal, or of the Judge of this District.--Kanawha (Va.) Star.Excitement at Pittsburg.
Pittsburg, Pa.,Dec. 24.
--Intense excitement exists here to-day, in consequence of its being made public that United States Quartermaster Taliaferro was negotiating for the shipment from the Alleghany Arsenal, of seventy-eight guns to Newport, near Galveston Island, Texas, and forty-six more to Ship Island, near Balize, at the mouth of the Mississippi river, the apparent object being to strip the Alleghany Arsenal, and place the guns where the secessionists could get them.
Major Symington, of Maryland, in command of the arsenal, declined to give the press any information on the subject.
It seems the points referred to are new forts, never yet mounted.
These guns were designed for their armament.
The guns are ten-inch Columbiads, and carry thirty-two pounders.
Carriages for them are being made at Watervliet, N. Y. General Moorhead, our member of Congress, immediately telegraphed Mr. Stanton, Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs, for information in regard to the matter.
Leading Democrats telegraphed to Washington to have the orders countermanded, saying that the people would not allow the guns to be removed.
A call is in circulation, addressed to the Mayor, to convene a meeting of the citizens, to take action in the matter.
The call is signed by prominent men of all parties.
The feeling against allowing a gun to be removed South is almost unanimous.
The meeting of citizens will be held at the Duquesne Depot, on Wednesday.
Reports from Alabama and Georgia.
Montgomery, Dec. 24.
--The election is passing off quietly in this city, there being no opposition to the secession ticket.
The most reliable information that I can obtain, leads me to believe that the separate secessionists will elect seventy-five delegates out of one hundred.
The ordinance will probably be passed on the 9th day of January. It is thought that Mississippi will secede on the same day.
There is no truth in the reports of large Union gains in Georgia.
On the contrary, it is thought by well-informed men in that State that the rejection by the Republican Senators of Mr. Toombs' proposition for constitutional amendments, will induce Mr. Stephens to declare in favor of immediate secession.
Gov. Moore issued a proclamation to-day, convening the Legislature of Alabama, to provide, by State laws, for any emergency that may arise from the action of the Convention.
The Legislature will assemble on the 14th of January. The Convention meets on the 7th.
Mobile, Dec. 21.--The election for delegates to the State Convention, took place to-day.--The separate State Secession ticket in this city is elected by a thousand majority. 