MISSISSIPPI. 



It had been an object with the people of the 

 State, since the commencement of the anti-sla- 

 very agitation, to attach the border States to 

 the extreme South as strongly as possible; or, 

 rather, to make it as much as possible their in- 

 terest to resist abolition. For this purpose, as 

 early as 1833, the Legislature endeavored to cut 

 off the market of the border States for their 

 slaves by prohibiting the introduction of them 

 as merchandise, or for sale, within the limits 

 of the State. They further designed by these 

 prohibitions to prevent the condensation of sla- 

 very in the extreme South. Similar restric- 

 tions were recommended to the Legislature by 

 Governor Pettus at the session in November, 

 1860. Judge Harris, of the Supreme Court of 

 the State, in the case of William Mitchell vs. 

 Nancy Wells, gives the following as one of the 

 reasons for adopting those restrictions at an 

 early day : 



"It was feared that if these border States 

 were permitted to sell us their slaves, and thus 

 localize the institution, they too would unite in 

 the wild fanaticism of the day, and render the 

 institution of slavery, thus reduced to a few 

 Southern States, an easy prey to its wicked 

 spirit." 



The recommendations of Gov. Pettus, how- 

 ever, met with little favor. They were reject- 

 ed by a unanimous vote of the Legislature. 



A session of the Legislature was held at 

 Jackson early in November, 1860, for the pur- 

 pose of making the preliminary arrangements 

 for a State Convention. It passed an act call- 

 ing such Convention on the Tth of January, and 

 fixed the 20th of December as the day upon 

 which an election should be held for members. 

 The measures were passed unanimously. The 

 following resolutions were also adopted unani- 

 mously : 



Resolved, That the Governor be requested to appoint 

 as many Commissioners as in his judgment mar be 

 necessary to visit each of the slaveholding States, and 

 designate the State or States to which each Commis- 

 sioner shall be commissioned, whose duty it shall be 

 to inform them that this Legislature has passed an act 

 calling a Convention of the people of this State to con- 

 sider the present threatening relations of the Northern 

 and Southern sections of the Confederacy, aggravated 

 by the recent election of a President upon principles of 

 hostility to the States of the South, and to express the 

 earnest hope of Mississippi that those States will co- 

 operate with her in the adoption of efficient measures 

 for their common defence and safety. 



JSesolced, That, should any Southern State not have 

 convened its Legislature, the Commissioner to such 

 State shall appeal to the Governor thereof to call the 

 Legislature together, in order that its cooperation be 

 immediately secured. 



One of the members, Mr. Lamar, advocated 

 separate secession of the State, and recom- 

 mended that the Senators and Representatives in 

 the Federal Congress from the Southern States 

 should withdraw and form a Congress of a 

 new republic, and appoint electors for President 

 of a Southern Confederacy. The Legislature 

 adjourned on the 30th of November. 1860. 



The people of the State were divided on the 

 question of secession. At Canton, on the 3d 



of December, IftfiO. a meeting of citizens was 

 held, at which the following resolutions were 

 adopted with much unanimity: 



Resohfd, That we, the people here assembled, are 

 opposed to the election to the State Convention of any 

 man to represent Madison County, who will not pledge 

 himself to oppose the secession of the State of M 

 sippi, unless such proposition shall first receive the 

 direct sanction of the people at the ballot-box. 



Resolved, That we nave no word of advice to give 

 to any Southern State, but if any such State should 

 regard it ns necessary to the safety of its people to 

 withdraw from the Union, and any attempt should be 

 made by the General Government to coerce her back 

 that in such case it would, in the opinion of this 

 meeting, be the duty, as doubtless it would be the 

 pleasure, of all the Southern people to cooperate in 

 sustaining the withdrawing State, until the North 

 should do full justice, repeal its obnoxious State laws, 

 and give undoubted guarantees that the slavery ques- 

 tion shall be forever settled on principles consistent 

 with the Constitution and the rights and safety of the 

 South. 



At the largest public meeting ever held in 

 Adams County, two delegates were nominated 

 to the State Convention, who were opposed to 

 separate State secession, and in favor of wait- 

 ing for cooperation. At the same time a large 

 meeting, was held at Jackson which was ad- 

 dressed by some of the most distinguished men 

 in the State. All the speakers were in favor 

 of resistance, but of firm, decided, and temper- 

 ate action. Some were in favor of staying in 

 the Union if sufficient guarantees should be 

 given for the protection of the rights of the 

 South. A consultation and conference with 

 the slaveholding States were desired. At Co- 

 lumbus a public meeting was also held, at 

 which two of the resolutions unanimously 

 adopted were as follows : 



Rfsohed, That it is the opinion of this meeting that 

 the State Convention about to assemble, ought to de- 

 clare that Mississippi resumes the powers and func- 

 tions delegated by her to the Federal Government, and 

 absolves herself from every obligation thereto, to take 

 effect on the 4th day of March, A. D. 1801, unless prior 

 to that time the non-slaveholding States shall repeal 

 all their odious, offensive, and unconstitutional legisla- 

 tion to defeat the rendition of fugitives from labor, re- 

 store the Federal Constitution to its original purity and 

 design, and afford positive security for our domestic 

 peace and property rights in the Union ; provided that 

 such a number of the slaveholding States shall cooper- 

 ate with Mississippi as in the judgment of said Con- 

 vention will justify her action. 



that the Legislature of this State be re- 

 quested to procure in the mean time, as far as possible, 

 the cooperation of the slaveholding States. 



Arguments like the following were also urged 

 with much eloquence : " There is no wrong if 

 we are united that we cannot remedy under the 

 Constitution, and no right that it cannot pro- 

 tect. Our safety, our existence, now depends 

 upon the integrity of that instrument. The 

 moment we throw off the restraints of the Con- 

 stitution, surrendering to the North our rights 

 in the territories, our interests in the public 

 domain in our courts, our navy and our army, 

 and our Federal Treasury that moment we are 

 doomed to destruction. Secession can afford 

 no palliation for our wrongs; it can only precip- 



