History of American Abolitionism Part 11

THE NEW CONFEDERACY.

At this particular juncture it will also be interesting, in view of coming legislation, to note some of the statistics of the several seceding States with reference to their population, State debt, &c. They are as follows:--

POPULATION IN 1860. STATE DEBT FREE SLAVE. IN 1859.

South Carolina 308,186 407,185 $6,192,743 Georgia 615,336 467,400 2,632,722 Alabama 520,444 435,473 5,888,134 Mississippi 407,051 479,607 7,271,707 Louisiana 354,245 312,186 10,703,142 Florida 81,885 63,800 158,000 --------- --------- 2,287,147 2,165,651 2,287,147 --------- Total 4,452,798

This is a population exceeding by 522,926 that of 1790, at the close of the Revolutionary war of the whole United States.

1850. 1860.

Total population of free States 13,454,169 18,950,759 Do. do. slave States 9,612,969 12,433,409 Do. do. Territories 120,901 262,701 ---------- ---------- Total population of the United States 23,191,876 31,646,869 Increase in ten years 8,454,993

THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY--THE PROVISIONAL CAPITAL OF THE NEW CONFEDERACY.

The city of Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, has a.s.sumed such a sudden importance as the capital of the Southern Confederacy and the seat of the federal operations of the new government, that we give below a brief sketch of its locality and surroundings. It is situated on the left bank of the Alabama River, 331 miles by water from Mobile, and 830 miles from Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C. It is the second city in the State in respect to trade and population, and is one of the most flouris.h.i.+ng inland towns of the Southern States, possessing great facilities for communications with the surrounding country. For steamboat navigation the Alabama River is one of the best in the Union, the largest steamers ascending to this point from Mobile. The city is also the western termination of the Montgomery and West Point Railroad. It contains several extensive iron foundries, mills, factories, large warehouses, numerous elegant stores and private residences. The cotton s.h.i.+pped at this place annually amounts to about one hundred thousand bales. The public records were removed from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery in November, 1847. The State House was destroyed by fire in 1849, and another one was erected on the same site in 1851. The present population of the city is not far from 16,000, and it is probable that, with all its natural advantages, the fact of its present selection as the Southern capital, will soon place it in the first rank of Southern cities.

THE EFFECT OF THE SOUTHERN CONGRESS.

The united front and united action of the six States which have thus formed themselves into the pioneer guard, as it were, of the remaining nine, is an earnest that no one of them, in its sovereign capacity, will undertake a conflict with the old United States without the a.s.sent of its brethren. What they have thus far done "in Congress a.s.sembled," they have done soberly and after mature consideration; and in their past action we may find a.s.surance that no future movements will be undertaken--especially those of a nature likely to involve them in a civil war--without equal deliberation, calmness, and a just regard for the common welfare. If there should be, it will be the fault of the aggressive policy of some of the Legislatures of the North.

It will be observed that, notwithstanding Texas had already pa.s.sed the ordinance of secession, as that act had not yet been endorsed by the people, at the time of the sitting of the Convention, she was not regarded as one of the new confederacy, and consequently was unrepresented. North Carolina also sent three Commissioners to deliberate with the delegates of the seceding States--namely, Messrs. D. L. Swain, J. L. Bridgers and M. W.

Ransom.

The entire movement bears upon its face all the marks of a well developed, well digested plan of government--a government now as independent as were the old thirteen States after the Fourth of July, 1776, and possessing what our ancestors of that date did not fully have--the wealth, ability and power to meet almost any contingency that may arise. Meanwhile, judging from the disposition of republicans in Congress and throughout the country, the ball thus set in motion will not stop. The States already united will undoubtedly remain so, and form the nucleus around which will gather others. The new Union will grow in strength as it grows in age.

According to our recent intelligence from England and France, these two nations will rival each other in endeavoring to first secure the favor of the new Power. With them cotton will be the successful diplomat. Ministers and agents will be appointed, postal facilities will be re-arranged, a new navy will spring into existence, prosperity will begin to pour into the newly opened lap, and we shall witness at our very side the success of a people who, by the pertinacity of the selfish political leaders and the political domination of the North, have been driven to measures of defence which are destined to redound to their benefit, but to our cost and national shame.--_New York Herald, Feb. 11, 1861._