The Southern Press

South Carolina,

The following proceedings of the Southern Rights Association of Charleston will probably indicate the course to be pursued, for the present, by the secession party of the State. It will be seen that they defer to the popular will, as expressed in the late election, and throw the onus of devising a plan of action on their successful antagonists, the co-operationists. The meeting of the Central Association, which was to have been held at Columbia on the first Monday in November, has been postponed until after the meeting of the State legislature, in accordance with this line of conduct.
The legislature meets on the fourth Monday in November, and its action will be looked for with great interest, at indicating the course probably to be adopted by the convention, the time of whose meeting it is to fix. Many of the members of the legislature are also members of the convention.
From the Mercury
SOUTHERN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION. The regular monthly meeting of the Southern Rights Association of St. Philips and St. Michaels, was held on Monday evening, 27th inst., at South Carolina Hall, the President, the Hon. John S. Ashe, in the chair.
The meeting being ready for business, Mr. Wilmot G. DeSaussure announced that the following gentlemen were in attendance as delegates from the Southern Rights Association of St. John's Berkley and St. Stephens, and moved that they be invited to take seats upon the stage; which was unanimously adopted, and the delegates took their seats accordingly:
Hon. Wm. Can, Hon. T. L. Gourdin, Peter P. Palmer, Benjamin Marion, Peter G. Snowden, Wm. Threat, Rove Neal. H. F. Porcher, P. C. Kirk, Percival Porcher, S. W. Palmer, P. E. Porcher.
Maj. Edward Manigault, the chairman of the executive committee, then presented the following address and resolutions:
ADDRESS. -- Inasmuch as since our last meeting, the party to which we belong has been defeated in an election in which we had confidently expected a decided majority, it becomes us to consider, and decide upon, the position to be taken by your association, in the present altered state of affairs. In so deciding, we wish it to be distinctly understood, that we assume not to indicate the course to be adopted, even temporarily, far less permanently, by the party at large, or the Southern Rights associations throughout the State; such a course should be decided on by the associations for themselves, in concert with the State Central Association, which by the terms of its formation, should be shortly called together for its semi-annual meeting. Our object now is, simply to lay down the course we deem at present proper for our individual association.
Our constitution provides that "the association shall continue in existence, and persevere in its efforts, until the wrongs of the South are redressed, or the State resume the powers heretofore delegated to the United States for special purposes." Neither of these conditions having taken place, we must still look forward to the attainment of the grand end for which our association was formed. Yet, as from being in a minority, we feel our inability to effect anything decisive at present; and furthermore, as the successful party have avowed themselves to be as highly indignant at Northern and federal aggression as we can be, and as zealous and earnest in their intentions and efforts to redress our wrongs, we deem it proper to suspend for the present our meetings, and to abstain from agitation, in order that they may have a fair opportunity of carrying out their plans for the redemption of the South, and the security of the State.
We had an honest faith in the remedy we proposed, namely, secession, or the withdrawal of the State, in its sovereign capacity, from the Union; and we still have full faith in its justice and propriety, and in its efficacy if fairly and firmly carried out; - we were willing to have assumed, if the party to which we belong had been in a majority in the State, our full share of the responsibility of endeavoring to put it into execution; but the matter has now been taken out of our hands, and upon the successful party must devolve at present the responsibility of devising and sustaining measures for carrying the State through the difficulties which encompass her.
Impressed with these considerations, we present the following resolutions.
Resolved, That we still regard separate State action to be in the last resort the true and effectual remedy for the evils under which we labor.
Resolved, That this association do appoint the constitutional number of delegates to represent it in the next meeting of the State central association, whenever it shall be held.
Resolved, That feeling that we have done what we conceive to be our duty so far as under present circumstances we can, and looking to the successful party to devise or maintain measures to relieve the State from her position, we will for the present suspend the regular meetings contemplated by our constitution; leaving our association to be specially called together again, in the manner provided in the constitution, whenever circumstances may render such call expedient.