The Southern Press

Secession.

We find the following in the Aberdeen Independent, a shallow submissionist paper, in Mississippi:

"Cuban Nut for the Secessionists to Crack.—Just about now, when every Southerner has an inclination to be in favor of the immediate "re-annexation" of the beautiful Cuba to our Union, and tee-totally in favor of her freedom, we think this nut will be hard for our secession friends to crack. The Lynchburg Virginia proposes it to Mr. Bocock:

Again, it has been proposed that the United States should purchase Cuba from Spain, and take it into the Union as a State, as Louisiana, Florida, and California were purchased and made States of. If the purchase were made, and a hundred or so million of dollars paid for the island, does he think that Cuba would have the right the day after, to withdraw from the Union and return to its Spanish allegiance?"

Again, suppose Cuba achieves her freedom, and by a strong party contest is annexed to the Union, involving necessarily an expensive war with Spain, England and other nations, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, we suppose she could secede the next year after peace, and set up a separate and independent government!

We would like to have that nut cracked.

Well, we will crack this nut. We say that when we annex any people to this Union, we take them on the condition which we hold to be fundamental—and that is, that they come by consent, and remain only so long as they are willing. We disdain and despise the theory or idea of annexing any people to this Union, and holding them as subjects to its power against their consent. We cannot hold an unwilling civilized people in subjection according to any principles of the Constitution, or any usage of the past. If we were to attempt it, we would not only violate the Constitution, but the Declaration of Independence.

And now we will give the submissionists a nut to crack. Suppose the people of a whole State were unwilling any longer to remain in this Union. Suppose they refused to elect members or senators for Congress, and were to declare themselves independent. Could they be compelled to remain in the Union? If so, in what capacity? As a State? Certainly not.—As a territory! What power has Congress to convert a State into a territory? If neither as a State or territory, what would they be? Why, they could be nothing else and nothing less than independent, and the laws of the United States would no longer have any binding force over them.