By: Ryan Reed
Rolla Express
January 21, 1861
Vol. 1, No. 27
Mistaken View
“This paper has been and is
earnestly and most ably advocating the rights of the South, and we heartily
commend its ability and concur in the opinions it advances in regard to the
duty of Missouri to stand by her sister states in the maintaining of their rights,
whether in the Union or out of it. But
whether it is wisdom, on the part of Missouri, to go out also, is a grave
question.
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| Missouri Tasting Secession Soup |
In our judgment, Missouri and the
border States may, perhaps, secure more for their Southern neighbors, by their
conciliatory counsels IN the Union, than by placing themselves in a beligerant
attitude, and there by driving from us those who otherwise might be our
friends. We must in case all the slave
states secede make up our minds to do some fighting, because it is folly, in our
opinion, to talk about peaceable secession after seeing the tone of the
Northern press an knowing the spirit of its people. The people of the North have, until recently,
been laboring under the impression that the South is principally made up of
braggots and boasters. Is not the
determined attitude of the South and the vallient conduct of the sons of South
Carolina sufficient to convince them that the South means what she says? We know the South is determined to maintain
her position, and is ABLE to do it. We
think the people of the North are beginning to think so now and that opinion is
now producing it desired effects upon the public mind.
Every day we are gaining friends
among the people of the Free States. The
masses are honest and willing to do what is right, but they have been misled by
ambitious politicians and fanatical preachers – now they are beginning to see
their error and feel the practical inconvenience of carrying out their free
soil doctrines. Every branch of industry
feels its pressure, and cotton is in demand.
Massachusetts is talking about the repeal of their personal property
bills, and Seward don’t make the severe coercion speech that has been talked
about, and we think, rather than fight, our Republican neighbors will be willing
to meet us a great deal more than half way.
But if the conservative influence of the border slave states is
withdrawn from the halls of Congress will not the Democracy of the North, now
feeble enough, become utterly powerless to avert the storm? If we know the people of the North they are
also have and determine, and if provoked to fight will be a hard nation to
conquer, because they are made of the same sort of stuff of the people of the
South, and if war should ensure our Country particularly Missouri and the
border states would be utterly ruined.
If possible, in the name of all that is good and just and merciful, let
the spirit of conciliation and forbearance prevail.
It is possible, Missouri and a
few sister States can effect more by conciliatory counsels in the Union than by
going out. It is possible the Federal
power may be curbed and restrained, by the events already transpired, and
through the influence of the Democratic members of Congress, affect more by
warding off the severity of the blow that might otherwise fall upon the
seceeding states, than voluntarily, and perhaps unnecessarily, making our
beloved state the battlefield for one of the most bloody strifes the world ever
saw! It is possible, if no more States
secede, those already out may not be seriously molested, but if the border
states also go, we may all gird on our armor and prepare for battle. Neither life or property will be safe! Minions of abolitionism and the lawless
banditi will hunt down our stock, sack our towns, and run off our negroes,
while every branch of lawful trade will be entirely prostrated.
If secession is the only
alternative, let us prepare our minds and set our houses in order to meet the dreadful,
but inevitable consequences! Terrible,
indeed, is the disease that needs so fearful a remedy!
Let Missouri take her stand
beside Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, rather than adopt, at present,
the more severe, remedy of immediate and unconditional secession.”
The editor of the Rolla Express has decided to make his position known
concerning Missouri’s secession from the Union.
Why now? Because days earlier a
bill was passed by the state legislature to create a Constitutional Convention
to consider Missouri’s secession. Why did
we need a Constitution Convention to sort out this issue? Because the 1820 Missouri Constitution
provided for minor revisions to be made by amendment, but required that any
general revision be carried out by an elected special convention. When secession was proposed, the Missouri
General Assembly voted that such a drastic change in the status of Missouri was
comparable to such a general revision, that the General Assembly was not
empowered to decide the issue and called a convention.
In his article, the editor believes Missouri should stand by her
“sister states” in maintaining the rights of the South. However, he believes secession of Missouri
from the Union would be disastrous for the state. Therefore, he is stating that Missouri
should remain in the Union. If the state
does secede, he recommends we batten down the hatches and expect the worse to
happen.
Locally, the town Rolla was positioning itself for incorporation. However, the legality of Phelps County was
questioned by a representative from Crawford County.
Legislative
“A bill has been passed
introducing into the House, for the incorporation of the town of Rolla, it
passed that body.
A little breeze of excitement was
created in the House by ta resolution offered by Mr. Devol, of Crawford County,
requiring the Speaker to appoint a Committee of Seven to investigate the
legality of the representation of Phelps County.
The member from Phelps County,
Mr. Williams, immediately flew to his feet and demanded an explanation of the
resolution. He represented a constituency
of over on thousand voters. Phelps was
one the richest and most flourishing counties in the State, and was as justly
entitled to a seat on the floor of the House as any county that could be
named. An effort was made by the member
from Crawford, he said, to oust him from his place, and he had but to call upon
the house to reject the proposition with the “contempt it deserved.”
The gentleman from Crawford
rejoined that the county of Phelps had swindled its neighbor, Crawford County,
out of a large slice of “territory” and the object of the resolution, was to
settle the dispute. If the gentleman
from Phelps was entitled to his seat, the Special Committee suggested in the
resolution would so report after hearing the facts.
The matter was finally, by vote
of 60 ayes to 5 noes, indefinitely postponed.
Phelps County heartily approves
of the course of her Representative, in defending the claims of this county
against the imputation of “fraud.” Hon.
T.R. Freeman, one of the Judges of Phelps County Court, living in the three
mile strip of territory in controversy between Crawford and Phelps, has just
sent a petition to Mr. Williams, signed by the residents of the territory
respectfully suggesting that if they have been “stole” they don’t know it, and
requesting that they may be legally, if not already, attached to Phelps County,
as a matter of convenience to the inhabitants of the territory in question.”
Census News
“From conversation with the
sheriff of Phelps County we are informed that the total white population of
this county to be about 5,000 and some 100 slaves. Of this population, Rolla contains 600 souls
and there are about 200 hands employed upon the railroad.”
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