20 to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine ; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth/" Columbia College, Nov. 12^, 1863. Note.—The Rev. Dr. Howe, of Philadelphia, states in the Philadelphia Inquirer of Nov. 6, which statement the writer of this article has not seen contradicted, that “ a considerable portion (of the original letter oi Bishop Hopkins in 1861) was devoted to an argument ‘ that the Southern states have a right to secede,’” and further, “ that this letter was circulated in the slave states, was read, and, as is alleged by the Southern people, did its part in 4 firing the Southern heart,’ and intensifying its determination to sacrifice the Union, in order to maintain and perpetuate slavery.” lie adds also, on the authority of a clergyman of Philadelphia, formerly of Virginia, that <( Bishop Meade said, at the outbreak of this rebellion, that he had always been opposed to secession, until a letter of Bishop Hopkins convinced him that the Southern states have a right to secede.” Numerous inquiries have been made among the dealers in pamphlets and private collectors for this (original) letter, but without success. After the above was in type, a copy of the original letter (of 1861) was sent to the writer by a friend. The following extracts will show that the charge of justifying secession is only too true. After charging upon the North every kind of hostility (individual, legislative and congressional) to slavery, the author goes on to say (p. 11 ■of edition of 1861): “ Convinced, as well as they might be, that they could not long resist this advancing deluge of hostility, and knowing that its probable results would be a general insurrection of their slaves, a war of ^extermination to preserve their own lives, and the final ruin of their prospects if they remained subject to it a few years longer, many of the slave states have resolved to secede from the Union, in despair of obtaining any effectual remedy or guarantee from their uncompromising adversaries. They have desired to secede peaceably, if permitted. If not, they stand prepared to defend what they believe to be the sacred right of selfpreservation. ...................... In my humble judgment, they have a right to secede, although I grant that the point, being entirely new, is not without considerable difficulty. I fear that the ingenious arguers against secession have hardly given sufficient attention to this fact, and have therefore very naturally fallen into the mistake of applying the principles of ordinary government to a Constitution which stands alone in the history of the world........................... But, on the other hand, the‘Constitution does not deny the right, nor forbid the act, of secession. The subject is not expressly adverted to at all. The power of the free States which have thus carried on their assaults upon Slavery,, has at length obtained the mastery in the administration of the government, and therefore the Southern States have resorted to their reserved rights by seceding, as the only peaceable remedy remaining, since warnings, expostulations, and arguments, have been employed for many years, and all in vain. This act of peaceable secession they utterly deny to be treasonable, because the Constitution, in Article III., § 3, lays down the rule that ‘ Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them of in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.’ ”
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