Judge Handy then came forward, amid loud cheering, and spoke as follows:

Fellow-Citizens:—I appear before you as commissioner from Mississippi, to bear to you the story or the mission which Mississippi is now engaged in, and take counsel with you in regard to the present emergency in state of affairs. I am not here to excite discord—not here to create in your hearts an aversion for your country; but I am here to endeavor to arouse within you those feelings of patriotism which it is necessary all should exhibit in the present important condition of our national affairs. I come to you as bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh.

In this State I was born, but since my manhood I have been living in Mississippi, to which State I am indebted for whatever honorable position I have filled. My heart yearns toward Maryland. It is the place of my birth and early associations, and to these facts more than any other, I am indebted for the position which I now occupy.

As I said before. I came not to create discord, but to arouse a feeling for the preservation or the liberties which our fathers fought and died for, and bequeathed to us.

By the election of Abraham Lincoln, in the opinion of many persons, the government is now in a state of revolution. By his election our rights have been infringed, and the spirit of the Constitution of the country subverted. I am here to state to you the position which Mississippi occupies, and the course she intends to pursue in the present struggle. It has been asserted that the present efforts of the people of the State of Mississippi tend to a destruction of the Union and the Constitution. This is a base calumny, and I stand here to-night to pronounce it such. Mississippi is not disloyal, but on the contrary is seeking the preservation of the government in its purity, and I am here to proclaim to you the principles by the adoption of which the Constitution can be preserved, and without the Constitution there can be no liberty— no Union. With the election of Lincoln, the principles of the Constitution have been subverted, and the government is now in a state of revolution. The placing in the hands of these Black Republicans the reigns of government, will enable them to perfect the details of their policy, and bring ruin and disaster on the South. This the leaders of that party assert they will do, and they will keep their word.

The difference between the North and South can be briefly stated. We of the South believe that the institution of slavery is ordained by God and sanctioned by humanity. We believe that we must control and act as a guardian to the slave. We believe that the negro is benefited by the condition in which he is placed. It is useless for me here to enter into an argument to demonstrate the correctness of this belief. It is enough to know that the South asserts that the institution is ordained by God, and that the owner of the slave is morally bound to protect and provide for him.

The country throughout its length and breadth is enveloped in gloom. Trade, commerce, the arts, and in fact everything is in a suffering condition. A feeling of despondency pervades the entire social structure. What has caused this? Have there been any of those great and radical changes which occasionally paralyze trade? No, none. All this suffering has been brought about by the announcement that there is an “irrepressible conflict” going on between sections and opinions, in which one party must sink—in which one party must yield and be swallowed up by the other. It is asserted that the government, as it now exists, part of the States being free, and part slave, cannot continue. The States must be either all free, or all slave. This is the “irrepressible conflict.” You of Maryland, and we of the other Southern States, must give up our institution of slavery. We must destroy our own property. Are you ready for this sacrifice? [Cries of No! No!] If we of the Southern States do, we must at the same time surrender cotton, and with it our commerce, and with our commerce our prosperity as a people. We must give up raising our great staple, and allow our fields to go to waste.

The Black Republican party propose to abolish slavery by several methods. They assert that they will not interfere with the institution where it exists, and that therefore they cannot be truthfully charged with seeking its destruction. They, however, propose to adopt a policy which will certainly end in the total abolition of slavery. The first method they propose is to prohibit the existence of the institution in the Territories held by the General Government, by means of Congressional legislation. Also by the same means to prohibit it in the arsenals, navy yards, District of Columbia, and property over which the Federal Government has jurisdiction. This policy has a double object. Slavery is an evil and a sin in their belief, and should be confined to the States where it now exists. By confining it to its present limits-hemmed in by free States-it will certainly die out. In a short time all the Territories will be admitted into the Confederacy as free States. This accomplished, and the Federal Government would be so strong that it could treat the institution as it might see proper, and enact any legislation injurious to it. The moment slavery is declared to be a sin by law, that moment it is doomed.

Another proposition is the abolition of the slave trade between the States, At present the States have the right to sell slaves from one to the other. This right is absolutely necessary for the preservation of the institution, and the prosperity of those States in which it exists. It is proposed by the platform issued by the Republican party to prohibit this trade, and thus pen it up in its present limits, and compel the old States to abolish it, as they certainly must do if they are prevented from selling their excess slaves South. It is not necessary for me to enter into any argument to show you the enormity of this proposition, or to convince you that it is an outrage. Slaves in the South are just as much property, and as necessary as horses and mules are in the North, and the disposal of them from one party to another just as necessary. Yet it is proposed to take this right from you. Are you ready to submit to this? [No, no.]

It is also proposed by the platform that the act of Congress prohibiting the circulation of incendiary documents by use of the mails, throughout the Southern States, shall be repealed. It is not only proposed to repeal this law, but it is also proposed to enact laws guaranteeing the right to circulate the fire-brands of Northern fanaticism, and scatter them freely through the South. It is proposed by these measures to stir up outbreaks and insurrections, and incite the slaves to riot, rapine, arson and murder.

You of the Border States will sensibly feel the evils which must legitimately flow from such a course of action. But your injury will be slight compared to the misery which will he inflicted on those further South. Cast your eyes to Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama or Georgia, and then see four hundred or five hundred negroes on a plantation, with the master and his family and overseer, the only white persons near. Imagine the effect that those incendiary publications will have on those hundreds of ignorant and besotted negroes. Think of the consequences which must follow, picture the deeds of outrage, violence and murder which must follow an insurrection in such a community. Yet, in view of these enormities, which will result as a necessity, it is proposed to enact laws, by the General Government, to sanction the causes which produce them. They say they do not intend to interfere with the institution directly, yet they will adopt these indirect measures, which will tend to its abolition. By this policy, they will work out their nefarious designs. It may be said that Mr. Lincoln has not yet done this, and will not do it. Let us examine his position.

He was selected as the representative man of a certain set of principles of a declared policy. His party, speaking for him throughout the entire canvass said, they would carry out that policy and say they will do so now. And they also name the manner and means which they will employ. They will use the post-office, by filling these offices in the South by men who will sanction the circulation of incendiary publications. So that the Republican party is not only committed to this policy, but the details for carrying it out are given. Now let us look at the probabilities of their doing it. It is said that no assurance has been given that such would be done. It is to be hoped that it will not. It would violate the Constitution, and such a step it is supposed would not be taken. All these surmises and hopes are delusive. Does any man believe that Abraham Lincoln, after receiving his nomination as a representative man—after a successful campaign—will turn traitor and betray his party, and prove false to its principles. We have his promises and his pledges that he will not, but that he will adhere strictly to the measures of his party. Those promises have not been given since his nomination, but while he was a member of Congress and during his contest in the State of Illinois for the United States Senatorship. Those pledges and promises were the foundation of his faith and we must conclude that he will be true to them. Their successful operation will result in the prostration of the South and the subversion of the Constitution. We have the acts of thirteen Northern States as evidence that the Republican party is in earnest.

They have trampled upon and nullified the acts of Congress. They have enacted laws to prevent the execution of the laws of the Federal Government, and these nullifying enactments stand out in bold relief as evidences that the party will not now be deterred from carrying out their policy. When this party comes into power, what will be the condition of the South? What the condition of the State of Maryland? Already your citizens hare been murdered in the neighboring State of Pennsylvania, while peacefully and under cover of law, they were attempting to reclaim their fugitive slaves. They have been seized and thrown into prison for daring to seek after their property. What will be, or where your safety when this party comes into power? I assert again, that Lincoln’s election is a prostration of the rights of the South and a subversion of the Constitution.

Some people contend that the time for action has not yet arrived—that we must wait for an overt act. I tell you the men of the North—the leaders of the party—will act cautiously. They have said, and said now, that they will pursue a certain course. They are cool men and think calmly. Shall we put the purse and sword into their hands to enable them more surely to subvert the Government before we act? [Cries of “No, No.”] They are not the men to say one thing and do another. They are not impulsive, as we of the South. Their blood runs cold—their hearts beat cold. If a man whom I know to be a determined one threatens my life, and I know he will take it, meets me when a weapon is within his grasp, and he moves towards the weapon, what is my duty? Is it not my duty to shoot him down? Would I not be justified in so doing? This is the position of the South and the North. The life of the South is threatened. Lincoln, the representative man, has given pledges as to what he will do. He is advancing to the purse and sword.

The only question is, will he carry out his pledges? He certainly will, unless restrained by your strong arms and those of the South. What is our duty? We all love the Constitution and the Union. We learned to lisp our love for it in our infancy. The people of no part of the Confederacy are more loyal or more devoted to the Union than the South. But it must be a union of equality and liberty. The sufferings of our forefathers were as naught compared to ours. We have done everything—exhausted every means to bring the Northern people to a sense of their duty and an appreciation of our rights—but in vain. They have turned a deaf ear to our pleadings—have scorned our threats, and called it Southern bluster. Now we must act—now we must defend or lose our rights. Various plans have been proposed for a remedy of the evils under which we suffer. When sufferings cannot be borne they must be remedied. The day for suffering is past. We must now stand on our rights. [Cheers.]

I will mention a few of the remedies suggested for relief.

The first is, we must look to Congress for relief. A Committee of thirty-three has been appointed to bring forward measures of compromise. They are now busily doing nothing. [Laughter.] This Committee of thirty-three, mostly from the North, represent all shades of opinion. Your State is represented by Mr. Davis. [A storm of hisses. The speaker endeavored to continue, but the confusion was too great. There was one shout of “Davis,” followed immediately by cries of put him out.] I do not mention his name with disrespect. I do not know him. [Hisses again, and cries of “we know him.” There was a shout for “Davis” and also one for “Bell.”] The Judge continued: My friends, the question has passed beyond Bell or Breckinridge. It is beyond party. We have no time to talk of differences between ourselves. We must now stand shoulder to shoulder for our common rights and common preservation. [Cheers.]

We have forgotten parties in Mississippi. Some of the ablest men in our movement are those who voted for Mr. Bell. The Congressional Committee will amount to nothing. I have conversed with several members and there is nothing to hope for from the action of the committee. The have discussed propositions, but have not yet approached the seat of the disease. They have started upon a wrong basis. I told them to offer a proposition to this effect:—“That the Constitution recognized property in slaves, and that it was the duty of Congress to protect the institution.” A member of the Committee from Georgia has offered a resolution embodying my proposition. Now let the Northern members or the Committee be put to the test. Let them answer the question—“Do you recognize the right of property in slaves?” The Committee will explode the moment they are brought to this point. They will not accede to this proposition. The Constitution recognizes it, and you will never surrender the right. Therefore nothing is to be expected from this Committee but a delusion. The Northern members will never recognize the right of property in man. But suppose they do patch up something with which to plaster the sore, how long will it last? Compromises have been tried before, but they amounted to nothing. We have the Constitution, the Fugitive Slave law, and other enactments, and all have been violated. It is useless to go further. “If they do not believe Moses and the prophets, neither would they believe one though he came from the dead.”

I have heard it proposed in this city that our grievances can be redressed in the Union. I cannot understand the expression. To my view it is impossible to have revolution in the Union. But I will not argue the point, for I do not comprehend the idea. Another proposition is to call a Convention of all the Southern States. [Cheers.] It is my duty to state the position which we in Mississippi occupy on this question. We are opposed to such a Convention, for what we consider good and sufficient reasons. First, we believe that it can do no good in time. It could not assemble before the first of March, and that is too late a date. Whatever is done must be done before that time. There would be no time to deliberate, or treat the questions which would arise. This alone is a sufficient reason against such a suggestion.

But there is another, more important. Such a gathering would violate the Constitution. It is contrary to the spirit of that instrument. It would be States holding a Convention in the Union, for the purpose of making an agreement to go out of the Union. The States have no right to go out together. They must go out of the Confederacy as they entered it—as individual States. The 10th section of the 1st article of the Constitution, prohibits States from entering into any compact or agreement with each other. This objection is conclusive. If good results could follow such a course, its unconstitutionality would prevent its adoption.

Now, fellow-citizens, to the remedy which we propose to provide, for sustaining our rights—a remedy which six or eight Southern States hold up for your consideration:

It is for each of the Southern States, by herself and for herself, to secede from the Union. [Great commotion, hisses from all parts of the Hall, followed by cheers, which continued for some minutes; then there were three cheers for South Carolina; a voice cried out, “let her go;” then there was a rush made in the western passage, and cries of “put him out”; everybody then jumped to their feet, and a row threatened; somebody sung out “three cheers for Governor Hicks”—received with hisses, groans, and some moderate cheering; three cheers were given for Mississippi, when someone in the gallery proposed three cheers for Massachusetts; this was answered by groans and laughter. Cries of “order,” “order,” were then heard, and after the excitement had subsided, Judge Handy continued, that: ] He was not there to appeal to the passions and prejudices of the assemblage; but he was not to be deterred from speaking on his native soil of Maryland, to the citizens of Maryland, whom be considered he had a right to address on this occasion. He wanted the audience to listen to what Mississippi was about to do, and if her principles which were about to govern her now, were not those of the Constitution, the people of Maryland could reject them.

The State of Mississippi has long tried all expedients to maintain her rights, guaranteed by the Federal compact, and failing this her only course was to secede from that compact. This course was not taken with the view of breaking up the present government, but to assure to her those guarantees and principles of liberty which had been pledged to her by the fathers of the Revolution. The State of Mississippi would withdraw from the Federal compact, and resume her sovereign rights, which the Declaration of Independence says she shall have a right to do, whenever the government shall not render to her the safeguards and protection given to her by that compact.

The rights of the South had been trampled upon; the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States had been trampled upon; the Bible had been trampled upon; and the South holds that the Declaration of Independence is her guarantee that all her rights, the rights of every State, shall be respected and protected, and if the government fails to give this protection, it is the right and duty of a State to put off this government. The speaker said there was no man to whom he would yield in devotion to the Union and the Constitution, but he loved liberty and security more—that liberty and security which our forefathers have given us in the Constitution, the great palladium of all our liberties.

In relation to the rights of the States guaranteed by the Constitution, the speaker said that slavery was one of those rights, and if that right was destroyed by the action of other States, then any State has the right to resume the sovereign power which she had before the Constitution was formed. Our fathers did not fight for the Union, but to make the States separate, sovereign and independent.—After that the Union was formed—and as an after-thought, they agreed to make a compact among themselves. That compact is what we live for, and that is what we accuse the Northern States of having broken.

The South don’t want the Union without its compacts, and they don’t want anything else. Detested be the man who would have the Government different from what he received it from his fathers. Secession is not to break up the Government, but to perpetuate it. It is objected by those opposed to secession by a State, that the Constitution does not give the right to a State to secede. The Constitution gives the States no rights except a few—it empowers them to hold slaves, but it gives them no right to elect Governors, Mayors, &c. Those rights are reserved to the States themselves.

All powers not given to the States by the Constitution belong to the States themselves. The speaker here read the 9th and 10th amendments to the Constitution in support of this position, and said there was nothing in the Constitution to prevent any State from resuming her State sovereignty. Alexander Hamilton had always contended for the right of a State to resume her State sovereignty as possessed before the Federal compact.—The right of secession—of resuming the rights of a State—does exist, and needs no argument.

Suppose that Maryland desired to resume her sovereign rights; that she labored under oppression so grievous as not to admit of her longer remaining in the Union—what power could coerce her back? Suppose she, in the maintenance of her natural rights, was compelled to go out of the Union, and was coerced and whipped back to preserve the Union, would that preserve it? It would destroy the Union; it would make Maryland a subjugated colony only; and the Union would then be destroyed. What power has the Government to coerce the people of Maryland to send Representatives and Senators to Congress? The Federal Government can never coerce her to do so, unless the people have lost the spirit which fired them in the days of the Revolution.

We do not propose to go out by way of breaking up or destroying the Union as our fathers gave it to us. but we go out for the purpose of getting further guarantees and security for our rights—not by a convention of all the Southern States, nor by Congressional tricks, which have failed in times past and will fail again, but our plan is for the Southern States to withdraw from the Union, for the present, to allow amendments to the Constitution to be made, guaranteeing our just rights; and if the Northern States will not make those amendments, by which these rights shall be secured to us, then we must secure them the best way we can.

Another objection to the plan of secession is, that it scatters confusion broadcast, and that serious evils will arise to the business interests of the country. The plan of Mississippi is this:—We take the Constitution and go out with it without alteration. We take it to ourselves as it is, and adopt it as our system of provisional government, until these wrongs which we complain of are remedied; and if they are not remedied, then we take it as a separate government for ourselves. We want no new Constitution—no new laws—no new decisions of the Supreme Court; but we want the Constitution as it is, with our rights guaranteed to us That is the position of the South, and I think that is the position of the State of Maryland. [Applause long and loud.]

We of the South are bound together by homogeneity of interest, we think alike and feel alike. We hear it often said that the United States’ form of government could be adapted to the whole globe. That is all humbug—there is too much disparity of interest. The principle which cements our form of government is derived from the consent of the governed. If the rights we contend for are denied us, we will by our homogeneity of interests form a stronger government than that of the old thirteen States.

We can’t do without slavery, and we will not do without it. If the dire calamity should come upon us which requires us to form a distinct government, we will be the strongest and happiest of any people. We think there is a necessity to take this step—the election of Lincoln compels us to act at once. We have very little time to act, and intend to act before the 4th of March. I am not advising Maryland what to do; I speak only for Mississippi. She must act before Lincoln comes into power, and before he comes into power we will be out of his dominions. We don’t intend to let Abraham Lincoln and his myrmidons rule over us, unless they give us the amendments to the Constitution which we ask for.

The position of Mississippi and other Southern States is, that they are determined to go out—are determined to get their rights in the Union; and as an extreme measure, begin by lopping off branches to give vigor to the trunk. Much has been said about the excitement in the South at the present time. I have lived in Mississippi for twenty-four years, and have seen much agitation there; but now there is less excitement than I have ever seen; greater unanimity of feeling—feeling which is calm and quiet, and determined, like that of men who know their rights, and are determined to maintain them.

The Judge then referred to the threats which had been made to overrun the South with troops in case she should secede and coerce her back. They feared nothing, they would meet such troops as had fought at Cherubusco, Monterey, and Buena Vista, and had borne the American flag to victory. If they fought with such bravery on foreign soil, what might not be expected of them when fighting for their wives and daughters? The speaker finally closed by thanking the meeting for the attention bestowed upon him, and sat down amid loud applause. The meeting then adjourned.