Secession movement at the South.
The North Carolina Legislature has declined to allow the National flag to be hoisted over the Capitol. The Charleston Mercury has placed a "foreign news" head over its report of Congressional affairs. The following is a summary of the news of the day:
The Georgia Secession resolutions.
The following are the resolutions passed by the Georgia Legislature by a vote of ayes 101, nays 27, and subsequently, under the influence of the popular feeling against separate State secession, rescinded by a vote of ayes 50, nays 47:Resolved by the General Assembly of Georgia, That in the indecent of this General Assembly, any State in this Union has the sovereign right to secede from the Union whenever she deems it necessary and for her safety, honor or happiness, and that when a State exercises this right of secession, the Federal Government has no right to coerce or make war upon her, because of the exercise of such right to secede; and should any Southern State secede from the American Union, and the Federal Government make war upon her therefore, Georgia will give to the seceding Southern State the aid encouragement and assistance of her entire people.
And should the State of Georgia secede from the Union by the action of the Convention of her people on the 16th of January next, she asks the like sympathy and assistance from her Southern sisters which she hereby offers to them.
Rejoicing in South Carolina.
When the news of the passage of the Secession Ordinance was received at Columbia, S. C., the bells were rung and cannons fired, flags were hoisted from all points. The Hon. John S. Preston's carriage drove through the streets, having a richly constructed Palmetto banner on one side, and on the other a banner, with December 20th, 1860, inscribed there-upon. At night sky-rockets, bon-fires, bombs, &c., ruled the town. A band of music paraded the streets, and cheers and congratulatory addresses were heard on all sides. At Chester, S. C, sixteen guns were fired, and at Winsboro', cheering and cannon firing were the order of the day.The Minute Men of Norfolk fired fifteen guns Friday in honor of the noble action of South Carolina in shaking off the Federal shackles. At the same instant, the Palmetto flag was run up the "Stone Bridge." At a later hour of the day, a counter-demonstration was gotten up by the "Ready Men," who fired thirty-two guns for the States remaining in the Union.
The Savannah Republican, of Saturday, says:
‘ At about five o'clock, the citizens assembled on the battery, where a salute of one hundred guns was fired by a detachment of the Chatham Artillery, in honor of the action of the South Carolina Convention. In the evening our streets were illuminated with bonfires, around which thronged large crowds, filling the air with their cheers, and thus saying to Carolina that we are with her in our hearts and our souls, and, if need be, with our arms.
’
The South Carolina Delegation.
Several friends of Messrs. McQueen, Ashmore, and Bonham, including Messrs. Colfax, Grow, Covode, and other members from the Republican side of the House, visited them in their seats. The South Carolina delegation left the Hall at about 4 o'clock, without, however, creating any extraordinary sensation.--They will formally withdraw on Monday, after making valedictory speeches, should they receive, mean while, official notice of the withdrawal of the State from the Union, from the Governor.
North Carolina.
The North Carolina Legislature has recommended that a State Convention be held on the 18th of February, and a bill has also been introduced, providing that--"No ordinance of said Convention, dissolving the connection of the State of North Carolina with the Federal Government, or connecting it with any other, shall have any force or validity, until it shall have been submitted to, and ratified by a majority of the qualified voters of the State for members of the General Assembly, to whom it shall be submitted for their approval or rejection."
Important resignation.
Commodore Kearney, the Second Officer on the active list of the Navy, has resigned his position in the following letter to the President:
Perth Amboy, N. J.,Dec. 21, 1860.
Sir:
It is with deep regret that I find myself so situated professionally, as to request to be placed upon the Reserved List of the Navy, or otherwise to tender my resignation of the commission I hold as Captain.
Sir:
Lawrence Kearney.
Hon. James Buchanan, President of the U. States.
It is understood that Commodore Kearney, maintaining relations of extreme intimacy with Southern people, takes this step to avoid the possibility of being called upon to serve against his friends.
Rhode Island.
Gov. Sprague, of Rhode Island, in answer to a letter inquiring into the truth of a statement made in the New York Herald, that he would refuse to recommend the repeal of the Personal Liberty bill of that State, has made the following explicit and patriotic response:The Governor of Rhode Island goes heart and hand for the repeal of the so-called Personal Liberty bills of his State, though they are unconstitutional only in spirit. The Legislature, which meets in January, will, without hesitation, repeal them, not from fear or cowardice, but from a brave determination, in face of threats and sneers, to live up to the Constitution and all its guarantees, the better to testify their love for the Union, and the firmer to exact allegiance to it from all others.
Mississippi in favor of separate State Secession.
A dispatch from the editor of the "Mississippian and State Gazette," published at Jackson — directed to the Mississippi Delegation in Congress — of Friday evening, states that the State of Mississippi has elected delegates to the Convention in favor of separate State secession, by a very large majority — say, 70 in a Convention of 100 delegates, and a popular majority of 30,000 votes.
Fasting and prayer.
Gov. Buckingham, of Connecticut, has recommended to that State the 4th of January, the day fixed by the President, as a day for fasting and prayer. Among the things to be prayed for, he gives the following:‘ Also, that they implore Him to give courage to magistrates to enforce all laws for the protection of the obedient and the punishment of the disobedient; that He will incline this whole people to abide by and perform their constitutional obligations; that He will cause all questions which now disturb our peace and threaten our prosperity to be adjusted upon the basis of equity and justice; that He will hold us back from revolution and bloodshed, and not permit us to plunge into sins which will bring upon us still more terrible judgments; but that He will carry us through this crisis in such a manner as shall forever check the spirit of anarchy, bring peace to a distracted people, and preserve, strengthen and perpetuate our national Union.
’ The Indiana papers publish the official denial of the Secretary of the State of Indiana, that her Legislature has ever passed any laws having a tendency to prevent the full and complete execution of the Federal Fugitive Slave Law within her borders.
South Carolina Legislature.
The following is the composition of the South Carolina House of Delegates:In publishing the lists of the members of the Legislature, they give the post-office and occupation of the member, and in the classification one is styled a farmer and another a planter. The first is he that raises grain — it may be almost entirely — in distinction from the cotton or rice planter. The several occupations of the 123 members of the House of Representatives are classed as follows: Planters, 47; lawyers, 36; formers, 12; physicians, 5; physicians and planters, 7; merchants, 6; lawyers and planters, 3; farmer and turpentine maker, 1; railroad superintendent, 1; manufacturer, 1; machinist, 1; editor, 1.
