Page:Nullification Controversy in South Carolina.djvu/236

Rh a concession, they would consent to the same rate of duty on protected as on unprotected articles, provided that no more revenue were raised than was necessary to meet the demands of the government for constitutional purposes, and that a duty, substantially uniform, were imposed on all foreign imports. The address then gave warning to the general government that if South Carolina were driven out of the Union, all the other planting states and some of the western states would follow, for they would not continue to pay to the North, for the privilege of being united with the North, a tribute of 50 per cent on their consumption, when they could receive all their supplies duty-free through the ports of South Carolina. The address closed by disclaiming the slightest apprehension that the general government would attempt the use of force, but announced that, if it did, South Carolina would be "the cemetery of freemen rather than the habitation of slaves."

The proceedings of the convention were conducted with great solemnity, and there seemed to be very little excitement among the members of either party. The Union delegates silently voted against the report, ordinance, and addresses;