February 10, 1861; The New York Herald
The news from the South this morning is of the highest importance. The Southern Congress at Montgomery, Alabama, on Friday unanimously adopted a constitution for a provisional government. It is in substance the same as the constitution of the Union. It gives the congress ample power as regards the questions of revenue and taxation. It prohibits the importation of negroes from Africa and other foreign countries, as well as the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of the confederacy. The Congress yesterday unanimously elected Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, for President, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, for Vice President of the Southern confederacy, and the President of the Congress was directed to appoint committees on Foreign Affairs, of Finance, on Military and Naval affairs, on Postal Affairs, on Commerce and on Patents. An ordinance was passed continuing in force, until repealed or altered by the Southern Congress, all laws of the Unites States in force or use on the 1st of November last. It is understood that under this law a tariff will be laid on all goods brought from the Unites States. The Provisional Government is now fairly under way.
The city was thrown into great excitement yesterday forenoon by the receipt of telegraphic despatches from Savannah announcing the seizure at that port, by order to the State authorities, of five vessels owned in New York, namely the bark D. Colden Murray, the brigs W. R. Kibby, Golden Lead and Adjuster, and the schooner Julia A. Hallock. This act of the authorities of Georgia was in retaliation for the illegal and unjustifiable seizure of arms in this city recently by the Metropolitan police, said arms being in process of shipment to Georgia. Later in the day the arms were restored to the agent of the owners. The seizure of these vessels also created considerable excitement in Washington among all parties. In the House Mr. John Cochrane offered a resolution calling on the Secretary of the Treasury for information on the subject, but the proposition was objected to. He will renew it on Monday and an inquiry into all the facts in the case will probably follow. Up to a late hour last night the government at Washington had received no official advices relative to the seizure. The public are furnished for the first time with a complete history of this conflict between Georgia and New York through the columns of the HERALD, this morning.
The report published some days ago as to the seizure of the United States Arsenal at Little Rock, Arkansas, was somewhat premature. That event occurred on Friday last. The arsenal contained nine thousand stand of arms, a large quantity of ammunition and cannon, including the famous Captain Bragg battery.
General Scott, in a letter to the officers of the Scott Life Guard, of New York, who tendered their services for the defence of the capital, states that the government does not contemplate calling any troops to Washington other than the militia of the district, and some detachments of regular troops.
The Hon. Francis W. Pickens, the present Governor of South Carolina, who has gained great celebrity as a leading secessionist, has a suit against the North Atlantic Steamship company now pending on the trial term calendar of the Marine Court for tomorrow, for loss of baggage and musical instruments when he was on his recent return from Russia, where he had been American Ambassador up to a recent date. The question will here arise as to whether the plaintiff (Gov. Pickens) can maintain an action in this State, he being, as he claims, a citizen of an independent sovereignty which is at war with the United States.