JOURNAL OF THE CONVENTION.
FIRST DAY.
THURSDAY. January 3d, 1861.
The people of the State of Florida, on this, the third day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, through their Delegates, chosen in pursuance of the act of the General Assembly of the State of Florida, approved November 30th, A. D. 1860, assembled in Convention in the Hall of the House of Representatives in the Capitol of the State, at the city of Tallahassee.
And thereupon, on motion, John C. Pelot, of the county of Alachua, was called to the Chair, and B. Garden Pringle, of Gadsden, was requested to act as Secretary.
On taking the Chair, Mr. Pelot addressed the Delegates in the following language:
Gentlemen of the Convention:—We meet together under no ordinary circumstances. The rapid spread of Northern fanaticism has endangered our liberties and institutions, and the election of Abram Lincoln, a wily abolitionist, to the Presidency of the United States, destroys all hope for the future. We have, therefore, been sent by the people of our State to devise the best means for our security. Their dearest interests are placed in our hands—to us is committed a high trust—upon us rests a heavy responsibility, and we are expected to meet the grave questions before us with calmness and deliberation; precipitation and rashness may prove disastrous. But, gentlemen, while prudence and a proper discretion should characterize all our deliberations, we must not forget that the important crisis demands great firmness. I trust we are fully prepared to meet the grave issues before us as true Patriots.
Our Legislature, through purely patriotic motives, has placed us in a conspicuous position. The eyes of the world are upon us, and our action will affect, for weal or for woe, not only our own State, but perhaps our sister Southern States also. And now, gentlemen, permit a word of admonition. Although our
