"Whereas, things being in this condition, and the people of this State indulging this hope, the said Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States did, on the fifteenth day of April, by his proclamation, call upon the States of the Union to furnish large bodies of troops to enable him, under the false pretense of executing the laws, to march an army into the seceded States with a view to their subjugation, under an arbitrary and military authority, there being no law of Congress authorizing such calling out of troops, and no constitutional right to use them, if called out, for the purpose intended by him; and "Whereas, this call for troops has been answered throughout the Northern, Northwestern, and Middle non-slaveholding States with enthusiastic readiness, and it is evident, from the tone of the entire press of those States and the open avowal of their public men, that it is the fixed purpose of the governments and people of those States to wage a cruel war against the seceded States, to destroy utterly the fairest portion of this continent, and reduce its inhabitants to absolute subjection and abject slavery; and "Whereas, in aid of these detestable plans and wicked measures, the said Lincoln, without any shadow of rightful authority, and in plain violation of the Constitution of the United States, has, by other proclamations, declared the ports of North Carolina, as well as all the other Atlantic and Gulf States under blockade, thus seeking to cut off our trade with all parts of the world; and "Whereas, since his accession to power, the whole conduct of said Lincoln has been marked by a succession of false, disingenuous and treacherous acts and declarations, proving incontestably that he is, at least in his dealings with Southern States and Southern men, devoid of faith and honor; and "Whereas, he is now governing by military rule alone, enlarging by new enlistments of men both the military and naval force, without any authority of law, having set aside all constitutional and legal restraints, and made all constitutional and legal rights dependent upon his mere pleasure and that of his military subordinates; and "Whereas, in all his unconstitutional, illegal and oppressive acts, in all his wicked and diabolical purposes, and in his present position of usurper and military dictator, he has been and is encouraged and supported by the great body of the people of the non-slaveholding States;