It appears that we, Secessionists, have all the while not been disturbing the law or intruding novelties on the country — but have been simply a step in advance of the highest tribunal in the land, declaring what the law already was.
Original passage & context
"It appears that we, Secessionists, have been all the while not disturbing the law, not intruding novelties upon the country, not seeking to break up established principles, but that we have been simply a step in advance of the highest tribunal in the country, in declaring what was the law of the land, and seeking honestly and faithfully to enforce it."
The Rhetts' Mercury, the loudest secessionist paper in the South, claiming the Supreme Court has caught up with it. Three years later the same paper would print South Carolina's ordinance of secession.
Read it in the original — Charleston Mercury, Mar 17, 1857 ↗