Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-02-09
THE TERRITORIAL BILLS.

that when a practical question should come up in
Congress- involving the fnalty of the compromise
Of 1859, the wing leaders would lose their only
weapon of assault upon the administration The
introduction Of the territorial bills in the Senate
has a's-ady verified this prediction. The admins
trstion is acknowledged TO be in favor of the pas
sage Of those bills; and the test OF faithiuness to
the adjustment is about be applied to all preten-
dt.rs While we regret TO see the slavery question
ay,in require a settlement it is little consolation
that we shall see tombstone applied 10 whigger..
I'll, Washington correspondent of the New York
T,iLane writes to that paper as follows:
cite Wing papers here say. that If Southern
Wins vote for Douglass BILL it is an end of all at
,e.npis to keep up a Wing party
qLare is truth in this assertion. And perhaps
his !, the reason why Mr.. Bell, Of this State, is
SGT down as opposed, to the bill If Southern
Wins should repudiate alliance with the north
an fIee-soilers, there will be no ouch thing as a
viii party in 1856 And So perhaps, southern
wing aspirants for the Presidency will shape their
course so as to keep alive the only question upon
which the wing party north can again rally. We
shall watch the course Of these politicians with
curiosity excited by their proessed fear OF a vio-
laton of the compromise during the last year, but
with neither dread nor alarm.
The same correspondent of the Tribune gives
IL pelul prospect for the passage of the bill. He
says:
There is nothing talked of but Nebraska. A
distinguished Representative says 1t Is ascertaned
th4 there is a majority of seventeen in the Senate
IN favor Of the bill and if vote was taken in the
House to-day, it would be found that there a
majority in its favor of from eleven TO thirteen.
Ne says about four Southern Wings will vote
against it-three from Missouri. That is his opin-
ion
The Washington correspondent Of the Baltimore
SIN writes that
"The administration claims credit for having
foreseen and prepared for the adoption of the
Intervention policy. They rest the wisdom OF the
coalition upon this question. If they had excluded
the Free Sellers from share of the spos then,
they now say, they would have lad the whole
North against them on the Nebraska question. But,
as matters are. they expect to carry for the bill
large portion of the Northern democrats and even
those who acquiesced in, without approving, the
compromise of 1850"
TIE administration has formed no coalition"
with free sellers. 1t has simply recognized as
democrats all who faithfully adhere to the Baltimore
platform of 1850. We hope and believe that, as
the Suns correspondent supposes, the wisdom Of
that policy will be proved by the course of the
Lothern democracy in this crisis
The Baltimore argus truly says:
1.-The Nebraska bill is to be the test of principle.
and tie proof of fidelity to the Compromise and
the Union. We so thought when it was first intro
duced and subsequent events have more than
aized our expectations. We have said before we
90 for the bill and against all restrictions The ter
IItores belonging to this Government should be
alike free to all our people-to make them other
wise is UNI ist; and we have confidence in the JUS
tee, wisdom, and patriotism Of Congress- that the
principles of the compromise will be sustained and
the harneny Of the Union preserved, by abStalniug
iIOm any interference with that arrangement which
the voice OF the people has emphatically endorsed
as :" iRddty.' We believe that every friend of
tie country has had a surfeit Of the slavery discus
sion; all have seen that such discussions are only
productive Of evil, and all should desire to avoid
them for the future Let the Territories be free for
every citizen alike and let them when they deter
mine upon their State constitution, determine upon
hat Institutions shall be incorporated with its pro-
Visions. This think is the true republican creed
and the only safe ground to assume"
Let Us see how our wing neighbors meet this
test and keep in the wing organization Ali
breihrenl We tod you last summer, when the
compromise being in no danger, you were so fear
fu for it, that time would come to test your own
sincerity as well that Of the men whom you were
then assailing We told you that you would be
the first to suffer from the public Judgment you
were then forming. We told you that you were
INDUCING too freely overnight, and to beware of the
headache of tie morning. And now, walk up and
defend the compromise as final settlement of the
slavery question and see how many of your northern
friends will stand by you! But do not, for the
sake of keeping together the wre:ched remnant of
y.ur party, repudiate that settlement