Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-04-21
The Pntriot,r Consistency.

THIS eHort, he is done Tor.
The Patriots Consistency.
The Union and American of the 18th,
felicitates itself with the idea that it has
discovered an inconsistency in the present
position of the Patriot, and that which we
occupied when American presses, South,
called upon the National American Coun-
Gil to ignore the slavery question as party
test. Our neighbor has spoken without a
proper conception of the state of the case
1t is most true that We Indignantly rebuked
the proposition above mentioned, as i'll ad-
vised, and of disastrous tendency; and for
the reason that the subject of slavery "is
great, live, earnest, practical question, "
which cannot be ignored. We were ad-
dressing ourselves to proposition to ignore
this great question in the creed or diScip-
line of the National American Party, with
which we could not act in the event Of the
success of the proposition, for that would
have required US to fellowship with the
rankest abolition enemies of the South, aud
to ask no questions of their intentions. The
National Council met 1t adopted a new
platform, and substituted for the 18th sec.
ton, which it was contended ignored" the
slavery question, the 9Th section in which
the principle of non-intervention, identical
with that of the KansaS-N ebraska act, is
distinctly set forth and made portion of
the party creed. In so doing, the National
Council refused to ignore the slavery ques-
ton. 1t gave that "all-absorbing and over
shadowing question" proper recognition. 1t
least out" the anti-slavery devil" and
placed the American party on a sound, con-
sentative constitutional basis All who
unite with US upon that basis, North and
South, become antagonists of abolitioniSm,
and pledged to sustain the constitutional
rights of the South on the slavery question.
The creed Of the American Party, in this
respect, is therefore as we desired it to be
on this question, such as an antiignOrer
could consistently support. Having gained
this, the slavery question is no longer a
question between Americans North and
Americans South-they have met on com
mon, national ground-opposed to every
species of abolitioniSm. 1t follows, then,
that they should bend their chief efforts
to the success Of those measures of reform
which the country needs, and which the OPP
position to the American Party resist. To
do otherwise would be to play into the
hands of fanaticism, and now when Aboli-
tiOniSm is on the wane, give its failing pulse
new vigor. Last Wednesday upon this
point we said:
An attempt to ignore Ainercanism, and make
slavery issue the theme OF the Presidential canvass
will have this tendency; aud We hope no American
North South, will suffer himself TO be diverted
from thOst principles into such controversy No
good can come out of it ShoC 10 the people that
y'u dbhor Black Republication you STAND
UPON THE PRINCIPLE oT NONINTERvFNTIOE--Gn
then your opponents to defend their lore for
great contest must be upon the issues growing
out OF the American prosperity of reform in our
system of naturalization
This is not inconsistent with our position
last February. 1t shows that whilst the
American Council has come up to our de-
mandS, we deem it important still for Amer
leans, North and South, whilst declining to
make slavery the theme of the Presidential
canvass, first to show to the people that
they abhor Black Republcanism-that
they stand upon the principle Of non-inter-
vention, the test" as the Union and Amer
icaR declares, "Of Democratic sOundneSS
every where" and then to coerce the enc
my to defend his foreign predictions, &c.
But to subserve its purpose, the Union and
Amcrioan quotes the above paragraph, and
omits all Of the sentence in italics and
small capitals. We presume this is our
neighbours standard of fairness" for a
Democratic editor