Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-07-24

gress tor eight years, and reiterated IN
1898 in the Gubernatorial contest in Penn
sylvania Of that year-his infamous con-
nection with the base SANDER which broke
the heart and married the mighty proper
tons of the fame of HENRY CLAY--his no.
toriety as political hack, parasite and
a dependant, pronounced by jackson to
lack "moral courage"-and without soli-
tary quality to recommend him to popular
confidence. ora single act in long public
career, upon which to base his claims to
popular gratitude-we are forced to con-
clude that it is without the range of posi-
bility that such candidate can be elected.
But we have other and stronger indica-
tions to substantiate our assertion that his
intelligent friends despair of his election.
We have thought for several weeks that
we have observed preparations for con-
tingency. Our positive conviction of Mr..
Buchanan's desperate strait have made us
doubly watchful of the movements of his
friends, and we believe that they have ceas-
ed to look to the head for comfort, and
have taken refuge in the tail Almost
ready 70 abandon the hope of Buchanan's
election, they are beginning to calculate
the chances Of devolving upon the Senate
the election of Mr.. Breckenridge as Vice
President, in the event of failure by the
Electoral College, and the House of Re.
representatives. to elect a President. This
issue of the contest is significantly limited
at by the Union and american in its i'm
preston of Tuesday it is deliberately ar.
gued and calculated by an ingenious writer
in the Washington Union, who, after sug.
gesting the likelihood of the election going
to the House of Representatives, wades
through maze of calculations, and arrives
at the improbability of that body being
able to elect, and leaves the business to be
done by the Senate, which, under the
amendments to the Constitution, is required
in case of failure before the College and
the House, to choose Vice-PreSident from
the two highest candidates voted for by the
people, who, as in the case of death or con.
stitutional disability Of the President, fills
his office. The Washington correspondent
of the New York Herald informs that pa.
per that plot in is progress in that city un
der the lead of Southern Democrats, to
carry out this programme, and that jour.
nal devotes a long article to speculations
upon it. All these things are but confr
nations of the fact that the Buchanan
leaders are becoming convinced that his
defeat is inevitable, and they are preparing
to take advantage of this triangular con.
test, and give the Democratic majority in
the Senate an opportunity to defeat the
popular voice.
The plan Of operations of the Buchan,
an leaders then, is to force this contest into
the House of Representatives if possible
to re-enact the scenes of last December and
January, and prolong them through anoth,
er month, and until the expiration of that
body's official existence on the 4th March,
to leave the Presidency untitled, and let the
Senate place Mr.. Breckenridge in the
chair. This is an admirable and ingenious
scheme, but its execution will be difficult.
The schemers will meet lion in their path
an insurmountable obStacle-THE PEOPLE.
The masses have decreed that another shall
be President, and in the majesty of their
strength they have determined to cheat the
Juggling fends" of their stake. We have
referred to this device not from any fear OF
its conSummation, but as an evidence that
the Buchanan leaders are despairing of his
eIectiOn-that their hopes are fed-that their
only md last resort as artifce and manage
mcHt-and to call upon men Of all parties
to rally to WILLARD FILLMORE, the man of
the people, and the only national candidate
before the country.