Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-10-07

doubt that the course had become pledged to pur-
sue was ruinous TO my constituents and dsgraceful
to myself, have no alternative, no opportunity for
repentance, and there is no power to absolve me
from my obligation. Hence the impropriety, not
to say absurdity, in my view, of giving pledge"
| Why did the Governor suppress this portion?
But will not stop to expose the many unfair
assaults made upon Mr.. Fillmore's records / call
attention to these merely as specimens OF the tricks
resOrted to. Southern men who can thus turn upon
and unfairly strike such man as Mr. Fillmore
one of the soundest and purest men in all the North
should themselves be carefully watched. Mr.
Fillmore is too thoroughly known to suffer by at
tacks like these. They pass by him as the idle
winds. The people of all parties and all sections
are raying to his standard, that they may secure
return of that peace and safety which signazed the
close of his Administration. My firm belief is that
he will be the next President of the United States
and in this belief have hope for the Union.
The true national heart recoils from the danger
Gus sectional conflicts which have been fomented
and pushed TO such extremes for party ends by lead
ers of the Republican and Democratic parties The
latter after eagerly counting this sectional conflict
hoping thereby to concentrate the votes Of the South
! upon their candidates have become alarmed, and
recently almost ready to yield every point at
issue to get back the freesOi masses Of the North
What have we witnessed? After drawing the lines
against syery body opposed to the Nebraska bill and
tional controversy upon it. they have yielded mp the
southern construction placed upon that measure
and now supporting Presidential ticket openly
| committed against Slsch construction They have
selected Mr.. Buchanan as a candidate for President
who is known not only to have been opposed to the
extension of slavery to Territories, maintaining
that Congress had the Sovereign" and excl1tsire"
power the subject in the Territories and thank-
! ing his God" that he lived in a State where the
great political and moral evil" of slavery, as he
termed it, did not exist but who it is equally well
known, never gave in his adhesion to the Nebraska
bill until last December in his Slidell letter. in which
he expressy stated that must be made upon
those democrats rho opposed a. and subsequently, in
his letter of acceptance, placed has s9uGtter
eighty construction upon IL, while simultaneously
his home organ proclaimed to the North that his
whole life gives the lie to the charge that he ever
favored the extension of slavery" They have NOM
mated for Vice President a gentleman who has
| abandoned the southern construction upon which
he voted for the Nebraska BILL and who has recent
ly made speeches in the North placing the squatter
sovereignty Interpretation upon it-a measure
which, when thus interpreted, northern democratic
stump speakers tell the people of the North will
"work with such powerful force and effect that no
man Uoaeld erer another slave territory on this
continent"
Why Mr. Buchanan has been nominated has
been fully disclosed by his friends. The Washings
ton correspondent of the Charleston Mercury wri-
ting to that paper just before the Cincinnati COnven-
ton met declared that movements were then going
on to conciliate the "unsouud wing" of the Democ-
racy by bringing about the nomination of 90 can
didate most Gcceptablet to the FreesoiLeT;" The ST.
Louis Democrat a Freeso Buchanan paper, said
about the same time 0ur opinion is, that the Con-
venton will nominate Buchanan Although the
Convention may commit itself to an endorsement of
the Kansas crimes they will shelter themselves from
tie storm which that crime has aroused by nominal
ting whose skirts are clear of that nfamy For
this reason tce expect the nomination of Mr. Buchdn-
an" The editor of the Washington Star, an Admin
iStraton organ, wrote to his paper from Cincinnati
during the sitting of the Convention, that 1t is
undeniably true that much of the outside pressure
for Buchanan's nomination is the result of DISPOSE
ton to bring in tie rotes of of reesoiI te,iden-
cies." After the nomination, Col. Benton wrote to
T. L. Price that ''we" (the anti Nebraska men) have
| forced Buchanan upon them" (the Nebraska men)
and will have the qualification to make them carry
him" (Buchanan) ''while regretting that they had
not been able to kill him in the Convention" could
cite your attention 20 mass OF other testimony,
furnished by the friends of Mr.. Buchanan, showing
that he nominated TO concate the FTeesoil vote;
but l will content myself by reading single add.
tional evidence whole paragraph from the home
organ of Mr. Buchanan, the Lancaster hateligencer,
printed in the town where he lives 1t is follows
"FAcrs TO BE REMEMBERED-W Who dominated
Buchanan ?-Let it be borne in mind, says the
Steuben Farmers Advocate, that it was tie north
On the first ballot in the Convention he received
| hundred and mine voteS from the Free States, and
but thirty four votes from the slave States The
southern States, with but two exceptions, voted
against him in body up to the last ballot when
they yielded to the force ofpublic opinion Yet on
every hand you hear the abolition orators and pa
pers crying ont that he is the southern candidate,
! an favor of the extension of skaUery de- de- James
Buchanan has been in public life for over thirty
years, and Ue challenge any man TO shoe tie first
iCOrd act to prove these base assertions of an I'M
scrupuous opposition. He was born and educated
and aEtCGys Tired in free Stdte-and his public life
gires the lie to the charge that he eper favored the
extension of slavery"
! Such is the testimony ofhis own warm supporters
who know him best And might add the test
mony which has been so often spread before you
exhibiting his vote in 1929 to entertain the question
of the abolition of slavery within the District of
Columbia; his vote for the admission of Texas upon
the ground that it would abe the means OF drawing
the slaves far to the South, to a climate more con.
| genial" and thereby convert Maryland Virginia
Kentucky, Missouri, and others of the more north
ern slave States into Free Stdtesn his solemn decar-
alton in the S.nate in 1884, that he felt strong re-
pugnance by any act of mine (his) to extend the
limits Of the Union over a neW SIdUe-hOidiRg Terri
tory" &c, &c, but will not tax your patience with
what has been thoroughly exhibited to you already
| But some may be at a loss to determine how, if
Mr.. Buchanan wrote, as he did to Mr. Sanford in
lS4s, that Congress has the sorereign and exclusive
po,cer to Legislate upon Sdvery iR The territories it
can be shown that he is the advocate of sgltatfsr
soUeregpy which is the doctrine that the people of
territory Tor the Territorial Legislature while
still under territorial form of government possess
THIS same sovereign and exclusive po,cer to prohibit
slavery IN such TerTitorR The explanation is
simply, this The Sanford letter was written before
the passage Of the Nebraska BILL until which he had
always held that the power was exclusive in Con-
gress, as exercised in the Missouri Compromise.
But he has never changed and veered with the times
so as to maintain his position as a leader Of the
| Northern Democracy. Hence on the 10Th Decem.
Der last, he wrote to Senator Sidel "the Missouri
Compromise is gone, and gone forever" ard in his
late letter of acceptance he added-"The recent
legislation Of Congress respecting domestic slavery,
(meaning the Nebraska act) derived, as il has been
from the original and pure fountain Of legitimate
political power, the win Of the majority promises
ere long to allay the dangerous excitement This
legislation is founded upon principles ancient as
free government ITSELF and in accordance with them
has simply declared that THE PEOPLE OF A TERRI
TORY, LIKE THOSE OF A STATE, SHALL DECIDE
FOR THEMSELVES WHETHER SLAVERY SHALL OR SHALL
NOT EXIST WITHIN THEIR LIMITS" This is
nothing but squatter sovereignty.
will now show you that this dangerous doctrine,
against which the whole South has heretofore, land
particularly in 1881 protested one man. regard
ing il as incompatible with the Constitution" and
''as dangerous as the WilmOt Proyiso"-has not
been adopted by Mr.. Buchanan without an under
standing With the great antislavery leaders.
Martin Van Barren, on reading Mr.. Buchanan's
letter OF acceptance, Immediately wTote letter for
publication, dated 2sth june in which he quotes
the gerry passage from it which | have read to you,
and eagerly sanctoning il gives bis pledge for that