Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1856-11-20
souTHERN ooNMERoIAL CONVENTION.


Know nothingism has made every city ridieu-
lous. which it hss not made infamous where it has
got control of the municipal affairs We had
hoped that Nashville would escape.
For years past even prior to the stormy political
excitement of 1850, southern States have been
holding Commercial Conventions; hoping through
the fundamentally of free interchange Of sent-
ment associated eff5t, and an improved public
spirit, to devise means for o more rapid develop
ment of our great natural resources in agriculture,
commerce, internal improvements and the general
interests Of the South. 1t originated in the wis
dom Of our most public spirited felow-citizens,
without the remotest view to politics or party
Statesmen Of oil parties and men of all professions
have attended them as delegates without giving
them sectional or political bias Of course all
questions are to extent political that partaks
of slegslative character and involve the public
veal, but it remained for know nothing Board
of Aldermen in the city of Nashville, to discover
that it was dangerous to the Union for the people
Of the slave States to hold these Commercial Con.
ventions. We imagine that in the wisdom of all
the Boards of Aldermen that have preceded it in
any part of the habitable globe, none ever gave
evidence of such wonderful sagacty as this Ger
tainly society in the south has arrived at an alarm
ing condition. it, as indicated by the action of our
very discreet Municipal officials, it has become IN.
safe to encourage southern people to assemble in
Conventions to discuss their commercial and do.
nestle interests. Surely we should be put under
some surveillance, lest the people of the south
should dissolve the Unionl If they cannot be
trusted to meet in Commercial Conventions, they
surely cannot be tolerated in political Conventions
Will mott Alderman Foae put bis official veto in
future on all these noisy gatherings that congre-
gatelwithin our corporate limits2
How can he as 3 sagacous and Union.loving
Alderman permit men to hold meetings, and fre-
quently at night, too, who are ready at any mo-
ment to sever our glorious Union2 1t will not be
long until it viii be dangerous to the government
to let Southern travel, for fear that in their
intercourse with each other they may become SEQ
tional. Wonder how it would do to go North
Wonder if Alderman FosG would feel any alarm
if the friends of the Commercial Convention
would change their place of holding it from Sa.
vannah to Cincinnati, where fre-sating is not 30
contagious2
The proceedings of our board of Aldermen in
refusing to appoint delegates to the Commercial
Convention at Savannah, Ga, for fear that ait
would promote sectional sentiments and stir up
agitation" might do to laugh at if it were not a
SANDER upon our people and an insult to our sister
States. Therefore it becomes an important matter.
Is the sentiment reflected the sentiment of our citi-
zens2 Isl in keeping with the responsibility and
standing of the city we live in to say to our neigh
boring city of Savannah that we are unwilling to
accept her polite invitation to psrtake Of her hos
pitslity and discuss our business interests with
the view to mutual good, lest in SO doing we bes
come ipdoctrinsted with sectional sentiments and
are seduced into the school of South Carolina
disunionists.
We regret exceedingly to see our contempora-
ries of the Banner and Patriot attempt ing to sus
tain such ridiculous proceed ings. These papers
and their, board of Aldermen have done violence
to the sentiment of Nashville This was no po-
tical matter, and the better portion of their party
will refuse to commit themselves to policy with
out argument precedent, or excuse, discreditable
to US as individuals and dshonorsble to US as q
city.