Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-06-18
conING To THE CoNFEssIONAL.

The late Know Nothing disaster in Virginia has
put the Richmond Wing on the confessional. 1t now
acknowledges what has heretofore been plain to
every one not wilfuIy blind, but which the opposi-
ton press with one OF two exceptions, have peril
naciously attempted to conceal and deny. The
JTBig it is true, short time after the late Presi-
Dental election. owned up to the fact that the Know
Nothing organization was a magnificent failure, but
with that single exception, the opposition press has
steadily maintained that it all it protested to
be- and would eventually triumph.
The late and third miserable failure in Virginia,
however, has made the thing too apparent to war
rant the attempt at longer cOncealment. The Wing
makes the following open confession:
We have no new opinion to advance in regard to
the condition and prospects of the American party
as a national organization. For two years-ever
since the Virginia gubernatorial electiOn-We have
been firmly convinced, and have often so expressed
ourselves that the American party, as a national
party. had almost ceased to exist. But what was
mere opinion before proved to be fixed fact by
the result Of the Presidential contest last fall That
election clearly demonstrated the non-existence Of
the American party, as national organization. Mr..
Fillmore as the nominee of the party, received the
electoral vote Of only single State in the Union.
In each Of the other thirty States, he was beaten
not in the race at all In every Southern State, eI
cept Maryland although obtaining respectable
vote in ALL on account Of his moderation, and wis
DOM and Justice while President he was yet in sad
minority in all; while in the North, in most Of the
Northern States, he received scarcely any vote
thus showing whatever the American party has
been before that it was completely dishanded and
broken up.
| Again: the Wing says
! With all these disagreeable and stubborn facts
staring all parties and the whole people in the face,
b would alike be absurd and dishonest for any one
hoC TO contend that there is such a thing in exis-
fence as d national American party. Nor, so far
ve can see is there any present hope Of the re-or
ganizatiou of the American party upon q national
bnd available basis. Even supposing that it could
hold its own in the Southern States, that it could
obtain the ascendency 10 majority Of the Southern
States-of which there is no prOspect-it Is evident
that without at least strong popular vote TO back
10 in majority Of the Northern States, II would be
unfit for service in any future national camPaign.-
In short. lis career, as national party Is at an
end and it would be the height of folly attempt
to disguise fact, perfectly obvious to all men.
This is all true and honest. No man can gainsay
a word these extracts contain. They are true now
and have been true for three years. The northern
wing of Know Nothingism was abolition and free
soil from the first, and grew worse and worse till it
had the strength and courage to exhibit itself
masked before the public in the Philadelphia Ma
tonal Convention Of 1856 and in the election of an
unbroken Black Republican delegation to Congress
from the free States. These facts were just as ap-
parent then as they are now yet thousands of South
ern men we're found to continue their utilization
with this section Of their order