Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-09-25

FRIDAY. sEPTEMBER IS. 1857.


~ tBC Wy WV OLlCduc, HAS 0ECu
prepared, and published in the Crescent Of
that city. From it we condense the follow
ing facts: The number of murders, man
slaughters and homicides, for seventeen
months, from February Sth, 1856, to June
Both, 1851, was 52-in six of which Amer
leans were implicated, of whom three were
tried and honorabIy acquitted-the rest
were foreigners or unknown. The whole
number of arrests for twenty-five months,
from Ist July, 1855, to 3lst May, 1851
being eleven months of Mayor Lewis's and
eleven months of Mayor Waterman's ad-
minis tration-was 1890; of which there
were 8, $40 natives of the United States,
the rest foreigners.
The table is accompanied by brief
commentary, all the material points of which
we subjoin, and which, for its candor and
moderation, must stand as the true.version
of the disgraceful disturbances which have
disgraced that city. 1t will be observed
that in 1854 and 1855, when the ballot
boxes were broken, the Attorney General,
District Attorney, Judge of the Criminal
Court, Mayor, Sheriff, and Recorders, were
all Democrats, yet not a single member Of
the American party a0as arrested, tried and
oOnUicted Of breaking tie ballot Bores, of dis
tasr6ing the peace, or Of intimidating aaly nat
trGlized or native UOter Also, that in all
the contested election cases, the proof was
that eUery illegal cote aoas cast for the Demo
cratic ticket. These facts are an over
whelming refutatiou of the baseless Sian
ders which have been propagated against
the American party from the time of their
occurrence, and should suffuse the cheeks
of those who have given the foul aspersion,
currency, with the bushes of confusion and
shame. Here is the statement of the facts
from the Crescent of September IA:
1t has been boldly slleged-and the legislation o.
the past two years has been based upon it-that al
the murders, crimes, misdemeanors, riots, rows
disturbances of the peace and breaking of the bal
| lot-boxes, are justly chargeabe to the American
party. How unjust the charge, and how untrue in
! fact the annexed tables will slow While thew are
1 ~
| also convict Democratic organs and demsgogues o.
! the perversion of truth and Of the fabrication OF
falsehood. "Crimes," observed an illustrious ora.
tor, "are the acts of individuals, and of denom-
inatOns and therefore, arbitrarily to class men un.
der general descriptions in order to prosecute aud
punish them in lump for presumed delinquency
| of which perhaps but part, perhaps none at all
are guilty, is, indeed, compendiOus method, and
saves world of trouble, without proof; but such
method, instead of being law, is an act of unnatu
raj rebellion against the legal domain of and
justice"
| The truth of the above remarks is obvious to all
| That native Americans occasionally are guilty O.
the minor as well az the graVeF Offences is lament
ably true and that crime, in all its gradations will
continue to shock the public conscience, is also
unfortunately true; but that either party, as {
/ party, is guilty of all the enormous offences
which are committed Is q libel upon human ma
/ ture.
With these remarks we will revert to an instanct
or two of outrages which happened in the past IeW
| years. Of all crimes againt the glorious right o
free suffrage, the Paquemne fraud, conceived aRC
executed by the worst fragment of the Democratic
party in this city, is the most prominent. The
success, unpublished in that case, led to and was
the origin of the shameful frauds of 1853. Though
the epidemic of that summer had decimated the
city, yet the vote larger than il had been
or will be for some years TO come. The substan-
tial men OF the city, after that election thought il
time to act, and in the winter of 1854 party,
called the reform party, organized, and in the
spring brought out their ticket. With the excep.
ton of the Mayor and Recorders, it succeeded =
After this date it took the name of the American
party. Success has always been certain since that
date, simply because the INSCRIPTIONS leaders OF
the Democratic party have been prevented from
practicing the Infamous frauds OF 1853. The re.
suit of every subsequent election clearly demon
strates that the Democratic party is in large minority
10 this CITY, and that its previous success was sole
frih n
perjured votes which polluted the ballat-boxes A
the two last elections the American ticket bad nc
opposition, anG it is generally understood il viii
have none in November next the Democratic perty
not wishing to expose its weakness but preferrine
70 keep up the spirits OF It's followers in the coun
try by Falstafian exdggeration Of its numbers
here.
In ell large cities, when political excitement is at
fever heat, disturbances at or near the polls are
likely TO occur. On two occasions the ballot boxes
were broken-in 1854 at one and in 1855 at two
precincts. Without any evidence, without even
for the slightest suspicion those acts OF vio
lence were attributed to the American party. Al
these two dates the Attorney General, District At.
torney, Judge of the Criminal Court, Mayor Sheriff
and Recorders, were all Democrats; and vet. with
all their power. with the police at their command
aided and assisted by a disappointed political fac
| ton, not single member OF the American party
was arrested tried and convicted of breaking the
ballot-bOxes, OF disturbing the peace or OF ntim
dating any naturalized or native voter Is il not
little singular II the American party is guilty thai
no proof of the guilt has been produced by all the
vigilance of Democratic administrations Might
it not be-is it not more probable If the Attorney
General, Mayor Sheriff and Recorders had used
all the power which the law gave them, that some
arrests might have been made, and that When the
guilty should be discovered, truth would be vindi-
Gated aud Democratic fraud exposedP
We will state fact which ought TO exonerats
the American party from the slightest suspicion
that there is any truth in the charges made against
IL In all the contested election cases-Bell We
huity, Aud vs.. Walton, aud Others-the proof
was that every illegal vote was cast for the Demo
erauc ticket This demonstrates beyond doubt
'h"t tae American party, never has resorted to un-
worthy means 70 gam an end, and never has de6led
| the balOtboxes.
Is il not far more probable that tbose who viii
| disregard the laws OF God and man Who viii So
when they have no right 70 vote, but who viii com.
init even perjury 70 exercise that right are the very
persons VINO disturb the peace, ges up rows and
riots, snd break the ballot. boxesg
To regain lost power the infamous election Law
was passed. For the honor Of the city bat one
pres could be found TO advocate it. whilst almost
| every Democrat denounced il. IL met with a.
strenuous opposition from the respectable Dor.
ton OF The Democratic party as from the Americas
party. The ostensbie reasons assigned Tor is pes
sage were the insshcieney OF the police, and the
Intimidation Of the naturaliZed voters. We win lei
/ Mayor Lewis defend himself With a police fore,
OF ass, 10 eleven months be made 1851 arrests
Mayor Waterman, IN the same period Of tune, witl
| = police force OF from ESQ 70 500, made rs sos
arrests; or, siih ! so men less than hayer Levi
4 bad, he made b79s arrests more. The grand tosal
/ Of ali arrests IN twenty-five months is A $50, o
| which number but se20 we're Ameficans-aB. s0l
bsing Oi foreign birth. We do not make charges
hat So gha "a a