Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-03-08

slaveholdilg lords or aristocrats.
ron a subsequent day Mr.. BELL called at
tention to this portion of his speech, stating
that he was incorrectly reported He said:
What said was, that my colleague charg-
ed that the policy of the State, in the appor-
tionment of representation, was such that it
placed that portion of his auditory in that po-
sition-not that he advocated a doctrine which
placed them in that position.v1 '
My colleague says his election as Governor
by plurality of three thousand, in 1855, was
decisive of the Kansas Nebraska question. /
heard none of the debates in that contest. /
have only seen these statements in the public
newspapers, and l have seen certificates of
them. l have seen statement of debate,
which / have not before me now, when Mr..
Gentry called upon him, before large au-
| dience in East Tennessee, to say whether he
| had not said so and so, having it written down
and presented to him to say yea or nay, and
| he recognized it as what he said and thought.
Now, sir, if there is any wiring in and
wiring OUT should like to know who it is
that has been guilty of such double conduct?
| Who has initiated the windings of the snake?
! / had no wish to allude to these things /
| made my remarks on the presentation OF the
resolutions of the Legislature of Tennessee
| with the greatest caution. Ieven asked my
| colleague as it was not usual on such occa-
L
| them to pass, unless he should feel himself
| imperatively called upon to say something,
He did not say that he would pursue the
course which suggested; but he said that his
course would depend on the character OF my
remarks. He gave me no notice whatever
| of the course he intended to pursue, which
was in a three-hour speech to bring forward
| ornamental passages which he has been In the
| habit of reciting on the stump, from Johnson
| to Shelby when canvassing the State-all
| his studied view of the philosophy of govern
| ment and the philosophy of slavery-all his
notions of the rights of the people, and squat
ter sovereignty, and what not. He has
brought them all in as an answer to my speech,
| to hold me up as an unprincipled and profii-
gate statesman, which he in substance and effect
represented me to be; and, after all, he eonclu-
ded with some strikingly offensive remarks in
relation to my pretensions as compared with
his. He spoke of my self-conception. and said
| he had met gentlemen of more ability than
possessed even with my own conception OF
my powers; and he asked,
'sUpon what meat doth this our Cesar feed, %
| that he claims such superiority over every
| body with whom he may come in collision!
| Did pretend to claim any superiority over
| anybody? Did | claim that he was not my
| peer? The preteXt for such remarks was that
| had stated that was not his competitor. 1
really did not mean much by that remark; but
as he had called me competitor twice,
1 thought il proper, from the tenor of his re-
| marks to disayow that / considered myself
his competitor; not that did not regard him
as the peer of myself or any Senator on this
floor: not that claim any superiority over
| him in any form.
He recites the commonplace lines common
cling "What constitutes a Slater" Men, Of
| course; and | ask, what constitutes man as
| he should be? such men as make up State!
| A man of principle, who, in public life par
ticularly, viii be governed by high principles
| | have claimed no superiority over him as
| member of Congress.
| He has said that there was boasting by
| myself or my friends in the convention which
nominated the late candidate of the American
party for Governor in Nashville. that would
! go forth with my trident, and that | would
| crush the casque of any one whom should
| encounter, whether he was Saxon or Saracen,
| Richard or Saladin. disclaim having made
any such arrogant pretensions.
| Mr.. JOHNSON of Tennessee. My statement
was this. that it was said in the PATRIOT, one
of their papers, that the Hon. John Bell, in
| their convention, had indicated his willingness
1 TO enter the canvass; and that he would go
| into the canvass and he would meet Saxon
| or Saracen Richard or Saladin, and that who
| ever came in contact with him his casque
would be crushed. 1t was never contradicted.
1t was taken up and republished in the news
papers, and the Democratic party sought
| through their papers, and il. fact attempted to
provoke the honorable Senator into discus
sion in the canvass then going on throughout
| the State. ~
Mr.. BELL heard in the Senator's speech
| the statement that it was boast of my own;
that he understood i had said so. and it is
treated accordingly; and then he goes on to
quote:
| oUpon what meat doth this Caesar feed,
| That he hath grown so greatr"
He says:
~ have mad competitors roemcn worthy
of my steel they have their fate like honora-
| BILE men, and recognized me as such"
He speaks of my conception of myself in
| another sentence. What does this language
indicate? might ask him upon what meat
he hath fed that he has assumed position OF
superiority far above anything L ever pretend
| ed to? l should like to know upon what
| meat he hath fed that be has grown so great
on his own self-conceptioh. But he said fur
Their that "a gentleman and well bred man
| win respect me- and all others L will make do
it." May not exclaim, " Upon what meat
does this our Caesar feed?'' "A gentleman
and IL well bred man Will respect me- will
not set myself up to claim that rank or posi-
| ton. And all others will make do it" he
says. / say to my colleague that, after his
|
I'll he gives proper explanation of it; and
now or at any time, let him attempt to make
me respect him.. ~h
There are many points which L have left I'M
noticed in tenderness and forbearance to the
Senate ! shall leave for a future occasion
ything may find it necessary to discuss.
Here Mr.. JOHNSON responded at considers
BILE length, concluding by saying that he re-
garded Mr.. BELL, politically, as down and
out of power, and in his PROSTATE condition
he had no disposition to add n single
pang to the torture to which he is already
condemned"
Mr.. BELL Mr.. President, do not mean to
gay anything ill natured except this one thing
which. perhaps, my colleague may so regard
| would rather be myself dead than that man
living Notwithstanding his professions, he
has pursued a course Indicative of the boiling
over within him of that feeling of malice with
which he pursued me before | may be dead
politically speaking; but that is the position Of
honor when the times turn up such members
of the Senate as he Ii.
He has mistaken my position on the com
promise of 1850. He alleges that was op
posed to the great commoner, Mr. Clay in hin
attempt to heal those bleeding wounds, and
that | stood with President Taylor, on the
non-action policy. Now, i wish merely &c
state the facts. suppose my colleague doe:
not really know very well what they are.
will tell you, sir, and the Senate, that con
tended from the very first, that the best thing
the South could do would be TO admit Cali
fornia with certain boundaries, even before
she sent her constitution here. There ar,
some here, perhaps, who may remember my
contest with Judge Berrien, Of Georgia, OF
the subject, whether that could be done. They
had a provisional government, with no consti
tuition formed aud l took the position tina
the Congress of the Uniten States could admi
States-not merely in conformity with th'
language or on the condition always implies
in our enabling acts; but that we could ad
nit societies. bodies polite, formed by com