Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-11-02
TIE NEWS ExPOUNDING MIR. BELLS
LETTER.

pamphlets issued by the Democratic State Central
Committee, last Summer. The Nesos complains that
these documents have done injustice to Mr. BELL
and the leaders of his party in charging upon them
a proposed coalition with the Black Republicans
The people of Tennessee have, long ago pronounced
their judgment this and other questions presented
in the canvass and they have sustained the positions
Of Gov HARRIS and the Democratic party, and con-
demned the policy of Mr.. BELL and the Opposition,
by majority of over eight thousand votes
STILL since the Ns'os is dissatisfied with the popu-
lar verdict and seers disposed to demand rehear-
ing of the cause we are entirely willing to allow
our contemporary the benefit of any defence which
it can offer in behalf of Mr. BRIL- and his political
followers.
We may have failed, ia the vehement and some
what turbid flow of our contemporary eloquence,
to catch the drift of its remarks, but if properly
understand its meaning, the principal subject Of
complaint against Gov. HlERIs the Democratic Com
mttee, and Democratic journals is that in referring
to the correspondence between Mr.. BELL. and Messrs
GREELEY, SMITH, and others, who had rendered HIM
public dinner, they failed to quote the whole of
Mr.. BELLS letter thereby conveying false Impress
ion Of of its purport and meaning.
If we correct in surprising that this is the
substance of our contemporary complaint it is to-
tally groundless. At the time the correspondence
took place it appeared entire in our own and other
Democratic journals. There was not a reader of
Democratic newspapers in the State who did not
have an opportunity of reading the whole cores
pOndence. Ii is not usual, we believe for public
speakers or others in their references to well
known documents, to quote the whole Of them, nor
is it regarded suppression to quote single para
graph from such documents without giving the rest
The paragraphs quoted from Mr.. BELLS letter by
Governor HARRIS, and by the Central Committee
contained everything which material to an I'M
derstanding of his position and the construction
placed upon those paragraphs is unavoidablein con
nectiOn with the facts of the case, Mr. BELL in con-
junction with every Black Republican in Congress.
had opposed the admission of Kansas as a slave State
into the Union The Nashville Patriot had declared
that
Whatever may be said to the contrary, the grav-
of the objection to the admission of Kansas is
that the Black Republicans did not have the forma-
ton of its constitution, and that the present
ed tOerates slavery There is not voice in all the
Opposition which would be raised against the con
stution if it had prohibited slavery and the Black
Republicans could have glided into undisputed pow
er under its operation"
JDShNA H. UlDDlNbS. HORACE NTkEEiE1 ana W VI. IL.
SEWARD had announced that opposition to that mea-
would be made the basis for organizing great
national party to break down the slave power and
the Tribune was proclaiming in almost every issue
that it was The plain duty Of Republicans to regard
and treat as brothers all loh0 stand ,5i IN opposition
10 the Lecompton fraud" The editor of the Tribune
the probable author of this sentiment immedi-
atey the heels of this declaration in conjunction
with other anti-LecomptOn men in New York. adj
dresses aletter to Messrs BELL and CRITTENDEN-
only Southern Senator's who voted against Le-
compton-congratulat them on their " emf
nently patriotic statesmanlike and truly national
course in the councils of our common country,
which they-to wit Messrs. GREELEY. TRUMAN
SMITH. SIMEON DRAPER, Books, and others, had
contemplated through years, with profound and
increasing admiration" especially in late dan
gerous and critical emergency'-G. e. the LecOmp-
ton struggle)-and as testimonial of their esteem
and admiration they invite these Southern Senator's
TO partake of public dinner. In reply to this com
munication Mr. BELL says:
Among the names subscribed to the invitation.
recognize MANY familiar to the whole country. as
eminent in the various walks of life-Some who
have been distinguished in the public service, others
who have given tone and and direction 70 opinion
and others still who have recently stood in compar-
atively political antagonism.
when these various shades of opinion. are
thus blended together, and actuated by com
mon impulse in aiming at common object
IL argues well for the success of the cause with
which they are identified. In the present posture
of public affairs, assurance Is more aUsplclouS
than that such men should unite, animated by the
same patriotic inspiration. and act together for tat
great end, by which the country may be redeemed
from the rule of ultraism the eNcesses Of party
may be restrained stagnant commerce may he re-
Viyed, and suffering industry protected
Now what was the common object for which
these various shades of opinion were blend
ed together" What was the common impulse by
which they were actuated? What was the patrl-
otic inspiration which animated them. and which
Mr. BELL regarded as so suspicious for the country!
The whole object of this movement was, as declared
by JOSHUA R. GIDDINGs ito defeat the executive and
the slave power in their efforts to make Kansas
slave State and the ultrasm from which they pro
posed to redeem the country, was, as argusd by
Gov. HARRIS the ultraism Of the Democratic party
as displayed in the passage of The kansas'ebraska
Bill and the Lecompton Constitution, both of which
measures Mr. BELL. united with his correspondents
in opposingn Ii could not be Black Republican Ill
traism which they were uniting to break down, for
when or where had HORACE GREELEY, or TRUMAN
SMITH or SIMEON DRAPER, indicated a disposition to
abate their hostility to the South! When had they
Droposed TO unite on any other than antislavery
platform? When had they been actuated by any
other impulse or animated by any other inspiration
than a bitter unrelentng hostility to the South,
which has had its natural development in the recent
outbreak at Harper's Ferry? If the Aelos VIII /
show when they have done these things we may ad-
nit that Mr. BELL regarded the cooperation OF such /
men as propitious 70 the rights Of the South, and
30 the perpetuation Of the Union While Is unable
TO show these things it is vanfor the Aelos to argue
that Mr.. BELL was expressing his qualification at |
b. q movement, the very soul and animatng princi- |
Dle of which should be the diScId6sg Of all merely
sectiona! considerations movement shared alike |
BY North and South East and West-a movement |
which had for its high objects the restoration OF
he governmental its original purity, the strength
,ning of the bonds of the Union and the promo
lion of those moral and material interests by which
alone. as a nation we can De made prosperous and J
happy :" for when had the abolition disorganizers
he was addressing. manifested disposition to en-
gage in such a movement?
The fair phrases which the Nelrs quotes from Mr..
BELL mean nothing when applied to a combination
promote. In the vocabulary of those he was adj
dressing, nothing is national or patriotic but Black
Repubcansm, and nothing is sectional but the
sertion and maintenance of Southern rights The
Black Republicans constantly attempt to sanctify
their wicked and fanatcal objects by the use of Just
such pretty and euphonieus terms those employed
by Mr.. BELL in describing the purposes Of this Black
Republican fusion at which he cXuted so much
GREELEY contends that the objects of the Republi-
can party are all national Mr.. SEWARD boasts Of the
organization of the Republicans as a national par1y
:, the South under the lead of such men as ClsSus
NJ Clay and FRANK 2. BLAm-and Mr.. BELL in en-
coura ying a movement conducted under the aus
piees of such men, may fairly be supposed to have
used the word in the same sense.
The idea of the Ne,rs being improved in charae-
4er Inv Incoming democratic, Is utterly absurd That
IS an absolute Impossibility -AdShcMe Aet'S.
Well. we have heard of some characters so bad |
that even good associations could not improve them
We had hoped that the Ne1os was not yet beyond
the hope of reformation.