Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-01-28

Mr.. Buchanan knew then, as well as be
does now that he could never have been
nominated at Cincinnati. had he previously
made known to the people of Virginia the
views which he now publishes on the subject
OF Pacific Railroad. He accepted their
support with full knowledge of the under
standing with which it was accorded. He
thus pledged himself to the views of the peo-
pie of Virginia on this question The action
Of the Pennsylvania delegation at Cincinnati
confirmed the pledge. Nay, the very resoln-
ton to which he has since referred, II entl-
tied to respect at all, pledges him to oppose
all pretension of the general government TO
the power to construct or to appropriate
lands or money to the construction of Pa
cifc Railroad. And he was still further
pledged by his own voluntary and express
ayowal. '~@ 'e' t4aAA
On the 9th of June. 1856. in speech be-
fore the Keystone Club, Mr.. Buchanan gave
the following unqualified pledge: s
"Now that / have been placed upon plat
form. of which most heartily approve, and
being the preventative Of the great Demo-
cratic party. and not simply James Bnchan-
an. mnst square my conduct according to
that platform, and insert no new plank. nor
take one from it, That platform is suffi-
GENTLY broad and national for the whole
Democratic party"
And vet, three months had scarcely elapsed.
before Mr.. Buchanan pennsd the following
letter
WHEATLAND, (near Lancaster) PA,
September II. 1856.
To b. r. Washington, Esq. Chairman Of the
Democratic State Central Committee Of Cali
forTnd-
SUR have received numerous communi-
cations from sources in California entitled to
high regard. in reference to the proposed Pa
cifc Railroad. As il would be Impossible
for me 10 answer them NIL. | deem it most
proper and respectful to address you gen
eral answer in your official capacity. II
performing this duty to the citizens of Cali
fOrnia. act in perfect consistency with tht
self imposed restriction contained i'll my let,
ter accepting the nomination for the Presi-
dency. not 10 answer interrOgatories raising
new and different issues from those presented
| by the Cincinnati Convention, because thai
! Convention itself adopted resolution IL
| favor of that great work.
then desire to state briefly that. concur
ring with the convention, am decidedly IA
vOrable to the construction of the Pacific
Railroad, and | derive the authority to do
this from the constitutional power ito declare
war" and the constitutional duty to repel
inyasiOns." In my judgment. Congress pos
sesses the same power to make appropriations
for the construction of this road. strictly for
the purpose of national defence, that it has
to erect Publications at the mouth of the
harbor of San Francisco. Indeed, the neces-
sity, with view to r"pel foreign invasion
from California. is "a or, at i'll the one case as
the other. Neither will there be danger from
the precedent, for it is almost impossible to
conceive that any case attended 10y such eX-
traordinary and unprecedented circumstances
can ever again occur IN our history
JAMES BUCHANAN.
AO Urn hove Shorn tho Cincinnati
Convention not only omitted to assert
the power of the general government to con-
struct Pacific Railroad, but the delegates
assembled in convention denied ia toto the pos
sbility of rightful exercise of such power
At all events, il cannot be pretended that Mr.
Inge's resolution itself asserted any power in
the general government reconstruct the road
There was no such plank in the platform.
And after the pledge given TO the party In
the speech before the Keystone Club, binding
the democratic nominee by his own words to
'insert no new plank" III the platform, he did
volunteer to add new plank-one entirely
inconsistent with the main body of the plat
form, one embodying views which lie knew
would have defeat' his nomination had they
been expressed sooner entirely at variance
with the known understanding of the people
of Virginia, who secured his nomination,
without whose aid he never could have been
nominated. and who certainly would have re-
fused their aid had they been rightly advised
Of Mr.. Buchanan's intentions.
And apart from all this, the manner in
which Mr.. Buchanan attempted to force this
new plank into the democratic platform is es-
pecially open to just exception. 1t will be
observed that his letter was written on the
18th of September. In justice to public i'll
formation, it should have been published at
once to the whole country this was not
done. 1t was mailed to California in such
manner that it could not be published on this
side the Rocky mountains except on the very
eve Of the election. 1t was not published here
until after the election.