The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1859-09-09

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In abou 'h after that Con-
gress met, it was to maintain
the compr9 80 unimpaired, Mr..
Douglas int IS bill to erect Kan
sas INTO Mr.. Dixon offered
an amendm Ealing the Missouri
compromise. Nicholson, now Sena-
tor from Ter then editor of the
Washington! J, denounced it as a
Whig trick, ind0Dldiary and disorganizing
in its nature. In short time afterwards
consultation was held ut the White
House and the result of that consultation
was the acceptance by Mr.. Douglas of Mr..
DiXon's amendment. The President and
his cabinet, except Mr.. Marcy, approved
it; the Union foced to the right about
and the repeal of the Missouri Compro-
mise was made test of Democracy. As
was to have been expected, this uncalled
for action OF the democracy blowed into
a flame the smouldcring embers of sec
tional discord, and the next election in
stead of four Abolitionists the number
swelled to l07-the democratic majority
OF eighty-four was annihilated, and they
were reduced to very considerable mi
nority. The fiood-gates of agitation were
thus again opened, and in 1856, instead
OF popular vote of 250,OO0 as in l84S, or
much less vote, (l57 ,0O0) in 1852, the
Abolition candidate received l,3OO, ,OOO.-
Who, he asked, is responsible for this vast
increase, but the Democracy. The coun-
try was at peace-the Compromise of
1850 had recoA lied every Jarring inter-
est, and good 1aen were congratulating
themselves th { the storm had passed
away, when this mischievous measure
was introduced, ind all the wild conten-
tions OF former years revived.
The speaker next referred to the Lc-
compton Constitution, and gave history
of the means which were resorted to Sc
cure its adoption. lie showed that frauds
of the grossest character, and illegal vo-
ing to an unheard of extent, had been
practiced to secure the election of the
Legislature which called the convention
that after the formation of the const-
tuition the convention had committed u
fraud upon the rights of the people i'm
submitting onlrthe slavery clause to the
popular vote, thus compelling them to
take the consti htion stained as it was
with iniquity, d y full as it was of imper-
fections, and " lins them to make no
change in its Provisions until the year
1864. In two subsequent votes it had
been clearly demonstrated that the right
of the people had been utterly disregard
ed, and the voice of the majority smoth-
cred by this unheard Of proceeding.
On the English Bill, where a fair ex-
preston was had it turned out that elev-
en-twelfths of the people were opposed
to the constitution, which so iniquitous
an attempt had been made to force upon
them. Mr. Bell said that he had been
ohnr rnaI x..itl, Il 10, ,L,1;t;a,,
timents because he voted against this
outrageous measure, and unscrupulous
partizans had not scrupled to affirm that
he so voted because the Lecompton Con-
stitutior contained q slavery clause
They knew the charges to be false when
they made it, but it has not been without
its effects, and he was conscious some-
times, when lie was in places where he
was not well known, and Democratic jour
nails had a free circulation, of being re-
garded as unfaithful to the land Of his
birth, and regardlsSs Of the interests of
the people ampH .om his life had
been spent, and ,eies would be laid.
Circumstances evented even his
friends from m2 critical examina.
ton of his couI had stood alone
in the delegatl Tennessee, and
those who had fidence in him
did not care Il - investigations
which might construed into
reflection colleagues. His
reasons were public at the
time-they ind to them
he referre3 Jon.
He sal Aged with
formina ok Re-
publ, yhce p
An infa lsent out
from Mas he had
great diffie0 a, in which
this charge wl what pur-
ported to be a him toa New
York COMMITTEE u invited Mr..
Crittenden and Ma public din
ner. That lette tof three para
graphs. The ty " were given,
while the third important Wds
suppressed. 1t wa Ills kind of tes-
timony that the fracy sought to
convict him of lfulness to the
South. His letter. Aciliatory in its
spirit, nothing moreS "t, not one Dem
ocratic journal. nor one Democratic can
didate, had the honesty and manliness
to do him justice. Axreat party, having
principle for its guide, would scorn vic.
tory won by such means.
Mr.. Bell said that it must be under
stood that, in all his illusions to the De-
mocracy, he meant the leaders alone. He
knew the masses were honest, and if not
led astray by those upon whom they re-
lied, would act justly and patriotically.-
If God gave him health and strength he
would try to disabuse their minds of
some of the prejudices which had been
instilled into them, and dissipate some of
the mists which hah been so industrious
ly gathered about them.
Mr.. Bell said that previous to his nom
ination at Cincinnati, Mr.. Buchanan had
been as deeply committed to the Missou-
ri Compromise as any man in the Union.
He had recognized it by his vote for the
annexation of Texas; he had proclaimed
his unaltered convictions in relation to it
in lS48, in his letter TO Mr.. Sanford, OF
Mobile, Ala, he had ?ritten a similar