Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-09-19
From the Republican Banner.
Mr.. He'll.

Memphis Enquirer of the speech recently de-
livered at that place by Mr.. Bell, the writer
was careful to state in the closing paragraph,
that "the language" was his Gown" The
writer was thus careful, obviously for the
purpose OF preventing the ascription to Mr..
Bell. by any body and for any purpose, OF
the phraseology-the words and terms-in
which he undertook to give the substance on
ly of a portion of Mr.. Bell's remarks.
Notwithstanding this explicit declaration
of the writer, one of the Republican journals
of the city of New York, the C5nmercial Id
uerfiser, quotes a short passage from the
sketch. as the reported" Language" of Mr..
| Bell, and makes it the subject of a bitter, if
not maligant, commentary. The Advertiser
! Processes TO find it difficult to believe that
Mr.. Bell, who. il says, sis not the man TO
| employ words and especially epithets with
out full appreciation of their meaning" and
who l. recognised on all hands as "a courte-
Gus gentleman" should. On the occasion
referred to, have applied TO the Republican
party, s.epithets of contemptuus abuse"
| Why, then, was the Advertiser so swift to as-
sail Mr.. Bell alphabetically Why Charge
! MIR. Bell with having done a veIy unbecom-
| ing thing. II he had used these "epithets of
contemptuous abuse when the writer Of the
! sketch bad expressly declared that the slam
guage," descriptive terms and all, was his
'ow.., and not Mr.. Bell?
i Eagerly catching up the theme of its Re-
publican contemporary at New York, the Of
fetal organ of the Administration at Wash
ington, the Constitution. Celebrates a column
] of vindciive Misrepresentation, not alto
4 gether free from scurrility, which, having
| been republsbed here, at the home of Mr..
Bell, by the Union and American, we shall pro-
coed 10 notice.
The primary falsehoods of the Constitution 8
article, and around which all the others
cluster, are
That Mr.. Bell, protesting conservative,
nauoaai siews g.. onersa MS, services 10 .ae
gahRi2allIon. aud endeavored to me : IN
| rupt bargain with il while be thought that
! said bargain would serve bis own selfish pur-
poses;" but having discovered that the ..offer
oil his services, if accepted, wouldbenefit Mr..
Seward and not HIMSELF" he changed bis
tactics, .broke off the negotiation and Tes,1a-
! ed an attitude of hostility" to the party OF
which MFR. Seward is the leader.
This charge, OF a coalition with the Re
| publican party, freely made in this State in
| she late canvass by the democratic speakers
and Journals, eonsummaied or medtated. IL
the expense of the rights and interests OF
the South, Mr.. Bell, in speech in this place
on the night preceding the elections, and in
a subsequent speech at Memphis. denounced
| as wholly false and cdlumaious. On both
occasions he very frankly stated for What pur-
| poses and on what principles, he bad been,
| and was still, willing to unite, not only with
Republicans, but with men OF ali parties and
sections.
Those purposes and principles, he said, had
been very clearly stated in his reply to a
note he had received in the Summer OF 1858,
| from a number of gentlemen in the city OF
New York, of different parties, Wings, Amer
| leans, and Republicans rendering him, in
| connection with Mr.. Crittenden, public
| dinner.
Portions of that letter of reply, he said,
had been industriously used by the demo-
cratic speakers and journals throughout the
State, to give color to the charge they brought
| against him, that be was willing. and had eX-
pressed readiness, to unite with the Repub-
licans upon terms involving i" surrender
of the rights and interests of the South into
the hands of her "swOrn and recognized
enemies Mr.. Bell read a paragraph from
the letter (Which the democratic speakers and
| journals had carefully suppressed) showing
that the very basis of the union which he con-
| templated and had advocated, was the dis
| carding of call merely sectional considera-
| tions" and :. the ignoring of all narrow
| prejudces and exclusive ideas," to the end,
! that the movement should be impelled by Il
national impulse, shared alike by North and
South, East aud West "a movement which
should have for its objects the restoration Of The
government 70 uS OTtyHtH P"uy, Sec cfc'ty~'ef"'y
Of The bonds Of union and the promotion Of those
moral and material interests by which alone.
nation, ,re can be made prosperous and happy.
Mr.. Bell was most emphatic and explicit in
denouncing as false and caluminous all
charges or insinuations that he had at any
time, at any place, or to any person or party,
in public or In private, proposed TO unite, or
held out the idea that he would unite. with the
Republican party, or any other party organi-
he, hat for
in this letter. the basis, that is. of I" discard
ing all merely sectional considerations" land
ignoring all narrow prcjudices and exclusive
ideas; :" which, in fact. is the only sound and
durable basis upon which a union of national
men. North and South, East and West, can
possibly be formed. Upon that basis, and for
the promotion and attainment of the great
national objects specifically mentioned in his
New York letter, Mr.. Bell, replying to the
charge of his democratic opponents that he
was seeking union with the BLACK Repub-
lcans," declared his readiness to unite with
a. Black Republicans" Quoting the language
of the charged with Abolitionists (dscrimin-
ating between them and the Republicans
with men of tchdteUer section pdrty-even
with the profigate leaders OF democracy in
Tennessee, who had been his revilers and
calumniators.
Mr. Bell maintained that the worst enc
mics of the South were the democratic slavery
agtators OF the South. These, he said, were
the men who were most untrue to the best
interests of the Southland who were mainly
responsible for all the mischefs which had
been brought upon the country and the dan
gers which now hung over it, through the
rapid growth OF spirit OF sectiUnaism
| which il not arrested would ultimately work
| a dissolution of the Union. The Republican
| party, he said, the existence of which, the
! democratic leaders of the South were so in
| cessantly and vehemently urging AS an all
| potential reason for the support OF the Demo-
| cratic party by all Southern men-that very
| Republican party owed its origin. growth and
| present magnitude to the renewal of the agi-
| tation of the slavery question in 1854, by
| the passage, through Southern Democratic
influence, Of the Kansas Nebraska bill, and 10
the attempt, by the same influence in 1851 g.
| 10 force the acceptance of the Lecompton
| Constitution by the people of Kansas in op-
| position 10 the wishes OF iour-fiiths of the
| voting population. He repealed the charge
| of the Democratic journals and speakers.
| made for the purpose of deepening the effect
of their calumnous Misrepresentation oil his
| intentions. that the Republican party was an
Abolition party. The leaders of that par ty
had frequently and publicly disclamed all
design to interfere with the institution Of
| slavery it now exists in the South. Mr..
| Bell stated his strong conviction that the
| great body of the Republican party, though
| anti-slavery in their sentiments, and opposed
| TO its extension. were conservative, devoted
| TO the Union. and well disposed, under cir
cumstances favorable to success, waving all
sectional issues TO unite upon national prin-
| ciples with conservative men of every Sec
| tiou, in a common effort To rescue the eoun-
| try from Democratic misrule.
We meet aud brand as grossly foul and
caluminous the charge of the Administration
organ al Washington, that Mr.. Bell, finding
that fusion with the Republican party
| would operate to the benefit of Mr.. Seward
and not 10 himself. has suddenly changed his
'atIitude' towards that party. Mr.. Bells
| attitude towards the Republican party is
at this moment the same ia all respects that