Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-07-20
, bnt these same State Legislatures. some

1 the act OF secession from the Union. We
| went still further, and showed that when a
man had the temerity to rise in the late
Richmond convention, which nominated Mr..
| BRECKENRIDGE, and speak in behalf of the
| Union, he was called to order, for violation
| of propriety and the courtesy under which
he was permitted to speak, and was peremp-
| tor:ly prevented from continuing that line of
! speech. We showed that the members Of the
| Richmond Convention, which was composed
exclusively of dislfnioH DEMOCRATS, considered
Mr.. BRE0hINRIDGE as heir candidate. This
claim was put forward at Charleston, S. c.,
on the 9th inst, by Mr.. WN. E. MARTIN, in
the following seli-congratulatory style: at IL
remarkable fat that The choice for President and
Vice President made at the Maryland institute aras
the same triich OUR DELEGATION had informally
made ONE HOUR BEFORE at Richmond" That
Mr.. BRECKENRIDGE is primarily and essential
| ly the candidate of the secessionists, who
were well represented at the Maryland Insti-
| tute, Baltimore, We have the fact, reported by
| the Baltimore 4nlaicqn after his nomination:
| CATER the applause had subsidized the whole
| Hall resounded with cries FOR Mr.. YANcEY
FOR VICE PRESIDENT" Yet our contemporary
thinks that no unprejudiced mind will hold
| these facts TO establish that the democracy
are for disaniOn "Ephraim is Joined to his
IDOLS" &c.
The Union and American also, for some rea-
son, the motive for which we acknowledge
| our inability to fathom, argues that Mr..
| SoULE, of La, and the DOUGLAS candidate for
| the Vice Presidency, Mr.. JOHNSON, of Ga,
| ''have again and again used language of the
EXTREMIST import" in other words, that they,
| too, have been disunionists. That is certainly
no business of ours. We quoted only from
| those who support Mr.. BRECKENRIDGE; and as
Gov. WISE said in his letter to the Southern
DEMOCRATIC Governors in 1856, "for obvious
reasons" If these men should have been so
rash as to declare disunion sentiments at any
| time. and have since seen their error and sin
cerely repented, we hail the fact as a good
omen for the country; but if they retain
those sentiments still, we viii hold ourselves
in readiness to expose them to the public, and
to treat them as we do all other enemies Of
the Union. If our neighbor wishes to hold
the DOUGLAS party in the South up as equal
ly odious with the BRECKENRIDGE party, in
this respect, he is welcome to do so. 1t isno
concern of ours just now.
Al the conclusion OF our article we quoted
from the speech of Mr.. BRECKNRIDGE, at
aware of the main facts we had disclosed,
and that he sympathised with the secession
isis who nominated him. The Union and
American thinks we made these quotations
sin most unfair manner" We certainly
did not intend to do so; and in spite of the
Union and americans additions, we cannot
see wherein we omitted anything which would
help his cause His speech was directed
mainly to two things-the designs of the
Black Republican party, and the doctrine
of Congressional protection. After paying
his respects to these, he declares that resist.
aHce IN some form is intUitaJLe," &c. We gave
Mr.. BRECKINRIDGE the full benefit of the only
qualification, of any point which he made,
and that was that kentucky, while a single
ray of hope penetrates the thick darkness,
"
the Union" This was justice to him and
we awarded it; but in doing so we quoted
his subsequent portentous inquiry, in the
same speech. that "when the subject of con-
contest reaches the homes and fire-Sides of a
people, who is wise enough to predict or
control the course of events" And his
reference to the action of certain Southern
States, which he called by name, and assum-
ing that such action reflected the ''true feel |
ing of the people" If anything else were
lacking to make good our charge it would |
be found in the acceptance of the nomination |
rendered him under the circumstances and |
with the surroundings that it was. five are |
not mistaken, kinsman of Mr.. BRECKIN-
RIDGE, soon after the-delivery of his Frank |
fort speech, wrote him letter, afterwards |
printed in the newspapers, characterizing it |
as disunion speech.
There is no doubt that the larger portion of |
the Democracy of South Carolina, Georgia, |
Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana,
Arkansas and Texas assert the doctrine of
the abstract right Of secession at any mo-
ment they see proper to exercise it, separately
or collectively. They also declare that they
will hold the election of Republican Pres
ident just and sufficient cause for a disso-
luton of the Union. Now, will the Union
and American state unequivocably whether
it, as the representative of the BRECKENRIDGE
democracy of Tennessee, will indorse either
of these positions?