Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-07-20
The DisuniOn Issue,

The exposure which we submitted to the
readers of the PATRIOT on the 18th and 18th
inst, of the existence of a settled purpose,
on the part of certain ultra Southern lead
ers, to break up the Union and revolutionize
the Government, sustained by an array OF
impregnable evidence establishing the al
legged fact beyond question, has provoked
an apology from the Nashville Union and
American. The fist eBdeavOr of our con-
temporary is to run an analogy between
late speech of CHARLES SUMNER on the Bar
barism of Slavery" and the PATRIOT's ar
ticles, at the end of which the fauciful dis
covery of a similarity OF the tactics of the
two, ia made. The reasoning is substantial
ly this: SUMNER, in his speech, referred to
certain facts occurring in the South to make
good his Infamous charges, which the Union
and An.srie1a admits to be true, but says they
furnished no evidence of the barbarism of
Southern society. So, the PATRIOT quotes
certain facts, which our contemporary ad-
mits to be true, but thinks that no unpreju-
diced mind viii hold that they establish that
the Democracy is for disuniOn In other
words, SUMNER refers to one set of facts to
support one theory, ard the PATRIOT refers
to a totally different set of facts to establish
3 wholly different theory, but yet the '.tac-
tics" of the two are the sameI If there is
any man living who can read the articles of
the PATRIOT in question, and then read the
article of the Union and American and pre-
serve 8 grave countenance, then surely the
days of the stOies are come again. The :'tac-
tics" Of our neighbOr, unlike our own, have
no parallel, real or fancied; and while we
are perfectly free to accord to him all that
learning and ability which have justly made
his name distinguished, we must be permit
ted TO add, with the utmost respect. that his
"tactics" are as absurd as they are novel,
and as fimsy as they are original. There
are few men of any generation who could so
successfully blend so much ingenuity with so
much weakness. OfcOurse our contempOra-
~, whom we as much respect for his fair
ness as for his talents, does not seek TO make
the impression that we, in any degree, SYM
pathiZe with Mr.. SUMNER in his insane and
slavery. We are persuaded that he would
sooner repel such an imputatiOn if made
against us, as a calumny, than to make it
even by inference, himself. But we fully ap-
preciate the unengiable attitude of our con-
temporary. He clearly saw that our articles,
unattached and unexplained, would be of
the most serious injury to the cause which
he is so gallantly, bat unfortunately, striv-
ing to uphold. and we give him 1ull credit
for doing the best he could under the cir
expressions of few hot-headed, intemper-
ate and indiscreet, men in favor of disunion,
at long intervals and under exciting circum-
stances, We brought forward the evidences
of deliberate conspiracy, and sustained it
By chain Of circumstances, of declarations
made by those against whom the charge was
made, that, in the language of the law-boOks,
would exclude every other reasonable by
pothesis but that of guilt" The counsel
for the defense, the Union and American,
while admitting the facts, argues that they
furnish nc. evidence that the democracy are for
disuniOn. And that is the only issue be-
tween U.s. He contends that the facts we
have laid before "the country are not SUI
hcient to warrant conviction Of the de-
mocracy. We think otherwise. We have
put witness after witness upon the stand,
dasOcTdtic witnesses, in the statements of all
whom there was most remarkable concur
renee, and most extraordinary cOhereIoe,
These witnesses, too, were generally men of
uncommon mark-they were priests and ell
ders in the democratic Israel-they we're
men trusted, looked up to, confded in. and
followed by the democratic masses-tbey
were, many of them, at the moment holding
high positions of honor and confidence by
democratic SURFACES and democratic prefer
ence. We did not rest the prosecution on
individual statements, we brought forward
the proceedings of regularly constituted DEM
ocratic State Conventions in which, under
democratic law and usage, the democracy of
whole States were committed to the asser-
ton of purpose of dissolving the Union,
on the election of a Republican to the Pres
idency. d ssiring to leave no hook upon
which the most skeptical could hang doubt
and, to be candid, with some hope of con-
vincing our neighbor of the error of his way
and the evil of his present association-we
adduced the action of DEMOCRATIC STATE
formally declaring, under all
the sanctions of official station and of OFF,
cial oaths, the abstract right Of secession at
the viii Of any State, and deliberate pur-
pose TO 60 out of the Union on the election
of Republican to the Presidency. Not only