Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-10-20
Dialogue betweena Democrat and a
Bellite showing the Position of Parties

.LasS snoWlnR the EO1ltIOu Oh EArtAeB
Denoerat-John l am sstonished to see you sub
NIT 10 having your nose so pulled and twisted by
your party leaders. They dragged you out of whig-
gerry intG sam party in 1855 and out of Sans par
ty into the Opposition party in 1850 and out of the
Opposition and into the Union Conservative party in
Ioo1. Tour nose must be quite sore, and you GER
ualniy cannot undergo many more such operations
and have respectable proboscis.
5 n, always have been Wing ard expect to
i io1. anu uie one did join the American party in
1900 voted with the Opposition in 1859 and am now
member Of the Union marty
~; DenloerGt-Bnt, John, why did Won desert the
wing parry winch so loved the erich Irish brOgue
ana sweet herman accent and swear mon the holy
ESangellsts that You were afraid of tbe pons and
uhe foreigners, and thus connect vourself With
/ party that prOtessed 70 be the desrb 81 ~. Wl;g
party ana canned to have 'riseT, upon is r7rins
ana 1olad not be responsible for d of e m. V6io
| Pdrty'S) obnoxious acts or ui5I1tsd Tie5oes V " -
BeLde-I am as good Wing now as 7 ,,er - 7
oelieVe the principles Of the American marty yvere
correct and would be glad to see them carr,ad
| out. NV" e''fieu
DemOcrdt-I cannot understand how Won, cor15 n,
Wing, and join an oath-bound party tbat san tbe
Wing party had died of its solun cor77iptor ;, r. -
say the principles of the American paTtvyyere cat
/ | will try you little further In 1855 The Amer
lean party adopted platform at PhiladelDhia and on
dorsed the massachusetts act which had been PASS
ed by Congress 1854, and if you doubt what sav
refer You to the fact, that distinguished member
| OF that party IN the pc of our present repre-
sentative Of the Sth Congressional District made
great speech at Clarksville land it was printed)
/ formally taking leave Of the Democratic party in
which he said This nelo or american party IS as
sound as that or any other party on that Che SdrerLO
question, haviRg adopted the principles Of Douqlis'
Kansas Nebraska biz as their position the S,dJs.t
Of SIdrTy.
BeLlte-Yes we endorsed that act. And why
should we not 1t was much Wing as a Demo-
cratic measure. Did not representative then in
Congress (Nr. Zollieofer) vote for it? hah
| DemOcrGt-1es but your party met in Philadel-
phia Just nine weeks after the Convention that
passed the famous resolution endorsing that act.
and ripped up that platform and adopted = new
one, declarin. hostility to N. PieTce'S untniStrd
ton for reOpeung sectional agitation by repeating Tie
Missouri Compromise and which wasi done by the
Kansas Nebraska bill, and nominated Mr.. Fillmore
who declared that the Kansas Nebraska act was "a
Pdadoros boz out Of l1hich issued all the eUils that AZ
Hict the country And the author of the great
GAINESVILLE speech above referred to, supported
Fillmore, and you did likewise. How was that
| Wing yet? h8h
Beleite-We were willing to take Mr.. Fillmore
without platform. He was platform enough.
Democrat-YOu might have been willing to take
hun without platform. but you did not You took
him on platform that inculcated doctrines directly
opposite TO the resolves of your party Just nine
months before. And that platform was made for
you by your Northern brethren whom Messrs
BrownlOw, ZollicOffer and Picket denounced in the
Convention that nominated Mr.. Fillmore. Some OF
them, after they had made you platform and nsm-
mated your candidate assisted in nominating Free
mont, and voted for him. Wing yet, hah!
! BeIHe-Platforms don't do any good; thew only
/ deceive the people. Mr. Fillmore was good man.
DelRocrut-A declaration of principles hold to be
quite necessary, and thought Mr.. Clay the leader
OF the Wing party. But should say that your expe-
rience since 1854 has been rather of character TO
! impress you with the opinion that platforms do no
good, but are intended to deceive and mislead
the people (Of which suppose you feel that you
One) since your party has been SO expert in making
and unmaking them. John, don't such documents
make your head feel little dizzy? But you voted
with the Opposition party in 1859. The Nashville
Banner of May 3d. 1859, in giving an account Of the
/ opening discussion between Gov. Harris and Col.
Netherland, said Col Y. then read The 4 resolution
Of Democratic Platform announcing he position of that
| party on the SldUay question The Opposition party
agreed to that resolution and stood nth them upon it,
! The resolution you stood with upon endorses The
the decision Of the Supreme Court IN the Of DTed
ScOtt' on the rights Of Shareholders, and the status Of
Slavery IN the Territories and lCinq 70 abide by
the principles announced IN that decision. The present
representative of the 9Th Congressional District
/ (whO made the great speech at Clsrksville en-
| dOrsing Douglas Kansas-Nebraska bill took the
same position in his canvass in 1859. Joshua F..
Bell, the Opposition candidate for Governor in Ken
lucky in 1859, took strong ground in favor of Con-
reSsjOal protection TO slavery in the Territories, and
your speakers generally took that position in the
| OOuli. HulSL MANY VI your party ItduefS anu
papers were endeavOring to form a coalition with
/ all the elements opposed to Democracy North and
South patriotic, holy alliance in order to "qiUe The
Democratic party lS40 OUer again IN 1902 Who con-
/ sttutes the Opposition party North? Was it the
Northern wing OF the American party that split of
| IN 1856 and supported Fremont? Was it Mr. Doug
las and his few followers who left the Democratic
party and voted with John Bell and the Black Re
pubicans against the admission of Kansas a slave
State? The great majority Of those lrhO opposed the
!
opposed because come lsih prO-slqrery C0nSttl-
| ton" So said Mr. Zollicofer
BellHe 1 voted with the Opposition party in 1853.
l voted with my party for J. NJ Quarles.-But you
have been crticiziBg the Opposition party pray tell
me if you endorse Iancey who says, he lr0uld fire
the Soter heart and pTecpitate Tie cotton Stais5 into
| reUOlutiOa.'
DessOcrGt-We are advocating the same principles
that we have advocated and the same principles
| that your party stood with US on in 1889 and for
which you voted. But, you have mentioned Yancey.
am not called upon to endorse Hancey. He Is not
a candidate. But he is for the Union and the Con
sutuuOn and IS not disuniOnist per But if IN
derstand Mr. Nancey position he is for Congressional
protection to slavery the Territories 1hs necessa
~. And stands about where your party stood in
Tennessee and Kentucky in 1859. Do you think that
Breckenridge is disunioniEt?
BeLlae-No, l do not believe that Breckenridge is
disdnlonst, but the disun'Onists for him among
them fancey, whe ought to be hung on the limb
next to John Brown
Democrat Thank you sir, for your good opinion
OF Mr. Breckinridge. But, pray sir, do you endorse
Mr. Bells GisuniOn speech, made in the 3lst Congress
IN which he said 'GiUe diSlu5iOR gUe me anything
IN preference TO Union sustained OHy by pOUer On
Constitutional and legal ties lrithON reciprocal trust and
confidence. II our future is to be one Of eternal
dlScoTd o. angry crtnnatiOn and recTiminatiOn. GIVE
ME- RATHER DISUNION WITH ALL IT'S CONSE-
QUENClES." Now, sir. If you hang Yancey for ad-
vOcating Congressional protection will you not give
Joshua F. Bell and II V. Johnson the benefit of a
limb near Mr.. Yancey? and place Col. Netherland
and J. NJ Quarles en- an eminence near by that they
may behold the fearful leap and take timely warn
ing. Oh ask your pardon sir, to Mr.. Quares,
suppose 1t would not be necessary 20 let him have
view, as he has (as have been tOld) ceased to adj
vOcate the aforesaid doctrine and politely .tips
has beaUer' to the Hon. John Bell and falls into rank
under the lead Of the only Southern Senator who
voted against his pet measure, Douglas Kansas-Ne-
braska bill, and can say Yancey as Sleek as he
could say /" Sam " in 1856
BeHHs-But, Mr.. Yancey Is a dsunionist What do
you think of his Slaughter letter,
DenlOcrdt.-Hou cannot point to any language of
Mr. 1ancey's anywhere. where he says he will not
be bound by constitutional and leqql ties" he never
uttered language that smells as much of dis
union as does the language of Mr.. Bell as quoted
above. Now, sir, if words make a man a disuniOn-
lst, and you hang Yancey for writing an unguarded
private letter to Mr.. Slaughter will you give the
candidate OF the Union party the benefit of place
near him for utteriRg such dsuniOa sentiments the
scattered broadcast in the Congressional Globe print
ed under the authority of Congress-
Bete-Mr. Bell says he is for the "UniOn the Con-
stitutOn and the enforcement of the laws that is
his platform, and is as much pledge as | would de-
mand.
DemOcrd!.-The platform you have signified your |
Willingness TO take Mr.. Bell on, and ali the pledge he
makes in accepting the nomination on that platform
IS this, that elected he will take the oath of Office
If Lincoln is elected he viii take oath 10 support
the Consultation and enforce the laws. Are you, as a
freeman willing to place the reins of Government in
the hands Of any man who will do no more than |
pledge himself to take the oath of Office il elected
Beltits.-I contend that platforms do no good, that
no one is bound by them. The Constitution the
Union and the enforcement of the laws covers the
whole ground, and is the platform upon which
Washington was elected. Did you ask more Of
Washington! II
DsmOerat-So far as your party is concerned,
platforms do no good You not now, and new
er have been bound by them. AS shown in the fact
that you all swOre that there was danger in the
Pope and his followers in 1867 and since that have
coured the foreign vote. As shown in the fact that
you endorsed the Ksnsas-Nebraska act in 1865, in
your National Convention, and repudiated in your
National Convention that nominated MF. Fillmore
Just pine mOlthg after. As shown in the fact that
you stood with the Democratic party the slavery
question in 1853, and denounce the Democrats
is disunionsts for advocating that doctrine. As =
hOwn IN the TACT that you are supporting Mr.
Bell, who was the only Southern Senator in Con-