Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1860-07-13
Gil a r x s WILLIE,
Friday; July l3, 1860.

BEly" We must demand our rights; say the south
ern democratic leaders; the time has arrived when
we must insist upon them, and if not conceded ny
the North, why then-dsunionl The time has
come, has III The time had come, when Mr.. Polk
signed the Wmot proviso upon the recommends
ton of democratic Congress- but the leaders ofthe
party, in the South, preferred plumber to principle
and the demand was not made. The time had come
when Gen. Cass first promulgated the doctrine of
Equatter sovereignty; but southern democratic
leaders preferred spoils to principles, and endorsed
that doctrine in voting for Gen. Cass The time
had come when Douglass engrafted squatter sove-
regnty upon the Kansas-Nebrnska bill; but tie
time had not come when southern democratic lead
crs could consent to forcgo plumber for principle,
and they again endorsed squatter sovereignty. The
time had come when this doctrine was made plank
in the Cincinnati platforms bat the spoils still
dearer to southern democrats than southern rights,
and again they endorsed squatter sovereignty. But
now, when the democratic party is broken up, and
the southern leaders no longer venture even to hope
for share of the spells, the time has come when
the South must have its rights or the Union must
be dissolved.
Had this demand been made when they frstfelt
that the rights the South were invaded all the
evils which have come upon the country would
have been averted because fanaticism had not then
dehroncd the reason of the North and engulphed
its sense of justice in the vortex of sectional preju-
dice. But the time had not then come. Southern
rights would bear tampering with for a long time,
but the spoil, could only be obtained through the
agency of the everlasting "nigger." This was the
programme and whilst southern democratic leaders
were, year after year. pandering to the sentiment Of
nnti-slavery, those concessions, made with corrupt
motives, were artfully used by the demagogues OF
the northern wing not only to ilsten upon the
northern mind the conviction that these concessions
Just hut to prove that the South itself oppos-
cd to the further extension of slavery or its demo-
cratic leaders would not so repeatedly have endorsed
squatter sovereignty. These concessions and the
ceaselcss cry of--"Niggerl Ngger!'--t former
yielding the citadel of southern rights and the lat
ter, tanning the flame of anti-slavery fnnaticism-
have resulted in the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the demo
cratic party, and the drawing of geographical lint
through the politics of the country.
These are the fruits of democratic misrule AnC
now, dcspairng of longer hold upon Office and it
emolumcuts, that party, taking advantage of it
own wrong would dissolve the Union rather THAI
the reins Of government in other hands. Henc
the Yanccy dsunion misunderstanding m,
Lane--and the insulting demand from such a part
that the rights of the South must be maintained, o
the Union must be dissolved This is adding in
suit to injury, The thief who robbed the hous
demands the privilege Of robbing it ngan, or h
will burn it down. Are the people prepared Il
giant this privilege? VIII they suffer the part
that has given birth to Black Republicanism foster
cl discord between the North and the South-pNn
dcrng to the fnoticism of the one by betraying tn
rights Of the othcr-the party that has plundere
the treasury and debased the morals of the country
to'consummotc its fell purposes by dissolution
the Union? We cannot believe that the people al
prepared to see this mighty Republic not only shor
ofits greatness and its glory, hut botted from eS
istcEcc by the desperate fragment of a foul and dis
rupcd party.