Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-08-07

the proposition as far as possible by argument,
while suggesting delay of the vote for re-charte-
as the most certain means of accomplishing its OBJ
ects thus seeking to be understood as acting with
both sides of the question. In this connection he
said:
II would have supported the proposition Of the
gentleman from Georgia. upon another ground
WITHOUT any design to prejudice the interests Of Tie
Bank If there are any concealed transactions OF
the Bank of a reprehel.sible character, or any
abuses of the privileges conferred upon it, not
known TO the public it is of Importance that they
should be brought to light, in order thas they may
be guarded against or prevented in the future, py
the terms of new charter of the same or similar
institution, which may be granted; for CONSIDER
that If al the charges brought By the gentleman from
Georqia should be established they acOsld stu not De-
concllssioe against the charter of the same Bae or
nel0 one'
Farther ON in the same speech he expressed the
hope that ete proposition to recharter the present
Bank viii assume such shape that can give my
vote in favor of it."
Such was the anomalous position of Mr.. BELL as
early 1882, while representing an anti-bank con-
stituency and claiming to be Democrat. Suisse
quent events will show where lie quietly drift
ing and the purposes which he had in view. As the
Bank had the power to carry its charter through
the House without the vote of Mr.. BELL, he voted
against it. His speech and influence and coouseis
,osre for the Bank-h Intellectual Uoe, for his constt
ents and the President He then straddled the Bank
question in 1882 and If there has ever been ques-
ton of grave Importance since that time that he
has not straddled we should be pleased to have it
pointed out
The next effort which the Bank made was that of
the panic session" Public opinion was to be ope-
rated on by cries of public distress" executive
usurpatOn and oppression" of peeuniary want
threatened universal bankruptcy and ruin, calling
for restoration of the deposites and re-eharter
of the Bank"
This new attack of the Bank was pressed directly
the President in person. He was assaied in both
branches of Congress with accusations imputing
impeachdbe offences. As the representative of inn
mediate friends and neighbours of the President and
being in some sort the Presidents peculiar
preventative as coming from his district, Mr.. B.
looked to as the appropriate defender of the charae
ter Of his illustrious constituent But Mr. BELL was
silent. His tongue which made the Hall reseund
with eoquence when the Bank charter was in ques-
ton, was mute when the character of the President
was concerned This singular conduct of Col. BELLS
was not long without an explanation. As we said
before he was engaged in devising such means and
favoring such party associations as would give him
greater guarantees of future promotion, and at the
close of this session he loGS elected SPEAKER THE
House. OUer the choice of his party, Mr. Polk, BY THE
PARTzAxs OF THE BANK. This was believed at the
time to have been not much reward for his SER
vices in the House. his services out of it, and to
give him greater weight when his eXertions were
next called into requisition. But when Mr.. BELL
came before his constituents he still protested that
he was the political friend of Gen. JACKSON and
ardent supporter of his administration, and claim
ed credit for not having thrown the administration
into minority in the House, which he claimed the
power to have done by reason of the influence he
possessed over some members"
But it soon became apparent that it was resolved
to blend the bank and the Presidency together and
rely on carrying both in the House by destroying
the landmarks of party" and by making the double
contest personal and sectional and wholly Invested
of principle and the election of the Speaker by
the forces of the Bank through the division he
enabled to effect in the Republican or Democratic
ranks, rendered him proper leader to extend this
division from the representatives of the people tc
the people themselves.
This 1884 was a critical period in the ''past his
tory of Mr. BELL connected with the public ser
vice" No State in the Union was more hostile &c
the Federal opposition than Tennessee. No people
were ever more devoted to the fortunes of any man
than were the constituents of Mr.. BELL to the for
tunes of Gen. JACKSON. They knew him to be incOr
ruptible and friend of the people. Mr.. BELL could
not venture against this Overwhelming public sent
ment; and yet, with the consciousness that General
JACKSON k7aeU him, and that his strength was fast
failing with the party as then organized, he was
sorely puzzled to determine under what star would
best flourish those selfish personal fortunes by and
upon which seem to have been planned every move
ment of his life. He in favor of the Federal part
zans of the United States Bank but the United States
Bank was not in favor with the people of Tennessee
He had aroused the suspiciOns of and was rapidly
sinking in favor with the supporters of the admins
tration of Gen JACKSON, and no where was that ad
ministration more popular than in Tennessee Here
was dilemma that might Well have challenged the
foxy craft and subtle arts of TALLErEAND. Mr.
BELL had only been elected Speaker to fill the unex
pred term of Mr.. STEVENSON, resigned. He was am
bilious of are-election.
With the exception of Gen. JACKSON no man stood
SO high in the esteem and confidence of the people OF
Tennessee as Judge WHITE, then one ofOur Senators
in Congress, an ardent Republican and Jealous
supporter of the administration. His friends in the
Tennessee Legislature of 1888 proposed recommend
ing him to the country as the successor Of Gen.
JACKSON Friends of Mr. BELL aided in defeating the
movement and Mr.. Bell. himself, according to his
own admission, wrote to a leading friend of Mr.. VAN
buren,, dpprisjng him Of these facts Mr.. BELL was
himself at that time asprant to succeed Mr.. STE
vENsoN Speaker and 1t desirable to make fair
weather with Mr.. VAN BUREN's friends in the House,
many of whom did subsequently vote for him, while
the friends of Judge WHITE voted against him. He
was now ambitious of 4 reelection, and in the fall
of 1884 wrote to the Hon. CAMPBELL P. WHITE, a
bosom friend of Mr.. VAN buren,, on the subject of
Presidential asprants, that, As YET TENNESSEE HAS
TAKEN No ACTIVE, DECIDED COURSE on THIS QUESTION,
BUT THE SAGACIOUS POLITICIANS AMONG
US ARE GOING IN FOR Mr.. VAN BUREN,"
The election for Speaker was to take place at the
opening of the next session He tells the New York
city representative that Tennessee has yet taken
no active decided course, that is much as to
saw something is to be done hereIeneSSee is to be
rnoueI-she is undecided am important per-
sonage Speaker &c. And to show 10 whom the
friends of the New York favorite would be indebted
in case Tennessee should decide to support Mr.. VAN
buren,, he adds, 4" the knowing politicians among
us are going in for Mr.. VAN BUREN," So Mr.. BELL
could not answer absolutely for the State but for
himself and the political friends among whom he as.
ISOLATED, he could speak.
At the same time that Mr.. BELL thus intimated his
partially for Mr. VAN buren,, it was believed upon
good and sufficient ground, by many, that he was
playing the same game with the friends of Col
RICHARD NJ JOHNSON, whose name was spoken of in
connection with the Presidency We base this state
ment upon the authority of the editor Of the Hen
tucky Gazette, friend of Col JOHNSON, who, in 1885
made a publication IN which he says: "In the
month of August or September last, (lS34) thnk
il WAS Mr.. BELL did write letter to Col. JOHNSON
of the character which you describe, and which l
saw do not remember if, in that particular letter,
he mr.. BELI) urged Col. JOHNSON to become can
didate for the Presidency not; but know very
well that he had pressed him, and the means OF sue
were to be based upon tie grounds to which you
lllude Isupport of the Bank and Mr.. BELL always
Il. d. NfE nrI