Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-08-26
mr.. Ben ana she Douglas men Of Ten

Mr.. Bell and she Douglas men Of Ten
ncssee.
We presume there is No man in Teunessee.0f any
party hat believes there Is any possible chance for
Mr. Do5eLAs to carry the state q VIII pot be. de-
MED therefore, thai every Democratic vote cast for
Mr. DoUoIAH reduces to that extern the vote that Ne
BReckNRrneE would otherwise receive, and to the
same extent is aiding Mr. BELL Such being the case
it is not improper to inquire into the history Of the
past sufficiently to show the estimation in which
Mr. BELL was held by the DOUGLAS leaders until very
recently:
On the 14th day Of November, 1857, Hon. J. KNOX
Wakes. of Shelby. now aIeading BOUeEAs man,
introduced into the Tennessee Senate the following
preamble and and resolutions. Senate Journal
1873, p l57) as
WHEREAS, The act Of 1920 commonly called the
Missouri Compromise act was inconsistent with the
! principles declared and laid down in the acts of
1850, better known as the Compromise acts of that
year:
Ard ,ohereas The Missouri Compromise act was
a palpable wrong done to the people of the slave
holding States, and should have been repealed: s
And aohsreds The principles of the Kansas-Nebras-
ka bill meet our unqualified appreciation and should
have received the cordial support Of our Senators
and Representatives in Congress-
WHEREAs, One of these Senators, Hon. John Bell,
in speech delivered against the Kansas-Nebraska
bill May rs, 1854, said
"a noble generous. and high-minded Senator
from the South, within the lastfew days before the
final vote was taken the BILL appealed to me ia
manner which cannot narrate and which affected
me most deeply. The recollection of it affects and
influences my feelings now, and ever will. / told
that honorable Senator that there was one feature
in the bill which made it impossible that should
vote for il, II | waived all other objections. / said
to others who made appeals to me on the subject,
that while Il would afford me great pleasure to be
sustained BY my constituents, yet if 1 was not, i
would resign my seat here the moment found my
course on this subject was not acceptable to them.
As for my standing public man. and whatever
prospects public man of long service IN the coun-
ellis of the country might be supposed TO have, L
would resign them all with pleasure. told that gem
tleman. that if upon this any other great ques-
tion affecting the interests of the South, should
find my views conflicting materially with what should
appear to be the settled sentiment of that section
should feel it my imperative duty to retire.
81 declare here to-day, that if my countrymen of
Tennessee shall declare against my course on this
subject and that shall Re ascertained to unreasonable
certainty viii not be seen in the Senate day af
terwards.n r
WHEREAS, The voice of his countrymen of Ten
nessee three several occasions, l85556-i5I, has
been pronounced adversely 10 the Senator's course"
on that vital question to the South; therefore
Be reSoved By the General Assembly Of the State OF
Tennessee That the Hon. John Bell be, and he is
hereby respectfully requested to redeem the pledge
so solemnly made by him set forth in the pream-
bic to this resolution.
ResolUed, That copy of this preamble and reso-
luton be forwarded to our Senators and Represen-
tatIves in Congress, and that the Governor be fur
nished copy of the same.
On 18th December the resolutions were taken up,
and Mr.. WALKER moved to amend by stiking out all
after the quoted words of Mr. BELL, and insert the
following :-CSenate Journal, p 297,)
Therefore be Il resolved blythe General Assembly of the
State Of Tennessee That we fully concur with the
Hon. John Bell as to the duty of a Senator, when
the voice of his constituency has decided against
him question materially affecting their interests.
Be further resolved That in opinion the voice
of Mr. Bells couItrymen in Tennessee, in the recent
elections, has declared against his course the
Kansas Nebraska bill question of vital Importance
to the South.
The preamble and resolutions as amended passed,
Mr.. WALKER and every other Democratic Senator
present voting for them. In the House they came
up on the 10th of February, 1858. Judge RowLEs
offered the following amendment:
Be It further resolUed, That our Senators in the
Congress Of the United States hereby instructed
and requested to vote for the admission of Kansas
as an independent State, under what Is termed the
LecomptOn Constitution, Transmitted to the Senate
and House of Representatives, IN Congress assem-
bled. by President Buchanan in his message to Them
dated I'd February, 1858.
This amendment was adopted, Judge DUNLAP,
Judge KING and every other Democrat present
voting for it Mr.. BATE of Upton offered the fol-
lowing which was adopted:
Belt further RESOLVED, That the Governor of this
State forward certified copy of these resolutions
to our Senators and Representatives in the Congress
of the United States.
Judge DUNLAP then demanded the previous, the
4 A..
Judge KING. Judge DUNLAP. and every other Demo
crat veting aye. blouse Journal 1878, p 549-5O)
The resolutions as amended were then return
ed to the Senate, and on molten to concur in
the amendments ofthe House. Mr.. WALKER and every
other Democrat present voted aye. NotwithstaEd-
ing these resolutions Mr. BELL continued to hold his
seat, aud voted against the admission of Kansas IN
der the Lecompton Constitution, and DIR. Douglas
Uoted 1cR him If Mr.. BELL ought to have voted for
the admission of Kansas, we presume that the DoUG
IAslmen viii admit that Mr.. DOUGLAS ought to have
done so too. If one was right both were right If
one was wrong, both were wrong. At the time the
preamble and original resolutions offered by Mr..
WALKER were prepared, Hon. H. NJ. WATTERSoN, one
Of the DOUGIAs electors for the State at Large, was
by some of the Senator's to have prepar
"a IneIn OF 10 nave DeeH HdLHly lusttuLneutdA III
their preparation.
Having thus given from the history of the past
the estimate in which Mr.. BELL was held by t5e
leading DOUGLAS men in Tennessee less than three
years ago, we now refer to the speech of Mr.. BELL
in the Senate when he presented those resolutions
10 show what he thought of those who plotted" to
use his term that portion of the preamble and resO
lutlons in relation to his course the Kansas-Ne
brsska bill. Mr.. BELL said:
Il do not wish to speak of any portion of the
members of the Legislature with disrespect; but |
must say that the preamble and the first two reso-
lu.ons of the series gotup for the purpose of
disparaging me with the public, by giving the sol
enity of legislative declaration to the charge OF
violated pledges. But sir thank God that neither
my character nor my honor is in the keeping OF
such men, l regard the preamble and first two
resolutions as a grstuitous insult in all its circum-
stances entirely characteristic Of those who plotted
1t. do not say this of all who voted for and sup
ported these resolutions"