Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-07-22
COMMUNICATIONS.
The Territories.

The Territories.
To deny that the issue presented in the present
contest is one made by the North, is to deny that
there is anissue of any kind to deny that this issue
is forced upon the South a sectional ISSUE is to
deny all knowledge of the history of parties
To assert that this issue can be met in any other
way than the in which it is presented exhibits
a culpable blindness as to the motives which impel
men when acting in combination, or which prompt
them to adhere to a party organization where the
| prospect of success seems almost certain. To
deny that the permanent success of the Repub-
can party in the North involves radical and dan
gsrous change in our form Of government is to
deny all that the leaders of that party assert Iii
to deny that effects follow To assert that
any permanent good can be accomplished by any
halfway opposition to dangerous principles, by any
temporary yielding by any indefinite Incompetent
sibe and undefnable propositions. to assert a
power for language not dreamed of by lexico-
grapherS.
Mr. DOUGLAS policy is indefinite, because under
its action there is no stopping point and as far as
the mental vision can follow in the direction in
which it points there is no termination it is incom
prehensbe, because, in the whole range of political
economy, it has comparison, parallel it is
defnable for the simple reason that precedent
can be found to illustrate it, principle to agree
with it, light in history strong enough to define it
Mr.. HALE says no caucus, court can decide this
question"
Mr.. SUMNER says State after State, quitting the
condition of Territory and spurning slavery, will
be welcomed into our plural unit, and joining hands
together viii become belt Of fire, grit about the
Slave States, and cit the ogarchy, slavery, the
1
South, the prosperity of the South, the political
power of the South, proatrate, PROSTATE. pros
\ trate, will, must die poisoned rat in its
holen This Magnum LotrOcnium, this great
Robberhood," this South must be met and depOsed,
"nor can the holy be ended until the barbarism
now dominanant in Republic is overthrow
and the pagan power is driven from our Jerusalem"
| The leaders of the Republican party, one and all,
claim the power and assert the determination to
! aude every citizen of the South forever from any
and all Territory or hereafter to be in pos
| session, bought with the common blood or money of
the North and South.
Mr.. DoUGIAs meets the emphasis of Mr. HALE, the
fiery ardor and crusadng spirit of Mr. SUMNER, and
| the plain unmistakeable spirit and language of
the platform with the proposition to change the
venue to open another Court, to bring before that
tribunal of eminent squatters question of Consti-
! tutional law, which Mr.. HAZE says can be decided
| BY no court This court of Mr.. DOUGLAS may be con-
stituted of citizens of the United States-Or it may
it may happen, be composed of white men-or it may
! in its sovereign capacity be constituted of half
breeds, or muattoes, meztizos, octoroons, blacks
and whites-Or 1t may be made up of that excellent
| and well defined cross of Indio-Mexican Indio-
French, Indio-Spanish, last and most excellent
| because most complex the lndio-Africanic race,
that now skirt Southern boundary, and equally
under the auspices of Mr.SUNNER and Mr. DOUGLAS,
threaten US with utilization 'as a belt of fire. on
Southern and Western border threatenus by right
which is above and beyond all other rights by
right which according to Mr.. SUMNER knows con-
troll and according to Mr.. DoUGIAs is undisputed.
John BELL VS. Hon. F. X. ZOIIIcOffer.
In the United States Senate on Sept 18th, 1850, |
Mr.. BELL said
with regard to the constitutional power of Con-
gress would say, the only dOub! haze Of the exist
ece of such poIoer, either to suppress the SGUe trade
or abolish slavery u, the District Of Columbia is in
spired by the respect have for the opinions of so
many distinguished and eminent men, both in and |
out of Congress- who hold that Congress has not the
power @
READING the Constitution for myself, beleUe that |
Congress has all The poCoer the subject lohich the
States haze ,0ithin their jurisdiction"
Mr. BELL voted against the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise line, and thought that the South should
have been satisfied with it.
Mr.. ZoIIIcoFFER said in Congress on the 9th Of
January, 1856:
NY conviction is that the theory that Con-
gresS has the constitutional power to draw a geo.
graphical line through the public territories,
and to say where slavery shall exist and where !
slavery shall be prohibited, is theory giving to
Congress power which the Constitution has never
conferred on that body.
M opinion is that this theory has done more to dam
age The constitutional rights Of the Southern States Of
diS Union, than the open trdTare Of Northern AbO-
itiOniSts upon the Institutions Of the So'dt."
Now look upon this picture, then on that
Here Mr. ZoLLICoFFER plants himself on the Con-
stitution, and says that Congress has no right to
legislats on the subject of slavery neither to abol
lsh or cireumscribe it by geographical lines. Mr.:
BELL plants himself most emphaticaily on the other
aide and says Congress has the power to abolish
slavery when a majority desire it. Now who il
right? Here is a broad chasm between them. The !
Supreme Court has decided in favor of Mr. ZoLLE
CoFFERs position, and public opinion has sustained
it. We have heard it limited around that Mr.. ZoLLI-
| GOLFER has retracted his opinions on the subject,
and regrets having ever advocated them. This has
been assigned the reason why Mr.. ZoLIIcoFFER Is
so silent in the present campaign. We do not know
his opinions of candidates before the people yet we
cannot think that he willing to change his posi-
ton to salt the peculiar political complexion OF
those around him. We believe he worships at the /
shrine OF principle not men, Many of the most dis
| tnguished men OF Mr.. BELLS party are in direct /
antagOnism to him on the vital questions now be-
fore the American peple, yet the censors of the /
press are determined to force them into his ranks |
to battle for him in spite of their principles We will
see whether they love principle more than men.
SHIRLEY.
WAvEELY, Tenn July IL, 1860
MEssRS EDIFoRS On Monday the first day of Court
ell the soYereigns being in town, we had glori-
nrdnrsinar InIIA. q RnEcE..