Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1860-03-09
THE CONSTITUTIONAL UNION PARTY.
aR0LL ON THAT BALL.o
ADpnEss, OF rHR NATIONAL cExrRALF EKEcurlvr
COMMITTEE.
10 he P.opls of he United States.

Inc pOltcfh aspect Oh the country lne puOllC
mind with painful apprehension. The people are
everywhere disturbed with the fear of some disas-
trous crisis Many alarmed for the safety Of the
Union All are conscious that the sentiment OF
fraternity which once linked the States together,
even more firmly than the compact Of the Constitu-
ton itself has been rdely shaken and that discord
has cTept into the relationship of communities which
should have found, both in the interests Of the
present and in the memories of the past the strong
est motives for mutual regard and confidence
What has produced these general and unhappy
convictionsp
It has been too apparent to escape the most casual
observation, thai, for some years past, there has
been manisested design, in the movements Of In
uental political leaders to force the country into
an organization of parties founded on the question
of slavery.
The first introduction of this subject into party
politics. engcndered q controversy which has con-
stantly increased in extent aud bitterness mingling
with, or usurpng the place of all other political
questions and giving to those party politics greater
and more dangerous vehemence. Considerations of
the public welfare seem to be cast aside to make
room for wider and more unrestrained contention
on this single and engrossing theme.
| The two great parties in the country (the Demo-
cratic and Republican, have been the chief actors
in this fatal contest. if not its authors Whether
they have always eXerted themselves to allaythe
excitement 10 which 1t gave rise, or, on the con-
! trary have bot of them occasionally employed it
for the promotion of party purposes 1t is not for
to determine. 1t is sufficient to note that the mind
of the people has been industriousy exercised by
this contest to the service of sectional agitation and
that in its progress the teachings of the fathers Of
the Republic, the lights Of history the landmarks
of Constitutional power have been renounced our
old and revered traditions of policy spurned, and
the welfare of the present and The hopes of the
future been brought into jeopardy in the alterna-
Il. al l.E.
the angry disputants.
II is not our purpose TO arraign or denouncc either
of these parties for their past errors transgres-
sions but we regard it MS an indisputabe fact that
by their conflicts they have been mainly nstrumen-
tai in producing the present lamentable state of
public affairs. 1t would be easy to establish this
position by reference TO events in the recent his
tory Of the country, with which the public is but
too familiar; hut we purposely abstain from all
comments upon them as inconsistent with the limits
of this address, aud tending to revive controver-
sizes which ii is its object to allay. We will simply
state that the one by its frequent and unnecessary
intrusion of the slavery question into party politics
has exasperaed sectional feeling at the North and
increased the growing spirit of disunion at the
South, while the other has been prompt to avail
itself of these opportunities for ant-slayery agia-
ton. Hatt
After having so6ong agtated the country by their
reciprocal assaults, these parties are preparing
for Il sectional struggle far exceeding in violence
any fiat has yet occurred the results of which may
qe disastrous to the country.
As an indication of the character of this struggle
of its objects and possible consequences we need
only point to the significant fact that convention
has been called by one of these parties TO select
candidate for the Office of Chief Magistrate of the
Union, from which, by the necessary logic of con-
structiop, fifteen States of that Union are excluded
Soltmny impressed with these facts, number
of gentlemen from different parts Of the country
among whom were members of the present Con-
grcss, and of Congresses of former date, recently
assembled in the city Of Washington to deliberate
on means for averting dangers 10 which they may
lead.
II was the unanimous opinion of the meeting
that immediate steps should be taken to organize
constitutional Union party" pledged to support
'the Union the Constitution, and the enforcement
of the laws
the appointment of Central Executive Commit
tee charged with the general direction of the party
and with the preparation of address to the people
of the United States
We need not assure YOU fellow-citizens, that we
rapproach this task with diffidence and anxiety
We ure aware of the difficulty which attends The
cndeavor, at any time, TO persuade men to abandon
political associations TO which they are allied, either
!, by interest or preference and we know how much
that difficulty is increased when party attachment
is heightened by the ardor of expected success OF
inilamcd by the zeal OF opposition But there are
nevertheless, iuncturcs when honest-heared citizens
viii be prepared, at any sacrifice Of prejudice OF
opinion, to perform this duty to their country
II Is the policy of the dominant parties TO under
rate the real strength of those whom disapprobation
Indifference, disgust force into the position o
neurals in political warfare. The ordinary tactics
of parties teach them to discourage those whom they
cannot enlist. But the fact is demonstrable thai
the numbers who occupy this position at all times
and more especially at the present time; constitut,
a most influential portion of the whole people. /
the Investigation could he made there Is reason L
believe il would result in disclosing the fact that
as parties are now constituted, little less than mil
5 lion of voters viii he driven out of the sphere O.
active participation in the coming election. Th'
old Wing strength Of the country will be found L
furnish no small contribution to this mass
Even those Of that association who have been in
duced TO take sides in recent elections with one o.
the other of the opponent divisions, acknowledged
but scant feay to their leaders, and the greate
number of them will, it is believed, be prompt t,
join their old comrades in rallying to q conservative
field to fight a new battle for the cause of the Con
stitution and the restoration of lost harmony
Large numbers of the old Democratic party wht
withdrew from the line of march when they dis
covered il leading towards internal strife, and tn
assault of the traditional policy by which that part,
achieved its former triumphs would, we have nC
doubt supply powerful reinforcement to tn
friends of the Union.
In the American party, to which the breaking NJ
of old organizations gave birth, and which has beer
active in the endeavor to establish an ntermediat
power between the contending forces that have EN-
crossed the field, will be found a very large elemen
! Of conservative strenth TO increase the volume @
the proposed organization.
If we add TO all these that mass of quiet unob
truSiye citizens, who have always Stunned th
turmoil of political life, content to leave the destinl
, of the country in the hands Of those who in In
ordinary condition of the national progress, wen
most ambitious to assume its direction and VIII,
have reposed such faith in the patriotism Of tbci
u fellow men as to feel no concern in the question o
the supremacy of party but whom the extraordinar,
incentives of crisis like the present must awakel
to the resolve of an effort TO protect the threatene
safety OF the contederacy, We have elements snfii
% oient by their combination to form a great party
To which additional strength will be impaired by th
exalted patriotism of its principles and objects
Moreover il Is OnlX inst IN, -,