Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-12-13
AMERICAN AFFAIRS IN EUROPE.
An English mans Opinions aud ObserVi
tIons OF the NorIh and south.

a items OF the NorIh and south.
The London Times publishes the following lette
from an iutelligent EDglishmsD, who has been
personal observer of passing events this cont
neRt ---t
A letter OF your American correspondent, from
New England, in the Times Of October so concludes
/, with an extract from a speech Of Mr.. Johnson,
Tennessee Senator, which contains so much mis-
representation TO the state of FEELING and cORd
ton Of tho people in the Southern States that an
induced to AK you to Insers 3 refutttion of mis-
statements which, from late personal experience,
am able TO afford. viii not follow Mr. Johnson
through is details of the cod-bloOded shooting OF
woman, further than to say that totally disbe
lieVe the Occurrences; but VIII inform him, should
he peruse these lines, that he will, il he enquiries
hear well authenticated stories of violence and bru
taltes tbs part Of soldiers in the Federal forces
to Southern resident la1ies-in Aaryland far sur
passing the one he nArrstes. Atrocities may &C
casionally be committed in the sad state Of things
now existing on the other side Of the Atlantic but
1t is as unfair to brand the Southern with the
aerms OF coercion. outrage, insult, baspbemy and
crime as it would be to stigmatize the Northern
cause with similar epithets on account OF Of
dreadful violation, which know was committed BY
some meR of the SO called Excelsior Brigade.
What more particularly wish to dissbuse your
readers of who have read Mr. Johnson's speech, L.
nis statement that the whole secession career has
been one Of coercion, and that they never got any
Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Virginia out Of
the Union They attempted il in Mary lard, and
the Governor stopped it." Now, this Is notOriOusly
incorrect. These States all passed ordinances Uf
secession and. as TO Maryland. does not Ar
johnson know that nothing but Fort MeHenry's
guns keep Baltimore quiet, and nothing bat large
Federal force in Maryland, and the absence of arms
prevent unsnimous rising
Again, ne says "Fhey (ths Confederates) are st
tempting coercion in Kentucky, but the government
have prevented them.n This is as incorrect sc the
rest the Confederates moved into Kentucky in
self-defeDce. Any one looking at the map will see
that the South could not allow the North to occupy
Kentucky, as they meant gradually 20 accomplish
without exposing their whole frontier to attack
But what are the facts Why, General BuckneF
the Confederate General publicly proclaimed that
he would withdraw the Confederate troops sImul-
taneOusly with the withdrawal Of the Federal
army, Proclaimlng also, thst every AnhaoIsant, /
whatever were his opinions, should be protected,
which, having been in Kentucky at the time, can
Vouch for as having been strictly observed
Now, few words or coercion generally in the
Confederate cause. From aa1ple experience CON
pletely deny it. wasi in all the States Mr. johnson
mentions and so far from these being coercion, l
can bear my testimony thAtthers never was more
united people nor s more fixed determination 10
any people to achieve their Independence A gen
tlemsn of Louisiana said to me :" the NOTtheners
do not know Whist they have undertaken; to sue |
ceed it must be war of eXterminaOn, rO5 only of
every man, but of every woman and child" TO
Judge of the unanimity of the feeling in the States
Mr. Johnson alludSs TO, it is only needed to pass
through them. Secession flags flying from every |
house women and children cheering and waving !
f.vs TO the trains passing filed with soldiers and !
from every part sending clothes and supplies to |
their relations and friends II the army. travel |
ed with one gentleman who had charge of one |
hundred boxes for one regiment from Alabama, |
and know myself that ali the railway depOts were
encountered with similar contributions, and these |
not so much luxuries, but real homemade neces |
aRries such as knitted goods. hOme~spun clothes;
IN which patriotic work mOst Of the Southern wo- |
men are now occupied.
1 cannot give q better proof Of the absence of /
20 ercion, and = more fOrCible instance Of the
20 1fdence of the people In the Government, than |
.hI fact that the Confederate notes are taken at
psl throughout the whole ContedeTaey. Let Ar !
Joh uson contrast this with the fact of the Wash |
pp ton Bank having refused the Northern treasury
not So and the report that on this account they are
10 be suspended as dIsloya establishment
While in Northern States the Government have
sussended the hGbsds corpus, suppressed trial by
iurV intsrfered with the liberty of the press and
imprisoned extensively both men and women for
political ofences even on suspicion the Southern
Government have maintained both the haJsas cor,
puS and trial by jury. In no case has there been
suspension Of paper or imprisonment for political
onposit;on: -r6 though cOnfscstiol Of Northern
Dr6perty hes been adopted in the South it has only
been in retaliation of the coarse first wildly adopt
ed by the Federal Government These ere iscts
let ony one read them and say whether Mr..
johnson Is justified in his assertion as to the cOer
cion of the ConfedeFAtes or in his statement that
secession Is robbery, rapiae and murder.
For myself, can fully sympsthE9 with the feel
iuEs of NortherneP, who sees with regret the di>
vision of this grest federation; but at the same
time, | cannot but admire the Judgment, courage
and determination that the Southern Stat have
shown in the present lamentsbe struggle. 1t il /
impossible to travel in their States without recOgs
niZIng the admirable law and government that they
have maintained since their separation, Or to entire
ly withhold sympathy frCm people who, cut OF
or nesrly so from all foreign resources with naught
but their WI energies and will, have hitherto sue
cessfully maintained defence Of the independence
they are determined TO achieve.
With these feelings l deeply deplore the eontinu-
snce of the contest pregnant with disaster TO the
combaants so fruitful of loss and misfortune 10 the
world entire It i unfortunately now continued
by the North under erroneous ldes that there IA
q strong Union feeling still existing IN the Southern
States. Alas the wish with them is father 20 the
thought which has otherwise no baels- lE onHI
needs to 90 there 10 find that Union feeling has
ceased to exist, and has been replaced by bitter
ness OF hatred that could not have credited had
not personally become convinced OF It.
There ia another equally falseloas AID that the /
North have counted OL-namely, dlsshectioa, not ~
say worse, among the slave populatio7-the facts