Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-06-12
Letter From CassIus VI. Clay to the Lon.
dom Times.

SR-Allow me your journal to make few re-
marks upon the complications of the United States Of
America, which am, surprised to find, so little
understood this side of the Atsntic:
L." What are ,0e fighting for ?" We the people
of the United States of America" Ito the Ian
puage of our constitution fighting TO maintain
our nationality, and the principles OF liberty upon
which twas founded-that nationality which Great
Britain has pledged herself both by past comfy and
the sacred obligations of treaty, respect those
great principles OF liberty that all power Is deS
rived from, the consent of the governed trial by
jury; freedom of speech and the press that with
out Lalo there is no ibertyH-which we inherited
from Great Britain herself and which, having been
found to lie at TIE base of all progress and civiza
tion desire to perpetuate for ourselves and the
future of all nations. The so-called Confederate
States of America " rebel against lls-sgainst cur
nationality, and against all the principles OF ls
structure Citizens of the United States-of the
one government (nOt of the Confederate States, as
they would have the world believe-but Of "us the
people they propose not by common legal con-
sent but by arms to sever our nation into separate
independencies. Claiming 10 "belet alone" they
eonspire against seize by force our FORTS stores
and arms appropriate TO themselves our mints,
moneys and vessels at sea capture our armies and
threaten even the capital at Washington
The word secession is used to cover up treason,
and deude the nations. They stand to US in the re-
tyn il utterly delusve. We gave up the old Con
federation to avoid just such complications have
now occurred The States are, by our constitu-
tion deprived of all the rights of independent SOW
ereipns and the national government acts not
through State organizations but directly upon the
citizens of the States themselves-tO that highest of
uower the right Of life and death. The States can
not keep an army or navy, or even repel lnvaaion,
except when necessity will not allow time for ns-
tional action; can make no treaty nor coin money,
nor exercise any of the first great essential powers
Of sssoyereignty." In word, they can more
"secede" from the Union than Scotland or ireland
can secede from England
The professed friends Of the independence Of Da-
tions and popular rights, they have not only over
thrown the constitution of the United States but the
constitutions of the Confederate States themselves,
refusing in every case to refer their new usurpa-
tions to the votes of the people, thus making them
selves double traitors to both the States and the ma
TONS The despotc rulers over 900 OF ensiaVed
Africans, they presume to extend over US. the
white races of all nations, the same oesponsm'
by ignoring the politcical rights OF all put thelr
own class, by restrictions upon the popular IRAN
chize by the suppression OF the freedom OF sPeeen
and Of the press by the terrorism OF Lynch law
or tvrannical enactments, backed by standing ar
mics to crush out the independence OF tnougnt:
the ineradicsble pstircts Of our world wide human
ity-vith the atrocons dogma that negro slavery Is
the only basis of real conservatism ana progressive
eiv,7ation and that the true solution OF the con-
tests of ali time between labor and capital is that
c1n;fa should errn the labor, whether 1ohe or black.
The sneeess of such demands would send the tide
of barbarism lot only over the millions OF the new
world and the isles of the Western oceans, but roll
Il hack over England and emancipate Europe, and
blot out from history thus, the greatest glory of
our times. a.. =.
?. @B.a can you sabdas the rerotsd Sa!es p CT
| oonrse we can. The whole seven revolted States
| q 3.OOO) have not as much white population as
the single State of New York s0l,965) by LOW,
| 0oa Daonls If all the slave States were to make
Common cause, they have only s,907.S74 whites,
with OOJ 900 slaves while the Union has about 20,
! OOO COO of homogeneous people, as powerful in
peace and war as the world has SEN. lnteili.
rent. hardy and 'maay sided," their late apparent
| ietharvy and weakness was the self-pOssession OF
| conscious strength.
! When they had made up their minds that force
was necessary, they moved upon Washington "itn
such speed, numbers and steadiness as is not sur
passed in history. We have the money, Sa' "a ,Se
ate Of interest than ever before the men and Ihe