Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-06-15
Constitutional Liberty at an End.

The arbitrary acts of the Government at
Washin gton in suspending the Constitution,
and erecting military despotism in its stead
have already destroyed the constitutional
liberty of the people. The open violations
of the organic law in numerous instances,
which il Is now unnecessary to repeat, had
prepared the people of this State to throw
of that government and take their rights
and their honor into their own hands, ac-
cepting all the responsibilities of that act
1t is fortunate for us that such was the deci-
sion on the 9Th inst, as will be seen from the
following from the New York World of the
same day:
SEThe disloyal States, once thoroughly beat
en- would gladly enough accept the status OF
equality offered them by the Federal Consti-
tuition. however CALLING it might be to their
pride to come down from their higher indie
pendent pretensions. But allowing they
would not. supporting they would remain
peryerse as to make it impossible to carry on
the government in conjunction with them,
there IL nothing to prevent their being re-
duced &c a condition of subordinatiOn, and
kept there until they should see fit Loyalty to
perform their civil functions. If the federal
government has the superior force, asEngland
ment, driven to that necessity, would have
the right TO hold them as conquered districts,
and TO govern them as circumstances should
require. If the existence of the State gov
ernuents was for the time Incompatible with
the due authority of the federal government,
the State governments might, by the laws of
war and the rights of conquest, be abolished,
and territorial governments under federal
control be substituted. We do not ourselves
believe il possible that this rebellion can be
80 stubborn as to make such an extreme re-
sort necessary, but still the resort potentially
exists, and England may rely upon il that
our government would use it and carry it
Thoroughly out rather than suffer itself to be
engulfed in ruin by this Southern madness
Cost what il may, this nation is bound to
live"
The World justihes this position by quota
lions from the letter Of Mr.. SEWARD to Mr..
DIYroy. the Minister to France. The policy
il here enthusiastically foreshadOwed of de-
hberate purpose on the part of the Admins
tration, by the right of conquest, to abolish
the State governments and to rule them in a
territorial condition by the sword This is
the result aimed at, which is nothing more
nor less than species of military absOlutism
more intolerable to freemen than the worst
form of kingeraft
In this connection and associated with the
origin Of this war, we desire to call attention
to the following statement by the Alexandria
(Vs-) SsztiHeL;
We are infor med that On yesterday the min
listers of the District waited upon Mr.. Lincoln
in q body to urge s course OF reconciliation
and peace, and that be replied that the plat
form on which be was elected should be car
ried out If il cost the lives Of million OF
men.
Thus we have the horribly distinct outlines
of the LINCOLN programme The Constitu-
ton is displaced and the Chicago platform
substituted in its stead. To effect this the
States Directing to it are to be abolished,
ana their people to be reduced to a condition
of ys1aisge and bondage-and thus the last
yestige of constitutional liberty swept from
existence. The million of lives and the
desola.ion and ruin that are to precede its
accomplishment are mere immateriai incl
dents But being torewsrned we VIII be fore