Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-05-19
WARREN srREEr, NEW YORK,

WARREN STREET, NEW YORK,
Aprl 30, 1861.
Dear Sir: Itake the liberty which an early and GER
tainly very pleasant acquaintance would seem to
give me- to ask you for information few topics
which are now Of the highest interest to the think
ing portion of our population. am quite certain
that our Southern brethren have been sadly, even
recklessly misinformed in relation to the true feel
| ing and wishes of Northern people toward them.
| l see therefore the probability that we may be
acting under the influence OF exaggerated accounts,
/ and similar msapprehensions. 1t is better for
man to be uniformed than misinformed, because
the unnformed man acts, at least, without preJu>
dice and is a slave to error would, therefore,
ike to ask you or other candid Southron, the
| following questions
| FirstVIs it the wish of the majority of the
/ solid sober thinking men OF the cotton States to
| leave this Union and form Confederacy by Them
! selves?
/ cotton States the result of misguided passion, or
the act of the demagogues, cooperating with the
! IRRESPONSIBLE portion of your population?
Thirds there really a latent but terrorized
| Union psrty in your midst, who secretly regret
| the present condition of things in the cotton
States?
| Fourth-Have the cotton States, in your iudg-
ment sny grievances which may not be redressed
under the constitution Of the United States through
| the action of Congress and the Federal Courts =?
Fifth-Do the people of the cotton States, the in
| teIligent and thinking people, mean really be-
HeVe that IT Is the purpose pFSscUL
tration or of any respectable portion of the North
ern States to interfere with slavery in any State
where it is at present guarded by law:
Sixth-In what important particular would the
cotton States be benefited by separation from the
Federal Union!
| Seyenth-Do the intelligent people of the South
believe that we of the North have courage constan
CIV and fidelity or do they believe that tina tron race
who bore the revolutionary flag from Bunker Hill
to the Plains of Abraham, and from thence to the
l n. Lee kav diminished three
| quarters Of century to horde OF poltroons and
drivelers? ~
have not cast vote since the death of the incom-
parable Henry Clay. have been simply locker
on in Venice" Owing allegiance to no party organ
zation and absolved from all political obligations,
| | am and have been, for many years in position
| TO look at things as they are. have arrived at
these conclusions. The people OF the South have
| been madly criminaly mislntormed IN reiaIion 70
the true designs and feeling Of the people OF the
North. This has been done by the Southern press
and by Southern demag0gues, in Withholding from
the public mind things that are true, and substtu-
/ ting therefor the things which are false through
their ipstrumentslities they have been led TO be-
lieye that the so-caled Black Republican party Is
an Abolition party and that they sOughtp power only
that they might invade the rights of the Southern
States and interfere with their State institutions
The Southern people also have been led TO believe
that IN the questions of Union and constitution it
/ ia there was q strong party at the North, who
would aid and encourage the people of the South In
their endeavOrs to break up the Union The New
| York Herald and the New FORK Evening Express
| have done much toward disseminating this false
theory. All these suggestions, accusations and
, theories are wholly untruthiul.
| There ia not in all the Northern, Eastern and
Western States five thousand Aboltionists all told;
and this fanatical band, small as 1t Is embraces al
the wry-viseged, vinegar natured old maids, Wo-
| mems rights men and women, old, rlckety, broken
down savage philosophers and politicians there are
in q population of nineteen millions This faded,
rotten superannuated mass of fossils never once,
NOT even once have voted with the Black Republl-
cans. The Black Republicans come in always for
their maledctiOns with emphasis by "Aooll-
tionists mean those who would If they could)
abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, and IN
trfere with the institution in the several States
whore it is authorized by law. No Republican, ne
Democrat no fair and honest man, at the North
seeks any such thing, or would tolerate It. NO man
who has any respect for treares, LOT promises or
for written obligations, could tolerate 1t. We all
at the North admit that the Southern States have all
the RIGHTS they had when they came into the Conted
| erscv-neither less nor more-and we sll say that
the South shall be protected in the possession OF all
these rights In striking proof of all this, witness
| an instance in Maryland only week ago. While
| the Sth Massachusetts Regiment were marching
| through Maryland to Washington, under Gen. But
| ler word was brought that the slaves IN Anne
| Arundel county had risen. Gen. Butler at once Of
| fered his regiment to put them down ana TINS
| mind YOU, was q Massachusetts, regiment. otate
| where Black Repubhcanism is blacker than it is
elsewhere at the North And all this too, after the
Mas achusetts men had been told by South Carolina
that no Quarter would be given them. The entr5
| mind snd heart of the North are sound on an tI'
questions of constitutional right to all the States
whether North or South and they are now SO Tar al
know them determined that all those rights shall Dc
maintained. that the Union must and shall be pre-
| served and that not single letter OF the presen'
constitution shall be altered unless by the act OF the
whole people, as the constitution itself provides
These are the doctrines of Jefferson, Madison. Mon
roe CLAW and Jackson. The people of the NORTH
! will now see that these doctrines prevail, and tha
the glorious republic which they formed shah g'
down to our children perfect and unlmpalred.
al An impression has prevailed at the South that
case of an appeal to arms the seceders would have
s strong party at the North, Wmch, II II olu no ,
furnish them troeps would at least be strong enouSf
| 10 preyept the Government from putting down ths
revolution thought so too, until Fort Sumter fell
But that affair was the signal for resurrection o.
patroitsm at the North, refreshing as 1t was un
expected. 1t united US as one man. All party tiei
are severed all party obligations are forgottehC"t
are one The universal sentiment is that the GcT-
ern,nent is right and 1t shall be sustained. And
will be sustained triumphantly There can be Du
one issue to this causeess unhoy, unrlghteous WIN
dictlve war. Already one hundred thousand mel
are under arms. Many of them have gone forth fC
.tsir their hand with fraternal bleod-and all o
them feeling that their cause Is just and tnat ~ shs
prevail. In less than four months the North vii
J, place in the field half million of men-and su fo
what?
The causes which have produced this unity o
feeling here are these: All Northern men know
Observation-Disclosures hayeno unconstitutional design
on the rights of the South-nor de they believ'
that the Benjamins the Yanceys, the Rhetts: OF tn
South. really think they have.
All Northern men now believe that this reoelno
vould have broken out if either Breckenridge, Bel
or Douglas had been elected. They believe that thu
outbreak Is the result of conspiracy which has peel
| fostering the republic ever since 1897
They believe that the Southern leaders are ambl
tious dishonest and trescherousthat this rebellion
ia their work, and wholly causeless.
They believe that the "Union " is real blessing
North and South. They believe that the South hav
no grievances which cannot be legally redresse
under the Constitution.
They believe that the ostensible cause is alto
Oether too slight to justify the overthrow OF tn
| finest model of Government ever given to mankind
They believe there is a .powerfulnbut terrorize
Union party at the South, who secretly invoke tn
arm of the Federal authority to restore law and OF
| der.
In proof of this last idea are these facts:
All tbusiness linen there constanstly IN II
ceibt of letters from every county IN every otabe
the whole South, strongly deprecating this seees
| sion movement and praying for restoration g
Federal authority. Ihave such letters IN my pos
session. e,oooo 90
= Our banks in this city now hold over SloOooOO
in gold which has been sent here by lnolFiouai
y South for sSfe keeping.
), More than two hundred Southern families from tn
South have taken honses in the little city OF hoc'