Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-02-22

| "A tna Press on Mr.. L1nes3n7s
speeehss--ssIs AnySod7 Hzrt.S
mr.. LEcoENs speeches elicit considerable COM
ment from the press, and various are the opinions
expressed The republican journals, as a general
thing, at1ect to admire them. Some of them. how
ever, find it necessary to enter int aexplsuatos y
Thus the New York C0zmercial, as If opp-es.ea
with the conviction that something should BE- said
to explain away Mr.. LNoOLxs singular declaration
nobody Is suffering anything tells US now thas
"the President elect was not speaking Of local or
commercial affairs, but in broad. general, poiiti-
cal sense, simply saying that we all feel that TIE
verbal secession of certain States has produced no
| crash or wreck Of the republic"
"ferbap secession, does our contemporary sayi
II the federal government is powsrless to execute
sngie law in any of the seeding States to-day, the
secession, 1t seems to Us, Is something more than
verbal
Nothins going wrong nothing that really hurts
anybody" says Mr. Lincoln, but the New York
Nelos asks
docs not the sweeping bankruptcy Of our rner
chants the stoppags Of eur manufsetories the uns-
Vers&l stagnatlon Of trade. and the tens Of shous
euus u P1or IADoring people thrown out Of employ
msnt oy the unrest Of the times hurt souseboiy ~
The Philadelphia Lqisrsr also sbow. 49,, -.
body has been "hurt'' in that city.
@In this city fully thirty per cent ,s A. -
ing population are idle. To realize the t,tS ~ ~;
let every man note the dnllness in his own rsci.
trade of business let him call 10 mini ~. ls
number Of his friends, neghbors and fellow-tradss
men who walk the streets day after day with moth
ing to do. His experiences in this respaet ,-il h
the type of all. Let him 60 into the large m1u,'-
featuring establishments which, at this time shouia
be filed with busy hands, and observe the thiFneS
ranks of the wcrkmen and workwomen. From this
cause Chestnut street wears every day the apper-
aRee Of holiday, so many idle people are on hat
thoroughfare. Our hotels and mercantile wars-
houses which by this time should be vocal with the
hum and activity Of the spring trade are dull and
almost hfeless. The building permits. whick in
February year ago numbered hundreds. now
scarcely reach dozen. 1t staEnati0n eVerYEhers
The who does not see /. is blind and the public
man who ignores it in tie Legislature or in Congress
commits crime"
The Inquirer then points out the plan of the Re
publcans to issue government paper money, in sums
of $50 and 500, and Gays:
"Hers, then, Independently of political issues We
have at the threshold Of the new administration the
proposed revival Of all the financial errors which
the country has hitherto most solemnly condemned;
q war on commerce. protective tarif-snd a COW
ernment paper curreneyl II the Republican psrtv
lasts long enough to come fairly before the country
on either Of these issues, are not afraid Of the
result"
The Washington correspondent of the New York
Express writes
The tone of Ievity and frivolity, which character
izes the speeches Of Mr. Lincoln causes the hearts
of our citizens to sink within them. They percesve
already that he is not the man for the crisis and
begin to despond Of any extrication from impend-
ing difficulties.
The Philadelphia Argus, commenting on Mr. Lin
coins speeches. remarks:
When the people ask for bread he gives them q
stone. He dispatches the most serious subjects
with joke, and asserts. with smile that the pre-
sent crisis is purely artificial" The tariff and
other kindred subjects, whick should be familiar TO
every one aspiring 70 statesmanship, he acknow-
ledges he does not understand. No definite plan Of
action seems to have been m4tured for bis ADMINS
ration but everything is to be left to chance Tho
humiating spectacle is thus presented of the Presi
dent elect Of this great COnfederacy inugng in the
merest claptrap of the politician thanking the pso
pie for voting for him, fatering their local pride
and appealing to their sectional anlmosites uni
verSal reprobation &c through the press OF
the fppant and trihing remarks INDUCED in By he
President elect
The Philadelphia Ledger says;
We confess we are somewhat disappointed IL the
speeches which Mr.. Lincoln is making while oa his
way to the seat Of government, where he is 20 be
invested with the chief executive authority. To
say nothing Of the tone Of these speeehes which is
not always becoming the serious situation Of affairs
In which the country is now placed, he does not
seem to have fully apprehended the difficulties he
has to encounter at the very beginning Of bis adj
and which the wisest statemen in the
land would approach with dread and hesitation.
There IS degree of fippancy in his treatment Of
our national difficulties, when he does approach
that subject even in a remote manner, that shows
he IS not yet sufficiently impressed with the real
significance, and has presented to his own mind no
definite course Of action which is likely to lead rs
to peace and safety. When Mr.. Lincoln attempts to
ignore the crises which now threatens the exis-
tence of the government and the peace Of the coun-
try and declares that there is nothing wrong" or
nothing which keeping cool on both sides viii not
correct, he shows very shallow and superficial
appreciation of eur difficulties.