Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-06-08
TIA the Citizens of Nashville and Da-
wilson County.

TIA the Citizens of Nashville and Da.
| wilson County.
feel it due to you, so many of whom
kindly aided me in obtaining my appointment
as Post Master of Nashville, to furnish the
following instructions from the Lincoln Gov
eminent, none of which, as Southern man
| and defender of Southern honor, can obey,
| and therefore compelled by every instinct OF
| my nature, as well as regard for my feelings,
and in accordance with my ideas of proprie
ty, TO resign my position as Post Master of
Nashville, and give my reasons for SO doing.
On yesterday the following letter was re-
! ceived:
| Posi- OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
DEAD LETTER OFFICE, June LIST, 1861. {
SIR: The Postmaster-General directs that
| all letters mailed or distributed al your Office
| directed to Southern States which cannot be
forwarded to their intended destination on
account of the discOntinuauce of mail SER
vice. or any other causes, shall be at once
| returned to the Dead Letter Office. You will
therefore once a week, or oftener if they ac-
cumulate rapidly make a separate return of
such letters-post mark each on the sealed
side-put domestic, foreign and registered
letters in separate parcels, and mark each
parcel outside, and bills showing their num-
Der and rates.
This return must be put up in package
or pouch separate from any other matter, d.
rected to dead Letter Office" post-marked
and plainly labelled outside "Letters for
Southern States"
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
A. N. ZEvELY,
Third Assistant P oStmaster-General.
Postmaster, Nashville, Tennessee.
And on this morning received the follow
ing dispatch:
WASHINGTON, June 6, 1861.
To Posi- MAsTERS:-The Post Office at
Memphis Tenn, is discontinued. The Post
Master General orders Postmasters to for
ward to the Dead Letter Office at Washing
ton all mail matter which is directed to that
office. JNO. a. KASSON,
LIST Assistant z. NJ. Genl.
sent the following answer:
PosT OFFICE, NASHVILLE, June 6, 1861.
POsT-MAsTER GENERAL, Washington, D. c.:
Your letter Of inst uctiOns of June LIST, in
relation to the Southern Mail, also dispatch
of June 9th, in relation to Memphis office
ceived. Neither can be complied with by me.
Accept this as my resignation, which is on
the road. w. d. MCNISH,
Post Master, Nashville.
Subsequently 1 sent the following letter
by mail:
NASHVILLE. Tenn, June Z, 1861.
Juo- A. Kdss0n, First a Ssistant Postmaster
General:
SIR-Your order (per telegraph) notifying
me of the discontinuance of the Post Office
at Memphis, Tenn, and directing me not on
ly TO withhold Southern correspondence in
tended for that point. but to send it to the
dead letter Office at Washington, is now be-
fore me. My honor, interests and inclinations
forbid compliance l therefore cheerfully
tender you my resignation, to take place at
once; and may be permitted to add that |
suppose the mails will sIill continue to be |
transported South without interruption.
Yours respectfully, W. d. MCNISH.
1t will be seen that by the instructions, |
every letter written here or elsewhere, by the |
fathers, brothers, sisters, wives and children |
of our brave volunteers now in Virginia, and |
in other Southern States, are to be handed |
over to the Paul Pry's" of the Dead Letter |
Office at Washington; and all the correspon-
dence of the Governor of our State, the Mill |
tary Board, and every military officer, here
and elsewere, with the Major General at
Memphis, and other officers, are TO be likewise
eAdHlueu anu Tedu ny Tie OHuCidlS at w ASH
ington, instead of being read by our officers
TO whom they are addressed. This might be
a convenience to those who are preparing to
assail US with fire and sword, but l conceive
that would be a traitor to my State and to
the South, to either directly or Indirectly, aid
and assist in such scheme-and, as before
stated, have rendered my resignation, and
leave such work to be done by some one,
whose love of Office, and the emOluments
thereof, may induce him to sacrifice the lives
and property of his neighbOrs, their wives
and their children, by giving the aid and
comfort to the enemy, which carrying out the
would no. l cannot do i'll
will not do it. And in conclusion can only |
return my grateful thanks to the many
friends who have stood by me and supported |
me since, as well as before, my entering on |
the duties of the Office. To explain to them
the reasons of my resignation is the cause of
this card, and to assure them that they will |
always be kindly remembered by their friend,
W. D. MCNISH.
NASHVILLE, JUNE Z, 1861.