Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-03-20

ercion-7he Forces 81 he North and oos'le- y eo1.
ness Of The One and Unity Of the Otaef-- Yse'os q
Cen. scctt DOUGLAS and the President-1he Plots
Of .yoansos- Serious Complications, &C., &c. dc.
There i 4 gloom and sorrow in Washington
anxiety. uncertainty and fssrs as to the future n
This city which was once the capital Of our naton
f.,v months since the capital of thirtythrse SOW
ora; and Independents States An Joy. ali hope. is
,,ea The future is dark and unpromising. The
fsu eoutherne1s here from the cotton States gaze
mon cur perplexity with stold indifference. Their
states hare passed the Rubieon and they seem de-
lighted at the escape. The present administration
and its party are IN tribulation The radical repub
hcans rejoice at the prospect of evil, in the overs
throw Of slavery in the border States The Office
seekers are Gallons 10 every consideration other
than self aggrandizeinent. And the incumbents of
power are sorrowful and detected They gaze upon
broken confederacy which they have not the
means of reconstrueting. If they acknowledge the
integrity and independence of the seeded States,
they only confess their own weakness. If they at
tempt to enforce the laws coerce them back into
allegiance they will only increase their embarrass-
ment and difficulty without succeeding in their de-
sign; for them so certain as the sun shines to-day,
Virginia. Maryland and ether States will resist.
And if they do not, at the least undertake "the en-
forcement OF the laws they will stand before the
country with broken faith, pledges and boasts.
Such is the posture Of affairs. This is what has
sickened SEWARD. There are no doubts entertained
by reasonable men but that he loves the Union bet
ter than he does the Chicago platform. But evil
councils prevail and preponderate in the new Cabi
net. Hewould, / believe. willingly sacrifice his
past-all his incendiary doctrines and teachings
upon the altar Of the country and the constitution If
that would restore the status quo But he exercised
the devil; he crested party, and that party, with
his doctrines, triumphed justice and the con-
stitution He sees that the fruit of his life
labor is death -poisonsus, eternal death-to the
unity of country and the sight and acute
consciousness of it sckens him. He relents
when it is too late. He called the devil up but he
cannot bid him down again. He is ignored in the
Cabinet He feels it, and Is disguised. The dispo-
ston of the majority in LNcoIS's councils is toward
coercion and bloody civil strife. The CHASE and
BLAIR factions, backed by Gen. ScoTT, are Iabid-
crazy, perhaps, would be better world. But they
seem to have some consciousness of their own COM
parative incompetency. The government is not
prepared, even if it had the legal right to declare
war. And the bravest and most experienced Off
GERS of the army are opposed to such pslicy and
viii Immediately resign upon its initiation. Dis
satisfaction and discomfort, if not deserton, will
soon demoralize the rank and file also. On the
contrary, the Southern army will be composed Of
brave, resoute and determined men, who are al
ready resolved upon conquest or death. They Will
fight as other in the annals of history have
fought before since the memorable defence of Their
mopyle by the Spartans. When the first gun ia
fired rgainst them. the accumulated wrongs and
insults of twenty-five years will crowd upon their
minds, and ensenom their bravery and determine
ton. Each man man will fight in defence of his
home, if immortality upon earth and repose in
heaven depended upon his action alone. And this
army will be Offered by skillful and experienced
commsnders-men of whom we were wont to boast
in common, in times past-leaving to the North but
two names known to fame-WooL and ScorT. This
is positive fact could give you names and parti-
cuIars it not inconsistent with proprety Yet,
sir, General SCoTT and Mr.. LINcoLs's Cabinet are
impatient to commence the "Saturnalia y of death.
The former thinks that he can reinforce Fort Sum-
ter soon. He purposes sending five or six vessels
of war TO Charleston harbor, and by marching
through Virginia or North Carolina or BY efectine
somewhere IN the vicinity OF the
harbor to simultaneously attack the Notifications
of the enemy in the front and rears
The wisdom of this line of action is Questioned
by the sagacious of Mr.. Lincolns advisers and its
success, if attempted, seriously doubted. They
contend that everything is to be gained by fms
while much may be rlsked by CELEBRITY of action.
They wish to neutralze if defeat the energy of
the secessionists in the border States This is the
policy recommended by Douglas and by johnson.
of Tennessee The former seems to stand high in
| 10 4flav.a ,NfN faD
day evening last himself and wife held q ieyee in
one department Of the White House, while Lincoln
and 1.-THE short of the Presidency held their eree
in another. 1t was remarked that in the Senate
during his recent debate with Senator WigfaIl-one
of the most brilliant men in this country-Mr Doug
las indicated TO the republican side of the house
what should be its policy, VITO call an extra
session of Congress; to place the whole North upon
an immediate war footing, and to vote one OF two
hundred thousand men into the field Notwithstand-
ing he declared that he was for peace, when asked
by hit dexterous antagonist if he would favor the
withdrawal of the federal troops from forts Sumter
and Pickens, instead of STRAIGHTFORWARD candid
answer he realized to the Senate that he possessed
in one head the twain characteristics of Aminidah
Sleek and the Artful Dodger, but that he
and Johnson, OF Tennessee, are rabid and uncom-
promising coeIcionsts is an indisputable fact and
well understood; yet they are shrewd and danger
Gus men, who understand the policy which ought
to be adopted better than any other men in the Re-
attempted to march invading army upon South
Carolina, through Virginia, the very sound sf his
bugle would bring thirty Thousand hostile men upon
his flank and rear, to harrass and retard his pro-
gress. They know, too, that If he could otherwise
effect landing upon the soil of the former State
and inaugurate his policy of eoercian, that the mill
tary spirit of the border States would be aroused
and that, in less than thirty days thereafter one
hundred thousand of their sons would be ready
armed in the field. Hence their policy is to pro-
crastinate the ISSUE to destroy all chances of imme-
date secession in any either of those States and
then to commence agitation with a view Of d.
yiding the people by arraying the resident nom
shareholders against the slave proprietors John,
son will commence this programme next summer in
eastern Tennessee. 1t is his intention to arrapn
the Southern Republic for il contemplated reSolu-
ton of excluding from its confederRey all nom
slavehoding States, and to deduce from this action
the theory that it is their intention to 60 step far
Their and exclude from citizenship all nou-savehold-
ers. He hopes to create thus prejudice in the
minds of the popHlaee against the slave owners
and to carry out thereby his vicious policy Mr.
Seward is understood to fully approve of this pro-
gramme but doubt whether it will succeed. John
son has always been addicted to sggrariansm: he
is not popular in Tennessee; he has recently been
hung shot and burned in efigy in more than one
hundred different parts of that State; and the man
ner in which he was unmarked, cowed, and con-
temptuousy spit upon, ten days ago. in the Senate
by Gen. Lane, will render him too ptful among the
chivalry of his native State. Nevertheless he is |
audacious, and will attempt to carry out his bloody
plan The same policy will be pursued by DouKlss |
and his friends in Western Virginia, and by Gov.
Hicks Winter DAVIS 4 Co. in Maryland,
But these calculations and conSpiracies will |
be soon seriously disturbed, if not destroyed. |
am in possession of private news of the most re- |
liable nature from Virginia, received since the |
commencement of this letter. The majority of |
the representatives Of that State. now in con- |
ventlon will, it is positively averred pass the or
dnance of secession. The editors of the Nqtasal l
hteHigeacer have despared of Virginia, tAey regard
her seeded State. They have received pri-
vate letters from RIchmond to that effect And as
Virginia goes so will go all theborder States includ
ing Maryland and Delaware. In that case President
Lincoln will have to eyacuate Washington.
Be this as it may-the news from Virginia mean
we are upon the eve of such exciting events az
will in the end accomplish similar results The Com.
missioners now here from the Confederate States
will not be officially recognized By the President
and Immediately 9pnn their return formal demand
will be made for the surrender of Fort Sumter II
not complied with it will be taken, were ten thous-
and men TO perish in the act Then will war be in
augurated with all its stern aspects and fearful re-
of;as militia vOunO rron..aII,-