Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-02-16
The Progress. of the Presidents.

Mr.. LINCOLN left Springfield on Monday
last for Washington, where he is to assume
the Executive control Of the United States
on the 4th March next. he is taking in his
route the capitals Of States and important
cities, is receiving enthusiastic welcomes,
and making speeches, in all which there is
evidently, an under-current of war. 1t ap-
pears certain that the inclinations of Mr..
LIScOLx's mind all tend in that direction.
The revenues must be collected, and what
was once the undisputed property of the
Union, but is now claimed by new power,
must be retaken and held. The right of Sc
cession Is properly denounced. but the Pres
ident elect seems never to have dreamed of a
right of revolution. or the possibility of a
de facto government He hopes at no time to
be faIse TO anything tnar the people have
baoa caught to expect of him, He is anxious
for the condition Of the country, but cannot
see that anybody Is bart, that anybody is suf-
eriDg. He cannot comprehend how four bill
lions of property can be forever excluded by
the strong arm of power from equal rights in
common territories, under an equal COnsti-
tuition and equal laws, and be injured. His
political reflections have never been turned
to that grave problem. He seems never to
have perceived how a majority in represen-
tative republican government could, on be-
coming permanent, become tyrannical,
and how q minority may be thereby degraded
and oppressed. These ideas were not set
down in his manual Of craftsmanship.
On the other hand, Mr.. DAVIS left his home
two or three days later, for Montgomery,
where he Is to assume the Executive control
of the Confederate States of America
which means that he is to engineer an exper-
iment to build up new government. He
makes no stops except the usual few minutes
at railway stations. At most of these the
people gather around the cars, shout, throw
up their hats. sometimes fire salute, and if
it is night the few houses around have some
extra lights stuck about the windows. Mr..
DAVIS appears on the platform, bows polite
", and in very few sentences tells the peo-
pie what he means to do. He dismisses all
questions but the main one in hand, and that
is to 60 on with the experiment, complete the
machine and maintain the new government
against all disputants in every form and at
every hazard He seems net to expect peace,
and with bOldness and directness becoming
the occasion, tells the people that he will
carry the war where it is easy to advance
to the densely populated cities, where there
Is food for the sword and the torch. If they
come down to spoil his fields and his crops,
he will grow them over again; but their cit
les cannot rise again so easily-the grass will
grow where the pavements are worn off by
the tread of commerce. England will recog-
nize the Confederate States. and glorious
future awaits them. He is for peace, he
even hopes for peace, but is none the less
prepared for war And with this the locomo-
motive whistles. he bows, replaces his hat,
and speeds on his way to Montgomery
leaving nobody in doubt as to what he means.
Thus the two men progress to the respec-
tive seats of their care and responsibility.
Mr.. LINCOLN goes BY short stages, circuit
Gus route, with frequent rests. He eats his
meals leisurely, sleeps comfortably, and goes
as to festival Uf ease and pleasure. DAVIS
goes the shortest route, with all the speed of
steam, sprinkles his steak with pepper and
with it gulps cup of coffee, doesn't sleep at
all, aud goes directly forward to his post, as
to a scene of labor and of danger. LINCOLN
has no business in Washington before about
the 4th March, and is careless about getting
there-DAvIs has immediate and urgent bus
iness in Montgomery, and he goes like an
earnest man to attend to it. LINCOLN is tedi-
ous-DAyIs as swift as steam
If there is anybody in the country who
thinks the Confederate States of America"
are not in earnest, he had as well review
that opinion, and accept things as they are.