Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-01-16

should there be a Conventio n.
the ballot box

| MEsSRs EDTToRs:-Tbe proposition submit
ted to the setting Legislature to call a con-
vention- of the people. should meet the
hearty approval of The whole State. 1t is
| the only means in my opinion of settling the
questions now exciting SO much anxiety
among the people of every section. 1t GER
tainly is the hope OF every good citizen that
| this government should be a unit; its bless
| ings are incstimable. The example set by
onr foriathers has received the eommendation
Of every friend Of liberty, and Republicanin in
| siitutious the world over. Its fall demon
slrates the fact that man is incapable of self
| government, while its preservation aud con-
| tinuance demonstrates that he is: which shall
| the people decide? The ''UnIon" should be
| the hope of all, but can il be saved from
permanent and final dissolution. South Car
oliua, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, have
declared their Independence of the General
Government, because as they ~allege, the
| General Government ''has become destruc-
| tive of the ends for which it was formed"
| Without stopping to discuss whether they are
| right or wrong, deprecating the dismemher-
ment of theUnion as loug we can main
| tain it in its purity, we shoaid look aboat US
and endeavor to find q remedy for the evils
that are upon US, having in view the equal
rights of all sections aud the ultimate pre-
servation of this great country.
Let convention of the people be called
in all the Southern States, and let the coz
ventions when assembled, appoint delegates
to convention OF all the States South, and
let that General Convention of the Southern
State, set forth the complaint of the South
in plain terms, and point out to the North
the mode or manner of redressing them, and
ask them to come to the rescue Of the Union
and the country, and heed our demands. If
tbev accede to this, then we have no ground
of complaint, and if they refuse then we can
only prepare for the worst. / believe there,
is patriotism enough in the country to save
the Union, and do not believe it is alone
confined to the South. Born and raised in
the South as l have been, l very naturally
sympathize with her, but still I do not as
citizen Of the Republic feel that we should
be willing to declare this great effort of our
Fathers a total failure and utterly annihilate
and destroy this masterpiece Of workman
ship in the form of Republican institutions
without doing every thing consistent with
our honor as people to perpetuate it and
hand it to millions of posterity.
If we fail to demand our rights then we
| fail to do our duty as all ordinary transac-
| tions of life teach US, and if we make the de-
mand and our demand is refused by our
| Northern brethren, then the blood of the
country and the condemnation of civilized
world is upon them. We shall have dis
| charged our duty to our country and TO those
| who shall follow after US when life's turmoil
! is over and when this great country shall be
| no more, when its ruins only tell of its great
| ness, audit shall be demanded why it was des-
| troyed. we can point to the record as a vindi-
| cation to US of allthst may have happened.
| But suppose we vote againsta convention,
| can we appeal tothe: past aud say that we
| have done all TO forward the cause of the
| Union? Will we have done eur duty faith
| fully to our country? l declare that we
would be the cause of our own annihiiaiion
and destruction. Let sound men be selected
and let the united voice of the people de-
clare that convention should be called, and
that we will not be ashamed to ask for a re-
dress of our grievances, and that we will
] thereby do all we can to reconcile our South
| ern sister States with those of the North. Let
those men in our name demand our rights,
| and let the compromise be made between the
extreme sections. and peace will again smile
on US and the land of Washington, the home
of the free and the brave viii yet be the
happiest, the greatest and the best govern
ment the world ever knew. The people have
the power. will they use it?
51s CONVENTION