Daily national Republican., 1862-11-13
From the New York Times.
There is no Peace,

John Van Buren, is out again, babbling of
| peace. The same notion Is obscurely floating In
sundry brains. The late canvass tended to unset
| tie the old ideas on the subject. People hear
ing the word so often-and q very pleasant
word. too--almost insensibly to themselves get
to fancy that there might be something in It,
OF course, there is sense In which we are
| all peace men. Nobody would think of pro-
longing this war for an instant for Its own
sake. War is always frightful-we all know
II. Christian civilization has advanced, but
war still remains essentially barbarous-the
same appalling scourge 1t ever has been.
Boast as we may, war Is not humanized, and
cannot be. An ancient battlefield and a
modern battlefield differ only In the instru-
ments of slaughter. Bebriacum and Antietam
are In all material respects the same. The
ancient Tacitus, who pictured the "plain still
covered with bodies gashed and mangled, with
broken limbs, and men and horses In one pro-
miscuous carnage, clotted gore, and filth and
putrefaction-the whole a dreary waste, the
devastation of nature shocking to humanity"
would have to dip his pencil In the same fear
full colors, were he alive, to portray an Ameri-
can battlefield now. Of course, We all lament
that such things should be- And when the
time comes for them to be ended, we shall
make every temple resound with thanksgiving,
and the very canopy above us ring with jub-
lation. But wherefore talk of this now2 As
well prattle Of the golden age. Peace is not
our present lot, nor can he. Though, perhaps,
not six months distant, 1t is yet, so far as re-
lates to all the practical concerns Of to-day, as
remote as the millennium. Our present busi-
ness is war, and nothing else. II is necessity
as inexorabc as fate.
"Peacc," wrote Napoleon, from the heart of
Germany, to his brother Joseph, who wanted
peace, sis word that means nothing. 1t is
the conditions Of peace that are all. The En-
peror fought Austerlitz, and then-not until
then-was peace a possibility. He made it,
because he dictated II. We can have no peace
that we do not dictate-or rather have not al
ready dictated-for the articles were prescribed
and proclaimed long ago, In fact, at the fash
of the first gun against the assailantr of Sum-
ter. These articles Of peace are the al 'icles of
the Constitution of the United States o. Ame-
rica, made and confirmed In convention / y the
unanimous consent of the States present, the
seventeenth day of September in the year of our
Lord 1857, and accredited by the signature of
George Washington, President. Peace is but
a word. 1t is the conditions of peace that are
all. And these are the only conditions-noth-
ing more, nothing less. Our Austerlitz is yet
to come that shall secure them.
In other wars there may be negotiations,
even while the war RACES. In this, none. In
our last war with England, both belligerents
had peace commissioners at Ghent before the
struggle was half out. There can be nothing
of the kind In this conflict with rebellion. Par
our Government can use, Is unconditional de-
mand, and the only language 1t can listen to,
is unconditional submission. Government is
the executor of law and law does not nego
tiate, It presides II does not compromise, 1t
Furnishes. The officer of the law does not go
into conference with burglar or murderer;
nor can we, any more, do 80 with traitors. To
compound with rebels is to sacrificet the authori-
ty Of law, without which law is nothing. The
Government has no alternative but to go straight
on to the end in the vindication of Its au-
thorlty.
If we are to attach any meaning to this
loose talk about peace, there is but one thing
it can signify-and that is treason. In strict
logic, 1t inevitably comes to that. Opposition
to the war against rebellion Is essentially no
better than rebellion itself. It should never
be for a moment forgotten that this war Is not
an Administration war, like that with England
in 1919, or with Mexico in 1864 war In which
simply the international rights and interests of
the Republic are concerned, and which might
be opposed without disloyalty, under some diff
ferent views of those rights and interests. 1t
is strictly Government war, which Govern
ment wages for Its life; and, therefore, a war
not to be opposed without enmity to the Gov
ernment-which means treason. In other wars,
the President and two-thirds of the Senate may,
at any time, make peace. In this war, neither
the Executive branch, nor the Legislative
branch, nor the Judicial branch, nor all COM
bined, have the slightest power TO release the
people of the Confederate State from their obli-
cations to the National Constitution, which is
declared to be "the supreme law of the land.'
These departments Of the government are all
sworn to protect and defend that "supreme
law" Congress and the President have sim
ply discharged the obligations of their oath In
raising and sending armies with which to
put down resistance to the Constitution.
That instrument leaves Its guardians no al
tprnntiyp II impnspa path IN hraaL tph oh
Is perjury before high Heaven. Thus does 1t
constantly take security in advance for its own
perpetuation. To oppose the war, then, is to
oppose the Constitution which necessitatcs the
war; and, In strict justice, should put the man
who does 1t into the category of traitors.
The word peace does not belong to the day.
1t should be tabooed and not uttered again un-
til one of two occasions, either when the Gov
ernment regains It's power, or when II yields Its
life-either at Its feet. or over Its grave.
Excitement In Nashville - Condition Of
the city.
The Louisville Journal has the following
news from Nashville, up to the 4th instant:
distinguished gentleman who arrived here
to-day from Nashville, destined up the river on
official business, states that he left Nashville on
Tuesday about noon, and that there was great
excitement there at that time; that the citizens
would not at any honr he surprised at the arrival
oi nag oi truce demanding the surrender OF
the place.
On Monday General John G. Breckenridge
was at Murireesboro' with, say, twenty thou
sand men, inclusive Of Forests four thousand.
Cheatham's corps Of probably fifteen thousand
was then arriving at Murfreesboro' by railroad
from Chattanooga as fast as the rolling stock of
the road could transport them. The combined
forces of Breckenridge and Cheatham would be
not far from thirty-hve thousand General Joe
Johnston, at the latest dates, was at Knoxville,
and would take the chief command at Murfrees-
boro', having been appointed to supersede
Bragg. The understanding was that an attack
upon Nashville would be made on Wednesday
or Thursday, unless General Negley should
be reinforced, or reinforcements should be
known to be within striking distance.
Nashville was powerfully fortified, and Gen
eral Negley had about sixteen thousand men.
SLIPS division encamped at Tyree Springs,
twenty-three miles this side of Nashville, on
Wednesday night, and other Federal divisions
were following. SLIPS division could make the
march to Nashville in time to be there pretty
early on Thursday, If informed on Wednesday
night that there was n necessity for their pres
ence.
Rev. Morgan Dix, of 81. Paul's Chapel, son
of Gpn Dix haA hpen rhnsen ~ the yastry nf