The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1862-12-17
a polorous vice President.

"A OOloEpub tlce-fIesAooub- &.
Another speech OF the rebe, Vice Pre-
sident Stephens has reached us. IL WAS
made some weeks ago at Charlottesville,
Ga. If the inhabitants of that place
have no more cheerful amusement than
their Vice-Presideni afforded them in his
remarks, their life cannot be termed Jolly.
The hopefulness, the occasional sallies Of
humor, the confident predictions of sue
cess which have characterized his rreyi-
Gus speeches are wholly wanting in bis
Charlottesville address. In his famous
cornerstone" speech, he thought thai
slavery must become the controlling
power Of the continent, and that the b0r-
der States would be compelled to join
their fortunes TO the great principle on
which the confederacy was established.
10 his speech at Richmond on the 22d of
April, 1861, he decIared that "the noun
tains CT Tennessee were on fire." that
Kentucky would soon be out of the
Union" that Missouri would soon add
another star 10. the southern galaxy"
"Wbere Maryland is" he said, "you
all know the first blood has been shed
upon her soil, and Virginia will never
stand by and see her citizens shot down"
:" He had reason TO believe that the crea-
tor smiled" on their cause. "The con-
flict NAV be terrible, but the victory will
be ours" At Atlanta, eight days later,
he declared, 1--WE can call out million
of people, ii need be; and when they
are cut down, we can call out another,
and still another, until the last man of
the South finds bloody grave. But a
triumphant victory and independence,
with an unparalleled career of glory,
prosperity and progress await ms in the
future. God is on our side, and who
shall be against us ?" Again, at Atlanta,
May %, he declared over and over that
they were prepared for the issue, how
ever bloody and prolonged the war might
be. And in bis great speech Of July 18th,
at Augusta, when he endeavored TO obtain
subscriptions to the cotton loan, he said
that Zone thing is certain, in some way
or other the blockade will be obliged to
be raised, or there will be revolution in
Europe"
His last speech is pitched in altogether
different key. 1t is a jeremiad. 1t lis
wall. II is a groan. 1t begins with a
grOwl at the contractors, spectators, and
extortioners. He then dwells briefly on
the magnitude Of the war, "the greatest
of any since the birth of Christ" He
next proceeds to consider where the re-
sponsibility and guilt of the fearful war
belong. He says sit is wholly inmate
rial considering the question of right and
justice now 90 look any further than the
solemn act OF the south" That is, in
seeking where to fix the responsibility
and guilt of the war we are not TO ask
whether the States did right or wrong,
whether they had any justification or not
for their course. Enough that acting in
their sovereign capacity, they adopted or
dinanccs of secession. Is not that fine
reasoning? But we grant that it is the
best the case admits Of He of course
concludes that the north is 10 blame for
the war, since the north opposed the
southern States. To what extremity is
even so able a man as Stephens driven in
his vain attempt to justify the south?
We find nowhere in the speech any of
those predictions which we have quoted
above about the gravitation of the bord-
er States TO the south, nothing about the
raising of the blockade, no high declara-
ton of hope and cheer. But looking TO
the prospect of failure, he closes with
these sad words;
"Let the world know, and history re-
cord the fact, if such should be our un-
happy fate, that though our country may
be invaded, our land laid waste, our cities
sacked, our property destroyed, the peo-
pie of the south could die in defence of
their rights, but they could never be con-
quered." n ~
No CLEAN of light does he let in upon
the darkness Sullen desperation is the
spirit which speaks from every sentence
that he utters. If he has any expecta-
ton Of ultimate success, if he looks for
the brilliant results which he so conf
IDENTIFY foretold year and half ago, he
certainly said nothing which could in
spire the good people of Crawfordsville
with the belief that he hoped for a speedy
or fortunate termination of the war
Providence Journal. rftne