The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-01-24

enough tO.engage ID unlawful traffic with
the enemy, and who are ready for the
sake Of profit to act in bad faith towards
the Board of Trade here, and the Custom
House at Louisville, which have permit
ted them TO bring goods, why not make
the forfeiture of the goods and imprison-
ment the punishment OF the offence
Would not the merchants individual
bond be sufficient security, when he al
ready has the endorsement of the Gov
eminent officers here, and the permit Of
Custom House officers abroad? If a ira
der intends 10 act fraudulently, no oath
or bond will prevent him; nothing will
deter him from smuggling save the lack
of opportunity. An honest man needs
no bond TO compel him 70 do right, or
prevent him from doing wrong.
The wealth Of Nashville is in the hands
of rebels. II is notorious fact that
her leading wholesale and retail dealers
lent themselves with hardly an excep-
ton to destroy the Government. Here,
abovemost other places, poverty and pa
triotism have walked together. As, at
the establishment of Christianity, the
gospel was accepted and defended by
the poor, 80 the gospel of freedom has
been upheld in Tennessee by the poor
who have been martyrs to its truth.
These are the people whom the Govern
ment should favor especially; for as the
great majority of all nations, are men Of
small means, it is plain, that by pro-
tecting and defending the poor we de-
fend and protect the nation. There are
many men of small means, men of from
one thousand to five thousand dollars cap
| ital, who are anxious TO settle and trade
here, and it will be almost impossible
for these persons to give bond. This new
regulation drives them away, and hands
over the trade of Nashville to a few mo-
popolists, We need not 60 into an ar
gument to show that if we want cheap
goods, and brisk trade, it is far more de-
sirable that one hundred tradesmen of
| five thousand or one thousand dollars cap
ital each should establish themselves here,
than that we should have three or four
! traders of one hundred thousand dollars
capital apiece. The more numerous the
members of trade are, the less danger
there is of injurious combinations for
the purpose Of exacting extortionate
prices for their wares. Hence the old
adage that competition is the life of
bade."
1t would be a blessed event for Ten
nessee if two hundred thousand hard
working, enterprising; intelligent, and
thoroughly loyal and nion-loving
farmers, mechanics, manufacturers, and
u adesmen Of the Middle States, of the
Northwest, of New England, would i'm
migrate into Middle Tennessee during
the present year. 1t would make her
desolated fields bloom like a garden, her
war blighted farms wave with luxuriant
crops, her cities ring with the mechanics
hammer, and roar with the chatter of fac
tories and mills, and fiji her marts with
commerce, while her rivers and railroads
would be alive with unprecedented traf-
fic. Let us invite immigration instead
of repelling it. The State should encOur-
age the advent of good citizens, and thus
be enabled to slough off her treason by
natural and healthy process. We have
contempt for that petty, clannish,
sectional feeling which would build a
Chinese wall around our borders for the
purpose of keeping out the tide of immi
grafton, and thus enable a small and
select planting aristocrAcy to absorb the
finest lands in the State, into their
princely and OVergrOwn plantations.
We desire to extend the right hand of
fellowship to all good men who desire to
settle among us. Let us do nothing to
dishearten and repel them.
Commerce is the great regulator of
State. It's influence is immense And
il should be a prime object of the Gov
eminent TO throw its commerce, every
where, into the hands of loyal men.
There are many men Of wealth in this
city whose presence is not desirable.
Their influence has been blight and
an incubus upon the enterprise aud
growth of the city. They have sedu-
lousIy discouraged and driven off poor
and industrious mechanics. They have
given their means and influence TO treason