The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-04-01


Washington Desperate disease. re
quire desperate remedies s' vf.-r.
Voluntary Enlistment in Rebellion
Enthusiasts inrfIi6 Cause.
If there is one subject, upon which the
Copperhead press peculiarly delight TO
dwell, it is upon the unity Of sentiment
existing m the South; the determination
Of the people never TO be s1bdued; and
the "alaerity with which they enter
the field, in.obedienee to the demand of
the Richmond leaders We have read
columns upon this subject in such pa
pers as the Cincinnati Enquirer the
Chicago Times, and the New York
News and we have seen these columns
re-echoed by the small fry newspapers
throughout the country with all the
flourish which startling head lines can
bestow -r r... 10
Can a people thus united, thus pre-
pared to sacrifice everything, be con
quered 2" ask the leading Copperhead
Journals; and their rural contemporaries
echo and re-echo the question, till it
rings and rings again IN the ears Of
every reader.
The rebel papers, in harmonious con
cord with their faithful serfs-we will
not say allies, for that implies equality,
point TO the re-enlistmcnt OF their
veterans; and grave Senators pass
votes Of thanks 10 the cid soldiers for
the alacrity with which they re- entered
the service as If the whole act was
voluntary on the part Of these men.
They do not tell us that every sol
der is compelled to remain in the ser
vice another term; that be must do
this rs a yoluuteerj OF ass -conscrjpt;
and the great mass choose the former
alternative; all Of tie most discomfort
ed viii do 90, that they may not be dis
trusted, as distrust would be fatal to their
plans of escape All these facts are
carefully concealed from the public;
that is, 50 far asft IS possible to conceal
that which ought to be as plain as the
sunlight Enforced obedience Is pa
raded rs voluntary sacrifices and we
are told that though the CONSUMPTION
was passed, it did not materially affect
the result; All they veterans, they allege,
would have re-enlisted withoutit
But OCCASIONALLY necessity compels
some rather ugly revelations; murder
will out and so viii almost every other
crime: so win almost every false
hood The late message of Governor
Brown, Of Georgia, has. given occasion
for a few of these revelations. lie de
nounces the tconscription as unjust,
and Oppressive; and the people respond
10y hearty Amen; and breakers
appear ahead What is to be done?
If the pretensio-ls relative to the readi-
ness of the soldiers TO re-enlist be true.
the passage of the act is inexcusable
The truth must be told, or the Gov
ernor of Georgia will soon be at the
head of a dangerous popular opposition.
The Richmond Examiner, one OF the
organs of the rebel junta unveils the
situation-makes feleHIi breast Of it.
We copied brief article from that pa
per yesterday, which our readers have
doubtless perused with deep interest
The Governor is told chat but for the
CONSUMPTION law of 1862, he might have
been mouldering in has graye-or been
wanderer in some foreign land-which
was more probable and he is told that
chad that law been never made, the
forces Of the United States would long
ago have swept from the earth the last
vestiges of the Southern Confederacy.
and of the society for the defense of
which it was organized and il IT had
not been extended at the last session
of Congress, the evil day would have
only been postponed-our armies would
have been dissolved, and all the blood
of three years would have been poured
out for no purpose
We have always contehded that the
masses of the people did not enter
heartily into this rebellion; and the
extract quoted proves this beyond
peradventure But for the power
welded by the leaders the peopiewould
have long since returned to their alleSi-
ance They viii now return the mo-
ment that power is broken Since early
in 1862 the contest has only been kept
up by a merciless CONSUMPTION, the
rebels themselves being witnesses Let
us hear no more of Southern unity IN
resisting the government