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

Upon the heads of few hundred
thousand proud selfish, and rich, lord
ly shareholders of the South rest all the
horrors of this war, which has concen-
trated so much suffering upon the loyal
families of East Tennessee.
They are the ones that should be
made to foot the bill for the poor fami-
lies they have brought to so much suf-
fering and death, as long as they have
a foot of land or a dollars worth of
property left, and then make a partial
atonement for the many hundreds of
thousands they have murdered in this
war, by FORGETTING their own lives for
their crimes.
1t was all done to perpetuate slavery
that most scandalous and foul stigma
upon our national escutcheon. The
blood thirsty traitors wished to lord it
not only over the blacks but over the
great masses of poor loyal hearted
white people, whom they have so utter
/ ly ruined and murdered in trying to
accomplish their villainous ends, to es-
tablish themselves as proud, naughty,
selfish, and devilish masters and lords
over the honest, industrious people of
this great and once happy land of Co
lumbia
The Constitution Of the United States
never did strictly justify these proud
people in holding slaves; on the con-
trary its whole tenor is against slavery,
and for liberty and freedom to all men
fall colors, except as a punishment for
crime after trial 1t guarantees protec-
ton to life, liberty, and property to
every person no matter what color 1t
guarantees a republican form of gov
eminent to every State and every man
of every color, nation or climate
among us Thus it knocks the whole
peculiar institution" into pie, and no
where justifies it at all when it speaks
of certain persons curing service to GER
tain other persons, manifestly intended
for persons making voluntary contracts
or for bound apprentices for few years
only, and not from age to age, as they
claim for this guilty institution of
slavery.
Our people suffered this false interpre-
tation to be given, until now, at last, it
is brought to judgment at a fearful cost
of blood and treasure. It's crimes of
| deepest die and crimson hue have as
cended to God, and violent death is
the consequence, instead of following
the example of Washington, Adams,
Jefferson, Monroe, Randolph and their
great compatriots of old, who enamel
pated all the slaves they had-many Of
them never had any at all.
We need to have that same old Con
stitution circulated more among these
people South, that they may read it
and correctly interpret it for themselves.
! Washington sFarewell Address also, and
the Declaration Of independence ought
to be circulated more South. 1t is
almost impossible to find any of them
in the Slave States They are most too
radical for circulation among slaves and
poor whites. These rich and naughty
shareholders have been aiming to es-
tablish a system of Lords and Manors
/ in this free country worse than that of
England and other monarchical cOun-
/ tries, where only a few men own all the
lands and the great masses of working
people are tenants at their mercy from
age to age They actually openly adj
vocated this sort of doctrine in their
papers, and it is the design of their re-
| bellion. if successful 1t mast not-nay,
may we not say in the free spirit of our
fathers, it shall not be allo1sed? They
have had brother fighting against broth
er and friend against friend-and can
not help themselves ever since this war
began. They kill the deserters if
caught and they murder prisoners cap
tured from the Union army, and if con-
tinued we will make the earth drunk
with their blood in retaliation
When we climb to the top of this
beautiful tree of liberty planted by
Washington, we are surprised to find,
that its broad branches clothed with
evergreen leaves, spread in every direc-
ton and intended to protect the lib
erty of all men of every nation, color
and tongue, who come under its refresh
ing shadows. And yet we find ourselves
in the midst of a civil war brought on
expressly to perpetuate the iron letters
of slavery on many millions of sable
colored men, by those Of paler face.
This is the stigma upon our national
escutcheon which has SO long been
pointed out to US by people of kingly
governments, and as scandalous foul
stigma now bathed in the peoples
blood. WIPE It ooal noble .treemsn ]!
Wipe it out now and FOREVER Pu-
rify the moral atmosphere under this
noble tree of LIBERTY The martyrs
for it already count many hundreds Of
thousands in the last three years, but
the star of morning begins to shine in
all its brilliancy, and victory is yours
The millennium of glory may soon come,
A thousand years Of bliss for our long
distracted people, in heavens liberty.
p H. GRESHAM
ARREST or HosTAGEs-We learn that
several prominent Rebels residing at
Berkeley Springs, in Morgan county,
have been arrested as hostages for the