The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-02-03

calmly with honest radicals. and ex-
change opinions freely with honest con-
ssrva'ives; without growing abolition
isip at the former, and without snarliDg
"Copperhead % at the latter. For
growl never improved the temper or edi-
fed tbe understanding of even an un-
reasonable abOliiionis'; nor did snarl
ever work improvement in the mind Of
an unreasonable conservative. So if you
sre not 3 reasonable man, ofensive Ian
gusge will only make you less 81; If you
are reasonable person, IL will only gain
for us your contempt If you are 3
kusve, 60 your way for this time. II is
NOT with You we would speak. Taking
silence for consent, we shall regard you
Ne honest, by authority Of that general
rule, which pTesumes every man 20,
aside from dollars and cents Gill be be
found otherwise.
IF you ara radical Gin The common
meaning Of that word-progressiVs you
think there is great danger the cOnserVa-
tives will ruin the country; 50, if you are
conservative, it is yous earnest desire to
save The country from the radicals. In
either case, We commend your zeal. In eth
or case, doubtless time will come when
you can make yourself useful There is
stime for everything that is reasonable,
and time for all sorts of people, except
rogues, and they have ell times Take care,
So VOC are an honest man, you do not run
on the time Of some other mans train.
There is . time to be reasonably radical,
and q time to be wisely conservative.
Don't you know, that if our national af-
fairs were always managed on progress
siVe principles only, the country would
be inundated with folly, and every good
thing would be drowned? Don't you
understand, that if conservatism (by
which we mean . fondness for old things.)
were alone consulted, we should have
the current of human improvement stay
ed, and its stsgnation would breed pes
thence and death? Il is therefore that
thinking men become radicals or conser-
vatives, IS they suppose there is cause to
push forward or hold back-that is, if |
they are honest; for knaves are radical !
or conservative just as the one or the
other viii best pay The same person
may be radical to-day, and conser-
vative tomorrow. There is not q sensi-
bic teamster in the world, who is not al
ternately radical and conservative many
times day, if be drives in billy coun-
try; but he has too much sense TO become
an absolute radical or an absolute con-
sentative. If be were all Fadicslism you
would see him rafting down steep hill,
and dsshing bis wagon 10 pieces over an
embankment or precipice from which bis
precipitance left him no time TO turn
aside, and no strength to hold back. If |
he were all conservatism, you should be-
hold him toiling no a mountain road
with one wheel locked. Can you not
learn political lesson from that team
ster? BE is now driving up the side
Of yon mountain; let as follow, and |
consider bis wisdom-for be isa man of
good common sense, and does not drink
You see he has done ell in his power to
make the wagon run easily, by Oiling the
wheels, and like man of true progress
be talks loudly but kindly to his horses.
BE cracks bis whip over them 3 little,
when the road is very steep, but seldom
hits one Of them. If one gets q little
bsulky, be goes to him, pats him kindly,
talks encOursgingly, and brings him to
his work. But he keeps everything
In motion till he reaches level spot, and
then be pauses 3 moment, that his noble
horses may get breath and prepare for
another pull. Now be has reached the
mountain top He progressed without
accident, and having locked one wheel,
is beginning TO move cautiously down,
the opposite steep. BE was radical
enough yet be is now conservative.
But we passed two teams in the way up
one coming up, the other going down.
Did you observe the first be had his
wheel locked, coming up bill, and so en-
bsrrsssed his horses, they halted, in spite
Of all his oursing, Just at that foul place,
and are now stuck fast in the mud. The
second, you remember came driving
down in trOt, all wheels uuslocksd, and
you perceive be has'upset just where the
road makes . sudden turn. The first is
= foolish conservative; the second fool
ish radical
You may think, from what has been
said, that we hold foolish radicals in
small repute; and so we do, and We
highly esteem wise conservatives. Be
kind enough to remember, at the same
time, however, that we despise foolish
conservatives, and admire wise radicals.
But somebody says, There are no wise
radicals, and never were any. Danton
snd RObespierre were radi calls" We beg
your pardon; DantOR and RObespierre
were both conservatives. Il is 90 re-
corded by the historian. But they were
foolish conservatives, and had been fool
ash radicals. They became conservA-
tives when il was too late even to save
their own heads from the block. They
went over she precipice They bad
not sense enough, or st least not
honesty enough 10 lock q wheel while
driving down the steep from the peak of
absolute monarchy 70 the gulf Of absO-
lutte anarchy, When they reached the
bottom, they turned conservative, and at
tempted argument with men whom their
driving had run into lunscy and Wild
ferOoity.
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