The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-04-13
Alex. Longs Peace Speech.

Special Dispatch 10 the Cincinnati Gazette.
WAsIuyGToy, March G.-The most ex-
element produced by any purely po-
litical speech this season was aroused
by the radical Democratic speech this
afternoon, by Alex. Long of Cincinnati
The House had gone into Committee
Of the whole for speech making, and, as
usual, members were rapidly leaving
when he began, but he at once secured
close attention and held it to the end.
Large numbers Of administration men
going over to the Democratic side. and
gathering about his desk to hear more
distinctly. 1t was at once the most
honest and boldest utterance from the
Democratic party ranks this session,
and it was attentively regarded accord
ingly. Its Importance is such that
telegraph full synopsis of its leading
points SIS follows:
lie referred to the change that three
years had produced; the conviction that
the war was wrong and ought to cease
immediately He denied the right of
the Government,under the Constitution
to coerce sovereign States quoted from
Benton, Adams, jackson, Seward, Ev-
erett and others in support Of his pO-
sition. The Confederate States were
out of the Union, and are an indepen-
dent power de facto He agreed with
Mr.. Stevens of Penn. in that He de-
nounced the amnesty proclamation as
infamous, and said that the man who
took an cath under it would violate it,
as did Calico when he abjured his belief
in the earths motion He charged the
Government with inconsistency in at
tempting to coerce the South. We had
sympathized with Greece, the South
American States, Poland, Hungary,
Italy and Ireland in their struggles for
independence, in illustration OF which
he referred 10 the speeches of Clay and
Webster in behalf Of Greece, in 1924,
and agreed with the \. Y. Tribune, in
1861, that if If was right for three mil
lions Of colonists to separate from Great
Britain, was it not right for five millions
of SOutherners to separate from us in
1861 Better lose nine-tenths Of the
territory than our republican form Of
government Land was nothing COM
pared with liberty Russia and even
China could vie with Us in that, but
who would not rather live in one of the
Cantons Of Switzerland than in those
countries. In parting with our juris-
diction over eleven States, we did
not lose one function Of our free
We existed as O re-
public without the mouth Of the
Mississippi, or any territory west of it,
and without Florida, and could exist
again. The war had made eight mil
lions of bitter enemies on the American
continent The words Shiloh, Ante
tam, Gettysburg, Murfreesboro Rich'
mond Vicksburg. and Fort Donelson,
were words of division, and would serve
to bring up emotions Of eternal hate in
all time The Union was lost, never to
be restored He saw neither at the
North norSouth, any sentiment on which
TO build Union, and was forced to the
conclusion, that IN attempting to pre-
serve our jurisdiction over Southern
States, we had lost our constitutional
form Of government over the Northern
What had been predicted 10y our wisest
statesmen had come 10 pass. In grasp
ing at the shadow we had lost the sub
stance: in striving 10 retain the caskct
in which our jewels were, we had lost
these precious monuments Of freedom
There are but two alternatives, and
that is either an acknowledgment of
the independence Of tho South as an
nation, or their complete
subiugation and determination as a peo- +
pie, and he preferred the former. If
the war was to go on, he wanted IL con
Quoted by the party in power, and was
opposed 10 running a candidate for the
on the marrow bassis Of how
the war should be prosecuted. He be-
lieyed the masses Of the Democracy for /
peace, and was opposed TO running
war candidate