Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-21
UNION
Our Masters.

/
From the Philadelphia Age.
Every thoughtful man must be conscious
of sense of dependency and, as it were,
WEAKNESS at the slow progress of social re-
Cancellation. 1t would be absurd to be i'm
patient because the processes of reconstruc-
ton are dilatory. They are necessarily
complicated and require nice adjustment 4
broken locomotive can not be put on the
track and run in a moment, even when all
around are ready to work with a will' to
| put it to rights. But it is the absence of
this "wilP' that makes us heart sick. We
see no signs of it, and in thelegislative halls
where only practical measures can be initia-
| ted, less than anywhere else. If the spirit
which actuates some of the Republican lead
ers be carried out, it really seems as if the
poor South was not to be allowed to sleep in
its bloody grave. Modern history has hard
ly a parallel to this perseverance, of hate, and
We are sure that General Butler, in his
historical research for precedents of ven
geance, found few like this. When the
day of pacifcation dawned in England af-
ter rebellion of nearly twenty years, its
hand red with the blood of King, and
Prelates and Poets on the scaffold, and thou
sands of brave men on fields of battle,
Charles H., through his Chancellor, begged
Parliament to forget revenge, and try and
restore "ths old good nature and the old
good humor" 1t was not very long after
l745, that the greatest of England's Hano-
verian statesmen practically reconciled the
ancient antagonists by enlisting, unpar-
doned and unrepentant Highlanders in the
English army History is full of these in
stances of polite gentleness, and in all cases
where, on the termination of revolt or
civil war, different and harsher course
was pursued and bloody penalties exacted,
the Judgment of history is an invariable
one that such severity, such vengeance was
a huge mistake. Why is it different with
us?
This is a question which admits of many
answers-some derogatory to our poor hui
mainly, and some which attribute this sad
result to motives of higher order. A con-
temporary writer speaking of the crusade of
the Germans against Italy in the 10th century,
uses this languages, which, changing "Rome"
to the South" may be applicable now. If
we would understand" says he, "this fury
of the conquerors in whose minds certain
set of ideas at that time prevailed, We must
recollect how Rome has been preached and
written upon in the North. 1t was repre-
sented as a vast abyss of sin-the men as
villains from the lowest to the highest, the
business of all was deceit, theft and murder,
From Rome every evil had sprung. And |
thus, while satiating themselves with blood |
and rapine they believed a good work was |
being done for the welfare of Christendom, |
and the avenging of the North. Nerer, hoU- |
euer-this Ue kR0w-does the nature Of man en- |
hibit itself more beastliEe than ,chen ii becomes |
furious for the sake Of ideas of the highest char
lctcr." This is the only theory of good mo-
tive for what we see around us that we can
frame But we fear-indeed, we know-that |
lower impulses and harsher tempers are at |
work to prevent peace, and among them we
find one in individual vindictiveness, opera
ting on an inhamed public sentiment, which
through some strange anomaly has become
suddenly Submissive to individual control
If any one had foretold, few years ago,
hat American legislative policy-if not adj
action, would be absolutely con-
rolled by one or two men of very perverse
intellect and unpopular department, no one
would have believed it. Jackson, and Clay,
md Calhoun, and in a less degree, Webster
Ised to have, in the natural, healthy state of
he public mind, great personal influence
md were followed by bodies of men. They
1ent the popular judgment. They did not
wist it as they pleased-whereas, now, one
'r two men, the public temper being heated
o a fit degree, hammer and bend and twist
t as they please. Strange and hideous as it
$, it now seems that Mr.. Stevens and
SIr. Sumner are masters of mischief, and
control the government. Start not at this,
,entle reader! Revolt not at it, for it is the
ctual truth, and, what is worse, the spirit of
he North is willingly submissive to this
guidance. There is nothing these men say,
n demand, or do, that the fanatics of the
North, or at least of a large part of the North,
10 not agree to. Has any one heard dissent?
We certainly have not.
And who are these our rulers? Who are
hese Duumvirs of mischief? Let us try
md answer the question with fairness, and,
s far as may be, without asperity. In what
10 they resemble and in what differ from
ach other? There is word in the Eng
ish language which, as applied to tree, or
'ush, or fruit, means tasting of the SOIL"
nd this sort of flavor is clearly discernible
lere. They are both New England men
ne from the finty mountains of Vermont,
he other from the originally barren but
flats Of Massachusetts. This
|
10Th. But their careers had an early diver
ence, one remaining steadily at home, well
ursed, and petted, and brought to blossom
arly under Boston glass-while the other, a
ar more robust and vigorous being, altar
Innate, and settled in a corner of Penn
intasies of secluded and active intelli-
IL |
xodus from New England did some good,
nd that, in this latter instance, the migra-
Dry is far better than the stationary Yankee.
Iere, in the seclusion of Gettysburg, Mr..
'haddeus Stevens not only gained his pro-
essional position, which is quite high one,
ut cultivated, with singular assiduity, the
rotchets which, in succession, have signal
led his career. They began mildly with
and anti-Masonry, but
nose comparatively gentle nags were driven
18th whip and spur and those who recol-
,ct Mr.. Stevens in his day of prime, hurl-
lg fierce anathemas at poor Free Masons
nd tavernkeepers, know that wonted fires
ow animate his ashes. These fanticisms
IN their course, and Mr.. Stevens accommo-
ated himself to Know Nothingism," and
he guardianship of Lancaster county stills {
TN WONDERFUL aptitude. we pass by MS
,gislative career at Harrisburg. which, till
lie collapse Of 1888, was the same despotic
nd overbearing one it now is. He was Straf-
,rd over again, very Thorough" and brook
1 no master near his throne. And here, at
the first heaving of the great anti-slavery {
irge, one which he was destined to ride, we
ave him. Z
All this time while our fellov-citizen, as
e are compelled to call him, was fighting
is hard battle OF life, and making fanati- {
SIN a sort of secretion, Mr. Charles Sumner t
as being handled in the lap of Boston
nd yet not exactly so, for every one who
nows what Boston once was before Horace
lanns statute stood before the State House,
nd Edward Everett had become a, literally,
ibble, knows too there was an antagonism
pretenders like Sumner which was very {
'rmidable. But he was not easily daunted. I
lie read, and he wrote, and he fattered.
lie reported Judge Story, and he annotated
eports with Judge Story's assistance. He
as at hand to applaud and justify the gross q
nposture of the, Prigg case, and he early t