Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1865-12-27
A Word of warming.

n fNVAu VI
For years before the late struggle, thoughtful men
IN different portions of the country solemny warned
the contending sectonists of the inevitable conse
quences that mast sooner or later follow the herce
strife upon the slavery question Our great men
Webster, Clay, Crittenden etc.-ln what prophetic
tones they besought their countrymen to cease their
angry contentious, and how glOomily they peered .
in to the dark and bloody future which they foresay
would be realized the spirit Of hatred and alieRa
ton continued TO be sedHleusy tosered by frebrand
sectionasts. They we're eered at for their notes of
warning; ridiculed as old women la their dotage
trying to frightea Rea fFom their property aRd /
principles.
The aduFations of the true friends of the country
the great men eleeuent--Bere UNDECIDED. The war
of words went on. The fierce challenge and the
fiery reteTt we're kept up The cbeads all round our
devoted herzon grew darker and naoze eminoas-
The bitterness of gall was infused into public dis
eussioRs whether Of the press or Of the forum Ha-
tired wss cultivated as Fetish. Eaeh side repre-
scented the ether in the backest and most odios col
eFs. Misrepresentation, either from ignorance or
desig7-aEd 1t vas frequently bOth-hecame the
rule and frnesz Of representing opponents the ex-
eeptian. Madness became more insane. Who but
erazy eaQld keap FROM seeing harvest Of blood
aad woe from the sowing Of such seeds How the
fools rushed in where angels could but pause and
weepl 4
But what SO wish to inquire Is, whether the his
tory Of thst period is to be lost upon the country
more terrible tempest and blacker deluge Are
similar parties to re-enact tragedies dark and
morseess, and scatter blasting mildews over half
continent?
1t seems to US that there are parties engaged in
the work Of firing slow fuse that leads unerringly
to a magazine of powder, and who appear to be IN
| conscious Of what they doing. We charitably
suppose that they are So Let Us take the advice Of
/ our great poe. and beware Of the entrance to
quarrel and such qusrrels they indications Of
1t is the African still whom contending facGoniss
seem determined to make the Had Of our woes the
scourge of our civilization the occasion rather than
the Of endless acrimony and disturber Of our
peace.
The African is free but there is 10 cessation Of
the strife. The basis Of tho quarrel has only been
changed. The malcOntents are as restless as ever
I and the next war is which Heaven fOrefend, war
Of races We are no alarmists but there needs no
prophets eye to discover in what direction the weird
forms and shadows will take if the wager Of battle
be thrown down and accepted, if the SANDER, the
deception and the defiance begin and prevail of
old There needs no divinatiOn toperCeye whether
the rout and the rattle and the gurgle tend, and
what the finale shall be.
The South is the weaker party, and IN another
sectionalistiC reuCOnteH must PROFESSIONALLY 60
under That is what is necessary for the South to
comprehend. Upon her and her people must come
numberless woes If, through the ignorance, the i'm
prudence the conceit, the want OF ssgacity, the
Vaccinations Of any number Of her politicians a
struggle of races shall be pFecipitated upon her soil
ESuch communication would be the most disastrous
and awful that the imagination can possibly con-
ceive Of There is no necessity for it. and it can be
avoided, provided the problem be distinctly and
early comprehended, and wise and mastery states
manship shall guide the councils and sway the judg-
ments of the Southern people. If the question be
despised and sneered at unworthy Of notice, woe
betide the unfortunate South
| We utter the word Of precautiOn and we do it in
shirt of tho friendship tho Southern
people. The old hatred of the South, the offspring
of the old agitation, still lives in minds, and
it has its representatives in the national councils and
in some Northern presses This spirit clothes itself
in the shining garb of liberty, and is therefore dan
gerOus. The South cannot despise it and cannot at
ford to defy it. The only way for her to amascuate
it is by course Of frank and enlightened dealing
with the freed people. The way for her TO strength
en- and make it omnipOtent is a contrary course.
Let us illustrate. The Mississippi Legislature the
other day passed an act, and we believe it has be-
come law, prohibiting freedmen from leasing or
purchasing lands in the State With that act as a
campaign document the party of entire negro equal
ity in the North could probably carry dozen States
not because the voters favor negro equality, but to
resent what they would consider unjust act and
/ q spirit unfrIendly to freedom.
We of course shall be told in reply that the people
Of the North have nothing to do with the Missssip-
ri Legislature or with those of any other Southern
State. But you can't prevent them from being In
duenced by the QOlngs OF sucn Legislatures Iley
will vote they please and under such stimuli they
will vote the extreme ticket.
We read few days since in a Southern paper q
bitter denunciaton of the Yankees which, OF
course, will be republished by the extreme organs il
the North as specimens Of Southern feelings toward
the North and the Government, and read with
gusto and pleasure by the supporters Of the radical
leaders.
Don't the writers of such articles in Southern pa
pers know that the Yankees aforesaid in the ma
3 iority? Don't they know that they have more pow
/ or, more influence more money more learning, anC
sharper pens than the writers and their sympath
zers of such structures Don't the Southern hater;
of Yankees know that their curses will be certain e
I come home to roost?
The next Presidential election will soon be upon
US, and another one will follow by and bye The
weaker and vsnquished party and section should re-
collect that extreme policy candidate might by
l some possibility be successful. Reliance upon few
secession sympathizers in the North will be utterly
? baseless. Such persons merely misead the South
and do therefore mischief and only mischief. Th'
best and only real friends of the South they tina
tell her the truth and the whole truth, however IN
palpatable it may be. Violence of language il
Southern papers only recoils upon the Southern PEG
pie and gives power to the worst class Of enemie:
in the North and elsewhere, and any oppressive
measures in reference to the freedmen have the same
effects. Again we distinctly utter the words o.
warning and we point to late scenes in Jamaica a.
the terrible results of seeking to prolong warfare
of sectional passions-L0ajsrNs Journal.