The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-01-10
From the Albany q. " Eveu.pr J,um,L

Il AAAA 20 AAAN A,|lAA tANAaA.AAAaa7a
Respectfully yours,
| A FRIENn 20 EnrrsrtoN
From the AItany q. " Evening Journal
Shall Jefferson Davis be Triedy
The Telegraph informs Us that Gov
ernor Fairchild, Of Wisconsin, in hi
inaugural, said
" Not until Jefferson Davis shall hav,
been tried, convicted and hung 70
treason, and the fact that treason Is
| crime which cannot be committed Will
impunity, shall have thus been full,
demonstrated, will the American peo
pie be content
When the public mind wa
wrought up by the exasperatiol
which followed the terrible as
sassination Of President Lincoln
we subjected ourselves 20 much unfa
vorable comment " declaring that w
did not believe that the integrity o.
the nation demanded, or that its glory
would be increased by 81 single political
execution In the few month that
have elapsed, this Judgment has been
very generally cOncurred IN. We now
declare that we do rot consider il 81
all essentisl TO our welfare, or the com
plete vindication OF our cause, that
Jefferson Davis shall be tried by civil
court and condemned for treason, nor
can We discover = probability that such
trial and condemnation viii occur
The reasons for this judgment are
striking and obvious An offence
which was purely individual At its IN
ception, was made general and repre-
sentative by the progress of events
When Davis stood in the Senate Cham
Der and declared the rights OF Mi sis
sippi to secede, he was in the character
of a conspirator and designing Traitor
only; iour years later, he was the em-
bOdiment Of 3 revOlted population
numbered by millions When Edwin
Ruffin fired the first gun at sumter, it
was perfectly competent for the GOV.
ernment 70 seize and hang him. Three
years elapsed, and though such men as
Lee and Johnston had repeated the
crime a thousand-fold, nobody argued
that they should be executed. The RI
otous demonstration Of a hundred
Chartists IN Belfast plundering, burn
ing aud attempting murder, pre-
sented TO the British Governments a
very different case than that Of an out
break which had almost assumed the
character Of revolution. Thomas
Bourne aud Alick Donohue were
hanged: but Smith O'Brien was par
doned.
Two great ideas, anlagonistic from
the foundation OF our government, bat
tied during the war The South be
heved in the right Of secession. The
Union was regarded as a contract be-
tween soyereigns, to be annUlled at
will Calhoun was better known from
the Potomac to the Rio Grande than
Sacred Writ, and quite as religiously
received. To those bred in his theO
ries, any attempt at coercion on the
part of the Federal authorities seemed
indefensble. They considered a call
of Lincoln for seyenty-hve thousand
troops 20 keep South Carolina in the
Union unWarrantable as would be de
mand for soldiers to possess the capital
of Canada We have by no means
given due weight in our Judgment to
this inbOrn and fundamental sentiment
OF the Southern people.
Regarding jefferson Davis as chief
of the Southern idea,
what is his position ? The conflict is
over The Government Is triumphant
The question is fully and definitely set
tied 1t has been pronounced by the
highest authority in the land, and I'M
der circumstances which impart iDcOm-
parable solemnity to the judgment, that
secession is not a right To this decis-
ion the States which have been in in
surrection yield, with q submissiveuess
that is very remarkable. HenceiOrth,
the integrity OF the Union j. an estab-
lished fact No assault upon 1t can be
justified from precedent
How is it possible to add to the
weight and value OF this verdict The
people of the United States have tried
Jefferson Davis on the arena Of war
They have convicted himself aud his
associates OF the crime Of high treason.
They have recorded their verdict IN
the history Of their country. The civil
lized world has sssented 10 its justice
What is TO be gained by having the
case reviewed before a Bench and a
Jury. or what peculiar element will at
tach TO the conclusion of twelve men,
that does not, with far greater force,
connect itself upon the decree already
If Davis Is tried, the proceedings
must be by forms OF law lie will
have opportunity for defense. The
shrewdest intellect of the country will
be employed in his behalf The argu-
ment of State sovereignty will be re-
vived and presented with adroit and
ingenious sophistry, go "a to deceive
and mislead millions Of minds that now
concur in ITS denial
Out of this fact, must grow divisions,
disputes, inhaTmonies innumerable-
possibly, formidable opposition 70 the
theory Of the Government And all
this. not for the attainment Of a prauti-
cal and desirable obIect-not for the
settlement Of any vexed and contro-
yerted question-but that a wretched
old man, who is Of no conceivable i'm
portance save as he represents the Re
belliOn in his person, may be brought
to the gallows and throttledi while
every Southerner who has been in re-
volt, would consider himself hung by
proxy.
VIII those who argue In favor Of the
trial, point US 10 an instance IN modern
history, where a Government has been
strengthened by political execution q?
Did the death Of Derwentwater add 10
Epglsnds glory has the hanging Of
Robert Emmet increased the world s
respect for herr Would Austria have
gained or lost. by bringing Kossuth. the
Magyar Rebel, 10 the scaiiOldt
Jefferson Davis is now the deadest
man who ever exisisd on earth. A
batiled, dispirited, broken and worth
less person, in whose fate il IS impOssi-
bic TO excite the slightest sympathy
Take him out Of his obscure prison cell
-arraign him before q national court
with the eyes Of the world upon him
discuss his character and career with
all the formshties and tedious processes
Of jurisprudenoe-oonv.ct hiu As q
Traitor-send him to the gallows-giye
him an opportunity 20 make his exit
with that romantic display Of frmness
and heroism which no man could make
better than he-snd he viii have been
converted into = martyr Of undying
renoWn, whose name will 90 down 70
latest generations associated with the
idea Of sacrifice in a bad and mistaken
oause, undoubtedly, but still, Of sacri-
fee.
We have said this assuming that
Davis can be convicted But Is
that so sure9 Look at the hazards
Of the case. A Court Is 10 Be 81
sembledi a jury empannelledi the
prisoner given the benefit Of q thou
sand technicAlities, and condemnation
secured upon the unanimous verdict Of
twelve men, any one Of whom, disagree