Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-02-03
The tide of REVOLUTION.

From the Baltimore Americana
The tide of radicalism is surging with
fearful violence against the remaining bull
warks of the constitution. He errs greatly
who imagines that we have passed through
the era of revolution We are in a reyolu-
tionary period now just as certainly as we
were two years ago, but it presents itself I'M
der new phases. The men who are engaged
in this revolution to-day are the men who
began It many years ago. They are the men
who. in defiance of the constitution and the
laws. organized open and covert attacks upon
the institutions Of the South until they conn
nelled the latter to consider whether il should
bend before the approaching storm, or
brayely face it. We do not entertain, and
never did entertain, doubt, after Mr.. Lin
coin was elected that it was the deliberate
rnrnose Of many of the leaders of the Re
nublican party. sooner or later, to interfere
arbitrarily with therights of the Southern peo-
ple II was for that reason that they refused
In the winter of 1850 and 1861, to utter one
word bv way of Cancellation or compro-
misc when the South could have been so
readily conciliated, and the great mass OF the
people of the whole country so earnestly de-
sired the perpetuation Of the Union and Of
peace. By adroit, though false, appeals to
the North they induced It's people to sane
ton a resort to brute force in order To COM
pel submission on the part of the South, and
by the aid of we'll organized machinery OF
an established government, a magnificent
navy, unbounded credit, and overwhelming
armies. the leading revolutionists achieved
one of their objects They obliterated for the
time Constitutional government and repnb-
| Iican institutions in the Southern States.
| Then we learned how utterly false was the
nretence by which they induced the North
| 10 sanction bloodshed and devastation, and
| incur A debt which will weigh upon them
and their children for generations. Slavery
was abolished and the Union was pronounced
| restored. The work for which alone they
| protested TO have wrought was DONE But
| the reyolutionists knew no pause. Other false
| hoods were framed. other pretexts invented
to blind the people Of the cohntry to the true
| character and aims of the radical faction.
| They insisted that the blacks were being
| ruthiessiy whipped and murdered by the
| Southern white men, and that the latter
were contemplating the re-establishment Of
| slavery lust as soon as the soldiers should be
| withdrawn. Therefore they insisted that
| the South should be treated as conquered
| territory. its people as subjugated race.
| They demanded that arbitrary and despotsc
| Governments should be set up over them,
| that their chief men should be executed,
and that they should be despoiled Of lands
and goods. And all this they would have
brought about had the President thought fit
| TO countenance their audacious and tyran-
| nical designs. But he has accomplished the
| purposes he aimed at when the civil war
| began. and he wants the country restored TO
| prosperity and peace More than this he
avows wish to witness the restoration 10
| the people of the Southern States Of their
| olden governments, rights and institutions,
now that they have forever abandoned
the slave system. He Is high in the con-
| fdence of the people and strong in
patronage and power. He stands, there
| fore. in the way Of the revolutionists.
| They. desiring TO govern the South sbso-
| luteiy. are erievously disappointed at the
| result of the war. A real reconstruction OF
| the Union. as it was-before they forced the
| South 10 stand on her own defence, had
never entered into their calculations, how
| ever much the mass of their supporters
| might have been gulIed into belief in that
result. They are, therefore, seeking row TO
carry out their revolutionary projects BY
oyerthrowing, under the pretenGepf amend
| ing the Constitution, every safeguard which
still protects the rights and liberties of the
South. They propose, if they can, TO COM
pei the South TO give the negro the right OF
suffrage, and they contemplate reorganizing
the FTcednen's Bureau in such a way as 70
enakle it to exercise an almost unbounded
influence or control over the negroes:
With shis powerful and effective political
machinery under their direction, they can
bring their own creatures into power, to the
exclusion Of all Southern men, and they can
govern, despoil and Oppress the South at
their own good pleasure. They can secure
their own tenure in Office and they can re-
ward their own friends. They can then ven
ture 10 rule the country as absolutely as the
National. Assembly did France in the days
of Robespierre. Il is with these reckless
and passionate reyolutionists that the domi-
nant faction In this State is acting. The re
yo,utisnists are determined 70 both rule and
ruin, and every constitutional provision
which bars their advance towards supreme
power is being demolished with heres
energy that win not be reasoned with. Tine
work Of revolution still goes on