Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-09-05

lie Liberty, at EIizabefhtown, sep
TENDER 3rd.
Would that / could assure You that with
peace and prosperity within we had no
| dangers from without to menace our securi-
ty. But, fellow citizens, it cannot be con
cealsd from our intelligence that we are
menaced with dangers which threaten to
wreck cur republican form Of government,
and lay in waste the peace and security OF
this our bOunteous country.
These dangers had their foundation in
the formation of sectional parties, based
upon geographical Determinations" and
which led to our terrible civil law. By
the domination Of one faction" in the coun-
ellis of the nation, "shdypened By The spirit Of
rerenqe common 10 party dissensioas," we are
now threatened with "a frighgid despotism"
To avoid these dangers we should adopt
considerste councils and prudent and united
action against the movements of that FAC
ton" born Of sectional hate, thrown upon
the surface in the commissions of civil war,
and kept alive by heartless demagogues,
who subordinate every interest, mental,
moral, and physical, public, private, and
social, to their own base and inordinate
thirst for place and power, and the honors
and emoluments Of Office. This party, led
on by these demagogues, propose to recon
Struct' the governments of the Southern
States, 30 as 10 enfrdncaise the negro and dis
franchise the white men not of their party in
those States. They hope thereby to build up
a negro party in the South, which will per-
petuate political power in their hands.
The dangerous work of reconstruction"
if successful, is fraught with dangers and
calamities from which humanity shrinks
back appalled,. 1t win destroy the in
spired work of Washington and his COM
patriots by the overthrow of all the re-
served rights Of the State, and the central
izing Of power in the Federal government.
1t will force a conflict of races, by setting
the white man and the negro in political
array against each other, to contest the
right to rule thiscountry. Nogoyernment
ever has been or ever can be maintained
which assumes to distribute its political
franchises equally and "impartially be-
tween two antagonistic races of men. This
great truth is taught by history and i'm
pressed by nature as an instructive prlnCi-
pie in every living heart. The struggle
for ascendancy of race, when you set the
two in political antagonism, is inevitable,
and the conflict becomes unavoidable. The
weaker with all his adherents must, in the
nature Of things, either yield or be exter-
minated. The antagonism of race cannot
be abolished by human enactments nor alb.
rogated by constitutional amendments.
And whenever you array the races in this
country i'm contest for the control and
government Of the country, there is no
power beneath the sun to stay the hand Of
destruction and save the weaker race from
determination. When that conflict is
forced, one OF the other lace must yield or
perish. May God inspire our people with
a patriotism which can rise above party or
section, and give them the wisdom to I'M
derstand and the humanity to avoid such
conflict.
The demag0gues who are so wantOnly
forcing us upon these dangers pretend that
il is only their purpose TO punish treason
and protect loyalty" Yet they make war
upon our constitutional Union more ruth
lessly but with less manly courage than
those whom they would punish. We can
respect the manhood of those who, though
erring in purpose and in Judgment, struck
boldly and bravely orseparating theSouth-
ern States into an independent government
Grievously did they err, but as grievously
have they atoned for that error. But we
have no respect for those who pervert the
powers Of free government with which
they are intrusted to the destruction Of the
rights and Liberties Of the Southern white
men. A brave man may and often does
err, but a coward is always at fault-he is
himself a fault. We admire the boldness
and courage of Paul, who, while anti
Christian, made open war upon Christians,
from city to city, following them with the
process of law, but, when converted by the
great light of truth, as boldly and cour-
ageously proclaimed the doctrines of
Christianity But all men, Christian, In
fidel, and Pagan, despise the character of
Judas Iscariot, who, protesting Christianity,
BETRAYED his Lord with a kiss. So must all
true Kentuckians look upon those who, pro-
Tossing UaiOnjsm, are destroying the
Union 10y a shameless disregard Of
the obligations of the constitution,
which is the only bond of the Union.
So must they regard those who, pro-
Tossing to love liberty, are for en-
franchising the negro and DISTINGUISHING
the white man; and who, protesting SYM
patty for the oppressed, legislate to bur
den and Cypress the white man and to
exalt the negro. Such men, pretending to
make treason odious," are acting the part
of traitors to constitutional liberty and Of
Judases to their own race. These recon
structioun thinkers have denied Kentucky
Representativestheirs seats in Congress, and
menace us with military government and
reconstruction" They have adopted
resolution in Congress to inquire whether
Kentucky-the first born into the Union,
received under the administration of
Washington-has Republican form of
government" This inquiry is an insult to
the memory of Washington and his COM
patriots, and is infamous in its purposes OF
| party vengeance and malignity. The threat
| TO place us under military government is a
| reasonable threat, and the attempt to carry
| il into execution will involve Its movers IN
| the fatal snares Of their own treason.
These threats towards US by these re-
| construclionists," are because We dare as
sert and maintsin the principles of constr
tutional government, and would uphold
| good government, maintain constitutional
| right, and enforce constitutional duty. The
people Of Kentucky, in the exercise OF
| their inalienable right to free self-goyern-
ment, have recently voted contrary to the
wishes Of these observation-disclosures" and
| because the State is Overwhelmingly DEM
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