Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-18
GOV. BRowNL0w ON SLAvERY-Is
HEA FRIEND OF THE NEGRO?

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The Southern Commercial Convention at
that place, in which he maintained that
African slavery in the Southern States
was of Divine origin and institution; that
"the laws Of war, the state of property,
the feebleness Of governments, the thirst
for bargain and sale, the increase of
crime, and the consent and appreciation
of Deity have perpetuated and fixed
slavery irreversibly. And in this sermon
be uttered this declaration
ave endorse without reserve, that much
abused sentiment Of distinguished South
Carolina statesman, now no more, that
Slavery is the cornerstone of our republl-
can edifce :" while we repudiate, as ridicu-
lously absurd, that much Landed, but no
where accredited dogma of Mr.. Jefferson,
''that all men are born equal"
In his controversy with the Rev. Mr..
Pryne, of Philadelphia, he substantially
reafhrms these sentiments.
In speech delivered at the st. Cloud
Hotel on the 18th Of March, 1862, only
few days after GOV Brownlow had come
through the Confederate lines, he said
Gentlemen, am no abolitionist; / APP
plaud no sectional doctrines. | am a
Southern man, and all my relatives and
interests are thoroughly identified with the
South and Southern institutions / was
born in the Old Dominion; my parents
were born in Virginia, and they and their
ancestors were all shareholders"
From here Gov. Brownlow made a very
extended tour through the North, an ac-
count of which is given in his book pub
lished in 1862 He made a speech in
Cincinnati on the 4th of April, 1862, and
he SAYS in his book al give a correct
report of this Cincinnati speech, because
it was substantially what ] said at all
other points. We quote from this
speech as follows
"And now let me call your attention to
the subject Of slavery, the great topic of the
day. | have no sentiments at the South
that l do not hold here | have no
sentiments here that ! do not en-
terrain when ! am in Tennessee.
/ should despise myself and merit
your scorn and contempt, if | held
one set Of opinions at the North and an
other set at the Ssuth. | have for years
been publishing my sentiments upon the
slavery question, and | have only to say
tonight that have undergone no change.
If l had been authorized some
two or three years ago, about two or three
hundred of your most abominable anti
slavery agitators in the North, and an
equal number Of our God forsaken
and most hell-deserving Disunion-
lists at the South, and had marched
them to the District of Columbia
hanged them on a common gallows
dug for them a common grave, and en-
balmed their bodies with Unison aoeed and
dOq-tennel there would have been none of
this trouble, nor should / have been here
tonight Let the Federal government now
guarantee TO all loyal men in seeded States
the right and title to all their property, in
Guiding negroes, and protect them in the
enjoyment Of the same; but let the title
held Rebels seeking to destroy the govern
and all other property. And | trust in God
that il will be done, and that such con-
fiscated property will 60 to make up the
losses of loyal men,"
Here we find the Governor not only
reiterating his former opinions in regard
to slavery, but expressing the hope that
the government would guarantee to loyal
men the tide to their slaves, and protect
them in the enjoyment of the same.
Not only this he wanted the government
to confscate the property of Rebels, in
Guiding slaves, and let it ego to make up
the losses Of loyal men" He would have
the government confscate and sell the
slaves of Rebels. There was no talk of
freeing the slaves then, Notwithstanding
the great body of them were owned by
Rebels. He had no sympathy with the
slave then, which prompted him to de,
mand has freedom But a change came
over our rulers and with it a change in
the policy of the Governor In his paper
(the Knoxville Whig) of the 2Sth of May,
1864, he said
We have never differed with the South
upon the abstract question of slavery, and
do not now differ, and we are free to say
that the condition Of the slaves, when libe-
rated, if left in the South, will be worse
than it has been during their servitude
And we are for emancipating every negro
in the South, notwithstanding all this. For
taking this ground, we have two contrcll-
ing reasons first, it will be the severest
punishment Of the Southern Rebels that
can be inflicted, and next, it will be the
very means Of ertingUishing the negro race as
the removal and civilization of the Indian
tribes have tended to eItinguish them"
Here we have the acknowledgement
of a change of policy, not of principle,
for he reiterates his old opinion of
slavery And that policy looked to the
punishment of the white people, for the
great body Of whom he entertained Bit
ter feelings and the determination of the
negroes This sentiment of dislike, if
not hatred, for the negro crops out at
later period In his message of April
e, 1868, to the Legislature, he said
1t is certainly proper and right for the
Legislature of Tennessee 70 determine to
what extent this State shall be overrun
with the emancipated slaves of other
States. | am, myself, the advo-
cate Of providing for them a separate and
appropriate amount of territory, and set
tie them down permanently as a nation of
freedmen"
Again, in his message of the Sd of
October, 1865, he said
A long and intimate acquaintance with
affairs in the South has convinced me that
the white and colored people cannot live
together, politically or socially, as equals,
and therefore oil our legislation should
look TO a peaceable separation of the two
races on Southern soil. 1t is
certainly right and expedient for the Leg
islature of Tennessee to say TO what extent
the State shall be overrun by the emanci-
pated slaves Of other States Illinois, at the
breaking out Of the rebellion, enacted strin-
gent laws forhidding negroes from other
States 10 settle there. Other free States
enacted similar laws. | would say, guard
against excessive legislation upon this sub
ject but by all means see that Tennessee is
not burdened with any but her own
slaves
Nowhere in his messages does he urge
the Legislature to pass laws forbidding
white man canning into the State On