Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-16
The Tennessee DelegatiOn-VEhRt
Others Think of Us.

| From the st. Louis Republican,
Oar Washington correspondent telegraph
ed lis few days ago that decided symptom
| of reaction among the Radical members of
| Congress were visible with reference to the
| admission of the Tennessee Representatives.
| 1t Is known that President johnson is ex-
| ceedingly DESTROYS that Mr.. Horace May
nard and his colleagues from Tennessee
| should be given their seats at once,
and in this desire every Conservative in the
| land warmly seconds him. To Mr. John
son there is a personal importance attached
| to this question, for the same rule which
would exclude Tennessee from the Legisla-
tive branch of the government logically
| debars that State from the Executive
| Department. But there is no Just reason
why Tennessee, of all the States which at
tempted tosecede. should be an exception in
| the work of reconstruction. If there is a
| portion of Tennessee which has ALWAYS
been loyal, so there are portions of all
| the Southern States where rebellion
never took root. If Tennessee was repre-
| scented in the National Congress after the
| State had seeded, so were Louisiana and
| Virginia. If Tennessee has a Governor
| elected by the people since the restoration of
! the Federal power, so have Louisiana, Ar
kansas and Mississippi, there being no "Pro-
visiOnal Governors" in those States. Mr.
Pierpont is acting as Governor of Virginia
| upon the same claim of popular election as
Governor BrOwnlow's. There is, indeed, no
political advantage that Tennessee may not
boast as being entitled to representation in
Congress that other Southern States NAV not,
with much Justice. on The other hand
there is no Identification with the rebellion
that may be charged against any of the late
revolted States, which does not apply with
equal force to Tennessee. What we mean to
say Is, that they are all in the same category
and subject to the same general principles.
Now that the war is entirely over, slavery
abolished, and peace settled on the univer-
sally accepted basis of the permanence and
indiyisibility of the Union, all the States
should be entitled to equal privileges, Eand
none Of them denied the right of repre-
sentation in Congress
The New York Tribune has no doubt got
wind of the movement for the admission of
the Tennessee delegation, and discerned the
logical consequences of that event. We Judge
so from the following editorial article con-
spiciously printed in its issue of last Friday.
TENNESSEE LoYALTY.-The telegraph has in
formed us that the bill allowing blacks to testify in
the Courts of Tennessee. which passed the Senate
by 10 to g. has been defeated in the House by 30 to
2I-Ihe East Tennessee UniOnists generally on
posing, while many of tho eX-Tebels supported it.
This is what We had been led to expect Those
East Tennessee UniOniSts have been permitted bv
a weak and worthless Union General command
ing and a reuercHcd biHckgadrd irho Is syled Cor
crRor, to murder two or three negroes to balance
each of the paroled and returned rebel soldiers
whom they have seen fit likewise to despatch
until they have good reason to deprecate the ad-
mission % negro testimony; for il would hang
hundreds Of them if there was any semblancc of
law or justice in that region. According to our
information. not less than hundred rebels and
negroes have been hutcheTed since June last in
and around Knoxville alone; and there will of
course be more If the strong hand of authority
be not stretched out over them.
Tennessee has many Staunch tniOnists and
worthy men among her citizens; but she is never
thelcss PandemOnium of passion aud crime and
no more m for sclf-goUerRmcRt to-day than Daho-
may. She needs tie strong of military pO,rer
stretched orcr her toJ months Uct and she needs
that this rule SHOULD guarantee the freedom and |
legal equality Of all herpeOple and the solid basis
Of a true reconstruction. q
The animus Of this and similar articles in |
the Radical papers is plain enough. 1t pro-
ceeds from opposition to President Johnson's |
Reconstruction policy.