The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-04-26
Dividing Tennessee.

A convention has been called TO meet
in Knoxville on the Sd of May, to take
steps for the erection of a new State, to
be called East Tennessee. All the
counties of Tennessee whose people
may desire to unite in the movement
are invited to send delegates. 1t is
proposed, Of course, to effect the divis-
ion constitutionallyi that is, by obtain
ing first the consent of the Legislature
of the State, and then that of Congress
Tennessee is divided geographically
into three divisions West Tennessee,
living between the Mississippi and the
Tennessee rivers; Middle Tennessee
living between the river of that name
and the Cumberland mountains; and
East Tennessee, lying between those
mountains and the North Carolina and
Virginia line. The line between East
Tennessee and the rest of the State is
a natural boundary; it is range of
mountains which is Of difficult passage
for wagons, and is not penetTable by
railroads, while in some seasons the
few gaps that can be crossed at all are
reached with great difficulty. ThePeo
pie of East Tennessee who may desire
to visit Nashville have to find their
way to the southern limits of the State,
and, by railroads which pass along the
northern boundaries of Georgia and
Alabama, reach the capital of their
own State They live in region of re-
markable fertility, much picturesque
beauty, and a perfect climate; tbs also
blessed by nature With a bountiful sup
ply of all the useful minerals. They
have, in inexhaustible quantities, coal,
copper, iron, lead, zinc, marble; also,
forests of pine, yielding tar, pitch, tur-
pentine and lumber, the mountain
ranges furnish an extended pastursge
for stock of all kinds, of which the ex-
portations hitherto have been very
large. Their country may be made
one of the finest wool growing regions
Of the world.
There has always been, and never so
strongly as during the war and at the
present tipe, an irreconcilable differ
ence OF political sentiment between
the people Of East Tennessee and those
Of the other divisions. They have al
ways been staunch supporters OF the
Union. They are a laboriDg people
and have never given much encourage
ment to slavery. Their population Is
almost exclusively white The whole
population of the State in lobO was
IO9. sol, of whom S26 7S2 were whites
and 2S3.0l9 were blacks The white
population of East Tennessee was about
| $4,000, and the black 81 200. East
Tennessee it will be seen, had nearly
four.tenths of the white population,
while its share of the black was only
about one-seventh. In times past this
white population, having but a com
paratively small number of slaves, have
been controlled by the other sections
of the State, in whose population the
bulk of the slaves we're included. De
spite the preponderance OF blacks IN
the western divisions, East Tennessee
has nearly, if not quite, one third OF
the entire population Of the State
Erected into new State, il would have
8 white population greater than that Of
Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota
Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
or Nevada; and about the same as Ar
kansas, California, Louisiana, Missis
sippi, New Hampshire, Vermont OF
West Virginia
The people Of East Tennessee have
been shamefully abused by their dis
loyal brethren Of the other parts Of thC
state. When the first proposition &c
seoede was made, Rsst Tennessee voted
so Overwhelmingly against It that the
proiect failed. The Legislature, how
ever, in secret session, by a treaty with
the Confederate States, virtually &C
complished the same thing, and then
l against the almost unanimous protes
/ Of East Tennessee, the ordinance OF sc
/ cession was declared 20 be cGrrled
/ They have never - = people talsered II
their devotion 70 the Union and haV'