Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-01-16
Union and American.

From the Nashville Press / Times. Jan. l5th.l
At meeting of the Union Central Com
mittee, and the German Union Central Com
mittee of the State of Tennessee, and the
Union members of the Legislature, on the
9th of January, 1866, the following memori-
ais were read and considered, and mani
mously approved and adopted. ftH4a
A. LOWERING, Chairman pro fem.
EDWARD MAYNARD, Chairman.
MEMORIAL TO THE COMMITTEE ON RECON
sTRUcTIoN.
1 NASHVILLE, Tenn, Jan. 8. 1866.
| To the Honorable Congressional Committee on
Reconstruction:
The undersigned, constituting large ma
jority of the State Central Committee of the
Union party of Tennessee, being all who
could be present, beg leave to communicate
to you their views of the present political
and social condition of their State, and their
anticipations as to future results from that
condition.
The vast powers conferred upon you, so
vitality affecting ourselves and our posterity,
wefeel to be sufficient warrant for this
liberty on our part
Our statistics show that in the spring of
1861, about 20 600 of the voters Of Tennes-
see made up their minds to adhere to the
flag of their country in spite of the tornado
| of treason that swept the State and carried
it into the vortex of rebellion. They con-
stituted less than one-third of the voting
population of the State, and far less of its
wealth and political influence Surrounded
on all sides by rebel population; suffering
every conceivable outrage in person and
property; hanged ON the gallows; shot by
an infuriate soldiery cast into many prisons;
mercilessly conscripted and hunted like
wild-beasts and murdered in our places of
concealment; our numbers have been re-
! duced but the survivors CT US have kept the
VOWS made upon the altar Of patriotism FIVE
years ago. More than twenty-five thousand
of our numbers leaving their homes and
families to be pillaged and abused-trayel-
ing through mountains or swamps by night,
and hiding in thickets by day to eyade pur
suing and murderous enemy, escaped to the
Federal lines, and without bounty or other
inducements, enrolled themselves as Union
! soldiers They have returned to their
homes from gallant and bloody service, to
find in many instances, their houses in ashes,
their property gone, and their families
abused insulted and outraged. And itmust
| be added, that in many instances these vic
! torious heroes of the national cause are not
| permitted to remain at their homes in peace,
Or if permitted, they are crippled in bust
ness and politically and socially outlawed.
| The designs of the great secession majority
of Tennessee may have been changed by
the events of the war, and so may have
been their opinions of their own strength
and of the strength of the Government, but
unless your memorialists greatly misunder-
stand them, their sentiments, sympathies
and passions remain unchanged. They
welcome peace because they are disabled
| from making war; they submit because they
can no longer resist; they accept results
they cannot reject, and profess loyalty be-
cause they have halter around their necks.
| They recognize the abolition of slavery be-
cause they see it before them as a fact, but
| they say it was accomplished by gross viola
tions of the Constitution-that the negro is
free only in fact, but not in law or of right,
| Less than year ago the Provisional Gov
ernOr, representing the military power of
the President, and recognizing the right OF
the loyal people to govern the State, set on
| foot civil government, founded upon the
basis of the loyal population-his favorite
policy. The plan of popular convention
and submission to popular vote of the
loyal people was adopted, and the former
| Constitution and laws were restored without
| the institution of slavery. Whether we re-
card it as our former State Government re-
| stored, or as a new Government given to ms
| by the power of the nation is immaterial, as
! it has been compelled at every step to lean
upon the strong arm of the national author
| ity for support The action of the conven-
| ton was submitted to the votes of the loyal
people and by means of the strong will of
the Military Governor and a rigid test oath,
| ard because the election was not recognized
by the disloyal, it was nearly unanimously
adopted, securing over 10000 votes, many
of the Union men being in the rebel lines
at the time.
Under the Government thus adopted, and by
means of the same test oath, a Governor and
| Legislature were elected, by general ticket
on the Sd of March last The Legislature
assembled in April, and proceeded to in
augurate the Governor elect, and to elect
State officers, to establish revenue, to pro-
vide for the election of members Of Con-
gress, and to legislate in general matters.
Under authority conferred upon him, the
new Governor appointed a Judiciary pro
tempore, and reorganized the entire State by
appoiatasent. But one general election has
been held, and that only for members of
Congress, with what result will appear here
after. .-
The Convention of February, foreseeing
the impossibility of carrying out the pr;n-
ciple upon which they are acting, by keep
ing the political power Of the State in loyal
hfnds. If all those who had by acts or treas
on forfeited their rights, were permitted to
participate in the State Government, pro-
vided for a formal disfranchisement by con-
ferring upon the first Legislature the power
to limit the elective franchise.
So far, the legislation on this subject has
been unsatisfactory and Intellectual. Indeed
many of the members are utterly unequal
to the task, and yielding to the influence,
and dreading the power of numbers, shrink
from its performance. A suffrage law was
passed at the spring session, the result OF
| COMPROMISED and doubtful in its terms,
easily evaded and practically defective.
By means of repeated procamations by the
Governor, telegraphic orders from the Pre-
sident. and the aid of the military, partial
execution, only, of the laws was obtained.
So defective was the execution of the law,
by the officers to whom it was entrusted,
that the Governor was constrained to declare
the August election totally void in twenty
nine counties of the State An attempt will
be made at the present session to pass an
amended suffrage law, but it is doubtful
whether any efiectual disfranchisement can
pass, and still more doubtful whether, if
passed. it can be executed, even with the
presence of the military certainly, such 4
| law cannot be executed if the supervising
| power of the General Goyernrr snt should be
discontinued In short, your memorialists
anticipate that, at the first general election,
the entire civil and judicial power of the
State must pass into the hands Of those who
have so long oppressed them. The judicial
election, which is the most important OF all
must soon occur.
By a careful consideration of the pas
SONS, prsjudices and designs of those lately
in rebellion, a correct idea OF thescOurse they
will pursue when once more installed in
| to power may be arrived at. Your me-
moriaiists are not driven to consult tourists
nor correspondents for information. They
are all citizens of the State, some Of them
are natives, and several Of them from
official position are in daily intercourse or
communication with all parts of the State,
and with citizens of all parties and classes.
They claim to speak not from hearsay OF
report. but as witnesses admissible in court.
VI The predominant feeling of those lately in
rebellion is that Of deep seated hatred,
amounting in many cases 10 spirit OF re-