The Portland daily press., 1866-05-12
fne present State Governments of Tennessee
and Virginia are Illegal and should be
Annulled

Inc present State Governments of Tennessee
and Virginia are Illegal and should be
Annulled.
we nave now examined each of the eleven
reoeihous states. We find that in each and all
OF them large majority of the whites are
traitors. This is so of Tennessee the best of
tnem all, and If any more evidence was neces-
sary, it came by telegraph last evening, ard is
as follows
MEMPHIS, TENN, May 8.
ABOUT 80 houses occupied by coiored people
ana all the school houses in South Memphis
.ere torn down last night. Ten persons were
kliled during the day and night. All is quiet
this morning, and it is hoped that order is fully
restored. The negroes nearly all fed to the
woodslast night, but returned this morning.
Only look at it. Memphis is the principal
city in Tennessee, in which there is more 10y
atty than in any other of the rebel states. Ac-
cordin3 to this news, the white traitors of Ten
hessee rose upon the negroes and men ofmixed
color, and in one night destroyed thirty dwell
ing houses, aud all the schooIhouses that had
been provided for the freedmen in the Southern
half OF the city. The negroes were fr;obtaned
GU 'ooA W .ne WOODS. In the ARRAY ten per-
sons were Killed. This riot these burnincs and
.neso inuiuers were not Committed by negroes.
pu' ny "ni'e traitors. There may be some ex-
aSseranon' and, on the other hand, the truth
may not have been half told. We have had
frequent accounts of such violence in different
parts OF the South, on the part of the white
traitors, not only towards the freedmen. bnt
likewise towards the Union whites. 1t appears
to be the design of large part of the southern
traitors, if they cannot reduce the blacks and
mulattoes to slavery, to exterminate them for
ever from the face of the earth. The money to
build those schoolhouses was furnished by be-
nevolent persons in the North. The wicked
ness to Ourn them was furnished ywhite trail
tors In the South. And, according to the
scheme OF the President, the whole power of
state governments is to be placed in the hands
OF such traitors in all the rebel states except
Tennessee. And because Tennessee excludes
from the ballot-box her loyal black men and
mulattoes, she has become so weak, she cannot
keep her disfranchised traitors from the polls.
So, unless Congress intervenes to save her, at
the next general election the whole political
power of the state will pass out CT the hands
of the Union men.
We have already shown that the state GOV
ernments that have been set up in each of the
rebel states, except Tennessee and Virginia are
illegal. The same is true of Tennessee and
Virginia. As we recolect it, the present Con-
stitution of Tennessee was not proposed in any
Convention formally called On the basis of pop
ulation.
According to our recollection, it was brought
forward in a mass convention of Union men
during the war. So although it has this adyan-
tage over the new constitutions made for the
other rebel states, that ii was made BY Union
men, while the others were made by traitors,
still there is not the least pretence in the world
that it was made by representatives of the peo-
pie, nor that it was adopted Ly q majority of
the people in meetings legally called. The
regular order OF succession from the former gov
ernment was broken, and the new government
was not legally organized by Congress. So
the present state government of Tennessee Ia
clearly illegal. The government is not fepub-
hcan, for it excludes from the ballot-box all the
negroes and colored men, although they are
loyal 1t also excludes large majority of tho
whites because they are traitors. BY the ex-
clusion of the colored men, the number of yo-
tiers is reduced SO low, that the constitution
cannot be enforced, and the traitors cannot be
excluded from the ballot-box. For these rea-
sons in our opinion, Congress ought to anpul
the present government and begin the work
from the bottom. a-
The case of Virginia is different from all the
rest. In the spring of 1861, when the dele
gates in the Virginia Convention adopted the
ordinance of secession there was a considerable
minority of Union men. Most of the Union
men were from Western Virginia since organ
izad hu into
ton of the legislature, as we recollect it, imme-
dlately afterwards assembled at Wheeling, and
claimed to be the legislature of Virgini,
Francis 81. Pierpont was chosen Governor, but
without legal authority. The men who met at
Wheeling did not represent the former state
government by regular succession. They never
had in their bodies one-third of the House or
Senate, according to the old constitution. Thew
never had governor They never represented
one-third of the territory OF Virginia, nor one
third of its people. Som no proper sense were
they legal legislature of Virginia. However
Congress recognized their bodies as the legis-
lature of Virginia. and the President recog-
nized f. Ell. Pierpont as Governor This was
unwise as thought and still think But how
ever that may be, if one Congress recognizes an
Illegal body claiming to be state legislature,
another Congress may refuse to recognize it.
On this ground Congress may annul the pres
emit state government of Virginia. =
And more especially on the following grounds.
Congress subsequently admitted West Virginia
into the Union as state. West Virginia in
cluded nearly the whole of the people and
nearly the whole of the territory of Virginia,
that had been represented at Wheeling. At
towards the pretended government of Virginia
of which Francis III. Pierpont was the head.
was moved to Alexandria where it remained
till after the capture of Richmond. After the
capture of Richmond, by order of the Presi-
dentit was again put on wheels and moved to
that city. According to our recollection both
branches of this pretended legislature, which
according to the old constitution, should have
consisted of 1853 members, were reduced to the
number of nine or ten. 1t was mere trump"
After this, Congress never did recognize it. As
this government was illegal in its origin, as it
was not republican and never represented the
people, as it has now fallen into the hands of
traitors, Congress should annul it, and lay tho
foundation of anew government in justice
May 4, 1866. jew.
VARIETIES.