The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1866-06-16
Not EntitIed to- REPRESENTATION.

Not Entitled to Representation.
By reference to the proceedings of Con
gress on the Sth, which we print on the first
page Of the Bulletin, it will be seen that the
Committee on Reconstruction have made
their final report, and that thirty three to
eleven of the Senators who were present on
that day coincide with the committee in
their opinion that the States lately in rebel
lion are not entitled to representation, and
that all the elections which have been held
in the Southern States, Tennessee excepted,
were utterly void and OF no effect whatever,
because, as the committee say, the people
had no voice in them. Why Tennessee is 4
madc the exception to the rule is more than
can be easily seen, for it is a fact beyond dis
pute that the great majority of the people
Of Tennessee had no moro to do with the
late elections for congressman than the
Creoles of Cuba nor was there half the pub
Tic voice allowed here as there was in Ar
kansas or Mississippi The report of the
committee, at least a great portion Of it, is
devoted to complaints and growls at the i'm
patience Of the Southern States to have
themselves represented. Before the close
Of the war we were told that one Of the great
sins for which we were being punished was
because we had no representation in Con
grcss, and that the war was being waged
against US because we would not send South
ern men to the Congress Of the United
States, and now, the war being ended, we
ara TOLD that ruy ;r,,yo t;oroo rorJo~. ~. cl
noxious in theayes of loyal men and that
little more punishment must needs be
visited upon us because we are too hasty and
do not bow ourselves in the dust, and caress
the hands that robbed us Of millions upon
millions of wealth. 1t is very evident from
the tone and character of the works of the
committee that the great desire is to keep
the South out of all participation in national
affairs until one chain after another is placed
upon her, thus efectually weakening her
voice in the legislative halls Universal
suffrage is the keynote to all this delay,
and whenever the people Of the South will
come forward and proclaim to the world that
they are no better than their former slaves,
and concede to the radical idea that red
eyed, thick liped wench Of Borneo is the
social equal of the true-hearted women of
this Southern land, then a representation
may be had, but not till then, no matter what
is said and done. The abolitionists Of the
North know full well that there is tide
rising in the land that is calculated to sweep
them from place and power, and the undi-
vided negro vote of the South would be a
help Of no mean proportions to them, politi-
cally; and to this end their endeavors are
constantly and urgently being made. We
hope Tennessee may be represented in Con-
gress, we would like to see our honorable
representative elect Jno w Leftwich, al
lowed to take his seat in the White House !;
but if the conditions are those referred to,
it would please the great masses Of this com
monwealth far more to remain as they are
Leave the negro to the test of time-(at
present he is not the peer politically or So
cially Of the white man)-if in the future
he prove himself worthy, his fitness win
not be lost sight Of; this is-all that he could
ask it is all that his pretended friends can
reasonably demand. Internal improvements
ing under the uncertainties of the hour; the
South is anxious for reunion; her soldiers
were slain in battle, her fields destroyed
cities burned and people prosecuted because
she desired to leave a union that was conceiy.
cd to be inadequate for the mutual welfare OF
the two sections; she submitted to her fate
in war, and now only asks for Justice in
peace The South has not broken faith in a
single instance since the last gun Of the
Confederate armies was fired on the soil OF
Virginia; but because Of her firm belief in
the superiority Of her fair sons and daugh-
ters over those who are but the descendants
Of race of slaves and menials, themselves
no better than their forelathers had proven
to be- she is rebuked and insulted in the high
places Of the Nation, and that too, wher
there is no one to defend her character upor
the floors Of that house from which she il
ruthlesslY driven by a set Of statesmen whC
pretend to have the welfare OF the Ameri
can people in their hearts For long
weary months, the Southern States hav
looked eagerly for one ray of hope for SOM
semblance of justice; and now, what ap
pears in the political horizon? The san.
black mantle of negro suffrage and negr
equality that was cut for her by the misera
bic botches that pretend to war for tho res
toration of the Union They know that thi
is the bone of contention, and they ar
bound to possess it
I--l- s-@---
A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE-By the report G
the Secretary of War, which has just bee