Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-08-06

feature Of this law is that noH can vote
except such as hold certificates from he
Governors dppointses, who, so far as my
o%bserration goes, are violent and uHsertipu.
lous partisans. But to this you must ADD
that IL a registration is made which,
however fair it may be, shall yet show
any likelihood Of casting a majority
against %Brownlow, Ia matter which can
at any time be ascertained by canvass
ing the "League,") he has the power
with o stroke Of his pen to annul the
whole, and leave the citizens on any
such county DISTINGUISHED as long as he
NAV please. He has already exercised
this power in the case Of ONE eight or
more counties, and it is a notable fact
that this was not done until 1t was as
certained that they would give the OPP
position a majority Of about 5000 votes.
Nor does this exhaust the eIpedients
adopted, for when the negro was
brought into the political arena, it
seems that those in power still felt some
misgivings as to how he, if left uncon-
trolled, would vote. So, thereupon,
they organized a widespread system Of
secret leagues, which have been busily
engaged in training solid cohorts Of Black
Bropnlorites: and under the guise Of pro-
lection for these, but 'without the shadow of
necessity, they made provision for q stand
ina army of 5000 militia, 0 M dozen COM
pdnies Of whieh are nor scattered through
out the State, TO the intolerdbk annoyance
of all good citizens. met, | believe, the
most sensible of these militia Captains
at Bristol; and yet this person had the
~effrontery to tell a gentleman who is
running for the Legislature, q staunch
Union man throughout the whole war,
and q National Republican in politics
| say he had the audacity to tell this
gentleman, who had occasion to dissect,
in a temperate manner, some of the
financial e~xtravagances Of the State
government, that he "should regard it
as treason to discuss or criticise the
acts Of the L~egislature"
Finally, there remained another step.
Until a few months ago the Judges Of
Elections were appointed by the County
Court-a tribunal which, as it is elected
by the people, may fairly be presumed
to represent their wishes. Well, this
last vestige of privilege was withdrawn,
and the duty Of appointing the men in
whose hands is vested the guardianship
Of the purity Of the ballot-box mtrustsd
TO the registers Of voters! And so the
system was made complete in Ill its
parts and members, and the centraliza-
ton of all power lodged in Brownlow.
II he had set out to devise a series Of
moves to so intrench himself that in
spite Of law, Of order aud of all cousti-
stitutional provisions, he could not be
dislodged by the ~ballot-box, it would
have been impossible to conceive q
moro ingeniously effective scheme. For
the old body polite is practically erased
and submerged; Of the l50, 900 voters
100, 900 are DISTINGUISHED; and the vote
Of that portion Of the people that still
retains the suffrage is practically in the
pocket Of p~aralytic old man who seems
to be controlled ALMOST wholly by the
morbid passions and a%nimosities engen-
dered by the war. Under such cir
cumstances an election in Tennessee
will be little more than a parody on the
Napoleonic piebieie.
The above was written by a veteran
soldier for the Union, and, it should be
remembered, nearly two months before
the election.
Really, then, is "the recent election
in Tennessee" something which by its
history and result, should "~gladden the
hearts of patriots everywhere We
think not. 1t is a shame and a dis
grace; and SO far as it can, by inadvert-
ance or design, be attached to the Union
party's cause and reputation, it will do
harm, and harm only.