Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1867-06-19


use Of these rights than to let them exercise
them. As the infant must have the control
of his limbs before he can walk, and mast
often stagger and fall in guiding them, so
the freedman must have the ballot in his
hands before he can vote at all, and must
needs make some mistakes before he be-
comes perfect in its use pause here to
say to you that my early notions of the ca
pacity of the negro are rapidly giving way
before facts that / see daily occurring. I
was agreeably surprised to find him making
brave and obedient soldier and always
fighting on the right side. have been
agreeably surprised TO meet crowds of col
cred children going and returning from
school with books, states, maps and manu-
scripts, denoting rapid progress in the ac-
QUESTION of knowledge. was much sur
prised and somewhat embarrassed the other
day, at Nashville, when called upon to fol
low colored orator on the stump, to find
myself unable to come up to the standard
of oratery exhibited by my sable friend
Indeed / have come to the conclusion that
the negro is o man-possessing all the IA
eulties of man, including reason and com
mon sense. As the best evidence Of which,
l assure you that the forty thousand colored
voters of Middle and West Tennessee have
no manner of use for Etheridge and Baxter
or their rebel supporters They know who
their friends are, and viii act accordingly.
have said the object of enfranchising the
colored man was to elevate him in the scale
of being and to enable him to protect him.
self The result has shown the wisdom Of
the measure. Those who had from the first
resisted every measure for the relief Of the
colored man by every means, fair and foul,
and predicted or threatened his destruction
if enfranchised, are the first to take him by
the hand, hail him brother, and bow to the
majesty of colored American citizen.
The rebel State convention, composed of
men who had made these threats and pre-
dictions, the same that nominated Ethe-
ridge, was the first to give them seats as
delegates It would have amused you to
have seen in that convention John Bakers
cheek not more than fingers length from
Joe Williams jowl, and Judge GaGt walk
ing out on an airing with his colored friend.
The white handkerchief of Ed. Cooper
needed no perfume on that occasion.
Brethren (and sisters) of all colors dwelt
together in unity. Such was the magic
effect Of placing the ballot in colored hands.
Etheridge will now bet five hundred dol
lars that he never was opposed to negro
suffrage, and Baxter viii incur consider
able expense his greatest annoyance
to secure negro vote. They no longer
deride the idea of walking up to the polls
by the side Of "big buck negro" know
hundreds Of theH VIE would gladly ex-
ercise that Important privilege.
LEGALITY OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
viii not stop here to discuss the legitimacy of
the State Government. When the State vras re-
deemed we found ourselves without any govern
ment--no Governor, no Legislature no courts of
justice and executive and no ministerial officers
Ordinarily u is natural right of every community
in this condition to form government, and when
this state of things occurs at the end Of war this
work is always performed by the conquering party,
cut in our system the work of guaranteeiDg a new
government to a State thus situated is the work Of
the General Government. And this IS precisely
what has been done-hrst by the military power and
next BIZ the Congress Of the United States. Yes,
this bogus Stkte Government, in conformity to the
Constitution Of the United States, was proclaimed
By President Jiacoln through his military agent.
and solemnly egitimAted By joint feEontion of both
Houses of tho American Congress. Yet we find
such men as ktheridge and Baxter, J. @. 6aut and
j. 3. Brien, declaring II usurpation its laws null
and void and demanding its overthrow. 1t is true
that at present they do not proclaim their sedtious
an open avowsl of their schemes would defeat the
end they have in view. Theyadvise submission fo1.
the present, but the records of these men and the
sniaus of their speeches denote too plainly tn cir
sedtious aims
NEGRO SUFFRAGE.
have said that the negro was enfranchised for
his own protection. / msy add that other great
reasons made il necessary. It necessary for the
protection of the loyal white of the State that
their ranks should he recruited by loyal voters of
whatever color. A contest was approaching, The
same that is now on Us, contest which must decide
whether the Union men or the rebels shall submit,
whether the btste or the gray shall prevail; con-
test involving the veal or the woe of ourselves and
our posterity. To have gone into such struggle,
involving such issues, with forty thousand of our
friends-oRr nen-unarmed, would have been IN
pardonable folly. Proftng by the example of the
General Government, who opened the doors of her
army to the negro in the dark hours Of the struggle
foF the Union, we have opened the portals Of the
ballot box to him, and now, as then, we find him
faithful. But there was another reason. A great
principla-nay, the very genius of our government
demanded the Acknowledgement Of every loyal cit
izcn. While The statement of Etheridge that there
are Geo disfrsnchised citizens in Tennessee is
simply prepoaterous still to have disfanchsed both
rebels and negroes would have left nnsjority of the
people without the elective franchise and subjected
the government to the charge of not being repubh
can in form. This was the pretext upon which
votes cast in the State show that the voting popua
tion, before the war, was about ,O0o This was
certainly reduced 20 100000 by the var. The reg
ulsr reports Of The Commissioners of Registration,
under the act Of 1855 now fled in my office, show
that 42074 white votes were registered in that year
Many we're afterwards registered at the quarterly
courts and reported to the County Courts, probably
about 10, 600. A number Of others did NOS come
forward and make hssnecsssfy proof 10 Obtain GER
tifcates who ightheYs done soson1e whom are now
Ii az. L.
full estimate 5asea on the statistics Of my Office
estimate The number Of persons entitled 10 the cleo
tive franchise under the act OF 1856 at $1,000. This
leaves fhe Number ef persons actually disiranchised
At 40 goo. Add 70 these the disfsanchsed Negroes,
generally estimAfed at 10000 and there wonht have
been clear rasiority Of the people disfranehised-
one-haf of them by their color, and the other ball
BY their crimes We might have quoted President
johnson 20 prove that rebels had forfeited their CIT
izenship, and were not to be counted for any pur-
pose, but the Legislature chose the wiser course Of
enfrknchsing al the Friends Of the Union Sothat
upon 3 reasonable estimate, we have now 100000
enfranchised, and only 900 dsfrAnchsed citizens
THE FRASoH1sE LAW.
The Franchise Law has been BY far the most ex-
citing measure sdopted BY the present Legislature.
The necessity of is passage s SO generally under
stood that shall speak Of it but briefly. when
the struggle Of Arms in the State had ceased, the
struggle for the mastery by other means commenced
We arr. told that the rebels alsid down their arms
n good faith and gave themselves ap to the author
ities OF the government It Is intended by that
language 70 convey the idea that they surrendered
rolsantaTiis Bot such was not the fact Their arms
were yrencbsa from them on She field Of battle by
physical force, and they surrendered, in perhsps
neither good OF bad faith but because hey could
not help themselves They wers still gebelss though
not armed and Organised into hrigades and divis-
ions They sill hated the Union and Union 'nen.
Tsey claEaed the right By virtue Of their nun bers
70 control the Stats before they bad put OF their
uniforms They sought revenge Of those who had
Joined their enemies and contributed TO Their defeat
To have eufranchised them would have enabled
them to wrenk this revenge. To hnve enfrsnehised
them would have been e have yielded 70 thens the
nriza AZ victory. The c6nqaerors would have be-
come the conquered, and ten thousand Union mar