Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-23

chisement of any citizen on account Of the
color OF his skin"
Uairersdl suffrage and -sniUersnl dmnestg-
let them go hand in hand. No Rebel who
really desires to become honestly and sin
cerely citizen of the United States and be
restored to his former privileges, franchises
and rights, can object to being So restored,
on condition that all colored American
citizens, thousands of whom have fought for
the Union, shall at the same time be fully
invested with all the rights of the citizen,
including the right of suffrage. What say
the reconstructed organs Of this State,
which are so indignant at the idea Of
franchise law, to restrict the paItisans of
the late rebellion in the right of suffrage?
What objection have they TO make to the
terms of restoration offered in the resolu
tons of Senator Stewart, which are sub
stantially the terms of Senators Sumner,
Wade, Wilson, Fessenden and other Re-
publican leaders Win they oppose the
extension of suffrage to our colored citizens,
at the same time that they demanded its
restoration to self-exp atriated Rebels? Has
the law-abiding negroes, who remained
peaceably at home during the war, on his
owners farm, and the negro soldier who
fought for the Union, less claims upon their
sense Of justice, and upon the national gov
eminent, than the white men who re-
nounced their allegiance and fought to de-
stroy the government ? If there is one
Rebel newspaper in Tennessee so shame
lessly inconsistent as to demand suffrage for
the Rebels and deny it TO loyal people, we
would like to examine its reasons therefor
carefully. Speak out, gentlemen, and let
rs hear from you from all parts of Middle
and West Tennessee. Let the country
know how sincerely you want to have
peace, and to :" let by-gones be by-gones"
Again, we want to know by what logic
tho4 persons who complain of tdIatiOll
lrithOla representation, where white men who
have been Rebels are concerned, are adVo-
Gates that principle where colored Union
lists are concerned. What is sauce for the
goose is sauce for the gander, especially
when you insist that We shall trim our
houses with olive branches, and that
Every thing is lovely
And the goose hangs high
Again, if negroes voted in Tennessee foI
forty-nine years, down to as late a period
as 1885, we want to know why they shoulC
not do so again, especially as they are all
free, and it is proposed that there shall be
a passing of the pipe of peace all around
the restored family circle"
But the effort was a failure There
were not enough Radicals who could be
persuaded to 60 for negro suffrage to pass
the bill and the result was the franchise
act Of May 1866, in which the negroe:
were again thrown overheard as unworthy
and a still more restricted Oligarchy es'
tablished This was so fragrant a viola
ton of every principle of free govern
ment, that its authors and Supporters, a.
shameless as they are, could not have thu
face to go before the people on such {
narrow and despicable expedient At the
last session, therefore, the programme t.
retain power, by means either fair or foul
was recast, and the result was The enfran
chisementof the negro, excluding him from
Office, and the Acknowledgement of abou
three-fourths of the white people of tn,
State.
This review of the history Of the fran
chise thoroughly explodes the Radica
claim to peculiar and exclusive friendship
for the negro Itshows that the Radicals
themselves are committed to the enfran'
chisement of the "Rebels." But for tn,
Offices there is not Il Radical in the STATE
who would oppose the absolute equality
of those whom they have maligned a,
Rebels There is no interest of sOcie
ty that requires their exclusion from dng
of the rights of citizenship, and they al
know it