Clarksville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1865-1867, 1867-07-12
THE PLOT rHICKESs.


siye young man, Of Ashland, Cheat
ham county, last week, by a Brown
low Register and militia captain, il
another illustration Of the tendency
Of the present condition Of affairs in
Tennessee, to eliminate in riot and
bloodshed. Were this an isolated
case, il should suffice to arouse every
honest patriot to sense Of the i'm
pending conflict, and demand the ex
ercise of all the energies of his ma.
ture TO avert the awful catastrophe
which despotism is preparing for the
State. But this murder is not the
first; and as the ruflian militia is
distributed in the various sections OF
the State-prepared, by nature for
theft and murder, and encouraged by
the practice md teachings of the fiend
like Governor-outrage will follow
outrage in quick succession, unless
the perpetrators be checked by some
decisive means yet untried. In the
interests Of peace, every civil means
should be exhausted, and it is only
when driven to the last extremity,
and the fact is patent to the world
that resistance is the last hope of es-
cape from utter ruin, that the dread
alternative should be embraced.
1t is now clear from all that has
been done, and is doing, that no re.
lief is to be hoped for at the hands
of the bloodthirsty and plunder-lov-
ing faction which rules over us and
it is equally clear that, unless we can
obtain assistance elsewhere, the good
people of this State must be content
with no protection for life, liberty
and property, or must secure it by
means of their own brave hearts and
strong arms. But, in order to stand
fully justified before God and man
no plan should be omitted that looks
to peaceful remedy. In this spirit
we think it is the duty Of the people,
in every county in the State, TO as.
semble, set forth, clearly and firmly
the grievances they are forced to bear
and demand of the authorities, a,
Washington, such relief as conforms
to the spirit Of justice and the Con.
stitutiOn. By this course, they will
evince an earnest desire to await q
peaceful solution of their troubles
and, at the same time, enlist the sym
pathies of the brave and good of ev.
cry cline. Let them set forth the
system of oppression instituted by q
clique of tyrants, and demand to BE-
protected in the exercise of that le.
galright Enthusiastically allow
ed-the Governor has threatened to
nullify by force, and the exercise Of
which he has already defeated in some
of the counties of the State.
It is with feelings Of deep humili
alton, that we recognize the necessity
of appealing for Federal intervention
in the domestic affairs of State
But, since there is no government
save that Of force, in Tennessee
since the Constitution is no longer
the paramount law of the land, and
the bayonet is the sole power in every
State that seeded, the only hope OF
peaceable redress is based upon that
Intervention. Should that fail, the
people must PROSTATE themselves be.
fore the power that will crush them,
or seek safety through the identical
agency by which they are politically
enslaved. There is no intermediate
alternative, and the exercise of law
less power by the Governor, and the
scenes of blood aud robbery which
mark the presence of rufiian militia
point clearly to the period when the
people must look to themselves fol-
the protection denied them by law
and withheld by fendish hate and
base ambition.
Buoyed up by the con6dentexpec'
tation, that the legal right of thu
County Courts to appoint judges o.
elections, would impose salutary
check upon the, otherwise, unlimited
power Of the Registers over the bal
lot-box, the people hoped to be abl'
to hurl from power the tyrants whc
Cypress them. But one below from
"the blasphemous bull of Bashan'
seems to have paralyzed hope and en-
ergy when both are most needed, anC
in one county, at least, the magis
trates have surrendered clear RICH
aud failed in most important duty
calling upon the people to repair tn