Clarksville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1865-1867, 1867-05-10
TENNESSEE CONSERVATIVES.
who they Are, and What They Are

"Mack," the correspondent Of the Cincin- |
natl Commercial, in letter to that Journal |
from Chattanooga, writes as follows;
Political affairs wear quite as unpleasant
an attitude here as in Nashville. There Is |
little else to be heard than complaints against
the malignant oppression of Brownlow aud
his clique and they do not come from the
late rebels either, but from men who served
CALAMITY in the Federal army many of them
in Ohio regiments. One would think, to
read the Radical papers of the North, that
there were none but rebels in the Conserva-
tive party of Tennessee-that it was made
up exclusively Of men who had not only
worn the gray in the late war, but were still
animated by the sentiments that induced
them to put il on in the first place. Nothing
can be further from the truth, so far as this
section of the State is concerned. The most
prominent workers in the Conservative cause
in Chattanooga are men who have unequiv-
ocal records as good Union soldiers, but
whose soldiers sense of honor and fair deal
ing revolt against the merciless tyranny of
the present Slate Government, and drives
them into any party promising relief from it.
They find themselves taxed as no other peo-
pie are taxed, and for no other purpose than
to enable Mr.. Brownlow and his friends To-
carry the elections.
They are obliged to pay their share toward
supporting a militia force which will cost
between eight and twelve millions year;
and it has no other object than to overawe
voters at the polls--for there are United
States troops enough in the State to meet any
possible emergency in the shape Of riot or in
surrection. Here, in Chattanooga, the Leg
islature has sadded them with metropoli-
tan police force, ut an expense of not less
than $4,000 year; while the peace of the
city has always been kept for less than half
that sum. The only object, Of course, is to
control the elections. And so of other abuses
which might name, unnecessarily adding
to the burdens, and taking from the liberties
of the people, in q manner never before at
tempted or heard of. 1t would be strange,
indeed, if there were not found among those
who fought for four years in the cause of
civil liberty, some who could not countcn-
ance such measures, under whatever shallow
plea or false pretence they were urged.
The rebels in this part Of the State seem
TO take little interest in politics. They are
all living peaceably at home, doing their best
to provide for their present wantssand repair
the losses sustained by the war. So far a.
can Judge, they "accept the situation" in the
true meaning of that hackneyed expression.
They acquiesce in all that has been done to
improve the condition of the negroes-and
even if they look upon colored suffrage as a
doubtful experiment. they are not without q
substantial reason for this view Of the ques-
ton, in the failure of the Northern States to
set the good example. But IL they had the
power TO- morrow, ] doubt If they would at
tempt to take from the blacks the franchise
bestowed upon them by the last Legislature.
At least the most intelligent of their number
fhave said so to me. All they ASK il that
they, too, shall have voice in making the
laws under which they are to live, so that
legislation shall not be exclusively q system
of expensive oppression for the benefit Of a
minority.
In this demand they should be seconded
by the judgment of candid men, as they are
by the policy Of Congress, in dealing with
the other rebel States. ! was informed to-
day by an influential citizen of this place
that hundreds of men, against whose loyalty
there can not be a shadow of suspicion, have
been denied registration, and consequently
disfranchised for no other reason than their
declared opposition to Brownlow, and the
names of several Union soldiers who had
been treated in this way'were mentioned to
me. There is no appeal from the register
He is appointed by Brownlow, and If he re-
fuses TO put your name on the books you
have no redress. II is worse even than the
Napoleonic system, for under that . man
could vote as he pleased, only 1t was inti-
mated that if he voted against Napoleon he'd
be shot.