The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1867-07-13
[ABDBMAN COUNTY, TENN, July 18, 1867.

| divide out the desert which shall remain.
! He votes to sustain the party in your midst
/ which invites a rapacious and cruel faction
/ in the North to take possession of your es-
/ tates and cOnfscate the same without the
! least regard to your lawful rights and in
! violation of the plghted faith of the nation
And, fellow-citizens, if this scheme of con-
! fscation, so much desired by those who
/ think . the late war ended too soon, should
/ be put in force, we can tell you now whose
/ property viii be taken. 1t will be the prop
| erty of those who have it This faction
| cares nothing for loyalty or dislOyalty. The
man who has whereof to take spoil, viii
be to them disloyal. You can hardly escape
by timid subseryiency to their arbitrary
viii. The man who votes the Radical ticket
at the coming election, votes In favor, or to
give satisfaction and cOuntenance to, these
acts of tyranny and oppression, uneuualled
In the annals Of civilization"
And yet the insolent minions of tyranny
threaten you, that unless you continue to
patronize and employ, and feed, and clOthe,
and shelter the men by whose instrument
tahty they seek to perpetuate their power,
and to continue your humiliation, and to
bring upon you these other and greater in
dignities and calamities, they will mark yOu
and visit you with assessment after the most
improved rule of military rascalitv. Take
no counsel with your fears. COwardly
highwaymen rob the timid. Let these men
know that the war is over; and not till the
war is resumed again will military assess
meBts come in use again among us.
On the first day Of the present month the
Governor who now seeks his reelection by
all manner of unlawful and unfair means,
issued his proclamation, which most of you
have seen with Indignation. In this Guber-
patorial proclamation the dictator boldly as
sumes to the Executive department, from
which the constitution has expressly with
held that function, the authority to declare,
cOnstrue and expound the law. He utters
his opinion like the rescript Of q Roman
Emperor, and arrogantly threatens the
Judges Of the County Courts with punish
ment if they shall presume to perform those
judicial and ministerial functions conferred
upon them by the constitution and laws
The law shall be according to his interpre-
tation, and vengeance shall fall on the heads
Of those who disobey. He, the Governor, is
a candidate for reelection. He has the
power to appoint commissioners of registra-
ton in all the counties, and assumes the
rigbt to change them at pleasure. His com
missioners so appointed by the oneman
power, shall appoint the judges to hold the
election and all other officers thereof I'm
der our laws sheriff is not permitted to
hold an election wherein he himself is
candidate; and common decency would de-
bar any but the most shameless from exer-
cising a controlling influence over his own
election. But, there seems to be no inTamy
of degradation to which the present rulers
of Tennessee will not descend.
In reference to this matter, fellow-citizens,
we advise moderation and obedience to the
mandate of the oppressor, that he may be
left without excuse before the nation, when
he 0nds himself beaten on his own ground
by the indignant yeice of a people deter
mined to be rid of him. If the disfran-
chised and oppressed masses will arouse to
the effort though only the colored men of
the State were enlranchsed, they will not
vote for BrownlOW or his party. In counties
where the courts have appointed judges, and
where the commissioners have done the
same, let the appOintees Of the latter hold
the election, but let the lawfully appointed
Judges attend to watch the manner of its
holding. Let these, or if they will not serve
in that capacity, let others appointed for the
purpose, sit by and see that the ballot-b0xes
are not stuffed, and that the returns are
made correctly. Let the balot-box be every
where protected from unlawful violence and
fraud The unarmcd and sober people can
do this if they will, and no small bands of
the tyrants armed militia can prevent it.
Can you net, fellow-citizens, enfranchised
and disfranchised, make this one effort to re
gain your liberties? BrownIow and his
men seek to provoke you to commit some
act of violence. Be not entrapped into that
error. Protect yourselves from violence,
but commit none Do not permit the voters,
white or colored, to be intimidated by out
laws. Commit no frauds yourselves, and
permit none to be committed by them.
Brownlow hopes to be kept in power only by
the aid of the general government, through
its Congressional majority. Give him no
pretext to ask Congressional interference
JOHN LELLYETT,
JOHN ). BRIEN,
W MATT BRowN,
THEo TRAUERNICHT,
Ex Com for Middle Tennessee.
July 4, 1867.