Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-06-18
RADICAL MIsREPRESENTATI
SHAMELESS TRICK EXPOSED -
A CARD FROM HON. JOHN LELL-


EDITORS UNION AND DIsPATCH:-A re-
port was put in circulation soon after the
adjournment of the Legislature, which cir
cumstances now make it proper to correct
The report was to this effect: that /, az a
Representative from this county, in debate
upon the Franchise Bill, denounced the
negro or cOlored population as a degraded
race, "HHie better than the brute" When
this report was first mentioned to me, re-
garding it as a Jest, and being Intercepted
as to lis truth, / replied certainly some
thing like that was said, but read it from
Brownlow." Perhaps this was not exactly
correct, as the report was utterly false; but
/ shall state presently precisely what is
true in regard to the matter. | have so
long left the report uncorrected in any
public manner, because regarded it as a
matter of little consequence. am not
candidate for any office, and my party is
not responsible for such saying even if
! had uttered it, But since that time |
find this false report is circulated by Radi-
cal speakers, including one of the candi
dates for Congress of that party. The in
tention evidently is to stab Conservatism
through my unimportant parsonage.
repeat, the report that ! said the
colored race was degraded, "dnd little
better than The brute" is utterly false.
My remarks were reported in not only
the Conservative papers, but also
in the Press and Times &. and no such
language is reported as from me. The
Press and Times commented on my speech
the next day; and yet made no charge
that such language was used by me, or any
language similar in import. All the hard
sayings which fell from my lips concerning
the colored voters, whom the bill proposed
TO make such, Rere read By me from Cor.
BrOuaiOWs messages, except one which |
shall presently repeat. That one saying
was this and uttered on this wise: | had
read an argument from Cor. BrOUalOWs
massage against col0red suffrage, IN tchich
the Governor held that The colored race 1rsrs
at present (in October, 1865, unit TO be en-
frdRckissd because hev had been TOO much de-
GRADED bV SLAVERY. With this ! took issue,
and contended that the negro had
been elevated, and not degraded, by
his residence in this country. l
spoke of the race here as far superior
to the same race in Africa. | spoke
of cargo of African negroes which were
brought over to this country from the slave
coast of Africa Just before the war, and
landed at Jeckyl Island, in the Savannah
river, and of whom persons Who Sdlr them
said that they were degraded rooe-dis-
qlsfiao in their hdbits-ray little better than
The brute creation" And ! argued from
this that the negro had not been degraded,
but elevated by his residence in this Chris
tian land.
This last quoted saying-not my own
against the aboriginal African, and 10
show the improvement OF the race, / did
not profess to quote from Brownlow, but
might as well have given him credit for
that also For / find in Brownlow's debate
with Pryne, the following language used
by the Governor who now processes to be
the negroes friend. The negroes Of Al
rica, says Brownlow, 4" are amongthe most
degraded Of the coiored race They subslst
principally upon the spontaneous produc-
lions Of the forest. They have no knowl-
edge of agriculture, architecture, the me-
chanic arts, or any of those arts and
sciencies which tend to elevate and expand
the intellect, and secure the rational en-
joyments Of life. The light of divine truth
has never pierced their benighted minds
the feeble operation Of their reason has not