Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-08-12

10 ule now 10 De prOpOunded 10 The people
| OF Tennessee. Our Generals, in their late
interviews with the legislative committee,
have declared for themselves and for those
they represented, that the existing laws
whilst unrepealed, and whilst our Supreme
Court shall not have declared them GncOn-
| stitutional, are to be quietly and decorOusly
submitted to and obeyed, no matter what
views we may entertain of their iustiee,
their wisdom, or their cOnsonance with the
organic law of the State and Constitution
| of the Union. 1t is plain that We must DO
| this, or at once resort to revolutionary ex-
| pedients, without waiting even for the re-
| suit of the Presidential election, which, we
have every reason to believe, will give us
complete deliyerance from all our present
troubles and sufferings, if the Democratic
ticket shall not be defeated by some signal
act of imprudence on our part in Tennes-
see. Our felloW-Citizens in every part of
the State, In deliberate and manly memo
rials, have counselled peace and submission
to the laws, and have given emphatic gusr-
antees against any irregular and violent
.actior on the part Of this much oppressed
people, at least until a moment more
auspicious than the present shall arise.
Slavish and permanent submission 20 tyran
nv has no advocates among US. The right
of the people TO alter, amend, or abolish
the existing form of government whenever
they shall choose to do so, and in any alra-
ner they please, no one in Tennessee dis
putes. Few among our intelligent citizens,
presume, doubt the unConstitutionality of
our present franchise laws, and of that
whole mass of legislative monstrosities
with which they are affiliated. But 1t ls
proposed by us to submit to them all for the
present, and until they shall have been alb
rogated, or declared unconstitutional by the
courts, or until we can, in some peaceful,
safe and consti utional mode, procure the
assemblage of a convention for the removal
of all our existing grievances. With these
views. confess that | was panied at seeing
in the columns of the Banner on Sunday,
the following editorial article:
Gan homes, fearless and conscientious ex-
Chancellor of a neighboring district, an
appointee Of BrownlOw, who accepted the
apnointment for the maintenance of law
and order, and for the opportunity it afford
ed him to protect his fellOw-Citizens from
criminals. and not for the paltry pitanCe
of the emoluments of said office, told us 4
few days since that he was utterly disgusted
with memorials to the BrownlOw party,
acknowledging the validity of all the
| laws passed by that faction of usurpers.
| 'Why5 said he, mo law they ever passed
was valid, under the Constitution. There
| is no LEGAL or constitutional authority for
the Offices they hold, and for which they
are paid salaries out of the taxation OF the
public. The entire State government 10
| itself a cheat and falsehOOd from lts ORR
| gia down. say it who have been an ap-
| pointee Of that usurpStiOn. was not
constiutionally authorized officer, though
apponted by that so-caIed government. |
accepted it for the good could do aud not
| Gor IL, profits. My own profession wac
more profitable to me than that Office when
| | accepted it. Butif l had not accepted 1t,
| another woulh, who might not have enter
tanned AZ jnst ideas OF Justice, and VINO
might have been more susceptible to partl-
| san bias. This whole thing il cheat, sir
"A miserable cheat
"The Radical authorities will pardon u5
| if we say that we entertain precisely The
same opinions with regard To the supposed
! or claimed validity 0iIsemselye7 and tne'r
laws. In our opinion there Is not an officer,
| IN the State from the G0y0nor dorm 10 The
smallest officer rrEo holds his office lwdsr an
| election heid in accordance rriH UH the rrgu"e-
mcnts Of idte
"In other words, the people have, for the
| sake of peace, endured a Governor Lee
| pislature and a Supreme Court, neither OF
| which can claim a constitutional origin,
| the two first of which would have long
since been declared illegal by the Supreme
| Court but for the fact that in declaring
the Governor and Legislature illegItlmate,
the court would have been compelled I'M
avoidably to declare itself a nonentity, be
cause it received its existence from the
Governor and Legislature"
Now, what does all this mean? Does
not the Banner know that in none of the
| memorials that have come up from the
people has the ualidty Of the laws referred
10 been asserted? Has the "honest fear
less, and conscientious ex-Chancellor OF a
| neighboring district, an appointee of Gov.
| BrownIow" ever examined these memorials
before expressing his sublime disgust at
| the conduct of the memOrialists, who have
| only given assurance OF Obeylng the laws,
| whether in point of fact Udiid or not, until
they shall be gotten rid OF IN some paclhc
and constitutional manner Pray IS not
this same ex-ChanCellor now submitting
himself to the laws which he 30 justly de
nounces Did he not, when on the bench,
do far more than this, did he not aid IN
enforcing these very laws? 1t he thought
them unconstitutional when on the bench,
how could he reconcile it to his Judicial
conscience to become an agent for their
| execution If az the ex-ChanCellor ls re-
| ported in the Banner to have said, there
| is no legal or constitutional authority
for the offices now held (which
for aught / know may be finally
decided to be the case) 'for which they are
| paid salaries out of the taxation OF the
| public" pray how did this honest, fear
| less and conscientious eX-ChancellOr, come
TO accent one of these very offices and put
into his pocket one Of these very salaries
| If he always held "the entire State govern
| ment itself to be Il cheat and ialsehood
from It's origin down." (an assertion which
| cannot be expected to gainsay), how could
this "honest, fearless and conscientious eX
Chancellor consent, for a pecunlary con
| sideratOn, to act az the instrument oil
knayery and usurpation? This is really
one Of the most extraordinary cases OF con-
flict between profession and practice OF which
| remember to have at any time heard
Once for all, 1t can be said to this eX-Chan-
cellor, who must hope has been nisun.
derstOod on this point, or has been
induced to condemn the action Of the me-
morialists without full knowledge Of their
real views and purposes-that our memori-
alists have never thought Of asserting the
validity Of any Of the laws denounced by
him; that they have ever had the same
opinion Of these laws A. himself but
that they do not choose to iuyolye the
people Of the State in a bloody war
in order 10 get rid Of expressions from
which they are hoping soon to be re-
lieved 10y means less perilous than some
are now advising. Until some act oi
,intolerable oppression shall have been
committed by them which will put our safety
and honor and the safety and honor Of Our
families in danger; until no reasonable
ground for The hope Of deliyerance shall
remain, save by rcsOrting 10 the terrible
ultima ratio itself the memorialists and
those acting with them intend to remain
quiet, orderly, and strictly obedient to law.
| entirely concur with the Banner and
20 do the memOralisls, that there is not an
officer in the State, from the Governor