Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-08-14

unuer the inspiration OF the military,
and it required an extraordinary amount
of moral courage to vote against the
amendments which had been proposed
in so irregular a manner. The result
was "a, 76S votes in favor of the ratifca-
ton and eighty-two against it When it
is stated that these same counties con-
tanned, in 1861, voting population of
about 10000 and that there we're over
10000 in the whole State, it viii be seen
that only very sma Il minority, less than
One-sixth, of the voting population of the
State consented to the changes which
have given the Brownlow dynasty the
color Of authority under which they have
assumed not only to change the organic
law, but to impose outrageous and un'
paralleled disabilities upon the white men
of this State.
j The election for Governor and menu
bers Of the Legislature under the Com
stitution thus amended, came off on the
4th of March, 1865 In this election
polls were opened in portions of ffty-two
of the eighty-fve counties in the State
and in these counties 0,4s9 votes were
polled These counties contained o
voting population in 1861 of about l00,-
600, showing that only one-fifth Of these
voters participated in this election, and
less than One-seventh of the voters in the
State. The members Of the Legislature
were elected under the general ticket
system, and many members were re@
turned as elected who did not receive a
single vote in the counties they ASHAMED
to represent, and who had not themselves
been in the counties from which they
claimed to hail for many months. In.
deed some of them had become
citizens of other counties, and have never
returned to establish their citizenship in
the counties they represented. In one
instance Senator was elected who had
removed during the war to Kentucky,
and we do not know that he has yet re-
moved back to Tennessee 1t is certain,
however, that he served out his Senatorial
term while his family continued to reside
in Kentucky. Here was Governor and
Legislature elected'b less than One,sev-
enth of the votersof the State and by only
about one-fifth of the voters of the coun-
ties in which elections were held. These
facts were notorious, yet the men who
were inaugurating a State government
for their own personal and political
benefit were content to get power in any
way. "s".F 'a n.'.- ~ 1.J
The ninth section of the schedule to
the proposed alterations and amend
ments' of the Constitution, provides that
"the qualifications Of voters and the limi>
tation of the elective franchise, may be
determined by the General Assembly
which shall first assemble under the
amended Constitution Under this
very doub tiul authority, the Legislature,
elected in the irregular and illegal man.
ner that we have shown it was, passed on
the 9TH of June, 1865, what is known as
the first franchise law. This law confided
to the Clerks OF the County Courts the
duty to issue certificates Of registration
to such of the citizens Of their respective
counties as were not disfranchised by
this act and its disfranchisement was
regarded as rather sweeping The cleo
ton for members of Congress was
held in August of that year under
this law, and resulted in the choice
of five Conservatives and three Radi-
calls This result astounded the
Brownlow dynasty, and Brownlow
assumed an authority which no Governor
of the State had ever attempted to exera
else, and to which no law on the statute
books gave even the color Of sanction, to
revise the returns of the election made
TO the Secretary of States Office With
out the sanction of law, he went behind
the returns Of the officers holding the
election, and assumed that the elections
had not been held in accordance with
he law in certain counties and por.
ion of counties that certificates
lad been granted to men who were
not entitled to vote under the franz
,hise law. He threw oat the entire vote |
If twenty-eight counties on the pretense
hat they were " Illegally registered.
By this outrageous usurpation, he de-
Jared Arnell elected in the sixth Con-
,ressional district and gave him the cero
ifcate, notwithstanding the majority |
,gainst him was four hundred and fifty
i've. The total vote of the State in
hat election was, 81 ,046, Of which he
oclared 1854 Illegally registered,
nd threw them out, so that the
pparent vote is only 81 ,5l2 This vote
bowed that the Conservatives would get
ontrol Of the State unless something
-as done to prevent it Accordingly the
artisans Of 3rownlow went to work to
ct up n new and mere stringent franz
hisc law, so as to prevent the election
f Conservative county officers at the
Iarch election in 1866. The COnserva
We members in the Legislature fought
ais iniquitous measure calamity, and
nding themselves in n minority, they
1T constrained to resign in order to pro-
,ct their constituents, if possible, from
le infection Of the proposed rigid fran>
hise law, and on the 81 Of March, 1866,
10 House of Representatives, in which
Ddy the bill was pending, was leftwithout
quorum, and its legal existence was abb
,lately broken. Elections we're subse.
lently held and quorum was got to-
,ther by admitting Radical members
nd refusing seats to Conservatives, and
,aDv eVnellincr Soma of them. or which |