The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1869-03-25
The Great Case from Tennes-
see pending In the Supreme
Court.
Correspondence Cincinnati CONNER
cial, Republican

, Supreme Court of the United State
l. the most important cause that eve
went up from Tennessee, or, perhap
, from any other State. 1t involves IL
constitutionality of the Franchise Law
and upon its decision rests the fate {
a hundred thousand disfrauchise
white men.
The case is from Rutherford connt,
where, at the November term. 1866
the plaintiff, Ridley, applied for
DsGHddmus to compel SherbroOk, til
Commissioner of Registration, to il
sue him q certificate to vote.
The petitioner averred in his peti
ton for a uaGRddmuS, that he was fift
years of age, that he had been a resi-
dent of that county for more tina
twenty years, and that he was a fire
white man; that he had been pardon
ed by the President OF the Unite'
States for all offenses committed
against the General Government ant
State of Tennessee, and had commit
ted no offense against either since hi
pardon. and had, in all respects, con
Quoted himself as loyal citizen tina
he had been accustomed to exercise
the privilege of voting at all elections
in his county, as guaranteed to hin
! under the constitution of the State o.
Tennessee and, on the lst day Of Au-
gust 1866 he applied to the defendant
/ Sherbrook, at his office in the town o.
! MurfreesborO' to register his vote, anC
give him certificate as a qualified
| voter of the county. He offered tC
/ produce lis pardon, but was told thai
he could not register unless he brought
! himself within the provisions of the
( act of May 3, 1866. he then prayed
/ that a nadnddnams uisi issue against
/ SherbroOk, and that he show cause
( why a peremptory m0RddmGS should
not issue to compel him to register Pc
/ titioner A. qualified voter.
The cause came up to be heard be-
/ fore Judge Henry Cooper, who decid-
/ cd that the Franchise law was uncOn-
I stituti nal. from which decision Sher-
/ brook appealed to the Supreme Court.
| Judge Cooper's decision caused great
excitement throughout the State, and
/ the general opinion was that the Su-
/ prcine Court would affirm it. Both
| sides pre- pared for the fight with COM
mendable energy; the ablest disfran-
clised lawyers were employed in be-
half of Ridley, while the best legal
talent the Radical ranks afforded, ar
/ Tayed itself in favor of Sherbrook.-
The cause was heard in the Supreme
Court, at Nashville. the following De-
ccmber term. and the decision of the
Judge awaited with the most BREATH
less anxiety. The outside pressure
brought TO bear upon them was ire
mrndous, especially from the Radi
Gals, who knew that if the decision
was against them, not one would be
saved from the wreck, so far as offices
were concerned. All the office holders
who had money enough, came to Nash
vile TO throw their weight into the
scales. and create pressure in favor
of a decision affirming the validity of
the law.
After DAYS and weeks of exhaustive
argument the decision came, and the
Franchise law was declared to be con-
,titutioual and valid. But, notwith-
standing the importance OF the cause,
aud the great length of the argum' mt,
the decision, as reported in Third Cald-
well, only occupies eight pages of
loaded long primer, or only enough to
make about one column in the COM
mercial's ordinary type. The decision
is one of the weakest ever reported in
this or any other State, and if the Su
prcme Court Of the United States Ito
which tribunal the case was taken by
appeal affirms the judgment, it is to
be hoped they will give their reasons
for SO doing. which the Court from
which iU was taken failed to do.
1t is probable that the cause will be
reached early this spring, and de-
cision i awaited with the greatest
anxiety. 1t was the popular belief
here that the fifteenth amendment to
the Constitution would do away with
the law. but Boutwell,, the author of
the amendment, when telegraphed to
from Nashville to get his construction
of the clause, replied short and de-
cisively that lit would leave them as
they are" Cmeaning the disfranchised
whites) SO that prop is knocked out,
and now the only hope of the disfran-
chised class is in the Suprme Court.
] say the only hope, for the Legislature
ofTennessee will never repeal the law
if the could, and they will never sub
nit a proposition to the loyal voters
to amend the Constitution so as TO do
away with the law, (fOr they have
managed to get the law Incorporated
into the Constitutions and if they
should submit the question to the
present voting class, that class, under
the influence of the Office-holderS and
League masters, will kill the PROPOSE
ton by thirty thousand votes.
The effect of decision by the Su-
preme Court of the United States
against the validity of the law, can
hardly be imagined. The readers of
the the Commercial Will remember
what excitement was occasioned by
the decision of that court in the Mis-
souri, ease, where it was declared I'M
constitutional for that State to pre-
scribe test oaths for ministers of the
gospel and the like. Yet that decision,
as much as it was trumped about the
country. and displayed in black let
tiers at the masthead of newspapers,
did not directly affect more than fifteen
hundred persons. But the case that is
now before the Court will directly
affect more than a hundred thousand
men. Nor is that all. \ decision adj
verse to the validity of the law, will
cut off the official head of nearly every
Radical oiiice-holder in the State, from
Governor down TO town constables.
Every time election day comes
arOund-and we have an election of
some sort in Tennessee about every
three months-oHt will go 1.-The pres
ent incumbent" and in will 90 some
body else. The Legislature will be
changed in a twinkling, and new and
strange voices will answer at roll.
The Intelligent gentleman from Afri-
CT. who now finds himself in a snug
position as city Alderman or Judge
of the County Court, or Justice of the
Peace. will be cleverly transferred
from his place of high authority to
the rural districts. where he will have
time to reflect on the instability of all
things terrestrial, while hoeing row
of cotton or wedding an onion bed.
The Radical papers will cease to get
all the legal advertising, and, as a
consequence, they will cease to live.
The Radical politicians will fail to
get into Office, or to keep those that
they have already got, and they will
die also. Brownlow is about half
dead any way, and to see his favorite
Wing bereft of its sheriff@s sales and
administrators notices-whieh pay
dollar and half per sQuare-will FIN
ish the job. and there will be no Brown
low to hold the party together. Ii
will be useless to call the Leagues to-
cether, for if they poll every available
vote they will fall short of the mark
some fifty or sixty thousand. In short
if the forthcoming decision is adverse
70 the validity of the law, It viii be
the death kneI of the Radical party
in Tennessee. There is no doubt about
it. and no room for ifs and ands. The
death of the party in this State will
certainly follow such a decision, and
speedily follow, too. 1t Will end the
Brownlow- Fletcher quarrel, and about
a dozen other weil-defned quarrels,
on short notice, for the Radicals will
have nothing to quarrel about:
But contrary decision viii have
very little effect. The DISTINGUISHED
class will look upon their case as about
hopeless. A few aspiring young men
will become discouraged at the pros