Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-18

STOKES and senter at sEsryvIIIe-
stoke Goes Back on His Knoxville
SnnaaHs I'D .f..ts@et 81 fff

stoke Goes Back ON His Knoxville
| speech. MGEd g'Te3 aEf3
A correspondent of the Knoxville
Press and Herald, writing Of the dis
cussion at Maryville, Blount county,
says: 81 eget lsf.s laA u .,irF'1'otaa
GEN. Stokes commenced the discussion
according to rotation; it was his time to
lead; he said SO. His speech was the
same that he delivered twenty years ago,
with the slight alterations that the Dun>
can letter, his enlistment in rebel com>
pany, his quasi service in the Union
army, made necessary, in the Calf
Killer heros mind, to make His
head glistened like a dimly lighted
skating rink, and great drops
of perspiration fell from his iliterate
vacuum, to prove his position. Knowing
his crowd and the sentiments hithers
to entertained by the Union people
of old Blunt, he came TO the
scratch and labored for two hours
as no other man could labor to de-
fend himself against the awfnl scathing
he had received in previous discussions
with Gov. Senter. He said in substance
on the all absorbing question of the can
vass, that he was two years ahead Of Gov.
Senter on the Reimbursement of the now
disfranchised citizens of the State, and
yet to,day he went back upon his former
assertions, and claimed to be unalterably
in favor of the franchise, claimed to stand
by his Singletary- Welsh letter. In
Knoxville, as all will remember, he used
the following language: 81 am two years
ahead of Gov. Senter to>day on the fran
chise question. / voted to remove the
disabilities of from five hundred to
thousand Rebels in the Congress o. the
United States; the Rebels owe me debt
of gratitude, etc. Yet to-day he la
bored to prove that he was in favor Of
rigid franchise law, told few anecdotes
in bad English and retired.
Gov. Senter then came forward, but
speechiCapt. H. L. Mcconnell stepped for
ward and said that report had been 60
ing the ronnds in Knox county that Gov.
Senter would not be allowed to speak in
Blount, and that he, as Republican Of
the county of Blount, desired to say that
such report was false. he asked the
citizens to give Gov. Senter patient and
quiet hearing,
Gov. Senter then commenced what
proved to be one of the, finest efforts of
his life. He spoke Of MaryVille, its
temples of God, its seats OF learning, its
former history, its honored citizens and
its glorious record, both before and du>
ring the war; its soldiers were gallant,
its citizens were honorable, and that as
an East Tennesseean he was proud of the
previous record of old Blount. The Gov
ernor dwelt with great feeling upon the
new issues involved in the canvass. He
said: i"aat .4.-.'%.
~ know l am addressing men who
are opposed to me upon the question of
the enfranchisement of the now disfran-
chised citizens of our State. know that
my position upon this question, as taken
at Nashville, is here unpopular, but |
thank God that have manhood enough
to boldly enunciate what l there enun~
ciated-universa suffrage for all. except
such as the Judgment Of our
courts pronounce Infamous Let
the hand Of forgiveness be
extended; let East Tennessee, true
to her ancient history prove that mercy
is the brightest jewel in the diadem of
heaven. Let East Tennessee remember
that it is "human to err but divine to
forgive and that although the time was
when war swept over her bosom that
peace followed, that the armies were dis
banded-that her fields that had been
thrown out in wars wild track had blOs>
sOmed as the rose in peace--that the fran
chise law, at the time of its passage, was
a necessity, but that the necessity had
passed-that we are all Tennesseens-S-
that we have common intereste in the
future glory of our noble State, and hence
am proud that | am in q position to
give my humble aid in the restoration Of
the citizens of Tennessee to all their
rights, civil and POLITICAL" lEE
Gov. Senter spoke in bold and manly
manner, he shrunk from no part Of his
new position, although he knew that he
was addressing an audience that was OPP
posed to him at present. Unlike Stokes,
he played no double game, but stood
grandly out On the great principles he
had recently proclaimed.
The replies of both candidates wer e
but the odds and ends Of both leading
speeches. Never vas better attention
paid. Every hearer seemed to maintain
strict order. Both gentlemen were loud
ly cheered, and the crowd separated
seemingly in the best Of feeling.