Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-12-12
RADICAL OPPOSITION TO THE
CONVENTION.

my IcuOM -SltAACAS Va ~ - 80 n
al district Of Tennessee" on the subject OF
the Constitutional Convention. he tens
them that be is s'Rot disappointed a. lne
course of the Legislature in recommend
ing a convention, for be "belie7ed and so
expressed himself in his speeches to them
Sin last summers canvass, that universal
suffrage in our State was the death-knell
70 Renublicanism. That is the reason
wby the Radicals opposed the calling of q
convention. It was simply because they
knew that when the men who paid the
taxes necessary to carry on the State gov
eminent were allowed to vote, their party
wonld be annihilated. They were fighting
for political existence when they opposed
the extension of suffrage TO the white
taxpayers of The State, and now Butler
confesses as much. he advises his Radi-
cal friends 10 ''bring out in every county
good and true men as candidates for the
convention, but TO oppose the conyen-
ton Some of his reasons for opposing
a convention are novel, but eminently
worthy the bright genius who represents
the first district in Congress. For in
stance:
T AGAIN ask is a convention necessary
And IS that the lawful mode to amend the
constitution Article XI, section 3, OF
the constitution of our State, provides
the mode by which the same shall be
amended. Not by a convention, for the
Legislature has no power or authority
whatever to pass an act providing for
convention. The trainers of the const-
tuition enacted the XIth article, section
3, to obviate the necessity of a conven-
ton. and TO save the people of the State
the expense thereof. But the friends OF
this revolutionary move say that the Bill
of Rights gives the Legislature the power
to call convention or submit 1t to the
peopIe. presume that there is not a
well informed lawyer in the State, but
knows better. It is true as stated In
the Bill of Rights, that all power is
inherent in the people, and that
they have at all times the inalienable and
indefeasible right to alter, reform, or
abolish the government in such manner
as they may think proper. They did, as
they thought proper, through their repre-
| sentatives in convention assembled, pro
| vide a mode to alter, reform or abolish
| the government. That mode is provided
in article XI, section 3, of the amended
| constitution of 1885, and that mode Is by
the Legislature submitting the proposed
| changes in the fundamental law to the
| neopIe. And thus, the revolu-
| ton is begun, and to avoid such danger,
our fathers provided that the constitution
should be amended by the Legislature sub
hitting any change that the people might
demand, once in six years. This is the
constitutional way, the Bill OF Rights be-
| ing but a part of the constitution. The
| XIth section of that instrument must GER
tainly govern and control the lst article
of the Bill of Rights.
This legal luminary undertakes TO ex-
pound the meaning of the constitution,
when ii is evident he does not understand
that instrument himself. If he had
turned to the twelfth section of the elaV-
enth article, he would have seen what a
fool he was making of himself IN the
argument he made to show that the peO-
| pie possessed no other mode of amending
the Constitution than through the Legis-
lature. That section is as follows:
'The Declaration of Rights hereto
prefixed is declared to be part of the
Constitution of this State, and shall never
be violated on any pretence whatever
And to guard against uansgressiOn OF the
| high powers we have delegated, we de-
clare that everything in the Bill of Rights
| contained, as excepted oft Of the general
I pO1ccr8 Of government, and shall for
| erer remain inUiOiutc.
That is, that the people Of this Slate
'have at all times an unalienable and indie
feasible right 20 alter, reform, or abolish
the government in such manner as they
may think proper" This right is ex-
pressly excepted out Of the general pow
ers of government, and under this re,
served right the people Of Tennessee have
determined to amend their present consti,
tuition so as to conform that instrument tc
the demands of the times.
But Roderick Random emits another
brilliant scintillation. He says:
sBut the friends Of the revolutionary
move say, that they have precedent IL
the convention of 1865. What subter'
fuge for men claiming to be lawyers;
precedent indeed, 1866. Tennessee did moi
have a lawful civil officer in her border
at that time. The State had gone into re
beIIion. and the head of the civil gov
| eminent had left the State. The timC
for which all the officers of the STATE
were elected had elapsed, and there wa
no government but military. What wa
to be done to put Che State in working or
der, and in harmony with the mother gov
crnment7 Hold an election and elect
Governor and members to the Legislature
Who were authorized to hold the cleo
ton? There were no Sheriffs lawful,
in the State to hold elections. No Count.
/ Courts TO appoint judges and clerks o
the election. There was no Governor o
Secretary of State to make returns to, a
required bv law. The people could nc
] alter. reform or abolish the government
in the manner that they had thought prope
10 provide in the constitution of 1885, an
| had 10 resort to an assemblage Of then
| selves to some extent, and through theI
D / representatives. That was the only wa
p | they had left them to meet as they did
1865"
We call Butler to answer Butler. II
+ was a member of the famous conventio
of 1865, to which he alludes, and on th
6 18th Of January, he submitted apreamb
and resolution, in lieu of a report frol
the business committee in which b
/. took issue with those who proposed "
T resolve this meeting into a convention
d propose amendments to the fundament
, law of the State, declaring that GOT
+ constituents are opposed to, and did NJ
send us here TO pursue such a course,
e and requesting the Governor to issue h
= proclamation calling upon the 10y
S voters" of the State to elect del
e gates to a convention authorized to mai
e the necessary alterations and amendmen
R to the constitution. The next day Oh
! I2th) he made q speech in support of b
j proposition, from the report of which v
+ extract as follows.
ar. r. Butler proposed to talk TO IL
T reason of the members. For what pu
{ | pose did the State Executive Commute
call this convention together2 To TAX
measures for the restoration of civil COY
a eminent. He had not had time to inyes
n tigate the report [of the business con
mittee'l properly, but hewas aware that
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