Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-06-09
falt 4 tbot na,t IF h;s d~iscn,.on

was the issue Of the time There had
been heavy feelers thrown out; they
had been feeling him, and also his
| friend, the Governor. Hesaid he had
received a letter signed by many citi.
zens, propounding tohimt the question:
"Are you in favor of removing the po-
litical disabilities under which a great
majority of the people of Tennessee
are labOring, and are you willing to
| call a convention if elected Governor
He knew it was written bygentiemen,
| for it was couched in courteous Lam
guage. He thanked the gentlemen
for thus calling upon him; the writers
| were right; he was a candidate, and
the people had a perfect right to know
his views. Not only here, butall over
this country were they looking for this
days work in Tennessee. He here
read his letter in reply to Messrs.
Thornberg, Singletary and Welsh,
| written January 81, 1869, and said
what were his opinions then, he reit-
| Grated again, ''that when the killing OF
Union men ceases, the hellish organi-
cation Of the Ku-KIux disbanded, etc.,
"then he was willing to entertain a
proposition to amend the State Con-
stitution so as to allow the disfran-
chised to come in gradually" but "the
idea of amending the constitution so
as to place the ballot in the hands of
these outlaws at one clear sweep, and
at the present time, would be cruel to
the Union men, He said he was a
Republican, and adhered rigidly to
the party platform. This proposed to
liberate persons from political disa-
bilities, according to the rule embodied
in the fourteenth constitutional amend
ment, viz: by a concurrent vote of
two-thirds of both houses of Congress,
He would, therefore, desire that the
next Legislature, by atwo-thirds vote,
should relieve all concerned in the re-
belliOn, provided they continued tobe
of good conduct until the assemblage
of that body, would make special APP
~plication for relief, and give satisfac-
tory proof of loyalty. This was his
platform; it was in print over his own
signature. He would not get out of it
if he could, and could not if he would.
He had been hard on rebels, but they
had been hard on him during the war.
Men become aliens by their own acts;
men DISTINGUISHED themselves, and if
he had the power to give the ballot, he
would not do so until peace and har-
mony were restored. Hehere branched
off into national politics, and said that
after the war the people had to act
promptly, and the rule of necessity
presented itself. In order to preserve
the true loyal men, the franchise law
was adopted. He claimed that be-
cause they had been victorious on the
battlefield, and at the ballot-boX, they
had a right to dictate terms. The
time had come when we could be
magnanimous to a portion, but if you
ask if you would turn all loose, he
would say no. Suppose this Legisla-
ture had the power to relieve as Sug-
gested, he knew one hundred men in
his county that he would endorse.
But some will say, if you let some in
they will lick us next time. No, he
had a way of putting down the breaks
when too many offered. If found
necessary, would call on Federal
troops, not the State militia. He re-.
peated again that he was on the broad
platform of the Republican party,
which never intended to keep men
always disfranchised, or to exclude
them.
REPLY OF GOV. sENTER.
On the subject of the franchise the
Republican party of Tennessee must
liberalize its policy in order to be in
accord with the Republican party and
presses Of the nation, and in unison
with the administration of the gov
eminent. We cannot hold out in
longer opposition to the e~nfranchise-
ment of the peOple-Ought not to
make any such effort. If elected Gov
ernOr, he would in his message to the
Legislature recommend the calling of
q convention to remove disabilities
and restore to the people of Tennessee
the rights of freemen. He was in
favor of at once, or as soon as it can
possibly be done, restoring the fran
chise to all the people of the State,
those who pay taxes rs well as those
who do not. About this there is no
equivocation-no two sides to the mill
pond. 1t is best to deal plainly with
honest men-let all know where you
and what you are for. He call
ed upon Gen. Stokes to come out like
a man and let the people whose votes
he solicited know his real position on
the franchise question. His position
was plainly stated, and he wanted his
competitor to be alike explicit. Gen.
Stokes took the irOnclad oath in order
to take his seat in Congress. Would
he be willing to give the ballot to
every TennesSeean who would take a
oath?
THE RACE
is, according to the declarations of
both, for "whO lasts the longMt."
asserts at the conclusion dr his
speech that he had offered everything
in the way of a compromise that an
honorable man could do, and was still
to do so again. There had
been report of Stokes withdrawing,
but this did not look much like back
down, and he never had started
IN anything but what he had fought
it out on that line. He was in for the
race and could not get out without ig-
a large majority of his party.
Senter said in conclusion that if
Governor, as he certainly ex-
to be, he should faithfully and
honestly endeavor to discharge the
of his Office, and do all in his
power TO contribute to the prosperity
If Tennessee and fha npaca and han-1