Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-05-02
THE FRANCHEsE.
Suffrage In Lincoln County.
Radical Rascalitles Exposed.
rrom ths ParetteyiIls Observer.

''aChO poted an the pres1denttdt ssefectlo
3liofl 1864, or,in the election for ratified
ton or rejection in February, 1865, Q
voted In the election held on the 5th c
March, of the same year, for Governo
and members of the Legislature, Ear
hereby declared to be qualified voters
| By the first franchise law, that of 1865
the county clerk Of each county was an
thorized and required to register tn
persons of their respective eountie
qualified to vote under that law, and t,
give to each person SO registered, a GER
tifcate authorizing him to exercise thu
right of suffrage. By the act of 1866, al
the work of the clerks Of the county
courts was cancelled :and declared void
and the Governes vas required within
sixty days from the passage of that act tc
| appoint Commissioner Of Registration
for each county, whose duty it should
be to register the voters of their several
counties, requiring such registrar to
issue certificates to all those that
voted in the said November, Feb
ruary and March elections, upon
production of the poll-books Of the elec+
tion at which said voter voted, or q GER.
titled copy under oath Of such pollsbOOks,
in case the voter may be removed to an
other county; or upon the affidavit of two
enfranchised citizens, known to the com.
missioner to have been unconditional
Union men throughout the rebellion, in
case said poll-bcoks may be lost" Under
the act of 1866, Gov Brownlow appointed
E, P. Reynolds, late captain in the
Federal army, Commissioner Of Regis
tration for this, Lincoln county, to whom
the clerk OF the County Court delivered
the poll-boOks, upon which he was to
register the voters Of the county. Com
missioner Reynolds registered a few Of
the voters. He returned the poll-books
to the clerks Office, went to Nashville
and resigned. Gov BrOwnlow next ap-
pointed H. N. I. Ship, also late cap
tain in the Federal army, Commissioner
of Registration for this county. When
he called for the poll-books of the cleo
tions Of February and March, 1865, it
was ascertained that the poll-books, the
evidence to establish the right Of the cit
izens to be registered and exercise the
right of suffrage, had been stolen from
the clerks Office, a crime without par
allel in the history of free governments.
Capt Ship, consequently, .cOuld register
but few.
10 1867, preparatory to the election in
August of that year, Gov Brownlow re-
moved Capt Ship from the Office of Re-
gistrar aud issued his proclamation set.
ting aside apd declaring the registration
of both Reynolds and Ship null and
void Gov. Brownlow, then appointed
John Carey, who was the Radical Brown
low candidate to represent this county
in the popular branch Of the Legislature
at the ensuing election liz August, who
was thus constituted sole Judge Of who
should not vote, and which he did, in ut
ter disregard and open violation of the
clearest provisions Of the law under
which he was appointed and required to
execute. He registered some five hum
dred white and seven hundred colored
men more or less He held the Office up
to the day of the election, and under his
Own registration and appointment of
judges and clerks of election, he was
elected. Gov Brownlow, preceding the
March election of 1868, appointed a
carpet Dagger named Bloom, Registrar
for this county, who shortly after that
election, in company with his two BROTH
ers, kleit here between the setting and
rising of the sun. Our excellent
Governor next appointed one Andy Rus
sell Registrar for this county, who did
register a goodly number of voters, but
not as many by several hundred as are
legally entitled to registration under the
law Some ten or twelve days before the
presidential ,and congressional elections
in November last, Gov. BrownlOw re-
moved Russell, and by proclamation set
aside and declared null and void the
registration by Russell, and failed to APP
point another in his stead. In comparing
the votes :of the fourth district, to de.
termine who was elected to represent that
district in Congress, G. A. Sheafe or
Lewis Tillman, he threw out and refused
to count the vote Of this county, which
was FIVE hundred and fiftysfour, for
Sheafe, and FIVE for Tillman, because,
forsooth, the election in the absence of
of the Radical Sheriff to do his duty, the
Coroner under an order or directions of
the County Clerk held the election, and
the return Of the result was made by
him All the registration in this county;
save that of John Carey, have been dc.
clared null and void, for alleged irregu-
larities and fraud. We hazard but little
in expressing the belief that there was
more irregularity, fraud, disregard and
violation of law in John Careys official
conduct as Registrar, than in all the 9TH
ers combined.
At the election, February %, 1865, for
the ratification of the constitutional
amendment, there were poll6d in this
county seventeen hundred and seventy
six votes, and it is known that numbers
voted in other counties, all white men
and citizens Of the United States, and
under the franchise law legally entitled
to registration and the right of suffrage.
At the election held March 4, 1865, for
Governor and members of the Legisla-
ture, there were polled in this county
eleven hundred and ninety votes, every
one of which was cast for w. q. Browns
low for Governor, and was a greater NUNS
Der of votes than he received in any
other county in the State, except the
county Of Knox.
The number entitled to registration
and the right of suffrage by reason of
having voted at the elections in Februa4
ry and March, 1865, with the young men
who have arrived at the age of twenty
one years since the close of the war, and
who did not participate in that war,
upon q reasonable estimate, there must
be somewhere between twenty-five and
twenty-five hundred white men in this
county qualified voters and legally enti-
tied to registration under each and eyS
cry one of the three franchise laws
passed by the Legislature. And yet there
are only some FIVE hundred registered
white voters in the county, and they or
the most of them, by the special grace
and favor of John Carey.
At the March election for county
officers held March 4, 1866, then were
polled in this county, under the registra-
ton by the clerk Of the County Court,
who had the poll-books of the February
and March elections in his Office 1,797
votes, alrwhite men. The negro had not
then been enfranchised At that election
Neeld, the Radical candidate for County
Trustee, received three hundred and
thirty. three votes; Steelman, the Radical
candidate for Sheriff, received three hun"
dred and sixty-nine votes This was be-
fore the poll-boOks were stolen, or the
negro enfranchised.
A. tbo S,ota oloo4ion in uousk 1897