Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-11-25
THE SENATORIAL SUCCESS
SION.
Who shall succeed Ey. Fowler /,
-Nhn1 VIII rv,s, s,r.,,-o,,,;,,, NJ,


SION.
who Shall Succeed Mr.. Fowler
What VIII tIae Convention DOl
To the Editors Of the Union and American:
PULASKI, Nov. %, 1SG9.-As one of
your readers, heartily congratulate you
upon the success of your excellent paper
l assure you that the masses of the peo-
pie regard your paper as the champion of
their rights and as the representative or
gan of all true-heart ed Tennesseeans.
Who shall succeed Mr.. Fowler in the
United States Senate The question was
regarded as settled some weeks ago, but is
II in fact settled YETI 1t would seem that
some of our Senators do not regard it as
settled if recent developments are cor
rectly interpreted by the people As was
appropriately said by distinguished cor
respondent, Tin a letter TO your paper of
recent date,) ] prefer to speak of what
the people say rather than give my own
opinions. They very correctly regard the
coming Constitutional Convention as be
ling all powerful. They regard it as be
ing, in legal contemplation, convention
of the whole people in their primitive and
sovereign capacity with full power 'to
alter, reform or abolish" the State Gov
eminent and vacaie all its offices.
If this be true, which no one can AT all
doubt for it is the substance, If not the
very language, of our Bill of Rights, the
coming Convention can vacate not only
the inchOate senatOrship of Mr.. Cooper,
but it viii have the full power to immedi-
ately vacate the senatorships now held by
both Fowler and Brownlow, if in its wis
dom it should think proper to do so. The
Convention viii come up fresh from the
people. Il will have been elected by the
whole people, by a free, untramelled and
popular vote at the first free election the
people have enjoyed since the war. The
Convention will better understand the
wishes and interests Of the people than
the Legislature or any other body elected
since the war
Waving for the present any opinion as
10 the State Offices, am sure that al least
nine-tenths of the people of the State
would vote for the vacation of the sena-
torshipss now held by both Fowler and
Brownlow. How many of the people
were represented by the Legislatures
which elected thcml Not more than one
in twenty Of the taxpayers Of the State.
Fowler was elected about the close of the
war by vindictiye and pTOscriptive Degis-
lature, at time when the people were
robbed of all their political rights and not
allowed to participate in the election of
their officers. The history of the Legisla-
tue that elected Brownlow, and the farce
Of his so-caIled election, is vet green in
the memory Ofs1he people 1t needs no
comment The infamy of those times
viii never be forgotten by them.
No one can for moment insist that
there was the semblance of legality or
constitutiOnality in the election of the
Legislature which elected BrOwnlOw. 1t
follows that it was a nullity and all its
acts void, and that BrOwnlow, being elect
ed by a sClf-constitUted and void Begisla-
turc is not legally Senator at all, and it
only remains for the people in their ma
icsty to declare accordingly.
Should the Convention, when If meets,
entertain this view, as l am sure it must,
/ most respectfully but earnestly beg
them 10 Immediately vaCate the seats now
filed by Fowler and Brownlow, so that
the people of this great State may choose
Senators able and worthy 10 represent
Them at the national capital
IN that has been SAID of Fowler and
BroWnlow applies with equal force TO the
entire representation in the House of Rep
resentatiyes. They should also be re-
moved and their ill-gotten places filed by
able and worthy men who shall have been
chosen by the bone and sipew OF the
country. ..#..
Disguise it as you may, the truth is that
the elections Of all these men have been
mere farces, in which the people were not
allowed to participate nor their wishes
consulted. They were elected when the
people were in duress-manacied hand
and foot-and deprived of any voice in the
election of their officers In short, these
men are mere ''war measures and il is
but Justice to the people that they be re-
moved, their offices vacated and filled by
the people.
Returning to the question, who shall
succeed Mr. Fowler, the people are now
beginning TO think it not at all settled that
Mr. Cooper viii. There's many slip
twiXt the cup and lip" They say that
lac was not the choice of the people, and
that the Convention being fresh from the
people viii not ratify nor sanction his
1lttboH. anu lhdl llVN lldN III dONbl NallNN
with their wishes vacate his senatoTship
also. How this may be, DO not pretend
To- saw. but it seems that certain members
of the Senate feared something Of this
kind.
Again, Il is said by others that the Con
ycntion may vacate the General Assembly
and the people elect another before the
expiration of Mr. Fowler's term, (should
they not remove him at once.) In that
event, Mr.. Cooper's election would go for
nothing, and the General Assembly would
elect our Senator according 10 the act OF
3 Congress passed July -, 1866
That act provides " that the Legisla-
ure of each State which shall he chosen
next preceding the expiration of the time
for which any Senator was elected 10
represent said State in Congress, shall on
The second Tuesday elect q
Senator. etc. Statutes at Large, ] Sess.,
aqth Cong. c. 245, p. 243. From TIN:
10 Is quite clear that Mr. CoOpers election
Would 90 for nought if for any caust
another General Assembly should be
chosen between this time and the 4th Of
March, 1871 If another election should
take place. could 1.-THE combination
elect him. Could ,he Fletcher men SAVE
him next time.
II / am correct IN my views, ID is not a
all settled who shall succeed Nh Fowler
The question who shall succeed him Ii
vet to be settled 10y the great and sovereign
pa1p'a Of Tennessee GUES