Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-17

4 The Knoxville Whig gives what pur.
!. ports to be verbatim report of what
q Senter and Stokes said on the suffrage
= question in their speeches at Knoxville,
, Monday, which we reproduce as follows
II GOV. sENTER ON SUFFRAGE. r.7 Z
i Gov. Senter said: Another question in
which all are interested. stand here
/ to-day asking and calling upon the good
people of Tennessee not to listen to for,
mer prejndices and passions, but to take
counsel of their judgment. | am here
to-day to announce the fact that am in
favor Of a liberal extension of the fran,
chise-if you please, universal suffrage.
| mean, am in favor of enfranchising
every citizen OF the State who has not
ontlawed himself by crime. In this, /
know that l am appealing against the
prejudices-or, if you please, the SEN
tInents of some who may hear me.
But il we listen to these and re-
fuse to grant the franchise, this places
us far in the rear of the great Repub-
lscan party which elected Grant Pres
1 ident of the United States. / claim to
stand fair and square with that great
| soldier whose armies and military genius
| saved the country. There is no Radical
paper North or West that takes position
against the doctrine of universal suffrage;
none that does not advocate it; none that
does not say that the Tennessee Radicals
are rushing on madly to their own over
throw, to longer withhold the franchise.
This question knocks at the heart of |
every citizen of Knoxville, of Knox
county, and of the State. Is it right |
longer to withhold it? Ought the man
who IS taxed for the schooling of the |
children of the State, and to support the |
government Of the State, to be denied |
the right to say who should make ana |
who should administer the laws ? say
no. l am in favor Of extending the |
franchise in regular constitutional way.
Here Mr.. Senter repeated his statement
in Nashville on the 9th of June, that if
elected Governor he would recommend
the calling of convention to remove the
disabilities. ...sl
GEN. STOKES ON SUFFRAGE.
Gen. Stokes said: propose to give my
position on the franchise question. Now,
mark you. l was not member of the
Legislature that enacted the franchise
law. | had nothing to do with it, l say,
as legislator. Gov. Senter was the
man who put handouts on the rebels of
this State. and now want to show you
his position on this subject. A little
more than year ago we put clause in
the constitution, that Congress might re.
move, by thirds vote, the disabili>
ties from such rebels as were deserving.
! have been at work at this thing in Con-
gress. have voted to remove the disa>
bliIties from all classes of rebels, from
highest to Lowest, and from all men whom
| thought worthy.
Now, mark you, last January | re-
ceiVed letter from Thornburg, Singles
tary and another, asking if was in favor
OF universal suffrage. (Gen. Stokes here |
read from their letter and his answer,
which we have already published, and |
showing that by his policy, we'll disposed
rebels would be let il, and if they found
the thing was working badly, they could
put on the brakes.)
Up to January last, here was my com
petitor and here was Gov. Brownlow,
neither one Of them had done q thing.
f! In April, in my reply to johnson, l
stated that the time, in my Judgment, was
not far distant, when the peaceable and
law>abiding rebels would be admitted to
the ballot. Now, you have all that, and
yet Gov. Senter has never uttered a
word, and when he had such good oppor-
Gunities. In his inaugural he makes no
reference to it, and then in his messages
to the Legislature he never uttered it;
when the committees from Giles. and
other committees, waited on him. he
might have said it, but he did not. Then,
on the 9TH of June, / made speech in
which l smoked him out /
On this, as on the suffrage of the ne
groes, was the first man that offered to
remove these chains which Gov. Senter
helped to put upon the rebels. He here
read from the speech he made on the 9Th
of June, and also from that of Gov. Sen
ter on the 2lst Of May l stand here
and declare that the platform Of the Re-
publican party does not require universal
suffrage. Grant was not elected upon
that platform. His supporters did not
urge that. Grant is keeping out the rebel
votes in Virginia, and Congress is on the
eve of being called together to attend to
the case of Georgia.
[He here read from the platform of
the Republican party, the second and
the thirteenth sections
When You strike universal suffrage it
won't ring. And | will make my COM
petitOr throw up the sponge in five days
ar | will quit the canvass. (He here
referred to the fact, that he had offered |
to give Gov. Senter s. to answer yes or
no, whether he stood on the Chicago plat.
form and he took it and said YES. /;
You paid $4,000 for my paper, the
Press and Times, and l bought your
Governor for $5. II
III
He here asked Gov Senter If he en-
dorsed Gov Brownlow's letter on the |
suffrage Senter replied yes-the
whole of it."-Here Gen. Stokes read
from that letter as follows: l... II
''fhe Republican party in Tennessee
have secured the entire Judiciary in the
State for eight year, to come, and should |
the Governor recommend to the Legis-
lature an alteration of the constitution,
admitting the disfranchised to the bal
lot it will require two years to accom-.
plish it The Rebel population of the
State will then have been disfranehised |
at least six years. Should they then
come into power by welding majority
of the votes, it will be impossible for
them, even then, to fill the Offices of the
State with Rebels, to its injury, because
Of the fourteenth amendment to the
United States constitution"
Now. Gov Senter endorses that He |
proposes to be two years about it | will,
if elected your Governor, begin the work
next January. Away with this doctrine
of universal suffrage 1t does not amount
to the snap of my finger. And if there
is Rebel here indebted to any one man
on this question, he is indebted to me |
for smoking him and Gov Brownlow out
Yor disfranehised men, take notice, if
| am elected Governor, next January
will begin this work of enfranehisement.
| am just two years nearer putting the
ballot in your hands than my CONS
petitOr is. | am that q much better suf-
frage man that :he. Don't all think
have explained myself? and don't you
understand me en- this subject If l am
Governor, proprose to begin next Janu-
airy to remove these disabilities. shall
recommend the calling of convention
and gradually removing these disabil>
tiles .. ..- .r.. r..r..E-