Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-11-04
TIE CONTENTION ELL.

Our readers will naturally look with
great interest TO the action of our Iegis-
lature upon the Convention Bill. 1t is
without doubt the most important ques-
ton which has come before the people of
Tennessee since the Constitution of 1896.
Taking it, ''for all in all, " we do not
know but that it is even more important
than the questions involved in that old
Constitution. Then the population of the
State was limited to a scattered few.
There was no division of sentiment as to
who the qualified electors should be. It
wasa recognizedlegal principle, established
from the days of .Justinian, and indeed
reaching even beyond the time of
that great founder and father of written
law, that no married woman, no slave, no
minor, was entitled TO the right of suf-
irage, because the law presumed all such
10 he under rcstrictions-in civil bondage,
which letters the win, and therefore rem
dcrs them incompetent as sovereigns,
as voters, to exercise the right of free
men. So with persons lunatic, insane
non coHlpOs DtGUtis; they, too, are con-
sidcrcd, from the lack of mental capacity,
rs restrained from the exercise of the
privileges of freemcn Ii is upon the
same general principle that persons con
yictcd of crime are regarded by almost
universal law as unfit to be recognized as
competent TO act in the capacity of free
men. But all others, under our form
of government, are of the sovereign
people, and as such entitled TO exercise
all the rights and privileges of American
citizens, in the broadest meaning of the
words. The proscriptive spirit cngen-
dcrcd by the late war made temporary ex-
ceptions 10 the general rule-in other
words extended the disability of citizen
ship 10 a numerous class Of persons in a
certain geographical section Of the coun-
Try, who had in all that composed the or
der Of high citizenship hitherto been re
garded as among the first of citizens. We
do not stop now to argue whether that
proscrptive spirit was right or wrong:
whether or not it was justified bv sur
rounding circumstances. We simply treat
it as an existing fact. Suffice it to say
that the late guhcnatorial and legislative
canvass and its results settled beyond doubt
that even the cufranchiscd thought that
The day had arrived when the shacklos
should be removed from those who were
dts.rmchiscd, not by reason of their be-
mg married women. minors, slaves or con
,iclod trlon-, hut alone because of politi-
cal otlensrs. The tcchnicalitics of the
law and the fomalitics of orIer-and We
mr not disposed TO inyci-h against them
seemed To require that the necessary ac-
ton ioI Acknowledgement could only be
taken in completeness, through a conycn-
ton Of the people, this proceeding being
hasedupont that Interchangeable Iawof all free
goycnmcnts-thc Declaration Of Rights.
Through the ills produced 10y the swecpinr
disfranchisemcnt of The intclIircnt and
onfmnchiscmcnt of the former slaves
other and poSsiblysas great ills were in
troduced into our system of government.
To correct these manifest evils the House
of Representatives last week by vote Of
~ 10 Is passed bill au-
thorizing the election and assembling of Il
convention to be elected by The
people, The whole people, as uni
ycrsally understood by all voters
who believe in the virtue and intelligence
of mankind for self-goyemmcnL That
BED did not, As it had no right to do, at
Tempt to limit the action of the Conycn-
ton TO such particular subjects as the