Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-15
eoYNo RAcK ON Hrs RECORD.


or four days before Mr.. Stokes
made his speech here on the 9th
inst, that he would take ground in
favor Of the immediate restoration
of the right to vote to the white
taxpayers of the State, and this
rumor seemed TO have about it such
az air of probability, that numbers
fully expected him to take this po-
sition up to the morning of the day
he made his speech. There is little
doubt this rumor reached Chatta-
nooga, for the Republican pub
lished in that ambitious cluster of
shanties that nestles under the
frowning browsof Lookout Noun
tain, came out in its issue OF the
9th inst, befordit had heard Of the
the position Stokes had taken, very
unequivocally in favor of the re-
peal of the franchise law ON
the ground that it had full
filled its mission. That paper
quoted a writer in the Shelbyyille
Republican as saying that "men
are becoming more liberal in senti-
ment, that the franchise law has
filed its mission by establishing
the principles of Republicanism
beyond the possibility of change,
except by bloody revolution, and
since all true Republicans have
only desired to see and labored to
secure this triumph, many of them
have expressed themselves in favor
of the early enfranchiseme Mt OF
the ex- Rebel element. The
Chattanooga paper said the
writer in its Shelbyville name
sake sis certainly correct about
the true mission of the franchise
law, and when that mission is full
filled it should no longer be the
policy of the Republican party to
sustain the law" To show that il
regarded the mission of the fran
chise law as having been fulfilled,
the Chattanooga paper said f.
"The Democrats at the close of the
war defeated themselves, and deserved
to be defeated, byhowling, in the face of al
reason, against every measure that looked
l to giving the negro element of our popu.
lation a fair showing in the race for life
and we in turn may defeat ourselves BY
permitting designing men, who have NJ
estate but Office, and no tenure upor
that save through acknowledgements, t.
lead US into another extreme"
The Republican with this en-
dorsement of the position Of the
writer in its Shelbyville namesakt
had hardly got out before the
Nashville papers came along with {
report of Stokes speech here in
which he distinctly opposed The
proposition to restore to the white
taxpayers of the Slate the right o
which they had been deprived sim
ply to perpetuate Radical
rule in Tennessee as long as
| possible. The intelligence thai
Stokes had taken. this pc,
| sition came upon the editor Of the
Republican like an avalanche, and
he has summoned up courage
enough to go back on his record
only after seeing and talking with
Stokes at Cleveland. In its issue
of the 18th inst. the Republican
says:
The newspapers have it that thu
Republican has declared for universe
suffrage. We don't understand it in tina
light, and take this occasion to iasser
that we have made no suoh declaration
We held that the true mission of the
franchise law is to establish the princi'
pies Of republicanism, and that with The
full recognition Of these principles the
protection everywhere, and the reeogni'
ton of human rights-not of any elias:
are among these principles We arc
for enfraDchising all who recognize
these rights, aud grant peace and protec.
l ton to their neighbOIs who differ from
them politically, by deprecating the VIC.
| lence which but recently extended
| throughout Middle and West Tennessee
We think the great bulk of the disfran.
| chised in Tennessee are now complying
I with this demand; and we think it an acI
| Of Justice, no less to our own party thar
| to this class, to discriminate between hen
and any Of these WIetehes who may still be
engaged in deiying the laws. Indications
now are, that by the time legal action
can possibly be had upon the franchise
law, peace will have been so completely
restored as 20 justify universal enfran.
chisement at once. We shall be GLAD
| six or twelve months hence, 10 see sueh
state of peace, and ~ lend our assist.
ance in bringing about the change il
our laws which it will Justify and de.
mand. Certain we are, that sooner OF
later we must make a finally of the
suffrage question by declaring it univer'
sal, and we feel that such time is nov
near at hand I'D.
Even in this demurrer the Re
| publican has to confess that the
time is now near at hand" when
suffrage will have to be declared
universal. II has to admit that thu
DISTINGUISHED are conducting them
selves in a remarkably peaceablC
and orderly manner, and that "tht
great bulk" of them deserve The
ballot returned to them. 1t j,
evidently hard for the Republican
to take a position manifestly
sgainst its convictions. Better
have stuck to its first position, that
the franchise law had fulfilled it,
mission and should be repealed
That is the position that is going
to win in this canvass, and we
labored with Mr.. Stokes faithfully