Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-04-28

uuSO AOuAChCuOTU HAS lSSueu AL
address "to the citizens of Tennes-
see," in which he declares he will
not abide the decision Of the Radi-
cal convention to which he submit
ted his claims for a nomination.
He appears to have made discoV7
cry in regard to the character of
that convention before he went into
it, which should have forbid his
submitting his claims to such
body. He says: sea bees
Eat the request Of the bar, in the diff.
ferent sections Of the State, I had an
nounced myself as 9 candidate, and /
was much surprised at the call for con-
Vention to select Judicial officers. 1t was
proceeding heretofore unknown to our
history. Men occupying the high posi-
ton which they are called to filled, in
which the rights, liberty and property Of
TIE citizens are involved, should rise
above party, and be untrammeled in their
actionsI But the edict had gone forth
from Washington politicians, for purposes
of their own, directing the Central Conn
mittee to call a Judicial convention"
Here is a distinct avowal that this
convention was called at the in
stance of Washington politicians,
'for purposes Of their own" What
these purposes are the Judge does
not specify, but it requires no
stretch of the imagination to fix
upon this purpose" tits to get
court that viii "fll the bill' as
designated by Gov. Brownlow sew
eral months ago. That was to sus-
tain the State government in what
ever had been done by either the
legislative or executive department.
1t was the purpose of the Washing
ton politicians to get men upon the
supreme bench who would not de-
eide null and void the laws which
have been enacted in derogation of
the constitution and of natural JUS
tice, to give the control of the State
into the hands Of an insignificant
minority of the white voters and
tax payers. 1t is true, Judge
Shackelford had come up TO the re-
quirements of the Brownlow bill
in one instance, but he had since
then, as he confesses in his address
'to the citizens of Tennessee,
given expression to liberal senti-
ments, and this was fatal to bis as
pirations. He cannot shut his eyes
to the fact if he would, that the
party with which he acts is a party
Of illiberal principles. If he had
no other proof of the fact, he has it
in his being set aside by this very
party, after he had served it SO
faithfully as to reverse his own
opinion of the constitutionality of
the franchise law. These facts show
very conclusively the purpose" the
Washington politicians had in view
in having a convention called to
nominate candidates for Supreme
Judges.
Of his stewardship as Judge of
| the Supreme Court, Judge Shackel-
ford gives this account:
MANY and grave questions were be-
fore us, involving the life, liberty, prop
erty and rights of the citizens. Under
the powers delegated by the convention,
was the question Of franchise. This was
brought before the court. As a citizen,
| opposed the passage of the stringent
franchise law. AS Judge, with its
policy had nothing to do. Believing
the people, in their sovereign capacity,
had the right to determine the elective
franchise-I so held. As a citizen, am
now in favor of extending the elective
franchise to all. | SO expressed my
self in the fall Of 1868, before the
Legislature. Believing, as l con-
scientiously do, that that alone can bring
peace to our State, and advance its ma
terial interest. After had made this
solemn and public declaration, Gov.
Il prowpIotr raopno;ptad ma 20 tho y,nO;
ton | now hold, and honestly believe
that ninestenths Of the people are in ia
vor Of equal rights to all but political
intriguers, for their own private ends,
seek to keep the people thus enthralled.
They know full well it is against the car
dinal principles Of the Republican party
-tGTdtiOR and representation go
hand IN hand, and without it no party
can sustain ITSELF"
The Judge is guilty here of a
piece Of special pleading. He was
opposed to the franchise law as a
citizen, but as a Judge, he had to
decide according TO the constitu-
ton Judge Shackelford knows as
we'll as any man in the State that
the convention which delegated to
the Legislature the authority to
determine the qualifications of
voters and the limitation Of the
elective franchise %" usurped the
power it exercised. He knows as
well as any man in Tennessee that
this convention had no authority to
propose amendments to the consti-
tuition, and that it was not called
for that purpose. lie further knows,
for he was 4 part Of that cOnven'
ton, that if it had any legal exist
ence by which it could delegate any
part of its authority to another and
distict body, that it was never con"
templated by the members Of that
convention to authorize The sweep
ing disfranchisement which the
Legislature enacted. He knows
that members of that convention
stood aghast at the extraordinary
power the Legislature exercised
under the limited authority which
thev cOnCarred unoD that bOdu