Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-12-13

THE people of Tennessee extended
the right Ofsuffrage to their own col
ored citizens. 1t was done of their
own free viii, without being enforced
by any arbitrary act of Congress, OF
unnatural amendment to the cOnstitu'
ton Of the United States. The OBJ
lection to the XVIII amendment is
that it deprives the people of the
States Of the right TO prescribe the
qualifications Of their own voters,
II Indiana sees fit to extend the priv
ileges of suffrage to cOlOred men, our
neighbOrs in Ohio, Illinois and Ken
lucky have no right to object. But
we have a right TO- protest against the
matter being forced upon us by other
States. If our people adopt universal
suffrage of their own free will, 1t Is
their right to do C.
Phe above is from the Evansville
Qndiana) Courier, whose editor writes
with clearness, candor and ability.
Taking the standpoint from which he
reasons, we cannot object to his con-
illusions. We say the same for Ten
nessee that he does for Indiana-"i
our people adopt universal suffrage OF
their own free will, it is their right to
do So" But we call the attention
of the Courier to the fact that
the people of Tennessee have not sex
tended the right of suffrage to their
own cOlOred citizens" That was
done by the action of Radical Legis-
Iature, which was utterly without au-
thOrity. First, a bogus convention
which gave authority to regulate the
suffrage to the Legislature, to be eX-
ercised at its first session after that
convention, was never elected by "the
people" of Tennessee, and did not
represent them. 1t was a convention
gotten up under military supervision,
by a few leaders, in which there was
not even a pretense Of representation
ofhaIf the counties in the State. And
some of the counties which it was pre-
tended to represent were represented
by soldiers who went to Nashville on
Quartermasters' certificates. There
were no primary meetings of the peo-
pie, beyond secret caucuses, and no
delegations went from the people.
Those went up who chose to do so vol
unfairly, and there were but few,
even Of them. It was really a So
called convention which fairly repre-
scented no single county of the State.
And we have the voucher Of N of
its members, that though q body COM
posed of few men Of any particular
mark, the convention itself would
never have authorized negro suffrage,
and did not intend to do so.
Next, even on the suppOsitiOn that
said Convention was not bogus, but,
on the contrary, fairly represented
the people, the power given by it to
the Legislature was exercised, the
franchise regulated, a white mans
government established, and all the
power delegated by the conventional
the Legislature exhausted when the
white mans government was thus
made under its authority. 1t was af-
ter all this that the Radical Legisla-
ture learned the necessity Of negro
government to the Radical party, and
adOpted-it for partisan purposes, with
ont fbp shadow of authority from the
Convention, and against the viii of
the people Of Tennessee. When the
people of Tennessee, "of their own
free WILL" extend the suffrage to the
blacks we shall have no further OppO-
sition to make. But that is precisely
what they have not done. 1t is yet
an open question in Tennessee. And
we call the attention Of the Courier to
the mistake it has made in point of
fact.