Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-12-02

cilmen. setting up the claim tnat these ia1ec
were still the legal Mayor and City Council o
Nashville. An Injunction was prayed for Z
restrain the said Alden and his assoclat'
usurpers from proceeding further 20 eAerels'
the functions OF Mayor, Aldermen ana Jouh
cilmen The Chancellor refused tne iDyuhe
tim and ii became apparent that 1t was IT
vain for the corporatOrs turtneI to pIess ehsli
resistance for the time being. Eut the opin
ion of the Chancellor, ana as com ms ~
member the bill were published, thereby CIV
ing notice to the public that the cofporators
ana their former Boards and Mayor still e.
0arded and sought TO treat Alden and his as
sGciates as usurpers, and regarded heir Offices
as vacant.
Your orators would further charge in thi,
connection, that at snd before the passage BY
the General Assembly, Of the $50 called) fran.
chlse laws subsequent to the first of these
laws as herein before recited, each branch OF
the said General Assembly had been reduced
below a quorum by the resignation of portion
of the members, who resigned in order to pre-
vent the passage of said laws before the pee.
pie could be consulted; that the members who
thus resigned we're duly and cOnstitutionally
reelected and offered to qualify and TAKE
their seats, but were Illegally and uDconsti.
tutionally excluded by the majority; and that
BY reason of this action. in tho opinion OF
many, and Of at least one Judge who was
called upon TO decide the point juaicially, they
ceased TO be a constitutional General Assembly.
They had. also. previous 20 the election OF
September, 1867, impeached, tried and con-
demned, ia violation of the plainest principles
of law and Justice, one of the Judges of the
Courts of Davidson county, because. in the
discharge of his duties as Judge he had con
scien tiOusly and honestly made a decision
which interfered with their wishes. The OBJ
iect OF this proceeding was to intmidate the
Judges, and make them. if possible, supple
tools 70 carry out the will of the Executive
and the legislative majority. The then Gov
ernor Of the State had been active in bring z
about this judicial impeachment, and had
Ehr a
and conduct already referred to, but by his
every act and declaration, that the execution
of the laws as he understood and construed
them, should not be interiered with by the
courts; and to this end he had failed to order
elections for Judges in case Of vacancies, and
had made and continued 10 make appoint
ments, dependent upon his Will and upon
whom he thought he could rely. The State
government was in a woru, no longer coRsti
tutionsl and republ can, but a despotism, con :
tr0iled in all political matters by force and
not by law.
Your orators insist that their rights Of property
in the corporation of Nashville, which had been
guaranteed TO the original purchasers of tow lots
and the rights of property, both public and pri-
vate, acquiaed by the corporation and by the cor
poratOrs as individuals, cannot be maintained
without maintaining the franchises of their cor
pOratiOn, at least to the extent of holding 90 be
void against the corporation the con-
tracts of mere usurpers, coming in
without TTiRd rqeie color of election, and by I'M
lawful armed force, and holding in the same I'M
lawful manner. And that all persons dealing with
such pretended officers, seeing the corporators
were making every effort in their power to Gust
the usurpers, were bound 10 take notice of their
want of authority. The charter of complainants'
not only provides that person shall
be eligible to the office of Mayor unless he shall
have been bona ide resident of the city for two
years next preeedisg his election and freebooter
in the city to at least the amount of five hundred
dollars; but, also, that if he shall at any time re-
a Ia he nch III
she shall thereby vacate his said Office And by
this provision It is intended absolutely TO make
the Office vacant in such event, let the consequent
ces be what they may. And that, however this
may be, in case Of undispUted possession Of the
official position there can be doubt OF the effect
of this provision of the charter in case where the
public opposition to the pretensions Of the usurpers
is open and notorious, notwithstanding it NAV
for the time be unsuccessful.
But cOmplainants would now further show that
the Legislature which next assembled after the I'M
lawful aud pretended election above spoken Of on
the 10th Of March, 1868 passed ian act to amend
the charter Of the city of Nashville and for other
purposes, by the saith section of which IT is pro
vided that the judges and clerks of election held
under the charter Of said city shall be appointed
by the Commissioner Of Registration for Davidson
county, who is authorized to install in office all
persons elected, in case the municipal authorities
fal or refuse to do 50" And under this provision
another election was held ON the last Saturday in
1868, for Mayor, Aldermen and COun-
cilmen, which resulted in the election of the same
A. E. Alden TO be Mayor; and W. C. Kinney, John
McGavOck, p. T. COyle, II. D. Grant, H. G. Smith A.
D. Ottarsol, Sllas f. Allen and three other persons
were elected Aldermen, and W. c. Murphy VIM
Wright, Il. G. Thayer, r. +. Gaines, J. H. Sumner
Henry Jolly, Wiley Duke, W. B. Kirby VIM Bas-
SOW, Squire Fain, Vim. Long, VIM. Gray Randall
Brown, J. w. johnson and six others were elected
Councilman. Complainants mean that such was
declared to be the result of the election: but in
fact there was lawful election. The whole thing
WIS a iraud No citizen, though in every respect
qualified as voter under the charter or the fran
chlse law was allowed to vote, unless he had been
registered and received certificate under the
third registration as above spoken of. All the
thousands of the residents and property holders in
Nashville who had been registered and received
certificates under the first two registrations were
denied the right to vote, and these would, almost
to man, have voted against the said Alden and
against all the Aldermen and COuncilmen elected,
except three or four. And then as it was in other
respects, the election was conducted under circam-
stances Of the grossest fraud. One EnOs Hopkins,
who was acting as Commissioner of Registration,
resOrted to all possible tricks and fraudulent expe-
dents to secure the election of the candidates Of
the party or faction Of which Alden was the formal
head. He refused continually to issue certificates
Of registration and TO register persons clearly en-.
titled to the elective franchise under the law and
that in great numbers. He put of many Of them
from time to time, under pretense Of eNaminin
their cases, until after the election WHILE az the
same time, he was granting certificates night and
day TO large numbers Of negroes, not entitled tc
within the county and city the lawful time, and &c
negroes under twenty-one years of age. On the
day Of election, it was observed that many persons
near the various voting precincts, carried con,
cealed about their persons numbers of certificates
filed up IN blank, to fictitious names: and these
were furnished to such persons as would vote ful
Alden and for the candidates running with him OIL
his ticket. And there were other fraudulent expe
dients resorted TO for the purpose Of electing tn
candidates Of the Alden party. And so il was tina
by these fraudulent means, and by the exclusion
from the exercise Of the elective franchise Of tn
great mass Of qualified voters, whose right TO vet
had been ascertainCd and fully adJudicated and de
termined under the first two registrations, thi
man, Alden, and the candidates on the ticket witt
him, in the variOus wards, all elected, eNceu
three or four. The Alderman, and one of tn
COuncilmen in the Fifth Ward, opposed to the Al
den faction were elected, Notwithstanding all thes
frauds,
It is further here alleged, and expressly charge
that the said Alden was at this time still neEgibl
TO the Office of Mayor, not having been bona id
resident Of the corporation for two years next pre-
ceding the election and not still being freeholde
in the city to the amount of $500. And it is her
further alleged and expressly charged, that tn
following persons, who claimed to be elected Alder
men and Councilmen at said election, were inelig
bic, by reason of their not being the owners of
estate in their respective wards, tOwit four OF tn
Aldermen namely: w. c. Kinney, John McGavocl
z. T. C0yle and II. D. Grant, had no real estate
and II. c. Smith and A. D. OttarsOn we're only DIT,
tending to be the Of slip OF land, conveye
to them on the day Of the election in evasion Of tn
law. Compliments charge that their ownership
said land was a mere COLOR and not in good faith
and that they were not freehOlders within the tr1
| intent of the law. And Of the Councilmen so pr,
tending TO be elected, the following had no real e.
| tate in their wards, namely: w. J. Murphy, Wn
/ Wright, w. q. Thayer, r F. Gaines, J. Il. sun
| neT, Henry Jolly, Wiley Duke, w. b. Kirby, Wn
Bassow, Squire Fain VIM. Long, VIM Gray, Raj
dall Brown and J. W. Johnson The said Aldel
as before stated, had pretended, and perhaps sti
HaI 10. 1r Of he aE1
/ fore spoken of; but cOnplainants charge that h
| ownership thereof was only colOrable but if 1t VI
/ bona fde, the property in question, if unincun
bered wa not at any time worth $500. Said re
estate was levied on and returned TO court for col
| domination soon after, and condemned and sold
| May last And he has at no time been possessed
| the requisite qualification.
Aud on the ed day of October, 1868, within le
than one month after said pretended or fraudule
| election, Bill was filed in the Chancery Court
| Davidson county, In the name Of the State of TIE
| nessee, on the relation Of II. II. Th0rnberg ct q
against the said A. f. Alden, II. II. Hammer, u.
smith, W. c. Kinney, John McGayOck, A. d. OFT,
son, Silas L. Allen p. T. Coylc, II. ID. Grant, L.
Goodwin, W. J. Murphy, J. X. Jenkins, vi
Wright, II. q. Thayer, L. I. Gains, Michael Tia
| ley, }. II. sumner, A. D. Shankland, Henry Jol
| Wiley Duke, b. W. Kirby, J. II. Bruce, SOU
| FaIn, Wm. Long, J. W. Johnson, Wm. Gray. Ia
dali Brown, Enos Hopkins and VIM. Bowen. 5,
| bill set out ami alleged substantially the same fa
stated above about the fraudulent character of {
| pretended election; and expressly alleged a
| charged as above, that the said A. 7. Alden was
| eligible for the want of the property lualihcati
required by law and insisted that for this reas
the Office of Mayor vacant, or at least that
] said Alden was not the Mayor Of Nashville 81
bin also expressly alleged and charged that the S
| pretended Aldermen named above (siN in numb
, which is q majority of said Boardl were ineligi
| for want of the requisite property qualification
required by law; and that the fourteen COuncilu
, | above named (bcinE majority Of the VII
| Board were in like manner ineligible for the sa
| reason; and that all their said offices were yaca
t, | said bill also sets forth, and the same is now
| legged and charged by these complanants,
! "the parties named defendants IN SAID |
''wcre sworn in on Thursday, after notice t
their places would be contested, and time aske,
bring the prOOf-they utterly disregardins
, | notice" And that ''the application was not I
: scented to the Chancellor before that for want
I, | time; and because the Chancellor who preside
= Nashville was absent And said bil further tt
: says-and which is repeated, that ''to try
u | questions before either house Of the Conn
L. | (City) Council would be mOCkery; because ev
: | member OF both Houses, except ID. h. Carter,
4 | l. WeaEley, and Judge John Hugh Smith, is
= ! phcated in the fraud.
- The said bill Of complaint concludes as follow
= the allegations in which are here repeated as I
: of this bill: "1he said Alden, who claims to
Il Mayor, is wholly insnlvent, has many unsatis