Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1869-06-17

OENfLEMEN Ill reply 10 your
call on me to become a candidate to
represent this county in the low
er house of the next General
Assembly of the State, permit me
to return you my sincere thanks
for the complimentary manner in
which you have been pleased to
make the call. Fully appreciat-
ing the difficulties under which
the people are now laboring, it, /
trust, will not be out of place to
refer briefly to my own difficulties
in announcing myself as a candi-
date for the position. Though
first let me assure you and all
others, that | have no ambition to
crafty, that is personal to myself,
in becoming a candidate. If my
election was certain, pecuniarily
it would be to my disadvantage
Having served nearly two years
in the Legislature since the close
of the war, ! think am not only
acquainted with the inception and
history of the obnoxious and OPP
pressive laws that a reckless and
fanatical Legislature have rivited
upon our people, but am also &C.
quainted with the hardships and
onerous duties incident to the po-
sition,i if those duties are discharged
with becoming promptness and
unimpeachable fidelity.
And now under the late fran
chise law it may be a question as
to whether l am q proper person to
run for the Legislature. / cannot
and will not take the oath pre-
scribed for candidates in the fran
chise act OF 1867; but under the
decision OF the Supreme Court at
Brownsville, Tenn, lately made,
it is clear to my mind that, where
an individual held an Office or
when his right to hold an Office
existed by virtue of the passage of
the first franchise law of 1866, and
that right became vested under that
act, that in the language of the
Supreme Court at Brownsville,
no Governor or Legislature has
the right or the power to take
that right away from him. Having
been once elected under that act
of 1865, and having served as a
of the General Assembly
under it, take it for granted that
there can be no doubt as to my
and qualification to hold
the Office even as the law now is.
Permit me to say further that
as regards this abominable test
oath prescribed In the franchise
act of 1867, it is a partisan, vim
dictive, vicious and unjust speci-
men of the kind and character of
that has cursed our
State for the last four years.
The convention which assembled
in Nashville on the 9th of Janua-
ry, 1865, and framed a schedule
Of amendments to the constitution
Of the State neUer pretended to dele
gate any poacer to the Legislature to
prescribe the qualifications of Of
ice-holders or OF candidates for
offce, and never pretended to delegate
ing poorer to the Legislature to
change the constitution OF the
State adopted in 1885 in regard to
his matter, and all the legislation
concerning ofice-holders and can
lidates for Office was unwarranted |
BY the schedule of amendments,
'r anything else. Itstands out to-
lay before our people, and espe-
tally our courts, as most reck-
ess act of legislation, probably the
'oldest assumption of power ever
attempted in our State.
The qualifications of represen-
are defined by the Con-
titution of the State in the 9th
section of its End Article, and al
o the ineligiblities to Office in the
9th Section of the same Article,
which are today unrepealed, eth
r directly, or by implication and
4 full force and effect and are
he only law, in fact on this ques- {
on. The 18th Section Of the
nd Article of the Constitution de- +
ares each House of the General /"
ssembly shall be the judges of I.
lie election and qualifications of
g members, and with a conserva- t!
We majority in the House. no :