Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-08-22
THE CONVENTION QUESTION.

THE CONVENTION QUESTION.
rhe Necessity for a Conventi0n-Th'
s People Demand IL. ~ e4rys,
PROM the HsrtsvilIe Vidette. Aug. 81. Il
1t is to be regretted that some of on
contemporaries are hesitating as to tn,
| propriety Of calling a State convention
and correspondent in one Of the lead
ing journals of the State has quite re-
Gently asked the question: "Shall W.
have State cenYention?p 9Ea9l.' sf5
'If the voice Of the people could b.
heard In answer to this correspondent
the reply would come in tones Of thun,
der that would be heard from the mouns
tains of East Tennessee to the extreme
Western borders of the State, aud that
answer would be: YES Ives LET US
HAVE STATE CONVENTION.
But what is the cause Of this hesits-
ton? We know Of no valid reason why
the people of Tennessee shall not meet
in convention and change, modify or
| amend the constitution according to their
sovereign will. They have the right, and
they will exercise it. The Interests at
stake are of too much importance to be
trifed with. The people can now give
expression to their will through the
peaceful medium of the ballot box, and
they don't propose to make two bites of
a cherry" in settling political matters
here at home.
Representatives in the Legislature
may as well understand this matter at
once, and if any of Gen. Grants yelpers
in the shape of Creswell, Boutwell, cor
Butler, have any objections, they can
now speak and forever hereafter hold
their peace. The people propose no rash
measures, but they propose a thorough,
honest settlement OF their own affairs in
their own way.
1t would be equally as reasonable to
ask the opinion ofGeneral Grant in re-
gard to our local legislation, and it is,
to use the mildest possible term, q spes
cies of moral delinquency and political
abasement for a public journal or a
public speaker to propose that the
sovereign people of Tennessee shall halt
ard pause in their free course to weigh
the paltry opinions of General Grant
and his cabinet, whose political exis>
tence depends alone for its existence
upon the coercion of the States.
The outspoken voice of freemen is
dangerous only to tyrants and towards.
Honest men have no fears Of their neigh
bers' freedom. The entire system of
American government is based upon
"the consent Of the governed" and all
its vitality is inherent in the people.
They in their high capacity as the foun-
tain and source of authority demand
State Convention for the adjustment Of
the laws under which we are all to live,
and the Vidette proclaims from the
mountain top: Let their will be done J!
From the Memphis Sun. Aug. 20.
The Nashville Banner, in order to give
a pretext for its opposition 70 State con-
vention, represents those who favor it as
having "no other use for State convens
ton except for the purpose of overthrow
ing the newly chosen State administra-
ton, executive, Judiciary and all. :" And
after this wholesale Misrepresentation, it
adds these claims for the late Radical
State government:
"They are seemingly obliviou5 to the
fact that it was a Republican Judiciary
at Brownsville, which, by its own des
cision, removed the disabilities of thou
sands, and Republican executive to
whom they are indebted for the certif,,
Gates in their pockets, and the supposed
power to wipe out of existence friend or
foe, who will not them rule or ruin"
Now the Banner is mistaken. tits not
"impracticables" or "malcontents" that
demanded a State convention. 1t is the
people, who voted for Senter, because he
said he mediterranean the calling OF
such a convention in his first message,
that now insist upon it And fearing
lest the Legislature might not be willing
to carry out Senter's plan, these same
people elected an overwhelming ma
iority Of the Legislature pledged to call
a convention and put Senters suffrage
plan through. And now, when the peo-
pie have done all they could to make
Senter plan successful, the Banner, pre-
tending to fear lest constitutional
convention might 60 too far, object to a
convention at all, and would have the
Legislature, which has no right to do so,
repeal the franchise act This pre-,
tense that a constitutional convention
would make revolution" instead Of q
reform, is all fallacious. Such body
would be composed of the best men in
the State. 1t is safe to say that a large
proportion of the members would possess
as sound Judgment as the editors of the
Banner, and if they should be disposed
to 90 too far or too fast, their work would
have to be submitted to the people for
ratification or rejection, and thus there
would be abundant opportunity to CHECK
up all needless or unwise action on theil
part. Tennessee is henceforth to b
| free, and sooner or later, the people will
indig nantly frown upon all who may op'
pose their efforts to regenerate and reju
venate this prescribed and tax-riddel
| commonwealth