Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-05
The Wall of the Defeated.
A Review Of the Contest by the
Chairman OF the Stokes
Central Committee.
Protest against the Legality and
Validity OF the Election by
Stokes Henchmen.
From the New York Tribune. Aug. q.

| wishes Of the whole Democratic and a large por
ton Of the Republican press of the Northern
States. and as this contest seems to be in 4
great measure misunderstood by the press. il
might not be amiss for one who bore the burden
and heat Of the day to give his version of the
affair, and for that purpose l respectfully re-
nication.
We began to be actively interested about who
should be our (RepublicaE) candidate for Gov
ernor about the first of April last. for although
of large majority of the Republican party,
still the Railroad Ring. and every other politi-
cal ring in the State, was working actively to SO
cure the appointment By county conventions OF
delegates who would support Gov. Senter for
the nomi alton, and holding new conventions
10 counties that had already appointed Stokes
delegates. To account for this it is only neces-
sary to know that Gov. Senter was President of
q railroad, and had almost uniformly voted for
railroad appropriations, whenever since the
war any have been asked for by the Legislature.
The school fund ling also rallied to the sup
port of Gov: Senter. for reasons that they can
themselves best explain. The supporters of
Gen: Stokes were led by the very men who, in
the Legislature, had been most active in their
opposition to the encroachments of our railroad
system upon the Treasury, and in so modifying
the school law as to break the school fund ring,
as well as the majority of those members of the
Legislature who, during the last two years, had
most actively opposed Brownlow's militia bills
and called loudly for universal suffrage.
The State convention assembled on the 10Th
OF May l3St Out conducted itself so dlSgracetutly
that have not the heart to speak of it further,
except to say that the whole trouble was caused
BY a few young bloOds whom Stokes refused to
lndOrse to the new administration as worthy of
appointment to important positions, and 9TH
ers who had procured appointments against
Stokes wishes, but without his active OppOsi-
ton. l presume that there was not an honest
man at the convention who will deny that
stokes friends (delegates) were largely in the
majority. On the morning of May q, a com
mlttee OF Stokes friends waited upon Gov. SEN
ter, and proposed terms of compromise, request
ing him to do the sams. but he refused to enter
tain any proposition of that or a kindred
nature. Both gentlemen, Stokes and Senier,
announced themselves as candidates, Stokes
claiming TO be the nominee. and Senter claim
ing that no nomination had been made.
Stokes had for the last two years evidently
been leaning toward more liberal policy than
that hitherto pursued by the Republicans of
this State, and this had caused many of the
Simon Pure" to rally to the support of SEN
ter as the especial friend of Acknowledgement.
On the night of the 2lst of May Gov. Sentcr, 10
announcing himself as a candidate. declared
that to repeal the franchise law was observing
principle forgetting God. and going &c perdi-
ton" By the 5th of June following, however,
he (Senter) bad entirely changed his opinion,
and declared himself IN favor of an entire re
mOval of all political disabilities enforced or
account of participation in the late rebellion,
and his conversion was Immediately followed
by that OF those extreme Radicals who had just
deserted Stokes on account of his leaning in the
same direction. The column was also sHelled
by the accession Of the various rings which are
always composed of extreme men, who care
nothing for principle. but are always making
the most noise IN order to keep themselves
prominently situated. Every element in the
State which opposed the election OF Grant,
making conglomerate mass which l shall call
the Democracy. Immediately shouted for Senter,
and they were SO numerous that the small
moiety of Republicans who supported Senter
were not heard Of again during the canvass.
By the provisions of the franchise law, the
Governor had absolute power to appoint or re-
move commissioners OF registration. These reg
listers were required by the law to make oath
that they would faithfully carry out the pro-
visions of the franchise Law. This would have
left at least O0 adult males in this State with
out ysting certificates. But as these Registers
made IL point to disregard the Law, the day of
election found every man in the State of legal
age who had asked II, and hundreds who were
under age, armed with voting certificate. We
except those Stokes men who had failed to pro-
cure certificates before Senter's newly appointed
Registers went into ofice. With very few ex-
cepuOns new Register OF voters was ap pointed
in every county in the State after the 5th of
June, the former appoIntees OF Gov. BrownloW
having been removed. The wholesale disre-
gard and violation Of a law that had been held
by our Supreme Court to be constitutional.
SO astoniShed and demoTaliZed the Republican
party that they never recovered from its effects
during the canvass. One gentleman writes me
from Carroll county that he thinks that as ] 90
Republicans of that county failed to attend the
election because they believed the whole pro-
ceeding illegal, and thought that Senter would
be de Jared elected whether he received a ma
from many other counties. In this county the
Ku- klux were brought into action. and on the
two nights preceding the election visited a
large number of the colored voters, threaten
ing them with violence in case they should vote
for Stokes. 1 have never been ranked among
those who were continually bowling about Ku-
kluX and guerrlllaS. etc., in order to effect
turn in the public sentiment but now when
it can have no material effect, / do assert that
in our recent election fraud and corruption ev-
eryEhere, and threats of violence in many
places, reigned supreme.
The recent decision of the Supreme Court
that the Governor had 10 power to set aside
the registration of a county, admitted a suffi-
cient number Of votes to the ballot-box to have
insured the election Of a Legislature that would
have taken the quickest legal steps to remove
all political disabilities and at the same time
would have elected Republican United States
Senator. In fact the minds of q large proper
ton of the Republicans were rapidly drifting
TO the repeal of the franchise law, and we
united on Stokes against Senter, not as opposed
to universal suffrage, but as opposed to the
fraud aud corruption that seemed to reign
among Seniors followers. and hundred fold
| more than regret our defeat do regret the
great disrespect for the ballot.box that such IN
blushing corruption among high officials is
hope the new Legislature will take the most
expeditions means consistent with public safety
| (fOr legal forms are no longer expected. for
/
| vote. Every one whom can find hold voting
| certificates now. except few persons in each
county who preferred TO do without certificates
rather than have the register commit perjury
| en- their account, The whole press North and
| South. Republican and Democratic with few
| exceptions among the latter refuse to acknOwl-
edge the result of our recent election as a Dem
| ocratic victory. The Republican refuse because
| they don't like to give it up So" and the
Democrats don't claim it as a victory because
of an instructive feeling that it is best to MOI
i boiler until they get out of the woods" But
4 when the returns are all in and the table shows
i that two-thirds of the new members of the
| new Legislature are men who opposed the cleo
/ ton of Grant, and who will vote against the
| ratification Of the hfteenth amendment. sup
pose there will be no doubts in the minds OF
4 Republicans anywhere that it was Democratic
4 victory. The returns are not All in yet, but SO
far as heard from we have for the Senate-"Suf
1 frape" Republicans (Senter), 4; Conservatives
| ~ Democrates). Is; fulliSenate, Is. House o.
4 Representatiues- Suffrage" Republicans (Sen-
| teri 9: Republicans (StOkes). 5; Conservatives
| % DemocIatsD Ca not heard nom, 3; tful
| House, 81. l suppose there was note in every
| Is Republicans of this State who voted for Sen
| ter where there was no coercion practiced.
| | don't know what is to be the result of all
| this so far as our personal safety Is concerned
hut am inclined to hope and believe that oul
| condition will be no worse than it is at present
| The following slip cut from The -HGshUiHe lie
| DuJIicdR Banner of Aug. II, explains itself
The work of disintegratiOn is rapidly gOinl
on among the old politicians. The issues tina
Sivided the country in the presidential election
| last year are practically settled. Negro suffrag
Il ia a liked, inevitable fact. Reconstruction &c
cording to the congress iOnal demands. is una
| voidable. The SOuthern people have accepted
| the situation. Virginia first ignored old part
| issues and nomenclatures tennessee foHowed
| and it will be seen that Mississ ppi, our siste
| State. has adopted the same wise policy. Bu
| Oh says some old party hack. are you goln
| to sink the hallowed name of Democracy, an
| abandon party that has stood by the cCnstltu
| tion so longP We say. Yes, n the public goo
| requires a.. SINK the name Of the party 60 dee
| that the hand Of the resurrection Will neve
| roach IL, We know that Democrats ardentl
desire to preserve the constitution and our in
| stitutions rs they received them from thei
fathers But they are Powerfess for good. IN
policy key hdOe opposed nae trIgnphed, and Il
I. us meet the new living vital ISSUES that cor
4 Germ the South, not as partisans, but as patfl
OTIS anxious to strike hands with any body thl
can do the greatest good to people who are s
: muchiin need of good deeds. When a part
| ronfessedly becomes a failure, Sc far as the &C
| complishment of results, then its orgenlZatlo
] il a cheat and q delusiOn; and, pr0hting by u
, lessons which history teaches, we should a9a'
| don it. The Democratic party IS Ro,O nothiT
blt the shell from i0hich the oyster tDds tGken.
/ earnestly hope that the earnest prOtestatloI
Of that veteran journal and bus fellow worke
. | NAV Irroye more successful than they did la
| wear in opposing the ku-K lux. No safe est
). mate can yet be made OF Senter's majority.
see in the Nashville papers that Senters M
: iority in Union county is put down at ,SOO Wnl
2 the report of the County Committee to me
. that there were emily $50 votes polled in 4
county, and of them Stokes received MAORI
3 of ZOO As an individualI shall patiently gu
: NIT to the new dispensation: Let us ha
Deace" .ea-z- L W. NJ. WOoDCocK,
}, Chairman State Rep. tx. Committee
g WAFgRToWN. Tenn, Aug. AZ, 1863.
= From the Chattanooga Republican. Sept. 8
u On the 27th of August there was held in t
. city Of Nashville meeting of Republie'
u from different parts of Tennessee, Hon. 10
t. Trimble presiding; and among other prOce'
ings committee was appointed. consisting
n one from each congressional district to prep
7, for publication protest against the legal
Z and validity of the late election, who repor