Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1869-12-02

Press and Herald
NASHVILLE, Nov. Is, 1869.-The
Legislature is unlocked and the
convention bill has become law
Under the construction OF both
Houses he Conference Committee,
this morning, agreed upon aud re-
ported back the bill virtually as it
originally went from the House, the
only material alteration being the
substitution of seventy-five for one
hundred members. These are to be
chosen upon the basis Of the House
Of Representatives, and according
10 the apportioument Of 1852; that
is to say, there will be delegate for
each Representative and Floater,
leaving out Of the count, Of course,
tbe"supernumerary nine" The cleo
ton will take place on the Sd Satur-
day in December, and the Conven.
ton will sit on the I'd Monday Ia
January. The law,as passed, is the
result of a compromise, though it is
real triumph Of the friends Of pop
ular representation.
1t is, no doubt, a matter of as
tonishment to the people that a
matter of so trifling Importance as
the difference between seventv-6ve
and one hundred delegates should
have for so long a time engaged the
time of that body and impeded the
work of general legislation, for |
can hardly doubt that more money
has been unnecessarily spent in
wraDgling over this matter than
would have been sufficient to pay
the expenses of the extra twenty
five, had the bill Immediately be-
come law as it went from the
House. But there are wheels within
wheels, and if we are to believe what
Everybody says" about Nashville,
there are iutrigues within intrigues.
In endeavOring, fo- moment or
two, to trace the philosophy of the
convention imbroglio, | shall do 80
rather according TO what "tbey say,
than by giving my own personal i'm
I
impressions; for while individual OBJ
seIvaticns generally command but
little consideration, we all listen read
lily to the outgivings of the many
tongued multitude. I cannot Tor
bear remarkiug just here, however,
that the House was right 10 insist
ing upon a free and full represen-
tation Of theconvention. ii was not
willing to assume the attitude of die
tatiDg terms TO the people of the
State or Of restricting them to such
limits b. the Senate, for a time,
seemed DISPOSED to prescribe for
them. The pl'n of the House was
liberal and republican; that of the
Senate vas contracted ant exclu-
sivP. According to the one plan the
representation must necessarily have
been partial; according to the
other, full and satisfactory. So
much for this.
One cannot, even now that the
struggle is over, saunter shout the
balls of cur hotels, without learning
much from the gOssipping crowds
that throng them, Here be will
learn, to bis smaztment, if be be
fresh from the country that Senator
Cooper (the United States Senator
elect Was the prime cause of the
difficulty. He will learn further 10
explanation that he (Mr. Cooper
does not yet rest easily under his
nevly.imposed bonOrs-tbal he yet
sees many difficulties between the
Senate chamber of Nashville and
that at Washington, and that be
sees 10 the convention to assemble,
the chief danger to bis senatorial Sc
curity. Precisely in what respect
that convention is to become danger
Gus, does Lot yet quite clearly ap-
pear to him, but at any rate,it will be
learned that SIR. Cooper would much
prefer that the Convention should
not assemble at all, and hence it is
charged that be was really opposed
to tie bill altoge;her,no matter what
the people demanded. 0O the other
side Of the hall newly arrived East
Tennesseean could learn With"honest
indignatiOn" that Emerson Elheridge
bad taken it into his head that An
drew johnson desired to be men,
Der Of the Convention, and that to
thwart his "unboly ambition" had
concocted the scheme of choosing
all the delegates by senatorial dis
tricts, throwing Andy upon the
tender mercies of Blount, Sewer,
Cooke aud Greene, and securing his
certain defeat. Again, 1t another
hotel, the ardent West Tennesseean
would be regaIed with a glowing
account Of Andrew JobnsoD's new
plot, surprising all others 10 atrocity.
He would be told that Andy con-
templates Goisting himself from
Greene county into the convention