Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-25

nourish them with the hope that they cal
some day make a second effort at disso
luton of the Union successful, and fully
revenge themselves on those who defeated
their first.
propose now, Mr.. Chairman, to cal
attention to the situation in Tennessee.
and to the course of events in that State
since the collapse of the rebellion. Just
before the termination of the war, while
Andrew johnson was military Governor
of Tennessee, committees of Union mer
for each grand division of the State issued
a call for a convention of Unionists to
meet in Nashville to reorganize a civil
State government, loyal to the Govern
ment of the United States. l had the
honor of being one of the committee fol
the middle division of the State that
| issued that call.
1t was first intended to hold this Con-
vention on the 10Th of December, 1864
but Gen. Hood, of the Confederate States,
| invaded the State, in the fall of that year,
and the Convention was prevented from
assembling at that time, and the commit
tee of Middle Tennessee appointed the 8th
Of January following for the meeting of
the Convention. At the time appointed
more Than five hundred Union men from
all parts of the State assembled in Nash
vile, and proposed, among other things,
an amendment to the State Constitution
abolishing slavery, and that ''the qualifi-
cation of voters and the limitations of the
elective franchise may be determined by
the General Assembly which shall first as
semble under the amended Constitution. y
The amended Constitution and schedule
were submitted TO those entitled to vote
under the old Constitution, for ratification
or rejection, on the 22d of February fol-
lowing. The vote cast was twenty-Odd
thousand, and nearly all in favor of ''rati
fication."
ALegislature and Governor were elected
on the 4th of March following by about
the same vote. On the first Monday in
April following the Legislature met IN
Nashville for the transaction of public
business. Now, notwithstanding the
Convention in preamble asserted it had
met under the Declaration of Rights" in
the old Constitution, ''tO alter, reform, or
abolish the government in such manner as
they may think proper" it is patent to all
we met by permission of the Federal Gov
eminent to try and effect the establish
ment of loyal State government, and the
Bill of Rights we assumed to act under
was merely ornamental on that occasion,
and as thought then, and still think, was
appropriately used But very few of
us at that date had gotten out of the fog
of estate sovereignty" The first law re-
lating to suffrage passed by the Legisla-
ture first assembling under the amended
Constitution, and to which was committed
the right to fix ''the qualifications of
voters and the limitation of the elective
franchise" was passed the 9TH of June,
1865.
refer to this law and other laws passed
afterward by this same first Legislature,
not so much to notice the provisions of
each as to call attention to the result or
vote under each at general elections held
under the same. One provision, however,
of this law was that the county court
clerks should keep a registry of voters and
issue certificates to those entitled under
the provisions of the law to vote.
The first and only general election held
under this law was for members of the
Thirty-Ninth Congress, in August, 1865.
At this election there were siXty-twO
thousand votes polleG in the State, show
ing an increase of about forty thousand
from the February and March elections
before, and proving liberal extension of
the benefits of the law to the people of
the State. The Legislature, in the pas
sage of the law referred to, expressly re-
served the right ''to alter, amend, or
change its provisions, and on the 81 of
May, 1866, the Legislature altered or
amended the law, making it the duty of
the Governor to appoint a commissioner
of registration for each county, and re-
qUiring a new registration, with more
safeguards, as was supposed, against
abuse. And again, the same or first Leg
islature under the new Constitution, on
the 25th of February, 1867, extended the
right of suffrage to COlOred men on the
same conditions as to white men, and
made it the duty of the commissioners of
registration to appoint the judges and
clerks of elections. Under the law as
thus amended an election was held in
August, 1867, for a Governor, members
to the Legislature, and members to the
FOrtieth Congress. At this election ninety
odd thousand votes were polled, showing
an increase over the vote of 1865 of about
thirty thousand, which increase was most
probably about the vote of the cOlOred
men at that election.
On the Goth of February, 1865, the
Legislature passed an act giving and max
ing it the duty of the commissioners of
registration to hold all elections, and re-
quired them, their judges, clerks, and
deputies to take certain oath Gas an Off
cial oath,n thus completing an entire
change Of the law in regard to those who
were to hold elections from what it was
under the Code of Tennessee, and before
the war.
The next general election in the State
was the election for President and Vice
President and members of the Forty First
Congress, on the Sd of November, 1868.
At this election there were only eighty
odd thousand votes polled, when there
should have been over one hundred thou
sand Gen Grants vote was nearly
twenty thousand less than Gov. Brown
lows more than year before. The rea-
son of the great falling off of the Re
publican vote of November, 1868, is
attributable TO the operations Of the Ku-
KluX.
The next and last general election was
held in August, 1869, and about one hun
bred and eighty thousand votes were
polled, the Republican vote being about
the same as at the November election, in
1868, while the Democratic vote was in
creased nearly one hundred thousand from
November, 1868, to August, 1869, pc
Rod of only nine months, and in the alb
sence of any change of the law on the
right to vote.
The mere statement of these facts is
proof without argument that the last
| election in Tennessee was a lawless and
| totally illegal affair. Yet two political
| bodies, a Legislature and Convention,
having their origin in this election, have
been in session at the capital of the State,
the one repeating all laws passed by Re
publican Legislatures in the interest of
freedom and loyalty, the other molding q
| Constitution to divest all Union men in
the State of office and confer it upon the
party that has so illegally seized the
power of the State.
Now, Congress permitted the loyal peo-
pie of the State of Tennessee TO organize
a State Government in the manner and
with the provisions and restrictions upon
suffrage l have alluded to, and by which
was secured up to the last August cleo
ton State Government in harmony with
the Federal Government, and under which