Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-10-06
A RADICAL CAN-CAN.
The War of the Roses i'm Memphis.
scenes, Incidents and Speeches
Stabbing AffraY ON the Stage.

Scenes, Incidents and Speeches
Stabbing Affray ON the stage.
From the Memphis Appeal. Oct. l.
Over two thousand negro Radicals met
last night at the Greenlaw Opera House,
to hold high carnival and to select repre-.
sentative men. A dozen white men par
ticipated, among whom were Barbour
Lewis, Judge Bigelow, Tom Hamilton,
Gen. Smith, G. Canning Smith, L. B.
Eaton, Gen. Williamson, A. B. Newkirk,
Judge Hudson, r. II. ThOrne, and others
of lesser note. Judge Barbour Lewis
acted as chairman, while L. B. Eaton
participated as Secretary. In the organ
ization of the meeting the utmost confu-
sion prevailed. For over an hour the
yells and shouts of the respective parti
| saI of Num- and Smith were hideous.
resembling scene in pandemonium.
Barbour Lewis, c. Canning Smith, Ed.
Shaw, Giles Smith, and a dozen others
were speaking to the yelling audience at
the same time. Nothing could be heard.
The stage was crowded by negroes. Bar
bOur Lewis and Canning Smith shouted
for Gen. Smith, white Ed. Shaw and
Giles Smith (negro) screamed for Mum.
Barbour Lewis occupied the chair, in
the midst of all this turbulence, his ap-
pearance calm and serene, and manipu-
lated the meeting in the interest of Smith.
In the midst of the fearful noise, dele
gates were selected and resolutions
passed, although nothing could be heard
ten feet from the secretary's desk. Twen-
ty-one Congressional Delegates were Sc
lected and instl ucled to vote for Gen.
Smith. Thomas A Hamilton was recon-
mended for Senator NJ. T. Williamson
and Robert Pointer (ncgr0) were recon-
mended as Representatives.
The resolutions pledged the Radicals of
Memphis to the support of the party; in
dOrsed L. S. Grant; Endorsed Che Nash
vile (RadicaD platform; denounced the
Democratic platform as revolutionary. and
asked the repeal of the free school law as
it at present exists; denounced the De-
mocracy as composed of members of the
Rebel army and the receptacle of all
crime and treason, and charged them with
being opposed to the Fourteenth and Fiji
teenth Amendments; denounced the late
election in Shelby county as fraud.
Brownlow was Endorsed as an honest man
and hoped his life would be spared for
many years. w. J. Smith was declared
the choice of the Radicals of the Eighth
Congressional Dirtrict for Congressman,
and the delegates were instructed 10 vote
for him ia the Convention of the 5th of |
October next. The backsliders of the |
party were fiercely denounced, and were
charged with receiving Democratic money
as price of their treason.
INCIDENTS, ETC.
Twenty white and black orators were |
the meeting from the stage at
the same time, while on the stage and |
throughout the hall five hundred discus |
siOns were carried on-all parties scream |
ing at the top of their voices Newkirk, |
the UnitCd States Collector, whose head
beaver slide, being bald, Ed.
Shaw, the leader of the Num- party, Bar
bOur Lewis, and G. Canning Smith in |
vain endeaVOred to command the peace |
and restore order. The big drum was
beat every few minutes, keeping time to |
the terrible din and tumult One darkey |
another on The stage, and in
quired, 'Who's dat running for ofice2"
Not receiving a definite answer, he |
changed his dialect and asked, "Who the |
ID is aspiring to this Office Z" He was
not informed; for no one could hear a |
word.
STAGE STRUCK.
During the confusion on the stage, one
lOud-mOuthed advocate of Num-, named /
Jim Morrison, had a pistol showed into
his face, and was ordered to hush up. A !
rush for the parties followed, during |
which Morrison was stabbed in the thigh |
by some party unknown. The stage |
struck hero was carried out His wound |
was not serious, however, and he will |
live to appear again, notwithstanding his |
unfortunate debut. No arrest was made |
by the police, ss the wOuld-be assassin
could not be identified in the midst of the
5urging crOwd.s
Several speakers tried TO address the
meeting, but in vain. At last silence was
for a few seconds, and an ad-
iOurnment carried. After the meeting
bands of negroes, headed by a
irum and fife, marched up Second street,
Yelling at the white people on the streets.
This conduct came very near creating a
serious difficulty on Second street, but
he difficulty was prevented by judicious
parties VIII saw that the result would be
bloody in the extreme. The time has
passed when white persons can be in
ulted on the public streets by bands of
lrunken and disOrderly negroes with i'm
unity; and it is to be hoped that such
conduct on the part of negroes will not
&c repeated.