Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-01-08
INVOKING CONGRESSIONAL AZ
TERFERENCE

/ We publish to-day on our FIRST page an
editorial from the L raid and Tribune,
a Republican paper opposed to the Con
vention, published at Jonesboro, East
Tennessee. That editorial says: "A Sc
cret political meeting p was held in Jones'
bOro, the object of which was TO me
mOrialiZe Congress TO sci aside our last
State election, overthrow the present State
government and place the State under
military rule A preamble and series Of
resolutions sent ready made from
Washington was adopted and is to
| be circulated through the country for the
purpose of getting the signatures of such
as favor the movement. We ask the
special attention Of our readers TO the ar
ticle to which we allude. We wish it could
be brought to the attention of every man
in the North. 1t might have some tend
ency TO convince them of the fact which
we have so oft asserted that the invoca-
ton for Congressional interference in our
State affairs does not come from the peo-
pie of the State, does not even come from
the Republican party of The State, but is
gotten up at Washington, and sent out to
Tennessee "ready made" fol adop-
ton in secret political meetings,
in private Offices, and privately circulated
for signatures. There is no man at all
Conyersant with political affairs in this city
that does not know that the resolutions
which were adopted at the COloTed
Emancipation Celebration in this city on
the LIST inst were prepared in Washing
ton, and sent to Nashville "ready made,
for the purpose of converting that Cele-
bTation from COmmCndable asScmblagc
into political, partisan intrigue of the
| deepest and meaAest dye. The Herald
and Tribune truthfully says: owe have
heard OF no complaints since the inaugura-
lion of theprcsent State Government. There
has been a fewer number of Outragcs
committed than at any other period since
the war O." The Radical party of this
State well know that what the Hcr0ld
| aud IrjJURC thus states is true. So far
as our laws are concerned, we venture
! the assertion that there is less diScrimina-
ton in them against the negro race than
there is in the State Of Massachusetts.
| We further venture the assertion that
| States where the law is more faEorably
administered toward the black man But
if it were Otherwise, the white people Of
Tennessee would not bc TO blame, for
every Judge in the State, from the lowest
60 the highest, and every prosecuting
attorney was elected by negro votes; they
have their full proportion of every jury
| whether or moi one of their number j. a
! party to the suit, and whenever one of
their number is charged with crime lie
has the right to demand jury oflisoWn
race exclusively. We repeat, then, that
all the complaints which 60 up 10 Wash
ington are manufactured there, and are
totally mfoundcd in fact. They are, in
our belief, a part and parcel Of the wicked
design Of Gen. VIM. B. Stokes, conceived
by him while candidate for Governor
last summer, when he saw inevitable de
feat staring him in the face After the
election he maturcd his plans as rapidly as
| possible, and doubtless very soon salts
fed his colleagues in Congress and his
other bitter partisans throughout the State
that lhcy were doomed 10 political infa-
| my, unless his threats, made previous to
the election, could be carried into effect
As conclusive Of the correctness of our
conclusions in this behalf, We submit the
following:
A correspondent Of this paper whiting
from Chattanooga under date Of July 4,
500, in giving an account Of the discus
sion at that place between Scn,cr and
Stokes, said.
lie CSuokcs) said last night that
| hc had written 10 Grant, Boutwell,
ana others, and if things did not
20 better, he would have Tennessee
remanded back to the position of q
| territory under the rule of military
governor. His friends have been boast
ing to-day about it, and say they would
rather have a military government. |
lhinl. hc is in earnest, and have no doubt
that plot is now being matured between
Gen Stokes and his chief allies through
ont the State To- carry out the military
| programme | have no doubt
that a conspiracy is going on 10 destroy
the State government and that ". b.
Stokes is at its head.
Again, on the sth Of July, orr cores
pondcnt wrote
In my last gave you some mtorma-
ton as 10 conspiracy upon the part Of
| Stokes and his followers 10 overthrow
the State government. The statement Of
Stokes that he had written 20 Grant,
| Boutwell, and others, etc, was not made.
publicly in either Of his speeches, bUt in
a conversation, and with an emphasis
that convinced all present that he was
in earnest, and it is approved by his
very few political friends here. They
are in hopeless minority here, and are
trying 20 force people 10 vote for Stokes
| through fear that he may be able to car
~ hi- threats Of military government
into execution, and have no doubt NE is
now. and every willing tool of his from
Carter to Shelby county, busily al work
to accomplish that end. The Stokes or
gan here, published this morning, sub
| stantiaily admits the charges 10 be true,
and shows plainly that it is party to the
nclariou- plot. \ leading
| Stokes mau i'm East Tennessee said To me,
that if Stokes was defeated, and he could
see no hope for him now, we would have
no convention, and the people who are
| now DISTINGUISHED would he disfranchiscd
| for two years longer. | asked him how
that could be, as a great many Stokes can
didatcs We're for removing the disabilities
| of the dsfranChisCd. He said that if
| Stokes and a majority Of the Legislature.
being his political friends, were elected,
they would call a convention, and if not,
they did not intend 20 allow Scutcr and
his friends 10 do SO.
The following in the virtual confession
of the Chattanooga RcpubHcua, the
Stokes organ, then edited by the present
postmaster at Chattanooga, Of the truth
Of The allegations of our correspondent:
| s.N CIaftanDora corrrspoDIpnt /. rois