Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-04-12
The TRUTH.
The Situation in West Tennessee as Related
by Chancellor Somers.
he Thinks Reconstruction Would be RuiH-
Gus 10 tss Whites and Blacks.

DRESDEN, Tenn, April 4, 1s70.-
MessrS. Geo. Il. Brasfeld, j L. Vim
cent, Geo. II. RoulstOne, VIM. :
Scott and others: / received on yes
terday a note from you, prOpOundine
certain questions to me, with a re-
quest that ] should answer them.
syin answer your interrOgstories in
the order in which they are put:
81. When were you made Chan
cellCr for this Division, and By
whom
was appointed Chancellor Of thi.
Division in May, 1866, by Governor
Wm. q. BrOwniOw.
% ? By what tenure do you now
hold the Office, and when were yOU
elected"
/ was elected last May, and was
commissioned by Governor d. W. g,
Senter-by virtue Of which election
.hld commission l now hold said office
3. What counties are embraced In
your Chancery DivisiOn?"
The counties OF Benton, Carroll,
Weakley, Henry and ObiOn.
(. What length Of time have yOG
been engage. in the practice Of the
law at this place."
/ received license to practice law in
the latter part Of the year lS49, since
which time Up 10 the time Of my APP
pointment as Chancellor Of this Divi-
sion, ! have been engaged in the prac-
tee Of the law in this (Weakley) and
the adjoining counties.
5. Have you, by interchange, held
any Of the Circuit Courts. If so, when
and where 90
held a Circuit Court at Hunting
don, Carroll county, by interchange
with the Hon. /. l.. Hawkins, in 1866.
] have held the Circuit Court at this
sJace two or three times, by inter
change with the Hon. John 4. ROg-
era, ia 1868 and 1859. also held 4
Circuit Court for Judge Rogers, for
short time, Al Union City, ObiOn
county, in 1853.
IS. Have you known OF any resist
ance to the execution of the laws in
this State, since the war?''
Personally l have not. / have heaTC,
Of I few instances in which persons
have been taken fOrcibly from the
officers OF the law and lynched. In
these cases the persons taken were
charged with high crimes-in some
cases, rape, in others, murder. | have
known OF no instance Of resistance to
the execution Of process issued by the
courts, except in one case, and that was
in Il case of hG56ds corpus some time
last fall. The writ was issued by me,
at the instance of a mother, whose
husband had separated from her,
20 get the custody OF her
child-a EIia boy about 6
or 7 years old. The Deputy Sheriff Of
DbiOn county had taken possession Of
the child, and was on his way with
him from Madrid Bend, in ObiOn
county, to Union City, and he had
crossed the river and YRs in Missouri,
intending to take a boat at SeW Mad
I'd, No. The husband, and father Gi
The child, took him away from the
,a,aicer while ne was in Missouri, at
Neuv Madrid. The counsel for the pc
,,1ade no mOliOu for an attach
ment for litempt, and the case was
dropped. ,.o,.
~. Has there beeh aGy difficulty in
Union men or persons Of c0i5r geJtlng
their rights in courts where yOn have
presided?"
There has not.
"S. Are the people, regardless Of
party distinction, secure in their per-
sons and property in the State SO far
as your observation eXtends"'
They are. l have known of no one
being m8ltreated because of his p0liti-
cal opinions, for the last two or three
years. The people Of the State, so far
As I have observed, are quiet and law
as much so at present, If not
more so, than they were before the
war. A manifest spirit of improve
ment generally prevails. They are at
work in earnest, striving to repair the
losses OccasiOned by the war; and they
are rapidly recovering from them. A
greater spirit Of industry will scarcely
be found anywhere. They most OF all
want peace. 50 they may enjoy the
fruits OF their labor That a state OF
EaWlessness exists in this portion OF
the State is wholly untrue, aRd ] be-
lieve IL equally untrue as to the entire
State.
To reconstruct the State, as it is
called, will be most ruinOUs to the in
farest u all classes, white and gOlOred.
Commerce will be prOstrated the in
liustry and eGergy Of the people para
lyzed, and the spirit Of Improvement,
now almost universal, will be at once
destroyed: and our people will have
TO set down in despair and content
themselves. as best they can. with
simply food and raiment enough to
preserve life-they will have no heart
70 work for moe.
Having complied with your request,
] remain yours truly,
JOHN sOMERS.