Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-01-26

He was opposed to submitting the fran
chise proposition separately. Upon this
question of suffrage he was ready to take
all the responsibility, and he urged the
delegates to shirk no responsibility He
was opposed to any clogs on the right of
suffrage. He was opposed to making the
payment of poll tax necessity before the
franchise could be exercised. He wanted
peace founded in truth. He thought
that the argument that the question had
not been sufficiently discussed fell to the
ground, when it was remembered that for
| three years the people had been pledged
/ to negro suffrage. He concluded by urg-
ing the Convention to do right, though the
heavens fall.
Mr. Sample thought that the negro was
one of Gods creatures, and had Just as
much right as any other creature. He
should not prove that the negro had a
soul, though he could do it in few
words. The gentleman from Hardeman
| (Mr. Fentress) had claimed the negro was
| inferior to the white man, and that it was
wrong to admit him to equal citizenship.
Now, God was no respecter of persons.
He made no distinctions, politically or
| religiously. The speaker was not an ad-
vocate of the equality the races. What
was the conduct of the North2 During
the existence of slavery, the people of the
North had tried to get all the negroes
| away from their masters that they could.
But what did they do when slavery was
abolished2 Why, Immediately pass laws,
by hundreds and thousands DISTINGUISHING
tha 1,aI oh Ah,N
were not the colored mans friends. Now
he wanted the South to come forward and
force negro suffrage upon the people of
the North let them roll back the tide up
on those people and compel them to be the
negro's friends. He hoped that the
Southern people would show themselves
more magnanimous than the North. He
was not in favor of negro equality. Let
them pass laws against that, but he be-
lieved it right and proper to let the negro
vote. He had been told that the young
negroes were learning in this State faster |
than the white children, and he didn't |
think there was any danger in letting the |
negro vote. He had read that in North |
Carolina the negroes made excellent
jurors Well, if any man wanted negro |
jury, he was willing that they should have |
one. But were they not forced to &C
knowledge negro suffrage2 The Fifteenth |
Amendment was almost certain to pass, |
and then their State legislation would avail |
little. But this doctrine of negro suf- |
frage seemed very repugnant. Why, pre- |
vious to 1884, the free negroes were al
lowed to vote. There were great men in |
those days, and they did not think them
selves disgraced by walking to the polls |
with negro to vote. There was as |
much refinement in those days as now. |
He was tired of this thing of going up to
the ballOt-bOX with cart-lead of pa
pers to vote. He had never applied |
for a certificate; he opposed such thing, |
and he thought other members equally l
tired
He would state that he knew positively |
that there was imminent danger that Ten
nessee would be seized by the general |
Government.
Mr. Burton said when the majority re-
port was made, he had determined to give |
it his silent support. He did not propose
to drift into this general debate, for he |
saw the Impotence of members. He was |
at loss to understand what gentlemen
meant by the minority report. Who were
to decide this question: Who were to
vote upon it,
Mr.. Fentress said that the minority pro-
posed that the question should be submit
ted to all who should be decided by tle |
Supreme Court to be voters previous to
the day of election.
Mr.. Burton said that he had heard |
nothing to change his opinion that this
question should be submitted along with
others to be voted on by the people. He
gave it as his opinion that the Fourteenth /
Amendment was designed to confer upon
the African the rights of citizenship, |
previously enjoyed by the white people.
He believed that the Fourteenth and Fiji
teenth Amendments to the Constitu-
ton of the United States were contrary to
the spirit Of the original Constitution and
interfered with the rights of the States.
He had as little doubt that the Fifteenth
Amendment would pass as that the sun
was shining in the sky. He had listened
carefully to the speech of the gentleman
from Hardeman, and he had gained no
hope that the Amendment would not be
adopted. He felt that the Fifteenth
Amendment would be adopted as sure as
fate. Were they then not going through
an idle formality in agitating this ques-
ton. 1t was a foregone conclusion that
the Fifteenth Amendment would be
adopted.
Mr.. Williamson asked the gentleman if
in case the Fifteenth Amendment passed,
would he become the partisan of the Fiji
teenth Amendment.
Mr.. Burton said he did not set out to
be the partisan of the Fifteenth Amend
ment, he had expressly stated that he was
opposed to this legislation, and he wanted
that distinctly understood
He was not in favor of negro suprem-
acy, but for himself, he was not afraid
of few thousand negroes.
He did not think there was any call by
the people of the State that the question
of negro suffrage should be submitted
separately TO them. Were the people of
Tennessee uniformed on this PROPOSE
tion-was it so new that there had been
no time to think about it, He gave it as
his opinion that the people had accepted
universal suffrage as foregone conclu-
sion. He believed that they were willing
to take it now and make the best of it.
They were sick of all this agitation.
He believed that the conservative peo-
pie committed themselves to the doctrine
of universal suffrage. Did they not do it
in all their speeches and organise Gen
tlemen might say that the negro had done |
nothing to merit this; it did not alter the
fact Suppose that before they should |
leave this bill the wires from Washington |
flashed along the news that the Fifteenth |
Amendment had become a part of the |
Constitution of the United States. If |
they were found in opposition to this race
of people, would they ever have the face |
to ask them for their votes 1t had |
been said that if they gave the negro |
the right to vote, all the horrors of negro |
equality would follow in its train. he |
denied that there was the least connec-
ton between political rights and social |
equality. If he believed this doctrine he |
would let his right arm drop from his |
shoulders before he would support it. |
He should vote for the proposition pro-
hibiting the marriage of the races when |
ever it came up. A man was his |
social equal whom he met and regarded |
as such. He did not believe that this |
agitation was always to be kept up. |
He hoped that in time the negro might |
drop in his proper place in the political |
as well as the social fabric and that |
some other subject might come upper
most. He was not in favor Of negro |
suffrage in the abstract, but in the chang
ed aspect of events he should go for it,
and he should not hesitate TO advise his |
people to do the same. Would gentlemen