Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-01-25

fires, furled their flags, surrendered, sub
mitted to emancipation, submitted to dis
reimbursement. They could have topples
/ over their State government in moment
! they had the officers, the power, and tn,
) experience, but why did they submit t
{ it all2 Because of love for peace, be
cause they hoped that a brighter houl
: would come. The speaker paid glowing
tribute to the people of the State whose
courage had enabled them to bear up un
der circumstances TO which the battle
field were nothing. There was no scheme
of resistance to the government. His
opinion was that there was not a more
loyal people in the country than the
good people of the State of Tennessee.
There asnoplan, no shadow of resistance,
and as to rebellion, he believed that it was
as dead in Tennessee as it would be a tbous-
and years hence. He was not conscious
OF fear. He knew one thing, and that
was, that the Government desired and de-
signed that the colored people should vote.
He thought that the people of Tennessee
should make no distinction between the
white man and the negro as to voting.
They had no chance for resistance. As
well tell the shepherd upon the Alps to
stand against the resistless avalanche, as
to tell them to oppose the most powerful
government on the globe. Was it ig-
noble to submit to what they could not
help? He knew one thing, that the fiat
had gone forth, and it was like the laws
| of the Medes and Persians. 1t was said
that they were two different races, and
that they could not both vote and live to-
gether in peace. Well, he did not know.
1t was a mere experiment. He was not
one of those who held up the negro as
subject fer peculiar affection or regard.
He wanted to give the negro the right to
vote because he did not know what better
to do.
He spoke of the miserable failure of
free government in Mexico, but there the
inferior races were six to one of the
white. But here in Tennessee in round
numbers there were 10, 900 celored voters
to 100000 white. Was there any fear
that the negro would control the white
MANI The idea was absurd. He expect
ed that if they were to sound down deep
in their bosoms they would find that much
of the objection to this question of the
negro voting was a native prejudice.
Suppose they excluded this population
from the ballot-box, was there no danger
that their representation in Con-
gress would be refused, and dread
full troubles forced upon them2
He wanted this yexed ques-
ton settled now. Were they to accept all
this forever? He did not know, but he
believed that sooner or later there would
come change in many of the points in
VOlved in these amendments. This was
simply an experiment, and if it should |
work badly, in after years change could
be made. The question was, were they
not compelled, not, by fear of the whip,
to accept the situation. Tennessee could |
not live long in this unsettled state of af-
fairs. She was already struggling under a
load of debt He wished to preserve the
power of the State that the whole State |
might berepresentedin Congress. He want |
ed Tennessee indicated through her rep
resentatives at Washington. They had more |
to hope by leaving the negro a voter than
by taking from him the privilege of the |
ballot-boX. He wanted peace on the very |
best terms. This was a white mans gov
~ hL4AChAB anu Silh NOuAu w. W % |
there any fear that 40, 900 would overcome |
100, 900 voters? 1t was said that it would |
be better TO submit this proposition to a
separate vote of the people. Why not
submit all propositions to the people sepa- |
ratelyl The Speaker referred to the eX- |
element which would result if this ques-
ton was submitted to the people by itself. |
He wanted it settled here; then if the |
Constitution which they adopted were |
voted down, they would at least have done |
their duty. If they took the other course |
he feared the result would be disastrous to
the State. He had seen some gentlemen |
from Washington, and they had said that |
there was very strong disposition to in
terfere with Tennessee. He did not wish
to act under the influence of fear but dis |
cretiOn.
Mr.. Jones, of Lincoln, said he desired |
peace. He had no disposition to review
the dead past; the present and the future |
were what he wished to devote himself |
to. He desired to give an explanation of |
the motion which he had made. The /
paramount influence which induced him
to become a candidate to this Convention
was the desire to aid in the restoration of
lost American citizenship-tO get the
white man restored to his rights. He
would make this, were he free to act,
white mans government. He, however,
would submit to the powers that be.
Were this question to be settled here, he
could then see the prOpriety of discussing
it fully, but all that they did
here must be submitted for the approval
of the people. Would not the prejudice
of education lead the people to vote down
this proposition of negro suffragel Why,
then, incorporate this amendment with
others, and endanger the whole being
voted down? Let them submit this
of negro suffrage to be separ-
ately acted upon, so that the white peo-
pie might be enfranchised, at least, and
those 100, 900 voters freed from bondage.
He supposed that each member had his
mind made up how he would vote, and
he did not see the use of discussing it at
length.
Mr. Fentress said he approached the
discussion of this subject with much
diffidenCe. He desired the peace-the
real peace of Tennessee-not a peace
/
seemed TO be a misapprehension of what
the duty of this Convention was; the
duty which they had to perform. When
gentlemen went outside of the COnstitu-
ton of the United States, they went be-
You'd the bounds which should control
them. He refused to recognize anything
except the Constitution of the United
States, and the good of the people of the
State of Tennessee. 1t seemed to he
considered that there was a threatened
power which rendered it prudent that
they should do something in violation OF
abstract truth. He had been looking
anxiously, but had failed to discover this
danger, and he thought this was bad
principle to enunciate. The question of
negro suffrage was the most important to
come before this body, and he thought it
should be well discussed. The argument
was that the people of the North were so
welded to negro suffrage that they were
nOienS, UOLenS, to cram 1t
down the Threats of the people, and that
if Tennessee did not bow to this power
the State would be thrown back into the
of territory. He believed that
they should consider nothing but the good
of the people of the State. Now they
were urged to rush on in the direction in
dictated by Radical party and take the
van in recognizing principle which had
proved the death-knell of every govern
ment which had embraced it. Tennessee
was called upon to do what no Conserva-
tive State had yet done, voluntarily fix in
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