Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-05-03
Crop Failure i'm California.
Lynch Law at Glasgow, Ky.
Mere Plots a gainSt Napoleon,
MCKENZIE.

speech from Congressman Hawk
ins-KEis Views of Tennessee Re-
construction and other Matters.
Special to the Union and American
MCKENZIE, TENN, May 2.-Col Hawk
ms made speech at Huntington to large
crowd assembled at the courthouse. He
touched upon the public debt, and declared
that the national bonds were payable in
the currency of the country. Upon the
subject of tariff he argued against a
high protective tariff, and of one for reve-
nue. with incidental protection, and ia
vored the payment Of the loyal people for
the supplies which they furnished the
Federal army. He assumed that the debt
thus created, was as binding as the bonded
debt
Upon the subject of reconstruction he
said: / find the people in every part of the
State in a kind of dread and expectation,
with a sort of crude and underlined idea
that there is to be some sort of Con-
gressional interference with your State
government, and everywhere the people
seem to love and admire their present form
of government, and to regard the Consti-
tuition as the surest guarantee for their
rights and the present form of government
What, it may be prudent to inquire, is
there in the Constitution which confers
power on Congress to overthrow the gov
eminent of a State that is in harmony with
the Government of the United States?
BY the sixth section of article V, Of the
Constitution, it is provided that the United
States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a republican form of government,
and shall protect each of them against in
vasion, etc. We have generally understood
that government, republican in form, was
one in which the fundamental law provided
that the government should be by the peo-
pie, and that they shall make and execute
the laws. Then, may / ask, what there is
in the new Constitution which makes the
State government other than republican.
BY virtue of its provisions all the people,
both white and colored, are made equal be-
fore the law, and this not by the vote of a
minority, but Of a very large majority of
the State.
If five years since had said to you that
within so short a time the colored
man would have been made equals before
the law, by a decided vote of the people
of the State, l should have been
regarded either as insane or a fanatic; and
I now regard the action of the people in
this particular as the boldest and grandest
triumph of reason over prejudice that has
ever taken place in the history Of ciYiliza-
ton and as offering one of the surest and
most reliable guarantees for the harmony Ct
the two races that could have been given.
All the people are equal participants in
the making of the laws, so far as State ac-
ton is concerned, all are henceforth to
be equal in the execution of the laws, all
are equally charged with the enforcement
of the law and the protection of society,
against the depredations of the lawless.
Where, then, is to be found in the form
of our State Government that anti repub
hcan feature, which would authorize Con-
gress to set aside, overthrow or abolish
the Government of the State and establish
in its stead either a military or a civil pro-
gisional Government
After careful consideration of the sub
ject, have arrived at the conclusion that
no such thing can pe done; bnt no doubt
some gentleman GELS like askingthis ques-
ton, F'Shall fraud be permitted" My an
swer is, no. Then 1 shall be asked if there
was not fraud in the Governors election?
/ answer if there was not that it We
not the fault of your acting Cover
nor. and resulted from the fact that
we had conferred upon the Governor too
much power, in fact, powers which were
dangerous to free elections and incompat-
fble with the rights of a free people.
But, Just here, let me remark that we
had provided by the fundamental law tri-
bunal to investigate and determine the
fact, and if anybody wished to have the
matter investigated, they had the right to
do so. The Legislature is the Judge of the
election or qualification of its members,
and that body has the authority 70 try and
determine contest in the election of Gov
ernor. BkUTUs.