Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1870-01-27
Our Convention.
Nashville Correspondence ofthe New York
Tribune.l

1riDunel
Soon after my arrival here, II
fell in conversation with short,
stocky man, who was wrapped in
| big blanket and whose head, am
ply supplied with iron-gray hair,
was surmounted by tall felt hat,
caved in in all directions. He had
a fine, open smile, and a sharp, pun
gent, ringing voice, like the sud-
Iden dash of water over rocks. He
was a delegate, and afterwards
learned that he was General Geo.
w. Jones, of Lincoln county. The
Convention, he said, was sure to be
harmonious ; there was no reason
why it should not be; the materi-+
al was excellent and there was no
necessity for wrangling over what
was to be done. Having heard
something of the reputation of
Tennessee conventions, / won
Idered where such harmonious ell
ements had been cleaned FROM
Just as he was on the point of ex-
patiating upon the excellence of
the peoples choice as to delegates,
he caught sight of little, red
faced, whiskerless man, whose
silk hat simply looked Stupendous
upon his peak of Tenneriffe head.
This was Colonel Gordon, the only
delegate to the present Convention
who participated in the delibera-
tons of that of 1884. che Colonel
had his cob-pipe in hand, and was
searching after some tobacco with
a soIicitude highly amusing, and,
. leaving the two with an immense
double-breasted delegate from an
i. adjacent county, who was going
down into the mysterious depths
, of a pair Of saddle, bags after the
weed, improved the opportunity
in searching out General John G.
, Brown, who represents three coun-
ties as "foater," and is probably
lone of the best informed men we
shall meet in the Convention
He was sitting in his room over
coal CRATE heaped with fuel, that
!. did very little toward elevating
the temperature of the place,
which had more drafts than every
unlucky town or village in the
: hottest times of the war. Brown
like many Of the other delegates,
was in the rebel army, and fought
with zeal against the Union
Vanquished, he has settled down
to be quite, peaceable, law-abid-
ing citizen. His frank, easy man.
ner so different from the style of
: most Tennesseeans, was decidedly
} refreshing. On the opposite side
of the fire sat Ex-Governor Neil S.
Brown, Of Nashville, also dele
gate to the Convention. The
Governor is tall, very tall, brushes
his hair smoothly back from an
expansive forehead, below which
appeared sharp, grey eyes. His
mouth indicates sturdy frmness
seldom seen in that feature, and |
| could not help admiring its indi-
| cations of power, in spite of the
tobacco juice which stained the
lips and discolored the Corners
He spoke with positive conviction
which Tailed we'll with bis ply
siognomy and am much mistaken
, If he is not one Of the foremost
men of the Convention.
From the two Browns l learned
that there was no prospect of the
: Convention proving aught but the
most discreet and conservative
: body. The people, they said,
were anxious that the little change
which was deemed necessary in
. the Constitution should be con.
summated as speedily as possible
and the Convention adjourned
OF course the question of univer-
: sal manhood suffrage was the pre-
; eminent question. There would
probably be several members
strongly opposed to negro suffrage
but they would stand no chance,
, as the great body of delegates was
. lstrongly opposed to anything look
ing toward the Acknowledgement
OF the African race. They con.
sidered it certain that the Judicia-
ry would be entirely reorganized.
The people expected this, and it
was the least that they could do.
They thought that the talk about
Tennessee, in connection with re-
construction, had doubtless exer-
cised considerable influence. The
people had been taught the lesson
of caution, though the Convention
without any such talk of recon-
Istruction would probably have
been discreet and cautious. They
did not think the Convention
would be in session at longest
more than a month.