Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-04-27

laws equitable anu Just. Give us unlVer
sal amnesty, equal taxation, a complete
reformation in all the revenue and tariff
departments, reduce the army and navy,
cut down the extravaganza of all the de
partments in the Government, thereby
tightening taxation, and you have all our
Troubles healed, peace and harmony re.
stored, with respect for the Consti tuition
and the flag of our country everywhere
on the American continent.
Now, sir, it is proper that the country
should know the cause of the war upon
the people of the South by the party in
power. l believe it is for the sole pur-
pose of diverting the attention of the tax
payer from the true issue. Suppose you al
low passion to cool and reason to resume
its sway, and an examination into the re-
ports of all the departments of the Gov
eminent should be made and brought be-
fore the country, the whole people, yea,
sir, the civilized world, would stand
aghast'at the sight of fraud and corrup-
ton there exhibited. You but strip all
the departments of that horrible Ku-KIux
veil you are holding over them, and you
but too well know that your party will
have its political condemnation fixed for
ever in the eyes of all honest men.
You dare not let party passions cool
and reason resume its sway. You dare
not allow the facts as exhibited by Re-
publican records to go to the country.
You dare not let the laboring masses
know that only one dollar out of every
twenty forced from them under your un-
Just and oppressive tariff laws goes into
the public treasury, while nineteen dol
lars go into the pockets of the New Eng
land manufacturer.
You dare not let the people know that
your party in six years of peace have
squandeTed more money than would have
paid the national debt. You dare not let
the people know that you have created
banking swindle, based absolutely upon
nothing, that makes the paper money cost
them fifteen per cent. in gold on the dol
far before it reaches their pockets. For
these and other similar reasons the cry of
murder, rapine and plumber upon loyal
citizens is raised, to the end that the
minds of the people may be kept in that
direction until you complete the work of
destruction you have commenced.
Now, Mr.. Speaker, few words in
reply to the gentleman from Massachu-
sets r Mr.. Butler and one or two others,
and / will yield the floor. He stated in
his slenderous and indecent harangue
upon this floor on yesterday, among other
ISLANDERS, that in Tennessee, as appears by
the testimony taken before the Committee
on Reconstruction during the last session,
a Legislature elected through the terrors
of these outrsges had passed laws in der
ogatiou of common rights, had overturned
the State constitution in defiance of its
provisions, and depOsed the judiciary,
and thus rendered the execution of the
laws, even of the United States, so unsafe
that almost weekly reports came to us of
the necessity for the employment of
trOors.
/ know in Tennessee that the charges
are false and slanderous as to Democrats,
and that the member cannot sustain them
by q single responsible witness; but he
can sustain some of them against men of
his own party, and that is precisely the
reason that he and his party friends will
not allow the investigation to be made as
TO the facts in the case He knows that
if the investigation should so on with
ANYTHING like faiTne.s in Tennessee it
would be shown tia: nearly all the viola
tons of law have been committed by his
own party, and that ten Democrats had
been murdered, whipped, and driven from
their homes to one Radical. In portions
of East Tennessee almost every Democrat
was either whipped, murdered, or driven
from his home in less than two years
after the war closed.
And further, sir, while have always
denounced crime and violations of law by
any and all parties, will not disguise the
fact that for months and months before
Ku Klux was ever heard of in the South,
armed mobs of negroes and lOw-dOwn
white men were marching through our
towns and country, insulting the citizens
and spreading terror among all classes.
The result was that all good men of all
parties were alarmed for the safety of
their property and families, and they
very naturally began to look around for
some measures of protection against those
dangerous organizations, and we had no
remedy under the laws as they then eX-
listed.
The courts were held by Radical and
carpet-bag judges, the juries were com
posed mainly of the same class of men,
and in fact, sir, there were no laws upon
our statutes to punish secret bands of
Loyal Leaguers, and if one of that order
was convicted of crime and sent to the
Penitentiary, you had Radical Governor
who would pardon him out and turn
him loose aagain upon the country. Some
five hundred men convicted of high crimes
were psrdoned out of the State prison in
Tennessee, by single Republican Gov
ernor, for their votes, and that man to-
day stands in full fellowship with the Re-
publican party Of this country.
Now, sir, l ask where in the history of
this country you can find single in
stance of such high handed outrage as
this being committed upon people by
Democratic Governor2 am only aston
isheS, sir, that more lynChing was not
done in Tennessee than was done there.
l know why it is that many of those who
claim to be Union men are afraid to live
in the South; and will tell the member
from Massachusetts if he wishes to know.
1t is because, sir, that the villainOus
crimes they committed during and since
the war are following them night and
day, admonishing them that they ought
to be punished. l know great many of
those who would like to be called gallant
officers and gallant soldiers now, that
during our unfortunate war, when there
were no laws in the South to restrain
them, made war upon women and chill
dren, non-combatants and private prop
erty; burned houses, COnfiscated cotton,
stole horses, mules, gold watches, silver
spoons, silk dresses, ETC., in order, they
said. to crush out the rebellion. And as
those valuable articles were said to be the
greatest enemies to the Government, they
we're seized and appropriated to private
uses.
Now, sir, as the member from Massa-
chusetts Mr.. Butler, has been charging
Tennessee, will charge his State little.
Only a short time since Yankee school
marin, an emblem of virtue in his eye,
was stoned and murdered by her own
pupils; besides, many other crimes Knight
mention, equally disgracedful and re-