Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1871-03-16
FAYETTEVILLE, TENNESSEE: 81. il

S$S f'N VI AShhNOCSS, Az
alone during the period of the
contest, but for months and months
after that contest. Many Of these
outrages alleged to have been com
mitted took place so, long be6,re
the election that in. the. eye of
law and common sense they could
have had no influence upon j,
whatever. Certainly as to those
committed after the elections, few
as they were, no gentleman who
aspires to be esteemed a lawyer
will claim that this House can find
inJthem any justification for the
rejection of any part IF the re,
turns in this case. o,lr - 2, 1's.-e.t y
As to the regularity of the elec.
tion in the county of Lincoln, !
want toSsay that in this case the
Governor of Tennessee, in the ex-
ercise of a power conferred upon
him by the laws, removed, a
month before the election, the
commissioner of registration. and
he purposely and deliberately re-
fused and failed TO appoint a sue
cessor to that commissioner in the
county OF Lincoln during that
campaign. What followed? I'm
der the code of Tennessee it be-
came the duty of the sheriff to
hold that election; but the sheriff,
teing also an instrument under
the control of these Republican
managers, peremptorily refused to
perform his duty by holding an
election in the county of Lincoln.
This refusal he made in open
court. Thereupon, under another
provision of the code, the court
proceeded to appoint an officer
next in rank in the county, a man
named G. S. Wilson, whose duty
it should be under the law to pro.
ceed to hold that election. The
coroner, the officer thus appointed,
did proceed to organize as many
election districts as he could du-
ing the time that remained to him,
which | believe was but two (but
one) days, and in those seven elec-
tion districts elections were held
Why were they not he'd in more
districts2 Because,as a part of the
partisan policy of the. Governor
and the managers of the contest
in that section, it was desired and
determined that no election should
be held in Lincoln county. And
why? Because they knew 9 it
would give a large majority for
the contestant here, Mr.. Sheafe,
No election beyond those seven
districts were held. Why should
the returns of those seven dis
tricts be rejected Not because
it is not the policy of the law
that elections shall be held. l
hold, and every honest man who
is citizen of, an elective and rep
resentative Government ought al
ways TO hold, that it is the su-
preme purpose and end of all pol
icy that fair, legal, honest cleo
tions shall be held, and that when
such elections are held the votes
cast by the honest and legal cleo
tors shall, without resorting to the
pitiful technicalities of mere po-
lice lawyers, be counted, and that
the people shall be Represented
according to that count. Other
wise, our representative Govern
ment and free institutions will
speedily run into irremediaEle de-
cay and ruin. a5, Fss.-T--.--~s
Elections were held in the way
l have mentioned ; and the peo-
pie who, under the hard and cruel
circumstances which surrounded
them, went to the polls and voted.
are upon every principle of Jus.
tice and right entitled to have
their votes counted, and to have
the benefit of them in the repre-.
sentation upon this floor. Nc
fraud is alleged to have transplred
in connection with the election in
any one of these seven districts
The officers who conducted the
election may have been justices
of the peace, or they may have
been appointed by justices of the
peace, or they may have beer
mere electors, but it matters. moi
who they were, if what they die
| was done under color Of law, or by
authority of law, and in good faitf
to execute the law, their votes
should be counted.
The law provides that if al
other officers fail to do their duty
in the organization and the con
duct of elections in Tennessee
then any three freeholders may
perform the duty prescribed in th'
law; that is, to appoint election
officers, or In cases oil peces t.
NAV act as officers and insnectof