Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-12-16
THE APPORTIONMENT BILL.

SIN eeeh Of Non. Joseph Clark, Deliv-
cred i'm the Senate Dec. II, mPOn
Considering the Report of the Com
mTittee on the ApPOrtiOnment Bill.
Mr.. Clark addressed the Senate as fol-
lows:
Mr.. SPEAKER: ] stand upon this floor
with some degree of humiliation. Sir, l
stand before the Senate to-day the humble
but earnest advocate of fairness, ready to
raise nv voice and my vote to put the seal
of condemnation upon the action Of the
committee who has been frank enough,
through their Chairman, 60 inform us that
this bill has been adopted in the interest Of
party; in short, il is virtually admitted by
the Chairman Of the committee 10 De
gerrymandering bill.
This subject is one Of the subjects dis
cussed by me before the people, and per-
haps l stand before this body differently Sit
mated from any Senator on this floor.
l stand here to-day free from party shackles,
committed to hold the scale of JUS
tiee with an overland, and so far as l
might have to do with the appOrtiOnment
of representation, l would endeayor so far
as in me lay to 10 equal justice TO all, not
to party. Then, sir, l cannot conclenQously
support a bill that is admitted to be so
framed as to do injustice to the people OF
any section of the State. Others who lave
sufficient elasticity of conscience may &c
so, l cannot. What do the authors Of
this gerrymandering bill say Of it, and Of ou
political oppoDetns? They say, sir, thal
because the opposite party When they had
the power in their hands We're vile enough
TO gerryInander the Democracy; that now
the power has changed, that Radicals should
receive no mercy at their hands. Wen, sir
this may suit the conscience Of some, bul
It will not do me. Sir, when the other party
SO administered the Affairs OF State a!
to disfranchise a large and respectable por
ton of the people, | condemned It in then
most earnestly, and plead with those witt
whom cOnyersed to stay the hand o
vengeance, and let no indiscreet act bt
done. l further warned them that If they
did so it would recoil upon them will
doubled force and crush them. What was
the result? it was the complete overthrow
of the party in Tennessee. Then, sir, haV
ing I'D to the breaking out of the late un
fortunate troubles through which we havt
nassed. been an humble but earnest sup
porter of the old and venerated Wing party
and standing before you to-day as relic
that wreck, claiming no party atiiliation
but having acted with the Democratic part.
and having in my humble but earnest man
ner labored foI years to eXtricate IN.
countrymen from the heavy chains o
Acknowledgement, now turn t
the Democracy and warn them to sta,
the hand of vengeance, and TO do unto 9th
ers even as YOU would have them do unit,
YOU. and beg them to look to justice, tina
nolar star that should guide each of us
Now, Mr.. Speaker, ask gentlemen if the
can find in their hearts to so far forget th
aolemn oath which we took at that desk t
mass this bill without amendment, KNOWN
that il is unequal in its operations, acknowl
edged to be so by its authOrs,a GerrymandeI
ing Committee. If they can, they can
further than | can, and while | cast no i'm
imitation at others l must say, in view o
that oath which have taken, and in tea
ofthat God to whom | shall account, ] car
not. To do so would be to violate my pledg
IN NV constituents, and worse than al
Il would be to transcend the bound
which conceive that my oficia
oath presscribes. Now we are told on thi
floor that we must pass this bill withou
amendment, that it would be a disTeSpec
To the committee were we not to do so. Sir,
did not come here to bow submission to
Gerrymandering Committee, but propose
TO be governed by my own conciousneSs G
right and wrOng-then | shall support tn
Amendments Of the Senator from Roane an
the Senator from Smith. They propos
nothing but even handed justice, they chang
the political feature of no district, the
will Illustrate no district, they make the di!
tricts they propose to change more equal
size and more compact in form, and furthe
they meet the wishes of the people imm
diatelv interested as expressed by the
Representatives on this floor, aud no one
injured in any manner by their adoption
WHY then deny that right to a free peopl,
Whv depart from settled custom whic
we have so strictly adhered to Of conform
ING 10 the wish of Senators on this tlot
with regard TO local matters whichsatiectt
no one else? Is it not exceedingly humilia
ing that all principles Of justice, conscien'
and courtesy must be thus sacrificed upc
the altar of poor, Of pitiful party prelude
and that too when not party interest IS SUI
seryed: when not one Senatorial or Repr
sentative district is to be changed or e
dangered, and nothing effected but to graft
a miserable morbid prejudice?