Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-03-08
The Convention Of oolored Men.

The Tennesse Tribune of March 9Th,
publishes at length the proceedings of the
Convention of Colored Men, which re-
Gently assembled at Nashville, from which
we publish the resolution and memorial
sent from the colored people of Knoxville
At a mass-meeting of the colored citizens
of Knoxville, Tennessee, February 18th,
1871, the following business was ordered to
be transmitted to the State Convention OF
the 22d, 23d and 24th of February 1871:
Resotved, That the colored citizens of
Knoxville send to our kith and kin in
Middle and West Tennessee our congratu-
lation for the manner in which they have
demeaned themselves through the trials
which they have gone. We congratulate
them upon their achievements in the way
of the establishment of schools, churches,
and of their devotion to the Federal Gov
ernment and the Republican party.
ResoIued, That we wish them God
speed, and hope their portion of the State
may soon be relieved from the curse of
Kuklux outrages.
The following are the statistics for Knox
county. 81 Wf4AN ~ u
Number of colored churches, IA; day
schools, 4; sabbath schools s. value of
property held by colored people, $780,
600, skk E8Bs 1kSsEA#E
10 bt6 lIOft. II6fU1 tt5Ot, CItJfJ'JftUN xuttLr
tary Committee, United States Senate,
Washington, d. c. :: ...........rx
Your petitioners, colored citizens of the
State of Tennessee, and many, of US late
soldiers in the United States army, respects
fully but most earnestly request you to use
your best endeavors, as Chairman of the
Senate Military Committee, to secure the
favorable action of your Committee, at as
early a day as practicable, upon the bill
introduced by Hon. Charles Sumner, of
Massachusetts,, giving to colored soldiers
and their heirs the same bounties as allow
ed to. white soldiers. Your petitioners
would further represent that the color
ed soldiers fought with equal valor, where
required, as their white brethren in arms;
that they enlisted mostly if not generally
from purely patriotic motives, not moving
or caring at the time for bounty; but upon
the cessation of hostilities being thrown
upon their own resources to earn a liveli-
hood, though proceeding under difficulties
and on an uphill grade, they nevertheless
labored on, and to-day, as they were In the
dark days of 1923, are ready and will
ing to do or die for the General Govern
ment; yet they feel, and respectfully pro-
test that the Government should not dis
criminate In the payment of it's bounties
to one class of its defenders to the exclu-
sion of another, purely On account of col
or. Your petitioners would further repre-
sent that there are many an aged parent
of deceased colored soldiers, who in the
prime of their manhood spent his days in
slavery, who now in his old age is strug-
Cling hard in his poverty with the cold
charities of the world, when, if the Gov
ernment would extend to him the same
benefits in the provisions of the law passed
for his white brethren, he could weather
the storm, and if not pass his remaining
days Ia ease, at least'in approximate COM
fort.
Your petitioners believing you to be the
friend of no class of the citizens of the
Government to the exclusion of another
class, address you this their petition, be-
lieving that when the matter is properly
brought to your attention, you will lend
your prompt aid to their relief and to this
end will ever pray as in duty bound.
c. c.. Cleveland, Geo. Il. Wassan, Hen
ry Jones, David Brown, Saml. Webb, w.
F. Yardley, A. B. Parker, J. Halsey.