Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-03-08

the great counties of Tennessee by
one sweeping edict because they had
voted for men hostile to him and
the creatures he wanted to keep in
power:
T.
This would not save them, and the
other laws | have referred to were
passed, whereby, when registrars aP-
pointed by the Governor saw fit to
register man under all the limita-
tions and restrictions imposed upon
them. still. power was given by the
Legislature to the Governor
TO SET ASIDE EVEN THAT REGIsTRA-
TION,
and to appoint other registrars in
their places. will refer particularly
to only one of the largest counties in
the State. the county of Henry. The
registration was set aside. In that
county, which contained three thous-
and legal voters, only few days
before the election. and new reg
istrar was appointed, who only reg
istered nineteen men. aud the county
of Henry could only cast that vote
During the time all this was going on,
when all these arbitrary powers were
given to the Governor, he himself was
a candidate for election and in 1867,
when the Legislature was elected that
sent him to the Senate, and at which
he was elected Governor. the State
was disfranchised down to the very
lowest possible point.
HARDLY ANY MAN WAS ALLOWED TO
VOTE
unless he was known to be in favor
of the Legislature and of the Cover
nor, and opposed to everything that
they did not order.
Sir, these laws Of the State of Ten
nessee are all to be found in your
annual cyclopedias.' which you
all have in your Libraries, if you will
turn to them. They will all be found
among the laws of Tennessee of 1865,
1866 and 1867. and you will find
there that while that Governor at
first
BITTERLY OPPOSED TIE RIGHT OF
THE NEGRO TO VOTE
while he denounced them as unfit to
exercise the right of suffrage, while
he spoke of making arrangements for
sending them away from the State,
and forcing them to settle elsewhere,
yet when he found that with all his
registrations, with all his removals
and appointments, and all his disiran-
chiSements of counties, it was impos
sible for the Legislature and himself
still further to retain power, he ap-
pealed to the Legislature in the fall
of 1866, or the spring of 1867, when
the House had rejected universal
amnesty and universal suffrage, to
come to the rescue, and put the bal
lot into the hands of the negro, which
they of course did.
Mr.. Speaker the great point l de-
sired to make in making a personal
explanation was that | had not false
ly charged aLy man when L sttaed
a pandemonium had been made in
the State of Tennessee. If L had
omitted to use the more refined word,
and said the coEdition of things in
TENNESSEE WAS a HELL ON EARTH.
| should hardly have gone beyond
the truth. l can 60 over the record
of the State of Tennessee and show,
step by step, how that thing was
done; how men were disfranchised +;
how irresponsible and plunderlng
militia were organized and put over
tie people Of that State to enforce
obedience to political mandates how
military orders were made; how mar
tial law was declared, and how all
these things were done upon
THE SIMPLE DICTATIoN OF THE GOV
ERNoR OF TENNESSEE,
backed and supported by Legisla.
ture representing a very small minori-
ty of the people. l will not take up
the time of the House Iii reading
them, bit [ will incorporate them as
a part of my remarks. Then gentle
men viii see that what have stated
OF the State of Tennessee in that con-
nection was strictly true; that 1t was
the worst governed State upon the
American continent, her people dis
franchised, and disorders prevailing
because of it;
A HUNDRED THOUSAND
of her men kept from the polls. a
militia responsible to no one but the
Governor sweeping the State from end
to end, and candidates thrown out
whenever it suited him. l have be.
fore me the testimony of the most
loyal men in the State, men like Mr..
A. A. steele and Hon. Edmond
Cooper. himself candidate for Con.
gress, showing that all these men
were disfranchised, and all these
things were done, all this ditufbance
created, the militia ordered out and
men kept from the polls, all simply
for the purpose (and for no other pur-
pose) of electing a Legislature and a
Governor who we're creating all these
disturbances and committing all these
outrageS.
x II
HON. EDMOND COOPER,
in his testimony before the same
committee of this House, said that
the whole registration of the county
-, ,,.o, cot acifie and he save