The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1872-03-07

things were done upon
THE SIMPLE DICTATIoN OF THE GOVERN
OR OF TENNESSEE,
backed and supported by a Legislature re-
presenting a very small minority OF the
people. l will not take up the time OF the
House in reading them, but ! will incorpo-
rate them as a part Of my remarks. Then
gentlemen will see that what | have stated
Of the State of Tennessee in that connection
was strictly true; that 1t was the worst
governed State upon the American CONT
nent, her people disfranchised, and disorders
prevailing because Of it;
HUNDRED THOUSAND
of her men kept from the polls; u militia
responsible to no one but the Governor
sweeping the State from end to end, and
candidates thrown out Whenever itEuited
him. I%Ilave before me the testimony OF
the most loyal men In the State, men like
Mr.. A. A. Steele and Hon Edmund Cooper,
himself candidate for Congress, showing
that all these men were DISTINGUISHED, and
all these things were done, all this dis
turbance created, the militia ordered out
and men kept from the polls, all simply fol-
the purpose (and for no other purpose) OF
electing a Legislature and a Governor who
were creating all these disturbances and
committing all these Oiltrages.
THIS Is THE SWORN STATEMENT
of this gentleman, Mr.. A. A. Steele, to
which | referred:
81 know that several good Union men
were refused certificates by our registrar Of
voters, solely, as | believed, because he
thought they would rot vote for Brown
low; at least it was very difficult for any Of
them to get q certificate, and quite easy for
any man, even of rebel anteceden.s, to get
a certificate to vote If he voted right as il
was called; THAT is, was lOyal,' and for
Brownlow. The Radical party in this
county held a convention in Lewisburg,
and the negroes came to it from different
leagues with their arms. There was no oc-
casion for this. At the election in Lew
isburg the negroes generally voted
the red or Republican ticket,
handed to them by their white
friends. They reminded me of a drove Of
sheep, huddled, to be driven into an inclo-
sure, or a flock Of cartridges into a net.
Very few, if any, Of them could read their
tickets. They voted in a body like soldiers
delivering their fire, under orders. There
was then stationed here in town company
of Brownly militia, under the command of
Capt. Hickman. They were all at the Fair
Grounds on that day, except a squad of
fifteen men, sent that day to the third dis
trict of this county. The militia were UNI
der the control of partisan influences, and
hadmuch to do,as well as the loyal leagues,
in persuading, overawing, and securing the
colored vote for the Radical ticket, and, in
effect, i%ntimidating or keeping away from
the ballot-box many white voters. The
election was not what l would consider a
free one. 1t was a burlesque on republican
government, and conducted entirely in the
interest of the dominant faction and its can
didates."
Again he said, in the course of his state
ment, that he resigned his place in the House
because he was
satisfied that the Radical measures of dis
franchisement of the white people would
ruin or greatly injure the peace, happiness
and prosperity of the State, and to try to
prevent the government of Tennessee from
becoming an oligarchy and despotism, which
1t has been ever since.
HON. EDMUND COOPER,
in his testimony before the same COMMITTEES
of this House, said that the whole registra
ton of the county of Lincoln was set aside
and he says:
| demonstrated with Gov. BrownloN
about his exercise of power in the case, ant
asked him to permit the registration of Capt
Ship, who was his appointee, and who had
been loyal to the Government ofthe United
States, and a Captain in the cavalry regi-
ment commanded by Hon. VIM. B. Stokes,
at present a member of Congress from this
State, to be reinstated. This the Governor
declined to DO using this language, as near
as | can recollect: "that our friends say that
Capt. Ship has married into a an influential
rebel family, and although he may not have
acted wrong in the previous registration
they feared that he might thereafter do
wrong"
And then he says:
This made my case a hopeless one I'm
der the law, if properly carried out, l felt
that | would have received not less than
two thousand votes in Lincoln, n thous-
and in Franklin, and eight hundred in COT
fee; but my vote in all Ofthem was 50 small
that l really do not now remember it. Con-
nected with the fruits Of the refusal of the
registers to do their sworn duty in said
counties, and the willful omission to regis
ter, my district was, just before the election,
flooded with troops from East Tennessee.
They were stationed ut Tullahoma, in Pu-
laski, at Lewisburg, at Fayetteville and
Murfreesboro and squads were sent out to
each precinct. l know of no action on the
part of the militia, except they were
strongly opposed to my election, and
strongly in favor of Gov. Brownlow and
competitor, and they had no hesitation
in so stating at public speakings and else
where. They were particularly demonstra-
tive at Tullahoma, where l spoke, in COM
pany with Capt. g. A. Sheafe, who was a
candidate for the Senate On the Democratic
side. In my opinion the conduct of Gov.
Brownlow was unjustifiable; he used the
power of his office for my defeat; there
were no charges against either of the regis
trars of having acted wrongfully, illegally
or fraudulently, on file in his office at Nash
vile, or that Of the Secretary Of State. l
looked to see; hone could be found. twas
the act of a partisan for party purposes, and
it succeeded. l was overwhelmingly de-
feated. At the close of the canvass, and
after a review of the case, | believe if the
registrations had remained under the then
excitement, l would have been defeated,
not because of the majority of the qualified
being against me, but because of the
practiced in giving certificates to ne
groes who were not entitled to them, and
the presence of the militia.
In February, 1857, he authorized a de-
claration of martial law, which reads as fol-
PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR.
4ia.a a.a 70. rixtaaxa Liiilrad