Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-16

THE Washington correspondent OF
the Louisville Courier Journal states
that Lewis E. Parsons, who presided
over the Chattanooga Convention, was,
In 1868, the most extreme and violent
opponent Of the reconstruction acts
and negro suffrage. He took the
ground in this city that if the vote
for President between Grant aud Sey-
mour shoTld be so close that the South
could turn the scale, the Southern
whites should, by armed force, drive
them from the polls, and secure, beyond
a peradventure, the election of Seymour
and Blair. His propositions were so
ultra and violent as to startle the
strongest ex-Confederates and opPo-
ncnts of negro suffrage. The policy Of
the White League, as he describes it,
is simply his own thunder as he pro-
posed it for Alabama and Mississippi.
TERRIFIC ARRAIGNMENT OF
BROWNLOW AND ATTORNEY WILL
LIAMS.
Hundreds of murders of the most
atrocious character have been commit
ted during the a ministration of the
Democracy IN this State; yet the per-
petrators of these outrages are permit
ted to walk the streets of Nashville.
and roam through the plantations of
Gibson county, and numerous other
localities, Unmolested by those whose
duty 1t Is to bring them to the trial and
punishment they 50 justly deserve"
IN this passage of the address to
the people of Tennessee, the Republi-
can State Committee entirely over
shoot their mark. The allusion to Glib
son county is particularly unfortunate,
when we cite the letter of Senator
BrownlOw to Gov. Brown, under date
of Sept. 4, testifying to the energy and
earnestness of the State authorities in
that affair. Which Knoxville dignitary
is more likely to have weight with Re-
pubhcans at Washington or elsewhere
WIN. O. Brownlow or A. S. Prosser:
Nor is this all The above stunning
statement impeaches Grant, Williams
and Co., of the grossest delinquency to
duty. According to Attorney General
Williams, the Unitd States have cog
nizance and jurisdiction of all these
matters. The enactments which he so
CONSTITUTES are not new, but of some four
years standing. The Ku-Klux and
Enforcement acts, date from Just
about the time Democratic
government was inaugurated in
Tennessee. If the above passage cor
rectly describes the character of that
government, Mr.. Williams and his
Marshals have been horribly deaf to
the dying walls Of these hecatombs Of
loyal victims. Ana the worst Of it is.
We fear this frightful negligence of
duty would have continued indefinite
ly, if no elections were impending.
1t is Attorney Williams himself who
has proclaimed it to be his duty to
bring the perpetrators Of outrages to
trial and punishment. Therefore, the
closing sentence above is direct I'M
parchment OF the Hero of the Ian
daulet.
Still further, it SO happens, in regard
10 this same Gibson county horror,
that the United States authorities hold
the accused prisoners, and have re-
fused to give them up for trial by the
State authorities, after direct appeal.
Can the State be held accountable for
not trying criminals whom the United
States thus retains in exclusive custo-
dy: Is it the plan Of CGssarism to first
strip the States of IL power, and then
wipe them out as weakhngs: lie this
the programme for tie crucifEion IF
the Southf