New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-12

matl0n, ana tnaJ 700 AFTER AnUreW nau peen
laborng for weeks to prevent it, In this large num-
Der of delegates there were, perhaps, fifteen or
twenty who would have supported some person
known to be slavshy subservcnt to the purposes Of
Johnson had their doing so enabled them to
hope for success johnson opposed me be-
cause he desired TO hold at the same time
the offices of Vice-President and Governor
of Tennessee From his previous knowledge Of
my character he apprehended difficulty IN running
the State Government of Tennessee while held the
Office Of Governor. In his speech in the Senate he
said: "Gov. Brownlow became refractory" This
is the secret of his opposition to He wanted a
Governor who would not be refractory" to the
policy of Andrew Johnson. But against his ener-
getic protest / nominated because there was
never time before his betrayal Of TIE Republican
party that did not have larger share of the conf
dence of the loyal people OF the State than this I'M
scrupulous politician.
Recurring to President Johnson's attempt to innu-
ence the action of the Legislature the proposed
Fourteenth Amendment, will say that several days
before the meeting of the Legislature johnson ascer-
tanned that majority of the body would vote for
the amendment To carry out his lawless purpose
to defeat the amendment, his emissaries came
fiIc@ Washington to Tennessee, and wrote
from the Capi:cl to their friends in this
State that 1.-THE President desired that
the Legislature be broc up rather than the amend
ment be ratified" 1t became understood at Nash
vile that members who would bolt and aid in
the revolutionary scheme conceived and inaugurated
by President johnson to defeat the amendment
would be rewarded by Federal appointments.
And it is singular coincidence that many of these
seditonsts were subsequently rewarded by the Pres
ident with Federal appointments Letters from the
bosom friends of the President at Washington came
to members of the Legislature and those supposed to
have influence with them as thickly as Autumn leaves
in brisk gale advising the breaking up of the Legs-
ature in order to defeat the amendment One of the
boilers received letter from the Hon. Edmund
Cooper, President Johnsons private secretary, adj
vsing him to absent himself from his seat in the
Legislature that the amendment to the Constitution
might be defeated at all hazards"
The Nashville Press and Times of July IS, 1866,
contained this extract from The Cincinnati Gasetfes
Washington correspondent: Last night MIR.
Cooper the Presidents private secretary declared
to a company of gentlemen that if the President
could possibly prevent the assembling OF quorum
in the Tennessee Legislature, he would surely do It,
To go into all the details of Andrew Johnsohs law
less interference in the local affairs OF tennessee
and his corrupt mode of seducing members OF the
General Assembly from their duty would require
more space than dare ask in your paper. Suffice 1t
10 say that after a struggle of several weeks the
amendment was ratified At all times there was
quorum in the Senate, which passed the amendment
by the decisive vote of fourteen to Elk
There was much larger majority for 1t IN the House
than in the Senate, and there would have been
quorum in the House on the day called them to
assemble had it not been for the corrupt appliances
resorted to by the President and his emssares to de-
feat il. Finding the "Johnsonites" determined TO
persist in their little rebellion" the majority
of the members of the House of Representa-
tives, though less than quorum, passed
a resolution to arrest certain contumacious members
for contempt of the House in openly defyng Its au-
thorty and freely swearing in the corridors OF the
Capitol and on the floor of the House, while refusing
TO answer to rol-ca that they would break up the
Iepislaturen that the President was with them, and
they were bound to succeed" That the House had
the right thus to preserve its existence and punish
for contempt is not doubted by any lawyer but
Andrew johnson is wholly incapable of seeing the
legal bearings of any question where his
interests are involved, or in which ms
violent passions have been aroused. While he
talks more about the Constitution than any
man in the Senate, he knows as little about 1t as any
man in that body and far less than the majority of
its members. 1t was in accordance with thls resou-
ton of the Legislature that called upon Lieut.Gen
small detail of soldiers to assist William Heydt, the
Arms in executing the laws by enforcing
the order of the majority of the House. could
have Summoned posse of the militia of the State, as
subsequently was compelled do rather than be de-
feated by the petty yrant Of the White House but
preferred Federal troops because they were not SO OBJ
noxious 20 the disloyal population as the State
militia, and my desire was TO avoid the eiuSlon Oh
blood l called upon Gen. Grant instead OF Johnson
because johnson was the Catiline of the lawless
conspiracy.
George H. Thomas was not a lawyer, but he was
man of strong common sense and an unselfish
patriot He was not a politician seeking political
ends like Johnson and he ardently desired to give
the military assistance the Legislature called for,
through me- because he saw it was
contest between the legally constituted antAori-
ties and lawless faction backed up by thou
sands of the rebel followers and others who,
under the inspiration of Andrew Johnson, were
threatening to deluge the Capitol in blood. When
Johnson shows in his speech that George H. Thomas
sustained the Legislature and myse he brings upon
the witness stand man whose character weighs
more in the estimation of the American peo-
pie than forty such demagogues as A j.
That johnson refused the aid which Thomas
desired to furnish is no evidence that there was any
parallel" in the Louisiana and Tennessee cases, or,
as he hypocritcally pretends because of any scru-
Pies or doubts his right to give the military aid
called for but he necessarily made the refusal die
tated to Gen. Grant because he the conspiratOr
who originated and sustained the lawlessDess. Fl
nally On the 10Th of July. after fighting the
President and his boilers" in the Legislature, and
his thousands of rebel guerrilas and bushwhackers
on the outside we got a quorum of SO members OF
the House, and ratified the amendment, greatly to
the chagrin of Andrew Johnson. In proportion as
Andrew johnson depressed / was elated, for
felt it TO be the first nail driven in the coffin OF Ny
Policy" gave expression to my JOY in the follow