Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-15

| And there is no more comparison be-
| tween the cases of Louisiana and Ten
nessee than there is between day and
night. Such. I feel confident, viii be
the verdict Of the hundreds Of thous-
ands Of intelligent readers of the Irl-
bune, who VIII peruse this letter.
shall state nothing as a fact which will
not DEFY the most searching criticism
Of Nj. Johnson's friends and my enc
mics.
What are the facts? In Louisiana
there was a controversy, resulting IN
bloodsbed. as to who was the Executive
of the State. and there vas a contest
as TO who were members of the Legis-
lature, many seats in the body being
claimed by Two OF more contestants.
In Tennessee there was no contro-
Yersy as TO who was the Executive. No
person but myself was a candidate for
or made claim to the election to that
Office, which was held under the prOcla-
nation Of this same Andrew johnson
as Military Go ernor. Nor was there
| any controversy as to a single seat In
the Legislature. Both my election and
that of the Legislature we're recognized
by johnson after he, unfortunately for
the country, became President of the
United States.
The sole question in controversy IN
Tennessee was whether, in palpable vi
Olation Of the Constitution Of the States,
a small minority Of the Legislature,
acting under the advice Of Andrew
johnson as President Of the United
States, should, by lawless revolutionary
means, block legislation and break up
the Legislature Of the State. This was
the sole question, as the record shows.
The statements Of Senator johnson to
the contrary are what you Northern
people term ''misrepTesentIng the truth
of history" but what we In Tennessee
call 'unmitigated lying"
As Governor Of the State and con-
trary to the wishes Of Andrew John
| son, I convened the Legislature IN ex-
| ~traordinarv session for the purpose of
submitting to It for ratification or re-
| lection the Fourteenth Article O
/ amendment to the Constitution, which
had only recently been proposed by
| Congress. Nobody viii pretend that
there was anything irregular or illegal
IN my calling an extra session of the
| Legislature, or the mannero Of my doing
It. I acted throughout clearly in ODE
dience to the Constitution and laws of
/ the State.
But Andrew johnson as President
/ determined % interfere IN the admin
| istration Of the Government of the
| State, and did interfere IN as fragrant
a manner as President Grant is even
| charged with doing by the Democratic
press of to-day, or by this same An
! drew johnson. He had the effrontery
to endeayor to brQwbeat and bully me
and the loyal majogity Of the Legisla-
ture associated With me into ac-
! quiescenoe in that miserable political
/ abortion known as~My policy"
TIE sequel. however, proved that he
was barking up the wrong tree, and
/ when be issued orders to me ne was not
! dealing with Perry, of South Carolina,
! or one of the Provisional Governors Of
| the Cotton States, who held his com
/ mission. and felt that they owed their
position to him. / was nominated and
| elected by the loyal people of the
/ State. and in defiance Of the known OPP
| position Of Andrew johnson. In a
] convention Of five hundred and thirty
or forty delegates, 1 was noml-
| mated by reclamation, and that too
I after Andrew johnson had been
/ labOring for weeks to prevent It. In
/ this large number Of delegates there
were. perhaps fifteen or twenty who
would have supported some person
known to be s~lavishly subservient to
the purposes Of Johnson, had their
/ doing SO enabled them to hope for sue
I cess. johnson opposed me because he
desired to hold at the same time the
Offices Of Vice President and Governor
Il Tennessee. From his previous know
/ ledge f my character he a~pprehended
difficulty IN running the State govern
meut of Tennessee while l held the Of
fee Of Governor. In his speech in the
I Senate he said: Governor BrOwnlOw
became refractory" This IS the secret
of MS opposition to me. He wanted a
Governor who would not be "refrac-
tory TO the policy Of Andrew John
son. But against his energetic protest
/ was nominated because there was
never a time before his betrayal Of the
Republican party, that 1 did not have
q laryer share Of the confidence Of the
loval people Of the State than this IN
scrupulous politician.
Recurring to President Johnson's
attempt 20 influence the action of the
Legislature on the proposed Four.
tenth Amendment, l will say that
several days before the meeting Of the
LEGISLATURE, johnson ascertaIned that
a majority of the body would vote for
the amendment. To carry out his law
less purpose TO defeat the amendment
his emissaries came from Washington
to Tennessee, ana wrote from the Cap.
itol 70 their friends in this State that
athe President desired that the Legs.
lature be broken up rather than the
amendment be ratified 1t. becam,
understood at Nashville that members
who would bolt" and aid IN the revO
lutionary scheme conceived an Inaugu
rated BIZ President Johnson to defeat
tie amendment would be rewarded by
Federal appointments.
And IL is a singular coincidence that
- many OF these sedIti0uists we're suD5s
q]uentlv rewarded by the Presiden.
with Federal appointments. Letter
from the bosom friends Of the PTesi
dent at Washington came to members
D Of the Legislature and those supposed
= to have influence with them as thicklI
as autumn leaves IN a brisk gale, ad
, vising the breaking up Of the LegIsla
+ ture in order to defeat the amendment
- One Of the boilers received a lette
2 from the Hon. Edmund Cooper, Presl
e dent Johnson's private secretary, lad
s vising him to absent himself from IN
e seat in the Legislature that the amend
ment to the Constitution might be de
feated at all hazards"
The Nashville Press and Times O
{ July Is. 1866, contained this extrac
> from the Cincinnati GdzeHs's Washing
/. ton correspondent; Last night Nh
Cooper ltEe Presidents private seer
tarv1 declared to a company Of gentle
men that if the President coul,
L possibly prevent the assembling Of
e quorum in the Tennessee Legislature
$ be would surely do IT,"
L To 90 into ali the details Of Andre
L J5husln's lawless interference IN til