Knoxville Whig and chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1875-1882, 1875-04-21


To 60 into all the details of Andrew
Johnson's lawless interference in the local
affairs of Tennessee and his corrupt mode
of seducing members Of the General AS
sembly from their duty would require more
space than dare ask in your paper. Suf-
fee it TO say, that after n struggle of sew.
eral weeks the amendment was ratified. At
all times there was a quorum in the Senate,
which passed the amendment by the de-
cisive vote of fourteen TO six. There was a
much larger majority for it 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 emissares to defeat it,
Finding the "Johnsonites" determined to
persist in their little rebellion the ma
iority of the members of the House of Rep
resentatives, though less than quorum
tumacious members for contempt Of the
House in openly defying its authority and
freely swearing in thecorridors ofthe Cap
itol and on the floor of tho House, while
refusing to answer TO rol-call, that they
would break up the Legislature" 3" that
the President was with them, and they
were bound to succeed" That the House
had the right thus to preserve its existence
md punish for contempt, is not doubted
by any lawyer but Andrew johnson is
wholly incapable Of seeing the legal bear
ings of any question where his interests
are involved, or in which his violent pas
sions have been aroused While he talks
more about the Constitution than any man
in the Senate, he knows as little about it as
any man in that body, and far less than the
majority of its members. 1t was in accord
ance with this resolution ofthe Legislature
that 1 called upon Lieut.. Gen Grant,
through Gen. Geo. II. Thomas, to furnish
a small detail of soldiers TO assist William
Heydt, the Sergeant-at-Arms, in execut-
ing the laws by enforcing the order of the
majority of the House. / could have sum-
moned posse of the militia of the State,
as subsequently | was compelled to do.
rather than be defeated by the petty tyrant
of the White House; but preferred Fed
eral troops because they were not so obnox-
ious to the disloyal population as the State
militia, and my desire was to avoid the eff
fusion of blood. | called upon Gen Grant
instead of johnson, because johnson was
the Catiline ofthe lawless conspiracy.
George H. Thomas was not lawyer, but
he was a man Of strong common sense and
an unselfsh patriot. He was not a politi-
clan 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 a con-
test between the legally constituted author
tiles and lawless faction backed up by
thousands of the rebel followers of Forrest
and others who, under the inspiration of
Andrew johnson, were threatening to de.
uge the Capitol in blood. When johnson
shows in his speech that George H. Thomas
sustained the Legislature and myself he
brings upon the witness stand man whose
character weighs more in the estimation of
the American people than forty such dem
ugogues a. Andrew johnson. That
johnson refused the aid which
Thomas desired to furnish is no evil
dence that there was any parallel"
in the Louisiana and Tennessee cases, or,
as he hypocritcallJ pretends because of
any scruples or doubts as to his right to give
the military aid called for, but he necessari-
ly made the refusal dictated to Gen. Grant
because he was the conspirator who origi-
mated and sustained the lawlessness. FL
nally, on the 18th of July, after fighting the
President and his "bolters" in the Legis-
lature, and his thousands of rebel guerrillas
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 proper
ton rs Andrew johnson was depressed /
was ea,ed, for 1 felt it to be the first nail
driven in the coffin of My Policy
gave expression to my JOY in the following
kilograms:
NA-HvILLE, Tenn,
July 10 ~ O clock N.
lion EDwIN NJ. STANTON. Secretary OF
Var IYGgti4gt61t ID O.: