Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-12-18
Letter from Nashville.
NASHVILLE, December Il


is dragging its way slowly along. But
little can be done each day, but that
little must be done, so far as the
body at large is concerned. Two
committees are now at work and
they have no time to play. One is
the joint committee drafting the
bill to redistrict the State, the other
is the committee investigating the
charges Of fraud made against cer-
tain senators on account Of their
votes on the bill to settle the State
debt last spring.
AS to the first they have q coma
plicated, hard mathematical job on
hand. A senate joint resolution has
passed both houses fixing future
representation at SO in the house
and 33 in the senate. It is ex-
ceedingly difficult to find mode or
process of calculation by which the
largest and smallest counties can re
celve a fair apportionment with the
mediums, especially when the two ex-
tremes do not lie contiguous. Take
Polk County, for instance, the coun>
ties lying contiguous are all entitled
to separate representatives under the
two thirds ratio, which leaves none
to spare to Polk while she falls be-
low the two-thlrds and cannot be al
lowed a separate representative. So
this is a vexed work.
AS to the investigation. The com
mittee began their work this morning
1t is wonderful how wise these
lOw-'aX Democrats are Tor as we
heard one Of the other wing call
them, these slop Democrats.
They get up III the Legislature, on
questions raised on the spur Of the
moment, and in wonderously wise
manner tell what 1.-The people
want. If they have any judgment
they do not appear to use 1t, OF if
they have any reason they fail to ap>
peal to it, and go off in wild guess
about what the people want, and
get mad as forty if everybody don't
agree with them that their guess is
right! The discussion of the State
debt question on that side is con-
fined almost universally to that kind
Of slOp. The interests of the State,
her honor, her prosperity,
her good name, her future great,
ness, her good, are questions almost
entirely ignored by that side Of the
question. On the other hand, they
declare that it is not popular, that it
is not what 1.-The people" want, and
that the next election will show
"where the people are" If such men
are leaders, why don't they lead? If
they were in land of cannibals. ac-
cording to their theory, they would
so to eating men because 1.-The peo-
pie" there eat men. If they should
take the notion that larceny was
popular according to their mode of
argument 81, they would advocate
stealing as right, because "the peo-
pie favoredit. Leaders of that kind
are not to be trusted, In the first
place, they know no more about
what the people want than
anybody else. In the second,
place, while the people are honest
and in the end come to right con
illusions, yet wrong impressions are
often for time deeply impressed
upon the public mind, and one man
who will stand firm while the popular
mind passes through these impress
sions and is restored to quiet rea~
son, is worth millions of those who
attempt to ride these popular tidal
waves regardless of reason OF where
they are drifting!
If Elijah had been a low tax Dem
ocrat he would have gone with the
captains and their ffties, and the
wonders of the Lord would not have
been recorded for us. Moses, when
he came down from the mount and
found the people worshipping the
golden calf, would have Joined them
and justified their idolatry because
'the people wanted it. Had these
men been present, they would have
| joined the rabble that cried, "Cruci-
fy him! cruelty him y And the cruel
treatment of the Savior of the world
would have been justified by them,
because "the people" wanted him
crucified. Away with this cry and
let us return to reason, and do that
which will bring wealth, honor, peace
and prosperity to our beloved Ten
nessee. But we believe the people
are honest and will do what is right,
and believing so that they will in
QOrSe the payment of the nnbIic