Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-03-27
the peace that he had cut the tree down
and he refuses to supply me with such

Noi, Wuut uOeS ue say! nus ne cut
the tree down?n
"Yes; it fell just as got to the barn.
Jones come walking up with his axe
On his shoulder, wiping the sweat from
his face, know the tree is cut down,
and Jones says he cut it; but he re.
fuses to furnish me the peculiar evil
dence, which 1, as your agent, re,
required"
l am disposed to guess that you, as
principal, would give your agent a
straight look, and say, well, you must
be an Internal, natural ard legal fool. ~
In point of legal fact, the Legislature
in view of the peculiar language of the
constitution, had no right to restrict
the evidence of poll tax payment TO
only one of many kinds of testimony.
1t might have provided that the judges
of election should be advised by poll
tax receipts, affidavit of its loss, or
other satisfactory evidence that the tax
had been paid. If any man who voted
for you, for Evans, or Mimms, was liza
BILE for poll tax and had not paid the
same, his ballot was fraudulent and
illegal.
1t will not do to say that those so
liable, having paid the tax and being
allowed to cast their ballots, the judges
being satisfied from any reasonable
testimony as to the facts, that such
ballots can be dlsregarded and throw wn
out. To do so would be to say that
had your agent allowed Jones to take
away the bushel of corn because he
knew that he had felled the tree, but
failed to show by affidavit, the evidence
as required by the agent, that then you
would have legal right to take the corn
from Jones by replevin. No, sir; you
couldn't do that.
Now, as to the committees and your
special attorneys arranging to report
to the General Assembly that hun
dreds and thousands of citizens of
Tennessee whose votes received by
the election judges because they
had both reasonable and satisfactory
evidence that 1.-THE tree had been cut
down, yet that these voters and others
sixty, seventy and eighty years old vot-
ing with them in the district shall be
disfranchised so as to enable you to
hold on to an office to which the Dem
ocrats of Tennessee failed and refused
to elect you. Does it not look and
smell about as repulsi7ely fshy as
would a salmon that had been al
lowed to tester in mud puddle un-
der three days of summers s sunshine !
Wouldn' t it be well enough to bury the
rotten fish as soon as possible? But il
it be reported to the General Assembly
l doubt very much whether they con
sent to eat it. A few of them might
be persuaded to shut their eyes. open
their shoulders and swallow it down
as dose of terrible hot, bitter anG
nauseating medicine, but the difficulty
is, it's not medicine at all, but mass oi
political death breeding bacteri. II
will max very bad patient a great
deal worse, and there will be no prob
able end of its after smell.
Now, looking and smelling at the
matter as it has been developing fol
the past two weeks, l am inclined to
believe that from two thirds to three
fourths of the Assembly will reject it
Its most Iepulsive feature is, that d,
very large portion of those to be dis
franchised were soldiers in the Fedora
and Confederate armies. Some wer,
soldiers in the Mexican war. Many
are the sons and grandsons of Camp
bell and Sewers army that fought 81
gallantly and successfully at the bat
tie of Kings Mountain. These ole
men say that although no poll tax re
quired of them, yet they feel the in
tended thl st at them the more keenl J
because their sons more directly hit at
had paid their taxes promptly, show
ing their receipts at the August elec
tion, and that the judges and every
body else knew that they were legally
entitled to vote as they did, and t,
have the same honestly and fairly
counted.
Studying over the matter carefully,
believe will make this suggestion: If
upon careful inquiry, you become wei
satisfied that majority of the assem-
bly, will consent to swallow the "r )ttel
fish" report, send in short messag
recommending that the committee
report be 30 amended as to embrace
fully, every county of the State an
that because of the poll tax and othe
supposed frauds, the entire vote of tn
State be thrown out and that the pre-
vision of the law requiring you to hol
over until your legal successor is electe
and qualified be SO extended, by simpl
resolution (Vetrees will know how t
draw it up) as to authorize you to pre-
side over the executive department G
the State until, at least January 10, '9(
Such action, am satisfied, will NEE
the approval of the people of the Stat
and of the United States, as we'll, @
more SO, than simply to take down tn
fish" referred to. Respectfully, etc
N. A. PATTERSON,
Vineland, Tenn.