Year: 1867

| ELLOW SIIlLENS. uS Cllois
now upon us is more important


than any, except perhaps one


which has ever arisen in the his


tory of our State. To glance on
jly at the past, our people remem


Der, what is not appreciated by
the outside world, how ardently
they were devoted to the Union
and constitution; and under what
circumstances of revolutionary
confusion they were led and forced
into the late unhappy rebellion.
With little assurance of protection
from the general government, and
overwhelmed by the power of re-
volution originating in more South
ern States, the State of Tennessee
yielded late, and only in part, and
that after strong resistance, to
the dominion of a government
which successfully excluded the
power of the Union, and held un-
divided sway over the entire COM
monwealth from the spring of
1861 to that of 1862, nearly an
entire year. The power of the
general government to suppress
the rebellion and preserve the
Union was during most of the
war doubted by even its friends;
and its success was regarded by
its enemies and loolers-on as ut
terly improbable.


Under these circumstances the
mass of the loyal people at first
acquiesced in what they consider
ed inevitable and from this by
an easy step they were led into
participation in, and sympathy
with, the unfortunate struggle
The inevitable circumstances of
civil war tended also to ALLEVIATE
the feelings of the people from a
government whose army traversed
and destroyed their country
This is the "great crime" of which
our people are held guilty, by
which Radicalism says they have
acquired the legal right to be
hanged and the divine right to be
damned" But we know, fellow
citizens, that though many of you
fought gallantly, with naked,
bleeding feet, and unclad, shiver-
ing limbs, i'll the service of a cause
which you had learned to regard
as holy; yet, when overpowered
by numbers and subdued by want,
you laid down your arms and re-
turned penniless to your desola-
lated and impoverished homes,
you surrendered in good faith
You were ready to return to your
allegiance to the Government of
the Union. You have since acted
il good faith. A more quiet and
orderly people, at the end of a
long civil war, was never seen on
the face of the earth. You have
been met in bad faith. Your dis
franchisement has been made more
and more absolute. The law of
disfranchisement in this State has
been made the most Infamous that
ever disgraced statute book in
America, as toward you who par
ticipated in the rebellion, and all
who ever sympathized with you.
And yet, in the administration of
that law, the law itself is daily
violated, and its provisions to
your disparagement, and to defeat
your few remaining rights under
its provisions. We say this, fell
low-citizens of Tennessee, not to
discourage you.


We would arouse you to one
more effort-the first effort which
you have had the opportunity to
make-to regain your lost liber-
ties. Under the first Franchise
law which the Radical minority
passed, they were beaten, though
the Radical party carried at that
time not a 1.-THE of the infamy on
their shoulders which now bears
them down. They passed another;
but under it found their success
but partial and unreliable, arguing
certain defeat in the future. A
third infamy was enacted, by
which they hoped to succeed. Is
their success certain under this
new law? Why should you think
there is no chance? This new
law is but an experiment--an un-


80