Year: 1869

| 1Det6 pcOplC hhOW ohN ~ Al
charges that my disabilities have been re
moved, charge that his have neve
been removed, that if am as pardone'
/ / Rebel and am capable Of running for Gov


ernor, that he is an unpardoned Rebel ant


incapable of taking an oath, AID l will


not travel outside of his own record Il
Il prove it, but will stick to the text. Ivan


10 show you the Inconsistencies of thi


man in such light that his best friend


dare not deny it. Speaking of the Duncan


letter, Gov. Senter said that all the little
boys and girls knew that Stokes wrote th,


Duncan letter, they know il so we'll that
they call him Duncan letter Bill. ..-


He then read the document and remarked
that his competitor said that be
/ (Senter) had brought into the canvass 8
private letter. For what purpose? Was
this letter written to contradict report
that was circulating throughout the
country? Ii was not written like the
Thernburg and Singletsry letter for cam
paigu document. My competitor says that
''he has been an advocate of the Union
i cause, and commends Gov Harris for the
course he pursued in resisting Lincoln TO
| the point OF the bayonet." What, he cem-
mends Gov Harris for that, yet
! four months before we fad him
speaking decidedly to the contrary, and
four months after we see him eommending
Harris in resisting Lincoln and still acting
under congressional oath. Had your God
dealt right with you Instead of merclfully,
| you would have been an imbecile sitting
in your chair. Ny competitor said EN-
rolled my name as a volunteer" What
volunteer company was he in? Now, we
are getting to the point. l want you TO
tell these people how you got out of that
company. You charge that L was
in The Rebel Legislature voting bounty
money to old men and young men who
would enlist in the Rebel army; voted to
give overcoats and blankets; admit it fer
the sake of argument, l have never seen
the proof of t,so | shall not deny or affirm,
but If suCh be the case as a member OF the
Rebel company, tell these people whether
you received your one hundred dollars
bounty when you enlisted as an old man.
(Laughter.) Tell them whether you
got your blanket and overcost. l will a K
you how you got out of that company. Did
you desert2 Did you get your one hun
dred dollars bounty and run away. Were
you bOunty-jumper? Were you drum
med out for the good of the service?
(Great applause.) Orwere you hoDorably
discharged, and have you got the discharge
In your pocket to show 10 the peoPle2 Or
did you run against Bob Hatton and get
beat "a voice; On God, that's too good
to hold In My competitor boasts
great deal upon his military record. he
says, 81 had announced myself for candi.
date for Congress, but upon receiving the
proclamation from Mr.. Lincoln, aban-
doned the Office" He went TO Congress
in 1865, and took the oath that be
had never borne arms against
the United States. Did they have any
guns in that Rebel company? Dad you
muster with pixies, William, or did you
just come out on dress parade for the
grandeur Of the thing; and yet you wrote
to John Duncln on May 10, that you. never
bore arms. Tell these people whether
you told Congress the truth or not. He lie
in Congress to-day by violation Of the law
or by perjury. ... .......s ....f.


The section 81 O. the 14lh article Of the
Constitution of the United States, provides
that no person shall be a Senator or repre-
sentative in Congress, or elector Of Presi-
dent and Vice President, or hold any
Office, civil or military, under the
United States or under any State, who,
having previously taken an oath, as mem-
Der Of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member OF any
State Legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any State, to support the
constitution of the United States, shall
have engaged in insurIection or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or comfort
TO the enemies thereof. But Congress may,
by vote of two-thirds of each House, re-
move such disability. Tell these people
when you had your disabilities re-
moved. My competitor claims the
votes of some men in an hon.
orable portion of the State because he
was warrior bold during the war; and
that be has right to these mems votes
because he marched nnder the flag Of the
United States. / stand here to-day and
announce the fact that my competitor can
not show by the records of the war that he
was ever in a single battle. l tell you
what you can find in his history, when he
was court mar1ialed for cowardice during
the war. 1t ia true that he had as gallant
regiment as ever walked the face
of God Almighty's green earth,
but they we're never led by Stokes.


At the battle of LaVergne his regiment
was approaching a strip of woods and
we're fred upon. This was done before my
competitor had time to get to the rear.
But as soon as a chance presented itself,
William drew his sword, and Furnishing
it around his head once or twice, pushed
to the rear to hunt up stragglers. So much
for his military record, 30 much for the


aurels he won during his colonelcy in the
Federal army.


We have been in the habit of spending
some time in the consideration of our re-
cords as regards the colored men in the
country. My competitor said in his open
ing speech that be was entitled to O,OOO
negro voters, and that voted to expeI all
free negroes out of the State. If he ought
to get that many how many should l get,
for he voted to expel the last one of them
from the State. All want him to tell
you, colored men, Is, what he has ever
done for you, and show you by the re-
cords. l voted to give you the right to 60
to The ballot box TO see who should be the
rulers of the country. He cannot show
BY record wherever or whenever he


raised his voice or cast his vote for you. ]
Charge that be offered for sale at a negro


mart in Nssville the last negro who had
chains on him in 1862. And he answerf


the charge by saying that the negro was q
slave, that he had as much right 10 sell


him as he had to sell his horse. Before We


leave this point; when it came to pass


the law known as the franchise law was


made, | voted to put the 18th section il


that law. This section said that the


colored men should not have the Tigh


to hold office aud set upon jurse'


| voted for that section; first, because


thought the bill could not pass withou


that section, and next because | though


il was right, for if you are allowed TO 81


upon juIies and try your neighbors for life


is it not right that you should bear th'


burdens of the white men? You do no


want to be citizens by charity. That Is th'


reason / voted that way, and would do i


again but they proposed in the Legisla
ture to repeal the 16.h section, and it wa


repealed. Let the courts settle whethe
the Legislature had a right to repeal {


portion of the constitution Of the State
Stokes ran against James Hoot
| in 1865 for Congress. In a speech a
, Chattanooga, after the war was over, sfte
you had lain down your lives side by sid
r with the white man, what did Stokes sa,
at Chattanooga And let him deny it
r he dare. Just think of the idea of BIZ
, buck negro, with his forked toes an,
cracked Eeels, going up and swearing ava
j the lives of the people of Tennessee" 1
! speak of the toes and heels of any anims
1 is about as high as my competitor gets. !
! little further on he says, pointing q
' Hood, "He is the daddy of negr
i equality in Tennessee; look at him-don
r you see wool in his teeth" Let me le
| you, my competitor, you will not get an
| = in