Year: 1867

FELLOW CITIZENS: The crisis now upon
Us is more important than any, except per-
haps one, which has ever arisen In the his
tory of our State. To glance only at the
past, our people remember, what is not ap-
preciated by the outside world, how ardenty
they were devoted to the Union and the con-
stitution and under what circumstances of
revolutionary confusion they were led and
forced into the late unhappy rebellion.
With little insurance Of protection from the
general government and overwhelmed by
the power Of revolution originating In more
Southern 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 undivided
sway over the entire commonwealth 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
Iookers-ou as utterly improbable.


Under these circumstances the mass Of
the loyal people at first acquiesced in what
they considered inevitable; and from this by
an easy step they were led into participa-
ton 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 Radicaism
saws 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, shivering limbs,


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 returned penniless to
pour desolation 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 in good faith A more quiet and
orderly people, at the end of a long and civil
! war, was never seen on the face of the earth.
/ You have been met In bad faith. Your
/ disfranchisement has been made more and
/ more absolute The law of disfranchise-
ment in this State has been made the most
! infamous that ever disgraced a statute book
| In America, as towards you who participated
! in the rebellion, and all who ever sym pathized
| with you And yet, in the administration
/ Of that law, the law itself is daily violated,
and its provisions to your disparagem ment,
and to defeat your few remaining rights
/ under It's provisions We say this, fellow


citizens of Tennessee, not to discourage you.
/ We would arouse you to one more eff
| fort-the first effort which you have had the
opportunity to make-to regain your lost
| liberties Under the first Franchise law
which the Radical minority passed, they
/ were beaten, though the Radical party car
ried at that time not a tithe of the infamy
on their shoulders which now bears them
down. They passed another; but under il


found their success, but partial and unreli
able arguing certain defeat IN the future


A third infamY was enacted, by which they
| hoped to succeed Is their success certain


under this new law7 Why should you thinl


there Is no chance This new law is but al


ezperiment-an untried experiment Fear


ing themselves that it would not succeed


the Radicals passed another and fourth ac


Of infamy, more barefaced than any which


had preceded it. The Legislature assumed


to perform the judicial function of declar


ing void the registration of the single COUNTY


Of Davidson" the registration heretofor


had, under the Franchise law passed jun


3, 1866" so that the work might be don,


again by an appointee of Brownlow


Another section Of the bin extends the 'spFo
visions of this act to any other county in tn


State, etc, at the discretion of the Governor


This act Of infany confers no power on tn


Governor to set aside any registration any


where but such as had been had before th


passage Of the act and under the Law O