Year: 1867

selves that it would not succeed


the Radicals passed another anc


fourth act of infamy, more bare


faced than any which had pre-


ceded it. The Legislature as


sumed to perform the judicia


function Of declaring void tn


registration of the single count,


of Davidson-"the registration


heretofore had, under the Fran
chise law passed June 3, 1866,


SO that the work might be don'
again by an appointee of Brown
low. Another section of the bill
extends the provision of thi


act to any other county in thc
State" ETC., at the discretion of
the Governor. This act of in


fanny confers no power on the
Governor to set aside any registra
tion anywhere but such as had
been had before the passage of
the act and under the law of May
81, 1866; but no consideration
of conscience or of law will deter
the incumbent Of the State Cap


itol from doing an unlawful thing


The power is seemingly placed
in his hands to enforce his naked
will as law, but we are not dis.
couraged for all this. Brownlow
cannot, with all this machinery
of tyranny in his hands, hold and
keep in meek submission the will
of a million Of free people. If
you will arouse to the contest.
and 60 forth to shake yourselves.
the cords which bind your limbs
will be parted asunder "as a
thread of tow is broken when il
toucheth the fire." You can win
this contest if you will arouse to
work. Our people have long
been used to be free, and when
they awake from the slumbers
into which their wearied energies
have fallen, the clamor of their
indignation will be like the voice
of so many waters. The danger
is, fellow-citizens, that you will
too long delay your action, and then
your vengeance will not stop
short of unlawful excess. For
less tyranny than this we see
kings have lost their heads. But
we would have your energies tenn
pered with moderation. We feel
no fear from the vaunting threats
of military or militia coercion
daily thrown out by pltiful pol
troons, who judge your nature by
their own cowardly instincts
The government of the nation is
not going to interfere to restrain
the lawful efforts of our people to
regain their freedom. The peo-
pie of Tennessee, for the sake OF


peace, have now placed themselves
upon the broad platform of uni
versal suffrage and universal
equality before the law. The
public opinion of the nation would
not tolerate an outside interference
to secure the continuance in power
of a hateful and pitiful minority
which dares not 60 before the
people of the State on terms like
these. As to Brownlow him
self and his militia, they dare not
confront a determined people,
They did, indeed, begin a career
of robbery and outrage in one of


our most peaceful counties, which
eliminated in O. cruel and cold
blooded murder. But when they
presently beheld the gathering
wrath of a people "cast down but
not destroyed" they skunk away
into. a covering auietude. Gov
ernor Brownlow cannot raise his
eight thousand militia. There
are not SO many outlaws in the
State at his service. He and his
Legislature and other officials
have SO bankrupted the State
Treasury, that he has no money
to pay or provision such a force.
But in fact he dares not raise
them until after the election. The
good sense and better feelings of
even a portion of his own sup
porters is already SO shocked at
the barbarities of his militia, that
he will not likely dare to increase
their number, even if it should
lie within his power. The peo-
pie look upon these outrages more
in anger than in fear. But, if


the full quota Of eight thousand
outlaws were quartered upon this