Year: 1878

pIGJlIlcc Vi Tie people. III seen


to be generally understood by man


that it is entirely right to obtai


any advantage of the people, how


ever much it may increase thei


burdens but that is a grave Grim


for the people to challenge the jus


tice of a demand under any circum


stances. The Democratic part


claims 10 be founded on principle


ancient and eternal as the hills


What does it declare upon this sub


ject? First, that the reputation Q


Just debt is treason to Democracy


Secondly, that the people, who ar


the tax payers, are entitled to tn,


same impartial justice that tn,


bondholder is. Nothing more anC


nothing less and that it is equally


a crime to rob the people as it il


to rob the bondholders.


1t is now agreed by both the peo


pie and bondholders that the pres
ent contract between them is wrong


and unjust, and ought not to be car


ried out, and that, therefore, there


must be new contract between the
people upon the one side and the


bonholder upon the other, whereby


the rights of each parry to the con.


tract shall be respected and protect.


ed. Thirdly, that as the burden OF


payment must be upon the people


that they have a right to be heard


before an effort to bind by a new


contract is attempted. 1t is not


strange that this declaration is the


one which meets with severest con-
demnatiOn from our opponents. Re


membering that when they were in


power and piling up this debt, up
mountains high upon our impover-
ished people, they were not then


willing that the voice of the people
should be heard, and they,
therefore, disfranchises them.
Hence it is not astonishing that they
distrust the people now.


But in truth, this question pre-
sents the pivotal principles in gov
ernment. 1t is by no means a new
thing under the sun to have the
right and capacity of the people to
govern themselves gravely denied,
but upon this great fundamental
question the Democratic party can
take but one side. The people may,
ought and must be trusted, or our
system of government is a failure
and we ought to have a King, a
House of Lords and a House of
Commons, with a property quaIifi-
cation to govern us. But, as a mat
ter of fact, the honest bondholder,
above all men on earth, is most in
terested in having the people assent
to the new contract. Let us reason
about this. 1t Is too clear for argu-
ment that there is no power on
earth which can force the people
to pay one dollar of the debt against
their will, and it was so understood
when the bondhOlder parted with
his money and took the bonds. The
taxes to pay the debt or its interest
must be laid every two years, and
as the people can only be taxed
through their own representatives
it is perfectly clear they will not
send representatives who will be
willing to lay a tax to pay a debt
which their constituency regard as
unjust. Therefore, it is absolutely
essential to the interest of the bond
holder that the assent of the people
shall be had to the new contract.
When they once agree to it, the
effect will be to put the whole qUes-
ton out of the politics of the State.
Whenever the people, by the exer-
else of their free voice, agree to a
new contract, they will abide it at
all hazards.


But there is another grave reason
why this new contract should have
the assent of the people. 1t is re-
ported and believed that while the
taxpayers are at home and at work,
men who are interested in bonds
hang about the legislative halls
while the Legislature is in session
and employ all manner of seduc-
tive arts to induce legislation favor
ably to themselves and preiudicial
to the people. The people know
that in a court of justice, if either
party to the suit gets a verdict by
privately impOrtuning the jury,
that it is not allowed to stand, and
they cannot understand why it is
wrong for one party to a lawsuit to
get money from his adversary by
importuning the jury, and yet right
for the b0nhOlder to get money
from them by approaching and i'm
pOrtuning the members of the Leg
islature. In fact the honest bond
holder has never done this. 1t has
been done by the bond bull, who
bought to unload, and procuring
favorable legislation
threw up temporarily, the price of
bonds and unlOaded at an enor-
NOUS profit before they fell. When
the debt is once settled by the peO-
pie, the Legislature will have only
a ministerial office to perform in
means to meet its Obliga-
tions.


There is another strong reason
why the new contract should be
to the people. When it
is known that the contract is to be
before them anC weighed
by them, before they are called up
on to pass upon it, it will almost
certainly result that instead of the
effort of the bondholders being di-
rected to attempt to obtain an ad-
it will be his purpose to
see that such an adjustment is SUBJ
mitted to the people as will be fair
and just in all of its parts, so that |
it may command their assent, and |
consequently a submission to the
people is the nearest, brOadest and |
most certain road to the settlement |
of this veXed question.


The Democratic party of Tennes- |
see alone stands on the side of the |
people upon this great question,
and tell those who oppose the
right of the people to be heard, that |
this question will never be settled |
until it is settled right, and it can
never be settled right until the SOW
arign people have declared their
voice. To their keeping is commit
ted the fame, the honor and glory
of Tennessee. They have never be-
trayed their sacred trust, and when |
| am told that the honor and integ-
rity of the people of Tennessee are |
not to be trusted, in their name / |
denOunce it as false. By oppression
and injustice, you may goad them
to desperation but unless you arouse
their passions and betray their
by impuging their hon
asty, l undertake to pledge for them
that they will do right.


The State debt must be sifted.
Every just advantage the bond
holder has obtained must be surren-
1ered. There must be an equitable
of the debt. There must


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