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TENNESSEE. 



tenance of the Union of the States under the Consti- 

 tution. 



Resolved, That the bonds of Tennessee, heretofore 

 deliberately recognized by both the Republican and 

 Democratic parties as legally issued, are a valid in- 

 debtedness, binding in law and in morals upon the 

 property and conscience of the State, and that any at- 

 tempt to impair the obligations of that indebtedness, 

 or to readjust or scale it, or in any other manner to 

 change the letter and spirit of the contract, without 

 the voluntary consent 01 the bondholders previously, 

 fairly, and understandingly obtained, is downright re- 

 pudiation and an act of high-handed dishonesty. 



Resolved, That any voluntary proposition from our 

 creditors to take less than the face value of their 

 bonds, in consequence of losses incurred by our citi- 

 zens during the war of the rebellion, should "be thank- 

 fully and unhesitatingly accepted, and the new con- 

 tract faithfully and promptly complied with ; and we 

 denounce the refusal of the Democratic party to ac- 

 cept the sixty-and-six proposition as the refusal of a 

 liberal and voluntary reduction ; and we recognize in 

 said refusal overwhelming evidence that a large ma- 

 jority of the Democratic party intends to repudiate 

 the bonded debt of the State, and thereby to subject 

 our State to the opprobrium of all peoples who regard 

 the contracts of a State with her creditors as of sacred 

 inviolability. 



Resolved, That the reasons prompting the Demo- 

 cratic party of Tennessee, and of other States of the 

 South, to repudiate the debts of their respective States, 

 will, when logically carried out, prompt them also to 

 repudiate the entire war debt of the United States ; 

 and we hereby declare our solemn judgment to be 

 that, as soon as the repudiating element of the Demo- 

 cratic party has wipecl out the debts of their respec- 

 tive States, they will declare in favor of repudiating 

 the debt incurred by the nation in preserving the 

 Union. 



Resolved, That we renew our declarations in favor 

 of _ free common schools for the education of all the 

 children of the State, we believing that schoolhouses 

 are cheaper than court-houses, and that intelligence 

 is the mother of morality and liberty. 



Resolved, That we recognize the rights of the labor- 

 ing men and women of Tennessee as deserving of our 

 most tender parental solicitude ; and we denounce 

 all legislation that discriminates against the poor and 

 in favor of the rich, believing that the poor should be 

 protected, that labor is the creator of all our wealth, 

 and that there can be no permanent public or private 

 prosperity except it be based upon perfect harmony 

 between labor and capital. 



Resolved, That we are opposed to bringing convict- 

 labor into unnecessary competition with free labor, 

 and, as one means of preventing this, we favor the 

 employment of Penitentiary convicts, below a certain 

 grade, on public works and in improving the public 

 roads throughout the State. 



Resolved, That we are in favor of law and order, and 

 opposed to mob violence ; that we demand the im- 

 partial enforcement of the laws everywhere and at all 

 times ; that we denounce social ostracism because of 

 political opinion as a standing reproach to a free gov- 

 ernment, as calculated to discourage the incoming of 

 capital and labor, and as destructive to the business 

 prosperity of the people ; that we advocate all meas- 

 ures that promote peace, protect industry, encourage 

 temperance, and advance morality ; ana we pledge 

 the voices and votes of the Republican party to every 

 good work that will benefit the individual, build up 

 the State, and strengthen the nation. 

 ^ The Greenback-Labor party, represented by 

 sixty delegates, five among them being colored, 

 held its State Convention at Nashville, on May 

 22d, when they appointed delegates to the 

 National Greenback Convention, meeting at 

 Chicago on June 9th, and nominated their 

 candidates for Governor and Presidential elec- 



tors, as follows: For Governor, R. M. Ed- 

 wards was nominated by acclamation. As 

 Presidential electors for the State at large 

 were nominated R. M. McKee, of East Tennes- 

 see, and H. M. Hill, of West Tennessee. 



To instruct these delegates how they should 

 act with their fellow-Greenbackers at the gen- 

 eral meeting in Chicago, the following resolu- 

 tions were offered by different members, aod 

 adopted by the Convention : 

 ^ Resolved, That the delegates to the Chicago Conven- 

 tion of June 9th are hereby instructed to vote for no 

 man for Presidential or Vice-Presidential nominee un- 

 less he be an unconditional, uncompromising, out- 

 spoken Greenbacker one Ayho has given unmistakable 

 evidence of having cast his lot with the Greenback 

 party. 



Whereas, The dissensions heretofore existing be- 

 tween the two portions of the Greenback party, viz., 

 the Greenback clubs and the National party, ought to 

 be, and for the benefit of the entire party should be, 

 healed, in order to more effectually turn our weapons 

 against our common foe : therefore, 



Resolved, That our delegates to Chicago be instruct- 

 ed to use every honorable means to effect a reconcilia- 

 tion between the two, in accordance with the old motto, 

 " United we stand, divided we fall." 



The Secretary of the Committee on Platform 

 and Resolutions reported the following, which 

 was adopted : 



Resolved, We adopt the following as our platform of 

 principles : 



1. We oppose all banks of issue. 



2. We are in favor of the General Government fur- 

 nishing the currency of the country. 



3. We are in favor of paying the national debt now 

 due and to become due according to the terms of the 

 original contracts. 



4. We arc opposed to the creation of a bonded in- 

 debtedness in any form. 



5. We affirm and adopt as part of our platform the 

 resolutions known as the " Weaver resolutions," lately 

 introduced in Congress as follows : 



Resolved, That it is the sense of this House that all 

 currency, whether metallic or paper, necessary for the 

 use and convenience of the people, should be issued 

 and its volume controlled by the Government, and 

 not by, or through, the bank corporations of the coun- 

 try ; and, when so issued, should be a full legal tender 

 in payment of all debts, public and private. 



Resolved, That, in the judgment of this House, that 

 portion of the interest-bearing debt of the United 

 States which shall become redeemable in the year 

 1881, or prior thereto, being in amount $782,000,000, 

 should not be refunded beyond the power of the Gov- 

 ernment to call in said obligations and pay them at 

 any time, but should be paid as rapidly as possible 

 and according to contract. To enable the Government 

 to meet these obligations, the mints of the United 

 States should be operated to their fullest capacity in 

 the coinage of standard silver dollars, and such other 

 coinage as the business interests of the country may 

 require. 



6. We demand a graduated tax on all incomes above 

 one thousand dollars a year. 



7. We favor the regulation of inter-State commerce 

 by Congress, and transportation charges by the State 

 Legislatures. 



8. We are in favor of equal taxation of all property 

 owned by individuals or corporations. 



9. We favor a thorough system of public-school 

 education that the Legislature prescribe the text- 

 books to be used in the schools, prohibit frequent 

 changes of the same, and prevent a monopoly of the 

 sale of the same. 



And in relation to the State debt, wo declare : 

 Believing that the railroad bonds were issued with- 



