East Tennessee.
[correspondence of the Richmond Dispatch.]
The Permanent Constitution has been carried; Harris is elected Governor and the Legislature is so decidedly Southern that the traitor members from East Tennessee are talking largely about patriotism and loyalty to their State.
The quasi rebellion vote of East Tennessee is again in the majority, though its numbers have been decreased from five to ten thousand. It is thought Maynard, Nelson and Bridges, rebellion candidates, are elected to the United States Congress from their respective districts; but I must say, in justice to the people of East Tennessee, that a majority of them will not raise the sword to strike down their own State, and if ever the time comes to test it, they will prove what I say to be true.
Unfortunately the influence of demagogues and traitors has been great, and the people have been led astray. The world never before knew of a more ambitious man than Nelson, a greater demagogue than Johnson, or a more complete Yankee than Maynard. The talents of these men combined have led the public mind of East Tennessee astray; but their work is now done; no more will their traitorous footsteps pollute the soil of Tennessee. Johnson is in Washington city, to him a congenial clime, for where else could he find enough corruption to fill his voracious appetite? Maynard has escaped through the mountains to Kentucky on his way to Yankeedom, his native clime. Nelson is a prisoner. He was taken in Lee county, Va., a mile and a half from the Tennessee line, by Captain Daniel, of the Home Guard.
We do not exult over the misfortunes of a fallen enemy; we deplore the necessity which caused his arrest; we admire his talents and character as a neighbor and personal friend; but ambition, that destroyer of our species, has led lum to commit treason against his country and his people; therefore we approve of his arrest, and hope he may be dealt with as the merits of his case deserve.
We do not expect rebellion in East Tennessee--our people are not so fond of rushing into destruction; but even if the rebellions portion of them were willing to destroy their neighbors, their own preservation would cause them to desist from such an attempt, because they are unable to contend against the power of the State, much less that of the Southern Confederacy. J. N. S.
