Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 2.
Frank Moore, Ed.

4. Desiring in good faith, that the General Assembly will grant this our reasonable request, and still claiming the right to determine our own destiny, we do further resolve that an election be held in all the counties of East Tennessee, and in such counties in Middle Tennessee, adjacent thereto, as may desire to coperate with us, for the choice of delegates to represent them in a General Convention, to be held in the town of Kingston, at such time as the President of this Convention, or, in case of his absence or inability, any one of the Vice-Presidents, or, in like case with them, the Secretary of this Convention, may designate; and the officer so designating the day for the assembling of said Convention, shall also fix the time for holding the election herein provided for, and give reasonable notice thereof.

5. In order to carry out the foregoing resolution, the Sheriffs of the different counties are hereby requested to open and hold said election, or cause the same to be so held in the usual manner and at the usual places of voting as prescribed by law; and in the event the Sheriff of any county should fail or refuse to open and hold said election, or cause the same to be done, the Coroner of such county is requested to do so; and should such Coroner fail or refuse, then any Constable of any county is hereby authorized to open and hold said election, or cause the same to be done. And if in any county none of the above-named officers will hold said election, then any Justice of the Peace or freeholder in said county is authorized to hold the same or cause it to be done. The officer or other person holding said election shall certify the result to the President of this Convention, or to such officer as may have directed the same to be holden, at as early a day thereafter as practicable;,; and the officer to whom said returns may be made shall open and compare the polls, and issue certificates to the delegates elected.

6. That in said Convention the several counties shall be represented as follows : the county of Knox shall elect three delegates, the counties of Washington, Greene, and Jefferson, two delegates each, and the remaining counties shall elect each one delegate.

In the afternoon session of the same day, Mr. Netherland, of Hawkins, offered the following:

Resolved, That the members of the present Legislature of Tennessee, who sympathize with the purposes of this Convention, be, and are hereby, respectfully requested to resume their seats in the Legislature, at as early an hour as possible; unless, however, they find themselves repelled from that body by any proscriptive act or acts to which, as conscientious freemen, they cannot submit.

Adopted unanimously.

Mr. Maxwell, of Washington, offered the following:

Resolved, That so far as we know the people of East Tennessee have interposed no obstacle to the passage of troops and munitions of war through our territory; and while we object, and have ever objected, in public and private, to any violence to the railroads, yet if the grievous wrongs inflicted by some of the troops are not stopped, we warn all persons concerned, including the officers of said roads, that there is a point at which a population of 300,000 people outraged, insulted, and trampled upon, cannot and ought not to be restrained.

The resolution was adopted without division.

The following paper having been presented to the Convention, was ordered to be spread on the minutes:

The undersigned, delegates from the County of Hawkins to this Convention, not approving the proceedings of the Convention, but dissenting from the same, protest against the action of the Convention, and ask that this protest be entered on the minutes of the Convention.