The Placer herald., 1864-02-27

lie papers were forbidden to publish it, aud
an embargo laid on all the steamers in port
trading with that part of the State, lest they
might carry it.
An attempt has been made to Justify the
militar,1 order upon the ground that its only
purpose was to exclude disloyal voters who
had by their conduct justly forfeited their
franchise. An examination of the oath
however, which is prescribed, will show that
even had it emanated from undoubted au
thority, it could accomplish no such end
No matter what had been the conduct of
the voter, there was nothing in the oath cal
culated to exclude him; it had no reference
to his past conduct, and every traitor who
had left the State and had just returned from
the rebel army might have taken it with inn
punity. 1t contained only promise for
future good behavior-a promise which, as a
very slight atonement, many rebel sympa
thlzer might and doubtless did very readily
make whilst the loyal citizen who had stood
always faithful to his allegiance, would feel
justly indignant at having his loyalty chal-
leuged, or being required to give any guar
antee for his future conduct, or to enable
him to exercise q privilege he had never tor'
teted.
How far it accomplished the purpose
claimed for it, or how far my anticipations
of the consequences of the order and the
abuses to which it would lead were realized,
will appear by brief reference to some Of
the transactions connected with its execu-
ton. These abuses commenced even before
the opening of the polls. On the day pre-.
ceeding the election, the officer in command
of the regiment which had been distributed
among the counties of the Eastern Shore,
and who bad himself landed in Kent County,
commenced his operations by sending across
the bay some ten or more OF the most estima-
bic and distinguished of its cilizens including
several of the most steadtast and uncompro,
missing loyaists of the Shore. The Jail of
the county was entered, the jailor seized, i'm
prisoned ana afterwards sent to Baltimore,
and prisoners confined therein under indict-
nent set at liberty. The commanding Off
Ger referred to- gave the first clue to the
character of dsloyalty against which he
considered himself AS particularly commisl
stoned by printing and publishing procIa-
nation, in which, referring to the election
to take place next day, he invited all the
truly loyal to avail themselves of that oppor
tuniy, and establish their loyalty "by giving
full and ardent support to the whole gov
ernment ticket upon the platform adopted
by the Union League Convention" declar-
ing that "none other is recognized by the
Federal authorities as loyal or worthy of
support of any one who desires the peace
and restoration of the Union"
To secure the election of that ticket
IL,
his officers especially devoted themselves
throughout the day of election. In the
statements and certificates which have been
forwarded to me from different counties in
that Congressional District. | have been
furnished, presume, with an account Of
part only of the outrages to which their
citizens were subjected. The government
ticket" above referred to, was in several, if
not all of these counties, designated by its
color; it was a yellow ticket, and armed with
that voter could safely run the gauntlet
of the sabres and carbnes that guarded the
entrance to the polls, and known sympathiz.
ers with the rebellion were, rs certified to me
allowed to vote, unquestioned, if they would
vote that ticket, whilst loyal and respected
citizens, ready to take the oath, were turned
DdCk ny tuo OlllCcIS III CIdlSo WlIuOuL even
allowing them to approach the polls.
In one district, as appears by certificate
from the Judge, the military officer took his
stand at the polls before they were opened,
declaring that none but "the yellow ticket"
should be voted, and excluded all others
throughout the day. In another district a
similar officer caused every ballot offered to
be examined, and unless it was the favored
one, the voter was required to take the oath,
and not otherwise; and in another again,
after the one vote only had been given, the
polls were closed the judges all arrested and
sent out of the county, and military occupal
tion taken of the town.
But will not detain you with recapitu-
ation of all the abuses that these statements
disclose. have caused copies of them to be
transmitted to you, and they cannot fail to
arrest your attention. They present humil'
iating record, such as had never supposed
we should be called upon to read in any
State; still less in loyal one like this. I'm
less it be indeed falacy to suppose that
any rights whatever remain to such State,
or that any line whatever marks the limit
of Federal power, a bolder stride across that
line that power never made even in a rebel
State, than it did here on the fourth of last
November.
A part of the army which generous peo-
pie had supplied for very different purpose,
was on that day engaged in sitting the free
dom of election in a faithful State, intmida-
ting its sworn officers, violating its consti
tutional rights of its loyal citizens, and OBJ
structing the usual channels of communica-
ton between tn IN and their executive.
If have deprecated such proceedings, |
have been acluated in so doing, scarcely
more by the sense of what was due to the
laws and constitution of the State, than by
a regard for the safety and success of the
Union and the maintenance of that popular
respect for and confidence in its constituted