The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1868-03-14
Iron the J.
The Farce.

What was dignifed on Saturday
with the name Of an election has
proved, as we feared, a mere cheat
and farce. We should be obliged to
King Brownlow il he would appoint
our officers, without putting us to so
much expense and trouble about il.
Ii would be more respectable to do
the thing by his simple fiat, than to
use the blacks as instruments, vast
ing their time and demoralizing them
by false oatbs, and teaching them
tricks and frauds. II was very easy
to carry a pretended election by
shutting off white voters from the
polls, registering negroes from adj
joining States and counties, gaining
solid support by laying them
into enmity to the white population,
and encouraging them to stuff the
allot-boxcs with fraudulent votes,
and trample down the freedom Of
elections. But the morality of the
transaction is another matter. And
the evil Of it, as to the blacks, will
extend itself far into the future. Far
betterit would be if Brownlow would
maintain the exclusive monopoly of
playing the devil, so as not TO drag
the poor ignorant blacks down to his
own moral level.
To affirm hat there was an cleo
ton on Saturday, in which the wishes
and will of the people Of Shelby
county was fairly made known, would
be to affirm what every honest man
knows to be a brozen falsehood.
We have no more had an election
than we should have had if there
had been a mass meeting OF the
whites and blacks of Shelly county,
with hall as many blacks from the
surrounding counties superadded, and
the whole matter had been deter
mined by the sound, in a rird rout
vote and stentorian uproar.
The Radicals from Maine to Cali
fornia will now exult over their little
victory, conceived in sin and brought
forth in iniquity. They have tri.
umphed, of course, as the pickpockei
and the highwayman triumphs ovei
all law, rule and restraint of good
government. We are glad Of ii
We desired a fair expression Of thu
will of Shelby county in this case, Il
is true, as we did that of the State il
the Governors election. But il il
well we are beaten in both, IL il car
be done BY such practices. Decen
men will be driven from all connec
ton with culprits, thus convicted
and heraldcd to the four winds b,
their own act. The yet sovereign
people of America will take warning
that the days Of intelligent republi
can government are gone forever
unless the proper corrective Is mp
piled. Men Of integrity, of thought
Of capital and decency, throughou
the county, will ask themselves no,
they should like 70 be thus under th
government Of a mob, compose
almost entirely of an inferior race
embittercd by wrongs and rendere'
rcvengeful by a multitude OF parti
san faIsehoods. They will shrinl
aghast from the appalling spectacle
they will dcnounce the atrocious out
rage, and rise In their wrath, in mum
.lbers and might, TO save the republl
.from ruin and the men Of their bloc
. from the despoiling hand Of usnrpin
tyrants, whose rule is ruin. We d
not regret the result. II lays upo
our county a new adversely, Il Is tru'
Bot il will hasten the day Of our d.
liverance from misrule aud oppre'
/ sion. And Il will therefore work, !
we trust, to our ultimate advantap
as we'll as 10 that Of the country |
. large II is well when Cioven Foo
Ills about that he should be seen
horns, hoofs and all.