The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1868-06-10

allowed by law to all qualified electors, free
from threats, intimidation, compulsion, or
illegal combination. The intention of the
laws is, that every elector shall vote accord
ing TO the dictates of his own free will.
Under our form of government the cleo
tive franchise is considered the most valua-
BILE of all public rights, and persons unlaw-
fully interfering with the free and unpreju-
diced exercise of the same, are held to be
criminals of high character. The offer of
gifts or relcdrds to influence the vote of an
elector, is punished with disqualification for
any Office of profit or trust, exclusion from
suffrage and Imprisonment in the penitentiary
not more than two years, or in the county
Jail one year. or fined a thousand dollars, or
both, at the discretion OF the court. Code
579, art 81. That the managers of the 10y
al Leagues have committed this crime, on a
most gigantic scale, there can be little
doubt. The fact that they have sworE all
the feedmen in their lodges to secresy, and
threatened them with criminal prosecutions
1T they divulged the secrets of the order, is
evidence of criminal intent-that they were
promised forty acres of land and mule
and other rewards before the Convention
election is matter of confrmed netoriety. 4
Our statute provides as follows: Art. 80.
Whoever shall procure, or endeavur to pro-
cure the vote Of any elector. or the influence
of any person over other electors, at any
election, for himself or any candidate, by
means of violence, or threats of violence or
threat of withdrawing custom or dealing in
business or trade, or of enforcing the pay
ment of debt, or of bringing suit or crlm-
inal prosecution, or by any other threat or
injury to be inflicted by him, or by his
means, shall, upon conviction, be forever
disqualified to hold any Office OF place of
trust, honor or profit, under the laws or con-
stitution of this State, excluded from suf-
frage, and be punished by imprisonment in
the penitentiary, for term not exceeding
two years, or in a county Jail, not more than
one year, or by fine not exceeding one thou
sand dollars, or by both such fine and i'm
prisonment." aff f.t
By our statute it is further provided "that
if any person shall offer or give a reward to
another for the purpose of inducing him to
persuade, or by any other means, not amount
ing to bribery, procure any person to UOte at
any election, for or against ana person, the per-
son so giving or offering, and he who shall
receive such reward, shall, upon conviction
thereof, be Imprisoned in the common Jail
tor not more than one year, or fined not more
than five hundred dollars, or both, at the
discretion of the court" Rev. Code, page
579 art. 80. That this statute fully covers
the gigantic frauds of the Loyal Leagues in
the elective franchise, there can be no
reasonable doubt. That they procured the
freedmen, by means of unlawful oaths ana
false promises of rewards of a political and
pecuDiary nature, to vote for the Radical
candidates and against the opponents at the
Convention election, and that they have
perfected this scheme and enlarged its Grim
inal proportions for the election on the 22d
inst, is a fact of which they publicly boast,
and no reason is perceived why Gen. Gillem
should not break up the lodges and disperse
the cOnSpirators.
CONVENTION COMMITTEES OF SEVEN.
AT SEVENTY DOLLAkS PER DAY.
In addition to the Loyal Leagues estab
ished all over the State, tie late Convention
appointed committee of five-increased
now to seven, as we are infOrmed-with paw
of $40 per day. This committee are author
lied to appoint three commissioners for
each county, at the same wages of registrars
to attend the election in each county, and
report to the committee. Inasmuch as Gen.
Gillem has sole charge of the election, with
his military force, and has made ample pro.
vision for the same, this committee and
commissioners of the Convention have no
lawful duties to perform. They are not au-
thorized by the acts of Congress, nor by
military orders. 1t is fraud on the public
treasury of this State, and is manifestIy a
plan of the Convention to aid the Loyal
League in casting the negro vote for the
Radical candidates. The only duty requir
ed of these commissioners is to ATTEND the
election" Hbe present at the counting of the
votes, and forward the result of the same to
the chairman of said committee, within
three days thereafter"
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-THREE
COMMISSIONERS OF ELECTION, AT
a $l.09S PER Day.
There are three Commissioners for each
county at So per day-with no time specified
when these offices shall end-and no duties
to perform in which the public have any
interest whatever
Tere are sixty-One counties in the State
three Commissioners for each makes one
hundred and eighty-three Commissioners at
So per day, amounting to (SI098) one thous-
and and ninety eight dollars per day, for an
indefinite period of time.
GEN. GILLEM REQUESTED TO PROTECT
t FREEDMEN. 1
The attention of Gea. Gillem, the Presi-
dent and Congress, is called to this whole
subject with the hope that they will see the
propriety of protecting the freedmen from
the VOLTS embrace of the Loyal Leagues
tue State of Mississippi and the United
States from the public disgrace of permitting
so abomlnable fraud on the elective fran
ehise, and the people of Mississippi from the
seizure OF their government and revenues.
WOULD DEMOCRATS BE ALLOWED. To
FORM SUCH A LEAGUE.
If such vast and we'll organized conspir-
acy to corrupt, intimldate and control the
entire negro vote of the State, existed in
the Democratic party, would it not be regar-
ded as a criminal offence-would it not be
considered as an unlawful attempt to pre-
vent some fifty or sixty thousand voters
from free exercise of the elective franchise
of what value is the elective franchise to
the negro if he can be Kidnapped by the
Loyal League and sworn to support their
party and vote only such tickets as are put
into his hands by the agents of that party.
Did Congress confer the right of suffrage
on the negroes in order that few corrupt
and designing men might direct their votes
to accomplish any selfish and corrupt pur-
yose of their own2
1t is known that the members of the late
Convention were elected in this manner by
the negro vote, and this alone should con-
denim their work. Gau
APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT, TO CON-
GRESS AND The COUNTRY.
Will the Commanding General allow the
same wicked farce to be enacted at the COM
ing election? Will the President of the
United States and the Congress of the
United States, wink at an enormous fraud
of this character, perpetrated on the wards
and proteges of the government Was not