The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1868-06-18

Opinion of Judge Yerger.
JACKSON, Miss, June 9, 1868
GEN. JOHN D. FREEMAN,

GEN. JOHN D. FREEMAN,
Dear Sr:-In reply to your question of
this date, state that by the common law
a conspiracy is defined to be any combina-
ton, confederacy or league of two or more
persons for corrupt and illegal purpose or
for etfeeting lawful purpose by the use of
unlawful means. All confederacies or
leagues whatever, wrongfully to prejudice
third persons or the public, are highly
criminal at the common law. Conspiraces
have always been greatly reprobated and
every person participating in them is sub
iect to Indictment or information, and on
conviction may be fined or imprisoned, or
both fined and imprisoned. If two or more
persons unite together to effect any illegal
purpose it is a conspiracy. Any league or
combination of two or more persons to OBJ
struct pervert or defeat the course of public
lustice- to injure the public health or to eff
feet any public mischief, is a conspiracy,
and as such may be indicted
The free exercise of the right to vote, or
of the elective franchise" as it is called, is
of the utmost Importance to the public. On
it, depends the maintenance of free gov
ernments and the safety of the State. Any
attempt to interfere with its exercise by
fear, threats or intimidation of any kind, or
to deceive aud defraud the voter as to his
rights and duties, is great public wrong
and cannot be too highly stigmatzed or
| together in confederacy or league, for the
purpose of intimidating voters, or by means
of secret pledges or oaths not prescribed by
law to bind the voters to pursue particu
| lar policy, to vote for a particular party, or
| to support particular man or class of men,
or by means of bribery, or threats, or intim-
| idation of any kind, to prevent the free ex-
ercise by every one, of the right to VOTE
such persons and every one of them so COM
bining or leagueing together, are guilty of
the crime of conspiracy, and may be Indie
ted for it.
| have no personal knowledge of the pur-
pose or objects of the secret political asso-
| Citations they call Loyal Leagues
| That they are secret political associations
| -pledging their members to conceal from
the public their objects and purposes-is
sufficient to arouse grave doubts in the minds
of all right-thinking men-of their lie atty
| and propriety; and if it be true, as you have
| been informed, that they bind their members
| by secret oath, to vote only for their party
nominees, and threaten punishment of any
kind upon those who break the pledge. If
| it be true, as you have been informed, that
/ they are leagued together for the purpose of
preventing particular class of the commu-
nifty from voting any ticket except such as
may be agreed upon by their party-and
| t at to effect that purpose, they use threats
or intimidation, of any kind, or adopt any
other means to deceive or mislead the voter,
and prevent the free exercise of his judg-
ment, then they are certainly. IN the highest
degree criminal and as such should be indicted
and severely punished. The ballot box cam
not be left too free. The right to vote freely,
! without fear, threats, or intimidation, cannot
be too carefully guarded; and every one who
JOINS ANY SOCIETY OR LEAGUE, for
the purpose-by means Of Intimidation, threats,
fear. or SECRET OATHS, of preventing OF
deterring voters from the free exercise of the
right of suffrage, is guilty of HIGH CRIME
against the peace and well-being of the state,
and should be subjected to the PENALTIES
prescribed by law.
| Respectfully,
| WILLIAM YERGER.-