The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1868-06-08


| The exercise of the elective franchise is
| allowed by law to all qualified electors, free
| from threats, intimidation, compulslon, 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, aud 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 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
| 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
| If they diyulged the secrets of the order, is
| evidence of criminal intent-thaU they were
promised forty acres of land and a mule
| and other rewards before the Convention
| election is a matter of confirmed notoriety.
| Our statute provides as follows Art. 80,
| whoever shall procure, or endeavOr 10 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-
| lnal 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 or place of
trust, honor or profit, under the laws or con-
stltution of this State, excluded from suf-
| trage, and be punished by Imprisonment in
the penitentiary, for a 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 inn
| prisOnment."
By our statute it is further provided that
| II any person shall offer or give reward to
another for the purpose of inducing him to
| persuade, or by any other means, not amount
| ang TO bribery, procure any person to rOte at
any election, for or against any 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
| for 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 ano
| false promises of rewards of political and
| pecuniary 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 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 COMMITTEE OF SEVEN.
| AT SEVENTY DOLLARS PER DAY
In addition to the Loyal Leagues estab-
| lished all over the State, the late Convention
| appointed a committee of five-increased
| now to seven, as we are informed-with pay
of 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. 1naSmuch as Gen.
| Glllem 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 manifestly a
| plan of the Convention to aid the Loval
! League In casting the negro vote for the
Radical candidates. The only duty requir
| ed of these commissioners is to attend the
! CiCC1lOh, Do pIeS0nU 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 ETGHTY-THREE
| COMMISSIONERS OF ELECrION. AT
$l.O9S 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.
| Iere are sixty-one counties in the State
! three Commissioners for each makes one
! hundred and eighty three Commissioners at
! Sc per day. amounting to (SlO98) one thous-
| and and Einety eight dollars per day for an
| indefinite period of time.
| GEN. GILLEM REQUESTED TO PROTECT
! FREEDMEN.
The attention of Gea Gillem. the Presi-
dent and Congress, is called to this whole
! subject with the hope that they will see the
| proprety of protecting the freedmen from
| the VOLTS embrace of the LOYAL Leagues
tue State of Mississippi and the United
! States from the public disgrace ofpermitting
| so abOmlnable fraud on the elective fran
chlse, 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 well organized conspr-
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 he
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 own
1t is known that the members of the late
| Convention were elected in this manner bv
| the negro vote, and this alone should con-
! denim their work.
APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT, TO CON
GRESo 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
a