American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1869-05-15
The Gubernatorial Chair.
From the Kinds County Gazette I

From the Hinds County Gazette
When Gov. Sharkey commenced
running the provisional government
of Mississippi in 1865, under author
ity from President Johnson. we hap
pened to be a Magistrate in the Ray
mond District, holding a Commits
sion according to law. We lost no
time ourself i'll taking the celebrated
. Amnesty Oath," (which it was un-
derstood replaced each rebel back to
the" Union of his fathers y and Gov.
Sharkey authorized us TO administer
the same to the people generally in
this part of the county, and also to
Magistrates, that they in turn might
administer it in their neighborhoods
to the end that the whole people
might be sworn back into the Union,
and resume their old rights and privi-
leges, at the earliest possible day.
a few days after we had commenced
business ''on this line" we had the
pleasure of administering the "Oathn
to a Magistrate from an extreme
point in the county. He was and
is yet good friend of ours, but in
1861 he was the most furious Seces-
sion Democrat in his neighborhood.
After he had taken the oath we con-
graduated him OH his return to the
United States, and requested him to
bring i'll the good people in his part
of the county as rapidly as possible.
A week or more after we had thus
armed our Secession friend, an old
greyhaired Whig, a Union man of
the true grit in '32, 81, go and '61,
rode up to our Office, fatigued and
covered with dust. He had ridden
from Is to 20 miles through the sun
to take the Oath. But old friend.
said we, why didn't you go to your
next neighbor, Squire so-and-sog (the
Secession Magistrate referred to
above)-he could have administer
ed the Oath to you. Looking us full
in the face, our old friend replied /:
'Ah, Harper, couldn't stand to be
taken out Of the Union, and then
brought back, by the same man y
We thought then, and we think now,
the point was well taken.
In suggesting the Hon. G. C. Shack
leford, of the county of Madison, for
the position of Governor Of Mississip-
pi st the next election, whenever
that election may be held,) as we did
a couple of weeks since, we were in
tluenced, mainly, by two considera-
tons. l. To secure competent
and worthy man for Governor and
>. To place Mississippi in proper
5 hands to claim re-admission into the
Union, where we rightfully belong
2 and where we would have found oul
way on terms more favorable three
, years ago, than those to which We
shall now be compelled to submit
We are aware that there are those
: who would not relish the nomination
b. of Mr.. Shackleford for Governor; in
e deed we have heard low mutterings
;, already. There are those who woul(
: not favor the nomination of any MAJ
l of that gentleman's political antece
5 dents. Yet, we contend to-day, a.
/, we have continuously urged sine,
/ 1865, that men of Mr.. Shackleford'
/ antecedents are the only men VIII,
e can consistently engineer Mississippi
S back into the Union, and we ques
:, ton if any other class of men will b
It permitted to do so by the fedora
II radical authorities, civil and military
e Mr.. Shackleford has all the admin
istrative capacity necessary for tn
office of Governor. He has manages
g his own individual affairs well, in th
i past, thus atfording an earnest tina
i he knows how to attend to busines
It He is gentleman-emphatically
e, gentleman-in the relations of life
S Besides, he is a man of legal an
d literary requirements unSrrpaSse
o by any gentleman in the State. A
a. a lawyer, we know Of no one VIII
4 ranks higher. AS planter, we kno,
IN Of no one who has been more univer
id sally successful. He has assisted, i
le years past, in the government
+ Mississippi, and with our people an
so soil has he long been wholly an
le completely identified--never an offic
u seeker, but always a prominent an
i'll laborious worker in the ranks of I'll
II conservative party of the State.
ie In 1850 and 81, when the scene
III 1861 was sought to be perpetrate,
IS Mr.. ShacklefOrd was a " Union man
eI and from that period down nev,
as ceased to oppose the leaders of Sece
sion and their schemes for '' tiril
lis the Southern heart" and g precit
- tating the Cotton States into a rev
IL lution.n We stood shoulder
III with him in the memorable Legisl
,eS ture of 1852, and also in the no lie
no memorable one of 1854, and in t
eS contests of go and '61 when the fl
spirit of Secession fairly howl
through the counties of Kinds a
Madison, and when men holdil
conservative views could not appe
al in public without incurring the ri
hes of insult, if not bodily harm. \
ION Shackleford, during all the storl
to of the periods named, ever sto
or firm and immoyable-the same l
~ daunted enemy of Secession and t
,on violent and misguided and bli
~; men who led that most unfOrtun;
ns movement.
> We do not see why we, and 9th
Ike. who stood with us in 1S51'52 a
,ht '60-6l, should now so to the bit
an. SecesSionists-the ruin makers
ori those periods, to lead us back il
ow the Union. We have no faith in [
hly Judgment, sagacity or patriotism
oh. the old Secession, rule or ruin par
ii n and hence, while we still have ST
ere men as &. G. Shacbler III in I
r,y State, we do not see wh,- we shoI
.pp. look for counsel and guild ace to
; of old SecesSionists-eSp".iliiy wi
IIy. it is SO evident that they are as bli
cry now, and as ravenous for places &
and power now, rs they were in 1861.
tell 1t is unfortunate for the State. {
dis it is as trIe as it is unfortunate, t
ver many of the old Secession fuglpn
re- setm to think they have Div
not right to rule, and it is too true t
hun man Of their old political oppone
dis seem willing to admit the claim,
# a trust them i'll the work of reconStl
'cls, ton, when from the very nature
l., HI