Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-02
RAscALITIEs OF REGIsrRARs.

A correspondent of the Memphis
Appeas makes very serious charges
against the Registrar for Shelby
county. Here are the charges:
@When Williams was appointed Cons
missioner Of Registration he declared
that he would 60 to each district and give
the planters ample opportunity to regis
ter without taking them from their busi4
ness that he felt it his duty to do so. lie
made many promises to go to Cuba, Rails
eigh and elsewhere, and finally allowed
and consented to the publication Of
appointments at Cuba, Shelby De-
pot, Big Creek Collieryille, Ger
mantown, Bartlett, etc, etc, but
when the time arrived, because Of some
fabricated pretext, he failed to visit Cuba,
Big Creek and Shelby Depot, where huns
dreds Of citizens were waiting for their
certificates, and fully entitled to the
same. He went to Bartlett twice, be-
cause he knew that several hundred ne
groes would be there; and, furthermore,
was assured that majority of the whites
would vote for Smith. During his two
visits there, he registered over three
hundred negroes and not third of that
| number of whites. He went to Germans
| town, but made a very brief visit. He
went to Whites Station on the Missis~
sippi and Tennessee railroad, first, be-
cause he knew large number of negroes
awaited him, and so concealed his coming
among the whites that only two white
persons were present, whilst the me-
groes were secretly notified by spec
cial cOlored messengers He visited
| Presidents Island to accommodate the
negroes, although there was no voting
precinct there. He also visited Whites
Station, on the Memphis and Charleston
Railroad, but failed to carry with him
more than couple OF doZeE Of certificates
for whites, whilst he always had an IN.
limited number of them for cOlOred
Many persons who applied on that occa>
sion failed to get their certificates, al
though properly youched for. A short
time thereafter, with that mishap fresh
in his mind, he visited Colliersville and
failed TO carry with him any certificates
at all for whites, notwithstanding his
studious efforts to prevent the citizens Of
the country from getting their certificates,
many them, anxious TO exercise their
birthright, came to the city and spent
days, at a heavy expense, and at
length obtained them. To accomplish,
that which was his object from the be-
ginning wiz: to prevent the country dis
tricts from having any voice in the cleo,
tom he failed and refused to publish
his list of judges, clerks and officers to
hold the election until Tuesday evening
the same was published in the Post,
which is not read by planters in the
country, consequently but few (and those
accideDtly) learned Of their appointment
until it was too late to act upon it, for
the instructions issued by him required
the officer TO come to his office and be
by him sworn before he could discharge
the duty assigned him whilst many Of
the districts are from nine to twenty.
three miles from Memphis, distant from
railroads or other facilities for getting in
formation, receiving their mails once a
week, generally on Saturdays"
These charges are sufficiently
specific. They prove beyond ques-
ton that it was his original and
persistent purpose to deprive the
country people of voting, and how
well he succeeded the returns of the
election amply testify. This cor-
respondent further charges the re
gistrar with issuing "a large num-.
Der of certificates to persons pre-
senting lists of what purported to-
be names of coloreu men, when in
fact, and he knew it, there were no
such persons in existence. I" 1t is
charged that =" he desired to place
these certificates in the hands Of as
many negroes as possible, and en-
able them to vote three to five
times" which many of them did.
The correspondent says; .r I
"Bob Church found in Ed. Carriers
grocery some 800 certificates signed by.
Williams and numbered in blank Sam
uel Jones found at Whites Station, where
a negro had lost seventy,fve colored GER
tifcates, signed and numbered in blank.
These trophies are being preserved for
the inspection of the Grand Jury, and
these will only furnish material for 375
separate indictments" t--i Il
Charges of gross fraud are made
against a number of registrars in
the late election, and the specifca-
tons have been placed distinctly
before the public. Gov. Senter
cannot be ignorant of the outrages
committed by registrars, and yet
he has taken no steps 10 redress
these wrongs. He cannot permit
these usurpatiOns to go unpun