Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-05-21

desires % DO a sensible thing il
should az once enact that no State
or county officer shall he required
to give bond for the honest per.
formahce of duty. The history
Of Radical rule in this State bis
shown that nine.tenths Of the
bonds given are straw bonds; not
worth 4 dollar. When the full
system Of corruption shall have
been fully inaugurated with every
Office in the hands Of a Radical,
most Of them carpet baggers with
out interest or reputation in the
State, then will the whole plan OF
demanding and accepting bonds
become a farce. SO imperative
and worthless indeed will become
the system that it will be one in.
ducement held ont as a sort Of re-
ward for dishonesty. There will
be no responsibility attached to
any one. Principal and bondmen
will be alike irresponsible and as
a natural result the principal will
be tempted day by day to commit
dishonest deeds By the weak and
insufficient safeguards thrown
about him. Meditating upon the
corruption and dishonesty which
enable him to palm off a worth
less bond he will eventually con-
ceive it to be but right to steal
from and defraud the State. Just
as so many Commissaries asd
Quartermasters in the army who
would not, from conscientious mo
tives fitch a cent in ordinary private
transactions, yet felt there was no
sin or wrong committed in plum.
dering the general government.
They seemed to think that if q
loop hole was discovered through
which they could perpetrate a
fraud it was their duty to do it. II
was a sin and a crime to steal from
an individual, but eminently prop.
er and even commendable to steal
from the Government. Such will
be the result Of the loose and
corrupt form Of government to
which the people Of Mississippi
will be called upon to submit dur.
ing the continuance Of Radical
rule. Then why keep up a form
which is only intended to de-
ceiveP A cloak behind which
fraud and dishonesty can BE-
and is perpetrated. Let the
system be discontinued. IL is nc
safety, no safeguard. 1t is q
fraud in itself. II simply deceive'
the credulous and uninformed
Destroy it and in its stead enaci
that every ~defaulting officer hai
been guilty Of theft and try hin
for the offence, making his pun
ishment much severer than that o
ordinary criminals. Let it b,
known hat a man in possession
of an office, where money is en-
trusted to his care, unable TO &C
count for the absence of q singl,
dollar, is a felon, a thief before tn
law and in public estimation, ant
that as a punishment for it, h
shall be pushed by Imprisonment
even more severely than othe
criminals Of equal grade.
What would be the difEerenc
in effect between this law and tn
old onc3 Simply that under th
present law the man can escap
punishment and with the none
entrusted to him, no body sufie
| but the State, and he eventual
by the magical influence Of th
money at his command, becom
respectable. BY the operation
: the plan suggested, the money
D lost but the criminal is secured
: and he is made to work in the pei
itentiary for q number Of years ft
the benefit Of the State. 1t is
9 clear gain of the services Of Il
. thief, whereas, by the old plaT
!. there was a clear loss Of thief an
money.
nj HARPER's WEEKLY.
Al Among the most bitter and vi