The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1871-04-06

A correspondent of the New York
Tribune of the Path, writing from Jack
son, evidently to manufacture capital for
Northern Radical consumption, out of
the Meridian affair, furnishes abundant
proof of the lawless conduct of the Loyal
League Ku Klux in that city, and from
it traces the subsequent violence which
eliminated in the death of Judge Bran
lette at the hands of the Leaguers and the
loss of their own lives In the disturbances
which they had brought on.
The following is In an extract FROM the
Tribune letter:
About this time there appeared in Meri-
dian eolored man from Livingston. Ala
bama. He seems TO have been but miSer-
able renegade, and to have been the tool of
a gang of Ku Kiux. He came to Meridian,
claiming to be Deputy Sheriff from Liv-
ingston, i'm search of a colored fugitive from
Justice. Following in his train were a
couple OF white desperadoes. Ii was claim
ed the colored man sought for was a runaway
murderer. This may or may not have been
the case. He Is represented by the blacks,
however, to have been simply one of the
hundreds of their color that, under the new
order of things in Alabama, had fled over
the border as they are now fleeing in turn
from Meridian 1t was understood in fact
that these men were on hunt for runaWays
of this nature. Be this as it may, this So
called Deputy Sheriff had, or pretended to
have. writs in his possession for the arrest
of this and several other blacks, but not
from the authorities in Mississippi. He had
imposed on the eredulity OF colOred police
man in Meridian, backed as he was by as
surance OF citizens that il was all right. The
runaway negro, striving to escape, was shot
in the hip, but was taken in charge by these
Alabama gentry and carried Off into that
State. About week later the same colored
officer or ku KluX emissary, as the case may
be, made his appearance the second time. On
this occasion he was accompanied by posse
of some half-dozen desperate, villainOus.
looking whites, all armed to the teeth, and
blacks. Not finding their men, the whites
left on the evening train for home, leaving
the colored Deputy TO prosecute the search.
AT night he repaired to the house of one
Tom Edwards, to lodge. During the night
the house was surrounded as it seems by a
crowd of indignant blacks, who took the col
Ored Deputy out, and no doubt handled him
pretty roughly. The Deputy claimed that
he recognized as leader of the party white
man named Price.
The meaning of all this is that color
ed man from Alabama, claiming to be a
deputy sheriff in search of violators OF
the law, was set upon by a crowd of Sin
dignant blacks" at night, in the house
where he boarded, led on by ga white
man named Price," and was roughly
handled" 1t was no matter if he was
"a renegade" 1t is not germane to the
question whether he was a sworn officer,
as he represented or not. 1t was not for
the mob to determine these facts, and to
declare him guilty, and punish him with
stripes. Nevertheless they did these
things in violation of the peace and dig
nifty of the Commonwealth of Mississippi,
and especially in violation of the act OF
July 2lst, 1870. By provision of this
law, the Governor has offered reward
for the apprehension and arrest of any
person guilty of violating it. The said
Price was arrested on warrant sworn out
by the colored man, who had been beaten
by the masked Leaguers. And it is a
clear case, that the colored man aforesaid
is entitled to the reward, if he satisfac-
torily establish the identity of Price,
who by the way, according to the Tribune
correspondent, was released by the inter
position of the late Mayor Sturges.
But the main point established by the
Tribune, is that Loyal League masked
marauders did severely beat cor roughly
handle" a person who had aroused their
indignation" and that to this act of law
less violence the writer traces the subse-
quent bloody scenes over which the Radi-
cal knaves and fanatics have set up their
hypocritical howl