The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1871-11-23

/ election frauds, ever comniIteo oy the nN@N'
Gals or any other party, send you the true
official returns IN detail. of the result In Co
piah county, As furnished by one Of the
registrars.
Our splendid victory has doubtless been
heralded to all parts Of the State, and many
n heart, sympstIlizing with us, in ourPoliti-
cal calamiries, has rejoiced with us at our
deliverance-
How many, even among those best ac-
quainted with the corruptions of the Radi-
cal party, will be prepared to believe that a
majority of the Board of Registrars (Radi-
eals) have returned all the Radical candf-
dates for county officers elected, and have
issued to them certificates of election Yet
this is true.
The bumIliating, not to say disgusting de-
tails Of this Infamous proceeding, are briefly
as follows
Sheriff. j. ssPrent" Mathews, and Chancery
Clerk, p. Harvey Ames' (and Afterwards
Alcorn's) appointees, to the offices, they
held. and the candidates for election, before
the people, had, in conjunction with the
presen. of Board of Supervisors, the ap-
pointmrnt OF Registrars.
Sheriff Mathews, TO be appointed regis
~far, aud Clerk Harvey caused his brother
in law John Robinson, to be appointed,
whilst the representative of the anti-Radi-
cal party, on the Board was selected by the
Board of Supervisors. This is the real his
tory of the matter, whatever those gentle
men may say to the contrary.
These disinterested Registrars, Robinson
and Mathews. backed by an opinion, furnish
cd by Attorney General Morris, evidently
to meet the emergency, claimed TO be the
Board, and ruling out the anti-Radical Reg
istrar, they appointed all the Inspectors and
Clerks. with one single exception and with
the help of Sheriff Prent Mathews, all the
Deputy Sheriffs. In most, II not in every
case, the Boards of Inspectors were COM
posed of majority of ignorant colored men
who could neither read nor write. whilst the
Deputy Sheriffs embraced all the other
brothers Of the Sheriff under age, or above
age.
Notwithstanding these difficulties, the
election at each of the fifteen precincts was
opened and conducted with fairness. When
it closed it was agreed by all parties inclu-
ding our Radical Circuit Judge, Millsaps,
who was at HazIehurst, our supreme Judge,
Peyton, who was present throughout the
day at the polls at Gallatin, and our Radical
Clerk, Lawyer Harvey, who was at Crystal
Springs and last but not least, in his own
estimation, the Rev. Mortimer, that every
thing was done quietly, fairly, without force,
fraud, intimidation, threats or violence of
any kind. No fighting or drinking; it was
like Sunday.
On Thursday morning. when the Regis
trars assembled at GaIIatin to make up the
result, and it began to be known that the
Radical party was beaten. horse. foot and
dragons, it was whispered that something
was wrong with what was called the white
box at Crystal Springs, TO wit: that the In
spectors and clerks at that box were not
sworn until Lawyer Harvey, the would-be
| Clerk. arrived, about II o'clock NJ.
The Registrars, however, pI oceeded to open
the returns at the hour appointed by law.
and as the learned majority of the Board
had Enthusiastically intimated that they would
not count the returns from the aforesaid
obnoxious "white' box. if on coming to it
it should be found the Inspectors were net
sworn at the opening of the polls. Atten-
ton was called in passing by the anti
Radical Registrar, to the fact that the In
2, district A, strong Radical, were not sworn
by anybody at all, at any time. That at the
Matthews Place (heavy Radical Majority,
the Inspectors and clerks were pretendedly
sworn by young man, brother of the
Sheriff, who pretended to act as Deputy
Sheriff at that place, but who had not him
self been sworn to act as Deputy Sheriff at
at that place, and who certainly is not him
self qualified voter, if resident at all in
the county. These boxes and others in the
same condition were counted, and the work
progressed. At the Radical box, in Gala
tin. precinct ?, district I, the Inspectors and
clerks were sworn. If sworn at all, by Reg
istrar Matthews, who subscribed the jurdt,
after the returns were opened in the pres
ence of the Board. This box was counted,
as were all, until we came to that awful box
at Crystal Springs into which had been
placed the ballots OF some of Copiah's best
citizens.
That box with its more than four hun
dred majority against Radicalism, was not
to be tolerated, it must be set aside, and
LawyerAIarvey, who Is always on hand, !
was there to help do the work. William ].
willing and Emanuel Handy were there, |
like hungry wolves, licking their chop and |
awaiting their prey.
Lawyer Harvey was sworn by Rev. Nor |
timer, Jr., before honest John Robinson, his |
brother-in-law, acting as President of the |
Board, and he swore that it was a fair cleo |
ton, so far as he saw, but he did not swear |
Che inspectors till about II O'clock, NJ, after
most of the votes, tcsich condemned him,
were cast.
The colored Inspectors were on hand, and
one of them testified that they all subscrib-
ed the oath on the poll book OF the box In
question, and inspected the ballot box, be-
fore proceeding to hold the election, and
that everything at that precinct was fairly
and justly, as far as he could see during the
election. At this point, Registrar Redding,
while constantly protesting against the le-
gality of the whole inquiry-asked that,
the other Inspector and tire two Clerks, all
whites and intelligent men, be sent for,
stating that he expected to prove by them,
that the whole Board of Inspectors and
Clerks were legally sworn as required by
law.
His request was unblushingly refushed,
and without further investigation or cere-
mOny the aforesaid registrars, Robinson and
Mathews refused to open and count the re-
turns, and directing the Clerk to strike out
the count from BurtontoH, which, as 1t was
now seen did not effect the result, they pro- .
,eeded to have added up and returned the
other thirteen boxes, thus at one swoop de-
Driving over four hundred voters of their
'ufrages. II
Thus l close this account of usurpation :
orce and fraud. The Registrars had no | 1,