The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1871-08-10
The Innate Asylum scandal.
TEE suFxRIxrENDENT's CARD.


he refers were ''of the most scandalOus
kind, and that "the scandal had traversed
the State" filling the ear of the public.
The wonder is, that sensitive" as he
declares himself to be about "charges
affecting his integrity as an officer" he
has remained silent so long. The wonder
will be that since he has at length been
induced to combat a matter of such colos-
sal proportions as he describes this to be,
that he has relied upon a weapon so feeble
as this straw of card. 1t will elicit but
one answer from candid public, and
it is, that it is weak and insufhcient-tha
it falls immeasurably below the require
ments of the case.
1t will be borne in mind that the ru-
mors. as he says, were widely circulated /;
that they assumed shape to require
what was deemed an investigation by the
Board of Trustees under direction of the
Governor at his own instance. Now the
question arises, why after the Board
their report, the result was not published ?
Why 60 through the form of an inquiry
| if the result was not to be made known?
If innocent, the Superintendent could
not have needed a salve of the sort to
soothe his own conscience. Nor could it
have been required to fortify him in the
4 e L. nd
the Governor, who it seems is determined
to stand by him through thick and thin.
Surely the public have some rights as
well as they. But the Superintendent
says the result of the investigation ''has
been known in jackson and all over the
State" How does he know this On
what grounds does he reach this conclu-
sion? Has he, or the Governor who
holds the Report, given it, and the testi-
mony on which it is based, publicity ?
On the contrary, it has been kept under
lock and key, and we have to see the first
man who has had the privilege of inspect
ing it. We can tell him that he is widely
mistaken The "result is" not KNOWN"
and particularly has it not been made
known through the agency of the Super
intendent who, next to the public by
whom the Institution over which he pre-
sides has been dedicated to sacred purpo-
ses, is the party most concerned. And
we will further add that the card of the
Superintendent does not make kl,Own the
resmt-we mean the full import, meaning
and spirit of the Report. The Super
intendent has the opportunity of disprov
ing this allegation by publishing the
Report Let him do it, and if we are in
error, it shall be Withdrawn. Does he
accept the issue?
After describing the grave import of
the scandal and the concern it had natu-
rally given him-and we will add, the
public-because it was based upon state
ments which were not made in whispers
nor in the closet, but aloud and on the
highway-by parties protesting to know
the Superintendent says
Adopting, however, what / deemed to be
the proper course in the matter, brought
it before the Board of Trustees at the earliest
opportunity, and submitted il to them. That
Board consisting of His Excellency, the
Governor, and Messrs. John w. Robinson,
w. b. Taylor, w. III. Allen, ID. n. BarrowS,
and Dr. j. l.. Carter, all old citizens of the
city of Jackson, at once proceeded to the
investigation. In their report to the Govern
or, they say that the ruDaOrs Of criBlindlty loere
not sustained blythe eUjdence aohich theyhdd been
able to procure,
Now, instead of describing in his own
way what the Trustees said, ,chy did the
Superintendent not publish the Report-so
that it might speak for itself? 1t is that
for which the public has called-not
mere one-sided version, and that, too,
by the party most interested. So far
from publishing the Report, though it
seems to be the prop on which he mainly
relies, he dismisses it with an exposition
of its contents embraced in three Uery
cautious and girgerly 'Oorded lines: "They
"say that the rumors were not sustained |
"by the evidence which they had been
fable to procure"-that is, that no wit |
ness swore that he or she actually sd,c
Criminal conduct-the fdgrGnte delictu
is the Latin, we believe, iii which the |
books modestly drape the idea. But is
this all they reported Were there not
circumstances related with minuteness of
detail leading to the belief that there was
''criminality?" Did not the Trustees re-
port that though the testimony did not go
to the extent of actual visible evidence of
'criminality" the Superintendent
was censurable for conduct, to say the
least, highly, or grossly irregular and
improper? If the interrogatory conveys
an unfounded imputation, let the Super
intendent produce the report, and prove
it. 1t is accessible to him; and the proof,
of its incorrectness, if it be untrue, is in
his own possession.
He says that "the honor of the Insti-
"tution is in the hands of the Board of
Trustees" This cannot be true. Their
authority is mere CIPHER. The Radical
Vandals who have laid their impious
hands on all things sacred, have shorn
the Board of its power of appointment
and removal. And it is unjust to lay
upon their shoulders any part of the re-
sponsibility of taking no action on the
facts as they obtained them. The SUI
VIII not affirm that they
would have continued him in Office after
this investigation; and yet one would in
fer as much from his language.