The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1872-10-10

Still there remained the other element of
discord aud discomfort at the South, which
. twas called the
cARPET-BAG THIEVES.
When they went into the South with our ar
| mics, number of shrewd. cunning, unscru-
pulous men undertook To make themselves
rich out OF the poverty and misery OF the
vanqulshed South. They made themselves
SPECIAL leaders and champions of the black
. people t.ere. They organized Union
Leagues. and other secret societies, of which
the first effect was TO combine all the black
men Of the South IN consolidated phalanx
and thus give the direction TO real Govern
ment and the management of these black
men TO these white leaders who were called
the carpet baggers. So, then. they nomiDa-
ted those for office aud they made them
selves
GCvEREORs, CONGRESSMAN, AND sECRErA-
RIEs,
and soon they commenced through the ma
chinery of legislatiOn-using simple. igno-
rant negroes some Is legislators-and they
commenced measures of gigantic robbery.
In the first place, they made for themselves
great salaries, such as the
POOR SOUTHERN STATES wERK UNABLE TO
PAY;
and they pretended to start a great MANY
| internal improvements, and issued bonds in
behalf or in aid of those improvements,
and they contrived 10 steal the bonds and
sell then for the most they could get; made
| no i'm proycments, and leave the States more
| wasted and desolate than before. over
whelmed with debt. l doubt whether these
| debts ever can be paid, and L am sure there
| is very little disposition to pay them among
| the people who own the property of the
South. They regard them as frauds, simple
| iniquities imposed upon them, and the
charges and MUST burdens they can't bear.
l apprehend if they were to sell out all the
II
not very much more than pay these
PRETENDED DEBTS WHICH HAVE BEEN M
POSED UPON HER BY THE CARPET
BAGGERs
who rule the negro legislators. Some of
them merely simple. some OF them rOgues,
and all of them being without property
were without proper responsibility here is
| All element of discord and hatred; gener-
al belief on the part of the Southern people
that we of the North sent these
WILLIAMS DOWN THERE TO ROB THEM
and by enfranchlsing the blacks and other
measures of reconstruction we nave deliver
| ed these people, bound hand and foot, into
| the clutches of these corrupt carpet-baggers
| to lie robbed at their mercy.
Now let me try to give an illustration of
| the way the thing work.. Men say, "sup-
| pose they do steal. what are we to do about
it? You pretend to be i'll favor of local
| self government; they have got ii, and
| these local self-gOVerning authorities are
the robbers. What are you going to do
about = l will tell you of a case. In the
year 1865 the State of Arkansas, among 9TH
er States, was reconstructed under our Re
publican Legislation; they reconstructed a
q very large portion OF her people, probably
OnC-half of the white people being disfran-
| chiSed, not allowed to vote; the blacks, and
those they called scallawags. that is the
| poor whites whom they regarded of no ac-
were DISTINGUISHED, and allowed no voice in
| the administration of their government. So
! then, Powell Clayton, Kansas man, VINO
came in there as the commander OF n regI-
! ment of our soldiers, or else following in
their wake, and one of the leaders of the
CARPET-BAG CROWD,
was elected Governor of the State. The
| Constitution then prescribed that all whom
| Congress had DISTINGUISHED should be de-
MED the right to vote. Wen, Congress pro-
ceeded very properly, though tardily, to
take off this disfranchisement,s so that nine
| ty-tive or ninety nine. certainly ninety-tive
out of every hundred of those who had
| been disfranchi ed rebels re-en-
| franchised by Congress. But the carpet
| ba9gers said No; Congress has nothing to
do with it; our State Convention which we
| framed in 1868 DISTINGUISHED those men
whom Congress had then DISTINGUISHED;
now Congress takes off the bond, and we do
not; we are going to keep them tight"
They appoint this Governor Clayton; he
! appoints the Board of Registration for ev-
| cry county, and from the decision of that
Board there is no appeal, and they put on
| the registry just whoever they please. L
| met thirty or forty citizens of Arkansas in
! Louisville two or three days ago, and they
told me that over tw 4nty thousand of the
property holders and land-holders of Ar
kansas were
NOW DIsFRANCHIsED,
| H. ~ L.
quire so many. but where the laws didn't
the Registers did. They had the power, and
they would put on such as they chose and
no more, and when they found they were
not going to get the majority without stri
king off, they would strike off so As to have
the vote kept right. That is the Government
under which the people to-day are living
there. The land-holders ought TO be ell
tranchSed, but they are diSfranchiSed by
the carpet-bag government, which means to
cast The electoral vote of the State against
the people OF the State by keeping large
part of the people DISTINGUISHED; and at the
late Grant State Convention it was solemn
ly resolved that none of these persons die
tranchised should be allowed to vote this
fall. After that they would see about it.
Let me tell you how it operates. In the
year 1870 they had their second election
under the State Government, not for Gov
ernCr, but for Legislature and Congress.
Powell Clay ton, the Governor OF the State,
snd controller of all this election machinery,
appointer of the Registrars all over the
State. was a candidate for United States
Senator. 1t safe to bet he would be
elected under that system. First making
all the Registrars, and they putting on just
as many voters as they saw fit. Suppose
YOU have title to be on the registry, they
will not put you on, and you can not get on, |
and there is no remedy tor it. There is an |
| other hitch beyond that. Powell Clayton,
Governor, and his subOrdinates- the
State Board of Canvassers, with absolute
power to reject whatever votes they see fit, |
an bring out such result as they choose. |
| So, then. it appears when the Legislature |
was chosen that it was largely Republican, |
vet Mr.. Clayton had not got control of it |
enough to elect him to the Senate; he has |
| to throw out votes. As President OF the |
Board ofCanvassers he diScards these votes, !
those that he pleases, SO as to bring in the |
candidate that he pleases. For instance, in |
one county there was an Anti-Clayton |
| ticket he throws the votes out. Three |
quarters of the Republican vote; he throws
out those and brings the Dem ncratIc ticket |
rather than have the Republican ticket |
elected, which was against him. SO he |
goes through like this and makes out "A
Clayton majority, which elects him to the |
Senate. But in doing this you understand
| that you can not reject the votes cast for
one office and admit the votes cast by the !
same voters for another Office, that is per-
| fectly plain; if you decide that this poll is
not legal poll you have got to throw it
out for all purposes. So Mr. Governor
Clayton throws out the votes of the Repub-
licans there because they were eleeting an
anti Clay ton ticket, and thereby defeats
Thomas l5owles, the Republican candidate,
and elects John Edwards, the Democratic
candidate. John Edwards comes forward
with certificate as good as any body, Mr..
Bowles don't like it. people generally don't; |
| he goes Oh, and contests the election, and
with abundance of testimony proves that
these votes of his thrown out TOR the sake of
!