Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-08-23
Major Heavy Artillery.

The Philadelphia Age speaks in the fol-
lowing terms of Governor Caldwell and
the late sO-called election:
But will he hold the honor thus crim-
nally obtained? Will he be inaIlYurated
Governor of North Carolina, and remain
in that position for the Constitutional tern?
Will there be no contest, 10 examination
into the manner i'll which the balloL-box
has been outraged by Pool and his band Of
rutfans and plunderers, paid and fed by
the Federal Government? OF course
there will be. as the Democratic and Con-
servative people and presses of the State
Call upon Judge Merrimon and his asso-
ciates upon the DemOcratic-C Conservative
State ticket to give the oppOsitioA due
| notice that the election will be contested
before the legaliZed tribunal at the proper
time and place. III order to form solid
and intelligent basis Oh which to rest
contest, four kinds of influence are set
forth, by which the renOminatiOnists gained
vote in all improper manner. First, whis
key and tobacco influence was exerted
with direct power upon the counties OF
y adlxin, Surry, Stokes, Wilkes, Ashe
and Iredell. Through the INSCRIPTIONS
abuse of this influence the Radicals
gained some three thousand votes in these
counties. Second, Ku-Klux influence,
that is holding indictments under the
| Force bill over the people of Rutherford,
Cleveland, CASTOR, Lincoln, Catawba,
Yancey, Madison, Sampson, Moore
and Chatham, had decided effect and i'll
Inundated and prevented hundreds of free
men from exercising the right of suffrage.
| Third, importation of negroes from other
| States, was another means of cOTupting
the ballot that was largely resorted to i'll
the counties of Bruins lex, Bladen, New
Hanover, CUMBERLAND, Halifax, Northamp-
! ton, Perquimans, Granville, Guilford,
| Warren, Franklin, and perhaps Pearson,
| Orange, Rockingham and Caswell.-
| Fourth, the almost unlimited use of money
drawn from the United States Treasury,
under the fiimsy pretense of paying Court
expenses, and employed in bribing voters
i'll Madison, Cherokee, Burke, Beaufort,
and scores of other counties i'll the State.
| This was a potent agency, and the amount
| of money expended i'll this manner could
not have fallen far short of $4,000 A
Contest before the Legislature of North
| Carolina, based on such charges as the
! above, supported by testimony, could not
| fail to be successful. No deliberative body
would suffer a man to remain Governor OF
a State, chosen by such corrupt and
tainted means.
! Will Judge Merrimon make the contest?
| The people of n orth Carolina Lemand it.
They have been cheated and outraged i'll
! the most open and palpable manner. The
people of the nation demand it. They have
been robbed by the withdrawal of money
from the United States Treasury, and its
use for partisan purposes. These are rea-
sons for the contest in North Carolina,
which Judge Merrimon has no right to
overlook or neglect. He should contest the
return of Caldwell, go before the Legisla-
ture, exhibit such facts as those stated in
this article, OH the authority of the Demo
craic and Conservative press of n Orth Car
olina, and while indicating the people of
his own State, administer a blistering cas-
| tigation to General Grant and his admins
tration for using public money for selfish,
| dishonest, partisan purposes.