The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1874-12-17
THE TROURLE mETWEEN THE
PLUNDERRNG OFFICIALS
AND THE WARREN
COUNTY TAXsPAH-
ERS.
A Fail Statements of rhe CanDes
From the Vicksburg Papers,
no rnr nTFpT n

also known TO you that the Governor OF
Mississippi. in public proclamation
dated the 9Th inst, gave the authority OF
his name and his official station to the
statement that certain proceedings on the
part Of the taxpayers of said county, look
ing to the security and protection of the
public funds and records of the county,
were riotous and disorderly, and that the
object thereof Was F'tO deprive cOlored M n
of their civil and political rights because
of their color" Being solicitous to pre-
serve the good name of the lawabldlng
citizens of our county from such unjust
aspersions, as citizens of Vicksburg, we
present the following statement of facts,
and invite the candid judgment of the
public thereon
In November, 1871. T. w. Cardozo
was elected Clerk of our Circuit Court,
and G. w. Davenport Clerk ofour Chan
Gerry Court, the terms OF their offices ex-
piring January l, 1876.
In November, 1873, Peter Crosby was
elected Sheriff, and G.. w. Walton, G.
Axelson, w, B. Lewis, Oscar Speed and
Henry Hunt were elected the Board of
Supervisor, of the county. All these Off
GERS are Republicans, and all but e. Ak
elson are colored.
At the election in October 1873, T. W.
Cardozo was elected to and accepted the
office of State Superintendent of Eauca-
ton, whereby the office of our Circuit
Clerk became vacant. Thereupon Gov.
Ames appointed A. w. Dorsey, a colored
Republican, to fill this vacancy, which
act was on his part a gross usurpation Of
po wer inasmuch as our statutes plainly
declare that such vacancies shall be filled
by election Nevertheless no attempt was
ever made to GUST Dorsey from the office,
and he continued to exercise its
functions without molestation. The
character of the person, in whose ia
vOr this extraordinary exercise of pow
err was displayed, will be presently shown.
In the month of August, 1874, the
State Auditor of Public Accounts, Ga
Republican officiaD discovered that large
amount of forged and fraudulent witness
certificates had been issued from the office
of the Clerk of our Circuit Court, and on
the - day of August, 1874. on the
affidavit Of the Auditor, A. w. Dorsey
was arrested for issuing such false and
forged certificates in a large sum. He
waived an examination before Magis-
trate, was committed to Jail, resigned his
office, procured bail, and is now at large
in this city. The vacancy thus again
created was again without the shadow of
authority in law, filled by the appoint
ment of Governor Ames, and his ap-
pointee still holds quiet possession Of the
office.
The Investigation of Dorsey's frauds
led to the discovery that L. w. Cardozo,
his predecessor in the Office OF Circuit
Clerk, and now State Superintendent of
Education, had been guilty, while Circuit
Clerk, Of similar ofenses. He was ar
rested, and the examination before q
Magistrate resulted in his giving bail to
answer the charge before the Circuit
Court.
The Geo. w. Davenport above men,
toned as Clerk Of our Chancery Court
was also, by virtue of his office, Clerk of
the Board Of Supervisors, and as such was
charged with the duty of issuing all county
warrants for money, and was the sole Gus
todian Of the county seal and the public
records pertaining TO county finances.
1t being discovered that q large amount
Of forged and fraudulent county warrants
were in circulation, he was repeatedly
called on to make a full report to the
Board of the warrants outstanding against
the county, and he persistently and con
: temptuously refused TO do So \ com
mittee of taxpayers were by him refused
; the privilege of examining the record of
, warrants issued and cancelled. 1t may
be added here that Dave nport's official
IoVIz G.. ~ II
of his office, where by law it is required 10
be filed.
At the last term of the Circuit Court,
which commenced on the first Monday o
November, the Grand Jury, composed 1
ten blacks and seven whites, found four
bills of indictment against A. w. Dorsey,
seven bills of Indictment against T. w.
Cardozo, and five bills of indictment
against Geo. w. Davenport, for the
offenses above mentioned. These indict-
ments cover but a small portion of IL G
crimes committed by those officials, OF
which the evidence is in writing and in.
contestible.
During the inquiry into these offenses
) by the Grand Jury, the books of the
County treasury and other valuable rec
ords were, by Mr.. Axelson of the Board
of Supervisors, taken from the Office of
Davenport and placed for safe keeping in
: another room Of the courthouse. A. short
! time before the Grand jury presented the
> above indictments, this office was bro
ken into at night frori the inside Of
| the courthOuse and these books and rec
l ords distracted Other records which
: remained in Davenp0rt's office were used
) by the Grand Jury in their investigation,
} After the larceny of the records above
stated, committee of citizens requested
Crosby, the Sheriff, to gather up all the
KEYS of the courthouse in order TO prevent
access to it without his knowledge or au.
thority. He promised to do this immed:
ately, and yet on that very night four q
FIVE persons were seen to enter the court
house by the use of keys, and on the mex
morning it was discovered that the porto
of the records above mentionen as remain
ing in Davenports office, had been alb
stracted, and they were subsequently foun
! buried in the earth under the residenc
occupied by Davenport.
The Sheriff Of our county is also tax
collector, and is required to give bond wit
good securities in the sum of twenty thoU
, sand dollars as Sheriff. and eightv-on
thousand dollars as tax collector Som
months since, public attention was Gale
to the fact that the official bonds give
! by Crosby and approved by the Boar
of Supervisors were almost worthless. o.
( information of the insolvency or irrespor
: sibility of any of the sureties on the bon
of sheriff, or on the application of an
surety to be relieved, it becomes the dut
of the Board of Supervisors to require hir
to give a new and sufficient bond with
, twenty days, and if he fail to do 81
the office becomes vacant, and it is til
duty of the Board to order another ele'